#sovereign beetle

[sw5w]

It Appears to Be Made Up of Primitives

STAR WARS EPISODE I: The Phantom Menace 01:44:49

[louies-recipes]

Had to draw my custom character. I had so much trouble beating this game but it was so worth it. 100%, save for the achievements and side quests.

Take a guess which boss I hated the most here...

[saphstories]

Chapter Four: Elysia

(Index/Masterpost) (Previous) (Next)

Whatever Shadow had expected when he stepped through the Portal Ring, it wasn’t the long white room with only a singular archway on the farthest wall. Sonic snorted in front of him. “Nice digs. Coulda mentioned Elysia is a mental hospital.” The blue rat drawled.

Rouge rolled her eyes. “Don’t knock it ‘til ya see it, Blue. This is a Portal Bay; Rings entering Elysia are deterred here until the arrivals are identified and deemed as a non-threat. Standard procedure.” She pointed ahead, where a panel in the ceiling had slid open, and a sleek white camera ball on a white cable descended into the Bay to analyze the group. From the camera, a tiny green laser light focused on Rouge’s forehead.

“Name, rank, and travel party size.” A female voice requested.

“Dame Rouge the Bat, Knight of Elysia and Chief Officer of the Elysian Central Intelligence.” Rouge calmly replied. “Travel party size: unit, containing Officer E-123 Omega, the Twelfth and Fourteenth Divisions of the Elysian Knights, and seven Unknowns.”

“Officer E-123 Omega, Divisions Twelve and Fourteen of the Elysian Knights, please proceed through the Gate.” The camera commanded.

“Omega, head straight for my office and alert the Court that an emergency Assembly will be held as soon as possible.” Rouge ordered. “Alert them it is Code Black.”

“AFFIRMATIVE.” Omega strode forward toward the archway, then vanished into thin air once through it. Rouge snickered as the seven refugees jumped, eyes popping wide and jaws dropping, and it took Tom a moment to get Ozzy to calm down and quit barking as the Twelfth and Fourteenth disappeared under the arch.

“Relax; it’s a security measure.” Rouge chuckled. “The Gate is a literal doorway between the Portal Bays and the Elysian Ring Port; we just can’t see or pass through from this side without authorization. Can’t just let anyone in, you know.”

“Unknowns,” In the center of the room, a long white platform rose two inches from the floor, and the camera extended to hover over it. “Step forward onto the platform and state your names.” The camera ordered, and Rouge nodded encouragingly at the dubious looks shot at her.

Tom hesitantly climbed onto the platform with Ozzy in tow, blinking when the camera flew forward to float inches from his nose. “Umm…Thomas Michael Wachowski, and my dog, Ozzy.”

The laser point elongated into a full scanner, sweeping up and down the length of Tom and Ozzy, before closing back into the laser point, glimmering vibrant green. “Name: Thomas Michael Wachowski. Species: Human. Name: Ozzy. Species: Canine. Breed: Golden Retriever. Entry Status: Accepted. Welcome to Elysia. Please proceed through the Gate for further instruction.”

Tom hopped off the platform with Ozzy but hesitated at the Gate until Rouge waved him forward. “Don’t worry, Sheriff, I’ll see them through the other side.” The bat reassured. “Just tell your Guide you wanna wait for your family to come through.”  Tom bit his cheek and sighed, waved at his wife and kids, and vanished through the Gate with Ozzy trotting at his heel. Rouge expectantly raised her brow at the remaining immigrants. “Okay, next.” She prompted.

Sonic was atop the platform before anyone else could think of moving. “Sonic Wachowski.” He posed with one hand on his pack strap and the other on his hip as the laser scanned him.

“Name: Sonic Wachowski. Species: Mobian. Breed: Hedgehog. Entry Status: Accepted. Welcome to Elysia. Please proceed through the Gate for further instruction.” The camera hummed. Sonic zipped off the platform and through the gate, and Maddie, Knuckles, Tails, and finally Shadow quickly followed him without a hitch. “Seven Unknowns identified and accepted. Dame Rouge the Bat, please proceed through the Gate.” Rouge relaxed her shoulders and took one step through the archway…only for the tension to immediately return and cement her body where she stood.

The Elysian Ring Port—Elysia’s entrance and exit to and from the other dimensions—was in utter chaos. Normally calm and orderly, the long marble chamber was in total disarray. Mobians and humans alike rushed about in a frenzy, bumping and tripping over one another. Portal techs stood over their assigned Bays, sweating and stumbling over the control panels, and the guards that stood watch over the Port had tripled in number since Rouge’s departure for Green Hills hours earlier.

Rouge spotted her seven refugees hugging the wall several paces away from their Portal Bay and hurried over. Sonic glanced at her and pursed his lips. “Busy day today.” He noted.

“Is it always like this?” Tails wondered, his namesakes swishing behind him, twisting the hem of his ruined Minecraft tee between his fingers. Maddie reached down and scratched behind the kit’s ears.

“Reminds me of Grand Central Station.” Tom thoughtfully hummed, studying the high arched ceilings, gleaming marble floors, and warm golden trimmed walls. Maddie huffed a quiet laugh. The layout and cacophony of the Port did match the most famous railway in the United States, just on a much more compact and less grand scale.

But Rouge shook her head, bemused. “No, this is far from normal. I’m not-,”

“Dame Rouge!” Rouge turned, a frown on her muzzle, as a bespectacled beaver rushed towards them, flushed, panting, and carrying a large clipboard in his paws. “Ma’am,” The beaver cleared his throat and straightened his obnoxious yellow tie. “I was instructed to inform you that you have been summoned to the Assembly Hall immediately upon return.”

Rouge put a hand on her hip. “I’ll head over as soon as I get our new refugees settled.” She hooked a thumb over her shoulder towards Shadow, Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Tom, Maddie, and Ozzy. “It’ll only take maybe an hour to get them properly registered for the Refugee Relief--,”

“Ma’am,” The beaver interrupted. “The Court was adamant that you report to the Assembly Hall straightaway.” He leaned close and lowered his voice. “It's Code Black.”

Rouge swore so colorfully that Maddie slapped her hands over Tails’s ears, ignoring her youngest’s protests to glare warningly at Knuckles and Sonic. Shadow furrowed his brow as Rouge’s eyes snapped between the group of refugees and the beaver before shaking her head. “Alright. Send the Refugee Registrations to my office immediately—enough for six—and send the requests for the Sanctuary to perform the screenings as soon as the Court adjourns.” The bat waved for the Wachowskis and Shadow to follow her.

“B-But—Dame Rouge! We have policies in place-!” The beaver shrieked in protest.

“And as Chief of the Elysian Central Intelligence, I am overriding them, as is my prerogative!” Rouge snapped, her scowl so ferocious that the beaver squeaked and ducked behind his clipboard. “Now, send the requests and paperwork, Beaver! That’s an order!”

“Y-Yes ma’am!” Beaver yelped and scurried off, tripping over his feet and nearly dropping his clipboard in his haste.

“You lot, with me.” Rouge icily commanded. She stormed through the Port, the others hurrying to keep up as she marched for the far side of the terminal, where two guards—a badger and a falcon—stood on either side of a gleaming set of elevator doors. The guards regarded her company before nodding respectfully and allowing them entry. “Sorry, hons, but I’m afraid you won’t get the scenic route today.” Rouge drily commented, pushing a button on the control panel labeled with a silvery AH. Shadow pressed himself against the elevator wall, focused on the cool metal railing within his grip and the humming vibrations against his shoulder from the po-elevator’s motion. The black hedgehog stiffened when a chilled nose nudged against his fingers, and ground his teeth, gently batting the dog away from him. Ozzy stared at him, long pink tongue hanging out of his mouth and tail quietly thumping against Tom’s leg.

“Where is it you are taking us, Dame Rouge?” Knuckles demanded.

“Assembly Hall.” Rouge answered. “The Elysian Court is the governing body of the kingdom, and an emergency meeting has been called. I had planned on calling an Assembly after the six of you were registered and screened, but those plans are out the window now.”

“By the Code Black?” Tails assumed. Rouge nodded solemnly. “Which is what, exactly?”

Rouge opened her mouth, but the elevator halted, and the doors opened with a soft ding. The bat led the way from the elevator, but the seven refugees paused only a few steps beyond the threshold.

“Whoa.” Sonic breathed. For once, Shadow agreed with him.

The Elysian Court Assembly Hall was a thing of beauty and opulence; a spacious rectangular chamber outfitted with polished ivory walls and gleaming granite floors; golden banners depicting a phoenix rising to flight, wearing a tripoint crown on its head, draped to the floors from the ceiling, which shimmered with myriads of rainbows of lavishly stained glass that told a story none of the refugees understood, from the center of which a brilliant crystal chandelier hung. At the top of the Hall, on a raised stone dais, were three majestic gold and marble thrones, behind which was a wall entirely crafted of stained glass. The opposite end opened to a gorgeous stone balcony with a magnificent view of snowy mountain peaks and clear blue skies. Lining the Hall were ten seats built of deep mahogany wood and softened with pale golden cushions, five on the left, and five on the right, all facing the center floor—where a glistening square of crystalline glass edged with gold replaced the silver granite—, and eight of the ten seats were filled.

Nine pairs of eyes had turned to stare in varying degrees of disbelief upon Rouge and her company���s entry, and Tails reflexively curled his tails around himself. Undeterred, Rouge strode further into the chamber, beckoning her troop to follow. “Forgive the tardiness, I only just learned of the Code Black upon my return.” She dipped her head respectfully to the nine Court members, then beckoned the Wachowskis and Shadow forward.

“What iz ze meaning of zis, Rouge?” A blonde coyote—impeccably dressed in a sleek grey military jacket with golden epaulets on his shoulders, gleaming medals on his left breast, a ruby red scarf around his neck that matched the stripes on his black slacks, and buckled leather boots—demanded indignantly from his place beside the crystal square. A gleaming rapier hung from his left hip, while a set of daggers were strapped to his right. On his right breast shimmered a golden phoenix, identical to the one decorating both the Hall’s banners and the other eight members of the Court.  “Who are zey, and why have you brought zem here?”

“General D’Coolette, members of the Elysian Court,” Rouge sidestepped and brandished her arm to the refugees with a dramatic flourish. “Might I introduce you to Tom and Maddie Wachowski, their three sons: Knuckles, Sonic, and Tails, and their companion, Shadow Robotnik. The Guardians of the Master Emerald.”

Whatever ire that had previously existed within the Court vanished in lieu of stunned disbelief. “What? Dame Rouge, are you certain?” A pale lavender cat—adorned in a matching violet sweater dress, white leggings, purple ankle boots, and a singular ruby stone in the center of her brow—gasped, leaning forward in her seat nearest the thrones.

