#and its releasing at the beginning of august

[gideonthe9]

i just played the demo of stray gods and its soooo good

#stray gods #laura bailey the woman you are #its making my brain go brrrrrrrrrrrr #the art is so beautiful #and that song with pan fuvking SLAPS #also that laura and ashley duet killed me in the best way #anyway everyone go check it out the demo is out on steam #and its releasing at the beginning of august

[starlitmark]

Summary: You should be scared of this tentacle alien, but you’re too far gone in pleasure to care. Pairing: alien!Jongho x human fem!reader Genre: smut Tropes: supernatural (alien) au Rating: R 18+ Warnings: tentacles, nipple play, fingering, bulging kink, size kink, dirty talk, unprotected sex, alien cum, creampie Word Count: 2,532 Note: enjoy week two of Arousal August!! Thank you to @mejuii for beta/proofing this!!! <3

One minute you were peacefully lying in bed, half asleep, scrolling through random social media. Next, you’re in some sort of futuristic ship. You swear you’re dreaming. This has to be a dream. Though, it all feels so real. The way you can hear the mechanical whirring of something in the distance. The air is chilly, not unbearably, but just enough to have goosebumps on your skin. Taking it upon yourself, you start to wander down the painfully bright white hall in the direction you hear some sort of keys typing away. Your heart is beating out of your chest as your bare feet carry you down the hallway. The further you get down the long corridor, the more chilled the air around you becomes. You feel your nipple pebble up beneath your loose sleep shirt. As you reach the end of the hall, you see a humanoid figure sitting at a command center of sorts. 

“Oh, thank god there’s another life on this ship.” you whisper to yourself.

The humanoid creature whips his head around, and you see his bright pink hair and striking silver eyes. He’s stunning, to say the very least. He almost looks scared to see you behind him.

“H-how did you- oh my god did Wooyoung go and press another button again?” he whines.

Before you can get a single word out, he’s bolting through a doorway that closes tightly as soon as he’s through it. You didn’t think too hard about why he was so panicked. This is a dream, after all. You approach the command center and look out the wide window. The first thing you take notice of is how vivid all of the stars are. You can see each star’s individual color compared to what you can see from the ground. Then, you notice the Earth. Panic begins to rise in your chest again. It’s a dream; it’s just a dream. You pinch yourself to try to force yourself awake. It only hurts. Taking a few deep breaths, you plop yourself down on an oversized plush chair and hope that something will come along and peacefully transport you back to Earth. It’s terrifyingly silent in the large room. Not a single sound can be heard besides your own breathing. It’s still icy cold too. Whatever life form that man is, he has to come from somewhere cold if they keep it like this. Just as you’re about to get lost in thought, the door opens with a soft hiss noise and a much more muscular-built humanoid walks through. He seems more human than the one you had previously encountered. He has stark black hair and the most piercing blue eyes you’ve ever seen. 

“Who are you?” it’s not a question. It’s a command.

“Captain of this ship,” you quip sarcastically, “who do I look like?”

“I’m the captain here, little human. I’ll ask again; who are you?”

You quickly tell him your name and nothing more. He’s clearly studying you silently. You squirm under his gaze and hope he’s not planning to do something horrific to you. 

“Come with me.” he says stoically, already walking away, expecting you to follow.

“Aren’t you going to introduce yourself, at least? Or send me back home without another step in between? That pink-haired one said something about someone called Wooyoung pressing a button, and that’s why I’m here! Can’t you just-

The dark-haired alien spins around quickly, and you can see the anger swirling in his eyes. Before you can think, he has you pinned against the wall with a tentacle. You suddenly have nothing to say. A smirk grows on his lips before releasing you from his grip. The tentacle that had been holding you in your place returns to its place tucked beneath his pant leg. He doesn’t say a word. He continues walking down the corridor toward a rather lavish-looking door. The moment he approaches the door, it instantly opens but makes a strange noise as if to alert him that he’s not alone at the doorway. He says something in a foreign language, and the noise ceases. 

“Have a seat.” he gestures toward a cushion nearby what you’d assume to be a bed.

Cautiously you approach the plush seat and sit. All while you keep your eyes trained on the mysterious, blue-eyed alien. You watch as his gaze drops to your chest, then almost instantly is brought back to your face. He likely isn’t trying to be rude. He is just trying to figure you out. 

“I’m Jongho, by the way,” he tells you, sitting on the edge of his bed.

“Very human names you have around here.” you tease, leaning back on your palms.

“We adapt to whatever names are suitable for the species we’re around. Hence why you heard Seonghwa call the other alien, Wooyoung, earlier, those aren’t our names from our home planet, but it’s what’s easiest for you to comprehend.”

“Mmm,” you hum in acknowledgment, “and I can assume this is your room?”

“The captain’s chambers, yeah.”

You watch his gaze drop to your chest again and linger momentarily before trying to engage in normal conversation again. It almost seems like he’s trying to distract you from something. Maybe even distract you from your wish to go back home. You can tell that he’s distracted by something too.

“Our research says that only happens when you want to mate,” he says abruptly.

“W-what?” you’re thrown off by his comment, “What are you talking about?”

He doesn’t say anything. He walks right up to you and reaches his arm out toward you. You’re about to question him again and smack his hand away. That is until his outreached hand finds its target. Jongho tweaks your nipple between his thumb and forefinger, making you yelp out a moan. He smirks down at you as if he’s expecting your reaction.

“See,” he says almost flatly, “a noise you humans associate with mating.”

“My nipples are hard ‘cause it’s fucking freezing on this ship! You didn’t have to go and pinch it!”

“Is that not because you want to mate?” he muses teasingly, “I could show you how we do it here. You didn’t seem frightened by my tentacles.”

A part of you is being logical; you should immediately say no and tell him to send you home. The far more prominent part of your thoughts is screaming at you, saying this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity you must take. It takes you two seconds to debate it before you reach out to the alien. His eyes stay trained on you. You’re not entirely sure where the electric blue tentacle comes from, but you can barely see the bottom of his jacket lifting up due to it. The tendril wraps around your thigh.

“Show me how you do it up here.” You say in a sultry tone, “You seem like you need to destress a bit.”

Jongho doesn’t respond. Another one of his tentacles wraps around your other thigh and a third wraps around your waist. You’re lifted by the appendages as if you weigh nothing. Some golden speckles are swirling in Jongho’s eyes as he gets you pinned against one of his bedroom walls. He takes his hand and snakes it up your shirt to cup your bare breast below it. Your eyebrows furrow in desperation for him to move quicker. And as if he can read your mind, he forces your shirt over your head, leaving you in only your panties. They aren’t serving much purpose due to how soaked you are already. 

“Do you want me to hold you up here, or shall I lay you down on the bed?” he questions, his voice much more gravely than it was before.

“H-hold me up here,” you respond, already breathless.

“Very well, little human.” he chuckles airly, “just a forewarning,” he pauses to lower you against his hard, clothed member, “this isn’t like what you’re used to. We have ‘tentacles,’ as you call them, here too. You still fine with this?”

“Jongho,” you whine, attempting to grind yourself against him, “you have no fucking idea how fine I am with all of this.”

With that, he steals your lips in a heated kiss as his fingers pull your panties to the side. He smirks against your lips feeling how wet you already are. Your breath hitches as his fingers glide through your folds. You think you may go insane if he doesn’t rail you into another dimension right now. His fingers push into you slowly. He sets a rough pace when he sees that you’re comfortable with the intrusion. The wet sounds that are being created by how wet you are combined with his rough pace only serve to make you both needier.”

“Jongho,” you moan, “fuck me, please.”

His tentacles tighten around you as the words hit his ears, “Now? What if I wanted to play with you a bit more?” still keeping his fingers at a brutal pace.

“I’ll go insane if you don’t fuck me right now.” you sigh erotically.

Jongho chuckles and pulls his fingers from you. A string of arousal connects his fingers to your pussy for a few moments before breaking. The golden specks in his eyes seem to multiply and swirl more aggressively through the blue they typically are. His hands tease along the waist of his pants for a moment before shoving them down along with his boxers. Your eyes trail down his body, watching how his skin transitions from his beautiful tan skin into the same electric blue that his other tentacles are colored. Your eyes stay fixated on the tentacle fixated between his legs. It’s hard, just like a human cock would be, but something about the details of it makes you so much more desperate. More desperate than you’ve ever been for any human. It’s also massive compared to anything you’ve seen before. There are little bubbles along the entire shaft that you know will feel like heaven inside you, and the top tapers off into a gentle tip. His base is thicker than what many people would deem doable. You’re willing to take that challenge, though. Again, you feel the tentacles holding you up tighten. They press into your skin so much that your muscles slightly bulge around the constricted area. He presses his body against yours, grinding himself against you. His lips find purchase on your neck right against your pulse.

“You ready for me?” he asks, causing goosebumps to rise where his breath hits you.

“I’ve been ready,” you respond with a slight giggle.

Your giggle gets quickly cut off as he pushes into you in one fell swoop. He stays still for a few moments as you let a string of garbled noises out. It feels so good. You’re so incredibly full of him that you swear he’s in your stomach. He gives an experimental thrust, and you immediately shutter due to the pleasure you already feel. The tentacle wrapped around your waist shifts up toward your chest, the tip teasing at your nipple. Jongho takes the other between his fingers, causing you to squirm (to the best of your ability) in his hold. His free hand takes one of your wrists and guides your hand to lay over your stomach.

“You feel that? I’m so fucking deep inside you that I’m bulging from your belly. Told ya, we do things different up here, little human.”

“J-jongho, please!” you all but shout.

“What, little human? Already coming close to your peak?” he teases.

It’s pathetic, but you are. The texture on his cock combined with his sheer size has you seeing stars that weren’t in the sky just outside the spacecraft. Jongho thrusts into you like an animal, keeping his hand on top of yours against the bulge in your belly. He grunts out things in some sort of alien language, and you can tell that, though he’s teasing you for being close, he is too. His hand, previously occupied by your chest, moves into your hair before pulling your lips against his. The kiss steals all your breath away, and mere moments later, your orgasm overtakes your body. Your free arm flies around his shoulder, holding him as close as you can as you shudder and quiver in the grips of his tentacles.

“I’m gonna breed you full. Fuck.” he practically growls against your lips.

Within seconds you feel something flood your pussy. Jongho stays inside you, grunting something in that same alien language again. His tentacles loosen slightly but still hold you strong against the wall. He pulls your hand off your belly and lets you wrap it around his other shoulder. His arms wrap around your waist, and his tentacles fully let go of you and disappear back into his spine. Jongho is still fully inside you, but now he’s also holding you close against his body. He carries you over to the bed finally and lays you down. Slowly, he pulls out of you, and you see the jelly-like substance coating his member. It’s a pretty light green color. It almost glitters as you take in its appearance more. Jongho looks at you with a gentle kind of look. Though, it has some sort of bittersweet, almost questioning undertone to it.

“You humans can’t absorb semen of any kind, right?”

“No,” you chuckle breathlessly still, “whatever species you are, you have some pretty cum, though.”

“I better clean you up then…”

More words linger on his tongue, but he doesn’t voice them. He diligently cleans you up and checks with every second that you’re truly okay. It’s tender, intimate. Not many people have this level of care during aftercare, but he does, and you appreciate it to no end. After he finishes cleaning up, he climbs onto the bed with you and starts drawing random patterns on your collarbone with his fingertip.

“So, are you sure you want to go back home?”

“Hmm?” you hum, half asleep already.

“Are you sure you want to go back home? I know Wooyoung beaming you up here might not have been entirely an accident, but would you be opposed to staying here with me?”

You lift your head and look at him. Your eyes shine like stars as you look at him. Part of you knows that you should go home. You have a life there. But you also know deep down you weren’t happy there. You could find a new life here on this ship with him.

“You see, Wooyoung knew you were my type. He’s a little shithead sometimes, but he knows me well.” he shifts to hold you tighter against his body, “I confided in him recently. I told him how I wanted young of my own, but I’d never want to abandon the ship. Would you be willing to stay here with me? Mother my young?”

“Jongho-”

“You aren’t being pressured to. If you want to go home, just say the word, and I’ll have Seonghwa beam you right back to where you were.”

You kiss the tip of his nose, “I was going to say yes, dummy”

COPYRIGHT STARLITMARK 2023© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED — reposting/modifying any fic or piece of original writing posted on this blog is not allowed. Translations are not permitted. 

