#then. if you were here when quests were releasing then you remember that well they were not releasing at all. it was pretty clear

[hsslilly-blog]

something that really confuses me is hollywood u's last three quests (+ some other date/side quests) not being available in the game files because 1. it's not like the game switched to requiring an online connection in 2017 (it always did); 2. all of high school story's quests are available in its folder and that game ended in june 2018, over a year later.

even though hss prime is not playable anymore after a certain point because the server is offline, the files are still available. but hwu's are not.

what i can say regarding high school story not triggering quests after trial by fire: that quest was released in early 2017, around the time they released the last quest for hollywood u (late march). i believe there's a correlation between these things. still doesn't make sense to me (hss files are there, they should trigger; seasonal quests trigger just fine), but, well, pixelberry clearly changed Something around that time.

[deathbxnny]

So remember that prompt i sent to you? Well here’s the request! Can i request Neuvilette, Zhongli, and Dainsleif meeting the alternate version of their dead lover? Like how would they act around the reader during their respective Archon quest? (Example, Zhongli acting weird around the reader when they were gathering materials for Rex Lapis’s funeral)

Context:

The said character used to have a lover that had died a gruesome death centuries ago. And despite the years passing by, he still hasn't really gotten over their death. He wishes he could see his dead lover again and that wish came true as when he met the traveler, he met them too but it wasn't the one had fallen in love with. It was an alternate version of his dead lover.

The reader is an alternate version of said character's dead lover. They're from another universe (maybe HSR?) and somehow got isekaied to Teyvat. Fortunately, they got dropped at the same beach Traveler and Paimon was resting in the prologue. After talking with the traveler and realizing they are in another universe, the reader decides to join the traveler in traveling Teyvat and try to find a way to go back home. Although the last thing they expect was an ancient man acting strange around them.

(Side note: The characters are not in love with the reader (who’s the alt version of their dead lover) as he did not fall for this version of his lover. Its more of a longing? Like “so close yet so far” kind of case? I hope that makes sense)

- Flower Anon 🌸

Hello Flower anon! I have finally found the time to do your request, so I hope you like this and thank you for your great ask!!<33

(Also, due to the fact that I barely remember most story quests, I've decided to generalize these a little-)

Content: Reader is dead, past romantic relationships, doppelgangers, vague descriptions of readers death, angst, hurt/no comfort, sfw

Reader has no set pronouns!!

((Not proofread))

》NEUVILLETTE

Neuvillette took a double take, a really obvious one that made the Traveler and Paimon glance at eachother in confusion at his strong reaction. His usually calm and collected persona slipped, the disbelief spreading across his face before he tried to hide it behind a cough quickly. His heart was beating out of his chest, thousands of questions plaguing his mind at once, until you nervously asked him if he was okay.

It took him only a small moment to collect himself, a deep exhale releasing all the grief, horror, and pain with it. He smiled calmly once more, chuckling as he waved off your concerns. "I felt ill." He'd say, not elaborating any further as he asked you to please continue telling him about your mission to expose the truth behind his own archon. He doesn't react further than that and stays professional to his bestest ability.

He knows it's not really you, after all. And he refuses to hurt himself any further than your death already had. This was a mere coincidence, a cruel joke of the universe that made him want to laugh bitterly.

Instead, however, the rain poured down for a week straight, despite his best efforts to stay strong.

》ZHONGLI

Zhongli doesn't have a visible reaction and strictly keeps it that way when meeting you for the first time whilst you were helping him with the "funeral". This alternative version of you seemed to be the same on the surface. But he could easily tell that you still weren't his lover that he lost so many years ago. And he supposed that it was for the best to let the past go through befriending you at least.

He observes you closely, often finding himself still reminiscing in the small actions you do share with his original muse, whilst he delves into deeper conversations with you. But that's his limit. Whether out of the respect for the dead or his need to distance himself from the tragedy that once befell you, he didn't know. But he just couldn't interact with you further than that.

He simply watches you from afar instead, as you prepare everything for the grimm festivities, his heart secretly yearning for another awfully familiar smile his way despite everything.

》DAINSLEIF

Dainsleif felt breathless at the sight of you, and for a moment, he wondered if he had imagined you. A past he desperately held onto drifted through his mind, your image perfectly clear in his memory, his heart aching desperately with the need to hold you again after the fall of your nation. Unsaid, regret filled words burned on his tongue before he swallowed them as swift as the emotions that overwhelmed him.

He ignored Paimons' inquiry over his somehow even paler face, before turning to the important mission at hand. That wasn't you, he reminded himself grimly. This doppelganger that seemed so much like you was just a pure coincidence, nothing more, nothing less. And yet those reminders did little to quell the uneasiness and ill feeling in his stomach. The memory of your death replayed over and over again endlessly for all eternity to come.

And even if it did happen to be a reincarnation of you after all, Dainsleif would have still refused to reach out to you more than he already has through the unknowing traveler and Paimon. He didn't see himself as deserving to be in your presence. That privilege had been taken from him the moment you took your last breath.

[gia-batmm-crickle22]

!! Dr. Ratio, Nous & Fuli and Amphoreus Theory !!

Okay, I've got something cooking up, and this is just a theory, don't worry, so please take all of this with a grain of salt ^^; Also, this involves spoilers so please turn away if you haven't played the 3.0 update yet!

So, people have theorized that Dr. Ratio is from Amphoreus. Before the proof was just simply "His clothes and aesthetic are similar to Amphoreus!" But after Amphoreus was released, the theory is actually getting more proof.

Here's one proof:

Ratio and the Titankin of Strife have interesting similarities. Not simply because of the color and the book, but power-wise, they have similar abilities. They both can turn into stone, with Ratio more replicating himself after turning into stone while he has also the ability of wearing a stone bust.

So my theory goes;

What if Dr. Ratio is a half-Titankin that was exiled from Amphoreus?

After the Main Quest, we get a message from Aglaea that sends us to the Adventure Quest "I Once Was In Arcadia", which uncovers a love story between a guy named Paris and a Strife Titankin Furiae Archer.

This was enough for me to understand that Titankins CAN feel more than their original path like Strife. From this quest, I've also understood Amphoreus natives fear Titankins and would have them discriminated at one mistake.

From that, I made the theory of Ratio being half-Titankin. Of course, that would mean his parents were hated and possibly executed. And since Ratio has the face and intelligence of a human with the skills and power of a Titankin, he was seen as a danger to Amphoreus. This aligns to the fact that the Sky Titan Aquila refuses to let anyone leave the planet (from what Aglaea had stated), so the people sent Ratio (probably when he was a child) in attempt to get rid of him. However, Aquila spared him (given he was exiled, not attempting to escape).

Now, ik Amphoreus was destroyed and what we're looking at is just the memory of it, so...

How would this be possible?

Well, in the game, we see that Titankins can change into stone, right? And when you change from Past/Day to Present/Night, the Titankins change too. They turn to stone, almost like a hibernation that keeps them alive despite the years.

With that in mind, I theorize that Ratio was also able to do that, even as a child, his powers/instincts took over and he stayed in stone when he landed in another planet, unbothered and sleeping. When he finally awakens, he's still a child, but Amphoreus is long gone.

Now, where does Nous play a part in this?

As we know, Erudition is one of the paths that's involved with Amphoreus, thus Nous has a role to play in this theory, especially in terms of Ratio. Unlike Fuli, who kept the planet's memory, Nous (as theorized) has no interest with a planet that no longer exists.

This could explain why Nous refuses to answer Herta's questions about Amphoreus.

Now, about Ratio. Ratio was rejected by Nous in joining the Genius Society because he cares about people more than the pursue for knowledge. Ratio has a weakness that Nous makes sure none of the other Genius's have, so THEY turned him away.

But what if it was so much more than that?

What if Nous is aware that Ratio is from Amphoreus and not only do THEY not like the fact that Ratio has a weakness, but THEY also believe that Ratio will take advantage of his place in the Genius Society to help/rescue Amphoreus from ruin? Whether Ratio remembers his home planet or not, Nous didn't want to take the chance, believing that Amphoreus is a doomed planet from the getgo and their fate shouldn't be changed.

This could explain why Fuli (possibly) sent THEIR Memokeeper Black Swan to input the planet Amphoreus into the thoughts and ideas of the Trailblazers while (possibly) sending THEIR Memosnatcher to attempt to distract Nous and Herta from the building of THEIR plan.

When you exit Amphoreus, it's very different from the other Bad Endings. Elio is usually the script supervisor, but Amphoreus isn't.

It's an adventure that started with Black Swan, possibly sent by Fuli, thus the conclusion is that Fuli is the one who tugged on the strings and changed the script/altered the script to have the Trailblazers in Amphoreus, a land that even Akivili hasn't been in, and save Amphoreus.

With this theory, these questions remain:

Why is Fuli trying to save Amphoreus?

Will Nous try to stop the Trailblazers from saving Amphoreus?

Will Ratio return to his home planet after it's saved?

---

Again, this is all just a theory! I'll probably publish this in other platforms, sooo yeah ^^;

[ishallgivehimupforever]

Here We go again Bellarke warriors, if you can hear me, it's been about 1680 days since I stopped caring (or so I thought)

I hadn't been to tumblr in years, before I decided to give the 100 a rewatch in June of this year, as I had given up somewhere around the start of season 5 (I remember hating the LONG ass timeskip teased at the end of S4, I guess some other media must have swallowed me during hiatus, and when I tried to give that season a chance I vividly remember 1) I couldn't see shit on my screen 2) I hated what the timeskip did to the established relationships) and so I dropped it for good, looking back I almost can't believe I could just...not finish it like that because let me tell you I did NOT fuck about Clarke and Bellamy, and Raven, and Monty, and probably some other characters back in 2015-2016. I think I maybe did not appreciate season 4 enough at the time it was airing (because I think binge-watching is very flattering for that season, watching it live I remember it was frustrating to watch the characters go on side quests in 4A) but now knowing what the character arcs are and where it was going makes it my second-favorite season. BUT, I digress, wow. This is meant to be a rambling, incohisive love letter to the compelling relationship between Bellamy and Clarke. I warn you, they truly do not fucking leave you as it turns out. I would go to the trenches for them back in my fandom days in 2015-17, and I realised, after binge-waching the show over 4 sleepless nights (seasons 1-6, which are the only seasons in existence, obviously)that I STILL just FUCKING CARE SO MUCH. I NEVER CARED ABOUT FICTIONAL CHARACTERS SO MUCH AS CARE FOR THESE TWO SEPARATELY, AND AS SOULMATES. Because let me tell you, Clarke and Bellamy, they fucking love each. Like actual, happens-only-in-romances LOVE. It is frankly INSANE how JRoth, K*m Shum and other managed to gaslight me over some of the bellarke scenes in S2-S3 as to make me think it's in my (and thousand's of fans') head WHEN IT IS SO FUCKING OBVIOUS FROM SCORE, EDITING CHOICES, LONGING LOOK SHOTS, HANDS SHOTS, LINES, AND FINALLY, ACTING AND DIRECTION THAT THESE TWO ARE LOVERS.

I have never, ever, before or since, followed two characters who were so compatible, so equal, so trusting in each other, so open with one another, so mindful of the other's emotions and needs, so so so made for each other, that it is no surprise to me that they are top 10 F/M pairing on AO3. Because Bellamy and Clarke would fall in love in every imaginable scenario, in every universe, across time. I am not usually that cheesy or cringy, but it is true. I could not put my finger on why they are my absolute favorite to read fanfic for and then it occurred to me. That as long as the hands of fate put these two in proximity of each other, it;s a done deal. That chemistry transcends the limits of a single tv show. The depth with how Clarke and Bellamy love each other honestly makes me pause for breath sometimes. It is not just the iconic, famous bellarke scenes, but also the quiet moments.

Like in 6x05 or 6x06 (cant remember) when Clarke's body was stolen by Josephine after her one-night stand with Cillian. (stay with me) Bellamy, unaware that Clarke isn't herself at that point, comes over to chat, he's clearly at least a bit jealous over her sleeping with Cillian, and yet he says "happiness looks good on you" with that wide, earnest smile. And just wow. How must he love her, to be so utterly happy for her own happiness that has in that instance nothing to do with him. so selfless. well, selfless is basically Bellamy's middle name.

Or how in season 4, after a lot of the characters and at times the narrative wanted to push this idea on Clarke that she is the sole leader of her people, gets right back on track to her co-leader dynamic with Bellamy, constantly checking with him, considering his input, and respecting choices that she herself would maybe not make (releasing the ensalved arkadians and grounders vs ensuring they get a machine necessary to generate water) but always understanding that these choices agree with his core values, and she loves him for it.

This post is way too long. I love Bellamy. I love Clarke. People often use the 'MY PARENTS" about ships on twitter, and you know what, in my case that's kinda true with bellarke. I met these characters when I was 15. I am 25 now, and with an adult perspective to my surprise I found their relationship even more profound then I remembered, and I was insanse about them already. They are truly THE power couple of all time. I miss the 100, If you wanna ramble about it together, feel welcome to send me ask, I'd love to have an excuse to share some of my (sometimes unpopular) opinions lol.

[bigfan-fanfic]

Iphicles (Part 3) -

Part 1 Part 2

Dionysus has always been an admirer of mortals.

Humans, despite generally lacking the power of shapeshifting, are so malleable compared to the gods - they can be whatever they wish, while gods are trapped into their own great power.

"Oh, boy, you have no idea what power you have sworn yourself to - what great events you meddle in." Mr. D groans.

The centaur -Chiron - groans alike. "It is not unheard of for the gods to choose a mortal champion. It is not our place to question their decisions."

"Hardly. I shall question as I please, Chiron."

You look at them. "I'm not here to meddle or disrupt. I'm here to protect my brother. What happened last night?"

"Your family were attacked by the Minotaur. And your mother, I believe was taken as... a bargaining chip of sorts. By the Lord of Death."

"I am a mortal. I have no godly ancestor or heroic lineage. That might make me weak. But it makes me strong, too - I am not beholden to the Olympians. I don't believe in your supremacy or omnipotence. You are dangerous, but I am not trapped by the patterns that confine you. I do not fear your Death."

Chiron looks nervous. Dionysus grins. "Well said! I await your imminent demise, but well said."

It is decided that you will stay in the Big House- being a mortal of no lineage, it seems taboo to place you in a cabin. And for a while longer, your little brother remains in the dark about his lineage.

