#all on the day before one direction's 12th anniversary | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

to-star-lake · 2 years

Text

saved [ intro + pt. 1]

pairing | jimin x reader (x jungkook) ; rockstar au warnings |18+ Minors DNI; drug abuse, smoking, mentions of self-harm, character death, explicit sex, emotional trauma, toxic relationship

[ INTRO. ]

What would you have done differently?

That’s a question I got asked a lot in the aftermath. And believe me, I’ve thought about it a lot. I’ve thought about it from every angle, from every direction. I thought about the whole fucking thing, linearly, start to end. I thought about it at random times, about the pivotal moments, they only seemed arbitrary at the time, like they would have no impact. But they fucking did. Why couldn’t I see it at the time?

But truthfully, there was nothing I could’ve done.

There was only one person that could’ve saved her.

But what do you do when the one person who could’ve saved her, needed saving himself?

I was only 23 at the time, and I thought I knew everything about the world. I thought I knew what love was: something that would ruin you if you get too close. I thought I knew her, I thought I knew him.

I can say now that I actually knew nothing. Not a single fucking thing. About the world, or about them. Them..always caught in their own universe, the way they’d laugh and sing together like nothing, no one else in the world existed. There was a time when I was driven mad by jealousy at the way they were. But I can understand now, or at least I think I do. Theirs was the kind of love that would not break, even in death. And theirs was the kind of love that could only bring pain.

I spent one year with Bulletproof. In that one year, I learned love, heartbreak, and loss, but most importantly the meaning of intent, and action, and consequences. Consequences...

There are memoirs being written about her already. They describe her and Jimin’s love like a greek tragedy, like some Shakespearean play. When I read them I want to grab the collar of the person who wrote it, throw them across their desk, smash their printer through their window, and rip apart every fucking word they dared to put on paper about her. How dare they sensationalize her story? How dare they reduce her life to mere words.

It’s the morning of the 12th of October. The day before Jimin’s birthday. The day of the anniversary of her passing. Yoongi will be here soon to pick me up.

No one will ever read this. Sometimes I feel stupid for writing this at all. But my friends say it’ll help. Writing shit down. It’s supposed to help. Well, I’m still waiting for the help part to happen.

- JK, 10/12

“Shit-”

Yoongi cursed under his breath, the cigarette situated between his lips almost fell out as he hissed, turning the steering wheel, screeching the car to a stop on the side of the road.

Jungkook turned and looked out the window at the thing that caught Yoongi’s attention.

“Shit,” he muttered too.

Both of them quickly shuffled out of the car, Jungkook running up the hill, fallen leaves and dried grass crunching underneath his boots and Yoongi followed behind him slowly.

“I wonder how long he’s been here,” Jungkook sighed, coming to a stop.

“Well, he smells like shit so I’d guess a few days,” Yoongi snuffed out his cigarette on the bottom of his boot, tucking it behind his ear for later.

“Jimin-hyung, wake up..” Jungkook crouched down, tugging at Jimin’s shoulder to turn him over.

He’d been lying face down in the grass, one hand clasped around the neck of a half-empty bottle of scotch. He was in a pair of dirty jeans and a flannel shirt that was covered in leaves and mud and stains, his hair was long and greasy. Jungkook tried not to be affected, but had to cover his nose because of the acrid smell of vomit nearby. He wondered how many times Jimin threw up, glancing around at the other empty bottles of liquor strewn about.

“Put him in the car, I’ll clean this up,” Yoongi sighed, bending down to grab the bottle from Jimin’s hands. He pulled out his phone and dialed for the groundskeeper. “I’m so sorry, man-”

“It’s alright, Mr. Min. It’s October 12th, I understand. We have to work together to look after him this time of year,” Jungkook heard the groundskeeper say on the phone.

Yoongi thanked him, and Jungkook hooked one of Jimin’s arms around his neck, pulling him up. Jimin groaned, which was a good sign because that meant he was coming to.

“Will you bring the flowers back up after you put him in the car?” Yoongi called after Jungkook, who turned his head and nodded in response.

“No, no, where are you taking me, get your fucking hands off me,” Jimin muttered incoherently, throwing ineffective fists at Jungkook as he tried to set him down in the backseat of Yoongi’s car, his limp body falling back onto the seat. “It’s my fucking birthday tomorrow, she said she’s gonna be here..she called me, she said she’ll be here...”

Jungkook’s jaw clenched, trying his best to ignore Jimin, pulling at his legs to swing them into the car.

“She said she was gonna be here, she’s a fucking liar!” Jimin screamed, his body shriveling up into a fetal position on the backseat, burying his head in his hands. Jungkook felt his hands clenched into fists at his sides, his cheeks grew hot, liquid building up at the corners of his eyes.

He shook his head, closing the door of the car gently as Jimin continued muttering something, drooling into the fabric of the seat. Turning, he saw a black Mercedes pull up. The doors opened, Jin and his wife stepped out, both wearing black.

“Hey man,” Jin caught Jungkook’s hand and pulled him into a hug. His wife handed Jin the large bouquet in her hands and gave Jungkook a hug too.

“How are you doing, sweetheart?”

“I’m alright, noona,” Jungkook answered quietly.

She nodded and they both glanced at the backseat of Yoongi’s car.

“Every fucking year,” Jin sighed, shaking his head. “I wish he’d get his shit together.”

“Seokjin!” his wife chastised. “Don’t be insensitive.”

“You think y/n would want him to live like this??” he scoffed, slipping a cigarette between his lips and turning to head up the hill towards Yoongi.

She sighed. “He doesn’t mean to be so hurtful, it’s just...he’s always angry, every year too when this comes around...he doesn’t like to show how much it affects him too..”

“I know, noona,” Jungkook whispered. Turning around to the passenger seat of Yoongi’s car, he picked up a bouquet of white lilies. Jin’s wife smiled, linking arms with him and headed up the hill to join the others.

Yoongi was talking with the groundskeeper, who had hosed away the puddles of dried vomit and was now shoveling new mulch and peat moss over the dead patches of grass. Jin stood, quietly looking at the headstone; at your name, the inscribed dates, a crude frame of your life. And under that, the one who always had love in her heart for everyone.

Yoongi took the bouquet from Jungkook and took a seat on the ground, setting the bouquet down, placing a hand on the cold stone plaque.

“I found this rare recording of Hole at the CBGB’s in New York from 1986 at this super random record shop the other day,” Yoongi took a deep breath in. “When I got home I popped it onto the turntable and I actually took out my phone to call you cus I knew you’d kill me if I listened to it without you.”

Jungkook gritted his teeth, a tear falling down his cheek against his will. He heard Jin stifle a sob from beside him.

“I miss you y/n..” Jungkook heard a hitch in Yoongi’s voice. Another tear fell. He squeezed his eyes shut, tilting his head to the sky as though gravity were the culprit, pulling his tears down against his will.

“I miss you so fucking much..” Yoongi’s head fell over, his hand reaching up to cover his eyes, letting out a ragged breath.

Jungkook thought about how he never sees Yoongi cry. Yoongi never cries. Never, except once a year.

[ PT. 1 ]

“Now they only have a few minutes before they have to go onstage, so please be brief.”

Jungkook nodded, his heart pounding in his chest, adrenaline coursing as he followed behind Namjoon the manager through a crowded hallway that led backstage. He was flustered, the pit of his stomach churning with excitement and he kept bumping shoulders against the people lining the halls, apologizing profusely while Namjoon somehow managed to avoid running into anyone.

“Alright, here, go on in, remember you only have a few minutes.”

“Oh, well I-” Jungkook couldn’t finish his sentence, and was shoved through an open door.

The room was tiny, with an old, faded blue velvet couch pushed against one wall. There was an old coffee table in the middle of the room, and the floor was littered with half empty bottles of beer, red plastic cups, cigarette butts, and guitar picks. The air was thick with the smell of liquor and tobacco smoke, Motley Crue’s Live Wire was blasting from the speakers on the opposite side of the room.

Jungkook stood awkwardly in front of the door that closed behind him, his shoulders tensed up around his ears, and was suddenly super self conscious about his outfit choice: tight, faded jeans, with the knees blown out, a leopard print shirt, and a destroyed denim jacket over it. His heart pounded in his chest, feeling the strap of the guitar on his shoulder slowly sliding, his new eyebrow piercing starting to itch as blood rushed to his face. He wondered if he shouldn’t have gotten it done yesterday, maybe it was too soon. Everyone was going to see that it was still a little bit swollen, and would judge him and think he’s trying too hard.

He gulped, looking around. He knew all of your names. He’d been a fan for almost a year now, and had followed you guys around to three cities on your tour.

Jin, the bassist, stood in front of a dirty mirror on the wall, adjusting his tie, practicing a wink, bobbing his head to the beat of the song banging through the speakers.

Yoongi, the guitarist, was seated quietly on the sofa with a pair of headphones on, tuning the guitar on his lap. Beside him was Jimin, the drummer, who was leaned back languidly, his arms thrown over the back of the couch, a cigarette hanging loosely between his lips.

And you.

“Seokjin, please I am begging you do not do your fucking flying kiss shit tonight, I am BEGGING you.”

Jungkook felt his heart skip hearing your voice.

“Fuck you, the ladies love it,” Jin spat back, eyes glued to his reflection.

“Yoongi, please make him stop,” you groaned, plopping down on the sofa between him and Jimin, your hands pressing the edge of your plaid skirt against the velvet fabric.

“Not getting involved,” Yoongi shook his head, lighting a cigarette.

You rolled your eyes, and caught Jungkook in the periphery. He gulped, Motley Crue slammed into Black Sabbath’s Children of the Grave over the speakers.

“You came!”

Jungkook thought his heart must’ve stopped when you jumped to your feet, and ran over to him, throwing your arms around his neck.

“I’m so glad you made it!” he felt your lips on his cheek, soft and warm.

“Yeah..uh..thank you guys for inviting me, again,” he replied nervously, raising an unsure hand and waving at the guys around the room.

Yoongi gave him a small nod.

“Hey man, glad you’re here,” Jimin walked up, catching his hand in a shake, which caused Jungkook’s heart to skip again.

Jin didn’t acknowledge him. But Jungkook saw you rolled your eyes at this.

“Don’t worry, Narcissus over there will soon get what’s coming to him.”

Jungkook couldn’t help but laugh at this.

The door swung open and Namjoon poked his head through.

“Let’s go guys, it’s time.”

“FUCK YEAH, I’m so fucking ready,” Jin spat, picking up his bass guitar that was leaned against the wall.

Yoongi quietly swung the strap of his instrument over his shoulder and gave Jungkook another nod as he ducked past him.

“Enjoy the show man, we’ll see you after,” Jimin gave a light tap on the side of his arm before walking out.

“Come on,” you smiled, taking him by the hand and leading him out into the hallway.

“Alright, here’s where we leave you. Make sure to get yourself a spot at the very front so you can get a good view of us,” you smiled up at him, planting another peck on his cheek. “Oh, and one more thing,” you turned at the black curtains by the edge of the stage before walking out. “Be sure to listen closely, we expect you to be able to jump right in once we get you in the studio with us next week.”

You winked and walked out to deafening screams and Jungkook stood, stunned, feeling like he’d had the wind knocked out of him for five whole minutes.

“That was so fucking sick!”

Jungkook bunched his shoulders together, nervously following you through the crowded entryway of the mansion the band was renting while working on the new album.

He took the drink you handed him and you clinked your plastic cup against his, “Wasn’t it so fucking sick tonight?” you yelled into his ear over the heavy bass of the song slamming through the speakers.

“Yeah, you guys were amazing!” he yelled back, glancing around nervously. “Do you guys always throw a party like this after a show?”

You laughed. “We used to, but then we stopped cus shit would get super out of hand once we got more big. But I guess people got so used to us doing this that they just kept showing up even if we didn’t plan on having a party!” you took a long sip of your drink.

He nodded quietly.

“Hey!” you placed your hand on the side of his arm, giving him a little squeeze. “Try to have some fun tonight! You look all timid and tense, you shouldn’t! You’re gonna be the new lead guitarist for Bulletproof! You’re gonna fucking kill it!”

Jungkook smiled at this, letting out a quiet sigh, feeling some pressure relieve, while more pressure built up.

“Alright, I gotta go say hi to some people, go! Have fun!”

He waved as you receded through the crowds of people.

He watched you guys quietly throughout the evening. Jin, seated on a large leather sofa in the living room, surrounded by girls on either side, all tugging and pulling at his hair, at his tie, a great wide grin spread across his face, a cigarette between his teeth.

At Yoongi, who sat quietly at the breakfast nook in the kitchen, a scotch on ice in a highball glass in his hand, conversing with one of Bulletproof’s producers.

At you, bouncing from crowd to crowd. You’d just started a conversation with one group when someone would emerge out of nowhere and pull you into another. You smiled big, greeting everybody and hugging everybody, tossing your head back in laughter, posing for endless photos.

Jungkook knew. As much as he wanted some alone time with you. As much as he wanted to be seated in a quiet room with you, so he could show you his music, so he could listen to you sing the melodies he’d written, just for you...he couldn’t. Because of everyone else. Everybody loved you. Everybody wanted a piece of you.

Jungkook had taken a seat in the drawing room, on a sofa across from where Jimin sat, a cute blonde girl in his lap, with her arms clasped tightly around his neck, who kept whispering things into his ear. Jimin listened, smiling. Jungkook watched them for a while and couldn’t tell for the life of him if Jimin was being genuine to this girl, or if he just found her amusing. He decided it was probably the latter.

The evening drew on, and Jungkook had just politely refused the group of guys and girls that crowded the coffee table in front of him, one of them chopping rails with a credit card on the back of a magazine. Nirvana’s Come As You Are was cranking through the speakers and Jungkook was about to get up to get another drink when he saw you turning the corner into the room, finding Jimin on the sofa. You looked somewhat different, your face looked a little sunken in, makeup a bit smudged around your eyes. You must be tired, he thought.

He watched with wide eyes as the cute blonde girl threw her arms up at your entrance and you leaned down and planted a long kiss on her lips. His eyes darted to Jimin, whose expression didn’t change a bit.

“y/n, you were so fucking amazing tonight!” the girl shrieked when you pulled away.

“Thank you, Mira, sweetie,” you gave her nose a little boop. You turned to Jimin, and ran a hand through his hair.

“You heading up already?” he asked, taking your hand and giving it a squeeze.

You nodded, “I’m beat. Have a good night you guys.”

You turned to leave, and Jungkook watched your arm linger for a moment behind you, Jimin’s hand reluctantly letting yours go. He thought this was his chance.

Quietly, he followed behind you as you made your way back through the kitchen, giving Yoongi a back hug and a kiss on the cheek, bidding him goodnight. Through the living room, where you found Jin, two girls on his lap, one was trying to get her tongue as far down his throat as possible, the other was busy leaving hickies on his neck. You’d only scoffed, and turned to head upstairs.

Jungkook had pulled his notebook from his guitar bag by the door, and clutched it tightly to his chest as he followed silently behind you up three flights of stairs. He was ducked behind a wall, and saw you disappear into a room at the end of a long hallway. Hole’s Celebrity Skin began playing, muted through the thick marble walls from downstairs. His hand gripped around the spine of his notebook and he approached the opened door to your darkened room nervously, and was about to knock when he saw you flip on the bathroom light and leaned forward, your hands on the marble counter, your head hanging.

He moved through the open door, a question about your welfare catching in his throat when he saw you pull out a tin of altoids from the little pocket on the back of your skirt.

Jungkook’s brows furrowed, focusing in on the little metal box in your hands, and his eyes grew wide at the realization that it did not hold breath mints.

He watched you dump its contents onto the marble vanity; little blue, yellow, and white pills. He watched you pick out the little yellow colored ones, tossing one into your mouth and swallowing it with a glob of spit. You crowded a few others together on the countertop, and using the bottom of a glass that held a toothbrush, crushed and ground them into a powder.

He stood, frozen, watching as you bent down, one finger holding on nostril shut and, one snort, two snorts. You stood, rubbing at your nose, sniffling. Jungkook felt his fist clench at his side, his other hand gripped so tightly around his notebook he was leaving a dent in the binding. He could see your reflection in the mirror, your pupils blown out so wide your eyes looked like black holes in their sockets.

“y/n?”

Jungkook heard Jimin’s voice calling from outside in the hall. Panicked, not wanting to be caught here, he knew he shouldn’t be here, he saw the closet door at the adjacent wall, slightly ajar and ducked into it.

“y/n?” Through the crack in the door, he saw Jimin enter the room.

He heard the door shut behind Jimin, the latch of the lock clicking. He walked into the bathroom, and Jungkook shuffled quietly to one end of the closet, peering through the crack between the door and the wall.

He watched Jimin move up behind you, his arms reaching down and wrapping around your waist, resting his head in the crook of your neck. Jungkook found himself holding his breath again in an attempt to quell his heart that was pounding in his chest.

“You sang beautifully tonight,” he heard Jimin whisper into your skin. You’d slid a cigarette between your teeth, lighting it and taking a drag.

“Really?”

“Really.”

The little crack was enough for Jungkook to see you turn to face Jimin, lace your arms up around his neck and lean up into him. Your lips met his, and Jimin greeted you eagerly, his fingers gripped tightly into your waist, lifting you and setting you down on the counter with ease.

Your kisses were hurried, hungry, and Jimin indulged you, giving himself to you, letting you be consumed with him.

“Do you still want me tonight?” Jimin asked through gasped breaths.

