#If you noticed any rendering errors

[yourfavouritefighter]

Normie is Holt AU? so in this au holt would be the main personality with Jackson being the alter ego, I haven’t decided on much else but let me know if you have any ideas or want to see more of the au

[jils-things]

sometimes i look at my other constabell drawings and "cringe" like "augh jil you went all out its kinda embarrassing how much time i put into this" kinda feeling wkkwkwlwlalaa 🥹🥹🥹

[pictureamoebae]

TS4, DirectX 11, and ReShade

Patch notes today say that finally (finally!) The Sims 4 is moving over to use the DirectX 11 rendering api. Until now TS4 has used DirectX 9, which has given us some limitations when using ReShade.

They're bringing the official rollout sometime in the future, but for now you can opt in to switching to DirectX 11 on a voluntary basis.

You don't need to uninstall your game or install a new version. To switch to using DirectX 11, update your game with today's patch, and then click on Manage > View Properties from the The Sims 4 game page on EA App and enter -dx11 in the advanced launch options box. You can remove this at any time to go back to using DirectX 9.

Note: the game developers have warned in the patch notes that some mods may have visual glitches until they are updated to accommodate dx11, so it may be advisable to wait until your mod authors have confirmed everything works okay

If you have ReShade installed currently for DirectX 9 you can make it start using DirectX 11 instead by finding the d3d9.dll inside your Bin folder and changing its name to dxgi.dll. No need to uninstall and reinstall ReShade, that's all you need to do. If you want to go back to using dx9, just revert the name back to d3d9.dll.

The main benefit of using ReShade under DirectX 11 is that you'll have access to more shaders than usual. You've probably noticed a lot of red errors (also known as compiling errors) -- those are more often than not these days caused by DirectX 9 limitations.

[candyexorcism]

Hey, please, could you do male osoro x male reader? Whatever scenario you want, I just need some male osoro in my life! 😭😭

YOUR WISH IS MY COMMAND!

A Date With Osaro.

Contents: Male reader, delinquent shenanigans, Y/n is smitten with Osoro lol, as per usual not proofread so sorry if any spelling errors.

Side note: sorry I've been super delayed in requests, time management is not my strong suit.

How He Asks You Out..

Your soul nearly left your body when your crush pulled you aside in the hallway. And then you came to your senses and remembered he was regarded as one of the 'leader' of your school's delinquents. So to say you were conflicted was an understatement.

While you were deciding whether to fear for your well-being or be grateful your crush even paid attention to you. You failed to notice the ever growing blush on the face of the boy who is cornering you against a wall in the now emptied hallway. His clementine orange eyes glared over your head at the wall behind you, he knew if he looked at you he'd be rendered speechless.

Mentally cussing himself out for how lame he must look right now. He finally speaks.

"Meet me after school tomorrow outside the gates."

How you both prepare for the date.

To say what Osoro said didn't help would be an understatement. He was perfectly unclear. As you ironed your uniform, something you never usually do, you didn't know whether this will be what you wear to your funeral or to the first date with your future husband. As you brushed your teeth you didn't know whether you were about to have one or five of them knocked out after school, or was about to kiss your crush today under the setting sky.

~Meanwhile with Osoro~

Luckily for Osoro he did know what he was preparing for. But unluckily for the young delinquent, he had zero experience in dating before this. His friends were no help either, giving advice along the lines of 'if you smoke while on the date, offer him one too!' Or 'Never ask two different people out on a date on the same day." So now he stood in his bathroom, debating whether or not to even go to school today. But the thought of you standing alone waiting by the gates for him motivated him to at least give it a try.

And the date begins.

It seemed the whole school was whispering today, you tried to shrug it off but the amount of ominous 'good luck's you've heard today is enough to make you a nervous wreck. It honestly made you feel ridiculous for even thinking he'd genuinely ask you out. So now here you stand, nervously waiting for your inevitable fate.

While you were praying to every god you know of, Osoro was slowly walking over to you, equally as nervous though he'd never admit it. "Hey." He said all awkward and nervous. "Uh, Hi." You replied, trying to decide whether you wanted to look at him or avoid eye contact. Then he did something unexpected, he laughed. And smiled. You feel your face heat up immediately. "What?" You asked, now looking directly at him in confusion, people don't usually laugh at the people their about to beat up right? Right?!? To your dismay He only laughed more in your face at your reaction. "You looked exactly like a fucking frog when you were doing that!" He responded, causing you to be caught off guard. "What on earth is that supposed to mean?!?" You replied, now suddenly far more willing to square up. "Chill out, you looked cute staring off into two different directions." He said casually still smiling. 'Cute?!?' You thought momentarily before it clicked. "Wait so this IS a date?" You spoke, shock fiddling your face and voice. "What else would it be?" He asked before taking your hand and leading you to who knows where.

Osoro's hands were rough and his grip was unshakable, much like a stone in the middle of a rapid river standing strong. Osoro could hardly keep track of the direction he was going with the thought of the boy with fancy hair and shiny eyes walking hand in hand with him. Feeling butterflies grow in his stomach he picks up the pace. Rushing into various alleyways as you could barely keep up.

Osoro finally slows down when you both reach a small and honestly kinda dinky, ramen shop which looks as though it could fall apart at the touch of a hand. "You like ramen right?" He asked, letting go of your hand and turning to face you. "Uh, yeah. Who doesn't?" You say as plainly as you can, still internally freaking out over the fact this is in fact a date.

Entertaining the restaurant, you're met with a delightfully warm restaurant. With warm lighting, vintage decor from the seventies, and the smell of fresh ramen broth. You both sat at the counter, the worker greeted Osoro with a warm smile. "Osoro! Is this the boy you've been talking about?" The worker teases but quickly shuts up after a clear 'shut your trap before I shut it for you.' Glare from Osoro. You would've noticed the worker didn't even take your order before going to get the food, had you not been mesmerized by Osoro putting his golden hair up into a ponytail. If he was in ancient greece he'd be turned into a flower, he was just that handsome.

"So, how did you find out about this place?" You asked. "I hung out in the area last summer and would grab lunch here." He answered plainly, which took you aback. "Really? From what I saw there wasn't much to do in the alleyways. What did you do anyways?" You questioned as the food was placed on the counter in front of you. "Gang wars." He said casually before taking a bite of his ramen, causing you to choke on yours. "Oh, don't worry my gang won." He said with a small smile. Clearly amused by the way concern and curiosity glimmered in your eyes.

The rest of dinner was equally delightfully awkward. With you asking a generic ice breaker and Osoro replying the most casually unhinged answer. But soon enough the end of the night came, and so did your curfew.

"Thanks, this date was actually rather nice. I can't believe I actually thought you were gonna beat me up tonight." You said scratching your cheek slightly from embarrassment. "And what? Steal your lunch money?" He asked teasingly, causing you to flush and laugh at the comment. "Yeah I guess so." You replied. "Have a nice night Osoro." You said happily ending the conversation and turning to leave.

But Osoro grabbed your arm before you could turn. And before you knew it, his lips were pressed against your own. It took you by surprise, but was a nice surprise, much like this date and night.

[murderdronesreimagined]

"DATA LOG X1: Malfunctions"

Haii Creator here, just dipping in with a fun little lore bit to share for the AU! Since I'm going in a bit of a different direction with N's character I decided to kind of go into a bit of detail about his uh... "problems" to say the least in the form of a lil data log with some neat art to compliment it! These may become a more relevant thing in the future so if you like it so far, feel free to tell me your thoughts in the comments and some critiques you have, if any!

SO- Those who've watched Murder Drones know that in the pilot, Uzi and N's first meeting ended with Uzi blowing N's head off with her railgun, leading to N growing his head back and essentially loosing a few hours of his memory.

One particular thing that's touched upon but never used again is N's "eyes" on top of his head malfunctioning, leading to him mistaking Uzi for a disassembly drone. It seems that all of the eyes have the same function, which is a little over the top, so while prepping N's character I decided to actually to change it up for my story in case I decide to use it for anything!

This is a mini N! He's adorable, right? Notice the 5 yellow vials on his head? Those are no longer eyes, but instead they serve as a Disassembly Drone's 5 main senses! If one or all are damaged it can severely affect the performance of the drone in question. This is N's usual, or normal, state with all 5 senses present.

The vial on the far left on N's head is his SIGHT. If this vial is damaged in any way his (now regular) drone eyes will disappear, instead his entire visor will be covered in with a huge caution sign. Overall pretty self explanatory.

The vial second from the left is N's SOUND. Damage that and N becomes muted until repaired! No amount of screaming, yelling, or whispering is getting out of that mouth -w- Especially detrimental for the golden retriever boy who loves talking about dogs

The vial on the far right is N's TOUCH. His sensors, more specifically, will no longer be able to feel or really interact with anything around him without him feeling like he's touching air.

Why do I feel so sad just writing this part???

The vial second to the right is N's TASTE. Lose that and say goodbye to the warm sweet oil that keeps him alive! If his taste sensors are damaged his body won't be able to register any oil going through his body, rendering any consumption of oil before his repair utterly useless!

Finally, we move to the vial right above N's head! This sense in particular is one that I've named myself called CONTROL. What's so special about this particular vial is that if damaged, an unknown system known as [NULL] will activate in N's programming, making him act against his wishes and only according to the programming!

A clear example of this is in my latest fake screenshot! Looking at the vial in the middle it may seem like a coloring mistake, but it's actually a bright red, just mellowed down by the blizzard and snow effects! While this is damaged N's original personality is completely overrides and replaced with what the program inside him actually WANTS him to be: Deranged, Psychotic, & Utterly Sadistic with his kills.

You come to find out that this one vial in particular is one N struggles with a lot in the story!

