#also excuse my poor animation skills i haven’t done this in a while

[moethh]

anyways i headcannon Javert does this after he gets out of the rain

(excuse my poor hat-rack drawing skills i was doing this on low sleep and practically no internet… so no reference images for me :/)

#les mis #javert #animation #my art #also excuse my poor animation skills i haven’t done this in a while #man i just realized Tumblr did somethin to the quality too

[etherealxgenie]

Why ‘Adrien is Oblivious’ is a Misconception || Miraculous Why?

(Before I begin, note that this is my opinion over the topic and am no way am bashing anyone’s love for a ship and/or character. I respect who and what you like, therefore expect the same courtesy. However, if this is something you cannot handle, please click the back button as this will be a heavily discussed topic. Critiques are welcomes, Flames will be deleted. Other than that, enjoy.)

So I know I said I don’t normally get involved when it comes to the Miraculous fandom, but there’s always one thing that’s been bothering me from nearly the beginning since the series began.

Even before I had the ugly divorce from the love square after Desperada, I always found it hard to believe with the way Marinette behaved around Adrien was completely unnoticeable. And because of the way Adrien seems to not take note of it, fans (pure and toxic) automatically make the assumption that he’s oblivious or dumb.

But did people ever take the time to divulge why and to view it in his perspective? Aside from the excuse of bad writing, I think there could be other reasons as to why Adrien doesn’t acknowledge her behavior. And she doesn’t hide her feelings around him either while wearing the mask either, so far that she makes the same stuttering speeches and frantic hand motions.

But here’s a list of reasons for Adrien to have which can be plausible:

1) He IGNORES it. 



Now before you go and start bashing the poor boy (god knows the fandom lacks the sympathy), keep in mind Adrien IS a celebrity of Paris. I dunno exactly how the celebrity lifestyle maybe different for the U.S, but I’m pretty sure this would have to do of how he was taught. As the face of Gabriel and with the reaction from several fans alone, Adrien was probably told by Gabriel in regards about fans and how they would react to him and how he has to ignore such barbaric measures. And given the way he sees fans react to him (Gorizilla), he believes his father is right.

In regards of Marinette, he hopes to make a friend for her instead of seeing her as one of his fans, even if he appreciates the support.

2) He’s looking for FRIENDSHIP, not ROMANCE

Adrien is starting a new chapter in his life and is looking for some normality at his new school. More so, he’s looking to make more friends. There could be to some reasons why for one of wanting a better friendship than what Chloe or Felix had set an example for. Mainly of course for the fact that Adrien is lonely and looking for companionship of his choice.

But he’s not in the rush for a straight out relationship.

I know what you’re thinking: “But he’s asked out Ladybug constantly! What the hell are you talking about?”. Well truth be told, Adrien as Chat may just be looking for an excuse to hang out with her. There’s no denial he’s attracted to her personality or admires her, but he DOES wants to get to know her first. Which is something Marinette fails to let happen as both herself AND Ladybug.

Now it is true Marinette has done things to help and may know stuff about him (either through stalking or researching online), but she hasn’t taken the time to get to know him on a personal level. She doesn’t know if he’s an anime lover, what he dreams of doing or how he likes puns. And as Ladybug when he show his more true self, she automatically rejects him with the somewhat reasonable excuse fear for identities. I’ll leave that alone as I’ll do another thing on identities later.

So in regards of Marinette’s ‘love’ (obsession), Adrien is just looking for friendship with her and not love. He’s not ready for a full on relationship yet where he’s starting fresh on friendships, which is why dating Kagami didn’t work out (I didn’t need to watch S4 to predict that). She pressured him into a relationship and expected them to be the perfect couple. It was clear he was not ready and yet seemed to ignore it anyway for her feelings towards him. For a healthy relationship to work, you need to think about the ‘we’ and not ‘me’ and to take time.

3) He’s SOCIALLY CHALLENGED

We don’t know how it really was when Emilie was around, but it seemed regardless Adrien had a strict childhood. His father, Gabriel Agreste, seems to have the main say of his life to control him as he saw fit, to mold Adrien the way HE wants him too. And because of such strictness, Gabriel is the kind of person to only tell Adrien the needed lesson to keep him under his thumb along with keeping him isolated.

Similar of how Judge Claude Frollo did to Quasimodo. Just as Mother Gothel did to Rapunzel and Cassandra.

And for those reasons alone, Adrien is left without the majority skills needed to make it on his own, including how to socialize and interact in a way with certain people. The only socializing skills he had probably was how to interact in regards of fans or how to avoid bad publicity. Something enough in regards to being a celebrity. Gabriel didn’t nor has planned for Adrien to have any interaction with others beyond that.

This particular reason alone helps understand his plight more and why 90% salt/bashing/hate thrown at him is completely unnecessary. Especially during ‘Chameleon’ and ‘Ladybug’.

Adrien is like Quasimodo and Rapunzel, being thrust into the new world after escaping their tower only to discover many things they’re not familiar with. Imagine being at the age of 14 but your parents haven’t been the best and haven’t taught you how to socialize with certain people. Then the teen could act in a certain way with anyone: friends, adults and even strangers in which they teen can be taken advantage of.

But how does he adapt quickly to being Chat Noir, you ask? Adrien probably had only but fantasies to fall back on whenever he’s isolated and alone. Probably even dreamed of a superhero rescuing him or taking him away to a new life where he’s free to be himself. His greatest nightmare shown in “Sandboy” is nothing about Ladybug or anyone else, but being locked away in his room for the rest of his life.

He’s no doubt a secret comic geek and probably dreamed of being a hero himself. Chat Noir is far from perfect, but he catches on of how a true hero should act. He’s also adapts quickly and is perceptive of behaviors. Like the way Ladybug and Fu doesn’t tell him the entire truth of what they plan for the future and try to isolate him from it. And between the two, Chat Noir perfects more of hiding his identity. Not for the fact of probably reading about it, but because Chat is someone he always wanted to be that he can’t as Adrien.

So the next time if you observe the show or read any works in regarding Adrien’s behavior and before you chalk it up as oblivious, dumb, stupid or selfish… how about you dive into his perspective and try to understand more of his side? There’s two sides to every story.

#adrien sugar #marinette neutral #kagami neutral #miraculous ladybug #miraculous why #artist opinion #artist speaks #adrien agreste #marinette dupain cheng #adrien deserves better #kagami tsurugi #stockhom syndrome #gabriel agreste #//i'm just tired of people making this excuse for adrien

[fanfickittycat]

One of Us

Title: One of Us

Fandom: Jujutsu Kaisen (anime)

Pairing: Nanami Kento x Reader

Genre: Angst to fluff

Fic Summary: You return to Tokyo where you are reunited with the man who broke your heart a decade ago

Rating: T

A/N: my first Nanami fic!!! I love him so much. Just a simple one-shot about rekindling your love after being apart with a fluffy ending. Yes, the title is an ABBA reference, no I will not be taking any questions on it at this time. If you'd like to read this on AO3 then you can here otherwise the fic is below the cut. Let me know what you thought!!!

I’m lucky that I came back during the spring, you thought to yourself, as you meandered around campus. The cherry blossoms were in full bloom, and pink petals danced around your ankles with every step. Even the scent infused itself into the air, carrying a bittersweet undertone to it as you reminisced about your time here as a student. The sound of chalk on the board; the feel of the grass against your cheek as you hit the ground during training; the look on Nanami’s face when he rejected you and this world. It had been spring then too.

“You’re here!” trust Gojo to spoil a melancholy moment. You rolled your eyes playfully, accepting the hair ruffling from your upperclassman with weak jabs back at him.

“Gojo, stop” you laughed “we’re not kids anymore.”

“Says who?” he pulled away, adjusting the black blindfold over his eyes “you still look the same.” He teased, patting your head for emphasis. You still came up a whole head shorter than him and then some.

“You don’t” you retorted “you look old. What are you, like 40?”

“What?! You know I’m not” he whined. He was so easy to wind up sometimes. You half listened to him as he complained to you, citing his skin care routine and the regular comments he got about how youthful he looked before nudging him teasingly. The two of you walked back down the path towards the main building, feeling the nostalgia seep into your bones softly.

“You really haven’t changed” you said with a smirk “still vain as ever.”

“And you’re still as sharp tongued as ever.” He sighed, putting an arm around you “still. I’m glad you’re back. I’ve been waiting for an excuse to throw a party.”

“You’re a lightweight, Gojo” you said, remembering the time he had snuck in vodka during the winter of his final year. He had wanted to show off and ended up throwing up after two shots, before he passed out in the same pile of vomit. He had never snuck in alcohol again.

“You’re not, I remember you and Nanami having a drinking contest one time.”

“It wasn’t a drinking contest. We were just having wine and cheese. It was a very civilised affair.”

“You must have done a lot of that kind of thing in Europe.”

“Not really” you shrugged “it’s not really something to do when you’re alone.” You didn’t mean to sound so sad, but it wasn’t easy to hide, especially from a man with Six Eyes. You were glad he didn’t press you on it, instead opting to blabber on about how great his new first year students were, and his unmatched skill as a teacher. Gojo always seemed to walk the line between being insufferable and incredible. Nanami had often winced whenever he heard Gojo start a new tangent, and you would rub his back reassuringly. It became an unspoken gesture between the two of you. When you’d failed at mastering a new cursed technique, Nanami would be there to hand you a tissue for your bloodied nose and rub soothing circles on your back. Maybe that’s why your final moment together was so sad. You’d told him you loved him, and he told you that he wanted nothing to do with sorcery in exchange for a normal, human life. He’d left you crying, and the absence of his palm on your back made you feel colder and more alone than ever.

“…so the official party is at 7 but the real party will start after. Are you listening?”

“Official party at 7. Real party after.” You repeated “I’ll wear something that can suit both.”

You had wanted to ask Gojo if Nanami was going to be there, but you held your tongue instead. You hadn’t heard anything from him after you two had split ways, with him becoming a salary man and you going abroad to conduct research. You already knew that if you asked, you’d be met with disappointment. Still, perhaps it was better this way. You might actually be able to relax tonight and remember what social interaction felt like. You wouldn’t have to worry about what to say if you saw him there, or overthink the black dress you were planning on wearing tonight. You’d heard that even Utahime was going to be there. You owed it to everyone making an effort for you, to be present and gracious.

The nerves were still there of course. You were happy to see the small collection of former classmates and teachers there, and excited to catch up. It was strange to think of how close you all were once and then you’d left and avoided talking to anyone beyond a few words at a time. Now, the bonds between you were a little rusty but still strong. It calmed the butterflies in your stomach to know that everyone still accepted you, though Utahime scolded you for it. Your eyes kept lingering at the door, in anticipation of him entering the room with a curt apology about his lateness but then you’d catch yourself and internally reprimand your actions.

“You’ve always been too tough on yourself” Utahime said, sipping her tea knowingly.

“Sorry” you apologised lamely, tucking a strand of hair behind your ear.

She huffed at you “stop apologising, it’s not your fault that men are idiots.” She eyed Gojo, who was trying to impersonate Yoshinobu, and sighed deeply. It made you smile.

“Thanks” you wanted to say something more but the lack of social interaction over the many years constricted your words. You didn’t even know what to say, let alone how to physically say it. Utahime didn’t mind however and squeezed your shoulder.

“God, I can’t stand him” she said, pinching the skin between her eyebrows. You turned to see Gojo laughing obnoxiously at something.

“Still single too, I presume” you said.

“You know he could never be tied down and imagine that poor woman” she groaned “it’s best he stays single. Imagine if he procreated.” She shuddered, making you laugh.

Ieri joined the two of you, shaking her head at her co-worker’s antics “I’m glad you’re back” she said to you “being a woman in this line of work is hard enough, and then you have to deal with that.”

You smiled “I’m glad to be back, even if it’s a little hard sometimes.”

“You know” Ieri looked down at her drink that she had spiked “wounds take time to heal and it’s important to cover them, but you also have to take the bandages off at some point and let it breathe.”

“You’re wise as ever Ieri” you said.

“Hmmm I don’t think so” Utahime said, frowning “if she was so ‘wise’ then she’d quit smoking.” It prompted a whole conversation, part jokes, part argument between the two and then Gojo stepped in to see what was happening which led to him being verbally bullied by the two women as you watched on and laughed.

“You’re all being so mean to me considering I planned this party” Gojo said, mock snivelling “and the after party.”

“That’s true” you said, perking Gojo up instantly “thank you for inviting everyone.”

“We’re not done yet” he said, bringing a corner of his blindfold down to wink at you.

The after party was more chaotic than you had envisioned. Despite not drinking anything, Gojo still managed to scream-sing the lyrics to every song into the karaoke microphone, sometimes even trying to elongate certain sounds in an attempt to emulate Mariah Carey. Needless to say, Utahime was so irritated that she agreed to join Ieri outside while she smoked. You wandered over to the bar and pouring a generous amount of wine into your glass, feeling warm and happy for the first time in a long time. Of course, you knew that it was the alcohol primarily, but it had also been so long since you’d had fun. You were going to allow yourself to enjoy it.

“Didn’t you think I was soulful?” Gojo asked, his grin wide and satisfied like the Cheshire cat.

“Very” you said, watching out the corner of his eye as he poured himself a coke triumphantly “I didn’t even know some of those notes existed.”

He shrugged mock casually “sometimes it’s a curse to be so blessed.” You two continued to talk, laughing at the ridiculous things Gojo said as he sat on the bar stool next to you, leaning casually against the bar. He sat up quickly at one point, looking past you with rapt attention.

“What is it, boy?” you jokingly asked and when he didn’t answer quickly enough you turned to look behind you. There, standing cautiously at the door in a jacket and tie was Nanami.

“Finally,” you heard Gojo murmur but when you turned back to confront him, he had disappeared into thin air. You felt afraid to turn, knowing that Nanami had probably seen you. You felt your heart race in your chest. He was here. This wasn’t a dream or your imagination. The wine made your legs feel weak and shaky as you clumsily stood, pressing your hands down your dress to smooth it out. Your palms felt clammy as you did so. Downing the remainder of the wine in your glass was attractive, but you could already feel his presence near you.

“Nanami” you breathed out, swallowing nervously as you looked up at him. You had often thought about what would happen if you met again and you’d played the scenario in so many ways; one where you were cool and calm, another where you cracked a killer one liner; even one where you’d pull him in for a kiss that would ignite the flames of your relationship. Instead, you felt your nerves shoot through your body and you felt like a mess.

“Your hair” you said lamely, reaching a hand up before stopping yourself and letting your fingers curl into your palm in shame “it’s different.”

“Yes” he seemed taken aback by your sudden note on his appearance “I changed it a while ago.”

“It looks nice” you said, feeling warmth flood your cheeks at your pathetic comment “it suits you.” This wasn’t a lie. The shorter cut emphasised the sharpness of his cheekbones, which looked lethal in the dimmed lighting. He was taller too, if only by a little, and broader as well. You hadn’t anticipated that he’d look better after all this time. It made it hard to think coherently.

“Thank you” he said, “you look well too.” Disappointment already tinged in your stomach. He was just as strict with his feelings now as ever before. You both stood there awkwardly for a couple of seconds, wanting to speak and yet not at the same time.

“How’s normal life working out for you?” You asked, hoping your jovial tone would make things less tense.

“Oh. Well, it didn’t” he said, taking a seat on the barstool and pouring himself a glass of wine to join you “I tried to do it, but I couldn’t. Work is shit.”

Your surprised both you and he when you laughed “and what? This is the height of luxury?”

He smiled into his glass “no, it’s shit, as well but at least I’m better at it.” He raised his glass to you to clink “to this sorcery shit.” You smiled too, eagerly charging your glass to meet his. You watched him sip, allowing yourself to really look at him. Your eyes traced over his profile, drinking in the angles of his jawline and the elegant slope of his nose.

“I’m sure Europe was better” he said, making you snap out of your daze “at the very least, the food must have been delicious.”

“Oh, yeah” you said inattentively, thinking about evenings in foreign capitals where you fell asleep over your work with a half empty bowl of ramen next to you.

“It was interesting, and I learned a lot” you said, repeating what you had told everyone “I’m glad I’m home though.” You looked at him to gauge his reaction. His face was impassive as stone as he nodded. Dejected, you swirled the liquid around your glass, unsure of how to proceed.

“You were so adamant about leaving” you found yourself saying, the wine loosening your tongue “I’d never seen you so determined about something before.”

“I thought I knew everything back then” he sighed “I was so sure that I’d turn my back on this and work hard to maintain a normal life with a stable job, and money, and a family to provide for.”

You felt stunned “I didn’t know you wanted a wife and kids.”

He smiled without humour “well, something like that.” You watched wordlessly as he emptied the glass down his throat.

“I guess this line of work makes it hard to have those kinds of things.” You could picture Nanami in your head, in a dark suit and tie as he kissed his wife and child goodbye before going to work. He’d probably be good at it too. Firm but caring as he helped his child with their maths homework or opened a jar for his wife who would cook dinner for him every night. He’d dote on his family too, taking them to the beach and up the mountains or abroad. He’d probably keep a picture of them on his desk at work too. It pained you that he felt he couldn’t have that; let alone that you could never give him that.

He turned to look at you “well that and I knew I couldn’t tie you down like that.”

“Me?” you couldn’t have hidden your shock if you tried.

“You wanted a career” he said plainly “one that involved research into cursed objects and continuing to improve your skills and techniques. I didn’t want to take that away from you.”

“You didn’t even give me a choice” your throat felt hoarse as you grappled with this new truth “you just made that decision for me.” You stood up, feeling woozy on your tipsy legs but determined all the same to get away. You needed air, and the chance to absorb everything you’d heard. All these years you’d assumed he felt nothing for you, and you’d been so embarrassed and upset that you put yourself in self-exile because of it.

“Would you have gone with me if I asked?” he said, following you up the stairs and out of the basement of the bar. The night air was cold and crisp against your hot body.

“Would you really have given up everything because of me?”

“I did give up everything because of you.” You said, turning to clutch the sleeve of his beige blazer, feeling your heart palpitate as your knuckle brushed the skin of his hand. Tears pricked your eyes and you looked down, feeling the rush of emotions you had kept chained away in the shadows rear its head into the light.

“I’m sorry I realised it all too late” he said, and before you could think he had pulled you into a tight embrace. You fought against him at first, wanting to be angry with him for assuming things on your behalf and making you suffer so miserably for so long, but you couldn’t. You gave in, letting your tears blot onto his rich blue shirt. His tie tickled your cheek as he let you press your face into his chest like you used to. His hand automatically began to take small, gentle laps on your back. He whispered his apologies over and over again, finally pressing a tender kiss on the top of your head.

“Nanami” you mumbled, pulling away so you could look up at him. His eyes were piercing as they regarded you. One of his hands remained on your back, whilst the other came up to cup your cheek fondly.

“I love you” he said quietly, pink appearing in his cheeks as he admitted it to you “and I hope it’s not too late to say it, however I’d understand if you didn’t feel the same. I was awful to you.” He opened his mouth to say something else but stopped when you pressed a finger against his soft lips.

“Kento” you said, tasting the way his name sounded for the first time “I love you too.” He took it as permission to lean down, capturing your lips against his in a kiss that you had been dreaming of since you’d met. He was still cautious as always, not wanting to push you too much, but you couldn’t help but enthusiastically pull him closer, standing on the tips of your toes to be closer to him. You shivered when he opened his mouth to take your bottom lip between his own, sucking on the plump skin as you felt a whisper of wind snake around the two of you, depositing fallen petals on your shoulders like confetti.

