#with the most absurd time travel based plan

[warlordfelwinter]

i will just never be over how much ardbert has the wol's back

[agentnico]

The Boy and the Heron (2023) Review

Robert Pattinson, is that you??

Plot: Mahito, a young 12-year-old boy, struggles to settle in a new town after his mother's death. However, when a talking heron informs Mahito that his mother is still alive, he enters an abandoned tower in search of her, which takes him to another world.

Seriously though, we need to discuss Robert Pattinson in this movie. He voices the titular heron, and this is Pattinson’s first ever foray into voice acting… and it is a true masterclass. He gives an unrecognisable performance using a raspy, zany voice, and one that you could easily mistake for the other voice actors in the movie like Mark Hamill and Willem Dafoe, to whom such vocal chords come much more naturally. Honestly, you have never heard Pattinson like this before, with the closest sounding performance in his filmography being in the 2020 crime drama The Devil All the Time as the high-pitched preacher, but even then you could mentally connect the voice to the actor. I must give Pattinson all the props in the world - for someone who started out as a sparkling teen-vamp in the Twilight films, he’s really worked hard to break himself out of the shadows of that series and consistently defy expectations and be an acting force to be reckoned with. Now his turn in The Boy and the Heron only justifies this even more, and more importantly should be a signal to other animation studios to give this guy more voice acting roles, as he’s great with those evidently. Like seriously, you can’t even begin to fathom Pattinson’s grows in this film - its something else.

Right, let’s talk about the actual film now! The Boy and the Heron sees the return of the legendary Japanese director Hayao Miyazaki who most know through his projects with animation company Studio Ghibli. The guy’s a legend in the realm of anime, so me and my fiancée were excited to go see it, so we had a full date night planned - we travelled quite the way to get to the cinema that was showing this movie, as the film so far has had a very limited release here in the UK, and we enjoyed a fine meal at the local pub, and yours truly had the pleasure of accompanying the meal with a couple of pints as one should. We then go to buy the tickets and whaddayaknow they have all sold out. Yep, all that travelling and effort to see a film and yet it was not meant to be. Nonetheless, I instead made my way there again today, this time pre-ordering the seat a day in advance as that was a lesson learned. Oh yes, when it comes to a Hayao Miyazaki animation, I am one dedicated son of a bee to see that! Thank heavens I pre-booked that time, as the screening I was in was packed, and as I was in the lobby I overheard other customers trying to purchase tickets for The Boy and the Heron and being turned out. Look, Studio Ghibli has its fan-base, so it’s not surprising so many people want to go see it. It’s surprising though that cinemas aren’t providing enough screens to show it though, but that is a separate distribution matter in itself.

The Boy and the Heron plays out a little like a montage of Best Of, revisiting themes and devices familiar from Miyazaki’s previous films and tying them together with elements that have a clear autobiographical resonance for the director. From the various magical and absurd creatures to the stunning animation to the piano-heavy score by frequent Miyazaki collaborator Joe Hisaishi, it’s all the usual Ghibli goodness you know and love. Speaking of the score, the lush orchestral Hisaishi soundtrack is shimmering and exultant, that is filled with innocent beauty, yet also managing to embrace the darker aspects of the narrative. The animation as stated is superb, but I do mean it looks incredible. From the very opening sequence where Mahito is running through the burning streets of Tokyo to find his mother, the dizzying effect of the flames and the people around running in panic and being engulfed in the horrible disaster - that sequence is both beautiful from an artistic standpoint but also frightening as it reminds us of all the damage the Second World War brought to innocent people. But the rest of the film also brims with the spectacular hand-drawn animation Ghibli artists are know for, and I always loved how they managed to balance the whimsical fun elements with the more scarier ones. Speaking of which, after seeing this movie you’re going to have a very different opinion on parakeets. You have been warned.

Now in terms of the negative… the characterisation. A huge part of Ghibli movies in general, and especially those directed by Miyazaki, is that as a rule they are always driven by its characters, with their journeys at the forefront. World building and the narrative always took second place. Major examples of this are Howl’s Moving Castle, Laputa: Castle in the Sky and Spirited Away, where you had these absolutely crazy fantasy-driven landscapes, yet at the same time the stories were laid back with simplicity and effective means and rules. However with The Boy and the Heron the world building is so convoluted and confusing at times that it seems Miyazaki put all his efforts into fleshing out this narrative instead of giving more time to the main character, who supposedly undergoes a deep emotional journey. However because we are busy being distracted with all the craziness of the world, the journey of the character’s growth is near non-existent, and as such the finale seems very abrupt and unfitting, with the story choices feeling undeserved and unnatural.

The Boy and the Heron is a beautiful animation from an auteur who’s delivered so many greats previously to which this one doesn’t come close to, but even Miyazaki’s mid-level film is most directors’ best. The lack of character building and interpersonal relationship is a heavy hindrance, but aside from that this is an engaging original story featuring a superb music score, great vocals (especially from Pattinson) and also nostalgia that reminds us how great Studio Ghibli truly is. Again, it’s not Miyazaki’s best, but it’s easily one of the best animations in the last few years, and will also make you want to avoid parakeets for good. Don’t make their cute little look fool you - they are sinister little bastards.

Overall score: 7/10

[hauntingcryptids]

Feeling Good

Whittaker!Doctor x Reader

Summary - Yaz convinces you to confront The Doctor and confess your feelings to her in a very forward way.

Based On This Request -

Warnings - lap dancing and stripping and leading to smut, but no actual smut, minors please DNI!

Word Count - 1801

A/n - I hope that this is a gender neutral reader. I think that I managed to do that. Requested by @supermegapauselouca on my old Tumblr account, just wanted to reupload it on here. Also, I did write a sex scene for this, but I ended up removing it from this fic because I didn’t know how to end it and I am self-conscious about my smut writing abilities. But I can post it as like a Feeling Good 1.5, if anyone would want that. But anyway, I hope that you enjoy this!

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

You, along with The Fam, had weaselled out of The Doctor when her birthday was, or, at least, when she thought her birthday was. She said that she couldn’t quite remember exactly, which you found sad. Despite The Doctor’s hazy memory on the subject, you, Graham, Ryan, and Yaz decided to throw The Doctor a week-long birthday celebration as a thank you for all of the adventures she took you and The Fam on and all of the rescues she performed. You also wanted to make up for the birthdays all of you had missed celebrating since befriending The Doctor.

You were the most dedicated to The Doctor’s birthday celebrations. You were always by her side, introducing her to the day’s plans and making sure that The Doctor was always enjoying herself. If she wasn’t, you were there alert and ready to change plans at a moment's notice in order to make her happy. The entire Fam now knew of your feelings for the time-travelling alien, but Yaz knew long before your obsession with making The Doctor’s birthday celebration perfect. So, when she came trotting up to you one day with a suggestion for the last day of The Doctor’s birthday celebration, you almost didn’t know how to respond. 

“You want me to do what, Yaz?!”

“Confess your feelings for The Doctor!” Your face fell in shock again. You couldn’t believe that Yaz would suggest something so absurd.

“Okay, yeah, sure. However, I am not going to do that!” You flusteredly shouted back.

“Come on! We all think you should confess already.”

“We? You told everyone- whatever! How do you expect me to do that, Yaz.” You wanted to confront Yaz about her loose tongue, but you didn’t have time for that now. You were just glad that Yaz hadn’t told The Doctor about your feelings behind your back.

“Seduce her. Well, not seduce because she likes you, too, but be sexy. Give her a lap dance!”

“No!” You shook your head furiously, completely horrified in shock. 

“Yes!”

“No, Yaz! I am not doing that, in general, but especially not as a way to confess my feelings for her!”

“Yes, it is provocative, but we both know how The Doctor is. If you hint at your feelings, she is not going to understand. You have to be blunt.” You slumped your shoulders, you knew that Yaz was right about that fact, The Doctor was very oblivious. But you continued to argue that you couldn’t go through with it, and you walked away to go to bed.

There were still a couple more days of The Doctor’s birthday celebration and every day one, or all, of your friends would come up to you trying to convince you that giving The Doctor a lap dance would be a good idea. Every time, you, embarrassingly, denied them. Yaz would also always text at the worst times, always when you were talking to The Doctor, suggesting her confession plan. And eventually, you gave in; your resolve was completely broken. 

You and Yaz met in your room and tried to decorate it in a sexy but aloof manner, at least, that is what Yaz described the aesthetic to be. The pair of you changed your sheets and bedspread to a silky dark red material and added a sheer dark red curtain around the top of your bedposts. Yaz explained that all she had to do now was tell The Doctor that you wanted to speak to her and while she did this, you would change into a sexy outfit and wait to hear The Doctor enter your room from your bathroom. Then you would seductively exit your bathroom and confess your feelings to The Doctor.

“I’ve made a ‘Sexy Playlist’ -” You kept trying to tell Yaz this important information, and Yaz talked over you every time. Even now, she interrupted you.

“Stop overthinking this, Y/n. You like The Doctor. The Doctor definitely likes you. If she likes seeing you as a potential partner, she won’t stop you, but if she does stop you, which is unlikely, then stop. But as I said before, The Doctor won’t stop because she likes you. It’s simple.”

“But what about my ‘Sexy Playlist’?” Yaz rolled her eyes but conceded.

“Okay, playing it in the background is probably a good idea, you know, for the mood. Might ease a bit of tension for both you and The Doctor.” You set up and connected your phone to the speaker in your room in preparation for everything. Finally, Yaz gave you one last confidence speech then left to enact the plan while you went to the bathroom to change. 

You phone suddenly buzzed with a message from Yaz, she texted you earlier than you thought she would, saying that everything was ready, and The Doctor was on her way. You quickly finished getting dressed and eventually, you heard knocking. You waited with bated breath, hoping that The Doctor would just walk into like she usually did.

Then you heard your door open, and you breathed a quiet sigh of relief. You could hear from behind the bathroom door that The Doctor moved into your room while calling your name. You took a deep breath, hit play on “Sexy Playlist,” and then slowly exited your bathroom dressed in a white lacey set of lingerie and a red robe tied lousy around your waist.

“Ah! Y/n, what's going on…” The Doctor finally turned to look at you from where she sat in an armchair by your fireplace, but she went silent upon seeing what you were wearing. Instantly, her face turned bright red with a blush. That scared you. Your brain began running a million miles an hour worried that The Doctor didn’t like you this way. But you remembered that all of The Fam said that The Doctor really cared about you, so you pushed your doubts to the back of your mind and walked closer to The Doctor to the beat of the music. You seductively swivelled your hips to the music, drawing your hands up your side to enunciate your actions. You walked forward toward The Doctor and untied the belt of the robe. You brushed the robe slightly away from your body mid swivel of your hips causing your lingerie to be on full display for The Doctor. You could feel her gaze bore into your body. You then sat on The Doctor’s slightly spread legs. You hoped that feeling her would give you some comfort that dancing in front of her did not.

“Do you like what you see, Doc?” You seductively ran the tip of your index finger against your lips before you stroked the side of The Doctor’s face with the same finger.

“Ye-yes. I really like what I see.” The Doctor’s pupils grew larger than any time you’ve seen before. Maybe your friends were right? Maybe The Doctor did have feelings for you?

“Yo-you do?” You were so shocked by her reaction. You never thought that she would see you in the way you desired. 

“Yes, Y/n, I really, really like what I see. I wish that I could see you like this more often.” The Doctor tightly gripped your waist and pulled you closer to her, causing you to lean on to her shoulders for support.

“You do?” You were so shocked by how forward she was being, though she probably felt the same way about you. 

“Yes, if I had my way, Y/n, I would only have you looking like this when around me. All dolled up, wrapped in lace, completely at my will.” The Doctor’s eyes suddenly darkened, and a small smirk lined her lips. It was your turn for your face to heat up as you became flustered by The Doctor’s words. You had never seen The Doctor show this side of herself, but you enjoyed it. You wanted to hear her talk like this more. But instead of fully giving into The Doctor’s grip, you stood suddenly up far enough away from The Doctor to where she couldn't touch you, giving you the perfect opportunity to tease her and gain some power back in the situation.

“You want this, don’t you?” You let your robe fall to the ground then you removed the lace lingerie top, your chest now on full display and free from its fabric prison. You stood vulnerable yet confident before The Doctor in just your lacey underwear and stockings.

“This is what you want, Doctor. You want me.” 

“Yes, it is, Y/n. Now come back here.” The Doctor moved forward and pulled you back to her by your wrists. Before you could sit back down on her lap, though, The Doctor placed her hands on your waist heavily and moved you to sit solely on her right leg.

The Doctor squeezed your hips, and then strongly guided them so you were grinding against her leg. You moaned quietly, causing The Doctor to hold onto your hips harder and control your movements to get you to moan for her again. While The Doctor guided your hips against her lap, she kissed down from your neck to your chest, leaving little bite marks and hickeys on your most sensitive areas. You had to grab onto The Doctor’s shoulders again to keep yourself steady on her lap, she was making you so weak for her.

Occasionally, your knee would rub up against The Doctor’s crouch, causing a moan to escape her own mouth. You smiled when you finally heard her moan, you had imagined this moment many times, and now you were finally experiencing it.

 Quickly, The Doctor became impatient with the position that the two of you were in and she easily picked you up, walked over to your bed and threw you on it. The Doctor then crawled in between your legs and glided her hands up your torso, but suddenly she froze. The Doctor looked you in the eye and you saw her beautiful green and golden eyes soften.

“Are you okay?” The Doctor asked calmly, but her voice was filled with seriousness.

“Yes, Doctor. Are you?”

“Yes! I’m absolutely brilliant! Will you tell me if you are ever uncomfortable?”

“Of course I will, Doctor. I trust you.”

The strange alien then smiled sweetly above you before leaning down to kiss you passionately. You gladly kissed her back and snaked your hand up to her neck to deepen the kiss. The Doctor eventually reached up to grab your hand and slam it down on the bed. The Doctor continued to kiss you passionately and deeply, growing even more possessive and dominant with each passing moment. The two of you continued this dance into the night, passionately confessing feelings for the other until morning. 

