#with every version he becomes more mammal-like

[bluegekk0]

Updated Grimm's design. He is more fluffy now and has a tail :)

[blooming-periwxnkle]

If there is something I would have loved to see in TGCF, it would have been a female Supreme.

The biggest reason behind this is obviously the fact that ghosts are associated with Yin energy. Which is said to be feminine in nature.

In Chinese philosophy, the feminine or negative principle (characterized by dark, wetness, cold, passivity, disintegration, etc.) of the two opposing cosmic forces into which creative energy divides and whose fusion in physical matter brings the phenomenal world into being.

But, aside from this. I think that the whole excitation (?) that the ghosts get before the opening of Mt Tonglu could also be read as a metaphor for periods.

This is how the book describes the excitation of ghosts:

Just then, waves of hellish howls and cries sounded from outside Thousand Lights Temple. Ghosts were doubling over on the street, bawling their eyes out as they clutched their heads and wailed. They sounded like their skulls were splitting open, like they were on the verge of death.

It kinda reminds me of how men tend to see menstruation as well or the way they describe female 'hysteria' to enforce their misogynistic ideas upon women. Like, a satire of sorts..

But, aside from this, the 'ghosts' are more earthly as compared to Gods, just like how females were considered to be more connected to earth.

The gods created heaven to reside in, drawing a clear boundary between themselves and mortals. They watched from above and ruled from beyond reach. The Ghost Realm, on the other hand, was not separated from the Mortal Realm. Monsters, demons, ghosts, and mortals all shared one earth. Some ghosts hid in the darkness, and some pretended to be humans as they walked among the people and roamed the Mortal Realm in disguise.

When humans ascend, they become Gods. When humans fall, they become ghosts.

Historically, since cis men did not experience it, they often labeled menstruation as something wicked and evil. It is also why they viewed menstruating women as impure and often imposed restrictions on them and did not allow them to visit sacred places.

Even though it is emphasized that both ghosts and gods are ultimately human, ghosts are the ones who 'fall'. The ones who are not able to move on and let go of their obsessions.

I am yapping too much now, so forgive me. Moving on, both the Supremes in the story were known with a title that was given to them by others. Hua Cheng got his after destroying Qi Rong's lair, while He Xuan got his after he started to sink the ships that entered his dominion. Their identity was bestowed upon them by others. They were the ones who defined those two.

Additionally, their identities are also made with respect to the two 'gods' . Both Hua Cheng and He Xuan's titles are also references to Xie Lian and Shi Wudu. Their relation with these two is taken as the defining point of their identity as Supremes, not their personalities and how they are as people.

Hua Cheng was not taken seriously by the gods he challenged. They thought he was some random ghost. Even after he defeated them, they did not uphold their end of the bargain until Hua Cheng burned their temples. Same with He Xuan- they knew he was lowkey, so they never paid attention to him until they came to know about his infiltration.

It kind of reminds me of how cis men don't tend to take women or even trans men seriously due to misogyny. They consider them to be inferior until they 'prove' something to them that could command their respect.

More about the Mt Tonglu thing. Menstruation is said to have evolved as a mechanism to protect placental mammals. To protect the mothers from unfavorable pregnancies. Every ghost enters the kiln in order to reach the level of Supreme. Those who manage to come out of the kiln reach the devastation level, and as a result, they are affected the most by its opening. And, in order to conserve their strength, they turn into a younger version of themselves or go into hibernation.

These are..well, the reasons I would have liked if there was a female Supreme, but since there isn't...we'll let our minds do the job.

My apologies for the incoherence. I was talking to a mutual about how the tgcf characters would react to period cramps, and neither of us could think much about Hua Cheng and He Xuan at all, and then my mind wandered off to this.

P.S. If I said smth wrong, please be nice and let me know, I'll correct it.

[zzthekaiju]

Geez...

Call this whining, but now that Wingard's out of the director's seat (here's hoping they either get Dougherty back in the saddle OR someone like Guillermo del Toro on the line), I've been noticing a LOT of people wanting the next Godzilla movie to basically be "Godzilla gets fed up with humanity and turns on us all". And I really don't want that for a number of reasons (reinforces the bias against reptiles, been done before a million times, personal bias, etc.), particularly one specific detail...

It renders Serizawa's sacrifice, and the overarching themes of coexistence in the Monsterverse, entirely pointless.

That heart-tugging scene of him putting the fate of the world and its number one guardian above his own, of him making one last connection with the beast that inspired him, that moment they lock eyes before he gives his life to save him...it all goes down the drain if the ultimate endgame of the Monsterverse is Godzilla becoming our greatest threat when the OH SO PERFECT AND SQUEAKY-CLEAN APE gets to be the hero all the time (don't get me wrong, I love this version of Kong, but it just feeds into the "mammal good, reptile bad" trope I despise so much). Everything Serizawa and Monarch stood for as a whole ends up being for nothing if that's how it all goes down. And really, we've now done the whole "Godzilla gets pissed at us because of the actions of a few" thing with the Mechagodzilla situation.

NOW, I'm not saying Godzilla needs to be totally spotless. Absolutely not. I'm fine with him being kind of a jerk at this point...but what if he changed? What if, instead of just keeping him that way...we saw him develop? Y'know? As a character? Which is what he very much is, and NOT some glorified plot device?

Listen, making our relationship with Godzilla the centerpiece of the conflict isn't a bad idea. Not at all, as a matter of fact. A good way around it could be that the new monster he has to defeat is Hedorah, or a monster very much like Hedorah (considering the involvement of Yoshimitsu Banno, it feels inevitable). A horror conceived by our hubris and lack of care for the Earth. And yeah, Godzilla would be really angry at us...but he could also be tired. Overwhelmed. Borderline depressed at his Sisyphean life of having to undo every mistake we make. Maybe the real conflict could be him trying to find something, anything that makes his job worth it and not him not feel completely out of place in a world that's changed so much in the centuries he's been dormant. Maybe Monarch and/or a new cast of humans could help show the Big G that we appreciate him. They already teased this with how he acts around the Roman Coliseum (the novel confirms that he's homesick, awww), so why not give him that sort of emotional arc like they did for Kong? Maybe even give him more than just one scene with him and Mothra together, and show why their relationship works so well, ESPECIALLY when Big G's having a crisis! A unique jerk-to-nice-guy plot! I don't know, something that doesn't begin and end with him doing nothing but destroy things. That was cool for a while, but we need to get out of this "Godzilla can't be relatable because reptile" bunk that I have no doubt the higher-ups think. Heck, give him that son that Wingard clearly wanted to give him. Maybe the twist is that Little G absolutely adores humans and convinces his old man that they aren't so bad. That would work amazing! The possibilities are endless!

That, or they could go with my pitch for a "Godzilla X Mothra" movie. Please...?

I'm kidding, Twitter user Riamus came up with a WAY better premise, to be honest.

[ohfugecannada]

Groot’s many backstories

So earlier I saw this post by @alastorgould where he over some of the many versions of Rocket’s backstories, eventually writing his own take on it that combined elements of all of them. It’s a pretty good summary of Rocket’s past and it’s many incarnations in the comics, cartoons and MCU etc and I highly recommend you check it out along with his rocket and halfworld related art/fics.

Anyway, It inspired to make my own post going over some of the backstories/incarnations of my personal favourite gotg character: Groot. Because A) as mentioned, he’s my fave, and imo one of the more underrated Guardians members out of the core 5, and B) Groot actually has quite a few takes on his backstory already through not only multiple retcons in the 616 comics continuity but also through several multi-media adaptations of the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise. And I thought it would be fun to share some of them with you all.

Obviously, this isn’t gonna cover every single piece of media Groot has been in/has had his backstory mentioned etc. But I did my research and tried my best to cover a good chunk of the most notable continuities and adaptations.

Also, I haven’t read the entirety of every comic Groot is in ever (I.E. the latest gotg Grootfall/Grootrise story arc) so forgive me if I get a few details wrong. If there are any die hard gotg/Groot comic readers out there, feel free to politely and respectfully correct me on a few things.

The Comics

In the main marvel 616 comics there have been at least 3 different versions of Groot’s backstory and origins. 4 if you count his very first incarnation…

Tales to astonish #13 (+ other King Groot appearances)

King Groot is the giant tree like ruler of Planet-X, and an alien invader who lands on earth to kidnap the humans from a small town in order to take them back to his home planet and experiment on them. Conventional weapons used by the towns military don’t work as this groot is immune to fire and explosives. But thanks to the quick thinking of protagonist human scientist Leslie Evens, king groot is taken down by genetically bred super termites. He seemingly dies in this story but later makes appearances in comics like the Howling Commandos, aiding the team. Most commonly being seen as an inhabitant of Monster Isle. There was a time where it was thought the groot on the guardians of the galaxy was the same groot as king groot (mainly the annihilation: conquest series), but this was later retconned as a different Groot impersonating King Groot. Which brings us to…

Guardians of the Galaxy #14 (2013)/Annihilators #1 and 2 (2012)

Groot was a flora colossus sapling who along with his fellow saplings (also all called groot) were looked after by a group of elder flora colossus called the Arbor Masters. This groot was different from the others as he often brefirended the maintenance mammals; small intelligent mammal like beings who most other flora colossus looked down on as inferior. One day, another group of flora colossai were bulling a squirrel-like maintenance mammal and groot steps in to defend it. After one of the more violent flora colossus nearly kills the mammal, groot snaps and tears the other colossus apart. Presumably killing him. This catches the attention of the Arbor masters, who then have groot banished from the planet via a space ship.

This groot would later go on to impersonate king Groot and join the team that would become the Guardians of the galaxy, in Annihilation Conquest: Starlord #1, where he’d first meet his teammate and future bff Rocket Raccoon. The way he was written in annihilation conquest made it seem like he was the same character as King Groot, but this was later retconned in Annihilators #1 and 2 as well as Guardians of the Galaxy #14.

Groot vol.1 (2015)

My personal favourite comic origin for groot. (Also literally the best version of Groot in any media ever dont @ me)

Groot is born on Planet X, where the flora colossus are towering giants who regularly kidnap beings from other planets to preform experiments on them. Groot is disturbed and appalled by the actions of his people but feels powerless to do anything… until one night where he discovers a little human girl, Hannah, being held prisoner in one of the holding pods and decides to help her escape.

After teleporting Hannah away back to Earth, Groot remains behind and destroys the teleportation pad, presumably cutting the flora colossus off from earth, and he is banished by his elders. Groot then wanders the universe for a while, taking in all its wonders and sights, before being thrown in a kree prison where he meets Rocket for the first time. Rocket can’t understand Groot at first, but over the course of months sharing a cell with him, does. After this the two form a fast friendship and break out of prison, becoming bounty hunters/criminals and eventually joining the Guardians.

Groot vol.2 (2023)

One of the most recent and drastically different origins presented in the comics so far.

In this miniseries, Planet-X is a lush forest covered planet and the flora colossus, unlike the other comic origins, are a benevolent and peaceful race of sentient plants ruled over by a giant matriarch tree called Granopy. She looks after and tells stories to a child groot and his two friends Tweeg and Gleef.

One day their forest gets burnt by a gang of mercenaries known as The Spoilers, led by an evil Flora colossus named Agz, and the three get kidnapped. But are freed by a young Mar-vel. Together the four of them, along with an Alpha Centurion hunter called Yondar, fight against the Spoilers and save Planet X. As of writing this, the Grootfall/grootrise arc, which references this miniseries, has only just wrapped up. So It’s not clear if this story is supposed to be a prequel to the 2015 Groot origin or if it’s a full on retcon of it. (Im gonna assume the latter, given how different Flora Colossai are in this compared to the previous origins. Unless Flora Collossus society/planet X as a whole really went down hill after Groot grew up, somehow going from the peaceful forest utopia we see in vol. 2 to the desolate wasteland ruled by an evil king groot in tales to astonish/groot number 6 but I digress) so it’s up in the air for now if/how they connect to each-other…

Origins in other media

As a Marvel multi-media franchise, the Guardians of the Galaxy, and by extension Groot, have had a number of different adaptations and interpretations across various non-comic book mediums including movies, games, tv shows etc. so let’s take a look at four of the most famous ones.

MCU

Weirdly enough, despite this version of Groot (and his son Groot ii aka baby groot) being the most widely known by general audiences thanks to the popularity of the MCU, MCU Groot is the most mysterious when it comes to his origin story. We never get any implications or mentions of it in the entire gotg franchise (outside of a mention of Planet X in the nova police lineup scene in vol.1). The closest we get is an idea James Gunn had planned for a short film about how Groot and Rocket met and a few very brief mentions about it in interviews. In the tweet about the short film idea, James explains Groot was caged up at an intergalactic zoo housing exotic alien creatures and was treated like an animal. Until a worker at the zoo, a robot/cyborg named Tibus Lark, became attached to Groot and helped him escape, becoming his closest friend. Until they found themselves in a hole/prison where Lark and groot would meet Rocket. Being mortally injured, Tibus would explain his and Groot’s story to Rocket before entrusting Groot with Rocket and dying. Rocket would then use the robotic parts of Lark’s body to build his big gun seen in the first gotg and break out of the pit with Groot. Beginning their criminal partnership and (dysfunctional) friendship.