“Entirely, Princess Blaze.” Rouge confirmed. “Officer Omega and I arrived at their home in a humble little town called Green Hills on Earth, where we found the Black Arms on a rampage, and the six of them doing everything possible to keep the Master Emerald from being stolen.” She turned to the refugees with a glint in her teal eyes. “Guardians, allow me to introduce you to the Elysian Court, the governing body of the Kingdom of Elysia: Our Princess Regents, Blaze Sol,” The lavender cat studied the newcomers with curious amber eyes. “And Sally Acorn.” The auburn chipmunk seated across from her–dressed in a long-sleeved white top with blue stripes, a blue zip-up vest, black slacks with blue stripes, and blue buckled boots–inclined her head. 

“The commanding General of the Elysian Knights, Antoine D’Coolette.” The coyote furrowed his brow, frowning on his scarred muzzle.

“The Elysian Prophet, Master Scratch Fireheart,” A male otter with scruffy brown fur, large round spectacles, and a deep green sweater, tie, blue jeans, and shiny suede oxfords grinned brightly and dipped his head.

“The Chief Healer of Elysia, Sarena Grace,” A maiden hedgehog with long periwinkle quills twined into a thick plait over her shoulder, a long-sleeved lavender blouse, black pencil skirt, and lavender slippers waved with a friendly smile.

“Chief Officer Rotor the Walrus of the EORTA: the Elysian Office of Research and Technological Advancement,” A pale purple walrus with abnormally long white tusks, yellow goggles, a white lab coat over a black t-shirt, and oil-stained khakis hummed thoughtfully.

“Chief Officer Amy Rose of the EOCA: the Elysian Office of Citizen Affairs,” A bright pink hedgehog grinned, her short bob-cut quills held out of her face by a shiny red headband that matched her red halter dress, ivory jacket, and knee-high red boots with white stripes.

“Chief Officer Jewel the Beetle of the ETCC: the Elysian Treasury and Commerce Chamber,” An opalescent beetle in a tasteful pink business jacket and pencil skirt combo shyly smiled in welcome.

“And finally, last but not least, Captain Vector the Crocodile of the Chaotix Division of the Elysian Knights.” A bulky green crocodile with large headphones hanging around his neck, a thick black leather jacket over a grey hoodie that spelled ‘Team Chaotix’ across the chest, a golden choker, and black and gold sneakers held up a peace sign with a rumbling ‘Yo.’ 

Unsure of what was expected, Tom cleared his throat and bowed awkwardly, his family mimicking him. Ozzy barked and wagged his tail. Only Shadow remained erect, with only a slight dip of his head to convey his greetings.

Chief Sarena hopped off her seat and quickly strode to the newcomers, a concerned frown on her peach muzzle. “Rouge, if you all just came from a battle with the Black Arms, I should-,” She urgently began, but was waved off.

“I already put the requests through for full medical screenings, hon.” Rouge assured her. “If there were any serious injury, you would have been called to the Port immediately. You know that.” The periwinkle hedgehog sighed but glanced over the Guardians with analytical teal eyes…and seemed to do a double take when her gaze landed on Sonic, her jaw dropping slightly in surprise.

Sonic’s brow furrowed. “Um, you good?”

Sarena shook herself. “Yes, of course. Apologies.” She quickly turned tail and marched back to her seat, ignoring the puzzled expressions that followed her.

Antoine cleared his throat. “Now zat introductions are over, and we have established our guests are not in need of immediate medical attention, let zis Assembly come to order.”

An aura of solemnity descended upon the hall as Rouge dipped her head in acknowledgement and headed to one of the two remaining seats. Antoine regarded the seven refugees, then sighed and tapped a square watch-like device on his wrist. Seven additional chairs materialized behind Shadow, Tom, Maddie, Knuckles, Sonic, and Tails, with an additional cushion for Ozzy between Tom and Maddie’s seats.

“Amazing!” Tails eagerly poked at his chair, then hopped in with a cry of delight. “Nanite technology capable of instantaneous construction?”

“Any chance the nanite tech can instantly construct me a chili dog?” Sonic grinned, sloppily laying on his chair with his feet dangling over the arm. Tom glowered, grabbed his scruff—expertly avoiding the flaring quills—and righted him with a disapproving shake of his head. Sonic’s cheeks tinted rosy red and shot a glare at his snickering brothers.

“Unfortunately, no.” The walrus—Chief Rotor—sighed. “The nano tech is only capable of necessary construction and deconstruction; simple things the Court may need in Assembly, like extra chairs, papers, etc. I didn’t factor in things like food or drink in the original schematics.”

“We can be discussing ze wonders of your technology later, mon ami.” Antoine interrupted firmly. “We have more important matters at hand.” The coyote turned to face the gold-lined crystal tile and cleared his throat. “Nicole?”

At once, the glass shimmered with sparkling white light, and a transparent brown lynx with long black hair and black triangular markings beneath her glowing green eyes rose from the tile. She wore a sleek gown composed of royal violet ribbons, some of which fluttered off her bodice in an invisible wind, black leggings, and bare feet; golden hoops shimmered in each of her tall, black-tipped ears, identical to the golden bangles on her arms. A golden phoenix pinned her hair from her face. “General.” She intoned in a soft, but automated voice.

“Please display ze images received from Base 251 in Chun-Nan to ze Court, Nicole.” The General commanded.

A frown graced the holographic lynx’s figures, her ears drooping, but she nodded. “Yes, sir, General.” Nicole vanished, replacing own hologram with the images requested. The reactions were instantaneous.

Gasps and cries of distress and horror echoed through the Hall. Antoine’s expression dropped into a grimace before he turned to address the Court and visitors; the images of a cliff face soaked in blood and carnage, charred black with smoke and ash still rising into the sky, hovered above the glass tile behind him. “I have called zis Code Black to inform you of zis horrific development in ze war. Ze Black Arms have raided and destroyed Base 251; I immediately received ze distress beacon, but by ze time relief and reinforcements arrived, it was too late.”

“No survivors?” Chief Sarena whispered.

Antoine regretfully shook his head. “None at all. Ze Black Arms killed all soldiers who were being assigned there.”

“And what of the Scepter, Antoine?” Princess Sally demanded, leaning forward in her seat.

Antoine grimaced. The image changed to depict an ovular chamber of metal walls and floors…all awash dark crimson with three lifeless soldiers lying broken and battered in puddles of red. In the center of the chamber stood a broken pedestal, and all around were jagged shards of heavy white and violet glass and the twisted remains of tarnished silver metal. “What video surveillance the ECI managed to recover from ze attack… ze Harbinger known as Dark Oak led his army through the base and released ze prisoner Mephiles… and recruited him. Ze Black Arms have gained a zecond Harbinger.”

Stunned and horrified silence met Antoine’s report, until Rouge shifting uncomfortably in her seat caught the pink hedgehog’s—Chief Amy Rose’s—attention. “Rouge?” She pressed.

The bat sighed. “General Antoine, if I may have the floor?” Antoine frowned and nodded, the image of Base 251 vanishing as he took his seat. “I was made aware of the Code Black upon my return, but I had been intent on calling a Code of my own.” Rouge explained solemnly, pausing beside the glass holo-tile. “This morning, I received intel that the Black Arms would launch an attack on Earth…the first in decades, so I gathered my brigade and rushed to the Earth location provided: A small town called Green Hills.

“When I arrived on scene with Officer Omega, we found total chaos had taken over the town. The Black Arms were destroying the city itself, but we discovered that they had converged their assault on one specific location: the home of the Wachowski family, Guardians of the Master Emerald. Omega and I provided reinforcements but were overwhelmed by Insurgent Scourge the Hedgehog and his legions, and the rat managed to steal the Master Emerald right from under us. For their protection, I brought the Guardians here to Elysia.” Rouge gestured to Tom, Maddie, Knuckles, Sonic, Tails, and Shadow, upon whom all eyes fell. “Sheriff Wachowski, if you could explain the events prior to my arrival for the Court, the floor is yours.” She invited and returned to her seat, crossing her legs.

Tom glanced between his wife and sons, but nodded and stood up. He cleared his throat. “My family had planned a surprise party for my fortieth birthday today,”

“If it would be welcomed, Sheriff, happy birthday.” Master Scratch kindly offered.

The tension bled from Tom’s shoulders, and he nodded gratefully. “It was just after the initial surprise that we heard the explosion—I suppose it was the rift for the monsters, the Black Arms, to come through and ambush Green Hills…” Several minutes passed as the former sheriff relayed the horrors of the battle for Green Hills to the increasing alarm of the Court, until Tom finally trailed off with, “And that’s when Dame Rouge showed up.”

“Damn.” The crocodile—Captain Vector—swore under his breath. Tom dipped his head and reclaimed his seat, squeezing Maddie’s hand when she slipped it into his. “Shadow, how did you come to the battle?” He demanded.

Shadow crossed his arms. “I was passing through and saw the rift open. Those monsters were destroying everything and putting innocents in danger. I couldn’t not do something.”

“Could someone explain what the heck those monsters were, and what they wanted with the Master Emerald?” Sonic interjected. Knuckles and Tails nodded in agreement, Tom and Maddie looked expectantly at the Court, and Shadow cocked his brow.

The Court exchanged baffled and inquiring looks, as if silently debating amongst themselves, before Princess Sally stood up. “To answer your question, Mr. Sonic, you must first understand the history behind it. Nicole,” She called.

“Yes, Sally?” The holo-lynx reappeared in a flurry of pixels, her hands clasped neatly in front of her as she bowed to the Princess Regent.

“I’ll be telling the histories; could you follow along, please?” Sally requested.

“Of course, Sally.” Nicole agreed. “After you, Princess.”

Sally took a deep breath and gently fingered the golden bracelet on her wrist. Shadow, Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Tom, and Maddie each leaned slightly forward in their seats, eager for the answers that had evaded them all day, while the members of the Court exchanged grim frowns. Finally, Sally raised her head, a sharp glint in her blue eyes and a determined clench of her jaw. “As Princess Regent, it is my duty to ensure our subjects are well-protected, and ignorance of the great dangers that lie beyond our kingdom’s borders could mean a fate worse than death at the hands of our enemy.”

Nicole fizzled from sight, her image shifting to a truly ghastly form: a floating figure of charcoal black skin, three glowing red eyes with black slits, and two razor sharp horns on each side of its head. Long arms ending with gigantic three-fingered hands equipped with sharp talons hung to the end of its body, which lacked any form of legs…or even a nose or mouth on its face. Hanging loosely off its shoulders was a ragged blood red robe decorated with tarnished golden tassels, rings, and a long black cloak. Many members of the Court grimaced or shuddered, and Shadow felt a chill sweep down his spine and his quills rise the longer he stared at the image of this monster.

Sally glowered with contempt and disgust at the hologram, her muzzle curled in a sneer and her blue eyes icy. “Everyone in this room has been affected by the actions of this monster, this devil that seeks the destruction of the world to feed his insatiable thirst for death: Black Doom, who has led his Arms in a horrific war against the world for nearly two thousand years.”