[communalmenace]

Happy New Years Mutuals, etc

This year was pretty based for me in retrospect, I got to travel and see one of my best friends get married in real life, and I got to drag one of my most dear online friends up here to Canadaland to visit for a whole week, and the euphoria generated from these blessed meetings is still lingering months later! If you people have decades old online bffs, for the love of God, meet them somehow!

I also broke up with my partner of 6 years -- something I really should have done sooner, when I think back to everything I had let them get away with before?! To me, and my other friends, lord -- and that has actually been... amazing? I guess that isn't surprising though, me being so well versed in severing years long relationships with white people who make their own esteem issues everyone else's problem. Third time is the charm, surely...?!

I am looking forward to next year, with plans of meeting more of my dear friends, and just travelling in general! It is strange to be able to Do these things now that I have this absurd full-time government job, and I still grapple with the despair inherent to the thought that I Have To Live For Money, but it is getting easier now that I have just enough to fulfill some of my desires... still a twinge of guilt that I am not able to pursue my art in earnest, still an urge to end it all since I can't have everything, but... for now, it is tolerable.

At the end of the day I am pursuing more of my goals than I was when I did have the time for my art, too depressed at home to utilize any of it anyway. And as such I have been feeling much better. For Now.

In 2023 I am going to try and keep a more consistent record of my life and just generally continue trying to be as honest as I can in day to day life. Go to the local concerts by myself, attend the local crafts workshops with old ladies. Spend more time with friends in real life (I recently became friends with a coworker who brings me on all sorts of outdoors adventures, we had ever so much fun this summer digging up wild tiger lilies for her garden, collecting animal skulls, going on picnics, etc! She is wonderful!!), spend more time outdoors in general. It will be based, I think.

Anyway lads, I hope 2022 was good to yall, and if it wasn't, that 2023 is at least better. Oh, and I have also been thinking about getting more pen pals, if any of you people are interested in that? I am an avid letter-writer, and wouldn't mind sending out More letters and postcards to more people!

[tolbachik]

Hi! Don’t worry about the delay, and sorry about my own delay. I hope that you’re doing well today ^^

I looked into it a little bit, and it seems like there is a Cambridge Greek course, but I can’t find too much information about it. I might ask my Latin teacher about it to see if he knows anything about it :D

My favorite piece of Roman graffiti would have to be CIL 4.5296. It’s the longest piece of poetic graffiti from Pompeii, and it’s also the only surviving sapphic love poem from ancient Rome. We don’t have many surviving poems written by women in Rome, let alone (what we would call in modern terms) lesbian or bisexual women, so it’s really interesting to see. Luca Graverini has a very in depth article on the inscription, but also the Wikipedia article on CIL 4.5296 seems to be heavily based on his journal, so it’s a quick overview of all of the information without getting too into the weeds about it.

I’d love to learn how to read sheet music as well! I remember I kinda learned how to when I was in my Middle School’s choir, but all of that is long since forgotten now lol. Honestly I’d love to learn how to play the violin. I think that violins just have such a nice sound, and are a severely underrated instrument in more rock oriented music circles.

I didn’t know that China was planning on sending a probe to perform a flyby of Uranus! I hope that it comes to fruition, even if it is 17 years off :] Are there any other space missions you’re excited to see become a reality?

I don’t know much about Skylab, except for the surface level information, but it does seem like it was truly the end of an era. It’s always a bit bittersweet the unbridled hope and optimism we had about space travel, and just science in general, we had in the 60’s, as compared to the current trend of pushing students to focus more on just math and language arts standardized testing. I’d love to see schools reinvigorate an interest in space again, even if it’s just a fraction of what it was in the 60’s/70’s.

I’ve always been shocked how many people seem to gloss over Soviet Zond 5! I remember it was merely a footnote in my middle school science textbook. I think that what they were able to accomplish, especially so early on in our foray into space travel, was amazing! I definitely commemorate all of the scientists who worked on the mission

Also I’m glad to hear that you’ve gotten back into listening to music! Your recommendations, especially Telex, have brought back my love for new wave and synth pop :D Also, I’ve been listening to Norma Tanega’s music at work, and I really like it! I haven’t listened to much 60’s folk before, but I love the sound :]

I think some of the biggest misconceptions about Rome are about the emperors. Don’t get me wrong, a lot of emperors weren’t very good people, but over time the claims about them got distorted and exaggerated to the point of absurdity. I think this is most apparent with Elagabalus. I do believe that some of the claims about them are true to a lesser extent (I mean if you gave a 14 year old total power over an empire, the results certainly wouldn’t be good), but some of the stories are just too absurd to be given any credit. The funniest one has to be when the Historia Augusta, notorious for its historical inaccuracy, claimed that Elagabalus dropped so many flower petals on their guests that they suffocated to death. All other sources about Elagabalus, even ones which paint them in a very unfavorable light, fail to bring this event up. Honestly I didn’t realize that people believed this claim, until I was doing research for a history exam and saw people sharing this myth as if it was a true event.

How about you, do you have any pet peeves about misinformation relating to your interests?

I can definitely relate to rushing to write something down late at night. I can’t even count how many times I’ve accidentally stayed up all night because I was like “hold on, let me just write a little bit more before I forget.” I think most of the time I spend writing is while on the brink of sleep deprivation, which probably isn’t the best habit ^^’

I read Childhood’s End by Arthur C. Clarke’s and I loved it. The ending absolutely destroyed me, it was one of the only times that a twist ending truly got to me. I also love 2001: A Space Odyssey, and have been meaning to read The Sentinel, but I haven’t gotten around to it yet ^^’ My favorite sci-fi author is probably a bit of a basic choice, but I love H. G. Wells. He was my introduction to sci-fi novels. I especially love The War of the Worlds! :D

As for other authors, I love the work’s of L. E. Modesitt. He has sci-fi books as well, but I’ve mostly read his fantasy novels. His stories helped to shape how I think about fantasy, especially fantasy magic systems.

Also, the same goes for you as well! If you ever need anything feel free to ask :D

I hope you have a great day/night! I always look forward to hearing from you :]

- 🎲

No worries! I think we're both a bit busy these days, aren't we? Just know there's never any rush! And I hope you've been doing well, too! What all has been new these days? Ooh, nice! I wonder if it follows a plot like the Latin ones, or if it's more like the end of the series where it focused on real stories? Either way, I hope you enjoy if you manage to get into Greek! Sounds very exciting! Are there any other languages you might consider learning, or do you think you'll settle there? I took some time to read it, and it was so sweet... I'm so glad that little piece of history survived, especially of such importance. I love little things like that, since they remind you that people back then were just like us. I always struggled to comprehend that, but listening to recreations of ancient instruments and seeing things like this poetry really help. Thank you so much for sharing it with me! Are there any others that stick out to you? If you do decide to learn sheet music, I hope that goes well for you! It really is kinda like learning a language, isn't it? Wow, you've done so many things! How was choir? I don't have the best singing voice, but I always admired things like that. Aww, violin sounds nice!! Good luck if you decide to go through with it! Strings are great, I think my personal favorites are the balalaika and the shamisen, I think their sound is so unique! Yeah, I'm excited! I think it's still up for debate if they'll include it or not, but it would be wonderful if they did. It would be included on their Tianwen-4 mission, which is going to be a Jupiter orbiter. There's very little data on it still, but knowing China and their space ambitions, I have hope! Hmm... For other missions, honestly? Anything that isn't Mars-focused! Very excited for the upcoming Venus missions, the three new Jupiter orbiters coming in the next few decades, and Dragonfly to Saturn's Titan is very exciting as well! It really is sad looking back on things, seeing how close we were to making some major changes in our world during those years. There's still hope for our future, of course! I think a song that really encapsulates the whole feeling of 60s and 70s optimism is I.G.Y. by Donald Fagen. It's a great song, but definitely a little sad in hindsight! Yeah, it's a weird but important little tidbit of history everybody seems to forget! Makes sense though, I suppose; most people are too preoccupied with first humans doing things, rather than just a few turtles! Thanks again for your help! Sometimes I just kinda get into moods where nothing really catches my ear, you know? I love music, but sometimes It's just a bit hard to get into the groove of things. I'm glad we've managed to help each other, in regards to music! Oh yes, I read a little about Elagabalus recently! It's a shame that people just kinda took these lies as fact, and just ran with them. They were from Syria, right? From what I read, men from there were always portrayed as feminine as well, which helped lead to all those rumors and stuff. Yeah, and they were assassinated too, right? Poor kid, they must've been through a lot in those few years. I'd love to hear any more facts about Roman emperors if you have any! Who would you say was your favorite, as well?

Oh god, yeah! I think my least favorite thing is doctored or edited pictures of space and space phenomena, especially now with AI generated images taking over things. It really bugs me, since the universe is beautiful as is, y'know? By editing things to make them more "appealing" just makes me sad, not only for the misinformation, but for the fact that it makes it feel like things aren't "beautiful" enough for people. Aww, I get that! It's hard, but sometimes when you're tired you have more interesting thoughts I feel. Just gotta hope that your half-asleep notes make sense, or that you remember them in the morning! Childhood's End is so good, that ending is really amazing. It leaves such a vivid mental image, doesn't it? And 2001 is great, and so are the other books in that series! I am a little sad that they changed the movie to Jupiter instead of the original Saturn, but in a way, that worked out for me. One of my favorite movies, Silent Running, was actually made in retaliation for Kubrick refusing to do Saturn since he was worried about how to make the rings look in his movie adaptation! If you haven't read it yet, Rendezvous with Rama is also really good! I'll have to check him out, then! Thanks for the suggestion! I don't really get a chance to read too often, especially new authors, so I'm looking forward to it! Any specific books from him you'd recommend? Aww, thank you so much! I hope you've had a great week so far, and that everything has been going well for you! Take care!

[animodaoactive]

The most effective method to watch Latest Anime episodes ?

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Let’s Nupu Nupu

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Lie Huo Jiao Chou

 In the modern era, a small number of people who are referred to as "Special Abilities" possess powers and skills that normal people do not possess. Lie Huo Jiao Chou  An independent association, the Degenerate Control Office, holds these Unique Capacities under wraps. Even though some people want to keep this peace and order, others want to use their skills to gain more power in this world.

[ode-to-spring]

♡⋆.ೃ࿔* DANDELION INTO THE WIND YOU GO ~

wherein the windborne bard takes you on another one of his unplanned rendezvous . . .

ੈ♡˳ venti x reader ( romantic <3 ) ੈ♡˳ category :: fluff, fluff, and more fluff >:) ੈ♡˳ warnings :: usage of pet names (dove, dearest beloved) ੈ♡˳ a / n :: FIRST!! FIRST BLOG FIC!!!!!! if it wasn't obvious enough, this was based on "dandelions" by ruth b, though i played this wonderful cover on loop while i was writing this!

"okay, be honest, are we almost there? we've been walking for forever.."

"patience is a key virtue, dove. just wait a little longer! we're nearly there, bard's honor!"

venti's lighthearted voice tickled your ears as his hands covered your eyes, sneaking in giggles here and there. the boy seizing your vision leads you forward, leaving you having no choice but to follow him around like a lost puppy. honestly, each day with him was simply one ridiculous plan after another, it wasn't much of a shocker that the both of you wound wind up in another one of his antics again today. if only you were able to resist the bards pleading when he insisted you had to see the surprise he got for you...

"say, since we're taking so long anyway, why don't you give me a little spoiler on this oh-so-important surprise of yours?" you decided to ask, hoping the wait would seem shorter if venti entertained you with a conversation

"well now, if i told you it wouldn't be much of a surprise now wouldn't it?" by the tone of his voice, you could tell he was already pouting.

for someone who's seen many wonders of the world over his long life as the god of freedom, barbatos was quite fond of surprises. whether it was hiding little notes for you to find every day with little words of love at the most absurd of places, carrying a freshly picked bouquet of your favorite flowers after a long day as a gift, or sneaking a darling little kiss on your cheek before proceeding to sing a song for the city of mondstadt, venti's done it all and more. now that you thought about it, each and every little gift he gives you all had its own sentimental value to them, as well as memories to leave you dreaming for a while. he absolutely adored you, so he should at least own up to it! ...or so he says

your thoughts were soon interrupted by the one and only man of honor, as you could've heard his little chuckles of excitement from a mile away-- much less when he's right behind you.

"okay okay! my dearest beloved, prepare yourself for a sight to behold!"

and with none but a few words his slender fingers carefully inched away from your eyes, even leaving you having to blink a few times for the sudden brightness of sunlight to kick in. once it did, however, you were greeted with the most magnificent sea of flowers you've ever seen stretching out miles and miles infront of you. as far as the eye could see was nothing less than blossoming flora and the perfect near-sunset sky to compliment them perfectly, it was simply breathtaking.

"you must be wondering, 'where in the world could we be to find a place as magnificent as this one?'" the bard started, obviously amused at your reaction. "well, it's a funny story actually, involving the traveler running from some ghastly ruin guards, and us having to split up..."

the sight of venti rambling certainly wasn't rare, it was all too common in fact. as one affiliated with storytelling so deeply he never truly runs out of tales to tell, and it's not as if that voice of his is gonna run out anytime soon.

"thankfully, we did get away scot-free! a streak of luck if you ask me, but one to be celebrated nonetheless!"

venti neared the end of his story as you both walked through the flowers, hand in hand as the sun ever so slowly fell under the horizon. simple, precious moments like these are to be cherished, and just basking in each other's presence was more than enough. Likewise, only in times like these could you notice things such as how your hands fit perfectly when they were interlocked. it was a miniscule, unimportant detail if you compared it to the great scheme of things, but it gave a little warm feeling in your chest when you thought about it.

after taking a deep breath to make for his long speech, venti turned to you with the same joyous smile he's always had plastered on his face. "now, i hope you didn't think i'd drag you here with me just for you to listen to my ramblings!"

with the speed of nothing less than the winds he commands, he shifted his position to be right in front of you and with a courteous bow, held out his hand.

