#shards of infinity cards

[cobaltplasma]

Keeper of the Datic Vessels – Shards of Infinity: Saga Collection

card art I did for Stone Blade Entertainment's card game. I always forget that they've published a few of these projects I've worked on so I can publicly post up the work I've done hehe.

[george228732]

Fylass In Wonderland - Chapter Three EX - Cracked Reflection

The path was becoming darker and darker, with the moon seemingly catching cracks, and reality itself at the verge of nonexistence was a possibility that everyone on the group knew, but no one wanted to say it outright, since that would just cause more dread on the group; some were nervous, some were serious, and some others were comforting each other in silence; Pleiades could see both Kurabe and Mikuto being corny together, and he couldn’t help but feel a bit happy but uncomfortable at the scene.

"...So, Porcelain man, or well, Shard, I would still recommend you to find a shelter soon, along with the rest; I can lead this on my own, and save the rest of the inhabitants of Wonderland, including Fylass and Dolly." Ades said.

"...And how are you going to do that?"

"...I’ll find a way."

"That sounds ridiculous; the world is breaking apart, and I don’t think that you only would be able to do something significant, so I wouldn’t assume that you would be able to do that that easily."

"It is my work as the wise warrior, sir, and I would appreciate it if you didn’t underestimate me."

"I am not doing such a thing, I am just telling you that such a plan is ridiculous for someone like you, or us, or the rest of the inhabitants." Lucid said, and such, Pleiades stayed silent, since he seemingly realized how much of a dangerous plan it is. "It’s okay, Diamond Man, we get ya." Mikuto said, laughing a bit, still holding hands with Kurabe; both were happy with each other, as if they forgot that the world they were in was falling apart at the scenes.

"...Stand still." Ades said, as the group started to hear a bunch of voices talking near the path, and the wise warrior took his sword out just in case, only to find out that they were the Cheshire Cats, along with Damian and Fela, conversing as if it was a normal tuesday, laughing and talking casually.

"Er, false alarm."

The cats heard Ades’ voice, along with both Damian and Fela, and they immediately went towards the group going to the Card Castle. 

"Ooh! Look who it is! Hehehe! If it isn’t the Diamond itself!" Selene said. "Aren’t you someone lovely to see around?"

"And look! If it isn’t the regulars of the tea table! Dandy title!" Casey said afterwards.

"It is truly lovely to see all of the important people around here, but for what reason, I ask? Heehee!" 

"...We need to get Fylass, and evacuate; you should do that as well."

"I mean, I guess? Although that wouldn’t be fun; we all like to see a bit of chaos in our lives, anyways."

"...Why would you want to see me?" Chaos said.

"...Aren’t you funny?"

Damian and Fela were a bit confused on what was happening at the moment; Damian wondered what they were referring to, and Fela wondered if Damian didn’t notice at this point what was happening.

"Er, guys, we were doing stories and such. Are you tired…?" Damian asked.

"We were doing boring stories and such. Aren’t you tired…?"

"Hehe, not really, it’s just that we found something more interesting! If I know what you are doing, we might have a chance to get to the circus again! I guess you are funny enough to come with us on the adventure!"

"But I didn’t say anything about tha-" Ades said as he was silenced by Mikuto. "This could be helpful, man." Mikuto said, as Ades just accepted the new members of the group with a frustrated face.

"Oh! The Circus! That would be wonderful!" Damian said.

"Oh. The Circus. That would be wonderful, I guess." Fela said.

The five new members found their spot on the group, and as such, they kept on going with the group. The cracks of reality were always present, and all of them decided to ignore it since that would only bring more nervousness and hurry, although it’s not better that way, is it?

The glowing stars of the night weren’t present anymore, and the pumpkins stopped glowing happily, the path was empty and gloomy, as the gate towards the Circus of Infinity gave a feeling of massive dread, as if someone was messing with things that were beyond anyone’s understanding.

"...This circus looks like everything but a fun place. Way to kill the atmosphere!" Selene said with annoyance in her voice.

"This is not time to be annoyed by the area, we need to get to the Card Castle." Lucid said with determination, as he walked inside to find a possible exit, and the rest did the same, although some tried to play with the now broken and lonely attractions, which were now filled with medical prescriptions, loose medicine, and undecipherable words written on chalk.

"God, where is everyone?" Kurabe asked.

"...I have no idea, the last time we went here on our first date, everything was much more pretty and filled to the brim with people, and now it is as if a tornado came and ruined the place entirely…"

The rain suddenly came and soaked the area with the rain, which seemed salty as tears, for some reason. 

"Eurgh. Great, rain came down…" Fela said with an even more annoyed face.

"It’s just rain, what’s the problem with it?" Casey said, trying to annoy Fela. "It’s just salty, and that makes it more amazing in my opinion, heehee."

The rain was cold, and it felt like needles piercing through fair skin, and it seemed like it was going to get worse, until someone, at last, found the exit the group was looking for since they came here; this circus was interesting and filled to the brim with joy, and yet, it now seemed cursed and lonely.

"Guys, there’s someone else here!" Chaos yelled as loud as possible to catch everyone’s attention, and indeed, there was someone else, and that someone else was Soliera, which was right next to the tent leading to Dull Glass, with a sad expression on her face.

Everyone reunited, and went towards the jester, to ask for the way out. 

"Excuse me, lady, do you know where’s the exit towards the Card Castle?" Lucid asked.

"...Oh, hi there… Yeah, this tent right here has an exit, go through it and you’ll be there in no time…"

"Are you feeling well?"

"...Not really. The Circus I worked for so hard is now abandoned, and I don’t even know why…"

"What do you mean you don’t why?"

"I literally just blinked, and when I opened up my eyes, everything looked like it does now, just without the rain, and now I feel awful about myself for not protecting it, for whatever caused it to end up like this."

"...We will help you with it when we stop this disaster, I promise." Kurabe said.

"...You will?"

Soliera seemed at least a bit happier than before; she didn’t even care to look at the other symbol bearers with much admiration, but at least it’s something…

"Thank you. Let me accompany you, please." Soliera said, as Lucid gave her a look that would seem like she was allowed to be part of it. The group, now with Soliera, entered in the tent, and went towards the darkness.

It was just as gloomy as the time when Fylass and Dolly used the stairs to get to the entrance, although, something felt even more wrong this time, and those feelings of dread were confirmed to Lucid, as a new message on the door leading to Dull Glass was in place for him to read it:

"Hell has many definitions, but what Hell is, is your last day alive, where the person you are now, will meet the person you could’ve been." As Lucid read the message, chills were sent towards his spine, as the door opened up, revealing the same area of Dull Glass, wooden floor, concrete ceiling, and the same aesthetic of a madhouse, although now, there were no mirrors, only leaving the dirty silhouettes of them made of dust behind.

"...Wow… This doesn’t look like a place belonging to a circus…" Mikuto said from behind.

"This place was supposed to be a mirror maze attraction for the visitors, although something went terribly wrong, and the mirrors started to act strangely, at the point where they became dangerous, and now seeing that they are gone, makes me think that something terrible is bound to happen…" Soliera said.

"...Well, won’t you lead the way, Porcelain man?" Said Artemeta, as Lucid’s expression of fear, was transformed into one of annoyance. "What’s with people telling me that I look like a porcelain man?!"

Artemeta chuckled afterwards. "I apologize, I suppose. Just lead the way for us, peasants!"

Lucid and the group started moving towards the labyrinth that is this Dull Glass, but the paths seemed more convoluted, as if the place was trying its best to make the group get lost. The hallways were distorted, going from one side to the other, and even some of them ended up going upwards; it was a living anomaly.

"You don’t have any idea where we are going, do you?" Chaos asked Lucid.

"And you have any idea then?" 

"Fair."

"Besides, I think the exit is right near this hallway!" Lucid said, as he pointed towards the end of the hallway, which was going to the left, revealing a small white light on the corner that couldn’t be seen from that perspective.

Lucid and the rest got there, and at the end of it, they could see a porcelain door, and Lucid was the first to open it, but instead of the light of the exit, it was a light coming from nowhere, and the room was the same one Fylass and Dolly met Genesis, and surprise surprise, they were inside too.

"Ah! N-New people? I am so sorry to not notice you sooner! I was… busy." Genesis said, and in reflex, everyone took out their weapons.

"WAIT! Don’t hurt me! I mean no harm! At least to you."

"...What? What does that mean?"

"Look, nothing. I assume you’re looking for an exit, so let me help you find it."

The group was confused, but as Genesis left the room to guide them towards the exit, Lucid screamed in shock and terror when he looked in the lone mirror of the room, which reflected… his own reflection of porcelain.

"Woah! Shard, what's going on?! It’s just your reflection." Chaos said.

"NO! IT’S NOT! I DON’T LOOK LIKE THAT, DO I?!" 

"...Well, yeah, you did look like that a while ago, why is it a surprise?"

"WHY DIDN’T ANYONE TELL ME?! WHY?!" 

"...Wait, you didn’t know you looked like that?" Chaos asked with genuine curiosity.

"HOW WOULD I KNOW?! THERE WEREN’T ANY MIRRORS AROUND!"

"Can you please stop screaming?! My cat ears can only bear that for so long!" Selene said, as Lucid, looking at his own reflection, broke the mirror with his bare hand, out of reflex, and as the shards of glass fell off the mirror, so did Lucid’s tears. No one really knew why, but he felt as if a precious thing of his was taken away by the most evil of fates.

"...I-I apologize." Genesis said. "Even if you looked like that even before you looked at it, I couldn’t blame you for breaking down in a place like this…"

"...How much time have you been here?" Fettuccine said, as the rest of the group comforted Lucid after that discovery of his.

"If I am being honest, I think I’ve been here for centuries… Time doesn’t seem to flow down here, but even then, I know it has passed a long time."

"...Why aren’t you capable of leaving?"

"The Queen had me stuck in here, and only a symbol bearer can let me out of it, and yet, even if any of them helped me, the Queen would’ve still hunted me down and put me again in this personal jail."

"...Well, here we have two symbol bearers, and we won’t let The Queen trap you in here again."

"...And how are you so sure?"

"Because we have hope." Genesis seemed to feel a sense of regret and guilt, since they had the exit, and it was Fylass, but thanks to their fear, they preferred to destroy that key out of this maze, but at least they have a new key to escape, and they won’t waste it.

"...Thank you." 

"No problem."

