#this place is like a sanctuary to me

[benjaminalphabet]

a quick moment in the sun is a defense mechanism;

you plucked me straight out of my nose dive from the sky.

my starry eyed winter gaze pointed downwards,

determined to crash

before you parachuted through in a breezy, pretty blue haze.

a color i swore i had seen before,

but maybe only in my dreams:

open ocean, twenty-five meters deep and still going,

reach for the bottom, or the sky above -

god save the whole world.

we’ll always have florida,

i found so much more than heaven in palm coast;

revival and redemption.

four days, pearl white, fuzzy dive bar, salt in the air.

do you remember when you told me you liked my hair best when it was water tossed and frizzy;

like my windswept face and shoulders were the only cathedrals you could actually worship in?

i felt the same way about those clouds in your eyes;

great rainstorm, infinite tap, tidal wave man.

salt in the wound at first, tap the table once, a thoughtless shot in the dark, bite the lime before the answer comes.

honey on the skin, ice on the bruises.

the first night i thought i might actually be capable of writing devotionals,

after a lifetime of begging soliloquies, and manifestos, and prayers.

you showed me there was something else inside of me.

i had white petal poetry, homemade candy, wednesday morning.

the last night i held close that long walk to the beach,

yellow and orange wildflowers,

that soft week in May when we fell in love with pineapple soda,

when we raced each other around our quick minds, and it sounded like the seabirds laughed with us.

those fleeting moments, precocious and sweet, and all good things must end.

oh, honey, we’ll always have florida.

and i have always thought it too easy to write beautiful words,

romantic poetry is just bottom shelf liquor;

and it’s all over now

but you, sweet cheap wine; one bottle, one moment,

you made it mean something.

5.24.24 || cursory affair, momentary miracle

[trees-of-valinor]

"He was as noble and fair as an elf-lord, as strong as a warrior, as wise as a wizard, as venerable as a king of dwarves, and as kind as summer."

is such an amazing character description. All of it lends to the image of a being who is very stately and aged, but "kind as summer" in particular is incredibly evocative. Even if you generally dislike summer (like me), you can't help but know what it means.

It just conjures up the image and feeling of the softest most beautiful day, golden sunlight, flowers and meadows. Just life. And there is strength in summer. The heat of the sun, and summer is all about vitality and growth.

That short phrase says so much and shows Elrond's character so well. After everything he's been through, he still has so much life and strength.

He manages to show so much softness and kindness to people who come to him and his home for help, and is a person of healing, and the fact that he is able to be so and to remain so kind is his strength.

[fideidefenswhore]

 the tudors (2007-2010) / the concubine, by christopher rae / the six queens of henry viii (2016) / zombie (2018), cover by bad wolves / the white princess (2017) / hunting the falcon, by john guy & julia fox / viii, by hm castor / the white queen (2013) / henry viii, by lucy wooding / firebrand (2023)

[madame-mongoose]

I'm thinking about Barry again he's literally so funny to me. How can you fail that hard at everything

[megumi-fm]

.

[possiblyfunny]

With all the Missing Numbers Doodles popping up today, I finally found it in me to actually doodle and not care about how it looked. Anyways—

Here is Aster’s Halloween Costume! I didn’t color it, but Aster is Little Red Riding Hood and Del is the Werewolf. He’s not trick-or-treating, by the way—he’s just handing out king-sized chocolate bars to everyone he passes while walking around!

It’s not much- Just a goofy little thing to celebrate the holiday. Happy Halloween, everyone!

(Psst-! Hey, @100nebulas ! Starry! I know it’s not a lot, but I promised! Here’s your small dose of Aster content :])

[randomnameless]

It's always interesting to see how UO gives to its local church a neutral role in the world - dare I say neutral good as in the faith is cited by some characters as their source of inspiration and strength to endure the various events the game puts them through...

And then, apparently, the decision of not having the option to kill Sanatio is controversial?

albion thoughts under the cut

Albion was undercooked because bankruptcy and all, and I already wrote a bit about the general wtf of that arc that can basically be summed up as "Scarlett's dad told his two right hand men that his daughter is away/in hiding and made them swore to never reveal anything about her to anyone, including themselves", so when Scarlett's dad kicks the bucket, they both know a heir exists somewhere, but they can't trust each other and have a fall out instead, which leads them to fight and, ultimately, to the "plot" and "antagonism" of this arc.

Sanatio's basically in charge of the Orthodoxy - Nigel is in charge of its knights? - and the Pope's second.

Pope told Sanatio Scarlett exists and went away for a "mission", but never told him where she was sent to - something only Nigel knows.

