#the furry arc has begun

[piddlevixen]

So my friend made me a fursona ref

[clevercatchphrase]

2023 Year In Review~

at the time of me writing this, it is 8:11pm on tuesday night, january second. Let's see how long it takes me to type this entire thing. I expect no less than two hours. This is gonna be a long one, so I'm gonna put it under a read-more. Proceed only if you dare!

So! Another year down, another begun, and this is my.... 5th? time looking back on my year and assessing what I accomplished and what I did. Lots of changes and new things happened to me this year! Not nearly as many good things as bad! But first I'm gonna dig up my old resolutions list and see how well I did on them. Let's see... for 2023 I had 9 goals, six of which were serious and 3 of which were more casual. those goals were;

Read 12 new books in a year (one book a month)

Finish the Snowdin Arc before Ghost Switch's 5th birthday

Rewrite the 3rd draft of my Nanowrimo project from 2021/22

Write 4 one-shots for BSaPT

Solidify the details of the waterfall arc

The one secret goal

Finish writing the last 4 chapters of Clemency and finally post the dang thing

build a comic buffer of 8 pages, and finally,

write the crack fic

Of these nine goals, I achived... 4 of them, those being reading 12 books, finishing the snowdin arc before june 18th, rewriting my 2021 nanowrimo project, and finalizing the waterfall arc for Ghost Switch. All of these were serious goals, which I am proud of! but it was still less than half, which was a little disappointing. As in past years, I'll go into more detail below:

Read 12 books I BLEW THIS ONE OUT OF THE WATER! the grand total of books I read this year was THIRTY-SIX! three times as many! In fact, I forced myself to stop in order to have more books to read for 2024! Most of the books I listened to this year were through librivox, and mostly on my commute to work. Great way to pass the time! I wrote short little notes about the books I read on a personal discord with only me in it, so let me see if I can just copy and paste all of that here... (all of my original notes will be italicized, while additional thoughts on it now will not be)

1) Jonathan Livingston Seagull. Short, cute! Inspirational. About self actualization. Read by richard Harris. People call this a demonic book?? Apparently a fourth part added in 2014. Look it up later. (Edit; I never did look it up later. there's an audiobook for this on youtube, and while the voice is nice, there is, like, a solid 10 minute segment with a single violin note playing in the background and it is GRATING) 2) fire bed and bone. Ok. Middle of the road. Too focused on people and not the dog, but I get that's the point. it's ~symbolic~. Like the use of no dialogue and no name for the main dog 3) dogs of the spires book 1: reads like fan fiction (derogatory). Sentences go on for 4 or 5 words too long. Used the word orbs for eyes 3 times. Duke is ALWAYS FUCKING GRINNING. Half-brother reveal makes no sense and comes out of nowhere. How… Big/old is Step? Talks waaay too mature for a kid. What happened to Twig? Very tell and not show. Pink foam pink foam pink foam. Why are dogs separated? Hoe do the packs work? Why training? Not given enough to care for characters. Feels like a warrior cat reskin. Too rushed and yet nothing happens at the same time. (I was very curious about post-apocolyptic xenofiction this year, and this was one of the books I could find on the matter, but it's very childishly written and just... bad. Surprisingly, there seems to be a very tiny but dedicated fandom for it on youtube? the series has a fandom wiki anyway...)

4) old granny fox. Very cute! A little repetitive, but passable for a children's novel. Great introduction to xenofiction for kids. Wonderful audio book. 5)the adventures of Sammy Jay. Short sweet also a lot of fun. Both books are Definitely of their time with their usage of the word "queer" as a synonym for "strange/odd"

Now, this is a little known fact about me, but I'm secretly a massive furry. yeah, who could've guessed, right? Anyway, i'm always on the look out for good xenofiction, and when I searched through the "animals" playlist of the librivox youtube channel and stumbled across the books by Thornton W Burgess, I was INSTANTLY enamored. Old Granny Fox, and The Adventures of Sammy Jay were the first two I read/listened to, and was immediately captivated. I MUST give extra props to the narrators of these audiobooks, with some of the more frequent readers for this series doing unique voices for each character, which really added to the charm (Jude Somers and John Lieder particularly come to mind). I WISH I had these books as a kid. I love the way they describe animal behavior and reasoning. While it is anthropomorphized, it never crosses a line into "too" human, if that makes sense. There's another book on this list that is very similar to Burgess' work, with talking animals, but in that book, the animals make and read signs on the doors of their houses, and go to animal tailors to get their clothes fit. this doesn't happen in Burgess' work. Sure, they talk about their homes and the coats they wear, but it's all very intentionally conveying their natural states and habitats in a slightly more human way for us to picture them. Sure, the art on the covers of the books may say otherwise, but it's never depicted that way in the actual text. All their behavior is very animalistic, too, explaining their thoughts and actions in a way that would make sense for a wild forest creature. These books are a little gentle when it comes to the cycle of life. While the predator characters do need to hunt, they are always juuuust out of luck when they are the main character, and the prey characters juuuust manage to escape each time they're the focus. I will definitely be reading more of Burgess' books this year (the man wrote over 170 of them!), but expect quite a few more titles of his to pop up on this list.

6) adventures of jimmy skunk 7)adventures of paddy beaver (not much to say on these two. both were charming, but I feared I would have sounded repetitive if I just kept writing "cute!" in my notes) 8) my father's dragon Short, cute and silly. Listened to the audiobook. Does the physical have pictures? Not really so much about the dragon. Wish there was more after the ending, like what became of the dragon? (I also watched the netflix movie adaptation of this book. I.... could not stand the dragon in the movie. I'm sorry, he's annoying as hell) 9)adventures of buster bear

10)adventures of old mister toad.Favorite one so far. Puts toads in a positive light and describes them as beautiful instead of ugly or gross. [Burgess] Really appreciates all animals and their unique abilities and traits

11) The tale of freddie firefly. Ehh, okay. Not as great as Thorton Burgess' books, but still enjoyable. Not the same 'voice'. (this book was written by Scott Bailey) 12) The adventures of Chatterer the red squirrel. Fine~ Fun. 13) The Fox That Wanted Nine Golden Tales. Funny, short. Would make a good 22 minute short film 14)tale of master meadow mouse. Alright~ why do the animals know what groundhogs day and February are? How does mouse know how to write, and fox to read? Do they wear clothes? Mention a tailor frog. Oars for a raft. Don't like the animals being described as "(color) person". Feels like it's missing an adjective, ie "feathered" or "furred". (This is what I was talking about above. Scott Bailey wrote very similar stories to Burgess, but something was just... off about is writing style. ) 15) the adventures of reddy fox. Okay. Feels like an earlier book. Not as kind as the other ones. (I later looked it up and confirmed this was one of the earlier books in his series, and this one was, like, his tenth ever published one)

16) the adventures of jerry muskrat

17) the tale of doctor Doolittle. Fun! Kiiiiiinda racist in the africa parts, but an overall good time! (I'm more familiar with the Doolittle movies, but was surprised to learn that Doolittle's ability to speak to animals was something he learned with effort and practice, and not a magic power or weird innate ability of his. It was an interesting read!) 18) Nomads of the North. Fun animal romp. I Flinched at the use of "fat" "tar baby" "half breed" and "Indians". First half is mostly about the bear, then a sudden sharp turn to mostly about the dog. Kinda meanders, has no over-arching through-line, conflict or plot. (Apparently a movie was based off of this book, but focused more on the humans than the animals. Eh, it was the 1920s. what can you do) 19)falcons of nerabedla; short sci-fi novella about a bodyswap time traveler. Its… Fine. Not the greatest. A little too confusing and kind of wish they explained things more earlier on. Not really about the falcons. Even for a sci-fi, still pretty sexist in the future.(honestly I don't even know if I should count this as it's own book. I'm pretty sure it was a short story inside a bigger magazine?) 20) south American jungle tales. Enjoyable! Very strong jungle book vibes with a South American flare. The story with the racoon was pretty dark, though. 21) a gryphon's journey. Too fast pace. Characters have a habit of spilling their entire backstories onto arias without prompting. Not enough show, not enough explanation of how the gryphons work. Some aspects completely pushed to the sides, like the satyrs and naugi until the end. Very rushed. The skyhaven arc could have been its own book, the stygagryph arc could have been it's own book. The heron gryph arc could have been it's own book. Not enough time to get to know the characters or care about them. Arias speaks far too maturely for his age, I feel. (Still on a gryphon kick from the last... two years now? Mostly I'm waiting for the fourth book in the Griffin Ranger Series to come out before I read the third. The author said it would come out before the end of 2023, but that date came and went and it still isn't on amazon at the time of writing (which is now 9:26pm, jeez...) I want to read isthmus so bad, but I don't want to wait on a cliffhanger) 22) myths and legends from Alaska. Okay. Feels very white washed and overly simplified. missing nuance. Reader is so deadpan and monotone that the audio book was a slog to get through (One thing I was determined to do for my own enrichment this year was to read more legends and mythologies from other cultures. There are SO MANY cool creatures and monsters and ideas out there, and I just feel so LIMITED by the small amount I know. We humans come up with some of the craziest shit imaginable!) 23) the white czar; a story of a polar bear. Bad, boring, incredibly racist. Barely about the bear at all! 24) the twins of buster bear. Another thornton w. Burges book. Its middle of the road. Certainly not bad, but my least favorite so far. Just kinda dull, and the audio book was horrendous. (honestly if the audiobook wasn't so bad, I wouldn't have disliked it so much, but it was a CHORE to listen to this one. I mean, thank you librivox for doing all this work for free, but is it too much to ask for some sort of vetting process for your volunteer readers??) 25) the wishing stone stories; BEST thornton w burges book so far! I would have been obsessed with this book as a child. Transforming into animals to learn about their ways. Not super PG like the others. The animals hunt and kill and get killed. 10/10

26) lightfoot the leaping goat 27) Toto the bustling beaver. Both alright. Nowhere near as charming as thornton Burgess, but endearing none the less. A little more 4th wall breaking. Toto audio book fun with silly voices, but I don't like the description of "tramps". A little too humanized for me. Lightfoot audio book fucking trash. Almost gave up. (Both of these books were written by Richard Barnum, another children's xenofiction writer of the time, but I quickly came to realize that his writing style is just not for me. I listened to a handful of his books too, this year, but they left me feeling uncomfortable more often than not because common attitudes of the time period reeeeeally show through his work.) 28) the adventures of poor misses quack. How do these qualify as adventures. She lands in a pond, dumps her backstory for 60 percent of the book, finds her mate and lives happily ever after. Not very strong, not very adventurous. 29) Mother West Wind "When" Stories; a lot of fun, charming, Aesop fable-esque. Fun mythology for children. A little too much peter rabbit, but I understand why he's there 30) the adventures of tamba the tame tiger. Yeahhhh, this series isnt my thing. A little too humanized, and the audio book is fuck GARBAE. (Pretty sure I meant to say "fucking garbage" there, but "fuck garbae" is funnier)

31) joust 32) alta 33) sanctuary All really good! All revolve around dragons and their usage and care. The books are a liiiiiitle too serendipitous, with the right thing always happening at the right time. Vetch/kuron doesn't "fail" enough. Second book is the best so far because the magi are a legitimate threat and it feels like time is running out so they must always stay one step ahead. (All written by Mercedes Lackey, all about dragon husbandry with a nice Egyptian flare! Check them out! But... maybe skip Aerie, the last in the series. It's not really worth it.) 34)aerie weakest one. Ahketen was absolutely unbearable and I didn't like the literal deus ex machina at the end with the actual gods coming down to help. Final ranking in order from best to worst; 2)alta, 1)joust, 3)sanctuary and 4)aerie. 35) the adventures of johnny chuck. Fun, average. Simple but doesn't need to be complicated. First of the thornton books ive read where the main character forms a family with children as the main focus 36) blacky the crow. Fun and charming as always. Feels a little simpler than the others with only 3 main mini stories, two of which involve stealing eggs. I wonder if I can find a box set of these books. (Aaaand that wraps up all the books I read this year! 15 of them were from thornton w burgess, and I hope to read even more from him this year! If you know of Burgess' books, tell me your favorites! I'd love to discuss them with someone~)

2.WHOO! the time is now 9:50, and I am just starting on talking about my second goal, which was to finish the snowdin arc of Ghost Switch before its 5th birthday. I did this! I did this exactly on june 18th! (for public readers, anyway. Anyone on my patreon got the page early, but a one week difference isn't much in the grand scheme of things.) I also get to say that I passed the Snowdin Test this year! "What is the Snowdin Test," you might ask? well, it's something a mutual acquaintance of mine, from the Fan Fic Paradise discord I lurk in, made aaaaall the way back in 2018, right when I was just startin' out with Ghost Switch. (Hi, Vikingaspoke, I don't know if you follow me on tumblr, or even have a tumblr for that matter, but I want you to know I thought about your thesis every single day since you first posted it, and have been determined (har har) to succeed where so many other undertale stories have failed. I did it once with my Epic-long fan fic, You Monster, but to do the same in comic form was a new and unique challenge. it took me almost 5 years, but I got there in the end! Cutting out the memories, I've officially concluded snowdin and started waterfall just this year!) I've also got to mention that I think my estimation on how long it will take me to finish Ghost Switch is slowly unfolding to be oddly accurate. I've never made a comic this long, but back in 2019, when I made an anniversary comic for Ghost Switch's 1st birthday, I guestimated that it would take me roughly 11 more years to finish the story, meaning it would take me 12 in total from start to finish. Well, we are rapidly approaching the half-way point of the comic, and if I haul ass it get to 312 pages out by the 6th birthday, we very well might actually hit it. I haven't drawn up to page 312 yet, but it's strangely close. Granted, my guess didn't account for the length of the flashback segments, which may push it back, but the sheer Idea that the "vibes" I got on how long each arc would take just by roughly judging the time it took me to finish ruins as a baseline to compare... it's just weird, man. I just "felt" that snowdin would be 1.5 times as long as the ruins, waterfall 2 times as long as the ruins, and hotland+New Home also 1.5 times that of the ruins. I have no metric for this since the final scenes were not written out yet. It just... feels like it should be that, and I'm kinda scared at how on track it's been.

3. Third goal was to Rewrite my Nanowrimo project from 2021/22. I did this as well! It's still no where near a final draft ready for beta readers or anything, and towards the end of the year I got distracted writing the second book in the trilogy because this is an epic fantasy story so it just HAS to have three books. Maybe I'll self-publish these stories one day. it sure is the most passionate I've ever been about something original i've ever written, but I want to make sure the entire rough draft of all three stories is done first so I can easily go back and add hints in previous parts without having to retcon anything later down the line. I've already had to do it once, so no doubt in my mind I'll have to do it again when I start trying to wrap things up in the final book. Speaking of the sequel, that was my nano project for this year! I won, but much like 2021 and 22, I didn't finish the book. my 21/22 project ended up being roughly 80k words, and I still expect to add about 10k more when I add some missing scenes and flesh out some description. I don't think that will happen with the second book. If anything, I expect it to barely stick around 50k in total because I just know I wrote a lot of filler and junk and repetitive stuff in the first draft this year because I was STRUGGLING with nanowrimo this year. Idk yet if I'm going to make a rewrite of book 2 my nano project for 2024. we'll have to wait and see how I'm feeling once september/october rolls around.

4. My fourth goal was to write 4 one-shots for my fic collection of Blankets, Socks, and Pillow Talk, over on AO3. I didn't do this, mostly because I was too distracted with my original fiction this year. i DID write one one-shot, hilariously during nanowrimo when I was suffering from writers block. Hopefully this year will be different. I would like this fic collection to at least hit 50k words so it could be a full novel of short stories all on its own. I think I can do it, I just need the time and inspiration.

5. My fifth goal, and last one I achieved this year was to finalize the details of the waterfall arc. I'm sure I've said it before in the past, but all the major story beats for Ghost Switch were planned out well before I even drew the first page, but the scenes connecting them were filled in more as I went. Rest assured, I make sure the entire arc is scripted before I start it, but my dirty little secret is that the snowdin arc wasn't completely written until I nearly finished drawing the ruins arc, and I was well into the snowdin arc before the final scenes of the waterfall arc were written down. It is now, and has been for at least 10 months. This was a goal I always knew I would achieve. Sometimes the resolutions I make are things I know are gonna happen whether I want them to or not. Sometimes you just gotta give yourself a guaranteed win to boost your self-confidence, you know? (now I just need to do the same for the Hotland arc. I think it's gonna take me 3 years minimum to finish waterfall, just like it did snowdin, so I got time, but the sooner I figure out the dialogue, the better. Will I make that a goal for this year? Ehh, probably not. I just wanna focus on building a buffer first)

6. The one secret goal was not achieved. If it was, this post wouldn't nearly be as long and you all would have heard about it as soon as it happened. Idk if it will happen this year, or anytime soon. A vicious combination of anxiety, the economy, and the uncertain state of the world make me hesitant to even attempt this goal.

aaand those were all my serious goals for this year! the time is now 10:37, I am tired and dizzy. I'm gonna save this as a draft and get back to it tomorrow~ nighty night~

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OKAY! IT'S JANUARY 3RD NOW, 8:34AM! LET"S CONTINUE!

my three casual goals, none of which I accomplished, were;

7) Finish writing clemency. While I didn't do this, I did think about the story a lot. If you've been around since late 2022, You'll know that when AI writing generators started gaining popularity, news broke that the internet was scraped for data sets, including fan fiction websites like AO3. This extremely pissed me off because Fan Fiction is... well, I guess there's no better word than "sacred" to me. The unadulterated desire to write, create, share and expand on media that has touched us, inspired us, (hell, even angered us!) and to do this all purely because we can and we want to, just to make connections with other people who were fans of the same media, people we may never meet, thousands of miles apart from us, who we can touch and inspire in turn... Fan fiction is a gift. it means so much to me, from the professional writer who writes ficlets as an exercise, to tweens just starting their creative writing journey by imagining themselves hanging out with their favorite characters, to the hobbyists who wanted to imagine how things would change if just one thing happened differently, to those who feel underrepresented in media, and want to see themselves be the hero. People working through shit, people who are just bored, people who love a story so much they will retell it a hundred times over so it never has to end. Young, old, girl, boy, fluent writers, to writers in fandom where english is not their first language. It's an amazing, nearly incomprehensible melting pot that can connect us all... and some CEO jerkoffs just wanted to steal all this heart-felt work and feed it to a machine to make a quick buck. I was so enraged, so violated that works of passion could be abused this way that I locked down all my fics on AO3, and you now need to be logged in to read any of them, and I didn't write a word of fan fic in over a year. Every time I thought my anger had cooled off, more news would come up about "AI" generated stories appearing in the kindle app, or authors having works published under their name without their consent because thieves are trying to make a quick buck with their identity to trick fans, or hear that tv show and movie writers being told they are worthless and replacable, and I would get mad all over again. I'm still mad just remembering it, and until actual laws are in place regarding the use of "AI" in art and writing, I'll stay mad, and my stories will be under lock and key. If some good has come out of it, I focused a lot more on original fiction this year, which I haven't shared online at all, so no fear of that being stolen, but I do miss writing fan fic more regularly, yet I can't stand the thought of something I make for fun being taken and used by someone else to line their pockets. It's like... the antithesis of the purpose of storytelling to begin with and makes me sick to my stomach.

WOW! That sure was a rant! Let's move on! My 8th goal and second casual one was to make a comic page buffer of 8 pages. I almost did this one! At one point, (like, the second week of december) I had a buffer of 5 pages because I was finishing up Memory 5 of ghost switch, but then I realized I could line up the end of the memory with the end of the year, and I ended up posting all of my reserve pages in, like, a week! During those weeks, though, instead of making more pages to keep the buffer supplied, I played a lot of video games instead, which I hadn't done since... october? because I didn't touch my PS4 at all during november while I was writing for nanowrimo, and I missed playing Horizon Foridden West and wanted to get back to it. Maybe this year, though? I'm dead set on trying to get to 312 pages before Ghost Switch's 6th birthday, which is, like, 30 pages away, so I gotta improve my output process regardless.