I hope you enjoyed this chapter of Three Sovereigns! See you next Wednesday, 1/29, for Chapter Five: Allegiance!

[boombox-fuckboy]

As a hobby worldbuilder who works primarily in what I assume is the weird fiction zone (with fair sized fantasy or scifi elements, depending on the project), I sometimes get stuck about what to do with the sky. If reality doesn't work the same, how do I account for the sun? Should I even have a moon and stars? If I do, are they true moon and stars, or an equivalent?

While you can gently sweep the conundrum under a rug, it can of course become part of the game. Here's some examples of solutions I've enjoyed:

Midst: The natural state of the universe is, in fact, light. Darkness acts like a reality-warping, breathable liquid. Midst is an islet, which here means it's one of many floating planetoids. Midst specifically floats and rotates slowly at the border of light and dark, causing day and night. The moon is an even smaller floating body, but it's mostly just there to explode. Space is dangerous not for breathing or temperature reasons but because you'll get ripped to shreds by floating mica.

Campaign: Skyjacks: The sun is the creation of the Sovereign (now dead patriarch god), and the stars were his angels. The Morningstar is the only one that doesn't move, guarding the empty throne, but the few remaining stars (angels) do, and also aren't always up there, which makes navigation difficult. There are so few stars now as most angels were cast out of the heavens a couple centuries back (when The Sovereign was slain). The moon was created by The Forest Queen, allowing her to see by the light of it, which she could not by the Sovereign's sun. If you fly an airship above the moon, she cannot see you.

The Mistholme Museum: Specifically, in the world of The Beast and The Queen, the stars are beetles, which roam about on the dome that is the sky. The sun? Different beetle.

[lyss-sketchbox]

OKAY BUT unless I'm understanding it wrong- The FIRST Pyro Archon was human. They said that. That the Pyro Archon has always been a human and there's been like a ton of them. Natlan never had any gods to claim the divine throne in the first place. Which is SO incredibly suspicious sounding and if that's never elaborated upon/refuted boy I'm going to RIOT-

But yea on Ei I kinda fantasized about an alternate Act I for Ei's SQ where she asks to spar again because mmm battle as her way of communicating sounds very on brand for her. Because I feel like that's what should shake her faith. LITERALLY I love characters that are defined by their life as a glorified weapon (stares at my love for childe) it's just squandered on Ei for some reason.

If they're going to use Ei for goofy things they could at least take my idea and have her lose to Itto in beetle fight in public in front of all of Ei's followers/worshippers (/j) (/srs) (it would be hilarious)

But yeah no you're right about all of that stuff being kinda whack. The execution of Natlan feels all wrong. Like!! The pieces are there!! It could work!! They're just treating everything so flippantly that it's just. Eh. Okay. What's the point of anything then- Like I never felt like Natlan had to be a wartorn battlefield of a nation, I just want them to actually act like any of this actually matters! Bc atm it doesn't feel that way at all

Yeah ngl the issue is just you literally dont feel amy stakes with natlan at all. I literally feel like a tourist that got roped into a find a mcguffin or the world ends adventure.

About Mavuika

Fr i dont even know what is up with Natlans archon. Its all so convoluted but mavuika is featured in that one archons official art so she is... the 'correct' archon in some way?????

She IS human, we see she has a picture of her family, but it is from the past. She was elected the archon in the past. Died. And now she has been resurrected to take the role again. Why her? Shes just human. Why did she get resurrected again if the nations archon switches constantly? Like what is the point of constantly changing archons if one can just be... resurrected to take the title again.

I have a feeling, based on leaks and the natlan trailer, that the 'archon' of natlan isnt a real archon. Not a real godly being with a hold of the divine throne. I have a feeling that there is a seperate being that is the true pyro archon, can be an actual archon or maybe the wayob, who set up this human archon system. Like mavuika, the human archon, is not the highest power here and something else is in charge. Can be the pyro sovereign who knows that would be cool, it was mentioned that the pyro sovereign ruled ancient natlan before the archons.

About Ei

I remember the one part in Ei's SQ where we went to confront a corrupted group of shogunate officials and these two people were fighting. And Ei simply suggests that the head of the clan in the past has proven their worthiness by combat and therefore if one wishes to be head of the clan, they can challenge her and proof to her they are worthy. And the guy we were rooting for, while he had no advanced skills, stood up, tried to fight her, and lost.

I LIKE THAT ALOT!!! That is Ei's way of settling conflict! It is backed up by how it was done in the past! And she clearly knew noone was winning and only fought with the blunt end of her spear. She knew! And she only suggested this to show who really had the will and the resolve to hold that title. I LIKE THAT!!! ME LIKEY THAT WAS REALLY GOOD!!!!

[fearlesstigerquotev]

Masterlist

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Introduction

Welcome to my Tumblr! My name is Tiger and I’m a hobbyist author and Quotev Refugee. Currently, I’m using Tumblr as a backup for all my oneshot works on Quotev, as well as the occasional meme. In the future, I’d like to post more oneshots on here as well <3 Currently moving all my full stories to AO3, I have linked the account in my bio, and will link all stories as well on here.

I mainly write yandere x reader stories, dabbling in horror, thriller, and romance. Some of my stories contain smut and dubious themes. As is the case with such types of stories, please refer to the tags and trigger warnings beforehand! Read at your own discretion. Minors do not interact with me concerning R18 stories.

Asks about my thoughts on topics, stories, headcanons etc. are allowed but I do not take oneshot/story requests.

With those disclaimers out of the way, I wish you happy reading!

Please note that this is still a WIP, only stories marked with (X) are available to read currently on Tumblr and/or AO3! For works without links, please check out my Quotev page.

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New Works Post-Quotev Apocalypse

Coming soon!

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Oneshots imported from Quotev

Yandere M!Pied Piper Halloween Oneshot (X)

To see townsfolk suffer so From vermin, was a pity. — From The Pied Piper of Hamelin: A Child's Story by Robert Browning

Winterkälte Halloween Oneshot (X)

Winterkälte:��A strung-together German word that roughly translates to "winter coldness." It is a childhood folk story from Switzerland, but as far as I'm aware, there is no official name for this tale. Depending from canton to canton, many variations exist. But all of them share the following structure: A boy, his father, and their dog hike up a mountain. A blizzard causes them to take refuge in an alpine hut, where they are confronted with the personification of Death. This story is told to children in order to warn them against staying out too late, especially in the cold winter months.

Itto the Irresistible Beetle Battler (X)

Itto X F!Reader | You and your Oni boyfriend have a beetle-fight competition. Short, sweet, fluffy.

A Friendship Tested

Heizou X F!Reader | A oneshot where you are a thief and Heizou chases you through Inazuma.

My Queen

Itto X F!Reader [Royalty AU] | A short oneshot where Scaramouche is a prince, and you are his bodyguard. Even though he doesn't need one.

Study Buddies

Kaveh X F!Reader X Alhaitham [R15] | A oneshot + crackfic where you are an underclassman at the Sumeru Akademiya, and ask Alhaitham and Kaveh to tutor you before an exam. But you're a simp, and both of them have different styles of teaching.

A Wholesome Genius Invocation TCG Session

Tighnari X F!Reader [Platonic relationship] | You and your friend/mentor play an exciting round of Genius Invocation TCG. Short, sweet, fluffy.

[Reminder: Add all The Royal Tutor Oneshots]

Full stories [links to AO3]

Dies Irae — Days of Wrath [R18] | Various!M!F!Yandere Reverse Harem x F!Reader (X)

After nearly half a decade of war and turmoil, Princess (Name) hears the sound of war trumpets playing: Her empire has won the war. Being the sole heir to the throne, she is quick to rejoice and immediately rushes to provide an official statement. Fate, however, has other plans for her. When her own soldiers storm the castle and usurp the sovereign, she is faced with a nasty truth: Her childhood best friend has joined the enemy side. The kingdom has won the war, but at what price? As she navigates the treacherous web of politics, societal pressures, and negotiations, Princess (Name) finds herself forming unexpected and complex alliances with a group of captivating individuals, each with their own secrets and desires. She must not make a single misstep, lest she wants her head rolling on the ground.

Playing with Fire | Yandere Diluc x F!Reader [Royalty!AU!] (X)

After countless years of war and turmoil, Natlan has fallen. Too bad you were the War Maiden of Natlan during the conflict. In order to salvage the remnants of your country, you agree to a peace treaty brokered by the rulers of Snezhnaya and Liyue—An arranged marriage. But instead of marrying Mondstadt's sovereign, you find out you're betrothed to Duke Diluc, an esteemed nobleman from the Ragnvindr clan. He claims to be acting in your best interests, but something tells you that he cannot be trusted. And when secrets of both your pasts come to light, you find yourself struggling to maintain Teyvat‘s political stability. One wrong word could lead to your demise, a fate you must avoid at all costs.

Bad Liar | Diluc x F!Reader (Known as Malefactor on AO3) (X)

In which you, a Fatui member who is fiercely loyal to the Tsarista, is tasked with stealing the Anemo Gnosis. But Diluc, the Uncrowned King of Mondstadt, is dead-set on making your mission a living nightmare... In more ways than you could possibly imagine.

Snake Eyes | Yandere M!Naga x F!Reader

Upon the request of your former professor, you travel to India to aid his research team on their quest to find the Ivory Serpent. However, due to unprecedented circumstances, things go awry right from the start, including the disappearance of your close colleague. Paying no heed to the warnings of your team members, you head off into the mangroves in search of her, ignorant of the ancient curse the land is bound to. Before you know it, you find yourself caught in the coils of an ancient deity of the mangroves. It will take more than mere prayers to wriggle yourself free.

Infiltrator | Yandere M!Harem x M!Reader [Cyberpunk Isekai]

After a gruesome murder makes headlines, a rookie journalist finds himself chasing the scoop of a lifetime. But he soon finds out that the Underworld doesn’t give out secrets so easily, vying for control over the story only he can tell. In a world where information is the highest currency, he's the richest prize. And the crime lords he's entangled with hate sharing.

Bibliophilia | M!Yandere x GN!Reader

Getting locked inside Sanfatio Library by accident was the last thing Y/N expected. Their only option is to enter a strange stone door leading to a whimsical alternative version of the otherwise quiet and quaint library. However, they soon realize they aren't alone. Something sinister is lurking between the bookshelves, stalking their every move. The once docile and humble Y/N is forced into a race against time with only a little red book to guide them. And if they don't find the exit in time, they risk being trapped inside this demented reality forever.

[immobiliter]

@avaere from [x]

       Itto did indeed look like he'd been blindsided by her question, sat across from her at her small kitchen table with an expression of uncertainty and contemplation that Furina wasn't entirely sure she'd ever seen him wear, not in all these weeks and months of friendship. The hope and curiosity in her own mismatched gaze dwindled at the sight, the light in them dimming as worry and nerves set in. So he didn't think we were more than friends either. What if I misread the whole situation? What if this isn't what he wants? Furina tried not to let her panic show, delicate fingernails picking idly at a groove in the table's surface.

