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room-surprise · 4 months

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Dungeon Meshi Season 1 EP 5 review

Episode 5 of the anime came out and we got to see Kabru!!! My boy Kabru!!! Oh right there was other stuff after the first five minutes.

KABRU THOUGH!!!

I don't actually have a lot to say about this episode. I thought it was competent, although as always characters standing around and talking, or doing simple tasks like eating, are just not Trigger's strong point.

Has anybody deciphered the language that Kui is using in the backgrounds? SO HAPPY that her glyphs are here now, instead of the Japanese in the first episode. I've tried to figure out what they are, but I'm honestly stumped. Seems like a combination of Norse runes, Greek letters, Cuneiform and Sanskrit...

Was NOT a fan of the way they overdid Kabru scaring Mikbell. It's really not a joke that's even that funny, so I think the lighting change and drama of it was really overselling it. Would have been much better if it was like in the manga, some childish, light-hearted ribbing between friends while they get ready to leave.

Although it was VERY VERY funny, I was also not a fan of the youtube-poop-esque zoom out on Marcille when she sees the treasure bugs. Like Laios' galaxy brain moment, comedic edits like this remind me that I'm watching a TV show, instead of allowing me to be immersed in the historical fantasy world. If I wanted modern jokes I'd be watching an Isekai where the characters are in a video game, not Dungeon Meshi.

I think they could have gotten an equally good laugh just from doing a simple zoom out.

I love the way they're depicting Laios. You can clearly see all the red flags his friends are picking up on and how he might be scary to others, but he's also very sympathetic and sweet.

All the Japanese VA's are doing a great job. I liked Kabru's Japanese voice a little better than his English voice just because I think he did a better job capturing Kabru's dual nature - he started out very sweet and cute, and then dropped his timbre noticeably once he was no longer sweet-talking someone. The English voice actor meanwhile felt like their voice basically stayed the same the entire episode.

THE DUB

This is still the better way to watch the show, the subtitles are SO lacking that they make the story harder to follow. The dub script, meanwhile, does a much better job. I wonder if there's a way to watch it with Japanese audio and the English dub subtitles?

BangZoom continues to make interesting casting decisions that make me VERY curious to see how they're going to handle the elves when they finally arrive.

Kabru, Daya and Kuro are all voiced by black voice actors! Rin's voice actress is Asian American, and Namari's voice actress is nonbinary. They all sound fantastic and I'm excited to hear them develop their characters as the series progresses.

Obviously Kabru isn't black, he's Indian, but Zon also isn't black, so I appreciate casting people of color to play characters of color (?) or at least, characters that are minorities? It feels like that's what they're trying to do.

ON THE OTHER HAND, Daya is very much not a minority or a character of color... I suppose that would be a case of race-blind casting? Which is also a good practice, getting new, underutilized talent into the industry... But obviously not a part of the previous point. Regardless, she sounds great.

Again, REALLY wonder how this will influence their casting decisions with the elves. Wonder if any of this was done with instruction from Trigger or Kui, or if it's 100% BangZoom operating on their own.

#dungeon meshi #delicious in dungeon #dunmeshi #my stuff #review #spoilers #dungeon meshi anime #dungeon meshi anime spoilers

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delta-orionis · 10 months

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i wanna hear about the simon aroace beam pls

(Tumblr is apparently trying to silence me because this is the second time I'm writing out this answer. Anyway.)

I already made a post about my aroace Simon headcanons several years ago, but I'm more than happy to talk about it again. (Also I'm not sure if you specifically ever beat SOMA, so you're probably unfamiliar with some of the points I made in the aforementioned post. I'll do my best to explain.)

(Continued under the cut)

Simon is an interesting character because he's an everyman. I often joke about how he's Just Some Guy who's having the worst day ever. He's had a pretty average life (aside from the recent loss of his friend and traumatic brain injury), and it doesn't come up often in the text of the game. He brings it up sometimes, but it isn't the focus of his dialogue. He was thrust from an unremarkable life in 2015 into Undersea Robot Hell and is forced to make some serious decisions about the fate of the human race, so he has other priorities.

His characterization as an everyman combined with the fact that we don't actually know a lot about his life before the events of SOMA make Simon a very easy character to project your own experiences onto. This makes him a good fit for a video game protagonist because it makes it easy for the player to relate to him. It also means that it's easy to fill in the blanks of his characterization with your own ideas. I've personally seen lots of different interpretations of his gender and sexuality; I've seen people headcanon him as straight, gay, bisexual, etc etc. His gender is also an entire can of worms; I've seen people make compelling arguments that he's a trans man, a trans woman, and even nonbinary and agender.

Anyway... this was all preface for my thesis that Simon is aroace. The easy explanation is that I, an aroace person, find it easy to project my own experiences on to him in a way that makes sense to me. I've talked to a few other aroace SOMA fans about this, and they've agreed. (This is what I mean by the aroace beam. I simply enjoy headcanoning characters I like as aroace, because I, too, am aroace. I'm hitting them with my beam attack. Metaphorically. I've now rendered the joke unfunny by explaining it.)

(Side note- there's a running joke in the SOMA server I run that many SOMA fans are asexual. There certainly are a number of them in that specific server, however this also might be confirmation bias, because I haven't done a fandom-wide survey or anything like that. It also might be because I promote the server heavily on my blog, and as an openly aroace person, I probably have a statistically significant amount of aspec followers who are then compelled to join the server I help run. More research is required, I guess.)

The longer explanation for this headcanon is that, within the text of the game, Simon doesnt' appear to be very concerned with sex or romance.

In the dream sequence at the beginning of the game, Simon tells Ashley he wants to tell her something, and she responds with "please don't make this weird". A lot of people tend to interpret this as Simon working up the courage to tell Ashley he has a crush on her. The scene ends abruptly before this can be confirmed. However, there are a few unused voice lines in the game files that extend the scene a bit. Simon was originally supposed to say "I'm sorry" to Ashley before the dream ended. This implies that he wanted to apologize to her for involving her in the car accident that ended her life, not confess a crush.

There is another dream sequence later in the game, the context being that Simon is under the influence of the WAU and is being shown an idealized version of his life. He sees Ashley, alive and standing in his apartment, where she declares that the two of them are in love. Simon seems confused about this and wakes up shortly after.

I will admit that this scene implies he has romantic feelings for her. However, in the post I made a few years ago, I talked about how a common experience for a lot of aroace people is not being able to distinguish between different types of attraction and how this can lead to aces convincing themselves that they have a crush on someone when what they really desire is a platonic relationship:

I think what sells it the most for me is that, during the dream sequence with Ashley, when Ashley tells him that they’re a couple, he sounds confused. You could interpret this as general confusion (he doesn’t know how Ashley is suddenly alive again or why they’re suddenly in a relationship), but I like to think that he’s conflicted about his feelings for her. He knows he wants to be close to her, but he’s not sure if being a romantic couple is exactly what he wants. If the dream sequence is supposed to be an idealized scenario, then why is he conflicted about the thing he supposedly wants?