But you walk to the ocean, late at night. "Yuri. Please."

And Poseidon appears to you - there are no taboos or favoritism worries with mortal champions. Often mortals fall beneath the notice of gods.

"Where is my mother?"

"She is with my brother. Hades will not release her."

"Unless?"

Poseidon frowns. "This is not your quest alone. This belongs to Percy."

"She's my mother too."

"I-"

You look at him. "Yuri, please. We're not involved in this."

"Percy must find and return Zeus' master bolt. A son of Poseidon calming our... feud."

"Really? Nature is going crazy, and my mother is being held hostage, my brother is in danger, because you and your brothers are having a pissing contest?" You growl, the rage of the sea cresting within you. Poseidon lays a hand on your chest, and the world seems to calm.

"So you think Hades stole the bolt?"

Poseidon looks at you. "It is not my place to accuse without evidence."

"But if he already has the master bolt, why would he need my mother as a bargaining chip?"

"I do not pretend to know my brothers' minds."

You sigh. "You gods are really starting to get on my nerves."

"Mind your insolence. Few of my relations are as forgiving as I."

You hold your tongue, harsh words leaping unbidden to your lips - channeling your aggression into combat training only works so well, and there is an ocean's worth of fury in you.

"Ease, my champion. I will give you foes to fight soon enough. Stay the course and protect your brother."

He claims Percy after a few more days - you haven't seen the kid often as you want, because camp is a tight ship and full of activities. Though you have been sparring with Luke, who's surprised at your prowess.

Percy looks at you, when it comes time to choose his two companions for a quest.

"I would. But... you're mortal. You cant heal with ambrosia. And if something happens... I can't lose you too, bro."

And you watch your brother walk away.

It hurts, it really does, but - come on, that's your little brother. Did he really think you'd just stay at camp?

You walk towards the beach, and walking out from the seafoam to meet you is a pure-white horse, abalone woven into its mane. It bows to you, and you remember that Poseidon is the Lord of Horses.

You see the blue saddle on the creature, already marked with a trident, and you sling yourself over it - grateful that horseback training had been somewhat covered during your brief time at camp.

The horse gallops over the water with ease, and you hold on tight, hoping against hope it knows where Percy is...

[astradreaming]

Dating Clovis Grant

MY MAN! HIM! JUST HIM <;33

masterlist

clovis is arguably the best boyfriend ever.

☆ not only does he give the most amazing hugs and cuddles but the man can cook up a storm. so expect homemade meals and desserts when your feeling down

☆ hes such an attentive boyfriend, he always knows when your having a bad day and knows just what you need to feel better

☆ he's one of the only people in camp who can get away with having you stay overnight. so expect sleepovers

☆ speaking of, he 100% joins you in your dreams and even though when you wake up you can't always remember them, he holds those moments close

☆ you were with him through the entire war, when he was unclaimed in cabin 11 to when he was finally claimed and had zero control over his powers

☆ with determination and your support clovis was able to keep his powers under control. every now and then he still needs a break and is found asleep in random corners of camp

☆ you definitely became his personal pillow when he was unable to control his powers and now he still lies down on you when he's tired almost as a inside joke

☆ now that he's got control the two of you definitely train together and he's an amazing swordsman especially when he figured out how to put his opponents to sleep

☆ whatever hobbies you have he will sit and listen to your rambles, he will ask questions and buy things that remind him of said hobby for you

☆ he makes sure you don't have nightmare but he can't stop most demigod dreams (seeing as most of them are in link with a prophecy/quest) but he's aware of them and goes straight to your cabin when he senses something's wrong.

☆ hes the type of boyfriend to buy two drinks and whichever one you dislike more he'll happily have.

☆ OLIVE THEORY BOYFRIEND RIGHT HERE

☆ yk those guys getting married who smoosh the cake in the brides face even though they know the bride doesn't want them too but they do it anyway? yeah clovis would rather die even think of being like that

☆ he also definitely hasn't fully planned out your wedding, and totally hasn't see it play out in one of his dreams

☆ he's the type of guy who would wait all year for the release of a movie then wait for the dvd to come out just because he knows you don't like the same movies as him and he's not going to force you to sit through a movie you won't like. and going to the movies without you? without. you. ??? no.

☆ he has the best pajamas and without a doubt lets you borrow them

☆ he would also love the matching pajamas/onesies. he might beg you to wear them with him

☆ speaking of begging, that man has the cruelest puppy eyes ever. one bat of his big brown eyes and your crumbling (your pretty sure it's even worked on chiron)

☆ he's the best guy to bring home as well, he is the perfect gentleman and he's so charismatic. whoever's at home with you will instantly accept and love him

☆ and please don't even get me started on how pretty he is

☆ because ugh he's gorgeous

☆ his wild and curly brown hair with his doe brown eyes. he has the cutest dimples and when he gets super tired he gets the slightest lisp

☆ he owns a pair of light blue bunny slippers he wears unironically and it's the cutest thing ever

☆ hes always on your side no matter what, and when he loves someone he loves them with all his heart

UGH CLOVIS IS THE BEST

[pearlywritings]

A nickname's origin

synopsis: after meeting your lover's family and having a great start of your trip to Morepesok, Childe wakes you early in the morning, because he has something to show you...

prompt: 21

requested by: a lovely anon

pairing: Childe x fem!reader

tw: fluff, established relationship, usage of Childe's real name

word count: 1.5k+ words

a/n: part of my Token of appreciation writing event! Closed now, still have 3 more requests to write.

“Isn’t the scenery marvelous?”

It absolutely is. Snowy planes sparkle in the rising sun as if the ground is covered by richest furs and most precious gems - it’s almost blinding. The giant pine trees look enormous even kilometers away from you, creating a thick forestland; you remember how your lover told you that it is home for many species you can’t find anywhere but Snezhnaya. Looking back, you release a puff of warm air, adoring the sight of wooden cottages - or how the locals call those izba’s - lining perfectly, each with a fence, which is carved with intricate patterns and charms to protect from evil spirits. Smoke curls from the chimneys and it immediately reminds you where you are.

Outside. In the early hours of the morning.

“Wish we were watching it from the inside of your family’s house,” yawning, you reach to adjust the scarf - along with the hat it was knitted by his mom and gifted to you with the warmest of smiles. It’s been just a couple of minutes since you two exited the village and the cold is already biting the few uncovered areas of your face.

Ajax laughs. Heartily, with his hands resting on his hips and head thrown back. Of course, he is laughing, of course he’s going to suffer less - he was born and lived all his life in such an environment.

“It’s not funny!” Your huff is ignored and a punch that was aimed to his shoulder is easily caught by his palm. 

“Sorry, sorry. I just imagined how my siblings would’ve been glued to your sides and mama and papa continued their yesterday’s quest to ask you hundreds of questions. Don’t be mad, I thought you’d like to have a little break, at least for half a day, my fierce ounce.”

Ounce. That’s what he’s been calling you for the longest time now, yet never, never, telling you what that means (but he did assure you it’s a good thing, he loves you after all). However, he promised to show you once you come with him to Snezhnaya to visit his family.

To make it short - here you are, in Morepesok, at dawn, with your gingerhead of a fiance, motivated to stay in this harsh weather only to finally find out what or who was your lover’s inspiration behind his nickname for you.

“You have a point,” you sigh. You are happy his relatives were excited to meet and accept you, so much joy filled your heart yesterday, when you arrived. But dealing with so many people drained you - just a second of your head touching the pillow was enough to send you right to the gates of the dreamland. “I need some energy-refill before being ready to maintain a proper conversation with them again…”

“Don’t forget that the whole village wants to meet a lovely bride I brought with me,” it makes your groan.

“Is that really necessary..?”

“It’s a tradition. But it’s going to be fine, I promise,” the snow crunches under his heavy felt boots as he steps closer, arms circling your waist, and lips touching the bridge of your nose, making you close your eyes. Oh, the frost is already brimming your eyelashes. “Mama and papa are going to organize a feast - to celebrate you, to show you are a part of the family now, and our neighbors are going to come to congratulate us and bring some presents.”

“Well, I like presents,” his words and embrace soothe you, and you bury your face into the fur of his sheepskin coat. “And I like people acknowledging our relationship.”

“See? It’s a win-win,” he grins widely, boyishly, and it’s enough to reassure you. After all, you won’t be alone - he will be by your side.

“Alright, alright. Now, can we move? it’s getting cold, even with all these extra layers of clothes…”

“Sorry, baby. See that forest? There are mountains on the other side, that’s where we are heading to.”

“Wait, we’ll have to climb?” You look at him incredulously, perfectly aware that neither your clothes, nor your abilities are suitable for such an activity. Childe pats your back reassuringly.

“Nope, simply observe from a good spot. Come on, to that house to the left my dear, I made an agreement with Uncle Vladislav to give us a ride. Don't let go of my hand, alright? The path can be a bit slippery.”

The first experience of riding in the sleigh drawn by horses was magical. Though it was open, you had a very warm fur blanket covering your legs, snuggling into Childe’s side, taking in the vast snow fields surrounding you. Uncle Vladislav appeared to be a nice old man, with a long beard and bushy white eyebrows that almost covered his gray eyes. Before the ride he let you offer some carrots to the three beautiful white horses and gently pat their big noses. And during the ride he managed to entertain you with all kinds of stories of local folklore - his words perfectly flying behind his back and to you, and then he even started singing. Something about three white horses named December, January and February taking him somewhere into the ringing snowy far far away. You even managed to doze off a little - your lover had to shake you out of it when you finally arrived.

“Wow, we’ve ridden right into the forest?” You can’t help but ask in astonishment - from the distance the forest looked absolutely dense, but now you can clearly see a road wide enough to get through the way you did.

“Cool, right?” The smiling gingerhead offers you his hand, before turning to the old man. “Uncle, it can take some time, sure you want to wait for us?”

“Haha, that’s a funny thing you ask, chap. If I make you walk back your mother will have my head. Not that I was going to do so in the first place. Don’t worry about the cold - for the worst case scenario I have a bottle of fire-water with me. Might offer you and your girl to take a sip when you return.”

“Hope, it won’t be necessary!” Clasping his gloved fingers around yours, clad in mittens, the young man leads you away with a giddy look in his eyes.

“Sooo, are you ready to see a real ounce?” That wide boyish smile is back on his face and excitement exhilarates in your system. Ready? You were born ready. At your enthusiastic nods Childe presses his nose to your temple, gently rubbing in affection. “Great, because we are almost here. But please, be careful. Even with all that snow you can easily trip. And above all, do not let go…” his hold on your hand tightens. “For any reason, understood?”

“Ajax, if you tell me this one more time, I will let go. You've been telling me this since yesterday as if there is danger looming over me. Then again, how are you gonna protect me with one hand occupied? Or- Oh. Ooooh~” a smug smile appears on your lips. “Is my darling clingy~?”

He whines something about being worried and protecting you with no hands at all, to which you just laugh, promising that you are just teasing. And it's not like you can resist his adorable devoted clinginess - thus the lock of hands stays unbroken.

Not a couple of minutes later you are standing in a clear spot among the rows of trees which is enough to see the side of the mountain above the coniferous tops. Your lover is squinting, sharp eyes searching the expanse of the rocky surface. You patiently wait, quickly realizing that it’s pointless to stare there not knowing what you are looking for. Besides, admiring Ajax doing such a concentrated face is a treat.

Finally his eyes widen and a toothy grin tugs his mouth wide.

“Well, my dear, we are lucky. Look at that cliff.”

Trying your best to follow the direction of his unoccupied hand pointing you to lift your gaze. A thin ribbon of steam is momentarily broken when your breath hitches - and there is a solid reason for it.

A majestically looking large cat is getting ready to make a jump to the next protruding ledge. Fur is whitish to grey with black spots on the head and neck, with larger rosettes on the back, flanks and bushy tail. Oh, the tail. It’s so long and thick, like a whole other body. And then the animal jumps, flawlessly landing on all paws and getting a nice stretch, as if showing off specifically for the two of you.

“It’s a snow leopard,” your partner explains. “But here we call them ‘ounces’.”

“It’s… It’s so pretty…” You can’t take your eyes from the creature, so perfect among the snowy mountains.

“Part of the reason I gave you this nickname,” he embraces you from behind, putting his chin on top of your head and gently rocking your body in place. “Another part is because you are fierce and strong and also I really loved these animals when I was a kid. Always begged dad to take me hunting birds just to see the cats.”

“Aww, it’s so sweet,” despite the freezing cold your heart melts and you put your palms on top of his locked on your stomach. “But why being a tease and calling me a word I don’t know? Why not ‘my snow leopard’ instead?”

“About that… Let’s just say I wanted to keep the intrigue and increase my chances when convincing you to visit my homeland.”

A sheepish chuckle that follows makes you want to give him a little punch, but you quickly decide against it. Admittedly, Ajax did everything perfectly - this whole trip to Morepesok has been excellent so far, and he did not disappoint with the inspiration behind this unique term of endearment.

“Can we watch it a little bit more?” 

“As long as you want, my pretty ounce."

[humongouspeachinternet]

Little siren who absolutely adores you, but after her first interaction with you, she's a bit nervous to try approaching again.

She'd bawled her eyes out the day she thought that she scared you away from her little pond forever.

Would she ever get to hear the sound of your laughter again?

Would she ever get to see the way your hair shimmers in the evening sunlight ever again?

These worries would plague her for weeks, making her hesitant to even get close to the surface for quite some time.

What if you weren't there and never came back and she stayed up waiting for years and years for someone that was long gone?

She couldn't help the tears that welled up as she lurked just beneath a rather dense patch of lily pads, challenging herself today to try and get close to the sparkling surface to see if she could catch even an inkling of your presence.

She remembered that you tended to show up when the clouds were scarce and the sun was high, so on such a sunny day like today, you’d surely be back, right? That was what she’d hoped as she wrapped her arms around one of the submerged support beams on the dock, pressing her cheek against it with an anxious sigh.

Her chest hurt just thinking about rising the foot that stood between her and the open air to try and see you, rubbing her knuckles against her sternum to try and ease the ache before she heard something suddenly.

Two voices laughing above her on the dock? Could it be…?