On the very very rare occasion that all 5 senses or damaged or multiple crucial ones for basic functioning the disassembly drone will be placed in a comatose state until they're either fully repaired or, depending on where they fall, buried by the blizzard just like the bodies of the worker drones they killed!

An example is this one ask response I did when just starting out! All 5 vials are a bright red and a fatal error screen covers N's visor! You all may have thought this was just some edgy art, but little did you know it'd come back and even become relevant to the story itself! Hell, even I didn't know I'd come to need it one day!

I'm so good >:333

Before I completely end it off, I decided to give you all a lil sneak peak into the future of the story! I won't say what episode this fake screenshot is based off of, but I really liked the idea of Uzi finding out about N's senses by tapping into his CPU (with his consent) to dig up some files relating to the story, all while giggling at how weird he looks without hair, like she herself isn't wearing a wig -w-

- - - - -

AAAAAaaand that's all for this Data Log! I hope you all enjoyed this fun little lore bit and a lil peak into the future of where the story may go! ^^ This picture above will be reposted later tomorrow as well as the speedpaint! For now though, Imma dip and head to bed because I am TIRED XD

Have a good night everyone, Peace out! ^^

[stellabk]

FVRY OF THE FIRE

Part V

Summary - While the empress has no desire into putting forth effort to bond with her husband, she puts that effort into a new, immediate friendship. Geta has tried countless times to get his empress to hear him out, but swears that if she only sees him as a tyrant, then that is what he shall be… that is until he sees her truly happy and wishes to be the source of her smile. Emperor Geta also learns of a secret of the court that has him ready to do whatever it takes to protect his wife.

Warning(s) - historical inaccuracies, possessiveness if you squint at the end, this one is mainly pretty fluff filled. If you notice any grammatical errors or missed warnings please let me know

Days soared by as if they were mosaics on temple walls, pictures of only certain parts of the day that told a long story rather concisely. Deianira’s shoulder had begun its healing, the once swollen purple mark now only tinged red and splotches of green and yellow from the healing process of the bruising. She had avoided the emperor at every turn, telling herself that he only wished to keep her in line or maybe feed into his own sick fantasies and fetishes.

Emperor Geta had grown paler, not needing his usual makeup to make him look as white, but he no longer possessed his ethereal glow. His usual kohl lined eyes were sunk in and no longer filled with their sly spark they typically possessed. They were hollow and void of life, resembling the statues around the palace. He had become colder, harsher, more tense than he normally was. Even the gold embellishments of his clothing seemed to dull against his new form; he was a walking dead man. He knew the reason, though he told no one of what troubled him, but everyone had their suspicions, even the help.

Deia walked down the long halls, approaching the courtyard to spend time amongst the flowers and trees of the fruit bearing kind, her entourage of ladies behind her. She had tuned out the sound of the women behind her idly chatting and gossiping, only focusing on the sound of her sandals patting against the stone floors. She craved music, dancing, anything that held joy in its melody besides the vapid chatter of women she wished to break away from. She slowed, turning to the women of her court, rendering their yapping to cease.

”If you will excuse me, my ladies, I wish to find my husband. There is an urgent matter I must discuss.” She bowed, the women mirroring and continuing their conversations as they broke away from their empress and started in the opposite direction.

The empress let a sigh of relief escape her as she went into the courtyard, listening to the sound of the water splashing from the fish that swam beneath the lily pads and lotus flowers on the surface, fountains with heads of lions creating a steady, peaceful noise that made the voices that urged her to release her rage to grow silent. She sat upon a stone bench, looking over into the fish pond and watching the koi swim around inside, willing herself to focus on the sweet aromas of pears and pomegranates, lotus and other flowers, and all other verdant life that thrived there. She crossed her arms over the edge, resting her cheek on her forearm to look over the edge, not even realizing just how exhausted she was as she drifted off.

Emperor Geta walked briskly down a corridor, attempting to slow his erratic breathing and douse the flame of his rage. He had just left a meeting with the city’s parliament, the thread holding him steady finally snapping at the excessive chatter of men who only envied his and his brother’s position. His plan was to make his way to the courtyard and yell at the sky, letting the Gods know of his fury and perhaps just let the environment soothe his weary soul. He walked though, screeching to a halt at the sight of his bride lying against the edge of the pond, sound asleep. She looked like a priceless work of art, her long lashes lined with kohl and her peach tinted lips that parted slightly had the appearance of an oil painting done by one of the great artists of their time. He stopped all movements, allowing his shoulders to release their tension and drinking her in like an aged wine, letting the image ingrain itself into his memory. She stirred, raising her head from its position, crimson hair falling over her shoulders. She faced him with sultry tired eyes and making the emperor feel as if she had his heart tied in a noose, the phantom rope there growing more taught with every second she looked his way.

”Forgive me, Imperator. I best be leaving,” she stood quickly, bowing, and tried to quickly walk past him without looking him in the eyes again. As she made to break past him, he grasped for her forearm, unable to control his own movements. She turned back to look at his touch then to his eyes. She could tell he had not been doing so well.

”What must I do to earn your forgiveness? Please, I beg you, allow me to defend myself.”

She stared at him blankly, “You have not earned my sympathy, nor shall you earn my forgiveness. Good day, emperor.”

The sun set on the empire, insects chirped and musicians played outside the palace by the market. Deia could hear it all as she sat perched on the balcony with the thick curtains tucked behind her back.

”Mistress? Are you not joining the ladies tonight?” Aelia folded the linen sheets of the bed tightly enough that the wrinkles were nonexistent.

”I hate to say it, but I grow tired of those gossips. All they ever seem to discuss is what this lady was wearing—the audacity—or who that lady was caught sneaking into a bed chamber with. I wish I knew of anyone of social standing I could converse with about any other subject matter,” she scoffed with a scrunch of her nose.

Aelia let out an amused chuckle, stepping toward her mistress to braid her hair back for bed.

”I am sure they are intelligent enough… Perhaps all they need is for their empress to speak about what interests her and they will follow.”

The door opened slowly, revealing disheveled Geta, silver chalice in hand that reflected the moonlight and made him look beautiful in a peculiarly haunting way. “Aelia, leave us, please. I need to speak with my wife.”

Aelia swirled the hair at the bottom to tie and secure it, bowing and left silently.

”I already told you I do not wish to speak to you.”

”Please, Deianira, hear me. I didn't mean to hurt you on the night of our wedding.”

Deia scoffed, looking back out the window, remembering the sting of his teeth in her shoulder… the shame of having the court look at it and thinking she had slept with the man that stood before her.

“I am serious,” he knelt in front of her, gazing up at her through glassy, sunken eyes; she could tell he was heavily intoxicated. “I did not want to force you to consummate the marriage; you already despised me then, and I never wished to force on you something so great, but the court—they always watch, listen—I could not let them tarnish your name.”

”You only wished that your name stayed favored.”

”You do not seem to grasp how cruel the public can be. To know you did not consummate the marriage is to know that you are not my wife by law. They could have you thrown from this place, or killed. Whether you despise me or not, I had to try to save you. Your father would-”

”My father would welcome me back at a moment’s notice, emperor, and I advise you not speak of him so loosely lest I take your tongue!”

”Darling, please,” he rested his forehead to her knees before his wife interrupted him. Deia stiffened at the new nickname that rolled from his tongue so easily.

”I will not hear this nonsense. You will leave. Now!”

He picked himself clumsily off the floor, looking at her one last time. She couldn’t pinpoint the look: was it bitterness, disappointment? Disgust?

Nevertheless, he obeyed, pulling his eyes away from hers and slamming the door behind him.

Deianira sat on the edge of the fish pond once again, a flower in between her delicate fingers as she plucked at the bruised petals to reveal the flower’s true beauty. The ladies of the court surrounded her on the stone benches, chattering amongst themselves, droning on about the same, drab subjects of conversation.

”Empress, the emperor must be a wonderful husband. Tell us, what is he like?” A dark haired woman, hair swept in a braided bun style spoke with a smile, earning a giggle of amusement from the others. They were all curious what he was like in bed and she knew it, but she couldn’t exactly divulge the details since she herself didn’t know.

“Oh, I do not wish to speak of my husband while he is not here to defend himself against my verbal lashing,” she smiled back, all the ladies laughing as Deia resumed examining the flower.

“How did you meet? I’m quite sure it was most romantic,” the woman swooned.

”I assure you, it was not. I guess the Gods gave him to me in an attempt to keep my temper at bay… though I suppose it did not work, to their dismay.”

”Well, what about you? We rarely ever hear what interests you… what are some of the great hobbies of the empress?” Another spoke.

Deia turned to examine her, the woman’s eyes a deep brown, a very similar shade to her skin. Her hair was a glassy, curly black and so long that the lady had to keep it over her shoulder so as not to sit on it. Deia’s smile reached her eyes for the first time since she left home.

“I used to study the stars. I always felt as if they called to me.”

”Oh, that sounds lovely! Perhaps one evening you and I may join each other and you can teach me all of the knowledge I’m sure you have accumulated. If it pleases you, of course, empress.”

”I would love nothing more. May I ask your first name?”

The woman returned the excited smile, “Claudia, your grace.”

Claudia and Deia returned to her bedchamber, giggling in fits of laughter.

“The emperor is quite the lucky man to be graced with someone of such sharp tongue.”

”The emperor and I are not of the best relations, but I hope you can keep that between us two.”

”My apologies, empress, I assumed the way you spoke of him in the courtyard meant that you two were getting along. May I ask why?”

”Do not apologize, it is not your fault he is the way he is. I was brought here against my will, forced into this marriage simply because of the position he holds and because he has never been told no. I am simply here to prove to him that not everyone will bow at his feet,” Deianira smirked as Claudia suppressed a laugh. Aelia entered, a bottle of wine and chalices in hand.

