#you visit an abandoned & destroyed town & you Know what happened

[pa-pa-plasma]

genuinely not kidding when I say that Tears of the Kingdom is not only a bad Zelda game, it's just a bad game in general. it's inaccessible to casual gamers who previously could play Zelda games because of their structure. there is virtually no plot, & what little plot there is sucks ass, is predictable in a bad way, & doesn't make any fucking sense, with the absolute lack of emotional reactions from the characters making it all the worse. the references are only there to distract from the absolute nothingness, despite a main timeline Zelda title being the perfect game to have them as a type of storytelling (what happened to Skyloft??). the sky islands are just rocks with nothing on them except fruit, or maybe a chest if you're lucky. the underground is a walking in the dark simulator. the overworld is the exact same shit as in Breath of the Wild & I already explored that twice so why do it again. the caves are pointless. they didn't add much to the game besides that (the shrines & towers are just reskinned, do not fool yourself) & what they did add is just more sidequests to fill the gaps between the bits of non-existent plot. the dungeons suck. the boss battles are okay which is just sad for a Zelda game. it's just a $90 DLC & if that doesn't explain why I'm so mad about this idk what the fuck will. maybe the fact that this "new formula" is a severe step down from the old one, where you had an actual full fucking puzzle game to play with an actual fucking characters & a story that wasn't just more MCU "cameo! reference!!" bullshit

[a-spes]

S I X F E E T A W A Y - One shot.

Words count - 2,6k.

Tags & Warnings - Natasha Romanoff x reader, light angst.

Summary - You were Natasha's girlfriend. It has been a year since she died and you still can't accept it, visiting her grave whenever you can.

Song - It'll be okay, Shawn Mendes.

— — — — —

It has been a year. Twelve months, fifty-two weeks, three hundred sixty-five days. In other words, it has been an eternity. The thought of all the time that has passed makes you sick. Even after a year the pain is still the same, the people that told you it will eventually fade were a bunch of liars. You hate them because you are going through every day thinking the next one will be different but it is not, the urge to cry, scream, throw up and destroy everything around you never disappeared. At best, it fades during the good days.

However, this feeling always comes back. You don’t even know how you survived this year without her by your side. She has been your whole world since the first time you met. At the time, you agreed to join the Avengers only so you don’t have to leave her - you regret that decision now, convinced that she died because of them. 

You were supposed to be a family but the team fell apart on the first difficulties and doesn’t even exist anymore. After they saved the world, bringing back the missing population, the members that weren’t dead decided to leave. 

They said they needed some personal time, which you understand, but never told you for how long. It has already been a year and none of them checked up on you or replied to your attempt to get in touch, you can’t help but feel abandoned.

Since you have been back, being at the compound never felt the same anymore. This place no longer felt like home, it was just an empty building, full of ghosts and memories. After a few weeks you decided to move out, unable to stay here for one more day. 

New city, new start, new life. 

At least, you were hoping it would be that easy but it wasn’t. At first, you didn’t know where to go but you eventually decided to move to a small town in Ohio. She was your only family, you couldn’t imagine being far from her. Even if the only thing left is a stone with her name engraved on it, not even a body, you still wanted to be as close as you could.

The way everything happened made your grief journey harder. The worst is that you didn’t even get to say goodbye. Every time you think about it you can feel how your stomach twists. The last time you saw her, you were oblivious she would be dead the next one. 

As half of the population, you disappeared for five years because of Thanos. Five years for the one who stayed but it felt like a few seconds to you, barely the time to blink but yet you missed so much. 

You are blaming yourself for that. Even now, you are convinced that things would have gone a different way if you were here, that you could have done something. It probably wouldn’t have changed a thing, Natasha being stubborn, but being angry and denial is your way to deal with the pain of a loss.

Whenever you can, you are paying a visit to her gravestone. Sometimes, you would stay for a few days, refusing to leave : how could you when you know that she died alone ? Most of her life she thought she was alone, she didn’t deserve to die like that. So, now that she is gone, you are doing everything you can to make up for that, to let her know that you will always be here. 

You firmly believe that, wherever she is right now, she is looking at you and knows what you are doing, you need to believe that she can hear and see you because it means you are not alone. Even death can’t separate two persons.

That is why you have prepared this visit for days, wanting everything to be absolutely perfect for your lover. You prepared a whole picnic, everything being homemade, and decided to wear one the last outfit you bought together, a classy dress. You even braided your hair for the occasion. That is why your hairstyle is looking like a mess, it has never been your thing, Natasha usually being the one to do it. 

Some people would find it weird to celebrate her death date but it is really important to you. Painfull, for sure, but still important. That day, a year ago, she sacrified her life for the world and she deserves some gratitude. You feel like too many people don’t even know she is the one that saved them, the rest refusing to acknowledge what she did just because of her past. Even your former teammates don’t bother to care. 

So you decided to pay her a visit so you can celebrate her actions like the world should have. However, it doesn’t make you less angry or hateful against the whole world.

You check your bag one more time to make sure you didn’t forget anything. You are feeling a bit stressed because you really want everything to be perfect. After that last glance, you secure it at the back of your bike, ready to go.

Her gravestone is only thirty minutes from where you live. As you are lost in your thoughts, the journey felt like a few seconds. 

You realize you are almost at your destination when you enter the forest. Natasha’s grave is not in a cemetery but in a lovely clearing. As there was no body to bury, you were able to place it wherever you wanted. You spent days and nights thinking about the perfect place to eventually choose this one. It is in a lovely clearing in Ohio, a quiet and hidden place. Only a few people know her grave is here, she didn’t have a lot of family. 

You leave your bike against a tree on the roadside.

After a few minutes walk, you arrive at the clearing. You know she would have loved that place. A smile on your face, you take your time to settle everything around the grave. You brought a blanket, to sit in, a lot of food and even a speaker so you can play music. It feels the silence, making things less awkward for you. 

Obviously, you didn’t forget to bring a gift and some flowers. This time, you choose roses because they have always remembered you of her : they sting but yet are so delicate and gracious. She used to mock you for that, never answering your “ if you were a flower, which one would you be ? ” kind of questions. So you had to figure out the answers by your own. 

However, you know that, deep down, she was enjoying it. She would stay for hours, listening to your explanations about why she would be that drink rather than another one, with a faint smile on her face. She was just too stubborn to admit it. 

The thought of the past makes a sad smile appear on your face as you are replacing the old flowers with the roses you brought.  

“ I- ” once you have settled in, sitting on the blanket with the food out of the bags, you start talking. Except that, once again, you don’t know where to start. “ I made peanut butter sandwiches, … more than the last time. ”

Those are her favourites. She has always refused to share hers but, sometimes, she would make some for you so you had a snack when you came back from a mission. 

Now, you have to do them by yourself and it doesn’t taste the same, it doesn’t taste love. Yet, you still ended up eating the dozen you made last time you visited. In your defense, you were crying and it is the only thing that could bring you some comfort. 

However, you are still feeling bad for not leaving at least one for her so you decided to make some more this time. A lot more if you are being honest. 

“ Anyway, what can I say … ” you are thinking out loud. It is your thing, coming here and telling her everything that is going on in your life. 

Sometimes, you even come here just to share with her something that happened during your day. A bad or a good story, it doesn’t matter, you would come here immediately without considering what time it is when the urge to talk to her hits you. 

Once, you pedaled here in the middle of the night. It was creepy, if you are being honest, so you didn’t do it ever again. Plus, you are sure Natasha wouldn’t appreciate it.

“ I have found a new job. I am a cashier now and it is going well for the moment, I didn’t throw anything at a client yet ” you say, feeling proud about that fact.

A few months ago, you were fired from your job as a waitress for that reason. You definitely don’t have the patience or the tact required by that kind of work. 

“ Even if the clients are really annoying. It is frustrating, you know ? I am being yelled at all day, talked like shit and insulted but I don’t even have the right to be rude ” you stop talking for a few seconds, taking a deep breath - you won’t let the anger you feel towards these people ruin this moment. “ I liked it better when we were kicking bad guys’ asses. ”

You are thinking about this part of your life with nostalgia. You never had a normal job. When you were seventeen, you dropped out of high school so you could join the army. Somehow, mainly because of your curiosity, you ended up in some dirty stories - that is how the S.H.I.E.L.D noticed you, offering you to become one of their agents.

It is only a few years ago that you made the decision to leave the agency to be a part of the Avengers. It was a difficult choice to make but you did it because you wanted to follow Natasha, even a few years ago, you already couldn’t imagine living far from her. 

The two of you met when she joined the agency. As you, when you became an agent, she was lonely. Everyone was avoiding her because of the rumors about her past. You immediately thought it was unfair - if Fury thinks she has a place here, then you can trust her for sure. Plus you knew how it feels to be in that situation. 

So you decided to step up, being the first and only one that has tried to talk to her the first years. You never left her side since, always defending her when the others were talking dirt behind her back - which got you into a lot of trouble.

All that stuff, being a cashier or a waitress, is not something you are used to, you don’t think you are cut out for this kind of work. If you are being honest with yourself, you hate those jobs, you are just not ready to go back working for Fury. 

When you came back, he let you know that there will always be a place for you as a S.H.I.E.L.D agent, you thanked him but said no. For the moment, you just want to give a try to those normal jobs, even if fitting in is harder than you thought, being undercover having nothing in common with living it for real.

“ I also decided to eventually repair the broken things in my apartment. So far, I’ve fixed the front door, the fridge and the light in the living room. I think it is a good start, don’t you ? ” you wait a few seconds for an answer but, obviously, the only one you get is the silence. You eventually chuckle. “ I still hate that place tho’ ” and since you moved in, you can’t wait for the day you will be able to afford a better place. 

But for now you are stuck in that small, dilapidated and cold apartment, trying to convince yourself that it could be worse.