#updates #my writing #fanfickittycat #jjk #jujutsu kaisen #jujutsu kaisen fanfic #jjk fanfic #jjk one shot #jjk headcanons #jjk nanami #nanami kento #nanami kento drabble #nanami kento x reader #nanami kento fanfic

[hypocrisyofandrewdobson]

From Someone Who Studied Animation

Recently got my degree in animation and having had a browse through this blog I want to reflect on the history of Dobson from the perspective of someone who studied the subject of animation myself , I’ll more than likely repeat things people have already said but there’s some interesting points I haven’t seen brought up at all. For context I live in the UK and the way the animation industry works here is different to that of America in that outside of children’s cartoons and adverts there’s not much of a business here. Unless you can afford to travel , good luck trying go work for something big like Disney , or god help you adult swim. A professional told me point blank that the chances to work for adult animation is near none existent over here and if you want to actually make money than portfolios have to show work that’ll appeal to someone who’ll lend you a job in marketing stuff to kids. This is not to say adult animation doesn’t exist here btw, there’s plenty of freelancers doing it for themselves, this is just to put some things into perspective. I should also add that I didn’t go to a fancy university like that of Calarts or the Royal College of art, I went to a community college deal where a bunch of different subjects were taught and I was thus surrendered by a lot of different sources of information as well as influences , while also having to deal with lack of funding and having to fight for resources against every other art focused class. So I can’t say much on Dobson’s personal experience of studying animation as not only did he and I learn the subject from drastically different environments with different expectations , but he learned the subject in a drastically different time than I did as well (him being an American when traditional 2D movies from The Mouse TM were big while I’m a European in a time where tiktok memes are big) However what I can say from an animators perspective is the “he studied animation and that’s why his comics sucks” explanation I seen floating about regarding his work is complete utter bullshit , even if people aren’t saying that to excuse his obvious laziness. You’d be surprised how much you have to learn about illustration when taking a course on animation , as you do need to know basics like perspective, colour theory and figure drawing before you can figure out how to make those things move in a way that’s coherent and pleasant to look at, as well as how you can basically make “still” images into “moving” images , which is the whole point of animation. So either the animation class Dobson went to actually sucks major ass or Dobson himself just did the bare minimum to get his degree and then thrown everything he learned into a fire pit. I’m betting my kidney on the latter , as it’s very likely that the poor teacher stuck with the guy just wanted him out of their life and didn’t want to have Dobson repeat his animation eduction again for their own sanity’s sake. During my time learning animation my own teachers actually talked about how with the internet becoming a big deal in recent years, old time illustrator nowadays are trying to learn the basics of animation to better appeal to people on social media and one up each other (I even know an illustrator teacher trying to learn this). Again, stressing the importance of learning some illustration skills while learning animation and how the two are interconnected. So the theory that Dobson struggled to convert what he knows about moving images into still images is weird when (in theory) it should have been a piece of cake for the guy as a few comic panels is less work than a few seconds of animation. Him making comics is , arguably , about half the work he would’ve done had he somehow gotten into the business of making animated films or television shows. Side note: I kinda recommend anyone wanting to do comics to consider doing an animation class rather than take an illustration class even if you have no interest in making cartoons. You’ll still learn the basics of illustration while also getting ahead in the animation side of things , which can help you in planning out comics such as dynamic poses and how flow of motion works. Though ideally you should be looking into various different forms of art (even stuff you don’t like or plan on working in) and if you rather not take an animation class than that’s perfectly fine , just try learning a bit of the basics as even that can help you in the long run What’s fascinating about Dobson is his refusal to experiment with his art and branch out, even just a tiny bit. This obviously goes hand in hand with the fact the guy can’t take criticism to save his care bear reject ass , how he drew inktober pieces months in advance is a fine example of this as that completely defeats the purpose of inktober. Another example of this I can think off is the mural his mother suggested to do but refused because he only does flat comic drawings on paper. Which is odd because throughout my education my teachers told my entire class to always try new ways to experiment in our art and animation work and that it doesn’t hurt to branch out from our comfort zones. Even encouraging us to post art on sites like Reddit to get feedback and criticism. Would it really have killed Dobson to do the odd paint job to get some cash? If the way he treated commissioners is anything to go by then even if he got into his dream job at Disney by some miracle, he would have either quit or been fired , if not those two somehow than straight up be the most hated person to work with throughout the entire company that even the rats is more pleasant to hang out with. Animation is a stressful job and it requires teamwork and compromises (neither of which he has ever been capable of doing) which would only be more stress inducing if Dobson was whining about lesbians the whole time. If it’s a big project in particular like a theatrical release film than lord have mercy , because the demand for a near flawless product is something Dobson would have a heart attack over. Another thing is that in some aspects of the animation process , like storyboarding and pitching the concept itself . you also have to be good at drawing stuff quickly but clearly to meet deadlines , something he prided himself to be incapable of doing from pure laziness. As if being slow as fuck to draw a pissed off teddy bear is a good trait to have. It’s weird , to think once upon a time I was a teen who actually thought his comics regarding printers and art supplies were solid advice for a beginner, that I thought he knew what he was talking about. Now I’m half the dude’s age and still knows art and animation better than the male feminist who told a grieving woman to “calm thine tits” , life’s weird like that, aren't it? Last thing: has this dude ever actually made an animation, ever? Like I’m generally serious here, I never seen this man’s animation degree put into any work

#Submission #Andrew Dobson #Tom Preston

[rachelbethhines]

Tangled Salt Marathon - The Lost Treasure of Herz Der Sonne

So now we get to what is, in my opinion, the best episode in season three. However, it’s still season three, so that’s damning with faint praise. 

Summary: Rapunzel tasks the kingdom with refurbishing the throne room. While breaking down a wall, they find a map to the Lost Treasure of Herz Der Sonne and Rapunzel decides to set up a race to the location. The teams, which consist of twos, are only allowed to look at the map briefly before the start of the race. However, Rapunzel's partner, Feldspar, brings a copy of the map with him and he warns her that the treasure is cursed. 

Why Are You Just Getting to This Now? 

It’s literally been months since you defeated the Saporians. Edmund had to have time to travel all this way to Corona and you’ve rebuilt an entire village since then. We’re talking at bare minimum three months or more. 

Who just leaves a gapping hole inside their home for three months? Where did you conduct the government’s important business during that time? Is there any other structural damage to the castle or the town outside from previous battles that you’ve just left unattended? I understand that rebuilding Old Corona is important but those villagers have been evacuated and living elsewhere for a year and a half now since Queen for a Day. It wasn’t a priority, but this is. 

Also this episode has to come after The Return of the King and Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf because Red, Angry, and Hamuel exist. It can’t just be slotted in somewhere else in order for it to make more sense. The writers genuinely planned for Rapunzel to be this disorganized and didn’t think to give a logical reason as to why. 

Also Why Are You Conscripting Regular Citizens Instead of Hiring Professional Contractors?

Unlike Old Corona, which is a full on community that would require multiple building projects going on simultaneously and therefore could use volunteers, this is a single government building. It’s Rapunzel’s job as leader to make sure that that building is kept maintained and up to code. It’s her responsibility not the regular average citizen’s who has their own jobs to do and zero experience with construction.  

Rapunzel is literally forcing these people to be slave labor for her under the pretense of ‘community’. She’s taking their time away from their own busy lives, forcing them to work a dangerous job, and not compensating them for that time, effort, and risk. And no, they’re not just volunteers at this point; because as acting queen, no one can safely say no to her nor can they just leave even when they’re clearly annoyed and fed up at having to do the work.  

Lastly they’re untrained. They lack the skills and tools to this job. You need an architect, you need a safety inspector, you need actual carpenters and masonries ... maybe even an interior decorator... The point is you need trained professionals and part of being an administrator is using government funding to hire these people in order to make sure the work gets done safely and efficiently and create jobs and keep money circulating through the economy.       

Rapunzel may not mean any harm. She might just be oblivious and untrained herself. But this is terrible leadership and the show never points that out. It never has her learn how to be a better a ruler so by the end of the series you don't feel she’s earned that title of Queen and you fear for the kingdom’s continued existence.   

So Why Is This Here?

Why would there be a Saporian map to a king of Corona’s tomb hidden in the wall? What’s the story behind this? 

Yes we know his wife was Saporian, but that doesn’t explain anything. Why would she need a map on the wall to her own husband’s resting place; assuming he didn’t out live her himself. Why would said map be carved into the wall of Corona’s castle and not written on a scroll? Why is it in Saporian when they don't speak that language in Corona? 

Like I could come up with explanations and create this whole backstory for Herz Der Sonne and the first Saporian/Coronian War, but at this point I’d just be doing the work of the writers for them. They’re the ones who introduced this lore and had it inform plot points and character motivation; and then failed to explain any of it to the audience and adequately have it all connect back together in a way that makes sense. 

The Moment When You Realize This Whole Episode Exists Because Zachary Levi Enjoys Doing an Ed Wynn Impersonation 

Ok time to explain some behind the scenes Info.

This is Ed Wynn. 

As you can tell from the gif above, he’s famous for voicing the Mad Hatter in Disney’s Alice in Wonderland. He’s also done a whole bunch of other stuff and was well known even before working with Disney, but the Mad Hatter is his most well remembered role today. 

Many actors, particularly voice actors, like to do impressions of him because he has such a distinctive voice. Including Eugene’s VA, Zachery Levi.  

Now I don’t know if the character of Feldspar was created specifically because the creators were inspired by Zachery Levi’s impression, or if they had this character already planned out and just casted him in the role since he could do it and it’d save them money. Either scenario is plausible and not unheard of in animation. But the long and short of it is, as a shoemaker, Feldspar is intended to be a parody of the Mad Hatter. That is why the character exists. 

Now as I said, this isn’t unusual for animated tv shows. Quite often you get main cast members to voice secondary and/or one off characters because it’s convenient, efficient, and doable when working with audio recordings. Also quite often voice actors will do impressions of other famous people to flesh out these background characters. It’s also not out of left field for these secondary characters to get an episode of focus if they’ve been around for awhile and keep popping up in the story. 

What is unusual, however, is to focus on said character in the final season when there are a bunch of other more important characters with unresolved arcs that need the screen time more. It’s an incredibly odd decision to highlight Feldspar here when we still got Varian readjusting back into society, Red and Angry settling into their new home, and Edmund running around off screen. And while some of these character feature in the episode, they’re just there for the jokes not for any development. 

What’s a “Sap Pond” and How Does That Even Work?

Ok its a fantasy world, I get it. But the franchise does try to have a distinction between the magical and the mundane. Or at least pretends to try and have a distinction. There’s to my knowledge no such thing as a ‘sap pond’, and if such a thing does exist I doubt it’s an actual deep pit full of tree sap as shown here. 

If you want characters to still be surprised by out of the ordinary occurrences and have the supernatural world be separate from the regular world; then you need to have the mundane world grounded in our known reality. Nature needs to function as real world nature would. If something exists in your world that doesn't in ours, then you need to either explain it or have the characters responded appropriately to it. 

But You’re a Prince Now?

Look, I’ll buy that season one Eugene didn’t have unlimited access to the royal treasury as he and Rapunzel were still new to their roles and their relationship. But it’s been over two years since the movie ended. 

Since then Eugene and Rapunzel have lived together, shared finances together, and currently are co-acting rulers of the kingdom. He’s also a bonified prince in of itself on top of being practically married to princess/queen. 

Yeah I said it. Part of what makes season three so frustrating is that Rapunzel and Eugene are functionally married at this point, they just haven’t gone through the ceremony yet, and there’s no stated reason for why they keep dragging things out.  

This is why we get out of place jokes like this that no longer reflect who Eugene is now as a person and feel like they belong back in season one or the even the movie itself. 

I can understand if he wanted to join in the competition because it’s fun, but he’s not poor. Neither he nor Rapunzel needs the treasure. I’m not sure even Lance needs it because as Eugene’s best friend/adopted brother he’s piratically nobility at this point as well. 

Royalty and the rich are not and never will be underdogs show. Stop trying to make them such. 

So Why Feldspar Again? 

This is such a half assed plot point. 

Remember Rapunzel literally pulled out a book earlier to translate the map.  Xavier not only knows the legends about the Saporians, but also keeps a book of magic lying around, and the Saporians are the only human people who have functioning magic in the show as part of their culture.    Varian spent a year living and working with the Saporian leader, and knows how to decipher ancient scrolls written in dead languages.  And said Saporians, are being currently held in the dungeons of the castle.  

But you’re telling me that only a random cobbler can read the warning clearly written on the map? 

They give some bullshit reason as to why Feldspar knows Sapoprian but it doesn’t matter. It’s a forced and contrived excuse to get the character involved in a plot he has no business being in. The story fails to justify the use him over the other more prominent characters who have closer ties to this particular subplot. 

And We’re Suppose to Believe That Herz Der Sonne Was a Good Guy?

Why would a benevolent king who supposedly brought peace to a warring land have a doomsday curse involving zombies? Why would said king be enshrined a tomb that’s not native to his culture? What even is the treasure and why be buried with it? 

There’s clearly more going on here regarding Corona’s past and the treatment of the Saporians as a people in their own right, but the show never does anything with it. Why introduce these complexities and world building if you’re not going to tell a story with them? Why have the Saporian subplot at all in a series already over stuffed with villains if you aren’t going to have them challenge your protagonist and have her grow into a more mature person? 

I’m not dunking on the series for being ambitious nor for having flavor text to help flesh out the world, but it so aggravating that there’s no follow through on the show’s set ups and narrative promises. If you’re not going to give the needed focus to something then just don’t put it in. Cause once it’s aired you’re committed to it and the audience is going to hold you to account. 

I haven’t seen plot mismanagement this bad since the 80s; back when cartoons had to battle network syndication, episode commissions instead of contracted seasons, and could be canceled at any time without prior notice. Now there’s still plenty of bad practices going on in the industry, especially as the move to streaming messes with things, but Tangled does not have the same excuses as say Johnny Quest, Dungeons and Dragons, or even Gargoyles did. 

How Do You Even Know That Would Work, Rapunzel?

No seriously, how does Rapunzel know that putting the treasure chest back on the pedestal will stop the cruse? That hasn’t been established yet by any known source of information. Heck no one knew what the curse actually entailed until it was activated. Except for Xavier who oh so conveniently didn’t say anything until the last moment. If anyone should have the knowledge to on how to end the curse it’s him. But nope we gotta make the Rapunzel the infallible hero who is always right for no logical reason.  

I don’t know how to explain this to you show, but perfect is boring. No one wants a flawless protagonist who can do it all 24/7 without any help whatsoever. And it becomes down right annoying to watch a hero who is clearly flawed still put upon a narrative pedestal as if they weren’t. 

So Why is Varian Suddenly Useless In This Fight?

This entire climax is about showcasing the ‘power of teamwork’ by having the characters use their various skills sets and work together to defeat the enemy. 

Except for Varian. 

He’s treated at best as a spectator to the unfolding events and at worst as a damsel in distress. 

Varian. You know the guy who is the series most competent and threating antagonist. Who brought an entire kingdom to it’s knees, twice. The only other character besides Rapunzel herself who could and does hold his own against other major antagonists, including super powered ones.  

If this was just a one off incident, I’d just shrug it away as him being a glass cannon; insanely overpowered when well prepared but easily out of his depth when not. But that’s not what’s happening here. 

Season three constantly nerfs Varian’s abilities, same as they did back in The Alchemist Returns, and there’s three reasons for this. 

The first is to try and stop him from overshadowing Rapunzel and Cassandra. The writers don’t want to give him any more story focus for fear of him being more popular the the two girls. Which is a ridiculous and petty reason to write a character OOC but there you go. 

The second is the on going issue of making Rapunzel needlessly the center of any and all solutions to every problem regardless of her level of involvement in the initial conflict. Yes, it’s her show, but she’s still not the whole world. Other people exist outside of her and it’s not fair to anybody when the writers ignore that simple fact.   

Last is the writers sacrificing established character for a joke. And as already pointed out, even in this very review, Varian’s not the only character to fall victim to this. It’s just bad writing. Yeah the joke might be funny in the moment but you run the risk of jarring you’re audience’s immersion. In a series like Tangled where you’re constantly asking the audience to suspend their disbelief, humor needs to be firmly rooted in the characters natural behaviors and must evolve to match any character development.   

Why not just have Varian throw a chimball or two, run out cause he wasn’t planning on fighting anybody that day, and then have the other characters rescue him? It’s not that hard to work in a joke while still being respectful of the characters.  

So What Does Anybody Learn From This Episode?

Yeah the other characters learn some vague lesson on teamwork and getting along or something, but they’re not the focus of the episode. What do Rapunzel and Feldspar learn? 

Unlike some people I don’t mind Feldspar’s existence. When’s he’s kept as a background character he works. In fact he’s one of the few townspeople who do work as intended, because he’s representative of the everyday citizen who’s often on the outside looking in on these fantastical events and therefore gives insight into what’s going on and the populous’ opinions on things without being a major player in anything. 

That's fine, needed even, and I don’t mind him getting a single focus episode to gain a greater insight into how this world works or even flesh out his character more, but that’s not what we got. Feldspar doesn’t grow as a character because of this episode. I, as the viewer watching, learn nothing about him nor his life that I didn’t already know. This resolution with him resolves nothing cause it’s a ending for a conflict that was never established beforehand.  

In fact what even was the main conflict of the story? Rapunzel being annoyed by Feldspar? Ok and..? Did she need to learn not to be annoyed by him? Was that a thing that needed to be addressed? Hasn’t Rapunzel already put up with annoying people before now? Was was this deficiency of character actually solved by this one interaction? Has she learned to be more appreciative, attentive, or open minded of others? 

If you tell me it’s Rapunzel’s show then I expect Rapunzel to actually learn shit! 

I expect the external conflicts to tie back into her interpersonal conflicts. If the external conflict does not do that than there better well be a another character who gets that focus instead without her hogging the limelight. 

This Dynamic Adds Nothing

They set up this friendship with Varian and Xavier and it doesn't go anywhere. It never comes back into play and we never see them interacting on screen together again. It also undermines a future plot point that’s coming up later. 

More over it doesn’t further either of their characters. 

Xavier is still an extraneous exposition fairy. Turning his flat characterization into a one note joke does not erase that fact. Giving him a kid to tell stories to doesn’t explain his place in the narrative or give him purpose to the story. We still don’t know why he has these connections to magic nor how he knows all the this lore, and he doesn’t push the plot forward. 

Meanwhile Varian maybe lonely but that doesn’t mean he needs yet another mentor figure in his life. We already have his father, who we barely see him interact with since coming back, and all his other ‘friends’ are way older then him already as well. Rapunzel’s the closest in age to him and she is constantly condescending to, well everybody, as she pretends to be more mature than she actually is. There’s no one in the story who Varian is on equal footing with, and no Angry and Red don't count as they’re far younger than him. 

I don’t know what this series has against teenagers but it showcases some very unhealthy depictions of them; ether by constantly infantilizing them, traumatizing them while subjecting them to parentification, or just flat out ignoring their existence all together. 

Teenagers exist and they need to be treated as teenagers. I don’t know how to put it more simply than that. Teens aren’t children. Teens aren’t adults. They’re teens. And when writing for them you need to understand that difference and acknowledge that they have a completely different phycological development and placement within society to anybody else. That’s why the category of adolescence exists separately from childhood and adulthood in the first place.   

So to tie things back to the first point. The concept of Xavier and Varian having a friendship is not a problem. But as with so many things on this show, it’s the surrounding context and lack of follow through where the issues arises. 

Varian needs a friend his age, who is his equal, more so than a mentor; if indeed Xavier is even intended to serve that function as he doesn’t do any real mentoring. This should have been an opportunity to bring Faith in and establish her better. In fact it’s reasons like this why she should have been a bigger character all along but we’ll get more into that as we get to her only ‘focus’ episode. 

Conclusion 

It’s fun seeing all the various character interactions and unique team ups. Also the humor does work. The jokes do land even if they do bulldoze through established canon. Plus seeing Rapunzel actually annoyed by shit going on around her is always entertaining as it humanizes her. If watched in isolation from the rest of season three, this is an enjoyable episode. But that’s it’s core problem. I shouldn’t have to find filler to keep me going in the last leg of the show. 

This was pretty short comparatively speaking with the rest of the ones I have to write for S3, but longer ones are going to come out more slowly just due to real life and time. As always though you’re support is helpful in keeping going, and if you feel like you can donate to my Ko-fi and leave a tip there. 

https://ko-fi.com/rachelbethhines

#tangled #tangled the series #rapunzel's tangled adventure #rapunzel #varian #anti-tangled #feldspar

[celestialflamesme]

| KARMA AND CRAZY MIDGETS | A Venai One-shot Modern AU | Fairy Tail Next Generation |

Ships: Raidyn Dreyar x Venetia Redfox

Dedicated to @primaverafrog @luna-chan00 @biorckstudios18 @animaration-fts @cxndy-stxrs (Lol, I can't believe that no-paragraph breaks worked😂 I fooled Tumblr, y'all!😎😆)

You'd think having a town overtaken by the mafia would make people more apprehensive, if anything. But if Magnolians were anything, they were huge (and he simply could not stress this enough) idiots.

Raidyn prided himself in not partaking in anything Fairy-esque which was more than what he could say about some of his colleagues (Yes, they named themselves Fairy 'Tail' of all things! How no one in this town even got the spelling right was beyond him....)

"Did you hear about Fullbuster and that Fernandez chick? They're together now!" Some red head he'd forgotten the name of (What! It was too late to ask her now!) stage-whispered.

"Who? Storm?"

The entire cafe burst into laughter. "Like Storm would even look at a girl that's not Nashi."

Point proven. They!! were!! on!! first!! name!! basis!! (He bet no one in this room even knew his last name, let alone first. Not that it mattered. He liked slinking in the shadows, although it was practically impossible with his snow-white hair)

Geez, did these people have no lives? They were talking about delinquents for Pete's sake! And ones that sure loved messing up the town in their infamous brawls. But did the people care? Nooooo.

Ugh, one more year and he'd be out of this whacked up place. Wiping a tabletop, he forced a smile on his face and pretended to be interested in the topic.

"Cass, I'll have a black and a burger with fries," a voice interrupted. A voice he was very familiar with.

Did he happen to mention that the most annoying one of them all had made this her hangout spot?

At 5'1, you'd think Venetia Redfox would be the least intimidating person ever. But with crimson red eyes and a Devil-may-care attitude that made up for it, no one dared mess with her. She also caused 75% of the fights in town and had a smirk straight out of a Wattpad Bad-boy fanfic.

Boy, did he hate her.

"You're gonna chip it off with that grip, Blondie."