Simon strikes me as the type of guy who isn’t super informed about LGBT stuff. He probably knows a little bit about general LGBT stuff, but maybe hasn’t learned about asexuality, or he doubts that it could apply to him. He might think that, because he wants to be close with Ashley, that the next logical step would be a romantic relationship, even if his feelings are actually just platonic. (I know from personal experience growing up asexual that I would sometimes invent crushes on people, when in reality my feelings were just platonic and I actually just wanted to be their friend. From what I’ve heard, this is a common experience for a lot of aro and ace people from before they learned about asexuality/aromanticism.)

I recognize that this interpretation might be bending canon a bit. Occam's razor would imply that he simply has a romantic crush on Ashley, but that's no fun.

SOMA is a game that is, overall, pretty uninterested in exploring romantic or sexual relationships. It also features two main characters of different genders (Simon and Catherine) who develop a strong platonic relationship over the course of the game. I, personally, find it a breath of fresh air, especially when a lot of science fiction and cyberpunk stories have a heavy emphasis on sex. (I'm definitely not bitter about all the weird sexism present in cyberpunk novels like Neuromancer, for example...)

I suppose it makes sense, then, that the game would have a sizeable amount of aroace fans. I personally think there is something inherently queer about the game- although not explicit in the text, transhumanist stories like SOMA can be read as metaphors for queer experiences. Questioning one's identity and humanity is something that a lot of LGBT people do on a regular basis, so it makes perfect sense that they would relate to a character from a game exploring those topics, albeit through a science fiction lens.

Anyway. Very, very long story short, I hit Simon with my aroace beam attack because I think it's fun. He means a lot to me and I like thinking about him.

(Don't get me started on what I think about his gender. He's got so much going on in that department and absolutely no time to come to terms with it all. That's a post for another day.)

Thanks for coming to my Ted Talk, I hope you enjoyed reading, etc etc. I'm going to go back to rotating Simon in my brain now.

#asks #girlfriendsofthegalaxy #exploding tumblr with my mind because it deleted the original version of this post #anyway this is 1.2k words. enjoy #soma #soma game #simon jarrett

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linettefox · 5 months

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About me

So I decided to make this to link my socials and explain general stuff, I should have done this as my first post but I prioritized my interest list.

TL;DR: I am Rin (They/them), I have no gender but I do have chaos. Have some links to find me and yes, my profiles are always a mess.

Wait a minute, who are you?

My name is Rin, I am a 20 year old that is obsessed with stories. By stories I mean cartoons, anime, video games, TV shows, movies, books, manga, etc, etc. Any form of media that tells a story that makes me at least smile is my obsession.

You can also call me LinetteFox or any variety of that name, doesn't really matter. Linny, Lin, Nette, Fox, Foxy, Rin, etc.

What are you?

A person, use they/them to refer to me. I won't be offended if someone uses the wrong pronouns for me but it makes me so happy when folks remember.

As for my specific identity I am a proud lesbian nonbinary person of the agender variety. How am I a lesbian if I don't have a gender? Idk its just how I label it.

I'm also the self proclaimed avatar, entity and god of chaos, in case anyone was wondering.

Where can I be found?

(Rin) LinetteFox (@rinfoxington) - YouTube

Cure Rin (@linette_the_fox) - Instagram

Cure Rin (They/them) (@LinetteFoxy) - Twitter

LinetteFox39120 - Quotev

LinetteFox - AO3

LinetteFox - FANDOM wiki

More general info?

Favorite franchise of all time: Pretty Cure.

Favorite show: Pretty Cure (All seasons & movies).

Favorite collectibles: My Little Pony (All generations), video games, Sailor Moon merch, Sonic merch, books & manga.

Favorite book: To Kill a Kingdom by Alexandra Christo.

Favorite games: Yokai Watch, NiGHTS Journey of Dreams, MySims, Sonic.

Favorite animal: Foxes.

Favorite color: Indigo.

For a more detailed list of interests:

To sum up my bios from different sites. I am obsessed with Lira from To Kill a Kindom and every Precure character ever. My profiles are always a mess and I am sorry I'm like this, hope you don't mind my little antics.

What is your goal?

To tell stories that not only express myself but also connect with people. It has always been my goal in life to make writing into a career of some sort but now that I am older I see my purpose is more broader than that. Doesn't matter the format or the contents, as long as I'm sharing and telling stories I will be happy.

#self introduction #about me

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bearchuckles · 3 months

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Decided to do a dragon age styled 'tarot card' painting of my bleeding-heart mute (nonbinary) Paladin/Monk half-drow named Hush. ( Do not remove caption. Artwork by me. Please do not take, save, use for AI training or repost- Thank you! Reblogs are fine ♥ )

[Hey folks, like my work? Consider donating to my ko-fi. ♥]

I pulled them from an old game and tossed them into baldur's gate just for funsies and it's, uuuuuuh, going GREAT. They are not stressed about protecting everyone to the detriment of themself AT ALL (LOL). I actually didn't intend for them to go paladin when I first started playing them. I actually had planned to multi-class into druid. (Because I like to smack things with my BEAR hands. ...yeah, I'll see myself out.) Then my spouse and I got to talking about 'what would you be if you ended up being transported into this game' and while I would 'choose' druid or ranger (or perhaps bard) that wasn't 'technically' the question. So after a lot of self analyzing we both agreed (with gritted teeth) that we have some really strong paladin tendencies. Adding it to the character actually kind of made them more interesting to play (and more frustrating sometimes lol but I like the complexity) so its been fun. Anyhow the textures on this thing took me three days and my hands are cramped into claws. I 'forgot' that I could make shape into a brush (sadly) and did a bunch by hand before I got wise. I also forgot (for a while) that I have a lovely bunch of texture brushes from True Grit Texture Supply and those also helped save my sanity. (also it made it deliciously crunchy looking. Very happy.) It was a big debate on whether to leave the line art on or to take it off to get more of a dragon age 2 cut-out art look to it. I ended up keeping the lines (obviously) but I'm still mentally debating on which was better. (honestly I just wanted to be DONE) The tarot card, btw, that I used as inspiration was the ten of wands (which is why I went with ten hands) because I felt like it was fitting. I think I might do this for a few of my other tabletop characters because as eye strain inducing as it was I REALLY like the style and result. (and who hasn't put up with horrible things for AESTHETICS???? admit it, we all do it lol)

Anyhow, please admire the result of forty+ hours of me squinting at a screen.

