#she uses the chaos of war to remake herself

[displayheartcode]

“You were everything to me, Gracewood. My oldest, closest, most beloved friend. Your happiness was my happiness. Where you led, I followed with all my heart. I would have died for you—and I nearly did—but I could not live for you.”

a lady for a duke for alexis hall

[gcdwinged]

FINAL FANTASY VERSE DUMP

final fantasy ix verse: ordained thy crystal doomed

gaia seemed like the perfect planet to become the new terra. or at least, that is what garland thought. when he tried to fuse the crystal’s together, a dark force rejected the terran crystal and foiled garland’s plans. this dark force was none other than sephiroth who had already claimed gaia as his own. sephiroth and garland become locked in a cold war over gaia’s crystal for thousands of years. 

sephiroth, with his mastery over hallucinations steered kuja into discovering garland deemed him a failure. with the creation of zidane, sephiroth’s main goal is to foil his programming and make sure he doesn’t not bring about gaia’s end. to anyone outside of garland and kuja, sephiroth veils himself as a benevolent being whose only intention is to save gaia.

final fantasy x verse: come to me o’ boundless souls

this is going under the assumption that final fantasy x and vii take place in the same universe. this verse also takes place after the events of the remake from sephiroth’s perspective.

with the planet’s defenses finally destroyed, sephiroth holds free reign over time. as now a constant of the universe, sephiroth is able to send one self to the recent past to try and change his fate with cloud and company while he sends another self to the distance past. it is in this distance past that he discovers spira and the farplane. seeing a source of energy like the lifestream, sephiroth now plans to use the farplane as a fail safe should he fail again to absorb the power of the lifestream. he becomes interested in yuna as a summoner and seeks to understand more through following her as a shadow.

final fantasy xiii verse: when chaos comes knocking

when bhunivelze fell into a crystallized sleep, pulse created the first fal’cie without divine influence. this fal’cie was sephiroth. originally tasked with helping pulse find the unseen realm, he is the one who discovered the link between the chaos within human souls and the realm they seek to find. when humans began to populate pulse and cocoon, it was he who instigated the war of transgressions through his use of hallucinations and deceptions in order to kill enough humans to rip the gates open.

it was when etro intervened that sephiroth first discovered that she, created without power, found the ability to manipulate the world through the power of chaos. wanting this power for himself, he soon began to seek the unseen realm for the sole purpose of becoming the new god of death. to do so, he seeks to find and kill etro by changing the timeline. his meddling creating enough of an effect to kill many iterations of the seeress yeul and setting caius ballad off on his quest to destroy time.

by the time bhunivelze awakens and decides to create a new world without chaos, sephiroth attempts to guide the savior towards defying bhunivelze in the hopes of keeping a world where he can be the god of death.

final fantasy xiv: the shadow is mine and so is the valley.

on the thirteenth shard of the star, the nightmares of amaurot remained etched upon the earth. having discovered the fossilized remains of an ancient creation, humanity sought to achieve that power for themselves. thus, the jenova project was created and with it, the super soldier and hero sephiroth. originally bred to be a warrior of light, the ascian igeyorhm took it upon herself to use sephiroth as a pawn to bring about a rejoining.

after discovering the experiments that created him, sephiroth went mad. however, his delusions of grandeur became too much for the sundered ascian to take care of on her own and sephiroth’s overwhelming defeating of the true warrior of light brought about the flood of darkness that irrevocably changed the thirteenth shard forever. 

however, sephiroth did not perish in the flood. instead, becoming an incredibly powerful voidsent with his will still intact thanks to the ancient power within him. believing himself to be an ancient and the true denizen of the star, sephiroth now seeks to become a new god unburdened with the need for prayer like the primals.

final fantasy xv verse: heaven’s dark harbinger

when adagium was found imprisoned in angelgard, the niflheim empire was also able to covet some of the starscourge trapped within the destroyer’s body. before turning to a magitek army, verstael first tried to make an army of super soldiers using daemonic miasma. the result was sephiroth. though he was the perfect soldier verstael intended, creating an army like him was not time or cost effective and so he turned towards the idea of magitek. however, sephiroth remained in service and rose through the ranks of niflheim. though he is unaware of his creation, ardyn does.

final fantasy xiv: the shadow is mine and so is the valley.

on the thirteenth shard of the star, the nightmares of amaurot remained etched upon the earth. having discovered the fossilized remains of an ancient creation, humanity sought to achieve that power for themselves. thus, the jenova project was created and with it, the super soldier and hero sephiroth. originally bred to be a warrior of light, the ascian igeyorhm took it upon herself to use sephiroth as a pawn to bring about a rejoining.

after discovering the experiments that created him, sephiroth went mad. however, his delusions of grandeur became too much for the sundered ascian to take care of on her own and sephiroth’s overwhelming defeating of the true warrior of light brought about the flood of darkness that irrevocably changed the thirteenth shard forever. 

however, sephiroth did not perish in the flood. instead, becoming an incredibly powerful voidsent with his will still intact thanks to the ancient power within him. believing himself to be an ancient and the true denizen of the star, sephiroth now seeks to become a new god unburdened with the need for prayer like the primals.

final fantasy xiv: imposter in his image

when ultima forsook them, the circle of malius attempted to create a divine child to commune with their lost god. sephiroth was created by infusing aether directly from the dzemekys mothercrystal with a mother already with child. this was part of the sin that swept the mothercrystal from the world. while the fallen were punished for attempting to use the divine for their own personal gain, the mother still gave birth to a son drenched in aether.

sephiroth is not the perfect creation he was meant to be. though he has the same amount of aether within him as an eikon, he does not share in their powers. he is a bearer in the sense that he can cast magic without a crystal but on a scale far exceeding those of the common man. however, he did have a connection to ultima as the surviving remnant of the mothercrystal's aether which allowed ultima to twist sephiroth's mind.

after learning that he was created through sin, sephiroth grew made and seeks to destroy all humans to make the world ready for ultima's people. like barnabas, his link to ultima means he does not age and as continued to serve through the decades. he is now a general in waloed, though his true loyalties lie with ultima.

[shiocreator]

Does grabby hands towards 1ND1G0 and the kind human she meets

Working on redesigning Kenneths hairstyle cuz he looks too similar to my other guy, but 1ND1G0 and Ken...

The actual basic (longlong) summery of Final Waltz is; a war robot with abandonment issues ends up getting found once by Kenneth who was exploring the 'abandoned facility' area in his new town's wooded area that was never taken down and ended up getting followed home by 1ND1G0,

who over the course of the story gets treated kindly by most everyone in town not just Ken, and eventually the denial of having genuine emotions and not just being a tool dwindles as shes around Ken and Ivy, two good influences compared to Veronica who was actively manipulating her because the chaos would've been funny

the actual main ending to Final Waltz story is 1ND1G0 realizing her time's almost up, she can't fix herself at this rate shes too far from her facility where all the supplies are, she cant save herself, so in the middle of the night she wakes up Kenneth for one last death wish, one Final Waltz, where she stumbles around crouched over him as he attempts to give her a waltz, she knows hes a shit dancer but appreciates the attempt

^ first depiction of the idea and first on the spot Ken design! i should really remake it

used to be a romantic relationship between the two after it all but after making 1ND13 unable to feel love i think it'd be more queer platonic, 1ND1G0 is devoted to Ken because that human is the one she cares the utter most about in the end of it all, he was why shes now in a better happier place and state of mind, even if the 2nd meeting was her breaking into his house and declaring herself his roommate simply to see if maybe humanity should be spared from Veronicas plans/lh

You dont need love to care, and unfortunately for the 'emotionless tool of war" she cares deeply about some people now

Also she does survive >:] BAHBJK, Kenneth calls his sister Christine, a mechanic whos livin in her fathers shadow with a robot of her own, and shes able to fix up 1ND1G0 much to 1ND13's confusion on why some rando would actually do that/lh

And the robot Chrissy befriended was D-1, 1ND13's brother in all technicalities :]

[hopeaterart]

Mario Odyssey: Paper Kingdom AU

Or: The AU where I adapt Paper Mario characters into a kingdom in Mario Odyssey because while my brain is small, it has a big mind that keeps thinking up new ideas. This tackles the kingdom’s backstory, it’s travel brochure, why Mario ends up going there, and the frankly ridiculous political context he stumbles into. I might tackle the characters in another post.

Backstory

A long time ago, a creature made out of shadows and thin as paper rose out of an island. Calling itself- or herself- the Shadow Queen, the malevolent spirit could wield the power of seven stars, and her heart was pitch-black and full of chaotic hatred. She reigned over the land with an iron fist, terrified painted shadows at her command.

Until one day, a small faction of her own people turned against, led by four heroes and eight mages. They studied her magic, and turned it against her, folding themselves like paper get close to her and stealing her stars to destroy her body, the eight mages using their magic to separate her heart from her spirit

Enraged, her spirit lashed out, cursing the four heroes into suffering the same fate as her, reduced to spirits enclosed in coffins just as she unleashed the full power of her heart. But before she could turn her wrath on the other rebels, the eight mages sacrificed themselves, turning their souls into pure energy and setting it on the Shadow Queen’s heart, ripping it out and sending both the heart and the soul of the Shadow Queen into a deep sleep.

The only thing left was a prophecy- a warning. If a cruel monster and a gentle maiden marry each other in a farce, the Chaos Heart will rise again. If this happens, the Shadow Queen’s rise is imminent, and she will take over the body of the maiden. The only way to stop her is to find her Seven Stars, and use them to destroy her soul once and for all.

The throne of the Paper Kingdom is left symbolically empty, and the country is ruled by a council.

-

Travel Brochure

Population: Sparse, but plentiful

Size: Wide

Locals: Shapeshifters

Currency: Paper fortune teller shaped

Industries: Construction, stories

Temperature: Average  73 °F

A craft for the ages

Multi-level: The Paper Kingdom is made of multiple levels carved within the plateau, and all of them have something to offer. From the charming beach town of Rogueport to the looming Castle of Chaos, this place is vibrant and full of carefully crafted layers.

Rich History: The Paper Kingdom’s history is something for the ages: A demon rising out of the earth, her own people standing up against her, a battle ending in tragedy, and a prophecy! And they know it too! Their own history is so rich and captivating, they transformed telling people about it into a spectacle. If you’re ever in the need of someone to give a grandiose speech, a Paper Kingdom storyteller is what you need!

Origami Festival: If you visit the Paper Kingdom during their fall season, you might bear witness to the Origami Festival! While considered unorthodox and dangerous, Shapeshifters recognize origami as an incredibly powerful type of magic, allowing one to become anything their heart wish. As such, they have festivities centered around this concept that lasts a week, where they put up tons of different and incredible origami displays celebrating the concept.

-

How it fits in the game

For it’s location, it would be a decently sized island between the Luncheon Kingdom and Snow Kingdom, and would be the last place you go to before Bowser’s castle. From above, it would look rectangular, and most of it would be very elevated (think of a plateau, but in the middle of the ocean.) While it would seem small at first glance, the truth is that most of the earth is hollowed out, and there’s a lot of communities that live underground. You would be able to visit the two surface ones (Rogueport at the base of the plateau, and Castle of Chaos (Equivalent to Castle Bleck) on top of it) from the start, and at least one additional area under Castle of Chaos would unlock after the main story.

As for it’s place in the story, a wedding needs an officiant, and Bowser decided to get a storyteller from the Paper Kingdom because they’re known to give quite touching speeches. Bowser was originally planning to make his announcement of his marriage to Peach, take someone by force if he got denied, and leave the kingdom in disarray as punishment for denying him.

So you can imagine his surprise when not one, but two storytellers volunteered to be his officiant: Dimentio, royal jester and local agent of chaos who’s starting to find the current situation in the Paper Kingdom boring because it’s stagnating (albeit because they want to stop the hostilities temporarily for the upcoming Origami Festival), and the Beldam, eldest of the shadow Sirens and actively trying to resurrect the Shadow Queen. 

Let’s be clear, here: Neither of them are really interested in Bowser’s marriage, but both are after the power of the Chaos Heart, which has the potential to arise from this union: Dimentio to create even more chaos, and Beldam to harness it’s power and bring the Queen back to life. He picked the storyteller who had actual experience with being an officiant: Dimentio, who officiated multiple noble weddings- and left a fuming Beldam behind. In her rage, she decided to make the King of Koopas not choosing her as an evil marriage officiant everyone else’s problem and promptly started freezing everything in sight.

And that’s where Mario and Cappy come in, looking for Power Moons...

-

What’s going on?

A few weeks before Bowser shows up, the wedding of Blumiere, the son of an important count, and his human girlfriend Timpani (I don’t know from where she could be, probably New Donk CIty), was happening. However, in part due to a sinister prophecy that foretold the rebirth of the Chaos Heart if a furious monster lord (Blumiere is not human, and he has quite the unstable temperament) and a fair and lovely maiden (Timpani is a bit shy, cares for everything around her, and is nothing but kind) got married, and in part due to being a racist fuck, Blumiere’s father tried to stop the marriage by lethally attacking the bride.

Big mistake.

Blumiere ended up flying into a rage, messily killing his father with his bare hands and the assistance of a surge of magic, and destroyed the wedding venue. He then took Timpani, who was dying, to the origami craftsman, who earned himself a reputation of defying nature’s law by creating Olly and Olivia for an Origami festival, which was. Not planned. He then more or less forced him to heal his bride. 

The craftsman was absolutely able to say no: Olly brought to life multiple office supplies and all of them are ready to attack on sight, but he still went and healed up Timpani, albeit altering her physical appearance permanently due to having to heal her up using Origami Magic. Olly does not take his father being threatened into helping someone well, and barges into Castle of Chaos two weeks later and self-proclaim himself king with the assistance of the office supplies, which he dubs his Legion of Stationery, because of a perceived disrespect toward his family.

He is twelve.

Blumiere- who renamed himself Count Bleck following his father’s death- is understandably outraged, and denounces Olly with the support of his companions. Said companions are: his wife lady Timpani whom he (and most of the kingdom) adores, a small bat-like woman and his spokesperson Nastasia, the strong but dimwitted warrior and champion O’Chunks, the robotic but emotional Mimi who works in banking, and local shit-bastard jester Dimentio. This is due to Bleck being a direct descendant of one of the eight mages that sacrificed themselves, and he’s forced to make a claim to the throne to be taken seriously in trying to stop Olly.

He does not want to take the throne.

So now, there’s a twelve years old and a pissed off count who murdered his father in a blind rage fighting over the throne of the Paper Kingdom, neither of them know what they’re going to do next, and no one is happy about this situation. The instability allows a third party to make an appearance and grab for the throne: The X-Nauts, a race of robotic aliens led by the tyrannical Sir Grodus. Their goal? Resurrect the Shadow Queen and use her power to remake the Paper Kingdom, and eventually the planet, in their image.

The good news is that neither Olly nor Bleck want the X-Nauts to succeed. Bleck because he knows they’re planning on resurrecting the Shadow Queen and he does not want that to happen, and Olly because Grodus’ second in command was mean to Olivia once. This means that they are able to put their difference aside, which means there’s still hope an all-out civil war can be avoided.

Speaking of Olivia, poor girl think her brother went evil and wants to reign over the Paper Kingdom like a tyrant. This is understandable, as he’s a irritable twelve years boy with six killing machine at his command and also starting his emo edge lord phase, and she’s a literal ray of sunshine. As such, Olivia decided to find other people willing to stop Olly, Bleck and Grodus from burning the country to the ground in their squabble, not realizing that, as the leader of this group, she is also making .a claim for the throne.

She is also twelve.

And now, there’s Beldam losing her shit over being turned down and freezing everything into unmoving sheets on the walls. Ironically, this common enemy might just be what’s needed to calm everyone down.

[fireblight]

headcanon004.  The Will of Grass ( name may change ) is a hybrid of Konohagakure’s Will of Fire ( through love, we can achieve peace ) and Iwagakure’s Will of Stone ( we must remain strong-willed and proud without giving into hate ), due to Kusagakure’s location being in the middle of the two greater villages. The Will of Grass states that where there is something important, one can endure any trial for the sake of protecting it. For people, it typically relates to the idea that when you’re protecting someone you love, you are capable of achieving extreme feats of willpower. For the village, it relates more to the tenacity of the village identity in how the Hidden Grass never fails to remake itself, time and time again. Karin herselfーthough she may not be consciously aware of itーis a carrier of the Will of Grass. It can be said more poetically as ‘as long as there is giving soil, cut grass will grow again’.