       From the open window, the sounds of chatter and patrolling gardemeks and the delicate clinking of china teacups drifted inside on a cool breeze that prompted Furina to tug her dressing gown a little tighter around herself. Little did her once-subjects know, going about their business without a care in all of Teyvat, that their former Archon was in her apartment grappling with that most human of experiences: telling the boy she liked how she felt. Do not panic, Furina. Even if he sees you just as a friend, isn't that enough? Hasn't his friendship brought you more joy and solace than you knew it was possible for a heart like yours to feel?

       But then Itto rose from his chair and rounded the table towards her, and that calming inner voice of reason might as well have vanished out of that same, open window, never to be seen again. Furina watched him kneel in front of her chair — presumably so that he wouldn't tower over her — and she shifted to face him. The somewhat unruly mane of white hair, the crimson red horns and markings on his face and torso, the boisterousness... she could understand why it was a combination that might unintentionally frighten others, or push them away. But Lady Furina, who had stared down the Hydro Elemental Sovereign in the role of his usurper and watched as he empathised with, and then saved humanity, whose divine half had plotted to defy Celestia itself was not someone easily afraid, not when it mattered — and besides, what was there to be afraid of when he said her name with such gentleness ( not Miss Boss, which he would say with excitement or impatience or outrage depending on the day, but Furina. she liked the way her name sounded in his mouth ), or when his hand reached up to touch her cheek with such care and reverence, tucking a stray lock of hair behind her ear.

       He would not hurt her. He would not hurt a fly, or one of those onikabuto beetles that he'd promised he'd show her in Inazuma one day.

       “There’s not a thing in the entirety of Inazuma, Fontaine or even Teyvat I wouldn’t do to make sure you smile.” 

       The words seemed to open up some valve deep within her heart, letting a torrent of emotion pour out and flood into her chest. Furina let out a sound that was halfway between an exclamation of relief and a sob, tears welling up in her eyes as his fingertips brushed past her ear. But they were not sad tears, not at all, not as Itto offered her a toothy grin and her own smile grew to match it.

       The oni continued — and there it was, the enthusiasm, the warmth, the energy that she had grown so fond of over recent months, though this time with an underlying nervousness to it. “ I did like it. I loved it. ” She reached out to reassure him in his ramblings, fingers landing on his wrist and the spiky bracelet he wore around it. Only then did his own fingers close around her hand and, once again with such careful tenderness, lifted it to press a featherlight kiss to her knuckles.

       Oh. Oh, wasn't this the sort of thing she had read about in those novels she was frequently chastised by the Melusines for reading late into the night?

       Wasn't this how it was supposed to feel — not the echo of emotion she had summoned from somewhere inside of her tormented, splintered soul to portray this sort of romance on stage or on screen?

       I don't care that you lied. I don't care who you are. Furina listened, and Itto's words did more to reassure her than the lone, brave voice in her head ever could.

       Not all of it made sense — what did the word rizz mean? she hadn't heard that one before — but...

       “ Yeah? ” She felt almost giddy. With relief. With joy. What it was for a five hundred year old human to experience those first, tentative buds of blossoming romance for the first time in her life. Furina was somewhat surprised, too, that Itto didn't have much experience of such things either, particularly given his own endearing brand of charm. But then she recalled the story he'd told her as she'd fallen asleep in his arms that one night, about the red oni and the blue oni...

       Do you know the feeling where... you're in a room full of people, they've invited you and... halfway through the party you realise that... they only ever invited you as a joke?

       The realisation was a shard digging painfully into her chest. Letting go of his hand, she reached up to touch his cheek, purposefully mirroring his own gesture. “ In that case, we can figure it out together. We can — we can go on dates that are actually dates, and you can hold my hand, and — I really liked it when we cuddled on my sofa that time — ”

       So many things, so many new experiences... it was exciting and thrilling and a little nerve-wracking all at once.

       But first, as Furina sternly reminded herself: a promise, and a story.

       “ I know you said that it doesn't matter to you who I was and what I've been lying about, but I still want to tell you. ” As her fingers lowered from his cheek, they sought out his own again. She liked how her hand felt in his. Furina exhaled softly. “ I've been trapped by the truth for so long that I have to confront it if I ever want to move on. ” And how she longed to move on more than anything. This was as much for him as it was for herself, the start of a painful, no doubt lifelong process of shedding a guise that had tormented and isolated her in equal measure. “ But you can ask questions and I'll do my best to explain. It doesn't matter to me if you don't understand everything, Itto — Fontaine is complicated. In having to bury the truth about myself I turned my whole nation into one of... secrets and misdirection. ”

       And those secrets persisted. Even now, weren't she and Neuvillette still concealing the true machinations behind the thwarting of Fontaine's prophecy? Didn't she still have to pretend to follow the Palais' official line of events: namely, that she had willingly given up her divine power to the Oratrice and become human in order to save her people?

       Furina smiled at him, warm but sad. “ Sit. I'll make us some more tea, and then I'll tell you everything. ”

[rjalker]

Arthur Conan Doyle's short story The Beetle Hunter is just one disappointment after another.

i guess I got spoiled by Astounding Stories of Super-Science at least having fun.

Read it and see for yourself. There's at least five levels of disappointment following one after another.

Bonus points if you figure out each step of the disappointment lofl. I summarized it step by step to Walks and they got every one.

The Beetle-Hunter

A curious experience? said the Doctor. Yes, my friends, I have had one very curious experience. I never expect to have another, for it is against all doctrines of chances that two such events would befall any one man in a single lifetime. You may believe me or not, but the thing happened exactly as I tell it.

I had just become a medical man, but I had not started in practice, and I lived in rooms in Gower Street. The street has been renumbered since then, but it was in the only house which has a bow-window, upon the left-hand side as you go down from the Metropolitan Station. A widow named Murchison kept the house at that time, and she had three medical students and one engineer as lodgers. I occupied the top room, which was the cheapest, but cheap as it was it was more than I could afford. My small resources were dwindling away, and every week it became more necessary that I should find something to do. Yet I was very unwilling to go into general practice, for my tastes were all in the direction of science, and especially of zoology, towards which I had always a strong leaning. I had almost given the fight up and resigned myself to being a medical drudge for life, when the turning-point of my struggles came in a very extraordinary way.

One morning I had picked up the Standard and was glancing over its contents. There was a complete absence of news, and I was about to toss the paper down again, when my eyes were caught by an advertisement at the head of the personal column. It was worded in this way:

"Wanted for one or more days the services of a medical man. It is essential that he should be a man of strong physique, of steady nerves, and of a resolute nature. Must be an entomologist—coleopterist preferred. Apply, in person, at 77B, Brook Street. Application must be made before twelve o'clock today."

Now, I have already said that I was devoted to zoology. Of all branches of zoology, the study of insects was the most attractive to me, and of all insects beetles were the species with which I was most familiar. Butterfly collectors are numerous, but beetles are far more varied, and more accessible in these islands than are butterflies. It was this fact which had attracted my attention to them, and I had myself made a collection which numbered some hundred varieties. As to the other requisites of the advertisement, I knew that my nerves could be depended upon, and I had won the weight-throwing competition at the inter-hospital sports. Clearly, I was the very man for the vacancy. Within five minutes of my having read the advertisement I was in a cab and on my was to Brook Street.

As I drove, I kept turning the matter over in my head and trying to make a guess as to what sort of employment it could be which needed such curious qualifications. A strong physique, a resolute nature, a medical training, and a knowledge of beetles—what connection could there be between these various requisites? And then there was the disheartening fact that the situation was not a permanent one, but terminable from day to day, according to the terms of the advertisement. The more I pondered over it the more unintelligible did it become; but at the end of my meditations I always came back to the ground fact that, come what might, I had nothing to lose, that I was completely at the end of my resources, and that I was ready for any adventure, however desperate, which would put a few honest sovereigns into my pocket. The man fears to fail who has to pay for his failure, but there was no penalty which Fortune could exact from me. I was like the gambler with empty pockets, who is still allowed to try his luck with the others.

No. 77B, Brook Street, was one of those dingy and yet imposing houses, dun-coloured and flat-faced, with the intensely respectable and solid air which marks the Georgian builder. As I alighted from the cab, a young man came out of the door and walked swiftly down the street. In passing me, I noticed that he cast an inquisitive and somewhat malevolent glance at me, and I took the incident as a good omen, for his appearance was that of a rejected candidate, and if he resented my application it meant that the vacancy was not yet filled up. Full of hope, I ascended the broad steps and rapped with the heavy knocker.

A footman in powder and livery opened the door. Clearly I was in touch with the people of wealth and fashion.

"Yes, sir?" said the footman.

"I came in answer to——"

"Quite so, sir," said the footman. "Lord Linchmere will see you at once in the library."

Lord Linchmere! I had vaguely heard the name, but could not for the instant recall anything about him. Following the footman, I was shown into a large, book-lined room in which there was seated behind a writing-desk a small man with a pleasant, clean-shaven, mobile face, and long hair shot with grey, brushed back from his forehead. He looked me up and down with a very shrewd, penetrating glance, holding the card which the footman had given him in his right hand. Then he smiled pleasantly, and I felt that externally at any rate I possessed the qualifications which he desired.

"You have come in answer to my advertisement, Dr. Hamilton?" he asked.

"Yes, sir."

"Do you fulfil the conditions which are there laid down?"

"I believe that I do."

"You are a powerful man, or so I should judge from your appearance.

"I think that I am fairly strong."

"And resolute?"

"I believe so."

"Have you ever known what it was to be exposed to imminent danger?"

"No, I don't know that I ever have."

"But you think you would be prompt and cool at such a time?"

"I hope so."

"Well, I believe that you would. I have the more confidence in you because you do not pretend to be certain as to what you would do in a position that was new to you. My impression is that, so far as personal qualities go, you are the very man of whom I am in search. That being settled, we may pass on to the next point."

"Which is?"

"To talk to me about beetles."

I looked across to see if he was joking, but, on the contrary, he was leaning eagerly forward across his desk, and there was an expression of something like anxiety in his eyes.

"I am afraid that you do not know about beetles," he cried.

"On the contrary, sir, it is the one scientific subject about which I feel that I really do know something."

"I am overjoyed to hear it. Please talk to me about beetles."

I talked. I do not profess to have said anything original upon the subject, but I gave a short sketch of the characteristics of the beetle, and ran over the more common species, with some allusions to the specimens in my own little collection and to the article upon "Burying Beetles" which I had contributed to the Journal of Entomological Science.

"What! not a collector?" cried Lord Linchmere. "You don't mean that you are yourself a collector?" His eyes danced with pleasure at the thought.