Networks: @cultofdionysusnet @kwritersworld @k-vanity

Tag List: @sanjoongie @jaehunnyy @ericssmile @anyamaris @almondmilkeu @shinestarhwaa

#jongho smut #cultofdionysusnet #kwritersworldnet #kvanity #arousal august #ateez fanfic #ateez x reader #ateez smut #jongho fanfic #jongho x reader

[yurimother]

Dystopian Yuri Series 'Kimi ga Shinu made Koi wo Shitai' Licensed in English

During its panel at Sakura Con, Kodansha USA announced that it has licensed Nachi Aono's fantasy Yuri tragedy series I Want to Love You Till Your Dying Day (Kimi ga Shinu made Koi wo Shitai), also known as My Wish is to Fall in Love Until You Die. The first volume will be released in February 2025.

The publisher describes the series:

At the mysterious orphanage where Sheena lives, death is nothing new to its residents—girls who no longer have families of their own, who are raised as weapons of war, taught to kill and take the lives of others without batting an eye. Everyone, that is, except Sheena, who wishes for nothing more than the growing conflict around her to end. On the night of her roommate's death, Sheena meets a strange girl covered in blood, who smiles despite the turmoil surrounding them. The next day, the girl appears as a new student in Sheena's class and introduces herself as Mimi. Initially thought to be a school myth, there are now whispers in the orphanage's halls that Mimi is their secret weapon—an immortal who cannot die. When Mimi is later assigned as Sheena's new roommate, Sheena's world grows even more complicated when she begins living with someone who loves and welcomes death, when all Sheena wants to do is stop it…

The manga is serialized in Comic Yuri Hime in August of 2018. The seventh collected volume was released in Japanese by Ichijinsha in February. It is highly praised for its characters, romance, and difficult story that highlights the horrors and cruelty of war. In 2021, it won first place in the story category and third place overall in Yuri Navi's Yuri Manga Sousenkyo popularity poll.

You can check out I Want to Love You Till Your Dying Day when it releases in English next February.

Source: Kodansha Website

#yuri #lgbt #gay #lgbtq #gl #lesbian #queer #girls love #anime #manga #news

[orchidyoonkook]

To What We Were Before, And All The Things After | JJK | Ch. 5

Title: Shocking Announcements and Camouflaged Explanations

Pairing: Prince!College Student!JK x Fine Arts Major!(F)!Reader

Series Rating//Genre: (M) | College AU, Mild Royalty AU, Smut, Angst, Fluff, S2F2L, Indiffernce to lovers, sloooowwww ass burn

Summary: I'm sorry the prince is dating WHO?

Warnings: PG16, swearing, drinking, pining, angsssttttttttt, Jk has a lot of feelings, and so does Reader. Yuri being Yuri. Adaline being Adaline. TOUCH of fluff.

Word Count: 6,006

Release Date: October 20, 2023, 2:00PM

A/N 1: brain mush. finally out. Thank you for understanding. Already working on 6.

Series: Chapter One | Chapter Two | Chapter Three | Chapter Four

It’s 2:30pm on the Wednesday before fall reading week. 

Saturday’s looking so beautiful. Sunny skies and comfortable temperatures. 

It’s 2:30pm on the Wednesday before the Friday you get to see Nel for the first time since August. 

And by god you can’t wait. You’re counting the days, minutes and seconds till he’s in front of you again. 

But it’s also 2:30pm on the Wednesday after you mysteriously woke up in your bed after movie night.  And that thought alone has been in the back of your mind since you opened your eyes Monday morning. 

You’d thought about asking Jungkook what happened, but also didn’t think you could face the mortification if his answer was the one you almost 100% knew it was going to be. Hell, you could already feel the nose dive your stomach would make towards pavement the second you got confirmation. 

So instead, like any other rational person, you shelved it away in the back corner of your brain. Far, far back, hopefully being covered with dirt and cobwebs and lint as the days pass on. 

Though you have a nagging feeling that someone or something keeps dusting—anyways, there are much more important things to be focusing on. 

Currently at the greenhouse cafe, you’re sipping on hot chocolate and painting this week's florals on a canvas almost half the size of you. Perched onto an easel, a bunch of sunflowers is beginning to take shape when your phone dings so many times you're worried someone’s dead. 

Dropping your brush, you scoop it up from its place on the edge of the table, only to see a series of texts from Yuri, and you loose a worried breath.

Her contact name is the same from when you two went to a party the first night of freshman year. While you were sipping from your first and only drink that night, Yuri was sloshed out her mind and slurring her words. And thus, SlurryYuri was born.

She whines every time she sees you still haven’t changed it. You were never going to, of course.

SlurryYuri [2:32pm]: BITCH

Oh, here we go. 

SlurryYuri [2:33pm]: YOU WILL NEVER GUESS WHO WENT SOCIAL MEDIA OFFICIAL TODAY SlurryYuri [2:33pm]: BABE ANSWER SlurryYuri [2:33pm]: ANSWER ANSWER ANSWERRRRR SlurryYuri [2:34pm]: YNNNNNNNN

You [2:34pm]: Take a breath why dont you

SlurryYuri [2:34pm]: FINALLY.  SlurryYuri [2:34pm]: By the gods YN…  SlurryYuri [2:35pm]: ANYWAY SlurryYuri [2:35pm]: JUNGKOOK SlurryYuri [2:35pm]: as in PRINCE Jungkook SlurryYuri [2:36pm]: is dating ADALINE. SlurryYuri [2:36pm]: as in #1 ENEMY OF THE STATE EVIL BITCH ADALINE.

You spit out what was left of the hot chocolate in your mouth. 

Thankfully, you had some of your mind about you and managed not to ruin your painting by turning your head…couldn’t say the same for the cafe wall though. Rustic brick now splattered with a lovely, Pollock-esque spray of brown.

Oops.

But Jungkook and…Adaline? That doesn’t make any sense whatsoever.

He hasn’t mentioned anything about this to you. You speak to him every day, see him almost every day, and nothing? Not a peep? A morsel? A hint? Nothing?

Maybe you two aren’t as close as you thought you were.

To be fair, you didn’t tell him about Nel. And now that you think about it, you haven’t seen or heard much from Jungkook since Sunday, which is unusual. He’s normally stuffing your inbox full of messages as the sun rises and sets, yet he’s sent maybe two a day since then.

You thought he was just busy with schoolwork.

Spiraling, you can’t help but wonder how long they’ve been seeing one another. How long he’s kept this little secret—not that it’s any of your business anyway, but he’s always seemed so open with you, with just about everything. So the fact that he kept this from you? What does that say? 

Does he think you’d react like any other girl? That you would scream and cry and mourn and tell him he’s making a mistake, that you’re his true love? Like Adaline would if he weren’t dating her? 

As if! And he knows that.

He knows that…right?

Doesn’t matter. Yes it does. No it doesn’t. 

Ugh! Whatever!

Does he even know who Adaline really is? Or does she put on a mask in front of him too, like she does everyone else. She must because now you wonder how he could even possibly like someone like her, knowing…well her! 

Bitchiness and duchess-ness aside, you and Adaline are incredibly similar, and Jungkook has never had any interest in you whatsoever, thank god. You and Adaline are both fine arts majors, both top of your class, talented, driven. You both work tirelessly for what you want, and don’t let others get in your way to success. Though only one of you will cheat if you have too, morals be damned. You both want your lives to yourself, to make your own path, to be trailblazers in your chosen fields.  

That kind of woman doesn’t seem like Jungkook's type. 

He needs someone who will follow him, and allow him to lead the nation. Someone who is okay submitting to him and his needs for the good of the people and the betterment of the Western Shores. He needs a politically inclined cheerleader, for lack of better phrasing. And that isn’t Adaline at all…or you, if you're still putting yourself in this conversation, which you’re not.  

Also, wasn’t it a rule that princes could only marry princesses? Or was it that nice, genuine people shouldn’t end up with assholes who use and abuse those around them for social status and power? And isn’t that a thing for him too—that he hates when people use him for his name?

So how could he go for her? You can’t fathom a goddamn reason as to why—

Ah…Well.

You can, but you hate it. 

Adaline is beautiful, and while no, not a princess, she does have a title the prince can be seen with in public without ridicule, friend or more than. Someone who wouldn’t be looked at like a charity case or a flavour of the week. Someone who’s used to the media. Adaline doesn’t have to hide from them. Isn’t scared to be seen by them with him. It wouldn’t ruin her future. It’ll only add to i—Wait.

Holy shit.

Adaline comes from one of the most influential families on the Eastern Shores. One with a lot of political power. Like, best friends with the Queen of the Eastern Shores, political power. Though she was only ever graced with sons. Adaline’s probably the closest thing she has to a daughter.

A marriage between Jungkook and Adaline could potentially unify the two sides again. 

Jungkook and Adaline could re-unite the East and West after centuries of war and separation, and current amicable co-existence.

Now that’s a reason he would date her. to become power couple of the century.

The next step in history. 

The whole idea of them makes more and more sense the more you think about it. Adaline, darling of the East marrying the future King of the West. And your stomach curls in on itself. 

Just because it makes sense doesn’t mean you have to like it. 

And you pray to whatever god or gods there are in this universe that he keeps her away from you and out of your conversations. Jungkook’s relationship isn’t any of your business, nor your interest, but you don’t know how well you’d be able to keep your mouth shut about her if he asks anything. 

You know he likes that you’re honest. That you don’t hide things from him others would just to please him. But at what point do you put that aside to keep the peace in an otherwise very comfortable and still blossoming friendship? At what point does honesty become an obstacle rather than a building block?

You know that if Jungkook ever meets Nel and happens not to like him he would keep his mouth shut, mostly. Hopefully. He may give you a hard time but that’s just him. Jungkook knows your relationship is important to you, that it and Nel, make you happy. He would respect that.

So again, who are you to speak ill of the person he’s chosen for himself? Maybe he knows something you don’t, sees something in her that you haven’t.

Just…Why did it have to be Adaline?

He could have anyone, anyone—on campus, in the West, the East, for the love of god, he could have anyone in the entire ass realm he wants! It’s easy to forget when he speaks with his mouth full, dresses in baggy, comfy clothes, and whines about movie choices, but Jungkook is still Prince of the Western Shores. 

He’s still the most eligible bachelor on the continent.  

Yet somehow he chose the one person you can’t stand to be within 1000 feet of. He chose the one person you never thought he would’ve liked for himself because underneath everything, she is everything he claims to hate. 

He chose Adaline Dupree. 

So yeah, you wonder why he hid it from you. Why he felt like he couldn’t tell you. Sure, you hated her, but he doesn’t know that. Probably.

Maybe his love life is something he keeps private? Everyone has that right, and maybe that’s what he’s used to doing due to his every choice being splashed on every news and media outlet there is. 

You roll your eyes. Merciless vultures. 

So maybe he’s not used to sharing this side of himself with others. Maybe that’s why he didn’t tell you anything. 

And with all of this chaos now flitting around your brain, you failed to notice the little slice of pain behind your sternum the more they ricochet around up there. You’re hurt. 

You didn’t expect it to hurt. 

Out of everything you could feel about this: confusion, anger, exasperation, annoyance, you don’t feel any of them. You just feel upset that he didn’t come to you about it. Didn’t feel like he could discuss it with you. 

You are the person your friends—old and new—come to talk to. Always have been. You’re the one who has the rational, well thought out advice. The common sense distributor. The one sought out to help, regardless of the situation. 

And you love it. You love that you’re able to help your friends. Love that they trust you with such things. That you’re the person they seek assistance and guidance from. The ear they bounce their thoughts off of. You’ve always been told you have ‘knowledge beyond your years’ as your mother says. You take pride in that. It gives your life that much more meaning. 

So even though you don’t want to, and know you shouldn’t, because it has nothing to do with you and you know that…you’re taking this as somewhat of a personal blow. 

Maybe you’re losing your touch. You hope not.

But, you need to react like you normally would. Like you still hate the prince for how he humiliated Yuri, just like she hates Adaline for you. Solidarity between best friends, even if it’s fake.

Come on YN you got this, you think to yourself.

You [2:40pm]: I almost feel sorry for him. After how he treated you tho? They deserve each other

No they don’t, no they don’t, no they don’t. 

He deserves so much better.

SlurryYuri [2:40pm]: I’m just surprised he went for her tbh SlurryYuri [2:41pm]:  isnt she like a total bitch? To you at least?  SlurryYuri [2:41pm]: like just knowing what I do from the tiny bit of time I spent with him, she doesn’t really seem to be his type

Vindication!

You [2:42pm]: uh yeah, like 100% yes. Shes a rich party girl who doesnt know the word punishment, always gets what she wants, regardless if she works for it or not. And takes it when she especially doesnt deserve it You [2:43pm]: probably explains how she got him 🙄

Vivian pops outside to check in, and takes the couple steps to reach your table, some napkins and a large cup of water in hand.

