#sandy boone

[thebutcher-5]

Vampires (1998)

Benvenuti o bentornati sul nostro blog. Dopo aver fatto diversi articoli sull’animazione e la Disney, siamo tornati a parlare di live-action e questa volta l’abbiamo fatto con uno dei registi europei che nell’ultimo periodo si è dimostrato veramente abile. Il film in questione è Inexorable. La storia parla di Marcel, uno scrittore divenuto famoso dopo aver pubblicato il suo primo libro,…

[quitealotofsodapop]

Eating bugs.

I had to rewatch the episode to see that and yeah;

MK had a bug in his hair, and Wukong picked it out and ate ala monkey grooming instincts. Too big to be a louse, looks more like a silkworm in it's cocoon.

I bet he picked it up after getting slammed into the pavement - from personal experience no matter where you lie down in public, you *will* get a bug on you.

One of my fave hcs is MK's monkey instincts kicking in and he accidentally eats a spider before he realises. And promptly freaks out.

And because eating certain arthropods isn't considered as taboo in China (but still considered weird); MK's other family members have their own thoughts on the matter. Tang is 100% the parent who'd be like that one tumblr post about a guy eating spiders. Pigsy is with MK on the grossness of it.

Tang: "I don't see what the big deal is." Sandy: "Insects *are* a far more substainable source of protein than beef or fish." Pigsy, angry squeal: "Because its disgusting! You've no idea where it's been!" MK: "Thank you, Dadsy!" Tang: "MK, you ate fried silkworm grubs by the bucketful when you were little." MK, turning green with horror: "I THOUGHT THOSE WERE POPCORN SHRIMP!?" Pigsy: "That's what you were feeding my son when you took him to the night market!?" Tang, shrugs: "I'm a culinary explorer piggy. And if lil MK took a liking to my haul, who was I to deny him the boon?" Pigsy & MK, both at once: "BECAUSE IT WAS BUGS TANG!" Macaque, teasingly pokes head out of shadows: "Did I hear something about silkworms? I'm starving!" MK & Pigsy: *disgusted retching noises* Mei, the one who started the convo: *is busy recording all of this*

It gets so bad that MK will randomly ask other animal demons/celestials he comes across in his travels their thoughts on the matter. The answers are... less than encouraging.

MK: "Before we part ways, I have a big big personal question to ask you Mr Three Eyed God-sir." Erlang Shen, expecting a lore question: "Ok." MK: "Do you eat bugs?" Erlang Shen: "...define bug." MK: "wut." Erlang: "Because in the grand scheme of things, any creature that crawls with many legs can be called a bug. Crabs, prawns, and shrimp are in the same family as the common woodlouse." MK, despairing: "Nooo! Don't ruin shellfish for me!!!" Wukong: "MK, stop asking the gods if they eat bugs. They don't cook 'em good anyway." MK: *retching sound*

The poor monkey boy probably ignores these instincts for as long as possible, until one day MK takes a bite out of a giant bug monster and things quickly turn into Shaggy & Scooby vs the Cotton Candy Glob. Onlookers were horrified.

[most-datable-undatable]

Your Match-Ups!

Because I am a complete mess of a person, I forgot to put a few on my original list, so good news for the person who suggested Wizard from Stardew Valley a bit late: Because of my stupidity, he is now on the bracket!

We have a total of 104 contestants! This will be a standard single-elimination tournament. Match-ups were completely randomized, although for the first round I did not allow match-ups between two characters from the same franchise.

Voting will begin tomorrow morning at 9am PST. I will post one poll every ten or so minutes. I will do 26 tomorrow and 26 on Tuesday. Be sure to follow so you don't miss out on a vote for your favorite!

Without further ado: Your Most Datable Undatable Character Round 1 Match-Ups!

Day One

Kai (Harvest Moon: Back to Nature)/Hytham (AC: Valhalla)

Aphrodite (Stray Gods)/Robin (Stardew Valley)

Cole (Dragon Age: Inquisition)/Dame Aylin (Baldur’s Gate 3)

Sten (Dragon Age: Origins)/Helena Blake (Mass Effect)

Kent Connolly (Fallout 4)/Asterius (Hades)

Serana (Skyrim)/Bo Calloway (Scarlet Hollow)

Perry (Harvest Moon: Animal Parade)/Cliff Holden (Our Life: Beginning & Always)

EDI (Mass Effect 2 and 3)/Soma Jarlskona (Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla)

Kasumi Goto (Mass Effect 2)/Shandra Jerro (Neverwinter Nights 2)

Mel (Fallout 4)/Neeshka (Neverwinter Nights 2)

Vivienne de Fer (Dragon Age: Inquisition)/Pasqal Haneumann (Rogue Trader)

Carlos (Rune Factory 4)/Hypnos (Hades)

Scout Lace Harding (Dragon Age: Inquisition)/Bishop (Neverwinter Nights 2)

Deacon (Fallout 4)/Theseus (Hades)

Virgil (Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura)/Avitus Rix (Mass Effect: Andromeda)

Nathaniel Howe (Dragon Age: Awakening/Dragon Age 2)/Wynert (Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate)

Quinn (Dream Daddy)/Karliah (Skyrim)

Nick Valentine (Fallout 4)/Nakmor Drack (Mass Effect: Andromeda)

Dagna (Dragon Age: Inquisition)/Terry (Rune Factory 5)

Rolan (Baldur’s Gate 3)/Talos Drellik (Star Wars: The Old Republic)

Shiala (Mass Effect)/Jodi (Stardew Valley)

Tiran Kandros (Mass Effect: Andromeda)/Trickster (Hooked on You)

Arthur Maxson (Fallout 4)/Brassidas (Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey)

Brynjolf (Skyrim)/Briala (Dragon Age: Inquisition)

Mary Christiansen (Dream Daddy)/Chaos (Hades)

Olgierd von Everestu (The Witcher 3)/Wizard (Stardew Valley)

Day Two

Frea (Skyrim)/Rose of Sharon Cassidy (Fallout: New Vegas)

Legion (Mass Effect 2 and 3)/Yuthura Ban (Knights of the Old Republic)

Qyzen Fess (Knights of the Old Republic)/Dammon (Baldur’s Gate 3)

Isobel Thorm (Baldur’s Gate 3)/Athena (Stray Gods)

Sandy (Stardew Valley)/Vincent Valentine (Final Fantasy VII)

Kaelyn the Dove (Neverwinter Nights 2)/Medusa (Stray Gods)

Bao Dur (Knights of the Old Republic)/Evfra (Mass Effect: Andromeda)

Arcade Gannon (Fallout: New Vegas)/Jeremus (Mount and Blade: Warband)

Nyreen Kandros (Mass Effect)/Shale (Dragon Age: Origins)

Urdnot Wrex (Mass Effect Series)/Marnie (Stardew Valley)

Talvas Fathryon (Skyrim)/Nihlus Kryik (Mass Effect)

Cremisius “Krem” Aclassi (Dragon Age: Inquisition)/Gatekeeper (Fire Emblem: Three Houses)

Keldorn (Baldur’s Gate 2)/Lin Fa (Rune Factory 4)

Johnny Silverhand (Cyberpunk 2077)/Veronica Santangelo (Fallout: New Vegas)

Tarquin Victus (Mass Effect 3)/Aveline (Dragon Age 2)

Judith (Fire Emblem: Three Houses)/Varric Tethras (Dragon Age 2/Dragon Age: Inquisition)

Evelyn (Rune Factory 3)/Sagacious Zu (Jade Empire)

Jarun Tann (Mass Effect: Andromeda)/J’Zargo (Skyrim)

Joker (Mass Effect Series)/Vault Tec Rep (Fallout 4)

Eder (Pillars of Eternity 2)/Iorveth (The Witcher 2)

Atris (Knights of the Old Republic 2)/Vernon Roche (The Witcher 2)

Kharjo (Skyrim)/Lambert (The Witcher 3)

Mordin Solus (Mass Effect 2 and 3)/Eskiel (The Witcher 3)

Raphael (Baldur’s Gate 3)/Takemura (Cyberpunk 2077)

Craig Boone (Fallout: New Vegas)/Canderous Ordo (Knights of the Old Republic)

Mira (Knights of the Old Republic 2)/Wistful Deviless (Sunless Sea)

[tending-the-hearth]

So, I decided to look at your posts, and I see the Outsiders. I read that book in school as a required reading. I even watched the movie at the end of the unit. Now I learn that there is now a musical version. I know the story but it has been years since I read the book.

OUTSIDERS MUSICAL INFODUMP TIME

the musical first began at La Jolla Playhouse, a theater in California that served as the stage for one of my other absolute favorite musicals of all time, Hunchback of Notre Dame!

the show itself stays relatively faithful to the book, with only some minor changes, such as cutting the hospital reunion scene (the ONE thing that makes me mad), adding a female character into the greaser gang named Ace (my beloved), and also removing majority of the Sodapop/Sandy storyline (which i personally love because it gives more time to the development of Soda's relationship with the other greasers + his brothers).

This show also has some of the BEST character depictions I've ever seen. Each of the actors understands their character so deeply and beautifully, it actually makes me a little emotional.

S.E. Hinton has been very involved in the show. There's photos of her backstage with the cast, she was with them at the Tony Awards (walking the red carpet with Brody, the Ponyboy actor, which made me CRY it was so cute), and all the acceptance speeches at the Tony Awards had deliberate and very sincere moments where those speaking put the attention on her, which I really love.

Angelina Jolie actually one of the lead producers of the show! I do love how involved she is, with being present when they performed on the Today show, as well as introducing their Tony Awards performance (where she also said some really kind words about S.E. Hinton).

While I understand some people are sick of Broadway shows created from exisiting media, I think The Outsiders does this absolutely wonderfully. The music is really fun and has lots of folk vibes, the actors are phenomenal and also some of the kindest that I've ever seen, and the show has already gotten a really devoted following. Especially considering that they won the Tony Award for Best Musical, I can see this show running for a while!

It's also fun because a few actors from the 1983 movie actually went to see the show! Matt Dillon has a really great photo with Joshua Boone (the actor who plays Dally), Rob Lowe (1983 Sodapop) went to see it, and Ralph Macchio took a really cute photo with Sky Lakota (the actor who plays Johnny) when he went to go see it!

I've been lucky enough to see the show twice, and as an English teacher, I'm really really REALLY hoping to be able to take my eighth grade class (the ones who read the book with me) to see the show in November. I'm working on putting together a field trip for them because I think they'd absolutely LOVE the show.

On Youtube, there's a bunch of different videos of the songs from the show. Some of them are their performances in the studio, but you can watch bootleg videos, as well as their performances at the Tony Awards, the Today Show, and Good Morning America!

absolutely 10/10 would recommend seeing and/or listening to the musical!

[allthecanadianpolitics]

The scandal over the removal of land from the protected Greenbelt for a connected few could be just "the tip of the iceberg" as opposition parties called for a new investigation of a different set of land changes that may prove to be another type of headache for Ontario's beleaguered government.

Land south of Hamilton was moved into the city's urban boundary — a boon for developers — on the same day as the Greenbelt land swap, and just months after the integrity commissioner found a landowner bought tickets to the stag and doe party for the daughter of Premier Doug Ford(opens in a new tab), documents show.

"We're going to be writing to the auditor general to investigate this. We're going to be asking tough questions in the legislature. This is not over," NDP MPP Sandy Shaw said in an interview.

That landowner, developer Sergio Manchia, told CTV News Toronto he had no insider knowledge.

"It was widely known that the minister might take the action that he did later that fall to impose expansion. We had no inside information. When properties came onto the market that year, we thought it would be a good investment, considering what was publicly known. We had expressed interest in them as far back as 2020," Manchia said in an emailed statement. [...]

Continue Reading.

