Eluvianii

Eluviani lay down, looking at that strange sky. He was fairly sure it was fake, but it was still pretty. His thoughts didn't let him sleep as easily as he wanted to, or as he needed. If another tribute found him tired, he was as good as dead. Knowing it didn't make it any easier to clear his head though. He thought about his family. Right about now he could be sleeping easy on his bed. Tomorrow could have been a long day. With about six hours of school and four at the factory he didn't have a lot of free time, and to be honest he had hated that factory since the very first time he had set foot in it. But, it seemed preferable. Sure, it wasn't an easy life, but it was always better than fearing for your life as you try to sleep. His brother could always help him if he had trouble at the factory, and his mother was teaching him how to make clothes, by hand. Sewing, embroidery. The best materials to make dyes and where to get good thread, good fabric. He was grateful for that. His job at the factory was grueling, and most people could attest to that. He thought he'd hate the very idea of making clothes on his own time after spending so much of it being forced to but, his mother's works were different. The factory's clothes were plain and soulless but his mother's, that was art. Real art. He had thought about maybe making a living on that. To keep learning, giving people something personal, made by hand, they didn't really benefit much from what the factories produced anyway. And it would be a way to make his mother's art reach more people. That was before he was selected as a tribute, of course. I wonder if they're watching me. Maybe he still could? His fate wasn't set in stone. He could still get out, he didn't need to give up on that goal just yet, on seeing his family again. Of course, that meant killing. Even if he avoided it all the way to the end, at some point there would be at least another person left. What then? What if he couldn't move? What if the other tribute was more determined? What if it was Facepalm? He hadn't really know her before the games, but they had spent time together on the days before. Training, learning to survive, trying to ignore the very truth he was now thinking about. Silently hoping they wouldn't have to kill each other. Have to face the other's family back home. He tried to ignore it again, as that worry wouldn't do him any good if he wanted to sleep. He closed his eyes as he heard the sound of the cannons. Hoping she was alright, hoping he wouldn't need to kill anyone, hoping that by some miracle they could all go home together tomorrow, hoping they suddenly announced that the games were cancelled forever. Maybe it would happen. As his thoughts got more incoherent, Eluviani fell asleep.

After putting it off for an eternity and a half and a rewatch of the first two, I watched How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World. What a great way to finish the series. The ending I saw coming, the foreshadowing at the beginning was painfully visible and practically a promise so I spent the thing dreading the ending in the back of my mind. But they put that little beautiful and perfectly logical twist to it that just leaves me so satisfied. Watching a protagonist grow for so many years, even though most of it is through massive timeskips, is a great experience too, kinda bittersweet, and this one really delivered. Best one of the three and I'm already excited to rewatch them all, with the extra emotions that usually come when you revisit a story after seeing the ending.

We have to use the tags? If there's a thing I would have liked to be different is Wanda, I think. Her development across the movie is great, but You can see the "creative differences" with the previous director who wanted a horror movie coming through, which is a shame. As good as this was, the best bits were watered down

When you're a fan of a youtuber called Sseth, start calling him Szeth without noticing, and it takes several visits to the channel and rereading the name to realize you're spelling it wrong.

Good time as any to revive this. Has anyone seen the Doctor Strange movie? Personally, this goes somewhere among my 5 favorite mcu movies or so, don't know, I have to wait for the excitement to die down. Development for the main two was great if not what I expected And I do believe this would probably have been better as an R-rated movie. During every fight it just shows how badly it wanted to be one. This is a violent movie with training wheels.