“Hey! Are you okay? I saw that spit take and one; wow, that was impressive. But two; is everything alright?” she asks, passing you the napkins. The water gets thrown on the wall to wash off the splatter.

You wipe up your chin and remnants of projected hot chocolate on the table.

“Sorry, thank you. Yes, I’m fine,” you lie easily. A little scared of how easy it’s becoming. “I just learned some really shocking news is all. I shouldn’t have read it with a full mouth.”

“Oh! That makes sense. I hope whatever it is turns out fine.” 

“Thanks, me too.” 

You know Vivian means well, but she doesn’t know that that is the very last thing you want. You want Adaline’s corruptive, cutthroat, cruel nature away from Jungkook. 

But is he just Jungkook anymore?  

You’ve spent enough time together to consider him a friend, a close friend even. You’ve grown to care for him, platonically, similar to the way you do Yuri. And the fact that you want Adaline as far away from him as she can get so he doesn't go through whatever shit she’ll inevitably get him wrapped up in, definitely says something.

Adaline loves many things—art, fashion, publicity—but the thing she likes better than anything else? 

Attention.

She thrives on it. The more eyes on her the better. She’s a ‘there’s no such thing as bad press’ type, and you worry what that means for him.

Especially now that she’s taken them public—because you know it was her that did it, he would have never—and she’s going to be the hottest topic in all of the newest news cycles. 

Say they’ve been seeing one another since the beginning of the school year? Just a guess, but a likely correct one—you shiver at the thought. That’s less than seven weeks to get to know one another before camera crews and reporters start breathing down their necks. They’ll ask and comment on everything you thought you might go through at one point. But unlike you, Adaline will face it head on with a smile and win them over. Gladly welcome them with open arms.

Because exactly like Jungkook fears with everyone new, she desires everything a relationship with him would give her. 

Status, fame, power, wealth, brand sponsorships, popularity, jealousy, people wishing they could be her. You couldn’t build a better trap to lure her into if you tried. 

Jungkook is potentially unknowingly feeding her already enormous ego simply by publicly dating her. And it dawns on you that your classes with her are going to become even more insufferable.

Great. 

You don’t even know if she’s going to care that she has him. As wonderful, kind and talented as Jungkook is, you have a very good sense that she’ll be just like rest; happy to receive what he can give her, and not a damn to be given about him.

So now you worry. You worry for him and for his safety and for his feelings.

Because that’s what friends do. 

Right?

“Hey.”

You look up to see Jungkook rounding the back corner to the cafe, backpack slung over a shoulder, mask, hat and hoodie all too familiar. You’d be able to spot him a mile away now, it’s all in his posture and eyes. 

Maybe he should invest in some sunglasses. 

And slouch.

You’re elbows deep in yellow and brown paint from the sunflowers that now fill the canvas in front of you. You’ve been experimenting with texture, oil paint thicker in some places to give off a more 3D effect. Stripes of green carved into the medium by the edge of a long palette knife mimic stems, and fat leaves placed with precision also riddle the cloth. 

As he nears, you try your best not to come off as upset, pissed off or worried when you reply.

“Hey,” you fail miserably, sounding exactly like you’re all kinds of upset, and pissed off, and worried. 

Shit.

Like always, he notices immediately.

“Everything okay?” he’s taking his spot at the table beside you, the one that seats four, having abandoned his original one weeks ago. 

You two both found yourselves here so frequently that over time, he started sitting next to you without asking. Always in the same spots. Always side by side. Him at the closest chair to you, you at the same one you always have.

Sure, you two shared movie nights and fun messages, you talk everyday and pretty much talk about whatever you want. But when it comes to academics, he knows he has to tread water a little differently around you. He can’t constantly start conversations the way he would at movie night when you’re at the greenhouse cafe. You’re here to work and to study, and if he wants to be there too, he has to respect that about you, and know not to take it personally. 

So you work together in comfortable silence most of the time, occasionally breaking it to have a conversation, get snacks, or pose for one another’s homework. It’s become another routine you share, an unspoken agreement that when you were both there at the same time, you worked together. 

And you haven’t minded since that first time. The one when you decided to say yes to your friendship. 

You welcome it. Welcome him. His presence. 

Company’s nice to have when it’s wanted. 

When it’s him.

And whether you know it or not, you seem to work better when you are in each other's immediate orbit. You work better when he works alongside you, able to focus better due to body doubling and  to have a second opinion at the ready when you need it. Just like he worked better when you worked alongside him, a willing model any time he needed, and an open ear when he wanted to work something out.  

You two just work. And because of this, he also picks up when something isn’t quite right with the atmosphere you two have created. 

Play it off YN.

“Yeah, just focused. Sorry.”

He doesn’t believe you for a second. When you focus you have a very distinct look on your face, eyes clearer, an eyebrow constantly quirked in self reflection, and that isn’t the one you have on right now. 

But he lets it slide. For now. Somethings up with you, and he knows better than to push you before you’re ready.

“That’s okay. I’m running in, need anything?”

“I’m good, thanks,” you go back to painting, barely acknowledging him and shutting out the outside world. 

Yeah, something’s definitely up.

You’re ignoring him so hard you don’t notice Jungkook lifting your hot chocolate just enough to feel it’s empty. 

Vivian’s behind the counter as he enters and takes off his mask to flash her a wide smile.

“Hey Vivian, how are you today?”

She blushes like she does every time he comes in, hands slowing in their task. 

“Hey JK, I’m good. You?” He had to ask her about a hundred times to drop the ‘your highnesses,’ ‘you majesty’s,’ and ‘prince’s.’ Telling her it really was okay, and that no, she wasn’t going to get in trouble for it. It took her some time, but eventually she came around and it’s made his experience here so much better. So much more normal.

She’d settled on JK because ‘it makes me feel like I’m listening to what you want while also not feeling guilty and weird about calling you Jungkook without the prince part.’

He could work with that logic.

“I’m alright, could I get my usual and a hot chocolate for YN? With a little extra secret ingredient if you're so inclined?” You shared the not so secret stash secret with Jungkook about a week after you said yes.  “She seems upset. Have you noticed anything off lately? Has she said anything to you?”

Jungkook peruses the pastry display while Vivian starts on his drink.

“Not really, she did a wicked spit take earlier about some news her friend told her, but said she was fine, just surprised. Besides that, focused maybe? Or maybe the opposite of that and a little distracted?” She thinks for a second. “Does she have an exam coming up that you know about? She gets a little weird before those.”

He knows exactly what’s meant by that. Witnessed it himself, bunny slippers and all.

But no, you don’t. Your midterms aren’t until the first week of November, nearly two weeks away. You started studying for them last week.

He spots egg tarts in the back corner of the pastry display, hiding. Perfect.

“I don’t think that’s it, but thanks though. I’ll get it out of her eventually, especially if I have one of those egg tarts to butter her up first,” he says in a questioning tone to ask for one while pointing at them.

Vivian smiles a knowing smile. He wants to know what it means because she’s worn it around him for a while now, and he’s half tempted to ask at this point. 

“I think that could be arranged.”

Jungkook pays and heads to your tables again. You’re still locked into your own world of colour and canvas. He subtly sets down the hot chocolate and bagged tart so that you won’t notice until you pop the bubble you’re in.

Halfway through a business assignment he hears your surprise. The weird look on your face finally breaking, a grateful one taking its place as you peek at him.

A soft, genuine, “thank you,” finds his ears as your lips meet lid, and you can’t meet his eye. He knows you often forget to drink or eat when you’re in the zone. 

Maybe now with a warm drink and some goodies in your belly, you’re willing to talk about it.

“You sure everything’s okay?” he asks again.

Your deep sigh and unfocused gaze says enough to him. 

You are willing to talk.

Quietly, almost ashamed sounding, you ask, “Why didn't you tell me about her?”

Her? 

Oh.

Oh… 

You meant Adaline. Why hadn’t he told you about Adaline. 

“Why did I find out an hour ago from Yuri screaming at me through text messages and not from you? Is it something you’re private about? Do you not trust me?”

The truth was that he was hoping to keep it under wraps for a bit longer, actually, hoping you never found out so he wouldn’t have to explain the reason why. 

He still doesn’t have too, and he won’t. Not the real reason.

He won’t ruin things. He can’t.

But he also should have known better. Should have known that not telling you would hurt you instead. Of course he trusted you.

You talk everyday, sometimes for hours, sometimes just to check in. You hang out during the week, whether it be at the cafe like you are right now, or for Sunday movie night. 

Six weeks isn’t a long time, but it was plenty when he thinks about how much time you two have already spent together, how much you’ve gotten to know one another. 

How comfortable you are in each other’s presence. 

Six weeks isn’t a long time, but it feels like you’ve always been there with him, listening, cheering, supporting.

Six weeks isn't a long time, and yet it feels like it’s been forever.

Of course you’re hurt he didn’t tell you. So he doesn’t lie to you, but he also doesn’t tell you the full truth.

“Oh…uh, that.” He rubs a hand at the nape of his neck. “That just kind of happened recently actually, like Monday recently. My father’s been really pressuring me to find someone to court,” and I couldn’t go with my first choice. “So I did.”

“And you went with Adaline?” You ask carefully.

“Uh, yeah? Is there something wrong with her?”

Adaline isn’t his first, second or tenth choice. She's his father’s choice. Might as well appease him and at least try with this girl. It’s going…fine, so far. 

Adaline wanted to make it social media official as soon as possible, wanted what he could give her, like everyone else. Like he expected. And so he willingly suffered through a photo session where she staged everything to make it look perfectly unposed and natural. Even though none of it was. 

She’d told him to put his arms around her waist and kiss her forehead, and it worked. The picture wasn’t bad, they both looked great. But he hated it anyway. It wasn't a spur of the moment decision, or sincere. It wasn’t a picture of two fools drunk on love, wanting to capture something beautiful for their future selves to look back on to reminisce over.

It was an uncomfortable hour and a half of touching and kissing a complete stranger, and it is the complete opposite of what he wants in a relationship. 

He wants genuine and carefree and candid. He wants honest, true feelings and social media posts saved for anniversaries and birthdays instead of using them as a mini documentary of every part of his life through pictures. 

He wants shitty birthday cakes made from scratch, and blurry polaroid pictures of kisses in the rain to put in his wallet when he’s away from them. He wants silly nicknames and inside jokes no one else will understand. 

He wants midnight walks hand in hand under moonlight and quirky habits he picks up from them. He wants pictures of precious moments and holidays celebrated between just the two of you and movie nights under blanket forts with popcorn and hot chocolate and egg tarts. 

He wants real.

He wants authentic. 

He wants love.

Not some staged artificial bullshit for an online presence that means nothing once you’re dead. 

But this is new and exciting for Adaline. He understands that a relationship with him is a very big deal, that she’s not used to it yet, and that it hasn’t been nearly long enough for him to see the true her yet. 

It’s only been 44 hours. Not that he’s counting.

So he’s going to give her some time, and have some faith that maybe she shows him that side of herself if it exists. He doesn't think she's going to change all that much for several reasons, the first being her enormous reputation, and the second being that she’s a politician's daughter, but he’s going to at least try. The way he hopes she will.

And if nothing does change, and she stays the exact same, at least she’s pretty enough to distract him. 

He knows that’s not the most mature or princely thing to do or think. In fact, he knows it’s quite asshole-ish of him, but if Adaline’s going to openly use him for her own personal gain, why shouldn’t he be able to use her just a little bit too? 

She isn’t unfamiliar with political relationships, having been born from one, so he doesn’t think she would be against it either. And it’s not like he’ll be mistreating her, quite the opposite in fact.

He’ll shower her with expensive gifts and happily take however many pictures she wants. He’ll smother her in physical affection and get or do whatever she needs in order to make her happy. 

Because as much as she clearly wants this relationship with him for whatever reason, he desperately needs it more with every passing day. He needs somewhere to put everything he’s feeling. And if that happens to be in a beautiful woman his father approves of who he could possibly, eventually grow feelings for? It’s a win-win in his book.

But at the same time, sometimes he really hates the shit he has to navigate in his Royal Life.

While Jungkook is caught in his thought spiral, you bite your tongue. Like actually bite your tongue. 

Don’t say shit Y/N. 

Don't say anything.

It’s not your business. What they have together and what’s between you and Adaline are completely separate, unrelated things. One’s a rivalry and one's a relationship. Those are not the same. 

At. All. 

So, still untrusting of your mouth, you shake your head and dodge his question by changing the direction of the conversation.

“Why did you go public so quickly?” you ask, feeling like it’s the safest question you can muster. “It’s literally only been two days.”