"would you be so kind as to join me for a dance?"

in all honesty, the bright smile lighting up his face was more than enough to convince you to accept his offer, and before you knew it one of your hands was intertwined with venti's, and the other rested on his shoulder.

"don't worry too much if you don't know how to dance, my talents lie not only in the art of song!" he told you, beginning his waltz.

and for a while, everything seemed still. as cliche as it may sound, it felt like nothing else mattered in those moments. as long as his gaze fell on you the way it did as the last golden rays of sun cascaded to enlighten your faces, everything was going to be fine.

if you could stop time right here and right now, preserving the indescribable feeling of bliss as you pranced around the sea of blossoms, you most certainly would.

[lazyliars]

/rp

Before I get into it, I want to state that is EXPLICITLY an analysis of the Characters, and is not intended to touch on how the cc’s played them in a meta sense unless specifically stated otherwise.

Also, this is technically a part two to my other post, which took a more in depth look at Techno and Phil’s reactions to Tommy’s death. It’s not necessary when reading this post, but I don’t address their reactions here.

So. The question must be asked.

Are we [the Syndicate] the baddies?

Yes.

The End.

 Why are the Syndicate the baddies?

They got damn logo is a wither skull.

The End.

That's not how this works.

Yeah, yeah. You’re right.

The Syndicate's goals as an organization are not inherently bad. They seem to have good intentions behind them, and the focus on the freedom of it's individual group members is important to remember when talking about it; It is not a government. There is no hierarchical power system. No one is forced to do anything against their will, or surrender any of their rights or power to remain a member. It is not a government.

I also want to address Techno and Phil backing Ranboo into a corner – I see them getting a lot of flack for this, but I personally do not think it is relevant to the greater discussion, or necessarily representative of any contradictions within the organization. It was clearly played for laughs, and after they back off they clarify to Ranboo that they won't force him. Then later when Phil and Ranboo are alone, Ranboo feels safe enough to express that he felt like he was pressured into it, and Phil assures him he is allowed to leave whenever he wants; He is not being forced to do anything, and he is not being coerced or blackmailed.

None of the Syndicate members have done any wrongs against each other in the context of the Syndicate, OR gone against any of the Syndicate's core principles.

That, said, holy shit are they the baddies.

Listen, there's trying to telegraph a meaning or message to the audience and then there's having your logo be wither skulls on blackstone. That is straight out of the skit I keep referencing, seriously.

Okay, but, they laughed at it! It was played as a joke, just like the Ranboo thing!

The Ranboo thing was improv, the Syndicate's headquarters were planned – the artistic choices that they made reflect on what role they want the build and the organization inhabiting it to play in the future storylines.

Wither Skulls kind of have some CONNOTATIONS. Techno is an English major, I don't think he chose the most threatening imagery possible on accident, and then joked about the way people would interpret it just to stir the pot. This reads as hugely intentional.

And beyond that, the jokes they make during this part aren't “haha yeah, we look bad but we're actually good!” they're “you can tell by looking at these that we're the good guys wink wink, this is good guy stuff right here :)” It is a joke about how they are definitely not the good guys. This isn't even a case of unreliable narrators, this is one step down from flat out saying the meta intent.

But okay, I hear you, I'm talking about things that haven't happened yet. The Syndicate hasn't used any Withers, they could be an aesthetic choice.  Lets look at what they do in practice.

So, they barge into private property, assess Snowchester's right to continue existing based entirely on their own ideals of what Freedom is, and then only once Tubbo assures them that they have no standing leader do they grant the place their approval to, and I gotta stress this part, continue existing.

 In my Quackity meta, I already talked about how Government in the context of a M1necraft RP cannot be compared to IRL Governments on a one-to-one scale. They don't serve the same purposes or have the same type of power. What I didn't talk about was Agency in the context of m1necraft governments.

In an irl government, if you are born into one, you can't really leave without committing a massive overhaul on your life, which can be expensive and difficult, if not impossible for many people. Even in a “benevolent” government, the simple physicality of where you were born can prevent you from leaving it easily.

The same hurdles do not exist in the Dream SMP. People who join M1necraft governments choose to. They want to, either at the beginning when they form one, or later on when they join up. So far, no Government has just Sprung Up and forced the current residents of an area to become dependent on them, except maybe the Eggpire, who's status as a government is... shakey.

And even when people want to leave or separate from the government, they have been historically able to do so without any trouble or any effort from said governments to stop them. Jack Manifold emancipated from Manberg. Fundy and Quackity both left to start new nations. In all cases they were allowed to do so without any attempts on the part of the governments to stop them, either through force, or institutions preventing them from doing so.

The most anyone has lost when leaving a government is their house, which is still usually their property anyway, and is something that is easily rebuilt elsewhere and is inconvenient to move anyway.

The only exceptions to this might be Schlatt exiling Wilbur and Tommy - but even then, they weren’t trying to leave, they were trying to get back in, and of course the original L’manberg revolution, where Dream attempted to force L’manberg back into the Dream SMP, which wasn’t even a government at that point in time.

I don’t consider Phil’s house arrest an example of a government forcing someone to stay a citizen - that was treated less as a matter of a citizen wanting to leave the country and more as a threat to national security. Still pretty fucked up, but it’s a different issue.

What I'm saying is, If Tubbo wants to create a government out in the middle of nowhere, threatening no one, forcing no one to join either through force or desperation, and allowing people to join willingly because they want to, then he should be allowed to do that.

The Irony of the Syndicate, a group of people consisting of some of the richest, strongest people on the server, going around and enforcing 'Freedom' that entails no one person having more power than any other, is absurd. 

It shows an extreme lack of self-awareness and/or self-righteousness, as they seem to think that they deserve to be the ones who decide what constitutes a government.

Snowchester is a small independent nation - they shouldn’t have to live in fear of being obliterated if they don’t walk on eggshells to meet an arbitrary standard decided by people who’s only authority on the matter COMES FROM THEIR PERSONAL POWER. No one elected them! No one chose them! They were not “approved” by the server at large to enact this kind of law.

The Syndicate are not a government, but they are an unsupervised power structure exerting their ideals on a land that did not ask for them. Like, These people have invented an actual Authoritarian-Anarchist faction. How the hell did they manage this?????

Back on topic.

Tubbo shows them the crater left by his nukes. The reaction is oddly positive – the nukes are fine by the morals of the Syndicate, apparently. I'd argue that they come across as more impressed than anything else; they seem to respect Tubbo for having gotten ahold of “real” power.

(There's a few good memes out there about “We can excuse nuclear weaponry, but we draw the line at Government!”)

So. By the Syndicate's standards: A single person or group of acceptably equal persons with weapons of mass-destruction are only worth “keeping an eye on” because they might provoke other people.

Like, I consider Project Dreamcatcher to be one of, if not the most morally ambiguous thing Tubbo has ever done, largely because it was all on his own initiative. He holds some culpability for The Butcher Army and Phil's house arrest, but they weren't his ideas and he was mostly following Quackity at that point.

And Phil tells Tubbo, IMMEDIATELY AFTER SEEING THE NUCLEAR CRATER:

“Looks like you've reformed a little bit Tubbo, I'm proud.”

And it's fine. Crimes against nature? Fine. A sign of healing in fact!! Tubbo is having a sweeeelll time and he definitely didn't make these nukes specifically in fear of being attacked by these exact people! Tubbo is doing great. Tubbo is doing fine. Tubbo. is. FINE.

Anyway.

I don't think this presentation of the Syndicate was an accident. Looking at the greater lore of SMP right now, after the Egg is done, their list of enemies is slim, and considering that they seem solely invested in taking down governments, that leaves maybe Snowchester, Kinoko Kingdom, and Eret and the greater Dream SMP.

Snowchester has not been shown to be corrupt, evil, or have any intent to go down that route. The most ambiguous thing they've done is, again, is the nukes. Other than that, it's pretty much your average cottagecore snow village.

Kinoko is presented in an even more morally 'good' light, Karl having founded it specifically for his Time-travel library purposes, which are currently being treated by the narrative as a selfless act, if not downright heroic.

Eret is also a fairly 'good' aligned character atm. He's been on that redemption grind since the og betrayal, and doesn't seem keen on backtracking. He's actively tried to leverage his position as king to make things better, and hasn't been quiet about that. He was also 'validated' by Tommy*, a character who has been described both by his allies and enemies as “the hero,” so take that as you will.

What I'm getting at is, all of the current potential enemies for the Syndicate aside from the Egg, are currently being cast as 'good,' and if they were to be attacked, they would undoubtedly have the moral high-ground, unless something drastically changed.

The only potential shakeups I can think of is are a Dream escape and/or a Wilbur revival, both of which could draw the Syndicate's attention and ire, depending on how things go. That said, it's just as likely that either or both of them would join the Syndicate – Dream still has that favor, and Phil and Techno both seemed to think Wilbur would've agreed with their blowing up L'manberg.

Both of those characters are currently **villains – the fact that they're both prime candidates for the Syndicate is a huge indication of the direction it's going to go as the plot moves forward.

((*I know some people are gonna come at me for painting Tommy as the “deciding factor” of what is morally good, so lemme just stop you there. I'm not talking about Tommy somehow having the 'right' to decide who is and isn't good, and definitely not the right to decide who should and shouldn't be king. I'm saying that Tommy, a character who the narrative treats as, if not a good person, then a person who is trying to be good, was in support of Eret, a character who has also been trying to be good.

Eret doesn't gain the moral highground because Tommy said so, he gets it because a character who the narrative treats as trying to do better, acknowledged Eret's earnest attempts at doing the same.

**I'm referring to Wilbur here as a villain because Tommy seemed convinced he would be if he were to be brought back. There is always the possibility that he's wrong.))

So, to summarize this: I read the Syndicate as being intentionally positioned as future antagonists, if not outright villains of a future arc. They are NOT a Government but their goals are contradictory with their means, and it is important to keep in mind that they plan to enforce their own brand of freedom on people who did not grant them either the authority or permission to do so.

So, uh. Can you tell I loved these streams? They were seriously so good. I kept switching between Ranboo and Techno's POV's trying to keep up with everything. I still have to watch Niki's!

All in all, I'm super, super excited for whats coming next, egg stuff, Syndicate stuff, Tommy stuff, all of it.

[nntheblog]