“ Anyway, I am here because I have a little something for you … ” you start, trying to not smile too hard. You take the present out of the bag, it is something in a dark blue box of the size of your hands. “ Ready ? ” you ask but it is more for you this time. You take a deep breath before you resume. “ Natasha Romanoff, for saving the world for so many years, for sacrificing your life for the sake of Humanity and, most important, for ... being the love of my life ... I have the honor to give you a medail ” your acting broke on the last sentence, the fake enthusiasm being replaced by sadness. 

Once you are done with your little speech, you carefully put the medail on the grave, with the flowers and the other presents. 

It is not a real medail, you asked someone to make it. It is supposed to be a replacement for the one the government refused to give her, even if she deserved it. Her name on a wall is the only thing she got from them.

“ But don’t think it means I forgive you. It was very stupid, but yet very … you … to sacrifice yourself for us. You always thought you had a redemption to earn ” you stop talking, trying to hold back your tears. “ And maybe it was true that people never trusted you but I did. I trusted you and you left me like that. I didn’t even get to say goodbye or … or … to give you a last hug. I- I blinked and, just like that, you were … gone, forever ” your voice is shaking, the last sentence being noticed more than a whisper. As tears are running down your cheeks, you still find the strength to add one more thing. “ I will never forgive you ” you say in a quiet voice.

You weren’t ready to lose her, you had plans for your future together. You were supposed to buy a lovely home and found a happy family. She shouldn’t have died before you could live your life together, before you had your happy ending. Only age should have taken her away from you, except that she decided otherwise. 

She has always been so stubborn and so hard on herself because of the things she did in the past. You truly believe that, if someone deserved a peaceful life, it is her but it is too late now that she is gone. The idea that you never had a chance to show her how sweet life can be is making you sick, you should have convinced her to leave earlier. 

When you came back from the dust, you were alone and lost. Not only did you need to accept that five years of your life have been stolen but you also had to learn how to live without the woman you love. It is the hardest thing you ever had to do in your life.  “ But … I love you so much, my idiot ” you eventually whisper. “ I just wish you were still here to hear that … ”

[althaeifolia]

For @snarrymicrofics June prompts, day 1: Teddy Bear Summary: Harry's not used to having their child away from home. Severus really wants to go back to bed. Pairing: Harry Potter/Severus Snape Rating: T Warnings: No warnings apply Word count: 600 (oops)

_______

Severus woke up with a sense of something missing. He reached out in the complete darkness – the streetlights were out yet again, apparently, damn this blasted town – and found only a cold, empty spot where another body should be. He groaned quietly, trying to sit up; lately, his back was protesting the years spent hunched over a cauldron louder than usual.

Not bothering to look for his wand he left the bedroom and wandered the house for a good moment, until his trained ear caught a quiet sniffle in one of the rooms. As quietly as possible he pushed the door open to find Harry on the floor; eyes red and puffy, hands mindlessly stroking the soft fur of the teddy bear lying abandoned on the bed.

Sighing and internally apologizing to his poor bones he sat down and embraced his husband, warm body immediately melting against his. They sat in silence for a long time.

“She’s too young to be so far away from home” Harry whispered eventually, voice cracking halfway through the sentence and Severus found himself pulling him closer, protectively. “What if something happens and we won’t be there?”

“Minerva would contact us immediately” he answered in what he hoped was a soothing tone. It was too early for this. “And as incompetent as Longbottom can be, he takes his duties as Head of House seriously. He won’t let anything happen.”

“But what if he doesn’t know?!” Severus was unprepared for the sudden yell, or for the influx of new tears in green eyes. As level-headed Harry has grown up to be in his years as an auror, apparently their child leaving for Hogwarts was his breaking point. “We got into so much dangerous shit in school and nearly died multiple times and Dumbledore only looked and did nothing and Minerva didn’t even know half the time-”

“You were a special case!” The strict tone, a reminder of his years as a teacher seemed to work, as Harry turned back to look at him surprised, tears momentarily forgotten. “You ran into danger head first, without thinking, every time. There are no Dark Lords to chase and no precious artifacts to destroy anymore. She will be fine.”

“But what if-”

“Besides” Severus continued, not letting his husband butt in, “Lily is a smart girl. Definitely smarter than you were at her age, Snape. And with how much she likes to talk, you will know everything that happens to every inhabitant of the castle, within hours, if her poor owl doesn’t die from exhaustion flying back and forth”

That got a weak giggle, at least.

“You’re one to talk, Potter” Harry mumbled, shifting so he could hide his face against his husband’s shoulder. “You were the one that floo’d Minevra when you didn’t get Lily’s letter two hours after Sorting”

“That was a perfectly reasonable action!” Severus snorted,  “I had to make sure my daughter isn’t a Gryffindor.”

“You married one, you wanker” The insult would hold a bit more power if it wasn’t followed by a yawn and two arms wrapping themselves around Severus’ neck. The birds outside seemed to be waking up, if the increasingly annoying noise was to be trusted. Not much of the night left, and plenty of sleep they still needed.

“You’re taking a sick leave today” Two sets of knees cracked painfully, as they rose from the floor. “We’re staying in bed. And if you behave, I will send a letter to Minerva and see if we can visit over the weekend.”

The smile Harry sent him did weird things to Severus’ heart.

[officialaemondtargaryen]

Never Told You

Summary: Before you move on, you just have one thing to say.

Characters: Eddie Munson x Reader

Word Count: 2k

Warning: Mentions of character death, angst

Author's Note: Surprise! Two fics in two days?! I could not stop thinking about this idea. Sorry to share my suffering with you.

The owners of the Hawkins, Indiana Cemetery refused to allow Wayne Munson to buy a burial plot in his nephew's name. When the ground opened up to hellfire and brimstone and swallowed half of the town, the media placed the blame on the young metalhead; stating that he had opened up a portal to Hell after performing a series of ritualistic murders. They were afraid that a headstone in his honor would attract local Satanists- the other members of his cult- who might use it as an altar for satanic worship.

However, Wayne was a determined man. He went out of state to have a small headstone made, and with the help of a few of his friends from the Plant, nestled it quietly in the woods behind Forest Hills Trailer Park, where Eddie used to play as a child.

You had been back to Hawkins a few times since the evacuation.

It wasn't the same small town that you had grown up in. It was a ghost town. Most of its residents had chosen to flee to one of the neighboring counties or Indianapolis for a taste of big city life. The majority of businesses had closed their doors permanently and graffiti had now littered the abandoned storefronts. Missing person flyers were tacked to every street light and stop sign for miles.

You hardly recognized it in the months that had passed as you drove through downtown. The faces of the folks who had stayed behind were gaunt; frowns and permanently wrinkled in worry and sadness. Most of them were ones whose family members had gone missing and they were still holding a candle of hope that they would return.

One of them was Wayne Munson.

Even after he learned his nephew's fate, he didn't give up hope that maybe the boy had just left; took his guitar and his van and was out there- somewhere- playing music in a new band and making his own way in the world outside of the cruelty of Hawkins, Indiana. As much as you wished that to be true, you knew better, yet you would never fault Wayne for believing.

Forest Hills Trailer park had been abandoned. It was one of the four places that had been hit the hardest by the 'earthquake'. It had also been looted and nearly destroyed. Near the picnic table, there was a small memorial to the victims who had lived there that lost their lives on that day; four people, five if you counted Eddie, all of whom you had known and grew up with living in that same trailer park for most of your life.

You pulled your car over. The gravel crackled beneath your feet as you walked over to the memorial. It was littered with leaves and dead flowers, and as you usually did when you would come to visit, you dusted off the dried petals and cobwebs and placed a fresh rose underneath each picture frame. One for Ms. Debbie who used to babysit you when you were a child. One for Mr. Lloyd who was a kind old man who never turned down a plate of leftovers. And two for Mr. and Mrs. Roots who weren't the nicest neighbors but still didn't deserve what happened to them and their dog Cooper.

Your eyes began to burn as you looked over the photographs of the people that you had once known; the photos, the empty trailer park, all of it a reminder of the tremendous loss that you had felt. It wasn't just the people, the memories, your childhood- it was your home. It hadn't gotten any easier over the last seven months, despite how hard you tried to move on; looking out of your bedroom window at a street you didn't recognize, a neighbor that you didn't know waving as you drove by, trading one small town for another and having this trauma fester in your chest while everyone else seemed perfectly fine...

Eddie's grave sat at the base of a giant oak tree.

The green ivy that was growing up the tree had begun to spread along the headstone, and somehow, made it even more beautiful.

The old tire swing still hung from the largest branch and you remembered the countless nights spent out here with him; playing hide and seek when you were kids, pretending that you were characters from one of Eddie's fantasy books in an enchanted forest. Wayne would come out and set up a tent and you and Eddie would camp out for the night, telling scary stories and making s'mores. When you both got older, it became your spot to hang out and smoke and talk about all of the people that you both hated. You still came out to talk, only now it was less often and Eddie could only listen.

Sometimes it felt like you could still hear him.

You placed the last rose at the base of his headstone before taking a seat on the cold ground. All you could do is stare at his name in front of you; Edward Munson, beloved son, nephew, and friend.

"It's not getting any easier," you whispered quietly as you picked up a dry, brown leaf and mindlessly fiddled with it to keep your hands busy. "I thought that it would, you know? It's been over six months."

The cold, early October wind sent a chill through your body.

"I'm still waiting for you to call," a tear fell to your cheek. "I'm still waiting for someone to tell me that this was all a big joke and for you to bust through the door with that big, stupid smile."

Silence hung in the air around as you waited for a response that you would never get. You chewed on your cheek as you stared at the cold, grey stone in front of you.