The Pope kicks the bucket - given how Galerius laments his death in Cornia, I doubt Arant was killed by his goons or something after unlocking 5 out of 6 sanctuaries, that's why he's super happy that they finally found Scarlett to unlock the last one - and then Sanation, as the de facto dude in charge of Albion is faced with a dilemna.

Not knowing where Scarlett is, he either reveals to his people and the faithful that the Pope is dead and is line is extinguished - which would send the faithful and the people of Albion in disarray because 1/the pope and his line are revered/sacred in Fevrith's religion 2/the orthodoxy falls apart, including the local churches etc etc, and we see and are told that the faith is the only thing some people rely on to withstand and survive the Zenoiran invasion -

Or Sanatio hides the Pope's death - asking Baltro to sort of preserve his body from decomposing too much - thus lies to the people of Albion and the Faithful, but at least they can still have faith/believe that somehow things are going to be better, and the Church is still, somehow, allowed to do its stuff (Zenoira apparently doesn't mind the church helpind people and doing Sharon things).

"But that means working with Zenoira, the ones who invaded his homeland and the baddies of the verse!"

Having replayed that part in Bastorias, we have a NPC who's basically telling us that while Albion apparently "accepted" to work with Zenoira, their autonomy is nothing but a façade since Zenoira stationned a good chunk of its army there : in a way, Albion is occupied by the Zenoirans.

Without any clue about Scarlett's survival or location, I suppose faced with "we destroy you and what makes your people withstand our occupation/nonsense" and "you will lie to your people and we won't turn you in minced meat, you'll be left with some degree of autonomy (lel) but we won't kill your people (not overtly at least)", it was basically having him be stucked between two hard choices, but only one meant immediate doom, so it's the one he avoided.

Of course it sucks - and a half baked plot being a half baked plot - means that when the Liberation Army manages to boot Zenoira away from Albion, Sanation's choice to accept the Zenoiran rule, if it means temporary respite for his people is seen as fishy/inacceptable, but iirc his Raenys rapport is pretty upfront : some people resent him for siding with Zenoira, and yet, he picked what was, at that time, the "lesser evil" between the two.

Albion is interesting because it's one of the few recurring motives in this arc, and it contrasts well with what we saw in Cornia in the beginning.

Clive's rapports with Joseph are all about him coming to terms with what his father did - and how it wasn't useless - even if it mean his and his family's death : he fought and resisted against Zenoira. Clive himself seems to have little love for the lords who "turned against the crown" and sided with Zenoira after the invasion.

We could have had a confrontation with Monica (and Melisandre!)'s pov, because Monica's grandpa apparently supported Zenoira under the promise/assurance that Galerius and his army were going to let their people alive/alone if they sided with him (as much as Zenoira follows on those kind of promises lol). But then, it's revealed that Monica's grandpa was actually supporting, in the shadows, the Liberation Army.

In the last arc of the game, this is echoed again through Jerome - the knight who bakes sweets. Sure, there's not a lot to say about him since we recruit him so late in the story, and he has nearly no rapport convos to flesh him out : and yet we see in his mission that he is a local lord who is very much appreciated by his people, but immediately surrendered when Zenoira invaded Albion, instead of fighting them (like Fodoquir!) because if he surrendered, it'd mean his people would be spared.

And they were untouched (apparently?) by the Zenoirans.

However, Jerome still thinks he deserves to die (Alain can execute him if the player wants to be an ass I guess) because, even if it was for his people's sake, the thing is he still worked/accepted the Zenoiran rule.

Interestingly, in an era where some people cry everywhere they want "morally grey" settings, it's the second time that when some characters are faced with impossible dilemnas, some part of the fandom revile them for picking a "wrong choice".

in both cases, those people are in charge of that setting's major religion, maybe it's just a coincidence?

Clive wonders if his father made the right choice to priorize "the cause" over "his people", when Jerome immediately abandoned "the cause" for "his people".

and then you have Fodoquir who abandons both when his people sacrifice his son

I guess I'd really have appreciated a rapport conversation between Jerome and the Cornian knights, but VW ran out of time/money.

[semi-good-artist]

Ok so, ive seen some people on here draw their Wynncraft characters/ocs and that looked like fun. So heres mine!

Balaís is an acolyte Shaman (which is a really fun archetype, i can redommend it). he sits currently at level 75, as my highest level playthrough

Anyway, time to talk design. I hate drawing armor so you only get pauldrons, the armor is changing a lot anyway during my game so... the other equipment should be acounted for. The portal encounter is based on me standing in the portal for a minute and getting disappointed. while the golem parts are from me not following the wynn-OSHA regulations for production safety.

Also this is propaganda to get you to play Wynncraft

[opens-up-4-nobody]

...