"Er… Guys…" Fela called everyone’s attention, only to see the broken mirror oozing out a black substance resembling of tar, and soon enough, it started to take the form of the figure Lucid once was, although none of his old characteristics were able to be seen, only leaving a black, sticky being with eyes made of glass, standing.

"...N-No…" Lucid backed down, and the figure started to move its left hand, and after snapping their fingers, the candles started to bright more and more, to the point where the whole area was starting to burn down.

"RUN!" Soliera said, as everyone left the room to search for an exit. The fire was strong, and the mirrors appeared out of nowhere, now filling the distorted hallways with maimed versions of the group in each mirror; it was indeed, a madhouse.

Everyone went their own way to find an exit as soon as possible, and Lucid ended up running alone on the lone hallway in front of him, as the figure that he saw before was chasing him down, as it said unintelligible nonsense, until it was able to tell a full sentence.

"I s  t h i s  t h e  t h i n g  y o u  w a n t e d  t o  d e n y?"

The figure was running faster and faster, with the mirrors on the sides, cracking and shattering, and their shards were now scattered on the floor. Lucid was panicked, to the point where he couldn't even look back to see the figure, but after many more hallways crossed, he was reunited with the rest of the group that was running, although Fettuccine had a mirror on her back.

"WHAT’S WITH THAT?!"

"YOU’LL SEE!"

The group was coming closer to the exit, as the final hallway, floating in the void of agony was in place, and step by step, the team got closer, until Genesis, and the rest could finally… cross it.

The rain had stopped, as the team kept running and running, as they could feel the grassy field below them once again, and the door behind them disappeared. The group was able to catch a breath again, as they all rested on the floor due to the exhaustion.

"...What… was… that…?" Damian said.

"...You… think… I know…?" Fela said as well.

"Eh, that was fun!" Said the Cheshire Cats, seemingly the only ones that weren’t exhausted, as everyone else looked at Fettuccine and the strange mirror she had, which revealed a reflection of Meta Knight on the other side.

"...It’s… nice… to… see you… again…" Fetty said, hugging the mirror.

"...Oh… You seemingly got one of the lost invitees." Genesis said. "Poor souls trapped behind glass… I am sure that if you weren’t able to run in time, you would’ve ended up behind mirrors too…"

Lucid stayed silent, he didn’t even seem to breathe; the discovery was shocking…

"...You okay, Lucid?" 

"...No. I am not… I lost it… I lost myself…"

"...I don’t really know what to say, to be honest… Bad for you, I guess?" Chaos said.

"...I shouldn’t even be called Shard at this point…"

"Then call yourself something else, I don’t know, I don’t make the rules."

"...I’ll think about it." Lucid said, as he remembered the reason why they were doing this in the first place.

"The kid!" Lucid stood up. "We need to get to the Card Castle!"

"...Well that’s a change of mood if I’ve ever seen one."

"We don’t have time for your talk, we need to save the kid!" The group realized this as well, and sprinted towards the castle, only to find out other two figures standing near it. The white rabbits.

"Oh. You are here." Said Singularity. 

"Oh come on! Singularity, why are you standing like that so nonchalantly?! We need to get to The Queen, or else, she might kill us!"

"...That won’t be necessary."

"...What’s with everyone talking ominously?" Ades said.

"I am aware that you want to get to Card Castle, but the Queen won’t be happy with seeing you there, so…" Singularity dropped a bag filled with DRINK ME bottles, and EAT ME cakes. "You might want to use these. The kid dropped these on the way, and seemingly no one noticed."

"...Why are you helping us?"

"Yeah! Why are you helping them?!" Wisp said.

"...I have my motives. For now though, let’s just go…"

Lucid grabbed the bad, and with confusion, and determination, took the first step.

"...Pretty well then. If you want to let us win this…"

"We’ll do so."

@lostsoulau-ask

@kachikirby

@theflutteringdreameater

@galakianexplosion

@floweyjoestar

@mossyriverrocks

@moon-mage

@den-of-the-blue-dragon

@wyverewings

@loaflovesdoodling

@ilikesillythingswooo

[drewssam]

Cryptocurrency Gaming Coins Open Up A Unique Gaming Experience

Blockchain technology has ushered in a new era of gaming with play-to-earn games, where players can monetize in-game assets and interact globally over the blockchain. These games utilize cryptocurrency gaming tokens, native to specific games, allowing players to purchase items and earn rewards through in-game activities. Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) play a crucial role, representing unique digital assets within the metaverse.

Leading play-to-earn games include Axie Infinity, where players breed and battle unique creatures for rewards like Axie Infinity Shards (AXS) and Smooth Love Potions (SLP). The Sandbox offers a Minecraft-like experience with virtual land ownership and in-game currency (SAND). Gods Unchained and CryptoBlades provide collectible card and RPG experiences, respectively, rewarding players with NFTs and native tokens. Other notable games include Splinterlands, Alien World, SolChicks, Thetan Arena, MetaWars, and Zed Run.

While gaming coins offer investment potential, they carry inherent risks like volatility. Researching each gaming token's features and goals is essential for informed investment decisions. Organizations like Yield Guild Games (YGG) facilitate access to blockchain gaming for players, investing in NFTs and fostering a global gaming community.

[conjunction-tarot]

Five of Wands / Fünf der Stäbe

"the struggle between spirit and soul"

Symbols: conflict, competition, temerity, revolution

Expression: Geburah through Atziluth

Element: Fire

On this card, one can observe Yaldabaoth, the lion serpent versus the liberator, symbolized by the unicorn. In other terms, these alchemical antagonists are represented by mortificatio and albificatio. Also this fight between two brothers is a symbol in many mythologies and scriptures. The conflict is often within us itself. This card not necessarily describes a real enemy outside of oneself, but rather an inner struggle, which has to be resolved.

This animal is no friendly unicorn, as you can imagine. Being the liberator, it is often the destroyer of an often rigid order. It is adorned with reptile sheds, emblematizing the archaic brain stem, in which our flight and attack mode rests. Being in this state can be expressed by feelings of presumption and behaviour of aggressivity, often without knowing, to whom it shall be directed. This is no friendly lion serpent either. Symbolizing control, rigid orders and patriarchal systems it will defend itself until the end, always thinking it knows best. It will regard it's opponent as the villain, and vice versa.

In the upper part are four spears, arranged as a quadrat. It is the arena, in which the act takes place. Like in an arena, there is no escape from this inevitable combat.

A spear strikes down on the alchemical vessel. In it, phosphorus is trapped in matter, ready to be set free. This explosion will be fierce and inevitable - it will destroy the vessel. When it's broken, it can't be fixed. Once the conflict takes form, it can't be contained any more. The now free phosphorus becomes spirit and as such has the opportunity to enlighten both opponents in this delicate process. To be freed from illusion would serve them both well. A disruption of fire will finally bring both opponents to the table. Like in a volcanic eruption, this can be messy in the beginning. There is no need to bother about the destruction now, because while being in this process it can't be stopped. The shards must be picked up later.

These two polarities are entangled in eternity, symbolized by the infinity symbol, connecting them in endless confrontation. They will be antagonists until the chymical wedding is fulfilled. Even then, they will be drifting apart again, as time rots away every goal which has been achieved. So no need to be angry about this inner dialogue and struggle. This is maybe something which all beings have in common. At least no one is alone with unachievable balance. Which can be won, is a truce, or even that one accepts the necessity and place of the other. This is part of the goal of this card.

[whovian223]

Shards of Infinity: Saga Collection Coming Soon from Stone Blade

Shards of Infinity: Saga Collection Coming Soon from @StoneBladeEnt @UltraProIntl

One of the more exciting deck building card games that I’ve played is Shards of Infinity (and its two expansions). There’s just something about the game that’s attractive. It’s not hugely bloated with expansions, but the expansions it does have are very useful (including fixing one of my main problems with the base game). Now Stone Blade Entertainment has announced something really cool, or at…

[metaverseofthings]

The Top 10 Metaverse Apps to take inspiration from in 2023

The concept of a Metaverse has been around for several decades, but it's only in recent years that it's started to become a reality. With the growing popularity of virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) technologies, the idea of a fully-realized Metaverse app is no longer just a fantasy from science fiction novels. So, what exactly is a Metaverse? At its core, the Metaverse is a virtual world that exists parallel to our own, where people can interact with each other and digital objects in real time. It's a shared, immersive space where users can create, explore, and socialize in previously impossible ways in the physical world. But what will the Metaverse of the future look like? How will it impact our lives, both online and offline? And what are the ethical and societal implications of this new form of digital reality? These are just a few questions we'll explore in this blog as we delve deeper into the exciting and rapidly-evolving world of the Metaverse.

Currently in Metaverse.....

According to current statistics, the global market value of the Metaverse was $47.48 billion in 2022, and it has a robust CAGR of 39.44%. The metaverse market is presently estimated at $38.5 billion in 2022 and is expected to grow further to reach $678.80 billion by 2030. Growth predictions based on current metaverse statistics and data show that the Metaverse could reach the $800 billion mark by 2024. Regarding trends, the concept of the Metaverse is predicted to add $5 trillion to the value of the global economy by 2030, making it an exciting area for investment and development in 2023.

What are Top 10 Metaverse Apps?

Metaverse apps offer a unique and innovative way for individuals and developers to create their virtual worlds. In addition, these platforms typically have a high level of interoperability, allowing users to seamlessly move between different virtual environments and interact with others in real-time. In addition to being immersive and interactive, many metaverse apps offer rewards and monetization options for users and creators. This means that users can accumulate virtual assets and currency over time, which they can use to purchase new items or experiences within the Metaverse. Overall, metaverse platforms significantly advance how we interact with virtual environments, offering users a truly immersive and engaging experience. As the Metaverse continues to evolve and expand, we'll see even more innovative, and exciting platforms emerge, each offering its own unique take on this new digital reality.