Gotg Disney XD cartoon season 1

In the Disney XD cartoon, Groot grew up on an idyllic and serene Planet X ruled by his father(?), both coming from a long line of flora colossus spanning billions of years who, along with all life on Planet X, all grew from an object known as the world pod. A source of power that exists within groot. Shortly after a day of battle training with his father, the Kree and their leader Ronan invade the planet to mine it of its resources. Dispute the protest of its natives, the planet is burnt to ashes, leaving groot the lone survivor. He’s then taken by the kree and experimented on, along with other kidnapped Earth animals. This is where he meets a newly anthro-ified Rocket, and the two break out together and eventually join the guardians.

Gotg Telltale Game

Like the MCU version, we unfortunately don’t get a look into his backstory, but what we do know from the alternate story path where Rocket stays with Quill and Groot goes with Mantis when the team break up is he is the last of his kind and empathises with mantis greatly because of it.

Gotg Eidos Game

Through conversations with Groot (with Rocket, and later in the game Mantis, translating for Quill), and a few parts of rocket’s conversations, we learn that Groot’s father was the king of Taluhnia (the original native name of Planet X) as well as the other branch worlds. Groot himself wanted to be a forest caretaker so he could care for the plants of Taluhina. In contrast, his father and the arbor masters were corrupt and favoured the needs of the few over the many, and enslaved the sapient animals on Taluhnia. With some saplings even hurting these mammals for fun. Groot however, preferred thier company over the others of his kind due to how nice and smart they were, comparing them to rocket in his convo with Quill and Mantis.

Unfortunately, however, they along with the rest of Taluhnia, would perish after the Chitari would test an experimental doomsday device on the planet. After the planets destruction, the other branch worlds would mobilise an attack, but they were no match for the Chitari and were destroyed as well. Fortunately, groot was able to regrow himself into a smaller sapling form. Making him, as far as he knows, the only survivor. In his smaller form, he would eventually be sold to the collector, but would later be stolen by rocket who raided the whole place while drunk. It’s kind of a mix of the maintenance mammal stuff from the gotg issue 14 story and the general flora Collossus are corrupt stuff from that and groot issue 6, with the alien race wipe out the flora colossus part from the cartoon (though swapping out the Kree for the Chitari this time).

…And that’s it for the most famous Groot origins! Again, this doesn’t include every incarnation of Groot ever, but I think I covered my bases with the most notable continuities. Maybe I’ll have a go at writing my own take on the origin at some point, but for now, I just hope you all enjoyed learning about Groot’s different pasts as much as I did researching them…

Also let me know if there are other, more obscure versions of Groot and his backstory I missed here. I’m always down to learning more Groot lore.

[bonesofapoet]

Dewdrops

[ captain rex x you ]

author’s note: i havent gone here in a while, but i just finished tcw for the first time and im in pain and im yearning and this was getting written whether i liked it or not, apparently. language, implied death, war, grief

word count: 994

When the galaxy descended into chaos, there were only three thing you knew to be true:

One. Going home was no longer an option.

Two. The sunsets on Naboo were just as breathtaking as Senator Amidala had said.

Three. You loved Rex just a little bit more, with every passing beat of your heart.

And, an honorable mention: things would never be the same again.

Another morning had arrived, another cup of caf found its way into your tired hands. The steam curled around your cheeks as it rose, bringing the familiar scent warm and comforting and starkly strong to ground you, in the present, just by routine alone.

There was a small window in the safe-house that overlooked nothing but a small wood line. The location was hidden enough to allow a quaint version of privacy, yet also sparse enough that watching the rays of the sun splay golden fingers through the trunks, the leaves, the land – it had become a morning ritual, of sorts, the longer you stayed here.

Your favorite part was how the sunlight kissed the dewdrops awake; little crystal beads so delicate, so beautiful you could never quite believe they were real, that they still existed after. . . well, everything.

(You swore they looked different on every planet.)

Serenity was a rare find these days; every moment that didn’t give chase was stolen, allowing itself to be cradled in your palms until the moment passed and drifted away. You would breathe it in one last time, linger on the feel of peace in your lungs, and then it would be gone on the tail of your exhale.

As if on cue, the cry of a mammal sounded from just beyond the treeline. Sunlight rose to spill through the window, it’s honey-gold glory wrapping you in a soft embrace. Your eyes fluttered shut, and a pair of arms wrapped themselves loosely around your shoulders.

A sigh left your lips, painted the air with melancholy. Your eyes opened, and a head so, so heavy tipped back to settle against the clone captain behind you.

Serenity was ready to leave you again, it seemed.

“ ‘s a beautiful morning,” the rough edges of another sleepless night clung, still, to his voice. It was quiet among the whispers of dawn.

Lips tilted up, a tired smile reached your tired eyes, ache in your chest retreating with grace. You raised the mug cradled in your hands – still warm, still fresh – in offering. He took it with a grunt in thanks.

“Yeah,” you answered in a hush kept for mornings. “Wish we could stay here forever.”

It was said on a whim. A half truth, yet a full truth all the same. Rex pressed a kiss to your crown with a hum.

You leaned against him just a little harder.

“. . .be nice, not bein’ in the middle of a fight for once,” he humored the thought, but the truth held his tone in a distant, strangled choke hold. Had him holding you just a little closer, the tension in your bodies growing tighter each second the wish hung in the honeyed light between you.

The sun was rising and it was almost blinding, the way the bright fractals reached for your eyes now.

And yet, the warmth given by the morning light siphoned away, an impossible chill rooting itself deep in your bones. Rex shivered behind you, took another pull of the shitty drink to chase the shadow away.

“Well, we could always keep runnin’ from the Empire, you know. Find lovely places like this to hole up in, no excuse to talk to anyone else for the rest of our days.” you placed a suggestive kiss along his jaw to match the rib in your voice. An attempt to ease what you couldn’t manage to chase away. “Hypothetically speaking, of course.”

He laughed, softly against your skin. “As tempting as that is -” a pause, to brush lips against yours, still so close. “That’s not who we are.”

When the whispered beginnings of small cells of rebellion slid through certain corners of the galaxy. . . they reached you for the first time in the grunge of a rural tavern of a backwater Outer Rim planet. That was the first time the sun seemed a little bit brighter, breathing a little bit smoother, your thoughts finally, finally, slowing down to a crawl instead of a hotheaded whirlwind of -

The look that passed between you and Rex went unspoken. The slime from the atmosphere dissipated, and you paused. After a brief free fall, you finally had a direction to aim for. Except you had just traded one war for another, right?

(Of course you had.)

The only difference was the wounds from the old were still too fresh, still so incredibly raw and real and had the war every actually stopped? Had it really?

Entropy would never rest when it still had a foothold, you supposed.

A smile – one warm and sad painted your lips, but not those beautiful eyes of yours. You sighed into another kiss, and it was Rex’s heart, this time, that cracked a cavern all the way to his lungs.

Soft lips, chapped and warm grazed your cheek, traced your jaw, lingered on your crown while the mug was pressed delicately back into your hands. Those distant thoughts were, for the moment, forgotten.

“We couldn’t abandon this even if we tried,” Rex’s edges blurred, just enough to almost appear soft. His eyes are sweet when he looks at you. “Speaking of – we have a ride to catch, sweetheart.”

Except you stayed, wrapped around each other in the fleeting comfort, until the sun rose high enough to graze treetops instead of your skin. Golden fingers reached for another place not so torn, not so ragged, to give someone else a chance at quiet – for just a little while.

Memories of what – who- you had lost settled back onto your shoulders, a cloak made of bones.

[elders-of-the-sky]

Since there are no new asks, I'm gonna take this opportunity to dump all of my questions!

1. Do you all go by other names or do you just go by titles?

2. Can you tell the readers more about your history with the elders?

3. Do you have predecessors like the Elders?

4. Do you all of you hate your Elder counterparts?

1. Do you all go by other names or do you just go by titles?

The Bird: Most of us just go by our titles, but we used to refer to each other by the same names our light counterparts used as well. Fox is a rare case.

The Fox: It’s because I’ve contributed enough to my entire species that I earned my title as a queen.

2. Can you tell the readers more about your history with the elders?

The Crabs: Yeah yeah!

Crab 1: About every 1,000 years, a new elder is born in each of the seven realm!

Crab 2: Some time after these new elders are born, the current elder removes the darkness in their newborn successor, and that creates us, the Dark Counterparts! We’re torn out of our original elder’s hearts, and then left alone somewhere in the wild.

Crab 1: Civilians don’t have their darkness removed because the process is painful, and because the elders have a standard of purity or something that needs to be maintained by having darkness removed from them at a young age. As the elders grow older, certain parts of themselves are reflected into us and make us big and strong! They can’t avoid the parts of themselves they fear, or the version of themselves they’re scared of becoming, but they can push that onto us without realizing it!

Crab 2: They can try to get rid of us by killing and stuff, but since we’re a part of them, they can’t really get rid of us permanently unless they die beforehand. So if my brother and I died right now we’d be reborn at the place we were left at when midnight arrives!

3. Do you have predecessors like the Elders?

The Mammal: Oh absolutely. It could be easily said that the counterparts of each elder’s predecessor is our predecessor by association. Of course, unlike the elders, our predecessors are not always...the same species.

The Deer: It’s actually rather funny. I think the Valley Twins and their predecessor are the only ones who’s counterparts, counting all the three currently living generations, are all crabs.

4. Do you all of you hate your Elder counterparts?

The Bird: I don’t hate Daleth, I’m just irritated that he continues to pretend I don’t exist.

The Mammal: Of course I don’t! Ayin couldn’t have had any control over this process! I haven’t exactly made myself know to him either...I may be a bit mad at the ancestors for enforcing such a dangerous and painful tradition, but it’s far from his fault.

The Fox: Of course I do! Teth knows fully well that I exist, I’ve made myself known to her multiple times throughout her life, and she has run away from me like a coward every time. She refuses to acknowledge what I truly am, and refuses to acknowledge I exist.

The Crabs: Nope! Samekh is cool! We like them!

The Deer: While I can’t speak for The Dragon, I for one do not loathe Lamed as much as I loathe their treachery against me by keeping me confined within the walls of the Vault in an attempt to stop my plans for domination.

[magicflowershop]

one day kitty; Tsukishima version

《inspired by movie A Whisker Away》

✿✿ you wished to be with the person you like and wish granted. whiskers, button nose, tail, four legs and ears on top of the head; you turned into a cat. with this, you are given the opportunity to be with the person you want to express your affections to. but as a cat. and only in one day.

― haikyuu characters x cat!reader imagines!

❀ masterlist ❀

the wheel of names have spoken.

Tsukishima found a cat sleeping on his window sill that morning

he doesnt know why but the sight of that cat annoyed him that he went to school with a frown on his face

Yamaguchi thought he did something wrong but he knew that if he spoke up he’d be told to shut up again,,,, 

Yams still asked

now Tsukki didn’t know what to tell him bc he wants to give no attention to a certain cat that’s been following him on their way to school,,, yk for some odd reason he can’t give a name to

even so, Yams being the precious lad he is, saw the little cat and entertained him while Tsukki took the run for it,,, again for some reason

its been a few hours and even during classes, Tsukki sees the cat once again through the window, chilling on a tree branch

it was no ordinary cat

or maybe Tsukki has lost his mind

but he was sure of it tho

quite

Tsukki looked out and saw that cat,, then the cat found his eyes and locked their gazes together,,, Tsukki has no idea how that staring contest ended up lasting for almost thirty minutes 

Tsukki was very sure this cat was an alpha lmAOOO

disregarding that, Tsukishima sensed something familiar from this little cat thats been noticeably following him everywhere even as to spying on him in his room while he was getting ready

the cat was so strange that it reminded him of someone he knew

which he seems to find himself looking for during lunch break 

and now he found it even stranger when said person had the audacity of ignoring him, as they passed by each other

that was prolly for the best

so Tsukki wouldn’t get migraine for the day ykyk

nyways the cat

the cat was also confused, staring at the same person this whole time,,, right beside him

“Tsukki, that was weird,,, y/n never batted an eye on you today. she’d usually bark at you but ig she’s tired today,,, she wasn’t being herself”

“shut up, Yamaguchi”

“sorry Tsukki”

i love that nyWAY

now you and Tsukki are e m e n i e s

how so?