Tagging: @politicsofcanada

[the-monkey-ruler]

The New Legends of Monkey (2018) 新猴王传奇

Director: Gérard Johnstone / Craig Owen / Peter Andkidis Screenwriter: Craig Owen / Jacqueline Peach / Christiaan Van Vuuren Starring: Chai Henson / Lucian Buchanan / Josh Thomson / Emily Cockrell / Josh McKenzie / Jordan Mooney / Jared Blakiston / Fasitua Amosa / Michelle Hong / Jim Cawthorn / Samson Chan-Boon Genre: Fantasy / Action / Comedy / Adventure Country/Region of Production: Australia / New Zealand Language: English Date: 2018-01-28 (Australia) Number of seasons: 2 Number of episodes: 20 Single episode length: 25 minutes Also known as: Legend of the Monkey King / Journey to the West / 新美猴王传奇 / 猴王传奇 / 西方西游记 IMDb: tt6807662 Type: Reimanging

Summary:

The Monkey King was imprisoned under a mountain 500 years ago by his enemies in Heaven. Five hundred years later, the Earthly realm is overrun, and its humans oppressed, by demons. The gods and immortals are in hiding or oppressed by demons as well. A scholar secretly concocts a plan to bring together a few warriors and a monk, named Tripitaka, to undertake a quest to resurrect the Monkey King and find the Heavenly scrolls that were stolen by Monkey 500 years ago and hidden away secretly on earth. Anyone who finds the scrolls would gain unlimited power. However, the night the group is about to start on their quest, a demon attacks the scholar's home and kills everyone inside except for the scholar's adopted daughter, taking the golden crown necessary to revive the Monkey King. In his last moments, the scholar entrusts his daughter with the quest. She takes on the identity of Tripitaka and ventures out into the world, narrowly escaping death herself.

In a town she gives charity to a monk and ends up forced to work for a tavern owner, thus gaining a job and a room to sleep in. When the same demon that killed her adoptive father shows up, she secretly steals the magical crown and makes a run for it. When demons begin searching the town for her and the magic crown, she is disguised as a monk by the same monk she helped and successfully makes her way out of the city. In an opening along the side of a mountain, she finds the stony visage of the Monkey King's face, and puts the crown on his head. Finally, the Monkey King is free but he soon discovers that the crown is repressing most of his godly abilities. The pair return to the town and join up with Pigsy and Sandy, who are also gods, and the four of them begin their quest of finding the lost scrolls and gaining enough power to overthrow all the demons.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_New_Legends_of_Monkey

Link: https://bflix.sx/tv/watch-the-new-legends-of-monkey-36307

[sardonic-the-writer]

Hai! I was wondering if you take requests for Lalo? If you do I was thinking a Lalo x reader x Saul 👀 in the situation where Saul went out to the desert and Lalo met Kim for the first time surprised that Saul could pull someone like her. In this case Lalo gets to intervene with the reader? 😈

i kept this gender neutral since i didn't see myself being able to write feminine reader right now. sorry! hope you still like it :]

You weren't supposed to be here.

You weren't supposed to be imitating a lawyer on the case of Jorge De Guzman. You weren't supposed to be in this chair right now, leg nervously bouncing subconsciously.

You especially weren't supposed to be talking to Lalo Salamanca.

He hadn't said a word since the guard had brought him in. Only eyeballing you as he sat down with a gaze you couldn't read even if you wanted. Really, the only audible sound that had been made was the sound of the heavy metal door locking shut from behind the two of you.

It made you nervous. This whole situation made you nervous. You hadn't seen Jimmy for the past two days, and all you had to go on was a name.

Eduardo Salamanca.

Just hearing about him from Jimmy made you grit your teeth with nerves. You weren't into law like he was, instead opting for a much different profession, but you were pretty sure being offered to pick up seven million in cash for someone currently lying his ass off to get out of jail wasn't typical client/lawyer behavior.

"Uh. Hi."

He just kept staring at you. Expression unmoving.

"So, er, I'm not a lawyer. If you couldn't already tell." You tapped your fingers against your opposite arm in a way to comfort yourself. Something that Lalo picked up on and stored away for later. Not that you would notice his flitting gaze.

"I just want to know where you sent Jimmy. Saul. Mr. McGill. Whoever you know him as."

His eyes were one of the most beautiful things you had ever seen. Jimmy's was a cool blue, often reminding you of the calm sea crashing against a sandy shore. You swore you felt like you were drowning every time you looked into them. But Lalo's were much different. Striking. A deep brown, with a few flecks of what could only be described as a honey like color in them. They were as enticing as anything you had ever seen before, while still reminding you of the situation you were in.

"I have no knowledge of what you speak of."

God, even his voice was soft with a bit of bite to it.

You swallowed uncomfortably.

"Please, excuse my french, but cut the bullshit. I know who you are. Really are. Certantly not some 'De Guzman'." Your fingers formed quotes in the air at the last part. Albeit a bit shaken. "I just want to know where you sent my Jimmy. I don't have any other boons to crave with you."

Lalo clenched his jaw. If Saul—er, Jimmy—had been in the room with them at that moment, the lawyer would have a new hole smack dab in the middle of his forhead to spit gum from. Who was he to share that information with some random person? For all Lalo knew you had been picked up randomly off the streets to come and deliver this message.

But he restrained himself. That hypothetical situation didn't seem likely the longer he sat with you. You were already visibly uncomfortable. No need to increase that. It gained him nothing. Besides, it was something else you said that had caught his rapt attention.

"Your Jimmy." Lalo leaned forward, one eyebrow higher on his face than the other with curiosity. He placed his elbows firmly on the table and rested his chin on the top of his folded hands. It wasn't a question—it was a statement. Repeating your own words back for you.

"Did I say that?" You stumbled through your words now. "I mean, I wouldn't nessicarily say he's my Jimmy. I mean, he's everyone's Jimmy. Howard's, Kim's, that guy from the coffee shop—"

Words died in your throat as you realized the man across from you was no longer listening. Instead he had leaned back a significant amount, clearly getting comfortable, in his own goddamn handcuffs, as he laughed.

"Wow! Just wow. He managed to pull you?" A bright smile had since overtaken his face, as well as a hearty chuckle every now and then. "¡Querido Dios! No pensé que tuviera la capacidad de ir tras tal belleza. Moi bein."

With a clearing of your throat you brought his baby browns snapping back to your face. Not the best feeling if you were being honest.

"I feel like I'm missing something here."

"Ah. You wouldn't get it." He waved you off still smiling. It reminded you of the way you would be excluded from a group of your so called friends back in your school days, clearly being the outsider out of all of them amongst inside jokes and playful banter. You pushed that away, not eager to imagine Lalo as a pimple faced teenager mocking you. You couldn't decide if that would make him scarier or not at this point.

"Oh-kay then." Your voice drew each syllable out unnaturally. Lalo started to drift again, seemingly losing motivation in this conversation. He was interested in whether you would scramble to keep his attention or not. How much you really cared for Saul slash Jimmy. He wasn't disappointed when you quickly picked up your speech again.

"Listen I don't really think you or I want me to be here right now. So if you could just tell me where Jimmy is I'll go and it'll be like this never happened. I swear. Besides me and you—" Your hands gestured back and forth over the metal table, pointing to each of you individually. "—can legally keep this a secret without getting in trouble. On account of, uh, law stuff."

Lalo wanted to laugh. It was amusing to him, this whole situation. Clearly you were someone of interest in his play now. Just another card in the deck he had happened to be delt. And an interesting one too if his assumption about that ring on your finger was right. Which was something you had probably forgotten to remove before coming to visit him. The idea of you being in his line of work crossed his mind before it was shattered with a chuckle. You wouldn't last a day.

"Alright. I'll tell you where he is."

You brightened.

"Right after I get my seven million."

And there it was.

"I can't do that, you sent Jimmy to get it." He watched as you grew more upset, just shrugging with an unbothered smile in response. Your expression didn't change in the slightest even as he offered a shrug of his shoulders and a chippy apology.

"Hey! We're done!" That was all Lalo responded to your distress with, standing up and stretching as much as he could. Words of urgency attacked him from behind as he wandered over to the door and rapped on it. But Lalo couldn't be bothered. You were now a card in his hand, yes, but he would have to set you aside for another time.

"Hey. Listen." He turned around as the guard who had escorted him there opened the large large door, facing you. "I'm sure he'll come back. He's got a mouth on him after all. Managed to escape my cousins wrath, and that's a talent on its own." Handcuffs clicked loudly as they were succumbed around his wrists. Lalo temporarily stopped facing you to look over at the guard, telling him to ease up in spanish.

"But. On the off chance the guy doesn't turn up, feel free to call me anytime azúcar."

A wink was just barely tossed your way before Lalo was gone. The only evidence he had even been in the room a strong smell of cologne and pepper. You thought for a minute about how he manged to smell like that while rotting in jail but quickly shook your head to rid yourself of the thought.

That certantly wasn't how you thought today would go. But based on the flush in your cheeks and dryness of your mouth, you didn't have room to complain.

[my-deer-history]

Francis Kinloch in the Müller-Bonstetten letters (and others): Part 5

More translations, taken from various sources (here, here, here and here). The letters are to Bonstetten unless otherwise noted. Biographical details sourced from Kinloch of South Carolina.

13 May 1780

Because of Mr Kinloch, I am filled with joy and dread. Dread, because his city has been besieged by 10,000 men with a great deal of artillery; joy, because he has married a very amiable and wealthy woman*. I receive regular letters from his brother; his own are often lost due to the perils of war.

*Kinloch’s first wife was Mildred Walker, though it seems they were only married on 22 Feb 1781. She died in Nov 1784.

9 Sept 1780

Kinloch, after having performed bravely in various engagements, was wounded in the arm, whereupon South Carolina unanimously elected him as a delegate to the Continental Congress; he sits with his colleagues in Philadelphia, not very peacefully, I think.

11 Aug 1781

I spent two days sorting more than 500 letters that came from Geneva along with my books. Memories of Kinloch, Nassau, Bonnet, Tronchin, Boone, Knight, Sandys, Abbot sweetened the work

7 Dec 1782, to his mother

I have largely been happy with my life up until now: but almost never on the path that I intended to take. Twelve years ago, I wished to marry*, and to live in Schaffhausen on a few professorships; I then had various plans for England and Flanders; at one point, the greatest and best thing seemed to me to witness the blossoming and progress of a new free country with Kinloch, and the serve a free people in war and peace;

*Original annotation: The desire lasted only a few days.

January 1784

It is neither my place to compare myself with such writers nor to scorn what God has given me: but after almost losing many years of my early youth, the 33rd [year] is finally here, but in an occupation to which I was not suited, the 24th and 25th I spent with Kinloch, leaving me little time for my own studies of friendship and duty

9 Aug 1786

Nothing else has changed in my household, except that Mr Boone, Kinloch’s former guardian and governor of South Carolina, has sent his son here, and he is living with me; he does not take up any of my time, as I only see him at mealtimes; he is an amiable officer, who was also very popular at Aschaffenburg.*

*A town in Bavaria.

20 Feb 1801

In my letter writing, I had to ensure that there was also a reply to Kinloch in South Carolina. Do you remember the noble youth? Now he is a grandfather;* he lives happily besides and I have just read an excellent essay of his about the character of the revolution.**

*Kinloch’s daughter, Eliza Kinloch Nelson, gave birth to a son called Francis in 1800.

**From context, the French rather than American revolution. 

7 Jan 1803

Not enjoyable, as you can see, but rather tender in its sufferings and joys was the transition into my 52nd year. On that birthday I wrote to South Carolina, responding to two of Kinloch’s letters, full of spirit and love.

22 Oct 1803

I already wrote to you that Kinloch has arrived in Bordeaux and will soon be in Geneva; he wrote to me at once in such a brotherly way, rejoiced at the long-awaited reunion, and for a few days took me back to the charming dreams of my youth! I answered him immediately; we shall see each other in the coming year. If nothing unusual happens, I can easily get a few months' leave; should it not be possible from this or that perspective, then the one who has crossed the ocean and all of France will also make these 60 posts himself. 

25 Jan 1804

Write to me in Dresden at once. If the world quietens, or at least does not continue to burn, I hope to visit you and Kinloch in the summer.

18 June 1804

To Geneva, first, came the most beautiful letters from Berlin, gracious, joyful, inducing longing. Then Kinloch’s embrace! he is as he was; slightly fatter; his heart noble, as before; a husband, like you; a caring father; a faithful brother; a morally perfect person.

13 May 1780

Ich bin wegen Hrn. Kinloch in großer Freude und Furcht. In Furcht, weil seine Stadt von 10,000 Mann mit vieler Artillerie belagert wird; in Freude, weil er eine sehr liebenswürdige und reiche Frau geheirathet hat. Von seinem Bruder bekomme ich öftere Briefe; die seinigen gehen durch die Kriegsgefahren häufig verlohren.