#my art #drow #dark elf #tarot cards #baldurs gate 3 #paladin monk #nonbinary character #my artwork

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sparatus · 7 months

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Sparatus? 🙂

🥺👉👈

Sexuality Headcanon: painfully bisexual. somebody please stop surrounding this old man with hot people his heart can't take it. also very much not xeno in the slightest

Gender Headcanon: turian gender stuff is complicated and doesn't fit into human binaries, so while he's generally understood to be and is fine with being perceived as a cis man because he's perfectly happy with the body he was born with, a closer approximation is masculine nonbinary, just... not the way humans understand nb to be

A ship I have with said character: i mean. [gestures vaguely to entire internet presence] do i even have to specify teia at this point.

aside from the obvious, sparatus/quentius is also a fave, i do so love boss and loyal dragon dynamics, and the two of them are that plus a flip side out of work where they're just best mean girl friends hanging out being catty old men together. plus for bad end it makes it so much juicier that not only was sparatus quentius's friend but also a sometimes-lover, bad end hurts but it's so so deliciously messy

plus also @thetrashbagswasteland put sparatus/desolas in my head and it bops around from time to time, just like, suave but chaotic military man with the personality of a mob boss "you wanna fuck me so bad it makes you stupid" vs prickly by-the-book law boy "i hate that you're actually as charming as you think you are you charismatic asshole" i think it would be fun okay someday ill write it teia and abrudas can also get in on it for fun or they can bang on the side it's fine

A BROTP I have with said character: sparatus & quentius, for reasons listed above. the more i dabble around the more sparkyteia and quentilea are becoming just a platonic polypile, oopsie, they're all good friends. also quite fond of sparatus & saren, because saren is very well-trusted and the council's golden boy and not every spectre is going to have shepard's experience with the council so it only makes sense for saren to have that sort of loyal right hand kinda dynamic with sparky. sparatus & valern is also fun for my usual political intrigue reasons but we don't have time to get into the complicated bullshit fueling the turian-salarian alliance rn

A NOTP I have with said character: sparatus/shepard, for reasons i should hope are obvious by now. guys idk how to explain this but sometimes characters just hate you without secretly wanting to fuck you. he has legitimate criticisms of shepard and ill die on this hill, there's no ust he isn't into you and mad about it he just doesn't like your fucking attitude. and you can't convince me your shepard somehow turns it around into genuine love, i don't fucking believe you, it's ooc some characters will simply never grow to truly Like you more than respecting your ability and that's fucking okay and normal

also sparatus/saren, because while i adjust saren's age in my work to bring him up to 70 in me1 (and closer to sparky, 76) the main works i know of for that ship have sparatus more than twice his age (in his 60s while saren was EIGHTEEN) and taking advantage of the age gap and saren's emotional turmoil after his brother's death to groom him into the perfect partner, which... oh my god no. and it was presented as romantic! as saren's first real love before nihlus!! i am calling the police!! and pretty much everyone ive seen who talks about that ship got it from that fic so. yeah that author is my parasocial enemy

A random headcanon: despite how closely they have to work together, and sparky being a prosecutor pre-politics (thus allegedly on the side of the cops), he and pallin have a rather... antagonistic relationship, mostly because of how sparky responds to pallin's complaints about spectres ("i'll let them know" which usually means nothing will be done and the spectres will continue treating civil misdemeanors and traffic violations like a game) but also because sparky himself has personal beef with like 7 different prominent cops, is from a "fuck the cops they're imperial shills we can police ourselves" background, and is so so good at being pedantic and annoying when he's feeling petty which is any time pallin isn't talking about an actual serious issue. he wants pallin to stop bothering him about traffic stops. pallin wants to fuck the smug look off his face. they're not allowed to have face-to-face meetings without quentius present because they WILL go straight to childish squabbling.

General Opinion over said character: he's my grandpa. he's Me. nobody in this fandom deserves him y'all need to remove the main character pov blinders and think about shit from his perspective and stop just assuming he's racist and stupid because he tells you no. the man has his position for a reason, and if you listen to what he's actually saying he's DEEPLY empathetic and concerned with how the public at large will be affected, he fucking cares about people it's canon it's canon it's CANON he literally goes behind his colleagues' backs to try to help you save palaven and stop the war right away that's not what a selfish heartless bureaucrat who only cares about his own small circle does i have ESSAYS dammit

.... oops i care about this old man So Much

send me a character

#press conference #ierian sparatus #thanks j!!!

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goshdangronpa · 1 year

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Continuing anon's request for the DR character headcanon thing with ...

TOKO FUKAWA

Sexuality Headcanon: Pansexual (she likes genders that only exist in her novels), demiromantic (she doesn't fall for just anyone but when she does, she clamps her teeth around that person and shakes them and doesn't let go)

Gender Headcanon: Nonbinary, but Genocide Jack is a cis girl and a TERF

A ship I have with said character: Tokomaru is the most popular ship for a reason, and not just because it's the closest DR has ever come to canonizing any pairings. The two girls are perfect foils: who can be more opposite to a moody cynic with obsessive tendencies than a painfully average and more laidback optimist? Even their tastes in literature stand in stark contrast. Sure, Toko constantly negs Komaru and disses her at almost every opportunity ... but for all her mellowness, Komaru also possesses a faulty filter and can casually destroy Toko with a single observation, which makes the ship not just work but work wonders.

A BROTP I have with said character: Toko says it herself: she doesn't have any friends, and how could she with her attitude? Is there anyone who could get along with her besides Komaru and her pet stinkbug ... wait a sec. Gonta Gokuhara also has the patience of a saint, and only he would appreciate the special relationship between an unusual girl and her insect. And just imagine him warmly greeting Toko and Jack each time they switch off ... Do you see the vision

A NOTP I have with said character: I'd sooner see her in some screwed-up and severely one-sided 50 Shades-style relationship with Byakuya than with Makoto. For all his niceness, he doesn't take shit with nearly as much mellowness as Komaru. If he and Toko argue, they'll fight until one of them is dead. (Note: I have neither done Toko's FTEs nor seen any vids or read any transcripts about them, so I may be totally wrong!)

A random headcanon: I'm sorry, I'm just hung up on the fact that Ultimate Despair kept her bug alive somewhere as a hostage. Did they have someone make sure it has food and water in its cage? Did they look up the proper care for stinkbugs? When they released the hostages for the Demon Hunt, did they just take the container outside and open it? Anyway, I headcanon that the bug followed Toko's scent on Hiroko Hagakure, and owner and pet were reunited, and even Komaru could only be so happy about a smelly creepy-crawly sharing their bedroom.

General Opinion over said character: If Toko's not the single most annoying character in any Danganronpa game, it's solely because of all the work that Ultra Despair Girls does to deepen her - and even then, she still irritated me for much of the game! That said, she does grow in some truly interesting directions, and her relationship with Komaru completes her. Also, in both UDG and Trigger Happy Havoc, the voice acting performances for her and Genocide Jack are, genuinely and without exaggeration, phenomenal - maybe the best in the series. Nothing but praise for Amanda Céline Miller and Erin Fitzgerald.

#danganronpa #trigger happy havoc #thh #toko fukawa #genocide jill #genocider syo #tokomaru #ultra despair girls #udg #headcanons

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lespicybrocoli · 7 months

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10 fandoms / 10 characters / 10 tags ヽ(✿ﾟ▽ﾟ)ノヽ(✿ﾟ▽ﾟ)ノヽ(✿ﾟ▽ﾟ)ノ

Gracias a @rainy-days-and-nights por el tag!