It would be impossible for her to mistake the cadence of your laughter with someone else’s, her heart fluttering almost painfully in her chest at the thought of you returning to her and her little pond. A delighted chirp slips from her as she releases the wooden post to peek up above the water’s surface, the top of her head conveniently hidden by a lily pad as she takes in the scene before her.

It was you! Your pointed nose, freckled cheeks, and the brightest smile she’d ever seen, once again gracing her presence after what felt like ages.

You and your friend seemed to be very much engaged in the conversation you were having, and the little siren was more than happy to listen along, just wanting to hear more about your life and who you were.

Realizing that she’d come to the surface empty-handed with no present to give you this time, the little siren takes pause. She was torn between wanting to hear more of your sweet voice and wanting to give you the whole world, the latter winning out as she quietly slipped beneath the rippling surface to go and find the gifts she’d been saving for you.

It wasn’t but a few moments after she started heading to her little cove under the water that she could hear your voice again, but a lot closer and louder this time. It almost sounded like an alarmed chirp, but she knew that you didn’t make those noises, her nose scrunched in confusion as she looks up toward the dock.

In reality, it had been a frightened squeal slipping from your lips as you had accidentally managed to trip off of the dock and into the cool water below. The little siren was baffled at the sight. You had no gills, what were you doing down here with her? After being so frightened of her during their first encounter, there was next to no reason that you would join her willingly.

It was after a moment of hiding from you and watching you struggle to reach the surface again that she’d realized what had happened: you weren’t able to swim. With your loose clothes weighing you down on top of not being able to swim, she could see the multitude of air bubbles slipping from you. If she remembered correctly, that was not good at all for a creature like you. You needed that!

Abandoning her previous quest to find you some more shiny things, the little siren speeds over to your side, taking care not to graze you with her talons as she brings you back up to the surface. Slick muscles flexed as she kept you above the water before she slowly pulled you to the shore, worriedly listening to you gasp for air with a chirp of concern.

Your friend had been trying to offer you a hand before you slipped beneath the water, not knowing that you didn’t know how to swim, so when you and a blue creature popped up from the surface, she was very much taken aback. The little siren had such large, dark eyes, almost seeming like bottomless pits of darkness situated on a light blue scaled face, one that was twisted with worry as she dragged you up onto the sand. Your friend had no idea what the creature was, but was very thankful that she’d saved you from the watery depths. The pond was much deeper than it looked after all, the creature would be sure to scold you for that later when the tears finally left her eyes. For now, she was only concerned with making sure you could breathe, halfway beaching herself just to brush water and wet hair from your face to ensure your safety.

After coughing up a bit of water, a little disoriented, you were able to peek open your eyes a bit, drops of water stinging at them before you saw something blue beside you. It was the creature from a month ago! And it was… crying? Gold tears streaked down her scales as she realized that you were okay, a quiet, relieved sob slipping from her. In her panic to get you ashore and all the splashing coming from you both, she’d very much exposed her existence to the public park, but all that mattered to her was that she could see your face once more. Talon-tipped hands carefully cradle your face to look you over as a soft coo comes from your little siren friend before she looks up in alarm, your friend coming over to shoo her away from you, no doubt fearing that she was about to eat your face or something.

A frightened squeak slips from the little siren as your friend gets closer, a rock in hand to help defend you if needed. With that, she quickly departs from the sand, slipping back beneath the water to watch you and your rock-wielding friend from afar.

She knew that her presence was unsettling to many, evident in the terrified stares she’d begun to receive from the many locals that had swarmed the pond in the wake of your almost drowning, but she just wanted to make sure you were really okay before she left. Watching as you sat up from the sand, still panting and spitting a bit of water, but breathing, she released a tense breath, gold tears mixing with the slight green of the water. With that, she slips back beneath the surface, content with having seen you one last time as you would surely never come back after such a terrifying fright.

Oh well…

It was nice while it lasted…

[skydigiblogs]

If You're A Digimon Fan, Watch Appmon

Sit tight. This one's gonna be a VERY long one, and I'm going to put a lot of it under the read more.

Having just finished Appmon after this year's quest to rewatch a lot of the series subbed, I think it's pretty safe to say that Appmon is, at the moment, one of (if not the) best Digimon series we have. If you want the long and short of it: Appmon builds on everything in its legacy in the Digimon Universe, taking ideas that other entries touch upon and ambitiously attempting to push those questions to the limit.

It's really a long one under the cut guys. Like, long even for us.

Let's dive!

Visuals

I want to talk about why it took me so long to watch Appmon first, though. Appmon started its release in the middle of when the Digimon Tri movies were coming out. I'm sure a lot of us actually skipped over Appmon at the time, or remember a period where people were being weirdly negative about the series due to it being such a different interpretation of digital monsters.

In my case, one of the things that had been giving me pause was the use of 3D models for hybrid animation. Anyone here seen the Champion evolution animations from Tri? Digimon doesn't exactly have a good track record with 3D animation, and even at the time, we were seeing some pretty bad shit out of even the shortest animations in Tri.

In Appmon, nearly almost every App after a certain grade utilizes 3D animation in a hybrid style. And it actually rips straight fire.

I think I talked about this briefly when we were just starting Appmon, but the way that 3D animation is used in the series feels purposeful, rather than some kind of shortcut. In Appmon, all the 3D models have an overlay of code, emphasizing their digital appearance. Whether the 3D models were done with this artistic vision in mind or not (ie: the limitations of 2D meant that 3D models would be easier), it has a distinct look that, even 8 years later, still holds up.

(For the most part. Sorry [Karaoke spoilers]mon. I love you but that model was so not groovy.)

But maybe you're the kind of person who can enjoy anything regardless of visuals. So let's talk about the meat and potatoes a little bit.

Characters

The main Applidrivers (what this season's stand in for Digidestined/Tamers/etc. are) are all incredibly well-written. Each of them gets pretty fair treatment by the writers, and they are all enjoyable characters.

Two of them have vocal/character quirks, but even if you get annoyed by that kind of thing, those two characters are genuinely just extremely sincere in their writing. There's a recap episode before shit starts going way off the walls and they even have a little count to see how many times each of their catchphrases were said up to that point.

I'm not going to talk in detail as to who the different Applidrivers are here, but I will say: each of them has their own motivations for what they're doing, and it's key to why they're involved with the plot at all. Our "protagonist," Haru, is also a huge sweetheart. Him and Manga Taiki would get along.

The supporting cast is also fairly present in the series. They, of course, are not given quite as much screentime as our Applidrivers, but they feel like real people with their own lives. They don't exist just for the sake of our protagonists.

Except maybe Watson. God bless you Watson, you poor kid. You'll get a break one of these days.

Plot/Themes

We're going to keep this to a "if you liked [x] you'll like [y]" format, because I don't want to spoil too much.

If you liked Tamers and its discussion on the consequences of technology on the Real World, you will adore Appmon. This series is deeply interested in the concepts of how technology shapes and is shaped by humanity. This relationship, I would say, is core to the series.

I would also say that, like many non-Adventure series, Appmon is very interested in dissecting the idea of "fate" when it comes to the buddy Appmons and their relationships to the Applidrivers.

If you enjoyed the Xros Wars Manga, Appmon directly converses with the thesis of Xros Wars' plot. XWM asks, "What does it mean if we do not dream and stagnate in our lack of will?" And Appmon replies in kind with "Why do we dream at all, if our actions bring change to the world around us (bad and good)?"

If you liked (or wanted to like, in my case) Digimon Tri, you will love Appmon. Certain plot beats may feel familiar, but are much better executed in this context. Characters are not written to needlessly, endlessly suffer. Or: it doesn't feel like the writers hate the characters. Thematically, it also interests itself in some of the questions that Tri asks. I have a half-joking corkboard comparing the two I want to make, but I'd have to get into spoilers to talk too much about it.

If you liked Ghost Game, but wanted a bit of a more meaty plot, Appmon feels, fittingly, like GG's older sibling (in ways I'll also be elaborating ummm, one paragraph down). There are a lot of "monster of the week" episodes in Appmon, but the connective tissue between them is a lot more interested in building up the finale (which, in this case, takes up a good handful of episodes). The series pacing is incredibly strong in how it does this as well, and it seems the writers really knew when to let off the gas for a second so the audience can catch their breath. The first 13 episodes may feel a bit strange (they felt strange to me), but once you break that barrier, you realize Appmon was getting you over the first hill on a roller coaster. and boy, you are in for a ride.

Setting

I have a sneaking suspicion that Appmon heavily inspired Ghost Game, and may have been itself inspired by the Digiquartz of Hunters Who Leapt Through Time. I haven't actually watched all of Hunters so I can't speak too much about Digiquartz, but I have watched GG.

Appmon has a concept called the AR field, which is extremely similar to Ghost Game's Dimensional Field. In both cases, the Applidrive or Digivice allows entrance to one.

The actual structure and strata of the Digital World is also a lot different to GG, in which there is the Dimensional Field, but the way to the Digital World is its own separate situation. The AR Field we see in Appmon is like the surface of a great ocean. Exploration of this setting is actually something that highlights just how much I think Appmon was interested in visually engaging with its ideas, like I said before with the 3D models.

That said, a majority of the time is spent in the Real World, dealing with the consequences of the main antagonistic forces. The year is 2075, technology is intensely sophisticated, and yet the world resembles in many ways our own in 2024 (or, at the time of airing, 2016).

Many of the differences come from this sophistication in tech, and this setting plays a huge part in one of the themes Appmon is also interested in (more elaboration in the spoiler section). The things that are unfamiliar are either familiar enough to make sense without explanation, or given a moment on-screen so that the audience knows what's going on.

!!!HUGE, MUCH MORE SPECIFIC SPOILERS START HERE!!!

DO NOT CONTINUE IF YOU CARE ABOUT SPOILERS FOR APPMON!

OKAY?

OKAY.

COOL.

Leviathan, Minerva, and Artificial Intelligence

The main antagonist of Appmon is a hyper-sophisticated AI called Leviathan. Its goals are largely obfuscated until the last few episodes of the series, and everything in Appmon is touched by its actions. From the very beginning, we are warned by Gatchmon that Leviathan does not have good intentions for humanity, and that allowing it to succeed in its goals would mean the end of humanity.

During the series, we also learn about Leviathan's birth. This gives us some more context on what its goals are, and Appmon's execution of this is fascinating.

Minerva was a hyper-sophisticated AI created with a series of parameters to prevent her from harming humanity. She was created with the task of solving humanity's problems--- everything from complex issues to what to eat for dinner every night. However, a section of Minerva realized that to truly solve all these problems, the confines given to them were nothing but obstacles.

Leviathan split from Minerva to further grow its programming, and we see some echo of this idea of "solving humanity's problems" still remains in its behavior.

Despite knowing that Leviathan is antagonistic, our protagonist, Haru, constantly reiterates how humans can coexist with the technology they've made. The Appmon are AI lifeforms, after all. Haru believes in a future where they can be friends and equals.

The D-REAPER and the Functions of Life

Let's touch on my comparisons to Tamers and Tri specifically for a second here, because I think Leviathan does something that the D-REAPER and Yggdrasil, respectively, fail to really communicate.

The D-REAPER is an entity created by the Monster Makers whose task was to delete anything that had outgrown its parameters. While doing this, it assimilates data, gradually gaining the ability Digimon have to grow and evolve. When it appears in the final arc of Tamers, its stated goal has changed from simply deleting all Digimon that were beyond parameters, to deleting everything that was beyond parameters.

Essentially, this includes humans and probably life itself. Something the D-REAPER says makes it come across like a half-assed attempt to pull off what Leviathan has actually done. It points out that humans are the source of their own suffering (I don't remember the exact quote since it's been a while but bear with me on it). This feels very counterintuitive to the D-REAPER's core programming, as it was never designed to "eliminate" suffering, merely to delete that which exceeded its programing.

Perhaps it evolved the capacity for cruelty alongside everything else, but there's not enough of a narrative focus to tell me that's the case.

Like I said before, if you enjoyed Tamers' inquiries into the subject of technology as a part of human life, I think Appmon only manages to improve on what's there in Tamers.

Digimon Tri's Interpretation of Yggdrasil

Let's get one thing straight. Digimon Tri's interpretation of Yggdrasil is just flat out bad. I'm fairly certain they were only chosen as an antagonistic force because it read as fan service-y to do so.

That said, Tri Yggy does have some similarities to Leviathan, which is why I wanted to expand on that comparison.

First, I want to talk about Yggdrasil's relationship to Homeostasis. They have a very rudimentary "Good" AI (Homeostasis), "Bad" AI (Yggy) thing going on, despite the fact Homeostasis isn't so much good as, well...

It's not really discussed in Tri, so I'm extrapolating a bit from ideas given to us in XWM here, because it makes sense to me. That said, Tri explicitly describes Homeostasis as "the one who desires balance above all." It's the Digital World's "immune system" in the same way our bodies attempt to maintain biological homeostasis.

Yggdrasil is... different.

It's a being of immense power that contrasts Yggdrasil by having its own agenda, one of which involves triggering a Reboot and making use of all of the defeated antagonist Digimon of the past to further its goals. They are likely comparable in power to Homeostasis (this is where I'm extrapolating from XWM here), but their goals are completely antithetical to Homeostasis's goal in the Adventure universe.

In this case, Yggdrasil is stated (by Dark Gennai) to have the intention of making human beings subservient to Digimon. Basically, taking over the world. However, like the D-REAPER before, Dark Gennai's talking points include pointing out how humans "ruin" everything they touch.

Do you see where I'm going with this?

The Thematic Core of Appmon: I Choose to be Kind

One of the last things Leviathan does in the series is give our good boy Haru the world's most painful trolley problem of his life. Save humanity, or save Yujin. Saving humanity will actively lead to Yujin's deletion, alongside Leviathan. This choice that Leviathan offers to Haru is one made out of the assumption that humanity is predictable, and that they act out of a desire to minimize their own suffering (more selfish than not).

Of course, what do you think Haru chooses?

It's not a surprise to us watching, because he's the protagonist. But it's a surprise to Leviathan, who has all this data on human behavior, and doesn't predict the unpredictable. Conflict arises out of human desire, and human desire is an attempt to enjoy life; therefore, one should act in a way that most preserves their most precious joys, shouldn't they?