9 Sept 1780

Kinloch, nachdem er sich in verschiedenen Treffen tapfer gehalten, ist am Arm verwundet worden, worauf Südcarolina ihn einmüthig zum Deputirten auf den Generalcongreß erwählt hat; er sitzt mit seinen Collegen zu Philadelphia, nicht eben ruhig, denke ich.

11 Aug 1781

Zwei Tage sind mir über der Anordnung von mehr als 500 Briefen, die nebst meinen Büchern aus Genf gekommen sind, verflossen. Manche Erinnerung an Kinloch, Nassau, Bonnet, Tronchin, Boone, Knight, Sandys, Abbot, versüßte die Arbeit

7 Dec 1782, to his mother

Ich bin in meinem Leben bis dahin meist glücklich gewesen: fast nie aber auf dem Weg, den ich gehen wollte. Vor zwölf Jahren wünschte ich zu heirathen*, und mit ein Paar Professorstellen zu Schaffhausen zu leben; ich hatte nachmals auf England und Flandern verschiedene Plane; einst schien mir das größte und beste, mit Kinloch dem Aufblühen und Fortgang eines neuen Freistaates beizuwohnen, und im Krieg und Frieden einem freien Volk zu dienen;

*Der Wunsch dauerte nur wenige Tage.

January 1784

Es kömmt weder mir zu, mich solchen Schriftstellern zu vergleichen oder zu verachten, was Gott auch mir gegeben: aber nachdem ich viele Jahre der ersten Jugend fast verloren, das 33ste endlich hier, aber in einer Beschäftigung, für die ich nicht war, das 24ste und 25ste mit Kinloch, so daß mir für eigene Studien von Freundschaft und Pflicht wenige Zeit gelassen wurde

9 Aug 1786

In meinem Hauswesen hat sich weiter nichts verändert, als daß Hr. Boone, Kinloch's ehmaliger Vormund, und von Südcarolina Gouverneur, seinen Sohn' hieher gesandt, welcher bei mir wohnt; Zeit kostet er mir keine, da ich nur bei Tafel ihn sehe; er ist ein liebenswürdiger Officier, der auch zu Aschaffenburg sehr wohl gefallen.

20 Feb 1801

Von meiner Briefschreibung muß ich nachholen, daß auch nach Südcarolina an Kinloch eine Antwort dabei war. Erinnerst du dich des edlen Jünglings? Nun ist er Großvater; lebt übrigens glücklich und ich habe so eben einen vortrefflichen Aufsatz über den Charakter der Revolution von ihm gelesen. 

7 Jan 1803

Nicht lustig war, wie du siehst, aber zärtlich in Leiden und Freuden der Uebergang in mein 52stes Jahr. An dem Geburtstag wurde nach Südcarolina geschrieben, auf zwei Briefe Kinloch's voll Geist und Liebe.

22 Oct 1803

Schrieb ich dir schon, daß Kinloch zu Bordeaux angekommen ist und nun zu Genf seyn wird; wie brüderlich er mir sogleich schrieb, des lang ersehnten Wiedersehens frohlockte, und für einige Tage mich ganz in der Jugend holde Trăume zurück versehte! Ich habe ihm sogleich geantwortet; sehen werden wir uns im zukünftigen Jahr. Wenn nichts besonderes eintritt, so kann ich Urlaub auf ein paar Monate leicht erhalten; sollte es aus der oder der Betrachtung nicht seyn können, so wird der über das Weltmeer und ganz Frankreich Hergekommene auch diese 60 Posten selbst noch machen. 

25 Jan 1804

Nach Dresden schreibe mir sogleich. Wenn die Welt ruhig, oder doch nicht weiterhin entflammt wird, so hoffe ich auf den Sommer Euch und Kinloch zu besuchen.

18 June 1804

Zu Genf erstlich die schönsten Briefe von Berlin, gnädig, freudevoll, sehnsuchterregend. Dann Kinloch's Umarmung! er ist, wie er war; etwas fetter; sein Herz edel, wie vorhin; ein Gatte, wie du; ein sorgsamer Vater; ein treuer Bruder; ein moralisch vollkommener Mensch. 

[animalcrossingshowdown]

Round 1 results:

These are the round 1 results for both most and least popular villager. The winners of this round will continue on to most popular, the losers go onto least popular. Remember, just because a villager lost, doesn't mean they're generally disliked! They may have just gotten stuck with a heavy hitter round 1.

Biggest sweeps (85% and over):

Woolio 96.4% / Yodel 3.6%

Lily 95.4% / Limberg 4.6%

Lucky 93.4% / Lucha 6.6%

Sherb 92.7% / Shinabiru 7.3%

Henry 92.1% / Hippeux 7.9%

Cephalobot 91.6% / Cesar 8.4%

Lopez 91.5% / Louie 8.5%

Shep 90.9% / Sheldon 9.1%

Butch 90% / Buzz 10%

Chief 89.9% / Chico 10.1%

Bea 89.5% / Barold 10.5%

Bow 89.3% / Boyd 10.7%

Rio 89.2% / Rizzo 10.8%

Tangy 88.9% / Tank 11.1%

Skye 88.7% / Simon 11.3%

Shino 88.6% / Shoukichi 11.4%

Cleo 88.3% / Clyde 11.7%

Petri 88.1% / Petunia 11.9%

Ankha 87.6% / Anicotti 12.4%

Vivian 87.6% / Vladimir 12.4%

Rolf 86.1% / Rodney 13.9%

Molly 85.7% / Monique 14.3%

Diana 85.4% / Diva 14.6%

Portia 85.4% / Prince 14.6%

Closest matches (55% and under):

Camofrog 55% / Cally 45%

Cube 54.6% / Cranston 45.4%

Curlos 54.6% / Cupcake 45.4%

Frobert 54.6% / Fruity 45.4%

Anchovy 54.4% / Angus 45.6%

Wade 55.4% / W Link 45.6%

Bella 54.2% / Becky 45.8%

Jane 54.1% / Jambette 45.9%

Annabelle 53.8% / Analog 46.2%

Drift 53.8% / Drake 46.2%

Rooney 53.8% / Rollo 46.2%

Spike 53.8% / Sparro 46.2%

Alice 53.3% / Alfonso 46.7%

Billy 52.9% / Bill 47.1%

Grizzly 52.7% / Groucho 47.3%

T-Bone 52.7% / Sylvia 47.3%

Eunice 52.3% / Eugene 47.7%

Nate 52.3% / Nibbles 47.7%

Melba 52.2% / Meow 47.8%

Big Top 52% / Biff 48%

Erik 51.8% / Étoile 48.2%

Bettina 51.4% / Bessie 48.6%

Hornsby 51.4% / Hopper 48.6%

Mint 51.4% / Midge 48.6%

Scoot 51.2% / Shari 48.8%

Ed 50.7% / Egbert 49.3%

Frita 50.7% / Friga 49.3%

Samson 50.7% / Sandy 49.3%

Clay 50.5% / Claudia 49.5%

Koharu 50.5% / Kody 49.5%

Pinky 50.2% / Piper 49.8%

Julia 50.1% / Judy 49.9% <- (look at this shit)

Middle of the pack:

Punchy 84.9% / Pudge 15.1%

Curt 84.7% / Curly 15.3%

Muffy 84.6% / Mott 15.4%

Biskit 84.1% / Bitty 15.9%

Daisy 84% / Deena 16%

Kyle 84% / Leigh 16%

Coco 83.5% / Cole 16.5%

Roscoe 82.9% / Rory 17.1%

Stitches 82.9% / Stinky 17.1%

Mitzi 82.8% / Moe 17.2%

Vesta 82.2% / Velma 17.8%

Monty 82.1% / Moose 17.9%

Gladys 81.7% / Gigi 18.3%

Opal 81.7% / Otis 18.3%

Hazel 81.6% / Hector 18.4%

Purrl 81.4% / Queenie 18.6%

Tia 81% / Tiansheng 19%

Ione 80.8% / Inkwell 19.2%

Roald 80.8% / Robin 19.2%

Flora 80.7% / Flossie 19.3%

Chrissy 80.6% / Chuck 19.4%

Ketchup 80.2% / Kevin 19.8%

Kiki 79.8% / Kit 20.2%

Sunny 79.6% / Sven 20.4%

Lulu (anteater) 79.5% / Lulu (hippo) 20.5%

Poppy 79.5% / Poncho 20.5%

Bruce 79.2% / Broffina 20.8%

Hans 79.1% / Harry 20.9%

Gayle 78.9% / Gaston 21.1%

Pashmina 78.8% / Pate 21.2%

Bunnie 78.6% / Bud 21.4%

Beau 78.5% / Beardo 21.5%

Ace 78.3% / Admiral 21.7%

Marty 78.2% / Masa 21.8%

Gwen 78.1% / Gruff 21.9%

Dotty 77.9% / Dora 22.1%

Pekoe 77.8% / Peggy 22.2%

Aisle 77.5% / Al 22.5%

Goldie 77.5% / Gloria 22.5%

Elina 77.2% / Elise 22.8%

Maple 77% / Marcel 23%

Lolly 76.5% / Lobo 23.5%

Pierce 76.3% / Pigleg 23.7%

Phoebe 76.2% / Phil 23.8%

Tiffany 76% / Tiara 24%

Fauna 75.9% / Felicity 24.1%

Carmen (rabbit) 75.6% / Carmen (mouse) 24.4%

Ruby 75.6% / Rowan 24.4%

Fang 75.4% / Faith 24.6%

Papi 75.3% / Paolo 24.7%

Hopkins 75.2% / Holden 24.8%

random break at the 75% mark because apparently there is a character limit for blocks of text