Discover the Leading top 10 Metaverse Apps

1. Sandbox https://www.youtube.com/embed/jES3dQqinR4 The Sandbox is a leading metaverse app that empowers gamers to create, own, and monetize their unique content on the Ethereum blockchain. Like Decentraland, The Sandbox has its own ERC-20 utility token, SAND, which serves as the currency for Sandbox transactions. With The Sandbox, creators can upload and trade their NFT creations, and the platform has even partnered with major brands, artists, and creatives such as Snoop Dogg, Bored Ape Yacht Club, and Ubisoft. 2. Axie Infinity https://www.youtube.com/embed/q3cZTE7Pt-0 Axie Infinity is an innovative play-to-earn gaming platform inspired by popular Japanese video games like Pokemon and Tamagotchi digital pets. Running on the Ethereum blockchain and utilizing NFTs to represent in-game assets, Axie Infinity allows players to interact with the digital marketplace, build their in-game attributes, and compete in battles. In addition, the platform's native token, Axie Infinity Shards (AXS), provides players with various utilities, including breeding Axies, purchasing land, and competing in tournaments, among other benefits. 3. Sorare Sorare is an NFT-based fantasy football game that allows players to trade and play cards as part of an immersive gaming experience. The platform will enable users to create a verifiable account using their email, username, and password, and players receive free collectable cards that can be used to build a team on the Ethereum blockchain. With every tournament, a player's team earns rewards that can be traded for real money. Sorare has secured endorsements with hundreds of sports clubs and even counts French footballer Kylian Mbappe as a brand ambassador and investor, making it a popular choice among sports enthusiasts. Using Starkware's technology, Sorare avoids scalability issues and provides a seamless gaming experience for its users. 4. Roblox Roblox is an engaging multiplayer online platform providing a virtual world for children and adults to create and socialize in a 3D environment. Initially launched in 2006 as a website, Roblox has now expanded its accessibility to various devices and boasts millions of daily active users. So, how does Roblox work? First, players create an avatar with customizable features, which can be purchased with the platform's native currency, Robux. Moreover, Roblox integrates gaming, social media, and social commerce, enabling players to develop their own spaces, earn, and even trade their Robux. While in-game purchases are possible, getting started on Roblox is free. Users can also join as developers to build games for the platform, and some popular games on the Roblox app include Jailbreak, Adopt Me, Brookhaven RP, and Club Penguin. 5. Decentraland Decentraland is a pioneering 3D virtual world platform running on the Ethereum blockchain. Created in 2015 by Ariel Meilich and Esteban Ordano, Decentraland held its first Initial Coin Offering (ICO) in 2017 and launched publicly in February 2020. A decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) manages the Decentraland metaverse app, utilizing the ERC-20 token standard for its native cryptocurrency, MANA. Additionally, the platform has two other tokens - LAND, an ERC-721 token representing parcels of land NFTs, and Estate, another ERC-721 token portraying combined parcels of digital land. With the MANA token, players can buy and sell virtual lands, explore the Decentraland land map, attend events, and even gamble at a casino. The opportunity to own a plot of land, rent it out, build on it and design houses, bars, gardens, parks, and more makes Decentraland unique. The platform has hosted notable events, including a MetaMask party celebrating 10 million active users and a Super Bowl event held at Miller Lite's Metaverse dive bar. Renowned artists like Ariana Grande, Travis Scott, Marshmello, and Justin Bieber have also successfully hosted virtual events on the platform. 6. Metahero Metahero is a revolutionary metaverse app that combines ultra-realistic 3D technology with real utility tokens to create virtual 3D objects for various purposes, including gaming, social media, fashion, and more. The HERO token powers the Metahero marketplace, creating a token-based economy. Launched in 2020, the platform runs on Binance Smart Chain (BSC) and has gained significant traction since then. It has established partnerships with companies like Wolf Studio, facilitating NFT integration via 3D scanning. Soon, users can customize any object and mint it as an ultra-realistic NFT. Wolf Studio's technology evaluates a real-world object, gathers data, and digitally renders it. Metahero plans to develop a HERO app to serve as a gateway to the Metahero ecosystem. 7. Star Atlas Star Atlas is a blockchain-based MMORPG (massively multiplayer online role-playing game) built on Unreal Engine 5 technology. The metaverse app, founded by Automata, enables players to socialize, participate in battles, claim territory, and establish their communities. The POLIS token governs the network, while ATLAS serves as a payment token. In addition, users can purchase Lands, NFT-based space vehicles, and other in-game items on the marketplace. With its cutting-edge technology and unique gaming experience, Star Atlas is making a name for itself in the metaverse ecosystem. 8. Illuvium Illuvium is a blockchain-based play-to-earn game that utilizes Unreal Engine 4 technology to create ultra-realistic 3D virtual objects. Co-founded by Kieran Warwick and Aaron Warwick, Illuvium is a role-playing game that operates as a collectable token and auto-fighter. The game is set in a virtual world populated by avatars called Illuvials, which exist as NFTs on the Ethereum blockchain. Players can interact with each other and mine rewards with these fantasy creatures. In addition, the platform rewards players with ILV and SILV tokens, which are used to win battles and go on adventures. Like Axie Infinity, Illuvium is heavily based on customizable in-game fighter avatars but offers an immersive 3D gaming experience instead of a 2D one. 9. Bloktopia Bloktopia is an excellent web3 platform that seamlessly blends virtual reality, augmented reality, and blockchain technology to create an immersive metaverse experience for gamers, developers, and investors alike. Its unique approach to the Metaverse features a 12-floor virtual skyscraper, representing a whopping 21 million bitcoins, which users can become virtual landlords of some of the most significant projects in crypto. https://www.bloktopia.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Bloktopiatrailer_Compressed.mp4 With access to a wealth of crypto information and engaging content in a single location, Bloktopians holding the BLOK token can earn revenue through various means, such as real estate ownership and advertising. The platform also offers a vibrant social scene where users can participate in live events and explore the different floors of the Metaverse. Bloktopia is a must-try app for anyone looking to dive into the exciting world of the Metaverse. 10. Upland Upland is an online real estate marketplace and play-to-earn game that runs on the EOS blockchain. The platform, launched in 2020, allows players to participate in treasure hunts, socialize, and buy NFT representations of actual real estate. In addition, players can trade their NFTs for real U.S. dollars using Tilia Pay, which supports PayPal. Ultimately, Upland aims to create a virtual version of real-world addresses in the Metaverse. The platform currently has virtual representations of more than 20 U.S. cities, including San Francisco, Detroit, New York City, Cleveland, and Chicago. If you are considering joining the league of the above big players in the world of metaverse, get started with one of the many no-code platforms like PlugXR where you can create your metaverse world without hefty coding skills. On the intuitive and easy-to-use platform, you can create your virtual worlds, and full-fledged metaverse apps with easy drag-and-drop.

These Leading Metaverse Apps: Shaping the Future of Virtual Worlds

Metaverse platforms have been gaining momentum in recent years, and the future looks bright for this innovative technology. These virtual worlds offer a unique and immersive experience that allows users to explore new horizons, meet new people, and participate in various activities. One of the most exciting prospects for the future of metaverse platforms is their potential to revolutionize how we work, learn, and socialize. As remote work and online education become more prevalent, metaverse platforms can provide a virtual space for individuals to collaborate and learn in a more interactive and engaging environment. The possibilities are endless, from virtual classrooms and meetings to networking events and conferences. Insights of metaverse apps technologies Integrating blockchain technology and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) has created new opportunities for monetization and ownership within metaverse ecosystems. Players can now earn cryptocurrency and unique digital assets through gameplay, and these assets hold real-world value. This concept of "play-to-earn" has already taken the gaming world by storm, and it's expected to become a mainstream trend within metaverse platforms. Another exciting aspect of the future of metaverse platforms is their potential to bridge the gap between physical and virtual worlds. With the advent of augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) technologies, it's becoming increasingly possible to blend real-world experiences with virtual ones seamlessly. This integration can open up new entertainment, education, and even tourism avenues. In conclusion, the future of metaverse platforms holds tremendous promise. As technology continues to evolve, so will the possibilities for immersive and engaging virtual experiences. With a combination of blockchain, NFTs, and AR/VR technologies, metaverse platforms can provide users endless opportunities for creativity, exploration, and personal growth. Read the full article

[geoffleng]

What is GameFi? Top 5 Play-to-Earn (P2E) Games

With a global gaming market of $177.8 billion, its solid position in today's economy. Now, an emerging force is sweeping the gaming industry: GameFi. In traditional games, your token can only exist in the game provider's server, but in GameFi games, your token is truly your own, and these tokens can be exchanged for real money to buy real-life items, perhaps that's the beauty of GameFi.

What is GameFi?

GameFi stands as the combination of the words “game” and “finance”. In doing so, GameFi brings together blockchain technology, including NFTs, cryptocurrencies and decentralization, and advanced gaming mechanics to create virtual environments where players can generate income from simply playing and enjoying their gaming experience.

GameFi powers blockchain games where players are financially rewarded for the time and effort they put into playing. This model is better known as Play-to-Earn. Economic incentives might include tokens, upgrades, avatars, virtual land and much more. Typically, players are rewarded for completing game-related tasks like creating original content, mining resources, progressing through different levels and battling other gamers.

Unlike traditional video games, GameFi allows players to not only earn and collect in-platform assets, but also transfer them across different games and platforms. In doing so, gamers can also monetize their experience by selling or trading their items. In other words, beyond the economic rewards, GameFi presents the players with the chance of owning digital assets that can be part of transactions across different platforms.

This is made possible thanks to decentralization and NFTs, which bring a brand new type of digital ownership to the table.

Until recently, games took place within a siloed, centralized ecosystem, controlled solely by developers. No matter how much time and dedication you’d put into playing your favorite title, at the end of the day your treasured collection of coins, prizes, avatars, weapons and other assets was never really yours and ultimately had no real world value. By letting players have real ownership over their gaming items, GameFi and play-to-earn have paved the way for an economy based on player empowerment.

This trend is hardly something to be scoffed at. After all, the blockchain gaming industry saw a staggering 2000% growth between last year and the first quarter of 2022, with billions pouring into this segment of the market. The adoption of blockchain technology by developers is also driving a wider market expansion, with projections showing a double-digit growth over the next decade, to $545.98 billion by 2028.

So, now that you know what GameFi is, let's see what are some good nft games.

Axie Infinity

Axie Infinity is a play-to-earn online game. It allows players to collect, breed, and mint Pokémon-inspired Axies before pitting them against one another in battle. Sky Mavis, a gaming giant, created it. Axie Infinity fuels the development and use of ‘Axies,’ or digital creatures, in the game with its native Ethereum-based cryptocurrency. The digital creatures, or ‘Axies,’ are essentially NFTs that provide players with unique proof of ownership.