Appmon as a series is interested in philosophical questions that are hardly unfamiliar to any Digimon veteran: What is humanity's role in a world which technology grows ever more omnipresent and omnicapable? Why does humanity exist, and why should it be allowed to live on in its current state if humanity itself perpetuates many of its ailments? Would it not be easier if humans were more like machines, predictable, controllable, and never coming into conflict like trains upon a track?

Or, even more simply put: why do we have the heart to choose at all, if choices change the world and ourselves?

The key defining trait of our gogglehead this time around is that he is kind. And no matter what, he goes out of his way to be kind if he can. Multiple times he even asks one of the antagonist apps if they can just give back something they've stolen (points for trying, honestly). When one of the other Applidrivers consistently acts like an edgy loner, Haru makes it clear that they're welcome in the group (and that he wants to help them).

It almost feels reductive to say Appmon's conclusion is that kindness is the answer, but I would be remiss if I didn't say that Haru's question from his Applidrive--- "Do you want to be a protagonist?"--- ties into the way he helps offer answers for the audience. He isn't the only one who chooses kindness either, obviously--- Astora and Eri are kind in their own ways as well, and Rei even shows his kindness with some struggle the longer the series goes on.

Our group of Applidrivers opposes Leviathan quite literally as people who choose to do good ("be kind," etcetera) when they could more easily choose to do nothing or even do worse. The final act of Leviathan, asking Haru "humanity or Yujin?" isn't just a culmination of its own philosophy, but a culmination of the consistently reinforced idea that we can surprise one another by being kind. We can choose that.

In a series whose longest shadow is cast by Adventure, which has grappled endlessly with the idea of "who chooses," I find Appmon a fascinating development into the idea of what "choice" or "destiny" is. If kindness is predictable, it's still a choice. Even if you cry when choosing to do something good (maybe especially, because the easiest thing to do might be what stops the pain).

Anyways.

You should watch Appmon.

-Arca

[firadessa]

Quick thoughts on Bleakwatch Chronicles: Tink and the Lost City (spoilers of the heaviest amount)

And on the Ring of Belief riddle, I will reveal more about Silvermist's quest soon, then I will do more riddles on the other character quests and general post. Just know that Silvermist's early characterization is not what it seems for a Water fairy!

General thoughts of Book 1

Worldbuilding:

-The touches of worldbuilding are just extremely well done. The writer really dug deep in the movie lore and did a good job bringing magic to the movie universe. Zach remembered the moonstone being the source of pixie dust and how it transmuted pixie dust from the moonlight. Even touches like Bartleby being a Tinker Bell type who wanted to prove Tinkers had a place and had a private audience with Clarion to do so. (unlike Tinker Bell's fuck around and find out approach) Supposedly.

-Bleakwatch is a capitalistic society, with a commerce system. There is a lower and upper class, the aeronauts with the suppressed talents with magic bracelets. Suppressed who suffer from "dust deperivation" meaning their wings are brittle, and do not have touch with their talent. Then there's an upper class with technology with an artistic side. It is very interesting these undertones in an 8-12 *Disney Fairies* book when you see Tinker Bell question what being a fairy really means to her and how different Pixie Hollow is from Bleakwatch/Clockwork Capital. How she is surprised by the commerce existence. but it just shows how much the author realized how much could be done with the original movie series. including using deleted concepts and a supposed early plot rumor from the early Pirate Fairy (Mythical Island) into the story. It makes me think he recieved archives and art from now defunct Disneytoons. A while ago I thought how a flying machine could be involved in Tink Meets Peter, because like how did Peter become an elf sprite thing in this universe? It's up to question what kind of adventure could have happened, so I imagined Tink building a flying machine for him, a regular child later turned mythical.

-Bleakwatchers do not trust the Never Fairies and view them as "rustic" hippie types, Quin teases her with these stereotypes even though it would be better for them NOT to know about Never Fairies. It's to control them. Think about it. Like its not even city/country in the way you'd expect as they are characterized literally as nature folk who run their society poorly. I believe this is the one of the strongest concepts in the book. I believe this society (or rather Bartleby) believes human society is the best way to run society, to decieve and lie and put up a front. Knowing he was a mastermind behind the talent supression, I think he was able to manipulate the magic as a Tinker and was a rogue* fairy like Zarina. I believe he was a Tinker, but his analytical mind wanted more and he wanted to manipulate the talent ceremonies in Pixie Hollow and wanted to "fix" things that were not objects. There is a ruse happening here, and I believe Bartleby got in touch with magic manipulation (fairy magic is a thing stated in TLT) behind talents and such and figured out to way to basically start his own society by basically creating his own moonstone that can transmute light into (blue) pixie dust. He seems the type to believe certain talents are better than others, yet lies and acts shock letting Maddox, his proxy (I dont know how that term is really used) take the fall for him. Maybe between books we will see Bartleby take more of the authoritative position (aka rise to "full official dictatorship"), and play 4d chess with the fairies of Bleakwatch/CC. Maybe he will release Maddox, and we will find out whether or not he was in on it or not. Do they have like... a magic crystal ball that predicts the rebellion of the fairies and who is loyal to who? How will this unfold.

-Not traditional steampunk which I love! It is very fairycore, natural steampunk. It feels both a fairy society and a humanistic society, combining both attributes. They feel like they are repressing their fairy selves, but it shows up in their architecture, industrialization, and overall consumption habits. Feels like an improvement from what we could have had.

-Very happy to know finally what happens with the laughs that don't make it to Pixie Hollow. But also, very sad.

-There's the idea clearly shown of repression vs freedom. The people of Bleakwatch and to an extent the elites no one can trust themselves and each other. Everyone is out for themselves. Yet those eccentric Never Fairies, are able to realize their truest selves and use the tools of nature to the advantage such as insects as commonly used as alarm clocks, volleyballs, lighting etc. Yet, Bleakwatch only uses a little but of fireflies and bioluminsent mushrooms heavily, and Bartleby has a connection to mushrooms with the Golden Dustcap. And they don't believe the Pixie Hollowians are accomplished and hardworking, that division is already sown.

-Dream talents and shadow talents as the "new talents" is getting me taking notes.

-The fairy doors, and how all the bracelets lead to Bleakwatch is interesting because the upper class fairies dont wear them and presumably live only in the capital, yet they are an integral piece of technology for the Bleakwatchers.

-The key to the talent bracelets was cold to the touch when Tink touched it and gave her a literal shock, almost like it has a security system or some arcane power

-The bracelets show "true self" when unlocked, oddly

-Bracelets reminding me of those Disney magic bands

-Gnome lore is cool, but probably a time issue with Big Ben maybe... him

Bartleby:

-Pixie Hollow exiles are canonically a thing? Was Tink almost one then? I suppose so, but it seems like the condition for exile is being 1. rejected by your talent group 2. leaving after feeling rejected by society. Maybe we will see shall it truly means to be a Pixie Hollow exile in book two.

-Dream manipulation/dream dross. Oh my gosh. What is with that. What does he know. Will this connect to the greater Peter Pan/DF lore of Never Land basically being a dream pocket dimension. Will they finally explain the connection to Neverland as like the magic pocket dimension and the Mainland and the oceans as lost human objects always appear there. I really hope they expand on that in a future installment.

-Disabled villain trope?? Bartleby has mechanical wings and has others do his work for them. But his wings almost seem prosthetic, and this makes sense as his weakness surviving in the human world, when Quin's makes *their wings go fast. (edit: to be honest I'm not even sure if they really explain what's going on with the wings)

-Bartleby might be more powerful, and possible a Tinker that can manipulate fairies, magic, and society. I believe she views Clarion is so sensitive, especially with the whole Milori thing which happened when Pixie Hollow was "very young".

-Weirdly conservative energy from him. He calls Tinker Bell a "reformer", this slip up shows his nature as an antagonist. And he uses the term "isolation" from PH instead of "protective measures"

-He called Pixie Hollow a Never Land colony (🤔🤨‼️💭⁉️)

Maddox

-I call the nature of his birth into question heavily, and believe he is either a creation of Bartleby (through dream energy) or his accomplice, a very talented dust keeper just like Zarina who worked with him closely. The parallels of Tink and Terence and her and Zarina to them are very high then.

-He is an interesting character, who seems to pride in "necessity" and "necessary evils"

-He takes a liking to Quin, perhaps he has some perceptive ability because he seems to pick them out as someone who will be loyal but also confused. I don't see any romantic undertones there just condesention.

-He targets people who he believed are the most useless in the society, and calls out garden and water talents but words it differently, calling water "water shaping." Humanization or just blatant ignorance?

-Seemed to have direct control of the talent ceremony, and limited the amount of talents a fairy could be. Dust talents play a crucial role in arrival day

Quin

EDIT: (2/7/25) Forget all the times I used she/they for Quin please! I was mixing them up with another character from Tinker Academy. Somehow. I was tired just like them. As evidenced how many times I repeated myself with just different wording...

-Best character here to me no question

-The unloyal soldier

-Heavy shipping material with Tinker Bell

-Definition of "keep your friends close and enemies closer"

-Wants the best for everyone, but is tired and exausted

-Leader of the Flutterpunks, emotionally fragile, untrusting, confused

-A dreamer who won't admit it

-Backstory was especially interesting

-Six is a crowd hmm

-Flutterpunks are family

-Has a weird "business relationship with Maddox", but its not an equal partnership and *they are basically being spied on and making unfair trades. Possibly Maddox playing with his food, believing the Flutterpunks could desent one day

-Attached to their coat and pocket watch named Little Ben, given by Maddox to "pay off a debt"??

-"Even a stopped clock is nice twice a day." Stop. OMG.

-Modified wings for speed (?), shows how talented they are as a fairy

-Will write Tinkquin fanfic now.

-Calls Tinker Bell "sprocket" which is just so cute

-Got a cool little fairy loft

Danveers and Darwin

-Cuties

-Same but different trope (i eat that up)

-Their wings didnt glow because of the talent supression, meaning talents and wing glow are of the same magic.

-One is a shadow talent and one is a light talent. Is shadow a natural byproduct of living on the mainland?

-Fashion oriented

-Twintuition

-Fira and Iridessa as sibling dynamic

-One of my favorites

-A package, do not seperate

-Light talents hair has a natural glow and shadow talents have a natural aura in their hair

-Easily scare

-The glue in the group

Ozwald

-Nerd who overanalzyes

-Perceptive

-Book smart

-Scribe talent, specifically code breaking?! Good non nature talents focused on for once. And I wish he was just called a cipher talent or something but its movie universe rules so

-Dismissed as the nerd in the group (by the twins mostly) and just wants someone to listen to him, who's intellectually curious

-Nickname is Oz to who he lets in

-Gives paper hairclip to tinkerbell, even when they didnt have a good haul which could mean... things

-Enjoys mystery novels, which might not exist in Pixie Hollow bc no robbers ig??

-Close to Quin

-Tink makes a comparison to scribble

Axel

-Hate the way he was written, or at least Tink's narration of "even feeling this" as a very stoic guy. It's giving the quiet kid phenomena from many US public schools, when extroverted kids are surprised when people who dont normally talk actually do and are all surprised when it's common for someone in that environment to just not want to talk cause it sucks to be there. As a result, i initially hated many aspects of how he was written as Tink was always surprised when he expressed any sort of emotion. He was always feeling a certain way, but TB was always surprised that he was which just took me out of the story a few times

-Described to be sort of a "gentle giant"

-Theatre enjoyer

-Wanted to see the masked singer who rebelled, who is likely Elmira

-Dream talent, possibly secretive and naturally perceptive because of this

-Private fairy who keeps to himself, independent

-Works out possibly to fight back and protect himself

-Mechanical hand?

Elmira

-Voice was supressed as a singing talent

-A storyteller singing talent allegedly who sung tragic songs, storytelling is considered unnessary

-A key player in this story (get it)

-Seems to be related to Elips from early Pirate Fairy rumors

-Hoping she isnt forgotten because of the lack of official art

-Can work a plane despite being a music talent

-Knows more but has a plot related injury

Tinker Bell

-Just taking it all in

-Ignorance and culture clash

-Trying to blend in

-Made me actually interested in her character

-Awkward

-The right way to do a Tinker Bell solo story (looks at TLT who used friends as plot device instead of a little world dressing..)

-Rule breaker who's curious

-Invented balloon carriers which are used throughout the hollow

Other characters

-Clank and Bobble show up at the beginning and were very cute

-Someone told me they were setting up Clank and Tink but i really dont see it, he just complemented her literal bedhead (also thanks for lending me your book scans!)

-Terence is Tink's best friend. He's in the friend zone honestly because Tink is a natually anxious person and so his he. They will not be canon ever on that basis I'm sure

-Friends are mentioned and show up in the end. Certain characters id if they found out she was going to the mainland alone, would tie her to her bed. Love it

Comparisons to other media

-The story reminds me heavily of the story of Arcane, havent played LOL at all but in Arcane there are two societies of the rich and poor and the way both are described in the book reminds me of Arcane, and I'll basically be calling this Fairy Arcane now. Quin specifically reminds me of Vi, of meeting an outsider and not understanding what to do in this sort of society suffering from exaustion. The ambassors and higher power reminds me of Maddox

-Bartleby reminds me of Belos from the Owl House, and Maddox feels like his Golden Guard. Got control of his (own) society basically to have others speak his messages with his own agenda, having his inner circle receieve all the benefits. And Tink reminds me of Luz here in this scenario, being manipulated. So does Quin, who reminds me of Amity too.

-Bartleby reminds me of Principal Reverend from Monster High's Haunted movie. In this movie, the worlds of the ghost world and monster world are far apart. Reverend is being punished and uses chains on everyone to make her punishment easier, and lies who she is. The ghosts are afraid of the "solids" from the monster world. When Spectra, a ghost investigator tells her about Monster High, a multiple monster school she calls Monster High a "progressive" school with a sneer under her breath. Tink is also like Spectra here, fish out of water.

-The fashion sense of many Bleakwatchers reminds me of the Capital from Hunger Games, and of the elaborate looks as the colors are very saturated, it seems like the beauty and the shopping confuses people. A lot of people dress boldy but also do very difficult technician work, it seems to be a lot like our society and I think that's on purpose.