Oh my god, she did not just-

Raidyn shot her a glare and strode to the back of the register, faintly registering a chuckle (Who the hell did she think she was?) before picking up another order.

Little Miss Redfox however sat at a corner table and continued doing whatever the hell she usually did every Tuesday and Friday for 3 hours in a row (he should know, he was there glaring at her at closing time).

But the kicker this time was, at that moment, her phone rang. You have never really seen your world end right before your eyes if you haven't seen a 5 foot psychotic looking delinquent decked in leather that drove in a motorcycle there by the way (How does one willingly ride on a metallic death-trap like that?!) mumble the words 'Cha cha real smooth' and pick up a call with the most deadpan look ever.

Raidyn almost cried. Almost.

"Are you kidding me? Do it yourself! I swear to God, you always do this shit, Dragneel!" She got up from her seat and walked out, just like she looooved doing smack dab in the middle of her classes back at Magnolia High.

Good riddance.

........

He jinxed it. Karma was such a bitch.

Though no sort of karmic revenge could explain the shit he had to go through that week.

First off, he had 4 assignments due in by the end of the week. And turns out that was the exact week his dear red-head colleague decided would the perfect time for a vacation (It's the middle of September, where in hell's name was she planning to go to?)

Guess who had double shifts now?

This clown.

Ugh. Talk about chivalry and all that loyalty shit.

And yes, of course his car had to break down, and the local bus had to change it's schedule, which left him with his last resort: walking 4 and a quarter miles to school (Oh, he found that out the hard way all right) to college. Nashi and the Fullbuster kid (He sure loved walking around shirtless a little too much) decided to brawl (again) and bam, his locker got caught in the crossfire.

In fact things were so overly shitty that he became skeptical come Thursday when the day seemed relatively normal.

"You've been scowling all week, Dreyar. Anything the matter?"

Raidyn snapped out of his reverie and groaned. "Dad, why not just call me by my name like any normal person would?"

"Because that doesn't build-"

"CHARACTER!! WE GET IT!" His mom, Mirajane mimicked with a scowl. "Well, we're just going to get two Happy meals and then we're off, honey!"

He faintly registered Hunter snickering in the background (How immature. Raidyn wasn't one to get embarrassed by his parents. Plus, none of it would ever compare to the Disco Fiasco of 2001. How else do you think he got his car? Sweet, sweet guilt-tripping....)

The day buzzed past but his suspicions only intensified tenfold. (Call him a pessimist, he didn't care) And like a bull in a China shop, a tiny midget Redfox (the one and only) strut in.

Now, he was behind the counter at that moment handling the red-head (he really ought to learn her name someday) so he didn't notice 5 feet of brute strength that climbed up behind him and dragged him (poor, unsuspecting him) into the supply closet.

Oh no, he was not kidding. The supply closet. Of all the places the perpetrator could've-

The lights flickered on and he screeched (What? Any human would!) at the red irises staring determinedly into his own non-red eyes. (Seriously, were those even real?) Raidyn wasn't scared of no judgement, what did scare him (maybe not that much, now that he knew who those belonged to) was Satan's minion and her RED AS FUCK EYES! LIKE SERIOUSLY-

Clearing his throat and trying to salvage some faux dignity after that dramatic display, he grunted, "Touch me one more time and you're-"

"Yeah, yeah I get it, big guy. Look, I need a favour."

Venetia Redfox crossed her arms and stood threateningly in front of the entrance.

Who was she kidding? "Nope," he muttered and swerved right around her and made his way to the counter. (Pipsqueak. She really should've seen that coming.)

And right as he turned right towards the display case, he found her leaning against it with her shoulder, looking bored. "Yes. And now."

How the- PPHIGXUTDUTZUT- HOW DID SHE JUST-

"Parkour." She deadpanned.

Raidyn gave Venetia a long, long look and sighed, striding towards her. Her smirk widened in anticipation as-

He picked her up like a sack of potatoes and tossed her over his shoulder.

"WHAT THE- THIS IS HARASSMENT!!"

"Technically, you cornered me first," he stated matter-of-factly and dropped her on her feet (she looked like a hissy kitten, hmm.) Then proceeding to close the doors at her, he picked up a poster of her (he kept posters of all of them for a day like this. Ah, foreboding luck. He could feel it.) and pinned it onto the front door.

BANNED: VENETIA REDFOX

(Was he even allowed to do that, you might ask, but bah, who cares? Rabid girls are a nationwide threat.)

.................

As he wrapped up and prepared to leave, Raidyn had a niggling feeling he forgot something very, very crucial. Uh-

A body collided onto his own and climbed (I kid you not) him (THE FUCK KIND OF ANIMALS DID MAGNOLIA OWN?) before a tiny, rough hand muffled him. Oh no.

"Yoph kiphing mmph!" Raidyn groaned.

"I need you to teach me how to solve a Rubix Cube."

What. Excuse Raidyn for not knowing, but was Rubix cube some mafia codeword for mafia stuff? Stealing a car, fighting goons, skipping classes or drug dealing? Raidyn Dreyar had a long jail-free life ahead of him, mind you.

BUT SERIOUSLY, SOLVE A RUBIX CUBE?! HOW FRICKING RANDOM WAS THAT?! WHO EVEN TOLD HER HE KNEW HOW TO SOLVE ONE? WHAT WAS WRONG WITH THIS GODFORSAKEN TOWN?!!!

(Some might say he really had to stop reading those novels his mom bought. Some might be right. Whatever.)

Back to the topic on hand, he mumbled inaudibly. Her cropped hair tickled the sides of his face as she squinted at him, "What?"

Was she kidding right now? He pointed at her hand covering his mouth and her eyes widened as she let out a nervous laugh. (Geez, talk about stupid.)

He took in a deep breath and shook her off him. She stood there patiently (As patiently as a Redfox could, anyway.) as he straightened his shirt.

"First things first, NO!" And he stalked away.

He registered a groan from behind him and quickened his pace. However, the midget in question managed to propel herself at break-neck speeds and no joke, TACKLED him.

"PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE-"

"GET OFF ME, YOU PSYCHOTIC-"

Karma was such a bitch.

Macao, the guard standing by the parking lot, huffed, "They don't pay me enough for this."

...............

The only reason he was doing this was because she offered to fix up his car. (How did she even know it wasn't starting?) Also because it had been a while since he brushed up on his Rubix skills. Also because he wanted to get rid of the midget before she followed him home. (He figured his mom and dad would ENJOY her presence and replace him with her. He had crazy parents.)

Everyday she'd make sure to meet him (mostly by cornering him in the hallways) and in exchange for these classes, she'd work on his car at the weekend.

The first time she came over to his house (to work on his car, but he didn't know that) was rather embarrassing because he kinda sorta thought she was a burglar and locked his garage, yelling at the top of his lungs. His dad, Laxus came out with a taser (Dad sure loved his tasers.) Of course, when he finally opened the garage doors, he was met with an unimpressed look from the Redfox in question. (God, he was such a drama queen.)

The midget had a lot of trouble twisting her hands at the beginning of her sessions and he loved teasing her about her 'butter fingers' every time she accidentally flung the cube across the room or out the window in one rare occasion.

You know, she was kind of fun to have around.

"And that's the algorithm! You're all done!" He cheered, glad to have this behind him.

"Geez, you don't have to sound that excited to get rid of me." Venetia teased.

"What? No....." He feigned innocence.

"D'aww, admit it, you enjoyed my company."

"Please, more like I was scared for my life." He mumbled. She snorted.

"Catch you later, alligator."

Did she just- "NO WAY, JOŚE!" (That was lame even for him. Gosh dang it, she was laughing at him....)

Fricking Redfox.

......................

That weekend, Raidyn thought he deserved a good ol' evening out with his friends/colleagues (technically it was the manager that suggested it and he tagged along for the heck of it. He wasn't much of a social person, per se.)

He guessed Karma was still on a streak when Venetia Redfox entered the very same place they'd chosen for karaoke night and sat herself on one of the tables in front of them. And proceeded to order nothing.

The raven-head didn't even have her notebook (that always made her look disarmingly tiny) or her phone. Oh well, she must've been waiting for someone.

As the hours passed, he found himself exceedingly irritated for no reason.

"Who in their right mind would stand up The Venetia Redfox?" His colleagues whispered (rather loudly, according to him) and she just tapped her fingers away, oblivious to it all.

Fine, whatever.

"Sup." He towered over her and greeted, moving to take a seat next to her.

She blinked at him.

Okay, you couldn't exactly judge him. She was a regular and tipped good and people were being annoying about her and oh, her tapping was distracting and he had a massive headache coming. That's all. Simple as that.

"Don't you have better shit to do?" Red irises stared at him impassively.

"What are you doing here by yourself?" He asked coolly.

"Well, Nashi was supposed to-"

"I'M HERE! I'M HERE! I'M-" Both tilted their heads just in time to see Nashi ram into the glass doors. The now groaning pinkette was sprawled on her butt in front of the entrance. "Fricking doors."

"That's her." Venetia deadpanned. Raidyn shook his head sympathetically.

"Heyo Ven! Heh, kinda lost track of time beating Frostbite at Mario Kart," her doe eyes scanned him. "Raidyn! I didn't know you guys were friends!" She grinned.

Raidyn gave her a two-finger salute in greeting.

Nashi's eyes suddenly widened in realisation. "YOU'RE TEACHING HER THE RUBIX?!"

"Uh..."

"Yup." Venetia smirked. "He's a great teach. His parents have taken me in as their own."

"WAIT! WHEN DID THAT HAPPEN?! HOW WAS I NOT AWARE OF THIS?!"

"Just like that, Blondie. What can I say? It's the charm," She grinned at his bewildered face.

"You guys are all ready for the challenge then?" Nashi wiggled, now nervous, "Ven, I didn't mean to drag you into this, but Clint was-"

"It's cool, dumbass." Venetia shrugged. "Ain't your fault that they're dipshits."

At his confused look, Nashi clarified, "People like picking on us just because we're Fairies and held to the same standards as our parents. This frat dude decided he had to prove he was smarter than the Fairies and decided to pick a Rubix cube challenge of all things." She rolled her eyes. "Bet he taught he was real original thinking that one up."

"Bet he did." Storm scoffed. (Wait, what?)

"WHERE DID YOU COME FROM?"

"From- the front door?" Storm scratched his head in genuine confusion. (As if Raidyn was the weird one that sneaked up behind people like a stalker!)

Nashi facepalmed. "Why the heck are you here, Frostbite?"

"Just like that."

"Gosh, you're so annoying."

"Wanna say that to my face, Flamebrains?!" Storm yelled. (Oh, not again....)

"Guys, please don't...." Raidyn said, but both didn't seem to be paying attention to him.

"I SAID YOU'RE ANNOYING! FIGHT ME!" She threw a punch at him and before he knew it both were throwing napkin holders and vases at each other.

Venetia seemed to be enjoying the show, and pulled him to the back of the room, "This might take a while," she stated. "Wanna grab a milkshake?"

Well, he was kind of craving one. "Why not?"

..................

Today was the day of Venetia's challenge and Raidyn found himself nervous.

"You sure they won't wreck the place?" He grumbled for the umpteenth time.

Venetia groaned. "Do you have no faith in my abilities, Dreyar?"

"Nope. None whatsoever."

She raised an eyebrow, "Shame on you, then. I wouldn't let a good friend lose his job on my behalf. Dally ho, now!" She cheered.

He blinked at her, giving her a small reluctant smile. "Kick ass, Ven."

She tilted her head toward him and gave him a grin that knocked the breath out of him. "Thanks, Raidyn."

Shit. When did- when did she get so pretty?

"Look who we have here. You sure you're in the right place, Redfox?" A voice condescended. The owner of the voice was a grimy looking kid that looked like one of those middle-school spelling-bee losers that bragged about it whenever they met someone new.

"Clint." Venetia deadpanned.

Raidyn broke out into a fit of laughter, making 'Clint' (What kind of sad name was that?) glare at him. (Oh please, Little Clint was totally quaking in his boots! Why'd he even bother coming?)

"Let's begin then! Pick a shuffler." Clint drawled.

Venetia picked Nashi while Clint, after a moment of deliberation, picked one of his gang-mates (What did they call it? The Math club?)

"You may begin."

Both Nashi and the grimy dude shuffled for the better of 15 seconds. Clint just scoffed and clicked like a pretentious know-it-all, making comments like, "You're making it easier by shuffling harder, you know. Make it tougher for me, Nashi dear."

Raidyn had to give it to the pinkette, he would've smacked the teen by now.

"Okay," the referee, Storm cheered, (even though he looked like he was ready to kill Clint) "Timer starts, NOW!"

Both twisted and turned the cube furiously, Venetia sticking her tongue out in concentration while the teen twisted his arms like a man possessed.

"I'M DONE!" Venetia dropped the cube with a thud onto the table. "How's that for a Redfox?"

"E-excuse me? That's insane! It's only been," Clint checked the timer like the sore loser he was, "31 seconds!"

"Too bad," she smirked. (Well shit, that was hot...)

"I demand a rematch!"

Nashi moved to protest, but Venetia silenced her with a hand, "Whatever you say, kid..."

"This time, we swap cubes!" He whined like the little weasel he was.

3 minutes later, the rematch began and Venetia plopped her cube on the table with a glare.

"You think you're smart giving me a faulty cube, don't you?"

"And I'm done!" The weasel had the nerve to say. "I don't know what you're talking about Venetia, I used the same cube and it worked just fine. Maybe it was a stroke of luck on your part the first tim-"

He couldn't finish his tirade because Raidyn took that opportunity to check the cube (He didn't have to though, he believed Venetia enough to know she wouldn't make up excuses.) and yeeted it at his face like he'd been itching to do from the moment he saw the turd.

"YOU IDIOT! I'LL HAVE YOUR HEAD FOR THIS-"

"GET HIM!"

"OH NO, YOU DON'T!" Nashi growled, "I'M ALL FIRED UP NOW!"

Oh dear.

Okay, maybe the fight wouldn't get too big, these were scrawny kids after a-

Yeah, Nashi Dragneel just flipped a table on them.

There goes his job.

"GO, NASHI!" His manager cheered. (Okay, thank God this town was crazy.) "Raidyn! You can take the day off, kid. Have fun!"

Storm chose that moment to enter after his momentary toilet-break. "I WAS GONE FOR 3 MINUTES, WOMAN! WHAT THE HELL?!"

"JOIN US, STRIPPER!"

"WHAT DID YOU CALL ME?!"

"YOU HEARD ME!"

Venetia, unbothered by the chaos behind her, pulled him by the arm, her eyebrows furrowed at him, "Well, I tried. But hey, looks like you still have your job. That's a win, right?" She scratched her neck, laughing.

He sighed, putting caution to the wind. This was Ven after all. "Ice-cream date? My treat for today's win."

A smile erupted on her face, "Only if we take my bike there."

.............

Bonus (That no one asked for):

"Okay, so you have to grip it right. Not too tight. Just enough to nudge it in the right direction." Venetia explained, from where she was seated in front of him on the death tra- bike.

Raidyn nervously laughed, "I've got this in the bag, I don't know what you're worried about." The tilt in his voice gave away his panic, however. She raised an eyebrow.

"Humor me then."

Okay.

Five.

Four.

Three.

Two.

One.

GO!!

"DON'T CLOSE YOUR EYES, YOU IDIOT!!" Venetia screeched. She reached over and took over the handlebars just in time as they nearly crashed into a tree Raidyn was headed for.

He got off the bike and tripped, falling face-first on the ground. Fricking Jelly-legs. "I am never riding that death trap again." Raidyn groaned.

"What the heck?!" Venetia questioned, bewildered. "How'd you even get your driver's ed with such sucky basics?"

"IT'S A DEATH TRAP, THAT'S WHY!!"

"OF COURSE IT'S A DEATH TRAP IF YOU'RE NOT LOOKING WHERE YOU'RE GOING!!!!"

"Fight me Ven, I'm never getting on that thing again!"

"Too bad, I have to drop you back home too." The sneaky devil dared smirk at his plight.

Fricking Karma.

He wouldn't have it any other way, though.

.............

#raidyn dreyar #venetia redfox #shutora redfox #venai #gale #miraxus #fairy tail #ft next generation #venetia x raidyn #nashi dragneel x storm fullbuster #nashi dragneel #storm fullbuster #modern au #rubix cube #bad boy remake

[sunflowershouyou]

🏕️ Camping trip with Karasuno

requested by: @scorpiosanssexy

As summer is upon us , could you perhaps do headcanons with whatever team you want in which they go on a camping trip for some *team bonding*. Who tent collapses? Who is the camping expert? Who straight doesn’t want to be here?. I so wish we could have another haikyuu OVA. I am loving the blog so far, keep up the amazing work.

word count: 2622

The members spend a lot of time together but it’s mainly because they’re in the same team and they talk mostly about volleyball. That’s why Daichi and Sugawara came up with the idea to go camping, just the members and the managers, no teachers or coaches. They wanted to get to know each other a bit more while doing different activities. Everyone liked the idea (except for Tsukishima but he didn’t have any choice).

It was a Saturday morning when everyone got on a bus and headed to the campsite. It was a beautiful field near the forest with a little lake with crystal clear waters – like a piece of heaven. There also was a tiny waterfall and a small river nearby. Everything looked so calm and relaxing up until Karasuno came.

On their way to the campsite Hinata, Nishinoya and Tanaka were screaming of excitement. For them to stop yelling Suga suggested singing. They were extremely loud. However Kageyama was sleeping during the whole ride and Tsukishima was trying to ignore them and put on his headphones. Kiyoko was reading a book for school, Yachi and Asahi were discussing all the different animals they wanted to see during the next 24 hours in nature. Asahi even took his huge book with all the species you can find in Japan. Yamaguchi was looking through the window the whole time, delighted by the scenery. Daichi, Kinoshita, Ennoshita and Narita were playing cards and at one point they even tried to teach Hinata how to play but the poor boy didn’t understand a single thing so he gave up.

- At the campsite –

Nishinoya and Hinata ran to the lake. Yachi was right behind them ready to hand them the towels. Tanaka lifted as many bags as he could trying to impress Kiyoko which sadly didn’t work out.

Daichi saw that everyone went to a different direction and decided to end this mess:

‘Listen up everyone! We have four tents which means that there is one for the first years, one for second years, one for third years and one for the girls.’

‘Excuse me but why should I share a tent with the crazy duo? Can I exchange with someone?’ Tsukishima didn’t like the fact that he had to sleep next to Hinata and Kageyama who always had a reason to be loud.

‘I’m sorry Tsukishima but it’s already decided. Besides because of certain people’ Daichi looked and Nishinoya, Tanaka, Hinata and Kageyama ‘there should be at least someone in every tent who is responsible and mature. I’m sorry but in your case it has to be you and Yamaguchi.’

‘Hinata is the problematic one.’ Added Kageyama.

‘FIGHT ME KAGEYAMA!’ yelled Hinata at which Tsukishima sighed. He knew exactly why he had to be the responsible one.

The boys wanted to swim so bad but Daichi told everyone to set up their tents. To make things more interesting and exciting they decided to turn it into a competition.

Yachi had no clue how to do it but luckily Kiyoko knew. Their team was the one that won. The third years didn’t have many difficulties so they ended up in second place. Third place was for the second years. Their tent was almost done when Noya saw a flying moth and went crazy throwing his hands left and right. He accidentally pushed Tanaka who grabbed Narita and they both fell over the tent which caused them to start all over again. No one in the first years team knew how to set up a tent. Tsukishima couldn’t care less but Yamaguchi actually tried to learn how to do it by reading the instructions. Kageyama amd Hinata weren’t of much help because they couldn’t understand a single thing that Yamaguchi was telling them. Both of them were arguing the whole time.

‘This piece should be here!’

‘Hinata are you dumb!? It should be there!’

They were both wrong though. Tsukishima started to pity Yamaguchi for having to deal with two 7 year-olds, who share a single brain cell, and decided to help.

The losers had to collect firewood from the forest. Tsukishima was trying to ditch them but failed every time. Suddenly some bushes near them started moving. Hinata screamed and hid behind Kageyama.

‘Hey come out! It’s probably a mouse or something.’

‘Kageyama, why aren’t you scared?’ asked Hinata.

‘Nothing is more frightening than Oikawa.’ calmly replied Kageyama.

‘Ah... I guess you’re right.’

Tsukishima looked at the duo and added:

‘Nothing except the wendigo.’

Yamaguchi got goosebumps. Hinata and Kageyama were very confused:

‘What is a wendigo?’

‘Oh you don’t know? The wendigo is an evil spirit... a monster who was once a possessed human. It is hiding in forests... just like this one... and it’s waiting for someone to come visit it. Legend says that wendigos are very fast and eat human flesh.’

‘Haha Tsuki... don’t be ridiculous! There’s no such thing as wendigo!’ Yamaguchi was trying to calm himself down because he was really close to faint.

‘Yes! Tsukishima was just trying to scare us! Besides I am a very fast runner.’ said Hinata who actually believed the story.

The whole time while they were collecting firewood Kageyama, Hinata and Yamaguchi couldn’t help themselves but to look around for the wendigo.