"You know I told myself that I wasn't going to come and see you anymore," you admitted. "I told myself that I needed to move on, and my parents agreed." It was almost as if you could hear him chuckling from beyond the grave. He never really got along with your parents. "But I can't do that, not until I-" you paused for a moment and pulled a piece of paper out of your pocket. "I wanted to tell you this before, but I was terrified that you didn't feel the same way. And now I'll never know."

"Dear Eddie," you began, letting out a breath. "Right now, you're playing 'Romeo and Juliet' on your acoustic guitar and you think that I'm studying; I am, just not trigonometry. Instead, I'm studying the way that your hair falls over your shoulders and how your tongue sticks out when you're concentrating on the more difficult chords. You're so fucking cool, sometimes I hate you for it."

"That's not true. No, the truth is that I love you, Eddie." Your eyes burned with tears as tiny droplets fell to the crumpled paper below and left behind damp, grey circles between the lines. "I always have. Ever since I moved into this little trailer park, ever since you came knocking on my front door asking if I wanted to come outside and play. I'm pretty sure that you're my soulmate. You'd probably laugh at me if you knew I believed in stupid shit like that, but it's true. I wish that I had the guts to tell you, but I can't. I'd never risk ruining this. So you'll continue believing that I'm in love with that asshole, Tyler Sneed, and I'll continue to pretend that I am so that you never find out that it's really you. But it is you, Eddie. It will always be you."

You sighed and breathed in deeply, the cold air clearing your sinuses as you reached up to wipe your cheek with the back of your hand. You folded the note back up and sat it at the base of his headstone, next to the rose.

"So now you know my big secret," you let out a breathy laugh and instinctively waited for a response. A frown spread across your lips, once more, when you didn't receive one. "I should have told you that night. You don't know how bad I wanted to. But, there is a small part of me that is glad I didn't. Because I can't help but think that if you felt the same, if we had been together, it would have made losing you that much worse."

As you sat there, you couldn't help but feel the creeping sensation that there was someone there with you; watching.

Behind you, a branch snapped and you whipped your head around as you inadvertently gasped. Your eyes darted from side to side, searching for the source of the sound; heart pounding at the thought that you were not alone. But it was just the wind; the tops of the autumn-colored trees swayed back and forth as if they were whispering to each other.

"I'm not coming back here anymore, Eddie. I can't." Just saying those words caused you pain. "It just hurts too much. I have to figure out some sort of way to start healing, even if it takes the rest of my life to do so. I know that you would want that for me, even though I also know that you're probably getting a kick out of watching me wallow in my misery from wherever you are. You were always kind of sadistic like that." You made yourself smile at that. "I miss you more than you could imagine and I love you."

You stood to your feet and dusted the dirt from your legs. Looking around, you took in your surroundings once more. You knew that this wouldn't be the last time you ever came to visit him, but that it would be the last time for a long time. As you made your way back through the wood, you could have sworn that you heard someone say, "I love you, too". Coming to a stop, you glanced over your shoulder, only to see dried leaves fluttering across the ground. Your lips turned up into a smile as you shook your head and continued back towards your car, and with your head held high and a weight lifted off of your chest, you left Forest Hills Trailer Park in your rearview mirror.

The radio was kept off on the ride home, not wanting to hear anything that was going to remind you of Eddie. You wouldn't be able to avoid it forever, but you were doing better than you thought you would be, and you wanted to keep up that facade for as long as you could. You didn't allow your eyes to linger on the arcade where you spent countless nights trying to beat each other's high scores or the tire shop he used to work at as you drove back through town; they were both shut down now, anyways, as was the pizza place you frequented after school on Fridays.

You'd always have your memories of this place, but it was time to leave Hawkins behind.

As you pulled into your driveway, however, you noticed a familiar figure sitting on your front porch. You bit down on your bottom lip and sighed as you opened your door and climbed out of the car. Just when you thought that you would be able to move on...

"Dustin?" You asked, not having seen him since you moved six months ago. "What are you doing here?"

The younger boy stood up and rung his hat in his hands. He looked anxious, and it worried you.

"Is everything- is everyone okay?"

"Y/N," He began. "There's something I have to tell you."

[kaibutsushidousha]

What are your thoughts on Father Eiri and do you have any hopes for his future roles?

Eiri is a weird character I still don't really know what to think about or what to expect. He has three major interactions that define him, so I guess the best way to organize my thoughts about him is by looking over each of them one-by-one in isolation.

Relationship with the Aozaki family

Years ago, the young Eiri was practicing his swordsmanship secluded in the mountains and visited the Aozaki residence for some unelaborated part of his mental training under Grandpa's tutelage. He forged a genuine friendship with his mentor and became Touko's first love, until the day he destroyed Grandpa's body without warning.

Objective narration describes him as an automated killer who will cut anyone down if his buttons are pressed, with no need for a motive and no regard for his past together with his victim. And yet, his actions show nothing but care and empathy for the two Aozaki granddaughters. He offered to leave his entire life behind to run away to Mexico if Aoko felt too pressured by her sudden responsibilities as a mage. And his instant murder of his dear friend also happened in a moment Grandpa made Touko tear up.

Touko's first heartbreak was a consequence of her never entertaining the possibility that his actions were for her sake. Her subtle tear was the trigger. His explanation to her "Because I thought this was the moment when I could cut him". And then the narration clarifies that he didn't mean "I cut him because he showed an opening that made me feel confident I'd win". He meant "I cut him because this was when my emotions allowed me to". What's special about Eiri is that he does everything by his unfiltered impulses of emotion. (I'm pointing this out because the localization rendered this line as "I felt capable of killing him, so I did.", which completely misses the point of it)

Anyway, Eiri clearly cares about the Aozaki girls more than most things. He's defined by being capable of abandoning things without a second thought, but the times when we directly see him abandoning a friendship or offering to abandon his ties to Misaki Town, it's always because his heart places Touko or Aoko as a priority. He's not an ally in Mahoyo 1 because he values both sides of the conflict equally, but for the sequels, I can see him being a lot more proactively on Aoko's side.

Relationship with Alice

Mahoyo 1 establishes this as a major hook with him but doesn't elaborate much because it doesn't elaborate much on Alice in general. We know that in Mahoyo 1, Alice hates him and avoids the church as much as possible. However, in You Can Sleep But Not Laugh, set after Mahoyo 2, Eiri gets invited to Alice's birthday party, which elicits a "Why the hell did you invite your mother's killer?" reaction from Riddell. (I'm pointing this out because the localization rendered this line as the egregiously context-blind and non-commital "your parents' enemy", which turns a big off-hand reveal into a line that says nothing)

Their interactions in the funny murder mystery imply that Mahoyo 2 has a major moment where Alice gets to understand Eiri's thought processes and accepts the murder of her mother as justified to some extent. This is a fascinating development since Alice is so defined by her unwillingness to let go of what she likes.

Relationship with Soujuurou

This is the one interaction I see having a chance of already being concluded in the first game. Their thing is that these two guys are similar because of their shared "mountain boy raised as a killer" background. Eiri fully understands what Soujuurou is going through and tries to help with advice, but the only way Eiri knows how to offer advice is to point at the holes without telling how to patch them. It works with Souj because of their similar worldviews, but it's easy to see the source of his miscommunication problems with Alice and Touko.

[phoenix-flamed]

A certain someone and I were talking, and she brought up so many good points that I hadn't thought of -- so thank you for sharing your views with me on this subject! As always, if you read this and don't agree with my opinions, please don't worry; I won't be offended, and I would actually love to hear your views too!

As much as I hate to say it, at the end of the day, yeah -- Elwin wasn't a good ruler. He was a great man, with great intentions, and his plan for the future of Rosaria wasn't necessarily a bad plan!

It just wasn't practical in Valisthea's political climate at that time. I know I make way too many comparisons between his ambitions and the story of The Founder, but I'll do it one more time, because I really do believe that the parallel is there, even if it is just speculation on my part --

The reason why building what would become Rosaria from the ground up worked out at the time The Founder set in motion that process was because there was no war. There was no conflict. Following the aftermath of what became known as The Sins of Dzemekys, humanity was said to be living in fear. But The Founder grew tired of that life, and he left to find a nice little spot, where he began building a home for himself. More and more people saw what he was doing and joined in as time went on, and what had started as that one little shack eventually became a town, and this continued until what would eventually become The Grand Duchy of Rosaria came into existence.

In present-day Valisthea, and just in the continent of Storm alone, this wouldn't work, at least not nearly so easily. It would require, much like back with The Founder, unity and generational effort, but given the political climate of Storm...... You probably see where this is going.

Just look at how many times Rosaria was taken advantage of. This extends to before Elwin took the throne, yes -- but we'll focus on during his reign. Rosaria was part of alliances on two separate occasions; the first time was with Dhalmekia, who abandoned them on the battlefield to contend with Waloed's army on their own in the conflict for Kanver's independence. The second time was Sanbreque's betrayal of Rosaria under the orchestration of Anabella and Sylvestre, which was kicked off by The Night of Flames, and we all know what happened there. That took place while Rosaria was in an alliance with both Dhalmekia and Sanbreque, hence the Remembrance Ceremony a year before which was in commemoration of aforementioned alliance. You even have the fact that while the Kanver situation was going on, the Northern Territories decided to pay Rosaria a visit, which, fortunately, Elwin and his troops were able to push them back, and we have the story of how Elwin calmed the tribes of the north down and unified them so that they'd work together for the betterment of their people, at which time he took Jill to Rosalith with him.

If, theoretically, Elwin was trying to be a merciful ruler, which it does seem like it considering he strove for a peaceable solution to the Northern Territories situation rather than going there and destroying them or forcing them to submit to Rosarian rule, and the fact that when the flashback at the start of the game takes place, we find out from Elwin and Rodney during the throne room scene that Rosaria has been taking in refugees from the north who are fleeing the continued progression of the Blight, as well as offering the north resources to aid them. Unfortunately, because of this, Rosaria's own resources are being stretched thin, and even places like Rosalith are running out of space to take in more refugees.