In regards to how this actually affects Karin, it gives her an uncanny good fortuneーalbeit it often succeeds bad luckーin brushes with death, motivated by a strong passion / love for someone or some ideal. Exempli gratia, her initial manifestation of the Mind’s Eye of Kagura coincided with an oncoming invasion to Kusagakure. Because she had someone to protectーparticularly her mother, Yuna, her father, Katsuki, her younger brother, Miyuki and, to a lesser extent, her sensei, Touyaーshe was capable of achieving a sudden and impressive feat, albeit due to the circumstances of her upbringing her warnings went, largely, unheeded until the last moment. However, due to her newfound ability she was capable of evading the attack, leading her to be the lone survivor. 

This pattern continues throughout her life, although what she protects changes to adapt to new circumstances and connections: through cunning, she is among the few ( if not the only ) wardens to survive the ensuing chaos after Orochimaru’s deathーshe was motivated by a strong survivalist attitude that developed from the trauma of losing her loved ones and the resulting survivor’s guilt, vowing to never let herself die for a stupid reason as she wanted to protect the honour of her fallen family; she survives Sasuke’s betrayal in the battle against Danzo, her “last” memories being of the man she loved and her desire to see him smile ( thus wishing to protect his happiness ), though she would later be healed by Haruno Sakura; during the Fourth Shinobi War, she would sense Sasuke’s chakra weakening fatally and be inspired to once again activate a latent ancestral power ( albeit a lesser variant ), utilizing them in her pursuit to protect him, becoming punctured several times by the Wooden Statue, only to use her own chakra reserves ( through the Healing Bite technique that is, again, unique to her ) to heal herself from the mortal wounds. 

However, this isn’t some guarantor of success nor some flimsy immortality: it is a will, which as shown in Naruto is a powerful thing, but nothing more. Sarutobi Hiruzen died for the sake of protecting and honouring the Will of Fire, but his death could arguably be interpreted as an act of the Will of Fireーthus, the Will of Grass is susceptible to the same rules. More-so, it rather just affects the quality of her character and is representative of her general life philosophy and the will to go on. It’s a source of strength, a burning point of faith. 

She isn’t actually fully aware of the Will of Grass as a tenet until she revisits Kusagakure in her later travels, but conceptually it aligns rather nicely with her favourite phrase: “女の一念、岩をも徹す: a woman’s desire can pass even through rock”.

[marshmallowprotection]

I HAVE FINISHED TURQUOISE’S INFO (her name is now Jessamine)!

Also heres a link to the song “The Last Revolver” by Mothy, though note this is a cover with a newer version of Gumi’s voicebank, and this is also a fanmade PV remake of the original PV: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9xsdMtgEJEg 

This song is directly responsible for giving me the inspiration to make Jessamine. uwu

Also ignore the weird spacing I made this in google docs originally and apparently it decided to copy paste like that and im too lazy to fix it oof also its kind of long sooo oof.

like…2398 words long ;-;

I suggest you listen to “The Last Revolver” whilst reading this. idk gives mood lol

Name: Jessamine ‘Jess’ Belle 

 Aliases (If Any): Evera (Assassin Name)

 Age: 20 (On Liam’s Death)

24 (Currently)

 Date of Birth/Birthday: Day 31 of Aria’s Star, 2045 T.C. (the equivalent of December 31st)

 Zodiac: Sagittarius 

 Status: Alive

 Species: Human

 Magic:

 Height: 5'0 (152 Centimeters)

 Ethnicity: Mijean

 Relatives: Unnamed Mother✝

Unnamed Father✝

Liam Adelson (Fiance)✝

 Birth Place: Collapsed Kingdom of Mijea, Theda

 Nationality/Current Residence: Mariah Empire, Theda

 Religion (Which Goddess Do they Worship?): None

 Occupation: Assassin Employed By Kiara Malories (Formerly)

Wandering Gunner

 Affiliations: Kiara Malories (Formerly)

Kingdom of Mijea (Formerly)

None

Personality (In Phrases): Uptight, Cold, Adorable (According to Liam), Secretly Really Kind, Just Kind of Quiet, Stubborn, Was Kind of Clingy To Liam Due To Having Literally Nobody Else, Her Parents Died In The Mercenian Invasion of The Kingdom of Mijea In 2062, And She Had Basically No Friends, So Liam Became Her Rock, She’s Still In Mourning, She’s Extremely Suicidal, Pretty Unstable, Has A Temper

 Marital Status: Engaged To Liam Adelson (Formerly)

Single

 Sexuality: Heterosexual

 Likes: Her Revolver, Macarons, Liam, Cherry Blossoms, Hummingbirds, Butterflies, The Color Purple, People Who Don’t Get In Her Way of Revenge

 Dislikes: Spicy Foods, Her Height, Kiara Malories, Mercenians, The State of Mercenia, Killing For No Reason (Developed After Liam’s Death), The Ocean (She Doesn’t Know How To Swim), People Who Do Get In Her Way of Revenge, Anyone Who Tells Her Suicide Doesn’t Solve Anything, Anyone Who Tells Her She Doesn’t Need To Get Revenge, Anyone Who Claims Liam Wouldn’t Want Her To Do [Anything Under The Sun]

 Role: Secondary Character

Debut: Undecided

 Random Facts: 

Her smile is absolutely beautiful to see. However, she hasn’t smiled since her fiance, Liam, died.

She’s one of the last pure Mijeans still alive, as most were slaughtered in the Mercenian Invasion of 2062 T.C. in a genocidal sort of fashion. There are an estimated 500 Mijeans still walking the planet, and likely a lot more half-Mijeans exist than pure Mijeans.

The revolver she currently uses is a very expensive, efficient one that is very rare, which Liam gave to her for her birthday a few hours before she realized she had to kill him. 

Jess is the definition of a person who gets really, adorably mad if you dare mention how short she is. 

Liam was 6'0, a full 12 inches taller than Jess. You can bet that Liam teased her about it constantly. 

Liam often picked up Jess in order to kiss her without hurting his neck. It wasn’t very hard since she’s fairly light. She was a flustered mess about it constantly.

When they first met, Jess didn’t tell Liam her real name on the spot, instead telling him her assassin name, Everina. He called her Ever most of the time, and when she confessed to him, that was when she told him her real name. He still called her Ever sometimes, but usually only if they were (for any reason) in public.

Very rarely, Liam called Jess “Mina”, which was a nickname he alone used for her. He only called her that during extremely personal, special moments (e.g. first kiss, kisses in general, making love, and when Jess had to kill him)

It’s very easy to fluster Jess, usually, just give her a peck on the cheek or her lips, or pick her up, and she’ll get flustered immediately.

Jess’s most sensitive spot is the right side of her neck, like sort of between her neck and shoulder. Liam used this to his advantage ;3

Jess is extremely ticklish on her sides, but nowhere else.

Jess’s favorite season is Spring due to it being when she met Liam, and her least favorite is Winter due to it being the season where she had to kill Liam.

Jess dreads and just plain old hates her birthday as her birthday doubles as the day where she had to kill Liam. 

The only reason Jess hasn’t killed herself yet is that she feels she needs to kill Kiara first as vengeance for Liam. She plans to kill herself immediately afterward.

Jess plans to give Kiara an extremely painful, long death.

Jess is terrifying when she is determined to kill someone. Seriously, don’t get in her way. Else you’ll be killed too.

Jess’s favorite things about Liam according to her was his blue eyes and his dark, maroonish hair. His eyes because to her they were beautiful and she loved staring into them, his hair because it was extremely soft. 

Jess is a total bottom 99% of the time…except one time when Liam let her top.

Liam constantly attempted to make Jess laugh, which was usually successful whether his joke was good or not, most times she laughed because his jokes were just stupid but in a funny way

Liam is 3 years older than Jess, being 22 when they met in 2064 T.C. and 23 when he died in 2065 T.C. as he was born on Day 13 of Ayja’s Star/September 13th, 2042 T.C.

Jess’s situation is a bit similar to Cora Hallow’s, as Jess lost everything she loved and became a wandering gunner, and swore revenge upon the person responsible, where Cora lost her entire family (supposedly) in the fire of Saseraia and swore revenge upon Nymeria believing her to be the one responsible; The fact that actually Jess is descended from a bastard line (descended of a bastard child of one of Cora’s descendants- also can I just say, Cora had one biological child, a daughter, who was conceived using early, experimental artificial insemination technologies and paved the way for refinement of such technologies for same-sex couples- it’s not that important but I wanted to mention it cus why not) of Cora makes it kind of ironic because history is sort of repeating itself in a way. 

The reason Liam was targeted by Kiara was that he found out what Kiara was through overhearing her talking to someone at his police station, and due to that, she wanted him dead because he was also getting in her way by rescuing some of the other people she wanted dead or killing the criminals she wanted to recruit. He was also planning to reveal to the world what she was.

Backstory: Jessamine “Jess” Belle was born the only child of a pair of general store owners in the Kingdom of Mijea on the coldest day of the year. Jess’s childhood is relatively uneventful, until when she was 17 in 2062 T.C., when the State of Mercenia invaded the Kingdom of Mijea, looking to absorb it into its territory as it was falling into chaos anyway. Jess’s parents die helping Jess escape. She flees the country and ends up passing out on the border of the Kingdom of Lavinia, being found by Kiara Malories (who is really just Aya having possessed Nymeria’s body and using the body appearance changing spell that was within Nymeria’s ability pool to make herself look different), who takes her in, on the condition,  however, that Jess becomes an assassin working for her. Having basically no other choice, Jess agrees and is taught how to use a gun by another assassin in Kiara’s employ, as it turns out Kiara had a whole group of assassins and other people working for her for vastly different reasons. Jess begins her work as an assassin for Kiara by killing about 40~ people within the next 2 years (20 per year).

 On the first day of spring (Day 1 of Xomura’s Star/February 1st, Note The Calendar of This World Is Different In Which The Year Starts In April Instead of January And Thus Ends In March) of 2064 T.C. Jess goes to a small hill with a cherry blossom tree on it, which was a spot she loved to go to think about everything. However, that day was different in a significant way: Jess met a tall man with maroon hair and eyes. She indulged him with some idle chatter, telling him her name was Everina when asked. As he talked (and flirted a bit) with her, she learned his name was Liam and that like her, he was one of the survivors of the Mercenian Invasion of 2062, but that he was spared only because he was not Mijean, rather, he was from Aleon, at least, he was born there, but his parents moved to the Kingdom of Mijea when he was young. Jess also learns he is a police officer, and due to that remains cautious of him, always being prepared to kill him in case he ever suddenly turned on her. However, as they continued to meet up together at that cherry blossom tree, Jess steadily began to trust him.

 In Summer (Day 28 of Kaila’s Star/August 28th; Summer Starts On June 20th/Day 20 of Eros’s Star In This World; Also The Year Is Now 2065 T.C. As April Has Passed), Jess was invited by Liam to a “date” according to him, though she chalked it up to him just flirting with her yet again, but accepted the invitation anyway. He took her to a park where together they watched a meteor shower that only happened once every 460 years, and that the last time this meteor shower happened was around when Archbishop Briella, the first archbishop under the new government system and after the Second Great Theda Civil War, was on her death bed. After the meteor shower was over, Liam confessed that he had fallen in love with Jess, and conflicted, Jess asked him to give her some time to think. After a few days of thinking, Jess realized she had fallen for Liam as well, and asked him to meet her under the same cherry blossom tree that had met at originally, and when they both arrived, she confessed to him that she had fallen in love with him as well. She also told him that she had lied to him about her name, as she didn’t trust him originally, and revealed to him her real name was Jessamine or Jess for short. Liam, overwhelmed with joy, picked her up and kissed her, calling her “Mina” for the first time, and over time it evolved into a special nickname that only he was allowed to call her. Liam also laughed when he saw Jess’s extremely flustered face after he kissed her.

 In Autumn, Jess and Liam’s relationship truly blossomed, and mid-way through the season, they made love for the first time. And, mid-way through the last month of the season, Harmonia’s Star, Liam proposed to her, and Jess accepted. However, near the end of the season, Jess learned her next target was a man named Liam Adelson. While she was distressed at first at seeing the name “Liam”, she calmed herself by telling herself that the Liam she was engaged to and Liam Adelson must be different people- but deep inside there was a feeling of dread that told her that the two Liams were the same person.

 In Winter, Jess asked Liam what his last name was, and he said he’d tell her if she told him hers, and she agreed. He revealed that his last name was Adelson, and in shock, she slowly said her last name was Belle before collapsing onto her knees, breaking into tears. Liam asked what was wrong but she fled not even a minute later. For the next month, she avoided Liam as much as possible, but eventually, he found her back at the cherry blossom tree they met at together all the time in mid Aria’s Star (December). Jess revealed that she was actually an assassin and that all the murders that had been happening had been her and her colleagues working. She told him she didn’t have a choice because she had nowhere else to go. She had been lying to her colleagues that she hadn’t been able to find him anywhere and that’s what it was taking so long to kill him because she desperately didn’t want to kill him. Before Liam could say another word Jess fled once again. On the 31st of Aria’s Star (December 31st), Liam got Jess a gift: a very rare, very efficient revolver, having known she had a fascination with revolvers and had planned to buy herself one. While she had originally claimed she was going to use it for self-defense, Liam knew she was likely using it to kill people. Liam managed to find Jess under the cherry blossom tree yet again, presented to her his gift. When she asked why he had gotten her a revolver, Liam told her to kill him with it. It was made to kill people as quickly as possible. He had even gotten her bullets. He told her that he didn’t want her to lose her home, or neglect what she had to do. In tears, Jess told him she didn’t want to kill him and even suggested they just run away, but Liam told her that there were others after him and that he would likely die anyway, so if he was going to die, he wanted it to be by her hand. Before Jess could say another word he picked her up and kissed her. When he finally broke the kiss, he quickly grabbed Jess’s revolver, knowing she would be unable to gain the courage to shoot him, and shot himself for her, his last words being “I love you, Mina.”

 That day, Jess ran away from Kiara and swore revenge against her. 

And to this day, in the year 2070 T.C., she still looks to do that, waiting for the day she can kill Kiara and then kill herself so she can be reunited with Liam. 

— Submission

Ah, yes, holding the gun that tilts the fate of the universe. Gumi songs always tend to have a really specific note to them and this one assuredly is wild and a lot to take in when you listen to it in the context of the Villainious series. Glad to see it play out, though. I think there’s something bittersweet about how she was forced to do this, but her love stopped her from having to stain her hands with his blood. Him taking the shot himself implies that he loves her enough to die for her if he must. 

It’s upsetting that there was no way out. But, pain and grief in stories like this provide an arc for a character to follow and deal with, and perhaps her story will not entirely end in misery, but peace and resolution of the fate that she’s been dealt and what it means to be okay with where you’re heading and what you’ve been forced through. 

[alexandria-morrowgrove]

Doom?

The office was incredibly stuffy, the ripe smell of a candle burning kept the stuffiness present but...it smelt like a nice cherry wood at least? Hours had gone by with draft after draft written up and the Captain found herself often staring at what she wrote with a frown. “For th’ spirits wake I hope th’ bloody courts don’t waive this off as a joke. By now surely someone believes me aftah this damned year.”

The year had been anything but calm. There weren’t even calm moments really...January had been the calmest month and that seemed to be due to the arrival of the old god. The front line men were sent out then and everyone focused on that. As she’d started with those drafts the captain had been requested to offer the first half years worth of crime reports and what occurred within town. Included in the drafts she’d just...rub her forehead. No matter what she wrote she looked crazy. 

‘To whom it may concern within the high courts of Stormwind,

Our first half of the year’s reports have been tallied up and the types of charges are broken down by occurrence. On average a deceased person is found daily by citizens or the city guardsmen themselves. The average of how many deaths are in foulness or criminally involved is at least one death every other day. To continue in drastic measures we’ve been forced to take locally we have a full fledged dragon attack on the city proper once every two months on average with the favored flight doing this being either the black flight or more recently void afflicted dragons that see it fit to single handedly attempt destroying our grand capital city.’

Alex sighed. She herself knew just reading the details and charts she’d created looked insane. The amount of military captains and marshals that said her job was a retirement position? She worried for the front lines if *this* was a retirement posting.

