#you would WANT an open contest for the PEOPLE to design the flag

[momo-de-avis]

I need everyone to stop believing, please, that the green in the portuguese flag means HOPE and that the red means THE BLOOD OF THE BRAVE PORTUGUESE. It’s a lie. The flag was designed by three monarchists under a contest that they won against their will. It was supposed to be a mockery. Columbano drew the flag. He never, ever used green or red in his paintings. That’s why it’s red and green. Republicans were the ones to pull the brave and blood shit out of their ass. Everyone involved in the design of the flag didn’t even believe in a republic. Idk why we keep saying this hope and blood shit when this is infinitely funnier

[comingyourlugubriousness]

"Thanks for inviting us Tuna, Rook...and I guess Azul! I can't wait to see all the events!" Here's my boy Yume all dressed up for the wonderful and charming @tunabesimpin's SEA SIDE PARTY! , Along with their reluctant plus-one Idia. (The Great Grim assumed he was invited of course and tagged along as well.)

(I had a lot of fun designing outfits for this! I can't wait to see everyone ocs dressed up! 0v0)

Yume’s favorite things to do in the summertime are splashing around, building sand castles, of course and getting ice cream to cope with the hot weather! They would definitely want a crack at the splash contest! But in their free time, they'd hang out with friends, eat good food, and collect shells and help Idia make sand castles! And keep Grim out of trouble!

Idia tries to peacefully stay in his shut-in area, playing hand-held games in his easy fold-up beach tent, but somehow gets dragged out into the fun! I could see him getting a bit competitive and tactical about capture the flag.

Drabble for the event under read more!

DRABBLE START! -

“C’mon Idia don’t you want to have a classic anime filler beach date with me?” Yume said dramatically, fluttering their lashes and putting on an overly cute voice.

 Idia snorted, rolling his eyes.

“Oh, don’t even try that, you know I do, just...not with…everyone else…” Idia muttered. He sighed, just as dramatically, and hid his face in Yume’s neck to sulk. His arms wrapped around their waist, nuzzling his nose into their skin. 

Yume melted at the gesture, letting out a fond sigh and putting their arms around him as well.

 “Oh, no fair, you know I’m easy…” They cooed, tangling their fingers in warm flaming strands. They took a few moments just sitting in silence and enjoying the hug.

 “I wish Ortho could come...” He said quietly, warm breath on their skin as he sighed.

“Aw, I know, me too.” They said rubbing small circles on his back.”But, you said it yourself. Unless you designed a completely new body by tomorrow, the sand and saltwater could harm his systems. You can’t risk that…and I only get a plus one!” They said, matter of factly, shrugging a shoulder. 

Idia made a dull noise of acknowledgement, drearily sinking further into them. 

Yume sighed, pressing their cheek atop his head.

“I know, even though we’ve been out a few times…it's still hard sometimes huh?” 

“Nightmare mode.” He said in a muffled voice. “Y-yu can’t expect me t-to do a Max difficulty  mission so soon-!, I-I haven’t leveled up enough.” He whined on their shoulder.

Yume rolled their eyes fondly at his wording, but understood. They still had their ups and downs too with their anxiety. Sure the days Yume didn’t want to go out or talk to new people were far less frequent than Idia’s, but they still happened. And he always supported them… 

Yume frowned, rocking them back both and forth as they thought, and came to a decision.

“Fine! Okay, you win. You know I won’t force you to go.” Yume said. 

Idia gasped, pulling back and scooping up their hands, a sparkle in his eye. 

“Really!” He cheered, giving them a sharp tooth grin, as if he had gotten away with something devious, but Yume knew that was just his face. “Wee he he~, Yume’s the best!” He said, squeezing them in a tight hug. Yume let out a squeak, but grinned at the affection.

“Yeah yeah…maybe we can have a summer movie marathon instead, or something…” They said once he let go.

“Hm?” Idia pulled back, raising an eyebrow. “...aren’t you still going?”

“Nah…” Yume waved their hand. ”it wouldn’t be as fun without you. Besides, I don’t wanna, third wheel while Leona makes gross old man passes at Yuuta. Bleh.” They said, pretending to gag.

“B-but…you already made those kawaii matching shirts for you and Grim…” He said, remembering how cute the two of them looked in the pictures they had sent earlier.

“Ah. well..we can wear them another time, really…it's okay...” They said, trying to give him a reassuring smile. Then they turned away to their phone, opening up Magicam to message Tuna. 

Idia pouted, his brows furrowing…

They finished typing out an excuse, but before they could send the message confirming their absence, Idia placed a hand on their phone, stopping them. Yume furrowed their brow, looking up curiously

“W-well…m-maybe it wouldn’t be so bad…a classic cliche beach day with Yume…” He said, avoiding his eyes blushing a bit.

“Really!? You mean it?” They asked hopefully, lacing both their fingers together.

“Y-yeah, I won’t be going at it solo…you’ll be with me, right?” He asked, giving them a small smile. Yume gasped, their chest filling up with warmth.

“Of course!” They said, then threw their arms around him. Idia yelped, a giddy grin on his face as he fell back on his bed from the force of their hug. - End!

Big thank you to @tunabesimpin for hosting the event! If you don't already follow them check them out!

[ultrainfinitepit]

Saw your post about the coloring contest. I've also seen you getting a lot of unsolicited critiques about your coloring choices for the pride collection. I imagine that can't be helping with how you're feeling about your coloring choices. So I just wanted to say that I've really liked what you've done so far with the coloring.

When it comes to applying colors to pride flags, there's only so much obvious variation you can do, and there will always be a percentage of people who won't like the chosen coloring. Still, if you are not feeling confident, I'm sure people would have a lot fun with the coloring contest. Plus, you wouldn't necessarily have to choose a winner for every design.

Ultimately, I'm a fan of what you've been doing and I think many others likely agree. But if this is starting to feel overwhelming, coloring contests might ease that <333

Thanks for the kind message Anon, it really helps. The critique is starting to get to me, it's almost making me regret embarking on this redesign journey. I originally started the redesigns because my original designs got enough critique where I started to dislike them. It's more than I get for my other art by a long shot. I think it's because Pride flags are so personal to people, they want the designs for them to be just right. I just hope I can stay in love with the redesigns long enough to actually make them!

As an artist I want to be open to critique that will improve my art. But in the end I'm also only human, I put my heart into my work and I hate to see it fall short in the eyes of others.

Anyway, I appreciate your input, and it gives me confidence to know that you like my colors. Once I finish all the sketches I'm going to put away the Pride Angels for a long time so I can approach them in the future with fresh eyes. At that time maybe I'll feel better about sticking with my color choices, or decide to let others give them a try. We shall see!

[kazeofthemagun]

@relentless-understudy asked the summoner:

😊

A good dream

The wind carried the hot breath of desert air. What little yellowed grass still lingered between rock swayed gently as harsh terrain slowly gave way to a golden savannah, spiraling crags pointing towards the sky like brazen spears. The sun was low on the horizon, descending steadily over the western ridge. Soon, only the twin moons would be left to gaze upon the vast steppes of Windaria.

Lir Hassan stood ever imposing, a fortress city painted in hues of various colors. But, most of all - blue. It was always this shade of blue, this simple design that adorned billowing flags and made up the ekkti that had come to be painted upon his features. Home. Not one of his birth, nor of his lost bloodline, but a home to his heart nonetheless.

The hustle and bustle of the fortress town had resumed, citizens lured back onto narrow streets by evening. Here and there, merchants peddled their wares underneath canopies of patterned fabric, the waning daylight casting a soft red glow through hanging cloth.

"I can pay you an honest three hundred saki, kind Sir, but four hundred you will not squeeze out of me." The soft voice of his small companion had taken on a hint of annoyance, or, perhaps, disappointment. To think some would try to swindle him so..! But, alas, he was no fool and though small of stature he was, his confidence was not and he could barter rather effectively. "It smells like the sea, yes, but even such finds had gone down in value with the recent opening of trade routes. Yes, I do know what I am talking about, thank you very much."

The furry white creature shook his head, the light organ upon his forehead buzzing with an electric yellow glow. Though calm he may appear, a Moogle's emotions were most apparent in their lanterns. "Tis a good quality, but good luck finding buyers with such prices. Hmph." Kupo's blue eyes stared with a certain snarkiness, and he huffed. "Four Winds."

The summoner observed in silence as his partnered Missionary haggled with the third seller in a row. Well, he almost had it, but not quite. Endlessly contesting prices did not exactly serve one well when they still left with nothing by the end of the day.

A soft hmm escaped the Wind Warrior's lips, similar shade of blue gazing down upon his companion with eyebrows riding a tad higher than they tended to rest. "Just buy it already. I will lend you the hundred. You need time to cook it, still."

"She's just going to get mad at us for spending this much on spices, Rorahm." The Moogle complained, crossing little arms beneath his folded wings. "Traditional Malatuurese cuisine is expensive. I wanted it to be a good gift, but Winds! The audacity to still charge that much."

Kupo was funny (adorable) in the rare moments he got angry. It almost prompted a chuckle out of the gunmage, steeled blue gaze softening with a silent laugh in his eyes. His partner knew that look well, and promptly gave a jab to his shin with a wingtalon.

"Ow." Black Wind pretended to be hurt, drawing out the noise in the most sarcastic deadpan he could muster. "It's okay. She will not have your hide. We can afford."

"Really? I mean -"

"Get it."

His companion seemed to finally be won over, accepting the hundred saki from the summoner and paying for the satchel. He gave it one last sniff, just to be sure it was exactly what he needed.

"I think... I think Pelo is going to like it very much." He smiled, holding his purchase close to the chest. "Thank you."

Perhaps the Wind's eyes were not the only thing smiling - nobody could ever tell with the way his cape covered the lower half of his face. It was a look so rare upon his features, brought out by the only two people who could heal his troubled heart. And one of them was right there, in front of him. "You have to pursue that which is close to your heart."

He was so very glad his dear friend had found a love. It was something so very needed in such uncertain times. Who knew when the trade routes would be closed off again, or when their savings would run dry - this opportunity could disappear in the flash of a centipede's jaws in sand.

Feeling guilt over spent money was unavoidable, but hopefully their hides would not be had. Hopefully.

"...Ahh, I am so happy, Rorahm!" There were sparkles in sky blue orbs, and the Moogle's lantern was shining brighter than ever. "I'm going to make this count. It will be so good."

"I bet it will be." The Wind hummed, eyes closing contendedly.

His right hand rested on his companion's head, petting white fur gently.

[prof-peach]

PREFACE

the blog is run based more on the manga than games, as the game mechanics don't suit real life. The principal here is to rationalise and use logic and sometimes real life facts to make the pokemon world seem very real and even more amazing than it already is! We have a Patreon for those who would like to support more work being made, and a website dedicated to hosting the full comics.

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WHAT WE DO

Our work centralises on grass pokemon, their care, their health, and the general relationships we share with them. many are responsible for the health of the ecosystem, and provide valuable nutrition and support to not only the plants but pokemon they live near.

Though we focus the study aspects of our work on grass types, each of the staff have different areas of expertise, and we often handle very difficult, or "last chance" pokemon that are far too aggressive, damaged, or difficult for the average handler.

Our lab handles all sorts, and offers a multitude of events for the public to partake in. The care facilities here match any pokecentre you may come across, with available rooms for short stay rental, along with rental tents for those who want to camp out in the grounds at designated locations.

We also rehabilitate and rehome many species, should both parties be interested in the partnership, with many open days to come visit, and flexible personal visits should the open days be inconvenient.

All public locations are signposted, pokemon guides frequent most locations should you become lost, and you're free to wander the grounds in your own time, so long as you don't go to the north side.

WHERE WE ARE - HOW TO FIND US

Our location is closest to Johto, You can ferry across from Cianwood or Olivine city should you not have travel pokemon, or of course surf/fly over at your own leisure. We advise guests to check the weather before hand, travelling to us can land you in some stormy waters if not too careful.

EVENTS

SPRING Foraging for Beginners - Helpful plants when you're in a pinch. Blossom walk - An opportunity to enjoy the spring blooms. Flower show - The latest in fashion for your garden spaces. Egg hunt - Search for as many as you can! Passing of the Finneon -Watch many shoals illuminate the sea. Garden Tours - Varying times, ask at front desk. Adoption fair - Repeated each season.

SUMMER Beach Cook-Out - Time for a tasty break in the sunshine. Annual Battle Contest - Your Chance to walk away with a trophy. Yard Sale - local business and crafty folks come to sell their wares. Surfing Contest - See how far around the race track you can get. Movie Showing - Open air movies on display, get comfy! Jumpluff Migration - Watch thousands float by, date varying. Garden Tours - Varying times, ask at front desk. Adoption Fair - Repeated each season.

AUTUMN Fungi Foraging 101 - Learn how to find helpful fungi. Bonfire Night - A chance to enjoy fire light and stars. Annual Costume contest - Show off your style and moves! Stantler Rutting - A display of strength and stamina, thrilling. Garden Tours - Varying times, ask at front desk. Adoption Fair - Repeated each season.

WINTER Capture the Flag - Play along side Island pokemon teams. Comedy Club - shows for people and pokemon. Chilli contest - Cook up a delicious treat to try and win. Open Slopes - bookings required, great for sledding or skiing ect. Garden Tours - Varying times, ask at front desk. Adoption Fair - Repeated each season.

FACILITIES

GREENHOUSES - Offering several different climate zones, hosting many pokemon and plants, tended to by dedicated staff, volunteers and various species.

MAIN LAB - The heart of our operation, it serves as a surgery, housing for travellers above the labs, research facility, and pokecentre. Should you have questions, this is a good place to go.

GREY'S LAB - Full of equipment and items, where the crafting goes on. Those who need prostetics or adjustments to items come here for work and care.

CONTAINMENT - Areas used to keep and calm aggressive species, mostly off limits to the general public.

MOUNTAINS - A Beautiful trail for visitors to walk, safe and signposted, with guide pokemon dotted around to help those in need. One mountain summit overlooks the other, where you can observe many unusual pokemon that frequent the north side at a safe distance

DAYCARE - A place to leave your partners should you like to have a break, giving them time to relax and rest.

DOCKS - Souvenir shops, food and drink on sale, areas to tie up boats, a small lighthouse, and plenty of seating areas for visitors to relax at. There is also a groomers with cater-to-all facilities.

FORMAL GARDENS - A number of tended locations, decorative floral displays, topiaries, and the best colour each season has to offer. Ornate fountains sit centrally, and floral scent wafts heavy here.

PLAYGROUND - A great place to go for kids and pokemon alike, plenty of areas to climb, run, play, a shallow pond, trees to climb, swings and other equipment, both suiting people and pokemon. A great place for lunch.

SOUTH LAKE - Clear fresh waters, isolated islands inside the large lake, if you're lucky you'll spot a very friendly Gyarados that rules these waters with a gentle touch. A Campsite sits to one side of this lake, for visitors to utilise.

GRAVEYARD - A place of quiet contemplation, occupied by a number of ghost pokemon. Access is across a large bridge, technically its situated off the main island.

ADOPTION ZONE - The only area on the island where catching a pokemon is allowed. If a pokemon goes to this location and stays there, it is looking for a new partner. This space has many toys, we hold open sporting activities, and theres a multitude of activities to take part in, to get to know each other well before adopting.

WATER TREATMENT PLANT - Not only the Islands water stores, but a place for Grey and others to handle water types within a secure internal space, great when a storm comes, to house small water pokemon who would get washed away easily.

NORTH SIDE - Heavily fenced and signposted. We do not allow anyone to enter this area. It is littered with terrifyingly strong pokemon, individuals who aren't comfortable with humans, and those who need a lot of care and routine. These pokemon don't want to know about people, and so we give them the space to be as free as the island can allow. If you enter, despite the signage posted everywhere, you risk your own life. Only go in if one of the professors are present and allowing.

BATTLE ZONES - several regulation sized battle fields have been set up, where friendly battle minded pokemon can go, awaiting trainers to come and challenge them to a friendly match. Test your metal against a huge host of species, and then come on by the lab for some healing up.

GENERAL FACILITIES - We offer transport to anyone who needs it, simply call ahead, theres WC blocks dotted about, camping areas have drinking water and bathrooms, and we do offer a number of pokemon as guides/mounts for those who have mobility issues, so no one misses out on the islands beauty.

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FAQ

Do you hand out starters?

Yes, but the individual has to prove they're ready for the responsibility, we only let pokemon go if THEY choose a partner, the human has less say in the matter, but we like it when theres a mutual feeling from both parties. We hand out starters on dedicated days, not just as and when people show up. You can phone ahead to see what we have for rehoming too, and we offer these services no matter your age. Should the adoption days not suit your schedule, phone ahead and we can arrange something that'd better suit your needs.

I caught a legendary.

Nope. Just nope. Release that thing immediately.

I want to start a blog like this, is that ok?

Please go for it! Theres no such thing as too many researchers and specialists!

Can I do fanart of your characters?

Yes but please tag us, love to see what you folks make!

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[thestrandedrpg]

MERIDIUM NEWS: SEPTEMBER

News travels through the air on the island like salt on a sea breeze. Here is the gossip currently circulating as of September 14, 2022. Read on below the cut!

GENERAL NEWS / NOTICES:

THE MERIDIUM UNIVERSITY PRESS The Dry Season Catalogue has arrived and it's jam-packed full of fascinating, joyful, and alarming publications available in chapbook or cuneiform tablet! Limited audiobooks recorded (under duress) by the island's air-attuned can be accessed for a short time, until their concentration wanes and the recordings degrade into blips and bloops, and in the case of Lina's, devastating secrets about select island residents with the pertinent words obscured just enough to heighten paranoia.

"Bury the Lede (And Your Head in the Sand): Reportage Among the Chronically Disinterested" This joint volume by Kaz Raval and Kang Sae-byeok is a blistering indictment of the incurious nature of most of the island's residents and their acceptance of the strange circumstances that the island metes out. Readers will be mesmerized, called out, and gradually perplexed as the conversation between the two authors devolves into thinly-veiled derision for each other and then peters away into a complete lack of investment. Includes afterword by Joaquin Saelices which cheerfully contradicts the entire premise as it seems the monk misinterpreted what he was asked for.

"Jungle Jems" This workbook composed by Lily Takahashi is an invaluable educational tool for any island babies! Has tear-out sheets that can be placed on various crustaceans to determine whether they're good to eat, a parrot identification guide from Kami to Hellbeast, and a spot-the-difference that mostly focuses on the various scars accrued by the island residents! Your child may be lightly scarred emotionally by this workbook but hey, learning doesn't come easy, and if it did you jerks would all be jeniuses.

HOW-TO PAMPHLETS:

"Maintaining a Positive Attitude in the Face of Great Adversity and Even When Grumpy People Call you 'Chipper' in That Way that Makes it Seem Like a Bad Thing" by Jang Haneul and Hanan Zaki, with illustrations and a free flower!

"So You're Stranded With a Family Member You Didn't Know a Damn Thing About! Here's How to Not Lose Your Frickin' Mind" by Tamyra Williams and Jupiter George (note: the original slated authors Aurelie Marchand and Tomas Hardy failed to turn in their manuscript and when asked each laughed bitterly until the editor was forced to leave).

"Tigers! They Pakistani" by Emre Akbar. Mr. Akbar was not invited to pen a pamphlet but nevertheless this was submitted (forcefully) and therefore appears in circulation.

WANTED: One-handed piano players who understand how to serve support while never upstaging the main piano player, who might be a little bit fragile at the moment and in fact downright snippy but your reward is the satisfaction of helping a fellow islander feel good! Also more tangibly your reward is a lovely packet of bone needles and six homemade arepas.  Bring a thick skin and cheerful attitude.  CONTEST! We have decided that there should be an official Meridium flag and we invite all interested parties to submit designs! The following subjects are off-limits: multi-level marketing slogans; Matthew Alphonsus; grubs; obscure indie musical groups; rice; rap lyrics; veiled threats against the island itself; self-serving portraits of Tamyra Williams. Aside from that, it's wide open! Get those submissions in pronto! REVIEW: Island’s Got Talent! Calling one and all for our latest new island sensation, Island's Got Talent! This is your chance to show off your hidden talents, all for the chance to win the most valued prize on the island, first pick of your favourite three crops of the farm. Our first night was hosted by the dynamic mother and son duo, Jovi & Jupiter. Let's have a run down of the great acts who blessed our first installment of this series. We opened with the Hardy Family Chorus, and what an opener! No one in the crowd could resist singing along to the chorus, and young miss Flora Hardy completely stole the show with her solo. Then came Tamyra Williams, who gave an acting class as delivered a defiant and rousing monologue as a captured Cleopatra. Next came Alex Woo, who brightened the mood with his interactive performance! Alex asked for the audience to call out the name of a Meridiumer, and then impersonated them on stage! Everyone agreed that his impersonation of Kaz Raval was downright eerie! With the crowd warmed up (and young Flora taken to bed), Magic Mik and Nick turned up the heat with their dance number turned strip tease to Pretty Boy Swag. To wrap up the show, Alex Woo returned and wowed us away with his rendition of the classic Broadway song, I Dreamed a Dream. What an outstanding night! We'd like to remind all those who attended to cast their votes for their favourite stars! If you have a talent you would like to showcase, please add your name and act to the runsheet below.