Nishinoya saw the first years.

‘Oh they’re back! Sho come here the water is really warm!’

The boys quickly put on their swimwear and jumped into the lake. Tsukishima was resisting but Suga and Tanaka lifted him up and threw him into the water declaring he should have fun. Hinata and Kageyama were racing once again. They wanted to see who can swim faster. Tanaka and Noya were showing their swimming skills off to Kiyoko but she was too busy sunbathing and didn’t even notice them. Ennoshita, being the good swimmer he is, made sure that no one drowned. His job was extremely hard considering the fact that half of the team needed a babysitter. Sugawara was like an embarrassing mum and made everyone put on sunscreen.

It became cooler and the boys got hungry. Kiyoko and Yamaguchi started preparing food. They needed fire so Tanaka and Nishinoya once again wanted to prove to Kiyoko that they are husband material. The others were wondering why they haven’t given up already because every time they failed miserably. Nishinoya tried to start a fire using rocks but one of them flew directly to his face. Good thing that Kiyoko had first aid kit and took care of Noya. He felt extremely blessed and didn’t regret hitting himself with a rock. Hinata also wanted to try but he ended up setting Kageyama’s shorts on fire. He was afraid that Kageyama would find out so he hid them while he still could. A couple of minutes had passed and Tanaka realised that Saeko gave him a lighter earlier today just in case.

‘You had this the whole time???’ yelled Ennoshita.

‘I’m sorry okay... I totally forgot about it.’

While Kiyoko and Yamaguchi were cooking the three explorers of the group (Asahi, Yachi and Sugawara) headed to the woods searching for wild animals. Yachi took her camera and made some great photos. Asahi was reading his book while still walking deeper into the forest. Suga was dressed as if he was Bear Grylls.

‘Hey guys, I know this might sound a bit weird but if we don’t find the way back whose piss are you willing to drink?’

Yachi and Asahi looked at him in confusion wondering if he was joking or he’s actually serious. Both of them were later having a lively discussion when they realised that Sugawara was nowhere to be seen.

‘Asahi... where is Suga?’ asked Yachi very uneasily.

Both of them started screaming Suga’s name but there was no sight of him. Yachi started crying and wondered if a wild animal has eaten Sugawara.

‘No no Yachi please don’t cry. We’ll find him don’t worry.’

Suddenly a dark figure appeared in front of them. It was a few meters from them.

‘S-Suga? Is that you?’ asked Asahi.

The figure didn’t move nor said anything.

‘Come on Suga... it’s not funny anymore.’

‘Suga? Suga?’ Yachi panicked ‘Asahi I don’t think that’s him... ‘

The figure started moving towards them slowly but suddenly it got faster and faster. Everyone heard from Hinata the story about the wendigo that Tsukishima told him earlier. Asahi and Yachi were so terrified that they ran straight to the campsite while screaming their lungs out. A few seconds later they heard a laugh behind them.

‘Oh my god I can’t believe I actually got you!’

‘SUGAWARA!? IT WAS YOU ALL ALONG?’ asked Asahi still screaming.

‘You should have seen your faces! Oh god I love camping!’

‘I can’t believe you did that! Yachi and I were worried about you and you pranked us!’

‘Okay...I’m sorry but that was really funny. Wait...where is Yachi?’

Yachi was in fact still screaming and running to the campsite. When she finally reached it she told everyone that a wendigo had eaten Suga and probably Asahi. She was crying when both of them appeared in front of her. Everyone made everything they could to calm Yachi down. Her poor heart couldn’t take all this chaos.

After having dinner and Yachi got better everyone gathered around the campfire. Kinoshita had brought his ukulele and played while the others were singing. They ate marshmallows and shared stories of themselves. It was so much fun. They laughed all night long. Hinata insisted on Tsukishima to tell him more about the wendigo but Daichi forbid them after what happened in the woods.

It was time for everyone to go to bed. Yachi and Kiyoko were the first ones to go to sleep. Tanaka and Nishinoya found it impossible since their tent was near the girls’ one. Nishinoya was listening very carefully for every sound that might come out of Kiyoko and Yachi’s tent.

‘Hey Tanaka, do you think Kiyoko sleeps on her left or her right side?’ wondered Noya.

‘I don’t know man... what if she sleeps on her back?’ answered Tanaka.

‘Whatever it is she’s still very pretty.’ said Noya.

Ennoshita had a very confused look on his face. He wanted to share a tent with someone else because of the conversations Noya and Tanaka were having but he had to make sure that both of them went to sleep on time. In the tent next to theirs was the first years’.

‘Please Tsukishima tell me more about it!’ begged Hinata.

‘No! You heard Daichi!’ said Tsukishima who was already annoyed.

‘Pleaseeee I won’t tell him!’

Yamaguchi was very tired and told Hinata to just forget it.

‘But I can’t! I need to know more about it!’

‘I also want to hear it.’ said Kageyama.

‘Okay I’ll tell you... but then you’ll leave me alone!’ Tsukishima finally agreed because he also wanted to sleep. Yamaguchi wasn’t very pleased with how things turned out. He was really afraid of the wendigo.

‘Everything started in a small town. A couple moved there. The man had to go to work to the nearby town and on his way there was a dark forest. One night he finished work later than expected. He drove his car when suddenly on the side of the road he saw a hitchhiker. It was an average looking man. Since it was extremely dark and scary outside the man decided to stop the car. The man asked the other one questions but he wasn’t responding.’

‘Oh no why isn’t he responding?’ asked Hinata.

‘If you don’t interrupt me maybe you’ll find out!’ explained Tsukishima then continued with the story:

‘That man got so scared that he left the hitchhiker and headed home. A few minutes passed and he heard a weird noise coming from his car. The man went to look and there was nothing wrong. He got into his car when he saw a big figure walking towards him from the direction where he met the hitchhiker. He thought it was nothing but the figure was getting closer and closer with incredible speed. The man tried to start his car but he couldn’t. The figure was just a couple of meters away from him. He still couldn’t start it. Finally the figure was so close to him that he could see it. It was a wendigo. A giant creature with antlers and a discharged body. It looked hideous. The wendigo was about to grab the person when the car started and the man managed to escape. When he got home he told his wife what happened and she said to him that her co-workers warned her about the creature but she didn’t believe them. The next day the couple was nowhere to be seen. They have moved out.’

‘That was it?’ Kageyama asked with disappointment.

‘This is the coolest story ever! Tsukishima do you know more scary stories?’

When Hinata asked that Yamaguchi quickly suggested everyone to sleep.

‘Yes I know many more. But first I have to go brush my teeth. Yamaguchi you wanna come with me?’

‘I’ve already brushed mine. I want to sleep.’

‘No you haven’t. Come with me.’

‘Um... okay Tsuki.’

Yamaguchi and Tsukishima went out and Hinata and Kageyama were having a discussion.

‘Do you believe in the story Kageyama?’

‘Not really. As I said nothing is scarier than Oikawa and if I can beat him I can beat anyone!’

‘But this isn’t a person Kageyama... it’s evil and horrific. I’m getting goosebumps even by thinking about it.’

‘That’s why you’re the dumb one Hinata.’

‘WHAT? SAY THAT AGAIN!’

-somewhere near the tent-

‘So your plan is to scare Hinata and Kageyama... but why?’ asked Yamaguchi.

‘Come on it’s going to be fun. Besides Daichi took my mp3 player and I can’t even ignore them.’ answered Tsukishima.

‘And what’s your plan then?’

‘I’m going to pretend to be a wendigo.’

‘You shouldn’t joke about stuff like this Tsuki.’

‘Do you really believe the story? It’s fake. I read it online. Can you lift me up now?’

‘Okay Tsuki. Do you think it will work?’

‘Of course! You’ve seen their grades.’

- in the tent-

‘Kageyama did you hear that?’

‘Yes... it’s probably nothing though.’

‘I see something.’

‘Probably Tsukishima or Yamaguchi. Now sleep!’

‘Um...Kageyama... this is not Tsukishima nor Yamaguchi... it’s too big to even be Asahi... ‘

‘What? Let me see.’

Kageyama took a look and saw it! A wendigo! Huge and with antlers. The crazy duo started screaming and woke everyone up.

‘RUN! A WENDIGO! RUN!’

Sugawara came out of his tent and laughed after seeing the so called wendigo.

‘Guys your wendigo is Yamaguchi holding Tsukishima who has sticks on his head.’

Daichi was so done that he couldn’t even yell at them so he calmly said: ‘Why can’t we have a single normal day together?’

-the next morning-

‘Okay everyone time to go! Saeko should be here in a minute.’ informed Daichi.

Last night was a disaster. No one could sleep. Some of the boys were snoring, others were screaming, Asahi was even sleep walking and scared Hinata and Kageyama again. As a punishment for starting all of this Tsukishima had to take care of the loud members for a month without using his headphones.

‘Hello guys! Did you have fun? How was the camping?’ cheerfully asked Saeko.

‘Please not now... we’re not ready to talk about it yet.’ replied Tanaka which left his sister bewildered.

On their way back all of them were sleeping. No one expected that a calm camping trip with the idea of bonding would turn into an emotional roller coaster.

-at Kageyama’s home-

‘Why does my swimwear look like it’s burnt?’

Thank you for reading!

- sunflowershouyou 🌻

[07.07.2020]

#haikyuu!! #haikyuu headcanons #haikyuu imagines #haikyuu scenarios #hq!! #karasuno headcanons #karasuno scenarios #karasuno imagines #haikyuu x reader #karasuno x reader #hinata headcanons #kageyama headcanons #sugawara headcanons #nishinoya headcanons #sunflowershouyou

[surveys-at-your-service]

Survey #366

“you can’t take me from me”

If you’re a girl, have you ever had the urge shave your hair? No. Do you live by a forest? Not anymore. :( How old are your parents? Late 50s. What do you prefer: Small cars, hybrids, trucks or SUVs? Uh, I guess normal ones? Like the ones with four doors and not that horribly low to the ground. What’s the scariest book you’ve ever read? I've never read a book that was scary to me. Do your parents drink? Dad doesn't anymore, and Mom very rarely does, usually just for special occasions. Does downloading music without paying make you feel guilty? Yes, so idk why I still do it. .-. Do you have any pet fish? Nah. What’s your favorite seafood to eat? I only like shrimp. Does your house have air conditioning? Yes. Name the creepiest horror movie character for you: Ghostface, ever since I was a kid. I was horrified of him, and I still think his design is mega creepy. How many college degrees do you want? I wanted to get at most a Bachelor's (I never saw reason to go higher in the fields I was interested in, except for my brief wildlife biologist aspiration), but now I know I'm not getting any degrees. Do you like animals? I love animals. Have you ever written anything longer than 10 pages? Yes. What do you wear to sleep? Pj pants and a tank top. How many keys do you carry with you? One. Have you ever attended a professional sporting event? Yeah. Sometimes Dad and I would go to hockey games together. I don't really care for sports, hockey included, but it was still something we bonded over since I was normally in the living room on the laptop while he was watching it. Which do you value more, intellect or work ethic? Work ethic. Both are important, but I'd rather have a dedicated, worthy employee versus a lazy one that just happens to have brains. Have you ever been covered in mud? Yes, as a kid. Ever been to a cabin on a mountain? No, but omG I fucking wish. Ever lost your voice? Yes. Do you take your time when making an important decision? I take way too much time because I obsess over doing the right thing. Are you a cautious person? Very. Do you chew gum? Sometimes. What makeup product do you never use? A lot, really. Bronzer is literally never, I haven't touched blush in forever, and the same goes for foundation. Have you ever been offered drugs on the street? No. Have you ever seen a jellyfish? Only at aquariums. Do you ever put bread in your soup? UGH, NO. Bread should NOT be soggy. Do you want some soup? No, I don't even really like soup. Is there anything in the USB key slots in your computer/laptop? Yeah, the sensor thing for my wireless mouse. Did anyone ever draw on your face when you were sleeping? I don't believe so; I'd certainly feel it and wake up. Have you ever done that to someone else? Pretty sure no. Is there any TV show you watch religiously? No. Do you like the window seat or aisle seat on an airplane? WINDOW. I hate the aisle seat, mainly because I get dizzy when I can't see outside for some reason? I really don't know how that works, but when I sit at the window and can see what the plane is doing, I don't get dizzy. I also really want to just stare outside as I listen to my iPod. Has anyone ever really insulted you? Yes. Do you ever make banana sandwiches? I have a peanut butter and banana sandwich rarely. What’s your favorite movie soundtrack? Probably Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron. Phil went HARD, y'all. Did your parents teach you how to cook/bake when you were growing up? There were rare occasions where I helped cook, but I never really learned. If you could own any three fictional objects from any book/movie/show, what would you choose? (does not have to all be from the same book/movie/show) Ohhh, interesting. I'm going to include games in this, because that's what I'm most informed in. ... And I'm still blanking. OH! Definitely a Dreamvisitor from Wings of Fire, as I think it'd be pretty cool or even useful to see into other's dreams and even communicate. The Obsidian Mirror from the same series would also be pretty cool, but also seems somewhat immoral to me, I guess, to be able to spy on others. I mean it could be useful in some cases, but still. I somehow can't think of a third one, even after expanding my options to games. A lot of game objects are just too specific to their fantasy universe and not helpful in real life. What’s the shortest amount of time you’ve worked somewhere? Not even two hours lmaoooo. Have you ever negotiated a pay raise? No. Have you ever been a victim of identity theft? No. Do you know anyone who’s had their kids taken by Child Protective Services? No. What is your favorite smell/scent? Cinnamon rolls. How long can you run without stopping? I honestly don't think I *could* run without my knees immediately being like "um excuse the fuck out of you" and crumpling. What age do you want to live to? I know this varies from person to person, so I can't say an exact age, but I do. NOT. Want to live to where I'm a liability/require other people to take care of me, like give me a bath and stuff. No. Fuck-ing. Thank you. If you had a time machine, when would you go to? I'd honestly want a glimpse into my future, just to see how I'll be. At the same time though, I feel like knowing would suck if I saw something bad instead of a good life. Like, I'd possibly be suicidal again if it's just crap. I feel like if I was legitimately offered this, I would say no. Have you ever been infatuated with someone and you didn’t even know why? No. I think. Have you ever felt an earthquake? No. Is your more photogenic side your left or right? Well, because of how my hair is positioned, my left side. My hair is parted very far to the left, so the right side of my face is sorta cut diagonally by hair. Do you currently owe money to anyone? No. If you were ever to be on the news, what would you want it to be for? Something heroic, I guess. What’s the fastest you’ve ever driven? Accidentally, probably up to like 80 on the highway. Have you ever donated blood? Have you ever done a blood test? I have to both. Have you been inside of a burning building? What happened? Z O I N K S no. Do you believe in astrology/horoscopes? Nope. Have you ever dined alone at a restaurant? No. Have you been in a car accident? What happened? Yes. Some idiot was carrying wood in the back of his truck, and it wasn't secured whatsoever. He hit a bumpy spot, and some of the wood dropped to the road, and he began to swerve out of control. Nailed the side and bumper of my mom's car. Mom drove into a ditch, but in some manner to avoid us flipping over, which judging from the impact point, cops theorized was "supposed" to happen. Nowadays I am terrified to ride or drive behind trucks carrying anything in the back. Have you ever lived alone? No. Have you ever been stung by a bee? Once, on my leg. Have you ever bought stuff at a thrift store? Yeah, I love thrift shops. What was your very first email address? The one I still use now, so I won't share it. It fits me well, but I still hate sharing it, haha. It's just not very "adult-ish." How often do you take naps? Just about every day. Have you ever won a game of pool? Idr. Have you ever seen a tornado in real life? NOOOOOOOOOOO. Have you been in a long-distance relationship? Yes. Have you swam in the ocean? Yeah, I love it. Have you gone ziplining? No, but it'd be cool! Have you been rock climbing? No, just those mock walls at school field days and stuff. Have you hitchhiked? No. Have you had stitches? Where? My chin and then at the very base of my spine. Have you ridden in a taxi? What about an Uber/Lyft? None of those. Have you ridden on a horse? Not legit, but at childhood festivals where there are some horses that walk in a circle... the poor things. I would LOVE to ride a non-restrained, tame horse. Ugh, I wish I could have a horse in general. Their ability to bond with humans is magical. I'll never actually have one, though. I could nooot do all the care they require, and I don't plan on living somewhere where having a horse is appropriate. Have you taken part in a protest? What for? No, just boycotting. Have you ever signed a petition? Yes. I can't remember all of them. Have you ever been fired from a job? Why? No. Have you ever given someone else a haircut? No. What is the longest your hair has been? Just past the small of my back. Have you ever been stranded because your car broke down? No. Thank god for phones, lol. Have you performed on stage? What did you do? Yes, for school band concerts as well as dance recitals. Have you ever used a tanning bed? What about tanning spray? No. How do you prefer to celebrate your birthday? Just quiet and chill with my family, but still give me alone time, please. Who is the best cook that you know? /shrug Do you believe in Bigfoot? What about the Loch Ness Monster? The Loch Ness Monster I don't, but I find surviving sasquatches very possible. There's just too many reported sightings to be totally ignored. I'm not 100% on them still being around, though. I feel like we would've caught one by now. Do your friends tend to be male or female? Female. If you could change anything about human nature, what would it be? Our proclivity to violence when angered. Have you ever fainted? Yes. What skills would you like to learn? Cooking, how to handle money in various contexts, social skills... There's a lot of things. What animal do you have the most possessions *of*, or featuring? Meerkats, for sure. If you smoke marijuana, what is your preferred or typical method? I don’t. Do you remain friends with anyone you met at your first job? No. Are there any flowers planted outside your house? No. Do you have a favourite outfit that you like to wear for nights out? I don't have "nights out." When you have a soft drink, do you prefer it in a bottle or can? I like cans because the metal helps it stay cold. Who was the last person to embarrass you? What did they do? I don't know. When you’re upset, do you tend to comfort eat or lose your appetite? I am a BAD comfort eater. Who was the last person to send you a message on Facebook? Does/did that person go to the same school as you? My online friend Sammy. No. Has a stranger ever offered to buy you a drink? No. When was the last time you used a public toilet? Ummm I think for my birthday lunch at The Cheesecake Factory. Who did you have your first kiss with? Do you remember what colour his/her eyes were? Jason has brown eyes. Are there any themes from TV shows that you like to sing along to? That '70s Show and especially Supernatural.

#survey #surveys #questions #lyrics: ''voices'' by motionless in white

[hellyeahomeland]

“In Full Flight”: an HYH recap

The most delightful Homeland episode since “Two Minutes” picks up with Mike, Jenna (in a chambray shirt), and Alan in Kabul station, observing drone footage of Carrie, Yevgeny, and crew. Jenna deduces that they’re probably going to Kohat, and she is correct for the first time all season.

Mike asks about an exfiltration team from Islamabad but they won’t be there until later tonight. Saul interrupts their pow-wow to ask what’s going on:

Saul: What is this about grabbing Carrie Mathison? Mike: Oh, hello, sir. Let’s go into my office. Saul: Fuck your office and fuck you, too. What are y’all talking about? Mike: No problem, sir. A special ops team is planning to grab Carrie. You know, because she’s a defector. Saul: FOR FUCK’S SAKE SHE IS NOT A DEFECTOR. Actually she’d be right here telling you that herself if you hadn’t cornered her like an animal three hours ago without telling me. Mike: Actually actually she was supposed to be back in America like a week ago but then she broke custody and started her adventure with a GRU officer. Now they’re out there doing God knows what. Sir.  Saul: I’ll tell you what they’re doing. They’re finding the flight recorder. Mike: What’s a flight recorder? Saul: I can’t believe I’m still having this conversation with you. Do any of y’all have brains or critical thinking skills? Mike: By the way, sir, you’ve been called back to DC. Saul: Fuck my whole life. Fuck all of you too.

Carrie and Yevgeny are very much on their way to Kohat. It’s been just a few hours since Carrie turned her back on Saul and her loaded expression as she stares out the window is very much “questioning all my past life decisions.” That could take a while, Carrie!

Carrie and Yevgeny arrive in Kohat and begin driving under a series of … I have no idea what they are, basically overhangs in the street so you can’t tell where their car is. It’s very “From A to B and Back Again” when Quinn lost Haqqani in the classic baseball stadium game “Which hat is the ball under?” trick. The team in Kabul is annoyed and prepares for a grid search.

Carrie & Co. are checking into a hotel for the night. Yevgeny makes a very obvious performance of leading Carrie to her room and what ensues is the most sexually tense scene on this show… ever. First he offers her some Ambien and Carrie cracks a joke for the first time in eight years and says she could open up a pharmacy of her own.

She apologizes for not telling him about the flight recorder sooner. At first it was all personal, she needed to find Max, she couldn’t focus on anything else. Yevgeny asks what she thinks actually happened to the presidents’ helicopter, since she certainly doesn’t believe Jalal was involved. She thinks it was probably just a freak accident: pilot error, mechanical failures, shitty weather, any or all of the above. Then she reveals that detail from the fifth episode, that the Black Hawk fleet has had a series of mechanical issues. Oh, I should add that this conversation all takes place in the doorway of Carrie’s hotel room and every fifteen seconds or so Carrie and/or Yevgeny glance back toward the bed. You can cut the sexual tension with a knife.