In other words, Elwin tried to help their neighbors to the detriment of his own nation.

Okay, I kind of sort of got carried away with rambling and lost track of the original point. Uh. So yeah, in short, Elwin was a great man, with great, wonderful intentions! But we all know how the saying goes: the road to hell is paved with good intentions.

[knickynoo]

Back to the Future: The Animated Series, s01ep12 “Retired”

Previous episodes linked HERE.

In this episode: Jules and Verne's April Fool's jokes nearly destroy not only their family but also the entire town.

Quick update on the pic/gif situation. If you've been keeping up with these, you know my pics and gifs aren't being formatted correctly when viewed through a desktop computer. Instead of being in a row, they get enlarged and stacked vertically. Tumblr support has informed me that this is a bug they're working on. So, while it still bothers me and ruins the "flow" of my posts, I'm at least not losing my mind over it anymore. That is all.

Our visit with Real Doc begins with him hyping us up to see his latest experiment. He explains that it's taken months of research and hard work, but he's finally able to reveal...

He's finally able to reveal....!

Yep, Doc can't remember what it is. He goes totally blank, having completely forgotten what experiment he was going to show us. He's put hours upon hours of painstaking work into something and cannot for the life of him remember what it is. Doc panics as he tries unsuccessfully to figure it out. This is basically what happens.

He briefly ends the broadcast, then returns a moment later to make his second attempt at announcing his latest invention. Unfortunately, he still can't remember anything regarding what he was so excited to show us. "It can't be," he says. "Not my brain power."

This leads Doc into the story of another time he feared he was losing his mind, which all started with a prank on April Fool's Day.

The cartoon begins, and we watch as Jules and Verne put the final touches on all their planned hijinks for the holiday. Some of the things on their list of pranks include: salt in the sugar bowl, chocolate sauce in the shower nozzle, and pouring sparkling water on Doc's brainwave analyzer (which is less of a prank and more of just. breaking something lol).

One by one, the pranks play out, with Doc being completely unaware that he's being tricked. When his "automated jogging shorts" (which have been filled with banana peels) malfunction, he's confused but generally unalarmed. When Clara goes to shower and gets covered in chocolate sauce, he ends up thinking it was a skin-moisturizing feature he purposely built in and somehow forgot about. And when he tries to use the brainwave analyzer, which the boys had poured water on, it tells Doc that he's only got 0.01% of his brainpower left.

Doc tells Marty, who has stopped by for a visit, that he must immediately give up science in order to preserve the tiny bit of his brain that he's got left. He also says that he can't even risk conversing with Marty anymore.

Doc then runs straight through the wall of the garage and toward the house in an absolute panic.

Marty, meanwhile, is very bummed at the timing of this whole crisis. He's got a big upcoming gig with The Pinheads, and Doc had promised to help create some cool special effects for the show. But special effects require brainpower, which Doc refuses to use. Left on his own in the garage, Marty takes it upon himself to "borrow" a weather simulator machine Doc had invented. He thinks it'll make the perfect special effects for his concert and has no idea that Jules and Verne have also messed with this device.

We do a little time-jump then, where we see Doc sitting on the couch in his robe, watching mindless television. He's determined to not do anything that requires thought, and Clara is fed up with the whole thing. She tells him he's got to find something else useful to do if he isn't going to do science anymore. They have this funny exchange.

Unable to convince him to get up and do literally anything, Clara announces that she's getting Marty (who she feels is the only one able to talk some sense into her husband). When she returns with him, they find a note from Doc telling them he feels like a burden and has decided to run away. Yes, Doc has ABANDONED his wife and two small sons.

Also, yes, this is a silly cartoon for kids, but I also feel like there's a lot to examine here. Doc thinking he's used up almost all of his brain and deciding his family would be better off without him sort of says a lot about how his sense of self-worth is dependent on his perceived level of intelligence. The guy really thinks he has nothing to offer his family anymore and has decided to jump ship because he evidently can't see any remaining valuable qualities in himself.

Who did this to him? Doc, who damaged you like this? Was it Erhardt? Can we assume Erhardt is somehow responsible?

Meanwhile, Doc is wandering the streets, desperately trying not to think. And honestly? He should've brought Marty along, because Marty is well-versed in the skill of Not Thinking. He could've been a big help.

After a brief scene of Marty and Clara failing to get the police to take them seriously regarding Doc's disappearance—they think it's an April Fool's prank—we return to Doc, who has taken a job playing piano at a Hawaiian Luau-themed lounge. The patrons are less than thrilled with his rendition of "If I Only Had a Brain" from The Wizard of Oz.

Also, I'm no expert, but I'd say playing an instrument uses a significant portion of your brain, Doc. If you're trying to preserve that 0.01% that you've got left, you're not doing a very good job.

As a side note, I like that Doc can play piano. Unfortunately, he swiftly gets fired from the job for putting everyone to sleep.

We go back to Clara, who has resorted to wearing a sandwich board in order to bring awareness to her plight.

After his failed job at the lounge, we follow Doc on a montage of several more failures as he tries being a gardener, a parking attendant, and a pizza maker.

Things are not going well for him.

Apparently, the whole situation thus far has all taken place in the span of a few hours (I thought it had been days, lol) because Marty and Clara go to pick up the boys from school and inform them that their father is missing.

We go again to Doc then, who has decided to use the DeLorean to travel back to a time "when things were simple." As he flies off into the sky, we see a brief shot of a movie theater where Back to the Future is playing.

He ends up traveling to the Cro-Magnon period, where he attempts to teach the people there how to make fire. And I say again: Doc is doing a very poor job of not using his brain. He should've stayed on the couch watching mind-numbing TV if he was really serious about all of this.

After concluding that the temptation to invent things is still too strong, he seeks out a place where "no thinking is required."

Back in present day Hill Valley, Marty is preparing for his concert with The Pinheads. Wow, there's a lot of scene-jumping in this episode! We're all over the place here, bouncing between Doc and everyone else.

Marty is convinced that the best way to find Doc is to do his show because, "Doc told me he was coming, and he hasn't broken a promise to me yet." Awwwww. Very sweet. And he ends up being right about Doc showing up because we soon see him sleeping under some newspapers.

Turns out a rock concert is the perfect place to go when you don't want to experience a single thought.

Clara and the boys catch up to him and try to explain that the brain wave analyzer had been sabotaged, but Doc isn't buying it. The show begins, and Marty uses the weather simulator he had taken for his special effects earlier in the episode. Since Jules and Verne had also tampered with that device, it starts going haywire and creates a massive, dangerous storm. Marty is struck by lightning (he's fine), Doc is struck by lightning (he's also fine), and the sky turns into a swirling vortex of doom. There's a simultaneous thunderstorm, massive flooding, and snow. Clara and the boys beg Doc to use his brain to come up with a plan to save the town before it's too late. Btw, this is the current situation...

And I'm sorry but. I don't think Hill Valley can be saved at this point. Everything is completely underwater. The clock tower is almost entirely submerged. This is hundreds of millions of dollars in damage, and people are probably dead. It's incomprehensible destruction all caused by Jules and Verne's April Fool's Day prank. They should be brought up on criminal charges.

After being convinced to finally use his brain, Doc is able to turn off the machine and undo all the chaotic weather. The end result is only a slightly soggy Hill Valley. I guess no major damage was done by the 50-foot-deep floodwaters. Somehow.

We go to the Browns' kitchen table, where Doc falls victim to one final prank the boys had set up: salt in the sugar bowl. After choking on his salt-filled cup of coffee, we end on a freeze frame of Doc scowling at his children.

I also must address the fact that Doc's eye color was off again in this episode. If you've been keeping up with these posts, you've seen me mention this inconsistency before. There have been many instances of a character's eyes changing for a few seconds mid-scene (a Tannen relative's eyes going from black to blue, then back to black briefly, as well as Doc's changing to blue for a few moments) but this was like. The whole episode. They went from being black in all previous episodes to being green.

Left is how they should look (taken from a previous episode). Right is what they were like for this whole episode.

I'd really love to know why this show struggles so much with eye color consistency. What a weird little problem to have.

Real Doc closes out the episode with an experiment involving condensation and "creating clouds" but it isn't all that interesting, so I don't have much to say about it. The end!

This episode was kind of fun, even though Doc was super out of character. That guy would not ditch his family like that. It also made no sense how he was spent the whole time going, "I must not think!" while taking on jobs that all required significant amount of thought. The rapid-fire scene-jumping gave me whiplash, too. Fifteen seconds with Doc, then a thirty second Marty and Clara scene, then back to Doc for like a minute before we go back to Marty and Clara...I'm tired.

Why are Doc's eyes green now?

Join me next week for our final episode of season 1, in which Clara's mother falls in love with Marty.

[first-impressions-gaming]

If Found...

Developed by Dreamfeel

Published by Annapurna

Release Date 2021

Tested on PC (16 GB RAM, Ryzen 7 7735, RTX 4060)

MSRP 12,99 USD

Humans do connect and communicate what they speak and convey, but what is unsaid and kept to oneself carry the same weight. What we have, after all, is words, nothing more. To understand one, trying to get through them is an attempt beyond comprehension sometimes. What we have is to try our best, do our best, be our best. If Found asks these questions, and it asks them in the best angle you can possibly think of. Welcome to Achill Island.