The game is a hybrid of card-based battle systems and turn-based combat, with each Axie having its own set of abilities. Axies, like Pokémon, can be classified into many different types, with 9 different types in the world of Axie Infinity. Smooth Love Potion, or SLP, is a prime example of how to use cryptocurrency in the play-to-earn game. Smooth Love Potions are grown for profit and traded on various cryptocurrency exchanges. Meanwhile, Axie Infinity Shards, or AXS, serve as a governance token of the Axie Infinity ecosystem. AXS can currently be used to pay breeding fees.

The Sandbox

The Sandbox is a play-to-earn metaverse game that combines blockchain technology, DeFi, and NFTs. It is built on the Ethereum blockchain. The Sandbox, developed by Pixowl, is intended to disrupt the traditional gaming market in which platforms own and control user-generated content, limiting the rights of creators and gamers. In addition, players can create, own, and profit from their gaming experiences. These experiences are created on LAND and traded for non-fungible tokens (NFTs).

Cashbox (Metaverse)

Cashbox is the world's first blockchain game that combines the ancient civilized world with the legendary gem NFT and Mythical Beasts. In the early Teaser version of Cashbox, Cashbox(NFT, Metaverse) provide a space with the background of the four ancient civilizations. We travel into the past, seeing Mesopotamia, Ancient Egypt, Ancient India, and Ancient China. Such a simulated virtual world has all the elements of the real world, including identity, business, entertainment, social interaction, civilization, administration, etc.

[kentochronicles]

***SPOILERS FOR WANDAVISION EPISODE 6***

So I’m still processing everything but holy shite that ep was wild...

FIRST THINGS FIRST - WANDA, VISION, BILLY AND PIETRO ALL IN COMIC ACCURATE-ISH COSTUMES AND TOMMY IN A MINI QUICKSILVER COSTUME

PIETRO CALLING BILLY AND TOMMY DEMON SPAWN - GOD DAMMIT, IT’S MEPHISTO ISN’T IT? HOUSE OF M HERE WE COME

HERB ASKING WANDA IF SHE WANTED SOMETHING CHANGED

AGNES ASKING VISION ABOUT THE AVENGERS AND STUFF AND AT FIRST SHE SEEMED GENUINELY FREAKED OUT BUT THEN STARTED LAUGHING MANIACALLY AND I STILL DON’T TRUST HER AND AGNES BEING DRESSED AS A WITCH? AGATHA HARKNESS WAS A WITCH - COINCIDENCE? I THINK NOT!

DARCY LOOKING OVER MONICA’S MED SCANS AND TELLING HER HOW THE HEX AFFECTS HER EACH TIME SHE GOES IN - IS SHE DEVELOPING HER POWERS?

PIETRO’S CORPSE - SCARED ME JUST AS MUCH AS VISION’S

MOVIES SHOWING IN THE THEATRE IN THE BACKGROUND - THE INCREDIBLES: A MOVIE BASED AROUND A SUPERHERO FAMILY AND THE PARENT TRAP: A MOVIE ABOUT TWINS WHO MEET AT CAMP AND TRY AND SET THEIR PARENTS UP

DON’T GO PAST ELLIS AVENUE - NOW I DON’T KNOW IF THIS IS A CONNECTION OR JUST A COINCIDENCE BUT ELLIS IS THE LAST NAME OF THE PRESIDENT DURING IRON MAN 3

TOMMY HAVING HIS SPEED POWERS AND BILLY HAVING HIS REALITY WARPING/TELEKINETIC POWERS - WELCOME SPEED AND WICCAN

A CALL BACK TO INFINITY WAR WHEN VISION EXITED THE HEX? SLIGHTLY DUSTING AND HE PROBABLY WON’T SURVIVE BEING OUTSIDE OF THE HEX - HE’LL JUST DIE AGAIN 🥲

I STILL DON’T TRUST HAYWARD - HE’S VERY SUS

DARCY BEING TAKEN INTO THE HEX WITH THE OTHER S.W.O.R.D AGENTS - HOPEFULLY WE CAN SEE THE OUTFITS THAT KAT DENNING’S WAS EXCITED ABOUT

I SWEAR THEY BETTER NOT STRAIGHTWASH BILLY AND TOMMY OR I WILL RIOT 😤

***FURTHER UPDATES***

So sit-com wise, it seems they were referencing Malcolm in the Middle as the twins broke the fourth wall and talked to the audience, like Malcolm did

However, the theme song has told the viewer to stop questioning the reality of Westview - which could be a little reference to Mystery Science Theatre 3000? - When Pietro first shows up in the title sequence, along with his name title card, the lyrics say “Though there may be no way of knowing who’s come to play” - Istg, I do not trust Pietro

Vision says to Wanda that he had to wear his Halloween costume because there were no other clothes in his closet, Wanda is trying to move the plot along and forcing Vision to play along

Evan Peters’ ‘Mom’ tattoo is shown, which is a tattoo he actually has in real life ! But could this stand for ‘Multiverse of Madness’ or some other red herring?

Pietro mentions to Wanda that if he had found ‘Shangri-La’ he wouldn’t want to leave either - Shangri-La is a real place on Earth-616 that was founded by a version of Vision

Tommy refers to Pietro’s speed as ‘kickass’ and then Wanda repeats that, saying ‘kickass’ again - Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Evan Peters (both versions of QuickSilver) were in Kick-Ass together

The ad for this episode was freaky af - the character on the beach who starved and decomposed could be a little nod to Indiana Jones, where a Nazi’s face melts in - and it could also be reference to Wanda being all alone and struggling to process her grief. The shark in the ad could also be Nightmare or Mephisto or just someone more powerful than Wanda offering her a new beginning with Vision or trapped her in some way - and is feeding off her magic? The flavour of the yoghurt is strawberry flavoured and strawberry’s are red on the outside and pink-ish on the inside - much like Wanda’s og costume and her magic being red 👀

Pietro and Wanda talk about their Sokovian accents at a point in the episode and how neither have them anymore. Wanda’s, as we know, has disappeared over the course of the MCU movies and Pietro’s just doesn’t exist - another nice little nod to Peter Maximoff from the fox X-Men films? Also, Pietro states that “I’m just trying to do my part, okay? Come to town unexpectedly, create tension with the brother-in-law, stir up trouble with the Rugrats (a 90’s cartoon 👀) and ultimately give you grief.” - in reference to the grief part, could Pietro be killed off again? Stir up trouble with the rugrats, being possible shards of the demon Mephisto’s soul, could this be Mephisto trying to influence them on a deeper level? It’s also many many common sitcom clichès

Pietro talks about how “I got shot like a chump on the street for no reason at all” - nice little nod to how Pietro was killed off unnecessarily and how we as a fandom still talk about how regular bullets shouldn’t have killed him

Herb is dressed as Frankenstein’s monster - Dr. Frankenstein created his monster and soon lost control over him, and he was created using electricity or lightning - much like Vision was created and brought to life by Thor using Mjolnïr to bring lightning down to his incubator thingy majig. Could this also be a reference to either Wanda slowly losing control over Westview or someone else controlling Wanda/controlling the citizens of Westview - we saw in episode 3 that Agnes told Herb to be quiet as it seemed he was about to spill the beans 👀

Vision goes towards Ellis avenue and is at a ‘crossroads’ of sorts - in folklore, crossroads are often used to speak to or summon the devil and are also used when an important character is making a decision that could change everything. He spots some citizens repeating certain actions and/or just standing completely still, could these be npc’s (non playable characters)? And now that the barrier of the Hex has spread, will those citizens now start to move? 👀 Also I know that all stop signs look like it, but the stop sign is also a red hexagon 🛑

Darcy scrolls through Hayward’s computer files and goes past a file called “Project C4-113” - it could reference Avengers Issue #113 in which Wanda and Vision both appear on the cover and she says she’s going to make the world pay for Vision’s death. There’s also another file called “Project M5-247” which could be a nod to Avengers Issue #247, which shows the origin of the Eternals and in the same vein, Scarlet Witch and Vision trying to help Captain Marvel. And when Darcy emails Hayward’s cataract plans, you can see the names of “James Alexander and James Gadd” - James Alexander is a visual effects producer on Wandavision and James Gadd works on post production at Marvel

Also: Agnes pulls as Mrs Hart and repeats the same phrase over and over again

After Wanda blasts Pietro, you can see on a fake grave stone the name of “Janell Sammelman”, Janell is a first assistant director on Wandavision

When Wanda moves Westview to save Vision, she turns S.W.O.R.D and it’s agents into clowns + a circus - I just love that the agents turned into clowns 😂 but there is a nice little plot line in the comics where Scarlet Witch, Quicksilver and Hawkeye join the circus - and this COULD be stretch, but earlier in the episode there is the number #22 which could be Avengers Issue #22, which is the Issue that they join the circus

As soon as Vision was brought back into Westview, he was healed - which means if he was to exit again, he probably wouldn’t survive 😭

The episode title is ‘All-New Halloween Spooktackular!” - which “All-New” is a designation that is often used on covers for comic books. And the first issue of the second The Vision and the Scarlet Witch series takes place on Halloween night - but the events in this comics didn’t influence this episode’s plot

Pietro points out that he has the “XY chromosome” - X for X-Men? Plus there’s the X gene 😂

He mentions “Uncle Peter to the rescue” - Peter is the name of Quicksilver from the Fox X-Men Franchise

Pietro and Tommy quote the movie Top Gun (1986) by saying “I fell the need, the need for speed”

Wanda almost seems hesitant to trust this version of Pietro (rightfully so, in my opinion) and is wary of him being around Tommy and Billy

Pietro says some very Mephisto/Nightmare-like things this episode - “Unleash hell, demon spawn!”, “The kids need a father figure”, “Damnit, if Westview isn’t charming as Hell...” - And if Pietro isn’t Mephisto/Nightmare, it HAS to be Agnes or her other half Ralph and Pietro is probably Ralph tbh...or could Pietro just be a scapegoat and Hayward is Ralph? 👀

The theatre in town, which is playing the Incredibles and The Parent Trap, is called the Coronet. There’s a classic poem called “The Coronet” written by Andrew MARVELL (Marvell, is also the true name of the first incarnation of Captain Marvel in the comics) and is about a guy who knows that the sins of mankind led to the death of Christ. He attempts to create a new crown for Christ’s head in an attempt to atone, but finds that there is sin in the crown as well, as the devil is within the crown and therefore he may achieve glory and success with his new creation 👀

Hayward’s confidential project “Cataract” included experimenting on Vision’s body, as was revealed by Darcy (my wife 💙 and Monica is also my wife 💚 and so is Wanda 💛, I just love women, you know? 😂). A cataract is a cloudy area in the lens of the eye that leads to a decrease in vision - is Hayward trying to weaponise Vision? Or maybe even trying to bring Ultron back? Or do what Tony wanted to do in the first place, and make a suit of armour that’s around the world? Either way, it’s for nefarious purposes

Who is Monica’s guy? Jimmy and Monica are off to meet him - could it be Reed Richards (Mr Fantastic)? Or could it be Victor Von Doom (Dr Doom)? Could it be Hank McCoy (Beast)? Or even Adam Brashear (Blue Marvel)? Or if it is a woman, could it be the Skrull daughter of Talos that Monica befriended at the end of Captain Marvel? Could it be Abigail Brand (A major character in recent S.W.O.R.D comics and an Alpha Flight Member)? Or even Toni Ho (Iron Patriot, and could she be introduced to help lay the ground work for my other queen, Riri Williams/Iron Heart?)? Or could it even be Sue Storm (Invisible Woman)?