Yevgeny asks if there are any more secrets she’s been keeping from him. She smiles, pauses… it’s the most interesting moment. Then she says very quietly, “I think I’m fresh out of secrets.” They stare at each other for a long time, Yevgeny probably wondering if Carrie is going to invite him in and Carrie probably wondering if Yevgeny can take a fucking hint. Finally, I exhale, and Yevgeny says to just “bang on the wall” if Carrie needs anything, which at least elicits a laugh.

Elsewhere in Pakistan, a Pakistani military officer named Aziz has come to see Bunny to ask just where the fuck Tasneem is. Aziz is pissed because Tasneem was supposed to control the Taliban—first Haissam, then Jalal—and her “incompetence” has led to the Americans threatening to invade. Bunny is the opposite of worried. The Americans are all talk, no bite. They won’t actually invade Pakistan for failing to produce a man they claim they can’t find. I guess he hasn’t met John Zabel. Anyway, he says Tasneem is off to find Jalal somewhere in the mountains.

Instead, she actually meets (Haissam) Haqqani’s right-hand. She is beyond pissed that he just let Jalal control the shura last week. This is all so fucked. He doesn’t have much of a response, beyond, “well, he was the emir’s son, so I guess so?” He offers to take Tasneem to Jalal but only if she puts a hood over her head and lemme tell ya, Tasneem is none too pleased about that either!

It’s the next morning in Kohat and Carrie and Yevgeny really are going shopping, just like the logline said. They’re winding their way through the bazaars on the street but still no luck finding this flight recorder. Enter A Kid. He’s all “pardon me, excuse me,” and Yevgeny puts on his best Dad Hat and tells him to get lost. It’s very touching. Then he says he knows what they’re looking for, which is enough to get their attention.

He takes them to a shop where Mr. Shop Owner #1 is like, “Hi, do you like flight recorders? Because I’ve got lots!” Unfortunately he doesn’t have the one they’re looking for and he also seems pretty skittish because a) what the hell are a Russian and an American doing together? and b) is this official government business or something private or, like… just generally what the hell?

Saul has arrived back to DC and meets Hayes in the Oval Office with our favorite Odd Couple, Linus and Zabel (this should really be the name of a sitcom). Saul passively aggressively says he knows of Zabel “by reputation.” Aside from that jab, the meeting unfortunately goes from meh to ugh to wtf for Saul. He has to play bad cop and tell Hayes that the video of Jalal is unvetted intelligence, completely lacking in context, and probably just a straight-up lie. Hayes has the expression of someone who’s never followed Thought A to Thought B—which is true, obviously—and Zabel has to jump in to say of course POTUS has already done the Thought A to Thought B exercise, he just arrived at a different conclusion. You know, mine! The best part of all THIS is that as Saul grows increasingly incredulous at the conversation, Linus sits there, silently, looking like he’d like to be swallowed up by an alligator. Afterward:

Saul: Wow a bit of warning would have been helpful. Or maybe just an assist there, Linus. Linus: I didn’t even know you were coming back. I’m outside the ~information flow~ Saul: God, we’re so fucked. Linus: I wish I’d get swallowed by an alligator.

Back in Kohat, Carrie has entered another shop, this time sans Yevgeny. This one proves a bit more fruitful. She actually finds Max’s rucksack, which means that flight recorder had to have been here recently. Mr. Shop Owner #2 feigns ignorance, but Carrie is relentless.

Yevgeny enters all of a sudden to let her know that that special ops team from Islamabad is here, so they need to get out of there, pronto. He leaves quickly to lose the tail and instructs her to go back to the hotel and wait. His absence gives her the perfect opportunity to keep grilling Mr. Shop Owner #2, whom I actually love and seems really sweet. Poor guy is just no match for Carrie. He finally reveals the flight recorder was there but he sold it to a broker he works with. Carrie offers him a lot of money to find the broker and get the flight recorder back there for a trade at midnight.

Tasneem gets the black hood off her head in exchange for an audience with Jalal, but homie remains pissed. Jalal is sort of confused at her reaction. A few episodes ago she was plotting to put Jalal in the place he’s currently in. What changed? Well, for starters, now the Americans are threatening to invade Pakistan. She says he’s got to go to ground, but he refuses to run.

Jalal: Who do you think I am? Tasneem: You’re the loser whom I picked up on the side of the road. I bandaged your feet and listened to you crying about your daddy issues for hours. Jalal: You think that you control us. Actually it’s the other way around.

He leads her up to a rooftop where hundreds of Taliban fighters have gathered. He says the last time the ISI got in the way, they killed a thousand of their officers on the street. And now they’re twice as strong, so you do the math. Tasneem has a general “oh fuck” expression on her face and… same.

In Kohat, Yevgeny finally shows back up in Carrie’s hotel room. He reveals that eight men are hunting her and they need to leave, now. She says they can’t, as they haven’t found the flight recorder yet. Of course we know Carrie has found it—and in hindsight, at this point Yevgeny probably does as well—but she needs to stick around a few more hours to make the trade. For a split second you think maybe Carrie is going to preoccupy Yevgeny for a few hours in her bedroom but instead she calls Jenna.

Carrie: Hey, how’s it going? Jenna: OH MY GOD I STILL HATE YOU. Carrie: Chill for a second. Also I know you’re walking toward Mike and do yourself a favor and pause and just listen to me. Jenna: Ugh, fine, I’m listening. Carrie: I need you to give up the location of the exfil team that’s looking for me. Jenna: Are you high? Carrie: I am not, but you are if you think this will end up any other way than me convincing you. Jenna: You’re putting me in an impossible position. Carrie: You must do this. I compel you. Jenna: If I give up their location, you’ll turn yourself in there? Carrie: “Sure.” Jenna: Ok I’ll call you back.

This entire conversation transpires with Yevgeny sitting on the sofa in Carrie’s hotel room, legs crossed. It’s… I’ll be honest, it’s hot. When Carrie hangs up he applauds her performance and says she was clever and convincing. That’s right, Carrie played Jenna… again. Again! Again again again!

Carrie is kinda down on selling out her own people but Yevgeny says she did it for all the right reasons and in any case, the local police will only hold them for a day (uhhhh yeah right). He starts to compliment her strong instincts. He really respects her for that.

“Why, how do you do it?” Carrie asks.

“Me? I am more of a planner,” Yevgeny answers.

The alarm bells start ringing in her head and Carrie asks him all speaking of which whether he arranged for them to “run into each other” outside G’ulom’s office way back in the season premiere (show time: 10 days???). Before he can answer, Jenna rings back and tells Carrie the safe house location. Carrie says “you did the right thing” and the amount of self-disgust in her expression for this just being too fucking easy is … significant.

A few minutes later, Mike is on the phone with one of the special ops team members in the Kohat safe house. Local police have surrounded the building. Exasperated, Mike tells them to stand down. One by one, they file out and are led into custody. Jenna watches in horror and the amount of self-disgust in her expression for this just being her life is… also significant.

In Rawalpindi, Tasneem is at Bunny’s house and freaking out. Jalal has consolidated power extremely quickly. She’s concerned, but Bunny says they just need to take him out, root and branch. Bunny is offended by the prospect of being ordered around by a smarmy teenager but Tasneem thinks they need to protect him. If Pakistan protects Jalal, they’ll protect themselves too. And they need to respond to the Americans not with concessions but with threats just as strong. Remember when they were three minutes away from a generation-defining peace agreement?

Back in her hotel room, Carrie is growing restless. She decides to get some fresh air and by that I mean she jumps out the window to get the show on the fucking road. On the way she calls Saul, to whom she is apparently still speaking. She asks if their protocols for transferring money over the dark web are still a go and he says yes. She says she’s got a lead on the black box and he promises to arrange the funds ASAP.  

Carrie winds up back at Mr. Shop Owner #2’s shop. Mr. Shop Owner #1 is there, too! Plus the broker. They do a little thing, Carrie says she won’t pay any more than $999,999, she is very In Charge and it’s pretty great to see. Not that we needed any more convincing, but the kind of instincts and improvisation Yevgeny admired just a few hours earlier are on full display here. She knows exactly what to say, when to say it, and how to say it. It’s breathtaking.

What’s also breathtaking is Carrie doing something correctly with a computer. Apparently the black box just hooks up to her Macbook with a USB-C cord… whoulda thunk?! After pulling a gun on Mr. Broker and telling him to beat it, she starts listening to the cockpit recording.

Then Yevgeny arrives! She starts to apologize but he stops her—he just wants to listen. They each share an earbud like goddamn Jim and Pam and continue listening. Turns out, Carrie was right. No one shot down that helicopter. A freak mechanical malfunction, “brace for impact,” etc. “Fucking helicopters,” Yevgeny says.

Carrie attempts a segue and says, “So… what now?” She wants to get this to the embassy in Islamabad. He wants to do the opposite of that. Then Carrie starts on him. Maybe he’s not such a bad guy after all. Maybe he’s actually… good.

Carrie: Plus, I’d owe you a favor. Yevgeny: Carrie, if I drop you off at the embassy I’ll literally never see you again. Carrie: Not true. I won’t betray my country, but I’d still move to Scottsdale with you. Yevgeny: I still don’t believe you. Carrie: Why not? You’ve already helped me a ton, and it’s cost you nothing! There has to be a way where we can make a “mutually beneficial arrangement.” Yevgeny: Is that what they’re calling it these days? Carrie: What? Yevgeny: What? Carrie: …anyhow, aren’t you sick of all this bullshit? Shitty bosses, shitty politicians, clearly the current way of business isn’t working for us. We could do better. You and me. We could chart something new here. You and me. God, we’re already halfway there! Yevgeny: Our own private network, huh? That would be nice, but it’s a pipe dream. Also, I like what you’re saying, but you still lied to me. Carrie: Technically, I just withheld the truth. Which is exactly what you did to me. Yevgeny: Heh? Carrie: The asylum, Yevgeny. What actually happened? We just took long walks in the woods and shared our life stories and you just happened to be the there the day I tried to hang myself? Give me a fucking break.

She moves closer and mentions the whole “picking up where we left off” thing. Well, will he or won’t he? Because she’s already decided.

There is a long pause and then they start making out. It’s exactly what you’d expect it would be, by which I mean it’s really hot! The scene is fraught with the unknown. How much are they playing each other? How much are they being genuine? Like Carrie says, they’re living in the grey areas. And who’s the first to blink?

Evidently it’s Carrie. After a few moments she breaks away and says they need to wait until after Islamabad. “Ok,” he says quietly. She tries to kiss him again, but he pulls ever so slightly away.

She hops off the table and begins to pack up the flight recorder. At that moment, he stabs her in the neck from behind with a tranquilizer. “Sorry, baby,” he says as she falls unconscious.

In DC, Saul is waiting anxiously by the phone. It rings. It’s not Carrie, but Linus. Everyone’s in the situation room, there’s some sort of activity in one of Pakistan’s nuclear facilities. Saul’s day goes from bad to worse.

In the situation room, resident hottie Scott Ryan is giving a PowerPoint presentation about said activity. Hayes is trying to understand literally anything that’s happening. Zabel explains that Pakistan only has the nukes in the first place to defend against a possible invasion from India. They’ll never actually use them. Saul growls that that’s because India isn’t fucking stupid enough to invade Pakistan. Hayes is beginning to understand the whole concept of “consequences” but before his mind can dwell on that for too long, he decides to just up the ante. More troops, more preparations for war, more of the same.

Saul’s day is not possibly as bad as Carrie’s has wound up. Yevgeny carries her, still unconscious, back into the hotel room. He places her gingerly on the bed and then kisses her forehead. He shuts off the lights as the camera moves in slowly on her her peacefully sleeping face.

#homeland #homelandedit #an hyh recap #in full flight #* #by: sara #homeland spoilers

[lizzybeth1986]

Quick Thoughts on TRH Book 1 Chapter 6

• It's YEEHAW time everyone!

• And also raise a middle finger to logic as we see the MC wear something that she should have probably lent to the Platinum MC for a country performance, rather than for farm work.

• There's also the bit where she randomly takes a pregnancy test coz she feels nauseous (yes I know. It's plot related and is probably done to show a false negative. But you need to time these things, MC! The best time to look for a double line is closer to the time you're supposed to be having your period, if your period is regular).

• Screenshot Credits:

Hana: @pixieferry

Drake: @thefirstcourtesan

Maxwell: The Abhirio YouTube channel.

• These are the tags you can block if you don't want to see these posts: #long post, #trh quick thoughts, #trh qts, #trh qt reblogs.

• Drake has an AUNT? Please don't give me any more family members, I'm done dealing with the ones he already has.

• I'm wondering if Leona exists so that PB can do some serious retconning on Bianca's behalf. After all, when she appeared in the Drake playthroughs of Book 3, there wasn't much of a positive reception for her - with some players even saying that the MC should have a few choice words to say to her - and for good reason.

• Title: Home, Home on the Range

So whatever little knowledge I do have about a place like Texas is from films and pop culture, so this might not be new information to you but it is to me! 😁 So I'm probably going to be a gazillion times more excited about sharing it than you guys might be to read it! Bear with me for a sec.

From what I'm reading, "Home, Home on the Range" seems to a western folk song that's so popular it's considered an unofficial anthem in that region. Its origin was from a poem called "My Western Home" from a Kansas native called Dr Brewster M Highly, in 1872 (it was even made Kansas' state song in 1945?). The lyrics are very...Drake:

Where the air is so pure, and the zephyrs so free,

The breezes so balmy and light,

That I would not exchange my home on the range,

For all of the cities so bright.

Mostly a very idyllic, glorified portrait of country life. You find similar sentiments in Drake's diamond scene this chapter.

• Alternative Title: We Just Needed An Excuse to Use the BSC Soundtrack Twice.

• So we meet Bianca, Drake's mother, this chapter. If you married him this is the second time you're seeing her, and if you married anyone else this is the first time and you have no clue who she is until Drake introduces her to you. She also mentions in the Drake playthrough that this is not the kind of welcome she was hoping to give her son and daughter-in-law.

• We also meet Leona, Bianca's older sister and Drake's aunt. She's extremely unimpressed with this group of nobles and largely seems to blame the nobility in general for whisking away her younger sister, leaving her alone to manage the ranch?

• She pretends not to listen much to Cordonian news while talking to Liam, but seems to have the time to keep up with Cordonian gossip while talking to us - and luckily you can call her out on it too.

• She seems the type that likes a rebellious Duchess/Queen, going by her responses to the more sarcastic options from the MC.

Hmm. This scene does two things: one, it establishes that the ranch is facing financial problems, in terms of money and staffing, and two, it possibly may build up to why Bianca had to return to the States. Both I think might become important points in the coming chapters.

• Bianca seems intent on not letting her children know anything about the fraught situation at her ranch, but Leona is having none of it. You either do your work and do it well, or she will put you through your paces. Which is exactly what is happening with Bertrand now.

• The whole theme of "we need to get pregnant, and fast" returns with the presence of Savannah, who greets us with a very excited, sociable Bartie in tow. You can choose to either pick him up and pay attention to him, ask Savannah to figure out what he wants, or ignore him completely. Whatever you choose, the topic of you becoming a mother will come up (either she comments on how you're a natural, or she will tell you that you'll eventually be able to read your own baby's signals). Savannah now joins a long, long line of people who will talk to us as if we're already pregnant (her fiancé will join this list in a couple minutes too, don't worry).

• Speaking of parents, the sole dad of the (extended) group - Bertrand - is nowhere to be found. Bianca is all praise, Leona is Unimpressed™, and Maxwell is shocked that the guy who swore never to touch fowl again after witnessing a flooded peacock enclosure is now chasing chickens. The group overall can't believe it.

• Bertrand is, in fact, chasing chickens.

• So here's the other issue that will come up. Having eventually convinced Savannah that he is serious about her and Bartie, he now wants to win the approval of the family. Bianca is more than ready to accept him, Leona is...Unimpressed™.

• This sets stage for Problem 3 of the Goings On at The Walker Ranch: Bertrand is desperate for approval and Leona seems pretty set on not giving him that. So I'm pretty sure getting her to realize that Savannah's fiancé means business and there is actually something for her to respect about him - if not love - is pretty much one of the loose ends we will have to tie up in the course of the Texas chapters.

• Savannah's laid out some clothes for everyone, so everyone gets a 'country' look and a cowboy hat.

• Like always, the outfit options come with different reactions based on the LI you're romancing:

Liam's looks nice I think, Hana is pretty (I haven't the foggiest idea of what would on a ranch so I wouldn't know how feasible - or not - these two outfits would be), Maxwell looks like he's dressed for the ranch AND for winter and Drake looks okay (like...there's a theme or something with his outfits, like he needs to have a LOT of a particular colour. Denim on denim, brown shirt brown hat).

• While Liam and Esther collectively swoon over each other, Savannah is all shocked and like "you both know we're still here, right?". Uh huh, you had no problem fangirling over Bertrand's "stern but sexy eyebrows" in public but suddenly me flirting a little with my husband is too much for you 😑

A little too much??? Listen, Esther has worn a hat that looked like it swallowed a hundred smaller hats on the way and cried in JOY at the sight. She has COMFORTED a widowed grieving Queen Mother and STARED DOWN Hana's awful parents, all with that honking big hat obscuring her face. How does a tiny puny cowboy hat with a bracelet thingy around it even compare??

• In the kitchen, Bertrand continues his woeful attempts to make conversation with Leona by revealing just how little he knows about running a ranch. Leona is Unimpressed™ (Betrand: How are the crops? Leona: We have cattle 😑. Bertrand: Who...ate the crops? Leona: 😑😑😑)

• Leona's like the adult version of the Unimpressed Sikh Child in Bollywood Hogwarts:

• We get darkly roasted coffee to help us gear up for the day's work at the ranch, and it's quite...the mouthfull. If you succeed in drinking it, you get high on coffee, and if you react to the strong taste, Leona makes a smart-alec comment about how "her highness must have wanted a chilled latte" (I forget which drink she mentioned but something similar) or something. Wish there was an option to tell her "Bertrand didn't tell me about the stick up your ass" (callback! From which book? Guess!)

• You feel slightly nauseous on the way, which is a bit of a set up to the end of the chapter.

• We split up into teams. Liam and Maxwell help with getting the hay for the horses, Hana and Drake help with sorting the tack.

Liam is a quick learner (and learns stuff just by observing), Maxwell is confused between the interests of horses and dogs, Drake is even more confused at Hana's speed, and PB has forgotten that Hana has actually ridden actual horses and would actually have at least a working idea of what actual tack with an actual horse would look like. Sure she may not have MADE tack for those horses, but you can miss me with that "imaginary horse friends" bullshit.

• See Team TRR, this is what happens when you focus on nothing else but Hana's skills. Even you fail to keep track.

• We feed the chickens (and I can see what I think are shades of Hana's upbringing in the way she says "wait your turn! one at a time!"...with chickens).

• ...there was a "no royal pets" policy in the palace that Liam waived?? No wonder we could get a corgi and Penelope could bring her poodles to court as soon as Liam became King!

• Re: Liam talking about having stuffed animals rather than pets and stating that he and Hana were on the same boat. Et tu, Liam? HOW MANY TIMES DOES HANA HAVE TO TELL YOU GUYS SHE NEVER HAD TOYS.

• I'm imagining poor young Maxwell realizing that peacocks don't like hugs and now I'm sad ☹️

• So the set up to the group scene is that none of these characters have truly experienced the joy of cuddling cute pets. It's not much even by way of a group scene, just a cute scene where the MC can direct Tiny the little calf to cuddle all these sad sad people (pushed into embroidery lessons and diplomacy sessions as children!) and cure Bertrand of his cow-suspicion (cowspicion?). The more pets you have with you the cuter it is, coz the two corgis go about acquainting themselves with everyone - the cat, the cows, everybody.

• ROE REFERENCE! We see Jess and Blake spearheading a successful business as caterers and wedding planners (did Jess take coaching from Chaz's sister-in-law Carmen? 😁) and they leave it vague (as expected, since Jess' romantic relationship with Blake is determinant - as is the possibility that Liam and Jess could be related by marriage if the RoE MC chose Leo lol) whether they're romantically involved or not, but at least this way I know they're happy with their jobs!

• Apparently they'd catered at enough disaster weddings that they decided they could do a better job

• I have two questions:

1. Did Leo ever recommend Carmen? I'm guessing not since based on whether the RoE MC married him or not, he'd probably feel more comfortable recommending family/friends than someone who - in a different playthrough - probably never really met him.

2. Why is Liam helping Bertrand and Savannah with contacts for their wedding when we ended up doing most of the searching and finding ourselves?? 🧐

• BertVannah seem to want a mix of local and Cordonian traditions: Savannah wants to recapture her parents' wedding by riding a horse down the aisle, and Bertrand asks Liam to officiate, as a royal. Maxwell and Hana will be in charge of entertainment and decorations...and the MC should not move a muscle because Bertrand has already decreed us pregnant.