[talentforlying]

also forgot to post about it yesterday, but i have designated december 2nd as constantine's official catch-up day with his niece gemma!! they don't see each other often since she "quit magic for good" (or is very good at pretending she has) but the holidays are a hard time for them both and it's too awkward to explain every year why you avoid your last living relative, so they've agreed on early december for an annual short dinner and chat. sometimes they call on christmas day, but they never meet up; neither of them wants to do christmas without cheryl.

[mayonnaise-sock]

So me and my friend played Sky again because of your au, and I can’t stop laughing because at some point my friend told me to follow them and I accidentally forgot to jump and then I watched as they proceeded to fly into every wall possible and then get stuck out of bounds.

And ever since then I can’t stop thinking about how it fits Ace and Luffy in your sky au

Real that’s so real

And then he gets stuck in the floor

[izzy-b-hands]

Putting on last year's trans rigs stream from Drawfee before i have to get ready to go out with my mum and her bf today (bc i have the worst feeling in my gut he's gonna make that An Thing for me if given the chance today, aka whenever i eventually need the restroom while we're at Mystic)

[zenlesszonezero]

As the conspiracy reaches its finale, the Void Hunter joins the fight.

Uncover the Conspiracy in Zenless Zone Zero's All-New Version "A Storm of Falling Stars", S-Rank Agent Hoshimi Miyabi is here! With S-Rank Agent Asaba Harumasa Limited-Time Giveaway! Pre-register to obtain additional rewards.

[bisexual-yuri]

gettin real sick of all these “new yorkers” who claim to be pro diversity and pro immigrant but complain about “the migrant crisis” and how much it is “straining the city’s resources” (and that’s the nicest thing they say, it gets much worse) when we spend billions a year on the bloated ass murderous ineffective NYPD and even prior to this recent bout of arrivals there was next to no resources allocated to immigrant services anyways (bonus points if they themselves benefitted from immigration but have decided to pull the ladder up behind them)

[cheemken]

Hey Knight I just had a great idea before I fell asleep

Another champion villain AU, but the Champions are all working for their regions Villain teams

Diantha working for Team Flare because she agrees that only the “worthy” people should live, people who do good for the world

Iris working for Team Plasma, either from the beginning or when they reestablished themselves in BW2. Idk why she’d join but she knows how to bring the power out of dragon Pokémon and how to control them, and one of Plamas goal is to capture the three dragons

Cynthia working for Team Galatic just for her own curiosity. She wants to see how far Cyrus is able to go, and maybe even gain control of the legendaries herself. Maybe the story of Volo has been passed down in her family and she wants to see if she’s able to complete what Volo wasn’t able to

And the other Champions joining their own villain teams, idk what Geeta would do considering there isn’t really a villain team, it’s just a group of kids who were bullied. Maybe she helped Turo and Sada with their research but she took it to far and brought dangerous Pokémon to the present time. Letting the Koridon/Miradon kill the professors so that she could take their research for herself

Ohhhh👀👀👀

Okay but fr Cynthia and Leon would probs double cross Cyrus and Rose hahaha

Ofc, Cynthia is a given considering her track record in our villain au hahah but that is interesting tho, if the story of Volo got passed down in their family, and they treat it like some cautionary tale, a warning yknow, Volo was a name in their family that none should ever speak out loud. But Cynthia, ever the curious child, wanted to know more. And learn she did. Found out what he really did, what he wanted to achieve, and he was close in accomplishing his goals. Yet he failed. Cynthia doesn't do failure, she's great w a lot of things, she prides herself w that, a lot of people look up to her. But she has to admit, it's rather boring lately, and then the story of Volo came across her mind again, and she wondered if she could do what he wanted to do. And she won't fail ofc.

She let Cyrus do all the work, tho she gave him what he needed to know abt the legendary Pokémon. They both knew that Cynthia shouldn't really ruin her image just yet, their plan would fail. So yeah the events of DPPt, up to the point of Giratina showing up. And everyone was at the edge yknow, they're waiting what would happen, then Cynthia steps in, catching Giratina's attention. Gira knew Cynthia was familiar, a spitting image of him, and there's a tug within him, in his already tainted heart, to bow his head, to submit to her commands.

Cynthia looked at Cyrus. The man was waiting for her to finalize their plan, everything was already in order, they have hold of the Lake Trio and even the Creation Trio. Cynthia smiled at him, but there was smth abt it that Cyrus did not like.

"a world devoid of spirit.. that sounds boring, don't you think?"

"what are you planning, Cynthia."

"well, a world without spirit, no one would have the energy to make ice cream, Cy. That's not the ideal world for me."

"what would be the ideal world for you then?"

