#Snowdrop engine

[jypsyvloggin]

Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora - The Next Chapter in the Avatar Saga

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora (@avatarfrontiers) Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora is an upcoming open world action-adventure game set in the world of Pandora, the lush and alien moon from the Avatar film series. The game is being developed by Massive Entertainment and will be published by Ubisoft for PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox Series X/S, and Amazon Luna…

[nickysowl]

this game is so pretty

[thenightshadowqueen]

Divorces and Teddy Bears—Watchthrough Thoughts

I’m not sure if anyone likes reading these, but I do, and I figure I can’t be the only one, so here we go. (Plus, they’re fun to make.)

The little card and “beginning-middle-end” editing is amazing

The presents in the title card being addressed to “Peter Steven”, “Priscilla”, and “Johnny and Janae”??????? They know their fanbase; I died

I love this stage

Also captions!!!

I love Luke being so confused at the beginning and just going “Oh!” when he gets it

“I was dressed as a sheep” ah, taking lessons from Sam, are we?

AJ’s sassy walk!!!!!!!

Okay I love Mrs. Claus holy shit

“Leave the keys in the sled, yes. So I can start the engine of the sled.” I love it when Sam points out logic flaws without even breaking character (although I also love it when he breaks character too)

Poor Snowdrop, being assigned as the child of divorce and forced into the middle

Also Luke’s hair???? He looks amazing

The camera quality is great as well

“We feed directly on your emotions. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner.” Luke????

Congrats to Luke for finally getting his diagnosis!

Also Luke directing the audience to cheer for him and then to stop is amazing (reminds me a bit of that clip of him getting the room to be quiet in that recent Genre game)

Tom changing the scene just to crouch behind the chair… This caught me so off guard (in the best way possible)

I know someone already said this but Little Krampus has huge Scottish Robin vibes

Also I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: how the FUCK does Tom move like that?

Tom stroking at a strand of Luke’s hair like that is so weird and I’m here for it; Tom’s character choices are always top-notch

I think “sassy women who fly to warm places to cheat on their husbands with men called Javier” is my favourite niche sub-genre of AJ character (insert that thing about nickels and things happening twice) (shoutout to Tracy) (also I know that Tracy didn’t canonically sleep with Javier but like… she totally did, right?) (or with a different Javier) (there are always plenty of Javiers available in the SFTHverse) (and she has been fucking everyone (direct quote from her))

I love it when AJ fucks up some tiny, barely-significant thing and Sam just CANNOT let it go and it becomes an actual plot point

AJ’s passport photo poses are gorgeous

“The most wanted terrorist in the North Pole” Jesus Christ Sam

Also tangent but can I just say that AJ wearing friendship bracelets is everything (and am I right in saying that I think those were the ones made by fans? Or am I misremembering? Because if they are that is so fucking sweet)

Now I really want to learn more about the Great Battle

Sassy Tom!!!! I love sassy Tom

The Sam and Luke elves remind me of the Oompa Loompas from West End Big Boys

I love Luke’s determination to climb on Sam and Sam’s determination to prevent it

“~Rudolph motherfucker~” have I mentioned that I love AJ?

Audience to the rescue!

“Initiating micro-space” AJ???

Javier having basically all of his buttons undone… Xavier flashbacks, anyone? (Also, Tom having basically all of his buttons undone… he definitely remembers the latest DnD livestream)

“I was expecting a sexy lady with a big beard” hell yeah, bearded women!

“Is [having your shirt unbuttoned] the local custom?” “No, only when we are awaiting a lover. Which, again, you are not; you are two children.” I love that Tom has to remind Sam to not unbutton his shirt because… it’s Sam

“My manservant was surprised” one, of course Javier had a manservant, and two, they need to stop making me think of BBC Merlin because it kills me every single fucking time

Luke just casually telling this random man that he’s 2000 years old… god, they really do never leave the North Pole, do they?

“Tell me a little less” I love Tom

“I’m definitely the receiver in the relationship” TOM (but also good for Javier)

AJ oh my fucking god

“That’s how it works up there” god I love Sam’s very specific “suspension of disbelief” voice

“That looks like a plot point that’s almost been abandoned” Tom is amazing

Oh, Luke, you’ve just set yourself up for another Pocket scenario

“I just wanted the pussy” Tom

“You know it’s casual” does she? Because she’s moving halfway around the world for him

“Wow, that sounds very transactional to me” I mean… yeah. Yeah, it does

“Hey, let’s not blame someone with a disorder, shall we?” I love Sam holy shit

Tom singing!!!!!!!!!!!! He sounds so creepy??????? He’s doing an amazing job

“~I just realised there’s no cable on this mic at all~” Tom has been freed!

Oh my god I love seeing Tom so happy

Tom’s villains are always amazing for a lot of reasons but especially his physicality???

Tom is having so much fun

AJ’s expression when Tom puts their faces close together is amazing; it’s like, “I have no idea what the fuck you’re doing but I’m going with it”

“Poor little teddy bear Christmas man.” I love Tom trying to bring back the title (“I have so many names and that is not one of them”)

LUKE!!!! (his Little Krampus movements are amazing)

Also Snowdrop :(

AJ just staring blankly into the camera is so fucking creepy

Luke good fucking god

Thought we were going to get a kiss for a second there…

Sam singing!!!!

I love the audience singalongs!

AJ singing!!!!

Holy shit I love this play

Merry Christmas to everyone who celebrates!

[ibrithir-was-here]

beautiful work on the sunlight and snowdrops comic! i wanted to ask, are the narrator and her two sisters also meant to be based on pre-existing fairy tale characters? because i've been wracking my brain and i couldn't think of any other well-known fairytale characters that resemble them

Thank you! So glad you enjoyed it 💖

Yes they are! In a way at least. I was looking to find any other snowy sort of fairytales I could weave into Snow White besides the obvious ones of Snow White and Rose Red and The Snow Queen, and came across a curious little tale called "The Three Princesses in the Blue Mountain", which begins with a prophecy that the three princesses mustn't be allowed outside until after their 15th birthday, or they will be carried off by a magical snow storm--which of course does happen.

It didn't directly end up in 'Sunlight and Snowdrops', but it was my thought that the youngest princess would end up engineering her own abduction in an attempt to reunite with her mother.

[mothmothm0th]

an invention that is safe to create

Buttonbush had fun at the farmer's market! Fresh produce! Foreign streetfood! Fellow dolls darting about! Plenty to awawa about! But now it was on its way home. Buttonbush couldn't wait to see Miss again! Miss had been working on something sure to be amazing and clever for days now. She hadn't been eating too much. That was typical of her when she got into something exciting. But surely she would love the panini Buttonbush chose for her! Buttonbush knew what Miss enjoys!

No one was there to welcome Buttonbush home. Not even her fellow dolls were there! Usually, Snowdrop would be doing preliminary research for Miss, or perhaps Jessamine would be doing the dishes. Baneberry had a habit of sitting on the bottom stair like a silly kitty cat. The fact that the cottage was empty meant Miss' project must be at a critical juncture. And that meant Miss needed food, badly!

Quickly, though not hastily, Buttonbush put away its groceries. Gosh, the pantry and the fridge felt so barren before Buttonbush's intervention. Even emptier than when it left for the market! Though, the fridge had only had a half-empty jar of mayo so perhaps it was exaggerating. Still! Even the mayo was gone!

With just the panini in its basket, Buttonbush climbed down to the cellar. Dank airs and low light was how Miss liked it. Her cottage had two floors and an attic aboveground but below it was a sprawling mess of tunnels and chambers. A rhizome, Miss called it! Many of the tunnels led to a dead end. Sometimes, Miss joked about luring one of her amicable enemies down a tunnel and laying down a brick wall behind them. Or maybe she had already done that. Several of the tunnels were blocked off by brick walls! Not all of them. Some just had an unfinished feel to them.

But the winding tunnel Buttonbush walked down was neither blocked off or unfinished. No, it led to a set of doors. And behind them, another set! Buttonbush made sure to close the first doors before it opened the second. A light gust of oxygen, hydrogen, and assorted gasses from foreign realities welcomed it to Miss' newest workshop. Buttonbush needed to take gentle steps now. The path sloped downwards and Miss had decided not to waste her dolls' time tiling it. Smart of her! Once, a patch of ground had challenged Baneberry to debate the ethics of floors. Poor doll. It still wore Miss' floaty spell charm sometimes to avoid having to touch the ground. If the Walpurgis Council learned of Miss' use of strange spaces, they would frown! One time, a nice maker had come 'round to talk to Buttonbush and Jessamine about it but neither doll told him. Miss was just that good! She had used alternate methods to remake herself, after all.

Soon, the tunnel opened up to a large chamber. Buttonbush hadn't actually been here before. It was neither a familiar or an assistant engineer, and Miss generally visited upstairs for meals, so Buttonbush had no need to come visit. Thus, you can imagine its shock when it saw the room was dominated by a massive wooden construction. Thick branches or perhaps roots had seemingly grown in a wicker-like pattern into a cage around a floating orb made of... was that teak? Branches jutted out like giant spikes. Buttonbush wasn't quite sure what the thin ribbons that seemed caught in the teak orb's rotational currents were but they reminded it of fungal hyphae. Oh, but there was Miss, covered in dirt and half-dried mud, sniffing the air. She could explain! Hello Miss!

"Buttonbush my saviour, I shall savour the savoury treat you have brought me. Your savoir-faire is most..." Miss scratched the base of her antennae. "Salient. That shall have to work." Buttonbush couldn't help but giggle. "Say, my sacred darling, you look ever so fascinated by my sable contraption. Shall I satiate your curiosity? A light seance before we activate it."

"Buttonbush would love to listen to Miss explain her work! Buttonbush loves listening to Miss," Buttonbush said. It paused for a moment and continued: "Even when Miss has been reading her rhyming dictionary."

Miss' laugh straddled the line between a cackle and a giggle. "Worry not, worrywort. My work is nearly done. I shan't need use warding speech any further."

Warding speech. Buttonbush had heard Baneberry talk about it. Sometime about avoiding predictability, to keep strange spaces strange. Mundanity led to stagnation, and stagnation made Miss' magicks worse. But Miss always spoke a little strangely. Buttonbush couldn't tell the difference between her regular and warding speech.

Miss whistled, beckoned her dolls to her. Buttonbush snapped back to reality as Baneberry, Jessamine, Foxglove, and Snowdrop wandered to them from whichever dark nooks Buttonbush had overlooked. All ball-joints on deck! Jessamine's pretty porcelain dripped oil-like sap, and Snowdrop with her fully articulated face seemed exhausted. Foxglove seemed to practically vibrate with excitement. Baneberry, floating like a carnival balloon, struggled to hold Foxglove's hand.