Here’s the opening scene welcoming you:

If Found takes place in 1993 in Achill Island, Ireland. The game has a handful of references let it be local and Irish language, these references are presented in a natural way and you will find footnotes in relevant scenes with explanations. What you will realize first is the phenomenal aesthetic and artistry in the game, the whole game is a visual novel, and as the player you progress in the game by erasing what is on screen, and you move on. The design choice you will find here is more of hand-drawn pictures and caricatures and landscapes with great attention to detail. By erasing you progress and this makes the game feel like this is an entire canvas and we keep going by erasing what’s behind us and draw what is present right there. The game’s silent narration speaks so much with this way, of course as the player you will be playing ‘as’ the main character, yet more often than not you will…an observer let’s say. You are the one who is witnessing what’s unravelling in front of you rather than what’s happening to you.

The game has one story on two planes: first one, and I will call this ‘main’ one, is with Kasio, a trans woman who is on the cusp of getting a scholarship for PhD in Dublin. Kasio returns to her hometown, Achill Island, to visit her family and just to see what’s waiting for her. The second one deals with a female astronaut who is named Cassiopeia. She finds a black hole which threatens to destroy entire planet if it is not to be prevented, and the only way to prevent the earth being sucked into the black hole is to find the exact location on the world that has this extraordinary power to stop this possible event. The two storylines get connect to one another in a nicely way through the ending and you won’t be left with questions.

Take a look here at Kasio’s diary and ‘eraser’ game mechanic:

During the game, we witness Kasio’s notes and drawings in her diary, she takes notes of everything, her surroundings, event, people, her feelings, ideas, thoughts and much more. As I touched upon, we erase what is on Kasio’s diary as well to progress. Diary is the most personal belonging for a person, it is where a person opens themselves to themselves, and maybe to entire planet. It is personal because it is a safe zone for the one, and we keep erasing and erasing what is said, drawn and thought. Erasing and moving on makes it feel like you are always starting with a clean slate, a fresh start. But no. Not in Kasio’s life. We erase, and we still cannot leave behind…what’s behind. They haunt us. Kasio’s dad passed away couple of years ago, we don’t know exactly how many years passed but Kasio mentions that she was in class in high school when it happened, therefore at least six to seven years must have passed thinking that she is trying to get the scholarship for PhD. Ever since her dad’s passing away, nothing has been the same between Kasio and her mom and sibling. Apart from her family members, Kasio comes across couple of strangers who are younger than her, they also identify themselves as outcasts or outsiders of Achill Island, who don’t fit in this small town’s standards and norms, and they are queer as well. They crash temporarily on this abandoned house in a remote location on the island, and Kasio joins them shortly and she gets to know them closer. For a fleeting moment, we witness thinking that ‘yes, this is a group of young adults who can get through anything and overcome any hardship if they stick together’ but no, as much as I wanted to believe in this, the reality and real life slap you hard. Yes, they are outsiders in this town like Kasio, but they are not going through what Kasio been. A close-knit group of friends may seem they won’t drift apart no matter what, yet…life happens and you go separate ways. Each member of the group grow apart and they will seem a stranger to Kasio once more. The narration is so powerful that you get the gist of it: when you meet a total stranger, at first stage you feel ‘yes, this is the person who gets me!’, but this is not permanent, the next moment you know they are the most distant human being to you for no reason. Kasio is not trying to find a safe port for her, she is trying to steer ship of hers in this chaotic ocean, every time she finds a port to rest for a short time, she gets kicked out, and she is on her own once more, numerous times. Without spoiling the story for you I’ll throw some quotes from the game at you. Remember, I said that understanding somebody is the key to everything, if you don’t get it, what’s more to say? What’s more to try? To achieve? 

“I just want to be normal, Kasio. And I’ll never be normal with you”.

“You are the biggest freak around that’s for sure.”

“Oh god, you are really lost.”

“You are making life difficult for yourself.”

All these lines, sentences spoken to Kasio mean only one thing: you don’t belong here, you don’t belong inside our borders, our determined lines.

As a trans woman, Kasio is up against everything and everybody including her family members and ones whom she thought had understood her. But no, alas. Her family is ashamed of her because she is this ‘freak’ who dresses ‘funny’ and shows up at family Christmas dinner with women's clothes. A closeted queer rejects being associated with Kasio because he thinks that he is just in a phase and once the phase is over, he can be ‘normal’ and he cannot be ‘normal’ with a trans woman. She is the talk of town and he will be also the talk of town if he is with Kasio. Kasio is this scape-goat, she is a clown. She is not ‘normal’. Kasio is ‘lost’, she is not herself, actually she is not himself according to her mother. Kasio must be a ‘he’ in order not to be ‘lost’, not this stranger who is putting on women's clothes with long hair. Kasio is also accused of ‘making life difficult for’ her. How can somebody be accused of being…themselves? According to her mother, she has to be a ‘he’, be the person that she raised for twenty-three years, not this weird ‘she’, build a family, have children, and live. Kasio is not okay with this, she openly rejects having the life her mother and father have had. Regardless of with whom Kasio tries to connect, nobody gets her. Her family members think she is ‘lost’, and this must be stopped. People she met recently avoid being associated with her in the long run because there is already rumours doing the rounds in the town. Kasio is expendable, she is ‘lost’, ‘making life difficult for’ her, clearly not ‘normal’, and on top of everything she’s a ‘freak’. That’s a lot… a lot for a person who wants to live as she wishes.

And I want to end this review with this heart-warming scene:

If Found grabs you in every moment, it does not hold anything back, the serene and clean narration coupled with amazing aesthetic design is everything a visual novel enthusiast could hope for. Dive into Kasio’s diary and accompany her.

[rainbowinthedark98]

Chapter 1: Pallbearer to None

360 Days Ago

“Don’t try to be cute or be a hero or something, okay? You guys are just-”

“Decoys,” Eddie and Dustin interrupted simultaneously.

“Don’t worry, you can be the hero, Steve,” Dustin retorted, clearly attempting to hide his fear.

“Absolutely. I mean, look at us. We are not heroes,” Eddie joked, also trying to hide how scared he was from the others. As Steve turned away, Eddie called out to him. “Hey, Steve?” Steve turned back to look at him. “Make him pay.” Steve nodded solemnly, and they each saw their fear reflected in the other’s eyes. Steve felt dread in the pit of his stomach that he wouldn’t be seeing them again. In contrast, a new determination burned in Eddie’s chest to do everything he could to keep the bats distracted so Steve, Nancy and Robin could take out Vecna. 

***

Steve stood, staring numbly at the destroyed Munson trailer. Dustin had barely been able to tell them what happened when they’d found him on the street, holding onto Eddie’s lifeless form. Dustin was in shock, and getting him back through the portal had been difficult, especially with multiple broken bones. As Nancy retrieved the RV, Robin came to stand beside Steve, and gently laid a hand on his shoulder. 

“I told him. I told him not to be a hero,” Steve said, a sob choking his words. “I fucking told him!” he yelled, slamming his bat on the cracked pavement. Robin jumped away at the outburst. 

“Steve, I- I don’t even know what to say,” Robin said, voice cracking. “Um, there’s Nancy. We should go…” She trailed off. Steve released a jagged breath, and nodded. They made their way back to Dustin, and helped him into the RV. 

Leaving Eddie’s body in the Upside Down had been devastating, but necessary at the time. After they had what they needed and Dustin was being cared for, Steve, Robin and Nancy would be coming back for him. Eddie was a hero and deserved to come home. 

***

363 Days Ago

Using the rope-and-mattress method again, Nancy and Robin followed Steve through the gate into the upside down. They had gotten a canvas stretcher from Hopper who borrowed it from Hawkins PD. Hopper was in the now-vacant Munson trailer, ready to jump in if they needed help beyond deterring nosy people in the trailer park. The trio solemnly made their way through the Upside Down version of the trailer park, to the place where they’d found Dustin and Eddie. Steve and Nancy carried the stretcher between them, Robin leading the way. When they came to the place where they’d had to abandon Eddie’s body, there was only the now congealed pool of blood. 

“This is where he was, right?” Robin asked, her voice breaking in alarm. “Do you think-”

“The damn monsters must have carried him off. He was gone. I checked,” Nancy said, her voice hollow. “Let’s check the area.”

The trio searched quickly and quietly, but to no avail. There was no sign of Eddie’s body. Steve was wracked with guilt. They should have- he should have carried Eddie home. Now he was gone. Like Barb, who’d been dragged into the Upside Down in his own backyard. Forlorn, the trio made their way back to the Munson trailer. When he’d pulled himself up and then fallen back into their world, Hopper had looked at Steve questioningly, who only shook his head before reaching up to grab the stretcher from Robin and Nancy. The girls made their way back as well, Robin bringing up the rear. This outcome was exactly why the trio had only asked Hopper for help. Steve didn’t think he could handle seeing Dustin’s face at their failure to bring Eddie home again.

***

Now

Steve sat by the pool at his parent’s house. They’d left town immediately after the earthquake, though their house hadn’t been damaged in the “earthquake.” He lit the last joint he’d gotten from Jonathan and his friend Argyle on their most recent visit, and took a shaky drag. Steve had barely been able to sleep. He’d doze off, only to wake up minutes later, in a panic. So instead, he sat beside the pool and tried to make his brain turn off, via weed. The Purple Palm Tree Delight hit quickly, making Steve’s head spin. He laid back on the lounge, staring up at the stars. His eyes slipped shut, the half joint still smoldering between his fingers. 

A cold touch on his hand made Steve jerk back into consciousness, and the joint was now stubbed out on the cement beside him. Steve rubbed his face, assuming he had stubbed out the joint and forgotten. Sighing, Steve stood, and shuffled back through the sliding glass door into the house, falling face first on the sofa. Outside the sliding door, a lighter sparked to life, and a dark form was briefly lit by the flame.

Chapter 2 / Chapter 3

[bonniebird]

Lost boys thoughts that haunt me:

1. Michael had never met his grandfather. He's 18. Yes they lived in phoenix and grandpa Emerson lived in California but the Emerson's are a very close family they definitely would have travelled. Why would Lucy not visit her father in (minimum) 18 years.