Cloud Strife/ Final Fantasy 7

The original blorbo, my first love (the one you never forget), my first wet and sad man, the one hero who had mental illness before it was cool (jk, however It was the first I got to know), for him I downloaded the anime OVA in a process that took 3 days and 5 hrs per day on my local internet shop and i bought the original Advent Children movie and the extended. He defined my taste in fictional men.

Uriko/ Bloody Roar 2

My first crush, she made me a furry before I even knew what a furry was, she awoke in me my taste for fighting women and catgirls. Silly little weapon of mass destruction, best girl, best playable character in Bloody Roar (yes, Im biased, no I don't look to be corrected)

Raine Sage/Tales of Symphonia

I wanted to be her when i grew up, now older I come to undestand that maybe I wanted to fu--*gets kicked*

Best archealogist, best sister, takes no ones bullshit. What the world of research needs.

Roxas/ Kingdom Hearts

Righ in my teenager era, thought it was Cloud so I looked, stayed because of the tragic existencialism, best angry boy, he has never done anything wrong on his life, kicked Riku's ass like a pro, fave resident in Sora's Heart hotel. A little gremling out for blood.

Maka Albarn/ Soul Eater

My irrevocable call that I was, in fact, not straight. The most cool female character I had ever seen, fuck the perfect stereotype (even thou she was the academic sterotype of perfect student) she was a messy bitch with angry issues and it was so fucking healing to see her being that way. Made me realice you can have a boyfriend and a nonbinary partner at the same time.

Aqua/ Kingdom Hearts

My wife, she carries the whole BBS game on her back, not because something arbitrary like most powerful keyblade wilder (which she is) nor because she is the only one who becomes master of her group (wich she does) but because she, literally, pass the whole game,pulling together the shit her idiotic himbo crush and her best friend do during all the game. Her movements while fighting are top 1000 of sexy things

Riku/ Kingdom Hearts

He is the representation of the queer journey made game character, the ironic fact that he is the closest to the mascot of all that represents capitalism is incredible good for social study. Seeing him growing on the story resonated with my growing into a lgbta+ person and now we are both happy with who we are.

Dante/ Devil May Cry

I literally buyed the whole tri-pack of the DMC saga back in 2013 when I didn't even had a PS2, just to play it in a console a friend let me borrow. All the bro dudes buying his bad boy persona when he is a fucking depressed man that only knows happiness when he has his brother back, looked for the sexyness and irreverent style, stayed for the tragic sibling drama.

Dream/ The Sandman

The blorbo that pretty much brough me back to Tumblr. Goth, sad, twink, depressed, divorced dad of one poor soul with the most toxic family ever. Neil Gaiman saw that one comic about giving robot feelings and decided to do the same with concepts. No Neil, you didn’t give it feelings, you fucked up a concept.

Loki/ Marvel MCU

Sad wet snake, with queer tendencys ignored by most of marvel who is made justice on fanart/fanfic. My favourite "redemption" trope. Mama's boy. HE USES MAGIC, CAN SHAPESHIFT AND FIGHTS WITH KNIVES. May hate the world but loves his brother, that gets me every time. I just want them to be happy

I tag @umi-umita @agent-bee @seiya-starsniper

#tag game #blahblah vegetal

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darkx-the-dragon-kn1ght · 3 months

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Chapter 12- Part 4

Alright sir, no need to be so dramatic about it, let’s just get this done-

So yeah, Noibat shall henceforth be known as Decibel! Another sound-theme named!

Something else funny about that name, “Decibel.” You know how, in just about every Pokémon game- from the mainline games to even a lot of the spinoff games- the main characters have canon names? There’s the most famous example of Red in the original Gen I games, but there are other examples- Brendan and May in Gen III, Calem and Serena in Gen VI, Rei and Akari in Legends: Arceus, etc.

Pokémon fan games don’t tend to be different, as far as I’ve seen- like, Pokémon Insurgence’s main characters’ canon names are Wyatt and Nichole, for example. And Reborn is no exception! Indeed, all six avatars have canon first names, last names, and genders- like, the one with the long blonde hair? That’s canonically a lady named Alice Winthrop. And the avatar I chose is, canonically, a nonbinary person named Decibel No-Last-Name!

…Not kidding, by the way, they’re the only protagonist without a canon last name, for…some reason. But either way, I knew there was something special about that avatar! Maybe that was what compelled me to choose them over the others- even if the name and gender identity I use for Xera is, you know, different.

…Still haven’t come up with a proper surname for Xera yet. Maybe I’ll be hit with inspiration as I go through this play session.

Anyways, character trivia aside, we’ve still got some level-grinding to do, so- back to Grand Hall we go!

Several minutes later-

Okay this is absolute bull- the ONLY guy at the Grand Hall battle corner today is some Psychic with, like, a Mawile and a Natu that were above Lv. 20, and he didn’t even give that much money upon beating him. So like- sucks to be us, I guess, serves me right for wanting to utilize the battle corner.

Luckily, we have plenty of Exp. Candies leftover, so we can just use those to get everyone to the levels I was looking for-

And there we go! I’m certain there will be Trainers to fight in the Gym itself, so that can be some extra grinding, and then we’ll go from there.

Now, with that out of the way…back to the OTS we go!

Ooooooh, it makes me so unreasonably happy to see the in-game characters calling my character by the proper name now! Even if it’s Fern! Look at that, it’s all coming together, it’s beautiful!

Oh, also- hi Fern. Yeah, I should’ve expected him to appear sooner or later, this is his sister’s Gym, honestly I’d be more shocked if he didn’t show up.

Oh dear- is he salty that he didn’t get to participate in that mission?

Because Xera actually showed up…? Where were you when all of that was going down, if you were so eager to participate?

Oh no- Fern, honey, Xera’s gonna kill you of you keep talking like that, poor guy doesn’t even know what a sore subject that is for her right now-

…On second thought, I feel like if he did know, he’d still be like “she’d still be here if I was there instead.” In fact- no, he’d double down on that if he got a visceral reaction from Xera, he definitely strikes me as the kind of person to be like “oh, struck a nerve, didn’t I? >:)”

I mean, if it’s a battle you want, I’m down- I aced your salty face once already, I can do it again! I’m smarter now than that first time!

Gate…? Wait, he’s physically blocking her out? Geez, he’s going all out for this, he really is salty about not being at the Park!

No no, you explained very clearly why you’re doing this-

You know, it’s almost like Fern’s trying to upstage Cain in terms of how dramatic he can be- and that’s not a good thing.

#pokemon reborn #pokemon reborn spoilers #pokemon fan game #pokemon reborn screenshot let's play

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systemrestart · 5 months

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Remi's 2023 favorites!!

I used to do this on twitter but given what's happened to that site, I'm doing it over here this year! This was a brutal year for me MH wise, but at least I was introduced to some good stuff.

List under the cut

Starting off strong with my favorite thing of the whole year......