Anime Like Golden Boy

Kintarou Ooe is a specialist in part time work, rides his Mikazuki 5 on the roads of Japan and finds employment wherever he can. His adventures give him insight and experience that cannot be taught in a classroom. With nothing but the open road before him—not to mention the many beautiful women along the way—Kintarou pursues his spirit of education while attempting to hold down his various odd jobs, however undignified they may be. He learns something from every task he undertakes. Who knows what else might happen. He may even be able one day to save the planet. One thing is for sure—this will all be very educational! Golden Boy is finished and has 6 Episodes. It is also Known as: ゴールデンボーイ, Golden Boy https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-TFVasyfuYU Anime Like Golden Boy 10. City Hunter Ryo Saeba, the City Hunter, works in Tokyo's streets. He's a "sweeper" that works with Kaori Makimura as his sidekick to keep the city clean. People hire the City Hunter to solve dangerous problems. He does this with a Colt Python. Ryo isn't working on a case; he's busy getting the ladies. Kaori must keep him under control with her 10kg hammer. City Hunter is finished and has 51 Episodes. It is also Known as: シティーハンター, City Hunter 9. Sakigake!! Cromartie Koukou Takashi Kamiyama is your typical mild-mannered high school student—polite, aloof, and pacifistic, with a slightly above-average IQ. Would your average high-school student be willing to enroll at Cromartie High School which is known as a place for the most difficult delinquents? Evidently so. Takashi does exactly that, but for reasons he prefers to leave out. One thing is certain: The "hard-boiled rabbit living in a den full hungry lions", will never have another dull moment. He's surrounded now by mohawked punks as well as obnoxious robots and... gorillas. Was that Freddie Mercury on a horse? Watch Takashi's earnest dedication to his new high school, while his classmates are determined to cause havoc. Cromartie High School is finished and has 26 Episodes. It is also Known as: 魁!! クロマティ高校, Sakigake!! Cromartie Koukou 8. Grand Blue Iori Kitahara, who has moved out on his own to a small seaside town, makes a college debut that he didn't expect. He begins a new chapter in his life, diving with beautiful girls and having fun with a bunch of adorable bastards. Kenji Inoue (idiot expert) and Kimitake Yoshioka (au naturel authority) bring you a delightful college tale full of booze-fuelled antics! Grand Blue Dreaming is finished and has 12 Episodes. It is also Known as: ぐらんぶる, Grand Blue 7. Prison School Five young men become the first to attend the co-ed Hachimitsu Private Academy, an all-girls school. The girls aren’t as accepting of their new classmates. Despite their best efforts, Kiyoshi is met with cold shoulders by the girls. What better way to cope with rejection than to do some peeping? Their plan to sneak a peek at the girls in bath time falls apart, and they are arrested by the Underground Student Council. The USC inflicts an absurd punishment of imprisonment on the boys, refusing to listen to any excuses. The boys are required to live in the school's penal system for a month and must endure long, hard and difficult tasks. However, the work is not the only thing that worries them. The sharp crack of a horse's riding crop and the discipline of a heeled stiletto, it will be difficult to survive for the next month. Not only that, but the USC ladies also have their secret agenda. Prison School is finished and has 12 Episodes. It is also Known as: 監獄学園〈プリズンスクール〉, Kangoku Gakuen 6. Kino no Tabi: The Beautiful World The philosophical Kino's Journey is based on the hit light novel series Keiichi. It uses the time-honored theme of the road trip to help you discover your true self and find the universal truth. The series, which is deeply meditative but cooler than zero, follows Kino, a talking motorcycle Hermes and his existential adventures as they travel around the world and learn a lot about themselves. Kino's story is imaginative, thought-provoking and sometimes disturbing. It is told in episodic form with an emphasis on atmosphere, rather than plot or action. Kino's Adventure is finished and has 13 Episodes. It is also Known as: キノの旅 -the Beautiful World-, Kino's Travels: The Beautiful World 5. Great Teacher Onizuka Reformed biker gang leader Onizuka has his sights set on a noble new ambition: To become the greatest teacher in the world... to meet sexy high school students. He's mostly now reformed. But strict administrators and a group of delinquents will stop Onizuka from achieving his goal. They will use every means possible to keep the new teacher away, no matter how low or illegal. It's perfect because Onizuka won't find his methods in any teaching manual. He cares as much about legal and illegal activities as he does about the age difference between him and a high school girl. Be prepared for math that doesn’t add, language that makes a grown man blush, and biology that will make an adult blush... unless, of course, you are the Great Teacher Onizuka. Great Teacher Onizuka is finished and has 43 Episodes. It is also Known as: グレート・ティーチャー・オニヅカ, GTO 4. Green Green Kanenone Gakuen, an all-male boarding school in Japan's countryside, is called Kanenone Gakuen. Even though an all-male school is not a new concept, it can be quite challenging to find female students. To improve everyone's psychological health, the school board decided that it would merge with the closest all-girl boarding schools in order to be co-ed. The prospect is a great deal for the boys of Kanenone, while the girls are intrigued by how different school life would be if there were more men. The girls are invited to stay for a month at Kanenone before any decisions are made. Things get hysterical, hormonal and bizarre as soon as the school bus arrives with the girls. Midori Chitose, a girl from Japan, leaps off the bus to embrace Yuusuke. Are they both natural gentlemen or do they have a shared history? Green Green is finished and has 12 Episodes. It is also Known as: グリーングリーン, Green Green TV, Guri Guri 3. Gintama The Amanto, extraterrestrial aliens, have invaded Earth to take over feudal Japan. The Amanto, an alien from outer space, have invaded Earth and taken over feudal Japan. As a result, swords are prohibited. Samurai in Japan are now treated with disdain. Gintoki Sakata (one man) still has the heart and soul of a samurai. Although he enjoys sweets as well as his work as an yorozuya. Shinpachi Shimura, a boy who wears glasses and has strong hearts, Kagura, with her umbrella and seeming bottomless stomach, and Sadaharu, their large pet dog, are his companions in this jack-of all-trades line. These odd jobs can be quite challenging. They often have to deal with police, ragtag rebels, or assassins. Sometimes, this leads to hilarious but not so good outcomes. Who said that life as an errand boy was easy. Gintama is finished and has 201 Episodes. It is also Known as: 銀魂, Gin Tama, Silver Soul, Yorinuki Gintama-san 2. Colorful Men staring at, peeking, looking, looking, and glaring at women in their attempts to get an extra eyeful of bras, panties, and occasionally cleavage. At most, these are just a few regular men and the shocking consequences of their actions. Colorful is finished and has 16 Episodes. It is also Known as: カラフル, Colorful 1. Junk Boy Ryohei Yamazaki is 23 years old and has only one thing in his life: sex. Ryohei's sweet-talking, honey voiced manner makes it easy to find women interested in him. However, none of them can be exactly what he is looking for... and none of them will ever be perfect. Then, he charms a beautiful editor to hire him. Journalism will change forever. Junk Boy is finished and has 1 Episodes. It is also Known as: ジャンクボーイ, The Incredible Gyoukai Video Junk Boy Read the full article

[theynanigans]

octopath traveler headcanon list #1 - cooking

welcome to my newest (and first!) series of shitposts where i rate the main characters from octopath traveler based on my strange headcanons purely because i am bored and i have no soul. enjoy! :D -- ophilia: i imagine she'd be pretty decent at cooking, and it does appear like she's willing to learn more about it, too! (judging by her interaction with h'aanit in that one travel banter) probably makes great soup!! very warm + shareable with the entire family party. the only (minor) problem is that her recipes most likely have the same amount of spices and salt in them as something you'd find on a mommy blog - and that means, they contain exactly 0 grams of each, which objectively isn't too bad... you just gotta be into it! -1 for admitting that she's unable to bake -3 for the very apparent lack of seasoning +1 for genuinely trying final score: 7/10 --  cyrus: objectively can't cook. not even when he's reading a cookbook. besides, he's got better things to do. don't bother him. -9 for being too busy with his studies to actually care about cooking +1 for apparently being a sandwich guy according to the octopath traveler café website -1 because his definition of sandwich is most likely something along the lines of "a few loose pieces of paper between two bread slices. maybe add a tomato if you're feeling adventurous." final score: 1/10 --  tressa: disqualified for using hired help +2 for probably having access to a lot of fun ingredients and utensils thanks to her profession?? -∞ for not even bothering to cook something by herself final score: nope/10 --  olberic: not too bad at cooking, i'd assume! i can imagine him making rather rustic, mostly meat, cheese and bread-based food with lots of carbs and proteins, which isn't the best if you're planning to go on a diet or only judging it by its taste, but a great source of energy for physical activities, such as dueling or just flexing in front of someone you adore... or despise. go get those muscles! :)) +0.5 for the strength boost +1 for probably having 1 or 2 recipes he's really good at -4 since it's most likely the best idea not to request anything other than those from him final score: 7.5/10 -- primrose: three words - hot and spicy. you won't be able to tell if your entire face feels like it is is on fire from looking at her or if the burning sensation is caused by what you just took a bite of. don't panic, also don't drink water. this is fine. +1 for the potential to pair up with ophilia and make magic happen +2.5 because mmmm spicy -7 because eating her food without a glass of milk nearby is best described as going to hell but with extra steps final score: 6.5/10 --  alfyn: due to his frequent chats with random strangers, it's safe to assume he has the most experience, general knowledge and recipes out of all the travelers and therefore a great advantage in this ranking! his expertise on herbs and plants comes in handy for cooking, too - and besides that, he'd likely enjoy preparing healthy snacks for everyone - the only downside being that he probably only does so for others and not for himself, so, y’know, just don't forget to give something back to him! +1 for making sure that his friends are feeling well +1 since he's probably the best at making vegetarian food -1 because at least half of his meals end up being some shade of green, and speaking from experience, it isn't wise to trust green food -1 for not taking enough care of himself :(( -1.5 for sometimes getting his cooking and potion ingredients mixed up final score: 8.5/10 --

therion: since there's so little information to base my assumptions on, this one's probably the most absurd headcanon out of all of these, but hear me out...

i believe he's actually very good at cooking?? firstly, he has fire magic and the kind of attitude it takes to start trying to use it for purposes other than fighting. (he might burn down the cooking site but you'll be thanking him for it) secondly, the octopath café website (yes, this is the second time i've used that as a source in spite of its obscurity. deal with it.) specifically states that, as a thief, he doesn't get many occasions to cook, but nothing along those lines gets mentioned for anyone else, despite the fact that you could say the same for all of them/their jobs (excluding h'aanit and maybe ophilia)??? like, there must be something more to that... and i've come to the conclusion that this is it... because it's wholesome as heck. good luck getting him to make something for you, though! +1 for doubtlessly being the underdog of this ranking -1 since your kitchen is somewhat unlikely to survive his cooking techniques -0.5 because there's no way he won't use at least one apple in every meal he will ever prepare -0.5 for exclusivity final score: 9/10 -- h'aanit: it's confirmed that she's a cooking goddess - and not only that - she can hunt, forage and cook. name something that's not perfect about that combination. i'll wait. +1 for being the best -1 for being too good final score: 10/10--

[starcrossedkaiju]

Kingslayer AU: Chapter One

Finally! I’m sorry this took so long, I’m a nervous wreck.

Notes: this was originally a warmup for character interactions/setting. It is very dialogue heavy.

\\ Warnings: alcohol //

A single tumbleweed was all that crossed Scott’s path when he arrived in the Red Desert. It was rather comical, he stood and watched it roll away until he couldn’t see it through the sheets of sand blowing over the ground.

In the distance, the only mountain located in the desert biome loomed over the horizon. Imposingly backlit by the red, swirling, tendrils of the world border. Most residents kept away from the thing, as it was meant to give off an unsettling aura. Although Scott never minded it. The wall of his room was almost right up against it after all.

On top of the mountain was a barely visible “castle”, which looked as if it was built by someone wearing a blindfold. The inhabitants of the castle, and the aptly named “Monopoly Mountain” could be accurately described as menaces.

Clumsy when it came to forward thinking, and leaving hidden traps around so frequently that traveling through any wooded area required either a very long stick, or someone willing to take the business end of a TNT trap for the team.

They also happened to be Scott’s nearest allies. It hadn’t always been pleasant between them, but circumstance led to circumstance, and now Scott was making his semi-weekly visit to Monopoly Mountain to shoot the breeze.

Typically the only person at the base would be Grian. Scar liked to make himself elusive by causing problems elsewhere and returning late into the evening with a story to tell over dinner.

The base of the mountain was void of a bubble-elevator. To reach the top one must climb an absurd amount of stairs. Scott huffed and resigned himself to the task in front of him.

As his perspective grew higher and higher the rest of the map revealed itself. The roof of Joel’s house peeked over a swathe of trees, and the tall barricades of Dogwarts stood out as a stark silhouette against the sky. Scott took a few minutes to regain his purchase, shielding his eyes from the whipping wind.

The season was gradually descending into winter. Made obvious by the deciduous trees’ leaves choking out the last of their green pigment for fiery shades of red and orange. The weather was far less pleasant to endure. Everywhere outside of the Red Desert had to deal with bitterly cold conditions, although there hadn’t been snow yet, the sky churned with a constant overcast. Threatening to storm at the drop of a coin.

Scott rubbed his arms to fight off the oncoming chill and continued his ascent, hoping someone had installed a fireplace since the last time he visited.

Finally he rounded the last of the stairs and gazed up at the tall, thin roof of the Sand Castle. The Red Desert flag strung on the tallest rooftop flapped around in the wind. Pizza, the pet lama, grunted in Scott’s direction when he approached the front door. He hesitantly reached out to pet her (she bit him once and he’d never fully gotten over it) from over the fence of her pen, and she let him rub her fluffy bangs.

Scott knocked on the door three times and gave Pizza one last pat, anticipating someone to open the door. It would be a shame if he’d hiked all the way out only for nobody to be home.

Thankfully, the door swung open with a welcoming screech of it’s hinges.

“Hey dude,” Grian welcomed him from the front steps.

“Hey,” Scott greeted in return, “may I come in?” he asked.

“Of course! It’s freezing out here,” Grian replied and stepped away from the door, which slammed with a squeak behind the two of them.

Scott closed his eyes and waved to the resident enderman, who greeted him with a friendly, distorted “hello”. A furnace was running to warm the living room.

Scott took his coat and hat off. He draped them over the arm of the couch before swatting a layer of sand from the cushion and sitting down, observing the scene in front of him. There was always something going on in there.

This time, a myriad of blueprints were strewn across the floor. Each of them depicting heavily annotated structures and what looked like plans for redstone. Grian had planted himself on the floor with a pencil, and was furiously erasing a line of text.

“What’s that?” Scott pointed over his shoulder.

“These,” Grian held one of the outlines up to the other’s face, “are the blueprints for our secret bunker,” he explained.

“You hear that? Secret Bunker, so don’t go telling anyone about it m’kay?” He tapped the paper with the end of his pencil.

“Okay, fair enough. Is that redstone?” Scott slid another sheet of paper towards them with his shoe.

“Yup. I’m gonna equip it with a lava trap,” Grian said proudly.

“And this one will work?” Scott teased.

“Hilarious,” Grian pushed the other’s shoulder, “yes it will work, it’s going to be my best yet,” he assured.

“Oh good! That’s not a very high standard to meet then,” Scott congratulated.

“Blah, blah, blah,” Grian mocked back, “you better be careful what you say with twenty five reputation points,” he said.

Scott threw his hands up in surrender, still laughing at how the other man’s ears turned red.

The house fell into a comfortable silence after that. The sound of scribbling and wind served as a calming ambience. Scott intermittently shared a few words with the enderman, who seemed to understand more of what Scott said to him than the other way around.

“Hey, Grian?” Scott turned over on the couch to face his friend.

“Yeah?” The other said without looking away from his work.

“Do you think you would have still been friends with Scar if he hadn’t died from that creeper?” Scott asked.

There was a pregnant pause, then Grian said, “I don’t know. I never thought about it,” he doodled absently on the margin of his paper.

“Hm,” Scott replied halfheartedly. He mainly asked because whenever he visited Grian was alone. If they were even home at all. Other than that him and Scar were always attached at the hip.

“Why?” Grian asked in return.

“I don’t know, forget it,” Scott waved him off. Not wanting to get into it.

“When’s he gonna be back?” he asked instead.

Grian sat up and stretched his back, “uh, I don’t know actually. He said he went to gather resources but you can never really count on him doing what he says he will,” he explained.

“You didn’t go with him?” Scott asked.

“I don’t want to babysit him anymore. If he gets in trouble that’s not my problem,” Grian said. He stood up and wandered over the the kitchen, carefully avoiding the blueprints on the floor.

“Ha! I would drink to that one, Jimmy is the same way sometimes,” Scott replied and watched as Grian contemplated the contents of their cooler, reaching in and pulling out a bottle of red wine.

“Well then, let’s drink to it,” he held the bottle up with a grin.

“Where did you get that?” Scott vacated the couch and made his way over to his friend, taking the bottle and studying it, “I haven’t seen the fruit of the vine in years!” he recalled.

The bottle had clearly been tapped into before, although not much was absent from its contents.

“I have my ways,” Grian rummaged around in a cabinet and pulled out two glasses.