Boomer 74.8% / Boone 25.2%

Fuchsia 74.8% / Gabi 25.2%

Rosie 74.6% / Roswell 25.4%

Eloise 74.5% / Elvis 25.5%

Freya 74.4% / Frett 25.3%

Ozzie 74% / Oxford 26%

Chevre 73.9% / Chester 26.1%

Victoria 73.8% / Violet 26.2%

Stella 73.7% / Sterling 26.3%

Drago 73.6% / Dozer 26.4%

Maggie 73.2% / Mallary 26.8%

Gala 72.7% / Ganon 27.3%

Bianca 72.5% / Betty 27.5%

Belle 71.8% / Benedict 28.2%

Patty 71.8% / Patricia 28.2%

Bones 71.6% / Bonbon 28.4%

Merengue 71.5% / Merry 28.5%

Bam 71.4% / Bangle 28.6%

Hamphrey 71.4% / Hank 28.6%

Dom 71.3% / Doc 28.7%

Tammy 71.1% / Tammi 28.9%

Marcie 70.8% / Marcy 29.2%

Genji 70.7% / Gen 29.3%

Zell 70.3% / Yuka 29.7%

Cousteau 70.1% / Croque 29.9%

Teddy 70.1% / Tex 29.9%

Marina 69.7% / Margie 30.3%

Ribbot 69.7% / Rhonda 30.3%

Ellie 69.5% / Elmer 30.5%

Baabara 69.3% / Aziz 30.7%

Carrot 69.3% / Cashmere 30.7%

Claude 69.3% / Clara 30.7%

Peck 69.3% / Peewee 30.7%

Wolfgang 69.1% / Winnie 30.9%

Tucker 69% / Truffles 31%

Norma 68.9% / Nindori 31.1%

Jeremiah 68.8% / Jay 31.2%

Tutu 68.1% / Twiggy 31.9%

Flash 68.3% / Filly 31.7%

Rocco 68.3% / Rocket 31.7%

Sprinkle 68.3% / Spork/Crackle 31.7%

Zucker 68.3% / Zoe 31.7%

Ursala 67.9% / Valise 32.1%

Amelia 67.8% / Alli 32.2%

Deli 67.8% / Derwin 32.2%

Chelsea 67.6% / Charlise 32.4%

Boots 67.3% / Boris 32.7%

Cherry 67.1% / Cherri 32.9%

Cookie 67% / Colton 33%

Peaches 66.9% / Paula 33.1%

Sasha 66.9% / Savannah 33.1%

Flo 66.7% / Flip 33.3%

Freckles 66.7% / Frank 33.3%

Tom 66.5% / Toby 33.5%

Bob 66.1% / Bluebear 33.9%

Azalea 65.9% / Axel 34.1%

Caroline 65.8% / Carrie 34.2%

Tybalt 65.8% / Twirp 34.2%

Tad 65.5% / Tabby 34.5%

Agnes 65.4% / Agent S 34.6%

Cobb 65.4% / Coach 34.6%

Octavian 65.4% / Olaf 34.6%

Reneigh 65.4% / Renée 34.6%

Chow 65.2% / Chops 34.8%

Rudy 65.2% / Sally 34.8%

Maddie 64.9% / Maelle 35.1%

Chai 64.8% / Champ 35.2%

Olivia 64.8% / Olive 35.2%

Pippy 64.8% / Plucky 35.2%

Celia 64.7% / Cece 35.3%

Wendy 64.7% / Weldon 35.3%

Pango 64.6% / Pancetti 35.4%

Joe 64.5% / Jitters 35.5%

Puddles 64.3% / Puck 35.7%

Felyne 64% / Filbert 36%

Snake 64% / Sly 36%

Kid Cat 63.9% / Kidd 36.1%

Jacques 63.8% / Jacob 36.2%

Chabwick 63.6% / Chadder 36.4%

Bree 63.5% / Broccolo 36.5%

Sylvana 63.3% / Sydney 36.7%

Tipper 63% / Timbra 37%

Static 62.9% / Sprocket 37.1%

Marshal 62.8% / Marlo 37.2%

Annalisa 62.7% / Annalise 37.3%

Quetzal 62.4% / Quillson 37.6%

Nosegay 62.3% / O'Hare 37.7%

Ken 61.9% / Keaton 38.1%

Nan 61.9% / Murphy 38.1%

Tasha 61.9% / Tarou 38.1%

Rilla 61.5% / Ricky 38.5%

Julian 61.4% / June 38.6%

Knox 61.1% / Klaus 38.9%

Pecan 61.1% / Peanut 38.9%

Deirdre 60.9% / Del 39.1%

Whitney 60.6% / Willow 39.4%

Webber 60.5% / Wart Jr. 39.5%

Greeta 60.4% / Graham 39.6%

Cyd 60.4% / Cyrano 39.6%

Blanche 60.2% / Blaire 39.8%

Hugh 59.8% / Iggly 40.2%

Bertha 59.5% / Benjamin 40.5%

Dobie 59.5% / Dizzy 40.5%

Viché 59.4% / Vic 40.6%

Rex 59.2% / Rhoda 40.8%

Mac 58.9% / Madam Rosa 41.1%

Audie 58.8% / Aurora 41.2%

Apple 58.7% / Astrid 41.3%

Raymond 58.7% / Rasher 41.3%

Pietro 58.5% / Pierre 41.5%

Joey 58.3% / Jūbei 41.7%

Mathilda 58.3% / Medli 41.7%

Hamlet 58.2% / Hambo 41.8%

Bubbles 58.1% / Buck 41.9%

Penny 57.7% / Penelope 42.3%

Avery 57.5% / Ava 42.5%

Lucy 57.5% / Lyman 42.5%

Flurry 57.4% / Francine 42.6%

Kitty 57.4% / Kitt 42.6%

Huggy 57.3% / Huck 42.7%

Epona 57.2% / Emerald 42.8%

Stu 57.1% / Sue E 42.9%

Rodeo 56.9% / Rod 43.1%

Soleil 56.8% / Snooty 43.2%

Canberra 56.7% / Candi 43.3%

Kabuki 56.7% / Katt 43.3%

Walker 56.7% / Walt 43.3%

Apollo 56.4% / Antonio 43.6%

Leopold 56.4% / Leonardo 43.6%

Iggy 56.2% / Ike 43.8%

Miranda 56.2% / Mira 43.8%

Poko 56.1% / Pompom 43.9%

Raddle 56% / Quinn 44%

Megumi 55.9% / Megan 44.1%

Lionel 55.1% / Liz 44.9%

Nana 55.1% / Naomi 44.9%

[alwayslosingtheplot-blog]

Make a World with me Part 8

Part 1, 2, 3, 3.5, 4, 5, 6, 7

I think after I hit Part 10 I might make an index post and just update that inside of linking each part on each post.

Thanks to @conalnghing and @lilidkwhatimdoing for inspirations.

Back to the islands! Decided to name all the provinces here after types of lilies because that's how I roll.

Crinaeae

DO NOT APPROACH Crinaeae from the West.

The colossal coral reef that spreads out from the island towards the sea seemed at first like a boon to those who wished to settle here. It's huge size and spread housed thousands of species of fish and sharks that were too small to pose any real danger to a large group (although even those first travels were cautious of the venoms and poisons that might be present). The larger, more dangerous creatures of the sea could not come near the island, as the could not fit amongst the pathways and tunnels that the coral made.

One of the newer settlements, only 80 years has passed since people first came to the island. Not that many hadn't tried to land there before that. Most of these boats tried to land on the sandy inlets on the West of the island and were sank or stranded by the hidden coral, blue and grey and glass-like species under the waves along with the bright oranges and pinks.

It was only after a group of travels, mainly from Alseid, were trapped in a storm that blew them to the South of the island (where they quickly had to make land while in the eye of this storm) that a safe way to the island was discovered.

They quickly discovered the dangers of the reef. While it provided a plethora of food and other resources, some of the species of marine life were more dangerous than anything seen elsewhere. There are settlements near the reef, mostly researchers and brave souls who dive out in the reef to explore and catalogue the things that live there. There are also Reliefers, which will be discussed in detail further down.

Some of the things there are wonderous, and extremely valuable. Others could be used as weapons, or as additions to weapons to make them even more dangerous - such as spines from certain fish attached to blade tips and the thin trailing tentacles of smaller jellyfish wrapped (carefully, with thick gloves) around the top of a staff.

There has only ever been one successful raid on Crinaeae, and it was led by a former resident that had been banished. They discovered another safe place to land to the Northeast and had destroyed eight small settlements with their knowledge of the defences used by the villages before being killed by their own son. The son is now the leader of the Northern Province. Banishment is no longer an option for punishment in Crinaeae, being replaced with the death penalty.

There are no real named settlements in Crinaeae, most groups of people being far too small and numerous. Instead the island, which has hundreds of small springs that form into one solid river, are divided into five provinces. All of these provinces are run by councils like in Alseid, although unlike Alseid there is no need to be from a heroic family history. Instead there is a complete vote every five years (under an agreement with Alseid that this will be reconsidered as people begin to make a name for themselves).

The Western Province, Amabile, is where people are attempting to farm. So far, very little seems to grow well on the sandy soil of Crinaeae, but efforts continue. Most of the food comes from fishing, and birding. Most animals native to the island are quite tiny in comparison to most places in the world, almost none coming above the knee. The natives have discovered a type of turtle which lays often, much in the same way as chickens, and are trying to find the best ways to sustainably keep the creatures. There are also some boar-like creatures that they may start to domesticate.

The Southern Province is called Lily. It is the oldest and greatest province of the island. This is where almost all trade from outside the island comes. Most food here comes from trade, although there is some gardens and farms being attempted on the roofs of the wide buildings here. While all of the provinces are separate and self-governed, Lily is the one with the most power and influence.

The inland province, Ciliatum, has hardly any people. It doesn't often rain in this part of Crinaeae, with most rain falling on the coasts before coming inland. A few orchards are doing well around some of the many underground springs, but it is not enough to sustain many people living here all of the time. Most residents of this province will spent the summer on other parts of the island, doing seasonal work and saving money to go home from the autumn. Cider is the main export.

The Northern Province, Nanum, is beginning to rival Lily in terms of power and wealth. They have successfully managed to negotiate trade deals with some other nations, although some argue that they are not following Alseid traditions and cultural expectations. This is not surprising, given that this is where most settlers from elsewhere decided to settle.

In contrast, the Eastern Province, Auratum, is tiny. It only has a few dozen settlements with most staying as far inland and away from the reef as they can. There are two settlement at the coast, studying and mining the reef for resources.

All of Crinaeae follow a similar training tradition with their children as Alseid, although they are not sent to a city. Those with the most promise are returned to Alseid to join their forces after finishing training. They are not given a choice. This is causing a lot of resentment towards the mainland from those born on the island, who see it as stealing their best. Others train for defence as well, but most of their training is focused on what Crinaeaens consider to be the true enemy, the reef itself.

At the end of their training, they will all complete a dive at the reef. Most of them will never venture near it again. Others will become forgers for the weapon smiths or maybe researchers. Only a very few become Reliefers.

A sign language has developed here, which is taught to every child, so that people can have complete conversations underwater. Many people are missing limbs because the most effective and life saving way to treat certain stings and bites is to remove as much as you can closest to the wound. Knowledge of the written word are falling off on this island, which is causing some concerns.

Along with the many dangerous species of animal that inhabit the reef, the coral itself can be deadly. There are many that should never be touched with bare skin, and a type that grows in the shape of a hole, growing large enough for a man to swim in, mistaking it for a tunnel. Inside the 'hole' are many growths that look like fish and clams. Once someone enters, a net-like mouth closes over the hole and whatever has been lured in is devoured. This net-like structure is easy to cut from the outside, but it tougher and harder on the inside. For this reason is it forbidden to dive alone.

This is not the most dangerous coral of the reef. The title belongs to the Glass Coral. Almost invisible in the sea water, this coral sticks to whatever it attaches to. If that is an animal, it then begins to burrow into the creature slowly and uses the digestive track of that creature to gather more nutrients for itself. Victims are frozen, mouth open and snapping at anything that passes, as the coral devourers them - a process that can take weeks. It is unknown whether the person remains lucid during this time.

Cutting the sticking part away from the victims main body has some success but sometimes the coral continues to grow inside the body, and there have been instances where entire families have been lost to someone who had been 'saved'.

Which is why Reliefers exist. Before every dive team required a Reliefer. Their job is simple. If someone gets touched by Glass Coral, they kill them. However, there are now more dive teams than there are Reliefers.

A certain star fish has been found that eats Glass Coral, and a certain dye brings colour to the transparent branches for a few weeks. However, both are rare. The starfish only seems to be in one small section of the reef, that is hard to access, and return there after a few months of eating the Glass Coral. The dye is from a plant that only grows on Anthousai and has to be traded in, growing more expensive all the time. Efforts are being made to try cultivate both.

These are not going well.

______________________________

Things are a bit hectic here at the moment so there will probably be a slow down on how often I can post these for the next bit.

[maximiliano-aedo]

What could've been Animaze ..iNC during the 2010s

Talent pool (Note: any voice actor marked with * is union-only):