”I knew I heard a second voice. Welcome, Miss Claudia Ptolemy. It is a privilege to have you here. Do you require anything else?”

”No, thank you, this is more than enough!”

Aelia exited with a bow and Claudia turned her attention back to the empress whose mouth was agape with a wide smile. She laughed at her expression.

”Why are you gawking? Do I have something on my face, empress?”

”Claudia Ptolemy? You wouldn’t happen to know of Claudius Ptolemy by chance, would you?” Deia held Claudia’s hands in her own, unable to hide her excitement. Claudia laughed once again, the sound like a lyre.

”I am his daughter in fact. Does this surprise you?”

”I do believe the Gods wanted us to be great friends indeed,” Deia smiled, sipping from her chalice with a smile as her new friend did the same.

Emperor Geta still hadn’t spoken to his wife in some time, not since he had been slightly drunk and wandered into her room to beg her to listen. No more, he had told himself. If she thought him as heartless and cold, he would be heartless and cold. He walked down the corridors with two guards at his sides, hearing womens’ laughter as they walked toward him. They whispered between each other, stopping immediately with wide eyes when seeing the emperor.

“Ladies, how are the both of you?” He stopped, pulling a half smile on his features.

“Just fine, Imperator. We should really be going.” The two ladies bowed, scampering away.

Geta shrugged it off as just one more strange occurrence, but couldn’t quite figure out where all the curt and brief interactions lately stemmed from. He didn’t have long to think about it, however, since a gorgeous laugh echoed though the corridor, reverberating off the stone walls like an angel. He approached the courtyard, following the noise with guards in tow, trying to find the origin of the melodious noise. The laughter now sounded so close by. He slowed, never hearing such a delicate, pleasant sound. He looked at his wife by the pond with one other woman, holding a flower as she smiled, the first smile he had seen from her that seemed like it wasn’t forced. He held his hand up to the guards signaling them to halt as not to get in the line of sight for the two women. He knew the one that his empress spoke to, but had never suspected that Deia would grow close to her… after all, she was only an astronomer’s daughter who married a man of parliament. He stared at his bride for the longest time, soaking in the image of her like a sponge in a tub, until Claudia stood and pulled the empress down an opposing corridor. He glanced at the guards and waved them off dismissively, following the two women as they laughed and chattered down the hall.

They entered the empress’s chambers, Emperor Geta standing right outside the door. He listened to his wife talk of how much she loved the stars and how she had always hoped to study them in greater depth. He felt a smile creep to his face listening to how happy she sounded, practically hearing the smile on her lips. How he craved to be the source of laughter and a smile she wore.

”Emperor? Are you alright?” Aelia spoke and diminished the warm feeling that bubbled within Geta’s chest.

”Fetch the empress some wine. She has a guest. I have some business outside the palace today, but wanted to inform my wife of a party that we are holding tomorrow night.”

“A guest? With all that has transpired as of late, I suspected her to be alone for a while,” Aelia looked concerned.

“If you know something, you’d best come out with it.”

Aelia’s eyes grew wide, “You mean you don’t know?” When no response came, she continued. “Forgive me, Imperator. It may not be my place to speak on this, but a rumor has spread that the marriage was never consummated. Some of the men in court have discouraged their wives from socializing themselves with her… something about filling the ladies’ heads with dangerous ideas. I am sorry.”

With that, Geta left in the direction that he came, the smile from hearing Deianira’s laugh for the first time dissipating at the news, ready to make heads roll and run the streets with blood to protect her and her image.

[weirdsht]

Stereotypical . Platitude - LoTCF & Venion Stan! Reader

notes: I didn't plan on making a pt. 2 but the idea has been haunting me even in my sleep. If you haven't read pt. 1 I recommend you do. Most of the context in this fic will be seen there.

tags: Reader will be referred to as Venion, Raon focused, mention of torture, mention of vomit, hints of eating disorder, angst (not really I think), hurt/comfort(?), hopeful ending

English isn’t my first language so there will be grammatical errors

Pls don't repost my work anywhere without my permission

Constructive criticisms and any kind of interaction are more than welcome

Requests are currently closed but my ask are still open (read navi)

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He is great and mighty.

The dragon believes– knows that he is great and mighty.

He has known it since his he hatched from his egg. Knows that his kind is the greatest existence to ever grace this world.

Despite all those things, he can’t show just how great and mighty he is. 

And it’s all because of these stupid chains that shackle him down. Chains that restrict his movement. Chokers that rendered him unable to speak and use magic.

It doesn’t make him any less great though. He’ll be even more great and mighty once he can use magic but he is plenty great and mighty now.

That’s what he tells himself every day. What he tells to comfort himself as this atrocious noble named Venion Stan tortures him. What gets him by day by day without giving up. Without succumbing to the pain.

Words that he whispers to himself might be words of comfort, but it is not unfounded. Even at merely 3 years old. Even without magic. He is still a majestic existence. 

For he still has his wits. 

Hence why he noticed that Venion Stan is unwilling in the things he does. At first, the black dragon thought someone else was ordering him and he had no choice but to follow. Perhaps someone like the Marquiss, his father.

“Sto– ugh!”

“Did you say anything, young master?”

“No. Something just got stuck in my throat.”

That was the moment the dragon decided to look at it from a different perspective. 

He was sure Venion Stan was about to say “stop”, but was unable to because an unknown force was physically stopping him.

After that day he decided to observe the noble’s actions. 

Slowly but surely he connected the dots. Saw the signs of unwillingness in his eyes. Noticed how he would deliberately twist his words to sound evil because something would stop him if he didn’t. Felt the way Venion would secretly care for him. 

Witnessed how his eyes died a little more every visit.

The baby dragon is the one being tortured. However, he can’t help but feel pity for his torturer. Venion Stan’s mental anguish is deep. So deep that those green eyes of his almost look black from how soulless they are.

Both of them are unwilling victims in this situation. 

Once the dragon realised this fact, his heart could let go of some of his hate a little. It’s not fully gone. It can never be fully gone until he gets his revenge. Because how dare lowly humans capture and torture someone great and mighty like him?

However…

He is not irrational. He knows how to give credit where it is due. 

And in this situation that credit mostly belongs to whoever is controlling Venion Stan’s body. That and he once overheard that a secret organization is responsible for capturing him.

The black dragon believes that they must be the ones to pay the price of his wrath. 

Which was why he has decided to look kindly upon Venion. 

Over the course of the year, they have spent together, the cell the black dragon lives in has become more comfortable. Pillows and other soft objects are placed everywhere. Warm lighting replaced the white, cold ones. His chains are not as heavy and even have soft fur in them. Sometimes, he can even eat delicious and filling meals.

His living conditions are great. Well, great for a prisoner at least.

The same thing can’t be said for his torturer.

Venion Stan looks like he's the one being tortured. And honestly, the dragon also thinks so. He has gotten skinnier. The bags under his eyes have gotten deeper, as well as the despair in his eyes.

His not even eating anymore. At first, the black dragon thought that it was just an excuse to give him the food.

“Young master, I’m sorry to interfere but you did not eat dinner. You also barely ate during breakfast. This lowly servant of yours urges you to eat more.”

Oh…

It wasn’t just an excuse to give him the food.

The black dragon had at least hope that Venion Stan was eating his fill. He needed it, with all the vomiting he does. It’s bad for him to not eat anything…

Bleurgh!

Speaking of vomiting. Another thing the dragon had noticed was how there seemed to be blood in his vomit nowadays. He hypothesises that it has something to do with the young noble pushing the unknown restrictions to make him more comfortable.

Drip. Drip. Drip.

“Young master! Are you okay!? I’ll go call for a healer!“

“No need. This is just from the heat outside.”

The black dragon observes as blood drips down from Venion’s nose. It happened almost immediately after he ordered his men to lessen their business in the back alleys.

Blood must be the payment whenever a restriction is violated. However, Venion Stan doesn’t seem to be aware of it. It looks like he truly thinks it’s just from the heat.

Luckily it doesn’t happen again.

The blood in his vomit was still there, but he didn’t have a nosebleed after that incident.

Not that the dragon cares of course. He just thinks that it will be a pity if Venion drops dead before he can get his revenge.

Venion Stan must stay alive until he can get his revenge.

“I promise after tonight everything will get better…”

The fool whispered in his ear one random night. He was merely resting his eyes but Venion must’ve thought he was asleep and begun whispering a bunch of nonsense in his ear.

But he lets it be.

He doesn’t know why, but his instincts are telling him to pretend to sleep and see what Venion will do.

It was silent for a few moments, but then he suddenly felt a soft hand stroking his head. The hand was skinny. Boney even. It wasn’t the ideal head pat. Nonetheless, the black dragon felt an odd sense of comfort as Venion stroked his head.

Plop

Plop

He felt two lone tears wet his horns. Tears that are full of suffering. The tears of someone who is carrying a different shackles than what the dragon does.

After that, like a dream, Venion Stan goes out of the cave.

When he opened his eyes again he could see servants removing the decorations that adored his cell. Turning it back to how it used to be; cold and uncomfortable.

For a moment the dragon thought Venion Stan was abandoning him.

The thought alone makes him feel a sense of dread. But he doesn’t know why. For surely, it can’t be because he has learned how to care for that cold-hearted bastard.

‘But he isn’t really cold-hearted…’

He pushes his thoughts away as this mysterious red-haired man carries him out of the cave. Showed him what the night sky looked like for the first time.

The mysterious man sets him free. He doesn’t try to keep him. Tells him to live his lie how he wants to.

And that’s exactly what he does.

He felt a sense of attachment to the man named Cale. So he follows him around. Hunts food for them to eat.

But that’s not the only thing he has been doing.