Chuckling to herself, she was quite curious just how much Giratina would actually listen to her, without uttering a single command. She smiled at him, smiled at her childhood friend, oh, she will miss him, maybe, who knows. Then she smiled, "this." She snapped her fingers, and quicker than the light itself, one of Giratina's tendrils impaled Cyrus straight through his chest, killing him instantly. A few of the grunts screamed, the admins stood there, watching Cynthia in horror. Dialga and Palkia were struggling even more beneath the chains, how pitiful, but she can help them. As long as they'd follow her every word. She then turns to the admins, terrified, hands on the red capsules on their belts, but Cynthia laughs, "do you think that'd be wise?" They raised their hand in quiet surrender. This was easy. She never got how Volo failed.

Then w Leon, idk since I did have this au abt Sonia back then, it does have the same energy, anyways hahaha yeah yknow peeps looked down on Sonia, Leon did not like that. No one believes her abt Eternatus, abt how it was the (cause) of the Darkest Day, and he heard rumours how she was just trying so hard to impress people since she's filling in Prof Magnolia's shoes. Then he hears abt Rose and like all that energy for DMax or smth yeah, and ofc Leon believed Sonia, and he's gonna help her prove her theories are actually true. So he played along Rose's game. Let him summon Eternatus, and both of them are standing before it, w Rose letting Leon capture the legendary pkmn. Rose praised him for his good work as usual, but just as he was abt take the Master Ball from Leon, the champion merely looked at him, smiling, "thanks for your help, Chairman. But.. Sonia needs this more than you."

And before Rose could react, Leon's Charizard and Haxorus attacked him, feasting over his body. Leon just watched, uninterested abt the death of the man who helped him rise to fame. Instead he looked at the master ball in his hand, smiling to himself, "Sonia is so gonna love this!" Pls ur honour do you see my vision in them becoming villains together ik I said Leon is in a polycule but I'm also still fucking trash for lionheartshipping let me have this one small thing ncmxnx hahaha

Geeta tho like imagine tho after Sada and Turo's death, she took in Arven, telling the others that it's the least she could do as she was the one who was w Sada and Turo last, it's their final wish. Ofc it wasn't, but they all got convinced by it. And just cndmdn yo Geeta feeding Arven lies abt his parents. How they were the ones to bring dangerous Pokémon in their world, how they took it too far, how they took her studies abt it. And ofc, Arven believed all of it, he was so young, and his parents were always so focused on their studies more than him, but miss Geeta was w him now, and she's so much better, she gives him attention, she's always there for him. His parents didn't even listen to Geeta to stop, and it shows how they really didn't care abt him at all. Imagine how his encounter w his AI parents would be tho, if they actually tell the truth of what happened. Arven couldn't catch a break man bcmdnd hahaha

[catsafarithewriter]

"Can you stop implementing secret rooms in my house?" You will do something brilliant with this, I just know it!

A/N: Okay, so I promise this prompt, uh, prompted this ficlet, but it went off the rails. If you were hoping for humour, sorry! I humbly offer you heartfelt sincerity instead! Have a ficlet about Baron’s early years in the Sanctuary! <3

x

"I know of a place," the crow gargoyle had told him. "It's not a home but it's safe. It's a refuge for Creations."

At first he stays because it's safe.

Beyond the Sanctuary lies a world torn apart by war. A treaty may have been signed, but the echoes of the conflict linger in poverty, and hunger, and mourning, and he finds he can help only so much from the confines of his creation.

He is nothing but a figurine, after all.

The Sanctuary is quiet. Empty. As he had been promised, it is a refuge, not a home. The little Creation world lines up a sea of houses which go vacant, and he chooses a simple workshop build with an eerily familiar shop front.

And so he retreats into that world, at least until the drone of planes and the stench of grief are almost forgotten, he promises himself.

And then he stays because he has nowhere else to go.

"I will make my way there eventually," says the gargoyle who tells him of the Sanctuary. The other Creation gestures to the remnants of the cathedral which had once been his perch. "But first I must see my people safe."

Baron has no people. He left behind his world – one of magic and mystery – in search of his lost soulmate, and instead found himself in a place plagued by destruction. He has had no time to form the familial bonds which tie others of his kind to this world.

Other Creations come and go through the Sanctuary, but none stay. Why would they, when they have homes or roots or people to return to?

It's not their fault he does not.

"The war must have driven many Creations to seek a refuge," the gargoyle Creation remarks when he finally makes his way to the Sanctuary. He has given his name as Toto, and there is less of the gargoyle about him than Baron remembers. Baron wonders how long it has been since the war ended. "Whenever I've dropped by, this place has been almost always empty."

Baron does not speak of the keening loneliness which has kindled within him, nor the surreptious timing of so many Creations finding their way to the Sanctuary's threshold. It has been a kindness, even if the ever-turning carasol of new faces is only a skin-deep balm.