In the background of the episode we see a number of children and adults dressed up as many different characters, which includes: Sub-Zero from Mortal Kombat, Jason Voorhees, with a sweater striped like Freddy Krueger’s and even a kid that looks dressed in an off-brand Charizard costume 😂 Pokèmon has always been popular, but saw an increase during the 90’s

Pietro and the kids are drinking “Kane Cola” which could be a reference to the 90’s drinks “Jolt Cola” or even “Surge” - it could also, with all the X-Men Easter eggs, be a reference to Garrison Kane, who was a member of Cable’s mercenary team “Six Pack” and is sometimes also known as ‘Weapon X’

The kid that Wanda mentions having a “skin thing” in the orphanage - could that be a reference to her Brotherhood of Evil Mutants co-worker Toad? Or maybe even Mystique? Maybe Kurt Wagner (Nightcrawler)?

One of the houses has a sign up that says ‘Macabre Mansion’ - another possible reference to House of M?

During a flashback, it’s shown that the twins are playing Dance Dance Revolution, which came out in 1999. Also this might be a stretch, but the boys have a dog plushie in their room the right - which is coloured red and black - could this be a reference to Dogpool? 😂

I love this show 🤣💙

[rise-above-the-grave]

beware stained glass shards

for @dekusmynamecryingsmygame​. you said angst was fine, so uhhhh have some mf-ing erasermic angst I guess. please note that a) I am brand new to this fandom and am still figuring out headcanons and characterizations. hopefully I didn’t screw anything up too bad in that regard...but if I did, please at least be gentle in your critique :’)... b) I wrote this in...about 4 hours, all completely after midnight. it’s not gonna be my best work :/ but I did my best! and I wanted to get this up asap so you could see and read it sooner rather than later.

tw for: canon-typical injuries, hospitals (and everything that goes along with hospitals like doctors, nurses, surgeries, etc.), some implied (it’s only implied!! and it’s super duper uber vague) nsfw stuff, and an off-screen (debatable; maybe-it-was, maybe-it-wasn’t) suicide attempt. (was it a suicide attempt or a villain attack? I don’t even know myself! - at least not yet. read it however you wanna read it. I purposefully leave it open for interpretation.)

and if you don’t wanna read it because of that even potential suicide attempt, lemme know and I’ll write you something else, Peachy... alkdsjflkjdsf unfortunately I have a bad case of “I didn’t think this through” after midnight, and I didn’t even think of that possibility until I was basically done writing it. at that point I was like “It’s 5:30 and I need to sleep, I might as well post this on the off chance they do want to read it...” if you don’t wanna read it tho lemme know and again, I’ll write ya something else tomorrow <3

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

He falls.

There is lightning, there is thunder, there is rain—and for an instant (a second, a heartbeat, a breath), he is a swallow, a sparrow, a falcon. He flies with invisible wings, the air is caught beneath him and above him and before him, the world spreads out into infinity below the raindrops hanging suspended in the air. The lightning gilds his dark hair in quicksilver, the thunder that follows an instant later shakes his bones, and the rain that drives him to the earth soaks his clothes into a second skin.

He falls, the asphalt of the alley that runs beneath the comet of his body rising nearer and nearer in a rapid sequence that he thinks, distantly, should be alarming.

I should be afraid, he thinks.

This is going to hurt, he thinks.

Hizashi—

And then there is pain, and there is fear, and there is darkness gilt by lightning, silence shrouded by thunder, blood watered by rain.

---

Yamada Hizashi is 22, desperate, and dangerous.

He is older than he thought he would ever be. When he was young, he had imagined himself living to the infinite age of 50. He would look at himself in the mirror hanging in the bathroom, fingers combing through hair he imagined going silver, palms smearing smooth skin he imagined going wrinkled and weather worn. He would pluck at the band t-shirts he’d wear under too-hot, too-heavy jackets with fidgety hands, wondering what he’d wear then.

I’m gonna be a hero! he’d told his moms, and when they laughed and hugged him and told him, You’re going to be the best hero there is!, he believed himself immortal, invincible, inevitable.

And he was. He was immortal, invincible, inevitable. He could be hurt, he could be beaten, he could be knocked down. But no matter what—no matter the pain, the struggle, the difficulty—he healed, and he fought until he was victorious, and he stood back up. No one could keep him down. No one could diminish him. No one could threaten his impenetrable view of the future.

And then—and then Oboro. And it had all crashed down around him, like so many shards of shattered stained glass.

With Oboro goes his heart. His future. His eternity. He is taught, with the sharpness of stone, with the heaviness of rubble, with the choking taste of dust, that death lurks in the most innocent of shadows, that pain waits in the wings of the theater, that certainty is a lodestone chained around your neck.

Nothing is certain. Not everything can heal. No one is invincible.

He stops thinking he’ll live to 50.

He stops thinking he’ll live past 20.

“Fuck you,” he spat, and Shouta flinched as if he’d been struck, the Happy birthday that had been on his lips dying a silent, painful death. “Fuck everything.” Without warning—without even fully processing what he intended to do; he just hurt, and he needed something, someone, to hurt with him—Hizashi threw his tumbler against the wall behind the bar. The shelf the tumbler hit broke, and a cascade of bottles and liquor crashed to the floor in so many shard of glass and fragments of dreams and spreading rivers of blood.

There was a shout, and then Hizashi felt Tensei’s and Nemuri’s hands on his shoulders, heard Shouta’s voice sounding unusually placating and apologetic as he spoke to the bartender who had rushed over.

“Get him out of here,” Shouta snapped a few seconds later, turning and looking straight at him with death in his eyes. For an instant, Hizashi almost felt guilty. Then Tensei and Nemuri were dragging him away from the counter, away from the gathering crowd, away from the bar.

“Idiot,” Tensei muttered as Hizashi listed against him in the alley behind the bar, all at once too drunk and too sober to function.

“Idiot,” Nemuri sighed, guiding him into the cab, buckling the seatbelt across his chest and waist and then letting him collapse against her shoulder.

“Idiot,” Shouta hissed at him as he undressed him and shoved him unkindly into bed.

He stops thinking he’ll live—and so he stops caring. He drinks too much. Eats too little. Throws himself into his work with a single-minded mania.

His relationship with Shouta suffers. They grate, like two broken ends of a once-whole bone, the nerve that is Oboro’s death still laid bare between them. Shouta can’t sleep without Hizashi in his bed; Hizashi can’t sleep unless he’s alone. Hizashi drinks to drown his memories, his emotions, his pain; Shouta tries to starve his out. They argue about it, until Shouta erases Hizashi’s quirk and Hizashi throws a punch—about Shouta’s energy pouches, about Hizashi’s whiskey. About the lights Hizashi wants to leave on at night. About the socks on the floor inside the door. About the uncapped toothpaste left by the bathroom sink. About the half-eaten takeout sitting in the fridge. About the nights Shouta will disappear without warning, without a trace. About—

Hizashi wonders if it is his fault the day Shouta walks out, slamming the door behind him.

Shouta doesn’t come back.

Hizashi drinks more. Eats less. Works harder. Does anything, anything to distract himself from the event horizon opening inside his chest.

I’ve lost my best friend, he thinks, curled up alone and unable to sleep in a bed that had once held two.

For the first time in years, he wishes someone was sleeping beside him.

It is dangerous. He knows this—knows the risks, knows that the rewards are negligible compared to the ruin it could bring him. His career is on the line. His future hangs by a thread.

Hizashi doesn’t care.

He isn’t going to live past 21 anyway.

Only a few of his partners know who he is. Those that do keep silent. It is never wise to paint a target on your back, and Hizashi makes it clear that he doesn’t want a relationship, isn’t looking for a connection—that there is no reason for them to think there is anything between them but drunken carnality.

He learns fast how to duck cameras—and how to attract them. He learns how to avoid reporters, except when he wants to talk. He learns how to sidetrack paparazzi with glamour shots. He finds he is good at this game of chess, of Russian Roulette, of cards built into fragile palaces. He is good with people, good with crowds, good with playing the symphony’s strings.

I’d make a damn good villain, he thinks one night before he drifts off to sleep, a cute blond whose name he can’t remember already asleep beside him.

And then he thinks of Shouta—of Eraserhead—and the guilt he’d swallowed eight months before, when Shouta had walked out and left nothing but empty shadows where he’d been, threatens to choke him. He barely makes it to the bathroom before he vomits, bile tasting of too-much alcohol and too-little food, of regret and shame.

What am I doing? he thinks, leaning his forehead against cool porcelain.

“Are you okay?” the cute blond asks. He stands in the door to the bathroom and looks down at Hizashi with concern in his pale eyes.

“Get out,” Hizashi says, not looking up.

“But—”

“Just—just go.” And then, softly, voice breaking halfway through the only syllable that matters, “Please.”

The cute blond leaves, and Hizashi is left totally, utterly alone.

---

“You’re listed as his emergency contact.”

Hizashi stares at the window overlooking the city and sees nothing but smears of too-bright light against a stormy night. Sees nothing but the unknown caller ID flashing up on his phone screen after its ringing had woken him. Sees nothing but the memory of Shouta’s face just before he’d turned away and stalked out of the apartment, slamming the door behind him.

What had they even been fighting about? Hizashi can’t remember.

“I’ll be right there,” Hizashi says, unsticking his throat just long enough to remember what he’s supposed to say.