And the 9th goal of mine and the last of the casual ones, was to write that crack fic. This goal has been on my resolutions for a couple years now, but I still haven't done it. I'm gonna blame my AI hatred grudge for this, since it made me not to want to write any fan fic at all this year. I'll get to this someday, but maybe now I should put it on the back burner for some newer goals and projects~

Okay! The time is now 8:57! if you're still reading this stream-of-conscious ramble of mine, it's time for me to list off my goals for this year!

IN 2024 I WOULD LIKE TO...

Read 12 new books this year (one book a month)

Reach 312 pages of Ghost Switch by June 18th (the 6th birthday)

Build (and maintain!) a comic buffer of 8 pages

Go walking on 3 new greenways around my neighborhood

Go camping by myself

Make at least one new song comic

Finish 4 video games to as close to 100% as I can (currently looking at Horizon Forbidden West, the original Pokemon Mystery Dungeon Blue, Carto, Alba, Stray, Journey, Unraveled and The Talos Principle 2, as these games currently entice me the most, but I still want flexibility and options if one game ends up not clicking)

Finish the first rewrite of my 2023 nanoproject (this will probably end up being my nano24 project, if i'm being honest with myself)

Write 4 one-shots for BSapT

-- These 9 goals I want to be serious about, but like last year, I have some casual goals i want to do as well. They include...

10. Get reacquainted with Neocities and make a personal website

11. Learn to code to improve said website/learn to make games

12.Listen to the entire royalty free youtube library for reasons

13. Research every d.o.n.g. ever featured on VSauce, for neocities reasons.

I feel like I had a couple more off-handed things I wanted to do this year, but these 4 casual things are the only ones I can remember at the moment. Maybe I'll come back and add to this list later.

Alright! The time is now 9:37AM, and I have to go run some errands/do some house chores! Saving this again as a draft to come back to this later!

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Okay! Done with errands, and it is 11:30am on the nose! Time to resume my inane ramblings and hopefully finish this thing within the next two hours.

One thing I mentioned in my recap/review of 2022 was that I never actually felt like I was looking back on the year in depth. So much was forgotten or blurred together with other years because I didn't keep track of it. Well, this year I kept a monthly diary, again in my personal discord of 1, and wrote in it whenever I felt anything of note or significance happened to me, or whenever I had reoccurring thoughts or feelings. i managed to write in it at least once a month, often times twice, that being every two weeks. I found the whole experience quite therapeutic, frankly, and I'll share snippets of it now, though I will cut out the more personal entries. Be forwarned! A lot of the following text is straight up copied and pasted from my diary entries, so there is a lot of misspellings and short hand. I'll try to fix some of the more obvious ones, but these paragraphs are just as stream-of-concious writing as the rest of this massive post. Anything in parentheses with A/N is me adding context right now on the present day!

january 5th, two very close coworkers of mine quit due to upper management being petty. These two employees had worked here for nearly two decades. They were married to each other and were the mom and dad of the work base, with everyone else relying on them, looking up to them, and going to them for their problems. Them walking out scared everyone lower on the pecking order, because we felt that we were no longer protected from manager bullshit with them gone. I was off the day they walked out and didn't get to say goodbye. the grief I felt upon learning they left caused me to have my first ever anxiety attack that night. It was one of the worst experiences I've ever had in my life. I try to keep in touch, but we don't talk much due to our age gaps and busy work lives.

in January I also had a body-horror nightmare that still makes me squirm just thinking about it. I dreamt no one in the world wore pants, but we were all cool with it because we had pockets built into our legs. Not like... fabric sewn into skin, mind you, I mean naturally evolved extra flaps of flesh over our thighs like the pouch of a cartoon kangaroo. flesh pockets. even in my dream I could feel them. the insides were surprisingly dry and smooth- no sweat or hair in there, but the sensation was uncomfortably irritating, like when you rub your knuckles too much and it feels sore. worst part of this dream was, I woke up, thought "thank god I'll for get this in a few hours", but then watched cartoons later that day and saw a... tom and jerry(?) short where tom also had built in pockets on his body which made me remember everything, and now I can't forget.

February 8th. Watched The Flight if Dragons. Good, campy 80s feel. Drags in some parts, rushed in others. Some aspects feel like they have 0 explanation. (How did peter separate from gorbash? Did peter know that denouncing magic would vanish him from the safe haven? What happened to the princess's parents? EVERYTHING with the wolf and whatever was going on between the huntress and knight. I also Watched 1996 dragonheart. Slow start, but good fun. Pretty decent cgi. Acting is downright TERRIBLE in places, but it was good campy fantasy fun in the end.

On february 14th, I dreamed of a haunted house, but the house wasnt malicious. It felt like a friend that worried for your safety when you left, because it was rooted to the spot and could not come to you when you were in trouble. I did not stay long, and felt melancholic when I had to leave. Once outside, I turned around and said "goodbye house" and waved it farewell. Then, in all the curtains and windows, dozens and dozens of shadowy human arms waved goodbye to me in return, wishing me well and safe travels. It would miss me, but not keep me prisoner, because a house is only a home if you had the freedom to leave and return when you wished.

March 18. I got recommended a video on YouTube about screen savers, and it reminded me of one that our family computer had in the early 00s. After searching for a while, I rediscovered it; the createacard screensaver pack. So many buried memories unearthed. The sense of wanderlust and inspiration and not over such beautiful art came rushing back to me; https://youtu.be/zFPKmnegK0c

I was generally tired for all of march, not having much energy for any project outside of my comic, and even that was starting to wear me down.

I played a lot of kingdom hearts 1 in late February/early march. Synthesized the Ultima weapon for the first time. Cried farming sniper wilds and stealth soldiers because they unsettle me. I'm trying to grind to level 100 before the game is over. Debated on doing a kh song comic this year (A/N: This did not happen)

I want to redo my personal website. Wix added an image file size limit, and my whole site currently surpasses that twice over. The wix site editor is slow and finicky any way. Looked into blogspot and WordPress. I want to start a xenofiction book review podcast. Are solo podcasts popular? I Looked into neocities. Felt an overwhelming sense of nostalgia and child-like wonder. Made my own account/basic website, but haven't edited anything yet.

I got hit with the seasonal depression late February/early march, watched some home gardening videos on youtube and got inspired. The videos I watched were about people building actual massive scale pond and lakes, but I just went to home depot and Lowe's and Wal-Mart, bought, like, 12 different kinds of vegetable and flower seeds, 3 long rectangular planters and 2 massive bags of dirt. I also bought some peat seed starters, a plant heating pad (which I might just give to my cat) and a plant light. I spent over 150$ total.

My cat turned 5 years old on the 15th this march as well!

In late april I got really into analog/digital horror args and unfiction realities. Been watching a lot of Night Mind and similar analysis videos (I'm too lazy and dumb to try and solve them myself).

April 28th. Maternal grandfather might be passing soon. He's been in and out of hospitals since late January, needs around the clock assisted living, and my mom and her sister are constantly having to take time out of their lives to help him. I hate it. It's stressful and aggravating to mom, the assisted living people are incompetent, and my mom is stretching herself thin, running ragged trying to do everything at once. It's not fair to her. It's not fair to anyone.

May 11th. Mom's computer has a solitaire program with hundreds of versions of solitaire, most of which have gone unplayed. Ive been trying new games and learning them through trial and error (the "rules" tab doesnt work because it accesses a file that is no longer installed on this computer). Ive found new favorites in "twenty" and in "carpet". It makes life just a little bit more interesting.

June 4th. Been really into watching blind lets plays of undertale from 2022/3 lately, as well as dissection/discussion of undertale's music. Also into shayy's undertale mods. Glad the fandom is still having fun with this game. Got interested in pokemon infinite fusion. Downloaded it, but havent played yet. Getting back into PMD, though I have to grind now for leveling and evolving mons I cant recruit. Took a break from listening to librivox books, but might pick it up again. Same with checking in on flight rising. This year will be it's 10th birthday iirc

Looked at my ao3 recently and noticed I havent written anything in over 6 months. Still mad about the AI data scraping. I didn't stop writing entirely though. I spent all of October, November, January and February writing an original story, and still really proud/excited about it. Finished typing the rough draft on Wednesday, taking a break before I start edits.

All my flowers I planted in February are dying. Has a lot of rain this year. I think they're getting over watered.

June 6th. Been thinking a lot about Hawaii recently. I miss my old school and house. Went to Google earth to look at it again. I think our old neighborhood of [REDACTED] was razed and rebuilt becuase the streets dont look the same. This makes me feel… Not quite sad or bitter, but hurt none the less. I knew ever since we moved here chances of going back would be slim, but knowing my most nostalgic childhood home is gone forever…

Saturday June 17th fucking sucked for everyone. Two coworkers got seriously injured at work. My car battery completely died and couldn't be jump started. Had to call for a tow and wait 2+ hours for it to arrive. Wanted to cancel but they told me I would be charged even if the tow never arrived. Got charged 80 extra dollars for a "wench fee" I didn't need, but they talked to fast for me to think about it. Massive accident on the 4-lane highway home put all traffic down to 1 lane, and we were stuck there an extra hour. Dairy Queen's lobby closed early, going to drive through only, sonic was OUT OF ICE CREAM, and the local grocery store was almost sold out too. Did not get home until almost 10pm. Both my car AC and my mom's car a.c. don't work. I FUCKING LOVE OWNING A CAR. IT'S SO MUCH FUN AND SO FREEING.

June 28. Been playing a new video game recently; horizon forbidden west. Price dropped by 50% on Amazon and I had a 10$ gift card so I got the game for 1/3 the launch price. It's okay so far. Been slowly exploring and uncovering the map, ignoring the main story and discovering secrets. There is definitely A LOT more to do in this game than in the first. Dont really like a lot of Aloy's line deliveries. Some of the controls are different which throws me off. Robo enemies cool as ever, though noticeably fewer dinosaur ones.

Mom continues to take care of her dad. Aunt does too. All of mom's free time and energy this summer has been stolen by him. She keeps insisting she won't have to look after him as much when he gets better. I don't think he's ever getting better.

All my flowers I planted back in March have died. It's just too damn hot for them. It's too hot for everyone. We have just hit ten straight days with weather in the triple digits. I'm miserable.

Might have to replace my laptop soon. It's almost 12 years old, the battery doesn't work anymore, it overheats, and it's super slow. Looking into gaming laptops.

June 29; grandfather passed away last night. All I feel is relief.

July 11th. I got gifted my grandfather's bed, but had to switch it back out with my old bed because it was too soft and fucking up my back. No lumbar support.

July wrap up: month went by sooo fast I can hardly believe it. Its too fucking hot. Texas is stuck in a heat cyclone. Havent played solitare in a while, or listened to audio books. I managed to do 7 jigsaw puzzles this summer, and hope to do one more. each one has been 1000 pieces minimum, with two being 2000 pieces, and 1 being 3000. I should have taken more pictures of them finished, but it's fun to know we finished one puzzle per week this whole summer.

August 5th; Wish I recorded some smaller details throughout the year, not realizing id want to recall the last time I did something. When was the last time I intentionally watched a movie or listened to a specific song? (but then again, how will I know I'm going to think the exact thought; "when was the last time I did X specific thing?") I rewatched wolf children 2 months back for the first time in years, same with relistening to HeyHiHello songs. Been having a lot of lower back pain lately. Stretching helps, but I can no longer sit or sleep in my favorite position without cramping up. I need to be perfectly straight and i hate it. (A/N: The very next night I pulled a muscle in my back so bad I thought I was paralyzed. for the first time in years, I had to call in sick to work because I could not physically move from my bed)

August 19th. Went to a chiropractor. No pinched nerves or slipped disc, just a pulled muscle. Stretching helps and have been wearing a back brace. Finally had grandpa's memorial on the tenth. It was nice to learn he made friends at his community center. I'll try to be out going when I'm old too. Doctors would not sign his death certificate for 7 weeks because they just didn't give a shit, and we finally threatened to call a lawyer. He finally got cremated.

August 30th- recently had to go to pepboys to get my car fixed again. It was "stuck" in neutral. Grandma came and picked me up to let me go home. She said she doesnt plan to be driving much longer and intends to give her car to me. I dont know how to feel about this. Grateful for the future gift? Sad that she is getting older? I had to have my car towed and had to leave work early, which I hate doing because it makes me feel like I'm leaving everyone else to do my work, but I did not want another repeat with the towing situation that happened in june.

September 19th. I finally put on my brave face and ordered a new laptop for myself earlier this month (the 5th to be precise) and today it finally arrived. I bought myself an HP omen gaming laptop. It's so nice, but also different and a little scary trying to adjust to all this new interface. I went from using windows 7 for the last 11 years to jumping into windows 11. It'll be an adjustment. Gotta re-download all my old programs and transfer my files. Hope my drawing tablet will still work on this laptop. Might have to buy a new one of those as well. I already hate the subscription model being used if you want to do ANYTHING with the tech YOU BOUGHT nowadays. Goodbye microsoft office! It was fun while I knew you! I got libreoffice now! Fuck off adobe! OpenShot and Shotcut are my video editing programs now! I still need to learn my way around OBS, opentoonz, and pencil2d, but I gotta say there's something.... rustic? homey? about having a desktop full of opensource programs made by people who want to help other creatives free of charge. I miss the days where you buying something meant you own it forever, but free homegrown programs updated by community feels friendlier than just owning a shiny "offical" big named piece of software, I gotta admit.

The new laptop is wonderfully fast and silent. It cost me 2 grand so I hope it lasts just as long as my old one. There is no removable battery from what I can tell, which is sad. Also no disc drive. The keys light up rainbow which is cool (but I had to turn that feature off to improve battery life). I customized the desktop background to some concept art of the videogame RiME. (I thought I had saved the default bg pic from my old laptop to my external hard drive, but I guess I hadn't?) Funny to me that in the 10+ years of owning my second ever laptop, I never changed the wallpaper because I liked the default art so much. Might add more art to a file and have the wallpaper rotate. I want to replay RiME again too. Love the simple gameplay and strong colors of that game.

October 4th. So much has happened in 2 weeks, it feels much longer than that. I pretty much completely switched to using my new lap top ad my main computer, transferred all the files, downloaded a bunch of open source software for writing documents, video editing, streaming and animation. Fuck you Microsoft. I shouldn't need an account to use basic microsoft word. Hope to bring back page making streams next year for patrons~ ive even been playing some steam games that my old laptop just couldn't run, and quite a few new ones as well. Candleman, carto, so many fun and charming titles~ replaying snakebird because all my progress was lost 🥲I'm not mad. I love snake bird.

I have so much desire to do so many things, but not enough time to do them. I need to queue up my november posts for tumblr before I go on break. I need to get my oil changed soon. I want to go back on steam and play more humongous entertainment games. I want to write, I want to draw, I want to animate, I want to learn how to quilt and crochet and garden. I want to do it all right now all at the same time. I want to go on a nature walk. I want to see my friends.

Its finally starting to cool off. We still get in the 90s easily, but it rained last night for the first time in weeks, and we havent hit 100 degrees in a couple of days. Been reading a lot of webtoons lately. Been having the urge to start my own with my original storylines, or at least use webtoons as a backup/mirror for my fan comic. So many unique stories there all ready. So many fun art style and worlds to get lost in. I love stories and the people that tell them. The joy of creating a tale and sharing it with the world is humanity in its purest form.

November 1st: youtube is cracking down on adblockers. Havent had any problems yet on desktop, but on this day, my default youtube app on my lg smart phone started showing me ads for the first time in the 8+ years I've had it. I was so mad that i forced stopped the app, and logged into youtube through an ad block browser app instead. Some of the app's features will be missed, like being able to watch a video and search at the same time, but these little annoyances are nothing compared to the fury I felt at being shown ads. I didn't write nearly as much as I wanted to for nanowrimo today because of this.

November 6th: I turned 31! Both my friends forgot my birthday, and I wasn't able to reserve a camping site for the April 8th eclipse next year! 🙃 ive been writing like mad for nanowrimo, but I'm still falling behind.

December 17. Has it really been a whole month since i last made a diary update? Thanksgiving came and went. No drama at our house but my mom and I watched an argument unfold in the yard of our neighbors. The one mobile game I play, dragon's world, officially shut down for me 4 days ago. I'm a little sad I could never 100% it, but glad I got as far as I did, and even managed to buy some dergs so it didnt feel all my hard earned gems went to waste. Havent uninstalled the app yet out of nostalgia, even though I only played this game for a year and a half. I made the mistake of reinstalling the google play store to look for a new dragon raising game, but none had the same appeal, and the reinstall caused my discord app to update and hate it ):< I kinda want to learn how to make a mobile game of my own like dragons world, but with gryphons instead and a focus on rescue/rehabilitation and zoology angle. (I mostly just dont like how common fighting is in these kind of games.) Finally been playing horizon forbidden west after a few months away. I'm not progressing the story, just trying to max upgrade all my gear. It's a fun challenge~

December 26, 2023. Got bit by a dog at work on Christmas. Right on the nail of my middle finger. He broke my nail but not my skin. Its odd. Thankfully I can still draw without much issue. I got a tetanus shot and flu shot just to be safe. Mom got me a tent for Christmas because I plan to go camping by myself next year, even though I wont get to see the eclipse on my outing.

The fan game undertale yellow came out on the 9th… Which was before my last journal update? I've been enjoying the game play but the story is just a little... eh. the sprite work is phenominal, though, no complaints there. I hate that it's making me want to write my own AU version of it already to "improve" it, since I think the story loses its way pretty much once you leave the ruins. (maybe I can try to shove it into Clemency in stead since i still haven't finished that either).

I watched a documentary on kangaroos on netflix this month. I had to play it at 1.25 speed because I swear they slowed down every single clip for the film to get it to a certain length. I also watched "dog gone trouble" which had terrible voice work and awful character design, and then "back to the outback" which was surprisingly well made even if the characters stumbled sometimes, but I'd easily recommend it. I want to watch more Christmas movies before the year is through. (A/N: this also did not happen).

Finally uninstalled dragons world today. My phone's been acting up. Hope I don't have to replace it soon. I don't like how, nowadays, the technology I pay for, I don't actually own, and features are being removed left and right. I'm afraid any "new" phone on the market offered now won't nearly last as long as my current one has.

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Aaand that was a brief glimpse into my year! The time is now 1:10pm! I already have one other post going up today, so I'll queue this one to go up on thursday instead~ if you managed to read this far, thank you so much, i guess! I hope my ramblings don't make you see me differently as a person. It's odd reflecting on where I was in my life over these past 12 months, remembering my state of mind and the feelings I felt as I wrote these entries. I'll be sure to do it again this year.

Overall, did I learn anything?...no, I don't think so? I did come to the realization that at the end of every year, in multiple youtube videos and tumblr posts, people mentioned how hard the year was for them, but like... after june, for me, everything improved quite a lot. it doesn't feel right to say that 2023 was hard for me. It was unbearably sad for me at the beinging. annoying and (physcially) painful half way through, but once august hit... everything slowly started to get better, despite the small petty things I complained about in my journal entries above. youtube ads, car troubles and discontinued apps of games I enjoyed still feel like small potatoes when compared to what I accomplished. Finished writing a draft of personal fiction, finished a major arc of a fan comic, got a new laptop to stream and share art with others, played a bunch of new video games, and generally enjoyed life for the latter half of this year.

And it almost feels selfish to say that... I'm happy.

I hope I can stay happy in 2024 as well.

Thanks for reading~

Have a safe and joyous 2024~

[total-cards]

MTG Bloomburrow Previews: Card List, Spoilers and more!

Magic The Gathering Bloomburrow is the first set in the Dragonstorm Arc, and it features furry friends from this brand new Plane! In Bloomburrow, a ragtag team of adorable anthropomorphic adventurers must band together to go on an important quest and save the realm from calamity beasts and the Great-Night Owl. (That's quite the quest!) The folks over at Wizards of the Coast have begun their card previews after giving us a glimpse of the story so far for this upcoming set, and boy do they look absolutely stunning! Let's break down what we've learned so far:

The Story so far

Bloomburrow has some heavy Wind in the Willows vibes within its conception, so that must mean it comes with a story! Wizards were kind enough to post this on their site for you to read at your leisure, or listen to the audio story, telling the story of how Ral is chasing Jace Beleren across the plane - but not only is it nothing like he's ever experienced before but it has quite literally transformed him into an otterfolk due to the Plane's natural magic! Now he must enlist the help of Mabel and her friends in finding Beleren, who has disappeared like a sly fox. If you're invested in the story of the Magic the Gathering TCG, this definitely seems like a set to pick up!