Tsukki has been fed up with this random kid from a different class who always goes and picks up fights with him no matter what,, and so it concluded to him disliking said kid with every fiber of his being, which also happened to be you

contrary to his belief however, you two were simply opposites of each other and seemed to be clashing ideas no matter what the topic given is,,, which soon translates to arguments

little did he know tho you clash with him on purpose to get his attention because you are a lost cause and very head-over-heels for his lame-ass 

so much so that you wished to become a cat in order to stalk in sum more

<3

and as emenies,, its natural Tsukki will find it weird you ignored him in the hallway when you’re normally up his nose whenever you see him

bc you’re crazy like that

but thank god you were calm today

he thought

so this went on for the rest of the day

you guys passed by each other a bunch more and he kept getting a cold shoulder,,,,,,

YOU GUYS PASSED BY EACH OTHER A BUNCH MORE AND HE KEPT GETTING A COLD SHOULDER HOW DARE YOU?????

it didn’t take Yams half a braincell to notice Tsukki getting lowkey dejected from the said cold shoulder,,,, but Tsukki being Tsukki

sigh

plus, there’s this cat that’s been followin him around the entire time

“you’re not allowed to be here”

ah yes a 

✨ smartass ✨

he see the cat slowly sneaking its way inside the gym while they were off to practice after classes

the cat looked up at him with its big, shiny eyes as if it was pleading for Tsukki to let it in and watch them prolly,,, but Tsukki knew havin a cat in there would be a drag,,, and he might get yelled at by Daichi as well

even if this was an alpha cat we mentioned earlier

Tsukki shut the door

but soon after practice, nobody noticed when Tsukishima casually left the gym to look for the cat

a clown ✨

you were just chillin over a tree branch when you saw Tsukki wandering around the place looking for something,, and then he saw you

you see him sigh of relief and walk towards the tree

“do you not have a home you belong in?”

lmao someone’s not very good at handling animals, you thought to yourself,,, that you wanted to clown him sum more

you walked towards the end of the branch as carefully as you can, while Kei watched you with terror in his eyes

“what are you doing? you’re gonna fall off”

definitely not used to handling cats specifically!

while knowing full well this boy is a n00b, you stared at him mockingly, swinging your tail back and forth at his face next, resting your entire feline body at the tip of the branch that is in the verge of snapping

the terror in his eyes translated into worry in a split second when the branch did snap and the cat fell 

Tsukki wasn’t fast enough to both catch the cat and to realize that cats are created ✨ agile ✨

he, once again, felt like a 🤡

you gave him a smug look when you landed perfectly on your feet and saw the dumbfounded look on his face lmfao what is going on

and that hit Tsukki once again,,, the cat reminded him so much of you that it pained him so much both mentally and physically also psychologically but yk

Tsukki sat down on the grass, reluctantly reaches out a hand towards the cat,,, and takes it back, like what was he doing lol

but you looked straight into his eyes, which made him subconsciously reach out to you once more and this time you gave him no time to pull it back because you nuzzled you whole head under his palm

:c

Tsukki then gave in, caressing the cat’s fur as gently as he could

“oi TsukISHIMA!!”

Hinata called for Tsukki and the rest of the practice went by like normal disregarding how Hinata kept teasin him how he was bein soft around a little mammal for a split second swswsws

so practice ended just like that, you were wandering around gym waiting for Tsukki to appear bc you didn’t want so many opporunities to slip by when you already have him around your wittle paws yk? and you concluded Tsukki’s a whole tsundere 

as a matter of fact, Tsukki’s pissed off bc he knows he’s become fond of the stray cat

ok so, phat news

Yams goes and tells Tsukki he had somewhere to go before going straight home so it’ll be Tsukki goin home alone tonite

you overheard this conversation and you’re engines roared honey

you shall monopolize this stringbean

Tsukki wasn’t stupid to not notice the cat tailing him all the way home so Tsukki makes a detour bc he isn’t sure if this was a real cat or srsly an alpha cat like he said earlier lmfao wasn’t stupid my ass

his feet took him to his cram school without realizing even though he had no classes that day

but it was enough to not make the cat follow him anymore

he looked back at the cat and saw it, looking inside, backing away at each step as if it was afraid to get in ;c

obv you were afraid of being shooed away like some kinda parasite so its natural u pussy out heh and sudDENLY tSUKKI PICKED YOU UP AND LEFT WIF YOU HUUHHH????

“you’re probably hungry, i haven’t seen you eat the entire day”

heh

so you went on a date big deal

and you were a cat big deal 

except that Tsukki didn’t know what in the world to do wif a stray cat after this little dinner time at the edge of a park in the evening, not the kind of first date you wanted but this should be enough for this situation no?

ok so date right?

Tsukki was wondering why you were acting so strange earlier, like you kept treating him just like sum other student from the same school, passin by without any care at all lol

needless to say, it bugged him

and it was also needless to say that it bugged him a lot

yk

that you weren’t there

:D

like ew

no sht did that thought disgust him bc it was true lmfao

then there’s this random cat thats beside him the whole day instead and annoying the hell outta him,, kinda,,,, the same way,,,, you do,,,,,

lol how are those things similar tho

“you remind me of y/n”

and so u choke

mhmm

it’s b̵̹̠͎͑̀̈̈́i̶̢̧̖̙͎͖̰̱̾̾̏̀͋̌̕g̶̩̦̉ ̶̙̌̂b̵̻̿r̵̠̦̯̠̦̮͇̫̾͋̐̇͛̈́̓̉̚͝ă̶̛̫͎̹̈́̃͛͝i̴̼̦̮̮̍̈́̋̈́n̶͓̟̮͋̅͂͑̃͆̍̕͝͝ ̸̔̂͑̄̈́ti̴͗̈́̋̄̔̃m̸̛̳̔̀̆̈́e i guess

then as if you were snapped back to reality you remembered you had a time limit for this stupid, stalkerish thing you’ve been doing,,, you instinctively grabbed Kei’s hand to check his wristwatch 

it was 10.30

holy sht it was 10.30

you scurried off from your spot and ran all the way to your house, ignoring the kind-of yells Tsukki let out when he saw you running away 

you were running at speed of light jumping from one roof to another to get back home and smack that house cat of yours that pretended to be you the whole time

and you did,,, 

the next morning, you woke up you were back to normal

everything was back to normal

you’re parents never questioned you of anything

so did your siblings if you had any

then comes school

you were hella nervous aight

but you tried to stay calm, stay poised, stay annoying like normal yk

“hey”

god

Tsukki found you taking off your shoes, and decided it was a great idea to initiate a conversation with you

“oh good morni-”

“what’s going on with you yesterday?”

:0

“did i do something?”

“uh no,,,”

“then why did you ignore me?”

:O

did that have an effect on him????

you wanted to ask that to push his buttons ‘cause that’s what ur good at anyway might as well go all the way but yk you didn’t have the courage to be that cheeky esp since you liked him as well ahaha

YOU DID IT ANYWAY BAP BAP BA--

“it did”

:O

mission failed but success????

stay tuned for more!

[were-all-going-to-hell-goodbye]

Yknow what tell me more about them

SORRY IT TOOK ME SO LONG TO GET TO THIS BUT HERE WE GO

If you wanna know cool facts about their friends, past, or just them in general JUST ASK I have a LOT more info

Name: Puyumi “Pieris” Celeste De la Cruz

Name meaning: “Divine Light of the Cross”

Ethnicity: Dominican-Japanese

Pronouns: They/them, She/they, He/they

Sexualities: Asexual, Agender, Queer

Hair: Black cut and layered curly hair

Eyes (Quirk not in use): Greenish brown

Inspirations:

Quirk: A Soldier's Goodbye (Anthem/Farewell)

Quirk Information

● Puyumi hums a Melody and it can either give someone minor injuries

1. Small to medium sized cuts all over the body

2. Bruises

3. Headaches

● Or they can make minor injuries slightly worse

1. Turn cuts into lashes

2. Bruise internally

3. Turn headaches into minor concussions.

● The melody is different for every person, but is absolutely wordless.

● The next part of the Quirk, from which the name came from, happens when words are added.

● The lyrics are different for every person, very intimate in ways the melody is not and very haunting.

● Puyumi can make existing injuries life threatening, but overall harmless in the way that they can be saved if they get immediate help, as long as Puyumi doesn't finish the song.

● If Puyumi finishes the song which can only be two verses max, then the person under the effect of the song, will die. Nothing can save them, their injuries can only get worse and will not heal.

● With the melody, the listener gets a feeling not unlike dissociation.

“It was like once I heard it, I was outside my body, watching it. But there were two of me, one was still going through the motions of fighting off the heroes and the other… the other was laying on the ground. It was… It was horrifying. It wasn’t moving, It wasn’t breathing, It- It was gone. I could feel It. I was pale and bleeding out and watching everything around me, looking from the fight, to my dead body and I couldn’t do anything. Then the fighting body passed out and the next thing I know I’m in the hospital and then cartered off the next day to Tartarus, where I am now.”

“Oh, so that’s what it’s like.”

“You- you brought her here?! SHE’S HERE?!”

“It’s they/them.”

“I don’t care you fucking sociopath! I told you what I know, just- just keep that monster away from me!

● The range of the melody changes depending on the age of the listener. For kids from birth to 12 their melodies are gentle and not unlike a lullaby, for teens ages 13 to 15 the melodies are high and airy, a bit curious and wistful. For adults ages 15 to 59 the melodies are mournful and deep and more than often cut abruptly. For the elderly, ages 69 and up, the melodies are soft and hard to hear, until they slowly fade out.

● Upon first activation, Puyumi needs to have looked into the listeners eyes once for a full 10 seconds. The reason being the saying that the eyes are the window to the soul, and if there is anything that can harm you beyond repair, it’s in your soul.

● The injuries seem to come out of the person themself, split open or blooming from underneath the skin. The quirks effects can not be stopped by any kind of shield quirks.

● The eye contact has to be mutual

● Like Shinsou’s quirk, Puyumi's quirk can only be enhanced acoustically.

● Puyumi has multiple vocal cords, their regular pair, the one used for the melody, and another for the song.

● Due to the three vocal cords, they are thinner to fit, giving Puyumi a higher pitched voice

● The third set of vocal cords can direct who the song is for

● When Puyumi’s quirk is activated, they unintentionally tend to stare at where It lies.

● Since eye contact is required, Puyumi’s eye’s change depending on their surroundings

● Puyumi tends to know, or have a good estimate of people's ages.

● Puyumi can hear notes echoing from people that follow along with their melody.

● Have really strong ears so they can hear the notes over the bustle of life/battle

● Humans – Best Mammal Vision.

● Owls – Best Night Vision.

● Sharks – Best Underwater Vision.

● Chameleons – Broadest Field of Vision.

● Eagles – Best Eyes in the Animal Kingdom.

Quirk Drawbacks

● Terrible sore throat

● Apathy

● Overuse cause user to strain vocal cords, sometimes to the point of ripping them

● Random chills

● Random inconvinouses

● Eye strain

● Migraines

Character Information

● Puyumi tends to where headphones and blast must in crowded areas, seeing as the notes emitting from everyone gets overwhelming.

● Before Puyumi got their Quirk, they had a good relationship with their parents. However, after the incident that caused their fathers death, her mother became resentful and passive agressive.

● Puyumi has ran away multiple times, beginning at six, each departure getting longer and longer, going from two days from her first time, having been escorted home by any underground hero, to three months, which was interrupted by the canon timeline

● Her mother had a simple Song Bird quirk where she could sing the song of countless birds as long as she heard it at least once.

● Her father's quirk was darker, he had death visions every night. It was mostly the deaths of his alternate reality self, but sometimes it leaked out to the alternate version of his close loved ones.

● His father was very loving and attentive towards them for their early childhood, though, the closer they got to four, the more absent minded he got, sometimes going days at a time before he became aware again.

● After they were caught, they bounced from hero to hero every month or so before the school year started.

● She hates it when people follow after her when she’s going to get something (for them)

● Their voice sounds really good with some songs, and low-key bad with others

● Huge AoT fan. It’s their comfort anime and she’s particularly fond of Eren and Levi

● Has 100% screamed Shinzou wo Sasageyo at people, one of the few times he will raise his voice.

Relations

● Mother: M/n De la Cruz F/L/N: Her mother was a popular therapist among children and soldiers with PTSD because her quirk could be very grounding. One of her child patients even went on to become an ornithologist, specializing in bird calls. F/n wasn’t her patient, but she was called in a few times to calm him.

● Father: F/n De la Cruz

● Cousin: Drew De la Cruz

[photolover82]

Masked Singer Season 5 Episode 3 Recap: Group A Returns With a Wildcard (Commentary & Guesses)

Hi guys! Welcome or welcome back to Ana’s Masked Singer recap, where I, Ana, recap every single episode of The Masked Singer. Ok, so I'm on time this time I swear (I try to do these the weekend after the show airs or Friday), and now we are starting to get the wildcards which was super exciting and Joel Mchale was guest judging so it was a very fun episode to watch! We’re back onto Group A but this time someone new joins the group, so stay tuned until the end to talk about that someone. Anyways, let’s get into it, starting with the eliminated contestant:

So the eliminated mask was...

*DRUMROLL PLEASE*

The Raccoon 🦝

Commentary: honestly, I am not even the slightest bit surprised that he got eliminated... he should have gone home earlier but that’s neither here nor there, the Masked Singer likes to do that to us so whatever. But like honestly this is gonna sound mean, and look, not everyone is a singer, and he gave it the good old college try and I respect the hell out of that, but omg all I gotta say about his performance of Ring of Fire by Johnny Cash is yikes. That’s it, that’s all I gotta say about that... anyways, let’s reveal this rodent or mammal, idk man who told you guys I was an animal expert?!

Raccoon was revealed to be (I got this one too yay!)