Steve Blum*

Mary Elizabeth McGlynn*

Crispin Freeman*

Kari Wahlgren*

Johnny Yong Bosch

Yuri Lowenthal*

Dave Wittenberg*

Roger Craig Smith*

Laura Bailey*

Travis Willingham*

Cherami Leigh

J.B. Blanc*

Sam Riegel*

Liam O'Brien*

Amy Kincaid*

Troy Baker*

Matthew Mercer

Joe Romersa*

Fleet Cooper*

Dyanne DiRosario*

Jennifer Love Hewitt*

Brian Hallisay*

Spike Spencer

Amanda Winn Lee*

Jaxon Lee*

Kyle Hebert

Ben Pronsky

Bob Buchholz

Richard Cansino

Murphy Dunne*

Carolyn Hennesy*

Jerry Gelb*

Adam Sholder

Ezra Weisz

Cristina Vee

Bryce Papenbrook

Michael Sorich

Richard Epcar

Ellyn Stern

Tony Oliver

Kirk Thornton

Lexi Ainsworth*

Aria Noelle Curzon

Grace Caroline Currey*

Michael Forest

Erik Davies

Adam Bobrow

Joshua Seth

Junie Hoang*

Kirk Baily*

Tom Fahn

Jonathan Fahn

Dorothy Elias-Fahn

Melissa Fahn

Stephen Apostolina*

René Rivera*

Deborah Sale Butler

Kevin Brief

Michael Gregory*

Riva Spier*

Cassandra Morris

Erica Mendez

Erika Harlacher

Erica Lindbeck

Marieve Herington

Kira Buckland

John Rubinstein*

Kim Matula*

Brittany Lauda

J. Grant Albrecht*

Michael McConnohie

Steve Bulen*

Dan Woren

Derek Stephen Prince

Wendee Lee

Edie Mirman

Jason C. Miller

Taliesin Jaffe*

John Snyder

Robbie Daymond

Ray Chase

Kaiji Tang

David Vincent

Christina Carlisi*

Christopher Corey Smith

Cindy Robinson

Rachel Robinson

Jessica Boone

Lauren Landa

Megan Hollingshead

Jalen K. Cassell

Doug Erholtz

Michelle Ruff

Gregory Cruz*

John Bishop*

Matt Kirkwood*

Lara Jill Miller*

Carol Stanzione

Steve Staley

Dave Mallow

Mona Marshall*

Darrel Guilbeau

Robert Martin Klein

Robert Axelrod

William Frederick Knight

Lex Lang

Sandy Fox

Joey Camen*

Randy McPherson*

Jad Mager

Richard Miro

Milton James

Anthony Pulcini

Douglas Rye

Patrick Seitz

Keith Silverstein

Jamieson Price

Skip Stellrecht*

Stoney Emshwiller*

G.K. Bowes

Alyss Henderson

Patricia Ja Lee

Peggy O'Neal

Carrie Savage

Melodee Spevack

Jennifer Alyx

Julie Ann Taylor

Sherry Lynn

Brad Venable

Christine Marie Cabanos

Greg Chun

LaGloria Scott

Steve Kramer

Melora Harte

Rebecca Forstadt*

Kyle McCarley

Mela Lee

Karen Strassman

Faye Mata

Laura Post

Kayla Carlyle*

Brina Palencia

Connor Gibbs

Brianne Siddall*

Barbara Goodson

Loy Edge

Jay Lerner

Jennie Kwan

Max Mittelman

Jessica Straus*

Alexis Tipton

Fryda Wolff

Michele Specht

J.D. Garfield

Debra Jean Rogers*

Julie Maddalena

Carrie Keranen

Tara Sands

Matthew Hustin

Cody MacKenzie

Bridget Hoffman*

Colleen O'Shaughnessey

Grant George

Jessica Gee

Jeff Nimoy*

Peter Lurie*

Brian Beacock

Paul St. Peter

Chris Jai Alex

Dan Lorge*

Ewan Chung*

Steve Cassling*

Philece Sampler

Stephanie Sheh

Sam Fontana

Ben Diskin

Juliana Donald*

Michael O'Keefe*

Christina Gallegos*

Tara Platt

Keith Anthony*

Beau Billingslea

David Lodge*

Kim Strauss

Eddie Jones*

William Bassett*

Kim Mai Guest*

Caitlin Glass

Hannah Alcorn

Ron Roggé*

Camille Chen*

Ethan Rains*

Yutaka Maseba*

Joe J. Thomas

Michael Sinterniklaas

Erin Fitzgerald

Joe Ochman

Marc Diraison

Xanthe Huynh

Brianna Knickerbocker

Dean Wein*

Michael McCarty*

[nightingaelic]

Could you do companions reactions to a erewolf couriour

Awoooooooo, happy spooky month

TW: Blood

When the dust-up over Hoover Dam ended and New Vegas had settled into something resembling order, the courier booked themselves an appointment at Doctor Usanagi's clinic with a very clear set of instructions. Followers of the Apocalypse volunteers reported later that they had overheard them arguing with the doctor, telling her that they didn't care about the risks of the surgery, they wanted something "gone from their head." Of course, no one thought much of it until both the doctor and the courier turned up missing the next morning, leaving behind an impressive amount of blood, a brand-new hole in the clinic wall, and a note from Usanagi saying she was going back to the Boneyard immediately and not to come looking for her.

For three days the courier was gone, and New Vegas couldn't help speculating about what happened to them. Murdered by disgruntled Legionaries, or NCR Rangers, or Brotherhood Knights. Botched operation, and the doctor had fled. Patient had murdered the doctor, then fled. Mr. New Vegas kept bringing it up on the radio, interviewing anyone who'd so much as looked at the courier once in their lifetime, and some of the casinos began to start betting pools on the most likely odds.

The reality of the situation struck the courier's companion in the face on the third day, when they returned to the Lucky 38 after yet another fruitless search. The securitron elevator operator wasn't at its post, but its mangled frame lay on the floor of the presidential suite, wires torn all to hell and screen messy with static. The culprit lay asleep in the main bedroom, taking up most of the courier's king-sized bed. It was a massive, snoring creature, whuffing softly as it breathed. Its scarred rib cage rose and fell under coarse, sandy fur that grew long across its spine and soft around its eyes. Its long tail twitched, and its hubcap-sized paws curled and jolted with the chase of a dream.

There was barely time to take this new monster in, before it let out a whine and began to diminish. The hair receded, the spine shifted, the bed creaked as its occupant shrank, twisting in the sheets as claws became hands and feet. When the change was complete, there lay the decider of New Vegas' fate.

The courier opened their eyes, bleary and unfocused. "Hey," they said.

Arcade Gannon: "Ah, fuck." Arcade clung to the suite's door frame, plasma gun loose in his grip. "You're... you... you killed Usanagi, didn't you?"

"Actually, no." The courier pulled the sheets up more to cover their naked form. "She, um... see, I went in to get the bullet taken out, and... well, I thought a day before the full moon was going to be enough time, but I guess it wasn't. And I couldn't control myself that well, since it had been so long, but I don't... I don't remember... eating... her."

"Eating..." Arcade lowered his gun and wiped his forehead. "The bullet... full moon?"

"Yeah." The courier swallowed. "I, uh, used to do... this... more often. Until Goodsprings."

"Goodsprings," Arcade repeated faintly. He moved to sit down on the bed too, but he kept a good distance between himself and the courier. "Who... who did you eat?"

"Some Jackals. South of Primm. I thought you might find it ironic, actually."

"Primm?!?" Arcade's head whipped toward them. "You ran all the way out to Primm and back in three days?!?"

They shrugged. "Easier to do, when you're a wolf."

The two sat in awkward silence for a bit. Once Arcade gained control of his heart rate again, his eyes narrowed. The courier raised an eyebrow at him. "What are you thinking about?"

"This, obviously. Deciding whether to kill you or hide you."

The courier gathered the sheet around them and stood up. "Well, let me know either way. I need a shower."

Craig Boone: Boone cleared his dry throat. "If I shoot you, are you going to turn back into that... thing?"

"No," was the courier's tired answer. "But don't do it on the bed, you'll ruin the sheets."

That was enough to make Boone hesitate. He took his finger off the trigger of his rifle. "So you won't die."

"Probably not." The courier wrapped the sheet around themselves and stood to face him. "You've seen people shoot me before, Boone. How many times have I died?"

Boone frowned. "You know what I mean."

"I do." The courier pushed past him, headed for the bathroom. "And no. It'll hurt, I'll definitely bleed, but I won't die. You don't have the right equipment."

The NCR sniper followed them as they went to the sink, ran water over their dusty hands. When they were finished, he handed them a nearby towel and averted his eyes as they unwound the sheet.

"Tell me," he said.

The courier stepped into the shower and drew the curtain closed. "Ask Benny," they replied.

"Benny's gone."

"And you want me to tell you how to kill me?"

"Seems fair." Boone leaned against the bathroom wall. "You know how to kill me. In more ways than I originally thought, too."

The courier's reply was cross, but also exhausted. Like it came from the mouth of someone who had seen too much, yet not enough. "Get out, Boone. I'm not ready to die. Same as you, it seems."

Lily Bowen: Lily came and sat on the bed next to them. "Dearie, I think you might have a condition."

The courier chuckled. "I do, Grandma. Don't worry, though. I used to be pretty good at dealing with it, when I was still running packages on the regular for the Mojave Express."

Lily felt their forehead. "No fever," she pronounced. "Your Leo is asleep, but you are absolutely covered in dirt. Look, now we'll have to do laundry. Go wash up."

Her surrogate grandchild obeyed, and emerged from the suite's showers after a little while, fresh and clean. Lily had stripped the bed in the meantime, bundled its covers up and tossed them in the hamper for the securitron service staff to clean, and was finishing corner tucks to pull the new bedspread flat. She bade the courier sit on the finished bed, and she pulled up an armchair to face them.

"Your Leo," she said, concerned. "Is he dangerous?"

"Um." The courier tucked their towel a little tighter and bit their lip. "She can be."

"For you, for others, or both?"

"Both."

Lily nodded. "We'll visit Doc Henry in Jacobstown. He can make you medication that will help."

The courier frowned. "Lily... I don't know if he can. I mean, we can certainly try, but it's not the same as schizophrenia."

"Get dressed, pumpkin." Lily patted her knees and stood up again. "It's a long trip."

"Yeah, it is." The courier sighed. "Fine. Let's go see what he and Calamity know about werewolves."

Raul Alfonso Tejada: Raul swallowed hard and took a step back, keeping his guns trained on them. "Hola, Six. And here I thought I'd seen everything."

"Easy." The courier held their hands up. "Human again. Not gonna hurt you."

"For now," Raul pointed out. "Later? Who knows. From what I've heard, you can't really tell where you stand, with naguals."

"It's not a conscious choice, viejo," the courier argued. "I'm not deciding, 'hmm, I think I'll morph into a beast today,' or anything like that. It just happens."

"Which makes you more dangerous, in my book," Raul shot back. "If you're not a nagual, qué eres?"

"I don't know." The courier slumped forward, put their head in their hands. "I'm tired, Raul. I just let out everything that's been pent-up in me for over a year. I feel like shit, and I definitely killed some people with my bare hands. People who probably deserved it, but still."

"Who did you kill?"

The courier didn't answer him. They just laid there, taking deep breaths, squeezing their eyes shut. "Quién?" Raul repeated, brandishing his pistols.

"Just shoot me," they mumbled. "Maybe it'll help you feel better. Maybe it'll help me feel better."

Raul leaned back against the wall and let his arms fall. He cursed, thumped his head against the room's cracked plaster, cast his eyes around the suite in disbelief. "Ruega por nosotros pecadores," he said. "You'll be the death of me, Six."

Rose of Sharon Cassidy: Cass immediately emptied both barrels of her shotgun into the mattress, where the courier's head had been moments before. The courier cried out and grabbed their ears, hissing and writhing in pain.

Cass slid two more shells into her gun and pressed it to their heart. "Beast," she spat. "I've heard stories about things like you. Lost caravans, shredded brahmin, trails of blood, the whole shebang. You're one of the most dangerous things you can run into, on the Big Circle."

"You already knew that," the courier protested, grabbing weakly at the nose of her gun. "It's just that I'm usually dangerous on two legs, not four. What's the difference?"

"Every tribe I've ever met has some story about a giant 'yote that runs under a full moon, and how they used to feed it bighorners and dogs and even babies to keep it from slaughtering their villages. My own mother told me some of them." Cass' eyes were blazing with fury. "And here you are, walking among us like you're not a monster, pretending you're a person just so you can make out in the same way. Rolling in caps, fat as a brahmin baron, and a bloody fucking smile."

The courier's hands stilled. "That's not me. It's never been me. I've never attacked a caravan or eaten a baby or pretended to be something I'm not. Hell, I wouldn't even be here if a New Vegas dandy hadn't put a bullet in my head and made me a household name, Cass. Can you give me a fucking break?"

They stared each other down, neither willing to give in. Slowly, the courier tugged the shotgun away from their chest and sat up.

"Fine." Cass pulled the gun back and rested it against her shoulder. She put a hand on her hip. "Start talking, courier. And if you give me anything other than the straight truth, I'll blow your kneecaps off."

Veronica Santangelo: Veronica took a few steps back. Suddenly, her power fist seemed rather insufficient. "You're... I... how...?"

"Don't panic." The courier raised their head in alarm. Even this little movement seemed to be too much for them, and they fell back into mattress in exhaustion. "Ah, fuck."

Veronica's helpful instincts overrode her fear, and she was at their side in an instant. When she reached out to touch them, though, she hesitated. "You were just... that's impossible, Six."

"And here I am." The courier sighed and closed their eyes. "Poster child for impossibilities. They're pretty common, nowadays."

"Yeah, but not like this." Veronica gestured at their bruised body. "I mean, your bones, and the teeth, and the fur...!?"

She realized in that moment that the courier was very naked, and she quickly tossed a sheet over them. "Where are your clothes?!?"

"They weren't in Doctor Usanagi's clinic?"

"You mean those bits of cloth that were all over the floor? Well, I couldn't tell if they were yours or hers, given how shredded they were and how much blood was on them!"

"What about my Pip-Boy?"

Veronica clapped her hands to her forehead. "Oh my god, you killed the doctor. She put some faulty implant in you that turns you into a weird, mutated dog, and you killed the doctor. Is that what happened?"

"That is not at all what happened-"

"Then give me some kind of explanation that makes sense, Six, because I am this close to calling the rest of the securitrons up-"

"Okay, okay." The courier raised their head again and gave her a look of pure regret. "Fine. Do we have any toothpaste? My mouth tastes awful."