HELP WANTED: I’m still traumatized by Alex Woo touching me and calling me boring, so I want someone to help me be hip again. I got here in the 80s so I know there’s a lot to catch up on, but I promise I’m cool!! I voted for Reagan, that’s how cool I am!! Preferably looking for someone to help me be effortless and suave and up to date on the lingo. This ad is aimed directly at Kaz Raval, but I’ll take Meridium Mik too if he’s interested. Pancho. I’ll take all three of them, even. Take them up on this job, I mean. NOTICE: Mlle Aurélie Marchand would like to state to the general public that she was not, not trying to kill Kotka. She was merely [redacted] and [redacted]. Also, to those who claim that she [redacted], sleep with one eye open. Or both.

ADVERTISEMENT: Have you heard those theories about Matthew’s ghost controlling everything from the Great Beyond, Meridium being Hell, or a jinn being in charge of the island? Do you hear those theories and think, “Yeah, that’s not what’s going on, but I don’t know what is...”? Do you have enough hubris to think maybe if you understand what’s going on, you can avoid being thrashed by natural forces the next time a crisis comes around?

Then come talk to Lily Takahashi! Ask her about the kami! The kami are what REALLY controls the island. For the simple price of [TBD] Lily will teach you about the kami, how to respect them, and how to STOP getting bullied by this island once and for all*.

* Cessation of island bullying NOT guaranteed.

ADVERTISEMENT: Have you heard those theories about Matthew’s ghost controlling everything from the Great Beyond, Meridium being Hell, or spirits called kami being in charge of the island? Do you hear those theories and think, “Yeah, that’s not what’s going on, but I don’t know what is...”? Do you have enough hubris to think maybe if you understand what’s going on, you can avoid being thrashed by natural forces the next time a crisis comes around?

Then come talk to Wren Augustine! Ask her about the island jinn! The jinn is what REALLY controls the island. For the simple price of [TBD] Wren will teach you about the jinn, how to not piss it off, and how to STOP getting bullied by this island once and for all*.

* Cessation of island bullying NOT guaranteed.

HELP WANTED: I need a lab rat. A tent rat, if you will. I am on a mission to recreate God’s Perfect Drink, the Baja Blast. Why, you may ask? Was it your favorite drink? Were you addicted to it when you washed up and now need to ease your withdrawal symptoms? NO! I’m gonna feed it to the old people for my own entertainment.

… okay that sounds worse than it is, but hear me out! You CAN’T look at someone like Joaquin or Sandra or the island kids (who aren’t old but also have never known the sweet ecstasy of the Baja Blast) and tell me a Baja Blast would not only knock them on their asses but also very possibly kill them. Now, I don’t want to kill them, but I think it would be funny. Nay, hilarious. Can you imagine a world where Joaquin is fueled by Baja? I can, and it’s incredible! If you drank copious amounts of Baja Blast in the real world to the point you have the taste memorized, come see me! For SCIENCE!

Queer Eye for the Island Guy Are you feeling run down from escaping the island's death traps? Do you look at your reflection and feel a little drab, wild, and unkempt? Well, your prayers have been answered! The island's hottest, most stylish makeover crew has assembled! On Fashion we have the impeccable Tamyra Williams, an expert in thrifting and upcycling scavenged looks. Need a little hair care? Look no further than Nick Alphonsus, our local expert in braiding, cutting and styling your locks. If you want to spice up your cooking game look no further than Tomas Hardy, our resident farmer who is truly out-standing in his field. Feeling like you need to work on your beach bod? Mik Kaufmann is the island's premier personal trainer and professional pep talker. Unfortunately, the team is still missing a building expert, after Masaru disappeared into the jungle looking for new materials - if you consider yourself a design wiz, please contact the team!

REVIEW: Hazel’s New Beverage, distilled by Hazel Beaufort

Some might say Hazel’s latest attempt at creating new inventory for the distillery has “notes of orange” or “hints of booze” or whatever BS wine tasters use. Gentle reader, I am the Honest Critic, here to tell you: It’s just alcoholic orange juice. It still gets me drunk, though, so 10/10. Hazel should try making alcoholic coconut milk next! That sounds disgusting now that I’ve written it out, but I’m so bored I will try anything to feel something again.

NOTICE: Harry Atkinson would like to make the following statement, in the hopes that it will answer your botanical questions: 'No, that is not edible. Yes, it will make you sick. That is not a mushroom, that is jaguar scat. Those berries are poisonous.' NOTICE: Pancho is looking for a hiking buddy! People keep complaining that he walks too fast. * * REQUIREMENT: Must walk fast.

Obelisk Eye never closes! This week our Obelisk Operatives (ObOps) have collected the following mysteries! So pull out your magnifying glass, write in the sand, and let’s do some sleuthing.

The Obelisk extends a sincere congratulations to the Georges on their heartwarming family reunion! May they have many stress-filled years together before Meridium rips them apart (perhaps permanently) via some silly goofy shenanigans that would horrify the minds of most mortals. The Obelisk also wishes to assure its devoted readers that Jovi’s name was indeed on it, Jupiter just didn’t look hard enough. It knew his name just as it knows your name. Yes. You.

Emre Akbar was spotted returning to the Akbar residence/clinic and his first act of freedom was cleaning the house. Does Iyaz not clean his clinic? What sort of doctor doesn’t keep his house perpetually sanitary? Doesn’t he know germs exist?

Any other news to report?  Become an ObOp or risk being spied on!  Always remember:

T̶̪͋̓́̂͌̀̾͆͠H̷̺̙̥̟̼̿Ĕ̸̱͇̮̬̄̒̓̍̓̃ ̴̡͕̗͕̱͈̘͛́͋̀̈́̀̚͠͠ͅȎ̶̞̙͈͉͈̙̥͒͒̐̒͜͜B̸̧̪̀̎̃̓̉̌͠͝Ę̴͔͚̰̠͖̠̘͒̌̂͑̓́̓͝L̷̨͇̺̣̜̾̋̊̀̀͜Į̴̛̮͇̭͙̠̣̱̓̏S̴̡̗̦͚̠͖̺͋̉̾K̸͙̜̠̬̟͇͂́̎̀̒̑̇͜͝ͅ ̸̞̗̺͍̥̒̊̊̾̕͝͠͝E̵̯̺̼̤͉͉͆̄̈́́͝Ỹ̷͎̦̟͉̗̞̊͘E̷̖̫̫͂̑̽̋̈́͠ ̸͉͙̥͂̐̈́͛̊͠N̴͈̾͠È̷̬̜̘̘̇̑̈́̍͋͂͌̔͠Ṽ̴̫̰̥͓̱͕͓͆̐̈́Ȩ̸̛̦͈̗̯̘̫͙̇̀̌̾̑͊R̴̼̣̃̈́͊͠ ̸̡̖̝̬̝̊̈̕C̴̰̰̉̄̃̑͒Ļ̶̢̱̬͇̻̈́̔̈́͋̽O̵̼͍͔͂S̴̭͍̆̉͘̕E̶̮͓̯͕̓͌͋̋̉̓S̸̤̞̘͙̘͂̎̎̇̿̽͆̎̊͝!̴̣̪͈̜̲̈́̾̂̐̍̍͊͊͝  

HAG-TASTIC: We have a new hag to join the fabled hag coven! How many hags are in a coven? I don’t know, but Harry Atkinson is part of it now! All it takes to join is to apparently be a woman who likes living in the trees. Doesn’t that mean all the Labyrinth Ladies are now jungle hags? I have no idea. In any case, welcome, Harry! RALLY! RALLY! RALLY! Are you outraged that our gentle Esther has been imprisoned in that gross Fisher Hut for doing something we all thought of? And where's the evidence?  Seamus' MIND? We demand justice! The Fisher Hut needs to fulfill its more noble use as Emre Akbar's hookup pad! 

APPROVAL RATING POLL:

“This is more of a general thing about the Hardys than the new trio, but how cute is it that their little family has 1 of every element now that that baby is fire-attuned? They’re like Meridium’s own royal family! I’m obsessed with them. If I can’t have Kate Middleton, I’ll take Libby Blum! Oh, right, do I ‘approve of their job performance’. Well, I actually don’t pay attention to politics—”

Seamus:

- “What does Seamus actually do? Like Esther was the nice one and Matthew was the leader, what did he do? Is he the nice one now? I can’t imagine Libby’s the nice one. And Tomas is the leader, obvs.” - “He keeps calling me ‘girlie’, which is quite patronizing! I may be trapped in a 29-year-old’s body but I’m actually 142… actually now that I think of it, I don’t even think he knows my name.”

Libby:

- “Has she gotten Dr. Akbar to look at that hand yet? It doesn’t look too hot. Appearances are everything in politics, you know.” - “As a former Castaway: good luck nerds LOL. Yes, write L - O - L. Like the letters. Just the letters, yeah. L-O-L. Yeah, most people will know what that means—”

Tomas:

- “How can he farm AND lead at the same time? I don’t trust anyone who can multitask.” - “The beard really cements him as wise old man leader way more than Matthew. And you know what, I mean, this island really can’t get any worse, right? Right?”

DEAR MS. MERIDIUM

Anonymous islanders are invited to voice their questions, complaints, and compliments to the island itself. Replies are not guaranteed.

Dear Ms. Meridium,

Since we are unilaterally selecting leaders and titles and other positions of power now, I want to declare Wren Augustine the new island princess. I am going to follow in the glorious footsteps of our glorious leader Seamus Hayes and not give you any reason or rationale for my choice. Also Aurélie is the Queen Consort (haha just kidding… unless? Literally everyone here is hot, so if you want to be Queen/King Consort hit me up, I’m taking applications) and I am the King. Anyone who objects will be either sent into the tunnels to die or exiled to the Fisher’s Hut, since those apparently are our only two options. Also yes I KNOW this will probably be two months out of date once your ObOps pin these to the Heart Tree but I’m sending it anyway! The point stands!

Signed, HRH Make Meridium a Monarchy (HRHMMM)

Dear Ms. Meridium,

WTF are that new distiller’s hours? It’s like she’s here one day and gone the next. Sure okay she’s “going through the tunnels to see her dead sister,” yadda yadda yadda. Post some hours, girl. How’s a person supposed to get their fix?

Soberly, It’s Fix O’Clock Somewhere (And That Somewhere Is Here)

Dear Ms. Meridium,

I read last month’s issue and saw the reviews for Tamyra Williams’s performance and like, guys, am I the only one who doesn’t think she’s a big deal? Wasn’t she a movie star from the 60s or something? Have any of you even seen a 60s movie?? They didn’t know how to make movies back then! I know y’all are 80s elderlies but the real world has moved on! You want to hear about a MODERN movie star, come to me and I’ll tell all of you about award-winning actor Adam Sandler and his masterpiece Uncut Gems. I was his muse for that, by the way.

Sincerely, Giulia Vixen

Dear Ms. Meridium,

I need help! Advice! Anything! There's this beautiful, absolutely stunning, gorgeous woman, she's a star, an angel and I'm a little in love with her. How can I capture her attention? I've heard mud baths are supposed to be romantic but I don't want to get down and dirty on our first date! Maybe a glow worm romantic dinner? Under the obelisk?

Thanks, A useless lesbian Dear Ms Meridium, My boyfriend is the biggest and greatest jerk. He's been here for two nano seconds and already he's brought the ugliest chandelier into our home. How do I tell him he has absolutely no taste? How can he not understand crystals are so out and coconuts are in? Has he no sense of style? Should I put him in the bin? Sincerely, A concerned trendsetter

Dear Ms. Meridium, Is it true that Harrieegh woman (I assume that is correct spelling) has been telling everyone she can make paper? I used to be a champion scrapbooker and I think she needs to know that I can challenge her on this! I have made several cutouts (even without my Cricut collection) of such important Meridium words as "laughter", "shrimp paste", "malaria", and "dancelikenobodyiswatching". Can Harrieegh do that? I don't think so. Tell her she has competition and we'll see whose paper goods win out! Stamped, You Better Washi Yourself

Dear Ms. Meridium,

I'm suspicious of Harry...everyone says she's just quiet but I say she's a monster! I swear I saw her sneaking into the fisherman's hut to nibble on Esther! Not in a sexy way either. Totally gross. She took a huge bite out of her arm. She's either a witch or totally deranged either way should I consider action? (Also ps. I think Esther is in on it too...maybe they killed Matthew together?) Salute, Commander wake me up before you go go

Dear Ms. Meridium, We should be keeping an eye on that Jovi character. I know a little something about Greek mythology and did you know that Jove is another word for Zeus and did you know that Zeus mansplained all the time? He was way problematic and there's the chance that Jov(i)e might be too!! Trust me I read all the Percy Jackson books I really know my stuff. Respectfully, The Dong of Achilles

AO-TREE

The latest Meridium fanfiction submissions can be found pinned to the back of the Heart Tree. Let’s check out the latest titles!

TITLE: look like the flower (but be the serpent beneath) RATING: R SUMMARY: Lily is spiraling. Emre “I can make her worse” Akbar is all too happy to help. TITLE: home alone RATING: T SUMMARY: wren augustine is six years old and gets the best summer holiday present - she accidentally wishes her family away when they were supposed to go on holiday. being alone at home comes with many challenges, though, some of which include shopping, ordering food, burglars and the scary hag lady from the other side of the street, ms. atkinson, whom wren heard eats children for breakfast. how will she fare and can she get her family back? TITLE: everybody wants to be my enemy RATING: M SUMMARY: the akbar brothers live in the undercity, part of meridium but the people mostly call stranded among themselves. after their parents who lead stranded are murdered, they are separated, each believing the other one to be dead. A couple of years later a civil war is brewing between the topside and the undercity and the two brothers find themselves on opposite sides. can they find each other again or their different lives and believes will forever be a divide between them? how does it all affect the city around them

TITLE: an endless road to rediscover RATING: T SUMMARY: “I didn’t realize you had time to paint in the Labyrinth,” Tomas calls out, raising a brow. The woman looks up from where she’s sitting on his roof. “Yeah,” she says. “My mom taught me. My other mom, I mean, not Kimiko. Her name was Libby.” Suddenly Tomas can’t breathe. “Libby?” (Libby/Kimiko Roleswap AU!) TITLE: sherlock who? RATING: G SUMMARY: sherlock holmes and his watson are the most well known detective duo in the city, well renowned and feared by criminals, but little do most people that it's nothing more than a pseudonym for count kaz raval, who is bored of his everyday life and wants something more exciting. one day a new enemy, who is smarter and more dangerous than anyone else kaz faced before surfaces, and kaz has to bring him down before his secret is revealed and the world he created around himself crumbles away. TITLE: how to get away with theft RATING: M SUMMARY: libby blum got a hunch for the biggest job she's ever done before, possibly the very last if all the stars align. the casino ran by kotka and her own brother will be vulnerable for one night and one night only, all she needs is a team. // heist!au with lily, tomas, jupiter, tamyra, emre, sae-byeok, and more as crew members

TITLE: It’s You and Me RATING: T SUMMARY: Seamus confronts Esther at the Fisher’s Hut alone. Truths come out. Esther/Seamus/Matthew OT3. Please R&R I promise it’s good! I'm bad at summaries :( No lemon!! TITLE: i will survive RATING: M SUMMARY: meridium, stranded as the people call it - is the yearly "game" of the capital city, where people from all over the country get kidnapped and dropped onto a deserted island where only one can survive at the end. jupiter george passed away during the previous year's games, but something was strange. her death was never showed on camera, it was only announced, and jovi, jupiter's son is convinced that her mother might still be out there, alive, hiding somewhere on the island. so the plan is simple: get himself and his aunt, his mom's sister, in, find jupiter, survive, and get out. there's no such a thing as impossible, right? TITLE: cabin cliche RATING: R SUMMARY: nick rents a one of a kind luxury cabin on a ski resort for what was supposed to be his honeymoon. it just so happens that mik also rents the exact same luxury cabin at the ski resort on the exact same dates (what a coincidence!) understandably at first they’re both pretty pissed about having to share. mik is forced to sleep on the sofa after losing at rock, paper, scissors. but can a snowstorm, a bottle of wine and a sizzling hot tub bring these two together? (canon divergent this mik likes the cold)

TITLE: who ya gonna call? RATING: T SUMMARY: Jovi George’s family can’t travel to him thanks to a freak snow storm. That means Jovi’s got to head out for his first ever solo ghost hunt. That is until he learns that Japanese YouTube sensation and his online crush Lily Takahashi is in town and he invites her to join. TITLE: Things Unspoken RATING: R SUMMARY: So… uh… that Libby/Kimiko flashback… I have no excuses. Libbiko PWP, giving that scene justice.

TITLE: A Long Way Down RATING: T SUMMARY: Alex just doesn't know when to stop. Kaz has had enough. TITLE: skyline’s verge RATING: R (for gore - so much gore) SUMMARY: with her brother dead, long gone, harry finds herself in possession of a ship and an expectant crew. whilst they all look up to her one bastard in particular takes advantage and works his way up to be quartermaster only to end up at the pointy end of harry’s sword (in more ways than one). will these two sail the seven seas together? or will emre’s kidnapping of an aristocrat put an end to their bloody reign? (pirate au) harry/emre!rarepair TITLE: the shape of your name (still spells out pain) RATING: R (for violence) SUMMARY: L’oiseau has taken flight. When Aurélie Marchand vanishes and only a strange cipher is left in her wake, an unlikely duo must unite to try and find her and at least get some closure. (Emre/Joaquin friendship / alliance AU – no romance, sorry, not my thing, I’m #TeamAurelie!)

KIDDIE CORNER!

Riddles, songs, stories, and games to keep those restless island kiddos entertained!

QUIZ ALERT! What Meridium OC would you be?

WORD SEARCH: Help Sae-Byeok find her bearings after her coma!

CROSSWORD: Definitely not inspired by Meridium’s most luscious-haired ex-journalist. (Answer key.)

[starr-fall-knight-rise]

HASO, “Perfect Timing.”

Alright everyone. I am beginning to realize that maybe expecting myself to write a story every week day with a job and trying to get into grad school and writing a second novel might be a bit..... excessive?

So I am going to try for three times a week. I hope you all stick around :)

And I hope you enjoy today’s story as well. 

Adam stood with his hands behind his back, feet spread to shoulder width. He would never have noticed by himself, but the men and women around him stood a little straighter and stepped a little faster under his watchful eye. Once upon a time they might have only hastened their work if he directly asked them too, but just his mere presence these days could send his crew scurrying to do their work. He hadn’t really changed anything about the way he commanded his men. He was firm when he needed to be but allowed for brevity when it would suit the situation.

However, a few years and some tough lessons was slowly shaping him into the kind of man who could command thousands, sharp posture, calm confidence, and a keen eye. 

But then again anyone who could appear professional while wearing high top heelies was a man to be reckoned with.

Sunny walked up next to him her pearlescent white armor glowing under the light as she leaned on the shade of her matching spear. Her head was held high like his. Where once she had been locked up, and defensive, she now stood with the calm confidence of someone who understood what control meant.

Together they had come a long way.

She tilted her head, “You really think he’s going to let you race this…. It’s a million dollar piece of military hardware, they don’t stand a chance.”

Adam didn’t move, hands still clasped behind his back as he  stared up at the F-90 Darkfire he was preparing for the race, “I wouldn’t be so sure…. I’ll be lucky to come in last place.”

Sunny frowned confused, “I saw those shuttles, they were junk shows.”

He lifted his head as the F-90 was rolled across the deck.

“This is a race, it isn’t combat. She was built for dogfights which means she is going to be heavier than the others. Wing tip to wing tip she is also going to be a little longer than the other shuttles and jets making maneuvering around obstacles more difficult. Sure she likely has a more powerful engine, but that can be as much of a detriment as it is a leg up.”  He gestured in the vague direction of the race course, “We are going to be racing through the planet’s smaller rocky ring. It has an unusual amount of larger, thick chunks which we are going to have to manuver around: the kind of conditions you might see in science fiction movies when they talk about an asteroid field. Asteroid fields are generally too far apart to cause any real issue, but here the rocks are dense, and my flying is going to have to be on pont, having a more powerful engine is going to make her more touchy, and my fitness on the controls is going to have to be absolute.”

Sunny tilted her head listening as he continued. She liked it when this side of him came out. There was something about the analytical, logical side of Adam she found….. Very appealing.