Miss clapped her hands. "Now then! It is time for framing and naming! Buttonbush!" Miss pointed at Buttonbush, who clutched its basket tighter. "I believe this is your first time! Thus, I shall explain." One finger in the air. "The framing and naming is the final step in strange magicks. Look to the machine. It is a structure in motion, yet the motion is undefined, lacking in Purpose." Buttonbush felt sorry for the wicker and the orb. "This is vital! For only at the end, when the physical shape is prepared, ought one grant it Purpose.

"Hark, machine! For thine thorns shall puncture the veil between This and That! Through you shall flow in the airs of thought and feeling. Thus I define thee." The air felt electric around Buttonbush. "Woven wood, hear me! Arrange your paths so that you may judge thoughtful airs. This shall be your purpose." Buttonbush heard little sounds reminiscent of those sorting algorithm videos Snowdrop had been listening. "Dearest ribbons. You shall flutter, and through your flutter you shall weave for each airy judgement its appropriate doom. Thus you shall be." In an instant, each gossamer ribbon began moving in strange and complex patterns. Yet, Buttonbush could tell, these patterns were empty for now. "And hey, eyes up, you orb. You shall be a portal. A seed that grows inward and strangeward. Guide these doomful thoughts through your rhizome to their rightful minds. Infect the thoughts of wrongdoers!" Buttonbush's head spun. It was glad its Purpose lacked the ability to do wrong.

"And thus, you are framed." Miss was out of breath! She fell to one knee! Buttonbush rushed to her side. Miss shook her head. "No no, dearest. I shall be fine."

"But Miss!"

"I shall be fine," Miss repeated. She rose to her feet again. Her lips were stretched to their limits by a slightly concerning grin. "I'm so close. So close. Finally, I shall have constructed a solution to bullying."

Buttonbush tilted its head. This was about bullying? It knew Miss had been a victim of bullying in her school years. As had Snowdrop, come to think of it. And Baneberry! Jessamine never spoke of such matters but Buttonbush could tell it was hiding things.

"You'll see, Button dearest." Miss cackled, turned her attentions back to her invention. "Hear me now, o contraption mine. For while each part of thee knows its means, now I shall imbue thee with the gestalt of ends. Permit I weave a tale." Miss cleared her throat. "Each and every day, people bully those they deem weaker than them. Each day, their victims' psyches are damaged. The airs I shall have thee pluck from the realm of thought are these painful feelings and the motivations which caused them. These you shall organise and categorise. For each pain, you shall weave a salveful dream. For each perpetrator, you shall conjure a vivid nightmare. These dreams none shall forget, and in rememberance shall one and all realise means to a kinder and happier future. This is your Purpose. A center of pain and healing, the heart of revelation. Thus your name shall be..."

Miss paused, as if waiting for a realisation. It seemed to evade her. She turned to her dolls and motioned towards herself frantically. She needed their ideas! Snowdrop spoke first, bringing up a book she had read; a cautionary tale about the construction of a machine one might indeed call a 'center of pain'. Baneberry laughed to the point of hiccups. Jessamine emoted like a character from its favourite MMO. Miss seemed tired. She turned to Buttonbush, seemingly holding her breath so as to not name the machine the sound of an exhale.

Buttonbush hemmed and hawed. It was bad at names! But it liked the word 'contraption'. So this was a contraption for... thoughts? Dreams? Nightmares... Something something Contraption. It was supposed to make lives better. Hm... perhaps...

"So it's like, a thing that makes dreams into therapy? Like a Dream Therapy Contraption?" Buttonbush said. It wasn't sure. Not one bit. It was silly of Miss to not have a name in mind but perhaps she needed to keep her options open while working on her project. Stagnation and such. But Miss seemed to like it. Maybe that was just relief.

"Thus I name thee, the Dream Therapy Contraption," Miss proclaimed. In an instant, the machine, the Contraption, whirred into life. And as it did, the chamber seemed to stabilise. Buttonbush had already gotten used to how the air here smelled but as it inhaled normal air again, it realised how it had missed it.

Oh, but Miss was not doing so good. Foxglove was already helping prop her up. So resourceful of it. It nodded at Jessamine to get Miss' other side. It wasn't the first time they had served as Miss' crutches. Baneberry floated off ahead of them; to prepare Miss' bed, surely. Snowdrop in turn began collecting tools and grimoires. It just left Buttonbush and its basket, and...

Oh, the panini!

[raymantogether]

Rayman Together Community Spotlight #2 - Rabbid Edge!

Foreword:

If you haven't already played Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle or Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope, the game was published by Ubisoft exclusively for Nintendo Switch and is an action-adventure turn-based strategy game developed by Ubisoft Milan and Ubisoft Paris. Prior to the Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle reveal at E3 2017, the game surfaced online and was met with criticism and skepticism from the wider gaming community. The artwork leaked online depicted Mario and friends alongside their Rabbid counterparts with large blasters. The prospect of Mario with the Rabbids was a nightmare for a lot of people. Following the success of Rayman Raving Rabbids, the Rabbids had slowly declined in popularity. The Rabbids were annoying and boring and had lost their humor. Nintendo, who have strongly held their licenses for Mario, has rarely ever collaborated with other videogame companies. Furthermore, Nintendo has always encouraged a family-friendly and positive environment. The prospect of Mario with weapons was alien to a lot of people. Ubisoft finally revealed Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle at E3 2017; the game went on to become a huge success. Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle was released on August 29th, 2017 and went on to sell over 10 million copies in over six years. A sequel, Mario + Rabbids Sparks Of Hope, was revealed at E3 2021 and released on October 20th, 2022. Despite the game initially not exceeding Ubisoft sales expectations, the game went on to sell over three million as of January 2024. This was another remarkable success for the teams at Ubisoft Milan and Paris. Both games were well received and were critically acclaimed. 

If you haven't already, I implore you to pick up both games. The Mario + Rabbids series is personally one of the most refreshing titles from Ubisoft in a generation. The game oozes personality and charm thanks to its charismatic and energetic character design and animations. The soundtracks for both games are composed by the amazing Grant Kirkhope, who is responsible for some of the most creative music in the industry. Needn't I say more? The world design is intricate, creative, and a real pleasure to explore. I thoroughly enjoyed the heartfelt, exciting, and fun story, which gripped me from beginning to end in both stories. The development teams did a remarkable job of capturing both the look and personality from the worlds of both the Rabbids and Mario and bringing it to life. The game is gorgeous thanks to the Snowdrop Engine, which has been executed brilliantly on the Nintendo Switch. Ubisoft has somehow managed to compliment Mario with the Rabbids extraordinarily well. This is something I never imagined possible. Both games are very similar to those of the XCOM and Fire Emblem series. I love strategy games, and I have sunk hours into both titles. I found the gameplay rewarding, clever, and at times a real challenge for tacticians. There are plenty of creative options with gameplay thanks to various choices of weapons, skills, and characters. The gameplay possibilities are endless. My favorite game in the series is definitely Mario Rabbids Sparks of Hope, as it offers so much more opportunities for world-building and exploration. The game allows for more creative gameplay choices through movement and freedom of choice, including the addition of the Sparks. However, the most important reason Sparks of Hope is my favorite game in the series is because Ubisoft Milan brought back Rayman. 

At Ubisoft Forward in 2022 Ubisoft Milan Creative Director Davide Soliani revealed to the World their plan to bring back Rayman as part of the season pass for Mario Rabbids Sparks Of Hope. The third story expansion called Rayman In The Phantom Show released on August 30th 2023. The DLC stars Rayman alongside Rabbid Mario and Rabbid Peach as they are invited to the mysterious Space Opera Network by the fan favourite villain the Phantom. The Phantom who has renounced his villainy for fame needs help from Rayman and the Rabbids to help restore the poor ratings and viewings to his TV Space Station.  Rayman, Rabbid Peach And Rabbid Mario adventure across Western, Pirate and Medieval sets as part of the Phantoms ambitious plan for revenge. The team at Ubisoft did an extraordinary job of bring back Rayman to life. Rayman has never looked and felt so alive. You get a real sense that Ubisoft Milan and Ubisoft Paris love Rayman from this short but jam packed adventure. Rayman In The Phantom Show pays tribute to the Rayman series through acknowledgement of his almost 30 Year history. In every stage you can find card board references from various Rayman Games. The combat fatigues  from Rayman 3: Hoodlum Havoc make a spectacular return with Rayman offering plenty of gameplay variety on the battlefield. Both the vortex and rocket costumes look better then ever and are brilliant both in design and how you can use them. The weapons are crafted with plenty of attention to detail with references in design to Ly The Fairy, Teensies, Rayman Raving Rabbids and more. I particularly am fond of the plum turrets. If Nintendo ever work collaborate with Ubisoft again I would love to see Rayman in Super Smash Bros with the Plum Turrets. The soundtrack for the DLC Is composed by Grant Kirkhope and Christopher Heral. The genius Christopher Heral responsible for both soundtracks for Rayman Origins and Legends returns for Rayman In The Phantom Show. If you listen closely you can hear brilliant renditions from various games. David Gasman also reprises his role in Rayman In The Phantom Show. If you have played the earlier Rayman games you will be familiar of his work. I thoroughly enjoyed this DLC and it has left me with wanting so much more. I would love to see Ubisoft Milan work on Rayman again in the future. If you're new to the series or a Rayman fan and have liked everything you have read so far I strongly encourage you to pick up Mario Rabbids Kingdom Battle and Sparks Of Hope including the season pass. 

Interview:

To celebrate both Rayman's 29th anniversary this weekend and the anniversary of Mario + Rabbids Sparks Of Hope DLC Rayman In The Phantom Show, I am delighted to feature Anna as part of this special community spotlight.

You may know Anna as RabbidEdge from both the Rayman and the Mario Rabbids community. Anna is an extremely passionate, kind, and caring individual with a yearning to help create a positive environment in the community. Anna is renowned for her creative cosplays of Rabbid Edge, Rayman, and more. Anna enjoys creating artwork and has a passion for telling stories. I am delighted to feature and show you more about Anna in this brilliant and really insightful spotlight.

Anna has been extremely open and honest about some very serious and sensitive subjects in this spotlight about her personal health and wellbeing. I encourage you all to be polite and respectful. 

Please introduce yourself:

"Hi everyone, My name's Anna. I am 37 years old (but I've never lost my inner child) and living with my husband, our four kids, three cats, and nine chickens in a village in Austria. I am working as a pharmacist, enjoying helping people every day. Last year I started two new hobbies: cosplaying and drawing digitally. Since that, I am also sharing my creations on social media like Instagram, X, or Tumblr."

Tell us something funny or interesting about yourself?