Danny Trejo

Yeah, I guessed it baby! I even have proof, just look at my 1st recap of the season and it’s there, I got it! Yayyy! Anyways, I mean I know him, I have seen him around ofc (he has done a lot of acting and he even has a restaurant and everything), but like he can’t sing and that’s ok, he had fun, it’s what matters. Good job Danny Trejo and thank God he’s gone because finally my ears can be in peace.

Having said that, let’s move onto our remaining 4 (yes, 4 because wildcard baby!):

1. Seashell 🐚

Commentary: Her performance of Confident by Demi Lovato was to me much better than her last performance. It seemed like she was more confident (hehe no pun intended) in this one, kind of came into her own and let out the power in her voice. She was a bit timid and nervous in the first performance and it kind of reminded me of how Jellyfish started out, but this one was a lot more diva and powerful, I enjoyed it a lot. I really love Seashell, she is quickly becoming one of my favorite contestants (except nobody can beat my favorite who you will see in a moment)

I am doubling down on my guess:

Tamera Mowry

Clues/Reasoning: ok, like this one I feel super confident about and the clues kind of seal the deal for me:

The doodle of “Seashell with the shell mask on”= reference to the intro of Sister Sister

A certain shell man asked her out and the baseball on the screen= she is talking about her husband, Fox News correspondent Adam Housley (which btw is another reason why she is on this show, bc it runs in the Fox family), who used to be a professional baseball player (oh and the required her to do things she was scared of means that he helped her feel more comfortable about being on TV aka when she was on the Real)

2 minute stopwatch= she’s older than her twin sister, Tia, by 2 minutes haha 😂 (this was a very weird thing to be like yeah bro ik that... again I say, Google is a magical thing)

2. Robopine 🦔

Commentary: He sang All of Me by John Legend and honestly song choice was 👌, like I would have picked that for him too. It was absolutely stunning and I can just close my eyes and enjoy the song, which that’s what some of the best ballad performances tend to do. I absolutely loved it, he is my favorite, if you can’t tell, and this was my favorite performance of the night. I have a prediction that Robopine might make it to the finals honestly because he is just that amazing.

I am changing my guess and I am more confident now with:

Tyrese Gibson

Reasoning/Clues: alright so I know that he isn’t 60 but I have a feeling he is lying about that and that he’s from Costa Rica (that’s too direct of a clue to be true you know and I feel like he is lying... Ken did say in the beginning that Robopine is the most confusing, so I do think that he is lying)... anyways clue time:

A lot of superhero clues= he will be playing one in Jared Leto’s Morbius film from Marvel

The lying means something = he has an album called Alter Ego, someone in the YouTube comments told me that he did a shoot with GQ called “60 the new 30” so that’s where the age thing might come from

IT SOUNDS A LOT LIKE HIM, OK?! Legit this is the most logic bomb I can give you right here... he’s trying to fool us but the voice is what matters... if you wanna compare voices go ahead, here’s a video that can help (it helped me even though the background singers kinda took over, but you get the point, it was live)

3. Russian Dolls 🪆

Commentary: THEY DIVIDEDDDDD... omg there’s 3 now! I FREAKING CALLED IT!! Anyways, they sang Wonder by Shawn Mendes and again I say their harmonies are so on point, it’s fantastic! I throughly enjoyed this performance, it was great! Their voices work really great together (ofc duh because they are a band... they have to be) and it was a really great song choice as well.

Again, I am gonna double down here (and them being 3 makes it even more convincing for me):

Hanson (All 3 of them this time)

Reasoning/Clues: ok, so now that there’s 3 of them, I don’t have to sound dumb and be like ummmmm it’s 2 of the Hanson brothers, which two I am not sure, but two of them. This time I can say it is all of Hanson, all 3 of them! WOOO! This performance really solidified it for me. Anyways, here are the logic bombs aka clues:

He was doing what he loved and rushed to the hospital = Zac, one of the brothers, was involved in a motorcycle accident in which he (get this, it’s really bad like reading it on Google made me go ouch that must have been a terrible accident) broke three ribs, his collarbone, and scapula.

The fire truck= the fire department was involved in the accident, which he spoke about in October 2019

4. Surprise! It’s Wildcard Time: Introducing the Orca (whale) 🐳

Commentary: ok, so he performed We’re Not Gonna Take It by Twisted Sister, and it was meh, it was ok. He sounds like a comedian, and his voice is so familiar, it’s killing me. Anyways, he is talk singing the entire time and there are parts where he sounds out of breath, so I don’t think he is a professional singer. The costume though (since I couldn’t really review that beforehand) looks like a pool floatie on top and a blue version of Banana from season 3 from the chest down, which is kind of cool (I would give it a 8/10 if I were to rate it). I really love that top head part, it looks super great, the costume designers killed it.

Ok, this one I am more unsure about but I am gonna say that I am between these 2:

Bill Burr or Adam Sandler

(Burr is the one pictured below, couldn’t put both images because Tumblr doesn’t let me do more than 10 pictures so just pretend you can also see Adam Sandler’s photo)

Reasoning/Clues: I am gonna have to skip this one... because I am not sure about this one, I am just going off of voice, the clues confuse me, but you have any ideas, feel free to comment them please, I need all the help I can get.

So that’s it, wildcard and all. I hope you guys enjoyed this, I am so sorry for the picture issue, it’s something that bugs me about Tumblr but whatever. I will see you guys in the next one, where we will see Group B sans Phoenix perform and add in a new wildcard, which omg I know who it is I just don’t know what it looks like, but it is the CRAB 🦀! Anyways, I will see you all next weekend, please like, comment, do all the social media things! Bye everyone! 👋🏼

[sleepingeasyrp]

WERECREATURES

Age of maturity: 18

Life span: 80-90 years Basic abilities: ability to turn into creature fully at night during the full moon, enhanced skills (dependent on which subspecies of werecreature).  Characteristics: hairy, distinctive odor, irritable, varying skin tones/hair colors/eye colors, increased impulsivity, frenetic random activity periods (more commonly known as “zoomies”), insomnia Age of maturity: 18

Werecreatures have been around for just as long as vampires have, but it’s generally believed that they came about from some form of disease reminiscent of rabies. A rabid animal bit the first were creatures, and that werecreature went onto turn an entire village. While not much studying has been put into werecreatures due to their usually hostile nature, we do know that they can only be mammals without hooves and birds. There is no record of a werehorse, werefish. There has been some research done by local doctors to create a medicine that combat aggressiveness in different werespecies, but so far the only one that has helped any are CBD oils, if at all.

Werecreatures, depending on their animal’s wild structure, have different forms of structures. Werewolves often form packs, weregeese are more often seen in flocks, werebears are often solitary. There is no larger council of werecreatures, but most werecreatures follow the same rules: don’t turn children if you can help it, don’t turn the elderly, and seclude yourself on the full moon.

Rivermouth, Alaska is known to have a larger population of werewolves, werebears, werewildcats, weregeese, and weremoose. It is incredibly unlikely for non-native werecreatures to live in Alaska (but not unheard of) – it was reported that town elder Paul Wilson became a werehyena after being bit while travelling in Ethiopia, but he frequently suffered from frostbite and hypothermia after his transformations. Depending on what kind of werecreature you’re bitten by, that will result in what kind of werecreature you’ll become. A weregoose will always create more weregeese, so on and so forth. 

Every full moon, a werecreature will turn into a full animal, which they have no control over. This changes their bone and muscle structure entirely, and seems to completely erase the person that they once were.. That’s not to say that all werecreatures are aggressive, in fact, many are very friendly! Werewolves, despite being seen as monstrous in the media, are actually quite docile on their own. Weregeese, however, are known for their aggression and are not to be approached. Most werecreatures, once transformed, do not entirely resemble their animals. Instead, they resemble a more monstrous, larger, more twisted version of them. It’s not uncommon for actual animals of a werecreatures species to reject the werecreature, or attack them. 

After transforming back into their human form, werecreatures will often feel exhausted for a while, and have a very distinct smell to them (almost like wet dog). Humans who are werecreatures are often more impulsive, and have more animal like instincts. Werecreatures with uteruses are encouraged not to have their own children due to the risks of turning every full moon. Due to the body’s shifting form and a werecreature’s almost self-destructive behaviour after transformations, it can result in lower survival rates. Werecreatures who do give birth to offspring will always give birth to a human child-- however, it’s very common for werecreatures to turn surviving offspring that they do have.

Many werecreatures are less mature than their human counterparts, as their brains take longer to develop. Not much is known as to why this is, and there is not much (unclassified) scientific research taking place to further understand the differences between werecreatures and humans.

SHAPESHIFTERS

Life Span: 80-90 Characteristics: limited sense of self, situational empathy, observant, reflective eyes, claw like fingernails, carnivorous Basic abilities: appearance shifting (human or animal), dark vision, voice mimicking Age of maturity: 18

Shapeshifters come in two separate forms: humanoid or animalistic. Both variations have different cultures, but they have generally the same ability-- the ability to shapeshift into any person they want.. Or animals. Depending on your bloodline, you are only able to shift into one of those two options, one or the other, never both. A humanoid shifter can shift into any person that they have seen in their life-- whether it be someone they saw in a movie or on the street. When it comes to appearances, humanoid shifters have photographic memories. 

Animal shape shifters work similarly, where they can shift into any animal they would like, as long as you’re able to meet the requirements for that animal to survive (meaning your body won’t let you shift into a fish if you’re not in water). Many animal shifter families will pick a single animal and stick to it, and will even die as said animal. Oftentimes, if a shifter dies as an animal, another shifter (either a family member or someone that was close to them) will make a tooth or claw into a talisman with carvings that might represent who they were. 

Shapeshifters in their purest, born form look.. Humanoid in a slightly off way. their eyes reflect light and often don’t process correctly in photos and videos, their nails grow in a more claw-like form. all shapeshifters are entirely carnivorous and cannot survive on a vegetarian diet- in fact, most vegetables and fruits will make a shapeshifter ill (for a list that they can eat, we suggest looking up what a dog can eat). shapeshifters, much like werewolves, are encouraged not to shift while pregnant, as it can cause complications, as the baby will not shift with the parent. 

Most humanoid shifter families will attempt to blend into human society, while animal shifters may choose to live in seclusion from humanity.

PHOENIXES

Life Span: essentially immortal, stops physically aging at 50 Characteristics: entirely indistinguishable from human beings, produce ash upon death, affinity for flames, forgetful, caring, natural born healers Basic abilities: wing manifestation, reincarnation, flame manipulation, the ability to shift into a phoenix form. Age of maturity: 18

Phoenixes are said to be born from sunlight-- specifically a drop of it. This was the early human’s way of describing magma, molten metal, and other very hot things that they don’t understand. They were born from volcanic eruptions, blessed by gods (some say a singular, others say multiple, but the real story behind who and how is unknown) and advised to be protectors and healers. They began as birds, faithful companions to mesopotamian priests and as time went on, other cultures and kingdoms came into possession of their own phoenixes. As time went on, they gained a desire to be like their human companions, and by modern times you wouldn’t be able to tell a human or a phoenix apart.

In their first lives, they have no special abilities aside from the fact that they stop aging and essentially become immortal after they reach the age of 50. All phoenixes can die by mortal means, whether that be sickness or injury, but they cannot die of old age. Once a phoenix dies or is killed, their body immediately and suddenly bursts into flames, and their bodies will quickly be reduced to ash. There will not be a single bone or bit of flesh remaining, but their clothing will remain untouched. After a few moments, a baby will be formed from that ash and that baby will rapidly age (within the hour) to the age of which they died at. 

All phoenix possesses 7 lives, and every phoenix will be reborn without memories. However, they are able to recover said memory by returning to the place that said memory took place and touching something that may have been in the memory. It can be anything, from a tree to a person, and if that item is removed, you won’t be able to recover that memory. In addition, if all of a phoenix’s ashes are not present at the time of rebirth, they cannot regain ANY of their memories. 

With each death, a phoenix will gain power. After their first rebirth, they have the ability to control fire in the smallest way possible, making it grow slightly bigger or able to extinguish it entirely if the fire already exists. The more times they die, the more they can control said fire. After their fifth rebirth, they can create small flames in their palms, and by their seventh (and final) rebirth, they are able to create and control large fires, making phoenixes wonderful firefighters.. Or arsonists. Their first rebirth also grants them their wings-- however, they are unable to fly until their second rebirth. during their second rebirth, they are also able to fully shift into their phoenix form, which can take the form of any bird (however, this bird will be entirely engulfed in real flames, and it’s discouraged to do so in heavily wooded or indoor areas).

Recently, phoenix ashes have been getting stolen by hunters to sell on the drug market, as phoenix dust has a very intense hallucinogenic effect, causing those who consume it in any way to experience a few memories of the phoenix who died.

KITSUNE

Life span: Technically immortal, but can be killed like any human Characteristics: Highly intelligent, mischievous, a distinct fear of dogs, pronounced canine teeth, transformation to fox (upon release of their token) Basic abilities: Illusion magic Age of maturity: At least 300 years

Kitsune MUST be of East Asian descent.