‘To continue onward due to the appearance earlier this year of an Old God in our planet the number of known cults at home grew exponentially. We average at least one located and taken down cult monthly with cults favoring the void in worship or idolization. We’ve also found fel cults, crazed feral pack cults, cult of the damned copy cats, and cults worshipping unknown or not well known dark loa and spirits not local to Stormwind. More recently cult of the damned copy cats have appeared in mass with Duskwood being targeted for ritual sites and misbehavior.’

She’d spent more time scratching out various portions of her notes, the charts were sprawled out all over her desk. The captain wouldn’t make comments on the city being stressful enough to turn her fur white...nor the recent ghoul mauling that left her face scarred up.

‘Our best efforts have been put forward, in total we’ve stopped twelve cults to date, we’ve employed in the double digits now men and women of all walks of life into the unit proper, and continue to work side by side with as many in the city as possible to keep the blatant insanity down. However, the fifteenth defense brigade is officially requesting aid be sent out to the following regions where identified threats have been seen.’

‘To Deadwind pass, where yet another identified cult of the damned copy cat or remake is attempting to mass revive a small army of ghouls and skeletal warriors which were looted from various graveyards around Duskwood and likely Karazhan or Stranglethorn Vale. Given the volume of corpses being stolen it is of belief larger forces will be required to remove the pests in a neighboring area.

To Duskwood, to reinforce the men and women in Deadwind pass and to cull any remaining ghouls at Raven Hill after our more recent cult removal. To also attempt flushing out any remaining cult recruiters or cult gatherings as there’s a distinct rise in desire for such activities by the local populous of our kingdom.

To the Eastern Plaguelands, where reports given to us in relation to recent cult activity suggest a slaughterhouse formerly made inactive has been repaired and is to the reports knowledge active and functioning once more. In addition to such there is a rogue sect of the cult of the damned operating with a known rogue lich in the area. While reports suggest the lich and the slaughterhouse are not connected the possibility can and likely exists. To support tracking down the lich the Ebon Blade has been contacted and they’ve responded in sending assistance in tracking the lich down.

And finally to Westfall. With the rise in cult activity nearby there have been increased kidnappings from the roaming homeless population. If aid can be given to the people proper and protection from nearby threats it would be greatly appreciated. With the recent armistice bringing many of our front line persons home this is an opportunity for us as a kingdom to properly give aid to the locals as oftentimes the fifteenth is not enough for the city and kingdom as a whole in the threats we often face. Since the culling of the Night Watch from a year or two ago with revelations they too had joined the Burning Legion Duskwood has been left to fend for itself while rebuilding the local watch even further then ever before. I commend the strong citizens that remain stalwart and steadfast in maintaining their homes and livelihoods in such a dire and deadly place.

We will warn caution with the populous of Westfall as they’ve repeatedly wished nothing but death upon those adorned in the gear of the Alliance military. The aid is requested regardless to Westfall due to overwhelming concerns from recent local reports that the danger outweighs the potential threat of the local populous attacking the soldiers that may be sent there.

We will continue to provide aid as best as possible and intend to maintain the active bounty system to employ the local populous in assisting with threat removals. Any assistance offered with any of the above matters would be beyond appreciated at this time as the holiday season has revealed itself to be deadly...again.

In closing please review the charts attached with the report and following requests. Stormwind as always in my time as a guardsman follows a pattern with peace comes more violence at the home front. While I do not wish for more war as our armies are strained enough the home front needs help most certainly.

Sincerely,

Knight Captain Alexandria Morrowgrove

Captain of the Fifteenth defense brigade.’

When she finished writing her letters she’d slump over the desk with a groan. It was unlikely aid would be given. Even when the locals themselves asked for aid it often was pushed off by High Command and the courts with larger threats always looming. But she’d told many she’d try, and try she would. What was concerning was the rise in cults worshipping undeath and the scourge. Usually a trend existed, an old god appeared? Void cults, burning legion invasion? Fel cults.

There was no war on going against the scourge, there was no movement of any kind from the Ebon Blade. Why now? Did they know something Stormwind at large didn't? This boggled the captains mind and she’d just...look up toward a mirror. Her healing and scarring gashes gave way to Snow White fur. Stress induced white fur. What more would happen now? Maybe the city would calm down...

She laughed at herself. Stormwind never calmed down. It never slept, she had guards at all hours of the day and night on post thanks to everything that would happen on a normal day. If more were to come she wondered what more could pile up. Five years was a long time to be a local guard without moving, she’d seen so much. Too much. It’s one thing to have an enemy that everyone can agree on and fight, the legion was that, old gods, the obvious stuff. It’s another thing entirely to have your own neighbors trying to kill everyone for the sake of chaos. So Morrow would fold up her letters and her charts, to staple them together in a packet and set them aside. This would go to the keep by the end of the day.

(Hope y’all enjoy reading! This isn’t even pre patch event stuff. This is the combination of like 6+ guilds and individual plots IC reporting to us what’s going on in their plots. All very cool to know but alas. It’s a lot to know and deal with. Who needs a guild plot when there’s so many others <,> )

( @areniaagn for mentions of the Ebon Blade. Thanks for the pony :) and a big thanks to those that report what’s on going to add to that immersion.)

[the-gordianknot117]

Remake Fubuki and Flanderization.

I was reflecting on the differences between manga Fubuki and webcomic Fubuki and, among other things, I noticed how in the former there is way more insistence on the whole “Fubuki group” shtick (like Fubuki acting goofy around others and pretending to be the leader of Saitama’s posse). To tell the truth, even webcomic Fubuki acts like she is the one in charge, like during the Hot Pot or at the beginning of the Esper Sisters arc, but it’s limited to a couple of instances and always before the situation derails, when the characters don’t fear for their lives or world-ending threats. Furthermore, it’s not as pronounced as in the remake.

In the manga the importance of the Fubuki Group recruitment gag has basically monopolized Fubuki’s characterization, to the point where she basically only babbles about that (at least when she is her own character instead of being used as a way to hype others or provide comic relief moments). This made sense narrative-wise up until a certain point (around chapter 93) because it reflected her personality* and Fubuki’s way to deal with others, but then it just became the main topic of her every single dialogue or even her thoughts, which is a clear symptom of flanderization. 

Like, compare this “new” Fubuki to the Fubuki of the Special Chapter “Numbers”: the plot of that story was basically another Fubuki attempt to recruit Saitama and co., which could have limited the entire focus of the chapter to the “Fubuki Group” gags, and yet the chapter explores Fubuki’s real self under the facade she puts upfront, her obsession for appearance and status, her fear of appearing “weak” and so her insecurities, her “role model” and how this affects Fubuki’s life, and so on; in summary, “Numbers” is first and foremost a Fubuki’s “character study”, on top of being one of the funniest and most entertaining chapters in the series. I can understand how a bigger cast requires to associate certain characters with specific traits/shticks in order to make them stand out, but I think there is a limit to how far this can go before turning the character into caricatures: Fubuki thinking about her group before being ready to sacrifice herself for Fang and Bomb it’s ok (I would have preferred the sequence to be a little longer and more character focused, but good enough), but going back to her “funny” recruitment attempts right after her “sacrifice” and turning her into comic relief, it’s too much. It’s difficult to take the character seriously, especially if every scene she appears in ends up with her being a joke.

Moreover, the webcomic Monster Association arc wasn’t about “leader” Fubuki but putting Fubuki out of her comfort zone, breaking the bubble she built for herself: thrown in the middle of a war between the top-ranked Heroes and a powerful organization of monsters, without preparations or plans to get her out of it, Fubuki had to fight amidst that chaos. And she ended up providing an impressive performance during this war. But these achievements didn’t come without a price to pay: Fubuki had to confront a shadow from her past, Psykos, a character that will be important for Fubuki’s future developments, and Garou, the manifestation of her deepest fears - an overwhelming power she can’t do anything against.  

Fubuki’s role as a leader, as well as other sides of the character, came into play only in the Esper Sisters arc. Anticipating those developments or exploring this facet of her character earlier isn’t bad in itself (actually, the opposite), but the way it’s been handled leaves me perplexed, because what we got is a dumbed down version of Fubuki’s character, whose entire personality rotates around the “Fubuki Group” - when she isn’t reduced to doing nothing for dozens of chapters, hyping her sister or both. It’s an oversimplification that reduces the character to an exaggerated and quirky trait. 

And I’m ignoring the rest of the changes: manga only gag moments, the fact that making her cower now deprives the “Fear” scene of all of his importance (because that’s what she has been doing for dozens of chapters, compared to the webcomic, where this moment represented a narrative shift for the arc and the character), Fubuki’s relationship with her sister and nu-Tatsumaki in general. To be honest, flanderization is one of several issues affecting remake Fubuki right now.

I think her leadership skills and planning abilities could have been shown in a more organic and natural way if, instead of following TankTop Master while supposedly buffing him (I’m not so sure anymore), Fubuki was the one who came up with the strategy to take down Jet Psykorochi: for example, we don’t know, rebus sic stantibus, who told Atomic Samurai, Pri Pri Prisoner and Superalloy Darkshine to stay in a building, waiting for TankTop Master to throw them against their target. Considering how the combined attacks went and how well coordinated they were, it would have made sense for Fubuki’s character to have played a role in it. And given the insistence on her “leadership role”, it would have been a case of “show, don’t tell”. 

*which in reality is a defense mechanism employed by the character every time she has to deal with other people, “legacy” of her background and upbringing.

[llama-milk-for-the-egg-nog]

Thoughts on Mulan (2020)

Ok so I had heard some stuff beforehand about this movie, but I didn’t wanna let that tint my experience too much, though it kind of did in the form of noticing western influence on certain things. Here’s a list of thoughts more or less in chronological order.  First I wrote these in a notebook, and now I’m putting them here.

The beginning sequence reminds me so much of Kung Fu Huslte

though honestly it might just be that stephen chow’s movies are pretty much the extent of chinese-made media that I watch

Rosalind Chao is here, I’m a Keiko O’Brien stan so she reminded me of DS9

Fa Zhou saying something about “emissary” also reminded me of DS9

The music where the rourans first attack is cool I guess

idk if the brass made the music of the imperial city sound kinda western or what, but it certainly did sound militaristic (which I guess it’s supposed to)

Why does mulan have a little sister instead of a little brother? to add more female characters to the story? she doesn’t really do much though

After mulan’s whole childhood sequence, it cuts to a shot of the witch in the desert, which if you didn’t already know the story, might make it seem like mulan grew up to be the witch

although this makes some sense too bc the movie likes to compare them

the witch twists into a hawk (?), neat!

I saw people earlier comment about both men and women in china (and other parts of the world) keeping their hair long, so when mulan’s hair fell out of place in the matchmaker scene it made me notice that both the men and women also wear their hair up, which in turn causes the part of the movie later when mulan emerges after the avalanche to make way less sense since how would they know she’s a woman?

ok this is the thing I’m upset about, its a small thing but still, Why don’t we get to see the sword form?? If you remember in the animated version, her father does this straight sword form. (It’s a real form, not just made up for the animated movie). So I was like “ok maybe mulan will do it later” and then it NEVER HAPPENED. (possibly she did it during the “make a man out of you” training sequence, but the odd camera angels and quick cutaways make it impossible to tell)

I also had heard earlier that the script was not subtle at all,,,y’all were right

oh look, a phoenix

mulan: “the phoenix”

yes, we know

Commander Donnie Yen Tung’s entrance is iconic

BAHAHFHDSK mulan’s reaction to seeing naked men skjfdk

uh oh,,only 40 minutes in and the forced romance is already upon us

although, in retrospect, the way they resolved it at the end didn’t make me cringe that much

I’m a slut for butterfly kicks

the scene where mulan bathes in the lake has a much more predatory undertone now, especially now that Ling, Chien Po, and Yao are missing

the trio made the scene funny in the animated movie

can the not-Li-Shang-love-interest Honghui please leave Jun/Mulan alone?? ffs

speaking of no Li Shang, I liked the Donnie Yen mentor character half better than the Honghui half

Honghui kind of comes off as a simp ngl

what’s with the witch’s makeup/outfit? are they based on something?

speaking of outfits, awhile ago, I saw a really cool doll alteration video for mulan 2020

Commander Tung’s monologue/ mulan’s and the army’s training sequence about Chi where the words “Tranquil as a forest, but on fire within” are spoken is actually my favorite part of the whole movie. As much as I would have liked a musical remake, I think they translated the visual elements and the words together well in a way that was different enough from the animated version, but still satisfying to watch (at least for me).

They also integrate the music of Reflection here really well imho.  In the animated version, there’s a point where mulan modulates to a higher key, but the live action version doesn’t do that, which further pushes it away from sounding like disney’s classic musical theatre style.  They also changed a few of the notes, and I think the overall changes to Reflection in this part of the movie really improve this montage.

Compared to the Spiderman where they changed the notes from harmonic minor to (normal) minor (idk if that’s the real term I’m not actually a music major) in the MCU opening sequence, the note changes in Reflection don’t actually upset me.

my brain: oh look!! flowers!! cool! whooshhhh (honestly I couldn’t even tell if she was doing flowers right in the first part of the movie until here)

Mulan/Jun is gonna marry Commander Tung’s daughter? Yeah girl!! Get it!

oh look at me I’m a rouran and I gotta turn around on my moving horse to shoot arrows let me just swoOP

1:01:56 WHY ARE YOUR FINGERS IN FRONT OF THE HILT oh ok they fixed in the next shot but its still annoying

Unsubtle phoenix imagery not subtle

I guess I was warned about it :/

oh look its my fav interval a major 7th, I wonder if that’s supposed to be like “the last step before rebirth/the octave” bc of how Jun “dies” after the witch throws a weapon that gets stuck in her chest binding

at least she’s not using ace bandages or smth but idk much about binding

WHY ARE YOU THROWING OFF ALL YOUR ARMOR WHEN YOU’RE GOING INTO BATTLE? ACCEPTING AND PRESENTING YOURSELF AS WHO YOU REALLY ARE DOESN’T MEAN YOU HAVE TO TAKE OFF YOUR ARMOR

ok I know it was so she would be visually distinguishable from the other imperial soldiers, but still

the soldiers doing the turtle thing with their shields reminds me of the “we irritating 😂😂😂” meme

brass to signify that mulan is going to have a heroic moment (causing the avelanche) seems western to me. Idk much about traditional chinese instruments but it seems like they could use more of those.

Guys,,,I’m so fucking stupid I- .... it took me an hour and ten minutes to register the Lucky Cricket stand-in character,,,excuse me,,,,

the scene where mulan saves hongui and puts her hand over his heart gives me r*ylo vibes and I hate it

the witch, 1:14:40: “🎵yes I~ am a girl like you~🎵”

damn the music even reminds of the barbie movie a bit

The emperor’s voice reminds me of the mentor character from Kung Pow Enter the Fist which in itself was a western guy making fun of old cheesy martial arts movies (and how movies sometimes have a white male protagonist when they’re deadass set in asia and everyone else is asian)

the mentor characters voice was dubbed into english (and you can tell) but to me the emperor’s voice also kinda sounds like that

I’m disappointed that we didn’t get some kind of scene like the part in the animated verison where Mulan leads Ling, Chien Po, and Yao to cross dress to help save the emperor.

to me, that scene in the animated ver. is a reminder that it isn’t shameful for men to act/dress feminine

in general the animated version, to me, sends the message that it is ok to have both feminine and masculine traits, and that they don’t undermine each other or your identity, so they should all be embraced as a part of one’s personality (which tbh really helped me as a young kid)

the 2020 ver,, just doesn’t really send that message, instead its more broad like “be true to yourself”

I’m a slut for butterfly kicks

the witch taking an arrow for mulan really didn’t do it for me tbh, it made her seem a little wishy washy

like, I get that she wanted acceptance/validation, and that a part of her was glad that mulan found that for herself, but what about the rest of her motivation? Isn’t a desire for power or something what separates her from mulan?

Unsubtle phoenix imagery and dialogue is unsubtle

The music playing during the Mulan v. Khan duel reminds me of Duel of the Fates

actually the setting of the duel and other things really remind of of the Maul v. Ahsoka duel from Clone Wars s7

damn I really wanna watch the Maul v. Ahsoka duel cause the fight choreo is just,, so much more interesting

aww! Cricket is alive!

Around 1:34:39 , the music does not feel like it should be building up to Reflection here.  At this point, I think the melody had been reprised too many times and was getting to be overused (I still like it in the training sequence though).

I was happy to see Ming Na Wen!