One night, for just one night a few days after his escape. He doesn’t follow Cale Henituse.

Instead, he follows Venion Stan.

It was easy to track him down. Both men are going to the capital after all. It merely took minutes for the toddler to find out where he was.

Honestly, he has no good reason why he would visit his torturer. Maybe it was curiosity. Maybe it was to ensure he didn’t drop dead before he got his revenge.

Nonetheless, the dragon visits Venion to see the terrible state he is in.

Terrible doesn’t justify the state Venion is in.

As the black dragon peeks at the windows he can see the blonde sitting straight in his bed. With nothing but a singular candle to accompany him in his large, and lavish room.

Venison Stan looks horrific. There’s nothing behind his green eyes. No emotions whatsoever. His eyes were green but they looked like black holes.

He looks like those creepy things On has told stories about. The ones possessed by ghosts and don’t know who they are anymore.

Yeah, that was it. 

Venison Stan looked like someone who has lost his sense of self.

He looks like a puppet waiting desperately for his strings to be cut off.

“One more year… Just one more year and everything will end… I have laid out everything. Have done everything I could.”

Venison Stan started muttering to himself.

“But why? Why must I suffer like this? Was I that bad in my past life?”

His voice was emotionless, yet the dragon could hear his despair loud and clear.

“I think I lived decently… I did, right? Maybe I thought it wrong? Maybe I was atrocious… Maybe I deserve this. Maybe I’m meant to not be able to have free will. Maybe the gods thought that giving me free will is a bad idea…”

Venion did not spill a single tear. But the dragon could tell he was weeping.

Unable to hear anymore, he flew back to where Cale and the others were.

That night he feels his heart become as heavy as the choker that used to chain him down.

“...It’s okay. I said it’s okay”

The black dragon mumbled to himself as Venion Stan walks by.

He may feel a sense of kinship with the noble but it does not erase the trauma he has experienced. Even if he knows it was traumatizing for Venion too.

But just like he couldn’t stop his shaking limbs when Venion approached them with that vicious look he had. He also can’t stop himself from checking how the blonde is doing.

‘He still eats so little… His dizzy, he grits his teeth like that whenever he feels dizzy from not eating enough.’

The emotions other people had mistaken for anger... only the black dragon could decipher what they truly mean.

Maybe time really brings a sense of familiarity.

But he keeps his mouth shut. Doesn’t tell anyone, not even Cale, of Venion’s real state.

Because he doesn’t care. He shouldn’t care.

He doesn’t care but he still checked on Venion during the terrorist attack. Makes sure that he is alive and in one piece. 

He doesn’t care but still thinks about him every night. Thinks about those mutterings he heard that night.

He doesn’t care but he hopes and prays that Venion has not dropped dead yet. Hopes that his eating as well as Raon is doing.

He doesn’t care, it’s all just part of his revenge. He must get the perfect revenge.

But the sweet, young dragon could only lie to himself for so long.

“Human…”

Raon spoke the night before they were supposed to kidnap Venion Stan.

“There’s something I haven’t told you about that bastard.”

Cale opens his ears as Raon spills everything. Listens to every word coming out of the toddler's mouth. 

And after all that Cale asks him.

“What do you want to do now?”

If he doesn’t want to proceed Cale wont force him. That’s what he likes the most about his human. Cale respects every decision he makes. Attentively listens to everything he has to say.

“I still want to kidnap him. But… I don’t want to torture him. He has already been tortured enough.”

Raon buries his head on Cale’s chest. He stops his tears from flowing.

“Human, his still suffering. Even after my chains got removed, his shackles remained.”

“Okay, we’ll do what you want.”

Cale doesn’t fully comprehend what he means but he respects his decisions. Raon knows that Cale doesn’t understand.

“You’ll understand what I mean once you see his eyes.”

That was the only thing he said to his human. He wanted Venion’s gaze to tell the rest of the tale.

Venison Stan did not disappoint.

He delivered exactly what Raon wanted to show everyone.

Showed everyone just how much melancholy his eyes held.

In fact, there’s so much anguish hidden behind those eyes of his that even Raon was shocked.

If Raon thought Venion’s state was terrible a year ago, he has no words to describe him now.

The man looks dead. No, he looks like his desperately waiting for death.

And it brings a sick feeling to Raon’s stomach.

“Do you have any questions left for him?”

Cale asks after the blonde man faints from coughing blood. He says no, his curiosity has been quenched. The answers he provided and the clear repercussions of his restriction satisfied Raon.

“Human ask him for Venion’s servant! The granny that wears her hair in a bun! She knows just how little that punk eats!”

“Tell him about how he can’t control his words and actions! Tell him about how doesn’t want to do most of the things his doing!”

“Human what sentence did Venion Stan get? Is he okay? You told them to not send him to prison right? You told them he didn’t have a choice right?”

“Human, are you busy? Can you call Taylor and ask him how Venion is doing?”

“Are we going anywhere this week? If not can we go visit the Stan territory?”

“Maybe if I bring him apple pies he’ll eat more?”

Raon doesn’t even know what his doing. He doesn’t realise just how much he is looking after his supposed torturer.

However, no one calls him out on it. They just indulge the child and let him do whatever he wants.

“Venion is inside that room young master. You can try to speak to him but it’s unlikely that he’ll respond… Are you sure you want to go in alone?”

Taylor Stan asks one more time and Cale just nodded in affirmation.

“If you need any assistance a servant will be waiting here.”

With that Taylor leaves leaving Cale to enter Venion’s room alone. Well, he and Raon but Taylor doesn’t know about the dragon’s existence.

“He also looked like this when I visited him that one night.”

As soon as the door closed, Raon turned off his invisibility and flew over to the bed where Venion was sitting up.

“But that time he looked more alive. He looked like he was looking forward to something. Turns out he was looking forward to his death but that it was still a better look than what he has right now.”

Cale clicks his tongue but Raon ignores him. Instead, he directed his words to Venion.

“That night, before the human got me out of that cave. I’m sure you remember it. Did you know that I heard what you told me that night?”

Raon feels like Venion is listening to him.

“You told me that after that night everything will get better. And it did, after that night everything did get better for me.”

The toddler placed his paw on top of Venion’s still hand.

“But what about you? Why did nothing get better for you after that night? Even now you’re still being tortured. You’re shackles are still holding you down even after you broke mine.”

Raon raised his shaking paws to hug the man. From the side, Cale merely observes, ready to step in when needed.

“Consider this as payment for patting my head that night.”

The black dragon feels a lone tear grace his head. He doesn’t say anything about it. He didn’t even raise his head to look at Venion.

They stayed like that for at least 2 minutes. At some point, Venion’s arms had also embraced Raon. His hold was weak and lifeless. Like when you force a teddy bear to encircle his arms around you. 

But it’s the best he can do right now, and Raon will take it.

“We have to go, but before we go I’ll leave you one of my apple pies.”

Raon places a lone apple pie on the nightstand.

“Beacrox made it! He makes delicious food! Maybe if you eat something that tastes good you’ll eat more! Next visit I’ll try to save some of the Crown Prince’s cookies for you to try!”

With that, Raon waved his hand goodbye after promising to visit again.

A few days after that meeting, Cale receives an update from Taylor Stan saying that his brother is eating a bit more now. He excitedly tells Cale how he's been eating the desserts Raon sends.

Cale smiles at the thought of Raon’s happy face once he hears how Venion Stan is slowly recovering.

And indeed Raon was elated at the news. He immediately urges Cale to go visit Venion again.

He may not be fond of the guy, but Cale smiles a little as his kid frantically packs a bunch of things to bring to the Stan territory.

[eqt-95]

chapter 1 is up on ao3!

A hangover. It had to be. There was no other earthly reason for the throbbing head, her impulsive hatred for existence, and the wave of nausea that demanded Big Belly Burger stat.

There was just one problem.

This wasn't her couch. Hell, this wasn’t even… her fingers brushed the ground and met… dirt. Why was there dirt? Why was it so hot? And why - she squinted, blinking and flinching until her eyes adjusted to the brightness - why did this look like a desert?

Lena groaned. It came out like the croak of a sad frog.

Cotton-mouthed, head pounding, and feebly hoping this was a bad VR trip, she curled to sit up. Vertigo would be better than whatever this was. She pressed a sympathetic hand to the bridge of her nose and noticed the maze of red sand lines against the deep burgundy fabric of her three-piece suit. The suit she was wearing the night before. The power-suit she had chosen to increase her confidence for when…

A shiver crawled across her skin. It was as welcome as it was unsettling, though before Lena could think much about that, it was sapped by the sun baking down on her. She closed her eyes though that wasn’t particularly useful at shutting the world out.

“End simulation.”

A beat. 

Nothing.

Two beats.

Nothing.

Lena’s itty bitty flicker of hope extinguished. It was a feeble, desperate, aspirational attempt anyway.

She swallowed, feeling an entirely different wave of nausea strike.

Eyes flicked open and scanned the horizon. Face already contorted in a scowl, it quickly deepened.

It was a vast sea of nothing. So much nothing. Not a single cloud interrupted the blanket of sky. Not a single hue contrasted the monochrome palette of reds and orange. Not even the hiss of a reptile rippled across dry, cracked earth. The most interesting thing was the dots of rocks sprinkled across the ground like decorations on the world's driest cupcake. The horizon was cloaked in haze and, if the glistening line of sweat on Lena’s own brow was any indication, it wasn’t the wet kind that brought cleansing rainfall.

Well done, Luthor.

Shaky knees were forced into action, though standing was no more enlightening than sitting. It took a staggering second before she found her balance. For added helplessness, she spun uselessly in a circle to discover everything looked exactly the same in every direction.

The sun hung overhead. Odd how it felt larger in a desert. Lena half-wondered why vultures weren’t also in the sky, circling their next meal.