The Products

With Bloomburrow, we can expect the usual product line up. MTG Play Boosters and Collector Boosters will be available, as well as your standard Bundle featuring 9 Play Boosters. You can also pick up some Commander Decks with the featured colours; Peace Offering (Green/White/Blue), Animated Army (Red/Green), Squirreled Away (Black/Green) and Family Matters (Blue/Red/White). With this set also comes a Starter Kit featuring Byrke, Long Ear of the Law and Bria, Riptide Rogue! You can pre-order any of these products for release day on August 2nd on our site!

The Cards

We're going to get straight into the good stuff - the cards. First of all, we can expect our traditional foils and borderless frames to make a comeback as usual and the artwork for these truly stands out. From artists such as Airi Yoshihisa and David Petersen creating some of the artwork for this set, you're spoilt for choice when picking out which cards to use in your deck. Will you choose the Field Notes, Borderless Anime or Showcase Woodland?

Speaking of Showcase, legendary artist Mitsuhiro Arita features in this set too! You may recognise him from games such as Pokemon, Final Fantasy and Shin Megami Tensei. His work is definitely not to be snuffed at! These woodland showcase cards are available in the traditional foil treatments and can be found in all products except decks!

If you want to see what cards to expect on August 2nd, check them out on our blog! Be sure to pre-order and secure your MTG Bloomburrow products in time for release day!

[dancingthesambaa]

The Smell of Plum Blossom Tea Ch 8

Summary: Just like a butterfly wing, a single act of kindness can change the course of the future, it certainly did for MK as a black-furred monkey put out a hand towards him

Rating: Teen and up

Chapter 8: One By One

It’s been over a few weeks since the whole Bull King invasion and things have been pretty peaceful. The city has slowly begun to rebuild itself and people have steadily begun to go back to their day to day lives.

If there's one thing he can appreciate about society is that they always will keep going even when everything around them has been destroyed.

Macaque's own workload has finally eased up, the hospital didn’t anticipate that many wounded in that short span and wasn’t able to gather the materials. So, he has gotten calls from both Yanyu and some of the higher ups in the field for his assistance.

“This has been a pain in the ass,” he grumbled as he sat down on the couch with his cup of tea. “I really shouldn’t have let them off so easily for the fuckton of work they put on me.” His was then twitched as he heard a familiar/strange set of feet dashing their way towards him.

“Dad!” He sees his son, who had his jacket tied around his waist and staff nowhere in sight, smiles widely as he leaps to him and gives him a big hug, “it’s been so long!”

“Hey kiddo,” he was taken momentarily off guard by the hug, but smiled down at him as he petted his hair. “How was work?”

“Oh I didn’t go, someone is taking care of that,” he happily stated as he still held on tight.

Macaque blinked for a moment before he gave a small chuckle, “oh, is that so, well I was about to read and relax, you want to join?”

“Can you read out loud?” He cheerfully asked as he got himself comfortable on the couch as he laid down.

“Of course.”

“Yay!”

So Macaque began to tell the story of a blind girl and how she stood strong in the face of adversity and ridicule. He was in the middle of the part where the girl denies the deity gift of giving her sight when he heard the door slam open wide.

“Stay away from my Dad!/Don't worry old man, we're here!” MK and Mei respectively shouted out as they both held staff and sword out to fight the battle ahead, only to falter as they took in the scene of Mac sitting quite comfortably on the couch, while another MK laid on his lap with a content smile. “Uhhhh.”

“Took you long enough,” he said with amusement, “I was almost about to send a clone out to you myself.”

“Huh?”

“What? You don’t think I can’t tell a clone apart from my son?” He smirked as he patted the clone ahead, the only response was cuddling closer to him.

“You know?!” MK yelled out as he walked forward, still a bit cautious after his encounters with the rest of his clones.

He only raised an eyebrow as he showed off his shadow clone.

“Oooh, yeah that makes sense.”

“How come he didn’t attack you!” Mei threw her hands up in frustration. “I mean, come on! I had to deal with Portay MK and you have Mr. Cuddle Bug?!”

“Attack, Pfft yeah that's what usually happens during the first duplicate trials,” he said as he laid his book down.

“I’m sorry what?” MK has put away the staff at this point as he tried to sit next to his Dad, only to forget that the space was currently occupied by another him. He stared down at the clone laying in his spot then the clone looked up at him and just turned around and faced away from him.

“No,” was all he said as the next moment the clone disappeared and there sat the real MK with a wide grin, “so what was that about the trials?”

The six eared monkey raised an eyebrow at his son's actions as Mei wheezed in the background, “well usually when someone is learning the clone technique most of the time the clones would try to attack the user to prove their authority or their sense of identity.”

“That is actually terrifying,” he deadpanned.

“I thought you already knew this?” He questioned his son, who suddenly blushed.

“Well I may have accidentally learned I can do this,” he scratched the back of his neck as he laid on his Dad's lap.

“And you decided to test it out despite not knowing the consequences,” he sighed as he examined his son hair which was now sporting some very uneven ends and patches, “you even messed up your hair cause of this, I thought I taught you to not mess with magic unless you have me or someone competent in the arts.”

“I know, I know, but I just wanted some sleep and quiet!” He moaned out as he let the furry hands caress the knots and tangles in his hair, “I didn’t think it would lead up to this.”

“That’s how they all start,” he snorted as he felt Mei sit on his other side and lay on his shoulder, “so why don’t you tell me how this all began and tell me a bit more about your training with Wukong. I haven’t heard back on how that’s been going.”

“Training with the Monkey King is amazing!” He lit up as he talked all about his sessions.

Macaque silently listened to his son ramble on about his training sessions with Wukong and boy did that still send him reeling.

He still can’t believe that this is happening, that in all of these strange currents of events, Wukong actually made his son his successor. He still doesn't know how to feel about that cause, on one hand, damn straight his child can lift the staff no one has ever been able to before, he is so proud that he accomplished the impossible that mere words still can’t explain it. But on the other hand, Wukong recklessly decided to choose his son to be his successor despite his many enemies, does that idiot not comprehend the target he just placed on his back.

‘I swear I have half the mind to go up there and knock him silly for his complete ignorance…though how everything goes after that is the only thing that’s stopping me,’ Mac internally thought. ‘Who knows how he would react if I show up unannounced…probably would be just the sequel of our last fight,’ he bitterly thought. He has long accepted that his former friend probably wanted nothing to do with him anymore if they ever saw each other again.

“And then he goes on about how one must never- are you even paying attention?!” MK's voice broke out of his thoughts.

“Yeah I am, you were just talking about how your swings are easily blockable.”

“They are not that bad,” he huffed.

“You swing too wide comet/You hit like it’s a baseball bat,” both demon and teenager said.

“Okay, I may have a small issue.”

“And that’s why you're training,” he said as he took his hands out of his hair when he began to yawn.

“Yeah I know,” he sleepily said as he closed his eyes.

‘At least he is enjoying himself,’ he then focused his attention on Mei, who was also dozing off and began to groom her hair as well.

“Is that the best you got flame brain,” Daiyu cackled out as she flew higher in the air and dodged the fireball, “I met imps who were stronger than that-shit!” She felt a sharp pain explode from her back.

“Don’t you dare think you can outmatch me, little bird!” Red Son cockily stated as he twisted one of her wings and the two began to a downward spiral. “I have fought monsters thrice the size of you and remained victorious!”

“Not today's string bean!” She squawked out as she flips on her back as the two were falling so that the fire demon could break her fall.

It was a tense stand off as neither side gave in even when they were free falling, it was only when they were ten feet away from the ground did he jump off her. He hoped that this would have worked and broken a few of her bones, but alas it didn’t as she caught herself just before and stopped herself.

“Tch,” he clicked his tongue in agitation as he went in for another strike for her wings, only to get batted off.

“Ha, ain’t fooling me again Flicker! Or maybe that candle on your head is finally reaching its end!” She went for his neck only to get buffed by his hand grabbing her beak.

“I’ll show you who's reaching their end once I burn you into a fiery crisp that not even your brethren would want to feast upon!” He tried to keep her in his hold as he lit up, but she managed to kick free of his grasp.

“Ha! I like to see you try! My shithead brothers and sisters would eat everything and I’m not even counting the chicks that just hatched!” She flew up high and prepared for a dive bomb.

“Let’s find out!” His entire body began to lit up in flames as his eyes bore into her.

“They seem to be having fun,” Bohai said as he lazily watched them.

“Two people who like the thrill of the battle going at it, of course, they like this shit,” Minsheng scoffed as they laid down, “at least they're not doing battles to the death anymore, that usually gets bloody way too fast.”

“And leaves me having to deal with their injured asses,” Macaque grumbled as he petted the infant monkey's head.

“Your friends,” the jellyfish pointed out.

“I was forced into this,” he stated.

“And we’re still here,” the rabbit demon grinned.

“Unfortunately.”

MK and Mei, on the other hand, still couldn’t believe their eyes as they continued to see the arrogant demon that was trying to kill them happily fighting. Well the fight part not really, but the happy thing was a bit out of left field. They had walked into the sounds of fighting and, while still being very cautious as they remembered Mac and Ahmed's last fight, quietly tried to investigate what was happening. So to see this scene was a little jarring once they realized that the two were simply sparring with each other.

“Huh, I have to say this is the quickest redemption arc I have ever seen,” Mei mused, “not even a month ago he was trying to kill us and now he is all buddy buddy with Dad and his friends.”

“To be fair, I think they mentioned him before,” MK said.

“Really?”

“Yeah,” the said monkey popped in, “I have. I actually have known him longer than the both of you. His family sometimes would stop by for some items from time to time.”

“Huh, well that’s honestly not that big of a shock,” Mei pouted as they watched Red Son finally pin the vulture demon down.

“I told you, you can’t beat me! For I am Red Son, prince to the esteemed Demon Bull King and the mighty Princess Iron Fan!” He maniacally laughed.

“You're a prince!” He was startled out of it when two voices reached over to him.

“Indeed I am! Who dares step forward and-,” he stops himself mid sentence when he sees noodle boy and biker girl familiar faces. His face drops, “oh it’s you two.”

“Like I knew DBK was your dad and all, but it never occurred to me that you would be a prince with, well you know,” Mei hummed out.

“With what?” He growled the last bit out.

“With you being a reckless, two-bit side character that likes to leap before they walk,” she bluntly said.

“I am no mere Side Character!” He bowled out as his hair flame intensified.

“Aren’t you though?”

“I’m not”

“But you can be, like how I can totally be one as well.”

“I am no mere side character,” he spat out, “I am the antagonist that stands against the hero path! I am the flame of destruction that threatens to consume all! I am the prince of the feared and mighty who takes pride in oneself and all that they do!”

“…okay but aren’t some villains side characters?” She couldn’t help it, she was having way too much fun at this point.

“I AM NOT A SIDE CHARACTER!”

“I feel like we have gotten meta somewhere,” MK muttered out and then walked forward before Mei could say anything that would trigger the raging flame demon anymore. “Hi! I know we didn’t really introduce ourselves after…that, but I’m MK and she's Mei.”

“…Red Son,” he eyed the smiling boy in front of him, “and I already knew who you are, your father talks much about the two of you.”

“Awwww, fluffy head does,” Mei cooed as she turned to face Macaque, who was resolutely not looking in their direction.

“Wait, if you knew who we were, why did you attack?” The Monkie Kid couldn’t help but ask.

Surprising the both of them, the prince blushed a bit out of embarrassment as he muttered out, “I didn’t know it was the two of you in the first place.”

“How?!” Mei sputtered out. “Like we were probably screaming each other's names so many times?!”

“No! You peasants were just screaming! Nothing short of a name has ever come up in the middle of it all!”

“Wait-so that’s why you called me Noodle boy?”

“Noodle boy?” She snorted.

“Your biker girl,” he hissed out.

“Biker girl…hmm not that bad actually,” she put her hand under her chin, “though did you seriously just come up with that because of what we were doing?”

“Yes,” the demon unashamedly said.

Both humans looked at one another before they both laughed wildly.

“Hahaha! Holy shit, you are such a dork,” the dragon girl clutched her stomach.

“By the Gods, that is kinda adorable,” the monkey's successor was pounding his fist on the ground.

“I am neither a dork nor adorable!” The Bull prince roared out as he marched over to them in fury. “Take that back!”

“NEVER!”

“And thus the start of a beautiful friendship,” Macaque couldn’t help but say as the demon began to chase the two around.

“Yeah, I worked my back off for it,” Daiyu grumbled as she finally got off the ground from where Red Son was pinning her down. “That whole time I just wanted to throttle him at them just so I could feel my wings again.”

“Don’t worry, your wings have some use finally,” Minsheng couldn’t help but say.

Daiyu promptly smacked her wings against their head.

“What do you mean disappeared?” Mei asked MK when he rushed inside their super secret base.

“All I know is that they were shopping and now I can’t contact nor find either one of them!” MK freaked out as he gripped his staff. “What if they're in trouble?”

“Take a deep breath MK,” Sandy rubbed the human back, “we don’t know that, their phones could simply be out of batteries or they got lost talking to each other.”

“Even though they’ll never admit it,” he said.

“Exactly, but the shop isn’t open!”

That drew out sharp gasps as now they began to panic.

“He has never not opened his store before!” Sandy shouted as he gripped his hair.

“I think he’s been kidnapped!” MK screamed in agreement.

“I immediately fear the worst!”

Mei rushed over to one of the screens and began to type in a few things and up on the screen appeared both people talking to a lady.

“They haven’t been carted away to treacherous territories,” the giant sighed in relief.

“Oh thank god they're still shopping,” MK sagged in relief as he saw this, “wait Mei what is this?”

“I had cameras placed on all of you and you said this was creepy,” she has already lost her brother once, that was not about to happen again.

“That still is.”

“Oh look now they're following that nice lady, see they're just fine,” Sandy inputted as they watched the two slowly follow the woman shrouded in black when suddenly there was a trap that opened underneath them, “AH! I was wrong! I was wrong! This is bad! This is very bad!”

“Nightmare hole!” The twenty year old screamed out as Mei's eyes widened in shock, “what happened?”

“It looks like?” She began to enhance and zoom into the blurred picture and when it became clear it showed an eight legged spider lady standing above them all.

“A spider demon! Come on! No! Ew! Yuck! I do not want to mess with spiders of any kind! I hate spiders! Hate, hate, hate spiders! With their beady eyes and their creepy wiggly legs and their gross butt!”

“MK, right now that spider demon has our friends so you know what that means,” Sandy pumped them up. “It’s Operation save Pigsy and Tang from the Nightmare Hole!”

“Yeah!” Both teens pumped their fists in the air along with the cat.

“Should we call Macaque for backup,” Sandy asked as he started up the engine.

“Nope!” MK quickly said before Mei could, “we can do this on our own!”

MK slowly began to back away as the Spider demon loomed over him menacingly. She had managed to capture Sandy and Mei as well and only he was the last one standing. “I regret everything I said.”

“Aww, don’t tell me you're scared of spiders!” She said as she stepped into the light then that faint tickling in the back of his head finally eased up at the full reveal.

“Wait? I know you!” His jaw dropped as he saw just exactly who was standing in front of him.

“What?” They all shouted even Spider Queen who was stunned out of sheer confusion.

“No wonder you look familiar! Daiyu talks about you all the time,” MK stated as he lost some of his fear at the relief of finally knowing why she seemed so familiar.

Though as his fear was momentarily suppressed the Spider Queen was not as she blanched at the name, “you know Daiyu!”

“Oh yeah, she has a bone to pick with you after you ripped her off, she said something about wanting to pluck the meat off of your corpse after she gets done beating you to a pulp or something like that.”

“I am now concerned by that statement,” Pigsy said.

“Oh don’t worry, she’s a vulture demon,” Mei happily responded.

“That does not make it better.”

“Does for me sweetheart,” Tang smiled, “it makes sense for a vulture to go for a corpse because they are cartoons. It’s actually quite fascinating-,”

“Tang I love you, but please don’t say that as we’re currently being tied up like a lamb ready for the slaughter,” Pigsy begged.

“…what?”

The pig and human eyes widened at what both said, but luckily they didn’t have to say anything as the Spider Queen roared in rage.

“I may be a slicker, but I ain’t no sham when it comes to my silk! Tell that chicken legged, deep fried coward that I will personally send her down under if she even instigates that I would do that!” She roared in rage as she stood tall in MK, who promptly got scared once more as he realized what he just said.

“MK run!” Pigsy yelled out.

“Don’t need to tell me twice!” MK slid between the Spider Queen legs and he began to book it.

“Get back here little monkey boy!”

“I feel like I should tell Daiyu where Spider Queen has been hiding,” MK mused as they floated along the ocean.

“As long as I’m there, I really want to see her explode in fury before the bloodbath happens,” Mei snorted as she laid across the top.

“You know, I sometimes worry about you,” Pigsy looked at the young lady at that statement.

“Fuzz butt says that too.”

“Shouldn’t you listen to your doctor?”

“Shouldn’t you listen to what you said back at the cave, don’t you think just because we were tied up doesn’t mean I don’t have ears,” she teased as Sandy nodded.

“Wait, what happened?” MK looked at both of them in confusion.

Sandy leaned over and whispered what happened and the boy's eyes widened and sparkled with glee. “Ohohoho!”

“It was the slip of a tongue,” Tang said as he pushed up his glasses in nervousness. “Nothing more.”

“Yeah, what he said, just a slip of the tongue,” Pigsy twisted his hands.

“Some slip, some would say that it almost sounded like,” the twenty year old girl leaned in with a mischievous glint in her eyes, “an old married couple would say to one another.”

“WE ARE NOT A COUPLE!” They both shouted and they shared glances at each other only to catch a view of their red faces and promptly turn to face away from them.

“If you say so,” she backed off with her hands up.

“And we say so,” the pig crossed his arms.

“Very much so,” Tang copied.

Both Sandy and MK were in the background holding back their laughs as they could barely keep it together.

MK woke up to the shake of an earthquake and his whole world feeling off balance.

At first, he wrote this off as the aftermath of the earthquake as he quickly got ready for work as he prayed Pigsy doesn’t fire him. But as he walked down the street with his drink in hand he still couldn't help, but felt his whole world was just off balance, like everything was just missing a beat or so, it was the weirdest feeling.

“Maybe I just banged my head too hard, should probably ask Dad to check in case,” he muttered in his straw as he was about to yell out when he saw Mei standing in the middle of the road. “Mei, I’m glad you’re here!”

“Yes I am right here,” she grinned widely, “and what’s this about calling your Dad?”

“I don’t know if I have a concussion or something else, but something seems really off and I can’t put my finger on what,” he groaned.

“It’s nothing, just relax. Today is all about you.”

“Aren’t you usually the one who usually tells me to call him if things are getting too sticky to handle?” MK questioned as that off balance feeling was coming in full force.

“I am?” He could almost see her face contort for a brief moment before going back to her previous creepy grin, “I mean I am! But he’s probably busy doing stuff sweetie.”

“Sweetie,” he looked at her in pure disgust.

“I mean dear friend,” he never thought someone could grin that wide.

“Even when he’s in the middle of making medicine he always answers,” at this point he has begun to back up from Mei. He did not like just how off this whole thing was and it wasn’t helping that the crowd was just watching them.

“Don’t worry,” she ominously said, “I’m sure…”

“Macaque,” he supplied as he quickly got into position to bolt out of there as soon as he had the chance. This was definitely not Mei!

“Right Macaque will be just-!” Not just Mei, but the entire crowd of people's heads snapped towards MK.

“Did you just say Macaque!” They all yelled out.

“Yeah?!?” He was now more than freaking out as he looked for possible exits, he was not about to stay here a moment longer if he could. But then his whole world began to fade away as he saw the people just shake their heads and arms as they seem to glitch out.

“Nope, nuh uh, F this! Plan is officially done! Do not collect after Go! Finish!” He blinked his eyes as he saw that he was now in a shack and standing in front of him was a blue and orange demon. The blue one was just holding a jar of some kind, while the orange one was speaking.

“Done! Capital D.O.N.E! Done!”

“I think he gets it Jin,” the blue demon said.

“Well excuse me for being freaked out about this! Why aren’t you freaking out about this?!”