He shrugs. “She wanted to, and I didn’t say no.”

“Courseshedid,” you mutter under your breath. That should’ve been red flag number one. Two days? Who goes social media official after two days!?

“What?”

“Nothing,” you try your best to give him the closest thing to a smile you can currently muster, forcibly removing any acid from every word. “I hope she makes you happy.”

He doesn’t tell you she was hand picked by the king for him.

That at twenty-four, he still isn’t pulling all of his own strings. It’s pathetic.

“Me too.” 

He hopes she’ll help more than anything. Even if it’s just for a little while. “I’ve never been in a public relationship before. But the kingdom and my father seem to like her, so I’m sure I will too, with time.” 

It takes all of your focus not to roll your eyes.

Of course they do. Of course the King already likes her, she’s got the attitude and knowledge for politics, so she’s perfect! Strong potential to be the heartless, ruthless Queen to what you already know will be Jungkook's kind and giving King. 

Great! Just great. That’s just…great…

Maybe you’re biased. Maybe there’s something in her that you can’t see because of your past with her. 

Maybe they really are perfect for one another and you just refuse to see it. Opposites attract, isn’t that what they say? Well Jungkook and Adaline couldn’t be more opposite of one another.

So you decide that you won’t let your personal feelings get in the way. That you’ll keep the peace and support his choice, regardless of your opinion of her, even if you hate his choice. 

And you really hate his choice.

“I have no doubt.”

The seat heater in the car you rented to pick Nel up from the airport keeps your tush toasty while you drive. 

Friday night has never felt so exciting!

You can barely sit still, the leg not pressing the pedals won’t stop bouncing and you have to sit on your hands at stop lights to try and keep calm.

God you missed him, it's only been two months since you last saw him, and yet it feels like forever. 

You have the piece of printer paper with ‘Smoosh’ printed on it in the biggest font you could have horizontally. It’s something you do every year, and every year it never fails to bring the biggest smile to Nel’s face when you wave it wildly the second you see him.

Pulling up to the terminal you keep your eyes peeled for the first parking spot you can find. Never an easy feat at this particular airport but you manage to find one somewhere in the J lot under section 1, whatever that meant. All you care about right now is that you’re decently close to the doors as you grab your phone, bag, sign, and that you’re perfectly on time.

Entering through sliding doors, you find the waiting area mostly empty, so you pick the best place to sit as you wait for his flight to land: dead center and up front. 

You can’t wait. Just a few more minutes and you’ll see him. 

You can’t wait. You can’t wait. You can't wait!

Your phone dings and you jump at it, looking for the ‘I’ve landed’ text from Nel, but it’s not from Nel.

It’s from Jungkook.

Me [10:42pm]: See you in a week. I hope you enjoy your time with Nel.

That sounds okay, right? It sounds neutral? Safe?

Like he hasn’t been dreading this week since that day you told him about it?

Jungkook hopes so. Because he wants you to enjoy your week off.

Your week off with Nel. 

And not him. 

That’s normal, he has to remind himself. That he’s not anyone particularly special to you, just a friend. Not someone you would go out of your way for to spend all your free time with over break. Not even for two hours on Sunday nights.

Just a regular, average, nothing important about him…

Friend. 

He doesn’t want to feel like this. Doesn’t want to have all of these… whatever these feelings are, about and for you.

He really doesn’t want to. But more than that, he can’t. 

He can’t have any sort of non-platonic feelings for the first person who didn’t give a shit about who he was. For the person who makes him feel more like himself than anyone else. 

For the person who has a boyfriend. 

For the person who isn’t his girlfriend.

For the person who’s you.

But he can’t fucking help it!

So he’s been shoving them down, down, down. So far down that he’s able to function around you. 

Because it’s you. 

You’re kind, and caring. Talented, beautiful, giving. Driven, smart. You respect what he asks for and what he wants for himself, not because he's the Prince demanding, but because it's him—because it’s Jungkook—that asks you, and you liste–

No! Stop it. He can’t. He can’t!

Stop, stop, stop—

You have Nel! 5 years in, loving, loyal boyfriend, probably soon to be more after graduation, Nel.

It’s expected that you would spend what little time off you have with the boyfriend you barely get to see, wouldn’t it? Makes sense that every second you have, is saved for him? 

For being happy with who makes you happy? 

Jungkook wants to see you happy. And Nel makes you happier than he’s ever seen you before, so he can’t be too upset with the guy, even though he wants to be. He wants to hate him. But how could he hate someone that gave you the smile that completely shatters his heart. 

Picasso [10:43pm]: Thanks! I will. See you soon😊

With a broken smile, he turns his phone off and puts it in his pocket.

He’s up against a wall, red cup in his hand filled with something that he’s barely touched yet, trying not to be too noticeable.

Adaline’s dragged him to some party on campus he really doesn't care about. But she said it would be good to be seen out together now that things are official. 

Out in the open, for everyone to see. For everyone to talk about.

So he went, because she asked him to. 

And now he’s regretting it. The music is shit, the people smell and everything he touches is damp or sweaty. This isn’t a part of the university experience he ever intended on participating in, but here he is. 

Adaline appears from the crowd, walking over to where he stands, a cup of her own in one hand and the other finding its way to his neck. 

One thing Jungkook’s glad for is the alcohol. Something to help his racing thoughts, pounding heart, and roiling gut. Something to drown out the world. Even if he’s only had two gulps so far. 

More, then. 

Taking a hefty swig he revels in the burn that crawls down his throat. It feels good, it makes him feel less. So he takes another one and another, and then pours his turmoiled feelings about you and Nel into Adaline’s lips. Shoving them down, further and further, until it’s like they were never even there in the first place.

The only thing that's there now is the fire in his stomach, Adaline, and her cherry flavoured lip gloss.

Chapter Six: Eastern Arrivals and Unwanted Doubt

A/N 2: I'm so sorry this took for literal ever. I never intend on taking forever but unfortunately real life gets in the way and I'm left with no creative energy to output writing I'm proud of.

A/N 3: As always, Thank you for reading, loves. Xoxo - Yoon <3

<- Back

#jungkook smut #jungkook x reader #jungkook x you #jungkook x oc #jeongguk #jeon jeongguk #jungkook au #jungkook college au #jungkook fanfic #jeon jungkook #bts #bts imagines #jungkook imagine #bts fic #jungkook x y/n #bts jungkook #jungkook scenario #bts au #bts smut #bts x reader #bts x you #jungkook fluff #jungkook angst #bts fanfic #yoon writes #jeon jungkook x you #jeon jungkook x reader #jeon jungkook x oc #jeon jungkook x y/n #TWWWBAATTA

[kookslastbutton]

Those Eyes Chico ༓ myg (m) | Teaser

✒ Summary: As the new marketing director for Min Yoongi’s upcoming D-Day album & tour, you’re expected to bring your expertise to the table. This shouldn’t be a problem—you’re the best in the business and you’re used to drawing a strict line between your professional and personal life. But what happens when the lines you’ve fought to keep as separate blur for the first time?

pairing: idol!yoongi x plus size!poc!reader

genre/AU: angst, fluff, smut, slow-burn, coworkers2friends2lovers, winter setting, forbidden love?

word count: tbd, 835 for this teaser

warnings: oc is 28, Yoon is 30, oc is not originally from South Korea, oc has light brown eyes, swearing, mentions of alcohol consumption, mentions of anxiety, panic attacks, body insecurities, fear of being blacklisted, emotionally restrained Yoon, mentions of smoking, unstable parental relationships, conservative parents, mentions of therapy, mentions of dating scandal, eventual sexual content, and more specific warnings per chapter.

now playing: Sweet Dreams by The Last Shadow Puppets

a/n: Okay this has taken over six months to release but it's finally beginning and I am super excited to share! 🫣 I am low-key terrible at choosing a proper teaser so hoepfull this works haha. ANYWAY, this series is dedicated to my wonderfully crazy friend and beta, Gloom @theuselessdaydreamingidiot, and to all our fellow Yoon lovers bc we miss our sweet man SO MUCH 🥺 Enjoy! 🥰 Also huge thank you to @itaeewon for designing this beautiful series header! Love it!!

Series Masterlist

“Did you get the files I sent to you?”

The woman nods her head in affirmation while sweeping a few pieces of her long, silky hair behind an ear. To strangers, she appears to look about 24 which is only four years younger than yourself but nonetheless she’s the same age as you. Hei-Ran is her name, meaning “graceful orchid” according to Korean translation.

Hei-ran is one of Hybe’s newest hires and based on her experience, a near perfect fit to being South Korean boy group Tomorrow X Together’s new marketing manager. Until about three months ago, this had been your job.

You never imagined giving up the position after three years of working in the role. But with December right around the corner Hybe had other plans for you.

"Graduated summa cum laude with a bachelors degree in BTech in Electrical and Electronics Engineering and a MBA in Marketing from NYU Stern. You worked two years as a brand manager for U.S record label Atlantic Records immediately after graduating, and are now working at BigHit Music as a marketing manager for TXT including liaison with their global marketing team.”

You recall PD Bang’s voice vibrate in the back of your mind from mid-August. You thought you were called into his office to discuss details of TXT’s latest promo, so having your resume read back to you was a sweeping curve ball. Your determination must have far exceeded the heaviness you felt in your chest because before you knew it you, you were shaking hands with your boss in acceptance of your role – the new marketing director for Min Yoongi’s upcoming D-Day album & tour.

The tedious knot that’s formed in the nape of your neck reminds you that as surreal as the situation might be, it’s undeniably real.

Months spent drafting a comprehensive marketing proposal for D-Day; often until the wee hours of the night, inevitably takes its toll on even the mightiest of warriors. An entire new team of fifty people, all of who you’ll be in charge of orchestrating for the next eight months, doesn’t provide much to relief either.

You’re excited nevertheless. Working with one of the most respected artists in the music industry is an opportunity you couldn’t let slip by, especially since the album’s rock-inspired genre aligns closely with your own music taste.

“Thank you so much for helping me get settled __,” Hei-ran’s gentle voice returns you to the present. “I appreciate the time you’ve taken these last few months to train me despite the tight deadlines you have.”

Smiling, you shake your head. “It’s no problem at all and if there’s anything you need in the future, feel free to give me a call or stop by my office.”

“On the 16th floor right?”

“1656A. Take a left off the elevator and walk to the end of the first hallway. The door on the right is mine.”

Referring to any room on the 16th floor as your own is something you don’t take lightly. For one the offices are double the size of any other office spaces in the building. Yours in particular has a giant skyscraper window draped with heavy white curtains. Secondly, the floor above is the 17th floor which is exclusive to Hybe artists only.

"How's the proposal coming along, by the way?" Her curiosity is palpable, genuine in its nature. You’ve always appreciated that in an individual.

“It’s done,” you respond. “Only thing left to do is to prepare for our meeting with C-suite executives next Monday. It’s nearly perfect as is, but the presentation could use a bit of refining in terms of organization.”

Hei-ran is silent for a moment longer than usual before her next inquiry, which is undoubtedly the question on both of your minds. “I can't help but wonder what it'll be like to meet him for the first time,” she muses.

You don’t bother asking for clarification on who the “him” is; you’re already well aware that it’s Min Yoongi. The same subject has managed to intrude your own thoughts more and more as the date of meeting him draws closer. It's peculiar honestly, considering you’ve encountered him before. Granted, it was only a small handful of times the hallway, both heading in opposite directions. Min Yoongi typically greeted you with a hoarse 'Good Morning' those instances, along with a curt nod of his head. You would nod back with a brief 'Morning' yourself. Deep down you feel he'd make a quality friend, though it's only a premonition. It’s not like you actually know much about him beyond those small exchanges.

"I'm not sure what to expect, honestly," you admit. "I imagine it'll be similar to previous professional collaborations—composed, focused, and intense. D-Day is poised to become a global sensation for the next year, so it's going to need our full, undivided attention."

Hei-ran gives a knowing nod. “Good luck __,” she wishes you well as you head towards the elevator doors. Breaks over, back to work.

a/n: Chapter one will be released soon 🙃 Thanks for reading the teaser!

Masterlist | Requests: closed | Taglist | Fic Recs

no reposting, copying, or translating my work– © kookslastbutton

#yoongi angst #yoongi fluff #yoongi smut #yoongi x reader #yoongi fanfic #bts fanfics #bts fanfic #bts angst #bts fluff #bts smut #bts scenarios #fic:thoseeyeschico #kookslastbutton

[idrellegames]

Wayfarer 2024 Roadmap

It’s the start of a new year and I’m excited to announce my plans for Wayfarer’s development.