He walked forward to examine the jet himself, “Furthermore, I don’t know if you noticed, but there were a few jets there that weren’t exactly junk shows. A few of them were pretty top of the line, and most of them were built for racing. Lighter, sleeker, faster, and with more engine control than mine.

A lot of my maneuverability is lost out of the atmosphere. This isn’t about how well you can manipulate wind currents, this is going to be all about the very minute rotation of the rear and and wing engines. Their wings are smaller and closer in meaning they are going to rotate more easily than me.

She walked up with him and put a hand on his shoulder, “You forgot to fact in one thing.”

He frowned and looked up, “Oh, what did I miss.”

She smiled slightly, “The skill of the pilot, and I know for a fact that we have the best pilot this side of Andromeda. You can have the best plane in the world, but if you have a shit pilot, then a good pilot in a flying trash can has a chance of winning.”

He Smiled, “Thanks, I needed that.”

He stepped back, “Still it doesn't pay to be too cocky. I have a feeling these people have raced this before, they are going to know what they are dealing with, and I am going tinto this completely blind. This is a test to see if my instincts are better than their practice…. Who knows it could be a very close run thing.”

He moved forward to do an extra check on the outside of the ship despite having a whole team of people to do it for him. Adam had learned to delegate a lot of his responsibilities onto others to avoid burnout, but this was one thing he never left to other people. He came back after a thorough check of the ship and stopped next to her.

His head was tilted to one side as he looked at the machine sitting before him.

“It is missing something.”

Sunny turned her head to look at him, “What?”

He smiled, “Do we have anyone here who has experience with graffiti?”

***

Donavan Red met him when he entered the hanger, wearing his flight suit and holding his helmet under one arm. He had gone for some of his more simple equipment. Didn’t want to give the guy an excuse to blame his skill on technology.

Red looked him over.

“Nice suit, princess.”

Adam just smiled thinly looking around at the other pilots, “I see I might be under-dressed.”

To be far though, he wasn’t exactly sure what he would have described the dress code, if he had to put it on an invitation. 

The most apt description seemed to have been.

Dress for Pissing contest.

The men and women wore their uniforms in the same way NASCAR drivers might, covered in logos and patterns. Some of them were clearly custom ordered with personal designs on the backs or the helmets, some sporting flames, others cartoon animals, one guy was just covered in black and white skulls.

The affect up close was ok, but from a distance he just looked like an over excited dalmatian, or maybe some kind of flamboyant cow.

A few of them went for color themes, neon red on black. Neon green on blue.

Most of them tried to coordinate with the matching colors on their ship, each trying to outdo the next.

Red smirked.

The docking bay light began to blink red as the airlock was engaged, and the all turned to watch as the doors opened, and Adam’s jet rolled into the docking bay. She was simultaneously both very impressive and very not impressive. She was an instrument of war, and he rockets lined up on either side of her wings said as much. Adam had once considered her rather sleek in comparison to other jets of the day, but looking at her now in comparison with the racing planes and he couldn’t help but compare her to a pitbull or a bulldog next to greyhounds or whippets.

She rolled up slowly and Red raised an eyebrow.

“A whose guy huh?”

Adam smirked, “I don’t know, I kind of like it.”

They both looked up as the F-90 stopped in place, and along her side in delicate blue cursive script was the name Cinderella. The man who had done the graffiti  had even taken the time to add some stylized pink roses to the front and end of the word giving it a finished look.

Donavan seemed both amused and annoyed at the same time.

The men and women around him turned to look over ridicule dying on their lips as they saw the smirk on his face.

It was made pretty clear.

He was going to beat them, and when he beat them, he was going to have a princess logo on the side of his jet, never mind all of their cool paint jobs.

Donavan frowned but then turned to everyone, “Alright load up!.” Adam did as ordered, switching seats with the young pilot in the cockpit and strapping himself in. he adjusted his controls, did a quick once over, and then pulled some power from his engine.  There was going to be an overwhelming desire to go fast, but he knew that speed wasn’t going to win him this race.

The jets began lining up next to each other, and to his surprise, one of the sleek racing models sidled up next to him, and when he looked over, he saw Donovan Red cambering into the cockpit.

That didn’t exactly bode well, but what was there to do about it.

He felt cool oxygen spilling  onto his mouth and nose as the orange tinted visor dropped down over his eyes. He opted not to use the heads up display preferring to see everything around him as he was flying. 

They were all in a line now, and up ahead a large projection appeared on the docking bay doors.

Red lights began to blink as the docking bay was cleared of everyone except for the jets.

The image of a woman appeared on the screen before them.

It was one of the women he had seen before in her cut off jean shorts and tight tank top.

“Ladies and gentlemen start - your - ENGINES!”

All around him the room was filled with a roar as the group of people pushed their engines to an idle.

He could feel the jet underneath him as it thrummed and whined vibrating into his gloves and down into his skin.

His very bones could feel the trembling.

“The course is simple, one lap around the rocky interior ring of the planet. Rules are only this, no leaving the ring, no weapons, and no teams, every man for himself. If the race moderators see any of this, you will be thrown from the race.”

She smiled and leaned back to reveal two green flags in either hand.

She began to wave them.

“On your mark!”

He took a deep calming breath forcing his hand to relax.

“Get set.”

He felt his heart beating  hard against his ribcage, his stomach crawled up into his throat, and he felt the sudden and overwhelming need to pee.

“GO!”

THe airlock doors shot open faster than they should have been able, a clear sign someone had bypassed safety protocols. Caught off guard by this, Adam shot out of the gate slower than he would have liked. Already the racing  jets streaked ahead, their quicker sleeker designs looking right at home against the blackness of space.

He had to remind himself that in space, without wind resistance, sleek didn’t mean shit.

If he was good enough he could have piloted a brick to win.

He gave more joice to the engine and shot forward. He cut under one of his other opponents and then cythed up next to a second.

He was there for only a moment when he saw something coming in from his right.

Instincts had him move fast, and he turned horizontal  shooting upwards just as another jet tried to push him out. He was flying over the two of them now, and gave another burst shooting forward and past them.

This open stretch was the only time he was going to be able to use the power of his engine to his advantage, so he gave her a little more juice and shot forward catching up quickly with the racing models at the front. Two of them cut sideways attempting to block his path. He cursed, forced to fire his engines backwards so as not to go crashing into them. 

The ring was approaching quickly now, and he could see very clearly that they had not been kidding. The belt was dense, less mate out of fine sand, and instead made up of billions of rocks some the size of him, others the size of cars, and even some the size of large houses. It was the strangest sort of formation he had ever seen around a planet, and he wondered idly how they stayed in orbit.

The two jets ahead of him cut right and then left as a rock came barreling towards him.

He shouted and rolled to the side barely avoiding a head on collision, his instincts saving him where his active brain could not.

He snarled.

“Pull it together.”

There was no time to be thinking, there was only time for flying.

WIth a practiced hand he toggled a switch on the side of his thumb, and his helmet was suddenly filled with the sound of music and drums. His brain focused inward and stopped thinking. He shot over and then under rolling between rocks just inches away on either side. Off to his right the planet below was glowing with the light of it’s star, a lightning blue halo around it where the atmosphere glowed.

He cut the left dove down and then rolled up.

He could see the other jets ahead of him cutting in and out through the rocks. His breathing grew even, his body relaxed, his brain heard nothing but the beat of the music and saw nothing but the obstacles ahead of him.

One of the jets pulled up next to him from behind recklessly rolling around one of the rocks. They were racing wing tip to wing tip now.

They cut right and left under and over he rolled left they rolled right. They were shaky just hanging on, but his flying was smooth.

Up ahead one of the other jets lit up with glowing orange as a set of flares broke from it’s back end shatting against the debris behind it.  Rocks were thrown off their normal course and went smashing into each other turning the rock field ahead of them into a meat grinder. Adam shot forward and dived downward while rolling tight, behind him the racer was unable to replicate the move and a piece of rock caught their wing sending them spinning off to the side and out of the ring.

Adam dodged a piece of debris coming in from his left, flipped upside down and shot diving upward and then righting himself just under the jet up front.

He could see the leader now, and recognized it as Red himself .

The jet above him attempted to drop down and knock him out of position, but he gave a burst to the engine and shot forward.

The jet behind him punched downward and nearly collided into a rock before pulling back into the palace.

Adam took their place in second.

Red could see him coming.

Another set of flares was released.

He checked his forward momentum and rolled three or four times to his right. G forces tugged at his consciousness forcing blackness to the edge of his vision. He tightened the muscles of his chest and stomach forcing blood back up into his head as he breathed out in short controlled bursts.

A rock flew overhead, he cut low, bumped up and then executed a rolling turn over a massive rock pulling in behind red and just up to the right to avoid another burst of flares.

The two of them were fighting for the front now.

And red was good, he knew how to handle a jet, but so did Adam.

They roared past a field of rocks splitting apart as a massive chunk came between them. Adam roared forward, and panicked for a single moment as he saw an impenetrable wall of rock appear just before him. Then a crack appeared. He fired the forward engine and cut horizontal passing through an opening that left him only feet to spare. Rock rose up to meet him, and he rotated his engine up dropping vertically before cutting sideways and passing under a rock. Teeth gritted, he punched upward passing through a gap just as it closed behind him.

A yell of exertain escaped his lips as he pulled straight up cutting up the side of a massive mansion-sized rock before diving right back down into the thick of it.

Red was gone, he didn’t see him anymore.

Was he up front?

And then the sleek black jet dropped down from above cutting him off.

He cursed and swerved low past another rock forced to cut diagonal back into line.

He pulled up wing to wing with the men again.

They dove, they pulled up and they took a wide turn ac coordinated together as a military formation never more than four feet apart.

They were going faster than they probably should have reacted. second by second he rolled left Red went right. They both met in a dive rolling past each other, wings almost touching before cutting upwards mirroring each other in opposite directions. The sound of the music melded with the path of his flight.

They were racing side by side just as one of the other jets roared over them careening out of control in a desperate attempt t o reach front. They watched him dive pull up cut left, and then a rock rolled right into their path. The two of them barely had time to react as the rock hit their right wing and then sent them slamming into the next boulder. There was an eruption and a brief ball of fire as oxygen was consumed from inside the cockpit. Debris blossomed up around them in a miniature explosion.

Adam greeted his teeth, eyes wide .

What was once a race suddenly turned into a battlezone. He and Red dove together rolling around the debris desperately trying to avoid getting cut in two. At these speeds, one hit would be the death of them. His heart raced in his chest as he pulled forward cutting  in the triangle made by three boulders side by side. Red mirrored him below.

A chunk of metal shot towards him, and he toggled his right wing burst just in time, lowering his left side just in time for the chunk to go flying past him. He pulled up with a gasp as a massive chunk of rock cut up before him. Red shot below and he rolled over the top coming into second place.

Up ahead a mining barge ascended through the line of rocks.

Adam roared with exertion as he pulled up and leveled out shooting right under the attached arm of the barge. Red lights erupted over it’s hull in a proximity warning as he went just inches overhead.

The barge driver, clearly spooked twisted to the side and the arm of the barge rolled with it, catching a boulder and sending it flying towards the grouping next to it, there was a sudden explosion of rock and again he was forced to roll to the side. Up down, over and under, cything between lines of rock.

He was almost hit once, then twice.

He toggled the forward engines, slowing himself down and then shooting straight up before continuing forward.

The rocks around him were rolling unpredictably colliding and then exploding into smaller pieces. There was no way he was making it through that alive.

He was rolling diving spinning twisting, and then, he felt it…. Something he had only felt on occasion. The world around him went silent, everything seemed to slow, and he was filled with…. With a feeling. It was like light, bursting out from his chest, rolling up through his skin and into his head.

He entered a moment of perfect execution. He cut into a tight roll his wings cything through the minute gaps between debris with timing so perfect it shouldn't have been humanly possible. Rocks passed by him at hundreds of miles an hour inches away  from the glass of his canopy, one wrong move and he’d be dead. He cut through a gap that gave him inches on either side rolld right dove down, turned left, spun once and then twice, and made a completely vertical ascent. Rocks flew past him on his right and on his left.

Up ahead he could see a gap slowly closing before him. He opened up his engine and shot forward so fast everything was a blur.

The rocks collided behind him as they snapped shut, and he flew into the clear firing forward to slow himself, and then red was there too descending from above spinning and wobbling, almost out of control and careening directly towards a house sized boulder.

He panicked firing up and down at the same time and sending him into a spin.

He was heading directly towards the rock .

WIthout thinking Adam locked onto the rock, and fired. A rocket under his wing detached and shot forward exploding violently just in time for Red to pass through unharmed. Red jolted awkwardly and rolled to one side. Adam cut past under from right to left and rolled straight over red to avoid a rock.

There was a moment where the two of them were staring at each other through the clear canopy.

Eyes met for an instant, and Adam could see the wide eyed fear on the man’s face., Then Adam rolled ahead ducking under the last rock and then bursting out into space.

He let the F-90 have her moment, and completely opened the engine shooting forward and cutting through the finish line which flashed bright green. In that moment He was hit with such a sense of exhilaration and joy that he couldn't imagine anything better. Who needed drugs, who needed love, who needed any of that when you could fly.

Hed did a triumphant loop whooping the whole way.

Of course, a feeling like that can never last long and slowly began to fade away. THe reality of what he had just done was both terrifying and amazing to the point he felt his body begging to shake. The tension and fear he had been holding back exploded inside him just like that joy and he found his hands trembling on the joystick.

He let it overtake him. He had been like this since he was young and fighting it would only make things worse. Despite his shaking hands he flew back to the docking bay and landed his jet with the precision of a surgeon. Finally when the engine was off and the flood stable underneath him he slumped back in his seat shaking and racked with rolling tremors. He closed his eyes and breathed long and slow.

Behind him the others came limping in.

None of them were completely unscathed, at least one person was dead. His hands continued to shake as the airlock doors shut, and as soon as the room was pressurized, he opened the cockpit. As soon as it did, Sunny came running into the room and up the ladder. SHeleft her spear on the floor and helped him to climb out.  His legs were shaking and he almost fell if it weren’t for her support.

She knew him too well, sitting him down on the lowest step and kneeling next to him.

“Are you ok?”

He grinned at her, “That was…. Holy shit.”

He held up his hand to watch the shaking, “I’m having an earthquake.”

It was just then that Red jumped out of his jet onto the floor. He staggered when he did but pushed away the men who tried to help, “What the ever loving FUCK just happened. The field had NEVER been like that. Jaz DIED out there, what the FUCK.” 

The people milled around in confusion.

Red turned to him, eyes narrowing as he stalked over. Adam sighed and looked up as the man stopped to stand over him

“I’m sorry, I’ll get out of your hair.”

The man paused confused, “What?”

“I broke the rules. Means I forfeit.”

Red looked almost nonplussed, “What are you on about?”

Adam slowly took to his feet taking a few more deep wreaths to steady himself before drawing to his full height. He was stead now and looked down at Red with an unwavering gaze. He held out a hand, “I used weapons during the race, that was against the rules. These weren’t flares to move the rocks. I used a targeted missile during the race and that means I broke the rules.”

Red stared at him.

Then he snorted, “Damn the rules. You saved my ass.” he turned to look at his people, “I am more than man enough to acknowledge that.” HE turned back to Adam, “You saved my life you crazy bastard. I am not even sure how you are still alive ….. Because that flying…. That was….. Holy fuck.” He grinned and took Adam by the shoulder, “you shaking, man.” He held up his hand to show a tremor, “Me too, now let's go get some drinks and talk this out. I owe you after all.”

The two of them walked off through the forest of shaken pilots, “You are the kind of man I can see myself doing business with.”

[nerdygaymormon]

Pride Flags

1979 – Pride flag

At the request of Harvey Milk, Gilbert Baker designed a symbol of pride for the gay community to debut at the 1979 San Francisco Gay Freedom Day (at the time, gay was an umbrella term that included what we now would call the queer community). The original flag included 8 colors.

When Harvey Milk was assassinated, many wanted the Pride flag he commissioned as a symbol of the community. Demand was so great that there wasn’t enough hot pink fabric, and then to keep the design balanced, turquoise was also dropped.

This 6-color striped flag  is recognized as a symbol by queer people around the world no matter who they are, how they define, or who they love. 

Here are the meanings behind the colors in the Pride flag:

Red = Life

Orange = Healing

Yellow = Sunlight

Green = Nature

Blue = Harmony

Violet = Spirit

1995 – Polyamory Pride flag

Designed by Jim Evans

Blue : representing openness and honesty among all partners

Red : representing love and passion

Black : representing solidarity with those who must hide their polyamorous relationships from the outside world  

In the center of the flag is a gold Greek lowercase letter "pi", as the first letter of "polyamory". Gold represents "the value that we place on the emotional attachment to others... as opposed to merely primarily physical relationships".

There have been a number of alternative flags developed by the polyamory community since 1995 that incorporate both the original colors and the infinity heart sign, which represents the infinite love for multiple partners at the same time. The heart represents love and the lemniscate represents openness rather than infinity/ eternity.

1998 – Bisexual Pride flag

Michael Page designed this flag in order to raise the visibility of bisexuals, both in and out of the LGBT community. Page said the message of the flag was the idea that the purple blends into both the blue and pink in the same way that bisexual people often blend unnoticed into both gay and straight communities. The flag is inspired from the “biangles,” which are two overlapping triangles in the stereotypical colors for boys and girls.

Michael wanted to avoid pink triangles as they were used by Nazi Germany to brand gay men. He also slightly changed the shades of the colors.

Page describes the meaning of the colors in the flag as:

Pink : represents sexual attraction to the same sex only (gay and lesbian)

Blue : sexual attraction to the opposite sex only (straight)

Purple : the resultant overlap color represents sexual attraction to both sexes (bi)

2000 – Transgender Pride flag

Monica Helms, a trans woman, designed this flag and it was first flown at the 2000 Pride Parade in Phoenix. 

Monica explains, “The pattern is such that no matter which way you fly it, it will always be correct. This symbolizes us trying to find correctness in our own lives.”

Light blue is the traditional color for baby boys

Pink is for girls

White in the middle is for those who are transitioning, those who feel they have a neutral gender or no gender, and those who are intersex

Late 2000’s – Ally Pride flag

The “A” represents allies & activism and it’s in the rainbow colors that represents the queer community.

The black and white bars represent opposites, since allies are cis & attracted to opposite sex/gender on the binary

2010 – Pansexual Pride flag

This flag is used to increase visibility and recognition of the pansexual community, and to distinguish it from bisexuality. The pansexual flag consists of three colored horizontal bars.

Pink : represents those who identify within the female spectrum (regardless of biological sex)

Blue : represents those who identify within the male spectrum (regardless of biological sex)

Yellow : represents non-binary attraction, such as androgynous, agender, bigender and genderfluid people.

2010 – Asexual Pride flag

A contest was held to create an Asexual Flag. A flag of striped colors was chosen as it fits with the designs of most other Pride flags and avoids controversy that could be had if symbols were included. 

Black:  Asexuality.

Grey: Grey-Asexuality and Demisexuality.

White: Non-asexual partners and allies.

Purple: Community

2011 – Genderqueer Pride flag

Created by Marilyn Roxie. For people who are uncomfortable with the word “queer,” they refer to this as a nonbinary flag

Lavender – androgyny

White – agender

Green – nonbinary

2012 – Genderfluid Pride flag

JJ Poole created this flag.

Pink : feminity

Blue : masculinity

Purple : both masculinity & feminity

Black : lack of gender

White : for all genders

2012 – Polysexual Pride flag

A Tumblr user who is a poly individual with the signature “Samlin” submitted this design. He made it similar to the bi and pan flags, since they’re all in under the multisexual umbrella.  

Samlin felt it important distinguish polysexuals from the others--Bi who are attracted to people from 2 genders, and Pan who are attracted to people regardless of gender. Poly is someone who is sexually attracted to multiple, but not all, genders. 

The flag uses the blue and pink, as does the bi & pan flags, but replaces the purple and yellow stripes with a green one.     

Pink: attraction to female-identified people.

Green: attraction to people who identify outside the traditional male-female binary.

Blue: attraction to male-identified people

2013 – Demisexual Pride flag

Similar colors to the Asexual Pride flag, the Demisexual Pride flag was created specifically to represent those with “a sexual orientation in which someone feels sexual attraction only to people with whom they have an emotional bond”

 Black stands for asexuality

Grey represents Gray-Ace and demisexuality

White represents sexuality

Purple represents community

2013 – Intersex Pride flag

The intersex flag was created by Morgan Carpenter of Intersex Human Rights Australia. 

The flag features nongendered colors that celebrate living outside the binary. The circle means unbroken, whole, complete.  

2014 – Agender Pride flag

Created by Salem X, this flag has seven horizontal stripes. 