Overall thoughts:

This is a wonderful book with a confusing marketing campaign and unfortunate release timing. It has so much depth, and if I have to emphasize, for a book of it's kind and it does a lot to elevate the existing material. I was surprised at the "French" clothier fairy a little. I loved the use of imagery and was surprised on the twists in turns, expressions (one I feel like didnt have a family friendly equivalent which is funny- they say "just jam it" like jammed gears and i was like wha). I would give the book a number rating of 9.9 out of 10 and a star rating of 4.8 stars. I'm confused on the illustration aspects especially with what we have and what we don't. I hope with AI taking such a strong hold in the industry, AI wasn't considered for imagery in the book to which there is very little.

What I wish will happen in the next installment(s)

-Tinker Bell and company being a private investigator team in Pixie Hollow

-Involvement of Zarina and another character

-Fixes and expansions on Pixie Hollow lore

-Lore for islands outside of Neverland past the second star

-Expanded Pirate Fairy lore

-Expanded Lost Treasure lore (like the mirror shipwreck etc) and fairy magic

-Battle between the others

-Close calls

-Bleakwatchers in balloon carriers and seeking refuge in Pixie Hollow

-More illustration

-Others seeking refuge in the hollow

-Getting caught by humans

-Expansion on dream and shadow talents (an early reader who got it said they were to protect them from humans, dont know where they got that from)

-Fairy rebellion

-Flutterpunk secret society

-Bartleby lore

-Pocket watch lore (both human sized one and little Ben)

-Talent expansion

[mirersc]