Mulan is going home and ugh! Honghui! Don’t you know she’s betrothed to Commander Tung’s daughter? smh. homewrecker simp.

the matchmaker reminds me of Baron Harkonnen (Dune)

cheezy credits song is cheezy, even cheezier because they reprised reflection again

[andrea-lyn]

Hogwarts AU for Malex

(Disclaimer! These are just my opinions on sorting, but I know this can be CONTROVERSIAL, but please, enjoy!)

***

“Today, children, we delve into amortentia,” Professor DeLuca announces after she swans into the room with her portions collected up in a bag under her arm, bearing the look of a woman who knows exactly how much chaos she’s inviting by asking a room of seventeen-year-olds to make a potion that reveals one’s deepest desires.

From the other side of the class where the Slytherins are gathered, Valenti snorts. “Manes is gonna be smelling dick, huh?” Isobel, with them by virtue of loyalty, hauls her books up and plants herself at the Gryffindor table with Max and Alex instead of with her Slytherin classmates.

“Ignore those assholes,” she huffs, reaching over to help balance Max’s potions. “Kyle will be lucky if he smells anything but his own aftershave, he’s so in love with himself these days.”

“What about Liz’s perfume?” Alex suggests, measuring things out cautiously, not even paying attention to how Max blushes. “They are dating.” He’s not actually trying to rub Max’s face in it, but it’s good to remind him about that sometimes when Max starts talking about wooing Liz away.

The last thing he needs is to get in the middle of another duel that goes badly, all because of some stupid romance.

“Let’s just get to work,” Isobel suggests, leaning over both of them to start plucking ingredients. “I don’t need to worry about my brother getting petrified again because he’s dueling over Liz Ortecho’s honor,” she says with a roll of her eyes, throwing ingredients into the pot with a seeming lack of care, but Alex knows better.

She knows exactly what she’s doing.

Unfortunately, just because they’ve decided to move on doesn’t mean Kyle and his asshole cronies have. Alex can feel things being thrown his way and Mimi DeLuca is too busy helping other students to notice – not to mention Kyle conveniently keeps stopping whenever she’s looking.

“Oh, here it comes,” Kyle announces. “C’mon, guys, Alex should be salivating any minute, you know how badly he craves those hot dogs.”

Alex frowns and tries to put on blinders and focus on the potion, but when he takes a deep breath, he has the feeling he’s screwed up when he smells not a collection of items, but a singular person.

Behind the chaos of their two warring tables, Michael and Maria DeLuca are working steadfastly at theirs. She’s flicking his Hufflepuff tie out of the way before it lands in the potion again. It figures that the smell of Michael had wafted his way from the table, so he shakes his head and gets right back to making it again. It doesn’t make sense that he’d be smelling Michael like that, so he must have done something wrong to get an odorless amortentia.

Yet, when he finishes his re-do, it hasn’t changed.

Broom oil, varnish, and the cream Michael uses in his curls. Alex’s cheeks heat up when it occurs to him that it’s not because Michael is sitting behind them, but because Alex is smelling him in the potion. “What do you smell?” he asks Max in a hurry, trying to keep Valenti’s attention off him, even if he feels like it’s fixed his way.

“Liz’s perfume,” says Max, as miserably in love with the Ravenclaw prefect as he has been since they were third years. Isobel gives Alex a pointed look and he recognizes it as the ‘we have to do something about Max’ look.

Normally, he’d agree. Right now, he knows Isobel well enough that he knows what’s about to happen next.

“Well, I smell someone’s perfume, too,” she says, and it throws Alex for a loop. He really thought that she’d throw him under the bus, noticing that he’d had to remake his potion, but it quickly becomes apparent that Isobel’s cunning ambition to get something isn’t about distracting Max right now so much as it’s about getting something she wants.

Well, getting something she wants and putting Valenti in his place.

“Maria,” Isobel says.

From the Hufflepuff table, Maria glances up. “What?”

“Oh, no,” she says sweetly, her eyes fixed on Kyle. “Max and Alex were asking what I smelled in the amortentia. I was answering.”

The entire class goes silent.

Maria is staring at Isobel and Alex bites his lip. Isobel’s crush on Maria isn’t exactly a badly kept secret, but he hangs out with Maria and Liz enough to see all the looks that Isobel throws her way. Professor DeLuca has helpfully excused herself with the announcement that class is over. Maria’s got both palms on the table, leaning forward to make sure that her mother is out of sight.

“Evans,” Maria calls, and Isobel hums sweetly as she turns, which allows Maria to grab Isobel by her green and black tie, yanking her in for a kiss.

Valenti, who knows what’s best for him, is not making any comments about seafood, clams, or anything fish-related, which is handy, because Isobel happens to be one of the best students when it comes to legilimency and she could turn his brain to soup if she wanted.

It means that the torment for Alex is over, too.

He sighs in relief, though that’s only one problem down. Alex works on packing up his things, trying to hurry out of there before Valenti can take out his humiliation on him, but he’s not quick enough. Someone drops their books in front of him and he closes his eyes, hoping it’s not Valenti and his goons, or worse, Flint to come and pick up the baton.

When he looks up, Michael Guerin is standing there.

“Hey,” Alex greets him, nervously.

“I saw you remake your potion,” he says. “Did something go wrong? Do you need some extra help, because I’d definitely be willing to…”

“I thought I made it wrong because I smelled you,” Alex blurts out, because Michael can keep on being chivalrous and so nice and good to him. “You were sitting right behind me, so I figured that I wasn’t smelling the potion, but I was smelling you instead, only, then on the second time when it didn’t change, I realized that it was you…”

Michael doesn’t bolt. He doesn’t even look scared.

Alex’s heart pounds wildly in his chest, watching Michael settle into the stool beside him. “Black nail varnish, broom oil, and the smell of the detergent you use on your sheets that I smell when I visit…” He gives Alex a crooked grin. “I’d probably smell that muggle computer of yours if it had a smell,” he quips.

Alex is pretty sure his heart is going to explode from his chest and they’ll have to spell him back together. “…uhhhh…”

“So,” Michael keeps going, like he doesn’t even notice what he’s done to Alex. “I was thinking about going to grab some food and maybe heading out to study. I know you don’t need the extra help, but maybe, do you wanna come with me?”

Because his voice has clearly been stolen by some nefarious creature in the room, Alex has to resort to frantic nodding, grabbing his things to bundle them tight to his chest. He’s so glad that Isobel had distracted everyone else so they could have this moment.

“So, is that a yes?”

“Fuck yes.”

“Manes,” Michael says with a smirk. “Language.”

Later, when Alex is giving him a hickey and Michael is cursing up a storm in the Hufflepuff room, he’s not nearly as concerned about language. That night, when he sneaks back to the Gryffindor common room, he smells of broom oil and Michael’s curl cream.

Max gives Alex a knowing look, even if there’s a haunted look in his eyes.

Alex defiantly curls into bed, turning away from any comments Max feels compelled to make about what Alex smells like, instead thinking about how he’d left Michael with one last kiss, his black varnish painted nails buried in Michael’s curls, holding on tight.

Yeah. He’s pretty sure he’s not failing potions at all, because he got amortentia as right as he thinks you can get it.

[alvacchi]

SCENARIO: Norman’s Rage

IT’S SCENARIO TIME! Gosh finally! I’ve been meaning and wanting to write this one since a few days ago :’D. This is inspired by @vobomon’s Demon!Norman AU!

(Note: This could be seen as a continuation from the SCENARIO: Masquerade but doesn’t need to be. It can be a stand alone.)

Aaa anyways, enjoy!

[Spoilers up to Ch 132]

---

Norman: We will strike 8 days from now. While the Tifari is taking place, we’ll assassinate the queen and the nobles.

[It’s now been eight days since Norman started making his move. Now the Tifari ceremonies have begun and Norman’s army along with Giran’s army heads out towards the Royal Capital.]

Norman: ‘Today is the day. We will change everything. The full moon should be out on this day... I will be at maximum strength if I need them.’

[A chill goes down Norman’s spine but he keeps his serious face on. He can’t stop his plan now. It’ll be okay. It’ll all work out.]

[Meanwhile, Ray and Emma have infiltrated into the Royal Capital in their demon disguises after their trip to the Seven Walls. However, they have been caught by one of the demon nobles at the Tifari.]

Demon noble: You guys don’t look familiar...you must be the ones destroying our plantations! INTRUDERS!!

Ray: RUN EMMA!

Emma: RAY!

[The demon nobles gather around them to prevent them from escaping. Emma and Ray stand against each other back to back, trying to get out of their tough situation.]

Queen Legravalima: That’s enough. I will deal with the intruders myself.

[The Queen shows herself to the crowd and the demons withdraw, kneeling before her. Ray and Emma stand there astonished as they looked at her.]

Demon noble: [to Ray and Emma] Such insolence! Kneel before your Queen!

Emma: ‘Wait... that’s the Queen? That’s perfect then!’

Emma: Your Majesty! We didn’t come here seeking for a fight! We simply want to negotiate for peace!

[Emma removes her mask to reveal her face to the Queen.]

Ray: Hey! Emma!

[The demon nobles starts talking amongst themselves.]

Demon noble 1: !!! That’s a cattle child!

Demon noble 2: If it is a cattle child, then the other one with it must be one too!

Demon noble 3: Does that mean it wasn’t the work of demons but cattle? Ridiculous!

Duke Ivelk: SILENCE!

[They all shut up. The Queen then begins to speak.]

Queen: Negotiation? From mere cattle? How absurd! What makes you think I will listen? My dear brother Lewis has gone missing.

[In the middle of their conversation unknown to them, Norman’s army heads their way, already having infiltrated the Royal Capital. Norman leads the way as they head towards the room where Ray, Emma, and the other nobles are, killing any demons standing the way.]

Emma: We already have a plan to remake the Promise with HIM! We know what you Royals have been doing!

Queen: [feigning innocence] I do not know what you are talking about.

Emma: The girl with cursed blood. She’s still alive.

[As Norman sees the nobles and approaches the room, he spots a familiar orange haired person with an ahoge.]

Norman: ‘Is that Emma?! Oh no why is she here?! She’s being reckless again!’

[He quickens his pace from worry. The demon nobles made gasps in the room from Emma’s words.]

Queen: ….Am I supposed to be frightened? Rendered powerless before you cattle?

Emma: ! That’s not--

THWACK

[Emma’s hit hard by the Queen’s hand, falling to the ground with a thud. She lays there, silent and still.]

Ray: EMMA!!!

[Norman watched and heard it all happen right before his eyes as he finally makes it to the entrance. The slap. The fall. Ray’s scream. He starts hyperventilating, his breathing becoming ragged. His mind flashes back to when Emma’s leg got broken and the times when he seen the experiments as he walked on by in Lambda. He had been enduring it all for so long and now.

He snapped.]

Norman: YOU LOW LIFE DEMONS WHO DON'T DESERVE THE RANKS OF NOBILITY! HOW DARE YOU! LOOK AT HER! SHE’S NOT MOVING!!!

[A burst of wind started coming from him as a dark aura also consumed him. The glass cups on the table and the windows were breaking from the wind force. Clothes were flapping and the demons shielded their faces from wind contact. Norman was transforming, beginning to form demonic characteristics. Feathers were sprouting from his skin and his hands slowly became claws. The rest of Norman’s army arrives to the scene and sees the chaos. Ray watches him in horror.]

Ray: THE FUCK IS HAPPENING TO HIM?!

Vincent: This is bad! He’s turning into a demon!

Ray: WHAT?!

[The Gilan look on, in shock of what was happening.]

Gilan: ‘Shit I can’t imagine what would happen if the clan turned traitor…’

[Norman’s transformation completes itself. The demon nobles stood there surprised and filled with fear. Norman then starts his killing spree, moving to kill the nobles with incredible speed. They started fighting back against him in vain.]

Ray: Can’t you do anything?!

Vincent: He won’t recognize us anymore! He’s lost it! Everyone’s an enemy to him now! We have no choice but to get out of here! Last time he transformed like this, he destroyed Lambda!

Ray: Seriously?!

Barbara: Aw! But I wanted to kill all of them!

Ray: We better hurry out of here then!

[Ray makes a move to carry Emma but then Emma regains consciousness.]

Emma: Mmm…

Ray: Emma?!

[Emma tries to get up and Ray ends up helping her, putting her arm around his shoulder as they stand.]

Ray: Are you okay?

Emma: [Sees the fighting between the demons and spots a white one in the middle] Is that...Norman?

Ray: How did you recognize him? Nevermind that! We got to leave!

Emma: No! We can’t leave him behind! We got to help Norman!

Ray: Are you crazy?!

[Norman finishes his battles with the demons. All of them are scattered on the floor before him, and now the Queen was the only other demon left alive. He slowly walks towards her, his feathers tainted with demon blood.]

Emma: I can’t let him kill her!

[Emma breaks off from Ray’s hold and runs over to Norman.]

Ray: Emma! DON’T GO NEAR HIM! EMMA!

[Norman was now staring down at the Queen in contempt, his demon eyes filled with hatred. The Queen felt a chill as she stares back at him.]

Queen: ‘I’ve never seen anything like it. That’s not a demon nor a cattle child. What exactly is it?!’

[He was about to strike her when Emma goes in front of him and hugs him in attempt to keep him from doing so.]

Emma: NORMAN! COME BACK TO ME NORMAN! IT’S ME EMMA! I’M ALRIGHT! I’M OKAY SO STOP!

[He hesitates but doesn’t recognize her in his rage. She was in the way. He growls and digs his claws into her, trying to get her off of him. Emma winces from the pain in her sides as blood seeps out.]

Ray: EMMA!

Emma: [still holding on] ‘What do I do?! How do I get him to calm down?!’

Emma: Please Norman, come back....I love you. [She starts humming a certain lullaby] ♪ ♪ ♪ ~

Ray: ‘That is…!’

[Norman listens to Emma’s singing for a while and gradually he starts to calm down. His transformation becomes undone, reverting back to his human form as she finishes.]

Norman: Emma…[hugs her back]

Vincent: Huh...it worked out.

[Ray and the others stood there relieved.]

[Norman and Emma separate from each other. Norman looks at her with worrying eyes.]

Norman: Are you crazy? I could have seriously hurt you…[He realizes his hands were covered in her blood. He panics.] Oh no...I already have.

Emma: Norman, it’s okay. I know you didn’t mean it.

[They turn to face the Queen who had been silent and frozen in fear the entire time.]

Emma: Your Majesty. As I was saying, we are not trying to cause a war.

Queen: How could you say that when you’ve killed my own kind?

Emma: And ours suffered as well. Please. Let us start over.

[aion-rsa]

Best New Fantasy Books in September 2019

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Here are the best new fantasy books in September 2019.

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There's so much to look forward to in our speculative fiction future. Here are some of the fantasy books we're most excited about and/or are currently consuming...

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Best New Fantasy Books in July 2019

Dragonslayer by Duncan M. Hamilton

Type: First book in trilogy Publisher: Tor Books Release date: 7/2/19

In his magnificent, heroic, adventure fantasy, Dragonslayer, Duncan M. Hamilton debuts the first book in a fast-moving trilogy: a dangerous tale of lost magics, unlikely heroes, and reawakened dragons.

Once a member of the King's personal guard, Guillot dal Villevauvais spends most days drinking and mourning his wife and child. He’s astonished—and wary—when the Prince Bishop orders him to find and destroy a dragon. He and the Prince Bishop have never exactly been friends and Gill left the capital in disgrace five years ago. So why him? And, more importantly, how is there a dragon to fight when the beasts were hunted to extinction centuries ago by the ancient Chevaliers of the Silver Circle?

On the way to the capitol city, Gill rescues Solène, a young barmaid, who is about to be burned as a witch. He believes her innocent…but she soon proves that she has plenty of raw, untrained power, a problem in this land, where magic is forbidden. Yet the Prince Bishop believes magic will be the key to both destroying the dragon and replacingthe young, untried King he pretends to serve with a more pliable figurehead. Between Gill’s rusty swordsmanship and Solene’s unstable magic, what could go wrong?

Read our interview with Dragonslayer author Duncan M. Hamilton.

An Evolution of Dragon Stories: Checking in With Dragonslayer.

Dragonslayer is now available to purchase.

Best New Fantasy Books in June 2019

Magic for Liars by Sarah Gailey

Type: Novel Publisher: Tor Books Release date: 6/4/19

Ivy Gamble was born without magic and never wanted it.

Ivy Gamble is perfectly happy with her life – or at least, she’s perfectly fine.

She doesn't in any way wish she was like Tabitha, her estranged, gifted twin sister.