[FAVORITE VISUAL NOVEL]

Heaven Will Be Mine

Worst Girl Games has done it again. I am so glad I finally read this. Very few pieces of media have ever so perfectly captured what it means to feel 'inhuman', but still trapped by Earth's, humanity's, "gravity". The relationships between the 3 girls, and the circumstances that shaped them, put beautifully to the page feelings I know many other queer people share. There is nothing else like this out there.

[FAVORITE VIDEO GAME]

Mystia's Izakaya

Mystia's Izakaya is truly THE Touhou fangame to play. So many fun characters to get to know and serve food to, really great restaurant simulator with minor rhythm game elements, gorgeous pixel art in both character portraits and environment, so many challenges to try and outfits/music/items to unlock......!! And there's still more DLC coming out.

The love and effort put into this game is astonishing, and I am so glad I gave it a shot despite being nervous about restaurant sims. Highly recommend, even to non-Touhou fans!!!!

[FAVORITE SONG]

Psi

The lyrics seem to be a criticism of the extreme pace of 'content consumption' online nowadays, which I have mixed feelings on, but regardless, the song itself is absolutely killer. Particularly the verses. The effects with the TVs during the second verse are also great, capture the chaotic and mildly ominous energy of the song extremely well. This is definitely the song I listened to the most this year

[FAVORITE MOVIE]

Glass Onion

Watched this at the very beginning of the year. One of the best live-action movies I've seen in a long time, genuinely brilliant. Really hoping for more Knives Out films, they've knocked it out of the park so far. I also think this one and the first Knives Out will be very rewarding to revisit

[FAVORITE ANIME/SHOW]

I didn't watch anything this year. whoops

[FAVORITE MANGA]

Until I Love Myself

Most of the books and manga I read this year were autobiographical/semi-autobiographical, and this was one of my favorites. This is about a nonbinary mangaka dealing with sexual harassment as a editing job, and the subsequent struggles they have with PTSD, navigating life in the wake of the #MeToo Movement, and their difficult feelings on their gender and body, and how those things affect how others treat/see them. Reflected a lot of my own feelings and thoughts on these things, and very insightful. Can be a rough read at time, but I highly, highly recommend it.

[FAVORITE BOOK]

Stone Butch Blues

Absolutely life-changing read. It is extreme heavy, deals in police violence (including sexual violence inflicted upon LGBT people), labour rights and protests, severe discrimination based on gender and presentation, extreme poverty in part due to said discrimination, difficult and multifaceted relationships between queer women and lesbians......... there is a lot here. It is raw, and real, and while there is agonizing hardship here, there is also incredible, deep love, for the community that keeps up afloat, keeps us going. Please, if you can stomach the content, I beg of you all to read Stone Butch Blues if you haven't.

..... aaaand that's it I think!! Happy new year y'all!

#personal post tag

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antiv3nom · 2 years

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You know, I'm only ever gonna ask about Bachira...

Tell me why he's the best

LMAO YOURE VALID THERE! IM HAPPY TO TALK ABOUT HIM <3 okay so disclaimer but i sort of answered a slightly different question? instead of why hes the best i felt i could better talk about why i personally love bachira so much and think hes fantastic, so please enjoy this fuckin essay of a post

okay, we have to start with the basics here. the very first thing that drew me to bachira was for SURE his character design. i mean. once again i will mention that i'm growing my hair out to look like his. and hes soooo androgynous!!! and as a nonbinary person who leans towards masc/androgynous styles im HERE FOR IT!!!! plus the yellow was already cool, even before i knew the bee fact about his name :D

and ofc there's also his personality!!! as my friend grin has. accurately read off me. my favorite characters are typically those that are surprisingly competent, and those that embody the :3 face (and thus also the >:3 face), and like. bachira is introduced as a sleepy little guy and then kicks someone in the face so he IMMEDIATELY checks both of those boxes and he really fits my character type

also, elaborating on the surprisingly competent piece—bachira is DECIDEDLY competent, but its not in a like...power sort of way? its all about his technique and his ✨ style ✨ and i really enjoy characters who are great at what they do in a more unconventional way or not having to do with their physicality (coming from a weak little bitch) and i dont know. really anything about soccer irl. but its easy enough to see that bachiras good at this shit!!!!

okay so now we get into the meaty shit, starting with his backstory <3 immediately his being an outcast...really fit, honestly, it tracks a lot for him. but it hit me HARD as someone who was/is kinda an outcast and never really had a solid group of friends until relatively recently? and just...his loneliness resonates with me, a lot. but ANYWAYS im not here to vent or anything, the other thing abt his backstory is the monster metaphor and its beginnings, because it is SO easily read as an allegory for neurodivergence (and without too much stretching, queerness as well). being set apart and left out and seen as weird because of honest, genuine passion and this undeniable part of you and just feeling like something is WRONG with you even if you love it is...such an experience that ive had. and its so so easier to see that in bachira!!!! moral of the story, bachira is bisexual and nonbinary and autistic because i am and i say so <3

anyways anyways straying away from headcanons, bachira's development arc? WRECKS ME. it's so very well done, that evolution of the prior loneliness and the desire to both be independent and to not be left behind are...gorgeous. amazing. i can and will write an essay about it. it really builds well on his backstory and what he's done in blue lock prior to that game and seeing him evolve past his monster and his need for someone to play with but not fully abandon either? it means a lot that he still values companionship even if he feels like he doesnt need it <3

moving onwards, i really adore bachiras interactions with other characters!!! the most obvious example is him and isagi, and we all know at this point how big of a bachisagi fan i am (i just think theyre neat <3 <3 <3) but a genuine FRIENDLY rivalry, emphasis on the friends, doesnt seem to pop up that often in blue lock, and its really nice to see with isagi :D and just!!!! they make each other want to be better!!! its good stuff

theres also bachira and rin, which...that shit is COMPLICATED but it's really really interesting how rin like, almost sees bachira as a rival (and thus an equal) but is the first one to really recognize the idea that bachira is still deeply lonely and dependent on having someone with him? rin is the one who kickstarts bachiras development with the line, "[your soccer] is a soccer that is looking for someone," which i will NEVER forget. i like that bachira still tries to interact with rin and crack his shell despite rins cold behavior towards him, it makes for some fun fun interactions <3

AND I HAVE TO TALK ABOUT LAVINHO. LAVINHO IS AWFUL AT BEING A RESPONSIBLE ADULT AND THAT MEANS THAT HE IS THE PERFECT MENTOR FOR BACHIRA!!!! because bachira still cares about having FUN!!!! AND WHAT HE NEEDS IS THAT SENSE OF EXCITEMENT AND CREATIVITY THAT LAVINHI BRINGS HIM!!!!!!!!! LORD THEYRE SO PERFECT TOGETHER (IN THE MENTOR/MENTEE SENSE OFC) AND I LOVE THEM

okay finally, and ik we've talked about this before, but bachira's motivations are the perfect blend of being individual enough to survive in the environment of blue lock, while still not being completely disconnected from the idea of teamwork and companionship, you know? it means a lot to me that a lot of these characters arent wholely self-centered because. well. many reasons. i could make a whole other post about egoism in bllk and why it Worries Me A Little but i wont get into it here lmao, the important part is that bachira has enough of a goal on his own that he can keep himself going without anyone else, but he WANTS to play with isagi and make friends and have that companionship that he didnt have when he was young and that just.....it resonates and means a lot <3 <3 <3

anyways, this was the definitive why i love bachira post <3 hope you enjoyed!!!!