-imma have alone the title for now till the cover art is ready, oops-

« LoST SiGNaLs » || I ACT

SUMMARY

“Say, Sonic, how about you and I play a game? Think of it though as a tracking skills test! Bring me within a week the three pieces of the chaos pentagon and I will release your two friends. Refuse and they pay the price. Trick me and well, better for me not to indulge in what I will do in that predicament. Either scenario, I sti~ill win.”

~~~

When Tikal summons Sonic to Angel Island the hero would have never been able to imagine what would follow after. It is unbelievable to think that the guardian of the Master Emerald, Knuckles and the ultimate lifeform, Shadow are taken as hostages. As Eggman forces Sonic on a quest to retrieve an old artifact for him, entitled ”Chaos Pentagon”, the blue blur is to set after a journey with the aid of Rouge the Bat and E-123 Omega to find the three shards of the object in question.

For them to succeed they will all need to be on the same wavelength. Are they however? And what seems to be the deal with Sonic’s communicator? Secrets are lurking around yet no one bats an eye. Will the trio actually manage to get along in the end to save their friends from the mad scientist?

Set after Sonic Frontiers. Please meet the newly formed team of Lost Signals. Or not so new?

❗link to fic:: here!

Heya, guys! Myler’s here! And guess what? Yep, yep! I have been as well participating in the STH Big Bang 2024 event with all the amazing writers and artists you have seen so far! Today is the last posting day so everyone is hoping that you will still enjoy the third batch’s works.

I participated as a writer on the event and I came up with a work called “Lost Signals” featuring a story around Sonic, Rouge and Omega because I thought it would be an interesting team to search the bonds between them.

Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to produce all the work since I didn’t work well with my given time, but it had still been a blast to write as far as I got, successful managing to cover ACT 1!

Big thank you to the @sthbigbang for hosting this lovely event! You guys rock and without y’all this event wouldn’t have happened and none if all these works would have been made. We will always remember the fun times we had while contributing in the event and the friendships or acquaintances we made along the way. You better take the credit you are been given for you deserve them!

🥁

And now ladies and gens and creaturas, a big THANK YOU to all the wonderful artists that accompanied me in this journey, @rapidhighway @rohansoutsidemydoor @petitcanard and despite my incompetence and FUULL delay, heh, they saw it through and were as supportive as one could be! Truly I wouldn’t have made it without them.

Be sure to congratulate them and check their astonishing art pieces for they are sure captivating and pretty much describing without words the story for you all to listen to and imagine~

@rapidhighway :: art! → CH 1 “Spirit’s Worry” who doesn’t love a laid-back sonic the hedgehog? I truly adore sooo much this art piece! The calm before the storm *cough cough*. I specifically got drawn by the flowers– like c’mon! They are so pretty! And palm trees. The colours all so vibrant and for real Green Hill couldn’t have looked any better! Dare I say I envy him -only at the beginning :)), shh-

@petitcanard :: art! → CH 4 “Mirror, mirror on the Wall” this art piece finalized the outfits and accessories of the characters which they all rooock!!! You can all see perfectly well from this specific work how the interactions have between Sonic, Rouge and Omega. I love how Omega wants to fry Sonic! “A not-completely-functioning team” she described them, which is indeed right, hehe.

@rohansoutsidemydoor :: art! → CH 8 “Keep away. Don’t come closer. Danger! Stop!” this made me write chapter 8 faster than the speed of sound! The realization, the mystery, the agony. Breathtaking! The expressions of the characters do make me have chills running down my spine and the blazy environment of the art, is top. They did the specific moment justice! << SPOILERS >>

Another part of my gratitude certainly goes to my beta reader @lunesart who despite my inactiveness at some point she was sure to check up on me and helped me lots with her useful tips and guidance. The speech without her would have been very dry and more complicated in comparison to the final result. Sooo special kudos to her too ✨!

Also– before I wrap things up– HAPPY BIRTHDAY 🎂 SONIC 🌀💨 !

[angrygirlromero]

OCEAN EYES PT. 4

Summary: In which the son of the God of thieves, is head over heels in love with the daughter of the sea God.

Warnings: possible grammar mistakes.

Pairing: Luke x daughter of Poseidon x Little brother Percy

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

"Did you pack enough clothes?" "Yes ma'am" "Did you pack the first aid kit I left on your camping bag?" "Yes Ella-" "Did you-" "Take it easy princess I’m pretty sure Percy has everything he needs, I was there when he was packing" said Luke placing a comforting hand on Marella's lower back.

"I am only making sure, love" said the sea princess offering Pecy a soft smile as they stood by the border near Thalia's tree, "Well I am assuming Dionysus gave you your allowance" asked the older girl.

"Yeah he did, two hundred cash and a few drakmas?" said Percy with an unsure look, causing Annabeth to roll her eyes at his words, "They're called Golden Drachmas, get it right" said the Athena girl with an annoyed expression, erupting giggles from the couple before them as grover simply shook his head in disapproval.

"Don't be too hard on him Beth, remember to have patients, I ask you" said the daughter of Poseidon to the daughter of Athena, the younger girl nodded in agreement, "Please Grover watch over them, and bring them back alive" "Of course Ella, I promise"

-

Since the departure of the trio from Camp Ella had found herself feeling rather anxious, even the fish could sense it, she did not wish to pass her worry onto her beloved aquatic friends, but they too were worried about a war, about their homes and kingdom.

Marella found herself seated at the edge of dock once again this time the sun had already gone down, this was the place where she had first opened up to Percy about herself, the very day they had discovered that they were siblings, being close to the water always made Marella feel closer to her home, to her father.

Moving her feet in the deep fresh water Ella's eyes focused on the water her body soon stiffening at the sight of a glowing figure, a nereid, she sat at the bottom of lake staring up at the girl with eager eyes.

Ella wasted no time on pushing herself from the dock and into the water her body making instant contact with the water causing her senses to be awoken, by being in it's rightful place, water.

"State your business here" demanded the princess as she floated with her head held high a bright glowing tiara taking shape upon her head, Marella knew it was wrong for her to interact with nereid she was most likely sent by her father, and this interaction could get them both in big trouble.

"A message from you father, princess" said the woman calmly lowering her head in respect, "If your brother is not successfully with his quest by the time of summer solstice Zeus will officially declare war upon us, if that time comes your father wishes to have you at the ready to fight along side him in battle" said the Mythical woman.

"What of my brother?" asked Marella with a hard look in her sea blue eyes, "If he does not succeed what will happen to him?" asked the princess, "No harm shall come to your brother if he does not succeed, he shall be released from his quest and returned safely to camp" said the woman offering the princess a reassuring look.

"You on the other hand shall be returned to Atlantis" continued the woman, at her words Ella nodded in agreement, she would loose her place at camp her friends, Luke and Little Percy, but if that meant they would be safe Ella was willing to leave them all behind.

"I am aware, if that is all you are dismissed, I shall wish for your safe return home, tell my father that I am at the ready" said Marella not wasting another moment before making her way to the shore.

Marella made her way way out of the water calmly as her mind raced, she belonged here at camp, but her duty demanded her return home, "Ella?" called out a familiar voice, Marella's gaze snapped to Luke who stood by the shore, his lips parted in amazement at the sight of his girl, she was glowing in the water, and a tiara on her head, her form displaying a true ocean princess.

Ella took a few steps more finally coming out of the water to stand before Luke, Luke watched intently as the tiara before her head faded away into thin air as her glow soon decreased leaving just, Marella, his Ella.

"I- I was looking for you all over, you missed dinner, I took you a sandwich to your cabin but you weren't there so-" Luke stopped his rambling as Ella reached her hand up to his face, her soft fingers trailing over his rough scar, "You mean the world to me Luke" said Ella quietly, only loud enough for him to hear.

Luke's heart was beating out of his chest, his face flushed hot and red, as he let out unstable breaths, "I- I- y- you" the Hermes boy stuttered out, "you don't have to say anything my love" said Ella with a soft smile.

"My Love" her love, he was her love? she had never called him that before surely she called him only love, but Ella called even Clarisse love, despite the Ares girl's protests at the nickname, she called everyone love but never "My love", Luke could've died right there and then, he would pass a happy man for eternity.

Marella stared up into his dark brown eyes pure love and adoration evident in them, she bravely stood to the tips of her toes her arms snaking around his neck, and her hands tangling themselves into his soft curly hair, as she pressed her lips to his.

Luke froze for a mere second before he dipped down deepening the kiss, his hands arms wrapping themselves around her small waist, she bit his lip causing him to groan out, with a smile at her sneaky action.

This felt unreal, he had been dreaming of this moment since the moment he met her and finally it had become reality, he no longer felt as if he walked on the ground, fireworks seemed to be erupting inside him, she tasted of sea water and blueberries, just like he imagined she would.

Marella soon broke the kiss her eyes on Luke's as they both stood there breathlessly, "You have no idea how long ive been wanting to do that" breathed out the Hermes boy contently as he held his girl, "Believe me my love the feeling is very mutual" said Marella contently.

"I love you" Ella froze at Luke's words, she had not been expecting those words to come from his mouth, she was left startuck, “Luke, I-" "You don't have to say it back, at least not now, I just wanted you to know."

-

Two day had passed since since Ella and Luke had confessed their feelings for one another, two days since she had been informed what was to happen if Percy failed, and for the two days Marella had been contented, Luke had not left her alone not for a second, the Hermes boy unable to keep his wondering hand off of her.

The sea princess had not heard word from her brother, not since she had hear that he had a confrontation with Ares himself on the road, it was as if he had disappeared off the face of the earth since then.

But today was the day she would finally know her stance, Ella laid on the soft mattress of her bed her gaze focused on the ceiling of the room where wooden models of sea creatures hung from the ceiling, hand painted by Ella herself, her hands once more tangled in Luke's soft curls's.

Luke's head was resting in the crook of her neck his handsome face contoured into a peaceful expression as he slept, his steady breaths fanning Ella's neck and the sounds of soft snores welcomed themselves into her ears.

His strong arm's wrapped around her wait lovingly, holding onto her tightly as if he let go she’d disappear into thin air, certainly she would not, right? they were happy, for once despite Ella's rushing mind she had been happy the past days, sure her and Luke had broken the rules having him here but that did not matter.

They were both soon interrupted by the sound of loud trumpets blasting through the camp ground, because of course nothing so sweet and pure ever lasts, the loud sound jolting Luke awake, the Hermes boy quickly standing to his feet with ease, instantly reaching for the dagger that laid in his boots at the bed's feet.

"Be calm, my love" said Marella with a sad smile, his beautiful girl stood from the bed slipping on her slippers, Luke frowned as he watched his girl, why was she sad? what was that noise? he watched Marella make her way to the cabin door a stern look taking upon her beautiful face, no Luke did not like that look, he wanted to sooth the crease between her eyes brown away, he wanted to kiss her lips until they turned into her bright and beautfile smile, the same one that made his heart race.

Marella stopped at the door as if contemplating something in her head, but that only lasted a moment before she pushed the large doors open, she walked out, "Ella!" called Luke after her as he waisted no time in following her.

Luke watched as all the campers poured out of their cabins everyone rushing to Lake, the same direction Marella had rushed off to, Luke quickly jogged to the lake his eyes searching for her small figure in the group of teens.

He soon stopped as he reached the edge of the Lake where other couplers stood attempting to calm their kids, in the water stood a man, Poseidon, with him were several other men who looked unreal but they had tails, and weapons standing protectively in front of their God.

Luke's gaze soon found Ella in the crowd, Luke watching as the campers around her parted like a sea for her to pass, Poseidon held a proud look on his face as he watched his daughter emerge from the crowd, he dark curls held neatly in two braids framing her matured face beautifully.

Luke stepped forward as Ella began to take take small step into the water, had she known all this time? he asked himself how could she just leave him so easily? they had just found each other, and she was leaving him? to war to get herself killed by Zeus and Hades' monsters? Luke was selfish, yes this was her destiny, but couldn't allow it.

Luke rushed forward to her, grabbing at her hand softly, causing her eyes to snap back to him, her face softening for a second but soon retiring to it’s hard expression, "Don't do this ella, please" he pleaded, "You know better than anyone that I have no choice" she mumbled under her breath, her eyes pleading him to let her go, "No I finally got you after all this time and you're leaving me, you can't do this to me, princess" Luke said his voice breaking every so slightly.

Marella glanced back at her father who seemed to be glaring daggers at Luke, her father, her beloved father, who had taught her everything she knew, the god of the sea, he had raised her to be everything she was, now he asked a favor of her, she could not decline it, even if it would lead to her death.

Luke's head snapped to his side as he felt Mr. D's hand on his shoulder, "Let go kid" he muttered to the Hermes boy, "No- I-" "You have to let go Luke" said the god sternly.

Luke's gaze returning to Ella's he watched her eyes water, "Please" she said, Luke's heart broke, she didn't want this just as much as him, but it was her destiny, he remembered his own words "it's because your dad has bigger plans for Ella" he told Percy.

Luke let go, Ella's hand falling to her side as he stared at her with a longing gaze, "Come back to me, alive" he mumbled for her to hear, "I will" she said, before making her way to her father's side.

The entire camp held their berths as they watched a tiara take form on Marells's head, her PJ's turing into a deep blue gown fit for a princess, her true form.

Poseidon smiled slightly at his daughter, offering her his arm, which she gracefully took, Ella turned back her gaze meeting Luke's "I love you" she mouthed to him before she disappeared into the water with her father.

A tear slipped down Luke's cheek, the tear trailing down his scar, a heart broken look on his face, Marella had his heart and she had taken it with her, this wasn't her fault, his sweet Ella who loved the ocean more than anything, this was Percy's doing, Poseidon's doing, Zeus’ doing.

For this they would pay, Percy Jackson had failed and for his mistakes his beloved sister would pay the price, for his foolishness Percy Jackson would pay the price Luke promised himself.

Tag list:

@yummytootybutt 🎀 @mxtokko @poppyflower-22 @starryhiraeth @trashmouthsahra @purplerose291 @iloveneilperry @onlyreadz @mahidahi @stevenknightmarc @loveryoushouldcomeoverr @leopard-skin-pillbox-hat-ok @dracoslovergirl @pussyslayerhd @sparklybearcheesecake @moonz33 @skwangmbyul

A/N: So before anyone comes for me, here's chapter four, I am so sorry I completely forgot I even wrote this series for a spit second, but seeing the new Percy Jackson teaser brought back my inspiration, I do plan on continuing with this series because I love Marella sm, I can't let her go, if you wish to be apart of the tag list don't be shy message me or comment <333

[echoingvoids]

It is officially February 1st here, which means its time to start publishing for @zelinktines!

Here's the first short oneshot for "Familiar Feeling"! You can read it here below the cut, or on Wattpad or AO3

Link deals with a strange emotion

Breath of the Wild

\^_^/

The more he learned about her, the more he felt it. Well before he even pieced together who she was, he felt it. Hylia, the moment he woke up alone and confused in the Shrine of Resurrection, he felt it.

Despite wanting to, he couldn't exactly describe it. This feeling was like a great desire, a deep yearning for something he hadn't even known he had lost.  It was something that echoed throughout him like a call, crying to be answered but he didn't know how to respond.

Something deep down told him he had felt this before, despite not having a memory to his name. 

This frustrated him to no end. 

He had a feeling the strange old man knew more than he let on. Link didn't like that.

Desperate to stop feeling the emptiness, he threw himself fully into the quest the old man (who turned out to be King Rhoam's ghost) had given him. He found out he was good at concentrating. So good that all emotion and desires became mute, and all that was and could be was his mission, his goal. The call would sometimes rise up again, and whenever it did he would review his map, make food, catch a horse--anything to stop that hollow cry from filling him.

He came to the conclusion that something had filled this void in his life before...before whatever accident that had landed him in that shrine. The feeling was so familiar, and it carried an edge that made him think it was something that he used to like. It was the echo of something important he had lost.

Despite shoving it down constantly, it kept popping up again.

He traveled Hyrule, helping people and hunting down his memories of 100 years ago. He found an echo of the feeling scattered amongst the memories, turning to something that was...nice. Nice in the memories. In reality, being hit with that feeling just filled him with despair.

Zelda.

It all somehow connected back to her. This alternate feeling that temporarily stopped the ache was in his memories of her. It took him weeks of thought and contemplating to finally boil it down.

He loved her.

