{A Note From Your Pal Mindy: Feign Thrones is now available to download, just click the picture above!

Let me know how he does in your games! New adventures are always fun for the Thrones family 🙂 }

Recap: Araceli was confirmed to have been turned into a gold statue by use of the Philosopher’s Stone. Hercules chose his Lifetime Wish, as did Asellus, both deciding to become a Chess Legend and the Emperor of Evil (respectively).

Asellus’s coworkers feared her.

She arrived her first day as an official criminal with quite the story to tell. She knew that if she wanted to one day rule over as many people as she could, she would need to gain the right amount of respect. The second-in-charge was a man named Octavio Rowell. He kept a watchful eye on Asellus as she contemplated break-ins, studied blueprints of houses in the neighborhood, and sharpened her intelligence by reading up on famous criminals. He wasn’t sure if he was impressed by her dedication to the work, or suspicious of it.

“Thrones,” he greeted, pushing his palm through his blonde hair.

“Yeah? What is it, Rowell?” she asked, thumbing through a book in the basement of their hideout.

“You wanna look me in the eye when you talk to me?” he boomed.

She rolled her eyes, slammed her book shut, and glared up at him. “I said, what is it?”

Octavio slammed his hands on the table, inching closer to her face. “You think having an attitude is gonna get you far in the criminal world? You think smart-mouthing your boss–“

“Oh, please. You’re not my boss. You’re my boss’s lackey.” Asellus smirked before opening her book again.

Octavio snatched it from her and threw it over his shoulder. “Listen up, Thrones. I work for the boss, my lackeys work for me, and you work for my lackeys. What do you think that makes you?” He pointed a finger and pressed it against her forehead in a manner so demeaning, Asellus had to bite her lip hard enough to make it bleed so as not to scream at him. “That makes you the lowest of the low around here. If you think acting like a smart-ass will get you promoted, you would be horribly wrong. Besides…” He stood up straight, pushing his hair back again. “…You forget we know the whereabouts of your family. I would assume you would hate for anything to happen to them…”

Asellus shot straight up, kicking her chair backwards. She pointed her own finger and started poking it hard against Octavio’s chest. “YOU don’t seem to understand who you are talking to, Rowell! You think threatening my family is going to motivate me to work harder for you? You must not have heard…” Asellus shoved him with both hands. “I killed my own mother.” Octavio raised an eyebrow. “You think I give a damn about the rest of my family?? Go ahead, do whatever the hell you want, I don’t care. The only thing that matters to me in this lifetime is getting to the top of the food chain in the world of evil. I will do whatever it takes to get there because I actually have what it takes. Got that?”

Octavio brushed his shoulders off. “Well then…” He turned to walk away, but not before giving her a cocky grin. “…You and I have a lot more in common than I thought.” He exited the room, kicking Asellus’s book back to her. She huffed, picking the book up and continuing her research.

When she returned home that night, she decided to look up Octavio online. She discovered he had a track record for causing trouble in neighboring cities, such as Twinbrook and Sunset Valley, but he had yet to make a name of himself here in Moonlight Falls. She understood that she may have a rival on her hands for the top position in the criminal universe.

Hercules’s online dating profile didn’t get much attention. His main responses were from women twice his age who were seemingly only interested in a physical relationship. When he finally got a response from a woman his own age, he was stunned. She was beautiful. Her hair was dark and her eyes glistened, even in the picture on her profile. He responded to her message immediately and waited everyday for a return.

She eventually sent him her phone number and her real name: Billee. Billee Lemieux. The two started a texting conversation that seemed to never end.

He asked her to meet in person. She told him to meet her at a park. Embarrassed he didn’t own a car (or really know how to properly drive one), he hailed a cab an hour early so he would arrive there before she showed up to see.

He only had to wait for her to show up for half an hour, and when she did, he didn’t recognize her. She had bright wings — fairy wings. She had neglected to tell him she was a fairy.

She saw him and waved, choosing to walk instead of float over to where he stood. She smiled. “Hercules?” she asked.

He nodded. “Billee… you look more beautiful in person!”

She waved off his compliment with a flick of her wrist.

Hercules, scared out of his mind about how to impress her, panicked and whipped out his cell phone before they had a chance to start a proper conversation. “Look at this funny cat video!” he cried, his voice cracking.

Billee raised an eyebrow, confused about his behavior, but entertained him anyway by watching it. She ‘aww’ed a few times before Hercules felt his heartbeat settle down a little.

His awkward approach didn’t ruin their meet-up, however. They got to talking about Hercules’s chess-playing and Billee’s family life. He wasn’t sure how much information he had actually retained from their talk, because he was so enamored with her appearance that he stopped listening halfway through. She interpreted this as him being an excellent listener and leaned closer to his body after every sentence.