#ask #lizzieonka #friend liz #<- mutual tag :]#blue lock #bllk #bachira meguru #blue lock bachira #meguru bachira #the bachira post #literally thats just so i can find this shit again LMAO #actuall im gonna put this in #my writing #antiv3nom's writing

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empyreasheart · 6 months

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I RETURN WITH MORE QUESTIONS. and one topic on my mind. xion xion xion xion xion xion XION shes so interesting and your hcs are always so good do you have any about her or the sea salt trio in general. i miss them so much (also i know you have work to do sorry if this is a distraction from it!! feel free to leave this ask for later)

IM FREEE WHICH MEANSSS I CAN TALK ABOUT MY DEAR DEAR XION!!!! no joke i have been thinking about her all day.

first off i LOVEEE xion so much. whenever i see her get attention and love im so happy. when i see her i have a habit of going "XIONNNN" super loudly.

im putting this under a read more cuz its gotten super long oops

my xion headcanons... well first of all i love every reading of her character as a trans allegory & how people intepret her as either trans or nonbinary! i dont think it was done on purpose but shes been claimed by the commjnity and im so happy about it. transfem xion my beloved. second of all shes autistic TO ME but honestly everyone in soras heart hotel is so thats a given. third of all give me xion with big dark brown eyes or give me death!

what id like to see explored in future games / i fanwork: her identity! we see roxas's frustration and anger about being his own person plenty but we hardly see xion upset at her predicament. i think this is because she wants to do the right thing, not because shes okay with the situation. i really want to see xion's feelings about not having her own identity explored, given that everything about her is based on either sora or his memories of kairi and she was basically created in a lab as a tool for organization 13. she should feel weird about existing in the first place, especially next to roxas and naminé, who dont have the same history behind their creation

in addendum to that, i want to see xions character design change to something more unique. she already has a new outfit, but id love to see her have a new hairstyle (whether she grows it out or just puts it up) so she has something different than a mirror of kh1 kairi's hair. i think ive also mentioned that i think itd be interesting if xion had her own eye color after kh3 (side note its bullshit we never got to see her norted eyes in kh3. she shouldve played a bigger role in the story too but thats another rant) to symbolize that shes her own person now, not a puppet meant to copy sora. lastly she !!! deserves !!! her own keyblade!!! there's so many cool keyblades from days to choose from & theres the weapons from her boss fight - theres no reason for her to still be using the kingdom key and i really hope she gets her own soon.

i keep thinking about what you said about xion not being another "nice" girl character and im like... so true. i dont think xion would be mean i want to go about it in a way that doesnt completely rewrite her character but i think exploring how she copes with her past w/ both organizations & her identity & trauma would be interesting, especially with how it parallels to naminé's own way of coping and dealing with her own trauma. theyre like Shy vs introverted to me lmfao i think xion tries to be friendly but overall she prefers to stay close to the people she feels safe around. i want to see xion be rude but in the autism way where she doesnt mean it shes just not aware. and stuff like that i guess. this paragraph was just word vomit my bad

THE SEA SALT TRIO... theyre seriously the family of all time i love them so much. ill just focus on xion here because this is already super long. BUT AXEL LOVES XION SO MUCH IT MAKES ME SICK THEYRE NOT TALKED ABOUT ENOUGH.. the implication that lea subconsciously keeps his coat on in kh3 so xion (and roxas) can recognize him makes me so emotional. also the fact that lea just clicks with kairi because she also holds a part of xion inside her... AND WHEN HE BUYS HER AN ICE CREAM AND HE DOESNT EVEN REMEMBER WHY HES BUYING THREE. UGH. i love them so much. theyre definitely one of those duos found in the trios that dont get much attention which just draws me towards them more (like riku and kairi). i think lea is absolutely riddled with guilt about the events of days so he never lets xion forget that shes loved. i think xion is touch-averse *except* when it comes to roxas and lea because she feels safest around them.❤️

to end i will discuss roxas and xion . they are like a little orange cat and a little black cat to me. halloween colored. theyre so small i love them so much. i imagine when xion first meets the twilight town gang shes jealous bc roxas has other friends :( but roxas assures her shes super duper special to him and no one else can take her place in his life. they have such a unique bond that i dont know if any of the other characters have with each other. just something so special about those two. when it feels like no one else understands they have each other... and i think that makes for some angst when xion struggles with her own issues that even roxas cant relate to

#ask #THANK U FOR THIS IM SO GLAD TO INFODUMP . I TYPED SO MUCH IM SORRU I LOVE HER SO MUCH AND I HAVE SO MANY THOUGHTS

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none-ofthisnonsense · 1 year

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1,4,14,19,20💛💛

[Ask game]

Thank you so much for asking! This was lovely.

1: Do you prefer writing one-shots or multi-chaptered fics?

Weeellllll I have many many ideas for multichapters, but the fact is I've only ever written one complete one, and it was two chapters. Something about making an outline just sucks all the joy out of it...

4: Where do you find inspiration for new ideas?

A lot of places, and nowhere? Mostly I just get ideas for specific scenes or lines of dialogue, and those come anywhere, anytime - in English class, at dinner, on the métro...

14: how do you write emotional scenes? Do you ever feel what the characters feel? Do you draw from personal experiences?

I usually draw on my own feelings but not my own experiences, mostly because I'm terrified of writing an inaccurate emotional response. Which is also why I've had so much trouble writing this past year: I've been content, and rarely had strong feelings that I could release through fic writing, so nothing much to draw on. But I usually try to write 50% my own experiences and 50% adapted to the character/story. I've done more writing recently that isn't based on me, so still a little unsure about that, but I like it.

19: What is the most-used tag on your ao3?

Fandom tag: Avatar: The Last Airbender, with 36. (I was going to say "my first fandom" until I remembered my Wattpad days...)

Character tag: Zuko (Avatar), with 21. Which is weird considering I wrote 32 fics about him and Katara...

Relationship tag: Katara/Zuko (Avatar), with 32. From when I did the ZKDD in 2020, 31 drabbles + 1 short fic.

Additional Tags: Fluff! Much to my surprise. Probably a remnant of my Zutara days, because recently it's been Angst galore. (I also wasn't aware that "Nonbinary Character" had 3 of my fics, since I only remember tagging one of them with that specifically. I don't mind it though!)

Have you noticed any patterns in your fics? Words/expressions that appear a lot, themes, common settings, etc?

apart from an overuse of though I use a LOT of commas. Settings are mostly undefined because they don't interest me very much, but recurring themes are probably growing up and acceptance (of different things, and not always happy. looking at that one fic about accepting war...)