“I would say it’s too early for this, but for once, it’s five o’clock somewhere,” Scott uncorked the bottle with a satisfying pop and poured each glass a third of the way.

Grian cleared his throat, “To the safety of our stupid partners,” he raised his glass.

Scott nodded in return and connected their drinks with a polite clink, then they drank to the sentiment.

The conversation traveled to the dining table, which was more of a booth. Talking points ranged from preparing for winter to future plans to expand their bases.

“I’m not going to get anything done with the weather coming on,” Scott complained over his drink, “I don’t handle the cold very well,” he downed the last of it.

“Well you can always move in with us for the season, the attic is vacant,” Grian offered.

“Never in a million years. I’d rather be sick at home than spend a week living with barbarians,” Scott refused the offer.

Grian rolled his eyes, “it is not that bad,” he defended himself.

Scott raised an eyebrow and shoved his hand in between the cushions of the booth. Pulling up a handful of sand, which he deposited on the table.

“We live in a desert! What do you want us to do about it, of course there’s some sand in here,” Grian threw his hands up.

“Some?” Scott repeated.

“Okay,” Grian glanced under the table and shuffled his foot around, which scraped across a layer of sand, “a lot of sand,” he corrected himself.

“Get a vacuum. For the hundredth time, get a vacuum,” Scott demanded.

“We have a broom that works perfectly fine,” Grian stood up and opened a linen closet to reveal a single broom leaned up against the wall.

Scott didn’t comment on it, but he had a feeling that broom never left the closet.

The conversation was effectively halted when the front door screeched open, letting in a gust of wind and sand. It blew a few papers off the floor and scattered them around the living area.

“Hey,” Grian called out, “Scar? You back?” he asked.

“Yeah,” came from the front of the Sand Castle.

“Okay! We have company by the way,” Grian prefaced.

Scar’s head poked around the doorframe, he waved at Scott who returned the gesture.

“What have you guys been up to?” He inquired at the sight of the wine on the counter.

“Just hanging out. It gets a bit lonely up here you know,” Grian closed the linen closet and took Scar’s backpack from him. He opened it and looked at the contents.

“Oh, you actually did what you went out to do,” Grian revealed a bundle of wood from the bag.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Scar crossed his arms.

“Never mind, go wash up. I assume you’re hungry,” Grian opened a pantry and took some spices out, “are you staying for dinner Scott?” he asked.

Scott leaned out of the booth to check the time on the clock above the door, “mmm, yeah why not. I’m already here,” he decided.

“Let me just page Jimmy and tell him I’m gonna be home late,” Scott patted all his pockets but found no sign of his communication device.

“Hey Grian? Can I use your pager?” he requested.

Grian fished around in his back pockets and pulled out his pager, tossing it towards the other who caught it with both hands. Scott thanked him and flipped the screen up, selected the address he needed to contact, and typed out a short message. Making sure to say it was from him and not Grian before sending it to Jimmy.

“What’re we making?” Scott asked once he finished, intent on trying to help in the kitchen.

“Well, it’s Spaghetti Friday,” Grian declared and revealed a bag of Rigatoni pasta.

“That’s a thing?” Scott inquired, taking the bag and examining the packaging. It was pretty simple, mostly cardboard with a plastic window. Presumably from the village on the other side of the map.

“We’ve gotta have some fun around here, come on now Scott,” Grian said.

“You’re right, how can I help?” Scott said. Grian side eyed him.

“You can add the salt when I say you can add the salt,” he offered. Scott crossed his arms.

He wasn’t that bad at cooking. He’d only burned a few things, smoked the house out for three days once, and set scrambled eggs on fire.

“That one time was just a rookie mistake,” Scott retorted. It’s not like he did it on purpose.

“A rookie mistake that almost burned your flower forest down. I wouldn’t let you near the kitchen if I was Jimmy either,” Grian set a pot down on the stove.

Scar came back in the kitchen then, and was pulled into it almost immediately.

“A man can’t even sit down in his own house without his culinary skills being put up for debate?”

Grian laughed at him, sliding the pot under the water pump.

“That’s not an answer at all! Can you or can’t you?” Scott demanded to know, holding a salt shaker.

“I can cook,” Scar’s gaze wandered into thought, he started counting on his fingers, “pasta, assorted vegetables, mac and cheese, cornbread, mashed potatoes, and I can bake a half decent carrot cake,” he recited.

“I worked in a supermarket before the borders. We made some of our own stuff for the bakery and the buffet,” Scar said. It was the first mention he made of what he did back when things were normal. At least to Scott.

Scott was pleasantly surprised. He nodded, seeing as he’d been given a satisfying answer.

The spaghetti went off without a hitch, Grian was surprisingly good at making it. Scott had the sense that he’d done it many times before.

“Remember, you can put the salt in but you can’t take it out. Here taste the sauce and tell me if it’s alright,” Grian fished a spoon from a drawer and handed it to Scott.

“Hmm,” the other pondered after trying a spoonful, “maybe a bit more salt?” he suggested.

A window was propped open to let the steam and heat out. It was getting dark now, and the world border stood out against the purple hues of night falling over the server. The brightest stars made themselves known to the east as the sun set to the west. It was peaceful, the wind had died down. Scott wondered if anyone else was watching.

Personally, he enjoyed stargazing a lot more. His servermates knew next to nothing about the cosmos, which made him wonder who was teaching them about the greater universe. Clearly they’d never been out there.

“Yo,” Scar called him out of his trance. He handed the other a ceramic bowl.

“Thank you,” Scott said and waited to serve himself.

The spaghetti was pretty good. Decent meals were hard to come by, especially with the limited resources outside of villages.

Over the course of dinner, Scar explained his excursion of the day. He had been gathering wood to stockpile for the winter months (no wood in the desert, better to have a source available and not have to hike out and get more constantly) when he came upon Etho’s base.

“It’s entirely made of wool,” he recounted.

Grian raised an eyebrow in confusion, “All of it? Why?” he mused.

“Dunno. There was nobody around,” Scar replied.

“You didn’t steal from them did you?” Scott interjected.

“Not this time,” he said, which earned him a jab in the ribs from Grian.

The three laughed it off and switched the subject to current server affairs. Who had the best gear, everyone’s respective allies, the phantom problem, and the pros and cons of a vacuum.

“Well, I would say this is a fine work of spaghetti,” Scar complimented when he was finished.

“Indeed, couldn’t have done it without Scott. The best salt dispenser among us,” Grian agreed.

Scott tried to look offended but couldn’t repress a smile. He stood up, about to take his bowl to the sink; but Scar insisted that he was the guest, so he handed over his dish and sat back down. Preparing his “i’m out of here” pleasantries.

He settled on, “Well, I’m out of here,” after a few more minutes of banter.

“Okay! Thanks for keeping me company dude,” Grian gave Scott a hug as thanks.

“My pleasure,” Scott replied.

Scar offered to accompany Scott back to the Hobbit territory, but he refused.

“No need Scar, you’ve been out all day. I’ll be fine,” he assured as he adjusted his hat and jacket for the chilly walk home.

“Alright then, let me walk you out,” Scar proposed instead.

Final waves and good wishes were exchanged and Scott started back down all those stairs. It was quiet, save for the gentle buzz of the world border which sat right against the Red Desert.

Lost in thought for most of the journey, Scott traveled into the dark canopy of leaves. There weren’t many mobs out due to the moon being in its Waning Crescent phase. Scott rubbed his hands together and shoved them in his pockets, wishing he’d brought his mittens.

As he crossed over a clearing, an arrow whizzed over his shoulder. Scott ducked down in surprise, turning around and expecting to see a skeleton, but there was nothing there except a dreadfully dark bank of trees and a vacant plot of land.

Scott squinted into the darkness.

Then the handle of a weapon was brought down on the side of his face, and all the lights went out.

[readermishok]

Top 20: my favorite interactive stories

Hello, guys!

Once I saw that one of my popular and mostly likeable posts was about IF, I decided to share with you my personal top of the best IF authors I have known. 

I read a lot of WIPs (work in progress) and finished novels since three long years, so I might recommend truly incredible stories. I apologies for adding pics and some additional info about my MC, but I wanted to bring spark of life into this top.

MC – Julia (deShanre), she|her.

I'll start with telling about quartet of works greatly affected on me. It was almost like… living my second life. It felt so real, so vibrant. In the darkest times it gave me the strenght to meet the next day.

1. Samurai of Hyuga, Books 1-4 by Devon Connell (WIP, planned 7 books). Patreon. Buy Book 1.  Buy Book 2. Buy Book 3. Buy Book 4.

Samurai of Hyuga is a brutal, heart-pounding interactive tale. Prepare to enter the land of silk and steel, where fantasy clashes against grim reality, and where the good guys don't always win in the end. It's a harsh world with tough choices at every turn. Good thing you're the toughest ronin around.

My MC: Ronin, the master of the Jigoku Ittō-ryū, The Sword Who Cuts the Heavens

Jigoku:

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2. Fallen Hero by Malin Ryden (WIP, planned 4 books). Tumblr: @fallenhero-rebirth​. Patreon. Buy Book 1.

Become the greatest telepathic villain Los Diablos has ever known! Once you were famous; soon you will be infamous. That is, unless your old friends in the Rangers stop you first. Juggle different identities and preserve your secrets as you build new alliances and try to forget the friendships you've left behind.

My MC: Sidestep Puppetmaster:

Jane (puppet):

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3. I, the Forgotten one by Bacondoneright (WIP, planned dilogy). No tumblr or Patreon|Ko-fi. Demo.

It has been five long years since the end of The Border Wars. Five long years without a purpose. Endlessly drifting around from one job to the next, serving your apathetic father only to receive no credit. Nobody in Kanton truly knows what you did. How you won The War, leading the armies of Kanton as a youth.

Nobody knows what it took out of you. Spending your formative years in war is not good for one’s outlook on life. Your emotions now lie behind a mask of stoicism. After all, all emotions do is cloud one’s judgement and wind up costing lives.

Nobody knows how much it hurt to be cast down from the throne and succession. To be disinherited, cast away from the family, and left aside to die.

My MC: The Marshal, the bastard child:

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4. The Exile by Pheo (WIP). Tumblr: @exilethegame​. Patreon. Demo.

You’re the ex-commander of the Kingdom of Plaithus, and your name is known by all. It used to be whispered in fear by your enemies, and the very mention of it could send men fleeing. Your people had cried it out in battle, swords raised in your honor as they faced death fearlessly. You were a hero, and to some, a legend.

Until you weren’t.

You can’t remember what happened. All that’s left are blurry faces, screams, and the feeling of blood on your hands. The only reason you still have your head is because of the pity of an old friend.

And now? It’s only been a year since the incident, and already things are going wrong again when a rather peculiar sorcerer offers you absurd amounts of gold in exchange for protection from… well, that’s the problem, isn’t it? You don’t know.

My MC: the Commander:

Ex-commander.

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Shepherds of Haven by Lena Nguyen (WIP). Tumblr: @shepherds-of-haven​ Patreon. Demo.

Shepherds of Haven is a dark fantasy interactive fiction game. In it, you play as a Mage living in a world where magic is outlawed and your people—those possessing supernatural powers—are oppressed and reviled. The world is ruled by humans who believe in science, technology, and industry: at best, you and your kind are nothing more than a fairytale, and at worst you are the state’s greatest threat.

My MC: Human Mage, gunner

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God of the Red Mountain (WIP). Tumblr: @friendlybowlofsoup​​​ Demo.

You are a spirit born of the Red Mountain–though you’ve run away from it long ago. You’d be content to stay away, too, if not for the mountain god who suddenly comes looking for you. But what purpose do they have? And what exactly is your end goal?

Based on East Asian myths and folklore, you play as a powerful, nameless spirit in a shifting world. As a being caught between death and life, you are connected to a stream of limitless power, and the more you are known, the more powerful you become.

However, your journey will not be so smooth. You have been cursed by powerful, malignant beings known as Foxes, and it’s only a matter of time before you fall from sanity yourself.

My MC: Owl spirit, human appearance

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The Bastard of Camelot by Rebelgirl (WIP). Tumblr: @llamagirl28​ Demo. Ko-fi.

Your child will be the undoing of Camelot. Born under an ominous prophecy, you are the incestuous bastard of King Arthur and Morgana Le Fay. Will you fulfill the prophecy, or rebel?

Be the villain they expect you to be, or the hero they don’t- be remorseful or unapologetic, make your destiny or be Morgana’s tool of revenge.

Arthur can’t have any more children, making you the sole blood heir, and sole other Pendragon. As a Pendragon, you have the power of dragons.

The Bastard of Camelot is a trilogy following Mordred as they become a knight of the Round Table, and save or destroy Camelot.

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The Seven Heirs of Ophaesia: Part One by (WIP). Tumblr: @fantasyfawkes​​​ Demo. Patreon.

The Seven Heirs of Ophaesia is a low-fantasy game set in a Renaissance-esque world where you play as one of seven heirs to a fictional kingdom rife with intrigue. As the King’s seventh child, you are a prince or princess of Ophaesia, a luxurious nation along the southern coast of Selanes. You are the first child of your father’s third wife, a woman hated throughout the realm due to the pervasive suspicion that she poisoned the previous queen, and her poor reputation taints your image in the eyes of the court and beyond. From your days in the palace nursery all the way to adulthood, you must navigate treacherous court politics and delicate foreign affairs while trying to find your place in the world — and your family.

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 Attollo by A.E. Jendryke (WIP). Tumblr: @attollogame Demo. Patreon.

After several years of radio silence, you receive a message from your younger sibling that carries a strange sense of urgency to it. Either out of familial concern, or boredom, you embark on a journey from your residence to your siblings apartment in New Hampshire to see what’s wrong and then get on with your life. Too bad it’s never so simple.

Deal with cults, interdimensional entities, and far too many people with superpowers (where, for once, you’re the odd one out) in your journey to bring your sibling back from an underworld far out of your control.