“Oh I am, one moment,” he said as he carefully put down the jar, “there we go….We freaking messed up so bad!” The demon began to panic, “like this is going to the top thirty bad.”

“Fucckkk!” Jin said as he gripped his hair.

“What is going on?!” MK yelled out his frustration as he collected the staff and kept a tight grip on it. “Who are you?!”

The two demons paused their freak out as they both dramatically posed.

“I am Jin!” The orange demon jumped up.

“And I am Yin!” The blue demon bowed low.

“And together,” they both said in sync as Jin landed on top of Yin back, “we are the Gold/Silver and Silver/Gold demons!”

There was a silence as both parties looked at each other before both brothers then began to fight over the name.

“It’s Gold and Silver nitwit!”

“No, it's Silver and Gold half bake!”

“Seriously, what is going on and why am I here?” He reiterated his point as that got the two to stop fighting.

“We heard about the great Monkie kid and knew he would be a worthy adversary,” Yin stated as he crossed his arms.

“Yes, so after our cunning plan we called out to you and you foolishly,” they both pointed to him, “answered.”

“…I was delivering noodles of course I was gonna answer,” his eyes twitched at the sheer ridiculousness of this.

“But you still answered and fell right into our plan to use you for our nefarious purposes!” Gin dramatically laughed.

“Until we knew that you were the Six Eared Macaque kid,” Yin added.

“Yeah before that,” he stopped his laughter, “we know we’re certifiably insane, but we ain’t stupid.”

“Yeah, we know better than to try to mess with what’s Macaque, I heard the last demon who tried that was tormented by him for a hundred days,” the blue demon shivered.

“I heard he once pulled the inside out of another demon just because he was having a bad day.”

“Well I heard he took on and defeated an entire army so that he could pass by.”

“I heard that he can suck some demon body and soul into a cursed item and make them fight for him.”

“Oh that one’s true,” MK butted in as at this point he sat down as he realized that they were not even a threat, just very amusing.

Both of them shivered as they looked at him in horror, “wait really!?”

“Yep!”

“Check that rumor off as being real,” Jin groaned as Yin held out a rather large book.

“Already on it.”

“What’s that?” MK asked.

“Oh it’s just a book with basically any rumors we happen to come across,” Yin proudly showed off, “most of them are probably not true, but it is amusing to hear. Like this one, it’s rumored that the Demon Bull King lost his horn after he insulted a deity and it broke off from sheer embarrassment after she had slapped him silly for a couple of hours.”

“Snrk!” He let out a sputter at the sheer ridiculousness.

“The Celestial Heavens is actually a conspiracy used to hide the good alcohol, cause if that shit was freely given the whole world would be gone.”

“Pffffft!”

“That we are actually all standing on a hand right now, but we just can’t see it.”

“Hahahaha!” MK let it out as he clutched his stomach. “These sound so stupid!”

“I know right!” Jin grinned, “that’s why we record them, cause they sound just so dumb!”

“They really do,” the Monkie kid said as he got his laughter back in control and sat back up, “so you're not gonna try to capture me again?”

“Like we said before, Monkey King is one thing, but we ain’t messing with Macaque. If you think Monkey King has a grudge, you should see that trickster when he really has time to think and plan on revenge,” the orange demon said.

“Ain’t nobody gonna get in his way,” the blue demon finished.

“Good!” He should probably ask about all his Dad’s revenge stories sometimes, he knows they would be good ones then a thought occurred to him as he scrunched up his nose. “So, why did you have Mei call me sweetie?”

“Ask Jin,” he pointed to his brother.

“Well, I thought since you guys are childhood friends and all you have feelings for one another, you know, like in the books and all that,” he shrugged his shoulders.

“Crush?! On Mei?! Grosss!” He yelled out as he can almost feel himself puke at the thought, “Yuck! No! God no! She is basically my sister!”

“I told ya.”

“You didn’t tell me shit.”

“Don’t fucking cuss around kids,” Yin hissed out.

“Well you should shut your damn trap!” Jin snarled back.

“Least threatening villains ever,” MK muttered to himself, “Wait? Did you seriously try to invoke the childhood friends trope? Like in romance novels?”

“Yeah!” Jin proudly stated.

“You read romance books?”

“You don’t? They are the best kinds of books with all the drama that surrounds them, the clashing of emotions, the tightly packed metaphors that can be placed in one paragraph to describe someone’s eyes. It's simply awesome! Have you read them?”

“Not really,” he admitted.

“I can give you some recommendations! Then we can-”

“Nope,” Yin drew his brother back, “we are not about to have a repeat of last time. Remember how you burned down the bookstore?”

“They deserve it for saying Ballad of the Desert was overrated,” he growled out.

“True, but we were supposed to be on the down low after nicking off with some bastard goods, I did not like having to run around with the gang on our asses, so we are leaving,” he deadpanned.

“Fineee!” He groaned out as the two suddenly stood upright and raised their hands. “We will meet again one day, Monkie Kid!” Then they threw down what was in their hands and a plume of smoke appeared in their spots.

“Bleh,” he waved the air around him as he heard a laugh and turned around to see them in the street.

“Hahaha! We’re the greatest tricksters!” Gin said with his arms crossed once more.

“Ever! Also please don’t tell Macaque about us trying to capture you! Thank you, bye!” Yin finished as the two disappeared in a flash of smoke for the final time.

MK could only stare at the empty space in pure shock as he tried to process just what happened.

“…I’m just gonna go back to the shop,” he gave up as he begrudgingly walked back to his car.

[cobalt-rat]

I think my horny insane furry arc has begun

if any of you say that I was always a horny insane furry you’d be right but like, don’t say it

[fyrapartnersearch]

Get ready to form voltron!

Obligatory warning for a long post ahead: Whilst I know this post may be intimidating to some people. please do not let it put you off from reaching out to me :) “I say vol and you say tron! Vol…..” “Eh.... voltron?” “We’ll work on it.” Hello everyone! I hope you’re all doing well and that you’ve been able to stay safe and healthy during the pandemic (and that the easing of some restrictions depending on where you are has not negatively affected you). After binge watching legendary defender on netflix I’ve had the undying and uncontrollable urge to do a voltron rp. Now I bet you’re all wondering what I want and if you’re going to get to do some shipping.......we’ll I guess you’re just going to have to read on and find out. I’m looking for literate rper’s only. That means people who write in third person past tense, can give me at the very least one well thought out and fleshed paragraph (as well as be willing to write more when the situation calls for it) and has a decent grasp on their spelling, grammar and punctuation. I will not yell at you for the occasional bout of typonese but one liners, one worders, poorly written responses and lazy writing in general will not keep me around. If I can’t read what you’ve written and you’re not willing to put some effort in or correct it then there’s no point in me sticking around. I also require rper’s who’ve actually watched voltron whether it be legendary defender, defender of the universe or voltron force. If you’re someone whose a stickler for canon accuracy then I’m probably not the rper for you. When I rp in a fandom setting I treat it a bit like a base as in there’s rules to follow but I don’t have to follow them as if I’m reading the show script. To put it simply I value creativity and ideas that allow a different take on the characters and what could’ve happened. I only rp male alien or alien hybrid characters and they’re premade but flexible in how they’re written. I do not have pictures nor do I desire to spend endless hours of time to find a face claim of a creature that isn’t the typical different coloured humanoids you see in voltron. I have descriptions and that’s it. I do not care if your character is made up on the spot or if you prefer to rp as a canon character. Shippers......I’m sorry but I will not rp a canon character as anything other than a side. I do not rp them as mains so if you were looking for some sheith or klance I’m sorry to disappoint you. That being said you are free to play as any canon character you desire or an oc as I’m open to oc x oc pairings or oc x canon pairings (you being the canon character) and I do either MxM or FxM pairings. Romance and non fade to black smut will both occur in the rp but it must be slow burn. I do not do fast paced love at first sight as it’s just not something that holds my interest. No sub dom dynamics, switch dynamics only and please no characters whose entire personality is just one emotion or one trait they have. Guys.....please don’t call my aliens furries or whatever. I don’t rp generic spray painted humans and we’re rping in a world full of wacky and crazy aliens that have fur,scales,tails,multiple arms, etc so I find it Incredibly annoying to have a label forced on my character like it’s a bad thing. Alien means something not from earth, if a human was to be born on altea or daibazzal, it’d be considered an alien despite probably being a hundred percent human. If your view and comfort zone is restricted to aliens that look like an altean and nothing else then you needn’t not message me. I’m not going to make you rp with me if this is a dealbreaker so if you don’t heed this warning then you do not be rude after pulling a shocked pikachu. Be mature about it if you realise it’s a deal breaker rather than just blocking or suddenly deciding you no longer want to talk to me and that you’ll just ignore me till I unfriend you. DO NOT COME TO ME SAYING OR ASKING YOU WANNA DO A SHEITH RP/ DO YOU RP AS THESE CANON CHARACTERS! I cannot stress this enough. I don’t know how I can make it any clearer that I do not do canon character mains nor do I do rp’s solely for the purpose of shipping said rp characters. As I’ve said before, if you wanna play a canon character go ahead but I will not rp a canon character as anything other than a side. My oc’s are my mains. You and your characters must be 18+. I’m in my twenties and will not rp with a minor, especially since I have mature and adult themes in my rp’s that I do not want to get into trouble for Rping them with someone whose underaged. Underaged characters are just........a big no for the sole fact that my characters are adults and that i do not feel uncomfortable playing against underaged characters. You must be able to give me one or more responses a day. If it’s been two weeks since the last response and you’ve mysteriously disappeared then I’m not going to stick around for the day you decide to answer me. I do not like having my time wasted for any reason. My time zone is the eastern Australian time zone but I’m available and awake at odd hours so time zones aren’t too big of an issue for me. Remember that I’m looking for a long term partner, someone to carry an rp with for more than just a few days or a week and someone to write multiple stories with. I have tonnes of ideas and head cannons for the rp but I’m open to brainstorming and ideas. We can mix and match ideas till we get something we both like. I want this to be a shared job, don’t expect me to be the one to carry everything just cause I’m the one supplying the idea. Down below I’ve decided to list a couple of ideas that I have: New school defenders: the paladins of voltron have been defending the universe for years. Many stories of their countless victories, battles and struggles are something that every parent who was alive during the war told their children. Once the main three were taken out (haggar, lotor and zarkon) the paladins settled down to teaching the garrisons new generation of cadets. The new change in curriculum was welcome for many as well as a new change in ship style. To make sure that peace could be maintained in every quadrant of every galaxy the paladins of voltron has trained the cadets to fly animal styled space ships like the lions. The animal ship a pilot was assigned depended on their personality, strengths, weaknesses, how well they worked in a team and their style of fighting and piloting skills. The importance of team bonding was something the paladins basically preached. When news of the return of an old foe forces the paladins to return to their jobs as voltrons warriors and they suddenly disappear many write them off as dead or perhaps in distress. None of the superiors are interested to find out..... so who will? Lotor’s reign: It was unbelievable. It couldn’t be true. It had to not be true. Voltron taken down by lotor, son of the mighty emperor zarkon himself, and the paladins were now working for him without question as his top generals?! When the news had first hit many people had panicked whilst countless others had been slain for daring to believe and protest that it was all just some lie made up by the half galran prince who was now an emperor like his father before him. Princess Allura herself was locked away in an unknown location after refusing the cruel man’s hand in marriage so she is no help for what is now a lost hope. Lotor’s reign had well and truly begun all those years ago and it was holding steady. People had forgotten long ago that even in complete and utter darkness….one can always find a speck of light that burns bright no anger how small. Mirror mirror: For many years people believed the galra were a race of cruel, vicious, animalistic thinking beings whose only goal was to destroy and conquer words. No one would’ve ever believed that it was the peacekeeping alteans that had been working to plot the galaxy’s downfall. Voltron, belonged to the galrans, they’d been the ones who’d built it after all despite letting alfor pilot voltron’s right arm. When the king had been turned down on his idea to share the mighty robotic war machine he simply built his own. Five dragons that formed dracotron were what the alteans used as their voltron and weapon to conquer the galaxies. Emperor zarkon, under the advice of Haggar the witch, was one of the few world leaders who managed to get his people to safety. Ever since watching the great kingdoms that he’d known for almost ten thousand years fall under the alteans greed and obsession for power over peace, he prayed for miracle in whatever form he could get it in. When two young stragglers end up stranded on the galra’s second home world, the cards of fate are laid according to haggar, much to everyone else’s confusion. What could two lost souls possibly do to bring back what was lost to the alteans? Gamora’s guns: The guns of Gamora was a rebel group with the goal of foiling any plans of the altean empress allura. Led by the brave commander Sven and his somewhat neurotic sidekick Slav, the gun’s were spread far across the galaxy in little pockets of altean dominated space to keep tabs on the empires schemes and try their best to counteract them. The new recruits were aliens and humans from far and wide working together hand in hand to try and prevent a reign of terror from truly taking over. When plans for creating a super weapon fall on the ears of a trusted source, the newest batch of recruits are sent to locate, find and bring back the blueprints. Of course, such things are easier said than done. The chosen: Keith.lance.hunk.shiro (or Sven, depends on whether you want this to follow a legendary defender type story arc or one of the older series). Allura. Pidge. These were names that belonged to the universe's greatest heroes. Legends beyond all compare. They were champions of the universe and paladins of the mightiest robotic warrior to have ever been built: voltron. The great robot and the lions that formed it were well over ten thousand years old…..sadly for the paladins, they knew that they wouldn’t live to or beyond the great age their lions and oldest enemies had. The galaxy garrison had worked extra hard on ensuring that the next generation of pilots would be suitable candidates for the possibility of becoming voltron’s future paladins. Each paladin chose a student whom they felt like would be the most suitable to take their place and trained them with the knowledge that they were not the ones who had the final decision as to who flew who…..or even if they’d fly at all. What happens when one student fails and is rejected by not one but all the lions? What becomes of them and what is their place on team voltron? What happens to the rest of the team? Only time will tell, according to coran, such a thing has never happened before…...but what happens if it does? From all walks of life to the universe's greatest heroes: Shouldn’t have to explain this one too much. Forget the show paladins, bring your oc’s or next gens onto the table and let them take the stage! Before we reach the end of the post, here are some important reminders: 1: NO REACHING OUT TO ME ASKING FOR A CANON CHARACTER SHIPPING RP! I DO NOT DOUBLE SO DO NOT ASK! 2: DONT MESSAGE ME IF YOU’RE UNCOMFORTABLE WITH NOT VERY HUMANOID ALIENS! 3: NO GARY STU’S OR MARY SUES! GIVE YOUR CHARACTERS A PERSONALITY THAT ISN’T JUST ONE EMOTION OR TRAIT ONLY! For those who’ve read this thoroughly thank you and congratulations! If you’re at all interested please send me a request via one of the contacts below that says who you wanna be, which lion or paladin you think you’d most likely to be if you were in voltron, which idea you liked (or one of your own) and the numbers 123 to confirm you’ve read everything. My discord: tiberionsunsconqourer#6187 My telegram: Tiberionwars My hangouts: lleo52560@gmail.com Hope to write some awesome stories! Will accept requests as long as this ad is up.

[gameofdrarry]

Wizards Hearts: Reports are circulating!

Wizards Hearts Game/Fest has been running for a full month! We started things off September 1, and now have over 70 players dealing out some serious love to our fandom creators in the form of thoughtful comments and recs. If you haven’t signed up, it’s not too late. ��️ Signups are open until November 15. ❤️ Rules & Faq can be found here.

Players are sorted and assigned at random to four different teams. All team activities and discussions are completely optional but can yield extra points to help win the game! There are weekly team activities and longer, creative team activities where players can imagine new, fun headcanons in the Harry Potter universe and perhaps a few stories of their own!

Team Activity 2: Filing Reports and Game Rules

Now that we've all had a moment to get to know each other and enjoy our surroundings, it appears that someone in your Casino has been causing a problem. Mundungus Fletcher needs to be escorted off the property. It's very lucky that he didn’t cause too much of a disturbance to your operation. Speaking of, what is the game your Casino is most known for?  The Wizarding Gambling Commission is updating our records. 

What did Mundugus Fletcher do? Please provide us with a report for our records.

Describe a game that your Casino is known for. Does it involve dice? Cards? Wagers? Something totally unique and magical? 

View the first Team Activity post here

View the second Team Activity under the cut! 

Team 1: Loch Lomond’s Treasure

Re: Mundungus Fletcher

Re: Game Rules

Monster's Dice, a spin on Liar's Dice but the dice are furry and monster-like.  They battle each other, attack patrons occasionally, and can change patrons’ rolls. The dice have a mind of their own and won't even play the game and a player can potentially lose if they can't convince the dice to actually roll. 

Team 2: Golden Scales

Re: Mundungus Fletcher 

Re: Game Rules

Bluffing the Dragon : 

Everyone is dealt a hand of ten cards 

Each person takes a turn guessing what’s in someone else’s hand (for example, “I think person A has more red cards than black cards” or “I think person B has no diamonds” or “I think person C has at least two 4s”)

If people make a guess about your hand, it’s your job to bluff/distract/convince everyone else that the guess is nothing close to accurate 

After 3 rounds of everyone guessing, everyone has to place a bet (for example, “I think person A has one of every face card” or “I think person B had only two spades” or “I think person C has no cards lower than a 5”) 

Whoever is most accurate wins!

Team 3: Vanaheim 

Re: Mundungus Fletcher 

Mundungus Fletcher has been skulking around our casino for a long time now. Our staff has observed him stealing from us on multiple occasions. Interestingly, he was stealing very mundane valueless objects. It's like he can't help himself. It was brought to our attention when we saw him stealing forks and water goblets from the restaurant, but then we observed him stealing even more valueless things, like napkins. Once he began stealing toilet paper our staff came up with a weekly betting pool on what he would steal next and in what quantities. It was fun, but unfortunately the fun ended when Charlie Weasley came in and we caught him trying to steal objects Mr. Weasley touched so that he could sell them to besotted witches and wizards with a crush on the dragon tamer. We fined and reprimanded him. We later caught him hanging around Tyche's Tavern trying to accost our more famous clientele. Most recently we caught him dressed as an old woman on holiday stealing a poker chip from Harry Potter. Its value was only 1 sickle, but he was planning on selling it to a wizard in France who is infatuated with Mr.Potter. We have since warded the premises against Mr. Fletcher and he is no longer welcome in our establishment.

Re: Game Rules

Vanaheim is well known for a game that can trace its roots to its Viking Heritage. Meir is a dice game based on chance, but that involves a good deal of skill. Much like Poker it relies on lying and bluffing to win. Vanaheim has several sets of historic dice that date back to the invention of the game. The earliest wizards in these parts used these exact sets of bone dice. Legend says they were carved from the bones of the goat that Loki and Thor once enjoyed at a farmers house as guests. Over time they have broken and chipped. But they still retain the power of Thor and the mischief of Loki. Other magical properties have been added to them over the centuries. The best of which is that to preserve their luck and to ensure a fair game, they are self rolling. Additionally, they have begun to become interested in the game they are used to play, and can develop affinities for frequent players. Some say they can be heard whispering advice to the person that wields them regarding their wagers and their thoughts about whether or not to bluff. No one is quite certain when they became sentient, but any player at Vanaheim knows it is to their advantage to make friends with the dice as they have been playing this game longer than any wizard alive and their advice is always spot on.

Team 4: Arc en Ciel

Re: Mundungus Fletcher

Mundugus Fletcher was caught in Arc en Ciel Crêperie & Wizarding Casino attempting to switch out the decks at one of the tables with a deck that would always provide him with a winning hand. However, the Charm he cast on the deck backfired on him and caused all players at the table to have the same winning hand, and he was caught while shouting at the employee at the table that they had rigged the cards, and he was supposed to win the round.

Re: Game Rules

Arc en Ciel Crêperie & Wizarding Casino is most famous for their Wizarding game of Farkle, a dice game involving six dice and the goal of the game is to be the first to reach 10,000 points. The dice will sometimes shift and change of their own accord, to the players' success or failure at equal measure. The probability of risk in either direction is a thrill, and one players who are high risk takers enjoy immensely.