The primary focus for 2024 is finishing Episode 3 and starting Episode 4. My goal has always been to get the alpha build to the point where it is one episode ahead of the public build, and forcing my way through this period has been very difficult. Episode 3 has turned into a more challenging endeavour than I anticipated due to its sheer size and complexity. I did not intend to take over a year to finish it, but if I’ve learned anything from the creative process it’s that it is unpredictable and things never go according to plan.

The 2024 roadmap is for an idealized scenario. I am hoping I have given myself enough wiggle room should things go off-course. With that in mind, the plan for the last 6 months of the years is an estimate and will likely change. Regardless, the goal remains the same: finish Episode 3, finish Episode 4, and release Episode 3 publicly.

Winter • January to March

This quarter will be focused on finishing the next stages of Episode 3. Episode 3 is divided into 4 parts:

Part 1: the beginning of the episode, following the routes that occur if the player ends Episode 2 with Aeran or Veyer. This part is finished and was added to the alpha build in May 2023. It includes over 300,000 words of playable content.

Part 2: the beginning of the episode, following the routes that occur if the player ends Episode 2 with Melchior, alone, or drunk. This part was skipped over and will be returned to at a later date.

Part 3: the middle of the episode, split into three different routes that eventually bottleneck at a specific point. This part is currently in-progress, with Route 1 nearing completion.

Part 4: the episode finale

January and February will be devoted to writing Episode 3 Part 3, which includes finishing Route 1 and completing Routes 2 and 3. In March, I will code that material and playtest it. Once it has been thoroughly playtested, it will be added to the alpha build (playable on my Patreon).

March will also see an update to the public build. Patch 2.7. will not add any new content, but it will patch reported bugs in Episodes 1 and 2 and update some quality of life issues.

Spring • April to June

This quarter will be focused on writing Episode 3 Part 2, the Episode 3 finale, and coding and playtesting all of the remaining material. Should all go according to plan, the Episode 3 alpha will be finished at the end of June. All routes will be playable for members of my Patreon.

The next round of playtester applications will open in May. Playtesters are volunteers who play the alpha build in search of bugs, continuity errors, and typos. They get first access to new content, and updates and patches before anyone else does. Because Wayfarer’s gameplay includes hundreds of choices and many, many variations that build on each other, playing multiple times and checking different options is essential for testing to ensure each area of the game functions as intended.

In June bonus content (short stories, writing tutorials, worldbuilding and lore posts, etc) will return to my Patreon. It is currently on a break, but the backlog of extras and specials are available to members of the Apprentice tier.

Summer • July to September

If the Episode 3 alpha is finished on time, this quarter will start the development of Episode 4. Episode 4 is divided into three separate routes that have no-crossover and each feature a main companion. Alexia’s (Route A) will be worked on in August and Ren’s (Route B) will be worked on in September.

This is an estimated timeline and is subject to change.

Fall • October to December

The last quarter will see the end of Episode 4’s development. This includes Calla’s route (Route C) and additional coding and playtesting. A second round of playtester applications will open in October. If all goes well, December will see the release of the Episode 4 alpha on Patreon and Episode 3 will launch on the public build.

This is an estimated timeline and is subject to change.

#wayfarer #wayfarer if #housekeeping #announcements #dev log

[bitchy-craft]

How August Will Go For You | Pick A Pile

Hello and welcome to this Pick A Pile! In here you'll find out how August will go for you. I hope you guys enjoy and find this useful. Do make sure to leave comments down below on your experience! I do want to remind you all that this is a General Pick A Pile which means this is for a lot of people; therefore keep what resonates and leave what doesn't.

Masterlist > Questions

Pick A Pile!

Pile 1:

For you, August will be a month of new beginnings and exciting opportunities for you. As the sun rises on a fresh chapter of your life, you'll find yourself drawn to unexplored paths and uncharted territories. This is the time to take bold steps forward and embrace change with confidence and enthusiasm. Your curiosity and openness will lead you to discover new facets of yourself and unlock hidden potentials. Don't hesitate to pursue your passions and dreams, for this month holds the promise of personal growth and achievement.

However, be mindful of the challenges that may arise during this period. Change can bring its share of uncertainties and obstacles. Trust in your abilities to overcome any hurdles that come your way. Seek advice and support from trusted friends and mentors, for they will offer valuable insights and encouragement to guide you through rough patches.

Keep your focus on the bigger picture and stay positive. As you sow the seeds of your aspirations, remember that patience and perseverance are essential virtues. Rome wasn't built in a day, and your efforts will require time to flourish. Stay committed to your goals, and you'll witness the fruits of your labor.

Pile 2:

August is going to be a month of deep introspection and self-discovery for you. As the summer days begin to wane, you'll feel an innate desire to turn inward and reflect on your journey thus far. This period calls for you to pause and take a closer look at your values, beliefs, and the direction you've been heading.

Embrace this time of soul-searching with an open heart, as it holds the potential for profound healing and growth. Let go of any emotional baggage that has weighed you down, for now is the time to release old wounds and embrace forgiveness—both for yourself and others. This process of inner cleansing will pave the way for new opportunities and fresh perspectives.

August offers a chance to reconnect with your passions and reignite the fire within. Rediscover what truly brings you joy and fulfillment. This introspective journey may also lead you to realign your goals and set new intentions for the future.

Be patient and compassionate with yourself during this period of introspection. The insights you gain will shape your path ahead, so take the time to understand your emotions and aspirations fully. This deep self-awareness will empower you to make choices that align with your authentic self and propel you towards a more purposeful and fulfilling life.

Pile 3:

August will be a month of vibrant social connections and opportunities for expansion. The summer sun shines brightly on your social life, bringing with it a wave of interactions and gatherings. You'll find yourself drawn to various events, group activities, and networking opportunities.

Embrace these moments of social engagement with an open heart and an open mind. New friendships may blossom, and existing relationships will deepen as you strengthen your bonds with others. Collaboration and teamwork will be key themes during this period. Be receptive to ideas and contributions from those around you, for their insights may prove instrumental in your endeavors.

August offers a fertile ground for community involvement and making a positive impact. Engage in causes close to your heart, and you'll find fulfillment in contributing to the well-being of others. As you expand your network and connect with like-minded individuals, be open to exploring shared passions and projects.

However, amid all the social activities, remember to find moments of solitude and introspection. It's essential to strike a balance between your external interactions and inner well-being. Take time for self-care, reflection, and rejuvenation. These moments of quietude will recharge your energy and keep you grounded amidst the social whirlwind.

Embrace the richness of August's social landscape, and you'll discover that the connections you forge during this period can bring lasting benefits and set the stage for exciting opportunities in the future.

#pick a card #pick a pile #pick a number #pick a picture #pick an image #pick a reading #spiritual #spirituality #divination #pap #pac #channeling #channeled message #channeled reading #channeled messages #tarot reading #tarot #tarotoftheday #daily tarot #dailytarot #august #reading #tarot readings #witchcraft #law of assumption #tarot deck #free tarot #spiritual healing #shadow work #future spouse

[genderkoolaid]

In a horror story, a young teenage girl feels as if she were meant to be a boy. She wears baggy clothes to mask her new curves; her hair hangs lank and unwashed around her face, to which she has not applied makeup; her gait is awkward, lumbering, unfeminine. This girl does not have friends and cannot identify with her peers, with whom she does not share interests. She is alone except for her family, who try desperately to save her. This is a story that has been told twice this year in different formats. It's the leading anecdote of Jesse Singal's contentious reported feature "When Children Say They’re Trans," which covered the July/August issue of The Atlantic and was released in time for Pride month in June. It also begins Hereditary, director Ari Aster's debut feature film — a visceral, harrowing horror movie about a demonic cult with an American nuclear family in its grip. The stories share a premise, but they end differently. In Singal's account, the girl, Claire, is saved when her parents sign her up for therapy, take away her access to YouTube, and guide her to the realization that girls can enjoy short haircuts and still be girls. Aster's version of the fable arrives at the 'tragic' conclusion implied by Singal's — it ends in transition. The girl becomes a boy.

#m.

[thesillywritersalley]

A Birthday

~ Jason Todd x GN!Reader ~

442 words, pure fluff, a quick fic for the lovely's birthday

A.N. - thought I'd write something to celebrate Jason's birthday! No particular AU or run in mind, but it is running with Red Hood being a part of the Batfam, not the Outlaws or his own gang <3

August 15th - 11:54PM

The Red Hood, one of Gotham’s famous–and their most infamous–vigilante, crept quietly through his dark apartment. It was time for patrol, and time for his night to really begin. Slipping out of the window to the fire escape, he crept up to the roof of his home. 

Where he was promptly greeted by a grumpy-looking acrobat in black and blue, arms crossed over his chest.

“Little Wing, what the hell are you doing?” “Going to my nightly Shakespeare reading, what the hell do you think I’m doing, Dick!” He responded sarcastically, not amused with the tone of his older brother. “Aren’t you supposed to be in Bludhaven, why are you spending your night on my rooftop?” Red Hood questioned as he pulled his namesake over his head, cloaking his black hair in a sheath of red fabric.

“I came back to take your shift tonight, Jay. You’re not on patrol, go enjoy the break with… you know who.” Nightwing winked, to which Jason stiffened.

He hesitated as he began his descent to the window he had shut behind him just a moment previous. As his older brother watched his cloaked head disappear below the edge of the roof, Dick heard the unmistakable.

“Thanks, Dick.”

August 15th - 11:58 PM

He shut the window behind him, and locked it with a quiet click. He removed his metal mask, placing it back in its place, a secret closet behind a false wall. The vigilante began to hide away the rest of his costume with it, stopping when he heard the footsteps behind him. 

“Jason?” A sleep-ridden voice asked.

Hands still grasping his hood, he turned toward the familiar voice. 

“You’re going out? Tonight?” They looked at him, tone almost calling disappointment into the air.

“No- I mean I was, but not anymore.” He smiled at them, scarred face warming. 

They rushed to embrace him, ignoring the cold of the metal body armor against them. Gloved hands wrapped around them, one gently rubbing their back. The two stood, embraced as one in the dark of their apartment for a quiet moment. A song, vague and muffled, began to ring from their bedroom, causing Jason to stiffen.

“What the hell…” he muttered, releasing them to investigate.

“Oh! That’s my phone- sorry for the scare, hun.” They grabbed his still-gloved hand as they spoke, stopping the man from getting too far away.

August 16th - 12:00 AM

They planted a kiss on his cheek, that quiet alarm still flowing through the house. 

“Happy birthday, Jason. I love you.”

He kissed them this time, pulling his partner close. 

“I love you, sweetheart. Thank you.”

#jason todd x reader #red hood x reader #jason todd fanfiction #jason todd fluff #happy birthday jason todd

[dean-winchesters-clit]

Okay y’all, we need to talk about the OFMD season 2 trailer

Or, lack thereof.

Listen, I’m also frustrated. I want some sort of update too, something concrete that we can sink our teeth into. However, I think the memeing may be going a little too far. Let me offer some words of comfort.

I understand that the first season of Our Flag Means Death was only in post-production for about six months before releasing. I understand that it’s been almost seven months and we’ve gotten no news, I get it. But, we have been promised a bigger, bolder, more extravagant second season. Samba has also mentioned that the VFX artists are working very hard to finish the effects for season 2.

And - to tangent off of that - the VFX houses working on the show are absolutely SPECTACULAR. We’re talking about the people behind the effects in the recent Dune movies, Black Mirror, and THE FUCKING BOYS. If we have to wait for THOSE GUYS to finish season 2 before we get any update, I will gladly wait for as long as it takes because the effects will be out of this fucking world.

However, I think that the biggest reason for this lack of news is actually due to the desired release date. I am in no way 100% an expert, but I did go to college for filmmaking for five years, so I know what I’m talking about to an extent. I know with absolute certainty that the date a film/tv series is released is incredibly important to its success.

Yes, it is true that they would have needed to release the second season before May 9th in order for it to have been eligible for consideration at this year’s Emmy’s. HOWEVER, it is possible that they knew the show would not be ready before the cutoff for the 2023 Emmys, so they are aiming for next year’s Emmys. My theory is that we will get some sort of teaser by the end of August or beginning of September and that the show will premiere in late 2023 or early 2024.

The biggest times to release any sort of film or series come during the summer or around the winter holidays. This is why we have summer blockbusters and why Disney released some of their most widely popular animated movies during the month of November. These are times when people have a lot of time off work or when kids are out of school/college and are more likely to go to the movies or watch tv.

However, things have changed in recent years with streaming services. I think it’s likely that the second season may air in the “dead” month of January when lots of streaming services will post original series or movies since nothing big tends to be playing in movie theaters at that time.