Kitsune are born as a fox, not too different from any fox. They outlive their fox cousins by hundreds of years, gaining knowledge as they flit from den to den and immerse themselves in new forests. A few centuries into their journey, the knowledge begins to catch up with them, and they start to seek out what is needed to continue their lives in human form. It is different for each kitsune - some find the skull of another animal and wear it on their heads, some gather a particular flower, some must chew a root free from a beloved tree. Once their personal ritual is complete, a kitsune transforms into their human body. A token from their ritual (a tooth from the skull, a pressed flower from the bouquet, wood carved from the tree) is needed on their person at all times to remain in their human form.

When a kitsune completes their ritual, they are like freshly born faun. Wobbly and nervous, and awkward when it comes to human customs. Being that they are so intelligent, though, they catch up fast. It doesn’t take long for a kitsune to blend in. Their first human transformation grants them their second tail, and the more they learn the more tails they acquire. A nine-tailed kitsune is said to be the most intelligent creature in the universe though they are extremely rare so this is pretty hard to verify. 

Kitsune are said to possess a wide variety of powers, but the truth is that kitsune through time have been able to fool others enough to convince them of such. Kitsune’s main power is mimicry. Their illusion creation is beyond compare, and they’re able to mimic any visual ability. Though they have a single human form, they are able to create the illusion of another appearance. Their mischievous nature takes form in their powers, and kitsune will often perfect a particular trick to give the idea that they have that power. 

Once a year, a kitsune must travel home, or they will die. They return to the den in which they were born, let loose their token, and sleep in the earth a single night as the fox they truly are. Their year renewed, they are at their most powerful just after this sleep, and their weakest the night before.

[alexboehm55144]

Alex Final Wars 2: Dark Alex , Chapter 36 - The Island

"One hostile spotted," Skye said, scanning the island shore with her scoped rifle. "He's alone."

"That's a long shot, though." Captain Boehm noted.

"I got it. Thankfully the water isn't too choppy."

The fox aimed down her scope, but she was not only looking at the target visually.

Skye squeezed the trigger, the projectile zipping across the water and hitting the head of a Chinese soldier, putting him down.

"That was really good," JayJay said, the boat the team was in continuing to advance towards the shore.

"Foxes can use the Earth's magnetic field to gauge distance and more accurately hit their targets."

"Oh yeah, I heard unevolved foxes use that to help with hunting."

"I guess that explains why there are so many fox sharpshooters," Alex said.

The boat reached the shore and the team disembarking onto a pavement tarmac with large fuel silos nearby.

"Isn't this where it all started?" JayJay asked. "This war?"

"Yep, this is where the Chinese fired on a US warship, sparking off this war," Alex said.

"Main building should be over there," Jack whispered, pointing past the silos to some structures on the other side of a runway.

"Alright, let's get in, get the data, and get out."

The four mammals slowly advanced through a maintenance area containing pumping equipment and storage crates. The whole team was dressed in jet black camouflage uniforms, complete with hoods and capes to further obscure their forms from detection. JayJay had even dyed her fur an ashen light gray for this mission, and the whole island was shrouded with overcast cloud formations. The entire area was dreary and gray in color, from the storm clouds overhead to the rough tarmac to the unassuming buildings made of standard concrete.

Skye pointed ahead towards a Chinese human soldier that blocked the team's path, the trooper's back to the Heroes. Captain Boehm moved forward, stowing his rifle on his back and drawing his carbon fiber knife. He snuck up behind the trooper and, in a flash, struck. The Heroes leader covered their mouth with his hand and plunged the blade into their neck.

The captain dragged the trooper back and tossed the body behind some small containers, and the team continued ahead.

"Look over there," Jack whispered, pointing out at the tarmac. "They must be doing maintenance on their planes."

Chinese fighter jets and bombers sat out in the open on the runway, surrounded by maintenance equipment and technical personnel.

"We can use that to cut across the runway," Skye noted.

"I'll take point," Alex said. "Follow my lead, and stay low. Skye and JayJay, keep your tails down and matted."

The four mammals slowly moved out onto the tarmac, taking cover behind a fuel truck. They could hear the technicians chatting and discussing their work.

As they paused for a moment, Skye stabbed the fuel tank with her knife, and there was a slight gurgling noise as a stream of fuel started to leak out. Every bit of gear destroyed now was one less thing the Chinese could use in combat.

The human captain peeked around the corner and took note of where the technical personnel were, before quickly moving under a parked jet, his team following suit.

Maintenance crews walked back and forth nearby, oblivious to the US soldiers sitting nearby. If someone turned in their direction and looked under the jet, they would be spotted.

Jack breathed rhythmically, calming his nerves. As a ZIA agent, this wasn't his first time in hostile territory on a stealth mission.

Once the coast was clear again, the team moved quickly. Going from under the jet to a ditch on the other side of the tarmac.

Skye pointed out two more guards standing near the door to a building.

"I've got the one on the left, on my shot," Alex whispered.

"I got the one on the right."

"3... 2... 1..."

Two silenced shots went out in unison, the guards dropping at the same time.

The team began to advance, but suddenly, alarm sirens went off, the high-pitched whine bringing everyone to alert.

"What? Is that us? But how?" JayJay asked.

"Ok, plan B." Alex said, "Jack, Skye, you take those 2 structures."

The human pointed to a pair of buildings a dozen or so meters away.

"I'll take that building."

He pointed to a military building that was closer to the group.

"JayJay, you take that building."

He pointed to a larger and unassuming building sitting near the tarmac.

"Once you find any reports or hard drives, call it in!"

"Will do, be safe, everyone!" Jack said, the 4 mammals splitting up and going in separate directions.

"Team B! Launch!" The captain said into his radio.

Offshore, another rubber boat began to move at top speed towards the shore, purposely trying not to be stealthy at all.

The boat hit the beach, and the 6 warriors inside, Eris, Laval, Kion, Jasiri, Nick, and Judy, all jumped out into battle. They were all dressed in the black special forces uniforms that team A was also wearing.

Team B immediately opened fire on the Chinese forces that had assembled near the tarmac, forcing the hostile troops to run for cover.

"Team B! Squad on your left!" Toothdee said through the radio.

Jasiri and Kion turned to their left to see more hostile troopers advancing. Still, knowing the hostile troops were coming, the pair swiftly struck them down with gunfire and sword strikes.

"Thanks Toothdee!" Kion said.

"No problem, I'll keep providing overwatch via satellites and drones."

The group continued advancing, gunning down and slicing through hostile soldiers in their path. The Chinese forces were no match for a group of experienced and prepared Heroes.

While most enemy troopers were becoming fodder for the reaper, a group of veteran troops had coalesced around the airplanes in the center of the tarmac, firing back with mounted machine guns.

The group of heroes took cover in ditches or behind structures, bullets whizzing by.

"Toothdee! Launch a cruise missile! Leave nothing but rubble and ash!" Eris said into her radio.

"Affirmative! Requesting targeting!" The Heroes commander aboard the typhoon said.

"Jasiri! You have the targeting laser! Mark a target for the missile!"

Jasiri tucked one of her pistols into its holster, reached into a pouch on her belt, and pulled out a large laser pointer. The activated the laser and pointed its sharp green beam towards the group of Chinese soldiers engaging the group.

"Target marked!" Jasiri said.

"Affirmative, coordinates received," Toothdee said, "launching missile."

A large missile blasted out of a compartment on the typhoon and shot into the sky, quickly nearing the Chinese-controlled island.

"We should get down," Eris said, crouching and using a wing to cover herself and another to cover Laval.

The deafening sound of a jet engine grew closer and closer before the missile turned sharply and dove toward the ground. It impacted the veteran Chinese formation in the center, obliterating soldiers and causing debris from equipment to fly into the air with a massive boom. A bright orange fireball lighting up the dark, gray world.

"Wow," Nick said, "that's an impressive firework."

While most of Heroes continued to battle against the Chinese forces on the island, JayJay had reached her assigned structure. She found a door for medium-sized mammals such as herself and tried to open it, but the door was locked, forcing the wolf to bust the barrier down with a powerful kick.

She entered the darkened building, peering through the shadowy veil with her night vision. It was a warehouse containing boxes of equipment and supplies, containers of oil, among other materials.

But before the wolf could continue to investigate, all of a sudden, she was struck from behind. Adrenaline and instinct kicked in as JayJay retaliated with an elbow jab and kick, leaping away from her attacker and spinning around to face them.

It was like looking into a mirror. The one who had attacked JayJay was her counterpart. Also sporting light gray fur and clad in an armored black outfit built for combat and tactical use.

But JayJay noticed something else her counterpart had and felt a lack of something around her waist.

"My belt!" JayJay said, looking down at her own waist and looking at the weapons and gear now in her counterpart's paws.

"It's mine now." Dark JayJay said, "Did you really think you and your friends could sneak onto this island undetected? I'm a wolf. I recognized your scent the minute you stepped on this island. After all, we have met before. I know your scent."

"You disgust me. I look at you and wonder what the hell happened to that version of me."

"You chose to bottle up your rage. I chose to embrace it. If you ask me, what your doing isn't very healthy at all. I wonder what your boyfriend will think when he finds out about this dark side."

"No! He accepts me, despite my flaws. He loves me."

"And he will never see you again!"

Dark JayJay raised her counterpart's SMG and opened fire. Still, JayJay dodged before the attack could hit and retreated into the depths of the warehouse.

"You won't hide from me!" Dark JayJay said as she kicked over a storage shelf next to the door. The object and its contents falling down in front of the exit.

"Alex!" JayJay whispered into her radio as she hid behind some oil drums and watched her counterpart prowl around the warehouse. "I'm in trouble! My counterpart is here! She stole my weapons!"

"What?! Ok, I'm coming. Just hang on till I get there."

"I'm trapped in here with her!"

"You're stronger than her. Evade her and strike if you can. Claws and paws are still dangerous tools."

JayJay disconnected the call and moved from where she was, just as her counterpart passed by.

"Come on, JayJay..." the wolf thought to herself. "Your ancestor fought in world war 1. You can do this!"

The young hero scurried under a storage shelf and got behind her counterpart. She grabbed her enemy and managed to land several good punches and kicks before her dark opposite opened fire again, forcing JayJay to retreat once again.

"You are no match for a hunter like me!" Dark JayJay yelled, firing and watching her counterpart run through the warehouse before eventually losing sight of her.

JayJay once again took cover and studied her counterpart's movements. Dark JayJay was now routinely checking behind her, watching out for any more surprise assaults. But while she was looking behind her, she wasn't looking down near her feet. Thinking quick, JayJay slid under a storage shelf with tools on it, grabbing a metal pressure gauge and tossing it nearby.

Dark JayJay heard the noise and moved to investigate, which is when JayJay made her move. The wolf grabbed her counterpart's legs and pulled, causing her enemy to fall to the ground. With her opponent stunned, the warrior jumped out from under the shelves, grabbed a wrench, and smacked her counterpart multiple times with it.

Red drops of blood flew through the air as JayJay managed to land some good strikes on her enemy. Still, the villainous wolf managed to kick her counterpart away and once again fired wildly, attempting to hit her attacker.

JayJay ran on all fours, shots whizzing nearby as she widened the gap between the two wolves.

Once she was safe again, the Heroes operative studied her opponent again, looking for an opening. Dark JayJay had wised up again. Now, in addition to looking behind her, she was keeping an eye on her feet. Wary of attacks from below. But not above.

JayJay began to climb up one of the shelves, this one holding heavy metal containers. Every step was tedious, going slow, so she didn't make any noise and alert her counterpart.

When her counterpart passed below, JayJay grabbed one of the containers and jumped down. She slammed the container into Dark JayJay's head, knocking her down to the ground, before pouncing on top of the wolf and slashing at her with a swarm of claw strikes.

JayJay was in a furious rage, determined to destroy her counterpart once and for all. And when her anger faded, it was done. Dark JayJay lay dead, covered in claw marks and staring up at the ceiling with a blank expression on her face.

The heroic wolf wondered how close she was to ending up in the same position, lying dead while her counterpart claimed victory.

Footsteps approached, and JayJay turned to see captain Boehm moving closer and closer, rifle at the ready, inspecting the two wolves.

But both mammals looked the same, which one was heroic and virtuous, and which one was cold and filled with malice.

The captain took one look at the victorious wolf and saw something in her eyes. He somehow knew that she was his, that this was the virtuous and sweet-hearted JayJay. But, also being a logical and cautious man, he spoke up.

"What did you do that prompted me to say 'ow' and wonder what you were doing?"

"I was nibbling on your ear! And I told you it was a wolf thing."

The captain immediately stowed his rifle on his back and reached down to help JayJay up.

"Are you ok?" The captain asked.

"I'm fine..." JayJay said, reclaiming her weapons, "... I did it."

"She was no a match for you. I knew you could do it..."

The captain put his hand on her shoulder.

"It's strange, though. She looks just like me. It's like seeing myself lying dead somewhere."

"I know. These counterparts are like a glimpse into some dark part of the soul. Sowing nothing but destruction and despair."

There was a pause, the pair reflecting on these counterparts and looking at the wolf lying dead on the floor.