My MC: lawyer

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 Land of the Dragon (WIP) by Hilsee Foo. Demo. Last update was long ago... (crying)

Welcome to the Land of the Dragon! Here you shall experience an adventure in an ancient land, navigate court politics, forge friendships, and maybe even pursue romance if you so choose!

The Dragon Emperor sits upon the throne, as he inherited it from his father before him. But all is not well in the realm. In the provinces, an Uprising is gaining both strength and popularity. At court, the Elder Prince plots in secret to usurp his brother's throne. And within the Emperor's harem, the Empress and Imperial Consort vie for power.

As the Emperor and Empress' only trueborn child, you are at the centre of this power struggle. When all hell breaks lose on your 21st nameday, what will you do to find your place in this world?

All this, and more... In the Land of the Dragon.

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The Northern Passage by Kit H.J. (WIP). Tumblr: @northern-passage​ Demo. 

The Northern Passage is a horror fantasy CYOA, where you play as a hunter sent up north to investigate a series of missing people along the border and in the port cities of the Blackwater.

Working with your handler, Lea, you will travel north and discover that things are far worse than you ever could have imagined, and that there is something powerful lurking out in the deep, dark sea…

My MC: Hunter

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 The Nameless by Parker Lyn (WIP). Tumblr: @parkerlyn​​ Demo. Ko-fi.

The Nameless is a low fantasy WIP that is character and romance driven, with your race (sheevra) loosely based on stories about the fey and other myths. Where deals are a weapon and a name is the most intimate secret someone can offer. You play as a sheevra investigating the city of Renescen after the complete disappearance of one of four sheevra Clans in the world, running across a ragtag group of both sheevra and mortalis along the way.

Will you find out what happened before it comes for you?

Mortalis appearance

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Virtue’s End by Crimsis (WIP). Tumblr: @virtuesend-if​​​ Demo. Patreon.

In a dark world overrun by monsters from the shadow plane, you exist as a hybrid monster hunter called a helvling, a human whose very soul has been Bound to one such entity. Travelling from warded settlement to warded settlement with your surly Keeper, Shea, you have the thankless task of defending the common folk against these horrors from Hel.

Usually, a fate such as yours is only reserved for the lowest of criminals, as penance for their loathsome deeds… You wouldn’t know if your fate has been deserved, however, since upon completion of your Binding seven years ago, all former memories of your human life have been lost.

You’ve been moulded into a weapon by the Virtuous Order, trained to be an unfeeling and ruthlessly efficient hunter… But is that who you are? Who are you, truly?

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A Tale of Crowns (WIP). Tumblr: @ataleofcrowns​​​​ Itch.

A Tale of Crowns is a high fantasy love story with Middle Eastern roots, both on pc as well as mobile! It’s entirely text-based, with choices throughout to shape both your main character’s personality and skills as well as influence their relationships with others. There are four love interests for you to choose from, both female as well as male, each with their own stories and secrets for you to uncover!

Crown of Arsur

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 Wayfarer (WIP). Tumblr: @idrellegames​ Demo. Patreon.

When your mercenary work backs you into a corner, you take the only option available and accept a contract: to travel to the city of Velantis and steal an ancient artifact said to be blessed by the gods. Simple, right?

But Velantis holds more than you bargained for. Gathering a ragtag party of malcontents and renegades from across the city, you must navigate enemy factions, meddling guilds, and escalating political tensions. Your choices will ultimately determine the city’s fate – and the fate of every person who lives there. 

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When Twilight Strikes by evertidings (WIP). Tumblr: @evertidings​ Demo. 

You are a bounty hunter. Responsible for taking in rogue supernaturals, you work for IAOS—the International Agency of Supernaturals—where, alongside your best friend and partner, you two have quickly become the best hunting duo of the branch. After a particular tricky hunt, you brief your boss, Caine Atheron, and come back to work the next day to find that he has mysteriously disappeared overnight, the company is now in the hands of his best friend, Sebastian Mai. And though no one else seems to question it, something tells you that there’s more to the story.

With bounty cases rising at an alarming rate and a second mystery unfolding, you and your ragtag team of allies set out to find the truth.

But as you go further and further, the secrets you uncover begin to make you question: who… or what exactly are you fighting for? 

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Passanger by Pime (WIP). Tumblr: @the-passenger-if Demo. Ko-fi.

Do you like monsters? Do you think they are the best part of their respective movies, books, and shows? Then The Passenger might be the game for you.

The Passenger is a choice script work in progress in which you are an eldritch abomination that’s about to be devoured by another unthinkable creature. Good news is you are pretty crafty and know how to jump dimensions to escape your ghastly fate; bad news is, you’re now stuck on Earth, trapped inside a dumb human larva.

As years go by, you realize the amount of energy you need to leave this horrible dimension behind is a lot more than you anticipated. Not to mention the creature that almost ate you all those years ago never really stopped looking for you. But there’s no way it’ll pinpoint your actual location… right?

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Scout: An Apocalypse Story by Anya (WIP). Tumblr: @anya-dev​ Itch.

It has been over a decade since a worldwide natural disaster obliterated the natural planet and decimated human civilization. There are small groups of humans still alive, fending for themselves, trying to create communities amongst the rubble.

You are a 24-year old scout living in a small community on the edge of the Orange Plains. You lost your mother and your sister before finding your way here. You are primarily an academic, and you put your skills to use on regular scouting missions. With your best friend and your scouting team leader in tow, your small group is a pillar of the Community.

On your first scouting mission of the hot season, you meet the leader of the People Across the Orange Plains. Will you break from the Community you have known your whole life? Ask a romantic partner to join you? Discover secrets that your own people have been hiding? Become a leader yourself?

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Body Count by Nell Bolton (WIP). Tumblr: @bodycountgame​ Demo. Ko-fi.

Your life isn’t going how you’d hoped. Despite having big plans when you graduated, you’re stuck in a dead end job and a crappy flat with zero romantic life to speak of. All until a friend convinces you to join the cast of a new reality TV show.

The premise is simple: 12 singles are sent to a villa on a tropical island and they live there together for a month. After 28 days, the couple who is voted by the other islanders as being most likely to withstand the test of time will win £500,000. In addition, the couple with the highest body count will win £500,000. Total prize pool? £1,000,000.

In this context, “body count” refers to how many people you’ve slept with… right? Well, that’s what you think when you sign your contract. Turns out, though, that not all of your fellow cast members will be using that definition to get to the prize.

Fall in love, win big money, solve some murders and try to stay.

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Project Hadea by nyehilism (WIP). Tumblr: @nyehilismwriting​​ Itch. Ko-fi.

You play as an OPERATIVE of Scytha Industries, a highly selective private security company. As their most elite Operative, you possess many skills and talents, not to mention top-of-the-line equipment - including your very own AI module, IVI.

This, of course, puts a price on your head. An AI module goes for billions on the black market; carrying one around in your skull is, perhaps, not the safest idea. Sure, you’re more than a match for anyone who might come after you - but no-one outside the high levels of Scytha knows about it, so you should be safe anyway, right?

Wrong.

Wrong, wrong, wrong.

I do want to thank all these tremendously talented authors for creating such complex and beautiful worlds. I love it with all my soul.

Thanks for reading, I hope you will find story for yourself. I’ll gradually extand this top! 

Stay tuned.

[hematomes]

An assumption of a connection I've noticed between the people in the act trailers and Pulcinella

They all have a form of control that can majorly affect their country/city

Diluc: 'Darknight Hero' that protects Mondstadt city while the better of the Knights of Favonius are away for fuck knows what and how long. Also a major head of the wine industry and has connections to get stuff done

Ningguang: Qixing of Liyue and head of all. Knows the ins and outs of business and literally nearly everyone would like her advice on how to get ahead in the game of profit and loss

Ayaka: A co-head of the Kamisato Clan and Yashiro commission that deals with cultural affairs. She herself may be restricted to her duties, but Ayato's limits surely aren't as much to his

Cyno: Mahamatra and one of the overseers of what work is being done by members of the Akademiya in Sumeru city. Literally has the right and duty to beat sense into the sages for their absurd plans

Then Pulcinella: Governs towns and 5th of Tsaritsa's harbingers. Known for finding a person's weakness and using it to uphold their loyalty to their line of duty

In some way and somehow, the first four get affiliated with us quite quickly and work together for a beneficial goal. Whether or not this base of a goal will truly be beneficial for the traveller in Snezhnaya is what I'm so excited for when we get to act 6. Rn I'm just wondering where we'll stand with people like Pantalone, Pulcinella, Arlecchino, Sandrone. At least 1 2 and 4, they seem indisposable with how important their role is, and Im intrigued on how traveller will reach s compromise with at least Pulcinella to get him what he wants and get a few steps closer to whatever the goal is

But then there's Fontaine and Natlan's trailer characters that make me question if my assumed correlation can truly follow. Those two for Fontaine remind me of olden day actors for the plays snd colourless television. I feel their importance may weigh with how much information they can get on people or they work with an underground organisation not dissimilar to The adventurer's guild when collecting info

And then the kid for Natlan. Someone pointed out that he's an elf, and that made me hope that they leads us to Alice. I also had the idea that maybe they could take us to meet some important elder elves? And after a quest or something they tell us to go meet the elf of Snezhnaya for more help — Pulcinella, who may be commonly known for his current position (someone said he could be Klee's grandpa lol)

Had to say this all before I sleep and forget cus I'm wondering if you have any ideas/assumptions on the trailer as well

I have more Natlan thoughts but another time 💆🏾‍♀️

honestly im not too invested in pulcinella so i don't know anything about him - tho to be honest i haven't read any of childe's voicelines about the harbingers, so im lacking info. im more interested in arlecchino and columbina :]

as for your theory, it could work still with fontaine and natlan. with fontaine's music theme and the aesthetic (beyond steampunk, i mean) + the title "masquerade of the court", it appears that lyney and lynette will hold great importance aside from the court of justice

which is a common theme with the featured characters, actually:

diluc isn't part of the kof. ningguang isn't an adeptus. ayaka wasn't exactly on the shogun's side; there's always some "rebellion" (to some extent), a form of good that's aside the most obvious form of authority in the nation.

and i think that's what the twins are gonna be. if we assume fontaine's lore is more or less inspired by france around the 18th century, masquerades were a pretty important part of french culture at that time. considering it's also linked with lying, hiding stuff etc (the masks, yk), it could be a crucial opposition to the hydro archon - once again, if we assume that the hydro archon's ideology is based on french revolution ideas

as for natlan, iansan is really interesting bc as you said she looks like an elf - however it could be a trick in her design, so i wouldn't be too excited. and layla also has pointy ears, so im not sure it'll even link to alice at all

however what sumeru has taught me is that a tiny gal can be of importance, and that's what makes me rly excited bc i could see iansan being in charge of the whole fight club thingy in natlan. i can't exactly remember what it is, but she looks like she's ready to throw hands so im just hoping that's the case. as for tying her with the rest of the featured characters, i don't know enough abt natlan tbh. i don't even know what's going on there, only that it's based on south america and that vennessa's clan comes from there. ALSO that murata could be a himeko expy so im slightly worried abt her design

[in-tua-deep]

Oooooo the red bock au sounds so interesting! Does Five caught himself thinking of his brothers just as numbers and weapons like Reginald talks in his book? Does he read Vanya book to remind himself that they are still human even though he reads it through lens of someone hurt by them all? And I feel like the handler would know either way about the books but o it's so much fun to see five being paranoid

I think having both books and both perspectives reminds Five that... he’s getting some very biased accounts of his own siblings. I think that when he’s still young, he writes down as many memories as he can remember because... he starts to forget, at some point. 

Vanya’s book talks about how volatile Diego and Luther’s relationship is, and so Five writes down the time Luther and Diego teamed up to toss Five off a balcony when Five kept switching the pens in their hands with pipe cleaners during a lesson (and he will maintain until his dying day that he was just practicing his control, c’mon guys!)

when Reginald’s notes call Allison an “insufferable, narcissistic creature,” Five remembers Allison bribing him to cause trouble and distract Reginald so that she could use the microwave unobserved to heat up some water bottles as makeshift heat packs for Luther’s sore muscles

when Vanya calls Ben “easily manipulated,” Five recalls Ben arguing theories with him at 2am after one of Ben’s training sessions where Ben almost flipped his bed when Five jokingly suggested that he could use the horror’s tentacles to bounce up and down like a pogo stick before Ben tackled him and tried to beat Five to death with an encyclopedia of sea creatures (affectionately)

I think having Reginald’s journal actually helps in a lot of ways, because Five automatically autocorrects literally all of Reginald’s thoughts to be like, mostly inaccurate and much harsher than they need to be. So when he reads Vanya’s journal he also autocorrects and is able to recognize that it is a very biased and somewhat harsh view of his siblings

(he doesn’t distrust them as much as he does in canon, with only Vanya’s harsh words to cling to with no reminder that they were all raised by a man capable of unfathomable cruelty, no reminder that authors can be oh so biased)

outside of his equations, there’s notes to himself written in the margins of Vanya’s book. Sometimes they’re just small, pointing out that Klaus had fought to include Vanya in trap week (Klaus then proceeded to team up with her and managed to catch Five in a snare - he actually still has a scar around his ankle from his upsidedown thrashing before he managed to steal one of Diego’s knives to cut himself down) or pointing out that Luther’s chilly attitude when they were ten was probably the result of Vanya outperforming him in every standardized test they took because of Luther’s ridiculous inferiority-superiority complex

at the very least he has comparison, because Reginald’s book calls Klaus an absolute failure while Vanya’s book called him “sweet, as a child at least”

As for the Handler... she’s aware that he has Vanya’s book and a red notebook, but I don’t think she actually knows what’s in the red notebook! Reginald was notoriously secretive, after all

So the Handler assumes that the red notebook is where Five keeps his time travel equations because aw, he hasn’t given up! how cute!