"You are certainly the very man in London for my purpose. I thought that among five millions of people there must be such a man, but the difficulty is to lay one's hands upon him. I have been extraordinarily fortunate in finding you."

He rang a gong upon the table, and the footman entered.

"Ask Lady Rossiter to have the goodness to step this way," said his lordship, and a few moments later the lady was ushered into the room. She was a small, middle-aged woman, very like Lord Linchmere in appearance, with the same quick, alert features and grey-black hair. The expression of anxiety, however, which I had observed upon his face was very much more marked upon hers. Some great grief seemed to have cast its shadow over her features. As Lord Linchmere presented me she turned her face full upon me, and I was shocked to observe a half-healed scar extending for two inches over her right eyebrow. It was partly concealed by plaster, but none the less I could see that it had been a serious wound and not long inflicted.

"Dr. Hamilton is the very man for our purpose, Evelyn," said Lord Linchmere. "He is actually a collector of beetles, and he has written articles upon the subject."

"Really!" said Lady Rossiter. "Then you must have heard of my husband. Everyone who knows anything about beetles must have heard of Sir Thomas Rossiter."

For the first time a thin little ray of light began to break into the obscure business. Here, at last, was a connection between these people and beetles. Sir Thomas Rossiter—he was the greatest authority upon the subject in the world. He had made it his lifelong study, and had written a most exhaustive work upon it. I hastened to assure her that I had read and appreciated it.

"Have you met my husband?" she asked.

"No, I have not."

"But you shall," said Lord Linchmere, with decision.

The lady was standing beside the desk, and she put her hand upon his shoulder. It was obvious to me as I saw their faces together that they were brother and sister.

"Are you really prepared for this, Charles? It is noble of you, but you fill me with fears." Her voice quavered with apprehension, and he appeared to me to be equally moved, though he was making strong efforts to conceal his agitation.

"Yes, yes, dear; it is all settled, it is all decided; in fact, there is no other possible way, that I can see."

"There is one obvious way."

"No, no, Evelyn, I shall never abandon you—never. It will come right—depend upon it; it will come right, and surely it looks like the interference of Providence that so perfect an instrument should be put into our hands."

My position was embarrassing, for I felt that for the instant they had forgotten my presence. But Lord Linchmere came back suddenly to me and to my engagement.

"The business for which I want you, Dr. Hamilton, is that you should put yourself absolutely at my disposal. I wish you to come for a short journey with me, to remain always at my side, and to promise to do without question whatever I may ask you, however unreasonable it may appear to you to be."

"That is a good deal to ask," said I.

"Unfortunately I cannot put it more plainly, for I do not myself know what turn matters may take. You may be sure, however, that you will not be asked to do anything which your conscience does not approve; and I promise you that, when all is over, you will be proud to have been concerned in so good a work."

"If it ends happily," said the lady.

"Exactly; if it ends happily," his lordship repeated.

"And terms?" I asked.

"Twenty pounds a day."

I was amazed at the sum, and must have showed my surprise upon my features.

"It is a rare combination of qualities, as must have struck you when you first read the advertisement," said Lord Linchmere; "such varied gifts may well command a high return, and I do not conceal from you that your duties might be arduous or even dangerous. Besides, it is possible that one or two days may bring the matter to an end."

"Please God!" sighed his sister.

"So now, Dr. Hamilton, may I rely upon your aid?"

"Most undoubtedly," said I. "You have only to tell me what my duties are."

"Your first duty will be to return to your home. You will pack up whatever you may need for a short visit to the country. We start together from Paddington Station at 3:40 this afternoon."

"Do we go far?"

"As far as Pangbourne. Meet me at the bookstall at 3:30. I shall have the tickets. Goodbye, Dr. Hamilton! And, by the way, there are two things which I should be very glad if you would bring with you, in case you have them. One is your case for collecting beetles, and the other is a stick, and the thicker and heavier the better."

You may imagine that I had plenty to think of from the time that I left Brook Street until I set out to meet Lord Linchmere at Paddington. The whole fantastic business kept arranging and rearranging itself in kaleidoscopic forms inside my brain, until I had thought out a dozen explanations, each of them more grotesquely improbable than the last. And yet I felt that the truth must be something grotesquely improbable also. At last I gave up all attempts at finding a solution, and contented myself with exactly carrying out the instructions which I had received. With a hand valise, specimen-case, and a loaded cane, I was waiting at the Paddington bookstall when Lord Linchmere arrived. He was an even smaller man than I had thought—frail and peaky, with a manner which was more nervous than it had been in the morning. He wore a long, thick travelling ulster, and I observed that he carried a heavy blackthorn cudgel in his hand.

"I have the tickets," said he, leading the way up the platform.

"This is our train. I have engaged a carriage, for I am particularly anxious to impress one or two things upon you while we travel down."

And yet all that he had to impress upon me might have been said in a sentence, for it was that I was to remember that I was there as a protection to himself, and that I was not on any consideration to leave him for an instant. This he repeated again and again as our journey drew to a close, with an insistence which showed that his nerves were thoroughly shaken.

"Yes," he said at last, in answer to my looks rather than to my words, "I AM nervous, Dr. Hamilton. I have always been a timid man, and my timidity depends upon my frail physical health. But my soul is firm, and I can bring myself up to face a danger which a less-nervous man might shrink from. What I am doing now is done from no compulsion, but entirely from a sense of duty, and yet it is, beyond doubt, a desperate risk. If things should go wrong, I will have some claims to the title of martyr."

This eternal reading of riddles was too much for me. I felt that I must put a term to it.

"I think it would very much better, sir, if you were to trust me entirely," said I. "It is impossible for me to act effectively, when I do not know what are the objects which we have in view, or even where we are going."

"Oh, as to where we are going, there need be no mystery about that," said he; "we are going to Delamere Court, the residence of Sir Thomas Rossiter, with whose work you are so conversant. As to the exact object of our visit, I do not know that at this stage of the proceedings anything would be gained, Dr. Hamilton, by taking you into my complete confidence. I may tell you that we are acting—I say 'we,' because my sister, Lady Rossiter, takes the same view as myself—with the one object of preventing anything in the nature of a family scandal. That being so, you can understand that I am loath to give any explanations which are not absolutely necessary. It would be a different matter, Dr. Hamilton, if I were asking your advice. As matters stand, it is only your active help which I need, and I will indicate to you from time to time how you can best give it."

There was nothing more to be said, and a poor man can put up with a good deal for twenty pounds a day, but I felt none the less that Lord Linchmere was acting rather scurvily towards me. He wished to convert me into a passive tool, like the blackthorn in his hand. With his sensitive disposition I could imagine, however, that scandal would be abhorrent to him, and I realized that he would not take me into his confidence until no other course was open to him. I must trust to my own eyes and ears to solve the mystery, but I had every confidence that I should not trust to them in vain.

Delamere Court lies a good five miles from Pangbourne Station, and we drove for that distance in an open fly. Lord Linchmere sat in deep thought during the time, and he never opened his mouth until we were close to our destination. When he did speak it was to give me a piece of information which surprised me.

"Perhaps you are not aware," said he, "that I am a medical man like yourself?"

"No, sir, I did not know it."

"Yes, I qualified in my younger days, when there were several lives between me and the peerage. I have not had occasion to practise, but I have found it a useful education, all the same. I never regretted the years which I devoted to medical study. These are the gates of Delamere Court."

We had come to two high pillars crowned with heraldic monsters which flanked the opening of a winding avenue. Over the laurel bushes and rhododendrons, I could see a long, many-gabled mansion, girdled with ivy, and toned to the warm, cheery, mellow glow of old brick-work. My eyes were still fixed in admiration upon this delightful house when my companion plucked nervously at my sleeve.

"Here's Sir Thomas," he whispered. "Please talk beetle all you can."

A tall, thin figure, curiously angular and bony, had emerged through a gap in the hedge of laurels. In his hand he held a spud, and he wore gauntleted gardener's gloves. A broad-brimmed, grey hat cast his face into shadow, but it struck me as exceedingly austere, with an ill-nourished beard and harsh, irregular features. The fly pulled up and Lord Linchmere sprang out.

"My dear Thomas, how are you?" said he, heartily.

But the heartiness was by no means reciprocal. The owner of the grounds glared at me over his brother-in-law's shoulder, and I caught broken scraps of sentences—"well-known wishes ... hatred of strangers ... unjustifiable intrusion ... perfectly inexcusable." Then there was a muttered explanation, and the two of them came over together to the side of the fly.

"Let me present you to Sir Thomas Rossiter, Dr. Hamilton," said Lord Linchmere. "You will find that you have a strong community of tastes."

I bowed. Sir Thomas stood very stiffly, looking at me severely from under the broad brim of his hat.

"Lord Linchmere tells me that you know something about beetles," said he. "What do you know about beetles?"

"I know what I have learned from your work upon the coleoptera, Sir Thomas," I answered.

"Give me the names of the better-known species of the British scarabaei," said he.

I had not expected an examination, but fortunately I was ready for one. My answers seemed to please him, for his stern features relaxed.

"You appear to have read my book with some profit, sir," said he. "It is a rare thing for me to meet anyone who takes an intelligent interest in such matters. People can find time for such trivialities as sport or society, and yet the beetles are overlooked. I can assure you that the greater part of the idiots in this part of the country are unaware that I have ever written a book at all—I, the first man who ever described the true function of the elytra. I am glad to see you, sir, and I have no doubt that I can show you some specimens which will interest you." He stepped into the fly and drove up with us to the house, expounding to me as we went some recent researches which he had made into the anatomy of the lady-bird.

I have said that Sir Thomas Rossiter wore a large hat drawn down over his brows. As he entered the hall he uncovered himself, and I was at once aware of a singular characteristic which the hat had concealed. His forehead, which was naturally high, and higher still on account of receding hair, was in a continual state of movement. Some nervous weakness kept the muscles in a constant spasm, which sometimes produced a mere twitching and sometimes a curious rotary movement unlike anything which I had ever seen before. It was strikingly visible as he turned towards us after entering the study, and seemed the more singular from the contrast with the hard, steady, grey eyes which looked out from underneath those palpitating brows.

"I am sorry," said he, "that Lady Rossiter is not here to help me to welcome you. By the way, Charles, did Evelyn say anything about the date of her return?"

"She wished to stay in town for a few more days," said Lord Linchmere. "You know how ladies' social duties accumulate if they have been for some time in the country. My sister has many old friends in London at present."

"Well, she is her own mistress, and I should not wish to alter her plans, but I shall be glad when I see her again. It is very lonely here without her company."

"I was afraid that you might find it so, and that was partly why I ran down. My young friend, Dr. Hamilton, is so much interested in the subject which you have made your own, that I thought you would not mind his accompanying me."

"I lead a retired life, Dr. Hamilton, and my aversion to strangers grows upon me," said our host. "I have sometimes thought that my nerves are not so good as they were. My travels in search of beetles in my younger days took me into many malarious and unhealthy places. But a brother coleopterist like yourself is always a welcome guest, and I shall be delighted if you will look over my collection, which I think that I may without exaggeration describe as the best in Europe."