"But if today is any proof...." Alex said, ".... good has triumphed over evil."

"Thank you."

The moment was interrupted when Jacks's voice came through the radio.

"Alex, I've recovered a set of documents marked with... what I think are classification markers? I can't tell. It's in another language."

Skye chimed in as well.

"I've found some documents and hard drives. I managed to bag them."

"Ok, in that case..." The captain said, opening the radio channel to all heroes, "both teams return to the boats. We have what we need."

000

A few days later, everyone was assembled in the briefing room on the typhoon.

"This is like a crowd of school kids," Toothdee said to Alex, looking out at their friends and comrades.

These mammals weren't exactly the most professional people in the world. Even though they were awaiting an essential official briefing, they weren't really paying attention.

Haida, Retsuko, and Judy were busy talking, JayJay was bushing her fur, and Nick was busy munching on some blueberries.

Meanwhile, Laval and Eris were hugging while Jasiri and Kion watched something on their phones.

Even Jack and Skye, who were trying to set up something on the presentation screen, were busy flirting and teasing each other as they worked.

"I kinda like it." Alex said, "it makes our little band of warriors feel more alive, and like actual people with lives, traits, and quirks."

"Heh, That we can agree on."

"Ok! The screen is working now." Skye said.

"Alright, EVERYONE! ATTENTION, PLEASE!" Toothdee said, and the room Immediately quieted down as everyone focused.

"Well, at least they are attentive when they need to be." Alex joked, getting a small chuckle out of Toothdee.

"As you know, we recovered documents and servers from the Chinese facility on the island we raided a few days ago. With the help of the ZIA, federal authorities have gone through the recovered data, and the necessary information is what you will see today. Remember, this island is where the war began, and what you're about to hear is radio traffic from that day."

Toothdee clicked a button on a remote. A portion of a radio call started to play, having been translated by the ZIA.

"Weapons locked on US warship. Preparing to fire."

"Hostile warship is readying its weapons."

"Dispatching interception team."

"Hostile warship is firing warning shots, returning fire."

"Direct hit on enemy vessel."

Murmurs went through the group of mammals in the briefing room. What they were hearing was the event that started this war—the first battle in this conflict.

"But there is more..." Toothdee continued, "according to reports we discovered, it is believed that our dark counterparts instigated this attack."

A gasp and another round of murmurs went through the group of mammals.

"We know more about the depth of our counterpart's involvement with the Chinese, but a lot remains hidden."

"Do we know where the counterparts come from?" Kion asked.

"Not yet, but there is only one counterpart left. We're on the cusp of eliminating this threat entirely."

Alex chimed in to make a vow, a guarantee to his friends, and maybe even the world that the threat posed by these dark doubles would be wiped away.

"I'll see to it personally that my counterpart is destroyed."

[revchainsaw]

Sonic: The Hedgehog (2020)

Sonic: The Hedgehog (2020)

Greeting my flock of film freaks and welcome again to the Cult of Cult. Todays offering is a bit more of the mainstream blockbuster variety, but as films based on Video Games are still actually quite niche and vastly underestimated I think we should open our hearts to Sonic: The Hedgehog and hope that we find it a pleasing tithe to the cult. I am your beloved minster, The Reverend Chainsaw, and welcome to today’s service.

The Message

I must confess to the congregation that I was drinking mighty heavily of the lord’s Tennessee sour mash when I was taking in this movie. That said, I think that this is a great movie to have a drink with and I mean that in the best possible way. 

Sonic: The Hedgehog is of course based on the Sega video game franchise and stars Ben Schwartz as the titular blue rat. Schwartz brings his brand of high energy enthusiastic comedy to the voice role. While Schwartz is particularly on brand for Schwartz, is he on brand for Sonic? I’m not entirely sure, but I’m also not entirely sure I was ever in love with the old ways. I am not an avid fan or consumer of Sonic media and perhaps that means I am in a poor position to say. I am most familiar with the Sega games and Sonic cartoons from the 90s, and from what I have grasped the more recent entries with their more anime centric and high lore plots still owe quite a bit to the attitude era of the 90s. Sonic was a hero but he was also a bit of a cross between Mickey Mouse, the Flash, and Bart Simpson. As an angsty 90s boy I wanted to eat chili dogs and go very fast that was very appealing to me, but I’m not so sure it would be appealing to a vast audience of older millennials, or even todays kids. And though I think it would be a fair criticism to say that Ben Schwartz is playing sonic as basically the superhero version of his Dewey Duck from the VERY VERY good DuckTales reboot, I don’t think that it’s necessarily a bad thing. 

Dewey Duck the Hedgehog is a small mammal (also not a rodent, I wanted to say rodent and apparently hedgehogs are not rodents, just googled it) from an alien planet where his adoptive mother, an owl named Long Claw, fears that he will be hunted for his special powers, which I think is just super speed but it might be other things. In line with these concerns after an attack by pursuers Longclaw gives Sonic the Moses treatment and floats the special blue boy down the metaphorical river. Unlike Moses, however, Sonic is not found by ultra rich ultra powerful extra special people but is instead alone. Sonic lives alone in exile outside a small American town as a sort of local cryptid.

Thus begins a charming adventure. Through a poor decision to use his powers while working out some personal issues, Sonic inadvertantly draws the attention of the U.S Government and their nasty big brain baddy Dr. Robotnik. Sonic recruits a small town police officer with big city dreams to assist him in finding his magic rings so that he might flee from earth to an uninhabited mushroom kingdom. 

Now about these two human characters. Officer Everyman is played by cyclops from the X-men franchise. The actors name escapes me and so does the characters, and while, yes, I just looked up if hedgehogs were rodents, I will not be looking up this information. I like the review better this way. It makes me laugh. And while I don’t remember his name, I do remember that he used to live In Mt. Juliet, TN.  Anyway, what you should know about Officer Goodguy is that he drives a Toyota Tacoma!

That Toyota Tacoma is also continuously abused by the mad machinations of our films biggest draw: Jim Carey as Dr. Robotnik. If we were to pitch a Sonic movie, I don’t think anyone would jump to Jim Carey as the must have for the role, but after seeing this film, boy was it the best choice. The way he chews the scenery and plays off the rest of the cast and situations is just so much fun to watch. It’s fantastic to see Jim Carey back in a larger than life role. The Decision to play Jim Carey as the kind of condescending nerd who has taken their lack of social skills and leaned in as opposed to working on themselves was a brilliant choice. We’ve all known that kind of guy who tries to play the misanthrope just because they are too egotistical to recognize their flaws. Here Dr. Robotnik has given up on human connection in favor of subordination. His intellect is his only value, and thus he demands everyone around him acknowledge intellect as the only quality that matters as he has. It was a great choice.

From the point the chase begins the film becomes a road trip flick, and despite the fact that Sonic could supposedly cover the distance required in the blink of an eye we watch the ins and outs of our heroes relationship as they learn what home, and being a hero mean to them. By the climax it is pretty by the numbers, Sonic has come to feel at home on Earth and now that he has friends who care for him they can begin to make a world from which neither will have to flee; and of course, they beat the bad guy. FOR NOW. we are treated to an even crazier Dr. Robotnik stranded in the Fungus Dimension bent on revenge.

The Benediction

Now for all things Holy and Profane in this film, please rise for the Benediction.

Best Scandal: Sonic the Cosmic Horror

The original look of this film was mired in dread when the early footage and trailers dropped revealing a hideously uncanny hedgehog monster in the form of sonic. The memes are amazing, the toys are unsettling, there’s still plenty of Quasimodo Sonic stuff out there floating on the web and I suggest that you search it out, the laughter is good for your heart. Also if anyone wants to send me any creepy sonic merch I’ll take it. 

Thanks to the work of online fans and internet harassments, the studio felt it was going to lose money on the project and reeled back the release allowing for the design department to give us a more cartoony but less frightening alien monster. I mean he’s a cartoon, it’s okay for him to look like a cartoon. 

Best Scene: Noodle Dance

It’s hard to choose, and it feels a bit biased, but there are a few scenes with Dr. Robotnik that are just what make the movie more than a forgettable IP adaptation. Not that Ben Schwartz wasn’t doing great as the character but I feel Sonic as a whole would be lost in the milieu of CG spectacles and Super Hero Origin stories that we are bombarded with every year if not for Jim Carey’s performances; and even with them Sonic: The Hedgehog is not completely out of those woods. That said, I think Dr. Robotnik’s Alone Time Dance Party has to be the stand out sequence in my memory. I can’t really speak to what makes it so enjoyable, but damn if it isn’t just the best scene in the movie.

Best Character: Silicon Valley Dr. Robotnik

Do I even need to say it? It’s Dr. Robotnik. I’m not a fan of this villain from any other media. I always found Dr. Robotniks look unappealing, I’m not a huge fan of his powers, or using robot henchman. it always struck me as pretty boring how Sonic didn’t have a cool rogues gallery (i’m talking about 90s sonic) the way Mario did. However, they did something with the design, characterization, and performance that just made him such a fun villain. Also, my friend Jacksons mom said I looked like him and it didn’t hurt my feelings so.

Best Actor: Jim Carey

Jim Carey. It really seems like he’s all I’m talking about in this movie. Once again, I think Ben Schwartz did great and Sonic IS basically Dewey Duck in this movie. Dewey Duck is my favorite part of the rebooted DuckTales series, BUT he is just outmaneuvered by Jim Carey in this role. I think it’s a compliment enough to say that Ben Schwartz was even able to keep up with his energy, let alone play his quicker perkier foil. 

Worst Scene: Toyota Tacoma Commercial

Sonic: the Hedgehog’s worst scene would probably have to be the forced friend fight between Sonic and Officer Wachowski  during the car chase. It’s an overproduced weightless car chase scene with a contrived buddy cop controversy meant to force apart our heroes so that they can ultimately grow a little and come back together later in the movie. Not that I mind a movie like this to be so by the numbers, but it just felt like two of the blandest things on this movies plate being forced into one scene. I do like the idea of giving me the crap part of the dish in one flavorless generic bite, but that still doesn’t save it from being the worst scene in the movie. 

That Toyota Tacoma took a beating though.

Worst Feature: Nothing Ventured/ Nothing Earned

I’m sure many fans would feel that the worst feature of the film is that it isn’t loyal to any previous lore laden version of the character, (probably the one they like the most). In the portrayals of both Sonic and Dr. Robotnik there were decisions made that drastically differed from the ways they have been portrayed before. Sonic is naïve and idealistic, a bit childish, Dr. Robotnik is driven by a lot of insecurity. Where are the Chaos Crystals and my original character Grindy the Wolf Cub?

But I think that these are over all positive choices in a film that otherwise chose to play it incredibly safe. In their cautious approach to appeal to the widest possible audience the film makers gave us a pleasant and appealing cartoon romp but we are left with little to hold on to. The worst feature of Sonic: The Hedgehog is it’s safety.

Summary:

Sonic: The Hedgehog is often touted as “the first good video game movie”. A label that I disagree with wholeheartedly. It is certainly a good video game movie, but it’s not the first, and it is not by leaps and bounds better than other video game movies as a whole. It’s a sub genre that gets a ton of disrespect, and in a world where the biggest criticism levied against the Super Mario Bros is that it’s not a faithful adaptation, I don’t understand how Sonic the Buddy Cop/ Road Trip comedy is escaping that attitude.

All that said, I had a good time with this movie. But it felt like playing on the playground as a toddler. You have fun and then you leave and you don’t really remember what you played or who with. I’ll think about Jim Carey and Dewey Duck, but I had a hard time hating or loving anything this movie did in any strong way. I usually feel that a movie that is “bad” or “corny” or “shlocky” is always better than a movie that is generic, or pointless, or boring. Sonics pleasantness and cheerful energy just barely save it from being another Transformers franchise. I get that origin stories are hard, so I’m eagerly awaiting the next installment, and hopefully it’s going to do something that sets it apart. Probably not. 

Overall Grade: C

James Marsden! I just remembered!

[im-fairly-whitty]

On Bridling Dragons: The Essay

Do you like dragons, accurate world-building, and bizarre dental facts you’ve never once in your life wondered about?

Boy oh boy, have I got the post for you. 

So everyone loves a good dragon-riding story, but as anyone’s who’s ever bridled a horse can attest, most artists (or writers for that matter) don’t know the first dang thing about that strappy thing that goes on a horse’s head, and that mess gets even worse when trying to translate it to a reptilian version of realistic working riding tack.

The basic and biggest problem in trying to bridle a dragon is the anatomical differences in the skull and dental types of equines (horses) and dragons (reptiles):

Horses are heterodont (mammilian, meaning they have different types of specialized teeth in their mouths) herbivores (plant-eating). They have their incisors at the front for cutting grass and then molars in the back for grinding it down. (Some horses also have small canines also known as “wolf teeth” up by their incisors that stallions use for fighting, but they’re small and generally ground down by their owners for safety.) 

This herbivorous dental set-up leaves a convenient gap near the front of their mouths. That’s where the metal bit of the bridle sits, allowing the horse’s rider to turn the horse’s head by pulling on the reigns, which tugs the bit against the sensitive corners of the horse’s mouth and directs it.