[sarcasrnspasrn]

the homestuck epilogues are a big mess: a masterpost of what the fuckery

I read the epilogues all in one day and here I am three days later someone who is two seconds away from becoming an ex-homestuck fan because.... yikes. I recently reblogged two other posts calling out most other homestuck things. Some I agree with, some I think are more “sometimes characters are problematic” but you can’t really ignore how fucked up everything is a whole. And nobody seems to want to unpack the epilogue which i understand because guess what every single tag listed in the prologue happens which is pretty sucky.

Anyways I’m gonna go tag-by-tag to talk about the things and then talk about other general shitty stuff about the epilogue. Here we go lads.

Oh boy here come some disclaimers - I’m white and I’m cis and also I was an active editor at the MSPA wiki! I’m going to retire soonish, probably. If I can. I don’t know if you can self-retire from a leadership role on a wiki. Which means I might have missed some things that weren’t obvious to the me who is white and cist.

The Tags

Graphic Depictions of Violence – The Meat route features the fight with Lord English and definitely has a lot of beatups. We then see John slowly succumb to his injuries over time and eventually die. The descriptions are definitely very very graphic.

Major Character Death – As mentioned above, John in the Meat route. Some characters get sucked into a black hole in the Meat route, though in Candy route it’s revealed they just ended up in Candy’s timeline. John meets up with younger versions of the Beta kids, and they all die by Lord English’s hands. Davepetasprite^2 sacrifices themselves to drag Lord English into the black hole, and Meat Rose’s body ends up in a sorta-dead state where her soul is now in a robot forever as her physical body sleeps. In Candy, Dirk graphically hangs himself, and Vriska chokes Gamzee to death.

Rape – In the Candy route Jane gets drunk and has intercourse with an equally if not more drunk Jake, resulting in her pregnancy.

The Economy – Throughout the Meat route, Dave works to try and get Karkat to be president specifically due to the other candidate’s (Jane) questionable economic opinions. Neither run in Candy route, but Jane ends up influencing the presidency behind the scenes and Dave discusses similar themes, often through Obama.

Xenophobia – The main conflict in Jane’s candidacy is her xenophobia, as she wishes to restrict troll reproduction, eventually leading to complete oppression of the troll race by the end of the Candy route.

Pregnancy – Jane and Roxy get pregnant with Jake and John’s kids, respectively, in the Candy route.

Alternate Universe – The whole fic seems to be vaguely non-canon, particularly the Candy route.

Mind Control – Dirk takes over the narrative in Meat route and uses it to influence the other characters’ motives and thoughts.

Non-Con – See Rape.

Breastfeeding – Roxy is shown breastfeeding her and John’s son (Harry Anderson Egbert. I’m not joking.)

Misogyny – Gamzee is basically awful.

Sexism – See Misogyny

Transphobia – Roxy and Calliope begin transitioning (but only in the Meat route), where they both start using they/them and Roxy eventually begins using he/him at the end. As the narrator, Dirk frequently refers to transitioned Roxy with she/her pronouns.

Misgendering – See Transphobia.

Canon Compliant – The meat timeline, arguably.

Canon Divergent – The candy timeline, arguably.

Redemption – The candy timeline starts of with Calliope insisting it’s time for “Gamzee’s redemption arc”, so John pulls him out of the fridge and he becomes this weird messiah. It’s not really much redemption though and he’s still a creepy fucking clown.

Dubious Consent – See Rape.

Mind Break – Meat Rose slowly becomes overwhelmed by all of her alternate timeline selves and suffers from headaches. She eventually becomes persuaded by Dirk to completely let go, and she gets her consciousness transferred into a robot body.

World War – Jane’s xenophobic actions against trolls eventually lead to a world war between her faction and Karkat’s faction.

Political Intrigue – Meat route focuses a lot on Jane and Karkat’s political campaigns for president, and Candy route features Jane’s meddling in government affairs that eventually leads to Karkat and others to lead a rebellion.

Robots – Dirk and Jake fight robots on reality TV in Meat, and Dirk later transfers Rose’s consciousness into a robotic body in Meat’s postscript. Dave similarly gets transferred into a robot body in Candy by Obama. (I’m still not joking.)

Child Abuse – Jane and Jake’s son, Tavros Crocker (I’m not joking) is implied to be heavily mistreated and neglected by Jane, as well as their third partner, Gamzee, who is also somehow in the mix.

Rough Sex – 

Child Neglect – Tavros is seemingly largely ignored by his parents, and John leaves Roxy and Harry Anderson for most of his adolescence.

Alcohol Use – Jane and Jake get heavily inebriated in the candy route, resulting in pregnancy and marriage.

Breastmilk – Gamzee utilizes breastmilk throughout the Candy route as some way of baptizing people and completing their redemption arcs.

Death – Other than those mentioned in Major Character Death, many other side characters are also mentioned to die during the Candy route’s oppressive regime.

Incestuous Undertones – Briefly discussed by a group during the Meat route while considering the implications of Dirk and Rose flying off from Earth C.

Mental Illness – Rose struggles with visions during Meat, and John questions if he has depression in both routes.

Suicide – Dirk hangs himself in Candy.

Polyamory – Gamzee somehow joins the relationship between Jane and Jake in Candy, eventually resulting in Gamzee auspisticing the two.

Clown Dynamics – Gamzee fucking Makara.

Meta – I think it happens a lot in general.

Abuse – Jane’s relationships with Jake, baby Tavros, and Gamzee are not anywhere near healthy.

Fridging – Dirk’s death sort of helps kick off the plot in Candy.

Genocide – Discussed as a possible outcome of Jane’s presidency, specifically to the trolls.

Diapers – For some reason on Jake’s reality TV show, it’s a thing to throw diapers on the stage.

Murder – Vriska kills Gamzee in Candy.

Honk – Gamzee.

Children – Jane and Jake have Tavros Crocker, John and Roxy have Harry Anderson Egbert, and Kanaya and Rose adopt a Vriska descendant.

Gender Transition – Roxy and Calliope question their gender identities in Meat, leading to Roxy using he/him and changing his hairstyle, and Calliope using they/them. This does not happen in the Candy route.

Depression – John questions if he suffers from this throughout Candy as he continues to feel estranged from his friends.

Toxic Masculinity – I guess Dirk in general?

Sexual Abuse – Whatever was going on in Jake Jane and Gamzee’s relationship in Candy isn’t healthy.

Friends to Lovers – Roxy and John as well as Jane and Jake.

Speciesism – See Xenophobia.

Babies – See Children.

Manipulation – See Dirk.

Gore – See Graphic Depictions of Violence.

Infidelity – Jane starts a relationship with Gamzee while married to Jake.

Marriage – Jane and Jake marry, as well as John and Roxy.

Nonbinary Character(s) – See Gender Transition.

Milking – See uh, Breast Milk and Breastfeeding?

Identity Questioning – See Gender Transition.

Feet – After arriving in Candy route, Vriska finds Gamzee and in her rage, kicks him to the ground. Gamzee starts licking Vriska’s foot. This eventually leads to some sort of weird hate makeout/sex.

Political Rebellion – See Political Intrigue.

Fascism – See Political Intrigue.

Rapping – Dirk and Jake’s TV show in Meat features the two performing rap battles at each other, among other things.

Drug Use – Jane and Jake get drunk in Candy, and Jane starts utilizing the Trickster Lollipop in Meat.

Funerals – In Candy, funerals are held both for Dirk and for a dead Jade from Meat that falls out of the sky.

Religion – Gamzee’s weird cult to help give dead trolls redemption arcs.

Eating – I don’t know why this is on the list.

Food – This is just a thing.

Aliens – Sure are trolls and cherubs here.

Possession – Alternate Calliope uses Jade’s alive body in Meat and an alternate Jade’s dead body in Candy to control the narrative.

Light BDSM – I guess this is whatever is going on in Candy Jake, Jane, and Gamzee’s relationship. As well as the apparently rough sex Terezi and John had in Meat.

Theft – Meenah steals an extra Ring of Life John pilfered in Meat.

Furry – Jade, who is heavily implied to have gained some of Bec’s, um, biology after the sprite merge, which was. Information nobody needed to know.

Anthropomorphic Characters – Jade and Davepetasprite^2.

Power Imbalances – Candy Jane/Jake/Gamzee’s relationship.

Blood – Extreme violence tends to result in this.

Trickster Mode – Jane starts utilizing it in Meat in an attempt to help her campaign.

Body Horror – See Graphic Depictions of Violence.

Gerrymandering – Mentioned by Dave as a tactic utilized by previous presidents in regards to the consorts voting power.

Starvation – Meat John finds Terezi by the black hole, slowly starving to death.

Cuckolding – Candy Gamzee basically cuckolds Jane and Jake.

Interspecies Relationships – Kanaya and Rose, as well as Meat Gamzee/Jane/Jake.

Guns – Jake sure has that.

Vore – I think this is mentioned as a joke somewhere.

Assassination – Dirk pretends to attempt to assassinate Jake in Meat timeline, only to tranquilize the Alternate Calliope-possessed Jade.

Alien Biology – A joke is made about how trolls apparently do not have two dicks.

Detransitioning – Roxy and Calliope are implied to have begun their gender exploration in Candy route, similarly to Meat, but stick to using she/hers throughout the route.

Chronic Illness – Rose is suffering from mental illness that is giving her headaches.

Vomit – After the battle with Lord English in Meat, John barfs all over himself. It’s gross.

Drugging – In Meat, Dirk slips Rose drugs in a drink to induce her into a sleep. He uses a similar drug on the Alternate Calliope-possesed Jade.

Cannibalism – During Candy’s postscript, The Alternate Calliope-possessed Jade devours Lord English’s body.

Unhealthy Relationships – John and Roxy have tensions in their relationship during Candy, as well as the weird cuckolding situation with Candy Jane/Jake/Gamzee.

Capitalism – See Economy.

Eggs – In Candy we see the Mother Grub release eggs that later give birth to baby trolls.

Slut Shaming – In both timelines, Dave and Karkat do not approve of Jade’s apparent promiscuity.

Black Romance – Candy Jane and Jake seem to settle into a kismessitude auspisticed by Gamzee, and Vriska also has a hatemakeout with Gamzee in the same timeline. It’s not clear where Terezi and John’s relationship in Meat laid.

Kidnapping – John attempts to kidnap Tavros Crocker from his abusive parents, eventually leading to a broken relationship with his wife and friends.

Faygo – Gamzee continues to drink the soda and seems to also give some to baby Tavros.

Bimboification – Throughout the Candy arc, everyone seems to slowly lose their character development.

Poisoning – See Drugging.

Teenagers – See Children.

Domestic Abuse – Candy Jane/Jake/Gamzee.

Reality Television – Jake continuously stars in ridiculous reality TV programs in both timelines.

Ovipositioning – See Eggs. I promise it’s not sexual.

Ghosts – The ghost army is seen fighting Lord English in Meat only to be sucked into the black hole, and these ghosts later start dropping out of the sky in the Candy timeline.

Revolutionary Rhetoric – See Political Intrigue.

Self-Sacrifice – Davepetasprite^2 sacrifices themselves to trap Lord English inside the black hole.

Propaganda – Candy Jane pushes propaganda material through the government.

Super PACs – Candy Jane is mentioned to utilize these to influence the government.

Pica – Meat Terezi in her starvation begins eating tobacco and shaving cream.

Early 20th Century Dance Movements – Jake does some of these for some reason.

Prison Camps – In Candy, captured members of the rebellion are mentioned to be sent there.

Existential Crisis – Candy John has one throughout the story, thinking that his reality seems fake.

Xenophilia – See Interspecies Relationships.

Daddy Issues – Tavros Crocker, presumably, and Candy Dave talks about his adoptive dad/bro at Dirk’s funeral.

Bad Parenting – See Child Abuse.

Addiction – Meat Jane appears to develop one to the Trickster Lollipop.

Clown – Gamzee.

I might have missed some on this list because my brain is fuzzy but that’s the general gist.

The Other Things Not Mentioned In The Tags That Are Also Bad

Remember how I mentioned how Gamzee’s back in Candy? While he’s apparently “not sixteen” when he shows up to meet the rest of the gang who is 23, it’s still iffy on what’s going on. And sixteen years later, when he is definitely an adult, he meets up with the definitely 16 year old Vriska, where the two begin some weird blackrom courtship, before she murders the clown. Any way you look at it, Gamzee’s at least twice Vriska’s age. Yuck. Similarly, the dying 23 year old John meets Terezi in the Furthest Ring, where she is apparently also “not 16″ but it’s not really specified how long it’s been from her perspective. And then the two end up having sex. Another notable mention to Candy Karkat and Meenah, who end up in a relationship when Karkat is into his late 20s and Meenah is only 19.

Speaking of sex, in general there’s just a lot of smutty things described in the epilogue. And while all of the characters sans the exceptions mentioned above are 23 or older, it’s still vastly uncomfortable to see characters getting their sex on when we first met them at thirteen.

There’s also all the transitioning tags up there because Roxy and Calliope transition - but only in the Meat timeline. While we only see like one year of Meat, we see sixteen of Candy. I’m not really qualified to comment more about the awkward implications of all this as a cis girl, so I’ll end this segment here.

The thing I think I am qualified to talk about was the furry tag up there. There’s a conversation where Candy Jade is talking to Karkat and Dave (the three vaguely have some sort of polyamory going on, maybe) and talks about having a baby. Jade reveals that she can’t get pregnant due to “biological reasons” and that the possible father of their surrogate baby won’t be Dave, so uh. It’s pretty easy to connect the awful dots. Which is just. What the fuck.

And here’s a whollop. In the characters, Barack Obama was tagged. At first I thought it was because of all of Dave’s references to him, but nope it turns out Dave actually has a conversation with Barack Obama. Basically Dave goes into what was once the white house and finds his way to some sort of weird bunker where he meets Magic Ghost Obama who tells Dave about various things. The worst part is definitely where Obama says he seemed to end up in some sort of relationship with Dirk Strider at one point. He also references things that were first mentioned in the Skaianet Systems Incorporated leaks, you know the ones where Hussie made it Einstein’s fault the holocaust happened? So like, oof. And I’m not sure I can construct a logical timeline in my head based on the information said in the Epilogues and in the leaks to when Obama and Dirk could have met at an equivalent age rather than Obama being an adult and Dirk... not being one. So uh. Yay.

I can’t think of anything else, but I almost definitely missed some stuff since it’s been days since I read those cursed epilogues and I might not pick up on more nuanced things. Basically the epilogues are bad!! And that’s why I’m probably gonna bow out of the Homestuck fandom soon. The comic has not aged well and this was just the icing on the shitty cake.

And if you’re still a Homestuck may I recommend not doing that. Find something else to invest your time into. Please. I know it might have been a big part of your childhood (it was a big part of mine), but it’s time to realize that maybe we’ve been looking through rose-tinted shades for longer than we should have and it’s time to put shitty things in the crapper.

[axeandfloof-blog]

@crowism

Haru was impossibly confused. She wasn’t sure how exactly she wound up in this place, only that she opened her eyes and she was suddenly standing in the middle of the street of what... Looked to be an older European town? What on earth? Was she dreaming? Or did she stumble into the Metaverse, somehow? If so, why couldn’t she remember? 

She had no time to sort her thoughts out before she was approached by what was perhaps the strangest cat she had ever seen. At least, that’s what she assumed the small furry creature was. Stranger still, it had begun to talk, just like Mona. It was giving her an explanation of some sort, and somehow knew about the Metaverse and Milady. But this only left her with more questions. And before she could even ask them, it turned tail and took off! 

“Please, wait!” She calls again, trying to follow after the creature as fast as she’s able, but it’s swift and agile, and is able to quickly escape her sight. But she couldn’t simply give up her search, not when she was in some completely unknown town that certainly wasn’t Tokyo. At the very least, maybe she could find someone to give her a better idea where she was. 

After A few minutes of fruitless searching, she hears a loud thump from around the corner and a pained hiss. She freezes, trying to steel herself before going to investigate. 

“Hello...? Mr. Cat?” She hesitantly calls out as she peeks around the corner. 

She had no idea who she was expecting to find slumped over in that alleyway, but it certainly wasn’t him. 

“Akechi-kun?” 

She can’t believe it. This has to be a dream. Akechi had passed away! Futaba-chan herself had confirmed it. He had been killed, cruelly at the hands of his own father’s distorted cognition of him. But here he was, leaning against the wall and... Bleeding so, so much. 

This realization snapped her out of her paralysis and launched her forward. From standing in front of him, she can see how awful the injury really is. An ugly arc has carved itself from his right arm down to his side. This didn’t make any sense... He didn’t sustain any injuries like this after their battle. And shouldn’t their be bullet wounds? 

... That didn’t matter. If left here, he surely wouldn’t escape death a second time. 

“Please, don’t try to stand.” She softly chides, putting a hand on his uninjured shoulder. “What happened?” 

[chysgoda]

Let's talk about oaths

In which Art’imis loses her temper and Solkazgyl has a bad day

It was a nice day in Camp Dragonhead. A clear sky and warm sun brightened most moods and all the threats that they watched for were quiet. a good day to catch up on outdoor chores or just to feel like a person for half a bell. So one no begrudged the commander or the couple of Fortemps dragoons that had pounced on the opportunity to catch up when all of their schedules aligned on such a nice day.  

Dinadan noticed the group walking into the camp first. Art’imis he recognized first, her scale mail hauberk and white cloak had become as regular a sight as any of his brother and sister dragoons in the congregation. The other three he did not recognize at all. He elbowed Matthaios in the ribs to get the other dragoon to shut up for a moment. “Who are the foreigners with Art’imis?”

Haurchrfant leaned forward to get a better look. “That would be Lord Papashan and Captain Jenlyns of the Sultansworn they passed through here a few days ago. I do not know the Roegadyn however.”

Matthaios turned as well and frowned. Tension sparked off the group and it was obvious that the Hyru and Lalafel between Art’imis and the Roegadyn were keeping the pair apart. “Something’s going on there.”

“Indeed,” Haurchefant agreed. He rolled his shoulders back picking up the mantle of commander again. Matthaios and Dinadan glanced at each other as the fell into step with the Silver Fuller.  

The Au’ra paladin glanced their way and shook her head as their group approached the chocobo porter’s station near the main gates. She looked back down the the older lalafel walking next to her “which route will you return by?”

“Revenant’s Toll, There are still remnants of the 14th legion in Northern Thanalan that are causing trouble.” Papashan said easily. “Captain Jenlyns wants to assess if the Sultansworn can aid in the efforts there.”

Dinadan let out a relieved breath when Art’imis smiled with honest approval. “Field work will be good for them. Thank you for keeping an eye on things in Ul’dah for me Papashan.”

The lalafel waved off the thanks with a huff, “I kept an eye on things long before you were born welp.”

Art’imis chuckled fondly tension beginning to leave the line of her shoulders. “I shall pray to the Dawn Father and Halone that you and Captain Jenlyns have a safe journey.”

The roegedyn snorted in amusement, “nothing for an old teacher Art’imis?”

All the tension snapped back into the free paladin’s shoulders. Next to her Papashan pinched the bridge of his nose. Art’imis’ lips pulled back and up in what was technically a smile but reminded Dinadan more of hunting wolves. “Nothing other than to let you know that you’ve no need to visit Falcon’s Nest. I’ll keep an eye on Constaint.”

“It’s hardly a bother to -” the Roegadyn’s eyes narrowed at his fellow free paladin

Art’imis interrupted before he could finish, “Solkazgyl, Let me clarify what I mean. Do not come back. You’ve done enough, and more damage besides.”

“Poaching students is rather poor form Art’imis.”

“As is abandoning a student for the sake of theatrics. Shall we compare sins?”

Dinadan tensed when the roedadyn’s sword hand flexed and Art’imis shifted her shoulder in preparation of using her shield. The two Sultansworn noticed as well. Jenlyns stepped between the two Free Paladins. “We need to be moving on Solkazgyl.”

The Roegadyn ignored the Sultansworn captain and stepped to side so that line between himself and Art’imis was clear again. “He would have been fine without your interference.”

“If by fine you mean dead, than yes he would have been.” Art’imis snapped back. “You manipulated a child into seeking out a death cult whose standard battle strategy is to summon void sent!”

“It was merely a test of conviction, you were tested in the same way.” Solkzagyl waved a dismissive hand.