And then he stays because maybe she will hear of the Sanctuary.

He has no other word for what Baroness Louise von Gikkingen is to him, other than soulmate. It is perhaps more literal than how most take it; they both were formed from the same soul of the same artisan, and were never meant to be apart.

She still exists – he'd feel it if she had been utterly lost – but the connection is faint, and he fears he could search a new world every day and never find her.

(He voices his grief for his missing half only once, but does not miss the portrait that appears on his mantelpiece the following day. Neither does he ask how the Sanctuary knows her face, and yet cannot find her.)

And then he stays because he is comfortable.

"I've never known a Creation to visit here for so long," Toto says in his next flying visit. He has almost entirely shed his gargoyle origins now, bearing more resemblance to a common corvid than the creature of tooth and talon he'd been carved as. Baron, meanwhile, has changed little in the intervening years, save for some alterations to his colour palette.

He has had no need to change.

"Where else would I go?" Baron asks. He opens a cupboard door and gathers up a bag of tea leaves. He's never gone shopping, but the Sanctuary never seems to run empty.

"I've heard of you in my travels," Toto says. "The Cat Creation who helped so many."

"I tried," Baron corrects.

"I would have thought you'd have grown bored by now," the crow continues.

Baron pauses, his hands curling around the kettle which never needs filling. "It would be... inauthentic to say I have not thought about it," he says. "Life is consistent here, unchanging. It was a relief when I first arrived, but sometimes I do miss the unpredictability of the outside world."

"Perhaps it's time to leave."

Baron smiles, and sets to making his tea. "I will think on it."

The next day, he selects a book off a shelf, and a hidden door slides open.

The door is new.

The book is not.

The passageway leads deeper into the Sanctuary, to a room impossible by human physics but unrestrained by the Sanctuary's magic. Bay windows look out onto a sea of stars, galaxies swirling like whirlpools across the expanse. And for the first time in too long, Baron feels life return to his old wooden heart.

It's the first secret room he discovers, but is far from the last.

He knows the cupboard under the sink wasn't always a tunnel, nor the western window a portal or the mirror a doorway, and at first it is a delight. His world, so safe and secure, now has surprises. Secrets.

Discoveries.

And so he stays because he is curious.

"You're looking better than my last visit," Toto remarks. He's added some light to his form, now bearing the marks of a magpie, and it feels like a pointed move away from his gargoyle origins. "Brighter. More awake."

"I was not aware I was so lacking during our last meeting."

Toto shuffles his wings. "Not lacking, but... sedate," he settles on. "Last time, it felt as though life had ceased to surprise you, and you are too young a Creation to feel that already."

Baron opens a cupboard. It's filled with jam jars. He tries it again, and this time he finds the tea leaves he is looking for. "Did you only come here to share judgement on my life choices, or can I offer you a spot of tea?"

"I came because I found her."

Baron drops the tea leaves. The cupboard door slams shut of its own accord.

"Her?"

"I found a trail," Toto clarifies. "A man who had once been engaged to a woman who had once had the Baroness in her possession."

It's a lot of loose connections, but it's the first breadcrumb he's found in decades. Baron feels his lungs go tight, his heart constrained by an unfamiliar tendril of hope. "Show me."

Toto nods and nudges open the doors, but instead of the Sanctuary courtyard, they are met with a corridor, old and dusty.

"Uh, Baron – is that normal?"

Not now.

Not like this.

Baron doesn't reply. Instead he shuts the double doors, counts to ten, and opens them again.

This time it's a different corridor, one marked with elaborately carved sconces lighting up a polished marble floor.

Again, and it's a tunnel, roughly hewn from rock that shouldn't be there.

Another try, and it's a hall of mirrors.

Baron stares at the infinite reflections, all staring back, and wonders when his fur had so dulled. In this light it's almost grey.

He shuts the doors once more.

"Baron...?"

"A moment, Toto." He sets his forehead against the grained wooden lines of the door. He notes the pine scent, and realises it's been too long since he breathed in air not saturated with Sanctuary magic. "Old friend," he murmurs, "you have been nothing but good to me, but I need you now to stop implementing secret rooms in my house. I need you," he says, "to let me go."

The door shivers.

"She is my soulmate. She is all I have left of my old world, my old life," he says. "Let me go to her now."

The door shivers again.

And then it clicks open.

Not onto the Sanctuary courtyard, but to a simple street. To the Human World.

And so he leaves.

The man whom Toto had talked about owns a humble antique store and so it is easy enough to blend in. Despite the Human World being less believing of the supernatural than Baron remembers, the man seems to take the talking figurine in his stride, and shares all he knows of his once-fiancee. Separated by the same war that Baron discovered this world in, the man can point him in no direction, but offer him a place to stay in hopes that one day that will change.