#ask #ask answered #thank you for asking!#stars-brownies-n-metaphors

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eeveearoace · 1 year

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WOO BOY, i just finished the owl house, and MAN. i am feeling a lot of things, and i wanna talk about them (putting it under the cut just bc there's so much lol)

firstly, i know there's a danger in comparing shows to one another, but i'm honestly WAY happier about how toh ended in comparison to amphibia. i understand WHY amphibia ended the way it did, but honestly? i think it was kinda the wrong way - but that's probably just personal feelings, idk. but TOH?? overall, i really liked the finale. the idea that friends and family wouldn't be able to see each other again after everything they went through is just heartbreaking, and even though i love angst, sometimes it just doesn't work for canon.

"it'll be nice to see everyone again after all this time." "luz, you saw them last week." i had to pause the episode after that, because THANK FREAKING ARCUES. if luz got separated from them,,, UGH. SO glad they didn't take that route lol

one minor complaint i have about the episode is that the beginning made me feel like i was missing something, or had somehow skipped ahead, or was watching the wrong thing, or just. idk. i get why they did it, it definitely made the collector's game hit us as an audience harder, but since i didn't see it live, the beginning. just made me feel like i was missing something idk lol

and the episode did get a bit "power of friendship!"-y, but whatever. it wasn't too bad lol

but OH TITAN when the animation got SMOOTH??? i went a bit feral ngl (it!! was so good!!!!!!!!!!!)

also, i'm just. so glad that raine didn't die. i wish we got confirmation about raine and eda, but honestly, i'm just SO RELIEVED that one of the few nonbinary characters in media didn't die (and that the only nblw ship in media that i know can still sail!!)

"i'm sorry for everything" going feral going feRAL GOING FERAL (they knew what they were doing. they wanted to traumatize us. *velociraptor screech*)

TITAN. LUZ. that design was SO GOOD AGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH (also, HARPY LILITH?? HECK YEAHHHHHHHHH)

titan dad ;^; his nonbinary vibes,,,, ;^; i loaf you,,, ;0;

willow becoming a grudgby player just makes me so happy, but HUNTER CARVING PALISMANS??? SCREAMING SOBBING YES :,))))))))))))))

blue flapjack,,, pancake,,,,(?)

i'm really happy that with titan luz, her powers were still all sigil-based (i'm really glad that the show didn't cure her "disability", even if it would've only been temporary)

the collector learning and growing :> we love to see it

okay, so i know belos is evil and everything, BUT. okay that goopy cursed design kinda slapped super hard idk what to tell you-

also LETS GO RAINE the way they FOUGHT AGAINST THE POSSESSION?? heck yeah. nonbinary bards let's goooooooo

the way that luz just. is so done with belos. she's not falling for the "oh the curse made me evil" stuff. she's just like NOPE and honestly? we love her for that

"i'm sorry for everything" i already mentioned this. but i'm still reeling from it

flapjack tattoos ;^;

HOOTSIFER AND LILLYYYYYYYY ;0;

it's honestly really kinda cool that luz looses her connection to the sigils until king gets older (i mean, it sucks for her, but still) because sigil magic was ALWAYS connected to the titan, ie, king's dad - but it starts to return as king gets older (but it's still nowhere near as powerful yet, which makes sense)

there's probably stuff i'm forgetting tbh, but it was just. really good. and i'm so glad that raine didn't die and that luz can still go back and forth between the human and demon realms :,)

#kaivee rambles #toh #the owl house #owl house #toh spoilers #owl house spoilers #the owl house spoilers

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eyndr-stories · 11 months

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Across The World C2 - The First Place

Summary:

The gods of this world are ancient, most of them forgotten, or nearly so. Nomen has been taught not to make deals with any old gods, should they be unlucky enough to come across one. However, when their little brother Maribus stumbles into mortal peril, they find they have no real choice but to accept the trials of one such god in order to save him.

This is an original story written by yours truly! I started writing this back at the very start of 2021 when I had a particularly wild and extremely vivid dream. This story is heavily based on said dream! This dream is also why I strongly distrust bunny mascots / anthro rabbits lmao but anyhoo, I think i've improved as a writer since this so the quality may or may not be quite on par with my other stories. I also had some help from my cool aunt Kerry with editing this, so if there's anything amiss here we can totally blame her lmao

That all being said, I do still like this story, and I hope you will too!! Enjoy <3

Things To Know:

major character death (its okay though, they live lol)

blood and violence

happy ending

protag (Noman) is nonbinary and referred to with they / them pronouns

first person POV

8 chapters in total, about 13,000 words in total. So roughly 1600 words a chapter. Lil bite sized chappys!

No swear words used, somehow

(lmk if i should add anything, i can't think of anything else)

Ao3 link here

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3

C2 - The First Place

My mind was racing. I couldn't stop thinking about the dream. Had it been real?? I didn't care if it was crazy. I threw on some clothes and a poncho, pulled on my boots, grabbed a flashlight and ran out of the house.

The sky was inky black and the town eerily quiet. The stars and the moon were gone, hidden behind clouds too dark to see. A light snow began falling and cold air burned my lungs, but it didn't stop me from running as fast as I could to town hall. The closer I got, the stronger the wind swirled and the heavier the snow fell. I made my way through the hole in the wall and down the spiraling stairs.

It seemed so much longer to the bottom than it did yesterday. The snow was relentless and I could barely see the steps beneath my feet. At times I jerked my hand from the railing so my glove wouldn’t freeze to it. Finally, my boots touched the pier and I ran until I reached the gate. Bent over and breathing heavy, I noticed the beam from my flashlight was so weak it was almost useless. I clicked it off and stood straight, my eyes straining to see through the snow. It was too thick and the night too dark, how was I going to know if my brother really was out there??

“Oy!!” I yelled angrily at the sky. “I'm here! Where's my brother?”

I paused, realizing that I was yelling at the sky like a loon. I hadn't even checked to see if Maribus had been getting a drink of water or had crawled into bed next to our mother. What was I doing?? Getting worked up over a dream?

…And yet I kept standing on the pier, unsure of what I was waiting for. Something about the dream had me on edge, even now with all my doubts swimming in my head. I looked up, eyes focusing on the moon.

…I hadn't been able to seen the moon earlier.

The moon was looking back down at me. With a speed that made me dizzy, the giant eye from my dream hovered right in front of me, its golden iris pulsating. Mesmerized, I couldn't move.

The eye spoke. “To save your brother you must play a game. Fail, and both your lives are mine.”

"I'm not playing any game. What have you done with my brother?”

The eye flared red and hissed, “You dare speak to me in that tone? I am a nameless god, more ancient than time itself as you conceive it! There are none left on the mortal plane who worship me, and I am STARVING!!”