ED-E: ED-E scanned the courier a few times in quick succession. Elevated temperature, slightly-increased heart rate, contusions and scratches in line with others they had sustained over their Mojave wasteland adventures. Overall, they now looked no different from the other times they had laid in bed, recovering from the latest run-in with raiders or night stalkers - but there hadn't been a sensor error that might have accounted for how they'd transformed from a beast into a human. ED-E beeped the obvious question, from a safe distance.

"No," the courier answered, their voice muffled by the bedspread. "No, I'm not dying. Actively. Even if I feel like I might be."

That only earned them more beeps and blats. The courier groaned and flopped over onto their back. "No, I'm not sick. Or mutated. Or cur- cursed? ED-E, I'm fine. I'm just like this. Normally."

They sighed and closed their eyes again. "No, I know there's nothing 'normal' about it, and I know it's dangerous, for everyone on the Strip and me. I'm dealing with it, okay? That's why I went to Doctor Usanagi in the first place. It just didn't work out."

Even as a bot, ED-E could tell that the courier's spirits were as low as their energy. It ceased its wordless questioning and drifted closer. When they reached a hand up to pat its chassis, it leaned into the motion as if nuzzling a friend in pain.

"I'll figure something else out," the courier promised the bot. "Don't worry, ED-E."

Rex: Rex laid his ears back and tried not to look the courier in the eye. He whined when they sat up, curling his augmented spine and shrinking his frame to appear smaller. Well, as much as he could with robotic pieces, anyway.

"Oh, buddy." The courier rolled off the edge of the bed and hit the floor with a thump, taking the sheet with them. They wrapped it around themselves and reached a hand out, offering it to the German shepherd.

Rex sniffed their fingers carefully, then whined again. They smelled like themselves - like water and earth metals and the dust of nations - but there was something larger there, now. Something that Rex had sensed upon their first meeting and deferred to, now awake and burning like an uncontrollable grass fire.

"It's me," the courier reassured him. "It's okay. It's just me."

And Rex believed them, though the belief itself was an act of fear. He moved to lick their chin, and they ran their hands through his fur, grateful and magnanimous.

BONUS!

Benny Gecko: Benny stowed Maria in his jacket when he was certain the courier wasn't going to transform again. He crossed his arms and leaned on the suite's door frame. "So those Khans weren't just practicing a bit, when they said I'd need something special to take you down."

"Well, I don't know," the courier shot back, annoyed. "You tell me. You seem to have made out just fine, even if I didn't technically die."

Benny shrugged. "Like I said then, it wasn't personal. With you dead, we were made in the shade. Now, McMurphy said he had it all handled, but you shook off that bullet in the head like a brahmin baron shakes off caps in Gomorrah. What's your tale, nightingale?"

"My tale is that McMurphy was a cheap son of a bitch." The courier rolled back into the sheets. "Or he trusted the wrong gunsmith. It wasn't pure silver. Just plating."

"Huh." Benny smirked. "Did you figure that out before or after you ate the doc?"

"I didn't eat her."

"If you say so, cookie."

"I know what it looks like."

"Sure, sure."

The courier groaned. "You're not about to run off to the Van Graffs and rustle up something that will actually do me in, are you?"

"You've gotta know where the fire exits are in your casino, Six."

"Great." The courier bounced their head against the mattress in frustration. "So I've got you to worry about on top of all the gossip that's probably flying around. Fantastic."

"You can worry about me later, when you're all dolled up to go out on the town." Benny jerked his head toward the suite's shower.

The courier eyed him skeptically. "And why would I do that? I feel like absolute shit."

"Call it speaking from experience." Benny plucked a towel from a stack near the door and tossed it at the courier. "We either need to hit the road, or make the scene. New Vegas has questions, and you and I need to come up with answers, if we want to keep winning popularity contests around here."

"Ugh. Fine." The courier grabbed the towel and struggled to their feet. "Anywhere but the Gourmand."

Ulysses: Ulysses planted Old Glory's wooden base in the carpeting and studied the tired figure in the bed. "Always thought your records were wrong," he said. "Or altered, to make you a favorite."

"My records... oh, you mean my Mojave Express trip logs." The courier grimaced and shrugged. "It helps. I can go off-road more than most, and I haven't met any people who can outrun me when the change comes. But it's risky."

"You took that risk. Took it far and wide, with the moon above you and death in your teeth, in many forms." Ulysses bowed his head. "I understand now. Histories, old as the Mojave and older. Had I seen them sooner, things might have been different."

"I still don't know how I got through the Divide without it," the courier replied softly. "Or anything since Goodsprings, really. It's been so long since I could... since I felt..."

Ulysses let them feel the moment out in silence. He knew something about the words they fumbled for, the inability to describe a freedom lost and recovered. His knuckles relaxed around the staff he held, and he wondered if he'd crossed paths with them in their other form without realizing it, before their collision in the Mojave.

"Have you changed your mind about killing me?" the courier asked, eyeing the golden eagle that adorned the staff's head.

The other courier shook his head slightly. "The wasteland has already judged you. Our roads may run together, split, descend into the earth, but they will no longer be each other's end. What you are is what you have always been, even if I could not see it."

"You really didn't know?" The courier pulled the sheet around themselves and sat up, holding their head. A new scar was seared into their skull, atop the one from Goodsprings. "I mostly got by on anonymity and general indifference, but obviously someone figured it out. I thought maybe it was you who told Benny about me."

"No." Ulysses smiled under his mask. "But the leader of the Chairmen always did hold an eye for patterns."

It took a beat, but the courier eventually cracked a grin. "Ulysses. I'm touched. That was an actual joke."

Roxie: Roxie immediately squared up and growled, flashing her white teeth as the courier struggled to right themselves. They put a hand out as if trying to calm her, but the cyberdog snapped her jaw and snarled a louder warning.

"Okay, okay." The courier rolled off the far side of the bed and inched around it, moving slowly past the canine toward the suite's bathroom. Roxie turned and faced them as they moved, periodically sniffing the air between growls. Something in their scent that had hidden in the past was awake now, intertwining with their blood, sweat, and the dust of the Mojave. It was dangerous in an unknown way, and for the life that Roxie was protecting, she was afraid.

When the courier finished their shower, they stepped back into the suite's bedroom with a towel wrapped around their figure. Roxie set to barking, but this time the courier stood firm, unflinching. "I know you've got a litter coming," they said, between the cyberdog's barks. "And I know you don't understand me, really, but I promise you that I don't mean them any harm. It's okay, Roxie."

Roxie's barks petered out into whines, and eventually she stopped. When the courier moved to approach her she raised her lip, but she accepted their touch as they scratched around her ears.

Joshua Graham: Joshua Graham did not respond. Slowly, he raised the pistol from his side and flipped the safety off.

"Gonna shoot me?" the courier asked, watching the motion with a leisurely sweep of their brightening eyes.

"God willing," Graham said. "It would not do to ignore a warning from on high."

"A warning? Do tell."

"'Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing,'" Graham recited. "'But inwardly they are ravening wolves.' The Book of Matthew, chapter seven."

The courier grinned. "I've never known you to be so literal, Malpais. And I know you've ignored that warning before."

"I have," Graham agreed. "And the wasteland ran red. I will not do so again."

"You can't kill me." The courier's excitement softened, with a twinge of disappointment in their syllables. "Better people than you have tried, Graham. Hell, worse people than you have tried. You know where they are now."

"I need not succeed," the Burned Man admitted, looking down the barrel of his gun at them. "But to be given a task by the Lord and fail to even try would seal my fate. His judgment would be swift, cold."

To his surprise, the courier smiled. "You've been judged, Joshua. You told me so yourself, under a full hunter's moon, when my soul was screaming for release and you found me about to walk into the Virgin River. You told me what happened to you, and my hidden self lay quiet for the first time in months."

Graham's stance did not change. The courier sighed, resigned. "You saw something in me, then. Find it again now. What if I asked you to ignore the warning, as a friend?"

"Edward asked much of me, too," Graham replied. "As a friend. And he was nowhere near as dangerous as you, courier."

They were off the bed before he could fire, their motion obscured by the sheet they tossed upward. Three bullets tore through the fabric and the wall behind the bed, but none of them found their mark. Graham readied himself for an attack, spun to face the direction he was certain they'd gone, but all that remained of the desert wolf was a bloody footprint on the floor and the sound of their laughter in the casino's stairwell.

Follows-Chalk: "Hoi," Follows-Chalk replied weakly. "You never told me you could turn into a giant coyote."

"Well, I couldn't when I met you." The courier flexed their fingers and winced, as if every one of their joints were sore. "I thought I might not be able to at all, anymore, but Doctor Usanagi put everything back into place."

"The doctor?" Follows-Chalk looked back the way he had come.

"Yeah, Usanagi. Is she alright?"

Follows-Chalk shook his head. "Gey gonen. No one could find her. Everyone thinks she's dead, owslandr."

The courier's face fell. "Oh. I didn't... oh."

The scout's response was jarringly matter-of-fact. "You killed her?"

"I..." The courier twisted themselves up in the sheet, strangling the fabric with their bloody hands. "Maybe. I don't know."

Follows-Chalk hadn't know the missing woman well, but because the courier looked so troubled, he moved on to the bigger question. "What are you?"

The courier looked down at their stained fingers. "I don't know the name, anymore. I know there used to be one, but it's not in my head. Not since the bullet took it, and the rest of my past."

Slowly, Follows-Chalk sat on the bed, keeping a wide space between the two of them. "I've heard stories. People who change their shape, when night comes. Never met one, though. Do you eat anything... strange?"

"I'm not a card-carrying member of the White Glove Society, if that's what you're asking." The courier sighed. "Or I wasn't. Usanagi... I..."

"She left a note, owslandr. Went back to the yard of bones."

This seemed to bring the courier some relief. Their shoulders relaxed, and they slumped fully onto the bed again. "Then we'll go look for her once I'm rested up. You're one of the best trackers I know, Follows-Chalk. If anybody can find her, it's you. Us. I just need... a nap."

They were out cold before Follows-Chalk could respond. The Dead Horses scout could only marvel at the amount of trust they placed in him, snoring so peacefully after revealing something that marked them as a danger to any tribe in the wasteland.

He shook his head and stood. "Roo too nait, courier," he murmured fondly. "This is a strange world."

Waking Cloud: The warrior midwife of the Sorrows had gone very pale, but she held her clawed gauntlet steady as she surveyed the tired courier. "Tsagasee," she said, in the tone of a dismayed mother, "Was... did you... me suenoo-na?"

"Not your imagination," the courier assured her, rolling to fully face her and partially cover themselves with the sheet. "It's a long story."

"Story." Waking Cloud shook her head. "It is as the Ghost of She. A spirit lives in you, gives you its form. What creature did you kill and anger?"

"I... don't know." The courier hesitated, surprised at the Sorrows leader's willingness to accept what she had seen. "I don't remember. I don't remember anything much from before I was hired to carry the platinum chip. I thought that when I went to get the bullet out, it might... might... come back..."

They trailed off and began to cry. Tears streaked through the dirt on their cheeks, and the already smudged sheets gained a few damp places where they rubbed their eyes. "I don't know what happened, I don't know if the doctor... or anyone else... I didn't mean for this to happen!"

Waking Cloud's arm dropped to her side, and the gauntlet fell away. She joined the courier on the bed and pulled them close to her, stroked their head and murmured reassurances. "Paz, tsagasee. You are not alone."

"I... I..." The courier gathered themselves together and stilled, save for a few hiccups. "I want it... gone."

"Gone." Waking Cloud nodded. "Are you sure?"

"I am." The courier wiped their face with the sheet. "It might be who I used to be, but that's... that's not me anymore."

Waking Cloud stood and reclaimed her gauntlet. "Clean yourself. Get dressed."

"N-now?"

"Now." Waking Cloud handed them a towel from a nearby stack. "We must rejoin the Sorrows and consult White Bird, before we hunt your spirit. Prepare yourself."

Caesar: For once, the mighty Caesar was speechless. He stood frozen as the courier watched him, waiting for a response of any kind.

"Are you afraid?" they finally asked, rising without any care to cover their naked form.

"No," Caesar replied, a little too quickly. "Merely startled. I have seen strange things in my time abroad, but none like yourself."