You pulled him close, your lips on his neck. “I always want you,” you whispered.

Jungkook felt a huge lump forming in his throat, his mouth dry, his eyes stinging from staring. He wanted to swallow, but feared making any sound and being discovered. He’d hoped Jimin would close the bathroom door behind him so he could sneak back out, but it was clear now there was no easy way out. He watched through the crack in the door as Jimin pulled your tank top over your head, his hand reaching behind you and unclasping your bra with ease. He watched Jimin pull you close, his mouth covering yours, and he reached out, pushing the pills on the countertop away.

“Fuck me in the shower,” he heard you whisper in Jimin’s ear. Jimin tugged roughly at your hips, pulling you into the shower, one hand unzipping your skirt and pulling it down, the other reaching for the silver knob on the wall. Water poured down over your bodies and hurried hands tugged and pulled at the rest of the clothes that the two of you still had on.

Steam rose and Jungkook watched Jimin pin you against the marble tiles, turning your head to face him to kiss you, to catch your moans on his tongue. Jimin ground his hips into you from behind, one arm wrapped tightly around your waist, the other across your chest, holding you flush against him. Jungkook swallowed thickly, his breath hitching when he saw Jimin’s hand travel up and close around your throat and you let your head back against his shoulder. The rhythm of your moans was becoming uneven, and Jimin’s hand closed tighter but quickly moved over your opened mouth to cover a scream, and both your bodies fell languid against the tiles.

Jimin held you up, squeezing soap onto your body and his, letting the hot water wash over both of you, his hands gently brushing across your skin. He’d turned the water off, bringing you out of the shower and dried your body and hair with a towel before carrying you back into the room. He’d picked you up, and laid you gently onto the bed and you fell back limply. He pulled the covers over your body, taking a seat by your side and pressed soft kisses on your forehead.

“Are you ok?” he asked in a whisper. You nodded, and he smiled. “Sleep well, love.”

Jungkook was holding his breath, his entire body tensed and still and beginning to cramp. He watched Jimin sit like that beside you for a few quiet moments, watching as you drifted off to sleep.

“You can come out now.”

Jungkook’s heart jumped, his legs frozen beneath him. Shit.

He saw Jimin stand, pulling out a pack of cigarettes from the nightstand, lighting one. He turned and moved towards the closet. Jungkook stepped backward on instinct, but tripped on something below his feet, falling, and taking down a pile of clothes with him, their hangers clattering around him, one of his boots kicking the closet door open in the process.

“Ow..” he swiped at the top of his head where a shoebox landed a second ago. He looked up to find Jimin standing over him, naked, a stream of smoke streaming from the corners of his mouth.

Jimin sighed, and reached behind Jungkook, pulling out a pair of sweatpants and slid his legs into them. He then held a hand out, which Jungkook took, and helped him to stand. Without a word, he moved over to the little table beside the bedroom’s balcony door and took a seat at one of the chairs. Jungkook stood, dumbfounded, embarrassed, ashamed, scared, his cheeks growing hot.

“Sit.” Jimin beckoned at the chair beside him.

Unable to do anything else, Jungkook made his way over, taking a seat in the empty chair. A few moments of uncomfortable silence passed, the only sound was the quiet thumping of music from downstairs, and the light crackling of the end of Jimin’s cigarette burning to ash when he took a drag.

“H-How did you know I was in there?” Jungkook finally asked.

“I saw you follow her up here,” smoke poured out from Jimin’s nostrils as he responded. “I didn’t see you anywhere in the hall, I figured you must’ve hid in here when I came in.”

Jungkook pondered this response for a moment, his brows furrowing at a realization. Did he..do this on purpose? Knowing I was here? Knowing I’d be watching?

He was about to ask when Jimin stood, and made his way into the bathroom. Jungkook watched as he stood in front of the vanity, sighing as he looked down at the pills and the smeared little pile of powder. He reached a hand out, swiping everything into his palm and walked over to the toilet. He tilted his hand, dumping everything into the water, and flushed it all away.

“I know you’ve been watching her all night,” he continued, moving back and taking a seat beside Jungkook again. “Did you see who gave her the pills?”

An image of you from earlier flashed through Jungkook’s mind: your darkened gaze, the smeared mascara under your eyes.

“No, I didn’t..” he answered quietly. “Um..I hope it’s okay for me to ask...so, you and y/n..you’re together?” He never knew, and in fact, no one knew. There was never anything on the news, nothing in the gossip blogs, no paparazzi photos. This must be a well-guarded secret. He wondered if the rest of the band knew.

Jimin smiled.

“It’s just-,” Jungkook shook his head a little, embarrassed that he asked the question. You didn’t have to be together to sleep together, he thought to himself. “Sorry, it’s just..you two seem really close..I mean, compared to the other guys.”

Jimin took a long drag. “y/n and I have known each other since we were teenagers,” he said softly. “When we turned 18, we moved in together into this shitty little apartment in the city. It was so small, and there were cockroaches in the kitchen, and we had this one tiny window. She was on her way, she had gotten into a really prestigious music school, she was probably going to be in famous plays and musicals. I was selfish, I guess, and crazy possessive. I told her I loved her, that I needed her with me. I told her that because she loved to sing, that I would write songs for her to sing. I told her to only sing songs that I wrote for her,” he laughed, almost bitterly. Jungkook swallowed, his fingers gripped tightly around the notebook in his lap.

“And she just smiled. She just fucking smiled and told me ‘okay.’ She crushed my heart at that moment. She took my heart, and crushed it, and to this day holds it in the palm of her hand. She could kill me in cold blood and I wouldn’t bat an eye. I’d do anything for her. I love her more than anything in this world.” He took another long drag. “She saved me. I was a complete fucking delinquent in school, I had nothing going for me. Except one day in middle school when she came up to me in the stairwell during lunch and pulled the headphones off my ears and told me, ‘I like Nirvana too.’ When she sang to me for the first time, I thought that’s what angels sound like. She belongs onstage. Everyone loves her. She gave me a future.”

Jungkook looked down at the worn cover of the notebook in his lap. I told her to only sing songs that I wrote for her.

“She really likes you, man.”

Jungkook’s eyes shot back up at Jimin, his cheeks flushing.

Jimin smiled again. “The first night in that cramped little apartment we sat on our mattress on the floor and looked out the window. There was no view, it looked directly at this cracked brick wall of the building next door. That night I told her that I would make it so that one day she could sing on a stage in front of thousands of people, we’d live in a huge mansion, and have crazy parties all the time, and she would be happy.” He leaned forward, smudging out his cigarette on a crystal tray on the table. “We’re playing arenas now. We’re here in this mansion. People line up and beg to party with us. And she’s up here by herself downing percocets.”

Jungkook felt the corners of his lips drop.

“You like her too, don’t you?” He was caught off guard by Jimin’s question. “Don’t you?”

He moved his head in the smallest nod.

“Then help me. I got her sold out arenas, I got her all this glitz and glamour. And I told her she would be happy and I will not be made a fucking liar.”

Jungkook glanced at the toilet in the bathroom, then back at the vanity. At the residuals of the smeared powder on the countertop. He turned and looked at you, your breaths soft in sleep. He thought of your laugh and your smile, how nice and sweet you’d been to him ever since the first time he nervously approached you after a concert, asking if he could play a song for you. How you listened so intently, told him you loved his lyrics and gave him genuine feedback on his composition.

I love her more than anything in this world.

I told her to only sing songs I wrote for her.

I got her sold out arenas.

I got her all this glitz and glamour.

Jungkook felt his jaw clench. I this, I that, that’s a lot of fucking I’s for someone that claims he only lives for her, he thought to himself.

And she’s up here by herself downing percocets.

He gritted his teeth. He wondered if Jimin knew the meaning of the word love. He wondered if Jimin knew you at all.

pt. 2

#it's been so long since i've written for bts are ya'll still here T-T #anyway #get ready for PAIN #bts fanfiction #bts series #bts fanfic #bts angst #jimin x reader #jimin angst #rockstar jimin #bts rockstar au #jungkook x reader #jimin series #jimin fanfiction #jungkook series #jungkook fanfiction #rockstar jungkook #bts smut

116 notes · View notes

nostuntsmag · 1 year

Text

Home For You 23 Larry Things in 2023

ARTICLE BY: CHARLYROSE | @HOMEVOI28

1. HSLOT

Harry has the 3 LA shows, Australia and Asia legs, and another Europe leg scheduled for 2023. The LA shows are on January 26, 27. The rest of the legs start on February 20.

2. 3 year Walls anniversary

In just about a month Walls will turn 3 years old (January 31). For Walls’ first anniversary Louis did the infamous Spotify covers of definitely not Harry’s tattoos and while he didn’t do anything last year, he did start tour the next day. Perhaps this year Louis will do something for the 3rd anniversary.

3. Harry bday

As most (if not all of us) know, Harry’s 29th birthday will take place on February 1, 2023, for which fundraisers are already happening.

4. Grammy Awards

Harry has been nominated for 6 Grammys (Record of the Year, Song of the Year, Album of the Year, Best Pop Solo Performance, Best Pop Vocal Album, and Best Music Video). For note so no one gets mad, Faith in the Future was not released on time to qualify for the 2023 Grammys which will be held on February 5.

5. The BRIT Awards

I couldn’t find anything confirmed yet, but Harry is predicted for Best British Album of the Year, and Best British Single. The BRITs will take place on February 11.

6. Pollstar Awards

Harry is nominated for Major Tour of the Year, Best Pop Tour, and Best Brand Partnership/Live Campaign for the Pollstar Awards, which will take place on February 22.

7. Academy Awards

Harry, David Dawson, and Emma Corrin have all been submitted for Supporting Actor in the 2023 Academy Awards. This means Harry might be at the Oscars (and talk to David and Emma, which is always fun), and Harry could end up being an Academy Award winner. The Academy Awards will take place on March 12.

8. 1 year since door / halfway home / Coachella

I’ve listed these as one thing because having each as a separate thing felt cheap, and they’re all linked in my head. The Door™ led to Halfway home being such a large thing (briefly explained here (note the self-promo)), and Harry first sang Boyfriends (which has the halfway home lyric) at Coachella night 1. Boyfriends was obviously among one of the many unhinged things Harry did at Coachella last year. The You Are Home door started on March 18th and ran for two months and then came back very briefly twice for Harry’s singles. YAH tweeted “half way home” on April 13th. Then Harry performed at Coachella on April 15th, singing Boyfriends for the first time, then again on April 22nd.

9. 1 year Harry’s House anniversary

The 1st anniversary of Harry’s House is on May 20th. Which means we can expect something. For Fine Line, it was the special vinyl (and my understanding is that it was the same for HS1).

10. 6 year HS1 anniversary

The 6th anniversary of HS1 is on May 12th. I don’t remember Harry doing anything for the 5th last year, so I doubt he’d do anything this year, but who knows. At the least we get to celebrate.

11. FITFWT

As of right now only the North America and European legs of FITFWT have been announced for 2023, but the LATAM, Asia, and Australian legs should be announced soon (but will likely take place in 2024). FITFWT starts on May 26.

12. Louis performing No Control (?)

At one of his recent signings, Louis told a fan that he might sing No Control “once or twice next year, I would like to yeah!” Regardless of whether he remembers this or will hold to it, one can have hope.

13. Louis possibly writing LT3

In Euphoria Magazine Louis said he hopes to have finished writing (not recording) LT3 before tour starts (on May 26). Which means LT3 is likely in the writing process and in its early stages as we speak.

14. More EURO-2023 chaos

The Euros will be happening from June 21 to July 8, and something Gayos always seems to happen around the Euros. At the very least Louis will probably tweet about the Euros or we’ll get some fan footage of Louis watching the Euros.

15. One Direction’s 13th Anniversary

This year One Direction will be a teenager (yes I’m cheesy) on July 23. Which also means the 13th anniversary of the iconic moment when Louis jumped into Harry’s arms when the band formed. For no reason. Whatsoever. Obviously.

16. September 28th’s 10th Anniversary

The 10th anniversary of September 28, 2013 is this year. Yes I know this has been debunked but it still matters in our hearts, and if anything, it’s the 10th Larry day.

17. FITF’s 1 Year Anniversary

Considering how unhinged Louis has been for the past year, I feel like we can be pretty sure he’ll manage to outdo the Spotify covers for Faith’s 1 year anniversary on November 11.

18. 10th anniversary of 1D Day’s 10th Anniversary

1D Day occurred on November 23, 2013, meaning the 10th anniversary of it (and Midnight Memories) is this year. This means the the infamous performance of Little Things where Harry stared at Louis the entire time (and almost definitely sang “I’m in love with Lou”) will have happened 10 years ago.

19. Fine Line 4th Anniversary

The 3rd anniversary for Fine Line just happened, where Harry did his “pink and blue forever” post, and for the 4th year on December 13th, I’d say it’ll be something similar.

20. Louis’ 32nd bday

Louis just turned 31 on December 24th, and I wrote this over his birthday so it feesl odd to include, but he does turn 32 in 2023.

21. Narry/Nouis interactions

Niall will be a judge on Season 23 of “The Voice” (premieres March 6), has an album coming out in May, and will be playing several festivals this year. All this means we’ll likely have some Narry and/or Nouis interactions.

22. Possible Big Bird MV

I personally have not given up on the hope that the big bird MV is still coming, because knowing Harry it could come out at 1 AM EST on New Years. Or it’s scraped.

23. 🏁

iykyk

Have an amazing 2023 larries!

#harry #louis #articles #music #larry #fitf #harrys house

4 notes · View notes

cosmicraysandstuff · 1 year

Text

I posted 975 times in 2022

That's 384 more posts than 2021!

4 posts created (0%)

971 posts reblogged (100%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@outrunningthedark

@iamdeltas

@lilacblossoms

@lovecolibri

@kinnsporsche

I tagged 975 of my posts in 2022

#kinnporsche cast - 92 posts

#kinnporsche - 86 posts

#kinnporsche the series - 69 posts

#jeff satur - 51 posts

#ofmd - 40 posts

#apo nattawin - 38 posts

#🥰😍🥰😍 - 38 posts

#porsche kittisawasd - 33 posts

#stranger things - 32 posts

#🥰😍 - 30 posts

Longest Tag: 118 characters

#the fact that the tax write-off means that those movies and shows are gonna be locked away forever is fucking bullshit

My Top Posts in 2022:

*sigh* So, I started up my Louis Tomlinson blog again, after several years, cuz I finally have the mental/emotional energy to maintain it, and it looks like my blog might've been shadowbanned. The name of the blog was "let go" at one point, because I was inactive, but when I went to rename my blog, the original name was still available. So, I saved it again.

I sent a ticket to Tumblr support, but I'm wondering if I should just change the name all together. But I'm not sure if that would help? It's just frustrating, cuz a lot is happening with Louis's new song/album and I want to be able to interact with fellow fans/reblog/etc. 😢

Any suggestions are welcomed.

0 notes - Posted September 2, 2022

This song is helping to cheer me up, when everything gets to be too much.

Plus? I'm always down for a fun song about my city. 🥰😍🗽🌞

0 notes - Posted July 9, 2022

Music Recs

1. Louis Tomlinson has a new single out today - "Bigger than Me" - and it just showcases how much his songwriting and vocals have grown. I'm so happy that he got to tour this year, (after the personal and professional obstacles he had to contend with the past few years), and I'm thrilled that he'll be able to release his 2nd album in November.

His songs have gotten me through some pretty bad times and I'm so proud to be his fan. 🥰😍

2. Blackpink - "Pink Venom" - my girls are back and I couldn't be happier. 😍 They're still really the only Kpop group I follow at the moment, (though I'm starting to look into other groups), and their music just energizes me so much. I know that there are some fans who don't like the new single, but I appreciate how it's different from their previous songs, without going too far in another direction. Their talent still kills me, I swear. 😘

3. Rina Sawayama - she has a new EP out and I adore every song on it. Her vocals in "Phantoms" and "Catch Me in the Air" are breathtaking and I continue to adore her lyrics. I'm so glad that I followed up on that Tumblr post I found a few months ago about Rina, cuz I've become such a huge fan of her music, and I hadn't heard of her before that. I HIGHLY recommend checking her out. 🥰😍

See the full post

1 note - Posted September 1, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

Happy 10th anniversary to Gravity Falls today!

Happy 10th anniversary to Night Vale today!

And Happy 12th anniversary to me officially moving to NYC today!

I never remember to acknowledge the day, so I'm glad I remembered this year.

🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳

2 notes - Posted June 15, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

#tumblr2022 #year in review #my 2022 tumblr year in review #your tumblr year in review #Spotify

2 notes · View notes

voice-of-anarchy · 2 years

Text

ARCH ENEMY: 'Deceivers' Album Release Delayed

Extreme metal masters ARCH ENEMY have pushed back the release date of their 11th studio album, "Deceivers", to August 12 from the previously announced July 29.

Earlier today, ARCH ENEMY issued the following statement regarding the matter: "Dear ARCH ENEMY fans, due to unforeseen circumstances, the release of the new album 'Deceivers' has to be postponed two weeks. The new release date will be August 12th. This is later than expected, but we promise it will be worth the wait. We want to thank you for your great support and hope to meet as many of you as possible this summer!"

Last month, ARCH ENEMY released a new seven-inch single, "Sunset Over The Empire", with the title track also appearing on "Deceivers". The official music video for "Sunset Over The Empire", directed by Grupa13, was made available the same day.

In a recent interview with Tampa Bay Creative Loafing, ARCH ENEMY singer Alissa White-Gluz stated about the band's decision to release more singles than usual this time around.