But reptiles, and by extension dragons, do not have that gap for a bridle’s bit. While all mammals are heterodonts (again, meaning they have different types of specialized teeth in their mouths), reptiles instead only have one kind of tooth in their mouths that all serve basically the same small pointy purpose.

Most species of reptiles fall into one of three tooth types:

1. Acrodont, meaning the teeth are actually ridges attached to the jaw bone that do not grow back if lost (IRL chameleons, bearded dragons, and in this world small insect-eating wyveryns). 

2. Pleurodont, meaning teeth are set inside their jaws and constantly fall out and grow back over and over through their entire lives (IRL many lizards and iguanids, in this world drakes are pleurodonts). 

3. Thecodont, meaning teeth grow from deep sockets, the strongest type of tooth. Falls out and is replaced constantly but rate of replacement slows down with age since each tooth only grows back about 50 times. (IRL crocodiles and snakes, in this world dragons.)

  Because of these teeth types there are two common strategies for bridling dragons (quick carnivorous flyers) and drakes (slower herbivorous and flightless).

1. Closed bridle:

Meaning that there is no bit used at all. The mouth of the animal is strapped closed in a kind of muzzle while in harness. Riding closed bridle is actually legally mandated for many species of dragon that are known to be flighty, or that large enough that they could pose a danger around people if they were to be startled and snap at someone. Aside from that most dragons have necks long enough that they could reach around and bite their own rider if they were to get riled enough for whatever reason.

If a rider is caught riding open on a breed that should be wearing a closed bridle they are subject to very heavy fines for posing a public danger. Most drakes also wear closed bridle (the yellow drake pictured is actually wearing a simple lead halter) despite being easy to handle and calm, but that’s generally because they move slow enough that the kind of precise direction an open bridle gives isn’t needed and their teeth grow too constantly to remove for the second type which is the

2. Open bridle: 

English Fieldracers like Arthur are one of the few species small and docile enough to legally be ridden open bridle, but that does come at a cost. Using a bit gives dragon riders better and faster control while flying, but it does necessitate the regular removal of teeth in order to create the bit-gap that horses have naturally. 

While this is painful for the animal, it’s seen as a cosmetic sacrifice for performance, like IRL dog breeders who dock the tails or ears of puppies to meet breed standards or in order to make them better working animals. 

A dragon’s “bridle teeth” are removed as often as possible while it’s still young before it’s bridle trained. This forced them to burn through the fifty or so times each tooth is able to regrow, meaning that by the time the dragon is fully grown at about 10-20 years old the bridle gap is permanent, the dragon no longer being able to regrow teeth there. 

And yes open bridle teeth removal does become quite the animal rights issue in modern era timeline in the Free Wing universe, but for now Arthur’s one of the many Victorian Era dragons who’s just glad he’s old enough not to have to get his teeth pulled every few months anymore.

(Some more expensive bridles for younger dragons like Arthur’s use extremely tough types of leather through the mouth instead of metal in case of a surprise leftover tooth coming in. A surprise tooth that could crack very painfully on a metal bit will instead wear at the leather in a noticeable way that will allow the rider to get it removed before it’s an issue. Arthur really should be using a metal bit by now but he’s picky and Louis spoils him by buying the more expensive leather replacements when Arthur starts to chew through them since he can afford it.)

Extra note: Spanish Razorwing dragons (a cowboy’s mount of choice) are plenty big enough for them to legally be forbidden from riding open mouth, but many cowboys ignore this law since they want their mounts to be able to fight on a moment’s notice should they clash with bandits or feral dragons. 

It’s a big risk to ride a Razorwing open bridle and generally the mark of either a very skilled or a very reckless rider. Many other cowboys will refuse to work with “open riders” because of the risk it can pose to their own closed bridle mounts who would be unable to defend themselves if the open bridle dragon decided to attack.

* also I realize now that Arthur’s reigns are absent or partially missing in his headshots and his bit circle is too high, I think that was a pre-research artistic decision in order to unclutter compositions since I hadn’t quite nailed down what I wanted dragon bridles to look like yet so I had some wiggle room.

[mk-wizard]

Transformer Factions Part 2

Hello, fans.

A while ago I did an entry on the Transformer factions we all know of and are most popular in Transformers lore. Today, I am now giving information on the factions that have fallen into obscurity or are very recent. This is part fact and part theory mostly because the following factions don’t have clear cut information about them. The data on them is either varying or bare bones depending on the continuity. All of the data I could find on them and go by is what you see and keep in mind, most of it is fan lore or theory that seems to make the most sense. Anyway, here it goes and hope you all get enlightened;

Junkions - They hail from the planet Junk and the designating traits of Junkions is that they always have predominantly orange or rust colouring, an orange insignia, reddish orange optics and the ability to heal almost instantaneously. Their most common body type is data and they have the natural ability to build or fix anything which is something that must have come naturally to them from living on planet Junk for so many years. Their culture consists of engineering, role playing or watching copious amounts of television. They are governed by a king and/or queen of which their firstborn is designated as the main heir to the throne of leadership of their planet and faction. Despite how they speak and act, Junkions are in fact one the most creative and resourceful of all Transformers. They are also very xenophobic and prefer to stay neutral as well as undisturbed especially when it comes to the war between Autobots and Decepticons though in the recent reign of Rodimus Prime, they have become open to getting involved in Cybertronian affairs as long as their ways and faction are treated respectfully. It is theorized that Junkions are the descendents of defective Autobots who were literally dumped onto the planet that would become Junk and over time, these misfits reclaimed dignity by forming their own faction, culture and society who would eventually banish all other Transformers from their planet. Since then, they have remained in isolation. Morally, Junkions are good, but just wish to be left alone or at the very least accepted and respected as equals to all other Transformers.

Predacons - While they were originally just a subset of Decepticons who had alien type frames who then became beast types with incredibly unique frames looking almost akin to mythological beasts, with time, Predacons became their own faction. The designating trait of a Predacon is that they are always beast types with doll or alien like qualities and their insect like navy blue insignia. Their alt modes are solely beasts though they tend to be most drawn to lizards, dinosaurs, arachnids, insects or predatory mythological beasts. Their society is split into several different communities which are mostly in disarray with no single leader so their society is mostly consumed by chaos and crime. The one community that is even closest to being orderly is the one that follows many of the Decepticon ways though with some differences and the Tripredacus Council which plots to control everything. So far, the Predacons have made little social progress and often still find themselves needing to rely on if not take orders from the Decepticon community. Depending on the generation, the Megatron/Megara either looked down on them or treated them like valuable members. It is very possible that in data, Predacons and Maximals (more on them next) are in fact the same because they both are essentially the same in appearance and optic colouring scheme needing only to change their insignia in order to convert from one faction to the other.

Maximals - Their ancestors were Autobots who beast types, but with time, they became their own unique faction. The designating traits of a Maximal is that they are a beast type with doll or alien qualities and their wolf like red insignia. Their alt modes are solely beasts though they tend to be most drawn to mammals, birds, fish and sometimes ethereal mythological beasts. Their society is democratic, tight knit and orderly. They are not warriors though they have basic combat training namely in the martial arts as they tend to be researchers, artists or clergy. They are also second class citizens to Autobots and while there are some seats in the Cybertronian senate for them, they have no real political or social power that equals Autobots meaning that by law, Autobots have dominion over them. This division extends to where Maximals are permitted to go or what they can use similarly to how humans at one time divided one another by colour. While they avoid war, it is no secret that their wish is to be treated as equals which has driven most Maximals to leave Cybertron, but during the reign of Rodimus Prime, it is very possible that their wish may get granted as he intends to change if not abolish many of the Autobot ways.

Pretenders - Possibly the most obscure faction of them all. They seem to be mini-cons, but their transforming ability acts more as the bot being within a disguise rather than in disguise. The bot themself doesn’t transform, but rather, they have a special highly evolved technorganic shell which transforms them from their skin to their muscle tissue as though they are wearing a suit. They also don’t need to scan anything to gain their “alt mode”. They need only to touch a subject and they don’t even need to share the same gender to start mimicking. And even with that single bit of genetic data from touch contact, they can change things little traits in their shell such as hair colour, optic colour, colour scheme, the clothes they wear and even appear older or younger. They even can change parts of their shell from appearing organic to technological or vice versa individually rather that their entire body all at once. The most unique trait of a pretender is that they cannot mimic the appearance of anything that isn’t alive or a person, and they are limited solely to their shape and size meaning they cannot become taller or shorter, or slimmer or wider at will. The designating traits of a Pretender is their unique transforming ability, they are always a doll type mini-con and their insignia looks like the very ancient version of the Autobot symbol (the one that used to smile as opposed to the current one that looks as though it is weeping). Like GoBots, they don’t rely on energon to live. Any fuel source including the organic kind will do. At one time, Pretenders were Autobots who merely transformed in a different way, but after the Autobot way became more corrupt and rigid over the years, they began to demand that all who identified as Autobots would transform in one specific way and reject all things organic. Since Pretenders were unable to reject their organic matter as it was literally a part of their biology, they were forcefully exiled as they were deemed as monstrosities. Currently, Pretenders can be found scattered all throughout the universe living among the people of the planet they inhabit in their own private communities practising their ways in secret. Their greatest wish is to be able to have a planet of their own to call home, and while they appreciate and accept Rodimus Prime alliance, they have politely declined his offer to return to Cybertron as they have long since stopped considering that as their planet.

Insecticons - They are a hybrid faction of Autobots and Decepticons who were beast types specifically insect types who with time evolved into their own faction entirely. The designating trait of an Insecticon is that they either have blue or red optics (sometimes both), they are always a beast type of insect nature, they always at least change into a robot and an insect, and their silver. Contrary to what people believe, there are no arachnids among Insecticons, and their insignia. They also tend to be complete wild cards depending on the type of insect they have the nature of. They can either be very friendly and pacifist not being warriors at all, complete barbarian who will attack anyone who invades their space or at times, just completely and entirely neutral just keeping to themselves to the point of coldness. They have been known to ally with almost every faction with the exception of Junkions who do not welcome anyone who isn’t a Junkion into their society and while they mostly inhabit Cybertron in today’s day and age since the beginning of Rodimus Prime’s reign as he lifted the exile on them, they can be found scattered throughout the universe. While some Insecticons consider Cybertron as their home, they do not have a designated planet to call their own nor are they interested in having one as they will accept any space they occupy as satisfactory. Usually, they will answer to any government on that planet or in close proximity, but sometimes, Insecticons have been known to follow a queen. They have no set culture or society and tend to be agnostic or atheist on average, though some tend to believe in Primus and follow the Cybertronian code.

[blodreina-noumou]

hello! so this is going to be a string of asks about some thoughts™️ I’ve had about the 100 and it’s continued technology versus life struggle that seems (at least to me) as something being subtly implied in s7. This might be really long and I’m really really sorry if it’s annoying but i just wanted to share with you (and see what you think) bc the way you analyze parts of the 100 is so well done! Also this was literally supposed to be a short intro but apparently I talk too much 😅 Sorry! 1/?

So this starts with a Random Thought I had in the shower about planet/moon survivability and technology and how the two almost seem juxtaposed between sanctum, bardo, and skyring. Starting with sanctum, it obviously wasn’t meant to be inhabited by humans. Gabriel even mentions it (in the latter half of s6 I believe) where he says something along the lines of “life here didn’t evolve beyond reptiles but humans found a way.”

I mean hell, if you need a whole ass Radiation Shield to live then the place probably isn’t meant to be inhabited. Yet sanctum obviously has quite sophisticated and advanced technology in the form of mind drives plus the aforementioned radiation shield. However (and this is where some things don’t add up/continuity becomes a big fucko-wucko, which is not surprising at all since every tv show with 5+ seasons just ends up saying fuck continuity, no im not bitter) their living spaces all the way from Clarkekru house to the tavern and the Palace just seem, for lack of a better word, normal. They’re nothing like Becca’s Lab from s4 (which would be on par with the level of tech mind drives are on) but their living quarters are also nothing like the shacks grounders/arkers lived in or the cottage on skyring. I also know that the mind drives were given to the Primes from a society of high tech but that doesn’t explain why the original sanctumkru used their knowledge to make something like a radiation shield but then just didn’t bother incorporating that level of technology into their lifestyle. (Also wouldn’t they all be used to living amongst high tech?? Like that should be their normal which would make a regular ole 21-century lifestyle very foreign and old-fashioned so why return to it???) Next up we have Bardo which, from what we’ve heard and glimpsed so far is a place that actually does line up with a high tech society but we know nothing about the planet’s survivability. The only thing we know about the place is what we got from Octavia trying to escape and it looks like the native bardoans built a huge man-made structure complete with a forest that looks to span at least an acre and multiple floors which means they’re either above ground in an incredibly spread out high-rise building OR, for all we know, they could even be underground in a highly upgraded bunker-esque situation.