Ivy Gamble is a liar.

When a gruesome murder is discovered at The Osthorne Academy of Young Mages, where her estranged twin sister teaches Theoretical Magic, reluctant detective Ivy Gamble is pulled into the world of untold power and dangerous secrets. She will have to find a murderer and reclaim her sister―without losing herself.

Read Magic for Liars by Sarah Gailey

Read more about Magic for Liars here.

Unraveling by Karen Lord

Type: Standalone Novel Publisher: DAW Release date: 6/4/19

Dr. Miranda Ecouvo, forensic therapist of the City, just helped put a serial killer behind bars. But she soon discovers that her investigation into seven unusual murders is not yet complete. A near-death experience throws her out of time and into a realm of labyrinths and spirits. There, she encounters brothers Chance and the Trickster, who have an otherworldly interest in the seemingly mundane crimes from her files. 

It appears the true mastermind behind the murders is still on the loose, chasing a myth to achieve immortality. Together, Miranda, Chance, and the Trickster must travel through conjured mazes, following threads of memory to locate the shadowy killer. As they journey deeper, they discover even more questions that will take pain and patience to answer. What is the price of power? Where is the path to redemption? And how can they stop the man—or monster—who would kill the innocent to live forever?

Read Unraveling by Karen Lord

The Fire Opal Mechanism by Fran Wilde

Type: Second novella in the Jewel Series Publisher: Tor.com Release date: 6/4/19

Jewels and their lapidaries and have all but passed into myth.

Jorit, broke and branded a thief, just wants to escape the Far Reaches for something better. Ania, a rumpled librarian, is trying to protect her books from the Pressmen, who value knowledge but none of the humanity that generates it.

When they stumble upon a mysterious clock powered by an ancient jewel, they may discover secrets in the past that will change the future forever.

Read The Fire Opal Mechanism by Fran Wilde

Spine of the Dragon by Kevin J. Anderson

Type: First book in the Wake the Dragon series Publisher: Tor Books Release date: 6/4/19

Two continents at war, the Three Kingdoms and Ishara, are divided by past bloodshed. When an outside threat arises―the reawakening of a powerful ancient race that wants to remake the world―the two warring nations must somehow set aside generational hatreds and form an alliance to fight their true enemy.

Read Spine of the Dragon by Kevin J. Anderson

The Grand Dark by Richard Kadrey

Type: Standalone novel Publisher: Harper Voyager Release date: 6/11/19

From the bestselling author of the Sandman Slim series, a lush, dark, stand-alone fantasy built off the insurgent tradition of China Mieville and M. John Harrison—a subversive tale that immerses us in a world where the extremes of bleakness and beauty exist together in dangerous harmony in a city on the edge of civility and chaos.

The Great War is over. The city of Lower Proszawa celebrates the peace with a decadence and carefree spirit as intense as the war’s horrifying despair. But this newfound hedonism—drugs and sex and endless parties—distracts from strange realities of everyday life: Intelligent automata taking jobs. Genetically engineered creatures that serve as pets and beasts of war. A theater where gruesome murders happen twice a day. And a new plague that even the ceaseless euphoria can’t mask.

Unlike others who live strictly for fun, Largo is an addict with ambitions. A bike messenger who grew up in the slums, he knows the city’s streets and its secrets intimately. His life seems set. He has a beautiful girlfriend, drugs, a chance at a promotion—and maybe, an opportunity for complete transformation: a contact among the elite who will set him on the course to lift himself up out of the streets.

But dreams can be a dangerous thing in a city whose mood is turning dark and inward. Others have a vision of life very different from Largo’s, and they will use any methods to secure control. And in behind it all, beyond the frivolity and chaos, the threat of new war always looms.

Read The Grand Dark by Richard Kadrey

Silver in the Wood by Emily Tesh

Type: Novella Publisher: Tor.com Release date: 6/18/19

There is a Wild Man who lives in the deep quiet of Greenhollow, and he listens to the wood. Tobias, tethered to the forest, does not dwell on his past life, but he lives a perfectly unremarkable existence with his cottage, his cat, and his dryads.

When Greenhollow Hall acquires a handsome, intensely curious new owner in Henry Silver, everything changes. Old secrets better left buried are dug up, and Tobias is forced to reckon with his troubled past―both the green magic of the woods, and the dark things that rest in its heart.

Read Silver in the Wood by Emily Tesh

The Affair of the Mysterious Letter by Alexis Hall

Type: Novel Publisher: Ace Release date: 6/18/19

Upon returning to the city of Khelathra-Ven after five years fighting a war in another universe, Captain John Wyndham finds himself looking for somewhere to live, and expediency forces him to take lodgings at 221b Martyrs Walk. His new housemate is Ms. Shaharazad Haas, a consulting sorceress of mercurial temperament and dark reputation.

When Ms. Haas is enlisted to solve a case of blackmail against one of her former lovers, Miss Eirene Viola, Captain Wyndham is drawn into a mystery that leads him from the salons of the literary set to the drowned back-alleys of Ven and even to a prison cell in lost Carcosa. Along the way he is beset by criminals, menaced by pirates, molested by vampires, almost devoured by mad gods, and called upon to punch a shark. 

But the further the companions go in pursuit of the elusive blackmailer, the more impossible the case appears. Then again, in Khelathra-Ven reality is flexible, and the impossible is Ms. Haas' stock-in-trade.

Read The Affair of the Mysterious Letter by Alexis Hall

Best New Fantasy Books in May 2019

Middlegame by Seanan McGuire

Type: Standalone novel Publisher: Tor.com Release date: 5/7/19

Meet Roger. Skilled with words, languages come easily to him. He instinctively understands how the world works through the power of story.

Meet Dodger, his twin. Numbers are her world, her obsession, her everything. All she understands, she does so through the power of math.

Roger and Dodger aren’t exactly human, though they don’t realise it. They aren’t exactly gods, either. Not entirely. Not yet.

Meet Reed, skilled in the alchemical arts like his progenitor before him. Reed created Dodger and her brother. He’s not their father. Not quite. But he has a plan: to raise the twins to the highest power, to ascend with them and claim their authority as his own.

Godhood is attainable. Pray it isn’t attained.

Read Middlegame by Seanan McGuire

Empire of Grass by Tad Williams

Type: Second book in the Last King of Osten Ard series Publisher: DAW Release date: 5/7/19

Set in Williams' New York Times bestselling fantasy world, the second book of The Last King of Osten Ard returns to the trials of King Simon and Queen Miriamele as threats to their kingdom loom...

The kingdoms of Osten Ard have been at peace for decades, but now, the threat of a new war grows to nightmarish proportions.

Simon and Miriamele, royal husband and wife, face danger from every side. Their allies in Hernystir have made a pact with the dreadful Queen of the Norns to allow her armies to cross into mortal lands. The ancient, powerful nation of Nabban is on the verge of bloody civil war, and the fierce nomads of the Thrithings grasslands have begun to mobilize, united by superstitious fervor and their age-old hatred of the city-dwellers. But as the countries and peoples of the High Ward bicker among themselves, battle, bloodshed, and dark magics threaten to pull civilizations to pieces. And over it all looms the mystery of the Witchwood Crown, the deadly puzzle that Simon, Miriamele, and their allies must solve if they wish to survive.

But as the kingdoms of Osten Ard are torn apart by fear and greed, a few individuals will fight for their own lives and destinies—not yet aware that the survival of everything depends on them.

Read Empire of Grass by Tad Williams

The Witchwood Crown by Tad Williams Review

Mythic Journeys: Retold Myths and Legends, Edited by Paula Guran

Type: Short story collection Publisher: Night Shade Release date: 5/14/19

Award-winning editor Paula Guran presents a diverse reprint anthology collecting classic myths and legends, retold by today’s top fantasy writers.

The Native American trickster Coyote . . . the snake-haired Greek Gorgon Medusa, whose gaze turned men to stone . . . Kaggen, creator of the San peoples of Africa . . . the Holy Grail of Arthurian legend . . . Freyja, the Norse goddess of love and beauty . . . Ys, the mythical sunken city once built on the coast of France . . . Ragnarok, the myth of a world destroyed and reborn . . . Jason and the Argonauts, sailing in search of the Golden Fleece . . .   Myths and legends are the oldest of stories, part of our collective consciousness, and the source from which all fiction flows. Full of magic, supernatural powers, monsters, heroes, epic journeys, strange worlds, and vast imagination, they are fantasies so compelling we want to believe them true.

This new anthology compiles some of the best modern short mythic retellings and reinvention of legend from award-winning and bestselling authors, acclaimed storytellers, and exciting new talent, offering readers new ways to interpret and understand the world. Adventure with us on these Mythic Journeys . . .

Contributors include: Neil Gaiman, Ann Lecki, Yoon Ha Lee, and Ken Liu.

Read Mythic Journeys: Retold Myths and Legends

A Brightness Long Ago by Guy Gavriel Kay

Type: Standalone novel Publisher: Berkley Release date: 5/14/19

International bestselling author Guy Gavriel Kay's latest work is set in a world evoking early Renaissance Italy and offers an extraordinary cast of characters whose lives come together through destiny, love, and ambition. 

In a chamber overlooking the nighttime waterways of a maritime city, a man looks back on his youth and the people who shaped his life. Danio Cerra's intelligence won him entry to a renowned school even though he was only the son of a tailor. He took service at the court of a ruling count—and soon learned why that man was known  as the Beast. 

Danio's fate changed the moment he saw and recognized Adria Ripoli as she entered the count's chambers one autumn night—intending to kill. Born to power, Adria had chosen, instead of a life of comfort, one of danger—and freedom. Which is how she encounters Danio in a perilous time and place.

Vivid figures share the unfolding story. Among them: a healer determined to defy her expected lot; a charming, frivolous son of immense wealth; a powerful religious leader more decadent than devout; and, affecting all these lives and many more, two larger-than-life mercenary commanders, lifelong adversaries, whose rivalry puts a world in the balance.

A Brightness Long Ago offers both compelling drama and deeply moving reflections on the nature of memory, the choices we make in life, and the role played by the turning of Fortune's wheel.

Read A Brightness Long Ago by Guy Gavriel Kay

Storm Cursed by Patricia Briggs

Type: Eleventh book in the Mercy Thompson series Publisher: Ace Release date: 5/14/19

My name is Mercedes Athena Thompson Hauptman, and I am a car mechanic. And a coyote shapeshifter. And the mate of the Alpha of the Columbia Basin werewolf pack.   Even so, none of that would have gotten me into trouble if, a few months ago, I hadn’t stood upon a bridge and taken responsibility for the safety of the citizens who lived in our territory. It seemed like the thing to do at the time. It should have only involved hunting down killer goblins, zombie goats, and an occasional troll. Instead, our home was viewed as neutral ground, a place where humans would feel safe to come and treat with the fae.   The reality is that nothing and no one is safe.  As generals and politicians face off with the Gray Lords of the fae, a storm is coming and her name is Death.   But we are pack, and we have given our word.    We will die to keep it.

Read Storm Cursed by Patricia Briggs

Read more: Patricia Briggs Does Werewolf Romance Right

An Illusion of Thieves by Cate Glass

Type: Book one in the Chimera series Publisher: Tor Books Release date: 5/21/19

A ragtag crew with forbidden magic must pull off an elaborate heist and stop a civil war in An Illusion of Thieves, a fantasy adventure from Cate Glass.

In Cantagna, being a sorcerer is a death sentence.

Romy escapes her hardscrabble upbringing when she becomes courtesan to the Shadow Lord, a revolutionary noble who brings laws and comforts once reserved for the wealthy to all. When her brother, Neri, is caught thieving with the aid of magic, Romy's aristocratic influence is the only thing that can spare his life―and the price is her banishment.

Now back in Beggar’s Ring, she has just her wits and her own long-hidden sorcery to help her and Neri survive. But when a plot to overthrow the Shadow Lord and incite civil war is uncovered, only Romy knows how to stop it. To do so, she’ll have to rely on newfound allies―a swordmaster, a silversmith, and her own thieving brother. And they'll need the very thing that could condemn them all: magic.

Read An Illusion of Thieves by Cate Glass

Lent by Jo Walton

Type: Standalone novel Publisher: Tor Books Release date: 5/28/19

From Hugo, Nebula, and World Fantasy Award-winning Jo Walton comes Lent, a magical re-imagining of the man who remade fifteenth-century Florence―in all its astonishing strangeness

Young Girolamo’s life is a series of miracles.

It’s a miracle that he can see demons, plain as day, and that he can cast them out with the force of his will. It’s a miracle that he’s friends with Pico della Mirandola, the Count of Concordia. It’s a miracle that when Girolamo visits the deathbed of Lorenzo “the Magnificent,” the dying Medici is wreathed in celestial light, a surprise to everyone, Lorenzo included. It’s a miracle that when Charles VIII of France invades northern Italy, Girolamo meets him in the field, and convinces him to not only spare Florence but also protect it. It’s a miracle than whenever Girolamo preaches, crowds swoon. It’s a miracle that, despite the Pope’s determination to bring young Girolamo to heel, he’s still on the loose…and, now, running Florence in all but name.

That’s only the beginning. Because Girolamo Savanarola is not who―or what―he thinks he is. He will discover the truth about himself at the most startling possible time. And this will be only the beginning of his many lives.

Read Lent by Jo Walton

Best New Fantasy Books in April 2019

Holy Sister by Mark Lawrence

Type: Third and final book in the Book of the Ancestor series Publisher: Ace Release date: 4/9/19

The searing conclusion of the thrilling epic fantasy trilogy that saw a young girl trained by an arcane order of nuns grow into the fiercest of warriors...

They came against her as a child. Now they face the woman.

The ice is advancing, the Corridor narrowing, and the empire is under siege from the Scithrowl in the east and the Durns in the west. Everywhere, the emperor’s armies are in retreat. 

Nona Grey faces the final challenges that must be overcome if she is to become a full sister in the order of her choice. But it seems unlikely that she and her friends will have time to earn a nun’s habit before war is on their doorstep. 

Even a warrior like Nona cannot hope to turn the tide of war.

The shiphearts offer strength that she might use to protect those she loves, but it’s a power that corrupts. A final battle is coming in which she will be torn between friends, unable to save them all. A battle in which her own demons will try to unmake her. 

A battle in which hearts will be broken, lovers lost, thrones burned.

Read Holy Sister by Mark Lawrence

Read our full review of Holy Sister by Mark Lawrence

Read our review of Red Queen by Mark Lawrence

Read our review of Grey Sister by Mark Lawrence

No Country for Old Gnomes: The Tales of Pell by Delilah S. Dawson & Kevin Hearne

Type: Seconds book in the Tales of Pell Publisher: Del Rey Release date: 4/16/19

War is coming, and it’s gonna be Pell.

On one side stand the gnomes: smol, cheerful, possessing tidy cardigans and no taste for cruelty.

On the other side sit the halflings, proudly astride their war alpacas, carrying bags of grenades and hungry for a fight. And pretty much anything else.

It takes only one halfling bomb and Offi Numminen’s world is turned upside down—or downside up, really, since he lives in a hole in the ground. His goth cardigans and aggressive melancholy set him apart from the other gnomes, as does his decision to fight back against their halfling oppressors. Suddenly Offi is the leader of a band of lovable misfits and outcasts—from a gryphon who would literally kill for omelets to a young dwarf herbalist who is better with bees than with his cudgel to an assertive and cheerful teen witch with a beard as long as her book of curses—all on a journey to the Toot Towers to confront the dastardly villain intent on tearing Pell asunder. These adventurers never fit in anywhere else, but as they become friends, fight mermaids, and get really angry at this one raccoon, they learn that there’s nothing more heroic than being yourself.

In No Country for Old Gnomes, Delilah S. Dawson and Kevin Hearne lovingly tweak the tropes of fantasy and fairy tales. Here you’ll find goofy jokes and whimsical puns, but you’ll also find a diverse, feminist, and lighthearted approach to fantasy that will bring a smile to your face and many fine cheeses to your plate.

Read No Country for Old Gnomes by Delilah S. Dawson & Kevin Hearne

All My Colors by David Quantick

Type: Novel Publisher: Titan Books Release date: 4/16/19

It is March 1979 in DeKalb Illinois. Todd Milstead is a wannabe writer, a serial adulterer, and a jerk, only tolerated by his friends because he throws the best parties with the best booze. During one particular party, Todd is showing off his perfect recall, quoting poetry and literature word for word plucked from his eidetic memory. When he begins quoting from a book no one else seems to know, a novel called All My Colors, Todd is incredulous. He can quote it from cover to cover and yet it doesn't seem to exist.