"I think over the course of the last couple of years everyone has had to rethink how they release because of the way music is consumed now," she said. "We put equal time into all the songs, but then, maybe only two or three of them get highlighted as singles. But that's not to say that the rest of the songs didn't take just as much time and energy and heart to create. We have fans who know every single song, but we wanted to give people an opportunity to discover a little bit more about our sound."

ARCH ENEMY played the first show of "The North American Siege 2022" tour with BEHEMOTH and NAPALM DEATH on April 16 at The Marquee in Tempe, Arizona. ARCH ENEMY's set included the first three new songs the group released over the last few months: "Deceiver, Deceiver", "House Of Mirrors" and "Handshake With Hell".

ARCH ENEMY guitarist Michael Amott previously stated about "Deceivers": "Having just celebrated our 25th anniversary as a group and now releasing our 11th studio album, one could easily assume that we would be cruising along and going through the motions at this point. In reality, nothing could be further from the truth when it comes to ARCH ENEMY and our new album, 'Deceivers'.

"It is, without a doubt, always a challenge to raise the bar each time in both the songwriting and production side of things, and it can feel a bit daunting before we get into it. But once we do get started and fully immerse ourselves in the creative process, it's really like there is nothing else in the world and we are very focused. And believe it or not, for the most part, we have a ton of fun making this music! Creating 'Deceivers' was no different. Once again we shut out the outside world and went deep into the artistic zone. I believe we pulled out some really interesting musical and lyrical themes this time, a few things might even raise an eyebrow or two — while retaining all the signature elements of the band. In the end, it's ARCH ENEMY at full speed and power."

ARCH ENEMY will appear at select summer festivals before embarking on the rescheduled "European Siege 2022" trek (with BEHEMOTH, CARCASS, UNTO OTHERS) in the fall.

#arch enemy #Deceivers #2022 news

4 notes · View notes

nexthitjcink · 4 months

Text

senior spotlight: HWA

We will be starting off our spotlight series with the unofficial queen of NH: HWA. She has been with NH since the beginning and was the focus of much of their early history, so let's get to know her. This was originally going to be...much longer--but to save all some time I've cut it down to just some key highlight moments of Hwa's career. For a look at all of the title tracks the queen has released so far: check out this playlist! They are in chronological order and unless stated otherwise in this post, you can assume they were released at the same time as the IRL release date. Also, I've just listed title tracks, you can freely assume that any b-sides released with title track are included in Hwa's release!

EARLY LIFE & WATERFALL

Yoo EunHwa was born January 12th, 1991 in Seoul, South Korea. Her mother was a popular news anchor, which gave her an introduction to the entertainment industry and living as a public figure. She began singing and writing music early on in her childhood as her father was a notable classical pianist. She has gone on record saying that he "inspired me to take music seriously and wholeheartedly, to commit myself to writing and learning." Her uncle worked as a Senior Director of Marketing at Waterfall Entertainment, where she would become a trainee at the age of 15. She trained for 2 years before releasing her debut EP Lost and Found, and the title track "Lost Child (미아)" on June 23rd, 2008 under the pseudonym Hwa. The song had a dark tone that would seem foreign to future fans of Hwa, but showed her vocal talent and genre versatility. This would be her only release under Waterfall Entertainment as the company would dissolve by the end of the year.

GOOD DAY

After the dissolvement of Waterfall, Hwa was personally offered a contract with the brand new company Next Hit Entertainment by founder and CEO, Nam Dohyun. The two knew each other from Waterfall and had similar mindsets on the creative direction of her music, which had been a main point of contention between her and Waterfall. REAL: her second EP, released October of the same year. It peaked at #2 in Korea, and title track "Good Day" became a national phenomena, debut at #1. On the surprise success of the song Hwa has said in later interviews "everyone at NH, including me, was shocked. In the studio, we tend to focus on making the best songs we can and if people like them, all the better. At the time, I was focusing on my own performance. I think my mom was the one to tell me it was #1. I was never really focused on that part of it." In the same interview, Hwa also revealed that the success of the track allowed for NH to upgrade their headquarters from the one story office space they had been renting, into their own fully-fledge building. "We all (SAGA) owe our success to 'Good Day'" said SAGA's Gigi in a 2020 video marking the song's 10th anniversary.

NATION'S LITTLE SISTER

After cementing herself as a wholesome and girl-next-door idol star with her early work, Hwa was dubbed the "Nation's Little Sister" early on in her career. Her cute concepts and down to earth personality on and off stage has capture the heart not just of her loyal fans, but the Korean general public. She is one of the best selling and most awarded soloists in South Korean history. She often fought against the title, starting with her 2014 album Chat-Shire and the song "twenty three" which detailed the anxieties and pressures of aging into an adult. Two years later in 2016, in her collaboration with G-Dragon, "Palette", she speaks of being much more secure in herself as an adult woman singing "I like it, I'm 25" and "I got this, I'm truly fine." While the public may see her as "the little sister" she has shown herself as a mature and sophisticated artist.

SONGWRITING

Starting with "Alone in the Room" from her 2011 EP Real+ Hwa has been credited written over seventy songs so far in her musical career. With her second album, Last Fantasy in 2011, she took much more creative control over her music. Since Last Fantasy, nearly all of her albums have been mostly written by Hwa herself. In 2018, she won Lyricist of the Year at the Gaon Chart Music Awards. On songwriting she has said that: "its important to me, as an artist that I write my own music. People can say what they want about my singing, performances, or concepts. Those are joys to do and I'm proud of all that I've done in my career. I appreciate all of the hard work that my team does to make sure I look good. But, criticism about my writing I take very seriously. Even almost 15 years since my debut, I'm still learning and growing when it comes writing and producing, and I will continue to grow that muscle.

COLLABORATIONS

After making a name for herself early in her career, Hwa has become a frequent collaborator with a variety of artists. One of her most notable was the title track of her 2015 album, "Palette" and featured G-Dragon. In 2021, she released the track "31", with artist CHEESE. Both songs touch on aging, transitioning from girlhood to womanhood. Other popular collaborations include: SoulMate (ZICO, featuring Crush, 2018), Sing in the Green (with Yerin, 2022)

DATING SCANDAL

Hwa's career remained mainly safe and non-scandalous, until (one day after of the release of her collaboration with Jay Park "Ganadara") Dispatch claimed that her and the rap artist were dating and had been for years. NH immediately denied the claims, but Dispatch released secret photos of the star seemingly with Jay Park at a resort. Two days after the photos were released to the public, Hwa came out with a personal statement denying having ever been a relationship with Park, but confirming that she was in a relationship and that she was engaged. She did not release the name of her fiancé, as he is a private citizen, and asked for fans and "media outlets" to respect their privacy. No other information on when the two plan on getting married has been released. Fans theorize that the lack of music as of recent may be due to her focusing on her family and personal life.

#preview #if u can believe it this is the short version...#me just dumping my favorite stella & iu songs in that playlist I HOPE IT MAKES SENSE

0 notes

dearweirdme · 10 months

Note

Hi! I was wondering what you think about this book coming out. Do you think you’ll read it? I honestly don’t think it’s going to have much in it that we don’t already know, just stuff that we’ve heard but with some more detail to it. I think it’s just a money grab for the company during solo era. A way to keep ARMY’s attention.

I guess I think if we ever want to get some real exclusive, in depth stuff, it’s going to come from books BTS write themselves years from now and probably when the band isn’t really actively doing as much together if at all.

I could see Namjoon writing a book someday, probably a long time from now, with all the real stuff we never knew. Yoongi too. I could also see Taehyung writing a book and maybe even Jungkook. Maybe they’d even write one together about their relationship while in the band. I know that’s a long shot but it’s clear already that this book avoids any talk of Jungkook and Taehyung at all. Not that I expected it to.

Is it bad that I think very little of this book actually comes from the guys themselves? I’m not a company anti or anything but I just have this feeling the guys signed off on this book, answered some questions for a ghost writer and the book was made. I haven’t read it so maybe I’m making a judgement call but there’s just something that feels so generic based on what I’ve read.

I apologize for the rant but I know you’ll have some excellent insight 😊

Hi anon!

Yeah, I am going to read it. I’m gonna but the e-book version though, way cheaper 🙈. I’m interested in reading what they want us to read. It might not be the whole picture, but it is still a picture. I don’t think it is designed to mislead, I just think a lot will be left out.

It is a bit of a moneygrab in my opinion yeah. It’s not really a big deal that that’s what it is. It’s part of business, every artist does it. I agree with the more real, honest stuff coming years from now and even then it will probably only be parts of it. Taekook will probably never be mentioned much, unless they themselves feel like doing a book one day. Namjoon and Yoongi for instance won’t be writing about Tae and Jk’s situation, that’s not really their story to tell. I can see Tae do it though. I feel he has more of a drive to show the real him. I feel like Jk loves keeping his business his business though.

Ofcourse it isn’t bad to think like that. Objectively speaking, it is a way for Hybe to make money. I doubt there’s going to be really new stuff in it, so yeah… we’re basically paying for stuff we already know. But, it is a weird year for fandom and BTS themselves. It’s their ten year anniversary and they aren’t even able to spend it together as a group with army. That must s*ck hard and maybe this book is their way to just.. do something. I have to read it first to be able to make a judgement on how much members themselves were involved. It does have quotes we haven’t seen before, so I do think there have been quite a few interviews with everyone, but I also feel the outline had been decided on and possibly the interviews were steared in a certain direction.

The book will be out the 12th in my country, so I won’t be able to say much until a few days later 😊. But i’ll make sure to give you my insights when I finish.

#book spoilers #taekook

1 note · View note

stardestroyer81 · 2 years

Text

Hello everyone! It's December 12th, and today just so happens to be a very special day... it's my birthday! 🎂

One year ago today, I made what may just be my absolute shortest post announcing to the few followers that I had at the time that it was my birthday. It wasn't anything special, and the only reason I had uploaded it at all was because I was proud to share that the twelfth of December is a date I look forward to all year.

This year, however, I wanted to try a little something different. Instead of settling for a three word post (I still can't get over how short that post is.), a few months ago I had an idea of what I could talk about when 12/12 rolled around.

I've mentioned this briefly once before in the answer to an ask that had been sent in, but there's a very good reason that my blog name is 'StarDestroyer81'— it's a combination of the subtitle and release year to one of my all-time favorite arcade games, Bosconian!

Unfortunately, Bosconian isn't all that well-known of a title, especially when pitted against some of Namco's other smash hits, such as Pac-Man and Dig Dug. So, for my birthday and just in time for Bosconian's 40th anniversary..

Let's talk about Bosconian: Star Destroyer!

Bosconian was released by Namco in... well, 1981! The game began to show up in arcades in Japan on November 7th of that year, whereas its was released worldwide (By Midway Games) the next month.

I've spent such a long time digging around to try and find an exact date as to when in December the worldwide release happened (How cool would it be if it was on my birthday?), though I did find the date of December 5th, though don't take this as the definite date.

Whenever I talk to my friends about Bosconian, a majority of them have never heard of it (Appropriately so), and so I describe it to them 'The Star Way'— it's like Galaga, but a million times cooler. Bosconian is a multi-directional space shooter type of arcade game, and unlike Galaga, not only can you move wherever you'd like instead of being limited to the x-axis, but you can move and shoot in eight different directions!

Bosconian puts you as the player in the esteemed Starfighter, a spacecraft which has but one goal: to seek and destroy the base stars (Also known as 'Orbitals'), which are large, green enemy bases. It's no easy task, however, as the entire time you're being chased by oncoming fleets of enemy ships on top of steering clear of asteroids and Cosmo Mines, which can be destroyed for additional points.

Each level of Bosconian gives you a set number of base stars to vanquish, whose destinations are conveniently identified on a map on the right side of the screen (A blinking red dot signifying where you're at). Blast all the base stars and you're off to the next parsec!

The base stars have six circular cannons which can open fire should you get too close, though its projectiles are relatively easy to avoid should they not be too clustered. To defeat the base stars, you have two options: the standard way, or the patented "Star Method".

Regularly, you would shoot work your way around each base star and shoot out all of its cannons. Once all six are destroyed, the entire base star blows up. Conversely, if you go about the ever-cool "Star Method", if you line up your shot just right, you can shoot between the bottom or top two cannons to shoot directly at the core of the base star, which blows it up immediately. It's SO satisfying!

Sometimes, the game alerts you to go into 'battle stations', which means a select base star has sent out a fleet of five enemy ships in a certain formation that will hone in on your location. By being reckless, it can be easy to not see where they're coming from and run right into them, but with quick handiwork, they can all be blasted for a nifty point bonus provided none have left the screen.

You might also notice that on the right side of the screen, there's a section reading your ship's "condition". Having a Condition Green means that everything is relatively lax, and there's not much action afoot. A Condition Yellow means that things are looking a bit dangerous, and is the usual condition for a majority of the game.

And then there's Condition Red...

Before I get into specifics about Condition Red, I should also mention the importance of one of Bosconian's most vicious foes: the dreaded Spy Ship. Easily spotted by its bright yellow color, the Spy Ship appears from a random corner of the screen, and will glide around the player at a distance before vanishing off screen. If you see the Spy Ship, stop everything and destroy it before it leaves. If you don't, or if you take too long in a level...

Condition Red happens. Heart-pounding music sets in as an enormous amount of enemy ships will fly in from all directions directly toward your ship. If you don't act fast and blast the remaining base stars, you're as good as space junk.

Something that sets Bosconian apart from a lot of other space shooters at its time was the fact that it— in a forty year old game, mind you— included voice acting. Throughout your cosmic escapades, various voice lines will play, and right here is a list I've made of all of them and when they occur!

"Blast off!" - Played when starting a stage. "Alert! Alert!" - Played when an enemy ship draws near. "Battle stations!" - Played when a fleet of five ships leaves a base star, in search of your ship. "Spy Ship sighted!" - Played when a Spy Ship appears. This is an excellent audio clue to know when to start looking for it. "Condition Red!" - Played when... uh, take a wild guess.

While it's neat that Bosconian has these voice samples, I personally didn't hear them in action until long after I played it for the first time on the first Jakks Pacific Namco Plug-and-Play, which lacked the samples. And, additionally... some of these voice samples don't even sound like what is actually being said.

For example, for a while, these are what I heard instead:

"Lock/Loaf all!" "Alive! Alive!" "Battle station!"

'Spy Ship sighted!' may just be the clearest sample of them all, but 'Condition Red!', on the other hand... when I was little, I had no clue what was being said, and didn't use contextual clues to look to the right of the screen.

Speaking of taking visual cues... what does all of this even look like? If you'd like to check out the original, 1981 arcade version, here's a longplay of it where you can check out my long descriptions of in-game goings-on in action!

Alternatively, check out the Jakks Pacific port, which was the version of Bosconian that not only I grew up with, but also set my all-time personal best score of 505,750 on!

I think that's about everything that I've wanted to dive into regarding Bosconian, and I hope that with my explanations that anyone reading this has a better understanding of what Bosconian is. It's such a cool game that deserves a whole lot of recognition! I hope you've enjoyed everything this post has had to offer, as I've waited quite a bit to write about this game!

#My Birthday!#12/12 babey!#Bosconian: Star Destroyer #Bosconian #Namco #Bally Midway #Deep Dives with Star #Coolness #I don't think there could have been a better birthday post than this one!#I love how last year's birthday post was made up of three words whereas this one has...#Uh... let's see here... one... two... three...#ABOUT THIRTEEN HUNDRED?!#Boy. Talk about a massive follow-up.#Something I wanted to mention in the post but didn't (Because of how long it ended up being) was this:#As a kid the ''Condition Red'' sample sounded like utter gibberish to me #And due to my wild imagination I always assumed it was something much cooler...#It sounded more like an enemy alien of some variety had hacked into the ship's intercom and was speaking tongues into it.#If that isn't cool I don't know WHAT is.#Secondly 'Loaf all!' is a lot funnier to me than it probably should be.#Breadsconian: Breakfast Destroyer #Just call me... the Bosconian Boss!

21 notes · View notes

mhdiaries · 4 years

Photo

SDCC 2015 Kieran Valentine Diary

May 1st

When I left Monster High after Draculaura’s Sweet 1,600 birthday party, I was angry, humiliated and stinky from falling into that pit of eternal body odor. I stank so bad, Mom wouldn’t even let me in the house: I had to sleep in the guest room above the garage. Looking back, I can see it was probably the best thing that could have happened to me. Even my considerable powers to charm were no match for the power of the stench that surrounded me. My powers slowly weakened as I was deprived of what sustained them: the love I selfishly took from others. I was in a stench-induced imprisonment - rarely leaving the garage - but it allowed me time to do some serious thinking, and I realized I wasn’t being true to myself. Then one day there was a knock at my door, and I opened it to see a little old goblin woman with a cane staring up at me through thick glasses. “I’m Mrs. Goblin, but you can call me “Mrs. Goblin.” I’m a friend of your mother’s.” She said, “you need to get out of that room, and I need some help, so let’s go.” She turned and walked off, and, with nothing left to lose, I followed. It turned out that she ran an unwanted-creature shelter and couldn’t keep up with all the cleaning, feeding and daily upkeep. It also turned out that she had no sense of smell. “Lost it back in ‘72,” she told me. Mrs. G. ran me through the daily routines and gave me the tour. “You can start today,” she said as she handed me a mop and a bucket. It’s hard to believe I agreed, but I didn’t have any other options. The shelter was home to an unusual collection of exotic creatures: gremlins, flying monkeys, lap dragons, miniature manticores, and many others that had been picked up as strays or turned in by monsters who didn’t want them. Even though the work was hard, and not always pleasant, I began to look forward to it. In fact, I usually felt more energized after I finished a day than when I started. I felt my powers returning and every day I got stronger. Eventually, I mentioned it to Mrs. Goblin who snickered, “You emotional vampires never get it - stolen love is just empty calories. I’ll never sustain you for long.” She could tell I still didn’t get it. “Love that’s freely given is the most powerful source of energy in the monster universe. You’ve been coming here every day, taking care of these critters, showing them kindness, and the only thing they have to give you is their love - and believe me, they have a lot to give.” I couldn’t believe what she was telling me. I must have been standing there looking stupid because she said, “Close your mouth before the the flies get in and go clean the flying monkey cage. They’ve been throwing stuff again.” I was in a daze. Why had no one ever explained this to me? Rather than dwelling on it, I was just happy I finally knew.