He picked up on her attraction to him and jumped at the opportunity to kiss her. She blushed and kissed back, fogging his glasses with her breath.

Hercules suddenly started imagining a possible future with this girl, crossing his fingers mentally that he would wind up getting just that.

Vincent’s birthday arrived and he gained the Handy traits, rounding out his others: Disciplined, Athletic, Frugal, and Ambitious. He chose his official Lifetime Wish: Becoming a Superstar Athlete (preferably in basketball).

He wanted this more than anything else in the entire world. He knew he was an excellent player, but in order to be perfect enough to join the NBA, he would need to quit his other activities. He dropped all of his other sports, much to the dismay of his teams, and began to learn the ins-and-outs of basketball. He went to every game in the town, watched every professional on television, and even tried helping out his old high school’s team by being the assistant coach.

Being spotted by a scout was looking to be impossible, however… he had graduated with an incredibly low GPA. This meant he wouldn’t get a scholarship to Gnome-U and would be unable to play for their team.

His only other option was to work at the Sports Stadium in Moonlight Falls and work his way up, hopefully one day making the connections he needs in order to make it big.

He began his career as a “Fan”, which basically meant he would be paid to cheer for the playing teams. It wasn’t what he wanted in the least bit, but it was a start. At least this way, the NBA didn’t seem like an unreachable feat.

Asellus was called to discuss some evildoings at Octavio’s own house.

He opened the door, saw it was Asellus—

—then shut it in her face.

Asellus clenched her fists, banging them against the door. “Rowell! Are you freakin’ serious? Open the damn door!”

Octavio let his dog outside before shutting the door again. “Check her out, Poppo,” he called.

Asellus crossed her arms. “Oh, I get it. I’m so low on the totem pole that your dog has to approve of me before I’m allowed in your house.” She bent down, holding out her wrist for Poppo to smell. “Hey there, pretty girl,” Asellus muttered.

Poppo turned her head away from Asellus, growling lightly.

Asellus stomped her foot, floated up to the house, and kicked down the door. Octavio was standing on the other side with his hands held out. “What the hell?!” he screeched.

“You called me over here, now what do you want?”

Octavio walked outside, glancing back at his busted door. “Okay. The door thing? That’s docking points right there.”

Asellus put her hands on her hips. “What do you want me to do, here? Apologize for the door, or learn the new mission?”

“Mission?” Octavio shook his head. “What mission?”

“Isn’t that why you called me?”

“No.”

Asellus paused. “Then why am I here, exactly?”

Octavio lifted an eyebrow. “Thrones, I wanted to get to know you better.”

“Me?” Asellus laughed. She pointed at herself with her thumbs, mockingly crying “Rowell, the king of the underground mafia, wants to learn more about little ol’ me, the scum of the earth!” She rolled her eyes. “Come on. Be serious here.”

“I am.” He motioned for her to come inside, gingerly stepping over the shattered door pieces. “You’re paying for that, by the way,” he added.

He stopped in the middle of his sitting area and grabbed her wrists, pulling her closer to him. Poppo looked on, her tail wagging.

“Rowell, knock it off,” Asellus commanded, shoving him away.

“Thrones… why do you think I’m so hard on you?”

“Because you’re an ass?”

“Maybe. But also because I am so intrigued by you. I mean… I have been in the business for half of my life. I ran away from home when I was a teenager and joined up with the big leagues, wreaking havoc wherever I went for my own gain. I have had a lot of people work for me, none of which share your passion for the business.”

Asellus scoffed. “What do you want me to say, that I had a troubled childhood like yourself?”

Octavio smiled. “Troubled? I would hardly call my childhood troubled. I was free. I was able to do anything when the criminals got a hold of me. This was the life I was meant to live and I found it by separating myself from those around me who were only going to slow me down.”

“Well… I understand that, I guess.”

Octavio inched closer, slipping his hands around her waist. “Let’s just cut to the chase, here. I am attracted to you, Thrones. I want you.”

He leaned in, pressing his body against hers and fiercely joining their lips together. Asellus didn’t respond with any emotion. She kissed him back assuming this was going to lead to something a little more enjoyable.

He led her into the bedroom and she complied with his advances, deciding an evil woohoo might be satisfying with her superior. She also felt if Octavio had a thing for her, she could easily use this to her advantage whenever a promotion was at stake.

Ayumi completed her Lifetime Wish with the addition of a rare breed of falcon to her brood. She coaxed him onto her arm and he settled on her shoulder instead, nuzzling against her cheek. She smiled and laughed, nuzzling him in return.

She brought him home and made sure he was comfortable before walking around introducing him to the rest of her animal friends. She stopped in the middle of the room to get a good look at everyone before sighing.

She had just finished her Lifetime Wish. She had completed the one dream that was supposed to take her her entire lifespan to accomplish.