The black and white stripes represent an absence of gender (instead of being blue & pink)

The gray represents semi-genderlessness

The central green stripe represents nonbinary genders because it is the inverse of purple and purple is a mix of blue & red which often are used to identify m/f binary.

2014 – Nonbinary Pride flag

Created by activist Kye Rowan, it is intended to go alongside Marilyn Roxie’s genderqueer flag, not to replace it. Each stripe color represents different types of non-binary identities:

Yellow is for those whose gender exists outside or without reference to the gender binary, because yellow is often seen to distinguish something as its own

White is for those with many or multiple genders as white represents the presence of color or light

Purple for those who feel their gender is a mixture of both male and female genders as purple is the mix of traditional boy & girl colors. The purple also could be seen as representing the fluidity and uniqueness of nonbinary people.

Black is for individuals who feel they are without gender, as black is the absence of color or light

2014 – Aromantic Pride flag

The Aro community worked together to create a flag and redesigned it several times before eventually landing on this 5-striped flag. Here’s the meaning of the stripes:

 Green – Aromantic. This color chosen because it’s the opposite of red, which is commonly used to indicate romance

Light Green – represents that there is an aro spectrum, not everyone is 100% aro

White – Platonic relationships

Gray – represents gray-romantic (experiences romantic attraction, but not often) and demiromantic (can experience romantic attraction after forming an emotional connection with a person)

Black – represents the sexuality spectrum (aro people can have any sexual orientation)

2017 – Philadelphia People of Color Inclusive Flag

Noting that people of color are often not fully included in the queer community, Philadelphia added the black and brown stripes and flew the flag outside City Hall for Pride Month. 

While the impulse to be more inclusionary is good, this flag sparked controversy as the traditional flag already was meant to include all LGBTQ people and none of the other colored stripes represent skin color. And some people argued additional stripes should be added, such a white stripe for white people. 

In times when people of color need to be lifted & highlighted, this flag does a good job.

2018 – Lesbian Pride flag

You’ll find a lesbian flag from 2010 included in the list of flags for gender and sexual minorities, however it’s not common for lesbians to use that flag. The reason is that pink flag was seen as representing those who have a more feminine gender expression (lipstick lesbians), which means it didn’t feel inclusive to much of the lesbian community.  

A new flag for the lesbian community was introduced in 2018, one with much less pink and meant to represent all lesbians, not just a subset. It seems to be on its way to being better accepted, but we’ll see. Each color represents key aspects of lesbianism:

Transgressive Womanhood

Community

Gender Nonconformity

Freedom

Love

2018 - Progress Pride Flag

Inspired by the Philadelphia People of Color Inclusive Flag, Daniel Quasar added a 5-color chevron to the traditional LGBT Rainbow Flag as a way to emphasize greater inclusion and progress. 

The traditional 6 color stripes are retained so as not to take away from their original meanings. 

The additional stripes added to the left side of the flag are meant to look like an arrow to represent forward movement because more progress is needed. 

The pink, light blue and white are from the Transgender Pride Flag. 

The black & brown stripes represent LGBT communities of color and those living with & who’ve been lost to AIDS.

[fairygal11]

(Short Story) Guardians of Harmonia: Night at the Enchanted Library

It was an illuminating afternoon at Guardian Academy, an elite school that educated Harmonia’s best and greatest students to become tomorrow’s protectors to ensure the safety and well-being of their realm. At this moment, three guardian apprentices: Kaira Starlight, Minty Peppermint, and Giovanni Linguini were traversing the courtyard as a shortcut to the library. As part of their studies, their required to join an after school club to choose from a wide variety of activities: Monster Hunting, History and Lore, Botany Lovers Club, the list kept going. Suggested by Headmistress, Mikami, that the Library Society Club was the best choice for Kaira and her friends to join. It was a great facility to build teamwork, learn organizational skills and discover the wonder of reading. Kaira found this suggestion to be highly effective, she loved books with all her heart--being in a library full of books reminded her of the library her mother managed back home in Honey Meadows. Her friends, Giovanni and Minty though, they’d see them as material to make forts or have a stacking contest. They’ll change their minds if she showed them how amazing books can be whilst working in the library.

They soon arrived at Magica Library that’s stationed on the west side on academy grounds. The library was ginormous in size that one would mistake it for a manor, if were it not for the unusual orb-shaped architectures that branched out on the sides of the building and suspended in midair. Kaira, parting a few strands of her silver hair that glistened in the sunlight, out of her face to gaze with eyes that were blue as the sky itself at the mystifying library’s exterior. Minty and Giovanni didn’t have the same enthusiasm and sparkle in their eyes like their friend, although Minty saw the orb domes as giant bubble gum balls. The three approached the giant oak double door, Kaira pushed all the way for her and her friends to step inside. When she raised her head to take in the interior, her face lit up like a sparkler, hands placed on her face in excitement at what she was seeing before her eyes. It was as whimsical as its exterior! Levels upon levels that filled to the brim with books, rolling library ladders to glide across the shelves to find what book you sought. In Magica’s case, sometimes the books would come straight to you if your willing to catch the right one during their flight through the library for any student to catch and study upon. Nestled right in the center of the building was a grand Kapok tree that stood in the center, tiny orbs of colorful lights floated throughout it.

Underneath the base of the tree, there was the Librarian’s Desk where Jim, Librarian Apprentice/Library Page, was sitting at his station in the meantime going through the clipped papers on his clipboard at the agenda that awaited him. He’s assigned to showing the newest members the ropes as to how the library operated. He rose his head upon taking in the fresh faces in the library, standing up from his desk and coming out from behind to welcome them. He assumed that they were the candidates that were to become part of the Library Society under Headmistress Solaria’s request. He began to give them a tour of the library, giving a brief history of the facility before explaining and demonstrating different tasks they were to do whilst partaking in the club. Along with maintenance, there was discussion of book genres, authors, what inspired one to get involved into reading. This made Giovanni and Minty groaned at the talk of books and chores, but to Kaira was happier than a kid in a candy store.

Under Jim’s supervision, the gang began their duties by dusting the shelves to ensure the books are in peak condition. Next, came checking in items from the sorting room and placing designated items in their respected bins.Giovanni caught glimpse of a book that told about Swords and Weaponry on one of the stacks. Upon opening its spine when all of a sudden a sword was pointed directly at him a few inches from his neon pink eyes! He closed the book and threw it right back into the pile with the books being ready to sort in. By early evening, they held giant butterfly nets in order to scoop up the flying books and put them to bed. Winged books need their beauty sleep too, but some of them refused to go back on their respected shelves. Though it was a huge library and catching them all wasn’t gonna be easy, Jim picked a book off the shelf on “Aero Magic Dynamics”, opening it up as he placed his palm onto a page to summon forth a flying carpet for each of them; He assumed they took their class about using aerodynamical mystical vehicles like brooms, magic carpets, etc. They each hopped onto a carpet and flew off after the Winged Books, Minty was having a blast racing around the library and scooping up a few in the process. She egged Giovanni on to make their chore a game entitled “Book Hunt” that rose his motivation to turn a boring task into a fun book snatching contest. The two swirled around the archways, flew down a couple of the aisles making sure not to bump into any to cause them to fall over and flew up a spiral staircase toward one of the Observation Orbs. A book of Fairy Tales was ajar when it sprinkled star dust that floated down like snow on a peaceful winter morning, Minty caught one on her tongue and commented that it tasted like Sparkling Pop Rocks.

Once they gathered the Winged Books and shelved back to their respected categories-Kaira and her friends along with Jim took a break from tasks to catch a breather. They were enjoying themselves until their free time was interrupted by the sound of glass shattering and the tiny orbs flashed like police lights and made a ringing noise-Someone has broken into the library!. Immediately, they sprung forth toward the west end to come face to face with the intruder. Standing before them was a snarky-looking man dressed in a midnight robe that made him blend into the shadows without detection. Yet he was careless to let himself be known now when he shattered one of the windows using a brick.

“Well, well, well~Seems to me that I’ve gained myself an audience.” The thief said as he was surprised that there were people working the late shift. It would appear he miscalculated when he formulated his plan to seek out the Guardians Grimoire that was said to be locked away in the academy’s library, but now a monkey wrench was tossed into his plan.

“And we didn’t expect to have some noisy thief disrupt our break time! It’s the only time we can enjoy some goodie treats and we were in the middle of chowing down on the Swirl Berry Muffins I brought along!” The peppermint-haired Minty said as she shook her fist to him, aggravated that this thief had the nerve to disrupt break time.

“Listen pal, I don’t know who you think you are, but you picked the wrong place to rob from. I mean seriously-WHAT kind of thief would want to break into a library?” Giovanni said as he was confounded upon the thief’s objective to what business he had at a “magical library”.

“I’ve come seeking the Guardians’ Grimoire so I may use its power to become the greatest Sorcerer in the whole world!” He boasted as he rose his hands up in the air, letting out a fiendish laugh.

“Seriously? You want a dusty grimoire that’ll grant you the powers of a god? Total cliche, bro.” Giovanni stared blankly at the loon.

“It isn’t a dusty grimoire!”, He stomped his right foot down on the ground like he was trying to kill a bug, “It is a book of infinite wisdom and magic!”

“The Guardians’ Grimoire is one of Harmonia’s most ancient and precious artifacts, kept hidden deep away from public eye and sealed away with

“We won’t allow you to take the Guardians’ Grimoire!” Kaira stepped forth, positioning herself into a fighting stance.

“The Guardians’ Grimoire will never fall into the hands of a Charlatan like you!” Jim proclaimed as he glared angrily at the thief.

“We’ll just see about that, now will we?” The thief rose his hand as a dark ball of energy began to form and unleashed a powerful dark lightning bolt at them!

Kaira created a light shield to deflect the dark lightning bolt from striking at them, but it was a diversion to allow the thief a head start toward the back of the library. The Forbidden Archives is said to be located somewhere around the west end of the building. Earlier, Jim told them that the archives was off limits to students and accessed by the library staff. If the thief found a way to access the room, he’d not only steal the grimoire, but other valuable books he could sell in the black market or worse.....burn them!

“We can’t let him get to the archives and get that book!, Jim shouted to his associates.

“And how are we supposed to find him, Poindexter? He sprinted and serpentined after that little lightning blast he fired at us! He could be halfway there by now with his ninja-like reflexes!” Giovanni protested, raising his hands up in the air in frustration.

While they tried to figure out a course of action as quick as they could, Kaira stared around the shelves around them and from the corner of her eye she spotted a book on “Monsters, Mystics and Marvels”. Wanting to confirm her precision, she took a few steps closer to the book and saw it was a 398 number-They were in the 398s aisle that cataloged Harmonia’s myths, legends and fairy tales! Her face lit up like the light bulb in her head, she quickly swiped the book from the shelf before rushing back to her friends.

“We can use this to get the thief!” She waved the book up in the air for her friends to see like she was waving a bulky flag.

“I don’t think reading at a time like this will solve our dilemma, Kai.” Giovanni scoffed when his hope dimmed and rolled his eyes slowly.

“No, Kaira is right. BOOKS are exactly what we need to help us handle this thief!,” Jim said as he figured out right away what Kaira was up to with that book, “As you three should of known already, the books in this library can be beneficial to your brain, but to your training as guardians. They’d at times would borrow some of our books to use on their travels, but it requires mana to draw out the magical energy to manifest the creatures and materials within their pages.”

“In english, please.” Minty replied for she didn’t seem to grasp Jim’s explanation.

“Sighhh~You visualize, focus and unleash their magical force on your opponents and can benefit in travels like summoning a Gryphon.” He simplified it down so Minty can grasp the concept.

“We saw first hand when we were working today. When Jim summoned the flying carpets to help us capture the Winged Books easier then running around in circles. And Minty, you and Giovanni were having fun during the time.”

“And Gio nearly got his eyes poked out by a sword that poked out of the Weaponry book he was looking at in the sorting room.” Minty said as she pointed her thumb at him.

“It was scary, but kinda cool to be honest-but it nearly poked my eye out.” Giovanni sheepishly admitted, rubbing the back of his head.

“Books aren’t always scary and boring like you might claim them to be, Giovanni. They can be fun, exciting full of interesting information and tales that want to be heard and seen by human eyes. The reason a sword almost harmed you because you found weaponry fascinating-you even tied a dagger to your bat to make it into a “Dagger Bat”.” Kaira said with a heartful smile on her face.

“Soul Slammer.” He corrected her on his weapon’s name.

“Soul Slammer, of course, but the point is that right now the power of these books can help us stop the thief from reaching the archive and protect the library from his carelessness. With the power of these books and our skills combined, we can take this thief down, so who’s with me!?” Kaira proclaimed as she rose her fist in the air.

Minty and Giovanni stared at one another for a moment, but then puffed up their chest and put on their most awesome game faces. They weren’t gonna let some petty thief get the better of them, they’re future Guardians after all and as a guardian-they help the weak and innocent. In this case though, its protecting the library and the paper bound “residents” that reside within its walls. They rose their fists in the air to show they were ready to stand and fight with Kaira to defend the library and keep the grimoire safe from the thief’s hands. For her and her love of reading’s sake, they’d do anything to help Kaira because she was their friend who had a big heart just like her book shelf back in the dorm. Jim showed the group to the nearest aisles and categories that would help them in catching the thief: Geology, Astrology, Mythology, Magical Aerodynamics and of course to Minty’s wonder-Cooking! She grabbed a mess of dessert cook books to have on hand.

Jim summoned the magic carpets and they took off to the top of the book shelves. Scanning the area for any sign of the thief before Giovanni saw him heading passed the Chimera statue near the library’s StarPaws where students mostly got their coffee. The thief neared the statue as he studied the base carefully, trying to figure out where the secret switch was to accessing the archive that was said to lie deep underneath. Yet his concentration was broken when splat! A black forest cake splatted him on the head, frosting dripped down his face before turning around. He gazed up at the four as they floated in mid air on their fabric transports, shaking off the cake with some bits sticking to his hair.

“That’s all you got to stop me? A cake? How pathe-Ah!”, He was cut off when a banana crème pie smacked him right in the face!

“I got a whole dessert buffet on stand by to slow you down with its creaminess!,” Minty held the book of “Harmona’s Best Desserts” in her arms, smirking teasingly at him.

“But it would appear you need a knife for that pie, here let me lend you one-or ten!” Giovanni laughed before opening the weaponry book that shined softly before a wave of swords came flying out!

The thief screeched as he dove right out of the way when the swords clanked against the statue, scattering to the ground. Luckily he slide under of the nearby tables, yet one of the blades ricochet from the statue and stabbed the center of the table- two inches from his nose!

“Hey! Be careful! You almost gave me a nose job!”, The thief shouted back at them.

Suddenly the ground beneath the thief rumbled, the floor board began to spit out seeds which caused him confusion. Yet confusion turned to panic when they sprouted at an alarming rate and intertwined into an oak tree that launched the thief and the table he was under right into the air! The table fell onto the tree top with him crashing down on the surface base, he felt one of his ribs crackle and bruise. He got up slowly, brushing his legs from his fall before having to  balance on the table. He was about to find himself flailing about when his eyes grew to saucer plates when tiny asteroids were flying his way. He moved his body like he was belly dancing or performing a weird ceremonial dance, but he didn’t see the large asteroid crash into him that knocked him off the table and face planted right onto the floor!

The thief groaned at the hits he took as he got up slowly, but to come face to face with a celestial Star Bear that was an inch from his face. It let out a mighty roar that made him scream like a girl and turned heel to go around the statue to find himself caught in a miniature tornado Jim summoned forth, then launched into the air yet again. Giovanni dove straight toward him with his Soul Slammer and struck him right in the kisser, he knocked out a few of his teeth due to the impact of his strike. The thief was sent flying the opposite direction, only to be snatched out of the air by Tangle Vines that wrapped around him like a snake coils its prey. When he tried flicking his fingers to conjure fire to burn the roots, a giant vat of heavy whipped cream fell on him to ensure that if he broke free, the sweet goo would slow him down.

“I gotta admit-Books are really fun, especially if they can take out a thief.” Giovanni  declared to his friends.

“It wasn’t just the books, but it was all of us working together in order to catch the thief.” Kaira said with a smile on her face.

“And Harmona’s Best Desserts did a “wallop cream” him in his place.”, Minty chuckled at her terrible pun.

“That made no sense at all,” Jim said in annoyance to Minty’s horrid pun.

Jim called campus police to escort the thief off the property and taken to jail whilst they clean up the mess they made in order to catch him. It took them until 3am from fixing up the window, returning the books to their shelves and making sure there wasn’t any other intruders that might have snuck in during the chaos. Giovanni and Minty created a book fort for them to sleep in for the night, everyone placed their sleeping bags down on the ground. The tiny orbs provided light for comfort and protection from the dark. It had been an eventful and colorful day, but what made  better was that Kaira was proud that her friends found a newfound love for reading. It taught them how powerful books can be when their knowledge comes in handy when wanting to learn about weaponry, how to make the ideal macaroon or using the magic within its pages to stop a thief.

[precure-stuff]

Aikatsu On Parade Rewrite Part 5

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4

READ CHANGES TO CANON IF THIS IS YOUR FIRST ONE:

Raki acquires the Constellation PR by studying Amahane’s design method with Sena.

Magic Blood performs Ragtime of The Moonlit Night is performed

Reflect Moon perform in their Jeweling Dresses

Aoi, Shion and Ako act together·      

Raki and Sora are good friends(Designers)·      

The Christmas live is Hello Winter Love (Raki. Hinaki. Lily. Juri. Maika. Ichigo)

Mirai, Kaede and Hibiki are in a unit called Dynamo

Raki works on the Jeweling PR for a week before getting Alicia’s approval

Seira and Rola tie in a rock contest

Hime and Mizuki perform Start Line in episode 20

Episode 21- Lucky Arrival

After the duo stage the popularity of 4 Star and Starlight shoots up. Despite the fact that Mizuki and Hime aren’t in school anymore, people wanted to see the idol schools they went to. This leads to the two schools receiving an influx of applications. Madoka invites Raki to help her give the tour as Rin overslept and Raki rushes to Starlight. When she arrives, Madoka is nowhere to be found. Instead, Raki finds Nono and Risa. Raki goes up to them and says she can sense they’re great idols but she can’t recognize them. They smile and claim that they’ll introduce themselves the only way they know how.

Nono and Risa perform Promise Carat. Nono wears the Black Denim Dolly Coord and Risa wears the Romantic Bijoux Coord. The live gathers a small crowd who clap. Risa blushes and hides behind Nono who poses. Raki asks them why she’s never seen them and they mention that they live in Hokkaido and went back there for a while. “There’s actually another pair of idols we’re waiting for.” Cut to a gazebo with two figures sitting in it.

“The entire world revolves around…” Kokone rushes out of the gazebo to meet Nono and Risa. Miyabi stands gracefully and lets Raki know who they are. “When we heard about Starlight being famous we remembered we were students here too!” Raki says she’s never seen an idol like Miyabi before. Kokone spots group of girls on tour and rushes toward them.

“Kokone, wait!” Miyabi ran after her, “We were supposed to look for Sakura together. Kokone has the girls do her catchphrase and performs Love Like Caramelize. Nono, Risa and Raki find her at the end of her performance. Raki rushes up to Kokone and she takes her along to the next group of girls. Raki stops her and says that Miyabi needs her. Kokone apologizes and rushes back. Miyabi sighs and goes to the Starlight Queen Palace. They find Akari decorating it in preparation for that part of the tour. Akari greets them all and offers them cake which Kokone and Raki happily indulge in. Miyabi asks where they can find Sakura and is told to look at the track field.

Miyabi, Kokone and Raki walk toward the tracks and find Sakura meditating there. “I’ve been waiting for this.” She says as she stands up.  Miyabi walks to face her and the two pull out their cards as if they are about to duel. “Wait!” Raki cries. She asks if she can perform with them and Miyabi and Sakura ask if she’ll be able to keep up. Raki shows them her Red dress design (the one in her sketch not the promotional cards. See the image below for reference) The three perform Light Pink Day Tripper but only Sakura and Miyabi do the appeal. One the song is over, Sakura and Miyabi face each other with a smile but Raki seems sullen. Kokone asks her what’s wrong but Raki forces a smile. The episode ends with a shot of the clover in Raki’s sketchbook.

Episode 22- Going Our Way

4Star’s tour is underway and starts with all the aspiring applicants and fans watching an interview with the old S4 (Hime, Yozora, Yuzu, Tsubasa) This brings back the purple cloud mascot that interviewed them in Aistars season 1. Backstage, Yume, Rola, Koharu, Mahiru and Ako are sitting in a dressing room. They’re in a circle holding hands with their eyes closed as the music in the background fades out. The opening plays.