• Savannah's ex Chuck is a buff ginger, and an already insecure Bertrand is made even more insecure at the sight of him. Another on the list of things PB expects us to fix in the Walker Ranch. Drake owes me both in cash, fancy hats and a lifetime supply of free smoked BBQ ribs after all this. The kind of shit a pregnant royal is expected to do...

• Time for Drake diamond scene - which is a mostly fluffy scene that takes place close to a river nearby which has a great view of the sunrise and sunset, and a ride atop a kayak.

• Here's the important stuff you can get from this scene:

- Drake knows how to build stuff (we knew this already, but here Drake talks specifically about how he and Savannah would build rafts)

- Drake sucks at taking compliments, but Drake stans who saw their MC's intro to TRH already knew that 🤭

- You get to flex your paddling muscles. Drake is...Impressed™

- Lovely sunshine

- A cute story about how Drake and Savannah had a canonball contest at this river, and happy memories of his Dad being just their dad for once, not dad + King Guard

- Drake gets to talk about the mark his father left on him, and how carefree he used to be before Jackson's death

- You can revive the cannonball contest with Drake before you head back to the estate, and if you're married you share a passionate kiss. The writers went to great lengths to describe how passionate the kiss wasqqq

If you're married to Drake, this spot is described as 'romantic' and 'private', the MC makes a joke about being the "First Mate" of Drake's heart, the usual variations. Drake also mentions that he hopes to emulate his father's way of parenting once he himself becomes a father. I'm also guessing the story of how his father and mother used to visit this lake before they had children would have an implied added importance to a married Drake trying for a child.

Funny how the assassination attempt on Liam always ends up revolving more around what it did to Drake than what it did to Liam. Both in the original Book 2 Italian Restaurant Scene where it was first referenced, and here (Drake's restaurant scene is also the only scene that highlights how that particular attack affected Liam - if you don't buy this scene, the attacks are mentioned in a more offhand way by Constantine when we confront him, and Liam still doesn't have a word to say). Stop. What happened to Liam happened to him. Stop making it all about Drake.

• Also why does Drake keep insisting the MC helped him find Savannah? She didn't. He spotted the envelope. He saw the address. He deduced where in Paris it was and tried to check it out. The only help we could provide was convincing him to stay and listen to her, and even that was optional.

• The MC wakes up wondering if she's going to feel nauseous, which then leads to the realization that it could be morning sickness. That's the most random race to use a pregnancy test I've seen.

• The result is negative, and the LI wakes up to the MC telling them about the result of the pregnancy test. The reactions to the news are identical. They follow roughly this template:

I can headcanon that Hana is actually feeling and understanding the MC's pain when she says "that's not silly at all", but I won't. I refuse to do the heavy work for the writers.

• In any case, there are some guests, and only Hana seems to know who they are.

• My face as it goes from seeing Kiara, Olivia, Penelope and Madeleine (yes, in that order):

• Sooo it looks like this week we're going to have a clash of the country and the courtly. Uh oh. I don't see this ending very well...unless there's a deus ex machina coming our way.

• General Thoughts:

- This chapter is filler, as expected, but it's the kind of filler meant to set up the major problems in that place. And there's plenty hinted at in this chapter alone: solving the financial troubles of the ranch, the clash of cultures that will come with the court ladies being guests, winning over Leona, learning about Drake's and also Bianca's past, Bertrand's insecurities. It's going to take a couple chapters to untangle all that!

- My guess is that the MC is possibly pregnant, but got a false negative (esp if she's nowhere near her expected time for her period), and will probably find out during Bertrand and Savannah's wedding? IDK. Most people I know will wait to see if they get their periods first (I did that too, waited a couple days after the expected day just to be sure), because that's when your hCG levels are high enough to show in your urine sample. That was a waste of a perfectly good pregnancy test, MC!

- The variations are very few, besides the scene where they all get new outfits and references to the MC and her spouse by different people including Blake and Jess. Perhaps there may be an LI scene coming soon.

- I mentioned earlier that Leona may be there as a way for the writing team to retcon Bianca's departure, since in the original series all we are told us was that she "was...struggling" after Jackson's death and left for the States at some point, leaving her children behind. Not a lot of people were very happy about this and though she was portrayed as a positive character in Book 3 (Drake's playthrough), it wasn't convincing enough. Leona is possibly there as a way to soften the audience to Bianca, and perhaps to get us a plausible reason for her leaving without her children. I'm not sure what could justify not taking them along, but okay.

- So Drake in his scene tells us that they came to the ranch as kids, but there is that matter of Savannah having been there long enough at some point to have had a boyfriend. I'm wondering if she spent some time on the ranch while Drake had gone to college.

- Also...if that's what happened, why was France even an option for her to bring up Bartie if she'd been in touch with her mother. Why did France, a place where she had very few contacts or living experience, win out over a place she was familiar with and where she had family?

- Leona's very Drake-like...but with an actual job that she's probably good at.

- Leona's also going to be Unimpressed™ for the most of her time in this book, with her probably becoming a little more impressed towards the end. Told you she'd be The Unimpressed Sikh Child (if you still have trouble with this meme, it's a character from a Bollywood film about a magical school called Aabra Ka Dabra. Here's some additional context from desi comedians and former Pretentious Movie Reviewers Kanan Gill and Biswa Kalyan Rath to illustrate why Unimpressed Sikh Child is so awesome:)

"Stop trying to impress people. Impress people with how unimpressed you are." If that isn't what Leona is doing. One wry expression and that's all it takes for all of Cordonia's royalty and nobility to fall over each other to prove themselves to her.

- Leona is an ass but you've got to respect the way she plays that game.

- I hope the writers don't forget that Kiara and Savannah were...yknow...good friends. Given how badly she was treated in Book 3 (and the narrative treated her really, really badly. Like I'm pretty sure some of you might have no idea just how badly she's been treated), I have serious doubts.

- Will we get a Hana or Maxwell diamond scene next? A good one or mostly just fluff? Let's see.

- Will we get another flashback scene? Maybe. It's possible. Bianca would remember something.

- One thing I do know for sure is that there is going to be more of Perfect Angel Savannah and Bumbling Bertrand. I'm not looking forward to it.

• Next: I'll be doing TRR Book 1's QT for Chapter 6 as well! Hopefully it will be ready by Friday. As for this series...until next week, folks!

#long post #the royal heir #trh quick thoughts #trh qts #king liam #hana lee #maxwell beaumont #drake walker #texas walker ranch

[autismgavemychildvaccines]

Economic downturn, racism and war.

So, normally I’d be in some sort of non-sober state while writing this, and be full of my typical rash wit. But not today. Today I want to talk about what I (and many others) are seeing down the tube.  First, let’s go over the quick run of what’s going on. 1, we’re having concentration camps of both migrants as well as asylum seekers. This is inherently inhumane and a violation of various multiparty agreements that were made post world war 2 to not cock things up like Germany did with the Jews, or more locally relevant, what we did to fuck over the Japanese in the same period.  2, We’re in a trade war with China, who is itself trying to do a hostile takeover of Hong Kong (and don’t kid yourself for a moment, that’s exactly what the fuck that is), which happens to be the 3rd most important economic center in the world by most accounts.  3, Russia is fucking around with our politicians and buying them off to make for easier voter suppression and just bloody hacking the electronic voting machines, which oh by the way, an adequately caffeinated high-school nerd could probably do.  4, And finally, despite not technically being “in a war”, we’re not at peace, either. Hell, we haven’t been for as long as I can remember. Like many people on this website, one of my first memories was 9/11 and the subsequent wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. I vividly remember the latter, as we sat in our living room watching the bombs drop and my mother in hushed tones said “Well.. This is it.” and my stepfather, an Army Ranger at the time, looked tired and said matter of factly “we’ll not be rid of this until you’re a grown man, and even then..”. And he was right.  Now, all of these things seem somewhat not related. Well, I guess I should say the 1st doesn’t exactly line up with the 2nd and 3rd, which have some geopolitical relevance to each other. But let’s take a history trip together, shall we? First, be sure to bring the hairspray, because we’re going into the Reagan-era and just before for a bit.  Imagine if you will the supposed dying throes of the Cold War. Bioweapons program supposedly being shut down, the Soviet Union splitting away, and the Americas? Well they’ve gone through hell, and by no small measure it was due to proxy wars, puppet governments and a complete disregard for “other” people for the sake of borders and protection. Panama, Nicaragua, Guatemala and other countries are having civil wars funded by both sides of that iron curtain, causing institutionalized violence, setting the development of these countries back fucking decades, and setting them up to fail.  [Note that when I say “setting the development back”, I do not mean they are in any way lesser to us due to this. In fact, in my wheelhouse of Public Health, they arguably do a better job of handling shit than we could dream of in the US. They’re damn fine people, and in some ways thriving, but to say we didn’t fuck with them would be a disservice. ] Part of this “setting up to fail” strategy was the use of drugs as a means of easy funding, which the U.S. government did wholly support to the point of screwing African Americans (and to a much lesser extent, poor people in general) in particular over by introducing things like Cocaine and Crack to poor neighborhoods (though it should be noted such drugs had been in the realm of public notice for the better part of a century before, just not as accessible).  Funny thing about using drugs to fuel wars. Wars can end. But the demand for drugs by a population that doesn’t have the ability to be treated due to some “moral outrage” against helping addicts? Well, that still remains a very profitable venue. So even after we stopped giving a fuck about any of these countries and their governments gave up the sale of illegal drugs, at least in the open, criminal elements showed up to do what they did best: manufacture and transport drugs to where the best demand was, the United States typically. And to protect this profitable enterprise, these groups would claim territory, claim children as recruits, commit other crimes to support the chain, etc. And these activities still go on today, wherein some cartels and gangs have gotten rich enough to effectively buy off governments and have their own fiefdoms, where those with any ability risk their lives to run. And yet, so many do. Also, it’s important to note that while countries like Mexico are arguably more stable than say, Honduras or El Salvador, they’re still pretty fucked from the radiation of these activities. So these families try to make it to the closest, arguably “most stable” country they can, ironically the one that set the stones for the foundation of where they found themselves. And they are treated as trash, as less than human, as animals. Because we refuse to see our own guilt. We refuse to see what we have done, not centuries ago, but less than 50 years ago. And who is egged on the most to hate these people? Well, if you look at it, it’s the least “most powerful” group that can easily be manipulated: Lower class white groups by a vast majority. Groups who themselves see hardships, certainly, but more than anything know two words: Fear and Authority. They are afraid of the “other”, the “jawb steelin’ immigunts”, the “criminals and rapists” as the person who inhabits the White House calls them. And they respect and adore those who can wield an iron first. Someone they can imagine being, whether it’s a business tycoon of a dictator they see as a near-messiah, who says it’s not their fault they are struggling, and then makes an easy, low effort “solution” for them to point to as to what could cure all those ills which are, at their root, legitimate.  [Note: This by no means excuses any White Supremacist or other racist ideologies. That shit needs to be fixed, and there is no excuse for that.] Let’s take a pause for a moment on that, as it’s significant. Is this the first time this has happened? Heavens no, in fact, many examples exist in history. But one stands out to me above all.  Go back with me again, if you’d be so kind. You feel the warmth of the sun on your face, you can hear the distant waves, and the not so distant hustle and bustle of a city. You smell a mix of salt water infused air with just a hint of smelted metal or gunpowder.  Perhaps you hear some music from The Andrew Sisters crackling out of a radio near an open window. You’re in San Francisco, not too long after the World’s Fair, where the hopes of Utopia were promptly shut off to be dismantled and loaded for the war effort of World War 2. In fact, as you look around, you see the strangest thing. There are clearly Japanese inspired markets and homes all around, but inhabiting them? No Japanese, surely, but the Shoe Shines and markets filled with a vibrant African American community. Some would one day call this the West Coast Harlem. And by their account, it was a wonderful community, of which I have no doubt. However.  Those who lived and worked and loved in these buildings just months prior were put into camps. In Utah, in Nevada, California, Washington. In fact, it pains me a bit to know one such place is but a very hearty stones throw from where I sit writing this. They were put there and made to stay due to risk of espionage, national security, or “for their own safety”. They were told to join the war effort as translators or soldiers, or remain there. The doctors of that community and the nurses too would end up working without pay, saving their own communities with limited supplies and truly working goddamned miracles in these camps to keep people alive, as politicians would brag “For every cent we spend on the Japanese, we spend a whole dollar on our boys out on the front!” That kind of shit sound familiar?  And that African American community? Well, while it was a positive thing for that demographic, certainly, and they had a valid right to be a community, that was by no means organic. The military spread out to places like Arkansas, Texas, Georgia, wherever there were large populations of blacks, whom the whites saw still as highly undesirables, and the military saw as cheap labour.  Well, the military found their people. And those people found cheap, effectively abandoned communities, and were able to live somewhat better than where they came from, all while building warships. However, just like with the previous example, this war wouldn’t last forever. But not just like that previous example, the demand for warships is rather... Specific, in both timing and transferable skills, shall we say? So, this cheap labour was made of a demographic that could be relatively easily discarded without them having enough of a voice to cause waves. And soon enough, the Japanese would return from their internment camps, and let’s just say things were... Tense, between these two groups. Two groups who were, by most accounts, politically undesirable, and if they were fucked, well who would care, right? If it caused generational issues, and exacerbated an economy that would make a good deal of trouble, as long as it’s not the demographic that matters... No worries. It’s not like they even really have good proof of who was really at fault, nor who profited from later real-estate scoop ups and other such economic trends. After all, they moved for the jobs, and the Japanese? Well that was a national security issue.... Don’t you love your country?  While this isn’t analogous to what we are seeing today, I hope you can notice the similar theme. Except this time, the demographic in question has to feel “empowered” in some way, and having who they want voted in anyways due to international meddling is more an afterthought to the “yay, we won!” mentality. And the expendables will have a bit more of a veiled attempt to undercut their work via a trade war with a nation who is admittedly, a scumbag (which we have collectively supported with corporate dollars for decades). This trade war will cause a lot of businesses, farms, and the like to close, making it easier for corporate groups to buy out the competition and profit all the more for it (despite some initial risk due to economic trends). All the while, a different, remarkably innocent group is being blamed and tortured for their “crimes”.   It would not surprise me if in the next 2 years, we will see a recession that will make 2008 look pretty alright. And make no mistake, it will not be due to the president at that time. The gears of the machine have been turned now and in the last year and a half. Likewise, we may well see a war. With who? I do not know. But I most certainly know who will profit from it. And who will die from it, and who will be dehumanized further to be the scapegoat.  We’re in incredibly dangerous times, and we need to be aware of why, if we have any hope of surviving. 

[yay855]

World of Final Fantasy: What They Did Right, What They Did Wrong, and What They Could Do Next Time

Every so often, I like to write out a post detailing a game I’ve recently played, and how I believe that future sequels could improve upon it. Well, as I recently started replaying World of Final Fantasy, I feel like I should start on that, now that it’s both fresh in my mind, and yet I’ve experienced it all.

First off, What They Did Right:

* The number of mirages out there is surprisingly large, numbering at 180 total (not counting DLC and unique mirages). And yet, each one feels rather enjoyable; either they fall under the same family (and thus, are excusably just recolors of a different mirage, as is tradition for the series), or they feel genuinely unique in look and use. In addition, many mirages can easily switch between multiple different families, allowing many to find further use even in an area where their element wouldn’t be that great.

* The characterization is great. Lann is a jokester who’s simple but lovable, Reyn is a braniac who gets frustrated at others but is also eager to join in on their fun, and there’s a lot of lively NPCs out there- like Vivi, who’s so eager to please and just so adorable. Many characters feel like actual people, even some that get little screen time.

* The skill trees feel so wonderful. Though they’re a bit confusing, and filled with a lot of “filler” skills (aka minor stat boosts), it’s still enjoyable to fill it all out, only to receive a special skill or major stat boost as a reward.

* Tama is a wonderful talking mascot, being adorable but not annoying, even despite her verbal tic. Her banter with Lann and Reyn is always fun, and she’s a very good battler as well, with very high stats.

* The encyclopedia entries are filled with little jokes that make them enjoyable to read.

* The game returned to an Active Time Battle System, something they haven’t done since Final Fantasy 9, though X had something similar, and the Active Dimension Battle System didn’t even have random battles or special battle screens. Still, the system feels good to use, and the UI for it really helps make it clear who goes next.

* The user interface is easy to use. It has a lot of screens to push through that each take a moment to pull up, but you never get lost in it. The only real issue is that it pushes that weird four-button-prompt UI at first, though it’s easy enough to switch to the classical style.

* The stacking system is an interesting way of both simplifying and complicating battle strategy, and makes you really think about what stacks you make. It allows you to even combine abilities together to make more powerful ones, which I enjoy.

* The AP system, while flawed, provides an interesting way of using abilities, due to it slowly regenerating over time, and even some mirages having abilities to restore it further.

* The Jiant/Lillikin transformation system is neat, and allows for more unique combat styles with the stacking system. Furthermore, many characters are admittedly suited for being so small and adorable, such as Vivi and Bartz.

* Mega Mirages are fun and enjoyable, and really make you feel their worth.

Next, What They Did Wrong:

* There are a lot of mirages that are difficult to find. This might not be much of an issue, if not for the fact that many elemental attacks are difficult to come by, especially Light. And Light-element attacks are almost necessary later in the game to beat a lot of difficult bosses. There are a grand total of two monsters you can find in the wild which can even use Light attacks, one of which a rare random encounter, the other an optional and easily missed boss, both in the exact same area.

* The Stacking System is 100% necessary for combat in almost every case. The only real use for it is in capturing certain mirages, and restoring AP quickly. But the former is extremely situational, and the latter leaves you weakened and defenseless. Stacking should not be a mandatory feature.

* Your two protagonists are forced to be part of the stacks until you beat the game- and there’s no New Game+ mode which lets you keep the ability to not use them. Maybe there will be with the upcoming Maxima expansion, we’ll see.

* The skill trees are rather unclear in terms of what does and does not carry over between forms. Is it all green-colored tiles, or only green-colored skills? Why would you have some skills and abilities not carry over at all? Why not just let all mirages have access to every skill you’ve unlocked on their family tree?

* Many mirages have limited skill trees, which don’t fully unlock until very late in the game. This ends up causing many of your more-powerful mirages to simply not be used, in favor of ones you can continue to upgrade, leaving them underpowered in the late-game. Furthermore, all new mirages you capture start at level one! And leveling is very slow in this game, at least until you reach the mid-end game.

* I’m personally not a fan of random encounters. I prefer Dragon Quest 9′s version, where the enemies are visible on-screen, and the player can avoid them if they want.

* There’s an area in early-to-mid-game where you lose all your mirages, skills, spells, and abilities... including skill trees. They give you new mirages to use, but you’re still forced to use melee and whatever damaging items you have on hand. Furthermore, in this area, they introduce the Eldboxes and Machines... and then don’t even bother using them again until much later in the game.

* The user interface, and even some of the dungeons and towns, can get laggy. It isn’t enough to make it bad, but it’s still unpleasant. Though keep in mind, I play on the PC version; I don’t know if others have a similar experience.

* You never get more AP. There are ways to get around that, but the fact is that your AP is always stuck at 4 per party member, with a total of 12 for a full stack. This is simply unacceptable; you end up having to rely on either Ethers, or specific abilities to get by; otherwise, you wouldn’t make it to the final boss of the dungeon with even half AP.

* Magic is almost necessary in this game. While there are a decent number of mirages with a melee focus, there are far, far more that use magic, and very few that use elemental melee attacks. And given that you can’t check your foe’s stats other than their resistances and weaknesses, this ends up making you steer towards magic for both characters. Furthermore, Lann is built for melee combat, and Reny for magic... except that they never explain that, and you can’t easily find their stats.

* So many characters simply don’t look good in Lilikin form. While it can be amusing in some cases, the fact is that characters like Cloud, Lightning, and others simply look ridiculous, and you can’t take them seriously.

* The ending cinematic looks terrifying. It has photo-realistic levels of detail on top of an almost storybook-type design on top of chibi characters; this causes an intense uncanny valley effect, where you’re forced to look away in disgust while these characters are singing and dancing in celebration. It’s fine in the game CG and anime visual styles, but that ending is just.... eugh.

* Mega Mirages are often not very useful. Even when they’re at your level, they tend to be overly specialized in one area, even though many of them have abilities in each category. But the end result is that, at least in my experience, Cerberus (which is the only XL-size mirage you can get until the mid-late game) has three different magic skills, and yet deals less damage with them than I would deal without using it in the first place.

* At the endgame, you are forced to play through multiple minigames to proceed. This might not be such an issue, if not for the fact that they’re all ridiculously difficult and poorly-explained. The Cactuar Mini-game has the foes disappear far too quickly to actually hit them, and so you’re forced to just attack one specific area before they even pop up in the hope that you get lucky and hit something; the Blitzball minigame has its shots fire far too slowly to be at all accurate; and the Figaro one is just minesweeper, something that the target audience of the game have never played, and it also has poor UI.