“Three moons between when you first put a blade his hand and when you abandoned him. Mylla wouldn’t have even let him spar with how little you showed him.” Rage made the Auri’s words sharp. If she’d been a dragoon Dinadan wouldn’t have been surprised to see dragonfire flicker along her skin. Her left hand hovered above the hilt of her sword on her right hip.

“Art’imis,” Haurchefant called firmly. Her head snapped around to him a hissed response half formed before her better sense checked her wrath and she snapped her jaw shut. The Fortemps knight held the younger woman’s eyes and she dropped her hand from the hilt of her sword and nodded an acknowledgment.

“Well now that some of us have thoroughly out stayed our welcome we shall be off.” Papashan said, dry as the Sangolii desert. “My apologies for the disturbance Ser Haurchefant.”

Dinadan kept his eyes on the Roegadyn as Matthaios stepped to the side leaving a space for the small paladin to join them. Solkzagyl frowned at Art’imis’ back as she turned away from him.

< He’ll provoke her, He wants the fight.> Gorebash whispered a warning.

“Art’imis,” the Roegadyn called out, “did you fight that duel in ernest?”

“No.” The Au’ra didn’t turn back to him when she spoke. The insult plain in her body language, he was not a threat to her and it was not worth the effort of turning and looking him in the face.  

“Ah, well I think I will certainly be back than. It would be a shame if the boy learned to apply himself unevenly.” The roegadyn’s weight shifted to the balls of his feet. “I’d have thought you would have learned better after what happened to the Sultana under you care.”  

Dinadan would always remember the aetheric copy of Art’imis’ shield flying towards Solkazgyl as being the first thing that happened even when nearly everyone moved at the same time. Both Jenlyns and Papashan rounded on the Roegadyn flushed with anger. Haurchefant reached out to hold back Art’imis as both he and Matthiaos pulled their lances from their backs. The Au’ra paladin ducked under the Fortemps knight’s arm and had her sword drawn and shield in place before she took her first full stride.

Solkzagyl took half a step back in preparation to catch a shield that became nothing but sparks of aether. He recovered well, but his sword had only just cleared its scabbard when Art’imis invaded his space. The keen edge of her blade slicing through the  silk and wool just under the bottom edge of his breastplate. She dragged the cut with her as she rushed by and it found flesh and blood. She was past him then, just a head of his retaliation, and into the snow fields on the other side of the gate.

Dinadan’s eyes locked on the gleam and flash of light on the edge of Art’imis’ blade and followed its arc as she turned herself back to face the gate. She brought the blade up before her almost like she was saluting an dueling partner, the light flashing and gleaming again as a snap of her wrist showed the flat of the blade and the ruby rivulets of blood that were pulled in from the edge of the blade to gather in the fuller crystal bright-  His dragon wrapped around his senses and pulled his attention away from the light playing on the blade, it was almost physically painful. <Do not be distracted!> Gorebash hissed. <That trick is not for you.>

He blinked and assessed the situation, at least half of the knights of Camp Dragonhead were unnaturally focused on the Au’ra paladin. Both Haurchefant and Matthiaos watched with thinking focus. The Silver Fuller frowned deeply his eyes darting from his people to the Free Paladins squaring up outside his gates. The Sultansworn also seemed to have resisted the aether light that still tried to pull at his focus. The old lalafel had thrown out an arm to keep Captain Jenlyns from stepping in. Solkazgyl stalked towards the smaller Paladin who kept the space between them, backing up to draw her opponent further away from the gates. The pull on Dinadan’s attention stopped abruptly and he wasn’t sure if it was distance or if Art’imis has simply stopped putting effort into whatever it was.

“Back to your posts!” Haurchefant barked at his men who were shaking off the effects as well. The Silver Fuller looked at the two dragoons who nodded and then he turned to the gate and trekked out after the dueling Paladins. The two Sultansworn feel into step with them.

The two fighters had closed the distance between them and begun to fight in earnest when the five of them got close enough to see and hear the fight clearly. Art’imis was lighter on her feet than the Roegadyn and had no hesitation about taking whatever shot was open to her, but she did not have the same mass to back up her strikes. It was unnerving watching the small woman take blows that would fell most of the Knights in the Congregation. It shouldn’t have been so disquieting, Dinadan had seen her take the full force of a dragons lashing tail on her shield and keep her feet.  But The shapes here were different here, Art’imis’ size made her look childlike in comparison to her opponent. It looked to much like a child being meanced. He picked up the pace just a bit-

“Stop!” Papashan called out with the authority of an old captain. He darted in front of their group to stop their forward motion.

“She can’t mean to-“ Jenlyns gasped and then darted forward to stop them as well.  Ahead of them Dinadan could have sworn he saw the name of the Furry tumble from the Auri’s lips as she deliberately dropped to one knee as if in prayer. White fire crashed to the ground in a solid circle. A pained and surprised shout rang out from inside the light.

When the light faded Art’imis was on her feet again. Solkzagyl’s chest heaved with pain and rage as he climbed back up from his knees. “You dare call her scorn down on me?!”

“Did you not wish to fight in earnest?” Art’imis snarled at him. “Is this not what you wanted? To face the Eikon Slayer and prove that it is you who should hold leadership among us all, Sultansworn and Free Paladin alike?”

The pair closed on each other again to focused on their wrath to pay any heed to outsiders. Captain Jenlyns grimaced everytime a blow hit home on either fighter. Haurchefant rested his hand on the hilt of his sword but had not yet drawn. Aether made the air reek with a smell like tin that was so strong Dinadan could taste it. Swords bounced and deflected off of shields that formed of aether while the blow was swinging in. His heart stopped for a beat when the Roegadyn caught Art’imis’ shield and swung it out away from her.  She let it go rather than be knocked off balance. Solkazgyl’s smirk was an ugly thing as he stepped back, mouth opened to offer a chance of surrender. Art’imis did not stop, with her right hand she gripped the blade of her sword halfway down from the hilt. She changed the grip of her left hand as she raced ahead and swung the hilt of her sword like a war hammer. The crossguard smashed into the first wound she’d laid on him. He choked on a gasp and staggered back but she kept with him plowing her shoulder into his side and taking advantage of the momentum the stager had started. The giant fell and she jumped to the side and stomped on the wrist of his sword arm. When the fingers spasmed she kicked the sword away.  She pressed the tip of her blade against the side of Solkazgyl’s throat.

She turned her head and spat blood into the snow. “Dawn Father forgive me, but you have found the absolute limit of my patience.”

The Roegadyn opened his mouth and Art’imis pressed the blade hard enough to almost break the skin. “No Solkazgyl, for once in your life you will listen. You preach endlessly about conviction and the importance of keeping oaths, but somehow you never take actual responsibility for those oaths. You throw one of the worst nights of my life in my face and dare to say that I lack conviction. Where was yours? Where were you when the Brass Blades and Crystal Braves seized the palace? Did you not swear to protect the house of Ul? Where were you when the wine was poured and I watched a sister claw at her throat trying to get air? Where were you when I was choking on the vapor of a silencing potion? Where were you when your brothers in the Sultansworn were attacked?”

Art’imis took a deep breath trying to contain her wrath. “Ever since Papashan put me on your trail I have found naught but confusion, fear, and death in your wake. Do you know how many were hurt by your damned theatrics? Do you know how many travelers fell prey to the cultists? Do you know how many knights of House Haillenarte were injured in the Sea of Clouds? You chose to let murders wander loose so that you could play your game. Did we both not swear our swords and shields in defense of innocents? Of those who could not shield themselves? So once again you are forsworn. For what? That you might teach the Sultansworn a lesson they already know far better than you?”

“Art’imis,” Haurcefant stepped closer to the woman. “You need to stand down.”  

Art’imis blinked realizing that there was a cut on Solkazgyl’s throat that was steadily trickling blood.  She sheathed her blade and crouched down so that she could snatch the winged circlet from Solkazgyl’s head and claim her prize. “Do not presume to interfere with what is mine again.”

No longer threatened by the closeness of Art’imis’ sword Solkazgyl sat up. “And you presume to claim all of Ishgard as your own?”

“Yes,” Art’imis spoke with a conviction and heat that reminded Dinadan of the white fire she’d called down. “Mine to protect, my sanctuary to maintain, my kith and kin to shield. You will not interfere with what is mine. Now leave, and do not darken my door again.”

Papashan had collected Art’imis’ shield and handed it back to her when she walked away from Solkazgyl.  The lalafel turned to the Commander of Camp Dragonhead. “Given the circumstances we would take no offense should you chose to assign guards to see us to your border without further incident.”  

“I do believe I will.” The Silver Fuller said flatly. “I trust you and Captain Jenlyns can keep your friend here until I send my men out?”

“Of course.” Papashan turned to consider Art’imis. He nodded to the circlet in her left hand. “I do believe that will look better on you. And since I rather think you bear the Fury’s favor already I will pray that your Dawn Father will take watch over your good sense.”

The free paladin flinched a little at the subtle reprimand of her loss of temper. Haurchefant rested a hand on Art’imis’ shoulder as they turned away from the Ul’dan group. The dragoons feel into step with them, closing ranks as they returned to camp dragon head.

Jenlyns watched realizing on some level he had taken for granted that Art’imis would one day return to call Ul’dah home, come back to the familiarity of training with his men between adventures or helping teach recruits at the Gladiators guild. “I did not realize how much I assumed she would return to Ul’dah once all was made right.”

Papashan glanced up when the Captain made the quiet confession.  Before looking back to the Ishgardians walking back into the safety of Camp Dragonhead. “Allegiance must run both ways to have any strength. The Warriors of Light gave Eorzea their faith and blood, the Eorzean Alliance repaid them with distrust and abandonment. If they’re needed they will come, it’s in their nature to. I do not think they’ll ever give us their trust again though.”

Silence fell until three knights wearing the colors of House Fortemps came out confirming Papashan’s words with finality.  

Notes

So I have lots of feelings about the 50-60 PLD questline, Frustration, Bafflement, and WTF mostly. So much about this line made me so mad. Among them just the straight up lack of sense the whole thing made and then the ingame admission of yea we know it’s stupid. Also the final duty was a serious let down? Like the duties with the Deaths Embrace required a lot more effort and then you get to Solkazgyl’s little tournament and he’s just not that hard a fight. Probably because the big blue jackass spends more time perfecting his dramatic entrances. Also it feels like Constaint is like stupid quick at picking up fighting skills given that the implication is that he hadn’t known Solkazgyl for that long before he “died”.    

Timeline wise I had the PLD quests done before I got to the great dravanian road trip so in my head this is all wrapped up before Alphinaud and Tataru get accused of heresy.

[fanfic-inator795]

Hi :) Not sure if you’re still doing WoY prompts, but if you are maybe something with Wander/Awesome or an out-take from your Awesome Arc series? Which is excellent btw!

Aww, thank you for the compliment, Anon ^v^ *hugs* I don’t have any Awesome Arc outtakes, but I can write some Starfish for ya, heh. Enjoy!

The star nomad gave a happy sigh, stretching his arms out. He could already feel his fur warming under the beach’s sunbeams as a light ocean breeze blew through it. Now, he’d had quite a few beach days in his travels, but this was DEFINITELY one of the best in his opinion! “And it’s just gettin’ started!” he grinned. 

“I thought that was you.” Blinking, Wander glanced over his shoulder, allowing him to spot the familiar shark-man walking towards him. 

“Oh! Hey Emperor Awesome!” Wander waved, “Didn’t think I’d see you here!”

“Heh, it’s just Awesome now, remember?” Awesome smiled. As if to visually remind him, Awesome wasn’t wearing any of his formal royal attire. Instead he was wearing a floral Hawaiian shirt, swim trunks, white pumps, and bright pink lipstick with blue eyeshadow. “Anyway, s’up Furball?”

“Nothin’ much! Just decided to come out and enjoy this beauuuutiful beach day!” Wander beamed. Awesome chuckled. Sunglasses weren’t really his thing, but he was starting to feel like he should’ve worn them in front of the Star Nomad. Dude’s cheery attitude was practically as bright as a thousand suns. 

“Cool,” the shark nodded, “Nothin’ wrong with just chillaxin’ on a beach. Chuggin’ down drinks, gettin’ a sweet tan-”

“Oh, those things sound fun too!” Wander chimed, “Though, I was thinkin’ of goin’ down and explorin’ the coral reefs that are supposed to be here! The coral apparently has a lot of corundum and zirconium in them, makin’ the coral look like it’s made outta jewels and diamonds!”

“Whoa,” Awesome blinked, “Wow, that actually does sound pretty cool.” Maybe not as cool as the coral reef cities he was used to seeing on his home turf, but still pretty cool. 

“Uh huh! Not to mention all the fish and other creatures that we’re bound to meet down there!” After a moment of thinking, Wander looked back up at Awesome. “Say Awesome, do you wanna come down and see the reefs with me?” Sylvia had already decided to spend their first day on this planet relaxing at the Alola Tiki Bar, enjoying fruity umbrella drinks and relaxing her feet after their travels, and while Wander didn’t mind doing things alone, the only thing more fun than doing something by yourself was doing it with a friend!

Awesome hummed, thinking about it. He didn’t really have any major plans for the day, and a swim did sound nice... “Alright, Furball, I’m in,” he answered finally with a toothy grin. In a flash, he ripped off his shirt - earning quite a few impressed gasps and admiring stares from several people around him. And as he kicked off his sandals, Wander carefully took off his hat as well as his own shoes. 

The water wasn’t too cold, so it didn’t take two long for the duo to wade out to a spot where they could dive. “So,” Awesome began to say, “Do you have, like, an underwater map on you or directions on how to get to these reefs or-”

“Whoaaaa!” Without warning, Wander suddenly grabbed Awesome’s arm. The former emperor instinctively let out a gasp (though the cool water he was in kept his thought from going to certain lava-filled places, thank Grop) and Wander quickly let go. “S-Sorry! Sorry! I, I didn’t mean to startle ya. I just- that’s amazing!”

“What’s- Oh.” As they had gotten closer to the water, Awesome’s gills had begun to open up. Of course, this was only natural to him. But to Wander - who had probably never even seen Awesome’s gills, thanks to the collar of his cape usually covering them up - yeah, they probably would be kind of amazing to see. “Heh, thanks bro. ...Though, speaking of which, are you gong to be alright down there? Like, air-wise?”

Wander giggled. “I’ll be fine! I’ve had lots of practice holdin’ my breath! But thanks for your concern!” Awesome smiled back at him, giving him a nod. 

After swimming a few more feet, the two were finally ready to dive. Thanks to the bright colors of the coral and the bright sun above, the reefs were actually pretty easy to find. And, true to Wander’s word, they weren’t just beautiful. They were incredible.  

Thousands of fish in varying shapes, sizes and colors weaved in and out of the glistening rock structures. It felt like being surrounded by a whirlpool of colors - an underwater rainbow-tornado, or perhaps the most colorful club Awesome had ever seen.

Awesome grinned to himself. It had been a while since he’d swam in something that wasn’t a hot tub, and he could admit, it was even better than he was expecting. But as he turned to say this to Wander, his attention was quickly stolen away from the beautiful environment. 

It was no shock to him that Wander was a ‘free spirit’. A total hippie from the inside out, and in no moment was this better represented than now. He watched Wander ride the tides and the waves, barely moving at all with a light (if slightly puffed up, thanks to his cheeks) smile on his face. His fur rose and fell with the water, and whenever Wander did have to change direction, he did so gracefully. Like a furry jellyfish that just floated along enjoying life. Like an underwater dance, his only partner being the water that flowed around him. 

The last time Awesome had watched him dance, it had been infuriating that someone could naturally be so flexible and fast while still having grace and flow. But now... Well, now he had to admit, it was pretty impressive.

Of course, that didn’t make the nomad completely oblivious to his surroundings. He’d admire the coral, his eyes sparkling just as much as the rocks. He’d also wave at the fish, his smile never faltering even if the creatures just swam away without a single glance. Awesome chuckled. Always so positive...

Eventually though, Wander’s cheeks began to quiver, his movement stalling a bit. Acting quickly, Awesome scooped him up and swam towards the surface. Once they broke through, Wander took a deep breath. ...And it would seem that was all he needed, because within a second or two, he was talking clearly. “Thanks for the help!” he grinned, “So, you ready to head back down?”

“Ready when you are, bro,” Awesome nodded, his arms still wrapped around the nomad (not that he really minded). So, Wander took another deep breath, and they dove back down.

And as soon as Wander began his ‘dance’ once more, Awesome couldn’t help but join him, staying near his side as they floated around each other and the reef. An underwater ballet. Completely free, totally content, and even Wander’s air breaks couldn’t ruin their flow.

Eventually though, their stomachs and muscles demanded that they returned to the shore, so they reluctantly complied. Still, their dance couldn’t be easily forgotten. “That was so much fun!” Wander nearly shouted as they stomped back onto the sand, “And the coral? And all the fish?! It was just so, SO-!”

“Awesome?” Awesome suggested with a grin. And for this comment, he received a wet hug in return. 

“Yeah!” Glancing up at the shark-man, Wander’s smile soften. “Thanks for joinin’ me, Awesome. It was even more fun with you there.”

“Heh, well, no surprise there. But, yeah, no prob, dude,” Awesome smiled back, “Thanks for inviting me in the first place.”

“You’re welcome!” Reaching into his hat, Wander pulled out two fluffy towels, handing one to Awesome. “Maybe I can bring Syl along tomorrow! Though, speakin’ of Syl, I should probably go check up on her, and probably get a bite to eat.”

“Yeah...” As he dried his arms off, Awesome had a thought. “Hey! Furball!”

“Hm?” Wander looked over his shoulder at him. “Yeah?”

“I uh, I’ve got a beach house on the other side of this planet. And, I mean, I could probably make some calls and get a party started there tonight. And, if you and Syl wanted to come, well, I can promise you that Flex wouldn’t be kickin’ you guys out. So...?”

Wander stared at him for a moment, then grinned. “Of course, Awesome! I’d love to come to your party!”

“Heh, great!” Awesome smiled, “Good to know, dude. Good to know...” He didn’t say it, but he was definitely looking forward to dancing with him again. It was kind of nice to have a partner to show off his sweet moves with instead of just competition. “Oh, uh, one more quick thing.” Reaching into his swim trunks, he pulled out his water-proof smart phone - and he didn’t even have to say anything for Wander to realize what he wanted.

Darting back over to the shark-man, Wander perched himself up on Awesome’s shoulder, wrapping his arms around his head. Chuckling, Awesome lifted up the phone with one hand while holding up a peace sign with the other. He also moved his head just a little, resting it on Wander’s fur. “Alright,” he heard Wander say just before he pressed the button, “Cheeeeese!”

*click!*

THE END

(Hope you liked this, anon!)

[insectilenemesis]

The Journey Home #1

So this is the first part of the first arc. Admittedly, this will be a slow beginning and my writing is more than a little rusty. However, I hope that you enjoy what’s there.

     Morris was a pearlcatcher of great distinguishment. Though whether that made much difference was debatable, considering that pearlcatchers are known as a “distinguished” species in multiple less than admirable ways. This particular dashing specimen’s claim to fame was his ability to produce vast quantities of mucus blacker than the endless night of the Hewn City.

     “My dear, I assure you such a thing demonstrates the potency of my experiences.” He adjusted his fine silver monocle with an exaggerated flourish of his claws more akin to the flailing of a dying fish. “I believe it speaks well of my breeding, if I do say so my-”

     “Yes, yes. That’s all very well and all, but we were talking about this telescope?”

     An hour. She was certain that was enough time for the sun to dip below the horizon and the air to grow bitterly cold. Whoever told her ancestors that desert life was preferable to the Icefield must’ve eaten a few too many Mycena Mushrooms.

     “Why, I merely wanted back up my prestige. Surely I would be the worthiest to handle such an instrument. And as there are no others my equal, it would not hurt for you to lower your hefty price of two hundred treasure.”

     The telescope in question resembled a gold-rimmed wooden tube. Reddish-brown stains were rubbed deep into the grain. Jalysa had found it while rummaging through the dying embers of a campsite. Not from the campfire, make no mistake. The site was a black patch on the sand whose story she did not intend to learn of.

     Her prospective buyer was at the moment caressing the aforementioned item as if it were an extraordinarily soft kitten. Now, Jalysa was fond of the furry beasts, but they were even more useless than this crudely made telescope. Yet she knew a friend in the Ashfall Waste who sold them hotter than the Flamecaller’s furnace.