With a looming divorce and mounting financial worries, Todd finally tries to write a novel, with the vague idea of making money from his talent. The only problem is he can't write. But the book - All My Colors - is there in his head. Todd makes a decision: he will "write" this book that nobody but him can remember. After all, if nobody's heard of it, how can he get into trouble?

As the dire consequences of his actions come home to both Todd and his long-suffering friends, it becomes clear that there is a high - and painful - price to pay for his crime.

Read All My Colors by David Quantick

The Unicorn Anthology by Peter S. Beagle & Jacob Weisman

Type: Anthology Publisher: Tachyon Publications Release date: 4/19/19

Unicorns: Not just for virgins anymore. Here are sixteen lovely, powerful, intricate, and unexpected unicorn tales from fantasy icons including Garth Nix, Peter S. Beagle, Patricia A. McKillip, Bruce Coville, Carrie Vaughn, and more. In this volume you will find two would-be hunters who enlist an innkeeper to find a priest hiding the secret of the last unicorn. A time traveler tries to corral an unruly mythological beast that might never have existed at all. The lover and ex-boyfriend of a dying woman join forces to find a miraculous remedy in New York City. And a small-town writer of historical romances discovers a sliver of a mysterious horn in a slice of apple pie.

Read The Unicorn Anthology by Peter S. Beagle & Jacob Weisman

Storm of Locusts by Rebecca Roanhorse

Type: Second book in the Sixth World series Publisher: Gallery/Saga Press Release date: 4/23/19

Kai and Caleb Goodacre have been kidnapped just as rumors of a cult sweeping across the reservation leads Maggie and Hastiin to investigate an outpost, and what they find there will challenge everything they’ve come to know in this action-packed sequel to Trail of Lightning.

It’s been four weeks since the bloody showdown at Black Mesa, and Maggie Hoskie, Diné monster hunter, is trying to make the best of things. Only her latest bounty hunt has gone sideways, she’s lost her only friend, Kai Arviso, and she’s somehow found herself responsible for a girl with a strange clan power.

Then the Goodacre twins show up at Maggie’s door with the news that Kai and the youngest Goodacre, Caleb, have fallen in with a mysterious cult, led by a figure out of Navajo legend called the White Locust. The Goodacres are convinced that Kai’s a true believer, but Maggie suspects there’s more to Kai’s new faith than meets the eye. She vows to track down the White Locust, then rescue Kai and make things right between them.

Her search leads her beyond the Walls of Dinétah and straight into the horrors of the Big Water world outside. With the aid of a motley collection of allies, Maggie must battle body harvesters, newborn casino gods and, ultimately, the White Locust himself. But the cult leader is nothing like she suspected, and Kai might not need rescuing after all. When the full scope of the White Locust’s plans are revealed, Maggie’s burgeoning trust in her friends, and herself, will be pushed to the breaking point, and not everyone will survive.

Read Storm of Locusts by Rebecca Roanhorse

Read our inteview with author Rebecca Roanhorse.

Read our list of 2018's Best Fiction Books.

Best New Fantasy Books in March 2019

The Municipalists by Seth Fried

Type: Standalone novel Publisher: Penguin Books Release date: 3/19/19

In Metropolis, the gleaming city of tomorrow, the dream of the great American city has been achieved. But all that is about to change, unless a neurotic, rule-following bureaucrat and an irreverent, freewheeling artificial intelligence can save the city from a mysterious terrorist plot that threatens its very existence. 

Henry Thompson has dedicated his life to improving America’s infrastructure as a proud employee of the United States Municipal Survey. So when the agency comes under attack, he dutifully accepts his unexpected mission to visit Metropolis looking for answers. But his plans to investigate quietly, quickly, and carefully are interrupted by his new partner: a day-drinking know-it-all named OWEN, who also turns out to be the projected embodiment of the agency’s supercomputer. Soon, Henry and OWEN are fighting to save not only their own lives and those of the city’s millions of inhabitants, but also the soul of Metropolis. The Municipalists is a thrilling, funny, and touching adventure story, a tour-de-force of imagination that trenchantly explores our relationships to the cities around us and the technologies guiding us into the future.

Read The Municipalists by Seth Fried

The Perfect Assassin by K.A. Doore

Type: First book in the Chronicles of Ghadid series Publisher: Tor Books Release date: 3/19/19

A novice assassin is on the hunt for someone killing their own in K. A. Doore's The Perfect Assassin, a breakout high fantasy beginning the Chronicles of Ghadid series.

Divine justice is written in blood.

Or so Amastan has been taught. As a new assassin in the Basbowen family, he’s already having second thoughts about taking a life. A scarcity of contracts ends up being just what he needs.

Until, unexpectedly, Amastan finds the body of a very important drum chief. Until, impossibly, Basbowen’s finest start showing up dead, with their murderous jaan running wild in the dusty streets of Ghadid. Until, inevitably, Amastan is ordered to solve these murders, before the family gets blamed.

Every life has its price, but when the tables are turned, Amastan must find this perfect assassin or be their next target.

Read The Perfect Assassin by K.A. Doore

Miranda in Milan by Katharine Duckett

Type: Novel Publisher: Tor Books Release date: 3/26/19

With Miranda in Milan, debut author Katharine Duckett reimagines the consequences of Shakespeare’s The Tempest, casting Miranda into a Milanese pit of vipers and building a queer love story that lifts off the page in whirlwinds of feeling.

After the tempest, after the reunion, after her father drowned his books, Miranda was meant to enter a brave new world. Naples awaited her, and Ferdinand, and a throne. Instead she finds herself in Milan, in her father’s castle, surrounded by hostile servants who treat her like a ghost. Whispers cling to her like spiderwebs, whispers that carry her dead mother’s name. And though he promised to give away his power, Milan is once again contorting around Prospero’s dark arts.

With only Dorothea, her sole companion and confidant to aid her, Miranda must cut through the mystery and find the truth about her father, her mother, and herself.

Read Miranda in Milan by Katharine Duckett

Best New Fantasy Books in February 2019

The Ruin of Kings by Jenn Lyons

Type: First in A Chorus of Dragons series Publisher: Tor Books Release date: 2/5/19

Jenn Lyons channels The Kingkiller Chronicles in this epic fantasy debut that follows a boy thief called Kihrin as he goes from growing up in the slums of Quur to finding out he may be the long-lost son of a cruel prince to a slave to the potential key to a world-changing prophecy to a prisoner awaiting his death.

The Ruin of Kings is structured as a conversation between a prisoner, Kihrin, and his jailor, a shapeshifting demon named Talon. In their alternating chapters, they tell the story of how Kihrin came to be in prison, awaiting his potential death, and how the fictional world they are a part of includes gods, dragons, krakens, sorcerers, and more. Read our full review of this page-turning fantasy epic here.

Read The Ruin of Kings by Jenn Lyons

Black Leopard, Red Wolf by Marlon James

Type: First in trilogy Publisher: Riverhead Books Release date: 2/5/19

It's becoming more common to see fantasy worlds and stories that use something other than the western world as inspiration for a new fictional universe. Black Leopard, Red Wolf is one such book. Written by Marlon James, the author of A Brief History of Seven Killings, the novel follows Tracker, a man tasked with finding a missing boy. Though Tracker usually works alone, he teams up with some other hired help in his pursuit, becoming part of a team that has its fair share of secrets, leading to the biggest mystery of all: who is the boy and why have they been tasked with tracking him?

The screen adaptation rights for Black Leopard, Red Wolf have already been snatched up by Michael B. Jordan and Warner Bros., so get a head start on reading this book before the adaptation.

Read Black Leopard, Red Wolf by Marlon James

read more: Binti & The Wonders of Nnedi Okorafor

The Haunting of Tram Car 015 by P. Djèlí Clark

Type: Novella Publisher: Tor Books Release date: 2/19/19

Set in an alternate Cairo in which humans live alongside otherworldly beings, The Haunting of Tram Car 015 follows Agent Hamed al-Nasr and his new partner Agent Onsi. They work for the Ministry of Alchemy, Enchantments and Supernatural Entities, tasked with dealing with any problems that might arise between the magical and non-magical folks. When the two agents are tasked with subduing a possessed tram car, they find it a much more complicated task than it first appears. I mean.... you know how it is.

Read The Haunting of Tram Car 015

The Raven Tower by Ann Leckie

Type: Standalone novel Publisher: Orbit Release date: 2/26/19

Ann Leckie's debut, Ancillary Justice, remains one of the most talked about science fiction novels (not to mention science fiction author debuts!) of the last decade. Leckie is back, with The Raven Tower, a fantasy story set in a land known as Iraden. Iraden has been protected for centuries by the god Raven, who appoints a human ruler to carry out his command. When the land is overtaken by attack and the Raven's rule challenged, a warrior named Eolo works to restore the power of the throne to its rightful ruler. We will follow Leckie to any genre.

Read The Raven Tower by Ann Leckie

The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon

Type: First in trilogy Publisher: Bloomsbury Release date: 2/26/19

With whispers of "the Nameless One"—aka the scariest dragon of them all (OK, I'm in!)—returning after 1,000 years, Queen Sabran of the House of Berethnet is in danger of losing power. Things are further complicated by Sabran's current lack of an heir. Luckily, Sabran has lady-in-waiting Ead Duryan on her side. Ead Duryan uses her secret powers to protect the queen. This tale of female warriors working to save the world may be long, but, from all accounts, is more than worth the commitment.

Read The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samatha Shannon

Best New Fantasy Books in January 2019

In An Absent Dream by Seanan McGuire

Type: Fourth in series Publisher: Tor Books Release date: 1/8/19

Seanan McGuire's brilliant Wayward Children novella series, which began with the excellent Every Heart a Doorway, continues in In An Absent Dream. Here, we learn the story of Katherine Lundy, the group therapy leader at Eleanor West's Home for Wayward Children. As a child, the academic Katherine wanfers into the Goblin Market and immediately falls in love with this land of logic and reason. When Katherine realizes she will soon be unable to return to the Goblin Market, she makes a desperate bargain to keep her place in this world. #bewaretheconsequences

Read In An Absent Dream by Seanan McGuire

read more: 9 Fantasy Books Set at Magical Boarding School

The Winter of the Witch by Katherine Arden

Type: Third in trilogy Publisher: Del Rey Release date: 1/8/19

The Russian folklore-inspired Winternight trilogy comes to a close with The Winter of the Witch, which sees a medieval Russia in chaos, overrun by demons with Moscow working to recover from disaster. We continue to follow 17-year-old Vasya, a girl who can see and speak with spirits. As the country moves toward war under the rule of The Grand Prince, Vasya is guided into the midnight realm of Polunochnitsa, or Lady Midnight, where she meets her ancestors, the mythical firebird Pozhar, and a mushroom spirit called Ded Grib. While I have yet to read this trilogy, by all accounts this is a satisfying conclusion to a fantastic trilogy.

Read The Winter of the Witch by Katherine Arden

The Iron Codex by David Mack

Type: Second in Dark Arts series Publisher: Tor Books Release date: 1/15/19

While Midnight Front was set in the lead-up to and during World War II, The Iron Codex picks back up in the midst of Cold War paranoia in 1954, with Cade Martin chasing ghosts in Southeast Asia, Briet Segfrunsdóttir heading the Pentagon's top-secret magickal warfare program, and Anja Kernova (with the help of a magickal book known as The Iron Codex) hunting fugitive Nazi sorcerers in South America. It all leads to Bikini Atoll, where the Castle Bravo nuclear tests are scheduled to begin...

Read The Iron Codex by David Mack

Marked by S. Andrew Swann

Type: First in series Publisher: DAW Release date: 1/15/19

I love a good supernatu

rally-charged backstory mystery! This one centers on Detective Dana Rohan, a cop with a near-perfect arrest rate who can't remember how she got the mark on her back... the mark that allows her to travel through time and to alternate dimensions. The ability helps with her job investigating crimes, but when she is approached by a homeless man warning that the Shadows are coming, Dana is thrown into a much larger and even more dangerous multi-world adventure.

Read Marked by S. Andrew Swann

The Kingdom of Copper by S.A. Chakraborty

Type: Second in trilogy Publisher: Harper Voyager Release date: 1/22/19

We were very into The City of Brass, S.A. Chakraborty's 2017 fantasy novel about Nahri, a young woman living in 18th-century Cairo, and Ali, a prince living in the djinn city of Daevabad. In the first book, the two both struggle to stay alive, keep the ones they love safe, and use their power in moral ways—they are only partially successful. The Kingdom of Copper picks up five years later, and sees Nahri in a loveless and childless marriage with Ali's older brother, and Ali in exile and presumed dead in the desert. A return to a fantastical world that is just as satisfying and complex (if not moreso) as the trilogy's first installment.

read more: A Conversation with S.A. Chakraborty

Read The Kingdom of Copper by S.A. Chakraborty

What new speculative fiction books are on your radar? Let us know in the comments below or over at the Den of Geek Book Club!

Kayti Burt is a staff editor covering books, TV, movies, and fan culture at Den of Geek. Read more of her work here or follow her on Twitter @kaytiburt.

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The Lists Kayti Burt

Sep 11, 2019

Fantasy Books

from Books https://ift.tt/2NTuTGS

[littlemisssquiggles]

So, I've read some of your, admittedly, amazing analysis posts about RWBY, and I just have one question. Now that V6 is over what are your thoughts on the future of our favorite villain duo, Emerald and Mercury? With the revelations and concerns brought up in Volume 6, what do you think is going to happen to them moving forward?

Hiya Cats! Thank you so much for the lovely comment. Pleased to hear that youenjoyed my RWBY Musings posts. To answer your question; prior to V6’s premiere,I shared RWBY Musing #49 voicing my thoughts and theories for what I perceived to be the futuregoing forward for the Jaded Duo.

After V5, I was under the impression that theFall of Cinder would’ve led to Emerald and Mercury going rogue with Hazeltagging along with them. I figured that these three would’ve decided to notreturn to Salem out of fear of her punishment, especially Emerald since hermonstrous apparition of her back at Haven clearly painted her terrors of thewicked witch.

I was later disappointed to learn that theydid indeed return to Salem in V6. Moreover, I was disappointed with how theseries left Mercury and Emerald’s story. At least in the case of Tyrian, Wattsand even Cinder who are all on their way to Atlas, nothing concrete was really setup for Emerald and Mercury.

The story touched based on them in V6 C9,sprinkled some interesting titbits regarding Mercury’s past and then…nothingelse. Tyrian interrupted their moment and gave them some advice, if you’d callit that, but beyond that---I’m not sure what is going to happen of these two.

If I had to guess, my safest bet is thatwhile Tyrian and Watts are at Atlas, Emeraldand Mercury would be deployed to Vacuo along with Hazel. Before being interrupted with the news of Ozpin’s reincarnation, Salemmentioned Shade Academy being her next target.

What’s interesting is that Salem wasn’t focusedon claiming the Relic of Creation. Heck she wasn’t even that much concernedwith the failure to obtain the Relic of Knowledge either. The only reason sheswitched gears was because she learned that Ozpin is back, leaving the windowopen for him to reunite with Ironwood.  To me it seems like Salem is more interestedin sparking conflict between the kingdoms by using Atlas as their scapegoatagain. In C9, Tyrian told Mercury and Emerald this:

“…There’sbeen a change in plans. Her grace must act swiftly if we are to prevail. IfGeneral Ironwood comes to his senses and calls upon aid from Vacuo, all may belost for us. So the Good Doctor and I are being sent to Atlas to prepare…”

My theory is that Salemplans on possibly using Atlas Kingdom to spark a second Great War starting withVacuo. Not only would another war provide theperfect cover fire for Salem and her forces to swoop in and claim the remainingrelics undetected, but it will also feed into Salem’s true scheme for thedamnation of humanity.

The cards have already been laid out for us.In the Lost Fable, the God of Light revealed to Ozma in the Realm Between Realms that thecombined power of the Relics doesn’t grant anyone God-like power. I mean magic is the closestin canon equivalent to the power of a god and unlike Ozma, Salem still has allof hers. Instead the Relics will summon the Brothers back to Remnant. Fromthere, humanity will be judged by the brothers. If it is shown that peacereigns throughout the lands then the brothers shall return to Remnant andhumanity will be ‘made wholeagain’ as the God of Light described. However if warand anarchy prevails then the Brothers will consider mankind irredeemable andRemnant as we know it will be wiped out of existence.