Eluviani was hungry. He was too afraid to eat anything, he knew next to nothing about plants. What little he knew he had learned from his mentor and even that wasn't something he could completely rely on. Sure, it was fairly unlikely that the higher ups would start changing edible plants into deadly traps so early but it could happen. Hunting seemed like the best option. He had no experience but he had a weapon, how hard could it be? He also had some rope, he had learned a couple basic traps well enough to remember now during the past few days but, they had warned him not to expect fast results, if any at all. Better yet, he had nothing to use as bait so whether any animals would step into his trap would be entirely up to luck. No option but to try anyway. Still, this wasn't a good place. Hungry as he was, water would be more valuable in the long run. There had to be a river, maybe a stream at the very least. They wouldn't just let them loose here without any source of water, right? He wouldn't be the only one looking for water either but that was a necessary risk. That night Eluviani was hidden, trying to get ready to sleep. He didn't think he could. It wasn't much of a camp, only a few leaves clumped together to try to use as a bed. He had managed to find a stream, so at least he wasn't thirsty, but he didn't have any way to store water, so he couldn't go too far from it. There were some bushes scattered among the trees a few dozen paces from it that could hide him for the night. He only hoped they were discreet enough not to catch anyone's attention. So that solved his water problems at least for the moment, and he would have time to look for a better hiding spot if he survived the night. That only left food. He had managed to find a few berries, but it was harder than he had anticipated. They weren't poisonous at least, so far as he could tell, but he didn't feel like he had eaten at all. It was just not enough. It would help him survive for sure but if every day was like that, he wouldn't last three days before he was too weak to keep gathering them. The trap was set but nothing had been caught on it. Most of his time for the last few hours had been spent walking to the trap and back, hoping to find something but there was no such luck. The stream wasn't deep enough to house any fish either. It was obvious by now that he wouldn't be able to stay there if he wanted to, well, eat. He was too tired to keep worrying now. If he managed to sleep, tomorrow would surely be better. It had to be. Eluviani closed his eyes, his sword close to him. Part of him was too tired to stay awake, part of him was listening to every little sound near him. It was unbearable, everything sounded like someone coming to attack him. That branch moving with the wind, the water splashing in the distance, that beep that was getting closer. That beep that was getting closer? He opened his eyes and desperately started looking around, recognizing the sound. Then he saw it, a small parachute slowly approaching him. He took it, feeling grateful already and knelt down among the bushes to stay hidden. There was food inside the container. Good food, a whole meal. Veggies, meat, seasonings that were way too out of place in this arena. This gave him a chance all of a sudden. It was big enough that he could probably ration it to last all of the next day, maybe more if he was extra careful. He wouldn't be full exactly but it was miles better than a handful of berries. He spent some more time awake, eating, rationing what was left, using some leaves to store it and filling the container with water instead. He felt a lot more confident now, however now that he wasn't as hungry, all his other worries seemed all that much bigger as he closed his eyes, hoping he would find some rest before sunrise.

As most people here are saying, I just want to remind you, if you're struggling with anything talking to a close friend or family member is probably the best option, but we're also here if you need an ear. That's what the green pfp means after all, you see one you know you can talk to them whenever you need. And if you're scared to bring it up, think your problems are not worth talking about or that the people close to you will judge you negatively for it, please don't be. Opening up is always scary but it's the first step for things to get better. A single moment of courage to talk to someone can be the start of a better life.

Well, my dream is still becoming a game developer, so that. Writing, coding, and composing music in particular are my goal (that's an unrealistic amount of things but as an indie I'll have to multitask anyway). Then if we talk "jobs I have romanticized in my head but I'm not really trying to get" maybe owning a cafeteria? It's probably not as fun as it sounds but, yeah. Now, if we go full fantasy jobs then, alchemist, in the non-dramatic sense of the word, the kind that sells potions and daily commodities. Blame video games for this one. Traveling to pretty places to get ingredients, fighting wild monsters, exploring caves, mixing stuff inside my cozy little cabin. Yeah, that would be nice. On the "magic comes with a price" topic. What's the highest price you'd be willing to pay if there was no limit to the size of your wish?

Eluviani was frozen for a moment. Everything had started moving so fast, his mind couldn't catch up. But he had to move. His training, if it could be called that, all the lessons he had endured over the past few days told him he needed supplies, water, food, that kind of thing. But Eluviani was scared. Scared that one of the other tributes would find him and kill him, without so much as a fight. His mind clouded with fear, he ignored logic and ran straight for the glint of a sword laying on the ground, far enough from the fighting to be considered somewhat safe, but still closer than he would have liked. There was also some rope nearby. It wasn't food but rope was good, right? What could you do with that? He tried to remember what it was useful for but he couldn't think straight and didn't have time either so he just took it and ran, straight for the woods as fast as his legs would carry him. He needed to escape, planning could come later. It was only when he was hidden and panting behind a tree that he took a moment to think about Facepalm. He hadn't even looked for her back there. Shame started filling him quickly as he walked out of his hiding spot and turned back towards the cornucopia, tributes from the same district had to help each other, right? But he couldn't take the first step. He could still hear some noise from back there, the fighting, the bloodbath. Eluviani had survived, why should he put himself into danger again? He immediately regretted the thought, but turned back to the forest regardless and started walking, without looking back.

Maybe more like I've been discovering it? Despite my family believing and preaching otherwise, I'm not that big of a reader. Back in grade and middle school I read some Harry Potter and Verne books. The Neverending Story and a little bit of Poe, little more. In more recent years I read Pride and Prejudice and discovered Brandon, so that cimented my interest in fantasy and finding good classics, and I think I'm still discovering my tastes. Darker or brighter colors?

You underestimate me, I don't like either. TPBM has eaten a double digit number of pancakes at some point.

We should do a fight to the death inside an arena of some sort to see who goes first. Maybe go in pairs.

This will be short by nature anyway, so if there's more than one round people can probably take turns.