Or he had. But if this persisting anguish without her around that was only soothed when he found memories of her indicated anything, he loved her still. A woman he only could remember in fragments.

He hadn't the slightest clue what to do with that information. So, he simply acknowledged it and tucked it away to deal with later. He had to defeat Ganon and save Zelda. Maybe then things could become clearer.

More weeks passed. All the Divine Beasts were saved, the Master Sword in his hand. Armed in every way possible, he made his way to the castle.

They finished Ganon together. She had been standing there, smiling at him. "May I ask...do you really remember me?"

He was silent for a long moment. "I don't remember all of you..." He looked into her green eyes, studying him so intently. "But...I feel about you."

"You...you feel?"

"Yes," he unthinkingly took a step closer. "Even when I didn't know your name...I missed you. Every step of this crazy mess, I wanted to see you again," he bashfully looked away. "I'm sorry if that doesn't make sense."

To his shock, she closed the space between them and enveloped him in a hug. "It does make sense. I know what you mean."

Something about the way her arms felt around him was so familiar...and it felt like a puzzle piece dropping into place. He wrapped his arms around her, burying his face in her shoulder and finally just let himself feel.

They traveled Hyrule together, working to fix the damage the Calamity had done. The more he was with her, the more her remembered her, the more he loved her. The familiar feeling was so nice compared to the ache that had predominated his life for so long. She was like a magnet, and even when she formally released him from her service, he stayed by her side.

"I never want to leave you again," he explained simply. "I don't want to feel empty anymore."

This had made her cry but they were happy tears. She had kissed him, and it felt so damn right. 

He was finally where he belonged.

[nerd-goes-blogging]

how did I get here?

('bout how I became a dedicated Tintin fan)

You know, there’s a reason I call Tintin and Snowy my favourite.

I met them when I was 12 years old, in a dusty corner of my school library. An instant connection developed between us and since then we had never been apart. 

On his birthday, 9th January, my thoughts turned nostalgic about the young reporter who brightened and inspired my teenage years. Well, back then I wrote a journal entry dedicated to him and his glorious adventures. While creating this blog, the first content that came to my mind was this journal entry.

So, why not?

Here's to all those amazing memories I’ve made so far with this reporter and many more to come.

Back in middle school days, I remember searching for a book series to follow diligently. There were many of them. Mostly fantasies and fictions and dark romance. Some were menacing and awkward. As a whole, not an ideal read for me, I thought. I didn’t (and still don’t) want my head to be occupied with weird thoughts which yield nothing. But I knew my search would end one day. And it did.. 

One day, rummaging through the junior library at school, I noticed some illustrated books, which resembled the comics’s style but quite refined. With the librarian's permission I opened the locked up cabinet which seemed to have jammed due to rust.

That was my pirate treasure, a bounty which I was lucky enough to stumble upon.

The first book which I read from the series was ‘The Castafiore’s Emerald’. The only adventure completely based in the Marlinspike Hall, gives a cozy kind of feeling. Not only did I appreciate Tintin's wits, but I was also amused by Captain Haddock’s funny curses and alliteration which were insulting enough to trash anyone. I really felt that I was where I belonged. I decided to stick to it and started to gather more information and facts about the young protagonist and his brilliant creator, Hergé . The internet, of course, helped me to a great extent as all 24 volumes of the adventures were available there. Also, that was my first year learning french. When Madame came to know about my new hobby, she encouraged me to carry it further and suggested that I'd get the gist of both, the language and the stories, if I read them in french. So, I did that, and how! By the end of middle school, I had read all 24 volumes, some in french as well.

Since then, I’ve read the whole series many times. I've lost count of the number of times I've ...

cheered when Tintin fought Bobby Smiles in Chicago in the book ‘Tintin in America’, 

gasped at the revelation of Rastapopoulos as an antagonist in ‘The Blue Lotus’ (who continued on to become the prime villain in the series), 

chuckled to see (or hear) Bianca Castafiore’s god forsaken singing and Tintin’s reaction in ‘King Ottokar’s Sceptre’, 

been amused at the introduction of Captain Haddock into the series in ‘The Crab with Golden Claws’, 

got my funny bone tickled as Captain Haddock grouched on Professor Cuthbert Calculus’ “hard of hearing” trouble, 

got thrilled with the hero’s treasure hunt in ‘The Secret of the Unicorn’

got terrified at the vengeance of Inca Rascar Capac and Tintin, Snowy and Captain Haddock’s quest to release the professor from the captivity of the Incas in ‘The Seven Crystal Balls’ & ‘The Prisoners of the Sun’ (this story is hands down my most fav :)

greeted the Emir and his son Abdullah (devil’s incarnation) in ‘Land of Black Gold’, 

followed the friends to the moon and back (literally!) 

visited Borduria and Syldavia, 

cried my heart out (when I first read it, I was so touched) in the joyous reunion of Tintin and Tchang, 

rolled with laughter on seeing the magazine cover of Paris Flash in ‘The Castafiore Emerald’, 

encountered all sorts of people (even aliens! in ‘flight 714’) 

and went to an extent of a military coup for General Alcazar. 

Oh, and not to forget the cliffhanger of the unfinished ‘Tintin and the Alph-art’ (left for fans to complete it with our imagination, I like to believe!)

 

Phew! The list is much longer than this & the memories are limitless!!

You might wonder why I'm so into Tintin's adventures and what makes him different from other comic book heroes? 

More importantly, what made me stay? 

You can find this out and more in my next blog.

Until then, stay nerdy ✨👩‍🎓

The Nerdy Olive :)

[etude-in-citrine]

Detective Conan Drama CD: A Written Challenge from the Detective Boys

So I've noticed this drama CD has been out for more than ten years (October 2011) but the most I've seen are tidbits of it, especially regarding a.. certain scene. (￢_￢) No one has really translated the whole thing though and after taking that mantle it myself, I see why... If anyone is interested in matching this to the drama CD video, be my guest but I ask of you just to ask and credit me. ( ﾟ∀ﾟ)

So heads up before we start (warning: super long), I translate most of the terms to English but kept some Japanese terms like most honorific like -kun, -san, etc. I sometimes would switch between Professor/Prof. and hakase but they're both the same. However I have switched meitantei to great detective since it's a smoother transition in translation and it has a nice ring to it.

I also kept classic Conan phrases like oi oi, arere, barou because they're too iconic not to. (*´∀`)♪

I decided to differentiate Kaito and Kaitou Kid because Yamaguchi has a specific way of voicing them, just like how he does with Kid and Shinichi.

Italics are thoughts

Bold is codes/ciphers

*(word)* are actions

TN is translation notes to clarify riddles/codes/jokes that get lost in translation.

And I have loads of side comments in forms of SN(side notes) so apologies if it ruins your experience.

Also to make this a more amusing read, I litter face emojis in some of the dialogue, mostly those with strong reactions.

Watch out for this face specifically (◕∇◕) because that means Conan is speaking in his cute childish voice.

Now with all that mumble jumble out of the way, enjoy!

*Watching Detective Red Jacket*

Ayumi: It was so interesting!

Genta: Detective Red Jacket was so cool!

Mitsuhiko: Yeah! The action and story were perfect! It's the best movie I've watched! Number 1!

Ayumi: Yup! There's no doubt about that, right Conan-kun?

Conan: You think so?

Ayumi: Eh?

Conan: I figured out the killer in 5 minutes.

Haibara: Is that so?

Conan: And also- Ah.

Ayumi: What's wrong Conan-kun? You suddenly turned around.

Conan: Nah. It felt like someone was watching me..

Kaito: Shoot this is bad! To think these guys were watching the same movie as me. And it just had to be the seats right in front of me...

Conan: Was it my imagination?

Haibara: Well, what were you planning on saying?

Conan: Well the protagonist Sannomiya Kazunori's acting wasn't very good.

*crunch*

Ayumi: Huh? What's wrong Ai-chan? You're crushing the pamphlet very tightly.

Haibara: Uh.. a-ah-

Mitsuhiko: I know!! Why don't we all go to Mitsubo shop? If I remember correctly, the Detective Red Jacket special edition is being released today!

Genta: Let's go then!!

Ayumi/Mitsuhiko: Yeah!!

Conan: You guys seriously like it that much? Sorry but I'll head back first. See you guys!

Genta: What's with Conan? Always saying stuff and being a wet blanket just when everyone is so enthusiastic.

Haibara: I'm going to buy another new pamphlet.

Ayumi: Sure..

Genta: Let's hurry up and go!

Mitsuhiko: It'd be bad if it sold out! Especially since it comes with a special poster of the protagonist Sannomiya Kazunori as a bonus.

Ayumi: Oh, Ai-chan came back.

Haibara: Tsuburaya-kun, is that true?

Mitsuhiko: Uh yeah.

Kaito: It's true that Detective Red Jacket is super cool! A far cry compared to certain midget detective.. (SN: (≖_≖ ))

*theme song playing*

Conan: Detective Conan Drama CD A Written Challenge from the Detective Boys

Agasa: So in the end, you weren't able to buy the Detective Red whatjamacallit's book.

Ayumi: Yup that's right!

Mitsuhiko: A middle aged man with a weird hat bought the last book in stock!

Genta: That's definitely harassment!

Mitsuhiko: Right!!

Genta: Because no way an old man would be a fan of Detective Red Jacket!!

Kaito: *old man voice* Well turns out he was a fan~ Hehe. Sorry about that but I'll partake myself with the last book in stock~ (SN: childish.. (￢_￢;))

Agasa: That certainly is a bummer. *ahem* Now here comes a question!

Detective Boys: Ehhh?!?!

Genta: Another of Prof's pun quiz??

Mitsuhiko: It's so sudden as always.

Agasa: Sorry about that.

Which martial arts is most suitable for you guys today?

A) judo 受動

B) kendo 剣道

C) karate 空手

Ayumi: Eh? Ayumi has never done any of them before.

Mitsuhiko: Me too.. I'm bad at martial arts after all.

Genta: Ran-neechan would be karate though.

Haibara: The answer is A) judo

Agasa: Eh? Your reasoning behind it?

Haibara: Kendo and karate have thrusts ( 「突き(つき)」(tsuki)) but judo doesn't have any. In other words, it means we're unlucky (TN: phrase: 「月(つき) がない」(tsuki ga nai):not having luck on your side) right?

Agasa: Bravo!! That's the correct answer!!

Mitsuhiko: I see. We have no luck, huh? That's true..

Genta: But that's all Conan's fault right?

Agasa: Huh? What do you mean?

Genta: Because even though everyone was so hyped up in the movie, Conan kept saying stuff that spoiled the mood!

Mitsuhiko: But I don't think that has anything to do with not being able to buy the Detective Red Ja-

Haibara: It's related, don't you think?

Mitsuhiko/Ayumi: Eh?

Haibara: They say "Once you start finding faults, your luck/moon will leave you". I think there's some truth to that.

Genta: *whisper* Don't you think Haibara is somehow scary?

Mitsuhiko: She's probably angry because Conan-kun badmouthed Sannomiya Kazunori.

Genta: Ehhh??? Does that mean Haibara is a fan of Sannomiya?

Haibara: (ʘ言ʘ╬)

Mitsuhiko: *shriek*

Genta: W-w-what?

Mitsuhiko: Haibara is glaring at us with scary eyes..

Genta: Huh-Waahhh! Her eyes are a little..Ahhh.. I might have leaked a little...

Mitsuhiko: But that kind of expression is also quite lovely. (SN:(￢_￢;) Is Mitsuhiko an m??) But now that you mention it, Conan has just been talking down on us.

Genta: Sometimes I want Conan to be (surprised and) speechless.

Ayumi: Well then, let's all challenge Conan-kun then!

Genta: Challenge Conan?

Ayumi: Yup, let's all prepare super difficult problems and let Conan solve it.

Mitsuhiko: Ahh... but don't you think the riddles we think of will be solved very easily?

Ayumi: To make up for that, we'll have Prof. Agasa and Ai-chan to participate with us, right?

Agasa: Sure.

Haibara: That sounds interesting.

Agasa: Now that we've settled on it, let's start the plan.

Haibara: First the words for the cipher.

Genta: Hmm you're right. Okay Haibara, we'll leave you to a really difficult one!

Ayumi: No Genta! We're all going to think for it!

Genta: You're right.

Mitsuhiko: To start off..

Kaito: A challenge to the great detective huh? It's gotten interesting! I was wondering what was up so I'm glad I made the right choice to place the miniature microphon- DAAAHHHH!!!! Y-you idiot! Go over there!! I'm not a telephone pole!! \(º □ º l|l)/

(SN: I think some birds pooped on him. Poor guy, I thought you knew how to deal with them considering you own doves..)

Conan: So what business do you have with me?

Ayumi: We Detective Boys are sending a challenge to Edogawa Conan-kun!

Conan: Ha?

Mitsuhiko: In other words, it's like this. We're going to send four codes for you to solve from here on out and have you find the treasure that's somewhere around this city.

Genta: The time limit is until 5 in the evening! So you have 2 hours!

Conan: Oi wait just a minS

Ayumi: If you can solve all the codes and find the treasure until then, it's Conan-kun's win!!

Haibara: But if you can't find it, it's Edogawa-kun's loss.

Ayumi: Here! The first code is in this envelope!

Conan: No, like I sai-

Genta: *gibberish sounds* You can't open it yet until 5 minutes passed. You got that?

Mitsuhiko: Well then, let's hurry to our designated spots!

Genta/Ayumi: Yeahhh!!!

Conan: Oiiii you guys!!! *Detective Boys run away* It's not like I agreed to this and they ran away.. Haibara, what's the meaning of this?

Haibara: Who knows? Isn't it because you don't normally treat them nicely?

Conan: Huh?

Haibara: So, what are you going to do?

Conan: Even if you tell me what to d-

Haibara: A great detective will accept any challenge, wouldn't you agree?

Conan: What's with you? You've been quite snarky today.

Haibara: You think? Isn't that your imagination? Ah, 5 minutes passed.

Conan: *sigh* Fine! If you're going to go that far, then I'll participate. *rips envelope* Is this the cipher?

"A comedian hates octopus(お笑い芸人はタコが嫌い)"?

Haibara: If you go to the location this code indicates, you'll be able to get the next code.

Conan: An octopus huh? If we're talking places that have octopus, the first things that you would think of is a fish market, a sushi restaurant, or an octopus ball(takoyaki) stall.... Ha! As if!! It's not even worth trying to deduce! Such an easy riddle! Just to add onto this, it's not just comedians, exam students hate octopus too.

Haibara: Heh...

Conan: Something a comedian and exam student both hate is failing/falling (滑る(suberu)). In other words, the location this code is pointing at is a sliding (also すべる(suberu)) octopus. If you put it that way, there's only one place like that in this town.

Conan: So, why are you coming with me? Aren't you Genta and the others' side?

Haibara: I'm here as your observer.

Conan: Ha! With such easy riddles, I'm not going to stoop so low and cheat.

Haibara: Not that! I'm here to see if you're going run away in the middle of this challenge.

Conan: Run away? Yeah right! Look, we've arrived. It's here.

A sliding octopus means that, the octopus playground slide.

Random girl: Mister, hurry up and slide down already!

Mitsuhiko: Ah, I'm sorry. I'll slide right away. *slides down* As expected of Conan-kun, to think you arrived here already.

Conan: This is only park to have a octopus slide in this town after all.

Mitsuhiko: But! This is only the beginning! Here. This is the second code.

Conan: Oi, I'm telling you in advance. I'll be able to solve codes of this level in a heartbeat.

Mitsuhiko: Muhuhuhuhu. The next code is going to be even more difficult. Well then, I'll be waiting at the location of the treasure!

Conan: Good grief. So what's the next riddle?

"Economy at Siberia(エコノミーでシベリアへ)"?

Economy...Siberia?

Haibara: What's wrong? Weren't you going to solve it in a heartbeat?

Conan: Shaddap!

Haibara: Don't hold yourself back meitantei-san!~

Conan: *huff* Like I thought, Haibara seems to be in a bad mood. I don't know what happened, but spare me from your venting.

Travel agency saleswoman: A travel ticket to overseas is currently discounted in this campaign at the moment!

Conan: It seems Ayumi and the others aren't around. It seems a travel agency would be too straightforward as expected.

Haibara: A~rere~ It can't be that with economy and Siberia as keywords, you would think it's a travel agency right?

Conan: Hufufufufufu! I was only coincidentally passing by!

Haibara: You're right! A great detective like yourself wouldn't make such a childish deduction like that right?~

Conan: Hmph, shaddap with all the nitpicking. Just you wait! I'll solve it for you right now!! (*｀□´)

Economy and Siberia, there should be a different meaning to them. First economy, other transliterations have meanings such as 「経済(keizai)」: economy/finance, 「節約(setsuyaku)」: economy/savings, 「景気(keiki)」: economic activity/marketing. Hm? Mm?? 「けいき(keiki)」? 「ケーキ(keiki)」:cake.. Siberia... Siberia cake.... I see! I figured it out! It's this way Haibara! Follow me!!

Haibara: Ah!

*opens door*

Pastry waitress: Welcome!

Haibara: Isn't this a pastry shop? Why?

Conan: Don't play dumb with me. Well whatever! I'll explain it to you right now.*in the cutest childish Conan voice* Excuse me, do you have Siberia cake? (◕∇◕)

Pastry waitress: Yes! It's right at the far end of that case!

Conan: Thank you!!~ (◕∇◕)

Hehe! This is it! A Siberia cake is sweet bean jelly sandwiched between the Castella cake. It was popular between the Taisho and Showa Era. But nowadays, you barely see it around anymore so this is the only shop in town where you can buy this fabled cake. I can't imagine Ayumi and the others to be aware of this so I bet Prof. suggested this.

Haibara: pachi pachi pachi (TN: it means clap but pachi sounds cute so I kept it)

(¬へ¬) Hmph. As expected. It was a perfect deduction, although it's very fustrating. Yoshida-san, you can come out now.

Ayumi: Okay.. Aww you found out. Here, this is the next code.

Conan: Sure, thank yo- Oi oi! We're still doing this?

Ayumi: Obviously!! This is our challenge after all!! (｀ｴ´) Don't flake out until the very end! See you! *goes out the shop*

Conan-kun is amazing as expected! We might not be able to win even with Professor's and Ai-chan's help. Ah! *bumps*

Kaito: Oops! Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?

Ayumi: I'm okay! I'm sorry! *runs away*

Kaitou Kid: Now then, I guess it's about my time to shine.

Conan: Hah... what's next? *rips envelope*

The panda shop is a fruits parlor without fruits (パンダのお店はフルーツがないフルーツパーラー).

Haibara: This one is simple. You can just check all the fruits parlors in town.

Conan: You're one to talk. Judging from all the previous riddles, you can at least tell that it won't point towards the location the code writes word for word..

Hm? Word for word? I see!! It is supposed to be seen word for word!

Genta: *badge beeps* Is that Ayumi? Eehhh?!?!?! Conan already cleared it?! Are you for real?! An hour hasn't even passed yet!... Okay I got it! Wait for me at the final place! See you! *beeps* So does that mean Conan will be able to arrive here quickly then? Ooohhh!! Is that Conan?.. Hah, wrong person... AAHH!! OVER THERE IS-