A meal. She’d give up half her L-Corp shares for a burger. Better yet, she’d give up half her shares for a genie to grant three wishes: a burger, aspirin, and sunglasses. She wasn’t asking for much - just a few simple comforts while she shriveled into nothing.

Hand cupped over her eyes she scowled toward the sky, half-hoping one might suddenly descend from it. And for all her luck, there was something floating. It was a speck, a shadow of something, a rendering error. And it was getting bigger. She hoped it wasn’t something designed to kill her.

It was.

It wasn’t.

“Of course it’s you,” Lena sighed. It was a sigh meant to express her general disgruntlement for her situation, for Supergirl, for life in general. It did its job well. Her arm dropped in defeat. 

“Were you expecting someone else?” 

The cape. The flowing blonde hair. The hubris.

read the rest on ao3

[crepes-suzette-373]

Is this an error or on purpose?? It's driving me insane!!!

(I'm just parsing through my own theory and doubts, you don't have to read this)

Ichiji's eyebrow that's under the bangs is the subject of fans' theories, and I wrote about it too, but I really just... sometimes have very strong doubts about it. With the insane time crunch of Shounen Jump schedule, what if it's really just a mistake that nobody caught?

One of my line of thinking was "this panel is so big, surely sensei can't possibly screw it up?" But the answer is, yes, he can screw up a panel that's that big.

When Venus blocked Zoro's attack, not only is he holding the sword in the wrong hand, but the sword is also missing its iconic Kitetsu cross-shaped guard. That Venus vs Zoro panel takes up half a page. On the manuscript paper, that would've been massive, and yet there it is.

As far as I can tell, this was not edited, changed, or fixed in the final volume version. So, I dunno, maybe all the weird eyebrows is literally nothing and he just messed up.

If I may use myself as an example, I have drawn their eyebrows facing wrong directions multiple times, and sometimes I never noticed there was anything wrong until days or even weeks later.

I not only drew the lines, but also rendered the colours in detail. I didn't do it all in one sitting. I went over the image multiple times with fresh eyes, across many days, and not for a single moment did I notice the eyebrow was wrong. It's not impossible that sensei experienced the same thing.

The anime scene cannot be used as reference because I don't think the anime staff are privy to any future lore or backstories from sensei. I would assume that they often had to fill in the gaps with educated guesses on their parts.

Pre-timeskip the anime have once displayed Sanji's other eyebrow facing the wrong direction and/or simply missing its curl.

Also in Whole Cake's finale episodes, the anime included a short filler bit where all of Sanji's bros made it safely back to the Germa ships. This is proven to be wrong when the cover story revealed Niji and Yonji got caught while still on land by Big Mum and didn't manage to escape.

The only way you can reconcile these is if you imagine a scenario where Niji and Yonji initially made it out just fine, but had to jump off the ship to fight Big Mum. Otherwise there's just a flat out discrepancy between manga and anime.

I don't think the Pirate Warriors 3D model rips are also any solid confirmation that Ichiji and Reiju's eyebrows are different either, because I found what is purportedly a model from the first game, where Sanji also has the eyebrows facing wrong directions:

(left: all siblings from Pirate Warriors 4, right: Sanji from Pirates Warriors 1)

In my guess, what happened was that they just made half a face (and body), which is then mirrored to create the other half. See below for what I mean:

In my opinion what happened was that with Ichiji and Reiju they just left the brows in mirrored state because they didn't know for sure. Look at Reiju's irises. The highlights are also mirrored. It really looks like they just created one half of the face and copy + flipped it:

The eyebrows are modelled onto the polygons and not just textures, so they really could've just copy + flipped the half model and never bothered changing it afterwards.

Or, if not, maybe they saw the anime scenes, thought that Ichiji and Reiju's eyebrows are facing different directions, and then followed suit. The Pirate Warriors models are made based on the anime rather than the manga (as you can see with Reiju's eyes being blue and not purple).

Whereas with Niji, Sanji, and Yonji they might have went through the trouble to edit the eyebrows to be more accurate to the series since they know for a fact what their brows look like.

So yeah, I don't know, this thing has no answer at all until Germa shows up in the series again (or revealed in Vivre Cards).

[signed-sapphire]

Tremble before my 4am Art Attack for @sweaterrat~

I tried to make the little bow and mask tails look like a heart but idk if I captured that

I WILL be making a more rendered and cleaned up version of either LemLav or Toast’s sona, but in the meantime I’m quite proud of this. Posting it before I become more awake and start to notice any errors haha… dam it I’m already seeing how stiff Donnie’s pose is

Niyah, I hope you enjoy these breadcrumbs! I love your art style and the fact that you’re writing Portals! AND doing art for it pretty consistently is insane to me. Keep up the amazing work ^^

[brandinotbroke]

I did the DEP fix on my pc and I haven't gotten any crashes yet but I've gotten pink code along with this on the cheat console (I had a lot of messages saying this there): WARNING D3D Error: Bad return code, is this normal? : D3DERR_INVALIDCALL C:\dev\sims 2 remaster\DL\GZFrame\Graphic\GZGraphic4\Win32\source\GZGraphic4ShaderProgramDX.cpp(435)4

Hi! Any file ending with .cpp is a source code file. So we can gather that there is a bad return code/invalid call error concerning Direct3D (which is Microsoft's DirectX programming interface) and something that is in the game's shader code. We don't have access to the source code, so I don't know what exactly the issue is here.

So this is basically what I've been saying all along. It looks like the game is doing something "illegal" when rendering things (meaning it is not strictly following the rules of DirectX), and this is what potentially causes pink flashing. But as long as we don't have access to this source code, there is nothing we can do about it.

And there is a big fat BUT: There is no guarantee that this error has anything to do with the pink flashing either. It could also be coincidence, since errors aren't necessarily always visible. For example, if you open your browser's developer tools, there will be a bunch of red errors there too, but you just don't notice them because the program handles them automatically.

[ahoymateez]

I'm stuck in bed sick, so I figure I might as well copy one of my favorite moots @thirstkanaphan and show you guys the k-pop bops I've discovered over my twelve months of delving into this world. Got any recommendations based on what you're about to see? Send 'em my way!

Artist & title are Spotify links; thumbnails are YouTube Music (⁠☞ﾟ⁠ヮﾟ⁠)⁠☞

1. YUTA - BAD EUPHORIA

Did I start this k-pop list off with a rock song by a Japanese idol? Yes I did. This is my absolute favorite solo project to come out last year (sorry, Jaehyun). I'm a rock girlie at heart so I was going to love this album regardless, but this song seriously slaps. Its 90s alt-rock vibes hype me up like nothing else.

2. VIXX - Error

I've been obsessed with this song ever since @psychopsemantics played it for me. I'm a sucker for EDM jams with impressive vocals, which really seem to abound in k-pop. Great news for me :3 This is the first time I've seen the video though and... it's very 2014 lol (the fuck is on homeboy's head??)

3. WayV - After Midnight

Because it's WayV, the lyrics are unapologetically horny. That aside, the retrowave vibes and danceable beats got my attention with Xiaojun and Ten's improvisations at the end rendering me speechless every time. They sound so damn good.

4. Day6 - Love Me Or Leave Me

I can thank San for this group. They were part of my introduction to k-rock, a genre I'm still exploring. I have yet to hear a track that I didn't at least like, but this one in particular sets off fireworks in my brain.

5. iKON - BUT YOU

While binging all of "KINGDOM: Legendary War" I decided to check out each group. I ended up digging a lot of iKON's library, but especially this track. You know, the one with retro vibes and an energetic drumbeat. I'm learning a lot about myself with this post.

6. Lim Hyunsik - See The Light

Hyunsik has one of my favorite voices ever. EVER. It's so velvety and rich and deep, but then he has the nerve to demonstrate masterful vocal technique on top of it, as expected from any member of BTOB (please listen to "The Young Man and the Deep Sea"!) This song was written for the drama "When The Phone Rings" and thusly jumpscares my sister every time she hears it start.

7. JAEHYUN - Completely

I've got a thing for voices and Jaehyun's smoky baritone just makes me melt. However, he shows off a seldom-utilized delicate falsetto in the chorus of this track, a gorgeous piano ballad. This is one of my favorite songs to sing around the house lately.

8. CIX - Save me, Kill me

Boy howdy am I noticing a trend with some of these songs. Anyway. Here's another proto-rock pop song with a driving beat and layered vocals. I hear the group itself is in a bit of turmoil, so I guess I'm glad to have found this beforehand.

9. NCT DREAM - UNKNOWN

I like NCT DREAM as a group of people, but don't really vibe with the majority of their catalog. Very poppy, saccharine music doesn't really appeal to me. I'm so grateful that they took a risk with this album as I know I'll be playing it in its entirety for the rest of my life. This song specifically brought me to tears the first time I heard it.

10. ATEEZ - Promise - Notation from Senor Juwon Park

Did anyone think I wasn't going to include at least one ATEEZ track? No? Good. You get me. ANYway, I adore "Promise," but since hearing this version the original feels seriously lacking. Park Juwon is an incredible guitarist and he lends the perfect amount of Latin flavor to this song.

Thanks for reading through all this! I hope you found something you like ^^ Now if you'll excuse me, I've got a lot more music to check out! (⁠~⁠‾⁠▿⁠‾⁠)⁠~

Dividers by @cafekitsune

[problems-exe]

Tell me all the details about Sucrose.

EHEHEHE THANK YOU FOR ASKING!!! >:333

Their lore is still in development, but I'll go over what I have so far, mostly their creation.

To start with, Sucrose wasn't created out of any form of "love" between Error, Ink, and Nightmare. They were very much created by accident.