"I have always been a very creative, extroverted, and energetic person. Even as a child, I loved to draw, invent stories or songs, and to tape-record them together with friends or to play little theater sketches for our families. Many times we dressed up as our favorite anime- or video game characters, singers, or just some elves or Vikings. I wouldn´t call it cosplay, and most costumes were just a mix of old fancy dresses and things we found in the wardrobe of our grandparents, but we always had a lot of fun, and my heart is warming with joy when I think about these times... However, things change, life happens, and so having babies, a house, and animals had kept me quite busy (but happy!) for almost 9 years. I had lost my former self somewhere between household, work, and trying the best to be a good mom. Then came Edge.."

How do you like to spend your free time?

"Free time—what's that? Haha! I don't know this, for I always have a lot on my plate! But I think, you mean the time when I am not at work or busy with mom-duties. I am spending most of these hours crafting and sewing new cosplays or improving old ones, shooting them in various sceneries, editing the photos and videos I took for my social media, doodling and drawing Rabbids-stuff, posting my finished work and stories on Instagram, X and co, replying to dms and comments or supporting other artists.

Furthermore, I am a very active person, feeling the need to exercise every day or to at least go for a walk or ride my bike. Music is also a very important part of my life! I enjoy listening to it while I am doing a workout or working on a drawing.

Music inspires me! When I look at my art or cosplay- pictures, I immediately remember the song that brought me into the mood for its creation, that I listened to during the process, or that I used in my Instagram stories for its posting. I am also singing in a choir, by the way.

There is much more I would love to do, like playing video games or reading. The only problem is that my days only have 24 hours. I used to say that I am living two lives with the time of just one."

What made you fall in love with the Mario Rabbid Series?

"To be honest, it was my oldest daughter! She has never been interested in TV shows for kids like Paw Patrol, etc. Instead, she likes to watch game streams on YouTube, and there she discovered Mario+Rabbids: Sparks of Hope. She enjoyed watching these streams so much that she wanted to play the game herself, so she got it as a gift on St. Nicholas Day in 2022. However, it was quite challenging for her, and so my husband started to play it with our kids and me watching him. I can remember that I always did my workout on a fitness mat on the floor while he was playing, and it was quite entertaining to watch him! I was surprised by the cute designs of the characters and levels and by its unique gameplay, which is totally different from other games I had played before—and really addictive! So we often ended up playing till late at night, saying “Just one more battle!” again and again. Even if I hadn't played the game myself at the beginning, I already loved it! Oh, and then came Edge...and made my love for this game and Mario+Rabbids in general go through the roof! I couldn´t think about anything else than Edge and Rabbids the whole day long! I started to play myself, always having Edge as the leader of my team, searched for fan art and fan fiction, and slowly stumbled into the fandom. Oh, and I still play Sparks of Hope when I find time for it! I consider this game a real masterpiece! Ubisoft poured so much love into every detail! I love everything about it, from the backstory to the funny voice-lines or to the amazing soundtrack! And I enjoy the “found-family" dynamics of the hero team so much, OMG!!! With this game, Ubisoft managed to make me fall in love with Rabbids, not only with Edge but with Rabbids in general."

What is your favorite Mario Rabbids game, and who is your favorite character?

"That's quite a simple question to answer. Of course, to be honest, I haven't played Mario+Rabbids: Kingdom Battle yet. Shame on me! I already have the game at home, but all the time I thought about starting it, I ended up playing Sparks of Hope instead. Of course I wanted to see my beloved Edge.

Furthermore, Mario+Rabbids: Sparks of Hope will always have a special meaning for me, as it distracted me from health problems that were bothering me a lot at this time. At the beginning of December 2022, I had to wait for a medical appointment in order to check if I would suffer from cancer. I tried to not let the possibility of receiving a bad diagnosis overwhelm me—something easier said than done. So watching and playing Sparks of Hope with my family made me forget this sorrow for a moment. It cheered me up in a difficult time of my life. As I one evening found myself thinking about what I would want to do before death, if I would have just some months left to live, I realized that I wouldn't want to go on a big journey or party hard or so. Instead, I would want to spend the last moments with my family, doing what we already did every evening—sitting and playing together. This thought made me feel calm and peaceful, blessed and grateful. So Sparks of Hope became for me what its name promises: a spark of hope. With that, it will always be my favorite Mario+Rabbids game!

However, I am sure that Kingdom Battle is a great game as well! I have only heard good things about it, and I am familiar with its characters and plot. I finally need to get into it myself...

Oh, and my favorite character is- surprise, surprise—Edge! But to be honest, I like them all! No matter if it's Rabbid Peach, Bwario, Kanya, or Rayman. I couldn't pick a single character of the series that I totally couldn't stand."

What made you fall in love so much with Rabbid Edge, and what is your inspiration behind your artwork and comic series?

"I have to laugh at this question; of course I could fill a whole book with this answer! Haha! I will try to be brief. I can remember the first time I saw Edge. It was in December 2022 as I watched my husband play Mario+Rabbids: Sparks of Hope—the well-known cutscene of her first appearance. God, just thinking about it makes me shiver in excitement! This epic scene instantly made me fall in love with her! It was as if Ubisoft had poured all the characteristics that make my heart flutter into this little rabbit! To explain this further: I am a sucker for mysterious characters, which hide a kind heart behind their badass attitude. I love mighty swords, spiky hair, sharp teeth, gothic clothes, the colors green and purple, and deep, striking voices. On top of all, give that character a dark backstory, and I am hooked! The combination of these attributes made me fall for Edge. I couldn't help it! Neither have I chosen to feel this way nor have I ever thought that it would be possible to develop true love for a fictional character! However, I thought the best thing would be to welcome these beautiful feelings and to make full use of this newfound energy. So I started to work on the art of Edge and different scenes of the game, including a comic about her tragic past and the battle against Cursa.

I also wanted to dress up as Edge for the carnival  but found out that there isn't any costume of her or Rabbids in general. This was when I decided to sew one myself. With that, my cosplay journey began. I thought that if no one has ever made a cosplay of Edge before, I had to be the one to bring her to life, even if I had no idea what I was doing. Looking at the first photos I took of her makes me smile. Some look really funny and weird, but I can remember how strong, confident, and sexy I felt in these moments. And hey, every journey has to start with a first step! Since then, I have learned a lot. I have improved my skills, bought more tools and materials, worked over my cosplay again and again, altered and exchanged parts, and developed this alter ego of Rabbid Edge for me and my social media. Still, I am quite a newbie, and there is always room for improvement!

I am so grateful that I got to know Edge; of course she made me find myself again and, at the same time, discover another me. She made me feel like more than just a mom again. She made me feel attractive and love my body again. She made me get creative and go wild and crazy. She made me play again; she made me dream again and go far beyond my imagination! And she made me get to know so many new amazing people! I owe her so much. I owe Ubisoft so much! I feel so grateful and full of love that I would want to hug everyone of my followers and of the great people that worked on Mario+Rabbids: Sparks of Hope!

The main inspiration for my work comes from the game itself, for it provides a quite mature and exciting backstory and interesting characters but leaves room for further assumptions and interpretation. But of course official concept art, headcanons, and drawings of other fans inspire me a lot too! And sometimes a new idea comes to my mind while I am on a walk or listening to music."

If you could live in any world from the Mario Rabbids Series, where would you live?

"I would choose Melodic Gardens! I love its biome with the tropical forest, exotic flowers, and the flooded ruins. Everything looks so beautiful and mystical. Furthermore, I like the cute and peaceful Rabbids, that live here and the symphonies that fill the air of this planet. And I would love to meet Allegra! She is so cute and majestic."

Who would be at your dream Mario Rabbids Party?

"Wow, it's really hard to select three out of all the great characters, but I think I would take Edge, Rayman, and Rabbid Peach. Edge, course she's Edge, hey! Rayman, course he is my childhood hero, who—together with Super Mario—made me start to play video games, and Rabbid Peach, course she is sassy and crazy, and course I always need a healer in my party!"

What made you fall in love with the Rayman series?

"You have to know that I grew up loving Rayman! He was my childhood hero! For my ten-year-old me, Rayman was cool, Rayman was fun, and Rayman was Ubisoft.

As I was a little kid, my family had no computer or game console. My brother and I knew video games just from our cousins or neighbors. I can remember how we often bought gaming magazines and looked at them, wishing that we were able to play these games ourselves. And when there was something of Rayman in it, we went, Ah, look, Rayman, so cool!!! He somehow fascinated us. At the age of 9, we got a Game Boy for Christmas; at the age of 12, a Dreamcast. This was a dream come true for us! There was a demo disc coming with it that also had a demo of Rayman 2 on it. We immediately played and loved it! I don't know how many times we played this demo! It must have been a few hundred times or so! One day we received the full version of the game, and from this time on, Rayman accompanied us nearly every day. We played it again and again! I can remember that I even had a crush on Rayman! I loved his cool attitude, his crazy hair, and his voice. I drew him a lot, wrote songs about him, and even dressed up as him—just for fun. Later we also played the Rayman Game Boy Color Game and Rayman 3, as an adult also Rayman M, Rayman Raving Rabbids, Rayman Origins, and Rayman Legends. 

But Rayman also has a deeper meaning for my brother and me. Our childhood wasn't easy. We have experienced things that no kid, no one should ever witness. Rayman, and playing games in general, helped us to escape from reality, when there was only fear and violence waiting for us. I can remember that we had so much fun and laughed a lot despite the difficult circumstances we were raised under. Rayman and Ubisoft distracted us, were there for us, when there was no light in real life...Last year I thanked the people of Ubisoft Milan for this. I thanked them for having always been there for me for nearly all my life.

Today I am a happy and positive person. I have reached everything I ever wanted. I have learned to make the best of every situation, no matter how bad it may seem. I have learned that everything happens for a reason, even if we cannot understand it in a certain moment. This is why I am not sad or angry about the things that happened to me as a child. I am grateful; of course, all these things made me become the person I am today.

However, when I think about my tragic past, I realize that I may have more in common with Edge than I'd like. I feel connected with her. I understand her. I feel her."

What is your favorite cosplay you have designed?

"This is a difficult question. Of course, every cosplay I have made so far has aspects I like but also something I dislike, and there are various ways to rate them. I would say that the cosplays I enjoy to wear the most—or I “am feeling” the most—are definitely Edge and Kanya. When I dress up as them, I am really becoming the character! I look into the mirror and think,Yeah, baby!” But considering my craftsmanship skills, I think Barbara from Rayman Legends is my best cosplay so far. As a cosplay newbie, I am still learning and improving. Therefore, I am also working over my older cosplays again and again. I have changed Edge's wig so many times, I have stopped counting. And soon I want to do the fourth sword for her. Edge will always be my number one!

I am also happy that I managed to do a Rayman (and Ramon) cosplay! It´s for sure not perfect, and I have to work over the photos with Photoshop to remove my limbs, but dressing up as him makes my inner child scream with joy!

Furthermore, the “play" factor in “cosplay” is very important for me! I don´t just buy cosplays, put them on, take a photo, and toss them away again. I love to bring my characters to life, to think about how they would act and talk, and to cosplay them in alternative outfits and different situations, like the wedding of Edge and Midnite or my Christmas- or Easter-shooting."