Finally, What They Should Do Next:

* Tweak the mirage rate, and add detailed explanations of where to find them. Or at least provide hints of where to find mirages of certain families and powers. Don’t make any one type difficult to get, especially if you have an area full of mirages weak to that type.

* Allow for up to nine characters in your battle party at once, making for a max of 3 full stacks.

* Change the stacking system in the following ways:

1. Make stacking a special ability tied to Joyride and Follow. Those with Joyride can have others stack on top of them, while those with Follow can stack on top of others who don’t have Joyride.

2. Stacking should cut the values of each stat (though not weakness) by 25%, save for Agility, which is determined solely by the mirage on the bottom.

3. High-topple attacks should be far more common.

4. You can use your turn to alter your stacks- not just stack and unstack, but to choose who gets on, who gets off, and who replaces who.

5. Show the exact effects of stacking in the menu. Let us see what skills we would gain by stacking certain characters together, as well as the full changes to our stats and resistances.

6. As a result of this change to the stacking system, Reyn and Lann won’t need to be part of any stacks in the party.

* Make AP a stat itself, similar to health. While it shouldn’t increase like health does, at least make mirages have a varying amount of AP, perhaps ranging between four and ten.

* Make all skills carry over between mirage forms.

* Instead of mirages being able to switch between different families, make it so that mirage families are completely open, perhaps with branching paths between each form.

* Replace random encounters with respawning enemies visible on-screen.

* If there has to be minigames, at least make them fun and optional, instead of overly frustrating and mandatory.

* Add in more elemental melee attacks.

* Add in multiple playable human characters who can replace the main protagonists, perhaps with each human character functioning as a different class. I understand that Maxima will add this, but it really should have been in the base game, instead of having Lann be melee-focused, Reyn be magic-focused, and neither one have any actual special abilities beyond what Mirajewels they equip.

* Increase EXP scaling for under-leveled mirages. If you’re going to add elemental-themed areas, then at least make it much easier for our mirages to get to the appropriate level before we hit the boss.

#world of final fantasy #woff #final fantasy

[atomicsimulacra]

The Smell of Rotting Orchids

(( Anna finds AM and AMos, after they were kicked out of Vault 67. Content warning for animal death/animal gore and some nasty swears from AM. ))

A gunshot rang through the air, blowing a feral dog’s head clean off its shoulders. Whatever bark tried to leave its throat silenced with a gurgle, its body collapsing limp on the hillside. The chilly, morning air stilled, save for the faint breath of the hunter; a thin, red headed woman.

After a moment, Anna Lovett walked down the frosty slope, stashing her hunting rifle on her back and pulling the brim of her fedora lower over her eyes. Her beige trench coat bunched around her armpits and sides, but settled as she readjusted the fabric, under the gun’s strap. Crouching besides one of the dead dogs, she pulled out a hunting knife and made an incision.

Steam and entrails spilled from the carcass. The fleeting urge to gag crossed her mind.

As she harvested the meat from her kills, Anna counted the morning’s blessings. She now had something to cook up for lunch, after having stayed in Diamond City to give Valentine a tune up and heading out an hour prior. Perhaps, if Danse was in the mood, they could share a meal together, before she headed home to Croup Manor. Cambridge Police Station was easily thirty minutes away; Croup Manor an hour and a half. She’d end up at home with sore feet one way or another, she reasoned to herself. Might as well make it enjoyable.

Satisfied with her plan and butchery, the red-haired woman rose from the last mongrel and stretched, arching her back and rolling her neck. Once she decompressed, she looked down and frowned. She’d gotten a couple specks of blood on her light blue shirt, even after having been careful. Before she could curse her luck, a soft, male voice broke the silence.

“What’s the good of moonliiiiight?

When you haven’t got a boyyy to looooove…?”

Anna paused, then turned her head to the right. The voice continued to sing, having emerged from a cave in the side of a rocky outcropping, which sat on the hill Anna stood on. If it weren’t for the voice, the cave was easily camouflaged by the surrounding rocks.

“Niiiight time’s just the time to spoooon…

Underneath theeee silv’ry mooooon…”

The red-haired woman scanned her surroundings, her brows furrowing, before venturing to the mouth of the cave. She didn’t enter it, but she did listen in, intrigued. It wasn’t everyday people sang in the open, let alone from caves.

“Every fella’s ha-ppy, cuddlin’ ‘neath the stars abovvvve…

Ohhhh, when the Moon is shinin’, what a heavenly bliss!

Look at what you’re missin’, when you caaaan’t steal a kisss—“

“Oh for fuck’s—“ another voice, similar to the singer’s, tried to interject.

“Soooo, what’s the good of moooooonliiiiiight? When you haven’t got a boy to love?”

The other voice spoke up again, with a peeved tone.

“I was about to ask the same thing about us sitting here, AMos.”

 “Are you just saying that because there’s a scuffle outside, AM?” AMos hummed.

“Something, probably human, is tearing those dogs apart outside,” AM growled. “And yet here we are, in a dank, cramped, shithole—“

“A safe little outhouse, more like,” AMos interrupted. AM audibly seethed, pacing the floor. The sound of something metal against soft rock followed, mirroring human footsteps.

“If you’re expecting me to stay on that lackluster reasoning alone,” AM spat. “Then you have another thing coming, you yellow bellied scrap heap!” Anna couldn’t help but wince. She couldn’t see who was talking from where she sat, nor could they see her.

“You mean to tell me you’re content?!” AM ranted. “Hiding here, giving humans something to gloat about?!”

“They blew up the goddamn world, AMos! They deserve to suffer and bleed!”

“These humans didn’t,” AMos calmly replied, his tone distracted. He sounded preoccupied with something, other than his brother’s tirade.

“They never asked to be born here. They’re as scared and confused as we are, poor dears.”

The sound of someone getting up from the floor followed, as AMos continued speaking.

“I simply couldn’t kill them in good conscience. Even after Pohl.”

Anna leaned in, as she eavesdropped. Whoever these two were, they didn’t sound like ghouls or super mutants. This filled her with the urge to reply, but how? That was the question. Regardless, the pair raged on.

“The raiders outside don’t care about our sob story, jackass,” AM growled. “They want us dead!”

“Only because androids are uncommon or malevolent,” AMos reminded him sharply.

“They want to kill us, brother!” AM said exasperatedly. “The why doesn’t matter here!”

“Son of a fucking bitch, how many times do I—“

AM didn’t get to finish. In that moment, Anna found her words and spoke up.

“Excuse me? Is… someone there?”

The two beings fell quiet. They didn’t even breathe. Anna tried again, holding her hands up to show she wasn’t a threat. Her amber eyes softened, peering into the dark.

“There’s no need to be frightened, whoever you are,” the red-haired woman explained.

“I’m not a raider, nor do I mean you any harm. Are you two alright in there?”

From the darkness of the cave, two pairs of eyes emerged. One pair had red and blue irises set among black sclera and bored into Anna’s very soul. The other two had pink and baby blue irises and closer resembled human eyes, though they had the unnatural sheen of glass. They also fixed onto her, but they hardly scrutinized. Each set revealed a certain truth to both individuals; they were both clearly second generation synths.

“Is… That a fact now?” AMos asked. On registering how Anna looked, his tone brightened.

“Oh, how wonderful! It’s been a while since we’ve met someone civilized!”

The longer he stared, the more the eyes he owned became half lidded. His voice softened, more resembling a coo.

“Civilized and… Goodness,” AMos sighed appreciatively. “Simply ravishi—“

“Who the fuck are you and how the fuck did you hear us?” AM demanded, having put a hand over his brother’s mouth. AMos let out a muffled sound in protest.

“My name is Anna,” the thin woman replied. “Are either of you hurt?”

“I asked two questions, you horse-faced cunt,” AM spat. “How did you hear us, goddammit?”

Before Anna could answer, AMos bit into his brother’s hand, getting AM to shut up with a pained whine and pull away. Anna flinched, causing AMos to pause before speaking.

“…Forgive my brother, Ms. Anna,” AMos said gently. “He isn’t very trusting of your kind.”

“I, however, have good people sense, and you appear trustworthy. I’m assuming you heard our disagreement, from inside our shelter?”

Anna nodded, wary of both synths for different reasons.

“It sounded to me like you’d been there for some time,” she explained. “So I wanted to offer a hand, if you needed it. I’m skilled in robotics you see, and I was on my way home.”

AMos’ eyes widened in interest. Carefully, he neared the human woman, as AM inspected the damage AMos had done to his metal palm. As the synth ventured more out of the cave, it was clear he wore rose tinted glasses and a pink sweater vest, with a white shirt, jeans, and matching shoes. The seams of his plating were sewn and stapled, giving him the appearance of a doll.

“Is that so?” AMos asked warmly. “I must say, that’s very kind of you, Ms. Anna.”

“Was,” Anna corrected. “But with your brother’s attitude, I’m tempted to redact my offer.”

AMos shot a tense glance to AM, before continuing on.

“As I said before,” AMos explained. “My brother is wary around your people but he doesn’t mean ill will. I mean, just look at what they’ve done to him, in the time we’ve been out here.”

AM let out a yelp as he was yanked into view by his brother, revealing he was in quite the sorry state. The back plate of his head was completely gone, revealing his metallic skull and the numerous wires that connected his body together. His seams were worn and frayed, the plates that made them up stained with dirt and blood. His hand and foot plates had completely broken away, leaving his metal endoskeleton exposed.

An ugly scar from Mirelurk Hunter acid crackled across his chest, but the true extent of the damage was hidden by a ratty, green cloak AM wore, haphazardly held together with crude stitching, rope, and duct tape. Worst of all, two sets of Yao Guai claws had been raked across his face, giving it a savage grid like pattern. AM’s gaze hardened, as he was gawked at.

“Goodness,” Anna gasped. “You two really are in dire straits.”

“Indeed,” AMos sighed pitifully. “The outside world has just dreadful!”

He lounged on his brother, forlorn. AM bunched his shoulders in response. With AMos having made their case, Anna considered the two synths then rose to her feet.

“Follow me, then,” Anna offered. “I can give you two a tune up and a place to stay.”

AMos’ face lit up like a Christmas tree. He practically jumped to his feet, beaming at Anna.

“You’re too kind, Ms. Anna,” the more intact synth replied appreciatively. “You won’t regret it.”

“I certainly hope not,” Anna said with a hopeful, smaller smile.

“Now come along. We have a long way to go."

Anna started on the trek home, but AM didn’t move an inch, even as AMos followed behind her. AMos turned and glared at him, causing AM to frown. The two stared at each other a moment, equally stubborn regarding what they wanted to do. AMos then marched back over and pulled his brother upright, murmuring something in his ear.

“Now, now, brother dear,” AMos said through tight teeth. “I know you have your reasons for acting this way, but if you continue to insult Ms. Anna or her generosity… I’ll going to have to do something I’ll regret. And no one will find the body.”

He had an eerily serene smile on his face. AM appeared completely unaffected, save for a small huff of annoyance. The human woman looked over her shoulder, having not heard a word they’d exchanged.

“Are you two coming?” Anna called.

“Yes, of course, ma’am! I just had to fetch the wet rag!” AMos replied with a giggle.

He then proceeded to drag AM after him with frightening ease. The roughed-up synth scowled in outrage, trying desperately to pull himself away.

“You insufferable, brown nosing—“

Anna had already tuned out their conversation, to try and focus on getting the three of them home. She knew for certain now she couldn’t visit Danse, but they hadn’t planned anything formally, so she wasn’t too fussed. She was more worried about the two synths tagging along behind her. It was clear there was some truth to AMos’ words; the world thus far had been unkind to them. AM’s behavior screamed that of primal, fight or flight response.

 Despite this, the red-haired woman resigned herself to her offer. She wouldn’t know the true extent of their damage until they got home.

It couldn’t hurt to give them a chance.

#anna lovett #am #amos #fallout 4 #fallout #amorousxmenace #harvest hand

[landprince]

Sora had never tried to teach someone to speak before. He wasn’t even sure if it was feasible with the large language barrier between them already, but it didn’t mean he wasn’t going to try his hardest to teach the merman how to have some semblance of a conversation with him.

As long as he tried, that’s all that mattered.

But where to actually start was the biggest issue Sora had with everything. When he was learning to talk, it took quite some time. Of course the merman wasn’t the same as an infant, but learning a whole new language took a lot of time, work, and dedication. Did he start with books? Just pointing things out and letting the merman copy him?

His head spun at all the things he might need to start teaching the merman to speak, and it was becoming dizzying to think upon as all the options started to pile up. Finally, he decided reading to the merman and looking at picture oriented books would be the best thing to probably start with. A picture was worth a thousand words, after all.

As soon as he woke up that day, Sora began digging through all his things his parents kept of his when he was a baby. He explained it was for nostalgia’s sake that he was digging through crates in the attic to keep his mother from pestering him and getting him to actually clean the place.

He had avoided it for months now; what was another day or two?

Through dust and cobwebs, he searched through sealed boxes and pulled out colorful stuffed animals, baby toys, clothes that he hadn’t seen since he was five, and a myriad of books that had helped teach him to start reading and speaking.

He began to worry about the mess he was making halfway in, and mentally made a note to actually clean up after he was done.

Simple children’s books were stuffed into the worn rucksack he always carried to the island before he wondered what else was needed. After a few moments of debate, he grabbed an empty notebook and several pencils and pens for the merman to start learning how to write. Maybe that would help?

After cleaning up the mess he had made of the attic and placing boxes back into neat piles, he deemed the place decently cleaned, at least enough his parents shouldn’t pester him about the state it was left in.

Raking a hand through spiky brown hair, Sora stomped down the steps that lead from his room to the den of his house. It was now the weekend and his mother occupied the room, sitting in the corner with the piano that had been in their family for three generations. Notes floated in the air, a beautiful sound as she pressed each key in quick succession perfectly.

“Sora,” she called out to him before he could slink out the door.

The boy froze in his steps as he reached the end of the stairs. He was hoping to get out without questions being asked. His father had already left for the day, and he was trying to calculate the time until his mother would have gone shopping, allowing Sora to slip out of the house undetected. But it seemed she either waited or wasn’t going today.

“Yes, mom?” he asked as he walked into the room. The pack he had slung over his shoulders jostled slightly as he walked, and he decided to slip his arms through the straps to make it easier to carry. Even though it was only thin, small books he carried, he had managed to shove in quite a few along with the snacks and drinks he was taking to the islands for the day.

His mother looked at him, never pausing in her flow of music as she did so. It always amazed Sora just how well she was attuned to the music and piano, finding keys without looking took a lot of skill and he was so proud of her for it.

“Make sure you’re back before dark. Do I need to fix Kairi a snack or anything before you go?”

He had been getting home a lot later because of his meetings with the merman, so he wasn’t surprised to hear his mother chide him about curfew again. He nodded, eager to accept these conditions and more than complacent in them.

“Sure, I��ll be back then,” he nodded, bouncing on his toes for a moment. He was filled with sudden excitement at the prospect of getting a snack to take to his best friend. His mother was great at cooking and he loved being able to bring gifts to people. “But I made a new friend this week. Can you make them a snack as well?”

The notes stopped as his mother rose from the sette, smiling ever patiently at him as she walked over to cup his face between her hands. Sora smiled, hands quickly covering his mother’s as she leaned down to kiss his nose.

“Of course, Sora. Do you know what they like?” She asked after lavishing his face in affectionate pecks and causing the boy to giggle and halfheartedly struggle to escape the onslaught of affection before she released him.

The boy frowned, lips pulling into a deep scowl and brows furrowing as he thought on what a merman might eat. “..... Fish?”

His mother laughed before ruffling his hair and directing him to follow her into the kitchen. “How much about your new friend do you know?” Her question was teasing, light, yet also full of parental caution. Her worry was noticeable and Sora didn’t want to worry her.

“He’s new and doesn’t speak much,” Sora was quick to assure her, trying to soothe her worry without really revealing too much. While she wouldn’t make fun of him for admitting his friend was a merman, he also didn’t know how well that would go over if she truly believed him.

“It’s hard understanding him much since he’s…. Foreign.” The words tumbled off his tongue and he already felt flushed with nervousness at how lame the excuse sounded.

“‘Foreign’ huh?” His mother raised a brow, lips quirked into a disbelieving smirk before a more serious expression took over. “So what’s he like? I’m not entirely comfortable with the thought of you hanging around strangers alone.”

He vehemently shook his head, hands flying up to wave back and forth. It was almost as if he was trying to physically push away his mother’s worries about him being baited by strangers.

“He’s not a bad guy!” he exclaimed, jumping at the defense of the merman. His arms fell to his sides and he lifted his head to look his mother in the eyes as he spoke. She was only a few inches taller than he was, his growth spurt late and keeping his stature rather small for now. He didn’t mind being small, but he knew in his mother’s eyes his size made him more child-like.

Sucking in a breath, Sora walked over to the small table and two chairs shoved in a cramped corner of the kitchen, and took a seat. His mother was quick to react and took the opposite seat, staring him down firmly as if she dared him to lie to her. He wouldn’t reveal everything, but at least tell his mother enough about the merman to ease her fears that he was talking to some creep.

“I really don’t know much about him yet,” Sora admitted. He internally winced as his mother only seemed to become more worried and he was quick to try and soothe her once again. “We met only a week and a half ago on the beach.”

“Is he new to the islands then?”

Sora nodded, fingers drumming nervously against the table as he continued speaking; it was another nervous habit he hadn’t broken yet. “I think so. He doesn’t speak much and hasn’t really been able to tell me. He’s from… somewhere I’ve probably never heard of before.”

His mother, thankfully, didn’t take the chance to tease him about his poor study skills in that moment. He mentally made a note to actually clean the attic within the week because of it.

“You keep saying ‘he’,” his mother pointed out. “Does he have a name?”

Sora’s face burned hot at the question. He’d been kissed by the merman, twice now, but the language barrier between them prevented Sora from learning his name. In a way it felt…. Wrong. Here he was, kissing a creature of myth, and not even knowing his name between kisses.

“I---” Sora trailed off, unable to look his mother in her eyes as he fessed up. “Well, if he has, then I haven’t been able to understand him.”

Sora’s nose scrunched up as he placed his arms on the table, head falling to the surface and forehead lightly smacking the wood. “I feel bad for not knowing it. But he speaks a whole different language.”

Pausing in his laments for the moment, Sora sat up straight so he could shrug out of the backpack and place it on the table. Unzipping it, he pulled out the books he had tossed in several minutes ago and showed them to his mother.

“I’m going to try and teach him.”

His mother hummed thoughtfully, expression neutral as she ran her hands over the worn covers of Sora’s childhood books.

“So you can’t speak to him or understand him at all?” She looked up to see Sora shake his head in confirmation. “So how do you two communicate then?”

“We gesture mostly.” Sora carefully put the books back into the pack and zipped it up once more. “He likes touching my hair a lot. I think he thinks it’s weird.”

His mother giggled softly. “It’s because it’s so hard to tame, my sea star.”

Sora’s head shot up at the nickname his mother hadn’t called him in ages. A new wave of embarrassment washed over him at the loving name. “I make sure to brush it!”

Reaching up, Sora tugged at once of the brown spikes, fiddling with it for a moment before releasing it and allowing his hair to become an unruly mess once again. “It’s not my fault it doesn’t listen.”

“Is that why your hair is even messier when you come home now?” She asked, eyes sparkling in mischief.

The boy shrugged. “No more than usual. But he doesn’t really help the problem.” Sora broke off to laugh softly as he thought of a memory of the merman playing with his hair from the previous night. “He’s really nice though and looks out for me. I just--- Wish I could talk to him now instead of probably months away.”

“So what’s he like?”

“Like I said: we haven’t really known each other long.” Leaning back in his chair, Sora began thinking about the past week he had spent in the merman’s company. It was nice to think about on, and made his heart flutter momentarily as he thought on if he should tell his mother that he had been kissed, too.

“He’s very strong, and looks out for me--”

His mother quickly cut him off. “Are those older boys messing with you again?”

“No, mom,” he answered with a quick shake of his head. Two older boys often put Sora under the brunt of their teasing, but it never had gotten farther than words. “They don’t give me trouble anymore.”

His mother relaxed once again, sated in the knowledge that her child wasn’t under siege from bullies.

“But he’s super into swimming.” That, at least, wasn’t a lie. “He’s a really good swimmer, and the fastest I’ve ever seen.”

“That night you came home soaked down to your bones, did you have a swim with him?” Head canted, her lips were quirked into a wry grin.

“It was an accident!” Reaching up to rub bashfully at his cheek, Sora huffed lightly and averted his gaze, sinking lower in his seat as his mother started to laugh good naturedly. “He sort of surprised me and I fell out of the boat.”

It was true. When the merman kissed him the first time, Sora had capsized the rowboat in his hurry to get away from him. Sora wound up completely drenched and dripped water everywhere when he got home that night.

“You can always do with a good soak, Sora.”

“Mom!” He shouted, face now burning at the teasing. Crossing his arms defiantly over his chest, he huffed and made a show of being upset for the sake of hearing his mother laugh.

He always loved seeing her happy, and knew she had been worried about him being out so often lately. It was nice being home, talking with her and just enjoying her presence.