After the S4 interview we get a shot of the crowd where we spot Saya, Natsuna and Sumomo. Natsuna is in a bad mood and Saya and Sumomo brought her to see Rola but she hasn’t appeared yet. The crowd disperses and Natsuna runs up on stage toward Tsubasa. Tsubasa panics and pushes Natsuna away but Hime catches her. Yuzu reassures her with a smile and Yozora asks, “Are you lost?” She looks at Natsuna’s jacket and notices a Spice Chord accessory. Tsubasa walks up to her and squats.

“If you like Spice Chord then-” Tsubasa is cut short by Saya and Sumomo’s arrival.

They explain things to Tsubasa and she sighs, “I see, Rola is currently occupied but I promise you’ll meet her today. I’ll give you three a personal tour for now.” Tsubasa takes the girls around and stops once they get to the balcony. Natsuna hasn’t said a word and Tsubasa asks to be left alone with her. After a few seconds of silence, Natsuna says that she’s been chasing after Rola for the past year.

“I’ve never really seen idols like me but Rola was. She wore clothes like I did and sang songs I wanted to sing too,” Natsuna whispers. Tsubasa smiles and stares at the sky.

“When I was younger, I wanted to be the top of Song Class. When Akari was younger, she wanted to be just like Ichigo. Being inspired by others is a beautiful thing, but you should remember that you’re a star on your own. Even my Spice Chord and hers are different. So will yours.” Natsuna seems unconvinced. Tsubasa shows her the Girl’s Flag Coord. Natsuna’s eyes light up. She sashays off and beckons Natsuna to follow her. We get to see Dancing Days.

Natsuna finally understands and tells Tsubasa that she can take her back to Sumomo and Saya. Tsubasa takes her to the dressing room just as Yume and Rola walk out. Saya and Sumomo as Rola walks toward her. Natsuna stands shyly behind Tsubasa.

“Do you love Spice Chord?” Rola asks. Natsuna’s eyes meet hers. She nods shyly.

“Rola, we’re up on stage.” Yume reminds her.

“Just a minute Yume.” Rola rushes back into the dressing room and brings out her bag. She hugs Natsuna and gives her the Black Shadow Coord and rushes onto stage. Natsuna blushes as she holds the cards and Saya and Natsuna take her back to the crowd to watch the stage. The five Stars girls stand in the Dressing Room and make a star shape with their fingers before appearing on stage to perform We Are Stars in the event coords above

Episode 23- A Girl like Me

 This episode starts in Tamaki’s office. Tamaki is watching footage of one of Raki’s recent concerts. As Raki sings ‘Your Entrance’ when suddenly her aura disappears. Tamaki’s eyes widen as she watches Raki finish the performance. She turns to Sora and Koharu across the desk. “Is this the first time this has happened?”

“No, I’m afraid not,” Koharu says, “Recently, Raki hasn’t been herself.”

“Yes,” Sora adds, “She lost her way somehow and isn’t designing as she usually does.”

Tamaki places her head on her hands and sighs. “This is something much deeper than dresses. Whatever is going on is something Raki feels about herself.”

*Opening plays*

We cut to Raki’s room as she stares at a blank page of her sketchbook. Madoka and Rin sit outside with PP and Wakaba. Akari, Ichigo and Yume arrive in a car and join them at Star Harmony. Koharu lays out the situation for all of them. “We need to cheer Raki up. Whatever made her want to design clothes seems to have stopped and she can’t perform. She isn’t the same as she used to be.” Wakaba suggests that they show her their Aikatsu Cards as the rest remain silent. Yume and Akari turn to Ichigo who has a stern look on her face. Koharu follows Yume’s eyes to Ichigo as well.

“She needs to find her rice scoop.” Ichigo remarks, “Whatever made her an idol…she knows it herself.”

“In that case,” Koharu says, “We’re all going to help her remember that.” Rin and Madoka head off to Starlight looking for Juri. If anyone knew passion, it would be her. Koharu and Yume went to Venus Ark and Wakaba went to Raki’s room. Ichigo and Akari left last and no one knew where they went.

At Venus Ark, Yume and Koharu begged Elza to come see Raki. Yume stepped forward and clasped her hands “You inspired her very first PR. You let me surpass my own limits! Elza please!” Elza’s gaze remained cold and she stood up to face the sea.

“If she can’t get over a simple rut then she should reconsider being an idol.” Elza said.

Koharu huffed and straightened her shoulders, “If I hadn’t helped you as a designer would you be where you are now?” Elza turns in disgust. Koharu doesn’t flinch and pulls out her own sketchbooks. She lays it on Elza’s desk and flips through the designs she had for Perfect Queen. “Elza, even you needed help. Right now Raki needs you and you should be there.” The scene ends

Wakaba and Raki are sitting on her bed talking about their families. Wakaba mentions that she misses them as she’s been so busy as an idol but knows they understand. Raki smiles lightly as Juri bursts in with Rin and Madoka. Raki is shocked as Juri showers her with roses. “I’m told someone here is feeling down” (I’m not including the Spanish because I don’t speak it so I can’t do it well) Rin tells her to calm down. Madoka offers Raki a candy pop. She stares at it for a while and curls up. “You’re all such good idols and I’m glad I met you but-I’m not sure I can be that.”

We see a flashback of Raki and her sister. Raki first tried to dress like her sister and emulate her style. We see a small Raki in her sister’s labcoat. As Raki grows older she starts to dress more like herself and gets the idea for Maple Ribbon. Her sister supports this and we see Raki receiving her Aikatsu Pass. As this memory plays in Raki’s head we see her eyes light up a little.

In the Starlight Palace Akari nods as she chairs a Starlight Queen meeting. Otome, Sakura and Mizuki are in a circle as Ichigo watches. Mizuki stands. “I may not know her well but I can’t stand by and watch an idol lose her way.”

“Do you think we’re doing too much?” Ichigo asks, “I don’t want us to smother Raki.” Otome shakes her head furiously but Sakura stops her.

“Raki’s been this way for a while,” Sakura starts, “Ever since her stage with me and Miyabi…she wanted to see all sorts of idols but I’m not sure she knows what she wants to be herself. She’s shifted between all sorts of looks and has done a little of everything.”

“She can be whatever idol she needs to be. We just need to remind her.” Mizuki says and Akari decides to end the meeting.

Madoka receives a text message and asks Raki to go to the stage in Star Harmony. The message says that Raki should go alone and she does. Wakaba looks worried. As she enters the empty seats, she notices Ichigo standing in the spotlight. “Raki,” she says, “We know that something’s wrong but we don’t know what. We want you to know whatever idol you’ll be we’ll all support you.” Four more lights appear. “And so prepare to see four idols who came into their own just like you will.”

Sweet Sweet Girls Talk starts playing. The stage is a garden with a gazebo and tea cups. It’s very flowery and elegant. The Starlight Queens appear. Otome wears the Cotton Color Coord, Akari wears the Rose Party Coord, Mizuki wears the Moon French Coord and Sakura wears the Noble Coord.

As the stage ends, Ichigo invites Raki on stage. She takes the mic (It’s the same one from the Ichigo movie) “I’m grateful you all did this for me.” The other girls walk in, revealing they were listening to the performance, “I started designing to make clothes I wanted to wear. I want Maple Ribbon to be something girls like me can wear.” She takes a pause and looks around the room. “But I’m a girl who wants to wear whatever she likes. All sorts of clothes exist in my brand. Thank you for reminding me I don’t have to be anything to make it.”

The episode cuts to black but lights up as we get Idol Activity(All Stars Version) in the Shining Line Coords. During the performance we cut to scenes of Raki interacting with the other protagonists.

Episode 24- Lucky Time

The episode starts with Honey Cat decorating Star Harmony. We see Reflect Moon giving readings to the Star Harmony students. In a dressing room Raki and Wakaba are having their hair done by Sora and Mahiru. There’s an event going on named Lucky Time. Crowds begin to gather and Hariu checks the tickets. As the crowd comes on stage, we see that Pure Palette are the MCs. They thank the audience for coming and mention that Honey Cat will start the event.

You X I plays. They perform in their first Friends Dresses with their Miracle Aura. After that Maika and Ema mention that they’re here today to help two girls to form their own Friends. Wakaba and Raki walk on stage and the crowd begins to cheer. Raki and Wakaba reveal that their Friends unit is Clover Ring. Mirai blushes as she and Karen hold hands in the crowd. Raki gives a short speech about how far she’s come. She thanks Wakaba for being there for her and they run backstage to the Dressing Rooms. Raki wears the Pastel Purple Line Coord and Wakaba wears the Cherry Link Coord.  They sing Aikatsu Friends. The rest of the episode has Raki and Wakaba climb a mountain and sit together at the top as they watch the sunset together

Episode 25- Venus Dream

 The episode starts on Venus Ark. Aria and Carol Alice stand watching the sea as Rey walks out to meet them. “Elza wants to speak to you,” They walk into Elza’s office as Alice adjusts her bonnet.

“Alice! I placed my trust in you once and you failed me. Right now Venus Ark needs you more than ever. We must catch up to the other schools so all Venus Ark students simply must debut.” She pushes a letter forward. Alice picks it up and smiles. “Isn’t that the brand you admire?” Alice nods. “Very well. Aria, take her to the muse.” Rey sees them out of the room. The opening plays (This would be Twilight Etranger with scenes of everyone)

Aria rows the mini-boat Elza gave them but they’re making no progress. Carol admits she’s never rowed a boat and Aria said she did so with Hime as a child. Carol swirls her hand in the water. They drift vaguely along the sea as Aria places flowers in the water. “This way we won’t get lost.” Aria says. Carol sighs as the sun continues to burn intensely. Aria lets her hair down and starts humming her song. Carol joins her and they hum together to lighten the mood. As they sing and drift at sea, a third voice joins them. They turn in horror only to see Mirai in a floating tube. She waves at them and swims over. Karen stands over her own ship at the dock and has them brought in.

Alice and Aria sit by a white table in a small room with wide windows letting the sunlight in. After being refreshed Karen asks them why they were drifting at sea. Aria mentions that they were on their way to the ship. Mirai tells them it was a strange way to get there. Carol covers her face and stands before Karen.

“I- I’d like to wear… Classical Ange.” She stammers.

“Hmmm,” Karen holds her chin. “So this is what Raki’s Pass has brought about,” She steps forward and uncovers Carol Alice’s face. “You’re clearly a beautiful girl Alice. A graceful lady who should wear fitting clothes.” Karen takes her hand and rushes over to the desk. Aria smiles as well. Karen gives Alice the cards for the Mermaid Blue Coord. Carol takes the cards and places to them on her chest.

“Thank you, for believing in me.” Alice says. Karen takes them back to Star Harmony and announces that she will be sharing her brand with a Venus Ark student. News spreads back to Elza who is furious.

“Why couldn’t she bring her here? Rey, we can’t let ourselves be left behind.” Elza storms out and makes her way to Star Harmony.  Rey makes sure to alert the press that royalty was on the move. Elza steals the show and has her staff spread Venus Ark banners over the halls she walks through. Raki and Wakaba see this and mention that they’re not surprised. After walking around a bit, Elza demands that Alice be brought to her. In the meantime, she sits on a makeshift throne with Rey standing guard.

Alice walks towards Elza and meets her eyes. Elza is taken aback. Alice had never done that. She had a certain poise in her walk. Rey blushes and comments that it seems as though she’s gliding. Alice tells Elza that she wants to show her a performance worth seeing. Elza nods as she tries to hide how proud she is of her.

Aria and Alice rush to the Dressing Room. Aria wears the Nadeshiko New Year Coord and Alice wears the Mermaid Blue Coord(pictured on the left). Pirouette of the Forest Light starts playing as Aria sings the first line. Alice joins in and as the tune plays her aura appears. Six blue candles rotate around her with gold stands. Blue jewels and purple lilies float around her. The appeals are Angel Garden and Star Heartful World. As the show ends Elza congratulates Alice and gives her a hug. The episode ends

[tabloidtoc]

National Enquirer, November 30

You can buy a copy of this issue for your very own at my eBay store: https://www.ebay.com/str/bradentonbooks

Cover: The Kennedy family torn apart 

Page 2: Angry and isolated Caitlyn Jenner is on a downward emotional spiral that some friends believe have left her one step from the psycho ward -- she feels shunned by her own family and can’t find romance and is unhappy with with her looks -- Caitlyn is so tense and insecure and sensitive about everything so she’s diving into more and more prospective projects in a desperate effort to kickstart her flagging career and she’s flying off the handle all the time plus she’s tried to drown her sorrows in a new round of cosmetic improvements including a face-lift and lipo to trim her waist and thighs but she’s horrified she’s still not happy with her looks after all her surgeries 

Page 3: Lovestruck Halle Berry has leapt headfirst into a red-hot romance with Van Hunt but the singer is a skirt-chasing cheat -- Van and his ex-wife split in 2007 after she said he abandoned her and their only child to move to L.A. and she claimed the musician admitted adultery shortly before divorce documents were filed -- Halle would be disturbed to hear that Van walked out on his son because she’s a very family-oriented person and she could never imagine living on the other side of the country to her kids -- Van’s grown and matured since the divorce and is sure to have shared all about his situation with Halle and he’s said to be on good terms with his ex-wife but people say once a cheater always a cheater and that’s got to be at the back of Halle’s mind 

Page 4: Runaway Prince Harry is reeling after being publicly snubbed by his royal relatives and now he is having second thoughts about ditching his official duties for a glam life in Hollywood; he’s finally realizing just what he gave up when he left England with wife Meghan Markle and their son Archie and he’s wondering if it was worth it -- the simmering rift between Harry and the royals exploded after they refused his request to be part of Britain’s Remembrance Day ceremonies to honor fallen soldiers so Harry retaliated by staging a photo op at Los Angeles National Cemetery with Meghan with his military medals pinned on his navy suit; Harry was banned from wearing his military uniform when he quit royal duties and he also had to give up his military duties which devastated him -- photos from the cemetery released by the couple triggered an immediate backlash and they were accused of being shameless publicity-seekers trying to steal headlines and overshadow the royals doing their duty back home; it was a disaster and Harry was shocked -- he’s reaching out to the palace to make amends but calls to his brother Prince William and father Prince Charles have gone unanswered

* Katie Holmes and Emilio Vitolo Jr.’s hot new romance is in a pressure cooker as their families fight to claim the couple as their guests for the holidays -- things were going great for them but this tug-of-war may tear them apart because Emilio’s folks told him they want him home with them but Katie is desperate to spend Christmas with her relatives in Ohio and they really want to meet her new boyfriend and Katie is feeling guilty because she spends so much time with Emilio’s clan at his dad’s Manhattan eatery so she thinks it’s only fair that he does this for her but Emilio’s never missed a holiday gathering with his own family and there are a lot of them he hasn’t seen because of the pandemic 

Page 5: Celine Dion is finally ready to put the past behind her as the fifth anniversary of her beloved husband’s death approaches in January and she is planning to leave Las Vegas with their sons and she is pining to return to her native Quebec and give twins Nelson and Eddy and 19-year-old Rene-Charles a taste of her own childhood -- Celine had been careful to not upset her kids’ lives since the death of their dad from throat cancer but she now believes the boys would benefit from spending time in The Great White North -- she also thinks it might be more likely she’ll find lasting love in her home country 

Page 6: Defiantly plump Lizzo has ditched her diet and frightened friends are staging an intervention to get her to a fat farm to save her life -- Lizzo had committed to eating vegan after weighing in at 350 pounds but once on vacation it lasted like two days before she couldn’t take it any longer -- she has anxiety issues and uses food to comfort herself but the stress the weight is putting on her heart and other organs could have a detrimental effect on her health and cut her life short

Page 7: Mark Harmon and Pauley Perrette have agreed to meet for peace talks after a long-simmering feud triggered her angry departure from NCIS and Mark reached out to her to invite her back -- Mark feels bad about how Pauley left the show and knows she played a big role in its success and he’s anxious to set things right between them and bring back one of the show’s favorite all-time characters for fans -- Mark also feels he’s been painted unfairly in Pauley’s departure and would like to know he was not behind it but the two clashed for years with Pauley charging Mark’s bullying caused her to quit the show and Pauley even tweeted she is terrified of Harmon and him attacking her -- while Pauley is not saying yes or no to returning to the show she’s definitely willing to sit down and talk 

* The drama between sickly Phil Collins and his squatting ex-wife Orianne Cevey is really getting down and dirty with Orianne charging that Phil degenerated into a pill-popping addict who stopped showering and brushing his teeth and was impotent and she also claimed Phil became emotionally and verbally abusive and refused to provide emotional support or love or care for her -- Phil’s lawyers said Orianne’s charges are scandalous and scurrilous and unethical and for the most part patently false or grossly exaggerated

Page 8: Power-hungry host Savannah Guthrie is gunning to be the reigning queen of Today and is willing to walk over anyone to achieve her goal and her blind ambition is ripping the once-invincible morning show apart and she even used Al Roker’s prostate cancer diagnosis to push her own agenda and capitalize on Al’s absence for surgery to demand more airtime for herself -- every meeting starts with the focus on whatever Savannah wants and the staff is far from happy about it and morale has never been worse -- Savannah has constantly pushed the producers for Jenna Bush Hager and herself to take the lead on big news stories and keep Hoda Kotb stuck in the fluffy stuff and Hoda’s completely pissed off -- Savannah’s rising star has come with temper tantrums and diva-like demands -- fed-up Hoda recently met with friends of Gayle King and there is speculation the two women could make a powerful pairing and revitalize third-place CBS This Morning 

Page 9: Regis Philbin’s death certificate reveals paramedics waged a desperate 40-minute battle to try to save his life -- he suffered a heart attack just after 3 a.m. on July 24 at his home in Connecticut and he was rushed to the emergency room where medics fought to save his life but he eventually succumbed at 4:18 a.m. 

Page 10: Hot Shots -- Queen Latifah on the NYC set of The Equalizer, socially distant host Ellen DeGeneres went the extra mile to greet guest Jimmy Kimmel on her talk show, Steve Schirripa and Bridget Moynahan shot Blue Bloods in NYC, Kristen Taekman prettied up her pout in L.A., Tracy Morgan attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony for a new community center at Brooklyn’s Marcy Houses 

Page 11: Smitten ‘70s TV stars Patrick Duffy and Linda Purl may owe their late-in-life romance to Zoom but according to the actress the couple didn’t rush their relationship -- the two have been friends for decades but a COVID-19 group video chat helped spark love during lockdown -- after one of their lengthy one-on-one conversations Patrick jumped into his car and drove 20 hours from L.A. to her Colorado home like a lovestruck teenager 

* Beloved Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek left behind a final touching message for his fans and it will be extremely moving -- Alex’s final message will follow his last episode of Jeopardy! set to air on Christmas Day

Page 12: Straight Shuter -- Joel Michaely at the opening of The Comeback Trail (picture)

* Kelly Clarkson’s divorce meant she booted ex Brandon Blackstock out of her professional life but he’ll still be in her work life thanks to Blake Shelton -- Brandon might not be Kelly’s manager anymore but he still manages Blake which might get awkward when Kelly runs into him backstage at The Voice

* Keeping Up with the Kardashians is notching all-time low ratings and the family is blaming Kim Kardashian saying she’s lost her sense of humor and she’s too busy trying to be taken seriously

* Nitpicky Ryan Seacrest has ditched celebrity designer Nate Berkus’ husband Jeremiah Brent as his decorator because they had a nasty falling out over the renovation of Ryan’s townhouse in New York City 

Page 13: Steve Harvey’s daughter Lori Harvey escaped jail time after cops claimed she fled the scene of a Beverly Hills car crash in 2019 -- she was charged with two misdemeanors for hit-and-run and delaying a police investigation after she walked away from a smashup that damaged her Mercedes G-wagon and nearly destroyed another vehicle but she cut a deal with prosecutors and pleaded no contest to resisting arrest and will serve two years probation -- she reportedly had been texting at the time of the accident 

* Reba McEntire confirmed she turned down a regular role on The Voice which left the life-changing gig open for Blake Shelton -- Reba said she didn’t think she could ever tell somebody that they’re terrible 

* Cancer warrior Olivia Newton-John revealed she kicked a dependence on morphine with medical marijuana -- to cope with her pain during her third bout with breast cancer that had spread in 2017 doctors put her on mega doses of the highly addictive drug and she weaned herself off the morphine with the cannabis which she thinks is incredible and says people should know that because you’re not going to die from cannabis and you can use it to wean off morphine and she’s continued on a regime with cannabis ever since 

Page 14: Crime 

Page 15: Los Angeles’ newly elected District Attorney George Gascon has vowed to reopen the probe into actress Natalie Wood’s mysterious drowning and her husband Robert Wagner could finally be dragged before a grand jury -- Gascon said he’ll work with investigators from the L.A. Sheriff’s Department homicide squad to reexamine the case after the previous D.A. refused to present evidence to a grand jury -- Natalie drowned in 1981 while enjoying a holiday with Robert and actor Christopher Walken off Catalina Island 