What cosplays are you planning on in the future?

"I am currently working on a new project: I am creating my own protogen and therefore sewing a fursuit. It's not really cosplay; of course it won't be a certain character. I'd rather call it a fursona or OC. But I am excited to work on it; of course it is something totally different from what I have done so far, and I think it will look really cool in the end!

Despite that, I want to make a cosplay of Hiiragi Utena from the anime “Gushing over Magical Girls." I have already bought the fabric for it.

Furthermore, the idea of making a Cursa-cosplay (Mario+Rabbids: Sparks of Hope) won't go out of my mind! I would love to create a sensual version of her true form, wearing a long cloak and her white mask, but maybe also showing some skin... Yeah, I think I will have to get this one started next...

And of course I will always work on further Edge content! I will improve parts of her cosplay, and I will think of new outfits and shootings. I already have a special scenery in mind; I want to shoot in autumn."

Tell us about your time at Ubisoft Milan.

"Last year in September I was granted to meet my beloved Edge—or better—the amazing artists and creators of Mario+Rabbids: Sparks of Hope at Ubisoft Milan. It was a dream come true for me! After enjoying their games and admiring their work for so long, I was finally able to hug them and thank them for everything they have gifted us players so far. I still can't believe how lucky I was! My visit there was a blast in every way! I was able to take a look at the “holy halls," to shake hands with all these kind people I had known only from social media or the credits of their games, and to get to know more about Edge's creation and her backstory. Furthermore, we had lunch together, took a lot of cool and funny photos, and talked about the hard work in the gaming industry, my cosplay work, but also private things. And as if this hadn´t been enough, I received many gifts, like the art book or Spark-plushies for my kids and special drawings that were made for me during my visit.

I have to admit that before my visit I had been very excited! But everyone was so nice, polite, and cute! I felt like meeting and talking to long-known friends. The fear was gone, and laughter and joy filled the air. They welcomed me so heartily, and I immediately felt comfortable among these amazing people. I am so grateful that for this unique moment I was granted to be part of their "family." I will keep the memories of my visit as an eternal treasure in my heart."

Thank you so much, Anna, for being a part of the Rayman Together community spotlight. It was amazing to read about yourself and discover more about you. If you are interested in finding out more about Anna, I have included links to her social media account below. Please follow and support her.

[gracebethartacc]

What’s the whole rundown of Sombra’s backstory and the downfall of the crystal empire? Yap all you want :]

late to this ask and didn’t proof read but anyway !!

CRACKS KNUCKLES BC I WAS GONNA DO THIS RUN DOWN WHENEVER I ACTUALLY FINISH THEIR REFS BUT IG ILL DO IT NOW LOL (gonna assume u already know my cadence family tree stuff for this bc I don’t fully specify it and if u don’t know it just go to the mlp rw tag i had an ask going over it once lately I know I just don’t feel like grabbing it rn lols)

Ok so basically it’s all just a loosely adapted plot from the og comics alright (if you don’t know the og sombra past um here’s a playlist of a dub and recap I have of the story bc I talk about it here assuming you already know it)

For context sombra is a bat pony in my rw! I’m kindof? Combining the umbrum and bat ponies together? If that makes any sense ok? Ok. (Unsure how specifically like if it’s just a role replacement or a literal combo in that bat ponies have spooky forms idk I need to decide)

So sombra was found in the snow by some of the crystal guards outside the empire, and thus taken to the empress’s (Amore and snowdrop) (Amore is an alicorn while snow is a Pegasus ofc (not a crystal pony like Amore tho!)) 

Sombra becomes fast friends with the princesses (Loving Cadence and Healing Hope, the Mi Amore Cadenza name is a nickname from Amore, so ig in turn Hope would have the matching name of Mi Amore Speranza) 

Basically same events of the canon comics— Sombra and Hope fall in love, they look at their futures in the Heart (which the heart having prophetic abilities was really cool and I wish was adapted into the actual show!! Def wanna play w that in my au more I love it), Sombra is attacked by the crystal heart every crystal faire because of his umbrum status making him be read as a threat, etc same song and dance as canon comics ok

The only difference is my sombra ends up making the alicorn amulet— essentially he fucked around with infusing magic into a gem and through the gem he can use magic now! I’m sure there will be no negative effects to this,,,,,,

Eventually bc of the heart hurting him every year getting worse sombra is like.. hey. If I can infuse magic into a crystal… who’s to say I can’t reverse engineer the spell and take magic Out of a crystal either (looks at the heart) 

So! Plan to sneak to the heart to take away it’s magic so it’ll stop hurting him! The crystal ponies don’t need it they’re all safe (logic of that one post that’s like “why do I have to take ibuprofen for my headaches they usually go away after a while anyway lol” like gee sombra. I wonder why the crystal ponies are safe.) but has a back up plan that if draining its magic doesn’t work he also has a spell handy that can just erase it (subtle foreshadowing) 

Sneaks out and uh oh Amore confrontation like canon, sombra is getting angry and corrupted by the amulet more and more, and leads to Amore being turned to stone n all that ok it’s just canon lol hope comes out and tries to talk sense into him, yada yada we know this lol again i snagged like most of it from canon just w small tweaks

Snowdrop comes out eventually with some help from concord, snow gets hurt tho (and or killed I can see either happening tbh?) so tells con to get the girls to safety, does so with cadence but sombra gets to hope first, guy is just full evil now and basically goes with plan B but on larger scale, so instead of curse to make the heart disappear, he casts it on the entire empire, wiping it out of existence and from memory. (Also the reason the snow storm around the empire is so bad um I point at con bc yeahhhh he would not be happy his friend got injured/died or whatever again idk yet what I wanna do) 

Con brings cadence to tia who ofc doesn’t know who she is bc she doesn’t know of a crystal empire, ISAT has made me a huuuuge sucker for the concept of a mass amnesia/universe rewrital about a specific place, very very cool. I think any scrolls with its name would be redacted, like a burn scorch on the name or any reference to it or the empresses etc 

Tia takes cadence in as a niece and she’d eventually get alicorn status (not sure how tho, probably will adapt her backstory into it somehow? Shrugs I’d love any ideas :3) 

Soooo yeah sombra DOESN'T take over the empire in my version, tho I think he’d try to when resurrected, but I prefer the more mind control idea than the. Yk. Slavery. (The mind control added to by my bat pony lore w flutters stare and sombras stare thing he also does)

But yeah anyway his s3 return would be basically the same plot minus that hope would be included here too but wouldn’t remember anything like the all og crystal ponies do— I can actually see the idea he’s already taken over the castle and has hope captured just kinda hypnotized at his side bc I think that would be a fun visual (then again I’m very biased bc I love me some toxic relationship mind control plots (looks over at AAU)) tho I ALSO think hope being fully into it is also cool I also love that trope of character goes evil and instead of leaving them their partner stays bc they think it’s hot/want in on also being evil LOL so tbh I like both options equally I’d love to get input on that on which one yall like more bc the first one feels more natural but the second is more fun is the thing lols

Anyway Sombra would be defeated like canon and the curse is broken on the crystal ponies, and then later he is brought back by grogar (and Not die this time!) I think would get kinda same plot as comics of hope convincing him to change/improv and they work to find amores shards yippee :3 I don’t wanna say Redeemed sombra but more so that he’s attempting to be better moreso? 

Uhhhh ig that’s all? I prommy that I’ll finish the refs soon,, I have amore/snow and hope/sombra all done! It’s just the cadence family I’m doing now (I have younger ref done I just need to finish wedding, post wedding, and flurry and that’s all) (ig heads up before I eventually post those is I renamed flurry to be snowy heart bc I think it just fits better also bc I changed her fur to white like shining so a more snow specific name fits :3€) 

[wrecksalot]

Okay, I like Wildbow and Flying Circus, so I'm just going to speculate on what planes various Wildbow characters would fly if they were ace pilots from flying circus, starting with the undersiders.

Grue : a Bahadur Escort(a heavy fighter that can go a few rounds in a slugging match)

Bitch: a Teicher Mammut (spacious cockpit with room for dogs, plenty of bombsmake it a heavy hitter)

Tattletale a Gernsbeck experiment 0012(a fighter with way too many clever gadgets can't actually power them all, making some utterly wasted at any given time)

Skitter a Schnelles Mammut(a bomber with way too many pulsejets to keep up with fighters. Similar bomb capacity to Rachel's as a heavy hitter, absolutely torturous to fly due to engine noise and turbulence.)

Aisha: a Cheetal Fighter (similar make to grues, but with an emphasis on seeing opponents before they see it)

Regent is tricky. If we assume they still have their powers then he flies a Theler drachen(the shittiest plane in the core book, but it can coast at a very low speed without stalling, and Regent would still be the scariest member of the team since his power can easily make opponents fall into a spin)

Otherwise he flies a Kreuzer Spinner v8 conversion( adapted to escape a toxic environment, can almost pass as a normal fighter if you aren't paying attention

If we assume this is their actual lineup then you better believe that they will need a backer with tons of money just to pay for their planes upkeep.

Next, for the Other verse MCs

Blake Thorburn has the grave misfortune of flying a Dr Sonnewende's bargain(extremely fast, so fragile it can barely even turn once it gets going, literally cursed)

The Kenneteers have immense backing in their setting, so for this crossover I'm giving them bougie planes that are unaffordable to most circus pilots.

Lucy flies a Von Morgan Vampyr (high end dogfighter that can shoot down some fighters in a single attack run)

Verona flies a Von Morgan Pferd(a bomber that needs fighter cover but which carries enough bomb mass that you might as well have dropped the moon on your target)

Avery flies a Mauss Z 95 Phoenix ( high altitude ceiling means she travels places most can't reach, pretty fast in general, but can dive down from those lofty heights to get places very fast, still has plenty of fire power for prongs

Ehh, might as well do familiars too

Evan gets an unarmed Albrecht pfeil( no weapons, but fast and free)

And Snowdrop gets a das Gegenbeispiel( apparently someone didn't understand her gimmick when she explained what a good plane would be.

[jacobmybeloved]

Far Cry 7 Leaks!

okay. so a few weeks ago I saw this video from one of my fave youtube channels.

TLDR (6:39 mark on video):

-Non-linear story

-The story centered around saving the player character's kidnapped family

-The premise of the campaign is for the player to rescue their entire family within a specific time frame (in-game timer 72 hours, 24 hours in real-time (timer can be paused when the player enters on of their safehouses)

-Family members can be killed off which can impact the story.

-New interrogation mechanic; enemies can lie or remain quiet or help, kinda like LA Noire.