And so no doubt it was. He had a huge, oaken cabinet arranged in shallow drawers, and here, neatly ticketed and classified, were beetles from every corner of the earth, black, brown, blue, green, and mottled. Every now and then as he swept his hand over the lines and lines of impaled insects he would catch up some rare specimen, and, handling it with as much delicacy and reverence as if it were a precious relic, he would hold forth upon its peculiarities and the circumstances under which it came into his possession. It was evidently an unusual thing for him to meet with a sympathetic listener, and he talked and talked until the spring evening had deepened into night, and the gong announced that it was time to dress for dinner. All the time Lord Linchmere said nothing, but he stood at his brother-in-law's elbow, and I caught him continually shooting curious little, questioning glances into his face. And his own features expressed some strong emotion, apprehension, sympathy, expectation: I seemed to read them all. I was sure that Lord Linchmere was fearing something and awaiting something, but what that something might be I could not imagine.

The evening passed quietly but pleasantly, and I should have been entirely at my ease if it had not been for that continual sense of tension upon the part of Lord Linchmere. As to our host, I found that he improved upon acquaintance. He spoke constantly with affection of his absent wife, and also of his little son, who had recently been sent to school. The house, he said, was not the same without them. If it were not for his scientific studies, he did not know how he could get through the days. After dinner we smoked for some time in the billiard-room, and finally went early to bed.

And then it was that, for the first time, the suspicion that Lord Linchmere was a lunatic crossed my mind. He followed me into my bedroom, when our host had retired.

"Doctor," said he, speaking in a low, hurried voice, "you must come with me. You must spend the night in my bedroom."

"What do you mean?"

"I prefer not to explain. But this is part of your duties. My room is close by, and you can return to your own before the servant calls you in the morning."

"But why?" I asked.

"Because I am nervous of being alone," said he. "That's the reason, since you must have a reason."

It seemed rank lunacy, but the argument of those twenty pounds would overcome many objections. I followed him to his room.

"Well," said I, "there's only room for one in that bed."

"Only one shall occupy it," said he.

"And the other?"

"Must remain on watch."

"Why?" said I. "One would think you expected to be attacked."

"Perhaps I do."

"In that case, why not lock your door?"

"Perhaps I WANT to be attacked."

It looked more and more like lunacy. However, there was nothing for it but to submit. I shrugged my shoulders and sat down in the arm-chair beside the empty fireplace.

"I am to remain on watch, then?" said I, ruefully.

"We will divide the night. If you will watch until two, I will watch the remainder."

"Very good."

"Call me at two o'clock, then."

"I will do so."

"Keep your ears open, and if you hear any sounds wake me instantly—instantly, you hear?"

"You can rely upon it." I tried to look as solemn as he did.

"And for God's sake don't go to sleep," said he, and so, taking off only his coat, he threw the coverlet over him and settled down for the night.

It was a melancholy vigil, and made more so by my own sense of its folly. Supposing that by any chance Lord Linchmere had cause to suspect that he was subject to danger in the house of Sir Thomas Rossiter, why on earth could he not lock his door and so protect himself? His own answer that he might wish to be attacked was absurd. Why should he possibly wish to be attacked? And who would wish to attack him? Clearly, Lord Linchmere was suffering from some singular delusion, and the result was that on an imbecile pretext I was to be deprived of my night's rest. Still, however absurd, I was determined to carry out his injunctions to the letter as long as I was in his employment. I sat, therefore, beside the empty fireplace, and listened to a sonorous chiming clock somewhere down the passage which gurgled and struck every quarter of an hour. It was an endless vigil. Save for that single clock, an absolute silence reigned throughout the great house. A small lamp stood on the table at my elbow, throwing a circle of light round my chair, but leaving the corners of the room draped in shadow. On the bed Lord Linchmere was breathing peacefully. I envied him his quiet sleep, and again and again my own eyelids drooped, but every time my sense of duty came to my help, and I sat up, rubbing my eyes and pinching myself with a determination to see my irrational watch to an end.

And I did so. From down the passage came the chimes of two o'clock, and I laid my hand upon the shoulder of the sleeper. Instantly he was sitting up, with an expression of the keenest interest upon his face.

"You have heard something?"

"No, sir. It is two o'clock."

"Very good. I will watch. You can go to sleep."

I lay down under the coverlet as he had done and was soon unconscious. My last recollection was of that circle of lamplight, and of the small, hunched-up figure and strained, anxious face of Lord Linchmere in the centre of it.

How long I slept I do not know; but I was suddenly aroused by a sharp tug at my sleeve. The room was in darkness, but a hot smell of oil told me that the lamp had only that instant been extinguished.

"Quick! Quick!" said Lord Linchmere's voice in my ear.

I sprang out of bed, he still dragging at my arm.

"Over here!" he whispered, and pulled me into a corner of the room. "Hush! Listen!"

In the silence of the night I could distinctly hear that someone was coming down the corridor. It was a stealthy step, faint and intermittent, as of a man who paused cautiously after every stride. Sometimes for half a minute there was no sound, and then came the shuffle and creak which told of a fresh advance. My companion was trembling with excitement. His hand, which still held my sleeve, twitched like a branch in the wind.

"What is it?" I whispered.

"It's he!"

"Sir Thomas?"

"Yes."

"What does he want?"

"Hush! Do nothing until I tell you."

I was conscious now that someone was trying the door. There was the faintest little rattle from the handle, and then I dimly saw a thin slit of subdued light. There was a lamp burning somewhere far down the passage, and it just sufficed to make the outside visible from the darkness of our room. The greyish slit grew broader and broader, very gradually, very gently, and then outlined against it I saw the dark figure of a man. He was squat and crouching, with the silhouette of a bulky and misshapen dwarf. Slowly the door swung open with this ominous shape framed in the centre of it. And then, in an instant, the crouching figure shot up, there was a tiger spring across the room and thud, thud, thud, came three tremendous blows from some heavy object upon the bed.

I was so paralysed with amazement that I stood motionless and staring until I was aroused by a yell for help from my companion. The open door shed enough light for me to see the outline of things, and there was little Lord Linchmere with his arms round the neck of his brother-in-law, holding bravely on to him like a game bull-terrier with its teeth into a gaunt deerhound. The tall, bony man dashed himself about, writhing round and round to get a grip upon his assailant; but the other, clutching on from behind, still kept his hold, though his shrill, frightened cries showed how unequal he felt the contest to be. I sprang to the rescue, and the two of us managed to throw Sir Thomas to the ground, though he made his teeth meet in my shoulder. With all my youth and weight and strength, it was a desperate struggle before we could master his frenzied struggles; but at last we secured his arms with the waist-cord of the dressing-gown which he was wearing. I was holding his legs while Lord Linchmere was endeavouring to relight the lamp, when there came the pattering of many feet in the passage, and the butler and two footmen, who had been alarmed by the cries, rushed into the room. With their aid we had no further difficulty in securing our prisoner, who lay foaming and glaring upon the ground. One glance at his face was enough to prove that he was a dangerous maniac, while the short, heavy hammer which lay beside the bed showed how murderous had been his intentions.

"Do not use any violence!" said Lord Linchmere, as we raised the struggling man to his feet. "He will have a period of stupor after this excitement. I believe that it is coming on already." As he spoke the convulsions became less violent, and the madman's head fell forward upon his breast, as if he were overcome by sleep. We led him down the passage and stretched him upon his own bed, where he lay unconscious, breathing heavily.

"Two of you will watch him," said Lord Linchmere. "And now, Dr. Hamilton, if you will return with me to my room, I will give you the explanation which my horror of scandal has perhaps caused me to delay too long. Come what may, you will never have cause to regret your share in this night's work.

"The case may be made clear in a very few words," he continued, when we were alone. "My poor brother-in-law is one of the best fellows upon earth, a loving husband and an estimable father, but he comes from a stock which is deeply tainted with insanity. He has more than once had homicidal outbreaks, which are the more painful because his inclination is always to attack the very person to whom he is most attached. His son was sent away to school to avoid this danger, and then came an attempt upon my sister, his wife, from which she escaped with injuries that you may have observed when you met her in London. You understand that he knows nothing of the matter when he is in his sound senses, and would ridicule the suggestion that he could under any circumstances injure those whom he loves so dearly. It is often, as you know, a characteristic of such maladies that it is absolutely impossible to convince the man who suffers from them of their existence.

"Our great object was, of course, to get him under restraint before he could stain his hands with blood, but the matter was full of difficulty. He is a recluse in his habits, and would not see any medical man. Besides, it was necessary for our purpose that the medical man should convince himself of his insanity; and he is sane as you or I, save on these very rare occasions. But, fortunately, before he has these attacks he always shows certain premonitory symptoms, which are providential danger-signals, warning us to be upon our guard. The chief of these is that nervous contortion of the forehead which you must have observed. This is a phenomenon which always appears from three to four days before his attacks of frenzy. The moment it showed itself his wife came into town on some pretext, and took refuge in my house in Brook Street.

"It remained for me to convince a medical man of Sir Thomas's insanity, without which it was impossible to put him where he could do no harm. The first problem was how to get a medical man into his house. I bethought me of his interest in beetles, and his love for anyone who shared his tastes. I advertised, therefore, and was fortunate enough to find in you the very man I wanted. A stout companion was necessary, for I knew that the lunacy could only be proved by a murderous assault, and I had every reason to believe that that assault would be made upon myself, since he had the warmest regard for me in his moments of sanity. I think your intelligence will supply all the rest. I did not know that the attack would come by night, but I thought it very probable, for the crises of such cases usually do occur in the early hours of the morning. I am a very nervous man myself, but I saw no other way in which I could remove this terrible danger from my sister's life. I need not ask you whether you are willing to sign the lunacy papers."

"Undoubtedly. But TWO signatures are necessary."

"You forget that I am myself a holder of a medical degree. I have the papers on a side-table here, so if you will be good enough to sign them now, we can have the patient removed in the morning."

So that was my visit to Sir Thomas Rossiter, the famous beetle-hunter, and that was also my first step upon the ladder of success, for Lady Rossiter and Lord Linchmere have proved to be staunch friends, and they have never forgotten my association with them in the time of their need. Sir Thomas is out and said to be cured, but I still think that if I spent another night at Delamere Court, I should be inclined to lock my door upon the inside.

[missmako-chan]

Ode to the Kings

We stand alongside our wise President

As quick-witted as a Dragonfly,

He stands at the top,

Willing to try and fight, the flames of his temper Blue

We adore our beautiful Queen

As graceful as a Mantis,

Her selfishness a sign of her caring,

The world is her's, her kingdom a dazzling Yellow flower

We celebrate our harvesting Lord

As hard-working as a Bee,

He lies and deceives for our safety,

For a long-lasting feast, he is willing to dye his heart Black

We revere our impartial Sovereign

As balanced as a Butterfly,

They are immovable as the law,

Punishing those that defy it, Purple a symbol of their judgement

But is there any love for the tyrant King?