She makes an assumption that, logically, makes sense. Of course Five is still trying to figure out time travel, no matter how much he denies it! Of course he’s writing the equations down! What a silly boy, thinking that he could hide this from her, of course she knows about his little plans to save his siblings ;3c

And because she’s so powerful and knowledgeable and one step ahead all the time, she makes an assumption and assumes that it is fact. Because she’s so smart, of course she isn’t wrong! She’s had Five clocked from day one!

(The Handler thinks she has Five all figured out, a creature so based in sentiment. Why would he carry a book around that details the torture his siblings went through? He hates his father, why would he ever carry around his father’s notebook! The Handler has a fatal flaw, and it is that she doesn’t understand loyalty and sneers at sentiment and those are two of Five’s most powerful driving factors. Five lives for his siblings and would die for his siblings, almost his entire life has been dedicated to saving them. Not the world, just his family.) 

(She understands that Five considers his family to be exceptionally valuable, but doesn’t comprehend that Five is 100% willing to die for them should it come down to it. Why on earth would anyone value something like siblings over their own life? Absurd. I genuinely believe that the Handler thinks she could get Five to betray his siblings with the right leverage, and so she fundamentally does not understand Five as a person)

To be fair to the Handler, the whole academy’s morals and just. completely and utterly fucked. Luther condemns the murder of innocent civilians even if it would save the planet but doesn’t blink an eye at killing the ‘bad guy’ Commission agents. Diego stabs criminals as a pastime while still holding himself at a moral high ground for saving people, despite the fact that too many criminals are forced into crime by unfair circumstances. Allison used her powers to bolster her career without even blinking but now refuses to use her powers at all because of the manipulation of one (1) child, not even against ‘bad guys.’ 

I mean. Vanya wrote an entire salt book without consulting her siblings that had lasting impacts on at least one of her sibling’s career in the public eye and potentially impacting her siblings relationships with everyone who had every read the spark notes on her book, without the opportunity for reprisal. Publishing your entire family’s dirty laundry as personal emotional catharsis is... kind of a dick mood, lets be real. Especially when you were all abused children raised in an environment of excessive violence and rigid structure. 

Like yeah, of course Allison is good at manipulation and lying - she grew up with an abusive and over-controlling father. She probably lied as easily as breathing about where she’d been, who she was with, what she was doing, etc. The only privacy they got in that household was what they seized with their own hands and carved out for themselves! Is it fair to say that Allison’s superpower is dishonestly?

Is it fair to say that Klaus got crueler as he grew? He was tortured and turned to drugs as an unhealthy coping mechanism, and then he sat down at a table and looked at all the other little kiddies who did not get locked into a crypt overnight. In fact, there was one child who never got any extra training at all! Can you imagine the jealousy? The bitterness? Klaus might have been exceptionally cruel to Vanya as a teenager, she had everything he wanted and dared to complain about it. Can you imagine listening to someone wistfully wish they could join in on missions when you know that the cost for doing so has been carved out of your soul?

My point is, none of these little bitches have anything that resembles a sane moral compass. They’re unpredictable as fuck! It’s like herding cats! You never know what they’re going to do next! Oh? Are they going to investigate in any logical pattern? No, because Diego just remembered Patch exists and helping her print flyers for the annual police ball is more important than saving the world or whatever lol

Luther is over there investigating the moon! The moon! Meanwhile Allison is breaking and entering her sister’s student’s house because she got shady vibes off of him one time and she has never heard of a proportionate action in her life. 

Meanwhile Vanya is going through the phone book trying to call up psychiatrists who have any familiarity with whatever fucked up meds Dad put her on because like, she would like to Not Be On Them (fuck you dad) but also understands that danger of quitting cold turkey something you have been taking for years and would like a professional opinion on how to safely decrease and eventually eliminate her usage, thanks (Klaus is hanging over her shoulder pointing out the ones who will sell you non-prescription drugs for a price and Vanya mentally crosses those ones off of her list to call)

Five is probably joining on the breaking and entering because Allison promised she would sweet talk to eye dude if he did her this solid 

(Five complains at length about how investigating the apocalypse should not be a solid because she would 100% die as well if the apocalypse came to pass)

[demonsigh]

the vampire hunter

rating: orange/pg pairing: male vampire x male human features: drunken antics, in vino veritas, enemies to lovers warnings: blood, throwing up length: 2434 words

A very hungry vampire takes care of a very drunk vampire hunter. Based on this prompt submitted to @monsterkinkmeme​

There were many undeniable perks that came with being a vampire, and several of them lent themselves well to scholarly pursuits. Ellis had an infallible memory for names, dates, and quotations. He had excellent night vision, which made candles unnecessary for reading in the dark. And whereas the research of mere men spanned decades at most, Ellis had pursued his studies for centuries.

But immortality had not cured him of the bad habits he’d developed as a human academic. Sometimes he became so absorbed in his work that he went for weeks without feeding, without realizing, until he would look up from a book and be suddenly crushed by a hunger so strong that it hurt. As a vampire, this was not only unhealthy, but dangerous. He posed no threat to errant humans if he kept himself well-fed, but when he was starving, sometimes his self-control slipped.

He wouldn’t have called himself “starving” tonight, but he was hungrier than he thought was responsible. He planned out a hunting trip in his head while he packed necessities into a small leather bag. He always travelled far to feed, and never dipped into the surrounding hamlets. He found that the locals tolerated him as long as he kept his distance, even if they found him strange or had their suspicions about his true nature. He was careful not to upset this uneasy peace. A mob of frightened humans could be just as deadly as a vampire.

A loud knock sounded at the front door. Ellis paused in the act of packing, then heaved an enormous sigh. He thought briefly about slipping out the window and avoiding this encounter altogether, but he told himself that it wouldn’t be very sportsmanlike.

The person at the door was almost certainly Nicholas Golding, a vampire hunter of mild renown who’d been pursuing Ellis for months. They’d met abroad, on one of Ellis’s hunting trips, and since then they’d developed something of a rivalry.

“St. Claaaaiiiirrrr!” It was Nicholas, growing impatient at the door. “I have you this time, you devil!”

Ellis rolled his eyes, wondering if he could convince Nicholas to postpone the match until next week. Not likely.

He opened the front door to find a sword pointed in his face, the tip wobbling in clumsy little circles as if trying to find the perfect spot to stab.

“You’re mine now, St. Clair.” Nicholas swayed in place as he spoke, fighting to keep his footing. It was to his credit that his sword arm stayed as steady as it was.

“Golding,” said Ellis, as he pushed the sword aside with his hand, “you’re drunk. Go home.”

Nicholas laughed loudly. “You know even half-dead I’m more than a match for you.”

Ellis privately conceded the point. Nicholas was an arrogant prick, but he fought like a demon. He was incredibly skilled with a sword, resourceful, creative, and insufferable in his tenacity. Even drunk, he was a much more challenging opponent than any of the stooges the Church sent after him.

But Ellis had never seen Nicholas this drunk. The man positively reeked of ale, speech slurred, gaze unfocused, cheeks flushed an appealing shade of red. It was a wonder he’d made it up to the castle without falling off a cliff.

“Anyway,” said Nicholas, lowering his sword. He attempted to sheath it, but couldn’t manage to align the tip with the opening. He let the sword fall to the steps with a clatter instead, then looked back up at Ellis with a dashing, lopsided smile. “The innkeeper kicked me out. Let me stay the night, will you?”

“Are you out of your mind?” asked Ellis, scowling. He was far too hungry for a guest; particularly one who’d just held him at swordpoint. He was sure he had every right to slam the door in this man’s face.

But what would Nicholas do instead? Sleep drunk in a ditch? He’d be robbed blind by bandits if the wolves didn’t get to him first. Something in Ellis recoiled from the thought.

“I’ll sleep on the sofa,” Nicholas slurred. “You won’t even know I’m there.”

“Why not take the bed?” asked Ellis, sarcastic, but somehow he found himself stepping aside to make way. “It’s unoccupied at night, of course.”

A flicker of surprise crossed Nicholas’s face as Ellis invited him in. Then he reassumed his cheerful smirk and staggered over the threshold. “I knew I could count on you, St. Clair, you’re a gentleman and a scholar.”

“Yes, well, your timing has always been terrible,” said Ellis. “No sense turning you away now.”

Nicholas grinned and opened his mouth to fire off a retort, lost his footing, and went crashing down face-first onto the flagstone floor.

“Damn!” he said, snickering to himself. He struggled and failed to push himself up. Ellis sighed.

“Idiot,” he muttered, while he bent down to help. He grabbed an arm and heaved Nicholas to his feet, then gasped as he held him upright, knees buckling. It wasn’t the weight — Ellis had superhuman strength, after all. It was the smell. It was the man’s blood, rushing thick and hot beneath his skin. It was mouthwatering.

Oh I’m in hell, thought Ellis. Nicholas Golding was the last person on earth he wanted to drink from. But now the man’s whole warm weight was pressed against him and Ellis was suddenly ravenous. His mouth was inches from Nicholas’s neck.

He pinched his lips shut and held his breath as he half-carried the drunken fool to the bedroom and dumped him on the bed as gently as he could manage. Then he grabbed his leather bag and slipped away. Now that the hunter was taken care of, he could go about his own hunting in peace.

But he hesitated halfway out the door, plagued by niggling worries. Nicholas had barely been able to stand. How much had he had to drink? Was it safe to leave him like this? He didn’t want to come home to a week-old corpse.

Ellis wasn’t a monster, no matter what the neighbors thought. But he was a vampire. He was strong, and fast, and that was putting it mildly. He almost always emerged the victor from their little duels. And of course it had occurred to him to just kill Nicholas and be done with him once and for all. But that simply wasn’t how Ellis did things. And so, after every defeat, he left Nick Golding alive. That fact alone seemed to gall the man more than anything else; his pride had clearly suffered the worst wounds.

But over time, Ellis had sensed a corresponding reluctance that puzzled him. This came to a head one evening when their skirmish was interrupted by another hunter — one from the Church — inserting himself into the fight. The poor man hadn’t been anywhere near their league, but the distraction had given Nicholas an advantage. He managed to pin Ellis. He had his blade pressed against his throat. Ellis saw the flash of triumph in his eyes, before — nothing. Nicholas withdrew the blade. He let Ellis escape.

That was when Ellis realized that, somehow, their relationship had changed. Nicholas didn’t want Ellis dead. He wanted to defeat him, fair and square. They were fighting for sport.

Did that make them friends? He wasn’t sure. All he knew was that he felt an annoying but undeniable concern for the man passed out drunk in his bed. And so, against his better judgment, he turned around and trudged back to the bedroom.

He stopped dead in the doorway. Nicholas was sitting up on the edge of the bed, gingerly fingering his nose, and blood was streaming from one of his nostrils.

“Think I broke my nose when I fell…” he muttered.

“Clean yourself up, you fool!” Ellis hissed, recoiling from the sight. Nicholas looked up with wide eyes, startled and bewildered.

“Oh— damn,” he said, as realization seemed to strike. He pulled an appallingly dirty handkerchief from his pocket and made a clumsy attempt to mop up the blood. It was hardly effective, but Ellis appreciated the effort.

“Better?” Nicholas asked, having the nerve to look cheerful, but his face fell when he saw the condition that Ellis was in. “Are you alright?” he asked, almost whispering.

Ellis was not alright. He wanted, ferociously, to drink Nicholas’s blood. He gripped the door frame with white-knuckled hands, struggling to compose himself, afraid to imagine what kind of expression was on his face.

Alarmed, Nicholas tried to rise, stumbled, fell to his knees, then picked himself back up unsteadily.

“Don’t come any closer,” Ellis warned.

Nicholas seemed ready to ignore the warning, but then he paused.

“Wait…” he asked, squinting across the room. “Are you drunk too?”

“Of course not,” Ellis snapped. He looked away, and without thinking, he said, “I’m starving.”

Nicholas froze, and a silence hung heavy between them. He sat back down on the bed. Ellis shut his eyes, trying to find some untapped well of resolve before he made a terrible mistake.

“You could drink from me,” Nicholas said.

The vampire’s eyes snapped open. He was sure that Nicholas was making a tasteless joke, but when he looked he saw nothing playful in the man’s face.

“Do you want to drink from me?” he asked again, as if Ellis hadn’t heard.

“You don’t know what you’re asking,” said Ellis hoarsely.

“Course I do. I’ve spoken with some of your victims. They don’t make it sound so bad.” He flashed one of his roguish smiles, and Ellis scowled in response. What was he thinking? Did he see this as another sort of absurd challenge? Let the vampire have his way with you and live to tell the tale?

He would never tell the tale if he knew what was good for him. For a vampire hunter, to be bitten was a terrible disgrace.

Nicholas’s nosebleed had slowed considerably by then, and the smell of fresh blood was replaced by the tang of the dry crust — not nearly as appetizing. Ellis breathed a bit easier.

“Don’t be a fool, Golding,” he said, “I’m not going to drink from you of all—”

He stopped short when he saw that Nicholas was unbuttoning his shirt.

“S’ppose the neck’s alright?” Nicholas asked, reaching for another button.

Ellis raced across the room and grabbed Nicholas by the collar, pulling his shirt shut.

“Would you stop that?” Ellis hissed. “Have you forgotten you’re drunk? You don’t know what you’re doing.”

Nicholas was still for a moment, staring down at the vampire’s hands. Then, gently, he wrapped his calloused fingers around Ellis’s wrists, and looked up into his face. “Ellis,” he said. His gaze was bleary and unfocused, but somehow full of an earnest concern. “I’m worried about you.”

Ellis’s long-dead heart thumped unevenly in his chest. He snatched his hands away. Nicholas took the opportunity to pull his shirt back open, exposing his neck and chest.

“Just do it, St. Clair,” he said. He glanced away, looking unexpectedly self-conscious. “It’s the least I can do. Since you’re letting me stay.”