-Game planned for Fall 2025

-Game will be developed by Ubisoft Montreal and will move away from the Dunia engine to Snowdrop (The Division engine)

SO TODAY, I saw this clip on youtube:

TLDR:

-(TBD) Title: Far Cry Rise

-New setting is a small island off the coast of South Korea

-Lead villain played by Lee Jung-Jae from Squid Games.

-North Korean insurgents have taken your siblings.

-Campaign can be done in co-op mode

-Player character can be male or female

-New multiplayer mode called Conquest (open-world extraction mode) --> squads of three complete a series of objectives and engage with 90 other real players in search of valuable items while struggling to survive until extraction.

Update 10.6.23 [from this article]

-FC7 may combine elements from the highly regarded FC3 and FC5

-Return of narrative designer and lead writer Drew Holmes suggests that FC7 may carry over and expand his previous vision and ideas from FC5

-The setting is a tropical island called Kimsan, located in the "Yellow Sea next to Korea"

[snacho-to-ur-nacho]

here are all the ia headcanons i have about infinity alchemist:

- ramsay thorne had a spider in her house which refused to leave which was her first impression of a stable love

-he loves plums (this one is inspired by @sheyri

-he feeds pigeons (also from sheyri)

-he hated cooking but could be a master chef if he tried (since whenever i read his name at first i kept thinking about gordon ramsay)

-sometimes wears vintage and dark academia skirts and/or dresses

-when he was young (and still sort of now) he reas fairytales a lot and kept hoping for a knight in shining armor or something to help him with all the harrassment and hate and believed love would fix everything but also not sure how to be loved

-slytherin or ravenclaw

- there was a student in his class who lost parents in snowdrop but they were abusive so he randomly thanked ramsay for what his parents did and ramsay didnt know what thw socially acceptable reaction to that was

- he had a professor at pembrook who became almost like a father to him but who turned on him after his neice died in snowdrop. ramsay had slipped uo and called him dad twice, once when distracted reading before, and once in an emotional argument after

-ash is the chaotic boyfriend

-ash would be the most protective

-ash most likely has a brother (im going to pretend i havent been headcanoning an oc i had to make for engineering as his unofficial brother)

-since hes the youngest its like hes a gen alpha and sometimes uses slang on his gen z boyfriends

-ramsay understands but hates it and is fondly exasperated while callum is just confused

-definetly a gryffindor

-ramsay would make dark jokes while ash laughs and callum watches with concern growing

-callum probably cheated on ramsay a few times when they were together back in pembrook but now deeply regrets it

-a hufflepuff till the end

-most romantic of the three

[kamyru]

Pastry, cats, and break up songs. Chapter 1: I knew you were trouble

Oops! I Said Yes?! AU

Summary: As you are closer to finish your degree in food engineering, you decide to start working part-time at "Takeru's moving castle" - a small but very loved pastry shop that is placed right in front of the "Snowdrop" veterinary clinic and "Snowdrop" pet shop. Who could have guessed that on your first day as a cashier you would piss off one of the regulars? You had no idea why, no one had any idea why, and it wasn't in his style. But you accidentally get tangled in his life and he in yours. Or was it from even before? He helps you, you help him. And in between, you eat pastry, save cats, and scream break-up songs every now and then.

Content warning for this chapter: Brief mention of an injured cat, but no detailed description. The cat is okay. I promise.

Author's notes: So… It's been more than a year since I mentioned my first multi-chapter Voltage Inc AU. I'm sorry for taking so long to publish this. However, I'm back in the fandom! You have to thank Meguro Chigaya for this. I hope you'll welcome me back and I'll try to post more about Voltage Inc. Anyway, as you see in the title, the fic is called "Pastry, cats, and break-up songs" and, because of this, some of the chapters will have names from break-up songs. This one is named after "I knew you were trouble" by Taylor Swift. Also, this chapter contains mild description of an injured cat, but nothing serious. The kitty is fine. All the cats in this fic will be fine. But some of the characters work in a vet clinics, so injured animals appear every now and then. None of them have a bad injury and all of them are happy in the end. I'm not Stephen King, I promise. So, please enjoy this chapter and look forward to more. Don't hesitate to tell me your opinions. I can't wait to see if you liked it or not.

Word counting: 4476

For the past week, you got sick of cleaning tables and remembering the menu. Being behind the counter gave you a better view on the pastry, even if it was testing your will. However, as enthusiastic as you were to start a new work, you were also nervous. How would it be to have your first customer? What were the most popular pastry choices? How much were people ready to pay for these pieces of culinary art?

“I would like to have a strawberry shortcake, a piece of crepe cake with peach jam, and a castella.”

So… Here he was: your first customer. Black leather jacket on top of a plain white t-shirt, long eyelashes that made his sharp eyes seem like he got stuck in a teenage emo phase, a mole right under his left eye, and was it a single dimple on one of his cheeks? Oops! You had to give him his order. It didn’t seem so hard. As you expected, the strawberry shortcake and the peach jam sweets were a hit. The crepe cake was so soft, you were afraid it would break down before you moved it. The jam was spilling out, making you salivate. You put it in a different box from the other two to avoid staining and destabilizing them. A little bit more and your first customer was done…

“Can you tell me from what part of Japan the peaches from the peach jam are?”

The sound of the receipt printing fainted in the air and you looked at the customer. His dark eyes were staring right at you from way before your eyes met. He crossed his hands across his chest and raised a brow. 

“At this price, I would expect them to be from Okayama,” the man stated. The sharp eyes were now looking directly at you, without tolerating any delay in answers. 

“I am sorry, unfortunately I don’t have any information regarding the peaches from the jam. But I can consult our chief and tell you in a bit.”

Shit… How could you be so incompetent? You tried to wreck your brain in search of the information the client needed. Maybe it was written someone in the papers Mr. Momose gave you. Though, you had never expected to need it.

“Don’t bother yourself now. Better tell me what type of honey was used in the castella,” the client continued his interrogation. 

“It is natural acacia honey,” you said, proud to know at least this one. Kiriya told you to memorize the types of honey used as ingredients, because some people had an allergy to one type, without having to another one. 

“Can it be contaminated with linden or other flowers?”

You didn’t know. Could it be? At a course in your university, you learned that it was possible. But you didn’t remember reading anything like this on the package. It most probably was mentioned, however, which one exactly? Was it flowers, linden, buckwheat or something else? 

Upon seeing the hesitance in your answer, the client rolled his eyes and put his hands in his pockets. 

“Give me my money back, Miss L/N,” he read on your tag. “I refuse to buy anything from such an incompetent worker.”

The receipt that you had in your hands fell on the counter. It was seven-thirty on a Monday morning and the guy in front of you was your first client ever in retail work. For a split second, you remembered your last online commission, the one you had to give up and return the money to the client. For the first time in months, you could visualize something in your mind. And as soon as you thought that giving up on your new job was a good idea, Kiriya patted you on the shoulder - the image disappeared and the face of the client in front of you became clear again. He had an eyebrow raised. You stepped aside to give Kiriya some space. He made you watch him attentively and remember how to give the money back. You tried your best, but your brain didn’t want to cooperate. 

“Show me how to do it,” Kiriya said and you understood that the client already left. 

You looked at the barista in front of you. His messy bangs were falling in waves on his eyes, but it wasn’t enough to cover their impatience. So, you looked from the cash machine at your colleague and back. He sighed and slowed down, showing you the order the buttons have to be pressed.

“I don’t understand what you told Kiba. He is one of our regulars and it’s the first time I see him like this. It’s probably the longest he has ever talked with any of our staff.”

You pressed the buttons in the same order as Kiriya. He told you to do it again and again. It had to be habitual by the time someone else asked you to give them their money back. However, you hoped it wouldn’t be too soon. 

“He started questioning me the moment I wanted to give him the receipt,” you explained to your senior colleague. You stopped taping the buttons to look at him as he was frowning. Something wasn’t adding up and you couldn’t understand why you were the one to piss off one of the regulars. 

“I’ll stay near you when I don’t have clients, to make sure you are not messing up again,” Kiriya told you. It gave you an ounce of reassurement. You knew that Kiriya wasn’t there to protect you, but his presence was enough to give you courage that he could step up in case you made a mistake. 

But you didn’t. The next clients were as smooth as you hoped the first one to be. One old lady even complimented you, saying that it was a blessing to meet someone so pretty that early in the morning. You smiled even broader. Kiriya didn’t, but he wasn’t complimented, so it was okay. And soon, your working day finished. 

You wanted to eat your lunch. You wanted to try some more of the pastry displayed in front of you this whole day. But there was something you needed more: to buy food for your cat at home. You asked Suzumu to do it a few times, but since you asked him, your flatmate didn’t leave his house and you weren’t sure if it was because he didn’t want to do it, or because he was busy again with programming problems. Suzumu loved your cat, he was the one to convince you to sneak it inside and to virtuously lie to the landlord. But besides cleaning its litter every now and then, all he was doing was just to pet it and give it treats. And that traitor of the cat you had, loved him more than you. 

So, you left the counter and crossed the street to enter the pet shop that was right in front of the pastry shop you were working at: Snowdrop Pet Shop. It was placed at the ground floor of a building. On the first floor was the Snowdrop Vet Clinic. 

“Let’s go eat, Kuranosuke,” a voice yelled from between the aisles when you opened the door. 

“I have packed lunch,” another voice that seemed familiar, answered from behind the counter. 

“I know that Kasumi told you to fill in the hours for Sachi after you made her leave, but he has never told you to overwork yourself,” the aisle guy continued. You ignored their conversation and started to search for food for Sadako. It wasn’t very hard - it was right near the counter. So, you picked it and went to pay for it, without even looking at the guy who made the previously mentioned “Sachi” leave. Only after you didn’t hear the beep from the scanning machine did you raise your head. You opened and closed your mouth again. In front of you were dark eyes with long eyelashes that seemed out of an emo era, a mole under the left eye, straight hair perfectly parted on the side. Even in his uniform, you could recognize your first client. Damn, you weren’t a vengeful person, but a plan was forming inside your head when you saw his hand going after the receipt. 

“Wait! I think I forgot something,” you said in the most polite voice possible. You thought that maybe he didn’t sense your hesitation at first. You weren’t even sure if he recognised you or not, nor did you care. It was hard to maintain a straight face as you were going towards a basket to put as many packs of cat food as you could. You took a few from each type the company the first one was from and went back to the counter. Deep breaths - not to laugh before the guy scanned all the packs. Beep, beep, beep, you lost counts, but they were more than twenty. 

“Do you need something else?” the worker asked when you were taking out your wallet. You knew that you didn’t have enough money to pay for everything. It was just a little more than for one pack. But you didn’t need much. It was just enough.

“Can you tell me what is the difference between all these types?” you asked in the most sugar coated voice you could manage. If the old lady that called you pretty in the morning heard it, she would have probably melted into a puddle. But the man in front of you just sighed. 

“These ones, the pink ones, are for neutered male cats that are older than one year. They prevent the formation of kidney stones. Do you have a male or a female cat?”