     “You do realize that this is not only handmade, but also has been intricately spelled,” she said, reaching out to trace the runes gouged into the telescope’s side. Spelled with a very simple cleaning charm taught to most precocious hatchlings with an inkling of magical aptitude, that is. “I’d be unwilling to sell such a thing for less than five hundred.”

     The pearlcatcher tugged at one of his droopy whiskers. His other set of claws ponderously tapped upon the telescope.

     Jalysa’s gaze refused to leave the sight. She was all too aware of her teeth scraping against her lower lip. Please take the offer already. That’s enough to round out earnings for supper. The hole in her stomach was growing wider by the minute.

     “Well.” Morris cast a glance down at the telescope in his clutch. He sighed, a rumbling sound, before holding it out for Jalysa to take. “I’m afraid that this is rather outside my price range.”

     “That’s all right. Perhaps I can visit you at a later date if I haven’t managed to sell it yet.” Doubtful. There was always some amateur astronomer around who wouldn’t be as stingy as this one. Problem was, she’d have to track them down first. Might have to sit through this same spiel again as well. Deities forbid. But that’s what she signed up for, so might as well get used to it. Damn it.

     He nodded. “Indeed, perhaps. Shall I escort you to the entrance?” A toss of the head indicated the spiral staircase leading up from the lower floor of the burrow.

     Jalysa found it odd that one of his breed would find it preferable to live underground, but Morris had been insistent to explain his low standing in the Bookkeepers’ Circle.

     ‘It is far too overcrowded with the riffraff is all I can tell you,’ he had declared with a sniff. ‘A whole horde of those overgrown lizards are preening upstairs. Why, I remember the days when we were all pearlcatcher. Then, they showed up, shoving their snouts into our business. I never!’ Then he had taken care to groom back his mane and adjust his monocle with practiced ease. Jalysa decided it was better to not comment upon it.

     Jalysa snatched the telescope and dashed to the foot of the stairs. “No, no. That’s quite all right!” She grinned, or at least tried to. It was too wide, like the sides of her mouth were pinned to her ears. “Um, have a nice day?”

     She darted up and out to freedom, her pouch not an ounce heavier with gold.

     Lurking in the Circle’s tunnel system had robbed Jalysa of the memory of the outside world’s chaotic weather. A simple poke of her snout beyond the entrance elicited the screeches and howls of the wind. It whirled about, eagerly shredding her with the grains of sands embedded in its wispy fingertips. She drew back, her stinging eyes watery and reddened. Should’ve known it wouldn’t have stopped by now.

     Clumsy claws withdrew a pair of battered goggles. Telltale cracks had already begun to spider along the lenses. No doubt they would give out entirely after a couple dozen more hits from the rampant storms scattered across the region. Jalysa settled them over her eyes. Then she pulled up the hood of her ratty grey cloak and crawled out into the thick of the storm.

     Wandering the Shifting Expanse for a deal often followed the same meandering routine. Plow through whatever the wind cast your way. Scavenge the leavings of nature and dragonkind. Seek shelter, preferably in the homes and encampments of those willing to part with their savings. Strike a deal, or don’t. Be willing to search for your meals otherwise. Trek onwards.

     The way of the traveling merchant was far less ideal once one measured the risk versus the reward. Jalysa would take it though. Better to be a scraggly walking mop of fur than a complacent puffball. Three days without a leaf to chew on was worth it all.

     As the dust began to settle, the moon’s silver touch had begun to recede from the land. Already the sky was awash with rosy pinks and gradually lightening blues. Jalysa ceased her wandering and surveyed her surroundings. The ground was unblemished, the only marks being the remains of the trail she had left behind. It appeared she would have to rely on herself once more.

     Jalysa slung her pouch off and rummaged through its contents. Having found the necessary materials, she went to work shifting about the sand. After some time, she created a furrow large enough to rest in, provided she lay down with her limbs tucked neatly beneath her. Then, a tarp was cast out over this and hastily secured in place. With the shelter completed, Jalysa dragged herself into it and settled down to sleep.

     The sun inched its way up the sky, its glow warming the chilled surface of the desert. Various critters had already retreated to the comfort of their own shelters. Silence reigned. Jalysa snoozed on into the day. Occasionally the wind would rouse, smacking at her ramshackle refuge. She would twitch then, and just as quickly, she would ease back into her slumber.

     However, this restfulness did not hold true within the depths of her mind. She stumbled about in the void, following the trail of stars before her. A glimmer of light shone at the end of it, the only existing reprieve from the darkness clinging to her. Yet as she stepped further along the trail, the journey would return to the beginning. Wandering off the path would only push her back to the start again. This was the eternal and unbreakable loop she was doomed to. Inaction was the only alternative, and that could drive a dreamer mad.

     After yet another jaunt down the path, there was a disruption. Wails echoed in the void. Cracks erupted throughout her mindscape, the light increasing as it flooded out through them. The surge of brightness sent Jalysa reeling, blinking spots from her eyes. Soon enough everything was white. She snapped awake, flailing about. Her wings nearly ripped through the shelter’s tarp cover. The screams. The light. There was a moment when she could see deep into the jaws of an enormous creature. Jagged teeth double the size of her head bore down upon her.

     But Jalysa closed her eyes. She forced the panic as far into the recesses of her mind as she  possibly could. Her breathing returned to the typical measured rise and fall of her chest. Serenity took hold of her, enfolding her like a comforting blanket. But something was off. Jalysa’s eyes flickered open.

     While there was no monster, the wailing had not ceased.

[homestuckhomestuckhomestuck]

hussie formspring trivia 7/?

So... Is Nepeta actually scratching him or is Gamzee slashing his face on purpose just to be fucked up?

He is slashing his face on purpose. Because I didn't think the erotic submissive asphyxiation fetish death was fucked up enough, I thought a little bit of self mutilation was in order. I hope at this point people realize that when you punched your Homestuck ticket, or really anything I've worked on, you were signing up for something that runs the risk of getting pretty fucked up. Practically everything I've done outside the confines of MSPA has been considerably more bizarre. I'm capable of containing the impulse to do bizarre shit when I want to. If you look at some big stretches of Homestuck, you will observe something that is quite tame, often cutesy, and even at times bordering on accessible. But then, to create a well manicured and widely palatable product was never the mission here. It was about exploration, high diversity of concepts and execution and all that, and I guess above all, fun for me personally. (and YOU!) So there are vehicles built into it to support my more usual fare. The primary vehicle for that was Hivebent, and the entire troll presence in the story in general. It began with a pretty messed up premise. The establishment of a colorful cast of kids from a violent race of psychopaths whose entire civilization centers around brutality and murder, and watching how kids from such a culture relate to each other and come of age. Hivebent began with dark notes relative to Homestuck, and only got darker. The scene with Vriska and Tavros in her quest cocoon was an example of the escalation in fucked up shit. Present events are even further escalation. It was always going to get much worse before it got better. If you got into this story more recently without knowing anything about me or what I've done before, and feel the story would be better suited without the inclusion of the more bizarre elements, or the downright NASTYTIMES, all I can say is that's not who I am or what you signed up for. Do you know about Humanimals? Probably most of you do. It's a comic I did years ago. I still think it's hilarious, personally. If you do too, then I would bet there aren't many ways in which our senses of humor differ. But to many it was disturbing, hideous rubbish. In truth, these comics are probably about as unsettling as you can possibly get without resorting to violent or sexual content. (if it appears sexual in nature, that is only your imagination at work, trust me) http://www.teamspecialolympics.com/comic.php?sec=archive&auth=Blurbs&cid=blurbs/00085-h.gif&blurb=h (Edward was on Equius's wall in the latest Flash) [here's where this answer probably gets a bit too long] I'm constantly mining content from my older work to incorporate into Homestuck. The instances of this are hard to quantify. Let's talk about Equius again. Lot's of people thought he had depth beyond his gags, and that's definitely true. But that wasn't what was relevant about him, to me personally. He was always the troll personification of everything like Humanimals I ever did and put on the internet. (Hence is lusus is basically a Humanimal.) I used to do all sorts of weird stuff, reviewing obscene furry pornography, making weird collages involving horses, and just a whole lot of bizarre shit that didn't make much sense, but I thought was funny. The whole span of these endeavors was quite trollish in nature, and you will agree if you peruse Humanimals. The fact that it puts some people off is part of what makes it funny. So Equius was that entire arena of trollish content, rolled into a character. That's why I was STRONGLY committed to maintaining the integrity of his arc, as I defined it. It was more important by far for me to adhere to his role as the fucked up dude who embodies all that stuff than have him blow it by doing something heroic. He believed he died a death of supreme integrity. And so do I. Don't get me wrong, he was still a gag character. But this was the precise nature of the gag, an homage to an entire vein of humor I used to deal in copiously. He, like some others, trolled you in life, and then trolled you in death. What happened in between, you ask? Well, that was just you falling in love. Whistles was a graphic novel I did years ago. It's another thing I've mined ideas from, which have specifically begun to show themselves lately with Gamzee's turn. And oddly, there's some of Whistles rolled into Equius too. If Equius seemed to accelerate to a point of depth faster than others, maybe it's because he was built on quite a payload of founding concepts, all revolving around perversity. Whistles was about a clown in a circus who was as sweet as could be. He loved his ringmaster, in spite of the fact that the master was a cannibal and a tyrant who attempted to kill him. When the circus rebelled against the master and beat him, Whistles flipped out, killed a lot of people, and absconded with the master into the desert. (nice clown going murderous is obviously what Gamzee imported from this) The recurring theme throughout the whole comic is that every time Whistles has a chance to do the right thing and rebel against his evil master, he can't overcome his loyalty to him. To the point where he offers his starving master his own severed arm to eat. The whole thing is darkly humorous and pretty messed up. Equius imported this insane reverence for the hierarchy at the expense of his own well being. Though with Whistles, it wasn't quite as perverse and didn't have the creepy sexual connotations. (However, at one point Whistles did dabble in prostitution. But when he did it, it was cute!) I get asked sometimes if I will make book 2, the conclusion of Whistles. The answer is, probably not. It's incredibly time consuming making a graphic novel, and I don't know where I'll find the time. It also probably just gathered too much dust for me to get into it again. But unlike Equius, I did plan on giving Whistles a heroic end. I always intended for him to overcome his obsession with his master. For what it's worth, I did finish a draft of book 2's first chapter. It introduces a new villain named Sugarshoe who is, get this, another insane clown! If you read through this and recent HS events, it may seem like I'm obsessed with this kind of thing. Not really. Like I said, I just borrow heavily from myself. http://www.andrewhussie.com/comic.php?sec=archive&auth=Andrew&cid=whistles2_draft/whistles2_001.jpg Just to wrap up this trivia binge, some other examples of old stuff I've rolled into Homestuck are.......... SBaHJ. I did a few strips on a whim, satirizing someone's comics, about one month before I started HS. I folded it into HS as it's primary source of original memes to be referenced ad nauseum. The whole Bro puppet obsession was largely sparked by this series of ridiculous muppet comics I did in the forum years ago. One of the comics actually made it in HS, pinned on Bro's door for Dave to find. File this under More Fucked Up Shit I did. http://www.mspaforums.com/showthread.php?24118-Cheerfulbear-PLAY-ME All the wizard stuff in Rose's house, and her wizardfic writing in general, was mostly imported from my own absurd wizardfic I wrote some years ago, a pretty healthy sized book I never quite finished. It was called Wizardy Herbert, and was a very flippantly satirical story about kids and magic, starting out as what seemed like an unapologetic Harry Potter spoof revolving around a magical summer camp instead of a school, and then quickly launching off the plot deep end into some very convoluted stuff of Homestuckian proportions. In fact, there are many ideas mined from this story and injected into Homestuck. Any time you read anything about magic being stupid or not being real or anything like that, that's Wizardy Herbert talking. Zazzerpan and his full Complacency were minor characters in WH. WH is actually extremely similar to HS, in terms of the nature of the dialogue, the blend of utter silliness and dramatic seriousness, and complexity. It feels like such a similar thing to me, this might be the main reason why I'll never quite finish it. Characters from WH are on Rose's wall here. http://www.mspaintadventures.com/?s=6&p=002121 Herbert is the guy with the eye patch. He had a magic gun. But he could never figure out how to use magic, so he primarily just went around shooting things. Anyway I guess that's enough about all that.

[fyrapartnersearch]

Let’s voltron!

“I say vol and you say tron! Vol…..”

“Eh…. voltron?”

“We’ll work on it.”

Hello everyone! I hope you’re all doing well and that you’ve been able to stay safe and healthy during the pandemic (and that the easing of some restrictions depending on where you are has not negatively affected you). After binge watching legendary defender on netflix I’ve had the undying and uncontrollable urge to do a voltron rp. Now I bet you’re all wondering what I want and if you’re going to get to do some shipping…….we’ll I guess you’re just going to have to read on and find out.

I’m looking for literate rper’s only. That means people who write in third person past tense, can give me at the very least one well thought out and fleshed paragraph (as well as be willing to write more when the situation calls for it) and has a decent grasp on their spelling, grammar and punctuation. I will not yell at you for the occasional bout of typonese but one liners, one worders, poorly written responses and lazy writing in general will not keep me around. If I can’t read what you’ve written and you’re not willing to put some effort in or correct it then there’s no point in me sticking around. I also require rper’s who’ve actually watched voltron whether it be legendary defender, defender of the universe or voltron force. If you’re someone whose a stickler for canon accuracy then I’m probably not the rper for you. When I rp in a fandom setting I treat it a bit like a base as in there’s rules to follow but I don’t have to follow them as if I’m reading the show script. To put it simply I value creativity and ideas that allow a different take on the characters and what could’ve happened.

I only rp male alien or alien hybrid characters and they’re premade but flexible in how they’re written. I do not have pictures nor do I desire to spend endless hours of time to find a face claim of a creature that isn’t the typical different coloured humanoids you see in voltron. I have descriptions and that’s it. I do not care if your character is made up on the spot or if you prefer to rp as a canon character. Shippers……I’m sorry but I will not rp a canon character as anything other than a side, I do not rp them as mains so if you were looking for some sheith or klance I’m sorry to disappoint you. That being said you are free to play as any canon character you desire or an oc as I’m open to oc x oc pairings or oc x canon pairings (you being the canon character) and I do either MxM or FxM pairings. Romance and non fade to black smut will both occur in the rp but it must be slow burn. I do not do fast paced love at first sight as it’s just not something that holds my interest. No sub dom dynamics, switch dynamics only and please no characters whose entire personality is just one emotion or one trait they have.

Guys…..please don’t call my aliens furries or whatever. I don’t rp generic spray painted humans and we’re rping in a world full of wacky and crazy aliens that have fur,scales,tails,multiple arms, etc so I find it Incredibly annoying to have a label forced on my character like it’s a bad thing. Alien means something not from earth, if a human was to be born on altea or daibazzal, it’d be considered an alien despite probably being a hundred percent human. If your view and comfort zone is restricted to aliens that look like an altean and nothing else then you needn’t not message me. I’m not going to make you rp with me if this is a dealbreaker so if you don’t heed this warning then you do not be rude after pulling a shocked pikachu. Be mature about it if you realise it’s a deal breaker rather than just blocking or suddenly deciding you no longer want to talk to me and that you’ll just ignore me till I unfriend you.

DO NOT COME TO ME SAYING OR ASKING YOU WANNA DO A SHEITH RP/ DO YOU RP AS THESE CANON CHARACTERS! I cannot stress this enough. I don’t know how I can make it any clearer that I do not do canon character mains nor do I do rp’s solely for the purpose of shipping said rp characters. As I’ve said before, if you wanna play a canon character go ahead but I will not rp a canon character as anything other than a side. My oc’s are my mains.

You and your characters must be 18+. I’m in my twenties and will not rp with a minor, especially since I have mature and adult themes in my rp’s that I do not want to get into trouble for Rping them with someone whose underaged. Underaged characters are just……..a big no for the sole fact that my characters are adults and that i do not feel uncomfortable playing against underaged characters.

You must be able to give me one or more responses a day. If it’s been two weeks since the last response and you’ve mysteriously disappeared then I’m not going to stick around for the day you decide to answer me. I do not like having my time wasted for any reason. My time zone is the eastern Australian time zone but I’m available and awake at odd hours so time zones aren’t too big of an issue for me. Remember that I’m looking for a long term partner, someone to carry an rp with for more than just a few days or a week and someone to write multiple stories with.

I have tonnes of ideas and head cannons for the rp but I’m open to brainstorming and ideas. We can mix and match ideas till we get something we both like. I want this to be a shared job, don’t expect me to be the one to carry everything just cause I’m the one supplying the idea. Down below I’ve decided to list a couple of ideas that I have:

New school defenders:

the paladins of voltron have been defending the universe for years. Many stories of their countless victories, battles and struggles are something that every parent who was alive during the war told their children. Once the main three were taken out (haggar, lotor and zarkon) the paladins settled down to teaching the garrisons new generation of cadets. The new change in curriculum was welcome for many as well as a new change in ship style. To make sure that peace could be maintained in every quadrant of every galaxy the paladins of voltron has trained the cadets to fly animal styled space ships like the lions. The animal ship a pilot was assigned depended on their personality, strengths, weaknesses, how well they worked in a team and their style of fighting and piloting skills. The importance of team bonding was something the paladins basically preached. When news of the return of an old foe forces the paladins to return to their jobs as voltrons warriors and they suddenly disappear many write them off as dead or perhaps in distress. None of the superiors are interested to find out….. so who will?

Lotor’s reign:

It was unbelievable. It couldn’t be true. It had to not be true. Voltron taken down by lotor, son of the mighty emperor zarkon himself, and the paladins were now working for him without question as his top generals?! When the news had first hit many people had panicked whilst countless others had been slain for daring to believe and protest that it was all just some lie made up by the half galran prince who was now an emperor like his father before him. Princess Allura herself was locked away in an unknown location after refusing the cruel man’s hand in marriage so she is no help for what is now a lost hope. Lotor’s reign had well and truly begun all those years ago and it was holding steady. People had forgotten long ago that even in complete and utter darkness….one can always find a speck of light that burns bright no anger how small.

Mirror mirror:

For many years people believed the galra were a race of cruel, vicious, animalistic thinking beings whose only goal was to destroy and conquer words. No one would’ve ever believed that it was the peacekeeping alteans that had been working to plot the galaxy’s downfall. Voltron, belonged to the galrans, they’d been the ones who’d built it after all despite letting alfor pilot voltron’s right arm. When the king had been turned down on his idea to share the mighty robotic war machine he simply built his own. Five dragons that formed dracotron were what the alteans used as their voltron and weapon to conquer the galaxies. Emperor zarkon, under the advice of Haggar the witch, was one of the few world leaders who managed to get his people to safety. Ever since watching the great kingdoms that he’d known for almost ten thousand years fall under the alteans greed and obsession for power over peace, he prayed for miracle in whatever form he could get it in. When two young stragglers end up stranded on the galra’s second home world, the cards of fate are laid according to haggar, much to everyone else’s confusion. What could two lost souls possibly do to bring back what was lost to the alteans?

Gamora’s guns:

The guns of Gamora was a rebel group with the goal of foiling any plans of the altean empress allura. Led by the brave commander Sven and his somewhat neurotic sidekick Slav, the gun’s were spread far across the galaxy in little pockets of altean dominated space to keep tabs on the empires schemes and try their best to counteract them. The new recruits were aliens and humans from far and wide working together hand in hand to try and prevent a reign of terror from truly taking over. When plans for creating a super weapon fall on the ears of a trusted source, the newest batch of recruits are sent to locate, find and bring back the blueprints. Of course, such things are easier said than done.

The chosen:

Keith.lance.hunk.shiro (or Sven, depends on whether you want this to follow a legendary defender type story arc or one of the older series). Allura. Pidge. These were names that belonged to the universe’s greatest heroes. Legends beyond all compare. They were champions of the universe and paladins of the mightiest robotic warrior to have ever been built: voltron. The great robot and the lions that formed it were well over ten thousand years old…..sadly for the paladins, they knew that they wouldn’t live to or beyond the great age their lions and oldest enemies had. The galaxy garrison had worked extra hard on ensuring that the next generation of pilots would be suitable candidates for the possibility of becoming voltron’s future paladins. Each paladin chose a student whom they felt like would be the most suitable to take their place and trained them with the knowledge that they were not the ones who had the final decision as to who flew who…..or even if they’d fly at all. What happens when one student fails and is rejected by not one but all the lions? What becomes of them and what is their place on team voltron? What happens to the rest of the team? Only time will tell, according to coran, such a thing has never happened before……but what happens if it does?