As strong-willed as a Stag Beetle,

His bravado simply a means of rebelling against false justice,

An ambition like an inferno, burning bright Red

United they work as one

As the new legend approaches,

It is the time of their advent,

Going all out, praise be to the Royal Squadron: King Ohger!

Had to write an ode for an assignment. So I chose to write about King Ohger :)

[yugiohcardsdaily]

Posted Cards Master List - 61.5

rest of July 2024

Metaltronus

Mikazukinoyaiba, the Moon Fang Dragon

Minerva, the Athenian Lightsworn

Mirage Mirror Force

Moremarshmallon

Multi-Universe

Nightmare Apprentice

Nightmare Throne

Pendulum Witch

Pyrite Knight

Ragnaraika Armored Lizard

Ragnaraika Bloom

Ragnaraika Chain Coils

Ragnaraika Hunting Dance

Ragnaraika Mantis Monk

Ragnaraika Samurai Beetle

Ragnaraika Skeletal Soldier

Ragnaraika Stag Sovereign

Ragnaraika the Evil Seed

Refrain the Melodious Songstress

Rekindling the Ashened

Saffira, Divine Dragon of the Voiceless Voice

Sangen Kaimen

Sangen Summoning

Sangenpai Bident Dragion

Sangenpai Transcendent Dragion

Selettrice Vaalmonica

Shaman of the Ashened City

Shining Sarcophagus

Silent Magician Zero

Silent Swordsman Zero

Simultaneous Equation Cannons

Sinful Spoils of Slumber - Morrian

Sinful Spoils Struggle

Sinful Spoils Subdual

Snake-Eyes Diabellstar

Spearhead of the Ashened City

Stronghold the Hidden Fortress

Supreme King Z-ARC - Synchro Universe

Talons of Shurilane

Tantrum Toddler

Tenpai Dragon Chundra

Tenpai Dragon Fadra

Tenpai Dragon Paidra

Ties That Bind

Turn Silence

Vaalmonica Disarmonia

Vaalmonica Invitare

Varudras, the Final Bringer of the End Times

Veidos the Dragon of Endless Darkness

Vouiburial, the Dragon Undertaker

Wake Up Centur-Ion!

Way Where There's a Will

Weiss, Lightsworn Archfiend

Wightlord

Zoma the Earthbound Spirit

[chenanigans]

I beat Pikmin 4 tonight

I really loved it. Rambling spoilers under the cut

Characters

Having Oatchi made the game significantly less stressful. He’s such a good boy and I love him. When he got sick, I fucking cried. He looked so sad.

It was fun collecting all the various Castaways and seeing what their whole deal was. I appreciated the brown characters and I love that Shepherd is black and the captain. Very funny that she’s scared of Pikmin. And her love of pups is extremely cute.

Russ was very cute with how much he loved his mom. Collin was doing his best and is so tired. Yonny is a weird lil guy and I love him. What is he doing in the lab. Bernard is very fun and I love his vibes and emphasizing words. Dingo sucks ass and I’m gonna beat him up.

Olimar is as sweet as ever. His logs continue to be the best. I always enjoyed the scientific analyses he did of the various fauna of PNF-404. His continued love of his family always makes me smile. The logs from Dalmo make me cringe so hard because he’s like those people who go out and try to pet animals you should not. Schnauz’s were also good and funny.

Louie continues to be a cunt who sucks a lot. I want to beat him into a fine paste. He’s always making people’s lives harder for no conceivable reason. I’ll beat him up. Despite this, his logs about creatures are also funny.

Enemies/Bosses

I was surprised to see the Smoky Progg back. And excited to see that the malformed Mamuta baby theory becoming true! So cool. I was not happy about Waterwraith being back, but Oatchi made it a lot easier. Both gameplay wise and emotionally. The Man-at-Legs was easier with Oatchi and I often just jumped at it and bit it. I was surprised that the Horned Cannon Beetles weren’t the Armored Cannon Beetle. They look so similar! The Empress, Emperor, and Sovereign Bulblaxes are rancid as ever! The roar attack of the Emperors is so annoying.

My favourite boss was the Groovy Long Legs. Bosses who make music are always the best. Snowfake Fluttertail was a pretty boss. And the final boss was weird and a bit silly. I didn’t expect it to start flying.

Items

I like all the power-ups for me and Oatchi. I’m so happy about the Pluck-a-phone and the whistle like Pikmin 1-2! I love how powerful Oatchi becomes late game. I’m also happy i get to handle bomb rocks instead of my Pikmin and all the other lil items you can use. I messed up and wasted a few of them though, lol.

Final Thoughts

I just have getting platinum on the various Dandori challenges left. All the treasure and enemies have been found. I wanna sit down and read all the logs. I’ve just been taking a peek and skimming a lot of them.

I already want DLC for this game. Anyways, that’s it. I love Pikmin and this 4th addition was well worth the wait.

[sw5w]

This Invasion Will Gain You Nothing

STAR WARS EPISODE I: The Phantom Menace 01:18:19

[coonae]

come concepts for a mario universe type of Thing. info under cut

first pic: stella and devin are last change odd job workers. they get a strange message for work on a remote island and take it. there they meet doc squatch, who’s struggling with a machine since their research partner went missing. stella is sent to find the missing researcher, and meets prince pomelo along the way.

prince pomelo is the sovereign of the island inhabitants, Plantaeans/Plantaea. The citizens are the Orchin, plus the Florasaurs (the plant dinos/prehistoric creatures)

Burraptors

Compea

Cactor (or Cacmor? idk tentative)

Blossotops

Whistlebill

Ferno

Bramble Rex

Brancho

the Insentai (minor antagonists) is a squad fighting for justice for bugians, though something is... off about them. The squad is: Sunni (leader, a moth), Darneen (the cool dragonfly), Rudd and Digo (the beetle twin powerhouses), and Violetta (talented little weaver ant)

[tsuki-sennin]

After unexpectedly being sold out by Lord Kaguragi of Toufu just as quickly as he was protected by him, King of Evil Gira is put on trial for his criminal acts. With his life on the line, Gira stands nervously in the international criminal court in the tundra kingdom of Gokkan's capital city of Zaiban. In spite of its reputation of law and order, Gokkan's massive population is predominantly incarcerated thanks to the hardline stances of its Sovereign and Chief Justice, Rita Kaniska. Can Himeno and Yanma discover a way to defend Gira against Kaguragi and Racules's machinations? Or may Rita's icy heart prove to undo the justice they hold so dear? So we must discover today...

In short, Spoilers, I guess...

-Wow Gira, you... seem really into getting arrested by this extremely powerful and gorgeous person.

-...I mean, I would too, but-

-I see Racules's Radical Royal Retainer... Douga, I think his name is, he don't like the bee boy.

-...I notice I tend to kinda skim over the Bugnarok in my narrations. That's not intentional at all, but I'm just really fascinated by this Fire Emblem-ass court drama we've got going here.

-To be clear, I mean court drama as in royal court drama, not courtroom kind.

-Oooooooh, Scorpion!

-...Ironically, I don't think they can live in snow capped places like this.

-"Snowball this bitch."

-Oh hell nah, they put my boy on ice.

Rita: "International terrorism is a crime... punishable by execution. Pray that you are found innocent." Gira: "Kyaahahahah~! You kna.... Y'know, in Hell, they f-f-ffffffreeeeeeze traitors alive in the depths of Cocytus! Hah... suppose this is a mere prelude to my fate... for betraying Racules!" Rita: "Racules has no jurisdiction over you here. You're mine to deal with." Gira: "OH GOD OH FUCK, PLEASE DON'T KILL ME I'M A GOOD LITTLE BEETLE BOY, I PROMISE!"

-Ah yep. There they go. Questioning their permafrost justice.

-Oh shit, this is early.

-Ooooooh, goddamn Rita.

-I love you very much.

-Pop it On~!

-Oh their eyes...

-Man, these wind effects and snow effects are so cool.

-Wasting not even a second.

-Oh my God, they kick!

-Our prison at the end of the world. Big Daddy Alcatraz.

-No opening this week, huh?

-RITA HATES SCALPERS BASED

-SIX MONTHS IN THE DEEP FREEZE WITH YOU FUCKO

-The Judge retreats to their chambers.

-YETI

-SO CHUNKY

-MOFFUN

-God Rita

-They're so iconic, I love them so much.

-"Oh yes... Morphonia! Fetch me the King's Weapon. It's Rita Time."

-Getting massive Edgeworth vibes off of you, bucko.

-Ooooooh, seems like somebody's playing the mole.

-"Idk homie, seems like he just... made Kuwagon help him. That's not just something a bug does with simple coercion, you know?"

-SCREM

-"Who meeeee? Nooooo, noooo! You got it all wrong! Teehee~!"

-...and of course, the most biased source of information you could possibly find...

-"Kill him."

-"No."

-"Oh that's okay. I'll be sure to kill you too then!"

-OOOH POP OFF, YOUR HONOR

-"Sorry. I wanted to spare this innocent mosquito from drinking that liquid nitrogen you call blood."

-Rita Kaniska is the character of all time.

-Shaddap Scalper.

-...speaking of scalping, how DARE you touch this man's beautiful hair?

-"Can't gaslight, gatekeep, girlboss your way out of this one, boy."

-"Don't blame me, this is all on Rita~!"

-Hot damn, Gira.

-SCREM

-Here they come. All sauntering in like it ain't no big.

-Is this

-Is this fucking courtroom just a bunch of ski lift chairs

-That's fucking incredible, I love this.

-Racules.

-Oooooh

-Yassss

-Court is now in session for the trial of Gira of Shugoddam, King of Evil. All Rise for the honorable Chief Justice Rita, Sovereign of Gokkan.

-"WAIT PLEASE I DON'T EVEN HAVE A LAWYER-"

-Oh! Okay, we're free!

-"Waiiit... Wait wait wait wait, this is NOT how this trial should've gone!"

-I see we're doing this in reverse. Technical expertise, character witnesses, evidence... all laid out after a conclusion.

-RAINBOW JURURIRA

-IT WAS IMPORTANT AFTER ALL

-OKAY

-I suspected that Gira had some claim to the throne, but like

-I quite didn't expect him to be Racules's brother, but like... Goddamn.

-Gira and Racules kinda remind me of the depictions of... Richard the Lionheart and Prince John, especially in the really old Robin Hood stories.

-I just kinda figured it'd be a Hamlet and Claudius deal, but we've got a true Cain and Abel story right here.

-Well, I guess it stands to reason

-You never have a Rhino Beetle and a Stag Beetle together in a show like this without having them be related, now do we?

-Gira Hastee, huh?