The line clicks dead, and Hizashi stumbles blindly out of bed and into a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. He throws on a jacket, a pair of boots, a set of headphones. Ties his hair up in a bun to keep it out of his face and, hopefully, dry once he pulls the hood of his jacket over his head.

The trip to the hospital is spent in a haze of emotion, fear, and dread. He can’t parse any of it, though. Can’t understand it, give voice to it, give structure to it. All he knows is that he is feeling, and that he is afraid, and that he is certain that the scythe has finally fallen once again—only once again it hasn’t come to reap his life.

The hospital is bright against the rain-swept night, clean and sharp and stinging. Hizashi feels bad about the mud he tracks in, feels bad about the water he drips on the floor, feels bad about the lingering scent of gel and hairspray that seems to hang around him no matter what shampoo he uses.

He tells them who he is, who he is here to see. The nurse helping him looks at Hizashi with a curious expression that he is too strung out to try to interpret, and then leads him down a maze of white corridors that he knows he will never remember. They stop outside a door in the ICU, and the woman rests a hand on his forearm and says something Hizashi does not hear. Then she opens the door, and Hizashi steps into the room.

Shouta is unconscious on a bed, surrounded by machines. His chest rises and falls with intubated breath, and two IVs are hooked into the backs of his hands. His eyes are closed beneath the purple and black bruising shadowing his face, and Hizashi can just see more bruising peering out above the bandages swathing his chest.

“How—” He chokes, unable to form the words that he needs to say.

“We don’t know,” the nurse says. “He was found in an alley by a couple of drunk college students. We think he fell.”

“Fell?” Hizashi repeats dumbly. “But he never falls.”

The nurse is silent. Whatever she is thinking, she does not share with Hizashi.

For that, Hizashi is grateful.

“Is he going to make it?”

“We don’t know,” the nurse admits. “He has to stabilize before we can use any healing on him. If he survives the night, his prognosis will be good—but it’s a big “if”.” She hesitates, then says, “It’s a good thing you came.”

Hizashi moves to sit in the chair pulled up to Shouta’s bedside and sinks into it. He does not see the nurse watch him with concern—does not hear her pager go off a few minutes later. He does not even notice when she disappears through the door, or when the door clicks shut behind her.

For a long time, Hizashi is silent. There is too much to say—too much he needs to say, too much he wants to say, too much he can’t say. The words sit heavy on his tongue, in his throat, behind his teeth. They are stones in his stomach, glass in his lungs, thorns in his heart.

He opens his mouth. Closes it. Opens it again.

He laughs weakly.

“You always did have a way of leaving me speechless, Sho,” he says at last. His voice is a clap of thunder in the silence of the room.

Hizashi sighs and buries his face in his hands.

“Please wake up,” he whispers through his fingers. “There’s so much I have to tell you. So much you have to know. Like, you have to know that I—I’m sorry. For…for everything.”

He swallows. His throat constricts, and his breath comes in shaky gasps.

“I can’t lose you too,” he says to his palms, because looking at Shouta is too much. His voice is hoarse and barely audible and pleading. “Please, Sho…”

The machines beep. The vents rattle. Shouta’s false breath hisses.

And Shouta doesn’t wake, even when Hizashi begins to cry.

---

Hizashi is asleep when the doctor comes in, just after dawn. He startles awake at the sound of the door closing, blinking blearily and turning his head to stare at the tall, dark man. The doctor smiles at him, and goes to check on Shouta.

He had survived the night. That much, at least, is a relief.

“We still don’t know,” the doctor warns Hizashi. “But we can start to be hopeful.”

They take him away for another surgery. This time, they promise Hizashi, a healer will be involved.

Hizashi stands, stretches, and goes in search of food. He finds the cafeteria, and buys a meager breakfast that smells bad and tastes worse. When he looks at his phone, he sees that he has missed calls from both Tensei and Nemuri. He shuts it off and shoves his phone back into his pocket to deal with later.

He’s going to have to call his agency soon, too, but he has a few minutes until that call is critical.

He spends a quarter of an hour sitting at the hard, plastic table in the cafeteria, staring out of the window at the overcast morning and thinking. He thinks about what he is going to say if—when—Shouta wakes up. He thinks about what he is going to say to Nemuri and Tensei. He thinks about his choices, and about the certainty of death, and about the possibility of life.

He thinks about Oboro, and about Shouta, and about how he lost one and how he might lose the other.

Hizashi stands, shoving his chair back so hard it topples onto the floor with a bang. What few others are in the cafeteria stare at him with varying degrees of irritation and wariness, until he rights the chair and walks away with a casual wave of apology.

He calls Tensei.

Tenya is running around in the background, laughing maniacally, and Tensei is distracted during the call in spite of his concern. He promises to come by the hospital when he can, though, and tells Hizashi to call Nemuri. Hizashi promises he will, and hangs up.

Nemuri is unusually quiet as Hizashi tells her what he knows of what happened, and while he tells her that Shouta is back in surgery. When at last she speaks, she only says, “You were still his emergency contact.” It is not a question. It is barely an observation. More than anything, it is a revelation.

“I guess so,” Hizashi says, cradling the phone between his ear and his shoulder as he feeds a bill into one of the vending machines. His breakfast had been bland, and he wants sugar.

They talk for another few minutes about nothing in particular, and as Hizashi unwraps his candy bar and begins to eat, he is struck with the notion that Nemuri is just trying to distract him. He appreciates it. Before long, though, she hangs up with a quick goodbye, and a promise to come to the hospital after her last patrol.

Hizashi crumples the empty wrapper and tosses it into a trash bin, and wanders his way back toward Shouta’s room.

He calls his agency once he is seated by Shouta’s still-empty bed. He tells them there was a family emergency, and that he will not be able to patrol today. They are surprisingly accepting of his feeble excuses, and Hizashi wonders if someone else had already contacted them. Probably Tensei, he decides. That was always the kind of thing Tensei thought of.

His phone calls made, Hizashi settles uncomfortably into the hard, plastic chair to wait for Shouta to be brought back. He tries not to think. He mostly fails.

He thinks of Shouta. He thinks of Oboro. He thinks of invincibility, and of shattered stained glass, and of birthdays. He thinks of a broken shelf of liquor bottles. He thinks of screaming at Shouta in their apartment, so angry he’s lost control, and of Shouta silencing him with a red-eyed stare. He thinks of broken promises, and broken hopes, and broken dreams.

They bring Shouta back in sometime around noon. He is still unconscious, but he looks a little better than he had the night before. The bruising is lighter—more red and purple than black and purple—and he is breathing on his own. Some of his color has returned as well, though he was never anything but pale.

The nurses leave again, after telling Hizashi things he does not hear, his attention fixed on Shouta to the exclusion of all else. He wonders, vaguely, as he feels them leave the room, if they had figured that out, or if they had just finished telling him what they had to say.

The seconds drag into minutes as Hizashi waits, the minutes into hours. Hizashi sits, stiff and sore, in the chair by Shouta’s bedside, watching his chest move beneath the bandaging, watching his eyes flicker beneath his eyelids. He wonders what Shouta dreams of.

The doctor comes in again. Leaves again. Hizashi ignores him.

Nemuri comes, but does not stay long. She talks, and Hizashi listens with half an hear, saying nothing as she tells him about her day, about her night, about everything but her worry over Shouta. It’s there, though, lurking beneath every strained story, every forced laugh, every brittle word.

Nemuri is older than him and Shouta and Tensei—but, like Tensei, she had found them adrift in the wake of Oboro’s death, and like Tensei she had decided, “These are mine, now.” Hizashi is grateful for it most days.

It is only after Nemuri stands and presses a kiss to Hizashi’s cheek in farewell that he speaks.

“They think he fell,” Hizashi says, not looking anywhere but Shouta’s face. Nemuri freezes.

“But he never falls.”

“I know.”

“Do you think—”

“I don’t know what I think,” Hizashi says, short and sharp. “And neither do you.”

Nemuri hesitates. Then says simply, “Okay.” She leaves without another word.

---

Tensei visits for an hour, and when he leaves he promises to return later in the evening so that Hizashi can run home to shower and change clothes. Hizashi agrees without really knowing what he’s agreeing to.

Night has just well and truly fallen when Shouta’s eyes flicker, then open. He looks around, taking in the lights and the ceiling and walls—and then his eyes fall on Hizashi, and he freezes.

“Hey,” Hizashi says.

Shouta turns his eyes away and stares up at the ceiling.

“Uh,” Hizashi says, feeling suddenly awkward and tongue-tied. “Thanks for leaving me as your emergency contact.”

Shouta grunts. Hizashi wonders if he can even talk right now, or if it’s too painful.

“Look, Sho…” Hizashi grimaces. “Shouta,” he corrects.

Shouta looks at him again, eyes flicking over to his face. Hizashi rubs the back of his neck, and tries to figure out how to say what he wants to say.

“I know this is a bad time,” he says finally. “But I have to say this before the doctors come rushing in, and before you get up the strength to kick me out.” Shouta’s eyes narrow at him, but Hizashi isn’t looking at him anymore—is staring, instead, at the edge of the bed.

“I’m sorry,” he blurts out. “For…” He takes a deep breath. “For everything.”

Shouta looks back at the ceiling, and does not speak.

Hizashi calls the nurses. They come quickly, and Hizashi excuses himself from the room so that they can fuss over Shouta in peace. By the time they are done, Tensei is back, and Hizashi finds himself kicked out of the hospital until he has showered, changed, and eaten a full meal. He agrees to the terms grudgingly, but only because the memory of Shouta not even being willing to look at him is still fresh in his mind.

It haunts him as he showers, as he changes, as he walks to a small take-out restaurant a few blocks from his apartment and places his order. He wonders if he should even go back to the hospital, or if Shouta would prefer it to just be Tensei there.

He almost decides he would.

Tensei calls him just as he’s finishing his dinner, though.

“You on your way back?” he asks.

“Yeah,” Hizashi says, because he can’t quite bring himself to be selfless enough to say no.

---

Shouta is still awake when Hizashi walks into the room again. He looks at Hizashi when he opens the door and steps inside, then looks away again before he can close it. Tensei notices the silent exchange with a pensive look, but says nothing.

“Well,” he says, standing, “I have to go. I’m babysitting Tenya again tomorrow morning, and that little monster drains more out of me than twenty villains.” The soft smile on his lips belies the cutting words, though, and Hizashi knows that Tensei would give the world to his little brother if given the chance.

“Thanks,” Hizashi says, and claims the chair Tensei had just vacated.