2. Lucy's husband was confirmed to be financially abusive and nothing ever came of it

3. Why did they cut the scenes when Grandpa Emerson confirms / implies he's a retired vampire hunter if they were just going to confirm it offhandedly in the comics and later movies it was the entire point of the plot.

3. Max clearly thought grandpa Emerson was having Michael move to town to hunt them. it's heavily implied by what Star and David say in the first half of the film. The whole mother for my kids thing doesn't make sense because the only kids are Sam and the Frogs (and Laddie I guess but max isn't interested in him lol do they even have a scene together) and was clearly a lot twist added later

4. Why didn't the Frogs tell Sam they knew his grandpa when we know they were trading Oreos and beer with Grandpa Emerson for the pot their parents wanted. He states several time he refuses to go into town.

5. Who taught grandpa Emerson to identify vamps on sight is he just so high he vibes them out or what?

6. Why did Michael become the head of the house when he moved in if he wasn't taking up the role of head hunter

7. Michael not wanting to hunt more vamps makes sense but Edgar becoming the head hunter instead of Sam in the later movies and comics doesn't make sense until after the Second film when he has to fight Sam.

8. How did star go so long without eating someone? You really expect me to believe the power of motherhood stopped her chowing down on a bunch of drunk surfers.

9. The vamps in the 80s movie sparkle but do the ones in the later movies.

10. Why didn't we get a solo grandpa Emerson movie about him hunting the head vampire he was "dating" the entire first film

11. Is Marko dead because he was upsidedown when they stabbed him wouldn't his heart and organs have moved

12. Who is paying for Edgar and Alan to have all those high tech gadgets? They lost the comic shop, got cut off by the Emerson family and the trailer they own is owned by the bank the bank just can't get them out of it to repo the land it's on so whos paying for all the weapons we only see him modify crossbows

13. Did star and Michael get the reward money from returning Laddie. Did they stay in touch. How did they explain how they found him to the cops.

14. Why is every movie set in Santa Carla like that's enough vampire attacks now lol someone's going to get suspicious

15. Edgar claims that he and Alan saved the president from being attacked by vampires. How would you even bring that up like yeah we have a vampire problem in the white house and also why did they call Edgar specifically. Did the president not have other options?

16. Im pretty sure storm drains have people that clear them out now and then. What happens when they find Alan and his weird taxidermy collection in the drains

17. Did grandpa Emerson teach Alan a out taxidermy? Was it because Alan kept offering to stab people? Was her worried so he was like here just stab these dead animals?

18. How did the Emerson family lose grandpa Emersons house that he supposedly built himself because in the later films the only houses the Emerson's have is the one Star and Michael own out of state and the boat house. What happened to it because it wasn't destroyed completely in the first film did they just abandon it

19. Edgar is supposedly the best hunter in the world but he lost vampire Sam for almost a year. Like Sam wasn't hiding he was hunting Edgar so he was in town and just chilling

20. Edgar stating that he and Alan were cut off from the Emerson family after Sam's death makes no sense because 1 they would have known Edgar would have tried to save him 2. They thought of each other as brothers so they would have seen how upset he was 3 it's implied that Edgar is known by Emerson aunts and uncles the frogs are part of their family there's no way they would have just cut them off. I don't believe it.

21. Lucy telling Michael that is he got a girl pregnant while doing drugs that it was fine as long as he told her and that they would move them both into the Emerson house of peak Lucy humour. The way Michael is just 🧍while trying not to set on fire in the sun the whole time.

22. Does the duffer brothers recreating scenes from the lost boys in stranger things and having Steve and robin dress up as the Frogs mean the TV show and new movie we were hinted to be getting aren't coming out in 2025 anymore. How has no one from Joel's estate sued them or netflix yet did they get permission are they going to take over the franchise

23. Why did the frogs never leave Santa Carla if they hated it so much

24. Why did Edgar go into surfboard repairs

25. Why doesn't Edgar just hire and train a bunch of people to be hunters with him now he's the head hunter (last hunter standing I guess)

[lazaruspiss]

Lower Gotham: Part One

Cobblepot Steel: The Cobblepot Steel company is one of the oldest corporations in Gotham City. It has been involved in the creation of many of the city's biggest buildings, like Wayne Tower. The company's headquarters have been occupying Lower Gotham since the 1920s. It provides supplies for construction, shipbuilding, trains, and electrical appliances. There's a good chance that every household in Gotham City has something that was manufactured with Cobblepot steel. After being released from prison and going legit, Oswald tried to get involved in the business, but despite his criminal connections and influence, his uncle refused. He didn't want to risk the controversy that usually accompanies his nephew. So, Oswald instead purchased the Iceberg Lounge and has been conducting all his business from there, though not all of it is legal.

Dixon Docks: Port Adams was Gotham Town's original 18th century docklands and went through some modest expansions over the years to continue operation. It lost some of its clientele when the Dixon Docks were built at the end of the century to accommodate bigger boats and cargo. During WWII, the Wayne family had the docks reinforced in case of attacks. Because of the amount of cargo that passes through every day, the Dixon Docks have become a regular stomping ground for the criminal gangs of the city. Shipments often go missing while contraband somehow makes it through. I've done my best to drive back the gangs, but they always come back. The Dixon Docks are too lucrative to abandon. Notes: Contact at the Docks has been invaluable. Stopped three more weapon shipments from entering the city thanks to him.

Fei Hong Supermarket: The Fei Hong supermarket is one of the most important community locales of the Cauldron, if not the whole city. People from all over Gotham City visit the store and it has become an unofficial meeting space for various communities. It's often visited during mayoral campaigns for that very reason. The owner is well known and liked by the community and is a member of both the Gotham City Store Owners' Association and the Cauldron Civic Association. He has spearheaded many projects and I'm glad to say he is a voice of reason and tolerance in the neighborhood. I've cooperated with him a few times to organize events around the neighborhood, which were all great successes. I honestly don't know what the district would be like without him.

Giverny Paint: Giverny Paint was established in Gotham City in the early 1930s and has been a frequent collaborator of Wayne Enterprises. We often use their paint for aircrafts and ships as well as for commercial real estate. During the last heat wave, the company had to completely destroy their supply of paint after learning Bane had snuck in and inserted Venom toxin inside the barrels which were supposed to be used to revamp the Knightsdome Sporting Complex. He was hoping the fumes from the new paint would enter the athletes' blood stream, which Bane would have used as an army of super soldiers. Giverny Paint agreed to destroy the contaminated barrels, even if it meant bankruptcy. Which is exactly what would have happened had it not been for a generous donation from the Wayne Foundation. Since that day, the owner has been sending monthly shipments of paint to the children's center as a thank you.

[writerofweird]

Being the King of Halloween means every day is a descent into darkness, some more than others. This is one of those days "more than others", where for the first time after several long years, you make your way down to that underground casino.

If your son sees it, you've thought, he'll remember. He'll pull the levers and press the buttons and sentence all of Halloween Town to myriad tortures.

This should have been destroyed, you say to yourself, you should have ordered its destruction. You should have paid a visit to your friend in office - who has been showing that frowning Pagliacchi face a lot more often - and had him tell the townspeople to dismantle the one-armed bandits, smash every bulb and tear apart the roulette wheel.

Every instrument of torture remains intact. Seeing the playing cards and chips reminds you of how Christian scaremongering has seemed to snake into this world. Halloween is evil, the conservative Christians scream, gambling is evil too. Therefore gambling is Halloween.

What if you become like them, a voice within your skull taunts. What if you treat your son the same way they treat their children? Then what?

Cobwebs adorn the one-armed bandits, the bulbs are caked in dust and the roulette wheel creaks as you walk across it, but the place is far from abandoned.

Bats, once used as a chorus line, still hang from the rafters. One flutters down with a 'Haven't you done enough damage?'

You tell her that Oogie is dead and gone - you don't know whether to call it a lie, a half-truth or the full truth and nothing but the truth - and that she doesn't need to worry about him any more.

The bat laughs. 'Look how little about bats Mr. King-of-Halloween knows. You know how much bugs we eat in a night? We'd have eaten him six times over if we hated him.

'He was fun. He threw such great parties and gave us such feasts. Now he's gone and it's all your fault. Scram.'

You do as you're told, wondering if you should be relieved about the possibility that raising your son might be a little easier than you thought or if you should dread him being attacked by a swarm of bats, horrified at what happened to their friend, reducing him to an empty pile of burlap.

You have got to stop inspiring me, bogleech.

what is the implication here

[tinalbion]

Hello, could you write something about slashers with a male S/O who is blind and who is not aware that in his eyes it is possible to see the universe? Calm down, I'll explain! The blindness of the reader may have taken away his vision, but it also brought stars to his eyes, ahm, it's kind of confusing, I know! Here, look, it's like the illustration of this owl, see? Its name is Zeus, it is blind and inside it eyes you can see a galaxy!

Continued: "This is embarrassing, but, uh, I forgot to ask for the slasher in my question, so I'll ask this one if it's okay? Haha... Harry Warden, please!"

Oh my dear, I finally got an ask for Harry! I love him so much and I hope this finds you well, just know I didn't forget about you or this amazing idea. It's a very beautiful concept that I really enjoy, so I hope I do this ask justice. He's one of my absolute favorite boys and I want to write for him more!

"Between The Stars" ||

Harry Warden x AMAB!Reader

Rating: None; mentions of cannibalism, general fluff between the reader and Harry, pining

Length: 2.1k

Harry Warden had wanted to leave Valentine Bluffs for so long after the incident, it ate away at him the longer he remained hidden away, but even he was weak and couldn't find it in himself to finally uproot and leave. 