And so he stays.

The Human World has changed since he last retreated from it. The war still bears its marks on the older generation, but the children speak of futures untainted by conflict. The man's grandson wishes to craft violins, and the kids in the street take time to pet the stray cat on the shop's doorstep.

And then the girl arrives.

She is lost in more ways than one, but carries a curiosity that he recognises. She is young, burdened by that weight that all youth feel in that they must know their life's course or else flounder, and so he reaches out. He tells her a story – his story – and she discovers a passion in writing.

He helps.

And he succeeds.

It is not long after that that the antique shop's owner tells him he's tracked down a clue to his lost fiancee. Baron bids his farewell to the man and, with the unexpected aid of a stray cat, sets out to find his soulmate.

He does the unimaginable.

He finds her.

She has changed since they last saw each other – not so much in looks (her dress is different, and her hat has changed, but her fur is the same snow-white as before) – but in personality. She is bolder than he remembered; she stands taller, surer, and there is a cocky, reckless sort of grjn that he is sure their artisan never carved. She has discarded her Baroness title for all but the rare moment, instead going by Louise to those who know her now.

She pulls him into a tight embrace and tells him all about her missing years. About the adventure, and danger, and the worlds she has seen.

"Did you never look for me?" Baron asks.

She breaks the embrace and, oh, how he has almost forgotten those sapphire-blue eyes. "Of course I looked, Humbert. I found my way back to our artisan, but he said you had gone. So I came back, but this world is so large and we are so small..." He sees the glimmer of something akin to guilt. "Eventually I decided to live my life."

To move on, is the unspoken addition, but Baron can't even find it in himself to be hurt. Sedate, Toto had called him, but now he wonders if faded would have been truer. He looks to Louise and sees that she is more alive than he has been for decades.

"But we're found each other now!" Louise declares. "We can travel the worlds and see everything there is to see – together! Oh, there are worlds with waterfalls of diamonds, and flying whales, and – oh, so many people! There's so much to learn!"

"That sounds... wonderful."

His soulmate fixes him with a steely look. "But?"

But he thinks of the schoolgirl with her passion for writing, and the sense that he was finally helping someone again.

Oh, how he had missed that.

"But I think that we have different paths to happiness," he says. "I think I may have just realised what I want to do with my life."

"And it's not gallivanting off through other worlds, is it?" Louise asks softly.

"It's not." He smiles. "But I think our paths will cross nonetheless."

He returns to the Sanctuary with purpose, and it responds in kind. Alongside the stray cat who had helped him find Louise, he sets up the Cat Bureau in a little cottage-like house which bears striking resemblance to the old antique shop. The Sanctuary finds those who need the help of a cat Creation, ushering them into its world, until the Bureau garners enough of a reputation that clients find their own way there.

"So you're staying for good this time?" Toto asks. He's returned to a full black plumage, and his feathers shimmer with an iridescent gleam.

"I believe so." Baron regards his friend. "What's this? No recommendations to venture further afield this time?"

Toto casts a beady eye over the Bureau, and then Baron, both sure in purpose. "No. Finally. You're not running away from something, but to it instead."

"There's always room for another member in the Bureau, you know."

Toto smiles. "I'll think on it."

And Baron stays because he is home.

x

A/N: This whole ficlet started because I looked at that prompt and thought “what if the Sanctuary tried to cater to Baron’s personality and installed hidden rooms to keep him entertained” and then snowballed rapidly into “the Sanctuary is so used to being only a stopping point for Creations, never a home, that when Baron stays longer than usual it becomes attached to him and tries to tempt him to stay permanently by always giving him exactly what it thinks he needs/will make him stay.”  

[victorluvsalice]

AU Thursday: Smiler’s Otherland -- Domains!

Hi everyone, I’m back on my Smiler’s Otherland bullshit! :D After making my initial “here’s my first ideas on the concept” post back in May 2023, I’ve been trying to get my thoughts organized regarding what Smiler’s Otherland should look like, more details about their weapons, how many outfits they need, etc. And now I’m going to share some of those thoughts with all of you! Because it’s my tumblr and you’re my captive audience. :p

So -- let’s start with the domains! Because you can’t have an Otherland without actual, you know, lands in it. So far, I’ve come up with four domains for Smiler:

Smile Street: The “hub” domain, or at least the domain any visitors would be likely to land in first, much like Alice’s Vale of Tears or Victor’s Living Dead Forest. This domain is arguably the "coziest," and allows Smiler to put their best smiling face forward. :D

-->As indicated by the name, it’s a long winding street lined with brightly-painted houses in all colors of the rainbow -- in fact, here, the shot of Towers Street from this The Smiler ad gives you a good idea of what I’m picturing:

Only, instead of just those spiraling yellow clouds in the sky, there's also a big yellow sun featuring a Smiler-logo face on it, as per this screenshot from this video on The Smiler mobile game: (WARNING -- the linked video does have flashing lights/strobe-like images starting about midway through!)