What was she supposed to do now?

A few months into dating, Billee invited Hercules to a Halloween Party she was hosting. He showed up in a hotdog suit and she was dressed as a firewoman.

“Herc! Guess what?” she greeted.

He shrugged. “What?”

She whipped out a rolled up piece of paper from her back pocket and squealed as she handed it to him. “I did it! I actually finished!”

Hercules blinked a few times before scratching his head, making it blatantly obvious he was confused. “Finished…?”

Billee’s happy expression faded and in its place grew one of disappointment. “You don’t remember, do you?”

“No, no, I remember! Those… those night classes you were taking!”

She sighed, dropping the paper on the ground. “That was my GED. I told you I never finished high school and that I was trying to fix that.” She walked inside her home.

Hercules waited a few moments before following her. He made his way through a group of guests and sat next to her on the couch. “Billee, I’m so sorry,” he began.

She shrugged. “I don’t get it. I want to tell you everything about my life, but I get so discouraged when I learn you don’t listen to me when I do.”

“But I do listen, I promise!”

“Herc, I’ve been talking to you every night about my GED. How could you have possibly been confused even in the slightest when I showed you that paper?”

“I… I just…”

Billee stood up, shaking her head and holding her hands in front of her. “I can’t do this anymore, Herc, not if you’re going to continue to ignore me.”

Hercules stood, glancing at the partygoers, embarrassed they were beginning to stare. He started to have flashbacks to his prom night when Cassandra rejected him and he was made a fool of by his classmates. “Billee, please, listen to me–“

“Why?” she shouted, “Why should I give you that kind of decency when you won’t give it to me?” She walked to the middle of the room and pointed at him. “Hercules, I’m done. If you would, please leave my house and don’t call me anymore. I need someone who is going to actually care about my life, not someone who is only interested in my looks.”

Hercules felt his heart sink to the pit of his stomach. It was happening all over again. He shielded his gaze from the crowd and walked outside, deciding not to stop and wait for a cab. He would just walk back to his home. He was used to this kind of humiliation, so it didn’t matter much when people pointed at him and laughed at his hotdog suit as he made his way across town.

Ayumi felt empty inside, and this only depressed her. She was about to grow into a young adult and she had already finished her dream. Where was the excitement of becoming fully grown? Where was the anticipation for the rest of her life?

She floated in the center of her animal room to reevaluate what she wanted out of life.

She loved taking care of all of these pets, even though some of them required hardly any attention whatsoever. She loved socializing with them and learning about their behavior. Her job at the bookstore gave her a small sense of satisfaction as well in the sense that she could find out anything in the history section.

But none of these things felt big enough to build a career from.

When her birthday arrived, she wound up with the Unlucky trait, adding to her already established traits of Easily Impressed, Brave, Family-Oriented, and Vegetarian.

“Father, can I talk to you for a minute?” Ayumi approached Russel while he was playing the piano. He nodded, smiled, and stood up, patiently awaiting to hear what was going on. She shrugged. “I feel like I have no direction in life anymore.”

Russel cocked his head. “Why, because you’ve collected so many animals?”

“I would prefer to call it ‘rescuing’, but yeah. That was the only thing I cared about doing my whole life, and now I’ve done it.” She scratched the back of her arm. “Now what?”

Russel held up his hands and used them to gesture while he spoke. “You are a unique girl, do you know that? Your heart is very big, you are very smart, and you have so much drive that you don’t even realize it. Just because you finished one dream doesn’t mean your life is over, it means you can start a new one!”

“But I don’t know what I want to dream about now.”

“I think, Ayumi, that you should go to college.”

“What?! College?!”

Russel nodded. “You can learn so much more there than here in Moonlight Falls! You’ll meet lots of people and you may even find what you are looking for!”

“But… but Father, you know we don’t have that kind of money! That’s why Vincent can’t go!”

Russel lowered his voice. “Vincent’s grades were awful. He barely even made it to graduation. Had he landed a scholarship, he would have been able to get there. You, on the other hand, should try an aptitude test and see if you can land one yourself.”

Ayumi took her father’s advice and tried out the aptitude test. To her surprise, she was approved for a scholarship that would cover an entire year of college at Blue Llama University in the Fine Arts degree.

She took a deep breath, said her goodbyes, and dragged her luggage to a bus that would take her hours away to Blue Llama. Russel hugged her tightly and ruffled her hair. She giggled. “You’ll do great,” he said.

She nodded. “I hope so! I’ll let you guys know how things are going everyday!”

Cid placed a hand on her shoulder and gave her a thumbs-up. “Good luck, kid, see you in a year!”

Ayumi nervously stepped onto the bus, mentally prepping herself for the year she was about to have and hoping it would be just what she needed in order to fully appreciate her adult life.