One day, Error was bored and decided to go searching for a fight. So, he did what he always does and searched for an AU to destroy, hoping to alert The Stars there.

The AU he decided to target was the old Dreamtale AU, an AU corrupted by negativity and completely abandoned by all its past inhabitants. Error saw the AU as nothing more than a waste of space and figured it was about time he did something about it.

The second Error entered Dreamtale, both Dream and Nightmare felt his presence. Dream didn't have time to react before he was forced to his knees by the sheer increase of negativity radiating from Dreamtale. It seemed Nightmare had managed to get there first.

Nightmare was sent into a blind rage as he felt Dreamtale being invaded. Despite how much he tried to hide it, he was still protective over his old home, the place where the remains of his mother were kept. He visited her frequently to no one else's knowledge. He wouldn't tolerate anyone disturbing her burial grounds.

Nightmare left before his gang was even given a chance to react. They felt his negativity just as strongly as Dream had.

Error hadn't considered Nightmare having any sort of attachment to the area. He thought, if anything, he was doing a favor to Nightmare by getting rid of that waste of space of an AU. He had not expected to be met with Nightmare's unfiltered rage.

Dream could do nothing to intervene despite desperately wanting to. He was rendered useless as Nightmare's negativity overwhelmed him even from AUs away. Entering the AU itself would mean certain death. The Stars had to act quickly, and Swap volunteered to stay behind and care for Dream, whilst Ink went and attempted to defend Dreamtale.

The battle that ensued between Error, Ink, and Nightmare was an incredibly aggressive one, driven mostly by Nightmare's seemingly endless rage. Eventually, Error was driven off, retreating into the Anti-Void, and once Ink had realized Nightmare had no intent to harm Dreamtale, he left as well. Nightmare secluded himself in the AU for a few days, watching over it as if it could be attacked again at any moment. Once he had calmed down, he also left.

Dreamtale was once again abandoned, left in semi-ruin, covered in the debris of the previous battle. The negativity from the fight caked Dreamtale in a thick fog, its magic taking root in the AU's soil. Above the ground, Ink's paints soaked the ground, piles of Ink's strings scattered about. The negativity cradled around the debris, and with the small amount of magic still left in the Tree of Feelings, a soul was formed.

The soul formed into a baby skeleton monster, the same one who would become Sucrose. For the next few days, Sucrose sat alone on the AU's surface. They sat unmoving, simply staring out into the treeline. They had no wants, no desires, no purpose. It seemed they had inherited Ink's need for his vials, though in a slightly different way.

Only Ink felt Sucrose’s presence; Dream and Nightmare were unable to sense their emotions, as they had none. All Ink knew was that someone was in Dreamtale, though he didn't know who. He assumed it was Nightmare, as he hadn't felt any harm being dealt to the AU. He realized he was wrong when a few days later, he felt a second presence within Dreamtale.

Nightmare had returned to visit Dreamtale to check on it one last time when he found Sucrose. For the first time, Sucrose felt the desire to do something, as they reached out their hands to Nightmare.

Nightmare was shocked to see the baby, noticing their similarities in appearance and wondering if they were placed as some sort of trap or trick. Yet, he found himself picking them up anyway. They settled easily into his arms, and Nightmare couldn't bring himself to set them down.

As Nightmare made himself a portal to leave, the baby held firmly in his arms, Ink appeared. The last thing Nightmare saw was Ink's shocked expression as he noticed the baby held in the guardian's arms. Nightmare knew then that this hadn't been a trick.

He became determined to raise Sucrose as his own. He would keep them safe and far from where Ink or Error could ever reach them.

Realizing how long this is getting, so I'll stop my lore dump here, but know that both Ink and Error get to meet Sucrose eventually properly. All three of Sucrose’s parents love and care for Sucrose a lot, despite their hatred for each other. That's their baby.

I'm more than happy to rant about Sucrose more, I just don't want to make this too long haha

[jorenilee]

ok elusive and big ass rant about chatgpt and groupmates under the cut

like. as much as i hated chatgpt, there was some kernel within me that wondered if all this talk about chatgpt rendering people helpless and vulnerable and unable to think for themselves, if that was all fearmongering. Im aware that I'm surrounded by people that use it, and it sucks, but could it really make all these university students forget to function.

well today I figured out the answer was yes because holyyy shittt. my groupmates were just copy and pasting whatever chatgpt shat out directly into our assignment, and because chatgpt isn't a damn student and doesnt know the course, it kept mentioning shit we never learned or approached the questions the complete wrong way. And my groupmates never even noticed. They could not even tell it was bringing up statistical tests we never learned and coding nowhere near our course, they were just regurgitating what it said with no further thought on if it was actually right or not.

And I was pissed because a lot of that regurgitation was just Wrong and formatted like ass, so I had to rewrite all of it, but now I'm sad cuz like. Do you not even recognize what is and isn't course material? Do you not even double check what it says? If it's remotely right? If it's even answering the damn question?

I literally told someone that heyyy question 3 is extremely similar to question 2, so copy and paste the code for question 2 and just exchange the names of variables and that's literally it. But then they experienced 1 setback and immediately went back to chatgpt, which then regurgitated an entirely different code that guess what!!! Didn't work at all!!!! I asked hey why, they said it didn't work. I went to our lecture notes, copied exactly 2 lines of code from the question 2 code, changed the variable names and guess what!!!! it worked!!! Instantly!!!!!! No errors!!!!!

Like holy shit I NEVER had code instantly work like that before, and it took pressing ctrl c+v and the most bare minimum, highest tip of the iceberg understanding of coding for me to fix it. I don't know how you could have fucked up so bad that it didn't work first try. And what's awesome is that question 2's code also took multiple tries because they were asking chatgpt and I kept saying shit like "hey we never learned about if-else statements and its messing up the code", question 2 eventually worked out, and then they immediately gave me the question 3 code with another if-else statement. Like do you READ?? WHAT IT SAYS???

It was maddening because like, what are you guys even paying $400 for at that point. Not even looking at any of the lecture material, not even knowing the shit we Don't Know, not even attempting ANY of the questions without the torment nexus, and then relying on someone else to fact check that torment nexus because you didn't even think it needed fact-checking. And it's especially dystopian when my TA is recommending chatgpt when I literally saw how BAD and WRONG it was at EVERY step.

I thought ppl were being ever-so-slightly dramatic when describing chatgpt as making people wholly complacent and taking away free thought, but I kinda saw it with my own eyes??? For something as small as a statistics assignment??? I kinda wish chatgpt would just pull the plug right now and slap a huge paywall on it just so people can catch themselves early. Because my god, what would yall do without it. What could yall do without it. This shit burned like 3 trees just to tell me a p-value that didnt exist.

[thesims4blogger]

The Sims 4: New Game Patch (September 18th, 2024)

Your game should now read: PC: 1.109.185.1030 / Mac: 1.109.185.1230 / Console: 1.99.

Sul Sul Simmers!

This patch is a big one and brings many new updates and fixes into the game that span across different packs, including improvements to apartment walls, ceiling lighting, and a whole host of fixes for our recently released expansion pack, Lovestruck. These, along with so many more across both Base Game and Packs, can be found below.

Thank you for your continued reporting efforts at AnswersHQ. It really helps to let us know the issues you care most about. We hope these fixes keep improving your game and allow you to keep having more fun! More to come.

There’s a colorful update to Build/Buy items! 650 color variants have been added and there are new items such as archways, doors, and even ground covers to spruce up your terrain. Check out the vibrant colors and new items in the video. For more details, scroll to the end of the patch notes to see a list of all the Build/Buy items. We can’t wait to see how you mix and match!

Performance

Reducing Memory Usage:

Frequent Memory Updates – Increased the frequency of memory usage data updates to prevent out-of-memory crashes.

Improving Simulation Performance:

Streamlining Data Storage – We restructured how we store game data to reduce the overhead of using Python objects, making the game run faster and use less memory.

Efficient Buff Generation – Reworked how temporary data is generated and stored to fix previous issues and optimize memory usage.

Reducing Load Times:

Optimizing Render Target Allocation – Stopped unnecessary allocation of large color targets during certain rendering processes, now saving valuable memory especially in high-resolution settings.

DirectX 11 (DX11) Updates

We’re pleased to announce improvements to the DirectX 11 executable for PC users. While these updates are focused on Windows PC’s, Xbox Simmers will also see benefits from these changes as the Xbox runs a console-based variant of DirectX 11. Here’s what to expect:

NVIDIA and AMD

NVIDIA and AMD Graphics Cards – Players using NVIDIA and AMD GPUs will now automatically default to the DX11 executable. Players on other GPUs like Intel, will continue to enjoy The Sims 4 on DX9 until a later update.

DirectX 11 Enhancements – Faster Graphics Processing – Implemented changes to how graphics data is updated, reducing delays between the CPU and GPU for smoother gameplay.

Performance Boost with Constant Buffers (cbuffers) – This enhances performance by reducing overhead and managing memory more efficiently. Users with mid to high-end GPUs should notice improved performance!

New DirectX 9 Option in Graphics Setting – By default, Simmers on NVIDIA and AMD GPUs will launch The Sims 4 using DX11. If you prefer, you can switch to DX9 via Game Options > Graphics and enable the DirectX 9 toggle before re-launching The Sims 4 to play using DirectX 9.

Intel

Ongoing Intel Development – We are continuing development on bringing DirectX 11 to Intel GPU based PC’s but it needs a little longer before we can bring it to Simmers as the default option. For now Intel based Simmers will continue to use DirectX 9 when running The Sims 4.

DirectX 11 Opt-In – DirectX 11 is available for those Simmers who want to try it, including those using an Intel GPU, you may experience visual issues with mods. We recommend disabling all mods while using the -dx11 command line argument.