...maybe a little less overtly creepy, as this is supposed to be the friendliest domain, but you get what I mean.

-->And who lives in those cheery little houses? Why, the Advocates, of course! Who are based on these guys from The Smiler mobile game (screenshot from the same video linked above):

You know, just a little higher resolution. XD They're naturally very friendly, greeting visitors enthusiastically, and spend most of their time wandering around, trimming trees and hedges into spirals, having little get-togethers in each other's yards where they tell jokes and laugh a lot, playing various games with each other, painting big grinning faces on portable easels -- that sort of thing.

-->At the end of the street is -- well, the town SPIRAL rather than square, as the road just spirals in on itself until it stops at a big fountain full of glowy yellow liquid at the center. Around the outer curve of the spiral is a little cafe (which serves a variety of drinks and treats, though many of the drinks glow at least slightly, and the treats tend to have spiral decorations), a playground (with all the equipment painted with yellow and black stripes with occasional touches of purple and white), a general shop selling a variety of goods (which, yes, would basically be the shop from the Smiler Shop TV video, manned by Matt and Carol -- Smiler can put their parents into their Otherland, as a treat), and a train station consisting of a bright yellow covered platform with spiraling columns holding the roof up, a Smiler coaster car (like that seen above) for the "train," and tracks that start out flat but quickly spiral off into wild loops and twists (because, of course, the coaster itself has to serve as transport to the other two "nice" domains). Just a nice place to hang out, chat, and watch the spiral clouds swirl overhead. XD

X-Sector: Named after the section of Alton Towers that The Smiler coaster is actually in, this is the domain dedicated to Smiler’s interest in technology and chemistry (with the actual look of the tech ranging from more steampunky to more cyberpunky depending on the time period of the AU it features in).

-->The domain consists mostly of a big old lab, surrounded by a yard featuring grass made out of green wire, flowers made out of twisty bits of metal with stained glass leaves and petals, and simple conical trees (like the kind you might see in an old Playstation or XBox game before graphics really started taking off -- that Smiler Game screenshot above is roughly the right aesthetic). The sky here would be filled with swirling, spiraling yellow and black clouds, lit with the occasional flash of lightning. It's all very dramatic.

-->The lab itself is divided into two wings, separated by a main hall with lots of optical illusions a la the actual The Smiler station (with various changing patterns on the walls -- be warned, that linked video has a fair amount of flashing lights in it!). The left wing would be devoted to engineering and be filled with things like whirring little hypno-wheel gadgets, boxes with flashing lights, various skittering tiny robots, and other things of that nature. The right wing would be devoted to chemistry and have various workstations covered with bubbling flasks of liquid and hissing tanks filled with volatile gases -- though I'm really tempted to throw in a little bit of Willy Wonka flavor and have a big old waterfall of Joy Serum somewhere in here too. XD I mean, it feels like something Smiler would have -- maybe it flows into a giant pipe to provide the liquid for the fountain in Smile Street? Or perhaps it just serves as the "drinking water" for everyone there...

-->As for residents -- well, I suppose in addition to Advocates in lab coats tending all the various experiments, it would make sense to have Dr. Gladwell from the Smiler Takeover "Fear Test" show at the very least. After all, he is the Ministry's Chief Neurological Cortex Reprogrammer! :p The only thing complicating that is that I wanted to name Smiler's outfit for this area after him...but I suppose I could name it after his role in the Ministry instead... Anyway, the most notable resident here would naturally be the Marmaliser itself -- a big robot wandering around on its five limbs, looking for unhappy people to make happy and coming by the lab to have its Inoculator syringes and Giggler gas tanks refilled and its Tickler brushes, Flasher bulbs, and Hypnotiser wheels looked at and realigned as necessary.

Musical Mayhem: Hey, Victor wasn’t using the name :p This domain is all about Smiler's love of music and festivals and things of that nature, and -- as you might expect -- is strongly based around that whole The Smiler Takeover that Alton Towers did for the ride's 10th anniversary.

-->The domain itself is a giant fairground set in a field of glittery green grass under more of those yellow spiraling clouds, with a couple of black-and-white-cobbled looping paths winding through it. There are various carnival games scattered about (like the "Beat the Buzzer" game where you have to get a wire loop around a metal simplified Smiler logo without touching it, otherwise it'll buzz and you'll have to start again; hook-a-smiling-duck; bag tosses with grinning Smiler-logoed bags; one of those water gun games where you shoot Joy Serum at a target to make something rise up; etc), along with food stalls, comfy sitting areas, and carts where people can get balloons and little sparklers and trumpets to blow. As you might imagine, it's chaotic, but in a good way!