Page 16: The Talk has been thrown into chaos by cast shake-ups and co-host Sharon Osbourne’s power grab and may be on the verge of being silenced forever -- staffers are expecting the worst after popular co-host Eve announced she was splitting after four seasons becoming the latest in a long line of damaging departures and while Eve blamed her exit on COVID-19 travel restrictions from England much of the blame goes to self-promotional Sharon’s relentless efforts to take over the show after former moderator Julie Chen’s departure last year -- Sharon has made it clear she’s in charge now and the other ladies are not thrilled with being reduced to supporting cast and fans have started calling for Sharon’s head 

Page 17: John Lennon’s widow Yoko Ono has sparked fears she’s nearing the end after handing her business dealings off to their son Sean Lennon -- the wheelchair-bound Yoko had been managing the late Beatle’s vast $800 million holdings since his 1980 shooting death but it’s now beyond her abilities

Page 18: American Life 

Page 19: Johnny Depp is writing and planning to star in a tell-all movie about his divorce war with loathed ex-wife Amber Heard -- after a U.K. court ruled he was physically abusive toward Amber during their marriage Johnny wants to tell the world his version of the marriage and he will set people straight about what happened and clear his name to millions to fans and he believes this is a slam dunk once he gets it in front of the right producer especially as he’s more than willing to play himself 

* The family of vicious Boston mobster James “Whitey” Bulger has filed a lawsuit against the federal government accusing prison officials of orchestrating the 2018 hit on the Mob boss -- the action accuses the Federal Bureau of Prisons of intentional or deliberately indifferent deeds that led to the murder of the wheelchair-bound mobster just hours after he was inexplicably transferred to the Hazelton penitentiary in West Virginia where he was beaten to death by prisoners to keep him from singing about corruption inside the FBI and the Department of Justice -- Whitey was bludgeoned with a padlock stuffed inside a sock and his murderers had enough time to cut out his tongue and eyes to make it seem like a classic Mafia hit 

Page 20: Angelina Jolie lives in constant fear one of her six children will be kidnapped and held for ransom according to her former bodyguard -- Angie and her ex Brad Pitt are worth hundreds of millions which Angie feared provided plenty of incentive for criminals to target her offspring

* Hollywood Hookups -- Sofia Richie and Matthew Morton dating, Sabrina Parr and Lamar Odom split, Daniela Rajic and Paul George engaged

Page 21: Justin Bieber’s pastor Carl Lentz lost his job over a steamy affair with an exotic beauty -- Lentz was fired from the megachurch Hillsong and his mistress claimed the two were in love 

* Wildlife lover Bindi Irwin has announced 20 weeks into pregnancy her baby is the size of a tiny emu -- she delivered the news flash beneath a photo with her husband Chandler Powell appropriately taken at the Australia Zoo

* Hugh Grant made a bizarre confession admitting his bout with COVID-19 left him wanting to sniff strangers’ armpits -- Hugh revealed he tested positive for coronavirus antibodies and believes he contracted the bug in February and the illness caused a feeling of an enormous man sitting on his chest but Hugh also claimed he was rattled by losing his sense of smell which is a known symptom of the disease and purposely sought out putrid odors to test his useless nose 

Page 22: Jailed Ghislaine Maxwell’s latest devastating court defeat has heightened fears that the woman accused of being billionaire sex fiend Jeffrey Epstein’s madam will die behind bars just as he did -- since July Maxwell has been locked up in solitary confinement at Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center where her jailers subject her to daily strip and cell searches and is monitored 24 hours a day she doesn’t suffer the same fate as Epstein whose death was officially ruled a suicide -- now the U.S. Court of Appeals has denied her bid to publicly name the women who have come forward in the media and civil actions as Epstein’s alleged victims and implicated the British socialite in his twisted sex ring so the damning decision upheld an earlier ruling and shattered her defense team’s bid to investigate and refute the claims of the unnamed accusers

Page 23: Tom Cruise’s plan to shoot the first movie in space may be in jeopardy after Russia vowed to beat him to it -- Tom has teamed with tech billionaire Elon Musk’s SpaceX program to film the unnamed project on the International Space Station in October 2021 -- but a rival Russian agency plans to already be in outer space by then and the Russian film is titled Challenge and its team has sent out a casting call for a female lead -- Tom sees this as a gauntlet being thrown down and he always rises to the challenge and he’s told SpaceX they have to get up there before next October

Page 28: Cover Story -- Kennedy curse rips clan apart -- the family takes sides as Michael Skakel skates and William Kennedy Smith stalls $50 million will 

Page 32: Ric Ocasek’s oldest son has blasted him as a deadbeat dad who was never there -- Chris Otcasek who uses the original spelling of the family name wrote on Instagram that his father in essence died the day he was born and he was never present and he was never there -- Ric left his mom who was his second wife Suzanne while she was pregnant with their second child 

* Lisa Marie Presley has had a medical emergency so severe it brought her bitter custody trial with fourth ex-husband Michael Lockwood to a halt 

Page 36: Health, Ask the Vet 

Page 38: Pope John Paul II was aware that disgraced and defrocked Cardinal Theodore McCarrick was a pedophile but elevated him anyway to the powerful post of Archbishop of Washington D.C. in 2001 -- McCarrick had showered over $600,000 in donations on powerful clerics including Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict while facing allegations of abuse -- Pope Francis finally defrocked McCarrick in 2019 

Page 42: Red Carpet -- Mandy Moore 

Page 45: Spot the Differences -- Emma Corrin as Princess Diana in The Crown 

Page 47: Odd List 

[comicteaparty]

Writing & Misc. Resources

Check out this plethora of writing and other comic creating resources archived from Comic Tea Party’s Writing & Misc. Resources Channel!

RebelVampire

https://www.sfwa.org/2009/08/fantasy-worldbuilding-questions/ - an enormous set of world-building questions for fantasy and science fiction stories.(edited)

http://rollforfantasy.com/ - generators and guides galore. it's fairly D&D oriented, but its broad enough to work as an aid for any sort of story you want when it comes to building certain elements.(edited)

http://writersrandomramblings.tumblr.com/post/139781578857/elements-of-culture - fantastic chart that helps categorize elements of culture for world-building. really helpful when you're trying to organize your thoughts(edited)

https://www.learnthat.org/pages/view/roots.html - a quick reference for latin and greek word roots. its really helpful if you need to build your own made up words.(edited)

http://donjon.bin.sh/fantasy/calendar/ - a cool generator that can help you build a fantasy calendar. not the most robust, but if you need to make something for quick reference it works well

http://www.behindthename.com/ - my personal goto site for names. has a large collection with meanings and everything.(edited)

Kabocha

There is a thing called "Knife Theory," -- while it's primarily referenced for D&D, this gives some ideas on how you can quickly and easily flesh out an exploitable backstory for a character. Every "knife" a storyteller has can be used to further the character arc of someone if you so choose. https://www.reddit.com/r/DnD/comments/775caq/my_friends_and_i_have_something_called_knife/

Also gonna drop "Worldbuilding Question of the Day" and the "Original Character Question of the Day" tumblrs: https://wbqotd.tumblr.com/ https://ocqotd.tumblr.com/ World/Character building is optoinal but useful! Your mileage may vary from question to question.

Kabocha

MIT Open Courseware Courses Writing Science Fiction: https://ocw.mit.edu/courses/comparative-media-studies-writing/21w-759-writing-science-fiction-spring-2016/ Genre Fiction Workshop: Fantasy: https://ocw.mit.edu/courses/comparative-media-studies-writing/21w-758-genre-fiction-workshop-fantasy-fall-2016/ Genre Fiction Workshop: https://ocw.mit.edu/courses/comparative-media-studies-writing/21w-758-genre-fiction-workshop-spring-2013/ Transmedia Storytelling: Modern Science Fiction: https://ocw.mit.edu/courses/comparative-media-studies-writing/21w-763j-transmedia-storytelling-modern-science-fiction-spring-2014/index.htm Make sure to check out the assignments and student work, as well as the readings, and lecture notes. All of these are free.(edited)

RebelVampire

http://www.spacejock.com/yWriter5.html -free word processor software. ywriter may have an ugly site, but the software is immensely useful if you want to collect lots of information in the same place. character profiles? important locations? the outline? all can be contained in a single file. http://wikidpad.sourceforge.net/ -another great, free program. if youre a fan of wikis and would like to store your story notes in a wiki format, this program is great for that.

https://papercatpress.com/ - since this one doesnt really fit art_resources ill put it here. paper cat press is a great resource for finding tons of resources in general. contests, zines, job openings, and so forth! definitely a great thing to have if you're a comic creator.

Kabocha

Webcomic Listing Resources Where can people find links to your comics to read? Comic Bookmarking assistants -ArchiveBinge - https://archivebinge.com/ -Piperka - https://piperka.net/ -ComicRocket - https://www.comic-rocket.com/ Lists -The Webcomic List - http://www.thewebcomiclist.com/ -TopWebComics - http://www.topwebcomics.com/ -Belfry - https://new.belfrycomics.net/ -Webcomics Guide - https://webcomicsguide.com/category/webcomics/ <- this might be iffy, browse with discretion and probably not at work -Webcomic Library - https://webcomiclibrary.tumblr.com/ -LGBT Webcomics - https://tagpacker.com/user/lgbtwebcomics(edited)

Erin Ptah (BICP | Leif & Thorn)

These are also about site design, only partly intersecting with writing...but there's no coding_resources chat, so I guess I'll put it here? Useful Wordpress plugins for webcomic sites. https://twitter.com/ErinPtah/status/1045091986070556672

Kabocha

Also, if you're using Wordpress, this site is invaluable for keeping up to date with the latest issues that might pop up with various plugins: https://wpvulndb.com/ You can search for various plugins, and sign up for an email digest. We use it at work a lot to make sure nothin' we're using got hit. Also, if you do email through wordpress at all -- get an SMTP auth plugin! It's... well, good because your mail can be rate-limited in case it starts spamming. Also sending authenticated emails will help stuff from getting flagged as spam. It won't stop it, but it will help. Many shared hosts require this. https://wordpress.org/plugins/easy-wp-smtp/

Kabocha

If you were wondering how people got things like.... a Patreon icon, or a deviantart icon on their site using a font... Worry no more -- here it is! FONTAWESOME https://fontawesome.com/icons?d=gallery&m=free The free version is just that -- free. Documentation: https://fontawesome.com/how-to-use/on-the-web/setup/getting-started?using=web-fonts-with-css

Kabocha

Also, since I'm thinking about fonts, here's some good places to get free or inexpensive fonts with commercial use licenses: http://typodermicfonts.com/ - Check the "Some Styles Free"/Free tag in the catalog https://creativemarket.com/free-goods - Every week, there's a few new "free" items, one of which is usually a font. https://www.myfonts.com/search//free/?sort=cheap - MyFonts has a free option -- check the licenses on what you download https://www.exljbris.com/ - You may recognize this foundry, but... well, they have some distinctive, useful fonts! Check them out if you get a chance. http://www.blambot.com/ - COMIC FONTS! Some free, some paid. Read the license. https://fonts.google.com/ - Google has a ton of fonts that are available for web use AND download under the MIT open source license. *note: commercial use means like... in your books, or on your website, etc. Read licenses of course, and know what you're allowed to do. Many fonts do not allow you to use them in a graphic that you are trademarking because this may limit other people's use. https://99designs.com/blog/logo-branding/trademarking-a-logo/ If you're thinking about applying for a trademark, talk to your lawyer, not to me.

Artem Ficta (Ring Spell)

Also https://www.fontsquirrel.com/ for free fonts

Erin Ptah (BICP | Leif & Thorn)

I get a bunch of cheap fonts, and other graphics resources, at MightyDeals: https://www.mightydeals.com/

They do limited-time offers of big bundles at huge discounts. Some of them have really nice fonts, others have tiled patterns (I've used them for SO many clothing textures) and clipart elements, that kind of thing.

Kabocha

https://myfonts.cmail20.com/t/ViewEmail/y/681445A81EC65CCF/0AB7A90AD1D74D85B4B1B1F623478121 Free font Friday!

RebelVampire

https://www.emwelsh.com/blog/character-questions an article with 7 questions to get to know your characters. i really liked some of the questions on here so i thought itd be worth sharing.

Kabocha

If you're looking for resources for writing comics or just... writing, here's a few (including book recs): Save the Cat https://www.amazon.com/Save-Last-Book-Screenwriting-Youll/dp/1932907009 Beat sheets can be found here: http://www.savethecat.com/category/beat-sheets Romancing the beat http://gwenhayes.com/romancing-the-beat/ People don't talk a lot about romance stories or arcs and how they're structured. So here ya go. http://gwenhayes.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/RtB_worksheet.pdf Generic beet sheet Various worksheets for plotting, beta reading, etc: https://jamigold.com/for-writers/worksheets-for-writers/ (The beta reader sheet is definitely worth a look if you're giving people things to read over -- focuses their feedback ) Writing a character's internal journey https://jamigold.com/2014/05/how-can-we-show-a-characters-internal-journey/ SciFi/Fantasy Writers of America resources https://www.sfwa.org/other-resources/for-authors/information-center/ (for those looking for US publication -- GUILDS HAVE TONS OF INFO. This list goes to tons of blog entries!!)(edited)

Kabocha

https://twitter.com/gumroad/status/1058358068411555840 Hey, if you didn't know, Gumroad has a wordpress plugin, and that's kind of awesome if you ask me.

Kabocha

Dropping some youtube videos tonight, all from the same channel. Evaluating Critical Feedback on your book: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LCeXPF1SS10 Revising Character Arcs in Your Novel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jj6MASDD_P4 How To Develop Characters: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SicPEVhzSaM Writing Hack: Break Out Of Your Writing Rut: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gAsV3Vhvy-I Revising Your Novel: Where To Start: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lAKvUwrhCr0(edited)

Erin Ptah (BICP | Leif & Thorn)

Putting this here because there's no "coding resources" channel, hope that's all right. Now that a lot of people are suddenly feeling the need to move their webcomics to an independent hosting site, I really to spread this around...if you're going with Wordpress, don't use ComicPress! Use Webcomic 5: https://wordpress.org/plugins/webcomic/ It has more features, it's more versatile, and it's updated much more regularly, with an active support forum if you need it. There's so much you'd be missing out on.

Kabocha

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xXoJYOWFESI This entire channel is great, but this video. (Tenor pointed out to me she uploaded a new vid) EDITING! Also, another CMS for webcomics? Hmmm. It ain't wordpress, at least. http://ptyxis.cthonic.com/ Note: I have not tested this. I cannot speak to how usable this system is. I assume it requires a base willingness to learn html/css at minimum.

Erin Ptah (BICP | Leif & Thorn)

Useful poll about what readers like in webcomics! Covers site design as well as story stuff: https://hplehkonen.com/blog/how-do-you-read-webcomics-poll-data/

Delphina

I'm really digging this video series about con table setup and sharing tables! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TpPNSFBemQ0

Artem Ficta (Ring Spell)

https://twitter.com/MattGarvey1981/status/1135157084805312512?s=19

MJ Massey

This podcast mini series features two creators I have met in real life and consider authorities on comic writing: Dirk Manning and Russell Nohelty. Each week they will be focusing on a question from one of the different creators in this mastermind group. http://www.comixlaunch.com/session202

Attila Polyák

Whenever I join any webcomic related community I always end up linking to this wonderful guide that covers everything that's webcomic making or related: https://evanjwaterman.com/guide/ Also fun fact: This guide used to be just some publicly shared google sheet, but the dude who compiled it eventually made this page for it.

RebelVampire

https://yourlocalwriterblog.tumblr.com/post/185806112050/how-to-make-a-story-file some great ideas for organizing your stories and making sure the important things that need to be answered are getting answered.

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

The power of pacing https://twitter.com/Hamm_Tips/status/821137467545817088

Erin Ptah (BICP | Leif & Thorn)

Made a post with all the foundational "how to start a webcomic" advice I've seen people ask for, plus some that I haven't: http://leifandthorn.com/2019/07/help-i-want-to-make-a-new-webcomic-how-do-i-start/

The Q

Found this very new resource about making webcomics, from a Finnish webcomics creator (who seems really cool on twitter). It's still in pre-order, but you read the first chapter for free. Thought maybe it could help someone! https://twitter.com/HPLehkonen/status/1160965755330076672

Jo Michelle

Don't know if I've shared this before, but this is a really good resource for story creation: https://youtu.be/hZgWw5juPJ8

MJ Massey

I have trouble coming up with FX ideas so this has been really helpful! http://www.comicbookfx.com/fxlist.php?fbclid=IwAR2QzmzgfVhFy4690_KaK0NX4Qg2r2tPSVXHhwLGf2ldin9m5hSnlDUwsU0

DaemonDan

I also have made use of http://www.writtensound.com/index.php for coming up with onomatopoeia.

DaeofthePast

Jami Gold has a good breakdown on writing romance https://jamigold.com/2012/11/write-romance-get-your-beat-sheet-here/

Pistashi

someone sent me this website on twitter and I thought it was really well done https://www.wirepop.com/

a good initiative too

Cronaj ~{Whispers of the Past}~

For those of you also writing fantasy, you might find these two videos interesting: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMJQb5bGu_g&t=256s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVrnfniQiS8&t=222s

MJ Massey

My pal Russell relaunched his podcast as The Complete Creative and his first episode is a discussion with Tyler James of ComixLaunch. Both of these guys are experts on having a comics business https://open.spotify.com/episode/2QluA6vfhsmvhTnMRQ0wN3?si=OzF2goYlQeqgg99PL3sqXg

SAWHAND

Hi all! Here's a favorite link of mind for writing stuff! This is an entire recorded course from Brigham Young University on Writing. It's basically a lecture class by Brandon Sanderson, who's written a few of my fav books. It's a quite good class that covers many main categories of writing fiction! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N4ZDBOc2tX8&list=PLH3mK1NZn9QqOSj3ObrP3xL8tEJQ12-vL

Also, I like to plot stories out event-by-event, then scene-by-scene for comics and I found this really cool format for using excel/spreadsheets to do it that I really like. This person uses the technique (they call it God's Eye View) for screenplay writing, so there's a whole thing about color-coding scenes based on what characters are in the scenes that I just don't bother doing, so don't let the crazy rainbow intimidate you! Anyway, it really helped me organize and get a good feel for the overall pacing of the story https://thestorydepartment.com/get-a-gods-eye-view-of-your-story/ Enjoy!

Kabocha

https://wordpress.org/themes/toocheke/ https://wordpress.org/plugins/toocheke-companion/ Alternative webcomic resource for wordpress

Cronaj ~{Whispers of the Past}~

Another 'Hello Future Me' video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s2dzRzPPAwY

He has a lot of excellent writing resources (including a book on worldbuilding), so I recommend checking him out.

Kabocha

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6HOdHEeosc&list=PLSH_xM-KC3Zv-79sVZTTj-YA6IAqh8qeQ Brandon Sanderson's got a really good writing course, and the one he's got going for this year is being posted online with each lecture. Totally worth it if you're into writing fantasy and sci fi (And it's FREE!)