The God of Light provided humanity a secondchance to rebuild themselves with Ozma and the other Wizards throughout timeworking diligently to uphold that. However I believe Salem’s plan is to causethe destruction of Remnant. I believe Salem’s ultimate plan is to spark anotherwar between the four kingdoms, throwing the world into chaos as it was 80 yearsprior and once the war begins, Salem will complete acquiring the Relics and usetheir combined power to to summon the Gods back to Remnant.

Seeing humanity reduced to chaos, the Godswill provide Salem what she wants. The destruction of humanity and Remnant. Idon’t know if Salem’s other plan is to also take down the Brother Gods,becoming the Goddess she claimed herself to be and using her newfound status toremake the world in her image as well. But that’s another theory.

Returning to the Jaded Duo, I’d like tobelieve that Salem hasn’t abandoned pursuing the Relic of Destruction. I feel likeshe would send her remaining three pawns (Mercury, Emerald and Hazel) to Vacuo.

While it wasn’t how I pictured it, I’mactually a little intrigued by this possibility. Vacuo has been described asthis sort of place where anyone can make a home and start anew so long as theycan survive the desert. Before V6, my original theory was that Emerald would’vebecome the Fall Maiden, unintentionally inheriting Cinder’s power. Then amonstrous grimmified Cinder betrays Emerald completely and returns to try andtake the maiden magic back---Emerald would kill Cinder and together with Hazeland Mercury, the three would head for Vacuo to start anew believing it to betheir safe haven where Salem would never find them or something like that.

While Emerald didn’t become a Maiden as Ithought, Tyrian’s last words to her and Mercury definitely left me curious. Tyrian toldthem that if they do not love what they are doing then they are in the wrongprofession. Even though the option of leaving was immediately debunked, whyhave Tyrian say it if it’s not mean to be a hanging question that’s going to beon Emerald and Mercury’s minds going forward?

What would have been interesting is if theCRWBY Writers had had Emerald pursue Cinder. Like perhaps Emerald leaves on her own to find Cinder because shebelieved in her and the relationship they shared despite Mercury’s words. Thatcould’ve been an interesting subplot to follow.

However…it seems as if Emerald has gottenover Cinder; even after discovering that she’s still alive. If there’s onething I’m still hoping for with Emerald’s character, it’s the nature of herbond with Mercury and Hazel to grow.

I’m still banking on Hazel and Mercurybecoming the family that Emerald never got to have. I’m still hoping that Hazel will come to see a surrogate little sisterin Emerald. Be the version of Gretchen he failed toprotect. His willingness to accept punishment for Emerald during V6 indicatedthis to me. I loved that. I want more of it. I want more opportunities forHazel and Emerald to grow and develop a brother and sister type ofrelationship.

And since I am a Jaded shipper, I wantEmerald and Mercury to evolve in their dynamic as well. I’m not sure if romance is truly in thecards for these two. Nonetheless, I mostly want to see Mercury come togenuinely care for Emerald and see her as someone he wishes to protect and keep by hisside. Someone who can possibly love him or at least provide him the care and compassion that he wasunfortunately denied as a little boy.

“…I’m sorry youdidn’t have a mommy that loved you but I had a father who hated me…”

Mercury has only known hate. Hate breedshate. It’s funny, when Cinder first met Mercury, one of the first questions sheasked him if whether or not he was like his father. You can even say that partof Mercury’s drive as a character is to be someone who was better than his fatherand it showed during his monologue to Emerald in C9.

“…He neverwent easy on me. Every day of training was a beating and when I unlocked mysemblance, he stole it with his. This is a crutch. This makes you weak. He toldme I could have it back when I was strong so I got strong. But I never got itback.

 I’ve had to work harder than anyone to get where I am. You may not likeit here without Cinder but I think I’m right where I’m supposed to be…”

This single paragraph of dialogue revealed moreto me about Merc and how he thinks than anything else he’s said throughoutRWBY. That’s the proof in the pudding. Mercury isn’t with Salem because he generally believes in her cause.He chose her side because apparently it’s the side with the least amount ofeffort. To Mercury, siding with the forces of evil is the easy route.

After suffering a life where he spent more ofit working hard and pushing himself past his breaking point only for hisefforts to reveal no true payoff in the form of him never regaining his lostsemblance, Mercury had enough. I saw this scene as Mercury’s way of implyingthat he’s given up on hope. Why bother working hard to maintain peace and order when it’s easierto spark disorder since, as Jinn put it, the hearts of man are easily swayed.Why bother fighting to thwart an enemy that can’t be killed when you can justside with said immortal enemy and aid them in their endeavours to ensure yoursurvival.

In Mercury’s head, siding with Salem---theimmortal goddess who no one---not even the Great and Powerful Ozpin can kill(and still hasn’t figured out a way to kill in centuries, mind you) is the winningside. She’s the easy way and to a guy like Mercury who’s had to work hard for everything, that’shis best option.

In a weird way, Mercury’s justification in C9highlighted the other side of learning the truth about Salem. Throughout RWBY’srun, we’ve seen three reactions to main characters learning of Salem’s immortalityand invincibility.

On one end, you have our heroes who stillbelieve in protecting humanity from Salem and believe in working towardstopping her in spite the impossible odds. One another end, you have those likeLionheart and Mercury who sided with Salem because they saw her as the easy wayout as opposed to being killed trying to fight her and then there’s Raven endof simply running away from it all and doing your best not to get involved. Fascinatingdeep stuff, right?

Going back to Mercury. As I said, Mercury hasnever known what it’s like to care or be cared by someone else. He’s only knownto care for himself and look out for his own survival. But what’s intriguing tome about Merc is that there are traits that defy this selfish aspect of hispersonality.

Despite acting like he doesn’t care, Merc has been shown to care for Emerald. He’s even been shown to kind of flirt with a bit too hence why I started shipping them. His introduction lineto Emerald from V2 still gets me every time.

“…Whatever.You want me.”

Despite being raised by an abusive father,Mercury isn’t anything like him. Mercury hasshown to have a soft side forEmerald. It’s even highlighted in V6 C9.

Let’s all be real. Mercury could have easilykicked Emerald’s ass during that first scene especially in hand to hand combat.But I found it rather interesting that Mercury seemed to have gone easy on Emerald. Sure he acted callously towards her at first but…even aftershe struck at him in frustration, Merc held back.

Yes he countered Emerald’s attacks but as I’llsay again, Mercury can easily overpower Emerald in hand to hand especially sincehe can read her frantic movements from a mile away. Mercury is ruthless withothers but surprisingly lax with Emerald. In his own way, he cares for her. Sheis possibly the one person whose well-being he values as much as his own and itcould be exciting if the story tackled more on that.

Not to mention that I’m VERY interested inseeing Mercury interact more withHazel. I feel these two alpha males might clashover what’s best for Emerald but for the most part I think Hazel could providethe healthy paternal relationship that he never got to have with his real father.

At this moment, I don’t think Hazel is awareof Mercury’s abuse. Makes me wonder how he would feel toward him and treat himafter that. Could be very cool to see granted that we get to see it movingforward.

To concludemy answer: That’s pretty much my thoughts on Jaded. I hope this answers yourquestion Cats.

On one last note, I don’t think we’ll beseeing the Jaded Duo for V7 though or…most of the Atlas Arc. I wouldn’t besurprised if Emerald and Mercury fall into the pit of obscurity for the AtlasArc and we might not see them in the story again until the Vacuo Arc. Unlessthe CRWBY do a thing where they cut back and forth between Atlas and Vacuoduring the Atlas Trilogy. It wouldn’t surprise me if they did since they didcut back and forth between Mistral, Atlas, Vale/Patch and Menagerie between V4and V5.

Then again…this was mostly due to our mainfour girls being separated and in different locations. I mean in V6, the storydid take it’s time to hone in on our villains so perhaps we will get to Emeraldand Mercury’s story continued with Hazel going forward.

Like while the heroes are settled into Atlas,the story could occasionally cut to scenes in Vacuo where Emerald and Mercuryare with Hazel on pursuit for Shade Academy. And along the way, they can crosspaths with Vacuo heroes like Team SSSN and Team CFVY. That could be cool.

I’d actually think Emerald going to Vacuo wouldbe pretty great given her character inspiration. Isn’t Emerald not inspired byAladdin? Vacuo is technically the Agrabah of Remnant so…Emerald will be in herelement. Literally. In the desert among thieves and pickpockets like herself. Anyways,that’s my theory for now. I could be very much wrong about all of this but weshall see.

~LittleMissSquiggles(2019)  

[scoutception]

Megami Tensei 2: SMT 0.9

Megami Tensei 2 is such a change from the original that it’s almost kind of eerie. Calling it SMT 0.9 is no joke; so many story, design, and gameplay elements that would go on to become mainstays in proper SMT were introduced here, though there’s still enough different that it still feels distinct and, well, weird. As with the MT1 review, I’m covering the SNES remake of the first two games, though ultimately it’s not a huge distinction. At the least, it gives me an excuse to show early Jack Frost.

Story

After how minimal MT1′s story was, MT2 has an almost surprising amount of it. It begins with the world being devastated in a nuclear apocalypse, and a horde of demons from Makai, the demon world, using the chaos to launch an invasion and conquer what remains of the world, with the demon Bael in particular taking over the remains of Tokyo. After that grim introduction... you’re suddenly playing the first game again, complete with the music, the locations, and even the demon negotiation, except with an overhead view for exploration instead of constant first person. Thankfully, it turns out to be just a video game called Devil Busters being played by a normal teenager within an underground shelter built under former Tokyo, 35 years after the nuclear war. It’s actually a fairly comfy and safe location, but the main protagonist has a pushy friend who keeps bugging him to beat the Minotaur, who, also thankfully, is a pushover compared to the first game. Doing so causes a sequence of events so utterly baffling I still don’t feel like I actually properly experienced it even today, which sets the tone for the rest of the game perfectly. This game is just weird, though that’s not to say the first game didn’t have weird stuff, like Beelzebub just being a regular sized fly. Wish I was making that up.

As it turns out, Devil Busters was keeping a demon sealed within itself; Pazuzu, a servant of God. For freeing him, Pazuzu declares the protagonist and his friend messiahs, who will save humanity from the demons. He gifts them both COMPs and the Demon Summoning Program, and teaches the friend magic, before informing them that freeing him has also allowed other demons to invade the shelter through the computer they were playing the game on, and lastly transfers the demons they recruited within the game to their COMPs before promptly running off. After grabbing some guns and killing the leader of the invasions, they set out to the outside world, following the guidance of Pazuzu. After directing them to join with Orthrus, essentially filling Cerberus’ usual role as the power dog demon of the early game, Pazuzu orders the messiahs to kill a witch who has taken residence in Tokyo Tower. Upon confronting her, however, she reveals she was actually a former servant of Pazuzu herself, who deduced he simply intended to overthrow Bael and take his place as ruler of Tokyo, and convinces the protagonist of this. The friend, however, has completely bought in to Pazuzu’s words, and refuses to be swayed, taking Orthrus and leaving the protagonist and his new partner to.... wander around Tokyo aimlessly, collecting pillars and maybe killing Bael along the way.

After a lot of aimless wandering around and events, such as killing Pazuzu and discovering the friend has been transformed into the rather ineffectual Dark Hero, discovering Lucifer frozen in ice (something I’ll get to a bit later), meeting Mr. Suzuki, the president of a company of.... something, and randomly getting eaten by a living island, the party defeats Bael, who promptly turns into a frog that the party for some reason can decide to take. This is the most important frog to ever exist. Afterwards, using all the random pillars they got along the way, the party travels to the Makai, where Lucifer awaits after the Dark Hero freed him from his icy prison. After trudging through several areas of the Makai, the heroes arrive at the domain of Beelzebub, who isn’t exactly doing much better than he was in MT1.

There are many major story spoilers from this point on, just as a warning.

If the Bael frog was taken along, this is the beginning of many choices on whether or not you’ll be able to get the good ending, or be locked into the bad ending (if the frog wasn’t taken, you’re automatically locked into the bad ending). Beelzebub reveals that he and Bael are demonized halves, split by God, and asks that he be allowed to fuse with the frog to regain their true form. Doing so causes Baal to join your party for the confrontation with Lucifer, who himself reveals many things.

Lucifer was originally cast out of heaven for providing wisdom to humanity, who then worshiped him over God in the hopes of obtaining unsurpassed knowledge, and in anger, God, or YHVH, as he’s also referred to, ordered his servant, Satan, to cause the nuclear war to wipe out all of humanity. Lucifer, apparently feeling more heroic after his own round of being the villain, offers to join you in defeating the actual true enemy, Satan, who has been masquerading as Mr. Suzuki. Now, the ending of MT1 has Lucifer claim that Nakajima was being manipulated by God in his attempts to defeat Lucifer, and, assuming the bonus dungeon added in the remake was done, Cerberus would comment on His ambitions as well. Said Cerberus is also obtainable in an alternate version of Devil Busters accessed later in one of the visitable districts, tying the games together rather sensibly, though I’m unsure if Lucifer’s claims were in the original version of MT1. Regardless, Lucifer is required to access the good ending. Denying his request will force a difficult battle with him, with Beelzebub also being fightable earlier assuming his request was also denied.

After traveling through Suzuki’s company, and encountering another corrupted deity, Asura, who will either be healed by Lucifer and join the party, or be fought, Satan reveals himself, and, after being defeated, warns of His power. If the player was locked into the bad ending earlier, the game ends with YHVH revealing himself to the hero and his partner, sing praises of them and transporting them to his Millennium Kingdom, transformed into gods, but left unable to save the rest of humanity. If Lucifer is present, however, the party continues on to confront YHVH, who attempts to bribe them with godhood in exchange for turning on Lucifer. If they accept, the same ending as the one previously described happens, but if they refuse, He battles them Himself, and, surprisingly, His design is very, very close to His design from SMT2 onward, more than any other character in the game.

With the death of YHVH, the demons vanish from the human world, though not before He warns of being part of the Great Will, which shall seek to avenge Him. After revisiting the shelter, and discovering that the Devil Busters game was designed by Nakajima himself, the hero and his partner lead an exodus to the outside world, remaining vigilant against any threat that may arise again.

While the story isn’t as detailed as most of the later games, and there’s many long segments that lack any story of note, it’s fascinating for a game from the Famicom. Elements that endure in SMT even today, like Lucifer being the active enemy of YHVH, and a self styled ally of humanity, Satan being the most trusted servant of Him, YHVH being a complete jerk in general, rival deities of YVHV being demonized, even the presence of the Messians and Gaeans, though minor, all originate from this game. SMT owes a lot to this game.

Gameplay

The gameplay is very similar to the original MT, though are many added features that would also become mainstay elements in SMT. Instead of merely melee weapons, guns have been added, although they’re rather underpowered compared to melee. Elementals and three way fusions have been added for demon summoning, though, in my experience, many of the fusion exclusive demons are underpowered compared to some of the demons acquired during the story, especially Lucifer himself. Also newly added is an overhead view on the world map, which helps just make the game feel less, cramped and restricted, compared to the first.

There are many locations to explore, and the pacing during the Tokyo sections feels oddly fast to me, but most locations at least have events like a demon mind controlling a town of Gaeans, and the hero’s arm being severed attempting to take one of the pillars, forcing him to get a mechanical replacement arm from the resident mad scientist, which also functions as a COMP capacity upgrade.

While the game is pretty fun during the Tokyo parts, the Makai parts quickly take a nosedive. Whether it be irritating gimmicks for each area, such as a section where the COMP does not working at all, preventing you from summoning demons before entering or, you know, using the map, and a section that deprives you of your Partner, to world map areas that are pitch black and very difficult to navigate, to even roadblocks that can only be cleared with specific demons that the game doesn’t exactly jump to tell you about. It severely damages what would otherwise be a pretty fun game.

Sound and graphics

The graphics aren’t much different from the first game overall, though the change in areas allows for new environments like abandoned buildings, which are usually more interesting to look at. The world map graphics are pretty good, and definitely fit a ruined Tokyo and, well, Hell. Plus, the main character has a very snazzy cape, which is worth points by itself.

The most interesting part of the graphics, again, are the demons. This was the first game with Kazuma Kaneko doing the demon designs, though he himself isn’t too proud of them. While some, like YHVH and Jack Frost above, are decently close to their final, iconic designs, others, like Lucifer and Satan, are a bit, questionable. They’re almost there, but not quite.