Sora had been aching with the secret of knowing a mythological creature existed and being the only one to know it so far, but he was getting out all the pressure it put on him by talking with her now. Even his best friend, Kairi, didn’t know as much as his mom was being told right now.

“I’m a little worried he might just disappear one day though,” Sora said, bringing the conversation back into a serious tone. His mother abruptly stopped her laughter, and quietly focused on Sora as he spoke. “He just…. Showed up one day, disappeared a few days, then showed up again two days ago. What if he leaves again?”

“Surely you can communicate somehow if he does?” His mother was frowning, trying to help him rationalize his fears, but in doing so it made the thought of teaching the merman to speak and read a heavier burden.

What if he put in all this effort and the merman just left before he could speak with him?

“Yeah, but what if we can’t before he does? What if he just leaves and I never see or hear from him again?”

“Then at least you have your memories of someone who was once very important to you.” His mother reached across the table to grab hold of Sora’s hand. He felt her give a gentle, reassuring squeeze before smiling.

The silence around them was heavy for a moment, then his mother released him and jumped up to her feet. “But I’m supposed to be making snacks for you, Kairi, and your new friend, aren’t I?”

Sora’s eyes sparkled in delight as he was added into the mix. “I’m getting one too?” He asked. He had already stashed away two sandwiches and a few cans of juice in his backpack, but getting an actual homemade lunch would be much better.”

“Of course, my sea star,” his mother was quick to answer as she began pulling things out of the fridge. “But only if you help me and promise me that you’ll clean the attic sometime this week. Don’t think I haven’t forgotten about that.”

Now that it was an actual chore and not something he wanted to do, Sora was adamantly wanting to avoid cleaning the attic.

Sora let out a pitiful noise of feigned distress.

#kingdom hearts #Sora #Riku #Merman!Riku #soriku #fins and fangs au #Ark Writes #this one is mostly focusing on Sora tbh

[moremousewrites]

Love Letters Chapter 5

Pairing: Bucky Barnes X Reader

Summary: The aftermath of the battle in Berlin worried you but you were glad to discover Bucky was safe. You are presented with the task of staying by his side, now

Chapter One X

Chapter Two X

Chapter Three X

Chapter Four X

Chapter Five: Complete

Chapter Six X

After your last run in, you moved back into your old home. You only had to wait one week after Berlin. One more week of agonizing loneliness, but it was cut short. Sam came to your old apartment in America. He filled you in on what had happened in the HYDRA base. He explained how he and the rest of Steve's allies were now war criminals and that you were at risk of being kidnapped by Bucky's enemies again.

Sam also told you about how Bucky had to be put into a deep sleep in a location he couldn't disclose to you in case your apartment was bugged which it absolutely had been by now. But he didn't have to tell you about the invitation that was on the table.

“We got maybe eight minutes tops before SWAT comes knocking on the door looking for me. I’m kind of a war criminal” He said, nodding towards the same bag you had packed in Berlin. You had cleaned the clothes inside since then but the bag was packed again with new, fresh clothes.

“You almost sound proud” You said, grabbing the bag and walking out of your apartment. Sam followed you and chuckled at your attitude. He walked you to the parking lot near your place and you looked around for his ride. When you couldn't see which car might be his, Sam clicked a button on a strange car fob and a futuristic jet appeared before you. “Holy shit, you're a Klingon?” You asked, stepping inside the jet.

“It's Wakandan” Sam explained, starting the jet with the beads on a bizarre bracelet he wore. Strange, you had thought Wakanda was an incredibly poor country based on its status of being a third world country. You nearly fell to the floor when the jet accelerated off the ground. “Yeah, you’re gonna want to hold on. I spent my life flying high tech but nothing this advanced” Sam twisted another bead and the ship shifted in a way that made you suspect it had become invisible from the exterior again or Sam just royally fucked with something in the engineering.

From a bird’s eye view, you could see the SWAT team entering your home and you became incredibly uncomfortable with your privacy being invaded. “Let’s get out of here, Sam”

The trip to Wakanda was shorter than you would have expected but Sam did say the technology was incredibly advanced. You were happy he was a skilled pilot. Aside from almost retching from the fear of crashing into a Wakandan mountain, only to discover it was yet another cloaking device hiding a glorious kingdom of riches and sophisticated architecture that the rest of the world had no knowledge of, you had a rather uneventful flight. You had expected Bucky to be waiting for you when you landed but you reminded yourself he had been in a coma for rehabilitation. From the past few months you had been having, you didn’t blame him for needing some rest. Steve and a regal looking man beside him greeted you as you stepped off the plane.

“It’s good to see you again, (Y/N)”. Steve hugged you and you stiffened in his arms, unsure of what to say. You appreciated his manners but you didn’t know Steve all that well, personally other than everything you had to learn about him for work. Actually, you knew a good deal about him. Once you remembered who he was to Bucky, however, you relaxed in his embrace and hugged back.

“Likewise. I’m glad to see you back in one piece” You joked and pulled away to acknowledge the man next to him. “Hi there, my name’s (Y/N)” You introduced yourself and offered your hand for him to shake.

The man smiled and Steve had a weird look on his face like he forgot something. “It is nice to meet you, (Y/N). I am T'challa, son of T'chaka, and king of Wakanda” He shook your hand but the weight of his importance shook you.

Completely speechless, you shook the king’s hand a little too long and probably made a fool of yourself. It became clear that T’challa was uncomfortable and you were imposing on his valuable time. “Sorry about that, I spent the last few months in a country where it’s customary to shake hands for a long time. I don’t know why I haven’t broken the habit” You covered your slip up with a pretty half-assed excuse but it was better than nothing. “Thank you for allowing me to stay here, your Majesty” You moved on.

“I see you’ve even gotten the foreigners to kiss your ass now, brother” A young girl who couldn’t have been older than sixteen stepped around the king so you could see her.

“Shuri, could you please take our new guest to the laboratory so she can see her soulmate” T’challa suggested. Shuri nodded and threw back some witty comment at him before taking you and Steve into a large building full of technology.

You were looking around at all the strange futuristic machinery in awe when Shuri snapped her fingers in front of your face. “Touch and take nothing. I don’t expect you to understand this tech enough to try and copy it but don’t abuse my trust, understand?” She asked, walking you up a strange hovering staircase.

“I’m trying to. I work with history, not the future. You’re secrets are completely safe.” You comforted her with your ignorance. It stung to be condescended to by a child but you had a feeling she wasn’t one to be messed with and you could accept that.

Shuri walked you to a room where Bucky was being held in. It hurt to see him so untouchable behind the glass but the peaceful look on his face was enough for you not to bother him. You only saw that expression when he was truly calm with you. It was possible it was the first time he had been that calm in decades.

Looking at him, you noticed Bucky’s arm was missing. “What happened here?” You asked, concerned.

“He kinda- well it was actually my fault. I pissed off Tony Stark and he took it out on Bucky” Steve said. A gross feeling settled within you and you felt like throwing up again.

“That hardly sounds like an appropriate response” You said, tightening your fists.

Steve noticed how upset you had become and decided to change the topic. “So the think it’d be best to keep him under for a year and then slowly introduce him back into socialising. It’d really help him, though if you would be here for him when he eventually wakes up”

You touched the glass above Bucky’s face, “Done. Where should I live until then? And also after then” You asked.

Shuri had moved to the other side of the room but you hadn’t noticed. “You can live in a village. Would you prefer somewhere urban or rural?”

“Rural, please. I’ve had enough of cities” You answered, easily, “And I think it’d be better for James once he finally wakes up”

You saw Steve give you a light smile. He was happy that Bucky had someone with his best interest in mind. “I think he’d really appreciate that” Steve said, patting you on the shoulder, kindly.

Shuri held out a band of the same strange beads Sam wore on his wrist to pilot the ship. You didn’t understand what was being offered until she explained what they were, “Vibranium technology. They will act as a form of communication while you’re here. They work by twisting one inscribed by the symbol that matches the other bracelet you wish to reach” She twisted one and her own became active. “This one’s mine, the one next to it is Sam’s, and this one here is Steve’s. You can call me any time and always feel free to stop by but if you start to spam me with them, I can block you” She twisted the bead off. “But seriously, if you find a good meme you know who to call” Shuri said. You had to laugh at her last comment.

“Thanks, Shuri” You said, tapping the beads to see what else they could do. Steve looked completely lost at what she had said.

Once you said goodbye to the tank Bucky was in, Shuri took you to see the new property you were allotted. It was a much larger space than you were used to and you were almost overwhelmed in it’s capacity. It was at least an acre of land, a large farm house surrounded by grasses and a small herd of goats. “I will name them all and I will protect them at all costs” You vowed, instantly loving the creatures. It was hard for you to imagine such mundane animals in such a fantasy of a place but you powered through. The interior was beautifully decorated with textiles lining the walls and art on every surface. The furniture was a neat mix of the traditional art of Wakanda and the sci-fi vibe it now portrayed. You were suddenly very happy your soulmate was an enemy of the state because there was no way you would have afforded this place in any country.

“So I know it’s kind of shabby but it’s the best we could do on short notice. Is it alright?” Shuri asked.

You gushed over the craftsmanship of the dining set and said “Shuri, this is luxurious. I get goats, how could I possibly say no to this?”

“You foreigners are so easy to please. I can’t imagine the standards of living you must have back home” Shuri excused herself and went back to her lab. You tried not to think about the way you lived in Bucharest because in all honesty, you were only happy living there because Bucky was there with you. Steve was still standing in the doorway.

“You gonna be alright on your own until he wakes up?” He asked, picking at the wood on the wall. “Sam and I still need to tie up some loose ends out in the world but I’m always available” Steve waved his wrist a bit that had the beads on it.

Sitting on the couch, you invited Steve to sit next to you but he chose to stand. He was similar to Bucky in a lot of his mannerisms. “I’m here for you, too, Steve. I’m sure you’ve been through hell and back but you should know that you’re safe here, too” You said, realizing that for the first time in months, you were safe as well.

“I hope this doesn’t make you uncomfortable, but sometimes, you really remind me of Peggy” Steve said before exiting your new living space. The comment hadn’t made you uncomfortable, just very alone.

Adjusting to life in Wakanda was much easier than you had expected. You frequently visited the markets and tended to your goats like the humble farmer you had become. As a joke, you named the goats after sitcom characters from the 90’s and they grew very fond of you. Once a week, you made it up to the labs to visit Bucky and Shuri who would ask you about America and oftentimes, you would lecture her in history and she would have very little interest as she built new machines to make the lives of Wakandans easier. Shuri didn’t mind your company but she thought you needed more friends than a fish tank and a sixteen year-old scientist so she asked her brother to set you up with a tutor.

You didn’t know what to expect when she said ‘tutor’ but you were surprised to be introduced by a member of the Dora Milaje who was going to teach you combat. You were especially surprised to discover what a fast learner you were and how good you were becoming at fighting. You didn’t hold a candle to the Dora soldiers but over many months, you were impressing even Sam who you were able to pin in a match.

The Dora were teaching you to use a type of staff in battle before you had to put your training on pause. The crown was being threatened by an outsider or so you were told before you were relocated to a smaller village along with Bucky’s unconscious body, laid out on a blanket. No one filled you in on exactly what was going with the throne but you hoped Shuri and T’challa were safe. At one point, you must have been discovered because two of the Wakandan men kicked in the door to the hut you were staying in and attempted to grab you. They wouldn’t tell you why they came or where you were going but Shuri gave you strict instructions not to leave your safehouse so you put your new defense training to use. You did feel pretty awful hurting the men as they had been kind to you when you first arrived to the country. One had even been your neighbor, but you only knocked them out to drag Bucky and yourself to somewhere that might’ve been safer.

Once the sounds of battle muted, you called Shuri who found you in a field you had gotten lost in. Shuri had been impressed by your defense skills when she heard the story but you were just happy no one was hurt too badly, especially Bucky. No one ever really explained what had happened but you figured it wasn’t really your business and everyone was safe.

The one good thing that came from all the drama was that you realized how close Bucky was to finally waking up. You had been in Wakanda for months and it was nearly time for Bucky to wake up. He was permanently moved back to another small village and you could finally stay with him. You were given instructions to wash him and give him fluids while he slept and you were able to perform the tasks with help from a nurse from the city. It made you laugh inwardly that your soulmate in a sense was a geriatric patient in your care. You remembered how his age was so formidable to you when you initially got the letter in the mail but now it rarely was a thought that crossed your mind. You even would reread your letter, finding small little things in the letter you overlooked as an eighteen year-old. While reading the old, torn letter for the millionth time, you were so immersed that you nearly missed the sputter coming from Bucky’s throat.

Jumping to his side, you checked James’ vitals with your bracelet but he grabbed your wrist with his hand, firmly and his eyes shot open. “(Y/N)?” He asked, throat rough with neglect.

“I’m here, James” You said, touching his face. “How’re feeling?” You asked.

“Water” He said, not answering your question. You grabbed him a glass and filled it with water. He drank it in one large gulp before answering your question, “I feel alright”

“Eight months in deep sleep and you feel ‘alright’?” You teased, twisting the bead on your bracelet that connects to Steve’s.

Bucky went to stand up but the nurse, Adea, came over and instructed him not to move too quickly. You left the room when she mentioned something about the catheter and Steve picked up your call. “Hey, how’s sleeping beauty” He asked. “In a few minutes, you can ask him yourself” You said, waiting until you got the signal to come back in. It wasn’t that you hadn’t seen Bucky like this before, but you expected he would probably like some privacy now he was conscious.

On the other end of the line, Steve was beaming, “Is he really awake?” Steve was already on his way over from whatever safehouse he was hiding in. Hearing Bucky’s voice from inside the hut, you came inside. “Hey, is that him? Can you put him on the… phone I guess?” Steve was still perplexed by the technology of Wakanda.

You angled the bracelet for Bucky to be able to converse with Steve. “Hey, buddy. Where’d you go? One minute I was falling asleep in a lab with you by my side and now I’m in a shack?”

“I dragged you here, myself you unappreciative asshole” You smacked him on the back of his head and he chuckled. “Hey Steve did you grow out your beard?” You noticed his new facial hair, or was it there before? He had grown his hair out, too and you realised how long it had been since you last spoke to Steve. He shrugged in response and you saw he was climbing into a jet before he excused himself and promised to come over as soon as he could.

Hanging up the call, you and Bucky took a small breath, appreciating the company you were sharing. Bucky had thinned considerably since he had been put to sleep but he definitely looked refreshed. You were happy he got some rest. “Did I lose my mind from that coma, or did you get buff?” He asked you, pinching at your bicep.

“You’re probably the most sane you’ve been in a while, Buck or we wouldn’t have bothered putting you under. And yeah I kinda took some lessons from the Dora Milaje” You said, making Bucky laugh.

“Oh I wish I hadn’t missed that. I’m sure they loved teaching you to fight” He still had that perfect laugh you could never tire from. In fact, just hearing his voice after all this time brought you close to tears.

You pushed him lightly because he was a bit more fragile in this state. “They did not. I’m still very much an outsider” You said, getting up to refill his glass. “And you didn’t miss much”

You spent another month in the small village. Local kids would often come in to play with Bucky who didn’t mind the company or to braid your hair that had grown immensely and teach you games you can play with stone pieces much like chess. They even gave Bucky a nickname- White Wolf as it was translated for you by Adea. They called you the Blue Crane, apparently. Steve visited the both of you and helped you both move back to the house had originally chosen to stay in. He couldn’t stay too long, though. He still had some things to finish out in the rest of the world. You were happy to stay in your bubble of security with Bucky.

It didn’t take much time or effort for his body to re adjust from his sleep. It had been used to it after the years of being comatose to awake for HYDRA. He still had nightmares every so often, walking in the night for sometimes hours until he came back to you. You never asked what he was dreaming of and he appreciated that. Sometimes, he’d hear a loud crash and he’d get jittery or try to find you and protect you but it was an improvement.

A peaceful few months passed and you found yourself unable to sleep. It was nearly sunrise, but you just sat outside alone. As the sun rose, you tried to memorize exactly every detail you saw because you were scared it might one day get taken from you. You thought about how it felt each time you had been separated from Bucky and how it had been similar to the dread you expected losing the sunrise would be like, but you stopped yourself. You weren’t going to entertain those thoughts right now. Realizing you still held that old letter in your hand, you skimmed it again, looking to the last line. It had changed somehow; in red ink, it displayed a different word that you couldn’t quite make out until the sunlight rose high enough to illuminate the page. It read, ‘Mission: Complete’. To your right, you could make out T’challa and many of his followers coming towards you, holding a box. Behind you, you felt Bucky’s presence.

#bucky barnes x reader #avengers fanfiction

[far-off-flower-fields]

Being 26 has literally been so rough so far. I know I have very different standards for myself than I do for other people but the distance between my standards for where I wanted to be now and where I actually am are super jarring and I'm scared that I'm running out of time.

As a kid my standards were more in line with the ones previous generations and the media told you to have, which is understandable I guess. Now I feel like they're more rooted in comparison which is common af I know but also super not helpful. Plus there's still this nonsense idea looming over my head that I'll be 30 in a few years and if I'm not sorted by then I'm screwed (thanks TV for raising me with shite expectations).

I sometimes feel like my expectations can't be that unreasonable because I adjust them all the time based on stuff that happens in an effort to try to be a little sensible, not to mention people who are not all that dissimilar to me in a lot of ways have already blazed this trail before me.

Literally though here I am, 26, and...

In the process of applying for bankruptcy due to my shitty coping methods resulting in an addiction to shopping (which is something that was always funny to people in movies but it's a real problem)

I've lived with my family for the past 3 years after having moved out 3 times since I was 16. My family is a disaster, it actually hurts me to live with them. I'm confined to one cramped room 99% of the time trying to preserve at least some sort of grasp on my will to live, I pay to live there but am reminded that the space I literally pay to inhabit is not mine, and I'm required to get my own food and feed myself, meaning I skip meals, they know and don't care. I can't afford to move out and there isn't enough council housing to go around.

I've been engaged for over a year, we can't afford to get married even though literally all we were going to do (because I know we can't afford even the smallest ceremony) was go to a registry office with 2 of my fiancés friends and sign some paper because even that costs literally hundreds of pounds.

I'm a financial burden on my Fiancé because I'm too mentally ill to work (I tried my best at 3 separate jobs over the years and the result is always the same) but apparently not ill enough to warrant support from anywhere else.

My physical health is still an issue, even though I thought that'd improve after I quit my job because the doctors all swore up and down it was just purely related to my mental health.

My art looks like doo doo.

I can't wear what I want because I self-harmed for most of my life and I'm covered in scars, so even though I've stopped it's still a problem. I know I have it better than others because some have been tattood over. The issue still remains however that there are a total of 2 rooms in which I can dress however I like without people looking at me like I'm literally eating a live animal of some sort. I have sensory issues and it's heating up and for yet another summer I'm going to suffer because I'm shite with money and didn't expect to survive this long.

I'm still having nightmares because of high school, and again other people have it worse and I've been out of school for a long time now, but those shouldn't be excuses for other people to invalidate the pain I still feel.

My only friend is my Fiancé and while he is wonderful, he has different requirements for space and I can't expect him to be at my beck and call 24/7 (especially since we still don't live together, and he is stuck working to financially support my useless ass) it wouldn't be healthy or right.

Executive dysfunction combined with all of the above means it's so damn hard to get shit done. I need to put in a lot of work to try to start up a career working for myself (especially since my skills are all nowhere near where they need to be) I'm not asking for riches, I only want a life that is comfortable and fun. But I mean you see my problem and it feels like I'm getting nowhere and this is my last chance, or it feels like it is? Bah.

I haven't been away on holiday since I was in early high school. I don't do well when I feel confined, but here I am. I've been in the same area for over 3 years and it makes me feel so trapped and understimulated, there were times as a kid I'd move house a couple of times a year, so being in one house for over 3 years and not seeing much else is obviously quite a contrast.

I grew up poor, lonely, isolated, and trapped. I feel like I've made next to no progress away from that and that it's getting too late in the game to have made this little progress after trying so many paths and feeling like I was working hard (considering my situation). It's disheartening. I've actually lost count of all the fresh starts I've made.

I'm not totally ungrateful, I adore my Fiancé, and all the animals in my life, and I'm aware I'm still in spite of all this shite more privileged than many in some ways. However it's still frustrating and I'm really really scared and sad. What if reblogging things on tumblr and watching certain YouTubers is the closest I get to my goals? Time is running out on me. I feel powerless.

As I said I don't even feel like I'm asking for a lot. I just want to work for myself, living in a single storey cottage with my Fiancé (married) and our animals. I want to bake, and do crafts, and create art, and tend to my garden and animals, with a really close friend or two and the ability to travel. That is all. I don't want a fancy car, or millions of pounds. I don't even expect for the parts of my life that never worked to suddenly start to work, my mental and physical health will always be something I have to work around, I'll probably never completely recover from my childhood, and I'll never be Miss Popularity, I wouldn't really want to be, and I also know I'll probably never be super happy with my appearance. I just want a sustainable, content life. Why is that so much to ask?

#I never know what to tag my own stuff #Thoughts #Life #mental health #mentally ill