I stumbled back from the force of its power, its ambient voice booming loud enough to rattle the pants around my legs. The eye loomed even larger over me. “Your brother made his own choices with no influence from me. His fate is his own doing. But I am a fair god, and you shall have a chance at saving your brother by playing my game."

Every story I’d ever been told warned me against making deals with old gods. Or anyone I didn’t trust, really. But what was I going to do? Walk away? Let my brother die out there, frozen on the ice?? Absolutely not.

"Is this game winnable?" I asked, being mindful of my tone this time.

"Of course." Red tinged the edges of the eye, but quickly faded. "Though it will by no means be easy."

I stared into that angry, glowing eye. I didn't trust it, but I knew I didn't have much choice. Maribus needed me. "When do I start?"

The eye closed, and I disappeared.

~~~

The first thing I noticed was how much warmer my skin felt. I blinked up at a blue sky and slowly worked my way to a sitting position. Green surrounded me. Tall trees, rippling grass, clumps of moss. I smelled fresh dew and figured it was still early morning. I got to my feet to have a better look around and saw hills covered in a rainbow of flowers. Instead of freezing ice, I was standing in a beautiful forest. There was a sudden rustle behind me, and I almost yelled when I saw a figure standing a short ways from me. They waved cheerily.

“Hullo there! It can be quite a shock, being here at the beginning of the world."

The stranger was a rabbit, though clearly not a normal one. Their fur was a white so intense that it hurt my eyes. They were as tall as me, standing casually on their hind legs, with two long ears and only one large eye that watched my every move. "I'm here to tell you the rules of this game, but you must listen well because they’re very important.”

I eyed the rabbit, then nodded.

“There are five fire starters,” The bunny explained while waving a paw. A long table materialized with a row of five jagged, wooden chunks, each no bigger than an inch, hovering above it. They glittered with a golden hue.

“You can take one fire maker at a time, but be careful! They’re quite fragile,” the rabbit warned. "Think of them as extra chances. You can spend them on yourself as needed, but remember to save one to spend on your brother."

I nodded again.

"If you loose one, you'll have to start all over, here at the beginning! And these are all you'll get, so don't go using them up willy-nilly! At the end-"

"Wait, Why do I have to start over? Can't I just take all five with me at once?"

The rabbit stared at me for a long moment. I was hit by a feeling as sudden as it was weird; that the rabbit was hungry.

"As I said earlier. You may take one at a time," the rabbit said slowly.

I opted not to interrupt a second time.

“At the end,” the rabbit continued, “light the fire in the right place with one of the pieces and your brother shall be saved. Easy peasy, yes?”

Surprise made my voice return. “That’s it? That's all I have to do?”

The rabbit's eye gleamed and they smiled. “I should clarify, if you make it to the end. There are five spaces in total to navigate. This space is quite small, but you’ll find the others are much bigger and you’ll need to pass through a door at the end of each space to progress to the next. Finding the door, however, may not be as easy as you think.”

I grabbed a fire starter from the end of the table to show this rabbit that I was more than ready to begin. It hovered in my hand and swayed as if it had a mind of its own. I closed my fingers around it, holding it carefully.

“If you wish to back out, at any time," the rabbit waved their paw again and a rectangle of soft light appeared behind the table, "find your way to this door."

Only the thought of my little brother stopped me from jumping through that door. "Is that it? You've told me everything I need to know?“

The rabbit smiled, but said nothing. I turned and headed into the trees, eager to leave the rabbit behind and get on with it.

The forest was quick to put me at ease, and soon I found myself easily putting the rabbit out of mind. There was something peaceful about this place. In fact, the more I walked, the more I started to forget why I was even here. Hadn't the rabbit said this first area was small? How long had I been walking…?

My eyes felt drowsy and heavy. All I wanted to do was curl up in the grass under a tree and take a nap. My thoughts seemed to disappear and I could only focus on the sensation of my eyes closing and the need to be lying in soft grass. My legs slowed. My head drooped. I could feel it, sweet sleep was seconds away.

"Meow."

My brain was in a fog. I just wanted to lay down, but there was a second, more distressed meow that I couldn't seem to ignore. Slowly, the fog cleared from my mind as I focused on where that sound was coming from. The grass turned less inviting as my eyes became more alert. I felt the fire starter sway frantically against my palm and I remembered. My brother. That’s why I was here, to save my brother.

The mewing grew louder. I picked up my speed, practically running across the grass now. I could feel the urge to rest and sleep pulling on me, but I centered on only two things: finding that damn cat and saving my brother.

I hiked up a hill, pausing to listen for the cat. I mimicked the cat in the hopes of getting it to make more noise. “Meow?”

The cat meowed back until eventually I found it, and more importantly, the door.

Beside a narrow log overgrown with moss and weeds was a plain wooden door, standing on its own without a frame. The cat was stuck inside the log, a grey paw and half its head was trying to fit through a hole on the side of the log.

"How'd you even get in there?" I asked, crouching down in front of the log.

The cat meowed sadly.

“Alright, hang on.” I spotted a mossy rock nearby and placed my fire starter over it. Then I carefully wedged one hand under the jagged edge of the hole in the log and pried up some of the rotting wood from around the cat’s head. It mewed softly until finally I was able to free it. To my surprise, several other cats sprung out of the hole, each a different color, all following after the first.

They grey cat turned to me, yellow eyes gleaming. "Thank you."

After meeting that funky rabbit, I wasn't actually all that thrown off by the cat speaking to me. "You're welcome," I said.

When I turned back to the rock where my fire starter had been, I saw that it was missing. I whipped back around, then began running after the band of misfit cats. “Hey! Which one of you stole my starter?? I need that!”

I spotted the culprit, a white cat who swished its tail and laughed around the fire starter in its mouth. Looking me straight in the eyes, it chomped down on the fire starter and shattered it into a thousand tiny pieces. The cat winked and before I could do anything, I was back at the table with the rabbit.

The rabbit clicked their tongue at me. “Tsk, tsk, lost one so soon?”

"There were these cats, and…" I trailed off, then sighed.

The rabbit just smiled and gestured towards the table. “Four left!”

"Yeah." I took one and started walking again. I kept a sharp eye out for troublemaking cats as I made my way back through the forest. That feeling of overwhelming tranquility pressed at the back of my mind, but I kept my focus as I neared where I'd seen the door.

I heard meowing once more. Cresting the hill, I spotted the same log, once again full of cats. I'll admit, I turned my gaze past the cats and towards the door, still angry at having had my first fire starter stolen.

"Mrooooooooow," the cat called pitifully.

I sighed heavily. This time, I tucked the fire starter safely away in my pocket before freeing the cat. I stepped back as all the cats burst from the log once more. I cast a glare at the white cat, who paid me no mind at all before running off into the brush.

Cats attended to, I approached the door. I checked the golden fire starter in my pocket, assuring myself it was still in one piece.

I stepped through the door.

#helpful guide for both dreams and trials:#1. dont stop moving.#2. trust your gut.#3. DON'T TRUST THE RABBIT.#original story #eyndr tells a story #across the world #fictional death #fictional violence

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