Before we reach the end of the post, here are some important reminders:

1: NO REACHING OUT TO ME ASKING FOR A CANON CHARACTER SHIPPING RP! I DO NOT DOUBLE SO DO NOT ASK!

2: DONT MESSAGE ME IF YOU’RE UNCOMFORTABLE WITH NOT VERY HUMANOID ALIENS!

3: NO GARY STU’S OR MARY SUES! GIVE YOUR CHARACTERS A PERSONALITY THAT ISN’T JUST ONE EMOTION OR TRAIT ONLY!

For those who’ve read this thoroughly thank you and congratulations! If you’re at all interested please send me a message and add me on my discord, telegram, email or hangouts (contact info below).

My discord: tiberionsunsconqourer#6187

My telegram: Tiberionwars

My email/hangouts: lleo52560@gmail.com

Hope to write some awesome stories!

[fyrapartnersearch]

Get ready to form voltron!

Obligatory warning for a long post ahead: Whilst I know this post may be intimidating to some people. please do not let it put you off from reaching out to me :) “I say vol and you say tron! Vol…..” “Eh.... voltron?” “We’ll work on it.” Hello everyone! I hope you’re all doing well and that you’ve been able to stay safe and healthy during the pandemic (and that the easing of some restrictions depending on where you are has not negatively affected you). After binge watching legendary defender on netflix I’ve had the undying and uncontrollable urge to do a voltron rp. Now I bet you’re all wondering what I want and if you’re going to get to do some shipping.......we’ll I guess you’re just going to have to read on and find out. I’m looking for literate rper’s only. That means people who write in third person past tense, can give me at the very least one well thought out and fleshed paragraph (as well as be willing to write more when the situation calls for it) and has a decent grasp on their spelling, grammar and punctuation. I will not yell at you for the occasional bout of typonese but one liners, one worders, poorly written responses and lazy writing in general will not keep me around. If I can’t read what you’ve written and you’re not willing to put some effort in or correct it then there’s no point in me sticking around. I also require rper’s who’ve actually watched voltron whether it be legendary defender, defender of the universe or voltron force. If you’re someone whose a stickler for canon accuracy then I’m probably not the rper for you. When I rp in a fandom setting I treat it a bit like a base as in there’s rules to follow but I don’t have to follow them as if I’m reading the show script. To put it simply I value creativity and ideas that allow a different take on the characters and what could’ve happened. I only rp male alien or alien hybrid characters and they’re premade but flexible in how they’re written. I do not have pictures nor do I desire to spend endless hours of time to find a face claim of a creature that isn’t the typical different coloured humanoids you see in voltron. I have descriptions and that’s it. I do not care if your character is made up on the spot or if you prefer to rp as a canon character. Shippers......I’m sorry but I will not rp a canon character as anything other than a side. I do not rp them as mains so if you were looking for some sheith or klance I’m sorry to disappoint you. That being said you are free to play as any canon character you desire or an oc as I’m open to oc x oc pairings or oc x canon pairings (you being the canon character) and I do either MxM or FxM pairings. Romance and non fade to black smut will both occur in the rp but it must be slow burn. I do not do fast paced love at first sight as it’s just not something that holds my interest. No sub dom dynamics, switch dynamics only and please no characters whose entire personality is just one emotion or one trait they have. Guys.....please don’t call my aliens furries or whatever. I don’t rp generic spray painted humans and we’re rping in a world full of wacky and crazy aliens that have fur,scales,tails,multiple arms, etc so I find it Incredibly annoying to have a label forced on my character like it’s a bad thing. Alien means something not from earth, if a human was to be born on altea or daibazzal, it’d be considered an alien despite probably being a hundred percent human. If your view and comfort zone is restricted to aliens that look like an altean and nothing else then you needn’t not message me. I’m not going to make you rp with me if this is a dealbreaker so if you don’t heed this warning then you do not be rude after pulling a shocked pikachu. Be mature about it if you realise it’s a deal breaker rather than just blocking or suddenly deciding you no longer want to talk to me and that you’ll just ignore me till I unfriend you. DO NOT COME TO ME SAYING OR ASKING YOU WANNA DO A SHEITH RP/ DO YOU RP AS THESE CANON CHARACTERS! I cannot stress this enough. I don’t know how I can make it any clearer that I do not do canon character mains nor do I do rp’s solely for the purpose of shipping said rp characters. As I’ve said before, if you wanna play a canon character go ahead but I will not rp a canon character as anything other than a side. My oc’s are my mains. You and your characters must be 18+. I’m in my twenties and will not rp with a minor, especially since I have mature and adult themes in my rp’s that I do not want to get into trouble for Rping them with someone whose underaged. Underaged characters are just........a big no for the sole fact that my characters are adults and that i do not feel uncomfortable playing against underaged characters. You must be able to give me one or more responses a day. If it’s been two weeks since the last response and you’ve mysteriously disappeared then I’m not going to stick around for the day you decide to answer me. I do not like having my time wasted for any reason. My time zone is the eastern Australian time zone but I’m available and awake at odd hours so time zones aren’t too big of an issue for me. Remember that I’m looking for a long term partner, someone to carry an rp with for more than just a few days or a week and someone to write multiple stories with. I have tonnes of ideas and head cannons for the rp but I’m open to brainstorming and ideas. We can mix and match ideas till we get something we both like. I want this to be a shared job, don’t expect me to be the one to carry everything just cause I’m the one supplying the idea. Down below I’ve decided to list a couple of ideas that I have: New school defenders: the paladins of voltron have been defending the universe for years. Many stories of their countless victories, battles and struggles are something that every parent who was alive during the war told their children. Once the main three were taken out (haggar, lotor and zarkon) the paladins settled down to teaching the garrisons new generation of cadets. The new change in curriculum was welcome for many as well as a new change in ship style. To make sure that peace could be maintained in every quadrant of every galaxy the paladins of voltron has trained the cadets to fly animal styled space ships like the lions. The animal ship a pilot was assigned depended on their personality, strengths, weaknesses, how well they worked in a team and their style of fighting and piloting skills. The importance of team bonding was something the paladins basically preached. When news of the return of an old foe forces the paladins to return to their jobs as voltrons warriors and they suddenly disappear many write them off as dead or perhaps in distress. None of the superiors are interested to find out..... so who will? Lotor’s reign: It was unbelievable. It couldn’t be true. It had to not be true. Voltron taken down by lotor, son of the mighty emperor zarkon himself, and the paladins were now working for him without question as his top generals?! When the news had first hit many people had panicked whilst countless others had been slain for daring to believe and protest that it was all just some lie made up by the half galran prince who was now an emperor like his father before him. Princess Allura herself was locked away in an unknown location after refusing the cruel man’s hand in marriage so she is no help for what is now a lost hope. Lotor’s reign had well and truly begun all those years ago and it was holding steady. People had forgotten long ago that even in complete and utter darkness….one can always find a speck of light that burns bright no anger how small. Mirror mirror: For many years people believed the galra were a race of cruel, vicious, animalistic thinking beings whose only goal was to destroy and conquer words. No one would’ve ever believed that it was the peacekeeping alteans that had been working to plot the galaxy’s downfall. Voltron, belonged to the galrans, they’d been the ones who’d built it after all despite letting alfor pilot voltron’s right arm. When the king had been turned down on his idea to share the mighty robotic war machine he simply built his own. Five dragons that formed dracotron were what the alteans used as their voltron and weapon to conquer the galaxies. Emperor zarkon, under the advice of Haggar the witch, was one of the few world leaders who managed to get his people to safety. Ever since watching the great kingdoms that he’d known for almost ten thousand years fall under the alteans greed and obsession for power over peace, he prayed for miracle in whatever form he could get it in. When two young stragglers end up stranded on the galra’s second home world, the cards of fate are laid according to haggar, much to everyone else’s confusion. What could two lost souls possibly do to bring back what was lost to the alteans? Gamora’s guns: The guns of Gamora was a rebel group with the goal of foiling any plans of the altean empress allura. Led by the brave commander Sven and his somewhat neurotic sidekick Slav, the gun’s were spread far across the galaxy in little pockets of altean dominated space to keep tabs on the empires schemes and try their best to counteract them. The new recruits were aliens and humans from far and wide working together hand in hand to try and prevent a reign of terror from truly taking over. When plans for creating a super weapon fall on the ears of a trusted source, the newest batch of recruits are sent to locate, find and bring back the blueprints. Of course, such things are easier said than done. The chosen: Keith.lance.hunk.shiro (or Sven, depends on whether you want this to follow a legendary defender type story arc or one of the older series). Allura. Pidge. These were names that belonged to the universe's greatest heroes. Legends beyond all compare. They were champions of the universe and paladins of the mightiest robotic warrior to have ever been built: voltron. The great robot and the lions that formed it were well over ten thousand years old…..sadly for the paladins, they knew that they wouldn’t live to or beyond the great age their lions and oldest enemies had. The galaxy garrison had worked extra hard on ensuring that the next generation of pilots would be suitable candidates for the possibility of becoming voltron’s future paladins. Each paladin chose a student whom they felt like would be the most suitable to take their place and trained them with the knowledge that they were not the ones who had the final decision as to who flew who…..or even if they’d fly at all. What happens when one student fails and is rejected by not one but all the lions? What becomes of them and what is their place on team voltron? What happens to the rest of the team? Only time will tell, according to coran, such a thing has never happened before…...but what happens if it does? From all walks of life to the universe's greatest heroes: Shouldn’t have to explain this one too much. Forget the show paladins, bring your oc’s or next gens onto the table and let them take the stage! Before we reach the end of the post, here are some important reminders: 1: NO REACHING OUT TO ME ASKING FOR A CANON CHARACTER SHIPPING RP! I DO NOT DOUBLE SO DO NOT ASK! 2: DONT MESSAGE ME IF YOU’RE UNCOMFORTABLE WITH NOT VERY HUMANOID ALIENS! 3: NO GARY STU’S OR MARY SUES! GIVE YOUR CHARACTERS A PERSONALITY THAT ISN’T JUST ONE EMOTION OR TRAIT ONLY! For those who’ve read this thoroughly thank you and congratulations! If you’re at all interested please send me a request via one of the below contacts that says who you wanna be, which lion or paladin you think you’d most likely to be if you were in voltron, which idea you liked (or one of your own) and the numbers 123 to confirm you’ve read everything. My discord: tiberionsunsconqourer#6187 My telegram: Tiberionwars My hangouts: lleo52560@gmail.com Hope to write some awesome stories! Will accept requests as long as this ad is up.

[fyrapartnersearch]

Let’s voltron!

“I say vol and you say tron! Vol…..”

“Eh…. voltron?”

“We’ll work on it.”

Hello everyone! I hope you’re all doing well and that you’ve been able to stay safe and healthy during the pandemic (and that the easing of some restrictions depending on where you are has not negatively affected you). After binge watching legendary defender on netflix I’ve had the undying and uncontrollable urge to do a voltron rp. Now I bet you’re all wondering what I want and if you’re going to get to do some shipping…….we’ll I guess you’re just going to have to read on and find out.

I’m looking for literate rper’s only. That means people who write in third person past tense, can give me at the very least one well thought out and fleshed paragraph (as well as be willing to write more when the situation calls for it) and has a decent grasp on their spelling, grammar and punctuation. I will not yell at you for the occasional bout of typonese but one liners, one worders, poorly written responses and lazy writing in general will not keep me around. If I can’t read what you’ve written and you’re not willing to put some effort in or correct it then there’s no point in me sticking around. I also require rper’s who’ve actually watched voltron whether it be legendary defender, defender of the universe or voltron force. If you’re someone whose a stickler for canon accuracy then I’m probably not the rper for you. When I rp in a fandom setting I treat it a bit like a base as in there’s rules to follow but I don’t have to follow them as if I’m reading the show script. To put it simply I value creativity and ideas that allow a different take on the characters and what could’ve happened.

I only rp male alien or alien hybrid characters and they’re premade but flexible in how they’re written. I do not have pictures nor do I desire to spend endless hours of time to find a face claim of a creature that isn’t the typical different coloured humanoids you see in voltron. I have descriptions and that’s it. I do not care if your character is made up on the spot or if you prefer to rp as a canon character. Shippers……I’m sorry but I will not rp a canon character as anything other than a side, I do not rp them as mains so if you were looking for some sheith or klance I’m sorry to disappoint you. That being said you are free to play as any canon character you desire or an oc as I’m open to oc x oc pairings or oc x canon pairings (you being the canon character) and I do either MxM or FxM pairings. Romance and non fade to black smut will both occur in the rp but it must be slow burn. I do not do fast paced love at first sight as it’s just not something that holds my interest. No sub dom dynamics, switch dynamics only and please no characters whose entire personality is just one emotion or one trait they have.

Guys…..please don’t call my aliens furries or whatever. I don’t rp generic spray painted humans and we’re rping in a world full of wacky and crazy aliens that have fur,scales,tails,multiple arms, etc so I find it Incredibly annoying to have a label forced on my character like it’s a bad thing. Alien means something not from earth, if a human was to be born on altea or daibazzal, it’d be considered an alien despite probably being a hundred percent human. If your view and comfort zone is restricted to aliens that look like an altean and nothing else then you needn’t not message me. I’m not going to make you rp with me if this is a dealbreaker so if you don’t heed this warning then you do not be rude after pulling a shocked pikachu. Be mature about it if you realise it’s a deal breaker rather than just blocking or suddenly deciding you no longer want to talk to me and that you’ll just ignore me till I unfriend you.

DO NOT COME TO ME SAYING OR ASKING YOU WANNA DO A SHEITH RP/ DO YOU RP AS THESE CANON CHARACTERS! I cannot stress this enough. I don’t know how I can make it any clearer that I do not do canon character mains nor do I do rp’s solely for the purpose of shipping said rp characters. As I’ve said before, if you wanna play a canon character go ahead but I will not rp a canon character as anything other than a side. My oc’s are my mains.

You and your characters must be 18+. I’m in my twenties and will not rp with a minor, especially since I have mature and adult themes in my rp’s that I do not want to get into trouble for Rping them with someone whose underaged. Underaged characters are just……..a big no for the sole fact that my characters are adults and that i do not feel uncomfortable playing against underaged characters.

You must be able to give me one or more responses a day. If it’s been two weeks since the last response and you’ve mysteriously disappeared then I’m not going to stick around for the day you decide to answer me. I do not like having my time wasted for any reason. My time zone is the eastern Australian time zone but I’m available and awake at odd hours so time zones aren’t too big of an issue for me. Remember that I’m looking for a long term partner, someone to carry an rp with for more than just a few days or a week and someone to write multiple stories with.

I have tonnes of ideas and head cannons for the rp but I’m open to brainstorming and ideas. We can mix and match ideas till we get something we both like. I want this to be a shared job, don’t expect me to be the one to carry everything just cause I’m the one supplying the idea. Down below I’ve decided to list a couple of ideas that I have:

New school defenders:

the paladins of voltron have been defending the universe for years. Many stories of their countless victories, battles and struggles are something that every parent who was alive during the war told their children. Once the main three were taken out (haggar, lotor and zarkon) the paladins settled down to teaching the garrisons new generation of cadets. The new change in curriculum was welcome for many as well as a new change in ship style. To make sure that peace could be maintained in every quadrant of every galaxy the paladins of voltron has trained the cadets to fly animal styled space ships like the lions. The animal ship a pilot was assigned depended on their personality, strengths, weaknesses, how well they worked in a team and their style of fighting and piloting skills. The importance of team bonding was something the paladins basically preached. When news of the return of an old foe forces the paladins to return to their jobs as voltrons warriors and they suddenly disappear many write them off as dead or perhaps in distress. None of the superiors are interested to find out….. so who will?

Lotor’s reign:

It was unbelievable. It couldn’t be true. It had to not be true. Voltron taken down by lotor, son of the mighty emperor zarkon himself, and the paladins were now working for him without question as his top generals?! When the news had first hit many people had panicked whilst countless others had been slain for daring to believe and protest that it was all just some lie made up by the half galran prince who was now an emperor like his father before him. Princess Allura herself was locked away in an unknown location after refusing the cruel man’s hand in marriage so she is no help for what is now a lost hope. Lotor’s reign had well and truly begun all those years ago and it was holding steady. People had forgotten long ago that even in complete and utter darkness….one can always find a speck of light that burns bright no anger how small.

Mirror mirror:

For many years people believed the galra were a race of cruel, vicious, animalistic thinking beings whose only goal was to destroy and conquer words. No one would’ve ever believed that it was the peacekeeping alteans that had been working to plot the galaxy’s downfall. Voltron, belonged to the galrans, they’d been the ones who’d built it after all despite letting alfor pilot voltron’s right arm. When the king had been turned down on his idea to share the mighty robotic war machine he simply built his own. Five dragons that formed dracotron were what the alteans used as their voltron and weapon to conquer the galaxies. Emperor zarkon, under the advice of Haggar the witch, was one of the few world leaders who managed to get his people to safety. Ever since watching the great kingdoms that he’d known for almost ten thousand years fall under the alteans greed and obsession for power over peace, he prayed for miracle in whatever form he could get it in. When two young stragglers end up stranded on the galra’s second home world, the cards of fate are laid according to haggar, much to everyone else’s confusion. What could two lost souls possibly do to bring back what was lost to the alteans?

Gamora’s guns:

The guns of Gamora was a rebel group with the goal of foiling any plans of the altean empress allura. Led by the brave commander Sven and his somewhat neurotic sidekick Slav, the gun’s were spread far across the galaxy in little pockets of altean dominated space to keep tabs on the empires schemes and try their best to counteract them. The new recruits were aliens and humans from far and wide working together hand in hand to try and prevent a reign of terror from truly taking over. When plans for creating a super weapon fall on the ears of a trusted source, the newest batch of recruits are sent to locate, find and bring back the blueprints. Of course, such things are easier said than done.

The chosen:

Keith.lance.hunk.shiro (or Sven, depends on whether you want this to follow a legendary defender type story arc or one of the older series). Allura. Pidge. These were names that belonged to the universe’s greatest heroes. Legends beyond all compare. They were champions of the universe and paladins of the mightiest robotic warrior to have ever been built: voltron. The great robot and the lions that formed it were well over ten thousand years old…..sadly for the paladins, they knew that they wouldn’t live to or beyond the great age their lions and oldest enemies had. The galaxy garrison had worked extra hard on ensuring that the next generation of pilots would be suitable candidates for the possibility of becoming voltron’s future paladins. Each paladin chose a student whom they felt like would be the most suitable to take their place and trained them with the knowledge that they were not the ones who had the final decision as to who flew who…..or even if they’d fly at all. What happens when one student fails and is rejected by not one but all the lions? What becomes of them and what is their place on team voltron? What happens to the rest of the team? Only time will tell, according to coran, such a thing has never happened before……but what happens if it does?

From all walks of life to the universe’s greatest heroes:

Shouldn’t have to explain this one too much. Forget the show paladins, bring your oc’s or next gens onto the table and let them take the stage!

Before we reach the end of the post, here are some important reminders:

1: NO REACHING OUT TO ME ASKING FOR A CANON CHARACTER SHIPPING RP! I DO NOT DOUBLE SO DO NOT ASK!

2: DONT MESSAGE ME IF YOU’RE UNCOMFORTABLE WITH NOT VERY HUMANOID ALIENS!

3: NO GARY STU’S OR MARY SUES! GIVE YOUR CHARACTERS A PERSONALITY THAT ISN’T JUST ONE EMOTION OR TRAIT ONLY!

For those who’ve read this thoroughly thank you and congratulations! If you’re at all interested please send me a request via one of my contacts that says who you wanna be, which lion or paladin you think you’d most likely to be if you were in voltron, which idea you liked (or one of your own) and the numbers 123.

My discord: tiberionsunsconqourer#6187 My hangouts and email: lleo 52560@gmail.com My telegram: Tiberionwars

Hope to write some awesome stories!

Will accept requests as long as this ad is up