You ignored his question and showed towards another pack. 

“These ones are for cats that have allergies.”

BINGO! It was exactly what you needed!

“Is there any document that proves it can’t be contaminated with what my cat is allergic to, Mr. Kiba?” you asked after reading his name tag. If he didn’t understand till now who you were, he definitely just got the biggest hint. 

“It is all written on the back of the pack, if you care to look,” the man said and clicked his tongue, as he took the bag in his hands to search for the information you needed.

“I don’t have enough time to read all of it. Unlike you, I don’t have a packed lunch. But very much like you, I don’t want to deal with an incompetent workers that don’t even know what they sell here.”

The bag fell on the counter. You raised your head to make sure Kiba saw your grin. 

“Can you cancel the entire purchase?”

“Can you put everything you took back in place?” he hissed while trying to force a smile out of himself. You heard a chuckle. Kiba’s coworker that was between the aisles all this time, came closer to see the commotion. You could feel how your cheeks started to burn a little. On one hand, you felt proud about fighting for yourself. On the other hand, you didn’t want to be a trouble-maker. However, the other guy seemed quite entertained and he even smiled at you, gesturing to you to continue what you were doing. 

“I’m not Sachi to do the job that is your responsibility,” you mumbled barely audibly, not sure if you took it too far or not. 

Kiba leaned to be closer to you, making you take a step back and close your eyes, afraid of what could come. He wouldn’t do anything, especially in front of anyone else, would he? Japanese customer service was famous all over the world. A random guy from a random pet shop wouldn’t do anything to make it to the first page of the newspapers with his aggression towards a customer, would he? When you opened your eyes, Kiba was with the basket you used to put the cat food in his hands. He took every bag from the counter and put it in there, checking on you from time to time. You followed his moves, already forgetting that you were supposed to leave after the Sachi comment. 

“Do you want something else?” Kiba hissed and put away the basket, somewhere on the floor, near his legs. You looked over the counter and saw that the only package you needed wasn’t on the surface, took a deep breath and closed your eyes.

“Yes. I need the regular one for neutered female cats.”

The guy behind you burst out laughing and accidentally hit a squeaky toy on the ground. The whole shop was hit with a wave of high-pitched deafening squeak, combined with a hysterical laugh. You opened your eyes.

Kiba scanned the bag after putting away all the packages from above. It took him at least two minutes, in which you couldn’t help but cough in failed attempts to cover your own laugh. 

“Here’s your purchase and your receipt,” the clerk finally said, tired from the whole interaction. 

“You forgot the most important thing, Kuranosuke. You forgot to tell our client that we are waiting for her to visit us again soon,” the other man said while you were on your way to exit. You waved at him and he waved back, winking at you. Again, you felt your cheeks getting hotter. You weren’t Kiba’s first client and you didn’t destroy his morning, but he would definitely remember you for at least a few days, and his friend would make sure to remember it for longer. 

“Now we are equal, Mr. Kiba,” you whispered as you went towards the bicycle in front of the pastry shop. 

The next challenge for the day was the university. You didn’t have too many lessons that day, but you had your appointment with the curator you chose for your thesis. And the entire road to the university you were thinking about what to tell him. He was in high demand between all the students and even refused a doctoral student that had a similar idea with yours but came to him later. He also told you from the start that he would collaborate with you only if you were willing to put in enough effort. Your topic was about “The importance of the allelopathic effect in edible plants,” while the doctoral student wanted to write about “The allelopathic effect in the agriculture industry”. Both of your topics were of great importance and with lots of work to put in, but apparently the professor chose yours because he wanted to try himself in the food engineering field, being already too burned-out from agriculture. You won due to simple luck: approaching the professor first and being from a new field of interest for him. Of course, you felt sorry for the doctoral student who couldn’t get the professor that they wanted, but it only motivated you to work harder on your subject. Plus, you didn’t even know who the other person was. You heard about them only from your professor who wanted to motivate you to put on as much work as you were capable of. They could even be immaginary from what you knew, just as a form of manipulation. 

And it seemed endless, the whole meeting with the professor. Yes, you made a plan regarding the experiments you had to make, what seeds to buy, on what days to come to the lab, how to get your money back from the university, how to use the lab, how to wash your hands. Firstly, you planned to go home and re-read all the information you had to know for work. Now, remembering something new seemed like an impossible task. As you rode your bicycle, a strong craving for some pastry hit you. It was somewhere in the back of your mind in the morning, since you were behind the counter, reading all the names displayed there. But all the stress made you forget till now, when a wave of exhaustion hit you hard, and made it impossible to put any force into ignoring the craving. And your only option seemed to be the convenience store pastry. It wasn’t that bad, especially from that one market at the corner of your building. They had a type of chocolate cake that both you and Suzumu could kill for, even each other. But everything else they had was just as good. 

Park the bike, lock it, enter the store, and right towards the last aisle. You could faintly see the contour of a pastry container. It was right in front of you, right under your hand and when you wanted to grab it and go directly to the counter, someone took it. You turned your head towards the person, to put a face on the maddening situation. And… What the fuck? Who did this person think he was to spend money on convenience store pastry that had questionable ingredients, but cancel the order on you who were selling high-class pastry?

“Oh, so you don’t have any objections regarding the ingredients here?” you asked before thinking.

“All of them are written on the package. I don’t need to ask anyone about them,” came the answer and was getting away faster, as Kiba was walking towards the counter. 

“Is it written there if the chocolate used for the couverture grew near banana or coconut trees, in case you have allergies?”

Kiba stopped and looked directly in your eyes. Damn, you were annoying and had some guts. Usually, it was enough for people to look once in his eyes and get lost, but not, you had to follow him around with your revenge and smartass retorts! Your phone vibrated and using this, Kiba left you behind once again. However, he didn’t expect you to ignore the phone and run to him to snitch away the pastry. Even you were surprised by your actions. But it was how justice was supposed to work. There was no way a guy who didn’t buy good quality pastry was going to just buy the convenience store one!

“HEY!” he yelled behind you and you could hear how he was running after you. Your phone vibrated again, but you were already in front of the cashier. “It’s mine!” Kiba yelled at the cashier and the worker probably saw the whole scene, because he didn’t take it from you yet. Kiba put his hands on the package, and you tightened your grip. He pulled it towards him, you pulled it towards you. The cashier ticked his tongue. 

“Can I scan it?”

Both of you ignored the cashier. Both of you ignored your phone. Everything that mattered was the pastry that both of you were craving this whole day after not getting any from “Takeru’s Moving Castle”. Pull, push, pull, pull, push, pull again and BAM! The chocolate pastry is on the floor. You looked at Kiba, Kiba looked at you and synchronized, you turned to the cashier and bowed, apologizing. The guy that seemed to be a high-schooler, looked outside and craned his neck to look between the aisles. When he saw no one, he went towards the cleaning tools behind him. He handed them to both of you and without saying a single word, the three of you understood the assignments you had to do. Your phone rang again, as you took the scoop. 

“Yes?” you finally answered and Kiba rolled his eyes. All this time you ignored it and now you found enough time to see what was the matter. “What? Why didn’t you tell me earlier? Since when did she disappear? I’m coming now!”

You threw what you scooped in the bucket and ran towards the exit. You faintly heard the accusation of running away from both men. But you couldn't care less. You actually were ready to pay all the money you had for the accusations to be true, if it was enough to get your cat back. 

It was Suzumu who called to tell you that your landlord came visiting, so he had to take Sadako out. But for the first time, Sadako was nowhere to be found after the landlord left. Suzumu searched for her since you were in the university, afraid you would yell at him for being neglectful. However, both of you knew he just seemed neglectful. Sadako meant for Suzumu just as much as she meant for you, especially because he was spending most of the time at home, together with the cute, fluffy, tuxedo cat you illegally took into your apartment. God, you could even leave the meeting with your professor if it meant that you could find your cat sooner. Maybe he would have changed his mind, refused you and taken in the doctoral student with the same idea as you. But you didn’t care. Sadako, your cat, the softest, most precious, lovely, and playful being in your entire life was missing and you had to find her FAST. 

“SADAKO! Sadako! Where are you? I have your favorite food! Sadako?” you yelled on your way home, hoping your little girl was still somewhere close. 

Suzumu ran onto you and explained all the places he already looked for. He seemed out of breath and the hoodie he was always wearing was covered in dust and ground. 

“Go home, I’ll take the search from here,” you said in a quiet voice. Your flatmate seemed to be searching for the cat for hours already. He deserved some rest. 

“I wanted to search for the park next. It’s big. You’ll need help,” Suzumu said between huffs and puffs. He was so, so tired.

“It’s okay. I’ll manage. Someone has to make sure she didn’t returned yet.”

You would find her. You had to. There was no other way. No one else could find Sadako but you. If you had to search every bush and tree in the park, you would do it. Sadako would be safe in your hands tonight.

“Sadako! Sadako! Did you see a black and white cat nearby? She is very fluffy and answers to the name Sadako. No? Oh, sorry. Sadako! SADAKO! Sadako…”

There was no person in the park that didn’t hear you yelling after your cat. Some of them even stopped to ask you who you were searching for. Some of them helped you a little. A few asked to send them photos of your cat and your contacts to tell you if they see her. It took you an entire hour to reach the other entrance of the park when you usually were making the same distance in fifteen minutes. And Sadako was nowhere to be found. So, you took a break on one of the benches and messaged Suzumu who was waiting for you at home. He said that the cat didn’t come back and he didn’t see her near the house. What if the poor cat was hit by a car? What if she was somewhere, afraid and alone, having no idea what to do next? Yes, she was born on the streets, but you took her in after you saw her near the garbage, all alone and wet. She was only a few days old back then and you had to feed her milk with a pipette. She knew nothing about hunting and surviving on the streets. Your cat was a total homebody that went outside for max ten minutes every time your landlord came unexpectedly. 

You looked at the sky to stop yourself from crying. Having foggy eyes wouldn’t help you find Sadako. So, you blinked fast and looked at the bush right in front of you. And you saw something. It seemed to be like a fluff of some type. A few bushes away you saw something similar that ended up being a piece of wool. But you still hoped. Maybe it was…

“SADAKO!” you yelled when the body of your cat appeared behind the bush. You ran towards her, to make sure your cat was okay. She was lying on her side and raised her head a little when heard her name. You could see her ears moving and when you touched her, she started purring. However, you also saw some blood on her white fur. 

“Don’t move it!” a voice yelled at you as you knelt in front of your cat. When you look at the person who said it, you frowned. What the hell did he want now?

“Look, I don’t have time to deal with you now. My cat…” you started, as Kiba was approaching.

“I work for a vet clinic. This cat can be injured. If you don’t move it with care, you can injure it further. Wait a second, and I’ll help you.”