Dann

https://twitter.com/EtheringtonBros/status/1228916004463489025?s=20

Cap’n Lee (Flowerlark Studios)

So earlier in the general chat we were talking about types of characters (mary sues, likeable characters, antiheroes, etc), and this short video I think summarises the basic factor for creating an engaging character: https://youtu.be/QM1tUwpy-yQ

Kabocha

If you're looking to be published or agented, make sure to take a glance at the Manuscript Wishlist for agents to see what they're looking for and if what you're doing matches that niche! https://www.manuscriptwishlist.com/the-comprehensive-search-and-query-guide/

Kabocha

Also, if you're looking for freelance editors, the Editorial Freelancers Association has a nifty search tool! (And yes you can have them review comics!) https://www.the-efa.org/hiring/

Erin Ptah (BICP | Leif & Thorn)

Wrote an article on webcomic-specific issues from COVID-19, and some strategies and resources for handling them: http://herald.comicadia.com/2020/03/17/covid-19-and-you-r-webcomic/

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

One of my favorite "here's one way to look at pacing" guides. Short and sweet! Source: https://twitter.com/Hamm_Tips/status/821137467545817088

em.rowene

Hey all! Just heard about a virtual comic con being held over discord/twitch this weekend. There's a lot of interesting comic-related programming! All the info is at: stayhomecomiccon.nl(edited)

em.rowene

I’m double sharing in this channel, I guess, but I’m starting up a hashtag for creators to share ko-fi/commission/other support posts on twitter! It kicks off tomorrow! https://twitter.com/anaphiel_/status/1244727294503067655?s=21

CoppertheCarutor

Whoo Hello Future Me made another video on writing mental illness!... if anyone else is interested in that sort of thing. https://youtu.be/SQCb7GiNOrE

Joichi [Hybrid Dolls]

Good advice on comics to listen to, even tho she's going to teach graphic novel tips, it applies to Webcomics: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=TFsDCxHJpBg(edited)

Joichi [Hybrid Dolls]

DVpit is coming soon, here's a thread of comic artist advice on looking for a literary agent by my good friends, JesnCin. This is for marginalized creators https://twitter.com/JesnCin/status/1250788458618073088?s=19(edited)

Joichi [Hybrid Dolls]

Guide on How to change your book formatted comic into a Webtoon. Found this and thought it's a useful guide: https://youtu.be/evv5hyB6UGk

Joichi [Hybrid Dolls]

Webtoon gave guides on how to publish on their site. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWLxyqoe66w

shadowhood {SunnyxRain}

Was looking up tips for designing comic banners for comment storm and found this! Pretty solid advice for anyone thinking of doing it. http://webcomicalliance.com/business/10-terrific-tips-for-building-banners/

Jo Michelle

This focuses on screenwriting, but the suggestions about opening scenes and establishing empathy with characters is true for any medium: https://youtu.be/E1eoLw1goic

Miranda (Into the Swell)

Some helpful information on prologues: https://www.masterclass.com/articles/writing-101-what-is-a-prologue#3-famous-examples-of-prologues-in-literature(edited)

Joichi [Hybrid Dolls]

The Mom Trope guide; this covers 3 types of moms. I like that she mentions the Missing Mom and give pointers on why it's written this way. Also her black cat distracted me https://youtu.be/vMc955HsAV8(edited)

em.rowene

There's an online SFF writing convention happening this weekend! There are some realy interesting worldbuilding panels on the program! https://emrowene.tumblr.com/post/618560723074908160/diverse-sff-writing-convention-this-memorial

Cronaj ~{Whispers of the Past}~

A cool post by the staff at GlobalComix about finding your audience: https://globalcomix.com/news/details/9/who-is-the-ideal-reader-for-your-comic-

CoppertheCarutor

This person who ran a really dedicated critique thread on Tapas made this doc, I figured it would be an interesting read for users of the platform. https://docs.google.com/document/d/11ejYNWf9w8L1Y-th1SHAqT3sSDPbOY6KNd-1CfvBTJE/edit

Joichi [Hybrid Dolls]

Good advice about Tips for new and 'getting into it' creators starting a webcomic. I agree alot with Caezhel since it speaks to my struggles even though I've done webcomics for afew years https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wc6greXRS7A(edited)

Cronaj ~{Whispers of the Past}~

Hello Future Me back at it again with a world-building video: https://youtu.be/gcyrrTud3x4

LabsZach

This vid hit me between the eyes re: The Toolbox Fallacy https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sz4YqwH_6D0&feature=emb_title

eliushi [Keyspace]

Taglines for your comic! Tips: https://www.google.com/amp/s/thoughtsonfantasy.com/20hat-makes-a-good-book-tagline/amp/

Feather J. Fern

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-v4R2ZcxPlA Other that the satirical nature of this video, it does give good advice

[cornholio4]

Loving Spider

Author’s note: this was a one shot I made on ao3 I had decided to continue as a normal story. You can find the story here https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13138303/1/Loving-Spider. It is indeed a shameless plug.

It was after school and Marinette Dupain-Cheng was frustrated after what had been going on for about a week. Lila had gone back to her lies and everyone was buying them again, it led to her having to sit at the back while Lila got HER seat next to Adrien.

Of course she had gotten over her old crush on Adrien, but still the seat meant a lot to her as her friendship with Adrien helped her become more confident. But now it seemed like him and the whole class was against her.

Well Chloe, she had been dethroned as the one on top of Marinette’s hate list. For how angry that Chloe had made her after all this time, it never made her so mad that she was in danger of being akumatized or turned the whole class against her!

“I know things are bad Marinette but they will get better, I promise, why don’t you give Peter a call? That is bound to cheer you up!” Tikki suggested popping her head out of Marinette’s bag. Marinette’s eyes opened when she remembered that she had yet to call her long distance boyfriend Peter Parker.

They had met during the Summer when she had her parents had went on vacation to Queens, New York. She had met Peter who was a gifted science geek. She had gotten to know eachother especially when by accident they each discovered the other’s secrets........

About one of them being like a spider and the other being like a ladybug.......

They agreed to keep eachother’s secrets (it was embarrassing to her that all her hard work that she had her identity exposed to someone else). Peter was in actuality New York’s costumed super powered crimefighter Spider-Man. They grew closer, Marinette even helped design his new suit with him to replace the homemade one he had been using before. They had by impulse kissed before they left. But they had been keeping in touch by email and phone calls.

Peter actually knew certain people who gave him someone to help him translate different languages. True as Spider-Man, he reminded her of Cat Noir but as Peter he was a loveable dork. Her parents and his Aunt May even remarked how similar they were. plus it was nice to have someone else to open up about having to keep secret being a superhero.

She got out her phone and started calling Peter’s number, she answered it and asked “Hey Peter, how was Stan’s funeral?” she decided that she didn’t want to let Peter know about her troubles and comfort him. The last email he had sent her told her that Stan, one of the neighbors of his apartment had passed away. he was a nice sweet old man who was filled with stories and advice for Peter when he came to him. The funeral would have taken place by now.

“It was hard to say goodbye to Stan but we had eachother for comfort....... Sorry had to move there....... Still we are able to move on but guess what, on social media my Spidey account was contacted by someone from Insomniac Games and they want to talk about making me into a Game!” Peter told her a bit somberly but grew excited at the last bit.

NYCWallCrawler was the social media account that Peter had set up for his Spider-Man identity. It was becoming quite popular in New York.

Marinette was weirded out by the pauses but said nothing about it, she happily told him “when it comes out you can be sure I will be first in line at my local game store! Sorry Peter, can you hold for a second.........” Marinette sounded apologetic at the end when she saw that Alya and Nino were coming over towards her.

“Marinette, we have been giving this some thought and seeing how lonely you have been and how this has been affecting you.....” Alya told her and Marinette grew a smile waiting for the apology....

“We forgive you.......” Nino finished and Marinette stood there opened mouthed hoping that she heard them wrong. “We know that you just made a big mistake and overreacted from your jealousy, and you don’t need to apologize girl..........” Alya told her with a smile reaching out her hand that Marinette angrily smacked away with her free hand to their shock.

“Good because I got nothing to apologize for! Some friends you all are, I thought I knew you all better than that to go along with this! Now if you excuse me, I have to get back to my call with someone far more worthy of my time and attention than false friends!” Marinette shouted to the shock of the two, the classmates who were nearby and Marinette herself.

She walked away and noticed to her horror that her hand with her phone was still near her shoulder. She then went back to her phone and heard a gasp making her groan realizing Peter heard her shout like that. She should have covered it....

“Wow Marinette, what did Chloe do to get you this riled up this time?” Peter asked with concern making Marinette sigh.

“No Peter, Chloe practically had nothing to do with it this time....” Marinette and she decided to explain everything to him.

“Sorry to hear about that Marinette, from what you have told me I thought your friends were a great bunch that I wanted to meet myself..........” Peter told her apologetically and Marinette gave a sad smile.

“Still I have a great feeling that you will have a big surprise when you get home......” Peter told her cryptically before hanging up. She blinked and put away her phone in confusion.

“Big surprise, what does he mean?” Marinette asked Tikki and Tikki just shrugged, Marinette jsut began walking home. She was ignoring any classmates who tried to walk up to her.

She got home to see a huge crowd in front of her family’s bakery; she saw Nadja Chamack trying to get closer and asked what was going on. “You won’t believe it Marinette. Tony Stark is in Paris for a meeting and he brought an intern with him. A boy about her age and they are in your family’s bakery right now!” Nadja told her excitedly and Marinette blinked in shock.

She then made her way through the crowd and entered through the door. She saw that at the counter was a smiling Tony Stark along with Peter’s Aunt May. She then saw looked to see Peter waving to her with a cheeky smile.

She then engulfed him in a hug, “Tony came to me and my Aunt May about us coming over here on a trip, I have been having to keep a secret from you for some time so I can see your look on surprise.” Peter told her apologetically but Marinette didn’t think much of it.

“Marinette, why don’t you and Peter have some time to yourself and play a game in the living room.” suggested Marinette’s father when Marinette let go of Peter. They went to the living room where Tom already had a games console set up.

They began getting to work playing some rounds of Ultimate Mecha Strike III, having fun. While playing they started talking about recent bad guys they fought and Peter was telling her about a She Ra cartoon he had been watching on Netflix. However her thoughts began drifting towards what had been happening to her recently.

“if you ask me III makes up for the disappointment that II was, the first game set up a high standard that they only managed to match with III...” Peter told Marinette only to see that she was growing a bit sad.

“Is this about the lying girl and the gullible classmates?” Peter asked in concern pausing the game to meet her in the eye.

“I still can’t believe I allow my emotion to get an Akuma after me and I had snapped at Alya and Nino in the middle of our call....” Marinette told him feeling a bit ashamed in herself. Tikki came out when she was sure there was no one else about and gave Marinette a hug on the neck.

“They were the ones who screwed up and everyone has their limits, even the most sweet Marinette.” Peter told her making her blush a bit. “Plus you said that you overreacted when you first saw her and her first lie, well that was another mistake and if they are still buying lies after that then it’s their fault for being gullible. I still have some citizens buying the whole ‘Spider-Man is a Menace’ thing that Jameson spews on about.” Peter continued and Marinette just sighed once more.

“Plus I am not entirely honest myself, it’s not to get attention but i have to hide being Ladybug....” Marinette muttered but Peter picked up her head to meet him in the eyes.

“I know all about that, at least you jsut have to hide Tikki. I have to hide my outfit and equipment. Last time I had to hand wash my suit, my excuse to Aunt May was that I was washing the American flag....” Peter told her causing Marinette to laugh.

“Let yourself cool down Marinette and if they decide to keep being idiots then that’s their fault. You are the amazing sweet girl I am proud to call my girlfriend, you are the one whose a gifted designer who won a contest by a famous designer and was chosen by a rock star to come up with his album cover.” Peter assured her and she smiled.

She then decided to put it out of her mind as she asked if they can continue playing the game. Peter then got an idea and grinned while asking if she would give her a minute. Marinette blinked in confusion but gave a nod.

Peter then got out his phone and went on his social media page and logged in as NYCWallCrawler. He then began typing away:

You want to know Spidey’s tailor? It was made for me by a visiting design student from Paris. Marinette Dupain-Cheng, she designed an album cover for Jagged Stone! She is going to be big one day!

He smirked as he posted it and went and unpaused the game after putting his phone away. Hopefully now more people will know how much better than Lila, Marinette is and hopefully she won’t try and kill him when she finds out.

[creaturecarnival]

Monsters From 9

Hey, it’s ya [REDACTED], mod Frankie, and for my first post, I thought I’d review a movie which I wish I’d watched much sooner than I did, 9! If you haven’t seen 9, I highly suggest you watch it as soon as you get the chance. It’s about a bunch of grimy magic rat-people dolls called the Stitchpunks fighting evil robots in a war-ravaged post-apocalypse, and if that doesn’t entice you then I’m afraid I can’t help you. This post will contain major spoilers, so if you want to avoid that then get the fuck outta here and watch the movie, ya dingus! Or don’t and just ogle these cool ass monsters, whatever boats your float.

The Cat Beast

We’ll be reviewing these monsters in the order that they appear in the film, so first off we have the Cat Beast! The Cat Beast really does perfectly exemplify the aesthetic of the movie, mixing together organic and inorganic elements to create something more disturbing than the sum of its parts. The part that stands out the most is obviously the cat skull that comprises its head, complete with a super evil glowy red eye in the left socket, and a blinding spotlight in the right, which really kicks the design up a few notches in my opinion.

This official art gives a nice profile view, and you can really see all the bones intermixed. One of my favorite things about it is the way it moves. Its posture and general appearance would suggest that it would be crude and animalistic, but it shows signs of higher intelligence such as picking things up in its claws and carefully inspecting them, and throwing 2 in a cage after capturing him instead of killing him outright, meaning it is capable of much more complex thought than you would expect at first glance, which is really eerie and jarring.

The Fabrication Machine

The main antagonist of the movie, the Fabrication Machine is an enormous robot that was created by the same scientist who created the Stitchpunks. Where our heroic rag dolls were made from fragments of their creator’s soul, the Fabrication Machine was made from the scientist’s intellect alone, meaning it could be easily influenced by outside forces who controlled it. It was made with the purpose to be an instrument of creation, but the only other human character, The Chancellor corrupted it and used it to create war machines that would eventually turn against humanity, wiping out all life on Earth with poisonous gas. I think that it would get along well with GLaDOS.

Design-wise, I LOVE the Fabrication Machine. The iron wrought industrial aesthetic is just so cool, and I’m a sucker for gigantic machinery in general. As a bonus, whenever it gets excited about something, a network of sparks run across its surface! It’s an unnecessary detail, but it elevates the design as well as the expressiveness of the character. The way that it cobbles together all of its creations is also really fun to watch, specifically the scene where it’s making our next creature on the list...

The Winged Beast

After the beheading of its first lil’ abomination, the Machine decided to take to the skies with the aptly named Winged Beast. Equipped with a total of four beady red eyes and a scorpion-like tail tipped with a harpoon gun, this thing is gnarly. Its wings are stitched together tatters of a flag, it uses a fan to propel itself through the air in addition to its wings, and apparently it has human bones incorporated into its body, because we see the Fabrication Machine cutting up the remains of a human skeleton. I can’t identify any on the creature’s design, but we can assume they’re in there somewhere. My favorite part of its design the “beak”, which is made up of at least 10 discreet blades, and opens up like a nightmarish origami fortune teller where all of the predictions read “death”.

THAT’S what I’m talkin’ about, babey!

The Seeker Drones

Next we have possibly my favorite design in the whole movie, the Seeker Drones. The first time we see them, there’s only one and it just brings the Winged Beast’s head back to the factory. The next time we see them, however, there’s dozens of them, and they’re patrolling the skies outside of the factory with spotlights.

We can really get a lovely view of it on this texture call-out sheet. It uses bellows to propel itself, and has a siren attached to it that it can crank with its single talon-like arm. And just look at those adorably googly little eyestalks!!! That’s the part that really makes the design for me. It just gives this goofy charm that you don’t expect from an evil robot and I love it. I love this silly snail-zeppelin.

The Spiderbots

These guys can be seen crawling all over the factory in a couple of scenes. It’s not really clear why they were created, and I really don’t have all that much to say about them. They’re just fairly generic little spider robots, and that’s okay, because they don’t really have to be anything more than that.

The Seamstress

Well, this one wins the contest for “most viscerally disturbing” by a landslide. It is incidentally also the most powerful creation of the Machine by far, capable of paralyzing onlookers with 2’s corpse, which it has attached to the end of its serpentine body like a rattle, tying them up with thread, and then storing them inside its own body. Clearly it was at this point that the Machine decided it was time to quit fucking around.

Here we can really appreciate all the components of this monstrosity. This was the highest resolution image I could find, I swear. Anyway, the cobra-like silhouette is really cool when mixed with six limbs befitting of an insect with a crippling sewing addiction. It’s also bookended nicely by the two most wonderfully ghastly features it possesses.

That bisected doll head complete with spooky red eye is a nice callback to 2’s trinket cart which was comprised of a similarly damaged doll, and is a really neat way to incorporate visual elements that the viewer associates with 2, since this monster’s basis is to take that character and twist him into something horrifying. I thought the Seekers were my favorite at first, but after looking a lot more closely at the Seamstress than I originally planned, I’ve gotta say it’s my favorite just because of how strong it is in both concept and execution.

Conclusion

When I first saw 9, I fell in love with it. The aesthetic, the characters, the worldbuilding, and yes, the monsters, all come together perfectly to create a true masterpiece. I was shocked to see that it has a 7.1/10 on IMDb, a 57% on Rotten Tomatoes, and a 60% on Metacritic. If you read through this review and still haven’t watched it, it’s on Netflix as of the writing of this post and I strongly encourage you to do so. Also, I’m calling it now, there’s gonna be a sequel movie or series released on 9/9/19.

[portlandstate]

Sadie Jordan is the inspiration behind the Pride Month-themed street painting.

Meet the designer of the Montgomery Pop Up Plaza street painting

During May, a section of Montgomery Street on campus has been closed to traffic and turned into a campus public space. To kick off the transformation, 70 volunteers on May 1 painted a mural spanning the length of the street.

The mural was designed by Portland State University student Sadie Jordan, a junior from Seattle majoring in graphic design, who submitted an abstract design for the Pride Month-themed contest hoping visitors will see a "wide variety of unique shapes so you can see your identity in some unique way."

We caught up with Sadie to learn more. (Some answers have been edited for brevity).

What was your inspiration for the design? When Campus Planning and the QRC asked for proposals for this project, they wanted the design to be reflective of the LGBTQIA+ community. With this starting point, I wanted to create an abstract representation of the many ways students, staff, and community members identify at PSU and the link between these aspects of our identities and the LGBTQIA+ community. Each color at the top of the painting represents a different color on the LGBT flag. The black and brown represent people of color in the LGBTQIA+ community and their unique contributions and perspectives. The light blue, pink, and white represent the colors of the trans flag. Each shape is meant to represent a different aspect of identity with each individual assigning their own meanings to the shapes. It is meant to allow meaningful dialogue to occur on campus about how we see ourselves, our peers and colleagues, and how that impacts our lives as students and beyond.

How did the design come together? I worked closely with PSU Campus Planning to edit the original design into the one you see on the street. We went to a PBOT meeting about street painting and were able to hear about other amazing communities painting streets. We learned techniques like using chalk lines to create a grid for the design to be transferred onto the street. With a team of volunteers, we drew out a rough idea of the design based on the grid and then we used rulers to make sure each shape was accurate in relation to the others. I then edited the design on site to compensate for man holes and directional arrows. On painting day, we directed teams of volunteers to outline the shapes in their respective colors and then fill them in. We had groups of children from the PSU daycare center stop by and help. If they went outside the lines I considered it, as Bob Ross would say, a happy accident and I edited the design to work around it. The design became a community piece because of this, which really adds to the overall vision of the place making the project.

What’s a favorite moment of your college experience? The first time I toured campus I picked up some copies of Pathos Literary Magazine, the student run literary and arts publication. After seeing all of the raw creativity in this magazine and being able to feel the vibrancy of the artistic community at Portland State, I knew I didn't want to go anywhere else. My favorite moment of my PSU experience was being appointed the Editor-in-Chief of the very same magazine that inspired me to attend this university, one year after having started my journey at PSU.

What are your plans after graduation? I like to keep my options open! I would love to continue making community art and adding color to the world around me.

[vgckwb]

ML: Are They Worthy? Chapter 28: Kindred Spirits!

Vlad spent some of his free time during the school day manning a little booth he set up to sell Pride flag pins and sign people up for Paris Pride. Juleka and Rose were some of the first to stop by. “Hey Vlad.”

“Hey Juleka. Rose” Vlad replied.

“Hi Vlad. I love that you’re helping out with this event” Rose said.

“You can too. All you gotta do is sign here” Vlad said, displaying a piece of paper.

The two of them signed it. “So, does this also allow us to walk in the parade as well?” Juleka asked.

“No” Vlad replied. “For that, you need to sign THIS piece of paper.” He presented a second piece of paper. “If you want to walk together, you only need to take up one slot.”

“Ooooo. How fun!” Rose said. The two of them signed that one as well.

“Now, can I interest you ladies in some pins?” asked Vlad.

“Of course! That’s why we’re here!” Rose said.

“I’ll take a lesbian one” Juleka said.

“I’ll take a bi one!” Rose said.

“Sure thing” Vlad said.

After school, Marinette was walking out when she saw Adrien’s car. “Um, I thought Adrien had fencing after school,” she said.

“I do” said Adrien appearing behind her. “It’s for you.”

“Me?! No. I couldn’t, I-”

“Relax Marinette” Adrien said. “Father is helping you in any way he can. This is him trying to help.”

Marinette paused. “O-OK then” she said. She walked up to Adrien’s bodyguard. He opened the door for her. “Thank you.” She said Adrien’s bodyguard was caught off guard by this. He looked away and blushed at the compliment. Marinette got in, and then the bodyguard got in, and they drove off.

Adrien’s stare lingered a little bit. “Isn’t Marinette cute when she gets nervous?” Vlad asked from behind Adrien. “Or is it cuter when she’s confident?”

Adrien turned around. “Vlad” he said. “I’m not fully over Ladybug to admit what I think yet.”

“Well, you don’t need to be fully over her, you just need to be over her enough” Vlad said.

“Is this why you’re here Vlad? To get me to maybe ask Marinette out?” Adrien said.