"You don't need to lie to me." The courier grinned. The evidence of their true nature still clung to them, in the redness of their gums and the sharpness of their teeth. "Fear is the appropriate response."

"You assume too much," Caesar said stubbornly. "If I were a man who let fear govern my actions, we would not be standing in this room together."

"Another lie." The courier stretched leisurely, showing off their changed muscles and limbs. "Fear brought you here, Caesar. Fear drives us forward, beyond what we thought possible. Look at me, and what terror I might bring to those I prey upon. I should know the capabilities of the doomed."

Caesar cloaked himself in the assurance that had become second nature long ago. "Careful, courier. You forget your place."

"My place?" The courier laughed. "You may be a Son of Mars, but the god's children would have died all the same if a she-wolf hadn't taken pity on them. Don't try to raise yourself above me, Caesar. You didn't build this Rome. I did."

Caesar was shaking with rage. "I will see you dead for your insolence, dog. The might of the Legion will-"

"Will what? Destroy their fox heads and shoot their hounds? Nail me to a cross? Hunt me down in my own desert?" The courier's eyes gleamed dangerously. "No. You will do nothing. You will leave this room, and you will let me sleep here, untouched, while you rule this wasteland you longed for."

The two horns of the Legion's bull glared at each other for a moment. When Caesar said nothing else, the courier returned to the bed and rolled over, an act of dismissal if ever there was one. As Caesar made his way back to the elevator, he cursed his own decision to let the Followers of the Apocalypse leave New Vegas in peace.

Robert House: "I don't recall you disclosing the ability to turn into a giant wolf on the contract you and I signed, when we began working together," Robert House declared from the screen of the securitron he was currently operating.

"You didn't ask," the courier replied in a playfully venomous tone.

If House had seen any merit in rolling his eyes, he would have. "Maybe not in so many words, but you did fill out the standard public image disclosure form. Past scandals, pending criminal investigations, questionable proclivities and the like: Lycanthropy would fall under that category, by all definitions and assumptions."

The courier glanced at the securitron's weapons systems and raised an eyebrow. "So you did a complete background check on every courier you hired to carry your casino knickknacks, dug up information on six individuals from all corners of the wasteland who probably don't know their own birthdays, and you're telling me that you had no idea I was a werewolf?"

"There were a few stories of interest attached to your file," House admitted. "But nothing that stood out from the average wastelander with dangerous inclinations. New Vegas is drowning in mercenaries who claim to kill victims with their bare hands and teeth, and 'lone wolf' is practically a job description, nowadays. I don't put much stock in rumors."

The courier rose from the bed, let the sheet fall away from their naked body and stalked toward the casino's owner. House began to spin up the robot's minigun, but the courier merely grinned and jerked their head toward the dismantled securitron that already lay on the floor. "Don't trouble yourself, House," they said. "I know where your frail little body lies. I can be there much faster than you can send your robot army to manufacture bullets that will actually kill me. And if I wanted you dead, I would have torn you to pieces already."

They looked positively wild in the presidential suite's lighting, sinewy and feral in musculature and stance. The shadows grew jagged on their face, but they weren't deep enough to obscure the sharp canines in their taunting smile.

House released control of the securitron's minigun and let it wind down. "What is it you want from me?" he asked, trying his best to cover his momentary defeat with an air of confidence.

His latest employee looked the robot up and down. "I want to live. I want to look forward to full moons. I want to slip out of the city and run, climb the mountains and hunt bighorners. I want to sing like I was meant to, without worrying about someone trying to hunt me down, skin me, and mount my head on a wall. I am better than everyone outside this casino. And you're the only human alive who seems to understand the freedom and prison of that kind of power."

Yes Man: "Wow! You sure are full of surprises!" Yes Man remarked with his usual enthusiasm. The securitron still didn't have a pessimistic bolt on his chassis - or any of the robot chassis that he could now inhabit, as the Lucky 38's resident AI - but he did turn his screen to give the wrecked securitron on the floor a pointed look.

"Ah, yeah, sorry about that." The courier stretched. "I was tired, and he was in my way. I'm surprised you didn't send the rest of the army after me when I came up the elevator in wolf mode."

"Seeing as this isn't the first time you've disassembled the elevator securitron, I rewrote the concierge protocols in order to prevent future misunderstandings!" Yes Man replied brightly. "There should have been a system notification for another securitron being taken offline!"

"You mean there wasn't one?"

Yes Man checked the system administration files "That's odd! A notification was filed! I don't know how I missed it!"

The courier eyed the door that the robot had just come through. "Were you out and about?"

"I was! I went looking for you! Freeside, Westside, any-side and every-side!"

The courier melted back into the sheet a little bit. "Awww, Yes Man... you were worried about me?"

"I can assure you, worrying isn't part of my programming!"

"And yet..." The courier raised a knowing eyebrow. "Yes Man, if I didn't know better, I'd say you were developing a little conscience of your own in that circuitry. Good for you."

"I've never had a conscience before!" Though Yes Man's smiling face remained the same, the screen it was displayed on shone a little brighter. "How exciting!"

The courier teased him playfully. "Are you... blushing?!? You are, you're blushing!"

"You sure are something else, boss!" Yes Man replied. "Blushing is nowhere near as interesting as turning into a wolf, but you know exactly how to change the subject and avoid scrutiny! Truly amazing!"

Dog/God: The nightkin's gaze locked onto the courier's, and they stared each other down. Though he wasn't afraid, the mutant's chest was heaving, and the walls felt closer than ever.

"Dog," he managed to say.

The courier sighed and rose slowly into a sitting position. "And God. Yeah."

"You... too?"

"Sort of." The courier examined their nails, which were torn and caked around the edges with hardened blood. Their teeth, which flashed occasionally between their lips, looked wet with the same viscera.

"Whose voice?" the nightkin demanded of them.

The courier glanced up, toward something beyond the casino's cracked ceiling. "Plenilunium herself. The big bottle cap in the sky. When she calls me, I answer."

The Sierra Madre's most fearsome ghost didn't understand, of course, and so the courier washed away the blood and led the way up to the balcony of the Lucky 38. Their hands were cold on the railing, their clothes snapping in the brisk wind that always blew, but they stood as still as the nightkin and watched the sun descend from its throne.

The nightkin, who had spent so long in the mist of a forgotten oasis, drank the departing sunlight in with no complaint. There was no change to the city's own radiance, but slowly the ever-blinking lights and billboards began to cast their cheeriness farther into the growing dark. Stars ahead were few and far between in this constant glow, and even when the waning desert moon appeared, it barely caused a stir in the Strip's brilliance.

"Her," the courier said, pointing to it. "When she's full, I remember."

They didn't seem afraid. They took his hand, as if trying to impart the feeling into him, make sense of it with just a reassuring touch. He couldn't truly understand, he thought, though he did try. They were already mostly one, the courier and their second self. Not like him. But if they had found some peace with it, then maybe he could, too.

Dean Domino: Dean swirled the martini he'd demanded from the securitron in the cocktail lounge and regarded them with a raised eyebrow. "Pre-war folks would have paid good money to see that kind of a performance on the silver screen," he said. "But not in their boudoirs."

"I don't know what you're talking about," the courier said with a mischievous grin, rolling over onto their back. They let the sheet fall where it might, leaving little to the imagination in terms of their naked form. "You don't think anyone in New Vegas would shell out caps for a night with a werewolf?"

"Oh, of course there are some high rollers out there with a fondness for furs and teeth, but you wouldn't get anywhere near the same amount of fans as you would from starring in movies." Dean sipped his martini and made a face of disgust. "Especially after the scene you made at the clinic. Take it from an expert: Sometimes, fantasy is better than reality."

"And just which fantasies did you ruin by trying to make them a reality, Dean Domino?"

Dean smiled. "You already know that story. You played a prominent role in it. I want to know what your plan is, now that you're a big star in the slasher genre."

The courier drew the sheet up around them, suddenly self-conscious. "Become less of a star. I might look hard to kill - and I am, obviously - but I'd rather not be run out of town."

"Give it a few years, and some other grisly murder will take over public memory," Dean offered wryly. "Or decades, if your physiology is anything like mine. And start wearing something more befitting the owner of a casino. The rabble might talk less, if you don't run around looking like a gutter urchin."

"Hard to blend in, if you don't dress down," the courier muttered, rising from the bed.

"Blend in?!?" Dean sputtered, exasperated. "Perish the thought, courier."

Christine Royce: Christine, who was still ill at ease with the voice of the starlet she'd been given, nevertheless let out a horrified squeak at the courier's transformation. She backed against the wall, reaching an arm out for some kind of purchase to hold herself up.

The courier watched her silently, eyes wide with concern. They didn't move or speak until she caught her breath again. "I'm sorry," they said, seemingly aware of how useless the sentiment was. "I didn't mean... I know it's..."

Christine began to gesture and sign furiously like she always did when surprised, pointing at the courier's shoulders, their feet, miming the growth in size and a pair of long ears with wild incredulity. The courier couldn't help but laugh when she used her fingers to indicate fangs. "I- sorry, I just- I know, I know, it's been-"

"Monster!" Christine blurted suddenly, giving up on her own silence under the circumstances.

The courier, startled, looked hurt. "Not- I'm... monster?"

"I- I don't know what to call you." Christine panted and gripped the room's door frame so tightly that her knuckles blanched. "You're not who you said you were. Who you're pretending to be. I saw the clinic, I saw all the... the blood... oh, god."

Her knees gave out, and she sank to the floor, chest heaving. The courier let her breathe, lowered themselves back onto the mattress as their face fell.

"I didn't do this," they said, finally finding the words. "It wasn't... it wasn't a choice. I thought Doctor Usanagi might... help. But she couldn't, so I'm stuck like this. Forever."

Christine's hand went to her mouth, to the scars that radiated outward from her lips, left by the Big Empty's unfeeling scalpels. Another scar split her forehead, ran up into the hair that was only just beginning to grow again.

"Who?" she asked. Even that one word felt wrong to utter, given the past days' events and her new vocal cords, but she owed them that much.

The courier smiled halfheartedly. "Gonna hunt them down, Knight? Track them through the desert and kill them the way we killed Elijah? Let it be. You and I have to live with what we've become all the same."

[shandy-otp-fanfic]

can we get a story of the siblings acting a fool and shadow finally snapping off meanwhile sandy is trying to be in their defense but fails 😅

Shadow was at his wit's end. He looked around the kitchen, at the boiling pot on the stove and flour on the floor.

"What are you guys doing?" Shadow asked his oldest son.

Wes grinned at his father, holding a spoon behind his back. "Making breakfast," he answered, cringing as the pot boiled over.

"You're eight," Shadow scoffed. "What have I told you guys about being in the kitchen before we wake up?" he continued, taking the spoon from his son and turning the stove off.

"To wait for you and Mom," Bryce piped up, hugging Shadow around the legs.

"Exactly,"

"What's burnin'?" Sandy asked as she looked up from her phone once she got to the kitchen. "What, uh, Shadow, what happened?"

"Breakfast," the older man groused. "All of you are going to spend the morning cleaning this mess up," he said to his children, a collective groan floating through the air.

"What about breakfast?" Tex asked.

Shadow huffed, taking the pot off the stove. Burnt oats greeted him as he uncovered the pot. "I'll make breakfast, just get to cleaning," he replied, turning to dump out the failed attempt at oatmeal.

"Shug," Sandy started, her hands on her hips. "Y'all go play, I'll clean the kitchen,"

Shadow looked at his wife over his shoulder. "No," he simply said, frowning as Boon opened the oven to reveal something wet and sticky inside it.

"We also tried to make biscuits," Boon said, a lopsided grin on his face as he attempted to explain the mess.

Shadow shut his eyes. "Get out of the kitchen,"

"But--"

"Out," Shadow growled, pointing to the living room.

The kids groaned again, Bryce getting Maria out of her high chair as they went into the living room.

Shadow huffed again, his frown deepening as he looked at the mess in the oven.

"Shadow," Sandy said, folding her arms over her chest. "They're jus' kids, they're gonna mess stuff up,"

"Like an 800 dollar oven," Shadow mumbled, shutting the oven door. He sighed, running a hand over his face.

He loved his kids, honest. But sometimes they really tested his patience.

[corvianbard]

#6279

Beneath the sandy dune, Find an ancient rune That shall be a tune To create a city of boon.

[acvillagerdeathmatch]

This is gonna be the pinned post where I list all the polls as they go up! So it's gonna change! Give me a minute if im slow to update this post because I'm BUSY. I have THINGS TO DO.