May 3rd

I now know that I did it - stealing love - because I thought that’s want an emotional vampire was supposed to do. But it never felt quite right. I thought if I kept doing it, it would eventually feel right. But it only made me angry and frustrated. Then when Draculaura called me - well, Toralei, really - I thought that if I could get the heart that got away, it would change me and everything would be fine. But I was just a real pain in the fang to everyone and made a fool of myself. So I’ve come to a conclusion: being myself has to be easier than not being myself, right? Back then, I hated the thought of who I really was, and that conflict made me become someone who wasn’t me. It’s time to be true to myself, but it’s scary.

July 1st

Today was my one-year anniversary at the shelter. As I left the garage, I ran into Mom. She sniffed. “You don’t stink anymore.” It was true - the stench was gone. I gave Mom a hug and told her it must be due to what I’d learned from working for Mrs. Goblin. I thanked Mom for telling her I needed help. Mom looked at me strangely, “What are you going on about? I don’t know a Mrs. Goblin.” What? I ran to the shelter but when I got there it was boarded up and empty. How could this be? I crawled through a broken out window. A thick layer of dust covered everything and it looked like no one had been there in years. Then I noticed a piece of paper on the table where Mrs. G. used to sit and drink her tea. It was a not addressed to me:

There’s nothing more I can teach you. The rest will come when you put what you’ve learned into practice. Know that you are loved for what, and who you are.

Sincerely,

“Mrs. Goblin”

P.S. Do the right thing or I’ll come back and make you clean out flying monkey cages again.

July 2nd

I decided that I would try and “do the right thing” by heading back to MH to try and make up for my mistakes. I thought if I hid in the shadows and helped the couples of MH, you know be a Cupid to what was my destruction of love, I could make a difference and they would see that I was a changed monster. Well, my intentions were good, but things did not go as I had planned. I kinda, no, did, mess things up. Luckily, it all seemed to work out in the end, I guess, just not as I had hoped. I don’t think any of Draculaura and her friends will ever really trust me. And while I hope one day they can see I have changed, I know it will take time, too. I guess I can’t expect them to just forgive me right away. I will say one good thing hopefully came out of it. While attempting to hide in the shadows I bumped into a student I didn’t recognize. He said his name was Spelldon Cauldronello, he had only been at MH a couple weeks as he had been traveling with his older sister. Meeting him totally made me space and forget to send a text that was supposed to help Clawd. He asked if I went to MH and I said I was just visiting, but I would love to go to MH one day if I can. He said he’d keep me up on the groanings on around the halls if I wanted, so I gave him my number. At least the trip wasn’t a total stake. I do wish I could figure out how to make it up to Draculaura and her friends though. I know now that real friends help each other with their problems, not try to solve them for them.

July 7th

I was tempted to stay in my room today and treat myself to a monstrous blue funk, but, instead, I walked aimlessly outside until I found myself sitting on the beach watching the sun go down. That’s when I noticed something unusual partially buried in the sand. I pulled it out and die-scovered it was an ornate lantern caked with seaweed. I brushed it off... and got the shock of my unlife! The lantern began vibrating and glowing, like I had awakened something inside and it was not trying to get out. I dropped it like it was hot and fell back as smoke swirled up and out of this thing. When the smoke cleared away there was a ghoul floating above me. “I am the djinni of the lantern. What is your wish?”

July 10th

The djinni’s name is Whisp and we have something in common: the direction of our unlives changed because of Monster High. We shared our stories and struggles; neither of us has made the beast decisions, but we both want to be better monsters. We talked so much that Whisp had to remind me I had three wishes. I asked her I should wish for and she said, “I cannot tell you what to wish for, nor can I tell you what not to wish for, but I can say be scareful what you wish for.” I laughed and told her that sounded ominous. She didn’t see the humor in her statement. “Wishes are tricky things,” she replied, “They often have a mind of their own and don’t always come true in the way you expected.” I thought for a moment, and wish I could go back to Monster High and fix the things I had broken. Whisp rose into the air, her eyes glowing, and said, “As you wish.” Instantly, I was back at Draculaura’s Sweet 1600 party, only I was dressed like a repairman - tool belt and all. Headless Headmistress Bloodgood stood in front of me with her hands on her hips. “You need to repair the barrier around the pit of eternal body odor before another monster falls into it!” This wasn’t what I meant by “fixing what I had broken,” and there was no way I was getting close to that pit again. That’s when the other students saw me. A very large minotaur pointed his finger at me, “There he is again! Throw him back into the pit!” I wished myself out of MH and back in my room just in time to avoid another dunking. Two wishes down, one to go.

July 12th

Whisp has been very apologetic but she needn’t be. I wished for something so general that it could have been granted in numerous ways. What I really wanted was a chance to do something unselfish for the monsters I hurt - to give and not take. When I started working for Mrs. G., there were times I wished what someone else would do the dirty work so I could just play with the creatures. Now I know I just wished it to be easy. Whenever I was in the middle of something particularly loathsome, Mrs. G. would cackle, “Sometimes work stinks, doesn’t it?” The first few times she said it, I wanted to drop everything and go home. But I stuck it out, and, although I still have a long way to go, I’m a better monster for it. Unlife is a lot of work and I guess some problems aren’t meant to be solved by wishing them so. Speaking of wishes, I need to think of something non-ambiguous for the last one...

August 1st

I summoned Whisp today to grant my final wish. I admit I put it off because I was being selfish. I’ve never had a friend like her, and once my last wish is granted, the lantern will move on and I will probably never see her again. I considered freeing her from the lantern, but I don’t think she wants that: she loves being a djinni, appearing in new places and granting wishes. But I know she gets lonely at times, so this was my wish: “Whisp, I wish we could always be friends.” Whisp rose up, her eyes glowing: “As you wish!” I could see her smiling as she turned to smoke and returned to the lantern, which shot up and disappeared. I thought for a second that my wish wasn’t granted, but then my iCoffin lit up and I noticed a new app icon that looked like a little mirror. I tapped it and there was Whisp! Now, not matter where in the monster universe she is, we can talk to each other! “Yes, Mother, I’m talking to myself down here.”

#monster high #monster high diary #kieran valentine #sdcc 2015

451 notes · View notes

hallowed-be-thy-username · 4 years

Text

For @nietopesh 💖💕💜 Thank you so much for your request, dear!! I focused mostly on the back story and progression of the relationship with a little fluff thrown in there. I hope its what you were looking for, let me know if there’s anything you’d like me to add or change!!

Self-insert, Ledger Joker x fem reader, romantic relationship

Word count: 1,688 (sooo, um, it got a little long 😂)

Warnings: a little angst, a bit of gore, reflections on a darker past, mentions of murder, enabling criminal activity

Jack

His name is Jack. No one else knows that but you.

Twelve years ago you met him at the bookstore where you worked during the summer before your senior year of high school. He used to watch you from the non-fiction section, his eyes shifting away when yours would wander in his direction. This went on for a couple of weeks. You even started stealing your own glances his way. His head of dark blonde hair always hung in his face, obscuring your view of his features but his eyes drew you in. He never spoke to anyone, keeping to himself at the table in the corner where he sat every afternoon. One night after he left, you saw that he’d been carving notches in the wood on the table’s edge. What the little tick marks meant, you could only guess.

You weren’t sure if he knew that you saw him until one day, you were stocking shelves and turned around to come nearly nose to nose with him. He asked you if you wanted go for a walk in the park nearby. His eyes were even more hypnotic up close. His deep brown irises held you in place, staring into them with your breath washing over his face. His face. He had high cheek bones and a sharp jawline, his prominent brow framing all of it perfectly. You squeaked out an answer. Yes, you’d love to.

Jack never smiled much. It took a long time for him to let you in but you learned about him in bits and pieces. He didn’t have much. No family, no friends, barely a home to live in, Gotham native from The Narrows. He fended for himself, no desire to do or be anything that anyone expected of him. But now he had you. He cared to know more about you than for you to know about him. He often confused you with his questions. Jack is smart.

Your relationship grew more intimate as time went on. He touched you, he let you touch him. He wasn’t used to that sort of contact. But with you, he loved it. His hands memorized your every curve, his fingers idly tracing the shape of you when you laid together on warm summer nights. You swallowed each other up, lost in one another’s skin beneath the stars.

Summer turned to fall and fall into winter, the heat between you to keep you warm. As spring and the promise of graduation approached, Jack started to become distant. You’d encouraged him to go back to school. He stopped going when he was left out on his own at the age of sixteen. Jack didn’t like school. He found it to be boring, he was better at teaching himself everything he needed to know. The prospect of college was on the horizon, the world open to you, and it seemed to eat away at him. Something was dragging him down to some impossible depth where you could barely see him. Those summer nights were too good to last. You were too good to last.

Then he disappeared. With no way of contacting him, you didn’t know what to do. You tried to find him but found only shadows. You willed yourself to forget about him, but you couldn’t. You wanted to be angry with him, but you couldn’t. There was something about Jack Napier that you couldn’t let go of. Ten years went by with you watching and waiting, hoping that he’d come back. You moved on with your life, got your degree from Gotham University, got the job you were hoping for, but that empty space was always there. Until one night when your life took a sharp turn.

You turned the keys in the lock on your apartment door, water dripping from your coat from the rain poring over the city. When you turned on the lights your heart nearly stopped at the sight of a blonde head of hair hanging low on a figure slumped against the kitchen counter. Your bag dropped to the floor and the blonde head rolled to the side to reveal a trail of bright red down the front of their shirt. Your instincts kicked in and you slammed the door shut to drop to your knees in front of them, calling out “are you alright?” and “how did you get here?”. You stopped when a pair of deep brown eyes opened and gazed back at you.

“Jack??”

His face. A freshly healed, jagged scar stretched from the corner of his mouth and into the soft flesh of his left cheek. The right was torn open, the flesh split into a smooth curve up toward his ear. It steadily dripped, clotted blood hanging from it’s edges as he clung to consciousness. Your thoughts ceased and everything was a blur after you helped him up, his arm over your shoulders, to rush him outside where you flagged down a taxi. You talked to him, carefully brushing his hair from of his forehead wet with cold sweat on the way to the hospital where he was taken away on a gurney.

Those were the longest few hours of your life. Spent pacing the waiting room at Gotham General, mind racing with thoughts of where he’d been, what had happened to him, how and why he found you. The blood loss was significant. Transfusion brought the color back to his skin, but the scars may as well have been etched in stone. Now he had two, tugging at the corners of his mouth to form a permanent smile.

You never talked about where they came from or who made them. He had no interest in telling you and you didn’t want to push him. His inside was changing with his outside, his smile wasn’t real and neither was what he showed people. He lied, he manipulated, he tricked. But things were different with you. With you he was eighteen again, stroking your thumb with his own while you held hands and watched the night sky. He was still Jack.

The scars were a part of him now and you made sure that he knew you loved him for him, scars and all. Your relationship took time to grow again but it did. You remember the first time he kissed you with his new face. It brought something out of you that you didn’t know existed, a desire to become a part of the darkness that surrounded him, to hold a special place in the heart of the man with the scars. With his new face came a new name. The Joker.

The wild card. Extremely beneficial or extremely harmful. The persona completed him. He was happier. It gave him something, an added charisma, an invincibility. A coating of ghostly white paint with hollow black rimmed eyes and blood red to highlight his scars ensured no one forgot his face. He used his mind, his intellect, to show them all what he was capable of. He was relentless, garnering a reputation that grew with the body count he left behind over the past year. It didn’t take long for the Gotham underground to know his name and you were with him through it all. His hands had become stained with blood, blood of anyone that stood in his way. But your blood, he’d never spill.

You were his constant, the secret anchor that kept him grounded, the only soul alive that he could come home to. You even had the suit made for him. He’d melded mind and body with his new name and you couldn’t help but adore him for it. Had you enabled him throughout it all? Yes. Did he pull you down into the darkness with him? He did. But you wanted him to. You’d seen the unstoppable force he was to become from the beginning but found yourself wanting nothing more than for your Jack to show the world it’s own ugly reflection.

“D’you remember that day, doll? At the bookstore down on 12th?”

J stayed with you most of the time. You chose a cozy little apartment in the back of the building by the fire escape for a good reason. The Joker couldn’t exactly sign the lease. You kept up your life and your job outside of his criminal dealings but in your time alone together, nothing else mattered. He was yours and you were his.

You looked up from the needle and thread you were using to sew a button back on his coat and answered, “The first time you talked to me? Of course I do.”

“How’s a-bout we take a, uh, little trip down memory lane?” he asked.

Your cheeks stretched into a smile to match his.

The moon was full and high in the sky that night, the bright white light casing soft shadows onto the pavement. You walked with J down the quiet street toward the boarded up bookstore, long since out of business. He lifted you by your waist to grip the ladder on the side of the building and followed you up to the roof, not without a cheeky comment about how nice the view of your ass was while you rolled your eyes, of course.

When you reached the top, you saw a plush pile of blankets laid out in the center of the rooftop with a bottle of wine and two glasses waiting for you. You turned to J with a look of surprise on your face and a deep chuckle came from his chest.

“Didn’t think I’d forget our anniversary, did ya?”

Before you could answer he picked you up to toss you onto his shoulder to carry you to the blankets where he flopped down with you. The sounds of your giggles drowned out his sarcastic questions of “what’s so funny, hm?” and “why are you laughing?” while tickled your sides until you could barely get air in.

You stayed on that rooftop together all night, gazing at the stars just like you used to. To everyone else, he’s the Joker but to you, he’s also Jack.

#fic request #nietopesh #angst #fluff #heath ledger joker #ledger!joker #l!joker #tdk joker #the dark knight #joker fanfiction #joker #tdk

107 notes · View notes

scotianostra · 4 years

Photo

James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose was born on October 25th 1612.

It's a really empty day for anniversaries today, although if I followed blindly two of my usual sources tell me, Elvis landed at Prestwick on this day in 1960, he didn't it was in March of that year. Even with this post all is not clear..........

Most of the posts I have made about "The great Montrose" have covered his battles, and his capture and execution, today I shall put some meat on the bones and work through what made the man one of the most admired figures in Scottish history.

So here we are with my only major post today, the birth of James Graham, to be fair his birth date is unknown, it is thought he was born in mid to late October, a couple of sources give this date.

There's not much known about his childhood, James inherited the earldom of Montrose when his father died in 1626. Aged only 14, he was was placed under the guardianship of his uncle Lord Archibald Napier.

In 1627, Montrose enrolled as a student at the University of St. Andrews where he first became inspired by the classical ideal of military glory, as well as enjoying a wide range of sporting pursuits, including hawking, golf, chess and archery. In November 1629, Montrose married Magdalene Carnegie, daughter of Lord Carnegie of Kinnaird. After the birth of his first two sons, Montrose went to France and Italy to complete his education, which included a period at the French military academy at Angers.

He was back home by 1638 and became involved with The Covenanters after King Charles had attempted to impose an Anglican -oriented prayer book upon the reluctant Scots, resistance spread throughout the country, eventually leading to the Bishops' Wars .

Montrose joined the party of resistance, and was for some time one of its most energetic champions. He had nothing puritanical in his nature, but he shared in the ill-feeling aroused by the political authority King Charles had given to the bishops . He signed the National Covenant , and was sent to suppress the opposition which arose around Aberdeen and in the country of the Gordons. Three times Montrose entered Aberdeen, where he succeeded in his object, on the second occasion carrying off the head of the Gordons, the Marquess of Huntly..