“No, that’s just a bonus” Vlad said. He went to whisper into Adrien’s ear “I actually need to talk about some hero stuff.”

“Well can it wait? I’ve got fencing” Adrien said.

“No problem. I can watch” Vlad said.

Adrien was surprised. “I’m not sure if Mr. D'Argencourt will allow it.”

“No harm in asking, right?” Vlad said.

When they asked, Mr. D'Argencourt said “I will allow it.” Vlad and Adrien got excited. “IF you can beat one of my students.”

“Sure, I’ll go against him” Adrien said.

“Part le fer! If Vlad is to face off against anyone, it’s someone who won’t let him win because he has a vested interest in it” Mr. D’Argentcourt.

“I get it. Fencing is serious business” Vlad said. “So, who am I taking on?”

“How about Kagami?” Adrien asked.

“She wouldn’t happen to be in on this” Mr. D'Argencourt said. “I know how close you and her are.”

“No sir. They haven’t even met yet” Adrien said.

Mr. D’Argencourt stared Adrien down. “Well, since I know you wouldn’t lie to me… KAGAMI!”

Kagami ran over after wrapping up a practice match. “Yes sir” she said, lifting her helmet up.

“This young man is named Vlad. He wants to watch today’s practice. Please see to it that he earns that spot” D’Argencourt said.

“Yes sir!” Kagami said.

“Is that all you know how to say?” Vlad said.

“Vlad. Don’t antagonize her” Adrien said.

“He’s right. I don’t play nice” Kagami said.

“Oh ho ho. Interesting” Vlad said. “Wanna know something? I don’t play nice either.” Kagami lowered her helmet. “Anyway, where do I suit up?” Adrien led Vlad to the locker rooms.

A few minutes later, Vlad and Kagami were squaring off. “Pret… allez!” Mr. D’Argencourt called. Vlad and Kagami were going against each other really hard. Their movements were aggressive, yet elegant. Eventually though, Vlad got a hit on Kagami. Mr. D’Argencourt was shocked. Still, as a gentleman and a lover of the sport, he signaled Vlad and declared him the winner.

Vlad lifted his helmet and said “Still got it.”

“Young man, how did you become such a good fencer?” Mr. D’Argencourt asked.

“I was the top fencer back at my school in Toulouse” Vlad explained.

“Well, if you are interested in joining, we could certainly use a talent such as yourself” Mr. D’Argencourt said.

“Unfortunately, I can’t” Vlad said.

“Why not?” Kagami asked angrily.

Vlad sighed. “Because I was eventually kicked off the team,” he explained.

“What happened?” Kagami asked.

“Well, as I said earlier, I don’t play nice” Vlad said. “When I don’t like someone I am very clear about it. One person I didn’t like just happened to be on the fencing team. He gathered a bunch of other students, and tried to ambush me. Lucky for me, I can hold my own. They however could not, and things got messy. I explained to everyone what had happened, and he promptly kicked both the orchestrator of the attack and me off the team. Although, mine was supposed to be temporary, I made it permanent. I didn’t feel like I could work well there. I really only liked one other person on the team. It just wasn’t a good fit.”

“Well, if you change your mind, my invitation stands” Mr. D’Argencourt said. “Although, I do want to check on this incident. What was your instructor’s name?”

“Mr. Renaud” Vlad told him.

“Renaud? As in Bernard Renaude?” Mr. D’Argencourt said.

“Yeah. Why?” Vlad said.

“I used to go to school with him” Mr. D’Argencourt said. “Anyway, you may watch. Everyone else. ALLEZ!” Vlad went to sit on the sidelines while everyone began practice. Kagami looked at Vlad, concerned. She eventually went to practice as well.

Meanwhile, Marinette was busy working on her designs in Gabriel’s home work station. “Your design looks great Marinette” Tikki said. “I’m sure Vlad and Adrien will love them.”

“Thanks Tikki” Marinette said. “I sure hope so. It’s nice of Mr. Agreste to let me use this room and his supplies. It gives me the confidence that I need to finish these.”

“Marinette you need to have to be confident in yourself” Tikki said.

Marinette came back with “Yeah, but-”

“Trust your instincts, Marinette” Tikki said.

Marinette smiled. “Thanks Tikki.” The door was opening. “Tikki, hide!” she whispered. Gabriel entered the room. “Mr. Agreste?”

“I thought I would keep you company” Gabriel said.

“Um, aren’t you busy?” Marinette asked.

“Not at the moment,” Gabriel said. “Besides, I know it can get kind of boring working on something alone.” He sat down next to Marinette. Marinette continued to work. “So, you like Adrien huh?”

Marientte was shocked by this sudden topic of conversation. “Well, of course. I mean, I like all my friends.”

“Marinette” Gabriel said in a tone that indicated he knew.

Marinette looked down. “Is it that obvious?” she asked.

Gabriel chuckled. “Relax. I don’t think he knows yet. I won’t tell if you won’t.”

Marinette turned to Gabriel and said “Well, I’m going to have to tell him eventually.”

“I suppose that’s true” Gabriel said.”But you know what I mean.” Marintte giggled. “You know, he speaks highly of you.”

Marinette was curious. “He does?”

“Yes” Gabriel said. “I’ve heard him refer to you as your class’s ‘Everyday Ladybug.’ You must be impressive to earn that title.”

“Well, I just do what I think is right,” Marinette said.

“Wouldn’t it be right to tell him how you feel?” Gabriel said.

“Oh. Well…” Marinette said. “Whenever I try, I get all nervous, and I freak out super hard. I mean, Adrien is just so perfect.”

“No he isn’t” Gabriel said. Marinette looked confused. “Well, at least that’s what he told me. He hates being seen as perfect. I’d agree with you, but after we spoke, I began to see his flaws. In his heart, he’s just as much a child as anyone his age. Maybe even more so.”

“In what ways?” Marinette asked.

“Well, this is his first time going to school. Meeting people outside of social events.To him, it’s like being in a candy store, and he’s allowed to pick whatever candy he wants” Gabriel explained.

“Oh. I didn’t know. He seems to be so calm about everything” Marinette said.

“It’s alright” Gabriel said. “You know, he gets that from his mother. She was such a calm, caring person. She loved seeing what the world had to offer, yet she remained calm. To be honest, sometimes I worry that I might be a bit too distant and Adrien gets nothing from me.”

“I don’t think that’s true” Marinette said. “I think he gets some of your kindness from you. I mean, you came here to keep me company apropos of nothing. Plus, I think you both function better with other people around.”

“What do you mean by that?” Gabriel asked.

“Well, it’s just that Vlad told me the story of how he and Adrien met” Marinette said. “He said you told Adrien that Nathalie is helping you maintain your sanity after your wife’s disappearance. I think it’s the same with Adrien. While his presence does light up the room, I think the room lights him up too.”

Gabriel was aghast. “I had never thought about it like that before. But you’re right. Having someone there certainly helps me. I don’t understand why I didn’t see why it could help Adrien as well. Especially since he has his mother’s ability to socialize. She was a social butterfly. Me? I’m more of a moth. Still, she knew when someone was sincere or not. Wanna hear about how we met?” Marinette nodded.

“Alright then” Gabriel said. “It all began when I had won a design contest. My prize was a ticket to a high class social event. I had trouble socializing, but I managed to keep a low profile. Or so I thought.”

“Hi there” Emilie said, reaching her hand out. Gabriel looked at her. “I thought when people do that, the other person was supposed to shake their hand.”

“Oh, uh..” Gabriel said, nervously. He reached out and shook Emilie’s hand.

“Thank you” Emilie said. “Now, correct me if I’m wrong, but aren’t you the talented young designer that won your way in here, correct?”

“Well yes I am, but…” Gabriel stuttered. “I...don’t do well at parties.”

“Wanna know something? Me either?” Emilie said. “Don’t get me wrong. I love meeting people, but these events just seem so overwhelming. I mean, there’s just so much I have to do to keep up appearances.”

“I more have trouble with the people aspect” Gabriel said.

“So, why did you enter the contest?” Emilie asked.

“Well, I’m an aspiring designer” Gabriel said. “I wanted to get my designs out there, simple as that. Tell me to talk to a stranger and I turn to stone. But if you ask me what their ideal outfit should be, then I’m your man.”

“So, what would my ideal outfit be?” Emilie asked.

Gabriel was taken aback. Nevertheless, he accepted the challenge. “Well, I think it would be an elegant yellow dress with one shoulder, a pair of white pumps, and a green necklace to match your eyes.”

“Wow” Emilie said.

“But, I also love what you have on currently” Gabriel said. She was wearing a white tank top, a yellow coat, a black fluffy skirt, white and black striped stockings, and a pair of white flats.

“You think so too? My friend Audrey designed this for me” Emilie said. She pointed her friend out.

“Wait, you’re friends with Audrey Bisset?” Gabriel said.

“Yeah. You know her?” Emilie said.

“Not personally” Gabriel said. “But she is the up and coming name in the world of style.”

Emilie took Gabriel’s hand. “She won’t be the only one.” Emilie dragged Gabriel to meet Audrey. “Hello Audrey. I just thought you would want to meet the young man who won the design contest.”

Audrey turned to Gabriel. “Well it’s about time you make yourself known. Just so you know, I was the deciding vote on the committee. So, you better thank me for letting you in here. And you should have met me first” she said.

“Audrey. Don’t be like that” Emilie said. “He doesn’t do well at parties.”

“I gathered that from when you had to drag him to me,” Audrey said.

“Thank you, Miss Bisset” Gabriel said.

Audrey handed Gabriel her business card. “If you have any more good ideas, let me be the first person you call.” She walked off.

“Well, that could have gone better,” Gabriel said.

“Nah, for Audrey, that was a great first encounter” Emilie said.

“I take it she’s not as personable as you” Gabriel said.

“Nope. But she’s really sweet once you get to know her” Emilie said.

“I’ll take your word on that, Miss…?” Gabriel said.

“Oh. Right. Emilie” she said. “Emilie Blanchet.”

“Gabriel Agreste” he responded.

“Enchante” she said.

“We spent the rest of the evening together” Gabriel said, telling the story to Marinette. “We laughed. We ate. We learned about each other. It was a magical evening. By the time the party was winding down, I found myself having a great time.”

“So, Miss Blanchet?” Gabriel said.

“Please, call me Emilie” she responded.

“Fine. Emilie” Gabriel said. “I had a great time with you tonight.”

“Me too, Gabriel” Emilie said.

“I don’t suppose we could meet again sometime. Could we?” Gabriel asked nervously.

“Of course” Emilie said. “Here, do you have a pen?” Gabriel handed her a pen. “Now, can I have Audrey’s card?” He gave that to her as well. Emilie wrote her number on the back of Audrey’s card. “Here you go.”

“Thank you, Emilie” Gabriel said. “I should give you my number” he said, trying to find something to write on. “You know? Because I’m not the best at socializing. Especially with someone as pretty as you.” Gabriel then blushed when he realized what he had said.

Emilie giggled. “You know? A lot of boys say that about me, but this is the first time I believe it.”

“Why is that?” Gabriel said, nervously.

“Partially because I didn’t tell you exactly HOW rich I am” Emilie began. “But more importantly, because I want to.” She gave him a kiss on the cheek. “Oo. Here.” Emilie grabbed a napkin. Gabriel focused as he wrote his number down. He had never been quite as flustered before. “Thank you” she said. “Well, I’ll see you later then.” She walked out the door.

Audrey was waiting for her. “Really? You wanna go out with that guy? You just met him” Audrey said.

“Well, when you know, you know. I have a good feeling about this guy” Emilie said.

“If you get bored, or he breaks your heart, I have a number of gentlemen callers. I’m sure one of them would like you” Audrey said.

“And yet, you always go back to Andre” Emilie retorted. Audrey scoffed and walked off. Emilie giggled, following her.

“And that’s how we met” Gabriel said.

Marinette was on the verge of tears. “What a beautiful story.”

Gabriel smiled. “Mind if I look at your designs?” he asked.

“Uhhhhhhhhh” Marintte said.

“It’s alright” Gabriel said. “I’m sure you did a good job. You’ve impressed both me and Audrey Bourgeois before. You don’t need to worry about anything.”

Marinette stared at him. “Well, OK,” she said, grabbing he sketches. She handed them to him. Gabriel looked over them. “I wanted to keep the design simple because I only have so much time to work on it but I also wanted it to be bold.”

“Well, I’d say you succeed in both of those” Gabriel said. “These look good Marinette. I’m sure you’ll have a bright future in the world of design.”

Marinette blushed. “Thank you, Mr. Agreste.”

After fencing practice wrapped up, Adrien met up with Vlad. “Ready to go?” Vlad asked.

“I need to change, but then I’ll be ready” Adrien said.

“Sure thing” Vlad said. Adrien walked off.

“Hey! Kagami called out. “How did you get so good at fencing?”

“Practice” Vlad said.

“That’s it?” Kagami said.

“Yeah” Vlad replied. “Although I’m a bit rusty. If I were battling you for the heck of it, you probably would have won. But because there was something I wanted, I tried harder.” Kagami looked perplexed. “What’s wrong?” Vlad asked.

“It’s nothing” Kagami said. “I just come from a family of fencers. I hate to be embarrassed. It reflects poorly on my mother and my grandfather.”

“Nonsense” Vlad said. “I’d say you have something worth fighting for there. That’s half the battle in my opinion. You’re an excellent fencer. You just gotta learn how to move forward after a loss.”

“I’ve been trying since I’ve got here…” Kagami said. “Sometimes it’s hard.”

“What happened?” Vlad asked.

“The day I arrived, I challenged Adrien to a match. It got really intense” Kagami explained. “It got so intense that we moved around, and the only person who was witnessing the event was this girl, Marinette.” Vlad’s eyebrow raised. “She called the victory in favor of Adrien. I was so upset that I was eventually Akumatized.”

“Sounds rough” Vlad said. “But it happens to the best of us.”

“Have you been Akumatized?” Kagami asked.

“No. But I’m new here. Give it time” Vlad said.

“I’ve been Akumatized twice” Kagami said. “Three times if you count Hero’s Day.”

“You know what that tells me?” Vlad asked. “It tells me your emotions are strong. You just need to not let them get the best of you.”

Kagami stared at Vlad. “Thanks” she said.

“OK. I’m ready” Adrien said. “Kagami?”

“I was just here talking to your friend,” she said. “He seems really nice.”

“I’m surprised” Adrien said.

“Why’s that?” Vlad said.

“It’s just that both of you can be hard-headed at times” Adrien said. “I was worried that it would turn ugly if you two met.”

“Well, if I were to fight him, you might be upset with me, and I don’t want that” Kagami said. “Even though I believe you are also worth fighting for.” Adrien smiled.

“We just had a lovely chat about fencing” Vlad said. “I didn’t want things to turn south either. Especially since you recommended I fight her in fencing.”

“What makes you say that?” Kagami said.

“Well, knowing Adrien, he wouldn’t let just anyone fight me” Vlad said. “He’s a little too nice for his own good sometimes. He wouldn't recommend someone who would lose to me in a heartbeat. He’s not that under-handed. No, he selected someone who he thinks could be a fair fight. And that scares me a little. Seeing how much he trusts you to do your best made me think ‘I don’t want to get on this person’s bad side.’”

Kagmi was shocked, and then blushed. “Thanks.”

“What can I say, Vlad? You can read me like a book” Adrien said. “Oh, by the way, Kagami.” Kagami looked up. “I have been thinking of switching targets recently. Would you mind giving me pointers?”

“Oh. Uh, sure” Kagami said. “Just give me a call.”

“Thanks” Adrien said. Kagami walked off to change.

“Boy, you are really bad at this, aren’t you?” Vlad said.

“Bad at what?” Adrien said.

Vlad giggled. “You seriously can’t see it? Boy, you’re hopeless.”

“Hey, come on. What’s this about?” Adrien asked. Vlad started walking off. “Vlad. Where are you going?”

“The exit” Vlad said. “Your ride is almost here, right?”

“Uh, yeah. Vlad, can you tell me what’s going on?” Adrien said.

“Maybe when we get in the car” Vlad said.

Back the Agreste’s, Marinette was wrapping up her work for the day. “Alright, that’s a good place to call it for now,” she said. “I should get going.”

She walked out of the room and was about to leave. “Finished for the day, Marinette?” Gabriel said.

“Oh, yeah” Marinette said. “I just wanted to get home before it’s too late.”

“My driver should be back any second. He can drop you off” Gabriel said.

“Oh. Thanks” Marinette said.

“You know, if I had known someone like you was out there, I might have let Adrien go out sooner,” Gabriel said.

Marinette blushed. “Oh. Thank you, Mr. Agreste.” Marinette walked out the door. Adrien’s car pulled up. The bodyguard walked out and opened the door. “Adrien? Vlad?”

“Oh, hey Marinette” Adrien said.

“You leaving?” Vlad asked.

“Uh, yeah. I didn’t want to stay too late. It is a school night, after all” Marinette said.

“Well, my bodyguard can take you home” Adrien said.

Marinette giggled. “You father told me as much. But thank you anyway.” She got in the car. “See you tomorrow?”

“Of course” Adrien said. The bodyguard got back into the car and drove off.

“Hey father” Adrien said. He was getting used to seeing his father more. “Vlad’s going to hang out for a little bit. He needs to talk to me about something. We’ll just be in my room.”

“Of course” Gabriel said. After all, he’s your friend, right?”

Adrien smiled. “Right.” The two of them went to Adrien’s room.

Gabriel walked into his office. “What’s on your mind, sir?” Nathalie asked.

“I was just thinking. If Emilie were here, she would have gobbled Marinette right up” Gabriel said.

Nathalie looked at her boos. “She will, Mr. Agreste. Just give it time.”

“Of course, Nathalie” Gabriel said. “Now I have another reason to get her back.”

In Adrien’s room, Adrien asked “So, you’re saying Kagami likes me?”

“Yup” Vlad said.

“I knew that” Adrien said, setting up Ultimate Mecha Strike III

“Really? Then why’d you play dumb?” Vlad said.

“Because I only know it as Cat Noir” Adrien said. “I didn't want to raise suspicions of anyone there by saying something I shouldn’t know.” He started playing.

Vlad was confused. “It was fairly obvious from the outset.”

“I don’t know about that” Adrien said.

Vlad sighed. Beyyo popped out. “Can we please talk about the matter at hand? I’m getting a headache hearing all of this love talk!”

“I second that” Plagg said. “Also, where’s my Camembert?”

“Vlad, can you get Plagg some cheese? It’s in the safe” Adrien asked.

“Sure” Vlad said. He went to the safe and grabbed some and gave it to Plagg.

“Thanks” Plagg said.

“Sure thing. Just stay far away from Beyyo” Vlad said.

“In a room this big, it should be manageable” Beyyo said.

“Whatever” Plagg said. He began munching on his cheese.

Vlad reached into his coat. “Here’s something for you too, Beyyo” he said, handing him some jerky.”

“Thanks” Beyyo said, munching down.

“So, what’s the problem?” Adrien asked.

“Well, last night we tested Chloe, and things got a little intense” Vlad said.

“In what way?” Adrien asked.

“Well, we asked what would happen if everyone listened to Chloe” Vlad began. “It ended with her stopping the world and crying.”

“What happened afterwards?” Adrien continued.

Vlad went on. “I stopped the dream and I had a chat with Chloe. She told me that she felt like she couldn’t be herself in front of people, so she came up with a mean persona so that when people hate her, at least it will be genuine, instead of hiding behind fake appreciation.”

“Did Chloe tell you why she couldn’t be herself?” Adrien inquired.

“No. But I assume you know” Vlad said.

“I’m not telling” Adrien said.

“I wouldn’t expect you to” Vlad retorted. “Anyway, Ladybug is worried about leaving Chloe alone for too long. So I came to you because you know Chloe so well. How would you recommend speeding things up?”

Adrien smiled. “Well, if it is what I think it is, I don’t think Chloe will be ready until she admits that secret to people. And you can’t force that. However, it seems like Chloe is at least ready to change. So maybe we just need to keep pushing her in the right direction.”

“I see” Vlad said. “Say, if I were to learn her secret, would you agree to meet with her about it with me as Judgement Wolf?”

“Sure, but how do you plan on doing that?” Adrien asked.

“I think I’m going to run some more tests,” Vlad said. “If that’s alright with you.”

“Of course. Just don’t push her too hard. Maybe give her a break” Adrien said.

“Fine” Vlad said. “I’ll put it off until tomorrow. But Ladybug would like an answer sooner than later. For Chloe’s sake.”

“I know” Adrien said. “I want one too. She’s my oldest friend. Of course I want to protect her.” Vlad smiled.

“Double K.O.” the game said.

“I think I’m getting better” Adrien said. “Come Friday, I should be able to win.”

“Let’s hope so” Vlad said.