“That’s not—” Ellis faltered, struggling to formulate another objection. But he couldn’t tear his eyes away from the flushed skin of Nicholas’s chest. His fangs ached in anticipation of the bite. His resolve was wavering.

He reached out a trembling hand. Nicholas certainly did owe him this, he reasoned, after all the months of trouble he’d caused. What was one little bite among friends?

No! What was he thinking? The man was drunk; he didn’t know what he was saying. Ellis had a brief vision of Nicholas waking up in the morning, acutely hungover, and horrified by what had occurred the night before. In fact, if Nicholas remembered any of this in the morning, things between them might change forever, and that thought hurt Ellis in a way he did not expect or know how to account for.

“It’s alright,” Nicholas said, voice low. “I don’t mind.” He placed his hands on Ellis’s hips and pulled him slowly closer. Ellis’s breath caught in his throat.

“I can’t let you do this,” he whispered. “You’ll have a scar. I’ll put your entire reputation at stake.”

Nicholas let his head fall forward, shoulders shaking. At first Ellis thought he’d given up, but then he heard the quiet laughter.

“At stake…” said Nicholas, snickering drunkenly.

“Oh you moron…” muttered Ellis. He should have used the distraction to pull away, but he didn’t. He couldn’t make himself.

Nicholas recovered with an effort, then looked back up at Ellis.

“I’m not worried about the scar,” he insisted; and there was something sly in his voice as he said, “Just bite me somewhere no one will see.”

A flash of intuition struck Ellis. He couldn’t quite believe it, but he threw caution to the wind and asked anyway.

“Are you trying to seduce me?”

Nicholas’s mouth slowly spread into a wicked grin. “I’m—” he said, but his expression suddenly soured. He shoved Ellis back, leaned over, and vomited messily onto the rug.

“Oh, perfect timing as usual,” said Ellis drily, raising his voice to be heard above the noise.

“I’ll clean it up,” Nicholas groaned, head hanging. He sounded miserable, and Ellis felt a twinge of guilt over his sarcasm.

“I’ll clean it up. Get in bed.”

“But—”

“Now, Nicholas,” Ellis barked, and Nicholas hastily obeyed, clumsily tucking himself under the covers.

“Forgot how scary you can be when you want,” he said, chuckling to himself as his eyes fell closed.

Ellis snorted as he left the room to fetch some water. He prayed that he’d kept his expression composed, but if his heart had still worked, it would have been hammering. His mind was reeling, trying to process what had just happened.

At least one thing was certain: There was no way he was going to bite Nicholas now. He was far too dehydrated to lose any blood. It was a relief to finally reach a decision, though his hunger still stung him like the pain of a wound. He would just have to bear it for now.

And what about in the morning? Would Nicholas renew his offer, or would he take back the things he’d said? Would he even remember? Ellis would certainly remember. He felt a hundred years younger, torn between apprehension and a boyish sort of excitement. 

He smiled to himself, shaking his head. All this distress over that fool of a man… And a vampire hunter no less. Yes, things would certainly be changed between them tomorrow, but perhaps that was alright.

[teawaffles]

It Happened One Night: Chapter 2

The country house Mycroft had introduced them to was a little smaller than the nobles’ mansions they’d been to thus far, but it was an elegant villa, one which exuded a sense of history.

Its exterior was built in the Gothic style, with stone foundations. Planted in the vast gardens was a sea of flora in exquisite colour schemes, delighting the eye of any onlooker. [1]

Of course, the interior didn’t disappoint either: it was richly decorated, with intricately crafted furniture in every room; and hanging from the walls were portraits of the mansion’s owners, as well as landscapes painted by renowned artists. As Sherlock and company were here as guests, they were restricted in the number of rooms allowed for use, but the sheer number of luxury items that greeted them was still far greater than what any ordinary person could ever hope to obtain.

Their lives had literally been turned around.

Turned around…… and yet.

“——Booored……”

In the room he had picked himself, Sherlock looked out the window, gazing at the tranquil garden flooded with gentle sunlight.

It had been three days since they’d moved in, and Sherlock had already grown weary of this lavish lifestyle.

He only took care of the plants in the garden insomuch that they wouldn’t wither, but otherwise he had no interest in the flowers themselves. Moreover, he had already tired of gazing upon the decorations and furniture and paintings in the house. The underground wine cellar aroused some interest, but as an invited guest, helping himself to the liquor as he pleased was evidently a breach of etiquette.

In the end, there wasn’t much to do in this mansion.

As John had suggested, requests from clients were reaching him by mail in the meantime, but they had all been simple cases, solvable just by reading the letters. Couldn’t one difficult case come in sometime? Sherlock sighed heavily as he wrote down the solutions in his replies.

His boredom was plain as day. John, who was seated across him, spoke up in a soft voice.

“Sherlock. We just got tangled up in a big incident a while back, so isn’t it a good thing to take a break for once?”

“Y’know, John, just one day of rest is enough for me. If I don’t get the right level of stimulation, my brain will get all mouldy.”

“What an absurd……”

Just then, the door opened.

“Sherlock, John-kun, I’ve made some tea.”

Miss Hudson walked in bearing a silver tray. On top of it were some nicely baked biscuits, and black tea in teacups with simple designs. As they’d been given permission to use the kitchens, she had been devoting her spare time to baking.

“Thank you, Miss Hudson.”

“Thanks—”

The two of them each took a biscuit from the tray on the table, and munched on it.

“How is it? I’m quite proud of them myself,” she asked.

John nodded in satisfaction.

“It’s very delicious. Right, Sherlock?”

“Oh, it’s good, yeah,” he replied, deadpan.

Miss Hudson shook her head sadly.

“……Well now. If you’re this bored, why don’t you head down to one of the nearby villages? Seeing as there’s such fine weather too.”

Sherlock sent his gaze out the window yet again.

“That’s true……. And if an interesting case pops up, it would be just my luck.”

“Don’t say something so troubling — we’ve worked hard for this peace and quiet.”

John was familiar with Sherlock’s character, but this level of addiction to his work was nothing short of astounding. Miss Hudson, clearly worried by the detective’s words, placed a hand on John’s shoulder.

“John-kun, with Sherlock in this state, I’m worried he’ll get up to no good. Just in case, could you tag along with him?”

“Certainly; leave it to me. It’ll also be a perfect opportunity to get some exercise.”

“What’re you both taking me for……?” Sherlock grumbled — he’d been half-joking, and was surprised to find his words being taken seriously.

Then, with Miss Hudson taking care of the house, the two men set off.

✦ ✦ ✦ ✦

The Cotswolds was a region 200 kilometres west of London, renowned for its rustic charm, with its rolling hills carpeted in verdant grass.

From where they were, they could see flocks of white sheep and tiny villages dotting the vast green landscape. The village buildings were constructed from limestone: in the northeast of the Cotswolds, it was the colour of honey; in the central region, it was golden-yellow; in the southwest, it turned white instead.

Walking along a path which cut through some pastures, Sherlock and John arrived at the village nearest to the mansion.

A small stream meandered through the village, and built along it was a series of stone houses. It looked right out of a picture book.

Their hearts healed by the idyllic scene before them, the two men headed to the centre of the village, in a bid to find some boredom-busting information. There, they found a two-storey inn. When he noticed that a section of the first floor had been converted into a pub, Sherlock broke into a grin.

“Oi, John. Let’s have a pint to pass the time.”

John shot him a dubious look.

“Sherlock. Drinking during the day isn’t something I approve of.”

“It’ll be fine. It’s been a long time since we’ve had a vacation anyway — why not let loose for a bit?”

“And who was it who said he’d had enough of resting just now……?”

This was a fine example of what it meant to do an about-turn.

But it wasn’t the first time Sherlock had done something on a whim. John reluctantly followed him into the inn.

As expected for a country pub in the daytime, there were only a handful of customers seated quietly inside — it was nothing like the bustle of the city. At the counter was a tall man, who looked like he was running the business alone.

The two men sat at the bar. Sherlock ordered beer, while John chose some light snacks. As their orders were served up, Sherlock took a swig, then directed a question to the owner.

“Hey. Isn’t there anything interesting going on around here?”

At this vague question, the pub owner rubbed his chin.

“Anything interesting, huh. Well there is, but it’s a family matter. Are you two tourists?”

John spoke up. “No, it’s complicated…… For various reasons, we’re staying in the residence of a nearby landowner for the time being.”

“Hmm, so you’re a close friend of this noble?”

“That’s not it either…… This man here is the detective Sherlock Holmes, and I’m his assistant.”

“Ah, I’ve heard of you. So you’re that Holmes. Must’ve been tough comin’ all the way out here.”

It seemed he had little interest in celebrities: hearing Sherlock’s name didn’t stir up much of a reaction.

Sherlock stared into his beer glass.

“By the way, you said something just now about a ‘family matter’?”

It seemed he had remembered what the owner said earlier, about there being something interesting. Then, the owner’s voice turned slightly cheery.

“Actually, my daughter’s in London now, and she’s getting married. She’s bringing her fiancé here the evening after tomorrow. I’ve met him just once before, but he’s a solid chap. I was kinda worried she’d get on with some weird fellow, so I’m relieved.”

“Congratulations — you must be proud.”

At John’s words, the owner rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment.

“Thanks. I’m also planning a wedding celebration that night, with some friends from the nearby villages.”

Sherlock hummed in reply. It wasn’t clear if he was interested or not.

“But the second floor is used as an inn, right? Wouldn’t the noise invite complaints?”

“Not to worry: there’s only one person staying upstairs now, and I’ve already gotten his agreement. Anyway, it’s pretty rare for outsiders to come to a small village like this. I still run the inn for formality’s sake, but most of my income comes from this pub.”

“But there is one person here.”

“Yeah, a guy who just arrived a while ago. It seems he’s an obscure painter; he said he wanted a quiet place to concentrate on his art and stimulate his creativity, so he’s rented a room for around ten days.”

That number startled John.

“That’s quite a long stay.”

“The rooms are all empty anyway, so I don’t mind at all. Also, instead of an atelier, well…… can you see it from here?”

The owner pointed at something beyond the window. A little ways from the inn, at the end of a patch of exposed, blackened earth, stood a small shed.

When the two men caught sight of the shed and nodded, the pub owner continued.

“It was originally a stable, but got remodelled into a storage shed. This guy said it was easy to concentrate there, so he moved lots of bulky luggage into the shed via carriage, and now he spends most of his day cooped up inside.”

“Something seems off. What happened to his original belongings?”

“There weren’t many to begin with, so now they’ve been moved to an empty room on the second floor. The others in the village don’t really like him, but he pays his bills on time, so I’ve nothing to say to that. And there weren’t many things in the shed in the first place, so he’s not causing me any trouble.”

Just as the owner finished speaking, the shed door opened, and they saw a man walk out alone.

Sherlock spoke up.

“Is, that the artist?”

“Yeah, his name is Rheos. I think he’s from around France.” [2]

Rheos was a pale, lanky young man dressed in awfully shabby clothes: he truly looked like an artist detached from reality. His shoulder-length hair hid most of his features, but his quick steps revealed the strength in his legs. He was carrying a large, dirty case under his arm.

“…………”

Sherlock stared with inscrutable eyes as he tried to figure out where Rheos was going, but quickly turned back to the barkeep.

“So, is he using this place as a base, and travelling around the area to paint landscapes?”

The owner shook his head.

“I thought so too at first, but apparently he practises by referencing works from famous artists.”

“Hmm, you said earlier that he always coops himself up in that shed. I thought he’d go out during the day if he’s painting scenery.”

“He’s an odd one, that’s for sure. But anyway, I’m the one who took him in, and he hasn’t caused any problems so far. I say it’s up to him where and how he wants to paint. ——By the way, Mr Detective—”

He leaned over to Sherlock a little.

“What is it?”

“From your detective work, I’m sure you’ve seen many strange cases, now haven’t you? If you’re willing, why not tell us about one or two at the dinner party?”

The owner broke into a wide grin, but on the contrary, Sherlock’s face twitched. To be honest, it was simply awkward to attend a complete stranger’s wedding party. Hence he decided to gently turn down the offer.

“……Umm, thank you for the invitation, but——”

“——Hmm? How about it? It’s my precious daughter’s wedding, y’know. I’ll do anything to make things even a little more exciting.”

However, contrary to his expectations, the pub owner seemed adamant that Sherlock regale the guests with stories from his detective work. The strength of his insistence had flustered Sherlock for a moment, but eventually, he clapped his partner’s shoulder beside him.

“In that case, John here can go. After all, he’s witnessed many of the strange things I’ve encountered up close.”

“Huh? What’re you saying, Sherlock!?”

Realising that he was being offered up instead, John panicked. As much as he wanted to congratulate the happy couple on their marriage, he didn’t want to be sent out to speak before a whole bunch of strangers.

“You’re always complaining about this and that — only now do you appreciate me? It’s not fair!”

“No need to be humble. I can personally guarantee your ability as a storyteller.”

“No, hold on just a——”

“——Oh, so you’ll be speaking in place of him, eh?”

Unfortunately for John, the owner had now set his sights on him.

“U-Uh, I……”

John put both hands before him in an effort to convey that he wouldn’t be joining the party, but in the face of the pub owner’s blinding smile, he realised all resistance would only be futile.

“Alright. I shall attend……”

“Thank you. As a further token of my thanks, have some slightly more expensive beer on the house.”

Now in a great mood, the owner took two bottles of beer from the shelves behind him.

Having been forced into speaking in public about their cases — a fine mess indeed — John was downright depressed. Sherlock patted him on the shoulder.

“Sorry. If I were to talk instead, it would just sound like I’m bragging. Do you want to get some practice in while you can?” suggested Sherlock, with a half-smile.

“You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?”

John shot him a reproachful glare.

Footnotes:

[1] To give you a sense of how the house might look like, here are some examples of Victorian Gothic houses: The Guardian

[2] Rheos (pronounced ray-oh-s) is honestly my best guess at his name… (In the book it’s written as レオス). Rheos is also a real name!