Graham was a leader of the delegation who subsequently met at Muchalls Castle to parlay regarding the 1638 confrontation with the Bishop of Aberdeen . With the Earl Marischal he led a force of 9000 men across the Causey Mounth through the Portlethen Moss to attack Royalists at the Bridge of Dee . This set of events was an element of Charles I decision to grant sweeping reforms to the Covenanters . In July 1639, after the signature of the Treaty of Berwick , Montrose was one of the Covenanting leaders who visited Charles. The change of policy on his part, eventually leading to his support for the king, arose from his wish to get rid of the bishops without making presbyters masters of the state. His was essentially a layman's view of the situation. Taking no account of the real forces of the time, he aimed at an ideal form of society in which the clergy should confine themselves to their spiritual duties, and the king should maintain law and order. In the Scottish parliament which met in September, Montrose found himself in opposition to Archibald Campbell, 1st Marquess of Argyll , who had made himself the representative of the Presbyterian and national party, and of the middle classes. Montrose, on the other hand, wished to bring the king's authority to bear upon parliament to defeat Argyll, and offered the king the support of a great number of nobles. He failed, because Charles could not even then consent to abandon the bishops, and because no Scottish party of any weight could be formed unless Presbyterianism were established ecclesiastically. Rather than give way, Charles prepared in 1640 to invade Scotland. Montrose was to play something of a double part. In August 1640 he signed the Bond of Cumbernauld as a protest against the particular and direct practicing of a few, in other words, against the ambition of Argyll. But he took his place amongst the defenders of his country, and in the same month he displayed his gallantry in action at the forcing of the Tyne at Newburn . After the invasion had been crowned with success, Montrose still continued to cherish his now hopeless policy. On 27th May 1641 he was summoned before the Committee of Estates and charged with intrigues against Argyll, and on the 11th of June he was imprisoned in Edinburgh Castle . Charles visited Scotland to give his formal assent to the abolition of Episcopacy , and upon the king's return to England Montrose shared in the amnesty which was tacitly accorded to all Charles's partisans. Highlanders had never before been known to combine together, but Montrose knew that many of the West Highland clans, who were largely Catholic , detested Argyll and his Campbell clansmen, none more so than the MacDonalds who with many of the other clans rallied to his summons. The Royalist allied Irish Confederates sent 2000 disciplined Irish soldiers led by Alasdair MacColla across the sea to assist him. In two campaigns, distinguished by rapidity of movement, he met and defeated his opponents in six battles. At Tippermuir and Aberdeen he routed Covenanting levies; at Inverlochy he crushed the Campbells, at Auldearn , Alford and Kilsyth his victories were obtained over well-led and disciplined armies. The fiery enthusiasm of the Gordons and other clans often carried the day, but Montrose relied more upon the disciplined infantry from Ireland. His strategy at Inverlochy, his tactics at Aberdeen, Auldearn and Kilsyth furnished models of the military art, but above all his daring and constancy marked him out as one of the greatest soldiers of the war. His career of victory was crowned by the great Battle of Kilsyth on 15 August 1645 . Now Montrose found himself apparently master of Scotland. In the name of the king, who now appointed him lord lieutenant and captain-general of Scotland, he summoned a parliament to meet at Glasgow, in which he no doubt hoped to reconcile loyal obedience to the king with the establishment of a non-political Presbyterian clergy.

However that parliament never met. Charles I had been defeated at the Battle of Naseby on 14t June , and Montrose must come to his help if there was to be still a king to proclaim. David Leslie , the best of the Scottish generals, was promptly dispatched against Montrose to anticipate the invasion. On 12th September he came upon Montrose, deserted by his Highlanders and guarded only by a little group of followers, at Philiphaugh . He won an easy victory. Montrose cut his way through to the Highlands; but he failed to organize an army. In September 1646 he fled for Norway .

After Charles I execution Montrose was to appear once more on the stage of Scottish history. In June 1649, burning to revenge the death of the king, he was restored by the exiled Charles II to the now nominal lieutenancy of Scotland. The new king however hung Graham out to dry afterwards disavowing his noblest supporter in order to become a king on terms dictated by Argyll and Argyll's adherents.

In March 1650 Montrose landed in Orkney to take the command of a small force which he had sent on before him. Crossing to the mainland, he tried in vain to raise the clans, and on 27th April he was surprised and routed at the Battle of Carbisdale in Ross-shire . His forces were defeated in battle but he escaped. After wandering for some time he was betrayed by Neil MacLeod of Assynt at Ardvreck Castle , to whose protection, in ignorance of MacLeod's political enmity, he had entrusted himself. He was brought a prisoner to Edinburgh, denied a trial on 20th May he was sentenced to death by the parliament. He was hanged on the 21st, with Wishart's laudatory biography of him put round his neck. To the last he protested that he was a real Covenanter and a loyal subject.

Shortly after Montrose's death the Argyll Government switched sides and became Royalists too.

#Scotland #scottish #soldier #History

19 notes · View notes

dansnaturepictures · 3 years

Photo

My Cuckoo and Lesser Spotted Woodpecker first sighting anniversaries: Updated

Celebrating 10 years today since I saw my first ever Cuckoo and 7 years today since I saw my first ever Lesser Spotted Woodpecker

I wanted to do a special post to celebrate once more one of my favourite days in the year 12th April due to among other memories on this date two of my greatest ever birdwatching moments in the New Forest in the early part of last decade on this date. I wanted to a post following a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker sighting a few weeks ago and the fact which I can’t believe that its been a whole decade since I first saw a Cuckoo that’s gone so fast. But with me working from home and talking photos and doing posts every day still and weekend mornings quite busy as a bit of a knock on from that and other things I don’t have the most time to be able to do special posts so ones different to my daily blog. So what I have done is rewrite this post https://dansnaturepictures.tumblr.com/post/159498448669/my-cuckoo-and-lesser-spotted-woodpecker which I did on 12th April 2017 which was a rewrite of this one on the anniversary on 2015 https://dansnaturepictures.tumblr.com/post/116192400602/my-cuckoo-and-lesser-spotted-woodpecker, I have pasted the same text below adapting how many years its been when I mention it and other small bits but just before the end I have added some updates of things that have happened with these two of my favourite birds since 2017. On my social media I like marking anniversaries but never mark every anniversary every year, however this double anniversary is so special the date is etched in my memory so I just can’t seem to not do something to mark it every year so this is this year’s post which I may basically re-post for years to come as I did every year on Twitter since I believe with the 2017 one.

Ten years ago today I saw my first ever Cuckoo at Acres Down in the New Forest, which became one of my favourite birds, and seven years ago today I saw for the first time a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker at Pig Bush in the New Forest. The Lesser Spotted Woodpecker is another of my favourite birds, and one I had dreamed about seeing up until this moment. As this post explores and I have mentioned before this is not just two separate anniversaries sharing a date but the sightings of these two special birds are intertwined for me. This is not just a tale about two of my favourite birds, but about two of my favourite places in the New Forest and the world and these moments being big parts of my connections with them.

On this day in 2011 we headed out on a sunny day for what I thought was a dog walk and landscape photography trip to Acres Down in the New Forest. At this stage I’d heard Cuckoos on 2 separate occasions, but never seen one thought I longed to. I particularly remember a day of near agony at Blashford Lakes nature reserve where we heard one calling the whole time pretty much but just could not see it this before we managed to see a Cuckoo. However when we arrived at Acres Down one of our top New Forest spots where we went on Saturday, and climbed the hill to look over the beautiful landscape I heard one again. It enchanted the landscape, and sounded very close. To my delight a scan of some nearby trees revealed a Cuckoo sitting in one and I was very happy. We literally heard Cuckoos (we believe there to have been 2 calling that day) the whole walk to Millyford Bridge and back from that point on. That two week Easter Holidays as I was still at school back then we went to many more parts of the New Forest, and heard Cuckoos at all but one or two of them and went onto see two more Cuckoos that spring which was extraordinary. So to go from being a bird I had never seen to one I was hearing on a regular basis and had a few sightings of was a really rewarding experience and just a time I’ll never forget. Thankfully my first Cuckoo encounter that Easter Holidays led to my first sighting of one, otherwise if we’d have got even two or three of those other places where I heard Cuckoos in before the sighting I may have been a little frustrated whilst you are always extremely lucky to just hear a Cuckoo their amazing and iconic call and its great when nature can tease and temp you and keep you so wonderfully addicted.

As I’ve mentioned a lot before the heath land and ancient woodland of the New Forest national park is a great area for Cuckoos, and it’s so nice to be able to see them with their numbers declining across the country. Acres Down was a fitting and beautiful spot to see my first, it is one of my favourite parts of the New Forest and I only discovered it due to birdwatching namely Goshawk and Honey Buzzard species we went there to see, seeing our first ever Tree Pipit that day in 2009 too then after it became a very regular walking spot for us exploring so much the Cuckoo moment was the next big one here in terms of birdwatching. This began my love affair with the Cuckoo through seeing and hearing many more in the New Forest, and after less than a year of that day then years ago I proudly added it to my list of favourite birds.

One of those other places where I heard a Cuckoo in the spring of 2011 in the New Forest was Pig Bush, one of my very favourite parts of the national park because I am captivated by its amazing landscape, it’s brilliant for wildlife and have spent many happy moments there I always say for me this is the best birdwatching spot in the New Forest exuding dedicated nature reserves perhaps for variety and quality of what can be seen there and its brilliant for all wildlife with many a day where we’ve seen an unbelievable list of species and very high quality species on a walk. Since 2011 Pig Bush has identified itself as the best place to see and hear Cuckoos in the New Forest in my opinion, over the last decade we have tended to hear one there most springs as it enchants it’s woodland and heath beautifully and some of my best Cuckoo sightings since 2011 have come at Pig Bush. So it’s fitting that my first Cuckoo and Lesser Spotted Woodpecker sightings share a date, because it was a Cuckoo that led me to our first Lesser Spotted Woodpecker sighting at Pig Bush seven years ago today.

The trip seven years ago started out similarly to that of ten years ago today. We had just returned from Gloucestershire visiting Slimbridge and the International Centre for Birds of Prey and was a week away from going to Pembrokeshire and Skomer Island etc. for my Mum’s birthday so I expected a dog walk and a landscape photography day, but what I got was arguably my best ever birdwatching moment. I had always dreamed of seeing a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker due to my love of green and Great Spotted Woodpeckers, and had heard they could be seen in Hampshire so wanted to kind of complete the set.

The endless search and unattainable quality had made me crave a sighting even more. Seven years ago today my wait ended in spectacular fashion. My Mum and her partner were looking at Redstarts in the wood at Pig Bush, but having seen these for the first time in 2014 a few days before at Ashley Walk in the New Forest I was more interested in the Cuckoo I could hear calling. So I walked in a little bit further in the opposite direction and scanned in my binoculars to see if I might catch the all-important glimpse of the Cuckoo, when I saw a woodpecker like bird flying with a black and white striped back. It was too small for a Great Spotted and clearly not a Treecreeper. So I confidently proclaimed “I think I’ve just seen a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker”. I wasn’t instantly believed but we walked a bit further towards the area anyway, when I managed to see the Cuckoo briefly sitting in a tree before flying off. I think I did know definitely I had seen the Lesser by this point it was just a case of seeing if my Mum and her partner could see it and get a glorious second look so this was an amazing few moments seeing two incredible birds for the first time in that year as well as one for the first time ever. Then soon afterwards the small bird flew back and went on a tree before setting off again, and we were all able to see beyond a shadow of a doubt that this was a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker! I had seen the bird I had dreamed about and I spotted it too which I loved and gave me a great bit of clout in our small birding group for a bit, it instantly became a favourite of mine and it was another favourite the Cuckoo that had led me to it. At this moment I don’t think I’d felt more lucky in birdwatching, and I was on top of the world! What was also wonderful was that a place so precious to me had been the place where I’d seen the bird I treasure so much and I didn’t expect it at all. Looking back both the first Cuckoo and Lesser Spotted Woodpecker had the same impact for me of knowing in nature and bird watching you just can’t rule anything out because neither of these sightings were expected and in a way that made them and the memory of them all the moor sweet.

We got a second view of a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker maybe the same one in the exact same spot in the back of those woods at Pig Bush in the New Forest in March 2017! This was an equally as incredible and moving moment for me and the one tiny regret I had from the 2014 experience was not getting a picture of the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker so I was determined to leave those woods with one that March as it gave us a longer display. I remember that day my Mum said “oh look there’s a Redwing” and Iooked up hoping for what might be one of my last sightings that winter of this migrant thrush but it had flown when I looked up. But a small bird then flew onto a branch and I knew instantly before I looked at it that it was going to see a lesser I think and I was ecstatic when I saw this bird again it was so powerful and phenomenal. I remember getting a safety shot with my normal lens then time stood still and my eyes did not leave the woodpecker for a second as I put my backpack on the ground and changed to my longer zoom lens. I managed the seventh picture in this photoset of this stunning bird that day.

I am very pleased to say that we did have Lesser Spotted Woodpecker round 3 at the same place in recent weeks. After seeing one in 2014 and 2017 here, 2020 I wondered if we might see one there and it might be an every three years thing we did go to Pig Bush a few weeks before the first Coronavirus lockdown but it wasn’t to be. I genuinely assume the 2014 and 2017 bird, my Mum did see it in 2015 too but I wasn’t fast enough to see it, was the same bird but you never know what was around seven years on from the original sighting its a fanciful thought but maybe it was the same one. 2021 built on 2014 and 2017 in that gloriously it was a very much longer view. We spotted it on a branch and watched it weave and dance between the branches and even trees and really take in the splendour of this very special bird seeing its elegant and fantastic black and white striped back and cute appearance. We were on cloud 9 when seeing this sensational bird again. What’s more on this day it was one of our most extraordinary days ever for wildlife watching as minutes before we had seen the other bird I associate with Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, another favourite bird of mine I dreamt of seeing in the same vein as the woodpecker for so long since I was a child and it was interesting that I for the first time in 2014 just a couple of months before the Tawny Owl so they were always connected that an extraordinary view and bird to see on its own. We saw a ridiculous amount of other amazing species that day too such as Hawfinch, Woodlark, displaying Lapwing, Stock Dove, Fallow Deers running across a heath, an unusual for this location Canada Goose and more. Just like in 2017 I predicted the sighting a bit just seeming to know that like 2014 the magic was in the woods that day to allow us to see this which felt amazing personally with me for this bird once more. An epic moment which I’ve been proud to have this year and it may well define it. I took the record shots the final three pictures in this photoset of the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker that day this year.

Cuckoo wise since 2017, after drawing a blank and not seeing one in 2016 the only year I did that in the last decade so far I did hear them that year though notably at Pig Bush, I have seen wondrous springs of the ilk of 2011 whereby we heard and saw or heard so many times at multiple locations and went on to see Cuckoos stitching together brilliant runs within years. This happened in the New Forest so much of course, Eyeworth Pond and Fritham rivaled Pig Bush and other strong area Deadman/Turf Hill for seeing Cuckoos. I took the first two pictures in this photoset of a Cuckoo still and flying at Fritham in 2019 a glorious early summer walk with so much seen that day too, I saw my first Cuckoos of 2020 there too. I also took the fifth and sixth pictures in this photoset of record shots of one in the Eyeworth Pond/Telegraph Hill area walk in 2018 and 2017 respectively.

The brilliant Cuckoo run expanded to places outside of the New Forest too, notably Martin Down which is one of our very favourite places for the biodiversity of nature and views anyway where I personally might not have ever seen one there but I’ve heard plenty really allowing you to focus on the phenomenal experience that just hearing them is. One particular time hearing them was on the second May bank holiday in 2018 extraordinarily two days before the Eyeworth Pond sighting so that was some weekend when there we heard a couple including one calling very loudly in a bush right beside us! An exceptional nature moment in a year and in a group of years I have been lucky to have so many.

But another top nature reserve, Thursley Common in Surrey, like it has done since we first went in 2017 for my whole hobby really (no pun intended for another of the key species there) has for Cuckoos added a new dimension to my journey with them. This is because we have twice got to see the famous “Colin” the Cuckoo who is a celebrity bird and people flock to the one bird laden field at Thursley in spring to see this legend. We saw him in 2018 briefly flying, but 2019 it went a stage further with him and another calling so well in the woods that day we saw him at the top of a tree staying there what felt like all afternoon and calling and we got crippling views of this Cuckoo when walking in the woods the other side of the trees from the field we were in some of my best ever views of a Cuckoo for sure and I took the third and fourth pictures in this photoset of him really standing out in my Cuckoo pictures over the last ten years for still shots of the bird. Over the last four years as I have done over the last ten I have been so pleased to hear the iconic call to sum up any spring, and feel how surreal and dreamlike it is when you get to purely hear a Cuckoo up close.

The anniversary post from 2017 linked above has a picture I took of my first Cuckoo we ever saw a decade ago attached.

It still excites me now to think of the call of the Cuckoo and the look of the striped back of the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker when these two monumental moments for me and my hobby happened, these are moments that will always stay with me, two of my greatest since I began birdwatching in 2006/2007 and what an honour its been to relive it with the species down the years.

5 notes · View notes

diveronaevents · 4 years

Photo

DATE: May 15th

TIME: 8 PM

LOCATION: Throughout Verona

It was Viola’s screams that ushered in the new weeks, drifting along the wispy spring breeze and ringing in the ears of anyone who dared to mull over her death for too long. And it was Viola’s blood that cleansed the ever-soiled streets; pushing at the ankles of the broken, the damned and the indifferent as it rolled through the city in great phantom waves, huddling in-between the cobblestones and drying along fissured windowsills and sturdy pillars alike.

It was said that her ghost now haunted Verona. That it tackled burdened Montagues as they passed through the dreary halls of their library, slinking out from between the looming bookshelves and boring its coal-black eyes into them until they fell to their knees and wept in confession of their sins. Even civilians weren’t left unclaimed by the wrath of Viola’s memory, as they, too, were said to fall prey to it at the barest thought of Capulet retribution and all the lifeblood that was spilled in its name.

Viola’s death took up all the room that she could never fill when alive -- and Verona was choking beneath the weight of it.

One wheezing gasp after another, one desperate crawl after another, Verona drudged ahead like it always did. Yet while some couldn’t help but wonder about its inevitable collapse, others followed at its dragging heel with steady gazes and marching steps -- though it remained to be seen whether they did so because they truly wanted to, or because they had no other choice.