Silence fills the room in the wake of Tensei’s departure, heavy and awkward and uncomfortable. Hizashi looks everywhere but at Shouta. Shouta stares at the ceiling.

“I…” Hizashi begins at last, entirely uncertain where he means to go with his next sentence but knowing he can’t bear the silence any longer.

A sigh cuts him off. Then, abruptly, in a ragged voice, Shouta says, “I’m sorry.”

Hizashi finally looks at him, startled. “For what?”

“For…everything,” Shouta says. “For walking out. For not being there for you. For ignoring you when you needed me.”

“Shouta, I…” Hizashi swallows hard. “I dug my own grave. I don’t expect you to dig me out. I never have.”

“Maybe that’s your problem,” Shouta whispers. “Our problem.”

Hizashi frowns. “What happened, Sho?” he asks suddenly. “How did you fall?”

“Someone pushed me,” Shouta says without hesitation. “I didn’t see them until it was too late.”

For the first time in seven years, Hizashi isn’t sure if Shouta is lying.

“Okay.” The word tastes like ash on Hizashi’s tongue, but there is nothing else he can say. Not now, anyway. Not yet.

Maybe not ever.

Shouta is silent again, but it is a different kind of silence. Hizashi waits, knowing he is preparing to say something. At last, after a few heavy moments of pregnant waiting, Shouta says, “Can we start over?”

Hizashi looks at him, surprised. “I’m not sure that’s going to be possible,” he tells Shouta.

“Maybe,” Shouta agrees. “But…try again, then.”

For the first time in over a day, Hizashi smiles. “Yeah,” he says. Then, again, “Yeah. I’d…like that. I’d like that a lot.”

Shouta nods, just a little, against the pillow behind his head. He closes his eyes.

“Will you be here?” he asks, voice already thick with sleep.

“Yeah,” Hizashi says, knowing what he’s asking. “I’ll be here when you wake up.”

Shouta nods again, eyes still closed, and in seconds his breathing evens out into a soft, sleepy cadence.

Hizashi settles back into his uncomfortable chair, preparing for another long night of half-conscious sleep. It’ll be worth it, though, he thinks. Anything is worth having my best friend back.

And for the first time since the stained glass of his invincibility shattered, Hizashi thinks that maybe, just maybe—if Shouta is at his side—he’ll see his 25th birthday. Maybe even his 30th.

Maybe even his 50th.

[autumn-ginkgo-leaves]

Hello! Do you think it's worth restarting? I've only been playing for a little over 2 days but I'm ftp and hardstuck at 5-15, I don't have any SR with mood as a main stat, my SRs are maxed out (lv.30 rank 4) and it's not enough, but I can't evolve them since I don't have the materials for it (nor the starts to clear the elite shoots to get them) :(

I’m sorry to hear you’re stuck! Accessing the evolve mats is a PITA. Before you try restarting and rerolling your account, here are a few things to try:

Use all your free summon tickets and infinity tickets to get cards from the gacha (and do your free summons)

Do all your daily tasks to get Biho’s free Flower Ring SSR (it takes 30 days)

Do all the photoshoots you can to claim the free Taehee Wizard card (about a week)

Earn SSR cameras for free in Photoshoot and level them to 50 

Take your strongest boy through His Story to earn SRs

Earn free SR/SSR shards through PVP 

There will be more free SR/SSR events that come up over the coming weeks

Evolve a Mood R card! I have a few evolved Rs from my first few days of the game and they were great help. 

F2P means it’s going to take time to progress in the game at every stage. Even by dropping money I get stuck for short periods, so it happens to all of us. See how you go for a few more days or a week perhaps and I hope you get unstuck soon. 

[inventivaindia]

Shards of Infinity deck-building cyberpunk game goes digital in 2019

Shards of Infinity deck-building cyberpunk game goes digital in 2019

Stone Blade Entertainment and Temple Gates Games are bringing the deck-building cyberpunk game Shards of Infinity to digital platforms including iOS, Android, and Steam.

The digital versions of the game will debut in the spring of 2019 for $8. The board game was made by Justin Gary and Gary Arant, who were also the designers of its predecessor, Ascension.

Theresa Duringer, founder of Temple Gates…

[illuminatinggames]

Ascension: Year 2 Collector’s Edition (Storm of Souls & Immortal Heroes). I got out of CCGs just as foil chase cards were starting to be a thing - I think I still have a few from Decipher’s execrable Lord of the Rings game - so I’ve never gotten to actually play with this kind of shiny card 😄. The Ascension Collectors’ editions get marked down occasionally online and I’ve been able to get some of the older ones at pretty good prices by putting on a price drop alert at Miniature Market. I wouldn’t pay list for sure, but they’re very nice sets and have all the promos. The foil cards aren’t quite as usable as the standards ones (harder to read and shuffle) but they do look pretty cool 😄. I always felt like the year two sets were peak Ascension, but going back to them now after playing a bunch of Dreamscape, Gift of the Elements, and Delirium ... yeah, there are a *lot* of good Ascension sets. The only ones I’m not really a super fan of are Rise of Vigil, Valley of the Ancients, and Skulls & Sails, and even they’re OK. It really is impressive that 10 years later Ascension is not just still chugging along as one of the best games in this space, but has been often “imitated” but rarely have the imitators been even close to as good. It is still basically a 2 or 3 player game, but the Alliances expansion does have a really good team play mode. Thinking of Ascension, I did recently get the latest Shards of Infinity expansion which I need to give a whirl ... #gaminginthetimeofcovid19 #bgg #boardgamegeek #boardgames #ascensiongame #stoneblade https://www.instagram.com/p/CBZj0W-hDoV/?igshid=oo1ufgwnfxgx

[whovian223]

Expansion Review - Shards of Infinity: Into the Horizon

Expansion Review - Shards of Infinity: Into the Horizon @StoneBladeEnt

I’ve playing a ton of the Shards of Infinity app and I finally played the card game last year at Dice Tower West. I liked it so much that I bought it during the pandemic lockdown for me and the wife to play. It really came into its own with the Relics of the Future expansion, though, fixing almost every problem I had with the base game. But when I saw there was another expansion coming, I had…

[iostoday]

Shards of Infinity

By: Temple Gates Games LLC

[sc name=”ads1″]

Category: Games

Release Date: 2019-05-06

Current Version: 1.0

Adult Rating: 9+

File Size: 200.71 MB

Compatibility: Requires iOS 8.0 or later.

Copyright: Temple Gates Games LLC

Price: $7.99

Description:

One-hundred years ago, The Infinity Engine was shattered and its reality-bending shards have destroyed most of the world. Now, it falls upon you to…

[jessica-problems]

god War Of The Spark has so much story just oozing off of it.

For one thing, the main plot arc has been building for literally a fucking decade (Nicol Bolas started on his ascent towards godhood in Shards of Alara in 2008, and now he’s making his big play.)

Also, because it’s a whole big Infinity War crossover type deal with afaik every single living planeswalker showing up, we’re checking in on pretty much every single other ongoing story arc at least briefly. Even the characters who aren’t really doing much right now get to show up. Also, shout out to Sorin and Nahiri specifically for caring more about their comparatively petty personal rivalry than the fate of potentially all of reality and every plane of existence.

Also, it’s set on Ravnica, which is just oozing with history and flavor and it’s own layers of internal politics. It’s the only setting (besides Dominaria which is kind of cheating) that’s featured in so many sets, and it’s got layers on layers on layers of stuff to explore. It’s the only set with enough culture built up that the mere premise of certain cards is hilarious to me. Like, the fucking Bond cycle is so good. You’ve got a Rakdos Cultist and a Golgari Deathmage working together to reanimate the dead because the war effort needs more bodies, but they can’t agree whether this is totally hilarious and subvervise, or its a grim but necessary part of the natural cycle. That’s an entire buddy cop show right there.

Haven’t actually played magic in years, but I’m looking over the full set spoiler because it’s literally the climax of a story that’s taken a fucking decade to unfold. I followed the first half of the arc, and some bits in the middle, and here we are. like, hell yeah. fucking oh my god. LILIANA WAS THAT BITCH. TELL GOD NO and get your boy toys to fuck him UP

Nicol Bolas >>>>>>>>>>>> Thanos

[carrieellen]

NYCMidnight Short Story Challenge 2019

First Round: Write and submit a short story of 2,500 words or less in seven days using the following, randomly assigned genre, subject and character.

Genre: Historical fiction

Subject: Pregnancy

Character: An intoxicated person

Girls Just Want to Have Fun

           “They’re playing my song!”

           The phone cord stretches across the bed as my most fave song ever blasts from the clock-radio on my night stand. I jump on my twin mattress and sing along like I’m performing at the MTV Music Video Awards.

         “I come home in the morning light; My mother says when you gonna live your life right?”  

           “Chill out, April! They play that song like all the time.”

           That's my friend, Gracie, on the phone that I’m trying to balance between my shoulder and my ear. Gracie’s been my best friend since Kindergarten, or at least since Christina Jefferson moved away in fourth grade, but her taste in music sucks.

           “Not even!” My feet land on my bedroom floor and the impact echoes through the old house. “I've been waiting all day to hear it.”

           “Maybe you’ll get the tape for your birthday in April.”

           Yeah, my name is April because I was born in April.  I know that's lame, but it could have been worse.  If I'd been born one day earlier, my birthday would be April Fools Day.  I can't imagine anything more tragic than that. Gracie's birthday is in September, which makes her the oldest in our class.  She's lucky that way.  Plus, she was named after Grace Kelly, who was this gorgeous actress and princess. And Gracie’s hair can really hold a perm. So, yeah, she’s lucky. I wish I was named after Princess Diana. I even wanted to cut my hair like Princess Di but my mom said mine was too thin and I'd look like a boy.  At least I finally have boobs.

           “Too bad you wasted your money going to Return of the Jedi with Kenneth or you could have bought the tape yourself,” Gracie tells me. “I mean, seriously, who sees the same movie three times?”

           “Who sees The Police in concert twice in one summer, Gracie?” I probably sound bitchy, but I'm really just wondering how my hair would look dyed pink.

           “That’s totally different, April.  Sting is so damn sexy!”

           “Gross, Gracie!  He's like over thirty.”

           “Speaking of sexy, I know someone who might lose her V-card on V-Day.” Her voice has risen to a taunting pitch because she loves dangling information and making me wait for it.

           “You mean Valentine's Day? It's like two weeks away, Gracie.”