-->The dominant feature of the fairground, though, is a huge stage at the far end -- a bigger version of the Takeover's Celebration Stage, with all the smiley-face decorations but yellow curtains instead of red. There's a few rows of seats in front of the stage for people who want to sit down and watch, and designated "dancing spots" for those who want to dance and sing along. The dancing spots are generally more populated than the seats, as you might expect. XD

-->Again, the domain is mostly populated by Advocates from Smile Street, just enjoying the carnival -- but you can't have a Celebration Stage without Felix E. Lated as the star performer! :D (Again, Smiler can have their uncle in their Otherland, as a treat.) When he's not up on stage singing, he's wandering the fairground, encouraging everyone to let loose and have fun. Possibly Grin-Grin the clown (from the above-linked "Fear Test") also makes an appearance from time to time, creating balloon animals and telling ridiculous stories -- oh, and we probably should also have the contortionist and the magician from the "Meet The Ministry" stage show up too! All the performers for the Advocates to enjoy!

Sanctuary: Unfortunately for Smiler, as stated in the original post, we can’t neglect the spookier, scarier parts of the coaster’s theming -- and that means having a domain where everything is creepy and horrible, to represent their fears about going too far and actually harming people. And thus we have Sanctuary, inspired by all the Kelman-related materials, such as the Smile Always series and the Sanctuary scare mazes (a few clips of which can be seen in this informative video -- again, watch out for some flashing lights)! Hooray! :D

-->The area is a large, underground asylum, accessed by a pair of rusty metal swinging doors spray-painted with "THE TRUTH" in bright yellow (taken from one of the AR spots you could access with The Smiler Mobile Game back in the day -- there's a set hidden away in each of the other three domains) -- once inside, you're confronted with an absolute maze of concrete corridors, all painted a faded white. The place is not in good repair, with plenty of patches of exposed rebar and wiring on the walls and cracks in both the ceiling and the floor. The whole place is poorly lit, with buzzing yellow lights dangling from the ceiling and occasionally sparking or going out entirely. The only concession to color is in the various posters that have been hung up -- images of spirals with DO NOT RESIST written under them, photos of decaying animal corpses captioned with LIFE IS BAD, and various images of people with their mouths distorted into extremely creepy smiles. It's just a very unpleasant place to be!

-->There are two groups of people that live in this horrible location -- the first being the Corrected. These are the asylum's patients, dressed in tattered and dirty white t-shirts, pants, and dresses, who roam the halls and live in the various cells dotting the hallways. Most of them either have Glasgow smiles or various bits of machinery forcing their mouths into grins, and many also have at least a partially-shaved head and nasty scars on their scalps indicating brain surgery. However, the Corrected are all completely non-violent, either just wandering around doing their thing (vaguely giggling to themselves, drawing on the walls with whatever they can find, standing in small groups and laughing together) or hiding away from anyone they think is a threat.

-->No, the actual enemies of this area are the Staff -- the nurses and orderlies who run the place. The nurses are dressed in stained white uniform dresses, sporting dark circles around their eyes, vicious grins accented by dark lipstick, and long claw-like nails ready to take a swipe out of misbehaving patients; and the orderlies are dressed in similarly-stained yellowed scrubs, with the same dark circles around their eyes and vicious grins. The nurses carry syringes to stab unsuspecting victims, subjecting them to a variety of bizarre hallucinations; the orderlies carry shock batons guaranteed to bring patients to their knees. Their favorite activities are to stalk unwitting Corrected, then take them down while laughing hysterically. Not nice people at all!

-->And the person in charge of the whole shebang? Why, that would be Dr. Minister, a Kelman-like old man with a neat white suit sporting the Sanctuary logo, glinting glasses, and a smile that -- well, it's obvious the man's HEARD of smiling, but you're not sure he's ever seen it in action. He's insistent that everything he does for the Corrected is for their own good, and his ultimate goal is to turn Smiler into his apprentice/successor -- and Victor and Alice into Corrected. Smiler, as you might imagine, loathes this guy, and is absolutely terrified of ending up like him. :(

And that's everything I've got for now! It does make me slightly annoyed that I only have four domains for Smiler when Victor has five and Alice -- well, as per A:MR, the minimum is eight (presuming you don't count the Vale of Doom as separate from the Vale of Tears). But I do think that these four cover pretty much everything important when it comes to the coaster, it's themes, and all the events and attractions related to it. Next up, we have the weapons -- which, believe me, was a much easier post to make...