Whatever the case is, it seems like all human life functions indoors which leads us to assume that the outside (i.e. the planet itself) is, much like sanctum, dangerous and unsuited for inhabitation. Lastly we have Skyring. No technology of any kind, anywhere to be seen. The only shelter available is a run down cottage and yet this is the one planet that is unquestionably survivable and inhabitable and is also the closest thing we’ve seen to earth complete with forests, lush grass, and farmable earth. (It does bother me though that we’ve yet to see or hear about animal life because no matter how pretty a place is, the first indication that something is wrong is silence. If green woods are silent and you can’t see anything that is moving and alive then something’s very wrong. I have, however, chalked this up to this being just a detail overlooked or something post didn’t want to bother with/budget restrictions. Also we do get a mention of jellyfish in the water but having no mammals or even insects on land just bothers me haha) Anyway, it just seemed interesting to me how the presence (and abundance/sophistication) of technology seems to constantly juxtaposed with life. The 100 even starts on the basis that technology (ALLIE) destroyed the world and life as we know it. I know this was super long and sorry if it’s annoying lol but I just wanted to share (and am still indecisive about whether or not I want to post stuff plus I like your meta posts lmao)

These are all good thoughts, and a great breakdown of what life looks like on each planet! Thank you for sharing.

I tend to agree with what you’ve come up with, plot holes and all. It IS strange to me that the most apparently liveable planet is used solely as a prison. I think, on some level, BardoKru is trying to deprive the people they send there of any sort of technological advantage or luxury. It’s like those “troubled kids” camps some very misguided parents send their children to. They want them to struggle and work with their hands and build character, or whatever. Even the name “Penance” shows that they intend the no-tech lifestyle on that planet to be a punishment.  I imagine they send prisoners there because, as you said, it’s the ONLY planet they know of where people can survive without technology. (The lack of animals/insects, except for, apparently, jellyfish, of all things, definitely bothers me too.) Bardo appears to be either a bunker or a biodome (I like the high-tech bunker theory, personally,) and, as you mentioned, Sanctum is not livable in the long-term. Part of what also makes Sanctum unlivable is the fact that it appears to rely very heavily on that caste system - without the Nulls and other redbloods to work, maintaining the crops, the Primes could not enjoy the level of comfort that they had. And they only had access to so much technology - things like the mind drives were precious, as they couldn’t make any more of them. I think that can go a long ways in explaining how Sanctum is so low-tech. Put all of that together with the way the Primes were running their own little murdercult, and you can almost see how they wanted to play royalty to their serfs in their little world. I also think something Levitt said it interesting. “Let me guess, Sanctum? Well, unlike Dev, I do know everything.” This implies that BardoKru knows about Sanctum, and, for whatever reason, chose not to go there until NapKru shows up. We’ve also heard the phrase, “They weren’t Eligius,” from Gabriel, meaning BardoKru was not originally from Becca’s company. They went space-traveling for different reasons, and likely used different technology to do it. (A lot of theories are floating around saying that BardoKru are the remnants of Cadogan’s people.) It is interesting how, as of now, Bardo = high tech, Sanctum = low tech, Skyring/Penance = no tech. I’m enjoying the different versions of the planets, and their people, even if the worldbuilding doesn’t hold up to a ton of scrutiny. Anyway - sorry I couldn’t come up with anything super cohesive, but thank you for sharing your thoughts! The Bardo/Sanctum/Skyring differences are going to continue to come into play, and it’s good to keep in mind how it all works in each place!

[seokjinchuriki]

Cherry Blossom | knj

Pairing: Namjoon x Reader

Word Count: 2198

Genre: I guess Angst? Fluff!

Summary: you can’t shake the feeling of loneliness and namjoon is there to try to help, sequel to Hit Deep

Warnings: hitting rockbottom, very brief mention of not wanting to be alive

a/n: writing this was a bit harder? since i’m still going through what happened in hit deep... i did go paint pottery and made a piggy bank for my sister, as well as visit the prairie dogs, and the conversation between you and joon in the car was basically the conversation i had with my aunt over text

Hit Deep Cherry Blossom

—

"I hate you. I hate the way you treat me like your mom. You treat me like shit and it's draining me, I am so tired. So tired to the point where I don't even want to be alive."

You were rehearsing. Looking at yourself in the mirror. You were drained. The bags under your eyes could tell you that much. Your face was sunken in and you looked like an older version of yourself.

Have you always been like this? Have you always been an empty shell?

No. You were usually an optimist. You were bright and carried a nice aura with you everywhere you went. You looked nothing like the youthful girl who was happy to just be able to wake up in the morning. Yet here you are, preparing your friendship break-up speech in the mirror. You weren't even sad, you just wanted it to be over with.

Namjoon told you that you shouldn't keep letting people step over you and he was right. It was hard to listen though, when your entire life is based on helping others, taking care of others who never thought once about taking care of you.

—

"Is it bad to say I hate her?" You asked Namjoon, who was driving, his eyes focused on the road, despite that, you knew he was listening to you. You were a bit distraught, with this heavy feeling in your chest that hasn't gone away in days.

"No, of course not, but is that really how you feel?" Namjoon gave a click glance over to you, making you smile at him, "do you really think you hate Soomin? Or do you hate the way she treats you?"

"I just... I guess I just really hate the way she makes me feel and there are days where I can't stand her. I just can't and I feel awful about it." You said, quite softly, but Namjoon heard you and he was trying to figure out a way to respond to you that would best help you, but he didn't know how. He didn't know the exact way you were feeling. He didn't know and he wants to give you the greatest advice he could.

"Blossom... You know, you don't have to take this all on your shoulders. It's not your responsibility to take on someone else, especially someone who is an adult like Soomin." The man beside you said, moving his hand from the gear shifter to hold your hand. Which was a very boyfriend thing to do, and it made your heart flutter, just like the nickname he gave to you did.

You and Namjoon were just friends, but you have always hoped for more. He doesn't depend on you like everyone else does and you're both independent, which makes the relationship lighter; fluffier. He listens to you and you listen to him. You give each other the support you both need, but in a mutual way.

"I just don't know what to do anymore, Joonie." You were beginning to cry, or at least you could feel it. Your cheeks burned and your eyes began to water. Things were finally starting to tumble down, but you were glad it was in front of Namjoon. The wonderful Namjoon, the boy with the biggest dimples and the thickest frames you could ever see for glasses.

"I know, sweetie. It's hard to be friends with someone when you're over-extending yourself and they don't reciprocate. You're a very kind and caring person, that's just who you are and people tend to take advantage of that. You're just going to start resenting her even more and I know you won't tell her how you feel, but I don't want you to blow up either." Namjoon had pulled the car over so he could talk to you better, to only focus on you without the dangers of a car accident, "you need to do things on your own and stop worrying about her, not entirely, of course, but you can't put all the focus on her. You have to take care of yourself, (y/n)."

He was looking at you now, his soft brown eyes giving you a supportive and loving look. You just wanted to kiss him, but you can't imagine how you look right now. With tears running down your cheeks and a red nose.

Namjoon thought you looked beautiful. You were always beautiful.

"Let... let me take care of you." He said, putting a hand on your cheek and wiping away your tears, "I know you're an independent woman," you giggled at his comment, "but let me take care of you. You deserve it. You deserve to get all the love and care that you give away to people, if not more."

You were silent for a bit, probably in a Namjoon-induced trance of some sort. Staring up at him with your watery, doe eyes.

You decided to do the unexpected, to be spontaneous for once in your life.

You kissed him.

And luckily for you, he kissed back. It was an innocent kiss, just two people in love. Namjoon was in love and so were you.

Now, you just stared at each other, which might look weird to other people from afar, but then again, what weirdo would stare into someone's car just to watch two people have an intimate, emotional moment? Oh yeah! A weirdo.

"I don't deserve you, Namjoon. You treat me so nicely and you help me with all of these stupid problems... I owe you so much." You managed to let out, hurriedly, as if this moment were to end and it'll be like nothing happened.

Namjoon looked at you with wide eyes, "Blossom... don't say that. Don't say you don't deserve any of this. You deserve the world. You deserve love. You don't owe me anything, okay? Just... just don't morph yourself to fit anyone's standards or to be the person they need because that's not you and that's how you lost who you are. I don't want to be someone who forces you into a mold. I want to be the person that helps you find who you are. The person who helps you become the person you were, or an even better version of that."

You were speechless, unbuckling your seatbelt and jumping out of your seat to give Namjoon the biggest, tightest hug.

"Thank you, Joonie... I- uh, I love you."

"I love you too, (y/n)."

—

Time's were a bit better, you were discovering yourself, finding the things you enjoyed and the things you didn't enjoy, and Namjoon was there to support you along the way.

You and Soomin don't really speak often anymore, since every time you come back to dorm she's always sleeping and you're always away, studying, working on your research, or just hanging out with Namjoon.

"Are you sure she'll like it?" You asked, looking at the piggy bank in front of you, covered in multiple pastel colors. You and Joon were currently at a 'paint your own pottery' place and you were currently painting a piggy bank for your sister, while he painted a plate.

"She's a baby, so I doubt she'll have a big opinion, but if she did, she would love it. She would love anything you give her. You're her big sister, (y/n)." Namjoon said, looking up from his intricate plate to give you a smile. You smiled back, of course.

The piggy bank in front of you was cute, and you put your whole heart into it, painting splotches of different colors on it, then outlining it with black. You wrote her name on it in big bold letters, and while it wasn't anything professional, it was cute and made with love.

"Blossom, what color do you like most?" Joon asked, he knows your favorite color, it was (f/c), but he wanted to ask you, because you always enjoy talking about the things you've come to enjoy in the last month. You answered him, rotating your neck to ease the pain you felt from leaning over and painting intricately, you looked so cute and you had a little paint on your nose. How? Neither of you had any clue, but you, yourself, were art.

When you looked up, you saw that Namjoon's giant handprint was on his plate, and you immediately understood why he wanted your favorite color, which he had at the ready beside him. Ready to pour out onto the plate so you could dip your hand in there and press it down onto the plate beside his.

With no words spoken, he poured the (f/c) paint onto the paper paint. You placed your hand on the splotch, covering the entirety of your palm, and he moved the plate to where it was pointed towards you and with a happy and at ease look on your face, you pressed your hand down in a place besides his handprint.

"I have (f/c) hands now." You just said, but Namjoon knew what was coming... and there it came, you pressed your hand into his cheek, softly, of course. You weren't slapping him.

He quickly did the same, and now you both looked a fool, but neither of you complained.

—

The next day, you and Namjoon decided to visit the Prairie Dog Town just along the way. Since you enjoyed looking at the cute little animals.

"Namjoon! Be careful! Don't drive over them... They may have a set space where they all live, but that doesn't mean they won't venture out!" You warned, watching as the little mammals ran across the dirt road right in front of your car. They were use to visitors which probably explains why they weren't so scared, but you worried nonetheless.

"How did you discover this place, Blossom?" Joon asked, parking the car in a designated parking zone. You immediately jumped out of the car, happy.

"During freshmen orientation! I wanted to see if there was anything to do and I discovered this gem with my aunt. Isn't it great? Look at all the cuties!" You exclaimed, watching as one of the prairie dogs went into his already dug hole as you approached. There were a bunch of them just sitting on their butts and eating, which made you giggle because of the cuteness of the entire picture.

"You know, they're cute. Just like you." Namjoon said, you heard the tell-tale sounds of a picture printing from one of those polaroid cameras, where did he pull one of those out? You have no clue, but he had just taken a picture of you staring happily, with the biggest smile on your face, at the cute little animals that roamed the area freely.

In the picture, anyone could tell how happy you were. You were content.

—

You weren't very happy for long.

Soomin was overbearing, tiring, and she was questioning why you never drove her around any more. Why you didn't offer to pay for her like you always did. Just questioning everything you used to do, but worked so hard not to.

You had only asked her how she was and how were her lectures for the day, like any regular friend would, but not everything can stay beautiful for long.

You haven't practiced your friendship break-up speech in so long. You didn't know what to say. Anything and everything you could say would make you feel bad and eat you alive. It was a lot easier in the mirror, when the only person who listened was your reflection.

The mason jar where you stored your feelings exploded, the shards coming out to pierce your heart. You told her all the things you told Namjoon. You weren't mean. You weren't harsh. You were vulnerable and tears rolled down your face. You couldn't do this, especially as Soomin yelled at you, telling you how bad of a friend you were. Belittling you with every word she spit at you, yet, you didn't hate her. You could never hate her. You put that in your speech, but it was never true.

You can hit rockbottom, and you can climb up, but once something knocks you down, you continue to fall until you reach the ground again. Each fall makes it harder for you to get back up.

You ran out, and to your surprise, adding to the cliche of your story, it was raining, but despite that, you ran. You ran until you reached the place you felt safest.

You stood outside his door, soaking wet, eyes puffy, and nose stuffy. You were shaking and sobbing, waiting for the man who made you feel like you were on cloud nine.

Namjoon opened the door, surprised to see you standing in front him, shaking like a leaf. You ran into his arms, and he let out a grunt, but embraced you nonetheless, petting your wet hair and telling you that it'll be okay and giving you sweet words that make the world around the both of you disappear.

Your life was a mess. You were a mess, but at least you had Namjoon.

And Namjoon was glad to have his Cherry Blossom.

—

a/n: i dunno about this ahhhh