You looked at Kiba whose broad shoulders turned to you. He called someone and talked a little. Then, he took Sadako in his hands and palpated her a little, careful not to cause her any more pain. 

“Good girl,” he whispered as Sadako rubbed against his hand. She purred louder and licked Kiba’s hand. You didn’t know she was capable of that. Every time someone except for you and Suzumu tried to touch her, she was either running away or hissing at them. So, you looked closer at Kiba, trying to understand what made him so special. You couldn’t find anything, just the naturally sharp expression that wasn’t softening even a second. 

You came back to reality when someone’s car honked close to the park. This made Kiba get up with Sadako in his hands. He walked with her, without giving you any explanations, except for one stopping and looking at you with a raised eyebrow, as if asking you if you were coming. Of course, you were! Sadako was your cat. 

“Take care of my car, Boss,” the driver said and you felt like you saw him somewhere before. He gave the keys to Kiba and left to catch a taxi. Kiba turned to you and let you take Sadako, but only after explaining how to hold her.

“Don’t let her move too much. She seems to be fine, just a little scared, but we can’t be sure just now. Get in the car. We are going back to my workplace.”

And you got in the car near Kiba, who was driving you to the Snowdrop Vet Clinic. 

“Everything will be alright,” he mumbled, without even looking at you, as he turned on the engine. 

You let out a breath. There was something regarding your first client who asked about the cross contamination of the honey that made you believe that everything would actually be alright. That all the trouble was in the past and soon, Sadako would purr in your bed as you two were cuddling for sleep. 

Kiba smelt faintly like chocolate cake. 

[teecupangel]

Did you hear about situation with Unity?

I have and I have spent the past days talking to my friends about it since a few of them have work related to video games. Unity was one (if not the most) of the most used game engines in the industry at the moment. I’m sure there are more people who are more informed than me about just how badly Unity has fucked not just everyone who used their game engine but also themselves. Even if they were to backpedal on this, they’ve lost the trust they have accumulated because they were blinded by greed. And the ones to truly suffer are not just the game devs who had been using Unity that knows they could never pay such absurd fees if it was to come to pass but also those employed by Unity to develop the game engine who have no say in whatever mindnumbing plans their bosses have, not those above who pushed for this. Also, there seemed to be some who believe that the CEO who thought it was a good idea to charge people for reloads in Battlefield when he was the CEO of EA (and that’s not even pointing at the fact that he sold his shares before they announced this) isn’t to blame for this situation but that this was pushed by the board members in Unity that are made up of… well… a majority of which are investment managers. There’s the whole “we won’t charge you if you use our ad monetization service” angle as well so, yeah, this is shaping up be the old “make a ridiculous offer first then start the bargaining until you get your actual target” schtick.

I don’t really have anything more to add to this other than the video game industry has the chance to fuck with those who only see the numbers right now but that would mean having a successful coordinated attack on Unity by (1) not using the engine anymore even when they try to backpedal and then (2) going “no deal” to all and every bargaining chip Unity brings to the table until they completely backpedal to remove all their planned bullshit and (3 – optional) even go as far as having the CEO step down (even if it seems he’s planning to raze the ground and run from the looks of it, not in the “I don’t give a shit anymore” kind of way but in a “Fuck you, board members, I’m out!” kind of way) and, even after they backpedal entirely, (4) everyone do not use Unity for any new games moving forward.

The main point is to give Unity a slow death all the while smacking into everyone’s faces that this is because of the lack of trust.

In this case…

A broken trust must not be repaired. Let it burn slowly until all that is left is ashes.

That would be a statement that those who are fueled by greed can understand if they are not idiots.

And a slow death would give the employees of Unity a chance to abandon ship but, even if this does happen like this, the casualties of this plan would fall on both the employees of Unity and the game developers who now have to learn a new game engine and/or port their games to another game engine. A slow death would minimize the casualties but it would mean more time for those on top to abandon ship. A quick death (find a way to plummet Unity’s stocks to the ground maybe? Idk) would hurt those on top as well but that would also mean more people would suffer as well.

In other words…

Killing Unity may prove to be the best course of action in the long run but there will be casualties and it won’t just be those who deserved it.

Sidebar: if you’re actually asking if any Ubisoft games would be affected by this and I just went on a rant by mistake, sorry about that, nonny, and no, they will not be affected. A lot (if not most) of AAA studios have their own game engine. The Assassin’s Creed series use Ubisoft Anvil which was developed as Scimitar for Altaïr’s Assassin’s Creed and Ubisoft has more game engines under them: Disrupt was created from the ground up for Watch_Dogs, Dunia is a modified version of Crytek’s CryEngine mainly used for Far Cry, and Snowdrop is codeveloped with Massive Entertainment and is used for… different games (The Division, Mario + Rabbids, South Park, etc). So yeah, if you’re worried about how this would affect Ubisoft, it won’t. The only game I could think of that may have been developed using Unity is AC Rebellion (the phone app) and I'm not even sure if it is developed using Unity. Ubisoft’s problem is most probably going to come from the potential SAG-AFTRA video game strike and we’re not sure if (1) the strike will happen and (2) if Ubisoft will be part of the struck companies as most articles only say “includes…” so it’s probably not the full list.

[djsherriff-responses]

Oh yeah I mean I would retrofit it to give it a more cartoony art style to fit with Rayman’s world instead of the realistic scenery. I would of course make it more platformer based

Actually that was one of my pet peeves with Raving Rabbids the weird almost grimy yet slightly realistic textures felt way off.

I also learned that both that Avatar Game, Ghost Recon and Rabbids sparks of hope were made using the same software called Snowdrop engine which shows its pretty versatile for other art styles

Uh, interesting

[staydays]

15 questions, 15 0 mutuals lol

ty for tagging me @brianbangs :)

1. are you named after anyone? nope

2. when was the last time you cried? a couple of weeks ago bc of this kdrama called snowdrop (w blackpink jisoo :D)

3. do you have kids? no lol

4. do you use sarcasm a lot? sometimes i guess

5. what sports do you play/have you played? lots when i was younger, but i was the most serious with fencing

6. what’s the first thing you notice about people? face? idk if i can say more specifics

7. what’s your eye colour? brown

8. scary movies or happy endings? happy endings fs

9. any special talents? sometimes i just know stuff (this sounds so vague lmao)

10. where were you born? a city in massachusetts

11. what are your hobbies? journaling, music of all kinds, making gifs hehe

12. do you have pets? used to have a dog named ella, but we gave her away :(

13. how tall are you? 5'3"

14. favourite subject in school? math and physics

15. dream job? civil or mechanical engineer

not tagging anyone bc i don't have many moots heh

[soulstitcher]

Her Rock

AO3

———

Erenville remembered all too well the day Elayne and the Scions returned to Sharlayan from Ultima Thule. How they had all been bloodied and battered, her most of all. How his heart had frozen in his throat as they took her to the infirmary. How Ser Aymeric and Lord Edmont had fetched him before the Scions even thought to. How he, her children, her fathers, her siblings, none of them her own blood, had gathered around what they believed to be her deathbed, hoping against hope that their sweet snowdrop would pull through. He would have given anything to never live that day again.

She was the world’s unwilling savior. He should have known otherwise.

Elayne raced across the smooth electrope ground of Solution Nine, weaving and shooting through the pockets of conflict as she frantically tried to find Erenville. He had one of her guns, but that was barely any comfort. She hadn’t heard from him since before Zoraal Ja issued Code Blood, and the pounding of her heart echoed through her horns. If she found his body, she would…what would she do? Nothing good, that was for certain. She’d probably tear Everkeep apart, as a start.

If anything had happened to him…

Thankfully, she soon spotted Erenville, standing mutely in the park, somehow lost in thought despite all the chaos going on around him. He didn’t have his pack — probably left it at the Backroom. How he’d managed to not get hit, or even spotted, was beyond her. But she didn’t care — he was alive. She slowed Widow just enough to be able to pick him up — until she saw it.

A sentry was coming for them, its gun pointed at Erenville.

Elayne wasted no time in shooting the gun out of its hand, then shooting its head off before it could switch to its blade. Erenville flinched at the sound, his ears straight and tensely alert, but did not acknowledge her. Stowing her musketoon, Elayne hopped off her bike and raced to his side.

“Erenville! Oh, thank Marena you’re alright! I was scared those pieces of scrap metal got you!” Elayne exclaimed in relief, throwing her arms around him and hugging him tightly.

Erenville stepped back in surprise, but after a minute he timidly hugged her back, practically melting into her. The second she felt him shaking, she looked up at him with concerned eyes.

“Eren, what’s wrong?” she asked slowly. “You’re shaking like crazy.”

“My…my mother…” he whispered.

“Cahciua?” The moment her name escaped her lips Aegis remembered what was happening. “Eren, we need to go, now.”

“What do you…?”

“It’s fucking chaos right now! Zoraal Ja issued Code Blood, now the robots are slaughtering his own citizens! If I hadn’t found you in time, you’d have been dead too! We need to get to the Backroom now!” she urged him, clutching his arms.

“I…” He slowly looked around, and he finally saw all the wrecked scrap and all the damage. His eyes widened in horror before he looked back at her. “…Alright. Let’s go.”

“Eren…are you sure you’re okay?”

“…No. But it can wait, we need to go,” he insisted firmly.

Any other time, she would have pressed the issue, but now was not that time. Elayne simply nodded and pulled him onto the bike with her; he wrapped his arms tightly around her waist and leaned against her, his forehead pressed against the middle of her back. Something had rattled him if he was acting this meek. Sighing heavily, she started the engine and took off once again, letting him drown out the noise of carnage by listening to her heartbeat and breathing.

Before long, Elayne’s linkpearl rang, and she tapped the cuff hooked on to her horn as she drove. “Yes?”

“Elayne, is Elene’shpya with you?!” Cahciua practically screamed. “He didn’t answer me when I called —“

“He’s with me, he’s fine!” Elayne quickly reassured her. “I’m taking him to the Backroom now.”

“Oh, good! I was so worried…” Cahciua sighed in relief. “But I wouldn’t come to True Vue right now if I were you. It’s overrun with soldiers. We’re currently sheltering some of the citizens in the bar — I don’t know what kind of power those protection wards of yours have, but by goodness do they work — but it’s too dangerous right now. You’ll need to find some other place to hunker down and wait it out for now.”

“Shit,” Elayne muttered. “Nowhere in Everkeep is safe. And I’m guessing I’ll run out of bullets before that musor runs out of machines, so we have to find some way to deactivate them. Any ideas? Sphene can’t stop them herself since he controls them.”

“Hmm…all the codes to deactivate the sentries are somewhere in the king’s residence, and there is no way any of us can get to them fast enough,” Cahciua pointed out. “That said…if you destroy part of their system, that might do the trick.”

“What do you mean?”