Just be patient, my loves. I do not foresee us getting the second season before the summer is over. There could be a million reasons why we have yet to hear anything concrete about season 2. I think it’s very likely that everyone has signed NDAs that are keeping them from spilling any news until HBO gives them the go ahead. And don’t forget that there’s a MASSIVE strike going on that could be halting the progress of the production of season 2. Be patient, stop hounding the actors and creators for information that they can’t give us, and go write/read some goddamn fanfiction to pass the time.

TL;DR: There are 3 main reasons why the second season could be taking so long. 1: It’s just not fucking ready yet 2: They have a late 2023/early 2024 release date in mind 3: The Writers Strike has ground everything to a halt. Just be patient and enjoy some fanworks while you wait.

#our flag means death #ofmd #blackbeard #edward teach #blackbonnet #gentlebeard #stede bonnet #ofmd stede #ofmd ed teach #writers strike #fanfic #fanart #ofmd fanart #ofmd fanfic

[hazel-of-sodor]

Sodor in the age of social media

1. Edward

Edward is perhaps not the type of engine you would expect to have an online presence, much less an active one, with a large following. However whilst he has never been a loud presence online, he has been consistent and beloved since nearly the beginning.

It began with a story.

In the early 2000s Edward's driver was at her whits end. Her toddler refused to fall asleep, instead crying throughout the night. The doctors all said she was healthy, that this was a phase, but the driver and her husband were exhausted. One august night, it was her turn to stay up with the toddler, she tried driving around, hoping the motion of the car would lull the child to sleep, but there was no luck. When she went to pass by the engine sheds, she turned in out of desperation. Edward was over 100 years old, maybe he knew what to do.

She entered the engine shed, finding all the engines awake. It is well known among railway men that any engine can pick out the cry of a child above any other sound, a fact that has proved both a blessing and a curse to their crews.

The exhausted woman climbed onto the bufferbeam gently shushing the child to no avail.

'Well hello little one."

The baby quieted, staring up in awe at the engine before her.

"Would you like a story little one?"

The toddler cooed and stretched a hand towards the giant face of the engine.

"Thomas was a little engine..."

The child was soothed by the elder engine's voice, and try as she might to fight it, she was soon asleep. The driver thanked the engine profusely, but he just chuckled and asked her to bring the child if it happened again.

Victoria Sand grew up on the buffer beam of her mother's engine, listening to stories of the railway, and her grandfather's time as driver.

In order to allow the engine sleep the mother recorded many of the stories, so they wouldn't have to disturb him to get the child to sleep, despite the engine's protests that he enjoyed their visits.

The years went on, and young Victoria began sleeping through the night (although there was more than one instance of her sneaking out to see her honorary grandfather.) The mother wished to help other mothers and fathers like herself so, with Edward's permission, she uploaded the stories to a video site.

"Storytime with Grandpa Edward" grew slowly but surely, as parents found them and played them for their children. As the videos popularity grew, many asked for Edward to read their children's favorite books.

It should be noted at this time, almost no one outside of the Island realized 'Grandpa Edward' was in fact a locomotive, much less Northwestern No.2. Victoria's father was an artist, and the videos consisted of Edward's voice over his paintings. Most of the audience had assumed Grandpa Edward was human. Upon the realization, Edward chuckled and asked it be kept that way, as he was touched so many people liked his stories on their own.

A young generation of children grew up listening to "Grandpa Edward" alongside Victoria Sand, some of whom would later visit Sodor. Whilst their parents would almost never recognize the engines voice over the sound of steam and metal, the children would. Edward would just laugh and ask for it to remain their secret.

The years passed, and the 2020s arrived. By this time "Grandpa Edward" was a household name for much of Britain, with thousands of stories recorded and released. Edward had declined in person interviews over the years, he was much too busy on his branchline after all. Despite helping to raise an entire generation, Grandpa Edward had remained a mysterious figure, known only by his stories, even as little Victoria grew up and became a mother herself.

The revelation of his identity involved certain blue tank engine, because of course it was. The sickness that must not be named had swept the globe. Sodor was weathering the storm well, as it had closed its borders promptly and thoroughly. Despite this, the children of the island grew stifled in their houses, mossing school, their friends, and the freedom of the outside worlds.

The NWR came together to help in what ways they could. Thomas was ran from one side of the island to the other, making videos for children to watch, to show them that the world and their friends would still be there waiting for them when they came out. As expected, the 'Thomas touch' happened, and the videos seemed to explode overnight, with children around the world eagerly watching Thomas on his adventures around the Island. But Thomas was growing tired. He was older now, 106 thank you very much, and the constant longer runs were more than he was used to on his branchline.

Edward took one look at him one evening at Wellsworth as he waited for a clear signal to Ffarquhar, and promptly dragged Thomas and his coaches. Thomas protested, the kids needed the joy the videos brought.

"Leave it to me," Edward said.

The first video was simply titled 'Grandpa Edward reads Thomas a story.' The video opened to show Thomas and his coaches parked inside the Wellsworth Sheds, a fully grown Victoria holding the 'The Three Railway Engines' up for Grandpa Edward to read.

#ttte #rws #nwr #ttte edward #ttte thomas #storytime with edward #Sodor in the age of social media #this could be a series if y'all want

[consanguinitatum]

David as Benedick in Much Ado About Nothing (the first time he did it, that is!)

David Tennant fans are aware of 2011's brilliant Much Ado About Nothing, in which DT starred as Benedick, alongside Catherine Tate as Beatrice. Filmed at the Wyndham's Theatre in London and directed by Josie Rourke, the production was recorded and offered on Digital Theatre.

But did you know David had played Benedick before?

Yep - he sure has!

It was in 2001, a full decade before his production with Catherine.

Beginning in 1999, BBC Radio 3 launched Shakespeare For The Millennium, an ambitious project to dramatize seventeen Shakespeare productions in four years.

The project was done in collaboration with BBC Worldwide, which emphasized it wanted to take a contemporary, innovative approach to the Bard. It launched on 12 September 1999 with a Shakespeare discussion panel, and a new production of Hamlet -- starring none other than Michael Sheen as the Dane!

On 23 September 2001, BBC Radio 3 broadcast a new production of Much Ado About Nothing as the Sunday Play, with David in the lead role as Benedick and Samantha Spiro as Beatrice. Adapted by Sally Avens, it featured an introduction (as had all the previous productions in the Shakespeare For The Millennium series) by Richard Eyre, the former Director of the Royal National Theatre.

The production also starred a few other recognizable names. There was Chiwetel Ejiofor as Claudio, Emilia Fox as Hero, David Swift as Leonato, Julian Rhind-Tutt as Don John, and David Haig as Dogberry.

All original music was composed and performed by Simon Oakes and Adam Wolters.

Radio listings and announcements, and promo photos of David and Samantha Spiro

Here's a review of the prodcuction!

Much Ado About Nothing was commercially released by BBC Worldwide as part of the BBC Radio collection series in 2001.

The sleeve notes of cassettes and CDs of the production include a scene-by-scene synopsis, a full character analysis, and an essay on interpretation from the director Sally Avens.

Almost four years later, in November 2005, BBC One broadcast a television series called ShakespeaRe-Told, a set of four adaptations of Shakespeare's plays. Each play was adapted by a different writer, and all were relocated to the present day.

The first to be broadcast - on 7 November 2005 - was a modern-day version of Much Ado About Nothing starring Sarah Parrish and Damien Lewis...and Billie Piper and Nina Sosanya and Olivia Colman!

You can watch it here:

Six days after this television broadcast - on 13 November 2005 at 7:15 pm - BBC Radio 3 re-broadcast the audio version starring David and Samantha in its 'Drama On 3' slot.

Fast forward to August 2020.

The BBC released a set of four BBC Radio Shakespeare collections: Histories, Comedies, Tragedies, and Roman Plays. Much Ado About Nothing was included in the collection of Comedies, and became available as an Audible digital download.

If you want to listen, you can find this collection a lot of places. It might be at your local library or on Overdrive, on Google Play, or as an Amazon Audible book.

Or, ya know, just go here:

#DavidTennant #ObscureDavidTennantPerformances #DavidTennantAudios #MuchAdoAboutNothing #Youtube

[yurimother]

GL Webtoon 'Amongst Us' Creator Announces Kickstarter for Book Two

Webtoon Author Shilin Huang announced Friday that she is set to begin crowdfunding efforts to fund a second bound volume of her GL series Amongst Us in March. This comes aftera four-year gap following a successful Kickstarter for the first volume, Soulmates, which exceeded its CA$ 17,000 funding goal five times over.

Amongst Us is a slice of life webcomic about eccentric musicians and girlfriends Veloce and Blackbird. Set in the modern day, the series jumps between their lives as young adults and their first meeting in school. It is published for free digitally on Webtoon, Tapas, X (formerly Twitter), and the author's website.

The series is an alternative universe spin-off of Shilin's long-running fantasy webtoon Carciphona, although it is entirely separate from it and can be enjoyed without having read Carciphona.

The second Amongst Us book will feature episodes 21-48 of the series.

Amongst Us has received praise from fans and critics for its striking characters, humor, and artwork. I awarded the first volume a perfect 10/10 score, praising it as "a masterful combination of comedy an subtle romance."

Seven Seas Entertainment licensed the series and released a new edition of the first book in August of 2023.

You can check out Amongst Us – Book 1: Soulmates digitally and in paperback today, and read the full webtoon for free online.

YuriMother makes a small affiliate commission from sales to help fund additional coverage.

#yuri #girls love #gay #lgbt #gl #lgbtq #lesbian #queer #anime #manga #news #Amongst Us

[fatehbaz]

Seventy-five years after two nuclear bombs were dropped on Japan — killing hundreds of thousands of people in the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki — one small community in the Northwest Territories is still haunted by its connection to the blasts. Across Great Bear Lake from the 533-person hamlet of Délı̨nę sits the historic mining site of Port Radium. [...] [T]he Canadian government quietly called for uranium production as part of the country's involvement in the Manhattan Project. That uranium was sent south to help the United States with the race to build a nuclear bomb. [...] [N]ear Great Bear Lake, workers would eventually wonder about the risks they took delivering sacks of ore on their backs as they sent it south — without being told what they were about to be complicit in. [...] Days after the blasts, the Canadian government announced the country's role in the explosions, citing the Great Bear Lake mine's uranium as a key ingredient for the project, said Geoffrey Bird, a professor at Royal Roads University in Victoria who studies tourism and the history of remembrance. An English-language sign connecting Port Radium to the atomic bomb was photographed in Délı̨nę in December 1945. [...] While the Canadian government hasn't apologized to Délı̨nę, the community has apologized to Japan. [...] Locals in Délı̨nę say many ore workers and their family members developed cancer later in life. [...] In the book If Only We Had Known, which tells the story of Port Radium from the eyes of the Sahtúot'ine, elders remember workers' clothing covered with dust, windy days when ore was caught up in the air and children playing games in mine tailings.

Text by: Katie Toth. “Spectre of atomic bomb still looms over N.W.T. community 75 years after Hiroshima.” CBC News. 5 August 2020.

---

[O]n 6 August 1998, 10 members of the small Sahtugot’ine Dene community of Deline (Fort Franklin) in the ‘Northwest Territories’ apologized in Hiroshima for the atomic destruction of that city – and the death of over 200,000 civilians – exactly 53 years earlier [...]. Eldorado Gold Mines Ltd. [was] placed under state control during World War Two. They [the Dene] were allowed only to help it [uranium] on its long and winding way, 3,000 miles by river, lake, road and air, from Port Radium on Great Bear Lake to Port Hope on Lake Ontario, where, from 1942-45, the suddenly precious ore – the ‘new gold’ of the atomic age – was, together with ‘Belgian’ uranium from the Congo, refined and dispatched to Los Alamos, the desert lab in New Mexico secretly building the new, city-smashing Superweapon. [...] Beginning in the 1970s, and spiking sharply in the 1980s, many of the men who had handled and carried the ore – and the men who had mined it – began to die from cancer [...]. The “Dene,” the CBC ‘revealed,’ “were never told of the health hazards they faced, even though the government knew … as early as 1932 that precautions should be taken in handling radioactive materials”. Instead [...] “workers [were] dressed in casual clothes and uranium dust [...] covered the men like flour.” [...] [A]s detailed in a December 1998 article [...] in First Nations Drum: [...] [T]he mine was kept running at a very high pace [...]. The Dene were employed as ‘coolies’ packing 45-kilogram sacks of radioactive ore for three dollars a day, working 12 hours a day, six days a week. This at a time when the ore was worth over $70,000 a gram. [...] In 1998, the Déline Dene Band Uranium Committee released a 160-page [...] report, “They Never Told Us These Things.” In a 2011 article in Maisonneuve, Salverson recounts a community meeting in Deline to discuss the report, “where [non-Dene] lawyers delivered a year’s worth of uranium-impact research from the archives in Ottawa,” revealing that in “the mountain of papers we dug up … there is not one mention of the Dene, your people.”