           “Well, I heard Kenneth say that he’s working on a sweet surprise for his sweetheart, if you catch my drift.”

           “Are you talking about me?”

           “Don't be dense, April!  Kenneth wants you guys to go all-the-way and he’s planning it for Valentine's Day.”

           “Kenneth and I aren't ready for that, Gracie!” I totally didn’t see that coming.

            “Why not? You guys have been going out since like 7th grade and we’re all in High School now.  Besides, Kenneth’s not the little nerd who used to lose at Pac Man and watch Thunder Cats with you. He’s got a rockin’ bod since he’s been on the swim team and a lot of girls want it if you don’t.”

           “I never said I didn't want it,” I quickly correct her. “And I know how good he looks getting out of the pool.”

           “Then why aren’t you psyched about Valentine’s Day? You're the one always saying you want to have fun. Don't you want to do it with Kenneth?”

           Gracie's got a point. Kenneth is special. I'd never tell her this, but we still watch Thunder Cats together and we did do a lot of making-out the third time we went to Return of the Jedi. Sometimes it feels like he is my best friend instead of Gracie. Other times, though, I get all hot-and-bothered just sitting next to him.  Like, my stomach clenches and breaks apart at the same time and I can't stop looking at him.  It's true he has a hot bod now, but it's his light blue eyes that really get to me. I've always liked staring at them, even when he was shorter than me. Plus, he's got these full eyelashes that are so blonde you have to get close to his face to notice them...

           “Hello!  Earth to April!”

           “Sorry, Gracie. What were you saying?”

           “You were just fantasizing about going all the way with Kenneth.” She's squealing now. “Weren't you?”

           “As if!”

           “You totally were! Admit it!”

           I'm trying to think of a good come-back when I hear a loud crash from downstairs. It sounds like breaking glass just below my room.

           “I gotta go, Gracie.  I think something's going on downstairs.”

           “You said your folks were at a Reagan rally.”

           “Yeah, but Brian got home a while ago.”

           “Why didn't you tell me your gorgeous brother was there so I could come over?”

           “Maybe because he's a senior with a girlfriend.”

           “I can still look...”

           I hang up before she tells me again how my brother is so cute. I already hear enough about how awesome he is. Brian’s been leading the basketball team to glory since he was just a sophomore and, apparently, he’s a real stud.  He's smart too! He's probably going to play for UCLA in the fall.  At least, that's the dream, but he won't hear about the scholarship for another month.

           Just as I reach the stairs, I hear the singing start.

           “Some boys take a beautiful girl and hide her awaaaay...” Brian's voice is in-the-rafters high as he screeches the words.

           “Are you making fun of my song, butthead!?”

           I bolt down the stairs and find him sitting on the living room floor with broken glass scattered around him.  He's trying to lift a bottle to his lips while knocking the back of his head against the wall, repeatedly. He eventually gives up and starts singing again.

           “Girls just wanna have fun. Giiirrrlllls!”

          “Brian!” I find my voice as I gape at my intoxicated brother.

           He stops singing and manages to put the bottle to his mouth, taking two gulps. He sputters and coughs a little, but then looks at me with a goofy grin. “Hey, April!” His eyes are red, and he keeps blinking them. “I was just singing your song!”

           I read the bottle's label and gasp. “You're drinking dad's bourbon? Are you crazy?!”

           “No. I'm not crazy,” he tells me, totally serious. “I drank all the beer first.”

           The whole room reeks of alcohol. Did he spill as much as he swallowed? 

“You drank all of the beer, Brian?  Like, all six cans in the fridge?” I step on a shard of glass and realize he’s smashed one of the clear panels in the breakfront cabinet where Dad keeps the hard liquor. “Holy smokes, Mom and Dad are gonna kill you!”  I shriek. “Like, seriously kill you dead, Brian!  Your life is totally over!”

           The grin melts from his face like it was formed out of wax. “My life is already over, sis.” He pulls his knees to his chest and starts to cry.

           Five years ago, my Aunt Jill died in a car accident.  She was my mom's baby sister and she used to take us to the beach when we were little. Brian was thirteen but he still cried at her funeral. I haven't seen him cry since. But now he's crying drunken sobs into his faded jeans and I wonder what could be as bad as Aunt Jill dying.

           “What do you mean your life is over?  You shouldn't say things like that.” I tell him as if not saying it keeps it from being true. “That's the bourbon talking.  And the six beers. You're gonna have one gnarly headache in a couple hours.”

           Brian just finishes the bourbon in one long swig and rolls the empty bottle across the floor.  The phone rings in the kitchen which makes him laugh abruptly and start to sing again. “The phone rings in the middle of the night, my father yells...”

           “Stop it!” I step closer and glass crunches under my Nikes.  “You'd better clean up this mess and start figuring out what to say to Mom and Dad, or you're gonna be grounded for infinity.”

           “What to say to Mom and Dad? OK, how does this sound?” Brian slurs his words but at least tries to make eye contact with me. “Mom. Dad. You two are going to be grandparents because I got Julia knocked-up. Oh, and we need more beer.”

           I stand there in silence.

           Brian tries to pull himself up and his palm pushes into the glass.  I can see red on the broken pieces dusting the floor and I know he's cut himself.  

           “Yeah, I'm in deep shit.” He wavers on his feet but remains standing. “No UCLA now. Life over before it starts.”

           “Huh?” I can’t believe that’s all I say.

           “She's pregnant, April.” The blood trickles through the lines across his hand. “And when you get your girlfriend pregnant in High School it fucks up your plans. Unless you plan to be the only Mr. and Mrs. in the 1984 graduating class.”

           “You're going to get married?!” It's weird that I react to this first.

           “Don’t you get it?  We’re going to have a kid!” He leans against the wall like the room is spinning.

           “Why can't it be someone else's kid?  Can't you give it to someone else to raise?  Like some adults who are already married?”

           “Julia doesn't want to put the baby up for adoption because apparently she can't go through life knowing our child is out there without us.”

           “So, she just expects you to marry her?”

           “Probably.” Brian starts to walk towards the kitchen but loses his balance and ends up on the couch. “I mean, she just told me this morning. It's not like we’ve shopped for rings.”

           The phone rings from the kitchen again and I walk towards the noise out of habit. “Hello?” I answer automatically.

           “Is Brian there?” I recognize the soft, polite voice.

           “Yeah, he's here, Julia.  Hang on.” I put the receiver down on the countertop and return to the living room to find Brian already shaking his head no. “Sorry, he's busy,” I say when I pick up the phone again.

           “Please, April. I just need to tell him something.”

           “I’ll ask him to call you later. OK?”

“Forget it,” her voice quivers like she’s trying not to cry. “Maybe it's better if he doesn't.”

           I've always liked Julia.  She's nice, even though she's pretty and popular.  She could have easily been a cheerleader, but she has a beautiful voice and likes theater instead.  I used to wonder if she'd end up a movie star if she followed Brian to UCLA.  Guess that won't be happening now.

           “She sounds sad.” I say when I'm back in front of the couch.

           Brian's eyes are closed. “Why? She's getting what she wants.”

           I want to tell him that’s harsh but decide not to.  I mean, I'm not thrilled with Julia's resistance to adoption either since it will ruin my brother's life too. But I doubt she wants this.  

“Why did this happen, Brian? Everyone else has sex just for fun and it’s not happening to them.”

           “Sex is about more than just fun, April.” He sounds as sad as Julia.

I flop down beside him. “Did you always love her when you guys had sex?” I ask but, when he doesn't respond, I decide I don't want to know. “So, you’re really doing the whole ring, proposal, wedding thing?  Live together and all that?”

           “What else should I do, sis? Leave Julia here? Go play basketball in California and occasionally send her some money?”

           No, I can’t see him doing that. And I can’t think of anything else to suggest.

           “So, Julia sounded really sad?” Brian asks into silence.

           “Yeah.  She sounded broken.”

           He looks up at me and his eyes seem clearer. “I never want her broken.  I love her.”

           “I’m glad. At least it's not like you have to marry a stranger or some girl you don't even like.”

           “I do want to marry Julia,” he explains and I'm not sure if it's to me or himself. “I guess we have to do it a lot sooner now, but I'd want to marry her someday anyway.”

           I hear a spark of hope in his voice and I’m so relieved that I smile. “It'll work out, Brian.” I bump his shoulder with mine. “And I'm gonna be one bitchin aunt to your kid!”

           Miraculously, Brian smiles too.

           “It's will be an awesome kid!” he declares. “I've been such a dick. I gotta call Julia.”

           He moves from the couch to the kitchen, seeming to have sobered up a lot. I follow behind to eavesdrop.

           “Hello, Mrs.... Yeah, this is Brian.” He's pacing anxiously as he presses the receiver to his ear. “I know.  But I need to talk to her.” He opens his mouth a few times like he wants to say more. Then the pacing stops and he's not moving at all.  He's just standing still with his mouth open.  Then he hangs up.

           “You didn’t talk to Julia?” I ask.

           “No. Just her mom.” He won't look at me. “Her mom said Julia went to the clinic early this afternoon.  She had an abortion.”

           Nothing in my fifteen years has taught me what to say right now.

           Is it weird that I feel upset?  Should I be relieved?  Disappointed?

           Brian walks away before I find any empty words to offer.  I watch his back as he exits the kitchen and listen to the front door slam.  I pray he doesn't have his keys.

           I'm not sure how long I stand there without a clue of what to do next, but the sun is almost down when the phone rings again.  I guess I answer it because I'm suddenly hearing Kenneth's happy voice in my ear.

           “Hey, are you listening, April?” he asked excitedly. “I said I've got a surprise so please tell me you can go out on Valentine's Day.”

           I feel guilty that Kenneth's words are making me sick right now. “I don't know,” I tell him with a knot in my stomach instead of butterflies. “Do we have to?”

           “Are you OK, April?” he asks sweetly. “It's a good surprise.”

           “You'd better just tell me, then.”

           “OK, sure! I got us passes to a Star Wars marathon that night! My folks said they would drive us and pick us up, but we can stay for all three movies. So, do you want to go?”

            I really don't know why I start to cry, but I work hard to keep it quiet because I don't think Kenneth will realize that these aren't bad tears.

“I'd love to go!” I gush to him.

           “Awesome! I heard that people even dress in costumes and I thought we could be like Han and Leia for Valentine's Day.  Doesn't that sound like fun?”

            “Yeah, that sounds exactly like fun.”

THE END