For detailed information about DirectX 11 and instructions on how to enter launch arguments for both the EA App and Steam, please visit here. If you encounter any issues with DirectX, you can find assistance here.

The Gallery

Pack filters now properly work for Home Chef Hustle in The Gallery and library. No more hiding.

Base Game

[AHQ] Outdoor lighting will no longer affect inside the room through ceilings. Let there be (proper) light.

[AHQ and AHQ] When attempting to save, “Error Code: 0“ no longer occurs related to Gigs or Neighborhood Stories.

[AHQ] Addressed an additional issue where the game would fail to load and display Error Code 123 when traveling between lots.

[AHQ] Clay and Future Cubes will no longer get left on lots during events. Pick up your trash and leave nothing behind.

[AHQ] Frogs, mice and fishes in tanks are now visible when placed in laptop mode. Welcome back, friends!

[AHQ] Sims will put their tablets and homework back into their inventory instead of placing them in the world as long as they are standing or sitting. Again, stop littering, Sims!

[AHQ] The call is not coming from inside the house–you'll stop getting invitational phone calls from your own Household Members.

[AHQ] “Complete a Daily Work Task” Want now completes properly after finishing a daily work task. Work work work.

[AHQ] Children now have the option to quit their “After School Activity“. Although quitters never prosper.

[AHQ] Thought bubbles of Sims will no longer appear through walls and floors. Keep your thoughts to yourself.

[AHQ] Family fortune - “Heal Negative Sentiments” task will now properly complete.

[AHQ] Sims will return from work or school and switch into the same Everyday Outfit they had on instead of defaulting to the first Everyday Outfit in the Create a Sim list. You will wear what I tell you to wear, Sim!

[AHQ] Certain cabinet/shelf combinations over kitchen sinks will no longer prevent Sim from washing in the sink. No excuses for not cleaning up after yourself.

[AHQ] Outdoor shadows now move smoothly without jumping on the screen on ultra graphics settings and at different Live Mode speeds.

[AHQ] Camera jittering is no longer observed in Build Buy mode after using Terrain Tools.

[AHQ] When recent neighborhood stories mention a Sim that died in another neighborhood, switching to the respective Sim household will now have an urn present. RIP.

[AHQ] Upgrading washer/dryer now completes Nerd Brain Aspiration.

[AHQ] Sims will now hold the acarajé dish the right way while eating. It’s delicious however you eat it, though.

[AHQ] Autonomous check infant no longer causes new random cold weather outfit to be generated for infant. They’re not cold.

Infant no longer stretches when crawling in deep snow. Although we question why you’re letting your infant crawl in the snow.

[AHQ] Teen Sim is able to take vacation days while working in the lifeguard career. It’s only fair.

[AHQ] Event goals remain visible  even after editing from the Calendar.

Siblings can no longer be set as engaged in Create a Sim.

[AHQ] The Teen Goal Oriented Aspiration now gets completed properly after getting promoted at work.

Investigating missing Doodlepip splines. Reticulation progressing.

[AHQ] “Become friends with“ Want no longer appears for Sims with relationship equal or above friends. We’re already friends.

[AHQ] World icons on the world selection screen no longer move when middle-clicked.

[AHQ] Locked seed packets are unlocked in BB when using the gardening skill cheat “stats.set_skill_level Major_Gardening 10”. Gimme my seeds!

[AHQ] Female Sims' stomachs will no longer become invisible when paired with Masculine cargo pants in certain color swatches.

“Likes/Dislikes“ Sim preferences are now available for Sims created via Create a Sim Stories.

Sim animation will no longer pop when sitting on a stool and asking another Sim an inappropriate question.

[AHQ] Sim thumbnails are no longer low resolution on the Resume button.

[AHQ] Re-fixed issue where Skill List gets out of order, specifically when switching between Sims.

[AHQ] ‘ymTop_TshirtRolled_Yellow' top no longer clips with bottoms in Create a Sim.

[AHQ] Event Goals created through the Calendar properly show up during the Event, even if you edit the Event.

You can view the rest game patch notes on the Official site

[inglorionamy-ammy]

Of Home and Haven (Ch6/6) The end

Chapter snippet:

Gale is sitting beneath the elevated spectator stand, together with the emergency cleric team that is set up next to the ground entrance. He gives you a small smile of reassurance, though his posture is tense. Tara leans on his shoulder, her twitching tail betraying her anticipation.

The finale.

Summary: A tender tale between an outlander barbarian and a scholarly wizard, navigating life, love, and belonging (aka. What "being together" means for them) in Waterdeep and beyond.

Pairing: Half-orc Barbarian F!Tav X Gale Mature

Word count: 3k

@senualothbrok My beta, my reader, my friend. She aced all roles.

AO3 link: here

Chapter Five: here

[This chapter's illustration hides at the end ;)]

The first thing you see across the circular field is a gigantic steel sentinel.

It is similar to the ones that guarded the school entrance, only this time bigger, almost the height of a two-storey house. On top of its shoulder is an average build humanoid man in a wizard’s robe, seeking whatever high ground there is in this vast empty space. His eyes are glowing slightly, their color matching his steel companion, controlling it in concentration.

The second thing you notice is, in fact, your husband, behind your opponents. Gale is sitting beneath the elevated spectator stand, together with the emergency cleric team that is set up next to the ground entrance. He gives you a small smile of reassurance, though his posture is tense. Tara leans on his shoulder, her twitching tail betraying her anticipation. Your gazes lock for a second.

Technically, the battle should be non-lethal, but both of you know that only melee attacks can be controlled with such precision. In addition, to prevent the fight from over-stretching, you and your opponent are only allowed to bring one healing potion, unfavorable to a typical barbarian’s reckless fighting style. To test how much room for error you have, you close the distance with a small leap before throwing the trident, aiming for the man’s face.

Clang!

With a whoosh of the sentinel’s arm the trident is sent flying right to the ground, the amour untouched by the small thunder explosion it caused. For a construct of this size, its attack is strong and unexpectedly fast. A small cheer comes from the crowd. You frown.

The Nyrulna returns to your hand. You and your enemies start stalking around each other like a pair of beasts waiting for the other to strike first. You must think of something to break the stalemate.

The sun is now behind you. Shrouded in shadow, you discreetly produce a small gadget from your pack, sending it to the man’s head again. A contemptuous smirk crosses his face as the sentinel swats it like he is dismissing a fly, but this time it explodes inwards.

The void bulb. It was one of your best discoveries from the Nautiloid, lovingly reproduced by the skillful deep gnome craftsman Barcus Wroot. When he had sent a box of these as your wedding gift, Gale had had a good laugh.

In an instant the man is pulled off the sentinel. He falls, with a yelp, unceremoniously towards the ground.

You are just about to strike when he mutters a quick incantation in midair. Misty step. You watch as he appears far behind his companion, another flick of his hand renders him invisible. You huff. His dexterity is annoying, but rather impressive.

The sentinel now sprints towards you. You narrowly dodge the first swinging fist and roll forward to escape the second. Any one of these would send you prone, and without lightning spells it seems indestructible. It’s time for some distance. You jump, striking your trident to the ground, and ride its force for a great leap forward and over, landing somewhere far behind it. This should buy you some time —

A snap of magic. You are hit, full force, by a lightning bolt.

Cheers erupt from the audience. Gale, now only tens of meters from you, is white as a sheet.

Suddenly you are overwhelmed by the need to reassure him. You bite your tongue to sharpen your half-burnt mind, pulling yourself together. With a fast gulp of a healing potion, you let out an exaggerated sigh.

“’S that all you got?” You raise a challenging eyebrow. Sometimes it is the attitude that matters.

The man is having none of it. He remains careful, guarded, and with another misty step lands right back onto his metal companion.

A grunt of frustration threatens to escape your throat, but you force it down. Instead, you try your luck. For the third time in a row, you throw the gadget in your hand at him.

Now cautious with the trick, he pauses for a split second. That is all the opening you need.

He realizes too late that it is only an empty healing flask. At the same time, your reinvigorated surge of action powers your great leap and you jam your trident into the armor’s elbow gap with a loud clang. He tries to shake you off, grab you by his other fist, but you are fast as you crawl and grab and push yourself up to where he is. Your grin is manic as you sense his panic building up. He is, after all, a fragile human against a frenzied half-orc. His control starts to slip, the sentinel’s movement imprecise. In desperation he escapes right before you strike him, abandoning the construct with another misty step, landing far back where he hits you with that damn lightning.

You now occupy high ground. The Nyrulna strikes into the neck of the sentinel — a bit deeper than necessary — as you balance yourself. It is after all much easier to dodge someone’s attack when you are on top of them. Looking down on him, you mock his disheveled state in a booming volume, “helpless without your toys, little wizard?”

At that, something snaps. You frown as you realize his concentration with the sentinel is severed.

Then, a sharp, invasive pain penetrates your brain. You gasp as you realize he wants to make you his toy. You only have the time to draw out one last item before he has taken total control, and that tiny pack slips from your hand and falls, its content spilling over the ground. You pray that it’s enough.

The arena is now silent, breaths held back for this battle of wit.

On the first round, you mind is hazy as you slowly climb down from the unmoving sentinel, your movements precise, almost polite, for they are not yours. Your Nyrulna lies forgotten behind you.

On the second round, you are made to do a little twirl. It should be insulting, but the mist in your brain is shrouding any coherent thoughts. For a moment you think you see Gale, knuckles white as he grips so hard he almost tears his robe. It somehow pains you too, but the sensation is fleeting, and soon fades to oblivion.

On the third round, you walk towards him, as he tries to position you within his attack range. You take one step, and another, then step on something.

One of the spiked bulbs you spilled explodes.