Text by: Sean Howard. “Canada’s Uranium Highway: Victims and Perpetrators.” Cape Breton Spectator. 7 August 2019.

#because of the movie about oppo and making of the bomb #port radium ultimately mined over 13 million pounds of uranium #ecology #landscape #abolition #colonial #imperial

[seandwalsh]

The Origins of Pikmin (Part 2)

The following is Part 2 (because Tumblr's text limit sucks) of an adaptation of my first published Pikmin Theory in written form. For Part 1, click here.

The Candypop buds also have a strong connection to Pikmin, converting Pikmin of one species into another matching the colour of the flower and perishing in the process. Olimar questions what benefit the Candypop Bud gains from this relationship, postulating the Candypop Bud is itself a variety of Pikmin, or an evolved Pikmin of some kind.

“This specimen constantly changes colors. When Pikmin are thrown into it, it shoots out seeds that match the flower's coloration the moment the Pikmin landed inside of it. The number of seeds shot out is always greater than the number of Pikmin thrown in. It can be said that this is a completely baffling plant, and many mysteries remain over precisely what sort of relationship it has with the Pikmin. It would appear that the Pikmin gain all of the benefit from the relationship... Perhaps it is simply a different variety of Pikmin to begin with?”

[Source: Captain Olimar, Employee of Hocotate Freight and Captain of the S.S. Dolphin, Playable Character in Pikmin 2, August 2004]

“Could this be the next stage in Pikmin evolution? Like the Pikmin themselves, it has many mysteries.”

[Source: Captain Olimar, Employee of Hocotate Freight and Captain of the S.S. Dolphin, Playable Character in Pikmin 1, December 2001]

The sound a Candypop Bud makes when wilting is even a modified version of the sound a wilting Pikmin Flower makes. The Candypop Buds are also clearly related to Onions, with the similarities being so strong it's even been hypothesised that they're merely under-developed Onions. Candypop Buds share the same plant muscle fibres as the Pikmin, Pellet Posies and Onions.

“What looks like the interior of a flower is actually an insectivorous leaf that's developed into an organ. This organ releases a sweet scent from its central pistil, luring small insects into its interior and trapping them. The DNA of those captured organisms is directly absorbed by the plant's cells, which might indicate that this species is attempting to evolve at an astounding speed. But in most cases, the cells essentially self-destruct. The bud then releases Pikmin seeds of the same color, and the plant withers. Muscle fibers extremely similar to those of an Onion were also found in this species, so some could hypothesize that a Candypop Bud is an under- or undeveloped Onion. However, there aren't enough details to confirm this theory either way.”

[Source: Captain Olimar, Employee of Hocotate Freight and Captain of the S.S. Dolphin, Playable Character in Pikmin 4, July 2023]

“Pikmin relatives? They [Onions, Pellet Posies and Candypop Buds] have the muscle fibers characteristic of half-animal, half-vegetable organisms, and appear to have some sort of relation to Pikmin...”

[Source: Chet, Mihaman Scientist and Research Task Force Lead, Pikmin Garden, Nintendo Co., Ltd. website]

Most notably, the existence of Pikmin, Onions and Candypop Buds isn't as easily explained as other species on PNF-404.

“No matter what color Pikmin is tossed into the bosom of this flower, it spits out the same number of red Pikmin seeds. The Pikmin, the candypop flowers, and the Pikmin Onions are not easily explained by current theories of the xenobotanical sciences, and thus have not yet been appropriately studied and classified.”

[Source: Captain Olimar, Employee of Hocotate Freight and Captain of the S.S. Dolphin, Playable Character in Pikmin 2, August 2004]

This also extends to the Mamuta, which has an unknown taxonomic family and has not been properly classified.

No, these couldn’t have simply evolved on their own. There’s clear intention here. Someone made the Onions. Someone made the Pellet Posies. Someone made the Mamutas. Someone made the Candypop Flowers. Someone made the Pikmin.

But who...?

Well, I believe the answer lies in quite an unexpected place, Pikmin Bloom. Pikmin Bloom is an Augmented Reality game in which you play as a human who wears a device called a Planter Pack on their back. Planter Packs are backpacks which function as propagators for Pikmin seedlings, allowing Humans to grow and pluck a squad of Pikmin. Once plucked, the Pikmin follow the humans, while the humans send Pikmin out on expeditions to collect objects such as fruit or more Pikmin seedlings. Nectar from the fruit is used to feed the Pikmin and help their flowers grow, before the humans harvest their petals to cultivate a “flower-filled world”.

It’s clear that at this time, Pikmin coexist and have a vital mutualistic or at the very least commensalistic relationship with humans.

I believe the Planter Packs which humans wear in Pikmin Bloom are precursors to the onions, with the Pikmin Seedlings grown within featuring similar patterns to those found on the Onions, as well as an unlockable planter pack strongly resembling the Onion from Pikmin 3.

I think humans engineered Pikmin and their relatives. Pikmin were made to help spread seeds and flowers, with Onions being made to convert Nectar into more Pikmin. Candypop Buds were made to help Pikmin adapt to their environment and Pellet Posies were made to convert nutrients from the ground into solid nectar for Pikmin to collect and reproduce with.

This would explain how Pikmin survived, why there’s a specific cap per Onion(s) in each area, why the onions have mechanical elements, why Rock Onions and Rock Candypop Buds stockpile stone, why Winged Pikmin have wings, why the pellets have human numbers on them and why the Pikmin themselves have a natural tendency to follow and take commands from the leaders.

As for the Mamuta, they would’ve been made to cultivate Pikmin, explaining the aforementioned patterns on their wrists and their instinct to plant Pikmin. They’re described as feeding on seeds and fruit, which contain nectar. This could explain how they can instantly convert Leaf Pikmin and Bud Pikmin into Flower Pikmin with an open-handed smack, somehow transferring the nectar from their diet to the Pikmin.

“This seems to be a gentle, flower-loving creature, but if angered, it is fierce. Its mighty open-handed smack was so powerful that I feared my helmet might crack open.”

[Source: Captain Olimar, Employee of Hocotate Freight and Captain of the S.S. Dolphin, Playable Character in Pikmin 1, December 2001]

“The imbalanced, asymmetrical arms of the mamuta are among its most notable features. Feeding on seeds and fruit, the mamuta is known to actually sow and grow plant species. While other species have exhibited seed-burying behavior for the purpose of storage, the mamuta is the only species so far known to actually cultivate fields of plants.”

[Source: Captain Olimar, Employee of Hocotate Freight and Captain of the S.S. Dolphin, Playable Character in Pikmin 2, August 2004]

What is thought to be the Mamuta’s malformed larval state, the Smoky Progg, is even able to pluck Pikmin out of the ground with some sort of call and is naturally drawn towards the Onions after hatching, with the pearl-like object it drops upon defeat containing enough nectar to produce 100 Pikmin.

“Thought to be a malformed larval Mamuta.”

[Source: Captain Olimar, Employee of Hocotate Freight and Captain of the S.S. Dolphin, Playable Character in Pikmin 1, December 2001]

“Trait #2 Mysterious Behavior They head towards Lumiknolls and Onions, but the motive for this is unknown.”

[Source: Primitive Creature Field Guide, Pikmin Garden, Nintendo Co., Ltd. website]

“The Smoky Progg's body is constantly deteriorating, so collecting a living sample has proven difficult and research into the species has progressed at a glacial rate. However, by examining the genes adhered to the Smoky Progg's eggs, it has been confirmed that they are, in fact, Mamuta eggs! This discovery allows for the possibility that Mamuta that do not develop properly and hatch become Smoky Proggs. If, hypothetically, a Mamuta were to remain aboveground at night and absorb glow sap, that might impact the nutrient levels within its egg's yolk. That change could lead to the embryo's inviability or break down its enzymes, then...maybe...”

[Source: Captain Olimar, Employee of Hocotate Freight and Captain of the S.S. Dolphin, Playable Character in Pikmin 4, July 2023]

Furthermore, there’s clear precedent for biomechanical experimentation by higher beings, most notably with the Gatling Groink and Man-At-Legs found in the Subterranean Complex - beings ostensibly engineered to be used as weapons, albeit with Olimar perhaps not quite picking up on that fact when making his observations:

“This beastly predator's aggressive ejection of high-speed projectiles makes it one of the most fearsome creatures in the ecosystem. Its body seems to comprise of both biological and mechanical components, and represents one of the most evolutionarily advanced specimens ever observed. The chamber within its torso gives it rapid-fire bio-pellet launch capabilities. What appears to be a tail fin is in fact the base of its counter-weight and ammunition cylinder, so immobilizing this appendage will prevent the groink from attacking...at least in theory. Confirmation of this suspicion remains elusive, as nobody has volunteered to test it.”

[Source: Captain Olimar, Employee of Hocotate Freight and Captain of the S.S. Dolphin, Playable Character in Pikmin 2, August 2004]

“This species of the arachnorb family fuses with machinery at a crucial point in the maturation process, giving it the ability to fire energy bursts from the launcher beneath its orbular torso. However, the man-at-legs itself is not in control of this weapon. Instead, the mechanical portions of its structure appear to automatically acquire and attack targets. The man-at-legs has a gentle disposition, and as a member of the arachnorb species, it has no natural enemies. It is particularly difficult to understand why this species would develop such awesome offensive capabilities, leading to rumors among the scientific community that it was the machinery that approached the arachnorb and proposed the symbiotic relationship.”

[Source: Captain Olimar, Employee of Hocotate Freight and Captain of the S.S. Dolphin, Playable Character in Pikmin 2, August 2004]

“We recently found all sorts of mechanical parts scattered around a cave. The walls and floor were constructed of solid steel. Perhaps it was once a great military fortress? I decided to name it the Subterranean Complex.”

[Source: Captain Olimar, Employee of Hocotate Freight and Captain of the S.S. Dolphin, Playable Character in Pikmin 2, August 2004]

The Careening Dirigibug also seems to be one such creature, perhaps modified from a member of the Scarpanica genus. These creatures are found in the Subterranean Complex, much like the Gatling Groink and Man-at-Legs. They are completely covered by bolted metal plates, have glass over their eyes, drop Bomb Rocks and fly via gas-filled balloons connected to piping. This also explains why they're the only variant of the species found by the leaders - they didn't naturally evolve into their current state and are no longer recognisable as the creatures they're derived from.

“This creature floats effortlessly through the air using gas-filled balloons. Both its appearance and its nature are antagonistic. And it is the only variant of its species in this ecosystem. It may be best to consider the possibility that it somehow wandered into this ecosystem from an entirely alien one. Positive proof does not exist at this point, but that is how the creature is currently classified.”

[Source: Captain Olimar, Employee of Hocotate Freight and Captain of the S.S. Dolphin, Playable Character in Pikmin 2, August 2004]

Scientists in the Pikmin world have even begun to catch onto the odd evolution surrounding and relationship between the Pikmin and their Onions, with one intelligent researcher called Pitunia seeing intention in the Onion's design:

“Ah! You must want to ask about my research. Good, very good. I’m currently working on my hypothesis that the Onion is a biocrafter. The Onion is a biocrafter intentionally created to ensure the propagation and safety of the Pikmin, is it not? To verify this theory, I have dedicated myself to studying the Onion. Do you think my hypothesis that the Onion is a biocrafter is pretty wild? If you’ll humor me for a moment, let’s consider it together. Its symbiotic relationship with Pikmin doesn’t appear coincidental. Durability and flight capability allow it to travel far. Its ejections and production adjustments of Pikmin seem calculated. All mechanics that fit the idea of intentional "crafting". To Pikmin, the Onion is—to put it in terms of our understanding of biology—similar to the concept of a nest. But the fact that the Pikmin themselves are crafted by it far exceeds the function of a nest as we understand it. An Onion can craft different Pikmin based on what other Onions it has fused with. If we consider these blueprints for new Pikmin, it behaves like a crafter right?”

[Source: Pitunia, Oguran Scientist and Research Task Force Recruit, Non-Player Character in Pikmin 4, July 2023]

This hypothesis has received some pushback from other researchers, though their counterevidence isn't particularly strong and doesn't say anything about the nature of the Onion considering bioengineering from higher beings.