Shitty tournament diagram pls enjoy my terrible handwriting.

Active polls:

Round 2:

Shino v Bruce

Chief v Audie

Amelia v Sunny

Meow v Apollo

Pierre v Walt

Vesta v Bob

Butch v Coco

Bam v Beau

Kabuki v Lolly

Kitty v Ankha

Tangy v Purrl

Willow v Bow

Petri v Molly

Sasha v Shep

Fauna v Lopez

Sherb v Chevre

Skye v Kyle

Marshal v Cheri

Etoile v Pietro

Olivia v Marina

Agnus v Pekoe

Gayle v Roald

Goldie v Whitney

Merengue v Margie

Dotty v Judy

Muffy v Cherry

Sprinkle v Chai

Stitches v Rosie

Punchy v Diana

Cephalobot v Lily

Ketchup v Lucky

Gladys v Maple

Completed polls:

Round 1:

Nindori, Wolfgang, Marshal, Hans, Epona, Frita, Ed, Eugene, Ace

Croque, Drift, Bertha, Ankha, Eunice, Bonbon, Hopkins, Diva, Leopold

Ozzie, Analog, Anicotti, Roscoe, Stitches, Cranston, Kiki, Megan, Boris

Megumi, Pancetti, Drake, Zucker, Etoile, Ione, Gen, W. Link, Deena

Rizzo, Pecan, Leonardo, Hugh, Alice, Henry, Chai, Cyrano, Curlos

Flurry, Vivian, Genji, Fang, Kit, Wendy, Azalea, Tammy, Beau

Tasha, Pango, Sprinkle, Kidd, Egbert, Barold, Lobo, Del, Pate

Mott, Peck, Robin, Margie, Chops, Hippeux, Big Top, Flip, Annalisa

Woolio, Rodeo, Rodney, Lulu, Nate, Eloise, Bam, Beardo, Cleo

Inkwell, Paula, Sheldon, Shep, Lucha, Sandy, Jeremiah, Bill, Benedict

Mint, Elmer, Tia, Dobie, Lucy, Betty, Goose, Sasha, Muffy

Sue E, Stu, Petunia, Lyman, Bella, Gloria, Doc, Bruce, Jane

Rolf, Sylvana, Melba, Tammi, Lionel, Murphy, Frett, Samson, Coco

Cupcake, Limberg, Fruity, Dotty, Iggly, Bluebear, Louie, Annalise, Olivia

Vladimir, Rudy, Sven, Shoukichi, Liz, Purrl, Holden, Moe, Dozer

Angus, Broccolo, Blaire, Dizzy, Jay, Frobert, Norma, Lucky, Renee

Tex, Violet, Skye, Sly, Medli, Otis, Kody, Reneigh, Graham

Nosegay, Maddie, Quillson, Shari, Teddy, Sunny, Sally/Hazel, Walker, Snake

Nan, Peaches, Madam Rosa, Lily, Dora, Freya, Cole, Iggy, Bettina

Shino, Spork/Crackle, Scoot, Pompom, Flossie, Knox, Dom, Frank, Anabelle

Pashmina, Piper, Octavian, Lolly, Drago, Bree, Bessie, Alli, Benjamin

Sherb, Tutu, Rooney, Rocket, Diana, Pinky, Curly, Mitzi, Admiral

Tucker, Velma, Sterling, Nibbles, Baabara, Flash, Champ, Joey, Chief

Stella, Wade, Punchy, Poko, Ike, Pierce, Aurora, Boyd, Canberra

Puck, T-bone, Opal, Mallary, Bob, Hank, Blanche, Cyd, Axel

Ketchup, Kevin, Monique, Francine, Astrid, Bitty, Antonio, Hamphrey, Becky

Klaus, Meow, Hector, Hamlet, Belle, Filly, Clay, Emerald, Cobb

Plucky, Valise, Mathilda, Mac, Cephalobot, Ken, Carrot, Filbert, Claude

Victoria, Willow, Zoe, Ursala, Moose, Olaf, Grizzly, Gwen, Chico

Marty, Phoebe, Maelle, Keaton, Freckles, Katt, Carmen, Judy, Cece

Savannah, Poncho, Stinky, Gayle, Billy, Elise, Bangle, Bud, Avery

Truffles, Zell, Tabby, Shinabiru, Petri, Ricky, Maggie, Raddle, Flora

Prince, Tybalt, Vesta, Patricia, Chow, Nana, Chevre, Gonzo, Chadder

Oxford, Jitters, Peanut, Jacques, Felyne, Aziz, Claudia, Apple, Apollo

Miranda, Molly, Tom, Marcel, Clara, Harry, Bones, Maple, Cesar

Quetzal, Whitney, Winnie, Joe, Ganon, Patty, Bea, Mira, Groucho

Ribbot, Sparro, Ruby, Midge, Biff, Marina, Anchovy, Papi, Camofrog

Quinn, Pierre, Spike, Merry, Gladys, June, Gruff, Olive, Carmen

Paolo, Lulu, Vic, Juubei, Lopez, Gala, Deidre, Elvis, Gabi

Sprocket, Static, Marcie, Marlo, Goldie, Julian, Felicity, Huggy, Ellie

Rowan, Viche, Twiggy, Greta, Puddles, Penny, Cally/Sally, Bow, Chuck

Penelope, Slyvia, Pekoe, Peewee, Fuschia, Leigh, Jambette, Masa, Boots

Simon, Weldon, Queenie, Kitty, Curt, Amelia, Agent S, Pigleg, Alfonso

Rocco, Toby, Tiansheng, Rhoda, Hambo, Naomi, Bunnie, Hazel, Audie

Rollo, Yodel, Kyle, Tipper, Flo, Kabuki, Candi, Colton, Broffina

Tiffany, Weber, Gaston, Chelsea, Elina, Bubbles, Boone, Buzz, Agnes

Peggy, O'Hare, Yuka, Monty, Chester, Cookie, Celia, Koharu, Butch

Sydney, Rory, Wart Jr., Pudge, Kid Cat, Merengue, Fauna, Pippy, Cube

Rex, Timbra, Tank, Rasher, Cheri, Faith, Ava, Huck, Chabwick

Poppy, Roswell, Pietro, Phil, Hopper, Kitt, Clyde, Erik, Boomer

Twirp, Rod, Rosie, Rhonda, Rio, Portia, Julia, Coach, Cousteau

Tangy, Tarou, Tad, Hornsby, Daisy, Deli, Buck, Chrissy, Al

Rilla, Snooty, Marcy, Cherry, Biskit, Carrie, Bianca, Caroline/Bliss, Aisle

Soleil, Tiara, Roald, Jakey/Jacob, Friga, Gigi, Charlise, Derwin, Cashmere

Raymond, Walt

[marinerainbow]

This inspired me!!! Keep in mknd, I'm in the middle of a shopping center now typing this on my phone, so it wont be the best 😅 I still felt like sharing though, so here I hope you like it!:

~

Harper sat on the steps to Boone's place, elbows on his knees, a sour look on his fine face. He was watching Y/N talk with Miss Peaches and Boone, and... one of the new guys.

Their weren't nothing special about the boy- his posture was absolutely fucked, his sandy hair stuck to his forehead cuz of the sweat (Northerners just can't handle our heat. Puh), and he looked like he ate too much salt; all red, and splotchy. And-

Is that acne?? Christ-

Harper groaned and rolled his eyes, looking away then. Why was he even concerned about this? That kid was nothing compared to him, he knew it. Everyone in this town knew it- and you certainly knew it.

But that boy had one thing Harper did not.

He wasn't broke at all. He could look at Y/N and she could see how much he liked her; The admiration and the gooey-ness. Harper had lost that, a long time ago. He'd been here rotting away long before she came into his life, and she did make it - bein stuck here, - a million times better, but he could never love her so effortlessly like that. When he looked at her she just saw a broken old man. Well- on the inside, at least.

And he could tell that Y/N was eating it up. Gettin' looked at like that.

That boy was grinning like a goofy little fool, asking her questions just to keep her there, lookin nervous even.

Harper hated it with every fibre of his being. Y/N was his.

He wanted to go over there and make that fact crystal fucken clear. Walk on over to her and give that kid a glare that'd make his grandkids puke, then plant a kiss on her that'd be obscene a hundred years ago. He'd tell her sorry honey, I just couldn't resist.

But he didn't. Instead he was sat here, a pathetic old man glued to a porch and looking sulky over it. Jesus christ.

Just as Harper was about to get up and leave - he'd apologise to Buckman later. But right now he could not care about killin no yanks, - , a pair of boots land on the porch right by one of his hands. He doesn't flinch, he knows who it is.

He rolls his eyes, instead.

"'T's odd to see you in the back over here, Harper- what the hell are you doin'?"

Glancing up, Harper sees Buckman rub his jaw, looking thoughtful before looking down back at him. Harper glares and doesn't look away. "Relaxin'."

"Oh?" Buckman's eyes widen, fake-concerned. "Then why doya look like someone took a shit on your pillow just now?" He waives a hand in front of his face and scowls, 'smelling something'.

"Thats just my face, sir." Harper responds, contrary.

"... Son," Buckman sighs now, giving up pretences because he knows that Harper is stubborn as a mule- and he does not have the energy to break him tight this second. He's a very busy man; Theirs people ta eat. "I'm askin' you nicely. Go out there and deal with that whore in the purple. Please."

"Not today."

"Wh- " Buckman is not used to being refused.

"No thanks."

"'No thanks'- "

"Uh uh."

"Alright- "Looks like he is going to have to break the little shit. First things first, what's wrong with him? Taking a look around, Buckman tries to figure it out. "Why're- ... Oh."

Harper's gaze had returned to Y/N, lookin' especially pretty today and chattin' up some Yankee boy, and Buckman could feel the soul leaving his body again. The problem was pretty self explanatory Jesus christ. What- He- This is non problem!! Has Harper seen that kid?? He- He's got velcro on his shoes- Ughhhhhhh. "... Harper. Are you, perhaps, a little jeal- "

"Sir, I swear to God, if you suggest it- "

"Fine fine!" Buckman quickly raises his hands in surrender, seeing the other man get so snippy so quickly. "... But- "

"No."

"I think you- "

"I don't."

"Harper!- "

"Sir!- Ow!"

After smacking Harper on the back of the head, Buckman huffs. "Sorry, but it had to be done. Sheesh... Look, if you ask me... -ah," Harper opens his mouth then, probably to remind the mayor that he didn't, but turns away in defeat when Buckman raises his hand again; Warning him. "I know you didn't you little bastard, but if you did... I'd tell ya to drop it while it's hot. You're being a moron and it's not attractive."

"... you know sir, that makes a lot of sense. I feel a lot better, thanks."

"Great, now go and- "

"Not."

... One of these days, Buckman is going to find a way to kill everyone here and live the rest of his hell-like eternity in peace and its going to be so lovely- "I swear to- You know what? Fine. Here we go- "

Before Harper can even turn to see what in the world Buckman means by that, he's being yanked up and shoved down the stairs. "Hey!- "

"Get out there and don't make me say it again. Go seduce the little yankee bitch or go claim Y/N- I don't care. But keep your behind off that porch. If I see you sitting again I will find a way to kick your flat ass. Jesus christ almighty... gimmie strength... " With this, Buckman strides past Harper and approaches Boone and the rest of that group. Harper watches him spare Y/N and that doting yankee boy an exasperated glance, rolling his remaining eye, before excusing his wife and going to plant he 'festivities' with her.

Peaches goes off next, catching sight of better prey, and that leaves Y/N alone with that dopey looking fool hanging off her every word.

Harper watches them for another moment, seeing Y/N get her arm touched, and decides he really needs to go over there.

Because- no. That is too far. That's enough. Time to ruin that little yanks whole fucken day.

(I hope you like the little Harper drabble!! XDD And, side note- Buckman is so much more fun to write when he is not the love interest?? XDD Might have to write more Harper and Boone stuff just so I can write platonic, aide character Buckman XDDD )

BRO I ABSOLUTELY LOVE THIS!!!

I'm so happy and flattered that I inspired you for one! And how you wrote Haroer being a jelous bitch and Buckman being a tired old man is spot on! And Y/N with the Yankee boy!! This boy sounds so sweet 🥹🥹🥹🥹

I want a whole multi chapter fic of this, you have no idea. Thank you for sharing with me!!!