Among that ambitious clan of individuals was none other than Damiano Montague, who had continued to seek the solitude of his office and wrangle his plans for the future, even with all the losses that were now looming over him, rising higher and piling thicker with each and every victory that he stole.

MAY 12TH

THE CAPITAL LIBRARY, 3 PM

He sat at his desk, knotted fingers pressed against his mouth, features locked in an expression of stoic calculation. Before him was his right hand, his general, and most notably, his son. He still wasn’t sure of the title he ought to brand him with. Adversary? Kryptonite? Family?

Only one thing was certain; he had most definitely outgrown the title of heir.

It was glaringly apparent to Damiano as he stole a glance at his son, who occupied the seat directly before him, arm poised along the edge of the desk as his index tapped away in a steady, absently patient rhythm. His gaze was trained on the empty chair across from him, distant and glazed. He seemed every bit the thoughtful leader that he had always envisioned him to be.

The only difference was that he was sitting in the wrong seat.

Yet has he truly earned the throne for himself? Was he truly ready?

Damiano frowned, looking away and slowly lowering his intertwined hands until they settled before him.

ROMEO’s eyes instantly cleared, trailing up to settle on him attentively.

He shuffled around in his seat with a minute motion, yet for all his composure, the mild gesture was enough to betray his nervousness, and Damiano didn’t conceal his recognition of it; meeting ROMEO’s gaze for one rigid moment before his attention drifted away to the other occupants of the room.

GERTRUDE stood in the middle of the room, a short space beyond ROMEO, posture straight and hands clasped in front of her. Damiano eyed the bandaged stump of her ring finger for a long, heavy moment. She didn’t move, didn’t twitch or waver. She remained as steady as ever under his scrutiny, and although he gave no indication of it, it was reassuring for him to witness. Perhaps she did, indeed, retain some of the honor that her tainted act had forever defiled in his eyes. Only time and spilled blood would tell.

Beyond their cluster, near the small office window, was ANTONY, who leaned against the wall and peered down into the streets through pallid coils of cigarette smoke. He glanced at Damiano, but seemed in no hurry to come to attention; taking a moment to inhale one final gulp before discarding the cigarette with a lazy flick of his finger and one final glance at the city below -- as arrogant and aloof as ever. In just a moment, he would know his place. Damiano aimed to make the message glaringly clear with the sharp look he threw ANTONY’s way, but the man merely raised a placating palm while the other gripped the window and rolled it down.

It closed with a decisive, resounding clang.

Damiano took a deep breath that utterly failed to douse his flaring temper, pressing his palms flat against his desk for a moment before he abruptly began to drum his fingers against the tabletop. It seemed to coax ROMEO’s anxiety further to the surface; as he began to gnaw on his lip while tracing the motions of Damiano’s hands. Good.

If only the other two could be half as responsive to him, Damiano couldn’t help but irritably think.

“I have a question for you all: what does loyalty mean to you?”

His fingers stilled. His gaze skirted across all three of them with steady appraisal.

He received no answer.

“It’s a serious question,” He beseeched. “I genuinely want to know what loyalty means to each one of you.”

He took a breath, licked his lips, and impulsively decided that in truth, he didn’t want to fucking know.

“See, for me, loyalty is best translated through honesty. And what honesty means is being forthcoming. Direct. Willing to share what you otherwise would not for the sake of the common goal that I should think we’re all working towards.”

ROMEO’s eyes briefly fluttered closed, face turned away with what Damiano was certain was no small amount of exasperation. He would call it foresight if he didn’t know that it actually came down to the simple fact that his son was simply too used to being reprimanded. Yet did he ever take the time to wonder why the blame never ceased before he resorted to his usual self-victimization? Did he ever learn anything from it? No. Even with all the progress he had made, he still managed to land himself in the line of fire. So here they were, and he only had himself to blame.

“It doesn’t mean letting secrets fester for months on end, and in turn leaving everyone around you reeling from the consequences --“ He emphasized, eyes on GERTRUDE. “before finally mustering the courage to come forward, and right when it doesn’t even matter anymore.”

ROMEO didn’t turn to look at GERTRUDE, perhaps to save her the embarrassment. Yet ANTONY made no move to conceal the inquisitive glance he threw her way, though he retracted his attention quickly enough.

The knuckles of her clasped hands blanched, but that was the only indication that she had any particular reaction to his words.

It was enough.

“It doesn’t mean landing yourself in covert encounters with the enemy and sharing nothing on the matter, even though it leaves you incapacitated for months on end and thus an utter liability to the organization,” He looked upon ANTONY, tipping his chin in the direction of his still-healing hands.”While also bearing the risk of dragging the rest of the Montagues into whatever cycle of vendetta you had locked yourself into.”

It was GERTRUDE’s turn to cast a curious glance at ANTONY, who remained slouched against the window. Yet his nonchalant posture was decisively betrayed by the unmistakable frost that had now chilled his expression.

“And finally, it doesn’t mean orchestrating a wholesale operation of your own volition, not to mention after gaining intel that you had absolutely no right to keep to yourself, when it is not your place to do so.” He gritted, voice raised with his spiking frustration as he bore his gaze down on ROMEO, still scathed by the series of events that was ultimately what had paved the way for Viola’s untimely death.

He leaned forward across his desk, voice dropping into a harsh murmur. “Arrogance will get you far, boy, but never far enough while your name remains tied to mine.”

ROMEO’s jaw clenched as he blinked incessantly, undoubtedly in an attempt to keep himself from flinching.

Damiano watched his composure crumble, and then slowly, slowly, leaned back in his chair, once again turning to look between all three of them.

“So… do we see a pattern here? Or has honesty eluded you for so long now that you can’t even tell that you’re lacking in it?”

The words settled with a whiff of heat across all those who were present, and the silence in their wake was blistering.

Damiano began to drum his fingers once again, watching them as he awaited a response.

Again, he received nothing.

Curious. They were always so eager to hiss and holler and let their voices be heard, yet now they were mute all of a sudden. All because he faced them with their faults, even though they have all collectively done nothing but face him with his own.

He scoffed, lips tilting in a derisive smile. “It’s alright. What’s done is done, and each one of you has already paid their own price for their secrecy.” He let the declaration settle for a moment, then he spread his palms. “Now we can turn over a new page. And I’m willing to set the example that we all ought to follow, moving forward.”

Reaching into his drawer, he took out several files that he had compiled on his own, without the knowledge of any of the three. He put the files before him, but gave no indication that anyone was allowed to glimpse the contents just yet. “I think we’re all aware that the Capulets have gone too far at this point. Although Viola’s death is the straw that broke the camel’s back, I believe that this was a long time coming. War is what the Capulets have demanded, and war is what they shall receive.”

He nodded towards the files. “I’ve been thinking it over since the anniversary; how we can retaliate, what moves we can afford to make with the resources that we have. And over the past few days, I outlined the plan that I have in mind.” He opened the largest file, which showcased images of various Capulet territories alongside sheets of outlined information regarding them. “A series of coordinated attacks on significant Capulet territories which, if executed efficiently, will end with us taking over their precious Cathedral.”

He indicated a photo of the building. ROMEO frowned at it, licking his lips in hesitation before arguing, “But the Cathedral is practically falling apart after the explosion. What use would it have?”

With a click of his tongue, Damiano shook his head. “In this case, it’s not about the use, boy, it’s about the message. Those righteous fools take great pride in having a house of God in their grasp. They’ll be left stranded without it. We keep it, and it’ll be a blow that they will take ages to recover from.” He sought ROMEO’s gaze, certain that his following words would convince him. “If Cosimo thinks that what he did with Viola was a display, he has a grand fucking lesson to learn.”

ROMEO avoided Damiano’s eyes, silent as he read over the file.

“Like I said, I aim to set an example with this, so you’re all free to look over the strategies I’ve outlined. Offer suggestions, make adjustments, pick your teams -- get involved, and work to make this a success.”

With a firm motion of his hand, he closed the file. “It happens in three days.”

The door would have slammed behind ROMEO as he stormed out, had it not been for the swift response of GERTRUDE’s hand as she walked out behind him. She let the door hover open behind her for ANTONY to pass through as she trailed after a seething ROMEO, who came to a stop beside her with his fists clenched at his sides and his head shaking in fervent rejection.

“I have to do something about this.” He insisted. “Going after the Capulet HQ is no walk in the park. He’s going to be met with heavy resistance, and many of our people will die for nothing. Even if he does seize the Cathedral, it’s useless. And who knows how the Capulets might retaliate, or if we’ll even have the power to push them back by the time it’s over. They’ve already taken territory back from us once before.”

GERTRUDE was silent, though she seemed to be in agreement with ROMEO. ANTONY merely lingered in the background, not partaking in the discussion but carefully following it.

“I know I have no way of stopping him, but if I can somehow make these attacks count, then that’s what I have to do.”

He searched GERTRUDE’s eyes, then turned to briefly gauge ANTONY’s reaction.

“It can’t all be for nothing.”

Then he turned around, and quickly began marching towards his own office.

MAY 15TH

MEASURE BY MEASURE, 8 PM

The trenches of Measure by Measure sprawled ahead of the invading Montague battalion; an assembly of twelve soldiers with CELIA and ROSALIND at the forefront. Making their entry had been an easy feat, but it was known that the bulk of the establishment’s security lay in the catacombs; in the implicit knowledge that upon descent, one would have no choice but to dig their way out or be buried beneath another’s heel. As such, the nervous energy crackling along the humid air was palpable to all, though none seemed to waver before it. They knew their orders, they knew the mission that lay ahead -- and most importantly, they knew the risks.

Beneath the nervous air was a different sort of tension, however; one that spiked and pulled taut whenever ROSALIND’s gaze collided with CELIA’s, especially when she seemed to take note of the way her cousin was expressly marching closer to the comrades on her other side, enforcing distance that had divided both Aguilars for longer than either of them was willing to admit. It made for a stifling progression through enemy territory, one that had little to do with the constrained air or the cavernous space. Even the soldiers posed at the flanks seemed to take note of it; stealing perplexed glances at the renowned Montague duo as they walked at the head of their pack.

Yet although the ties that bound sometimes frayed, they could never truly be broken, and such was starkly proven by CELIA’s swift response as a wicked bullet strode directly towards her cousin, who was simmering in enough disdain that it seemed to completely drown out her focus. A push of CELIA’s palm into ROSALIND’s shoulder sent her sprawling out of the bullet’s path, and as she shouted at her cousin to take cover, she realized the risk that her selfless actions bore. Only it was too late, as she quickly found herself lying on her back with a gun pressed harshly into her throat. Atop her was CORDELIA, who hadn’t hesitated to take advantage of CELIA’s preoccupation with her cousin.

While the two grappled with one another, ROSALIND was instantly on her feet and working to come to her cousin’s aid, but HIPPOLYTA was quick to throw herself into her path. She was a renowned Capulet captain, known for her calculative disposition and efficient approach to combat. She encompassed everything that went against the aggressive, direct approach of ROSALIND’s training, and it caused the fight to sway in the Capulet’s favor. Though as ROSALIND took note of CELIA’s struggles against CORDELIA, she instantly abandoned defense in favor of offense, taking HIPPOLYTA off guard as she began to fuel more patience and tact into her assaults.

In the end, none of them could remain caught in a stalemate forever.

With a struggling HIPPOLYTA caught in her wavering chokehold, ROSALIND looked around her to find that most of their soldiers were either dead or caught in the Capulets’ grasp, and it took the mindless moment when she called out to the others to translate the bleak conclusion of their defeat for HIPPOLYTA to wrap an ankle around hers and tug her foot from beneath her, knocking her down and swiftly turning the tides of their fight.

Her warning was unnecessary, however, as it seemed that several of her comrades had come to the same conclusion. The first of which naturally being CELIA, whose attacks on CORDELIA had switched from offensive and lethal, to distant and defensive as she turned her focus to concocting a much-needed escape plan.

For a moment, all seemed to be lost -- until ROSALIND felt the blessed weight of a forgotten smoke grenade pressing painfully into the small of her back.

Digging her palm beneath her with great difficulty, she took it out and let it roll away into the middle of the raging battlefield.

Then she held her breath.

One second passed… then two… then the third…

The room was engulfed in smoke, and ROSALIND’s fist rose up to collide with HIPPOLYTA’s nose, dislodging her and giving her the leeway to run towards the exit after passing by her cousin and signaling to her with a quick pat on the shoulder. CELIA understood, rallying what was left of their comrades and leaning against them alongside ROSALIND as they made their ragged escape through the catacombs.

They came up for air with no concern for anything but the sheer relief that they had survived.

TWELFTH NIGHT MUSEUM, 8:30 PM

It was a calm evening in the Twelfth Night Museum, disturbed by nothing more than the whisper of footsteps as they stuttered before paintings and the hum of quiet conversations as visitors indulged in each other’s opinions and remarks. The echo of music drifted down from the upper floor, breezy and soothing, the paintings shimmered in the gentle light, and the sculptures looked upon it all with envying melancholy.

All while the city outside simply lay in wait.

Then all the doors slammed shut. Alarms blared and warning lights flashed.

And a dozen Montagues slinked out of the shadows.

At the forefront were MALCOLM and HAMLET who worked in unison to enforce their operation of taking over the museum, MALCOLM issuing orders to their fellow soldiers, and HAMLET working on closing the area off from any Capulet reinforcements. Soon enough, the museum was locked up like a cell without a key, restricted only to the internal alarms that left nothing for wandering eyes to see beyond its walls.

HAMLET quickly found himself cornered by CORIOLANUS, who spread his palms and looked around in indication of the Montague soldiers that were faltering and falling all around them in the wake of Capulet retaliation, taunting HAMLET with the pitiful sight. It was an act that failed at first, but soon enough served its purpose, throwing them into an entanglement that was desperate and invigorated on HAMLET’s part, while riveting and purely amusing in his enemy’s eyes.

At the far corner of the room, MALCOLM was aiding a fellow Montague soldier before suddenly taking an abrupt, vengeance-fueled knife to his side. Wielding it was none other than LADY MACBETH, who still burned with spite for what he had done to her husband. For a long time, they fell into physical combat, exchanging forceful blows and unflinching strikes, until MALCOLM gained enough breadth to wield his gun, and then LADY MACBETH’s fate was sealed.

Though not quite, for she was quick to grab a civilian and use them as a shield to deter his bullets. It was HERMIONE, who fell into a scream of agony, shoulder torn by the burning metal of a bullet, before she could even grasp what was happening. Once she had served her purpose, she was quickly discarded by LADY MACBETH who went on to taunt MALCOLM with his act of injuring an innocent woman.

Though HERMIONE was discarded, she was not abandoned. Her screams had drawn the attention of a watchful TITANIA, and displeased as they were with LADY MACBETH’s cowardly actions, they were quick to run to HERMIONE’s bloodsoaked side, helping her up and guiding her to a remote corner where they tended to her wound as best as they could.

Across the battlefield, BIANCA was ordered to go upstairs to the Tempest and ensure that no Montagues had infiltrated it. As she ran, she collided with FLORIZEL, who had been making his exit out of the lounge. The two engaged one another in a conversation riddled with underlying motives and looming blades, gauging each other and their stances on the chaos that had erupted around them. Adept at such games as she was, BIANCA had managed to lure him close enough -- and then she ran her blade through his gut. Just because she could. She had orders to take down Montagues, after all, and he had the same rabid air about him. Could anyone truly blame her for acting on orders and instinct alike? And so she walked away along a pool of his blood, unbothered by the chilling footprints she stamped in her wake.

It was just as HAMLET began to turn the tide of his battle with CORIOLANUS that his earpiece crackled with disturbing news. The Measure by Measure takeover had been a failure; they were now meant to retreat and make their way to the next and most essential target in order to ensure the success of the operation. He had no room to argue or discuss, and so he quickly called out to his comrades. MALCOLM answered the call, abandoning his unfinished fight with LADY MACBETH and making his way towards as many soldiers as he could reach, supporting them however he can and ushering them forward. Once there were none left behind except for the fallen, HAMLET gave the order to have their override on the alarm system dismantled, then began to fight his way through the museum alongside what remained of his people.

They made their way towards the Cathedral, hungering for the victory they had just been denied.

THE CATHEDRAL, 9 PM

The broken visage of the Cathedral made for quite a mournful sight. A vision that tugged one’s brows into a grimace of sorrow and lured their gaze into helpless appraisal of beauty torn asunder -- an ill fate that the ancient city of Verona had been condemned to from the moment it birthed the divine Capulet and Montague entities.

Its lower levels lay pliant, spread open before gloating eyes as their shattered foundations wearily leaned into the support of construction beams and wooden pillars. An array of spears sprouting from the Capulets’ crucified heart, drawing grit in place of blood and piercing stone in place of flesh.

Further beyond, among the crumbling ruins of the dilapidated ribcage, lay a cluster of prone bodies. Casualties amidst crossfire. Innocents.

Construction workers and Capulets tasked with security, fallen in the name of the Montague march as though they had never stood a chance.

Indeed, they hadn’t.

The workers were merely unconscious, but the soldiers had been executed, in accordance with the ruthless code with which GONERIL had led a handful of Montague soldiers, shortly before joining ANTONY and MERCUTIO alongside the rest of the battalion once their way into the Cathedral was finally cleared.

Above them, Capulets went about their business as usual, hearts settled and guard lowered. All while VOLUMNIA seethed in her office.