The small scratch is all you need. In an instant your wisdom is back. You leap across the field and tackle the surprised man down, his head hitting the floor with a concussing force. A quick flick of your hidden dagger makes him hiss. But he is relentless. Even pinned under you, he attempts an incantation, a dance of his hand — but there is nothing.

He has been silenced.

His eyes slowly widen in shock, finally catching on the blue glowing blade in your hand—a sussur dagger. He begins to shiver.

“DO YOU YIELD?” you demand with a growl, pressing the dagger against his throat.

Carefully, the man nods. Gasps echo in the arena.

You rise. Your gaze falls upon each and every person in the spectator stand, before returning to the man at your feet. When you extend your hand out to him, he turns away in defiance.

You sigh. Might as well take a chance.

“…The first time I lost a fight to my father, who trained me, I hid in the toilet and cried for three hours,” Your voice projects in the amphitheater. As he tentatively turns towards you, eyes full of suspicion, you continue with a nod.

“At first, Ma and Da were worried, especially Ma, and she knocked and cooed relentlessly. But then Da wanted to pee, and he kicked open the door so hard he broke it. We didn’t have a proper toilet door for three months.”

A snort. The man shakes his head and slowly stands up. He still doesn’t take your hand, but as he wipes the dust off his butt, he says, “We have spells for that. If only he knew Knock.”

Suddenly, you recognize his voice — a solid version of that hollow echo shared between the two Academy entrance guards, who barred your entry a year ago, believing that you had lied about your relationship with Gale. It still has the same pinched haughtiness, far from welcoming, but much less condescending now.

“Yeah,” you smile, “if only.”

--

The fight is over, but there are no cheers, no boos. The audience is stunted. For a while, the only motion in the field is the cleric team, who dutifully approaches and checks on the pair of you.

Then there is Gale and Tara. Gale, who has been hanging on the edge of his seat for so long, is now splinting towards you, his face flushed with elation. As he crushes into your waiting arms, Tara elegantly glides through the air, landing gracefully before you.

“A wonderful display of strength and tactics, young Mrs. Dekarios,” she appraises calmly, as if she had always predicted your victory, though her tail, still a bit puffed, betrayed her dread just a moment ago. She looks past you cautiously.

You turn and find your match — Endorick, the clerics called him — a senior apprentice in charge of security matters. He seems to have the talent of maintaining a straight face and a puffed chest despite looking absolutely disheveled. As he raises an eyebrow at you, you find yourself more amused than annoyed.

“My husband.” You stifle a smirk as you purposefully flash him your matching wedding earrings, and he rolls his eyes. In defeat, you assume.

Gale is drenched in cold sweat, but as he pulls back and looks up at you, his voice swells with warmth.

“My love, my heart, my beautiful wife.” He punctuates every declaration with a kiss on your bruised knuckles, never letting your hand go. “What a fight that was. What a sight you are!”

You suspect Endorick has had enough of whatever this is, as he turns to pace away with a sigh, limping slightly.

You look back at Gale. His bright brown eyes are shimmering, his body quivering with giddy excitement. The smile on his face is so eager, so tender, it makes your heart so full it could burst. You simply must do something about it.

So, you scoop Gale up and twirl him in midair, silencing his surprised yelp by crushing your lips to his. His legs immediately wrap around your waist to pull you closer, deepening the kiss. Finally, there is some proper cheering.

--

It is winter again, and this year, you receive an invitation to the annual Blackstaff Winter Ball as part of their faculty.

To be fair, you are more an adjunct part-time lecturer on temporary contract, managing an elective combat-based course that students either love or hate, but still.

In this past academic year, you encountered some conservatives who insisted that Blackstaff is a serious arcane research institute and should not provide such extra curriculum activities. Yet there were also enthusiasts who sought your help in developing magic-infused melee weapons and testing their combat skills, sometimes in very passionate ways.

Endorick, surprisingly, was the latter. He still carries an air of arrogant nonchalance, but somehow, he would mysteriously appear by your table every first-day lunch break, yapping about the lack of funding for security, the declining manpower and resources, so on and so forth. Recently he had even allowed you to visit his sentinel workshop, and as you have learnt to deal with wizards, you dutifully allowed him to impress you. This has become a fun little experiment, and you are rather curious to see how far this strange relationship can go.

There were days when your teaching left you covered in bruises. It earned you a very stern warning from Professor Dekarios, albeit those often ended up delivered in bed or in the baths he insisted to draw you. In any case, you enjoyed the thrill of battle too much to truly walk away, not to mention that you had caught glimpses of him multiple times when you fought in your class, eyes blown wide and lips parted, his own duties temporarily forgotten.

As you have predicted, students who dreamed of being adventurers enjoyed your lessons the most. One of them even decided that the arcane arts were, after all, not their true calling, and consulted you on taking melee trainings instead.

What you didn’t expect were those who took an academic interest in half-orc matters. From what you have heard, there hasn’t been a half-orc associated with Blackstaff for a long time. You received some interesting invitations to record what they call "oral history", which basically boiled down to you telling stories of your life. You humored them with snippets from your childhood, both the epic and the mundane, and the students listened in bated breath as they relived the memories with you.

You told them about mud wrestling, how Da saw it almost as a sacred ritual when he taught you how to cultivate the soil before stepping into the ring. Their eyes sparkled in curiosity, and that evening ended in an impromptu wrestling workshop, drawing confused gazes from other mages.

You told them about the collection Da built for Ma to honor her noble past, and the more sentimental students swooned. But when Gale joined in to supply his anecdotal observations of your parents’ relationship with great enthusiasm, by the end of the session, you were the one who swooned.

When Ma learned of the project, she earnestly invited the group to her rooftop greenhouse for a chat over tea. That was when you realized there was so much more about your parents that you didn’t know. You sat there, thoughtful, as the students laughed roaringly at Ma’s retelling of how she convinced Da to try the bizarre etiquette trainings she went through as a child.

At the end of the day, you find yourself smiling more often, the stillness that once trapped you receding further. It makes you feel hopeful, knowing that in a way, Da will live on in these bright, eager minds.

Tonight, however, your task is more demanding. Being presentable and sociable in a formal setting still drains you. Associating with the title of Blackstaff, even just slightly, has allowed you to access a degree of comfort and respect that used to be out of reach. It is somewhat ironic that the work you do is essentially the same — combat — but suddenly you are allowed among polite society, among people whose acceptance you used to crave, particularly when you were desperate for an anchor in a new life.

You are learning a foreign language, of nods and bows, of feasts and fashions, and of titles and status. In these social events, you are usually content with observing from the sidelines.

Of course, there is one person you particularly enjoy observing. Gale is charming and witty, true, but most recently you realize something else — he has newly acquired the magical ability to turn an intoxicating status fight into a mutual appreciation of the arcane arts, his sincere passion sometimes capable of winning over the most skeptical hearts. It is truly a beautiful sight to watch: Your husband’s eyes keen and bright, his communicative hands assisting his presentation as usual, as the colleagues around him listen intently with set brows and occasional nods.

You are sampling the delicate little cakes when you catch his gaze across the hall, amusement evident on his face as he sees how full your plate is. You frown, then wipe some cream off the corner of your mouth. His smile breaks into a teasing grin.

In return, you lift the long table in one swift motion, allowing the poor waiter to clean up a glass of spilled champagne beneath. You know how your muscles look when you flex them. You barely suppress the smugness on your face when he turns away with a cough, his ear flushing red. Perhaps it’s time for a more private conversation.

"Ta'V?" An exhausted voice calls you from behind. You huff.

Endorick strides towards you, unwillingly caught between you and Gale again. He gestures to a pair of figures behind him. "A guest would like to meet you,” he mouths, “a funder.”

“And isn’t that our newest edition, the talk of the Academy?”

The man’s voice drips with feigned familiarity. You recognize him as Fenris Goldsinger, one of the closest apprentices to the Blackstaff herself. You know this because he never stops flaunting this fact.

As you give him and the elderly lady by his side a stiff bow, he continues to turn between you and the lady. “A true rarity, she is. Not only a half-orc but a non-magic user, who has, against all odds, fought her way into the heart of our institution!”

The lady tilts her head as she appraises you. She has the regal air of an ancient elf. Only her ears betray her human race. Despite her age she stands tall, silvery hair braided into a tight and elaborate bun. Her attention is piercing, and it lands straight at your golden necklace, the gift from your mother.

“Ta’V, you must meet —”

The lady stops Fenris with a rise of her palm. Her emerald eyes now languidly measure you.

“Lady Riversong,” she lets the words hang for a few moments and observes your reaction, before she continues, “a patron of the arcane arts.”

She raises an eyebrow as if expecting an answer, but you are too stunned by her first words. Your gazes lock silently, and she gives you a half-smile.

“Now forgive me, for I’ll have to leave for a meeting soon. But I am most eager to meet you, and your husband, somewhere, sometime.”

You thought she would just turn away, but she is in fact waiting for your answer. So, you agree, mind still whirling. With a satisfied smile from Lady Riversong and an awkward shoulder pat from Fenris, the pair turn and disappear into the night.

Endorick is visibly relieved. “For the love of Mystra, what have you done?” he exclaims in a hushed tone, but you aren’t paying attention.

You can’t wait to tell Ma what happened.

The end

Dear all, thank you for embarking on this journey with me. I am beyond honored that you read through Ta'V and Gale's adventure, or even more so, be touched by it. Even with tears, I think this story is ultimately rather hopeful, rather optimistic. I am particularly thrilled with how many liked the original characters, with Ta'V, and especially Da! I did not expect him to be a reader's favorite (the quiet loving dad and husband who speaks with action eh?), and how it makes me smile to read all of your comments and learn your thoughts.

I think I will do a celebratory drawing giveaway in these two weeks. If you're interested in that, stay tuned!

More of my works: here