The town had dwindled since the killings began to happen again, he remained far from the mines and had found a liveable set up in an abandoned water tower not that far away from the Bluffs. He remained there for most of the year, but when Valentine's rolled around, he couldn't help but grow emotional over the events that happened so long ago. It pained him that whenever he would see the town going against his wishes, they would learn nothing no matter what he did, so he turned his back on them and remained hidden from view. 

From his hideaway, he saw so many walks of life come in and out of the mining town, most people just visiting family, others that moved away years ago only to come back because of nostalgia. He watched from afar and wondered what life would be like I'd his mind wasn't destroyed by the events he suffered so long ago. Maybe one day he would feel complete again, but it would be almost impossible, he thought, that it would never happen for him and he’d just have to live with that.

As he dreamt of better times, he was unaware of a new visitor that graced the town's grounds, an unexpected fresh face that he never would have paid much mind to.

You were talked into visiting your family despite travel being hard for you considering you were blind, but you thankfully got your friend Gracie to tag along and help you out, she agreed to be your guide and took this as a sign for a well-needed vacation for you both.

She guided you along and described the sights to you the best she could, pointing out the old buildings or monuments that had been standing since you were a child, remarking on the newer housing, and you remembered them fondly as you recalled some old memories. It was making you grow homesick even while you were here, but you knew the reason why you left in the first place, so you held onto that and pushed it down to enjoy the rest of your visit. 

What you found incredibly humorous was that people still talked about the infamous Valentine's Day massacre and how Harry Warden was the sole survivor of the mining accident. Yes, you found it funny to see people would always need to find someone or something to blame when it was themselves they needed to blame all along It was rumored that he ended up caught eventually and shoved into a facility where he was no longer a threat, but that didn't even stop Harry from somehow escaping the facility he was taken to. They claimed he died in the safety of the institute, but why would they want the word that their number one sought-after killer was gone? 

The little whispers around town still continued and they'd never stop, you figured, but it was quite fun to see what silly stories they made up in this day and age. Mostly still the same thing, and since you were visiting before Valentine's Day, you figured you were safe from any unnecessary silliness that could be caused by the town’s kids. 

Gracie had offered to run and get some food for you both while you said you'd stay behind, so she was gone and it left you to explore the familiar area of your old stomping grounds. You found yourself easily falling back into the rhythm of things and made your way to your old favorite spots around town, and when you got to the docks, you could smell the water as you breathed it in. 

You sat here for what felt like ages and hadn't even thought to leave until you felt the briskness of the chill in the air, plus you figured Gracie would be back at the motel by now and probably freaking out.

So you trekked back the way you came, or so you thought as you tapped your walking stick along the ground. You ran into something solid and you came to a halt, wondering just what you should do. You could dial your friend's number and call her, asking her to help find you, but you'd done this loads of times before on your own, maybe you could prove to yourself that you still had it in you. As you removed your hand from your pants pocket and left your phone where it was, you tapped your stick around and found another path that you had no idea where it led. 

As you continued your journey, you truly weren't familiar with this side of town and you had no idea how you got so turned around. Your phone suddenly began to ring and you fumbled for it in your pocket before you pulled it free and answered. 

"Hello?"

"There you are, where are you? I've been worried sick! Are you okay?" Gracie was yelling on the other end, pure panic in her tone. 

You couldn't help but laugh. "Yeah I'm fine, I got a little turned around, but I'm okay. I'm coming back to the motel, I was near the docks, but I don't know where I'm really at now."

"I can come and find you, I'll ping your location and I'll be there, just try not to wander too far."

You laughed again. "Alright, I'll behave. See you soon." 

You hung up and waited for a good five minutes until you got bored, so you said to yourself you'd only wander around the area, not too far off from where you'd been, and then you began to explore. The way things sounded, you were near a small wooded area filled with birds, so you stood there and listened for a bit before stepping off somewhere else. Your ankle rolled and you tripped over something that your walking stick didn't quite pick up on, your body lurched forward, and you tumbled down a small hill. You weren't hurt, just a little shaken up and even more lost than you were to begin with. 

"Ah damn," you sighed. 

As you got to your feet, you realized your glasses had tumbled from your face, so you knelt back down carefully and tapped the ground for them, not finding them anywhere. 

What you didn't know was that you were being watched by someone, they had seen the entire ordeal and had spotted your glasses on the ground just a few feet away from your wandering hand. The crunch of the leaves beneath the stranger’s feet was masked by the fact you were crawling around on your hands and knees 

Your hand came upon something unfamiliar and you tapped it several times until you realized it was a boot that was connected to a leg. You sprang back and gasped.

"Oh my god, I'm sorry, I didn't realize that anyone was here!" Your hand was placed on your chest and you tried to control your breathing. "I uh, my name is Y/N, I got a little lost on my way back to my motel… Have you seen my glasses anywhere?"

While you were busy talking, the stranger stared down at you, his breathing heavy from the trek, but he lowered his pick ax and continued to stare. You figured they weren't one to talk much, but you lifted your gaze to them and tried to listen to where they were around you. 

"Uh, you don't talk much, huh?" 

The man grunted in response and you smiled gently. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be rude, maybe you can't talk, who knows. But if you see my glasses anywhere, could you grab them for me?" 

As you looked directly at him, the miner stared down almost dreamily at your eyes and how peculiar they were. It was as if the entire galaxy was taken from the skies and placed gently in your eyes, he'd never seen anything like it. He could have easily stared at them forever, but he knew you'd have to leave him, which was to be expected. 

Your hand touched something and your palm opened, then you felt your glasses drop in your hand along with a gentle feeling of a leather glove.

"Oh, thank you for finding these," you said happily and placed them back on your face. 

"Your eyes," the man's deep, husky voice suddenly said softly, muffled as if something was over his mouth. 

You were taken by surprise and paused as your hands froze. "Wh-what about them?" You asked curiously. You had no idea who this man was or how he found you, but you didn't want to ask just yet. 

"Pretty," was all he said. 

You laughed and looked down, your hands fiddled with your walking stick while your mouth suddenly felt dry. "Thank you, that's very kind of you… My friend Gracie saw them once and she said they looked unique, is that true? I never got to see them, obviously." The little smile you made after speaking only made the stranger feel more interested in you.

"Like stars are in them," he replied shortly. 

Like stars, you couldn't help but find that as unique as Gracie described, and strangely romantic from a stranger you just met. "What's your name?" You wanted to meet his gaze if you could, but kneeling on the cold, crisp leaves beneath you wasn’t so bad.

The man took a sharp breath and wondered what he should do, knowing fully well you were aware of the whispers of Harry Warden, the cannibal monster who snapped, would he ruin this for you completely or would you have no clue? It didn't hurt to test the waters, he wasn't invested completely in you, yet it felt nice that you of all people wouldn't know who he was or about his past. 

You were met with silence again and that's when you sighed with a small grin on your face. "I get it, I'm usually like this with people, too. Uneasy, and untrusting, it's a sign of shared experiences. If I see you again and you're up for sharing, I'd love to know your name." 

It was quiet and then he spoke again. "If I see you again, could I see the stars?"

You bit your lip and nodded. "Yeah, you can see the stars." 

You were alerted to the sound of footsteps nearing you and then the man before you began to take off running, his heavy steps receding further and further away until the pair that you heard behind you were the only ones you could hear. You had wished you could continue your talk with the man, you had enjoyed the shared company and how kind he seemed. It was strange with how awkward he’d been but you didn’t mind, it was nice for a change that he didn’t seem uncomfortable by your condition, he seemed more intrigued than anything. 

Gracie found you on the ground and gasped as she ran toward you. “Y/N, what happened!? Did you fall?”

“Yeah, just a little tumble, I’m in one piece though, we’re all good.” You took her hand and pulled yourself to your feet, then you dusted yourself off as a force of habit. “I promise I’m okay.”

Grace slipped her arm through yours and began to guide you through the wooded area, but you had stopped just for a moment and removed your glasses, hoping that your stranger had seen your gesture that was directed for him, hoping he’d understand that you meant to return one day. 

Harry did see this as he hid amongst the trees, watching the girl guide you carefully, wondering just how long it would be until he saw you again. The one person who wouldn’t run from the very sight of him, the one person who seemed genuinely interested despite the small number of words exchanged on Harry’s behalf. He convinced himself he wasn’t invested, yet here he was his hands gripping the wood of the pick ax, thinking of your eyes and all of the beautiful innocence held within them. If it came down to it, he would kill to see you again.

The miner would try to keep his promise; he would see you again and he would see those stars in your eyes. That was a promise he intended to keep to himself. 