As soon as they were informed of the series of Montague attacks that had been launched on their territories, she had immediately sprung into action, distributing teams and assigning tasks while simultaneously preparing to dive into the battle herself -- only to find herself stopped by Cosimo Capulet. He aimed to go and survey the battle grounds, and it was his wish that she remain in their headquarters and take leadership in his absence. VOLUMNIA had been against it, claiming that it would be a more efficient action if she were to guide their forces on the field while Cosimo led and supervised their efforts. In truth, she hadn’t trusted what Cosimo might do outside the sharp scope of her vision, the bitter memory of the night of the anniversary still curdling in her mind. Yet her attempts at persuasion had been in vain, as Cosimo had firmly decided against listening before finally taking his hurried leave.

She had been mulling over it ever since, mind running itself ragged with contemplation as she considered all the new dimensions that her recent disagreements with the Don opened for the future of the Capulets.

Then her thoughts came to a dreadful halt.

She noted how quiet it had gotten outside.

But then sound began to arrive in small bursts; minute shouts and distant calls that she struggled to translate as she made her way to the door.

It opened up to reveal the dastardly curve of MERCUTIO’s smile.

That was all VOLUMNIA could see before her sight was whisked away into a dizzying blur of sights and colors. MERCUTIO’s gun-wielding hand only lowered from her bleeding temple for a second before the other followed in its tracks, landing a bruising punch to the other side of VOLUMNIA’s face and earning her enemy further leeway into her office. VOLUMNIA stumbled to her desk, throwing herself on the other side of it to put distance between them and steal a moment to regain her footing. But MERCUTIO offered her no breathing room, launching themself across the desk and sending her crashing into her toppling seat of leadership. Yet although MERCUTIO had gained the upper hand, VOLUMNIA was intent on stripping them of it, having learned quite a bit about their fighting style from their recent encounter with one another.

A short distance away, ANTONY and GONERIL were making their way to the other offices of Capulet leadership, yet their progress was soon interrupted by DIANA, who had clearly been on her way to make an urgent exit. ANTONY turned the corner and was instantly spotted by her, but luckily, GONERIL had been lagging behind and so she was able to lean back into the shadowed wall and mask her presence. ANTONY aided her, drawing DIANA’s attention and giving no indication that he was accompanied. It gave GONERIL room to slink away and look for another route towards their intended destination, while ANTONY continued to indulge in rigged conversation with the enemy.

He approached DIANA slowly, arms raised placatingly in a deceptive display of his bandaged hands, taking advantage of what he knew of the enemy and projecting the twisted image of a man too aware of his own weakness, a man unwilling to do what was easy and spill blood when he could instead coax the enemy towards surrender. DIANA indulged him, willing to bite into the bait and guarding against it all at the same time. She slowly closed the distance between them, with a blade in hand, tucked into her side and concealed within the gentle, overflowing ruffles of her dress.

Meanwhile, GONERIL was making her way away from the vacant offices of the boss and heiress alike with her jaw clenched in frustration. She shoved the door to the consigliere’s office open with her foot, almost convinced that it, too, shall be empty. For a moment, that truly seemed to be the case, and GONERIL stood in the doorway and sloughed out a sharp sigh -- right before ROSALINE launched out from behind the door and wrapped a makeshift garrote around her throat. GONERIL managed to raise her hands just in time, hissing as they bled across her neck. They tousled around, crashing into cabinets and colliding with walls, and so ROSALINE, still weakened by her torture at the Montagues’ hands, was quick to lose her strength and loosen her hold. GONERIL threw her off with a harsh kick, whirling around and faltering upon recognizing the woman from her past.

Further across the expanse of the headquarters, there were no clear omens as to whom the battle was swinging in favor of. Capulets hissed, Montagues roared, and the Cathedral was then awash with gold simmering and boiling amidst silver.

Then the Montague reinforcements arrived from the abandoned battle at the Twelfth Night Museum, filtering into the Cathedral like a winding contagion and quickly overwhelming the struggling ranks of Capulets.

Soldiers drifted around, coming first across VOLUMNIA at the mercy of MERCUTIO’s blade.

Then ANTONY as he stood with a dangerously scant space between him and DIANA, leaning close as if they were sharing a secret, though none could see the way ANTONY was eyeing her blade or the way DIANA clenched her fingers around the impulse of brandishing it. The soldiers approached, and ANTONY glanced at them before looking back at DIANA and slowly reaching for her blade. He twirled it in a scar-ridden hand as he led them away, DIANA caught between them in enforced surrender.

Finally, the soldiers came upon a victorious GONERIL, though there was no satisfaction to be gauged from her expression, especially as she was forced to further subdue ROSALINE, who swiped and screamed at the encroaching Montagues like a cornered beast. Even as she lost consciousness due to GONERIL’s decisive strike, she never stopped fighting back.

Upon entry, Damiano Montague took in the chaos with a mild smile. It was his first genuine one in months.

Broken as it was, the heart of the Capulets was now his. A token of victory unlike any other.

He couldn’t help but wonder what his son would bring back in turn.

PHOENIX AND THE TURTLE CAFE, 9:10 PM

It was quite a deceiving trophy that he aimed to bring back, ROMEO couldn’t help but think, eyes taking in the humble, welcoming visage of the cafe as his team slowly approached it. While it would seem like an odd, almost pitiful choice for a takeover target, especially when compared to the jewel that his father was seeking, he saw its value far beyond its image. Although the establishment was simple, and horribly understated in comparison to the other powerful territories that the Capulets controlled, ROMEO understood the intent behind it well enough that he could see the power it held where his father could not. A special brand of power that could only be found in kindness, which was found exclusively in Phoenix and the Turtle perhaps more than any other Capulet territory.

Those who slept on empty stomachs grew to forget the taste of hunger upon finding this place, and it was something that had endeared the Veronesi to the Capulets in ways that the Montagues have failed to contend with for years on end.

His father had spoken on sending a message, and opted to send it through theft of the Capulets’ heart.

But ROMEO was about to steal something far more precious, far more meaningful: the long-cultivated love of the people.

And he had no intention of being kind about it. They certainly hadn’t bothered to afford Viola that kind of respect.

It was for that reason that his expression remained stoic as stone as he heard the panicked shouts and terrified cries of innocent patrons as they coughed and choked and fell to their knees in the wake of the tear gas bombs that his team had thrown in through the windows. By the time it cleared and it was safe for the small Montague team to venture inside, the territory was all but theirs for the taking.

However, Damiano’s attacks had bore the disadvantage of announcing their plan to the entirety of the city, and because of that, Cosimo had been quick to send out teams to every single territory to guard against any remaining Montague attacks. It was for that reason that the Montagues’ victory was short-lived, as a Capulet squad was quick to crash into the cafe and bring their progress to a halt.

The first among them was KATHERINE, who seemed intent on going after GERTRUDE from the moment she spotted her. GERTRUDE deterred her attacks, trying and failing ceaselessly to convince her to swallow her pride and stand down. Yet her words fell on deaf ears, as KATHERINE continued on with her relentless attacks. As the fight progressed and GERTRUDE slowly ceased to hold back, however, KATHERINE opted for a different approach, taking advantage of the pallid remnants of smoke that still clung to the air to elude the enemy and dance in circles around her until she found her opening. Yet there was a great prince to be paid in the wake of her conniving strategy.

While KATHERINE crouched and slinked around under the veil of smoke, GERTRUDE did her best to trace her movements with her gun, and when she was certain that she had spotted her, she didn’t hesitate. The bullet whizzed through the murky air, but in place of the harsh, sharp groan that GERTRUDE expected, came a gentle, resounding scream -- the bloodcurdling sound of someone who has yet to learn of true pain.

It was HERO, who had gone on to expect that the only hardship she would endure on this night was the possibility of getting lost on her way home, and yet here she was, in tears and tremors as she scrambled to halt the ceaseless blood-flow. It was just her luck that the righteous, kind-hearted TROILUS, who happened to have also elected to dine here, lingered close enough to come to her aid. He scrambled away from the upturned table that he had been hiding behind and made his way towards HERO once GERTRUDE and KATHERINE were out of sight, calming her down and helping her with the injury before moving on to guide her towards escape, lips coiled in disdain for the mobs that only ran deeper with each passing day.

Nearby, TYBALT was launching himself at SEBASTIAN, who had taken note of the situation involving HERO and lost his focus in the wake of oncoming dread as he realized just how many innocents were getting caught in the crossfire of this battle -- the one they had been the ones to initiate. The space was too constrained for use of arms, and so the two took to physically fighting against one another, SEBASTIAN solemn and cautious, while TYBALT snarled and pushed, and pushed, and pushed. Though how far he pushed just before SEBASTIAN broke, one could only wonder.

It was OPHELIA and MIRANDA who then came into conflict, hissing and spitting at one another while war raged all around them. OPHELIA and CLEOPATRA had stuck to each other’s side, but they had gotten separated amidst the chaos, and OPHELIA feared for her dear friend and for herself in equal parts, knowing they were much stronger when banded together than when apart. It fueled her attacks against MIRANDA, the desperation to find her friend and make sure she was safe -- a goal that she and her enemy both shared, as MIRANDA, too, was pushed by her boundless passion to stand up for her friends and famiglia alike. But the two never lowered their weapons, and so they never found out just how much they actually had in common.

It was every bit the clash of beast against prey as BEATRICE and REGAN threw themselves against one another, though the modest, brimming space of the cafe did not allow for much freedom of movement. At one point, BEATRICE keenly used it to her advantage, running out into the streets in the hope that her speed would allow her to get the enemy off her trail. Yet REGAN was not the type of predator who was deterred by a chase, and so they followed after BEATRICE with eager hunger, keeping up with her with detached ease.

They caught her quickly, throwing her to the ground and locking her in with their body before antagonizing her with the gleaming weapon they held aloft. The sound of them in the otherwise quiet street drew ARIEL’s attention as they passed by, and at first, they hesitated to act upon taking note of the chaos that had overtaken the cafe. Yet upon recognizing BEATRICE, they decided to help her, distracting REGAN long enough for BEATRICE to escape their grasp. She didn’t run, however. Instead, she stayed and worked together with ARIEL to escape REGAN’s prowl.

Later on, REGAN settled on the concrete, catching their breath and glaring daggers at the retreating silhouettes of their quarry. Yet as they made their way to stand and continue their chase, IMOGEN was abruptly at their side. They claimed to be offering REGAN their help, even though they barely glanced at their wounds, feigning ignorance towards their identity and allegiance alike in the hope of gaining information on the battle that was erupting only a few feet away. IMOGEN had had far too many missed chances as of late, and it was a mistake that they had no intention of repeating.

Back inside the cafe, in a remote corner that was still anything but peaceful, CLEOPATRA faced off against EDGAR, who took a stance of grim determination, reminded of an achingly similar stalemate that he had been locked into with another Montague not too long ago. Though unlike them, CLEOPATRA was calm and unrelenting instead of desperate and eager for self-sacrifice. She clearly had no qualms about resorting to necessary violence, and still she didn’t reach for her weapon. Instead, she negotiated, attempting to convince EDGAR of the inevitable Montague victory and draw him towards peaceful surrender. It was only because of the surprising semblance of honor that she afforded him that EDGAR stilled and listened.

They never had a chance to see if CLEOPATRA could truly convince him.

Soon enough, ROMEO sealed the fate of the battle.

He gave swift, efficient orders, distributing soldiers evenly and tasking them with goals that worked to ensure that the cafe was locked tightly within their grasp. Capulets were subdued and held at gun-point, or defeated and cast outside as fodder for the streets. The Montague HQ was contacted and informed of their team’s success. More soldiers were dispatched to ensure the security of the location and fend off any Capulet retaliation.

ROMEO took in the blessed vision of order, exacted by his hand and his hand alone, and it felt like he was able to draw breath for the first time since day arose.

The taste of victory was not quite as sweet as he imagined, and still he couldn’t seem to get enough of it.

He wondered how it tasted to his father, if his addiction to it was the reason why they had wound up where they were.

Desperately, he hoped that it would grow bitter for him as time passed.

THE OUTSKIRTS OF VERONA, 11 PM

From a castle carved from shadow, LAMPRIUS watched as one battle after another overtook his beloved city. A grating chain of war that had been choking him in its coils for as long as he could remember.

It was tradition as ancient as the Witches who still lived eternal in his memory.

Its life would come to be cut short. Just as theirs had been.

The promise burned within him, and with its ashes scorching the tips of his fingers, he went on to write the following words.

Remember this for when the time comes.

What is dead can never die. Not while there is life and legacy to be taken in its name.

Then he sent them scurrying along the wind, towards none other than Verona’s damned kings.

OVERVIEW: And so the war for the territories begins! Viola’s death has stirred the Montagues into irreversible action, and the stakes are only going to climb higher from here. As you’ve just witnessed, the Montagues are now officially in possession of THE CATHEDRAL and PHOENIX AND THE TURTLE. But fret not, Capulets! The next plot drop will explore their reaction to the blow they’ve been dealt and the action they’ll take in response, which is the reason for JULIET’s absence from this plot drop. Due to injuries too debilitating for them to take part in the action, PERDITA and ORSINO are also absent. A lot of exciting things are coming, so keep an eye out for them alongside changes in our locations page to reflect the recent events! Please date your threads from APRIL 27TH to MAY 30TH, with MAY 15TH as the day where the events of the plot drop occur. Let us know if you have any questions, and have fun!!

#diveronaevent

14 notes · View notes

theonyxpath · 5 years

Link

We have sailed the Acid Sea and now know land is near – and with it all the fun a pirate could desire at Waterdog Port! Yarrrrr!

In other words, Pirate of Pugmire‘s Kickstarter has passed its funding goal, and now we’re headed towards some sweet Stretch Goals. Thanks to everyone who pledged so that we can get this companion volume to Pugmire and Monarchies of Mau printed and out into stores!

And if you haven’t yet had a chance to pledge, there are still a few awesome reward tiers left – some of which include having your pet illustrated as a pirate! – and the KS runs until Thursday. There’s a link below in the Blurbs! section for your convenience!

V5 Chicago By Night art by Michael Gaydos

Leading in to our next Kickstarter campaign, today we were thrilled to reveal that we will be posting a Trinity Continuum: Aberrant webcomic starting tomorrow, Tuesday the 18th, here on the Onyx Path website!

The webcomic will run every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday for about six weeks, coinciding with the TC: Aberrant Kickstarter starting the first week in July.

We had the extreme pleasure of working with comic book writer extraordinaire Paul Jenkins, who has written so many amazing works for Marvel, DC, Dark Horse, including winning an Eisner award for writing the Inhumans for Marvel Knights, that we’ll let you all Google him rather than trying to list them all.

We’ll have more info on Paul, as well as awesome artist Doug Stambaugh, in the weeks to come as “You Are Not Alone.” rolls out. This is our very first webcomic, we are incredibly excited about it, and we hope it won’t be our last, and is designed to give a taste to new and long-time Aberrant fans of just what the world of Trinity Continuum: Aberrant is like.

Shunned By the Moon art by Leonardo Albiero

Another announcement for today is that we’re incredibly happy to be working with the multi-talented Travis Legge as he leads the development of our upcoming Scarred Lands projects. Travis has already sat in with Eddy, Matt, and myself, as we whipped project ideas into a schedule, and now he’ll be pulling those ideas into actual books.

This doesn’t change how we’re handling the new Scarred Lands Creature Collection with our friend Jon Hodgson’s new company, Handiwork Games, and I actually was able to talk with Jon at UK Games Expo and we firmed up plans for the upcoming Kickstarter Jon will be running for the book. Expect amazing art, fantastic layout and usability, and the chance to pick Reward Tiers that allow backers to determine additional monsters to include in the book beyond those already planned.

We also talked with Chris and Matt from Modiphius while at UKGE about our ongoing Vampire 5th Edition projects. Everyone was excited at being able to work closely together on new V5 books – and that was before the recent Origins Award for Best RPG of the Year! Congrats to all involved!

V5 Chicago By Night art by Ken Meyer, Jr

Finally, for anyone who is thinking that every third word I write is Kickstarter, look below at what we have going on sale this week: the Advance PDFs of both the Blood Sea: Crimson Abyss for Scarred Lands, and the long, long, long-awaited Signs of Sorcery for Mage: The Awakening 2e! Neither of which had a KS, so there!

Regardless of how we get there, we’re:

Many Worlds, One Path!

BLURBS!

Kickstarter!

Our Pirates of Pugmire Kickstarter has funded! Now we’re going for some cool Stretch Goals in these, the final fantastic days! https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/200664283/pirates-of-pugmire-a-realms-of-pugmire-tabletop-rpg

Pirates of Pugmire is a chronicle sourcebook for both Pugmire and Monarchies of Mau. It’s usable in either game, or as part of a joint experience. Some highlights include: * Two new species for players to enjoy: lizards and birds * Six new callings, including two for dogs and two for cats * Rules for building, sailing, and sinking ships * A trove of new allies, enemies, and treasures * Information on Waterdog Port and Port Matthew * “Going on the Account,” a chronicle of three new adventures, taking characters from 1st through 6th level

You can also hear Eddy discuss the writing and design of Pirates of Pugmire on the Onyx Pathcast on your favorite podcatcher, or here on : https://onyxpathcast.podbean.com/)

ONYX PATH MEDIA

Onyx Pathcast art by Michael Gaydos

This Friday’s Onyx Pathcast features an interview with fantastic writer Klara Herbol!: https://onyxpathcast.podbean.com/

And Here’s More Media About Our Worlds:

Due to ill health, Matthew has had to postpone the Onyx Path News! It’ll be back later this week

He has however uploaded another episode of the Scarred Lands actual play he ran for Red Moon Roleplaying, so do check that out on the Onyx Path YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/xnEc5Qznsw4

We have two further episodes of Occultists Anonymous, the Mage: The Awakening actual play as follows: Episode 21: The Quest Begins Songbird is charged with making himself useful to the Adamantine Arrow, and with so many ‘nerds’ at close hand, maybe he can make use of that connection to the Mysterium…https://youtu.be/wyE_fVd9KYo

Episode 22: Prime Time A letter is investigated, a message sent, and a being from beyond this world is summoned… Just a normal Tuesday. https://youtu.be/il9VOFSh_gU

The Story Told Podcast have uploaded their excellent interview with Meghan Fitzgerald regarding Changeling: The Lost: http://thestorytold.libsyn.com/episode-29-meghan-fitzgerald-interview

For the love of Chardun, check out the Devil’s Luck Gaming Twitch stream if you haven’t already done so: https://www.twitch.tv/DEVILSLUCKGAMING

And that’s it for media this week! We need more actual plays, reviews, and video breakdowns of our games, so please get in touch with the Gentleman Gamer on the Onyx Path Forum is you would like to create content that we can in turn promote!