“Every level of Everkeep has a central power source that powers not only the sentries but everything on it. The lifts, the lights, the doors, even the leynodes. They’re all connected. They‘ve been in the middle of making upgrades, so the power lines are exposed. If one part is destroyed, so is everything else,” Cahciua explained.

“Where would I find Solution Nine’s power source?” Elayne asked urgently, swerving to avoid a corpse drained of its aether.

“It should be somewhere around Resolution,” Shale said in the background. “You’ll know it when you see it.”

“…How do I get there?”

“Elayne — I thought Sphene showed you where to go —“

“Goddamn it, forgive me for getting lost easily!” Elayne snapped. “You had Shale put a tracker on Widow, now fucking tell me how to get to Resolution from where I am now!”

“How did you — okay, we opened up the tracker and can see you on the map. You’re not too far from Resolution. Just turn right at the next fork and keep going straight from there,” Cahciua told her.

“Thank you!” God, sometimes she wanted to shake people. Aside from squeezing Erenville’s arm, Elayne said nothing else as she focused on getting them to Resolution, weaving through the scrap and corpses strewn about, seriously hoping she didn’t come across Zoraal Ja. Briefly glancing at one of the bodies, she couldn’t help but spitefully think that for all the Alexandrians had done to technologically advance their society, there was no running from the barest bones of existence. She even felt a sick sense of pleasure in it.

They got to Resolution without much issue, Elayne thanking Marena above for it. She stopped Widow and searched for anything resembling a power source…was it even there? Once her eyes stopped on the thick glowing column in the center, however…it was positively brimming with electricity. That had to be it.

But how would they destroy it? She didn’t know how durable electrope was. Simply shooting it probably wouldn’t do anything. She had left her rocket launcher at home, and there was obviously no time to get it. She doubted even her adamantine gunblade could cleave through it. So how the hell would she…?

…Wait. She took a look at her motorcycle. The metal plating on the front wheel was made of adamantine, a fairly recent addition she’d had Cid make to not only protect against crashes, but also as a one-time battering ram. She’d crashed Widow at least once — and the damage had been extraordinary.

Would that be enough to disable the power grid?

Nothing to do but find out.

“Eren, I need you to hop off,” Elayne told him quietly.

“What? Why?” he asked, finally registering the world around him.

“We need to destroy the sentries’ power source. And I’d rather you not get hurt in the process,” she explained.

“And how do you intend to do that?”

“You don’t want to know.”

Before he could protest, Elayne disabled him with a passionate kiss, taking his shirt and pulling him to her lips, making sure every sense was filled with her. Erenville instinctively relaxed, but before he could recover after she pulled away, she pushed him off the bike and revved the engine, taking off at top speed.

“ELAYNE! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!”

Elayne ignored Erenville screaming at her and sped up, going to 120, then 150. The last time she checked before it happened, she was clocking at 200. She swerved Widow to the side and drifted for a second…

Then she crashed.

She rammed into the pillar at 210 malms an hour. If she had been anyone else, her leg would have been shattered beyond repair. She took out half the side on impact, and like magic the lights and sounds of Solution Nine blinked off in an instant. But that wasn’t the only thing that happened. She’d rammed at an angle, and within seconds she was sent flying through the air. She crashed into a wall, an explosion of pain in her head, and fell to the ground in a heap, motionless.

Erenville watched the entire scene unfold in abject horror. Widow was totaled, not much more than a burning pile of scrap. The core was badly damaged, and all of Solution Nine was without power — and so were the sentries. And Elayne…he ran to her side and frantically pulled off his glove and placed his bare hand against her neck, praying for a pulse. He just barely felt one, but it was there. Turning her over, he saw nasty bruises as black as her scales forming on her arms and legs, as well as a long gash on her thigh. And perhaps the scariest…she had multiple deep cuts on her forehead and temple.

His heart was pounding, his breathing quickened. No. No. No, no, no. She was going to be okay. She had to be. She’d make it through this just like she did after Ultima Thule.

He’d lost his mother. He wasn’t losing her too.

He grabbed her linkpearl and immediately fired off a call to the gang. “G’raha, we need someone over here, now!”

“What — what happened? What’s wrong?” G’raha exclaimed, the thud of whatever he dropped being heard over the line.

“Elayne crashed!”

A sudden uproar of voices as everyone in the Backroom panicked, then the unholy banging of a door being swung open, then hurried sprinting accompanied by the foulest swear Erenville had ever heard out of the Miqo’te’s mouth. “Don’t worry, we’re coming! Whatever you do, keep her safe! We’ll be there in a minute!” he told the Shetona.

Erenville let out a shaky breath and pushed some of Elayne’s hair out of her face. In case a stray sentry came by, he pulled out her gunblade and slung it on his back, even though he barely knew how to use it. He was going to sit there and try to clean up some of the blood before the Scions got there, but a strange sound got his attention and his ears twitched upright to focus on it. The moment he realized what it was, his body went cold with terror.

Zoraal Ja was coming, muttering under his breath.

Everyone said not to move someone with a head injury, but they didn’t have that luxury. Erenville scooped her up, carefully leaning her head against his shoulder, and ran to the darkest corner he could find. Sitting against the wall, he thought of one of the Boons Elayne had granted him, Souldeep Invisibility, and imagined himself as a ghost, invisible and intangible, disappearing into nothingness. Before long he had almost turned into a ghost — he certainly looked like one, and Elayne’s aether had responded to his and fully turned her into one temporarily. As long as he was silent, no one would see them.

Around the corner came Zoraal Ja, his blue scales rendered unnaturally pallid and gray from blowing through so many souls. He was accompanied by a mindless robot, different from the other sentries. He swore and cursed under his breath as he inspected the damage done to the pillar, Erenville praying to every god he knew that he didn’t recognize Elayne’s mangled bike.

“Of course, if you want it done right, you have to do it yourself,” he muttered, vaguely annoyed. He looked around for any signs of where the culprit could have gone, but found none — of course ghosts wouldn’t leave physical signs. “When I find whoever did this, I will make sure they regret it.” With that, he stalked off, presumably to whatever manual alternative there was to the lift.

The machine began to amble after him. Unlike the sentries, which at least looked humanoid, its gait was long and awkward, and its neck extended out from the rest of its body. Why wasn’t it down like the other sentries? Perhaps it ran off another power source? If so…he needed to get rid of it.

Erenville may not have been near as good a fighter as Elayne, but he had tricks up his sleeve too. One of the key components of her Haunted powers was that she could grant some abilities to others without corrupting their souls, allowing them to wield some of her power as their own. She had given him some of it, letting him have his choice of a set of unique souls to summon, all from concepts Hekate herself had created. At least one of them could easily destroy this machine.

He carefully laid Elayne down on the ground, then slowly began to approach the machine, as quiet as he could. The second he knew Zoraal Ja was out of sight and earshot, he murmured, “Come, Bellona.” A spectral panther-like big cat, somewhat resembling the legendary Coeurlregina but with deer-like antlers, stepped lithely out of the mists, coming dutifully to his side. He locked eyes with her, then glanced at the machine, and Bellona pounced.

She took a swipe at the machine, who immediately directed its attention to her. It raised its sword, Bellona’s growls daring it to, giving Erenville the opportunity to sneak up behind and decapitate the machine with a slash of Elayne’s gunblade.

He didn’t stop to inspect the damage. Instead he simply went back to where Aegis was and pulled her into his arms again, keeping her gunblade raised in case of attackers. Bellona served as their bodyguard, prowling the place for intruders. After a minute the Scions arrived, along with Lamaty’i and Sphene, allowing Bellona to dematerialize. G’raha and Krile immediately came to her, while Alisaie and Lamaty’i glanced at the machine momentarily with grimaces before joining him. Aside from quickly telling him Cahciua had stayed at the bar, they said nothing else, focused on examining Elayne. Sphene, on the other hand, stared at the machine with an oddly pained expression as though it were strangely familiar to her, then looked over at Elayne.

For a moment she locked eyes with Erenville. He couldn’t read her expression…sympathy? For what? His mother? She had to have known the truth. But…there was something else. Greed?

Erenville gripped the gunblade tighter, nostrils flaring as he gave her a menacing, hateful glare, just daring her to try something. She’d get to Elayne over his dead body. She registered his stony gaze, told them she would see them later, then vanished.

———

The next few hours passed in a blur. They got Elayne back to the Backroom and laid her out in bed in the room Cahciua reserved for the Hallows. There, G’raha and Alisaie pumped every bit of healing magicks they could into her body, all in an effort to heal her enough for the coming fight. Erenville paced relentlessly outside the door, running his hands through his hair and doing his best to steady his breathing. Cahciua tried to help calm him, but he refused to listen to her.

Erenville nearly pounced when G’raha finally came out, winded and famished, and told them how Elayne was. She was still unconscious, with a severe concussion. Furthermore, if she hadn’t had some of the strongest bones in Etheriys, her arms and legs would have been broken. However, they had managed to heal the bruising about halfway, and aside from the gash on her leg, it would only leave a couple small scars here and there. In the meantime, they would have to keep a close eye on her. With that, Erenville dragged him and Alisaie off to where Nostalgia had cooked a hearty supper and went inside to his lover.

Elayne was dead asleep in bed. Her arms and leg were bandaged, as was the worst cut on her forehead, and the bruising had gone from black to light green. But there was a reason Sharlayan’s strongest available pain medication was sitting on the nightstand. That was the same shit they gave people whose bones had been crushed in accidents.

Erenville pulled up a chair, gently took her hand, and finally let a few stressed tears loose. “Elayne…you are completely fucking insane, you know that?” He let out a shaky breath. “For a few moments I thought you were done. I thought it was going to be a repeat of that day you came back from Ultima Thule…only it would end much differently. Thank Marena I was proven wrong.” He brought her knuckles to his lips and pressed a light kiss to them. “I lost my mother. I’m not losing you too. Even if you’re crazy…I still love you. With all my heart.”

He leaned over and kissed her forehead, resting his head against hers for a few moments before pulling back to gingerly lay his head on her stomach, half of him on the bed and his legs propped on the chair, just like when he was waiting on her to wake up the last time. He fell asleep quickly, hand still in hers, and did not notice when her grip tightened.

[g4arab]

Splinter Cell Remake مستمرة في التطوير: تحديات جديدة وإثارة مرتقبة من Ubisoft

رغم الشائعات والتكهنات حول إلغاء مشروع Splinter Cell Remake، فإن اللعبة لا تزال قيد التطوير بقوة. كشف الصحفي توم هندرسون عبر مدونته Insider Gaming أن اللعبة تُطوّر تحت الاسم الرمزي North، وأن Ubisoft قررت استخدام محرك Snowdrop Engine بدلاً من Unreal Engine الذي استخدم في الأجزاء السابقة. هذا التغيير يثير تساؤلات حول كيفية تأثير المحرك الجديد على اللعبة، وما إذا كان سيضفي طابعًا عصريًا على تجربة…