-All around the room, Gira examined the faces of everyone involved in the trial as Rita laid bare their findings. Yanma, Shiokara, and Kuroko's looks of surprise conveyed a wide range of emotions, and yet Kaguragi and Himeno seemed to be not the least bit fazed. As Douga and Boshimar exhanged glares, Gira felt something inside him stir. It was an unfamiliar feeling. Perhaps to be more accurate, it was a wide range of despairful feelings: ironically it could be considered just as flavorful as the rainbow jururira, but it only left him an aftertaste as vile as rotten fruit and stagnant as the lukewarm water mosquitos lay their eggs in. Anger, sorrow, shock, dread, confusion... and yet most of all in that moment, Gira felt... a sense of betrayal. It was exactly the same sickening feeling he felt when Racules dismissed the lives of the people he was supposed to care for as ruler of Shogoddam, the same Yanma and the other rulers probably felt when Racules left them out to die at the hands of the Bugnarak. Gira had been betrayed on a level far beyond he could even imagine. And yet... Rita, by all accounts a complete stranger he'd have nothing to do with otherwise, someone who had every right to have completely dismissed him outright... They worked with those friends he made to discover the depths of his case.

-And that slowly but certainly helped his hope climb back up from the depths.

-Holy shit, man.

-Did Kaguragi plan all this?

-Not a single crime to begin with!

-Let justice be done, though the heavens fall!

-Where do you think you're going, buddy?

-Here they come! The bad buggos!

-Here they come.

-The Quintet Alliance! In its true form!

-"Stand up and fight, boy. There's no reason you can't or won't."

-"Okay, cool and all, but like... this dress isn't a snowsuit, can we make this fast?"

-"I thought I got kicked out, but okay."

-"Man, I totally saw this coming!"

-Tone Boy! Come and Kick It! Pop it On! Hatch It! Qua God!

-OHGAI

-OKAY ROB THE BOY OF HIS THUNDER, VERY NICE RITA

-Ohgai Busou!

-You are the King~!

-The bugs! Fully assembled!

-Ooooooh, man.

-Love these sets, holy hell.

-Man, these sweeping shots are so cool

-Beeg

-"King Ohger! ...that'd make a decent team name now that I think about it..."

-Oooooh, theme time!

-"Hmm?"

-Oh man, this is good for the soul.

-God Kabuto!

-You shot them!

-You jerks!

-It's a truly sad day when your level of teamwork can be compared negatively to the Donbrothers /hj

-God Damn.

-Well! We did it, somehow!

-"You fuckface!"

-Ohhhhhh

-This ain't good.

-One down~!

-OHHHHHH RACLES GONNA THROW DOWN????

[hydralisk98]

Klara Wishlist (2024-03.2)

PREFACE

Braindump1 (text-only)

Klara Kér

Female Sex

NB? gender

August 1st 1998

Leo / Lepio

Autistic & lessened ADD

Canadian citizenship

5'8"

144 lbs

Tan skintone

Hazel eyes

Dark brown mid-short hair

Amber earmuffs

Facemasks

Cloven Hoof Shoes

Soft warm natural dark lookbook / wardrobe?

Local friends tribe

Part of a inclusive witch coven

GLOSS maintainer & integral committee power-user groups

Common Lisp copyleft multimedia toolbox (Trial Engine-based?)

Tuxedo Computers builds (GLOSS hardware, custom multiboot, custom branded style for whole machine, mid-range specs on Linux with plenty of peripherals...)

Tuxedo light notebook as laptop

RAID6 NAS 48 TB with double (12 TB) parity each

LTO Tape Storage for mass data facilities

Apple iMac M3-Max 24GB RAM equivalent-system but fully POSIX & FSF-compliant open source computer?

OpenPOWER libre Microwatt build?

IBM LinuxOne mainframe for business intents?

RISC-V embedded dumbphone kinda like KaiOS?

Pinephone Convergence Beta?

Retro computer hardware & software collection

"Ashur" (2014) as home server for Git, RSS, Quakeworld & personal websites & other non-critical lightweight services

ePaper RSS ticker page display?

Writing creative technical documentation for sidestream & obsoleted systems as article threads?

Personalized books & desktop widget plasmoids?

Sovereign online (Monero) shop & blogs

Sovereign tech infrastructure (including Typex rotor machines & RTTY shortwave radio equipment)

Acquiring my home as full ownership (aka fully paid mortgage)

Decent lot / domain (depends alot on wealth & context)

Decent electric vehicle (probably converting a retro VW Beetle car to electric to fully avoid DRM car spywares)

Financial independence & decent wealth + social status to accomplish constructive historical deeds

Luxuries, POSIX + Linux certification paths & other tech certifications

Studious learn, note & iterate daily workflow (Udemy, Domestika, Zenva, GameDev.tv ...)

Safe & libre cyberware, biomods... aka ethical technologies mostly?

Spiritual community & politically active locally and globally

Ava (social assistance synthetic-tier android ENFP erudite blonde, romance or BFF?)

Shoshona (black angora housecat)

University Doctorate as historian/philosopher, with plenty of extra credits from other classes graduated like VLSI integration & probabilistic linguistics for instance

Historian / Multimedia Artist & Programmer combo / Data Engineer

Small bookstore librarian & Pflaumen Coop "autonomous worker"

Plenty of time & energy (~600 years healthy yet active lifecycle)

Constructed language and its localizations

Historical Figures to emulate (especially those in bold)

Naomi Wu

Nicky Case

Yukari Hafner

Ada Lovelace

Klára Dán von Neumann

Christopher E. Lee

John McCarthy

Nicole-Reine Lepaute

Sherman Fairchild

Ken Olsen

Tom Fulp

Linus Torvalds

Richard Stallman

Hedy Lamarr

Pedro II of Brazil

Terry A. Davis

Ida Rhodes (& the other ones from Hidden Figures overall?)

Joyce Aylard

Coraline Ada Ehmke

Elizabeth Gurley Flynn

Valerie Aurora

Christina of Sweden

Gustavus Adolphus

Cathy Marshall

Marie Curie

Konrad Zuse

Margaret Hamilton

Mabel Addis

Dona Bailey

Frances Spence

Sophie Wilson

Adele Goldberg

Lynn Conway

Karen Catlin

Wendy Hall

Pamela Hardt-English

Borka Jerman Blažič

Hypatia of Alexandria

Enheduanna (Akkadian priestess and first author)

Perictione

Tapputi

Catherine de Parthenay

Anna Åkerhielm

Catherine Jérémie

Wang Zhenyi

Sofya Kovalevskaya

Emmy Noether

Ken Silverman

Chris Sawyer

Irene Stegun

Steve Wozniak

Brian Kernighan

Douglas McIlroy

Braindump2 (multimedia)

?

Appearance

Occupations

Organizations

Skills

Possessions

Context

Politics

Superpowers

Chronokinesis

True Polymorph

Photographic memory

Hypercompetence

Polyglot (Infernal, abyssal, celestial...)

Summary

POSTFACE

[mothnita]

HELLO!

i've been wanting to talk about this for SO LONG now! i'm so sorry for the rant i'm abt to do

so, recently i've noticed that some of the most recently released games (i'm specifically talking abt the Switch) have been made A LOT easier to beat, whether it's bc of a new feature the Switch added or just the game itself being nerfed down

i noticed it first with Kirby and The Forgotten Lands, where me and my sibling started joking abt rushing the whole game simply because the levels were...too easy; now don't get me wrong, there absolutely were some difficult parts, but at the end they feel more annoying than truly challenging

hell, i think the only levels we truly struggled with were the Forgo Dreams Isles and the True Arena, maybe even the last Treasure Road, but even then, if you had all weapons upgraded and had a decent enough strategy, those would go by pretty quick

Kirby Star Allies on the other hand?

that had me SOBBING on the floor

as for Pikmin, i definitely see the downgrade in difficulty, especially when it comes to bosses and caves

i was thrilled to see many enemies from Pikmin 2 back, even moreso when i realized we'd be having caves back, but all that quickly fades when you realise you can cheese the whole level with Oatchi's Rush

Emperor Bulbax, even the Sovereign Bulblax?? they got nothing against a bomb rock and a lvl.3 Mega Rush puppy

in fact, most of the bosses go out like that, you knock them down a bit, rush, rinse and repeat for like...2 cycles maybe 3

i remeber when i was genuinely struggling with the Smoky Progg in 'Cavern for a King until i remembered i could just knock it with Oatchi and that was it; same went for Groovy, the Cannon Beetles and Snagrets

they give you the Lineup Trumpet and and Plucking Whistle upgrades nearly at the end of the game...y'know why?? because at that point they might as well do nothing if you manage to upgrade Oatchi all the way and have a decent amount of spicy sprays (which i didn't even use that much bc i forgot i even had them lol)

and can i just say i didn't like the Auto-Lock function one bit??? bc the fuckin' pointer kept going to the random piece of nectar instead of actually locking on the huge creature about to devour my whole squad

yeah, you can change the lock on, but if you're just trying to charge your pikmin to the treasure and it just won't focus, it becomes very annoying

i said it before, and i'll say it again, there was NO reason to kill the Mamutas AT ALL

they do not deserve that treatment and i was very upset whenever the first one didn't re-spawn :[

genuinely felt bad for the Downy Snagrets too

but yea, that's abt it lol

Obviously I've been enjoying the shit out of Pikmin 4 but it absolutely IS the case that they've nerfed most of the enemies. Kids these days don't even KNOW about getting your shit steam-rolled by (insert beady long legs variation) because there's no lock-on targeting and you're terrible at aiming for aerial enemies--either because you're 10 years old or because you're me, last month, replaying Pikmin 1 and 2, who's still shit at aiming.

Back in my day we didn't have "charge." We didn't have "Oatchi." We didn't have "targeting." We had the c-stick and prayers. We had pikmin massacres set to the comically-dissonant sounds of vigorous and frantic trumpeting. Enemies respawned infinitely. Oh you cleared out the snagret nest in the Forest of Hope? Check again fuckarino. We added MORE enemies, actually, because fuck you. Coddled Pikmin 4 children only know the comfort and ease of traipsing about a land laid silent and soaked in blood. They know only the ambient pressure of absence, the finality of death, the placid nothing of an ecosystem they razed to the ground and which will never return no matter how many days they play. They enjoy the safety of scars and the nothing that follows brutality. Can you rationalize it? Is it fine, because you know your children will enjoy in sheltered complacency that which you've slaughtered and made no more? How can I kill the last downy snagret knowing its kind will never return? How can I justify harm to the mamuta which has wished no harm upon me? He does not return like an old friend the way he does in Pikmin 1. His death benefits no one but the money-hungry, and unlike in Pikmin 2, he will not respawn. How many have I killed in the vainglory pursuit of treasure?

Where was I going with this.

Oh I remembered. They also NERFED the dweevils. Those shits used to be HARD.