Please check any of these out and let us know if you find or produce any actual plays of our games!

ELECTRONIC GAMING

As we find ways to enable our community to more easily play our games, the Onyx Dice Rolling App is now live! Our dev team has been doing updates since we launched based on the excellent use-case comments by our community, and this thing is awesome! (Seriously, you need to roll 100 dice for Exalted? This app has you covered.)

ON AMAZON AND BARNES & NOBLE:

You can now read our fiction from the comfort and convenience of your Kindle (from Amazon) and Nook (from Barnes & Noble).

If you enjoy these or any other of our books, please help us by writing reviews on the site of the sales venue from which you bought it. Reviews really, really help us get folks interested in our amazing fiction!

Our selection includes these fiction books:

OUR SALES PARTNERS:

We’re working with Studio2 to get Pugmire and Monarchies of Mau out into stores, as well as to individuals through their online store. You can pick up the traditionally printed main book, the screen, and the official Pugmire dice through our friends there! https://studio2publishing.com/search?q=pugmire

We’ve added Prince’s Gambit to our Studio2 catalog: https://studio2publishing.com/products/prince-s-gambit-card-game

Now, we’ve added Changeling: The Lost 2nd Edition products to Studio2‘s store! See them here: https://studio2publishing.com/collections/all-products/changeling-the-lost

Scarred Lands (Pathfinder) books are also on sale at Studio2, and they have the 5e version, supplements, and dice as well!: https://studio2publishing.com/collections/scarred-lands

Scion 2e books and other products are available now at Studio2: https://studio2publishing.com/blogs/new-releases/scion-second-edition-book-one-origin-now-available-at-your-local-retailer-or-online

Looking for our Deluxe or Prestige Edition books? Try this link! http://www.indiepressrevolution.com/xcart/Onyx-Path-Publishing/

And you can now order Pugmire, Monarchies of Mau, Cavaliers of Mars, and Changeling: The Lost 2e at the same link!

On Sale This Week!

This Wednesday, we’re releasing an Advance PDF DOUBLE FEATURE with Signs of Sorcery for Mage: The Awakening 2nd Edition, and Blood Sea: The Crimson Abyss for Scarred Lands 5e both coming to DriveThruRPG!

CONVENTIONS!

Gen Con: August 1st – 4th Save Against Fear: October 12th – 14th GameHoleCon: October 31st – November 3rd We’ll also be back at PAX Unplugged later this year!

And now, the new project status updates!

DEVELOPMENT STATUS FROM EDDY WEBB (projects in bold have changed status since last week):

First Draft (The first phase of a project that is about the work being done by writers, not dev prep)

M20 Victorian Mage (Mage: the Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition)

Geist 2e Fiction Anthology (Geist: The Sin-Eaters 2nd Edition)

Exalted Essay Collection (Exalted)

Trinity Continuum Jumpstart (Trinity Continuum Core)

Wraith20 Fiction Anthology (Wraith: The Oblivion 20th Anniversary Edition)

One Foot in the Grave Jumpstart (Geist: The Sin-Eaters 2e)

Dragon-Blooded Novella #2 (Exalted 3rd Edition)

Exigents (Exalted 3rd Edition)

Terra Firma (Trinity Continuum: Aeon) Titanomachy (Scion 2nd Edition)

Crucible of Legends (Exalted 3rd Edition)

Many-Faced Strangers – Lunars Companion (Exalted 3rd Edition)

Contagion Chronicle: Global Outbreaks (Chronicles of Darkness)

Redlines

Monsters of the Deep (They Came From Beneath the Sea!)

Tales of Aquatic Terror (They Came From Beneath the Sea!)

Scion: Dragon (Scion 2nd Edition)

Kith and Kin (Changeling: The Lost 2e)

Masks of the Mythos (Scion 2nd Edition)

Scion: Demigod (Scion 2nd Edition)

Second Draft

Tales of Good Dogs – Pugmire Fiction Anthology (Pugmire)

Dragon-Blooded Novella #1 (Exalted 3rd Edition)

Across the Eight Directions (Exalted 3rd Edition)

Mummy: The Curse 2nd Edition core rulebook (Mummy: The Curse 2nd Edition)

City of the Towered Tombs (Cavaliers of Mars)

TC: Aeon Jumpstart (Trinity Continuum: Aeon)

Development

WoD Ghost Hunters (World of Darkness)

Oak, Ash, and Thorn: Changeling: The Lost 2nd Companion (Changeling: The Lost 2nd)

M20 The Technocracy Reloaded (Mage: the Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition)

Creatures of the World Bestiary (Scion 2nd Edition)

Heirs to the Shogunate (Exalted 3rd Edition)

Scion Companion: Mysteries of the World (Scion 2nd Edition)

Deviant: The Renegades (Deviant: The Renegades)

Chicago Folio/Dossier (Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition)

Let the Streets Run Red (Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition)

Cults of the Blood Gods (Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition)

TC: Aeon Ready-Made Characters (Trinity Continuum: Aeon)

Legendlore core book (Legendlore)

Manuscript Approval

Trinity Continuum: Aberrant core (Trinity Continuum: Aberrant)

Pirates of Pugmire (Realms of Pugmire)

Hunter: The Vigil 2e core (Hunter: The Vigil 2nd Edition)

DR:E Threat Guide (Dystopia Rising: Evolution)

DR:E Jumpstart (Dystopia Rising: Evolution)

Editing

Memento Mori: the GtSE 2e Companion (Geist: The Sin-Eaters 2nd Edition)

Night Horrors: Nameless and Accursed (Mage: the Awakening Second Edition)

Spilled Blood (Vampire: The Requiem 2nd Edition)

Lunars: Fangs at the Gate (Exalted 3rd Edition)

Heroic Land Dwellers (They Came From Beneath the Sea!)

Post-Editing Development

M20 Book of the Fallen (Mage: the Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition)

V5 Chicago By Night (Vampire: The Masquerade)V5 Chicago By Night Screen (Vampire: The Masquerade)

CofD Contagion Chronicle (Chronicles of Darkness)

Witch-Queen of the Shadowed Citadel (Cavaliers of Mars)

Distant Worlds (Trinity Continuum: Aeon)

Scion Ready-Made Characters (Scion 2nd Edition)

Dark Eras 2 (Chronicles of Darkness)

Indexing

ART DIRECTION FROM MIRTHFUL MIKE!

In Art Direction

Contagion Chronicle

Dark Eras 2 – Got all the art in from Sheikman and everyone else is working.

M20 Book of the Fallen – Getting art over to WW for approval.

VtR Spilled Blood – in the worx.

Trinity Continuum Aeon: Distant Worlds

Trinity Continuum Aberrant – KS Sketches and finals coming in.

Hunter: The Vigil 2e

Ex3 Lunars

They Came From Beneath the Sea – Getting it going.

Ex3 Monthly Stuff

In Layout

V5: Chicago

Trinity Core

Trinity Aeon

CoM – Witch Queen of the Shadowed Citadel

Proofing

WtF Shunned by the Moon

DR: E – proofing with Eddy

Aeon Aexpansion

C20 Cup of Dreams – This week.

Ex 3 Monthlies – At WW for approval

At Press

Dragon Blooded – Deluxe shipping to Studio2.

Dragon-Blooded Cloth Map – Shipped to Studio2.

Dragon-Blooded Screen – Printing.

The Realm – Reviewing errata.

Trinity Core Screen – Printing.

TC Aeon Screen – Printing.

C20 Player’s Guide – PoD files uploaded.

Geist 2e – Gathering Errata.

Book of Oblivion – Putting in errata.

Trinity: In Media Res – PoD proofs ordered.

Scion Jumpstart – Backer PDFs going out this week.

Scion Ready-Made Characters – Backer PDFs going out this week.

Blood Sea: The Crimson Abyss (Scarred Lands) – Advance PDF on sale this Weds!

Signs of Sorcery – Advance PDF on sale this Weds!

Today’s Reason to Celebrate!

Today must be the calm before the storm, because tomorrow issues a double helping of birthday fun for both Neall Raemonn Price and The Gentleman Gamer himself, Matthew Dawkins! Many happy returns to you both!

#Onyx Path Publishing

21 notes · View notes

assbutt-son-of-a-bitch · 5 years

Text

[PLEASE STAND WITH HONG KONG] [PLEASE REBLOG!]

[Help protect our democracy, rule of law, freedom of speech, human rights]

please take a moment to learn about what’s happening in Hong Kong since June til now.

We have been protesting every Sunday, and many saturdays and weekdays, on the streets since 9th June.

First and foremost, we are protesting against extradition bill. which will take away the wall that protect Hong Kong people (or any visitors in HK) against Chinese communism.

Hong Kong is a Special Administrative Region that runs a different legislative, judiciary and executive system from China, bc we were colonized by British before 1997. After handover, “one country two systems” is run in HK, as agreed by UK. we have basic law, that protects our freedom of speech, freedom of assembly and demonstration, freedom of press. We shd be going towards the direction of DEMOCRACY and true universal suffrage.

This bill will take away every advantageous difference of Hong Kong from China. our freedom and human rights. China can arrest us with any claim of a person in hk breaking china’s law (which we do not follow).

9th June: we march with 1million people. CE did not withdraw the bill nor address people’s demand.

11-12th June: we surround Legislative Council to stop them from passing the bill that day. Police abuse their force to attack/ evavuate peaceful protestors, and define that day as riot.

Police beat people who did not attack or use violence. Police used lots of tear gas (weapon to evacuate a mass) while not giving them space or route to get away. Police beat reporters, a serious suppress to freedom of press.

16th June: 2million people march on the street. asking for 5 things:

1. Complete withdrawal of the extradition bill

2. Resignation of Beijing-backed Chief Executive Carrie Lam

3. Release of arrested protesters

4. Investigation into alleged police brutality against protesters

5. Retraction of characterisation of protests as riots

1st July: (handover anniversary day) on top of 550thousand people doing peaceful protest, radical side of protestors break into legislative council as a form of step-up protest, after government refused to listen to 2million people’s protest to withdraw extradition bill. They expressed messages such as:

“There’s no rioters, only a tyrannical regime”

“It’s You (the government) who taught us that peaceful protest is useless”

and repeat the similar 5 demands and also for universal suffrage.

Since then, every Sunday, hundreds of thousands of hong kong people march on the streets. there are also people of particular identity protest, such as mothers of hong kong, and elderlies, to protest against violence against young ppl and students at the front line. there had been judiciary group/ lawyer group. there had been social workers group.

——

Police:

Police used evil and illegal tactics,

(such as surrounding protestors, not giving them route to leave, and then attack them with unreasonable force for “illegal assembly” after or before a legal march just ended.

such as, not showing their warrant card or police number to identify themselves as police, so any actions against their guidelines, any excessive violence, any law breaking acts can be done by the police without consequences.

such as beating even the reporters

such as aiming bean bag bullets at protestors’ head and eyes instead of limps)

and excessive violence, and unreasonable arrest,

1. to protect the govt who dun listen to the people and betray us to please Chinese Communism and try to wait for us to get tired and let the protest die down without addressing anything

2. to spread white fear so as to suppress hongkongers’ freedom of speech and assembly

3. to suppress freedom of press

We urge the government to set up independent investigation into police’s use of violence(not only the current complaint system that is only going to let police investigate the police themselves. we do not trust the police nor the government anymore)

___

Government/ Chief Executive’s response:

The Chief Executive (CE) ’s response so far has always been playing words, such as using “indefinitely suspending the bill”, and “the bill is dead”. while never using the formal and legal term and action to WITHDRAW the bill.

She apologized for causing social rift, but did not address protestors demands at all. only pushed police and social workers to the frontline.

the government do not address any police’s abuse of power. excessive force. illegal actions. but only post statements to seriously condemn protestors’ actions. Protestors would not be forced to step up their actions if CE has addressed our demands.

Four people had committed suicide for this cause already.

(Photo from 15June, first protestor who sacrificed with clear message written before he jumped off at a significant district in hk:)

And many people felt helpless and depressed over these continuous and seemingly helpless fight while the government ignore any demand and push us towards Chinese communism. Our CE don’t give a fuck about four actual hongkongers’ lives. but got so butthurt when legislative council’s glass doors got broken, or when policeman got hurt (finger got biten off due to trying to poke a protestor’s eyeball out).

——

This is my recap just off my mind as of now. not particularly good at these kind of political awareness post as some other hongkongers. but just to name a few dreadful, futureless, unjust things against human rights that is happening in hong kong right now.

today. 21st July. 430 thousand people march on the streets again. we march again...

5 Demands (repeated way too many times for govt to be ignoring):

1. Complete withdrawal of Extradition Bill

2. Independent Investigation into Police Brutality

3. Release Protestors arrested and no prosecution over these protest

4. Retract the characterization of 6.12 protest as riot

5. Universal suffrage and democracy

not sure when the govt will care or listen... seems like over these month the govt got more numb about the large numbers when march occur every sunday, but this scale of protest that lasted so long had never happen in hong kong before. 2million out of 7million hong kong ppl march onto the street had also never happened before. we hongkongers’ persistence are not dead yet. and we do not forget the injustice, our rights, our demands. we do not abandon the people who stand at the front line, risk their lives and future, or people who already sacrificed their lives over this. Hongkongers stand tgt.

We just ask for your attention and support. Stand with us! Democracy. Rule of Law. Justice. Freedom of Speech. Human Rights. We share these values i believe. Right now hongkongers’ are being taken away. Help gather attention and stand with us, help protect our diming future! Save us from Chinese communism!!!!

——

International attention?

Sorry. tumblr mobile app posts can’t be edited on desktop tumblr anymore...

we made many many international headlines.

nytimes. guardian. telegraph. bbc news. times. washington post. CNN. and also newspapers from french. germany. spain. japan. korean.

u name it. google “stand with hong kong”

nytimes has investigated police abuse of force. (30June)

HK professional groups and student union submit and urge US politicians to pass bill on protecting hk human rights and democracy. US Representatives Jim McGovern and Senator Marco Rubio introduced the “Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act of 2019” bill to the House of Representatives and the Senate. (17July)

EU (18July) called for export control on crowd-controlling technologies that hong kong police “used to violate basic rights” and urged HK government for an independent investigation into the use of force by hong kong police.

——

What can you do?

your attention, spread the word, support us when anything rise up. is already a big help. Just like some third world countries being at war. Ur attention is already a pressure.

i am not exactly at the most active line at spreading words. hmmm what the world can do for us? i guess the least are the many petitions u can help sign. and when any opportunity come, u know what’s happening to us, u can help support and raise a voice. bc we can no longer trust our government, our judiciary system, etc. we need international help and pressure on China and HK government.

lemme paste some petitions u can sign:

(they’re not new but. don’t let the voice die!)

most-spread petition among hongkongers addressed to Trump since before the G20 (yea i know but he is still US president who hv a say in our future):

Reject Immigration or Non-Immigration Visas of Hong Kong Government Officials Violating Human Rights

Revoke the U.S. Citizenship and Visas of the Hong Kong and China Officials who are in Support of the Extradition Bill

Extradition Law Amendment in Hong Kong — Threat to Personal Safety and Freedom

全球聯署【反送中民意不可欺為香港企硬】Global Signing: Against Extradition to China

https://www.change.org/p/民間人權陣線-civil-human-rights-front-全球聯署-反送中-民意不可欺-為香港企硬-global-signing-against-extradition-to-china

———

will continue to update as much as possible.

im tired. after a march. been tired for the past month. tired of our govt and system. dark things are happening right now as im typing.. i cannot tell u everything that is happening every day. Dark everywhere basically...

[7.21 protest]. if u care to know the updates and details. there are people against anti-extradition protestors. They are violent. Beat people who wears black, or people who wrote democracy lennon wall, or people who in any way shows that they are part of the anti extradition movement. Some people of criminal background are gathering to wait for black-tshirt protestors at certain district tonight. they beat people up. Police aint showing up when people call 999 for help. We all know that police won’t arrest (or won’t proceed with charging) those people who are against protestors. Police probably know about it or even collude with the criminals to beat citizens up. What a dark age Hk has come to. we basically don’t hv police to enforce the law as they should anymore. police is just another criminal organization now. Even before tonight, police won’t arrest or charge those violent people at Pro-police assembly who beat a 16yo girl who wears black. In countless incidents this month, they just don’t even do anything for any harm goes in protestors way....

6 notes · View notes