Unlucky Morpheus' new album The guitar/violin solo in Serene Evil replenishes my lifeforce.

Uhhhh crap no idea. Here goes, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, carbon, xenon, radon, krypton, neon, helium, gold, silver, iron (can't remember if they actually had that name), titanium, selenium, arsenic, sodium, barium, phosphorus, copper... Could probably come up with some more if I rack my brain for a while but at the moment that's about it. What was your favorite subject in first grade?

Stories in general? I mean, I have the usual vitals too, my family for example. But I truly and honestly don't know what I would do with 95% of the time I spend awake without stories. What's your definition for a cozy day?

I don't have many of those, but when it has happened they're usually even better than I remembered. TPBM remembers a movie/cartoon/book/something from their childhood they don't remember the name of, and has started to wonder if it actually exists.

Randy watched the ball of fire fall to the earth. It was funny in a way, he had to watch out for fireballs coming to him from below, but this way he could shoot them back. Of course, their fireballs hadn't cost a life. Flying had been more exciting to him, once. When the world was at peace becoming a pilot for the army seemed like the perfect way to fly and travel to new places. He had considered training to pilot a commercial aircraft, but that had seemed restrictive to him. You can fly as long as you accept the responsibility of taking dozens of passengers from one place to the other, dozens of lives on his shoulders. Now he could fly as long as he took the lives instead. Randy was circling around a wide area, over a battlefield. The horizon was littered with black dots, moving like flies, an occasional ray of color flashing. He was in a good spot today, mostly safe, except for the occasional plane trying to get away. That was his task, making sure none did. He tried to enjoy the ride nonetheless. If he let the weight of what he was doing get to him, who knew what he would do. Better not to think too hard about it and enjoy what little he could. He also had to be watchful of wizards attacking him from below. They were either soldiers fighting on the ground, trying to get some honor by taking down an aircraft, or specialists stationed out of sight specifically to try and thin out their air forces. Randy was told to ignore those, he couldn't risk hitting an ally. That was one of the few things he liked about his current situation, up here it was easy to tell enemy planes from allies. He wouldn't last a day down there, in the chaos. He looked up. An enemy plane had taken down two crafts on his side in just a few seconds. They were good, maybe some kind of special forces? No, their attack was too rash. Most people wanted to survive, as soon as they saw the team defending the area along with Randy they turned to look for a way out, no time to worry about fighting. This one though, he was trying to defeat his team, maybe infiltrate their territory. The things some people did for honor were beyond him. Once again he steeled himself for what he was about to do and put his finger on the trigger.

Hey look, a stranger gave me some cookies. Want some? How did you know I was hungry? Thanks!

Saw The Secrets of Dumbledore. I really liked it, probably my favorite out of the three. Jacob is great and what else can you ask for, right? While it is weird to have such an important change of actor, this new Grindelwald is so good. As much as I like Depp, I think I prefer the new one by a wide margin. I think my only gripe with the movie is what they did with Dumbledore. The movie also has a safe ending which worries me a little. 5 movies were planned, and while the movie leaves enough open plot threads to fulfill that plan, it also closes enough threads to just, stop things now. The ending scene has such an air of finality to it too. I guess things were going to get messy either way since getting all the way to Grindelwald's final defeat means either a big timeskip or rewriting canon (again), and this saga didn't really keep its popularity beyond the first movie, but still, I was really looking forward to that final battle. I hope they do continue. I also watched The Woman Named Fujiko Mine, along with the movies that came from it, Jigen's Gravestone, Goemon's Bloodspray, and Fujiko's Lie. The show is one of the best animes I've ever seen. I mean, it's still Lupin, if Lupin was an adults only show. Like the comedy is still there, the personalities are the same. The completely over the top situations happening after you were convinced the story was grounded in reality are still there. But everything feels just a little too real. It's not the first time this franchise has dealt with killing, human trafficking, human experimentation and so on, but this time you really feel all the weight that comes with those topics and they don't skim over the uncomfortable details. The animation is really unique too, it's like every frame is designed like its own drawing first and a part of an animation last, which despite how it sounds looks really amazing. The soundtrack is a masterpiece too, I just couldn't get enough of it. As for the movies, they were a lot more traditional for what you might expect from Lupin III. The only thing they retain from the show is the rating really, but they are still really good, have some interesting views for the characters, and Goemon's movie has one of the best battles I've seen in anime. They're also connected with one another so it may be safe to assume there's two movies left (one for Zenigata and one for Lupin), so I'll look forward to that.

While I think soulcast meat would be considered vegan in its origin, I do believe the ethical question would be raised about eating soulcast meat creating temptation to eat actual meat. So some vegans would probably avoid it/be against it.