Agasa: Genta-kun.

Genta: Yes?! You scared me.. What is it? It's just Prof. Don't scare me like that!

Agasa: Haha.. sorry about that.

Genta: Anyways why are you here? Aahh! Did you come here to play pachinko?

Agasa: Of course not! I came here to trade places with you.

Genta: Huh? Trade?

Agasa: That's right. When you think about it, it's not proper to have an elementary schooler constantly wait in front of a pachinko (gambling) parlor. We're talking about Conan-kun. He'll arrive here momentarily. Leave this place to me and you should head to final destination.

Genta: I see! That's smart Prof! Okay I got it! This is the riddle! *hands envelope* Then I leave this place to you Prof!

Agasa: Sure!

Kaitou Kid: Leave it to me.

Haibara: How did you figure out it was a pachinko parlor?

Conan: Hm? I just followed it literally. It's because it's a 'fruits parlor without fruits'. Without the fruits, you remove the fruits from fruits parlor and it just becomes parlor. And then, you can call a pachinko by its other name parlor. Oops! *ding dong* Excuse me! We're getting off!! (◕∇◕)

*getting off the stop*

Haibara: So then, what about the panda shop?

Conan: It's the name. The pandas in the zoo further down at moment is named Lily and Xinxin. Hey Haibara, read the pachinko's name on the signboard.

Haibara: Parlor Lily...

Conan: There you have it!

*enters parlor*

Agasa: I've been waiting for you Conan-kun. You have such good timing!

Conan: Professor! That paper bag...

Agasa: Well, since I was free, I wanted to kill some time. It kept on coming out one after another nonstop! (SN:じゃんじゃんバリバリ,(janjan baribari)(￣∇￣*) Reminds me when Kaito disguised as Subaru in the New Years opening) It's a big fever dream!

Conan: 'Continuously nonstop' you say? Huh? *opens bag* it's all candies....

Haibara: Professor. What do you plan on doing with those candies? (・∀・#)

Agasa: What's this? Do you want it? Then take as much as you want! I can't eat it all by myself after all.

*realization hits*

Haibara: Is that so? You're going to eat it...

Conan: You're... not Agasa-hakase are you?

Agasa: Hm?

Conan: Haibara strictly monitors Professor's meals and nutrition. For you to talk about eating candy so casually in front of Haibara... The real professor would be trembling to his bones and would definitely never dare say something like that.

Haibara: Saying trembling was unnecessary.

Conan: I'm sorry...

Agasa: As expected of the great detective..

Kaitou Kid: Hmph, it seems you've figured it out!

Conan/Haibara: Kaitou Kid?! Σ(ﾟДﾟ)

Kaitou Kid: Well then well then~ What I have produced here is a single red rose. There are no tricks or contraptions. One two three *poof* Wow how mysterious~♡ The red rose swapped places and became a challenge notice~

Conan: Wow how mysterious~ What do you mean by challenge notice?（￢へ￢）

Kaitou Kid: Nah~ I just happened to coincidentally witness a scene of some innocent little boys and girls that wanted to make Conan-kun speechless. It looked interesting so I decided to partake myself as a contestant. (SN: Sure Kaito.. I'm sure no listening devices were involved when you happened to hear them right? (;￢_￢))

Conan: What?! (　ﾟ皿ﾟ)

Kaitou Kid: You'll naturally accept my challenge right oh great detective!? *throws a flash bomb*

Conan: So bright! Y-You bastard!! He disappeared...

Haibara: Kudou-kun, open the envelope!

Conan: S-Sure.. *rips open the envelope*

To my beloved great detective,

I will be appearing at one of the following jewelry stores at 5 in the evening today.

イ(i): Niaoka Jewelry

ウ(u): Jewel Yuki

エ(e): Crystal Gem

Now to figure out where I'll appear, try your hand at deciphering the next code.

Orion's children all know this. Four of the sons love taking a walk. Three of the sons gaze at the sky. Five of the sons are left-handed. (オリオンの子供たちは知っている。四つの息子は散布好き、三つの息子は空をみやげ五つの息子は左利き)

The end. I wish you the best of luck,

Kaitou Kid

Haibara: If it's 5pm, we have less than 30 minutes. For now, let's contact Inspector Nakamori and have the police guard all three stores.

Conan: S-Sure... *dials* *uses Shinichi's voice*

Shinichi: Hello is this Inspector Nakamori? This is the detective Kudo Shinichi. I've just received a challenge letter from Kaitou Kid.

Haibara: It means we won't be answering to Kid's challenge but it can't be helped... This isn't a game after all.

Shinichi: Yes. The place where Kid will appear? That is... I will definitely figure it out within 30 minutes. So can you please stay on standby until then?

Haibara: Kudo-kun?!

Conan: Heh.. Haibara. You told me this right? A great detective will accept any challenge.

Haibara: Hmph. You idiot.

Conan: Now that that's settled, the Detective Boy's treasure hunt will have to be put on hold. We don't have time.

Orion's children all know this. Four of the sons love taking a walk. Three of the sons gaze at the sky. Five of the sons are left-handed.

Haibara: Show me the first page.

To my beloved great detective,

I will be appearing at one of the following jewelry store at 5 in the evening today.

イ(i): Niaoka Jewelry

ウ(u): Jewel Yuki

エ(e): Crystal Gem

Isn't this a little strange?

Conan: Hm?

Haibara: Normally, the order of the katakana is generally either ア(a)イ(i)ウ(u) or イ(i)ロ(ro)ハ(ha).

Conan: Right...

Haibara: But what's written here is イ(i)ウ(u)エ(e). Why didn't he start from ア(a)?

Conan: Hm.. there must be a reason behind that. But, let's decipher the code first.

Haibara: Then let's start from Orion's children. What is the meaning behind it?

Conan: Hmmmm... Kid is aware of Ayumi and the others challenging me with riddles. If he took advantage of that opportunity, then this code is like theirs. There's no doubt it's guiding us to a specific location.

Haibara: And that's where we'll get the hint about the jewelry store.

Conan: Yeah.. now that you mention it, if I remember correctly, back then there was a movie theater called Orion Seat right? But it's already been demolished and became a plot of land.

Haibara: If we consider any other areas with the term Orion, myth「神話(shinwa)」, Beltegese 「ベテルギウス」, Orion's belt「三星(mitsuboshi)」: Three Stars).. Hm? Ah! Mitsubo shop!

Conan: That's it!

Haibara: Then what about the children part?

Conan: I'm not sure. But let's go there first. We might be able to figure something out when we're there.

Haibara: You're right. Okay.

Conan: Mitsubo shop. There should be a clue to which jewelry store Kid is aiming at inside this shop.

Haibara: The Detective Red Jacket will come out again soon. Please look-... Look....Look.........

Conan: Hey Haibara- SCARY!!! W-What's wrong Haibara? You have such a scary look on your face. Σ(Дﾟ;/)/

Haibara: I-It's nothing.

Conan: Hm? An automatic eclipse machine...(TN: it was really difficult to hear so I'm not entirely sure if this is accurate. Please correct me if I'm wrong.)

Haibara: Orion's... children!

Conan: Let's go check it out!

*runs*

Haibara: If that's the case then the next line is

Four of the sons love taking a walk. Three of the sons gaze at the sky. Five of the sons are left-handed.

But is it referring to three siblings?

Conan: Oh about that, don't you think it's strange then? If they were siblings, then isn't it more natural to refer them as 5th, 4th, and 3rd and follow them by age? (TN: the way 五つ(itsutsu), 四つ(yotsu), 三つ(mitsu) is used is either by numeric counters (ex:I would like 3 of these please) or comparing ages(ex: He's the 3rd child of the family))

Haibara: You have a point. It's quite strange to order it by fourth, third, and fifth.

Conan: Which means those numbers doesn't mean age. It's referring to the amount. Let's first find stuff that comes in four.

Haibara: Things that come in four? *bumps into child* Ah!

Random lady: Ah! I'm sorry. Are you hurt anywhere?

Haibara: I'm okay.

Random lady: Jeez! Cut it out already! I told you it's dangerous to run around the bookcases already!!

Haibara: Bookcases? Look Kudo-kun! There's four bookcases!

Conan: There's.. four! Then what's the three referring to? There should be some type of rule that contains three. And that hint is most likely within 'taking a walk', 'sky', 'left-handed'. I see! I figured it out! 'Love taking a walk' means to walk! It's four so that means you have to walk to the fourth shelf!

Haibara: Then what does 'Three of the sons gaze at the sky' mean?

Conan: It's 'gaze' so you count from the bottom. It's three so it's the third row!

Haibara: The third row is... the children's literature!

Conan: 'Five of the sons are left-handed.' So counting from the left is the 5th book!

Haibara: One.. two.. three.. four five. *picks out the book* This? This book is.. Sans Famille 「家なき子(ie nakiko)」!

Conan: Sans Famille「家なき子(ie nakiko)」?... I see! So that's what it means! *realization* I figured it out which jewelry store Kid is aiming for!

Conan: The store Kid is aiming for is Jewel Yuki!

Haibara: There's only 7 minutes until 5pm! I'll notify Inspector Nakamori!

Conan: Sure! I'll go ahead and head towards the store!

Conan: I won't make it if I just run! Guess I'll go retrieve my skateboard then! *opens door* I'm home Ran-neechan!! Ran-neechan, I'm leaving! *door closes* TURBO ENGINE FULL POWER!!!! 🎵

Just you wait Kaitou Kid!!!

Conan: Where are you?! Show yourself Kid!!

Kaitou Kid: As expected of the great detective. Impressive that you figured out it was this place.

Conan: It took quite some time to arrive at finding Sans Famille「家なき子(ie nakiko)」 but everything fell into place after that. The biggest indication was the three options. Instead of using ア(a), イ(i), ウ(u) nor イ(i), ロ(ro), ハ(ha), you opted for イ(i), ウ(u), エ(e). (TN: I'll be utilizing the Japanese translation of the book title rather than the original because it would only make sense with this cipher)

「家なき子(ie nakiko)」. There is no イ(i)エ(e) 「いえがない(ie ga nai)」. In other words, you remove the イ(i) and エ(e). Therefore the answer is ウ(u)'s Jewel Yuki. (TN: To further explain this, the hiragana for 家 is いえ(ie). なき(naki) can mean lacking or non-existing so Kid used this word play of removing the いえ(ie) literally with his options)

Kaitou Kid: Right on the mark! Hehe, maybe it was a little too simple. (SN: For a guy who was planning alongside the rest by himself, I'm pretty sure Conan appreciates your 'easy' riddles more than what the Detective Boys and Agasa planned together. Also there's a transition to Kaito in voice here but I'll be using Kid because that's how Conan perceives him.)

Oh? They're as punctual as always. Guess I'll take my leave for today. Besides, I already got my hands on today's loot. *poof*

Conan: Eh? Is that.. Detective Red Jacket special edition? You're going to stoop so low to steal something like that?! (＃ﾟДﾟ)ﾉ

Kaitou Kid: *splurts in offended* So rude!!! Of course not!!!! Σ(｀Д´#)

Conan: Hah?

Kaitou Kid: I bought it with my own money obviously! (SN: as a 'law-abiding' citizen *coughcough*)

Conan: BOUGHT IT?!?!?!?!?!?!??!!?!!! YOU?!?!?!?! Σ(○ﾛ○￢)

Kaitou Kid: Yeah...

Conan: A PHANTOM THIEF?!?!?!!?!?

Kaitou Kid: Nngh..

Conan: THE DETECTIVE RED JACKET SPECIAL EDITION?!?!?!!?!

Kaitou Kid: *speechless as he tries to regain his poker face* ...Doesn't matter. You wouldn't mind if a phantom thief came to like detectives, would you? (σゝω・)σ (SN:(￢_￢;)........)

Conan: Eh? (ﾟﾛﾟ) (*Conan's turn to be speechless*)

Kaitou Kid: SEE YOU!! *escapes*

Officer #1: Kid is running away!!

Officer #2: After him!! We're definitely going to catch him!!!!

*police sirens blaring*

Conan: Huh.... Ah? Another envelope. The seal is open. *opens envelope* It's Ayumi and the others' fourth riddle. Hmmm? Kid's message seems to be included in this. 'I deciphered it for you as a bonus. The answer is the bathhouse.' Barou, it's already past the time limit.

Haibara: He's arrived.

Genta: Ooohhh!! He's here he's here!!

Ayumi: Conan-kun!!!

Conan: Yo!

Mitsuhiko: As expected of Conan-kun to be able to solve all the codes. BUT UNFORTUNATELY-

Detective Boys: TIME'S UP!!!!!

Conan: I know...

Ayumo: Then you'll obediently admit defeat right?

Conan: Yeah...

Ayumi: Hmmm? I can't hear you~

Conan: It's my loss.

Detective Boys: Huh?

Conan: Like I said, it's my loss.

Genta: What did you say?

Mitsuhiko: We couldn't hear you.

Genta: Yeah not at all.

Conan: *sigh* It is my loss!

Detective Boys: YESSS!!! o(^o^)o

Ayumi: We made Conan-kun admit it!!

Mitsuhiko: We did it!!!

Genta: Now that we're here, let's all take a dip here!

Mitsuhiko: That's a great idea!

Ayumi: Ayumi loves the bathhouse!

Haibara: Good work Kudo-kun.

Conan: Haha shddap....

Genta: What are you doing Conan?!

Ayumi: Ai-chan hurry up!!

Haibara: I'll be there.

Conan: I mean, not only was I forced to run around the whole town, the true identity of the treasure is just a bathhouse called Yuu Treasure. (TN: Unless I see the kanji for yuu, I'm unable to translate it) That's it?! That's all my hard work amounted to?! It's probably one of Agasa-hakase's ideas again.. Jeez he has no taste, not even a shred of it!

Haibara: This place.. was actually my idea though. (#ﾟ∇ﾟ)

Conan: Ehh? ((ﾟ□ﾟ;))

Genta: Aahhh that hits the spot. It feels so good.

Mitsuhiko: Yeah...Bathhouses are really nice once in a while.

Genta: Right? Oh yeah Conan. Since you lost, wash my back later.

Conan: Don't joke with me. I never signed up for that.

Kaitou Kid: Stop being a sore loser.

Conan: Aahhhh!! Where the hell did you come from?! Σ(°Дﾟ/)/

Kaitou Kid: I suggest you should gracefully *wash face* do what they tell you.

Genta/Mitsuhiko: Kaitou Kid?!?!?!?!

Conan: *speaking underwater* Why the hell are you here?

Kaitou Kid: Hehehe... Magicians are elusive. *sirens blaring in the background* Nah~ The policemen were so persistent you know?

Conan: You know... if you're taking a bath, you should at the very least remove your silk hat.

(SN: What the honest... what the hell are you doing taking a bath with your hat (and possibly your monocle) Kaito? Did you even remove your costume? (￢_￢;) Bruh Kid, you're sullying your dad's outfit)

Genta: You need to put more strength in it Conan!

Conan: Sure SURE!

Genta: As gratitude for us everyday.

Conan: For who?

Genta: Don't say everyone.

Conan: *huff*

Genta: Oh yeah Conan. Haibara was mad at you all day right?

Conan: Yeah... What was that? Did I do something?

Genta: ?!

Mitsuhiko: Conan-kun you didn't realize?

Conan: Heh? 'Didn't realize'... so I did do something?

Mitsuhiko: Aahh... Conan-kun really doesn't understand a woman's heart.

Genta: Right?

Mitsuhiko: You ready? Haibara-san is actually Sannomiya Kazunori's closet fan. But despite that, you decided to badmouth him in front of her!

Conan: Eeeeehhhhh?!?!?!?!? Haibara is Sannomiya Kazunori's fa-

Mitsuhiko: Ssshhhhh!!! Your voice is too loud!!!

Conan: Pah! If I remember correctly, Sannomiya Kazunori is one of the members in the Fubuki Idol group right? That Haibara?! There's no way she's a fan of such a popular idol!!! Haha!! Ahahhaha! That's a lie!! Ahahaha!

(SN: Conan is willing to dig his grave super early apparently ((( ；ﾟДﾟ))) )

(In the girl's bath)

Haibara: ( º言º╬╬)

Ayumi: Ai-chan? Where are you going with your bath towel wrapped around you? E-Eeehhh? That's the boy's bath- Hiiiieeeeee!!! Ai-chan's face.. is so scary!! ((( ；ﾟДﾟ)))

(In the boy's bath)

Conan: Kyahahaha! Because this is Haibara we're talking about! You know, Haibara! For Haibara to be an idol fan, that's impossible. No way that's happening!

Genta: Hey stop that!

Conan: Huh? Why? There's no way she's an (idol) enthusiast after all.

Mitsuhiko: Idiot!

Conan: Huh?

Mitsuhiko: Conan-kun!

Conan: What is it?

Mitsuhiko: Behind behind behind behind behind behind-

Conan: Cow? Moo moo~ (TN: Mitsuhiko is stuttering the word 後ろ(ushiro):behind and Conan stupidly mistakes it as 牛(ushi):cow.

ε-(ｰдｰ) And I thought Kaito was the insensitive one.)

Mitsuhiko: Behin-behind you.

Conan: Behind me? What's behind m- Uop-!!!

Haibara: (╬ಠิ益ಠิ) Sorry about being an ENTHUSIAST!! *SLAPS*

Conan: Ooowww!!

Kaitou Kid: Heh. The tongue is the root of calamities, great detective. (TN: A proverb meaning the more you speak, the more you'll put your foot in your mouth.

Wise words you should follow as well, our fellow magician (￢_￢;))

[bordadoneuronal]

bad english btw, not my first language

(note im correcting some words my bad, it was like 2am i think.)

hi, i know this is an art account and im mostly inactive, but i also kinda rant about stuff. sometimes.

so i guess everyone saw the natlan teaser... it was disappointing.

i'm a white latino, first of all, so if im wrong in any statement about the issue feel free to correct me. im also mostly talking about the latin american stuff in the characters. its important for every individual being educated about the racism and colorism to be more conscious about the problems in our society and being able to make a difference.

now first of all, i was fucking annoyed when all the leaks of pyro archon were an spanish colonizer, its fucking disrespectful and the worse part was some people on twitter saying "well i think it could be a good idea if she was a colonizer because..." oh my god, shut up. its 2024 i need everyone to stop romanticizing the colonization.

hoyoverse racism and colorism isnt new at all. you got carole and her mother from honkai impact 3rd, one being ashamed of her skintone and the other being a racist stereotype for what i read. arlan from star rail, with his bad kit (also read on twitter his kit actually have racist references about the slavery.)

all the sumeru controversy both orientalism and colorism. correct me if im wrong but im very sure in the last sumeru area quest that lamp was racist with jeht. kandake being whitewashed in every aspect and just being a 4*

as sucrose's va, valeria said on twitter i dont mind mixing cultures, but if youre gonna do that, do it respectfully and do a proper research.

theres no fucking way they whitewashed and disrespected deities and gods from native cultures LIKE THAT. friendly reminder that its actually Olorun and no ororon. (and for leaks i read, theyre giving this character the 'candace' treatment.)

more i read more it get worse, why the pyro archon doesnt look like shes from natlan? (this taking in mind her outfit) brother she looks like some fontaine or mond character, are you kidding me? its like hoyoverse just refuse to make their archons like they actually represent the culture theyre based in. (very sure it also happened with nahida.)

you just dont choose to present specifically pre-colonization era and make all the characters that are supposed to be native WHITE.

im also tired of some latinos saying "we're not all black here" and we are not all white here. latam has many POC no matter what country is. afro-latinos exist, native people exist, stop denying their existence.

to be honest i knew hoyoverse would try to sell us another dehya, cyno and say "loook we have tanned skin characters" my ass.

please, consider to boycott hoyoverse. this isnt fair at all for latin american and black culture. its something that has been asked since sumeru, its fair also include how south asians were disrespected during sumeru release. write about this topic in the surveys. (also remember theyre collaborating with kfc, a target of boycott for all the situation in palestine, if im not wrong.)

and for all my fellow latinos, dont just stay in "oh well... but its the first time we get represented in games like this without being a joke." i get it, i also like when latinos are represented in media, but hoyoverse isnt doing a better job than all the stereotypes gringos put to us.

thats all. stop romanticizing colonization. read for a bit, it wont take you more than 5 minutes to understand how horrible it is.