While the sound is also about the same as the first game, the music is greatly improved. The original Famicom version used a memory chip that, among other improvements, allowed for greatly improved sound, making for one of the richest soundtracks of the 8-bit era, which also translated well to the SNES. The battle themes, especially the final boss theme, are much better, and the exploration themes are great.

Conclusion

In the end, however, I still think this game is not recommended. While a big improvement over the first game, and a very important game in the series, the design is still fairly archaic, and missing quite a few elements that make SMT so notable, such as the law, chaos, and neutral alignment system. While interesting to go through, you’re ultimately better off sticking with SMT proper.

If you managed to get through this gigantic wall of a review, thank you very much. My next review shall be something from a different franchise, though for I’m unsure as to which yet. All the same, I shall return. Until next time.

-Scout

[theoneyouneed]

Okay so I read a similar fic where it’s the entire thing redone but select people have their memories intact, here’s my counter to that. The entire story is happening again, but only people that died and were exposed to the yin energy retain their memories. So that list includes:

Wwx, jiang yanli, Wen Qing, arguably Wen Ning but it could go either way.

The Yi city trio: Qi, Xiao and Xue Yang (song Lan not included because he didn’t die but again arguable)

Nie Mingjue, Meng Yao, and su she regrettably

Mo xuanyu

Wen Chao, Wen Zhuliu, and lady jiao

All Burial mounds survivors, excluding Lan Sizhui

Wen ruohan how interesting

And that’s it, I’m not going to count the people that were only briefly exposed to it, likely on the battlefield near wwx, or upon their death if they were say, killed by ghost general, I think that it should be a prolonged exposure, or direct exposure.

The main Wen family were tortured by wwx for a prolonged period when he killed them slowly, wrh literrzlly used the yin iron the most!

Jiang yanli touched the Stygian amulet and Chenqing once when wwx returned, so maybe her memory is spotty.

The burial mounds survivors were emerged in it, as was the yi city trio.

Mo xuanyu probably only encountered it once or twice working under Meng Yao, who dealt with it and slowly killed Nie Mingjue with it.

I change my mind and I don’t want to include au she on this list because I don’t like him. If any thing he can like, have a weird dream about it or something but even that he doesn’t remember.

Strongest memories would be wwx, xue yang, wrh, Wen Qing,

Wen Chao, Xiao, Qi, Meng Yao, nmj, and burial mounds next level

Yanli, Wen Zhuliu, lady jiao, Wen Ning, song Lan, mo xuanyu, have the worst memory but stil a memory.

Okay so I’m going to say that our timeline is going to start based on the Yin Iron timeline, as if this were some mythical god like driving force behind the timeline reset.

The first piece of the Yin Iron is discovered in Dafan mtn. By the Wen Clan.

The second piece is discovered in the cold cave by wwx and lwj

I forget about the third piece but the sens end up with it

Xue Yang stole the fourth piece somewhere along the lines

Wwx finds the hidden fifth piece in the Moxi cave with the tortoise of slaughter.

If we say that the yin iron is dormant because of of its individual pieces are being supresssed then we can feasibly argue that our timeline would start when the pieces are activated, or when they are removed from their stasis arrays. This gives us five possible beginnings.

Once before the story actually starts, around when wwx would be 12, when Wen Qing and Wen Ning find the first piece with the fairy in Dafan mountain. I don’t really want to start here because it’s two far away, what are they supposed to do for like 5 years? There’s too much unknown and too much could change.

Second when wwx and lwj remove the piece from the cold pond. Good place to start because it plops is right in the middle of the beginning when we’re still at cloud recesses,

I don’t care about the middle two, they’re too vague but..

Beginning the timeline when wwx pulls the sword out of the tortoise of slaughter is almost...too good. The stage is already set with the players and the war is already beginning. It makes sense that the center piece of the yin iron would be the catalyst more than the other pieces. They have so little time to change things but enough time to adapt. Wwx might not lose his core and Jin Zixuan might not have to die, Wen Ning might not have to die. It’s before song Lan and Xiao get separated they can still make up!! Wrh, who is already losing his mind, will “see the future” this will have some effect on how the war plays out but how much?

So wwx in one timeline is in the toriouses stomach, and wwx 20 years into the future is in the guanyin temple, demanding that Meng Yao Gand over the Stygian amulet,

Wwx reaches for the sword, and Meng yao hands over the remaking pieces, the instance that wwx pulls the sword free and wwx destroys the pieces is the same, sealing these two moments two decades apart in place. Yin energy can never be truly destroyed, we must accept both our good and and bad sides and live in balance with them. This moment where the yin energy was unbalanced caused a rift in time, forcing the timeline to repeat.

Anyway so wwx is standing there, h is memories of a few seconds ago merging with the memories of the future. He staggers and hyperventilates and throws up. But then he remembers that Lan Zhan is relying on him and then he’s fighting. It isn’t until they’re sitting by the campfire that wwx allows himself to reflect of what just happened. He was sent back in time and Lan Zhan definitely wasn’t based on the odd looks he’s been receiving in despondent to the hints he’s been dropping. Fuck it, they’re married in the future, he grabs Lan zhans hand and holds it until they fall asleep.

Jiang yanli is awake when it happens, unable to sleep from the anxiety of not knowing what was happening to her brothers, and not being able to do anything about that uncertainty. She’s sitting on the edge of the dock, nursing an herbal tea, when the memories hit her, she nearly falls in the water when she doubles over in shock. When it settles in she starts sobbing feeling the deep loss for all of her family members again fresh in her mind.

Xue Yang is off being a little bitch somewhere, I’m sure the memories of future him continuing to be a little bitch bring him joy. If anything he’ll just become more unhinged.

Meng Yao who is still serving under nie sext at the time(?) has a moment to himself but also he runs away from the sext as soon as he can because nmj also remembers because he is very angry and very loud about it.

The burial mounds peeps keep doing there lil thang, not much for them to do about that.

Qi is just a kid at this time, alone on the streets, she doesn’t understand what’s happening to her. She starts crying but she doesn’t know why, she wraps her tiny arms around herself and wonders why she feels like it’s not enough. Years later when she catches sight of the spotless white robes on the prettiest man she’s ever seen, she runs to him and launches herself in his arms. He catches her, of course he does, because he remembers her too. She notes however that he is only wearing an eyepatch over one eye, and he smiles at her like he’s finally found something he’s been searching for.

Xiao, at this moment in time tho. Will catch his breath, stunned by this revelation, then he’ll look to his side, where song Lan is quietly setting up camp, and he’ll thank the gods for granting him this knowledge. If song Lan is concerned or bothered by how clingy Xiao becomes, he doesn’t voice it.

Wen qing is still serving under wrh at this time. Wrh, who claims to have achieved higher god like powers by receiving the gift of prophecy. She quietly thinks to herself, this guys a fucking fruit loop, before conceiving a better escape plan for her branch of the family. They escape earlier. And her brother understands when she gives him a hug and doesn’t let go of him for a very long time.

Nmj remembers a dog he’s on a war path honey. He will literally stop at nothing to kill Meng Yao, wrh be damned, the sunshot campaign can get fucked, this is his main goal. He also thinks that he’s the only one who remembers. Until he talks to wwx or maybe even yanli and he’s like oh wait wtf. He and wwx lowkey bond over it. And nmj like extra extra guards his brother. Nobody is touching nhs, fucking nobody.

[newstfionline]

Headlines: Sunday, September 27, 2020

A Baffled World Watches the U.S. (NYT) Myanmar is a poor country struggling with open ethnic warfare and a coronavirus outbreak that could overload its broken hospitals. That hasn’t stopped its politicians from commiserating with a country they think has lost its way. “I feel sorry for Americans,” said U Myint Oo, a member of parliament in Myanmar. “But we can’t help the U.S. because we are a very small country.” The same sentiment prevails in Canada, one of the most developed countries. Two out of three Canadians live within about 60 miles of the American border. “Personally, it’s like watching the decline of the Roman Empire,” said Mike Bradley, the mayor of Sarnia, an industrial city on the border with Michigan, where locals used to venture for lunch. Amid the pandemic and in the run-up to the presidential election, much of the world is watching the United States with a mix of shock, chagrin and, most of all, bafflement. How did a superpower allow itself to be felled by a virus? And after nearly four years during which President Trump has praised authoritarian leaders and obscenely dismissed some other countries as insignificant and crime-ridden, is the United States in danger of exhibiting some of the same traits he has disparaged? Adding to the sense of bewilderment, Mr. Trump has refused to embrace an indispensable principle of democracy, dodging questions about whether he will commit to a peaceful transition of power after the November election should he lose.

Trump caps judiciary remake with choice of Barrett for court (AP) President Donald Trump has nominated Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court, capping a dramatic reshaping of the federal judiciary that will resonate for a generation and that he hopes will provide a needed boost to his reelection effort. Barrett, a former clerk to the late Justice Antonin Scalia, said Saturday that she was “truly humbled” by the nomination and quickly aligned herself with Scalia’s conservative approach to the law, saying his “judicial philosophy is mine, too.” Barrett, 48, was joined in the Rose Garden by her husband and seven children. If confirmed by the Senate, she would fill the seat vacated by liberal icon Ruth Bader Ginsburg. It would be the sharpest ideological swing since Clarence Thomas replaced Justice Thurgood Marshall nearly three decades ago.

California braces for power shutoffs and warm, windy weekend (AP) Firefighters and officials at California’s largest utility company braced for hot, dry and windy weather in northern and central areas of the state this weekend that may fan the flames of several major wildfires or ignite new ones. Pacific Gas & Electric warned Friday it may cut power from Sunday morning to Monday, potentially affecting 97,000 customers in 16 counties, during which forecasters said a ridge of high pressure will raise temperatures and generate gusts flowing from the interior to the coast. When heavy winds were predicted earlier this month, PG&E cut power to about 167,000 homes and businesses in central and Northern California in a more targeted approach after being criticized last year for acting too broadly when it blacked out 2 million customers to prevent fires.

US colleges struggle to salvage semester amid outbreaks (AP) Colleges across the country are struggling to salvage the fall semester amid skyrocketing coronavirus cases, entire dorm complexes and frat houses under quarantine, and flaring tensions with local community leaders over the spread of the disease. Many major universities are determined to forge ahead despite warning signs, as evidenced by the expanding slate of college football games occurring Saturday. Institutions across the nation saw spikes of thousands of cases days after opening their doors in the last month, driven by students socializing with little or no social distancing. School and community leaders have tried to rein in the virus by closing bars, suspending students, adding mask requirements, and toggling between in-person and online instruction as case numbers rise and fall. In Rhode Island, Gov. Gina Raimondo, a Democrat, this week blamed outbreaks at two colleges for a surge of virus cases that boosted the state’s infection rate high enough to put it on the list of places whose residents are required to quarantine when traveling to New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. The University of Wisconsin-Madison had seen more than 2,800 confirmed cases in students as of Friday. The school shut down in-person instruction for two weeks, locked down two of its largest dorms, and imposed quarantines on more than a dozen sorority and fraternity houses. The school lifted the dorm lockdown just this week.

Desk shortage forces people to get creative about workspaces (AP) First it was toilet paper. Disinfectant wipes. Beans. Coins. Computers. Now, desks are in short supply because of the coronavirus pandemic. Millions of kids logging onto virtual school this fall has parents scrambling to find furniture for them. At the same time, some people are realizing they’ll be working from home for the long haul and require new furniture. To find desks, people are scouring stores near and far and even making their own. Online, sales of desks and accessories, such as desk chairs and lamps, were up 283% in August from the year before, according to Rakuten Intelligence, which tracks shopper behavior. People are figuring out other solutions, sharing advice on turning dressers or book shelves into makeshift desks on Pinterest and Facebook.

He’s not running, but Morales looms large in Bolivia vote (AP) Even in exile, Evo Morales looms over Bolivia’s election next month. National rifts that contributed to chaos in Bolivia in 2019 threaten to destabilize the Oct. 18 vote and its aftermath nearly one year after Morales, Bolivia’s first Indigenous president from the Aymara group, was forced to resign following disputed vote results, protests, violence and a military call for him to go. The country is divided mainly along ethnic, regional and socioeconomic lines, and between those who applaud Morales as a voice for the historically poor and disenfranchised and those who say he became increasingly corrupt and authoritarian during 14 years in power. The interim government that replaced him has also been accused of undermining Bolivia’s democratic institutions, including the judiciary. The feud has reverberated outside the landlocked country of 12 million people. In a speech to the virtual U.N. General Assembly on Wednesday, interim President Jeanine Áñez accused neighboring Argentina, where Morales is in self-exile, of ″systematic and abusive harassment″ of Bolivia’s institutions and supporting a “violent conspiracy” led by the former president.

Alps surprised by early snowfall, Swiss town sees new record (AP) Parts of Switzerland, Austria and Germany were surprised by unseasonably early snowfall overnight, after a sharp drop in temperatures and heavy precipitation. The Swiss meteorological agency said Saturday that the town of Montana, in the southern canton (state) of Valais, experienced 25 centimeters (almost 10 inches) of snowfall — a new record for this time of year. Authorities were out in force across mountainous regions in the two Alpine nations to clear roads blocked by snow and ice.

Lebanon’s prime minister-designate steps down in blow to French initiative (Reuters) Lebanon’s prime minister-designate quit on Saturday after trying for almost a month to line up a non-partisan cabinet, failing despite French pressure on sectarian leaders to rally together to deal with the worst crisis since a 1975-1990 civil war. Mustapha Adib, former ambassador to Berlin, was picked on Aug. 31 to form a cabinet. He had tried to form a government of specialists in a nation where power is shared between Muslims and Christians and political loyalties tend to follow sectarian lines. But his efforts ran into the sand over cabinet appointments, particularly the post of finance minister, who will have a crucial role in drawing up a programme to lift Lebanon out of a deep economic crisis. Crushed by a mountain of debt, Lebanon’s banks are paralysed and its currency is in freefall. Talks with the International Monetary Fund on a vital bailout package stalled this year. The cabinet’s first task would have been to restart negotiations.

Fleeing chaos and hardship, Lebanese have begun braving perilous seas (Washington Post) For years, Ibrahim Lisheen watched as refugees from neighboring Syria passed through this Mediterranean port city, boarding smugglers’ boats for risky crossings to Europe. For Lebanese like him, it was an act of desperation to be pitied, not copied. Until now. Earlier this month, Lisheen, 22, sold his furniture and paid to board an open fishing boat on a promise of safe passage to Cyprus, just 10 hours away. He was part of a new wave of migrants fleeing Lebanon’s own serial catastrophes: a collapsed economy, political unrest and the devastation wrought by a massive warehouse explosion in Beirut last month. Hardship is nothing new in Lebanon, a country racked by decades of conflict. But even the beleaguered Lebanese are shocked that conditions have become so hopeless that their fellow citizens are joining the treacherous migration across the Mediterranean that is typically associated with refugees from the region’s failed states. Lisheen, who said he hasn’t had a job in five years, is part of an unemployment wave that topped 35 percent in the months since the coronavirus pandemic took hold here. Protests over government corruption have rocked the country for more than a year. And Hezbollah, which is both a militant group and political party, has engaged in military exchanges with Israeli forces across the southern border.

Famine Emerges as U.N. Theme, Crystallized by Yemen Disaster (NYT) The coronavirus scourge is a prevailing theme at this year’s United Nations General Assembly, forcing the gathering to be conducted largely online. But the pandemic is also fueling another crisis preoccupying the organization and humanitarian groups: the strong prospect of famine in some of the world’s most destitute places. Nowhere is famine more likely than in Yemen, the Arab world’s poorest country, ravaged by war for nearly six years between the Houthi rebels and a Saudi-led military coalition defending a weak government that exerts little or no control over most Yemeni territory. Combined with donor fatigue, a collapse in the value of Yemen’s currency, a fuel shortage and the coronavirus, which may be spreading unchecked in the country, famine is again “definitely knocking on the door—it’s looming,” said David Beasley, executive director of the World Food Program, the anti-hunger arm of the United Nations. In an interview, Mr. Beasley said he needed $500 million in the next six months, just to provide food to Yemenis at half the usual ration rate. Moreover, he said, “even if we get the money, we still may have famine” because of delays and obstacles to delivery. Roughly 80 percent of the country’s 30 million people require food aid, yet the United Nations is in the position of having to cut assistance when it is needed more than ever.