“When the Onion absorbs flarlic, it consistently increases the number of Pikmin that you can take out at once. Maybe the Onion is the one who determines what’s possible and issues its own orders… Wouldn’t that indicate that the Onion has a will of its own? I was talking to Pitunia from the task force. She says the Onion may be artificial or was intentionally created somehow. But if the Onion’s a living entity with its own needs, then doesn’t that align with it being a natural specimen? Isn’t it funny how two individuals can look at the exact same thing and have two entirely different perspectives?”

[Source: Sy, Oguran Scientist and Research Task Force Recruit, Non-Player Character in Pikmin 4, July 2023]

Of course, what Sy isn't considering is that even an intentionally created being can have needs and a will of its own. It seems the leaders and their machinery also seem to have trouble telling natural and manufactured items apart. I think it's likely Pitunia is the one on the right track here...

“This species has some remaining internal organs, but its carapace and eyes are made up of inorganic material. All 19 of its eyes are actually photoelectric sensors that the species uses to precisely locate its prey. The gas emitted from the posterior of its first leg joints includes a chemical substance that, after making contact with another organism's brain, temporarily controls that organism's actions. The Groovy Long Legs uses this natural phenomenon, called the "Endless Dance," to make its prey jump between its legs while it moves around in bizarre rhythms. The entire interaction is seemingly odd for a living organism, but the line between organic and inorganic on this planet is not always clear.”

[Source: Captain Olimar, Employee of Hocotate Freight and Captain of the S.S. Dolphin, Playable Character in Pikmin 4, July 2023]

But why would humans do all of this? What purpose would developing these weapons and horticulturists serve? Well, while details are scarce, it’s clear that something happened to the planet that changed it dramatically from the Earth we know. The natural cycles of the planet’s surface have accelerated, with the tectonic plates even shifting so much by the time of Pikmin 3 that the Pangaea Proxima supercontinent, which shouldn’t occur for another 200 million years, seemingly formed in the span of a few years at most since Pikmin 2.

“I've recently noted that changes in this planet's environment happen at a very rapid pace. Compared to how it was when I was here before, the Perplexing Pool has changed drastically. Due to frequent tectonic shifts, the region appears slightly different each time I enter it. It could be a natural phenomenon, but it's as if I feel the presence of a guiding hand. ...Maybe it's just my imagination running wild.”

[Source: Captain Olimar, Employee of Hocotate Freight and Captain of the S.S. Dolphin, Playable Character in Pikmin 2, August 2004]

“The interior of this hemisphere contains a chip coded with charts detailing a new region. I explored this forest the last time I was here, but it's clear that it has undergone some dramatic changes. The plants and animals have also evolved significantly. I've given this forest a new name... The Awakening Wood. I must begin to form a hypothesis to explain why the forest changed so rapidly.”

[Source: Captain Olimar, Employee of Hocotate Freight and Captain of the S.S. Dolphin, Playable Character in Pikmin 2, August 2004]

Meanwhile, underground caves are constantly shifting and time is significantly slowed due to a powerful magnetic field.

“The powerful magnetic field between the surface and underground can have peculiar, unexpected effects. You can't rely merely on your memory, as familiar areas can often appear foreign. Just focus on gathering all of the treasures, and you'll be all right.”

[Source: Exploring Underground: Subterranean Q & A, Page 26, Instruction Booklet of Pikmin 2, August 2004]

“Because of a powerful magnetic field deep under the surface, time does not pass underground. When you climb back to the surface, you will return at the exact moment in time that you entered the hole. Time will not have passed.”

[Source: Exploring Underground: Above Ground, Page 25, Instruction Booklet of Pikmin 2, August 2004]

“Subterranean Time Warp Upon returning to the surface after exploring underground, I noticed the hands of my clock had barely moved at all, and I had been down there for hours! I can only assume that on this planet, time flows differently on the surface than it does underground.”

[Source: Captain Olimar, Employee of Hocotate Freight and Captain of the S.S. Dolphin, Playable Character in Pikmin 4, July 2023]

“I calculated the difference. It looks as if about 1/6 as much time passes on the surface as you spent underground. Time seems to move differently in the underground spaces on this planet… I’m not sure how it works, but I suppose that means you can take as much time as you need to explore caves.”

[Source: Collin, Member of the Rescue Corps and Comms Operator, Non-Player Character in Pikmin 4, July 2023]

The planet in general seems to have warped space-time:

“While exploring this warped land, I got the feeling that time passed faster than usual. Upon researching it further, I realized it was just my mind playing tricks on me. But whenever I touch this object I can feel the space-time continuum bending!”

[Source: Captain Olimar, Employee of Hocotate Freight and Captain of the S.S. Dolphin, Playable Character in Pikmin 2, August 2004]

“I was entranced by the longer needle as it spun round and round, and I completely lost track of time. This object doesn't strike me as otherworldly, but whenever I look at it, it's like I can feel the space-time continuum bending around me!”

[Source: Captain Olimar, Employee of Hocotate Freight and Captain of the S.S. Dolphin, Playable Character in Pikmin 4, July 2023]

“Case 2 Even when revisiting the same area, the placement and design of the circles shown may change. Could the planet's space-time be distorted...?”

[Source: Chet, Mihaman Scientist and Research Task Force Lead, Pikmin Garden, Nintendo Co., Ltd. website]

In Pikmin 1 and Pikmin 4's Olimar's Shipwreck Tale, we see the Geiger Counter from the S.S. Dolphin frequently activate, producing buzzing and clicking noises, while on the surface of PNF-404, indicating levels of ionizing radiation much higher than those typically found on 21st century Earth.

“Every spaceship needs one of these, but I don't actually know what it's for. Every once in a while, it goes wild and lets out a lot of noise, but I never pay much attention to it, so it doesn't do me much good. I really should read that instruction manual one of these days!”

[Source: Captain Olimar, Employee of Hocotate Freight and Captain of the S.S. Dolphin, Playable Character in Pikmin 1, December 2001]

“This noisy gauge is always letting off spontaneous clicks and buzzes. It can be kind of annoying.”

[Source: Captain Olimar, Employee of Hocotate Freight and Captain of the S.S. Dolphin, Playable Character in Pikmin 1, December 2001]

There’s even hints that whatever caused the hole in the Plasm Wraith’s torso, a manifestation of emotional trauma (as it's called in Japanese), or “psychic wound”, is somehow linked to the planet’s evolutionary history:

“This unusual life-form consists of an amorphous body around a hard, cubic core. The body can shift not only into different shapes but into different substances. It reminds me very much of the waterwraith, and at first I wondered if it was also an ectoplasmic incarnation. However, enough others have seen and encountered it to dispel this theory. The creatures living near the plasm wraith must be formed from its gelatinous substance, since they all liquefy upon its death. It's not clear what purpose they serve for the wraith. It's currently unknown what caused the hole in its torso—some sort of manifested psychic wound?—but the search for this cause may lead us down the path to unraveling the history of evolution on this planet.”

[Source: Captain Olimar, Employee of Hocotate Freight and Captain of the S.S. Dolphin, Playable Character in Pikmin 3 Deluxe, October 2020]

It seems as though the most likely answer is a war or similar event which coated the planet in radiation, caused the collapse of the world’s existing ecosystems and the rapid evolution of new species and damaged the space-time continuum. The Pikmin and their companion organisms were produced in an effort to reverse the damage the humans caused and repopulate the planet with plant life. Perhaps the humans weren’t so fortunate and perished not long before Olimar’s initial crash in Pikmin 1, with their creations continuing to inhabit the planet without their guidance - or perhaps they succeeded and continue to inhabit the planet just out of sight, explaining the "guiding hand" Olimar felt changing the Distant Spring into the Perplexing Pool...

“[The areas aren’t] exactly the same, but we intentionally made them look similar to give a sense of déjà vu that you’ve been here before… Like maybe it is the same places, but time has passed and humans have interacted with them…”

[Source: Shigefumi Hino & Masamichi Abe, Directors of Pikmin 2, Nintendo Dream Magazine, May 2004]

“The planet where Pikmin live is a mysterious one that shows a different side of itself with every visit, but this time players arrive in an age with the strongest traces of past civilizations. You'll be seeing plenty of familiar things that will help you feel closer to Pikmin than ever before.”

[Source: Yutaka Hiramuki, Planning Director of Pikmin 4, Nintendo Co., Ltd., July 2023]

Or maybe the humans realised the damage was beyond repair and the planet was inhospitable. Perhaps they left it all behind, survived and have been living on right under our noses…

But that's a topic for another day.

Thank you for reading! I’d like to give a special thank you to Lady Sophie and Ymcan64 for looking over the script and providing some additional points which really solidified this theory. Their help was invaluable. Please check their blogs out.

#pikmin lore #pikmin theory #pikmin #pikmin 4 #captain olimar #olimar pikmin

[astoundingbeyondbelief]

Kaiju Weeks in Review (March 31-April 13, 2024)

It took forever (maybe they were waiting on the returns for Godzilla x Kong), but Apple TV+ has finally greenlit season 2 of Monarch: Legacy of Monsters. According to its listing on the WGA site, it'll run from 2024 to 2025. Multiple spinoffs are also in development at Apple; no details on those yet.

Speaking of Godzilla x Kong, it continues to do well, staying #1 at the domestic box office in its second weekend and falling to #2 (behind Civil War) in its third. Current totals are $158 million domestic and $437 million worldwide. It'll soon pass the domestic gross of Kong: Skull Island and the total gross of Godzilla vs. Kong.

Godzilla vs. The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers II #1 promises more of everything: more heroes (the White Ranger joins our heroes from the first comic), more villains (including Psycho Ranger Ghidora up there), and more alternate universes. Godzilla gets a bit buried in all the Ranger antics though.

A couple of kaiju series debuted on TV too: Kaiju No. 8 and Season 2 of Chibi Godzilla Raids Again. The former followed the manga very closely, and as such didn't really keep my attention; hopefully it innovates a bit more going forward. Chibi Godzilla's as irreverent as ever.

Tsuburaya Productions has released preliminary information on the next installment of the Ultra Series, Ultraman Arc. The logline:

A town called Hoshimoto City... On Mt. Shishio, there is a gigantic object towering above the city. Named "Monohorn," (モノホーン, Monohōn) it is actually a kaiju’s horn stuck in the ground since an incident 16 years ago. After the incident known as "K-DAY" in which kaiju appeared all over the world at the same time, monster disasters have become commonplace. In Japan, the Global Defense Force (GDF) uses force to deal with them, while SKIP works closely with the community in scientific investigations and evacuation guidance to prevent the occurrence and aggravation of kaiju disasters. SKIP has also been investigating the Monohorn, the horn of the galactic beast Monogelos (モノゲロス, Monogerosu) that appeared on K-DAY. Yuma, then only 7 years old, was camping with his parents in Mt. Shishio when Monogelos attacked. After miraculously surviving unscathed, he decided to pursue research into monster biology. Despite his traumatic past, he has not lost his “power of imagination” to dream. As a rookie investigator, Yuma joined SKIP and was assigned to the Hoshimoto City Branch. Not long after, another large-scale monster disaster occurs in Hoshimoto City. As Yuma sees the desperate people in front of him, a strong will springs into his mind — “I want to protect them!” At the moment when this strong and straightforward desire welled up from the bottom of his heart, Yuma hears the voice of Rution  (ルティオン,  Rution) a being of light that he once saw as a child: “You and I are one and the same… Unleash your imagination!” When a mysterious light appears in Yuma's hand and envelops his body, the unleashed power of imagination unites light and man and he transforms into Ultraman Arc, the Giant of Light who protects the future! Alongside his precious friends, Yuma, as well as Ultraman Arc, races towards his everlasting dream!

Yuma is played by Yuki Totsuka, while Takanori Tsujimoto is the lead director. He's directed for the series since Ultraman X, but this is his biggest assignment to date.

After beginning to release select Movie Monster Series figures in the States, Bandai America is now fully back in the Godzilla game, with articulated figures, 5-inch vinyls, blind box figures, and transforming eggs all up for preorder at the Godzilla Store and other toy sites. The eggs come from the 2014 Godzilla-E.G. line and the rest is all-new. Not much of a selection so far, but with how big Godzilla is right now, I'm sure there'll be more to come.

SRS Cinema has opened preorders for its War of the Ninja Monsters: Jaron vs. Goura Blu-ray, due in late July or August. Shinpei Hayashiya's latest epic, it'll come with behind-the-scenes footage and maybe a commentary track, which would be nice given how little information is available about his films online.

#kaiju week in review #godzilla #monarch legacy of monsters #war of the ninja monsters jaron vs. goura #toys #ultraman arc #Youtube