[poliodeuces]

do you ever just think how gentaro's favourite food is watermelon, a large, expensive fruit, and one that is usually shared with someone else. do you ever think abt how, if scenario liar's lyrics have some sincerity in them, this is a luxury item when he was a child, but as an adult something he can buy as he pleases now w his own money. do you ever think abt how growing up he's never been truly alone bc he's got his brother to keep him company...eating watermelon in the short hokkaido summer...engaging in their favourite hobby of telling each other stories, making up ones abt the people they see...

more rambling abt the yumeno under the cut (it's long)

i'll get this out of the way first: it's a popular headcanon that gentaro's older brother is an identical twin, extrapolating from gentaro's novel summaries that we get a brief glimpse on in the first chapters of the fp+m manga, and last year, in the gendice duet, murder at the magic house. couple that with the ominous implication of him impersonating a known yumeno-sensei (who happens to be his brother), far removed from what gentaro used to be. i Love my possibly committing identity-theft, driven by vengeance blorbo. it would be very funny if kr pulls a fast one on us and theyre not identical at all, so let's enjoy the art and the speculation while nothing's confirmed yet wwww they already did that by revealing that gentaro's "friend in the hospital" is actually a family member

there's so little we know about gentaro's home life. there's tiny bits of it, like how much his clothes mean to him, how he would starve himself writing bc of deadlines, that there's a specific cafe he hangs out in, etc. but unlike rmd or dice, details abt his origins are p hazy...scenario liar is an entire backstory that gets shut down at the end by claiming it's all a lie. but who's believing this admission anyway

my headcanon is that the yumeno were born and lived in nowhere snowy mountain town, hokkaido (just to explain his birthdate being a wintry april 1st). they were orphaned and taken care of by their grandparents. theyre not well-off and p isolated. i like to think that w the aging of their grandparents, they depend more on eo as they get older. fast forward to some time in the future, their grandparents pass, and they both move out, maybe together, leaving behind their home mostly empty with nothing of sentimental value but the house itself. there's no one else known in line to keep or take care of the house, and it's left without the possibility of renovation. what's the point of that anyway?

i like to think this scenario of their childhood home, abandoned and dilapidated from years of neglect, having a sort of local legend surrounding it, that the house is haunted. someone goes in that house in indefinite times of the year. if you strain your ears enough you might hear faint footfalls from the inside, or a gentle voice carried by the wind. in reality it's just gentaro visiting for no particular reason. it's an empty childhood home.

last year i made a drawing w a similar lighting (and vague setting) to the one above, completely unintentional. he's all alone now....

i based it on one of the stuff gentaro said on hypradio: he likes to eat watermelon while sitting on the engawa, and he has spat so much watermelon seeds overtime that he's grown a garden of his own. he says it's a lie of course.

while there's no evidence to prove or disprove that gentaro now lives in a house with an engawa (in shibuya!), i get sad thinking abt him living in a space as large as that in the middle of a busy city, alone...

one of my favourite things abt gentaro is although he shares the then-nihilism of fp, that everything has no meaning or purpose, he's not Entirely self-destructive like ramuda or dice. gentaro doesn't seem to think he's disposable especially when he's got some avenging to do. in fact he tries so hard to be invulnerable.

the irony is that theres very little of his own personhood to destroy anyway. what's there to dispose? even confessing, although he says it's a lie, "i'm not yumeno gentaro." in a way he's done with the destruction, done with the death, and he's well in the middle of decay— and decaying is a process full of life, it is less about reducing the body into smaller and smaller pieces than it is about being nourishment...gentaro's desire is to keep telling stories that might bring joy, even if it meant he'll have to keep lying his whole life....

i feel that i have more to say abt gentaro and his brother but my grasp on the english language is getting slippery the more i type lol. he drives me insane <3

[zanefan123]

I feel like this is a good time for my response of episodes where I think he did that (some are even before 'WhoBob WhatPants/Whatever Happened To SpongeBob', 'Gone' and The second Movie , and originally only posted on Reddit) they're under the cut:

"Sandy, SpongeBob, and the Worm"- 'Say it or I'll trip you'- such an iconic line  c⚟ . Why does no one seem to remember it?,

"My Pretty Seahorse"- very excellent acting SpongeBob (two faced maniac 💅),

"Skill Crane"- He slaps Squidward (gatekeep, gaslight, girlboss),

"Bummer Vacation"- 'Think they can just fire me like that, like trash?! I don't think so' (chills, man),

"Best Day Ever"- SpongeBob slaps Squidward like 3 times at the end,

"Waiting"- he flipped Sandra and did other 'mean' things,

"Breath of Fresh Squidward"----'Keep dreaming >:[' (an iconic line yet again, people always miss them),

"Money Talks"- He owns that soul (Don't mess with SpongeBob's paycheck),

"To Save a Squirrel"- I refuse to believe he forgot he can filter feed,

"Spongicus"- HE WANTS BLOOD (at the start at least),

"Squid's Visit"- he's presented in a creepy light,

"To SquarePants or Not to SquarePants"- 'Yes, lots of fell-o-nies' (Iconic line yet again), I think he switched personalities on purpose ,

"A Pal for Gary"- SpongeBob is delulu 🤪,

"Kracked Krabs"- Stealing a hotel room is OK 👌,

"Rodeo Daze"- He kidnapped the entire town,

"Sponge-Cano!"- Notice how he refused to help Squidward when he was gonna be sacrificed until he admitted he appreciated SpongeBob?,

"The Abrasive Side"- He finally gets tired of everyone taking advantage of his kindness except the abrasive side started mocking him too so he had to get rid of it,

"Earworm"- He actually goes crazy,

"A Friendly Game"- He is extremely competitive at some point playing golf blindfolded indoors (what could go wrong),

"It's a SpongeBob Christmas"- the jerktonium laced brownies have no effect on SpongeBob implying he's the jerkiest he can be,

"Eek, an Urchin" and "Krab Borg"- at the end he runs away from his problems,

"Imitation Krabs"- He takes the lead, he wants answers and he'll take them using any methods necessary,

"FrankenDoodle"- If we assume that DoodleBob is an extention of SpongeBob's imagination we can see how SpongeBob imagines himself to be (Hey that kinda rhymed),

"The Whole Tooth"- He breaks into Patrick's house to steal his baby tooth,

"Mimic Madness"- He goes crazy,

"Plankton Gets the Boot"- 'We are soulmates, and we're going to get married and print 1, 347 babies' (How did you 'accidentally' fall for Sheldon, SpongeBob?),

"Life Insurance"- He continued to shake the diving board despite Squidward telling him to stop causing Squidward to suffer a near-death experience,

"Saving Bikini Bottom: The Sandy Cheeks Movie"- He cares more about his on-demand shows then his 'friends',

-'I don't know about her, but I'm in' (ready to abandon his friends like they abandoned him in the 2nd movie and "Gone"),

and off-topic but

-'The original would no longer exist' (He died on screen, why does no one acknowledge that???),

"ChefBob"- His second personality is reflected by ChefBob (I think),

"Call The Cops"- Arrested a girl scout for violating code 49689763025-D,

- officer: 'Zip it,kid! I get it. You're a criminal mastermind'

SB: 'Guilty! Yay!' (He's a criminal mastermind),

"Goons on the Moon"- He destroyed the moon then replaced it,

"The Way of the Sponge"- He's a natural kar-rah-teah master,

"Safe Deposit Krabs"- SpongeBob tries to break into a bank,

"Don't Look Now"- I think he eventually realized Squidward was dressed up as the fisherman and beat him up and you cannot tell me otherwise,

"Code Yellow"- He literally made sushi out of Squidward,

"SpongeBob's Place"- Eugene tells SpongeBob The Krusty Krab is haunted and fails miserably at keeping the business running cause SpongeBob opened his own restaurant at home,

"The Getaway"- I think he knew what he was doing,

A bit unrelated again but- "SpongeBob's Big Birthday Blowout" - 'He works for Krabs, *he's clearly a masochist*' (Alr Sheldon)

"Squidward’s Sick Daze"-  Squidward: 'That isn't going in my mouth.'

SB: 'Guess again~, :]' (He's not just a masochist, he's a sadist too IMO),

"Ma and Pa's Big Hurah"- This episode proves SpongeBob knows how to act mature, he just chooses not to most of the time,

"Friendiversary"- SpongeBob's presented in a creepy light (again);

That's all for now!

I need Spongebob to be petty

Just two or three episodes

No one sees it because it's him doing it and he can't possibly be this scheming but he is

He is

He's had enough

[dailyadventureprompts]

Adventure: The Rein of Katie the Cruel 

As it turns out, being a tyrant is childsplay

Setup: Life in the town of Tolverheld has been flipped on its head after the baron’s daughter Katherine launched a coup and ousted him from rule. Katherine, who is all of seven years old, has no idea she’s performed a usurpation, to busy playing with her imaginary friends who just so happen to be a coterie of fey beings intent on indulging the child’s every whim. 

The townsfolk are terrified; nightmarish toys patrol the street after “bedtime”, more and more vegetables are being replaced with candy, and those who venture near the ducal palace to try and figure out what’s going on are never seen again.  Any who even dare to mention the strangeness risk a visit from one of the three “No-Faced-Ladies” who seem quite fond of using magical red thread and a sharp needle to stitch shut the mouths of tattlers. 

Adventure Hooks: 

The party has been drawn to Tolverheld by a series of strange rumors, the knock-on effects of life in the town grinding to a halt leaving all the surrounding villages and garrisons in the lurch. The heroes are likely to suspect that something’s wrong when they see the bodies strung up outside the gate, their crimes hanging from signs around their necks: “Fibber”, “Meanie”, “Stink-Face”.  Past the gates, the people of Tolverheld walk around on eggshells, fearful of breaking some unspoken and arbitrary new rule and earning a nightmarish punishment. Still, they might be able to point the party in the right direction, provided the heroes are perceptive to understand what the townsfolk are trying to explain to them through forced smiles. 

 Before the fey fully manifested, Katie had a fight with the duke and duchess, the sort of fight every family has between parents who think they know better and children too young to make their frustrations fully understood. At the height of this row, Katie screamed “ I NEVER WANT TO SEE YOU AGAIN “ before running back to her room. The No-face-ladies, who’d been watching Katie for a while made her wish true, and turned the duke and duchess into shadows, which now cling to the walls  of their whimsically haunted castle, where the party will eventually encounter them, directed by the townsfolk. For her part, Katie is secretly miserable, convinced that she was such a bad child that her mother and father abandoned her forever without even a chance to apologize. 

The No-face-ladies have been following Katie ever since her last birthday, when a rival of the ducal family gifted her with a cursed golden comb. Every day one of the fey undoes the young duchess’s braids and combs it through her golden locks, and every day a little more of that hair falls out and black thread grows in its place. Destroying the comb is the only way to return things to normal, as the more of her hair Katie loses, the crueler and more arbitrary she gets, until eventually she’ll transform into a No-faced-lady, and the curses worked by the fey will be unbreakable.

 Tracing the comb back to its origins will reveal the ambitious rival nobles got it from a traveling witch, putting the party on a collision course with an even stronger foe.