#and the quests were missing in all of them. if i am incorrect and you do find a complete file please archive it and let me know!

[hsslilly-blog]

hi everyone. going through hollywood u’s files. i have just realized the version i have archived (3.8.0) is not the ‘final’, complete version of the game. in fact, i don’t think there is one currently available… comparing the files in the .apk with the main quests’ release dates (provided by the wiki), the last main quest present in the .apk is prim_053 (released july, 2016), while the last main quest overall is prim_56 (released march 30th, 2017). there are many other quests missing, most notably the amour and side quests post july/august 2016.

with that, i can only imagine the game transitioned its quests into being server only around this timeframe? either that or… something else? i’m not sure if this was known beforehand (i was way more focused on archiving high school story), but i guess i’m sharing this anyway. this also means that even if there was a way to bypass the server check, i imagine the game would still be incomplete and unplayable past a certain point, which is… sad. yeah.

[zydrateacademy]

Current Activities in ESO #6

Had to dig for this one. Like Warframe, my last ESO related post was way back in 2014.

My #2 post states my own brother dropped 95$ on the game. 2014 was before I ever ever employed. Jesus.

The origins of Dibbe are revealed. I do remember her still being a dark elf, I still have a screenshot of her as a level 46 being stuck in Coldharbor which eventually drew me away from the game for years after. (I didn't know the guy I had to talk to was just hanging out in the Fighter's Guild there). I've had a pale argonian before on previous games but they were named differently.

Ancient Dibbe. She's hideous!

My number 5 post basically precedes me quitting the game. Couldn't find my #1 or #4 post.

All of that long before the One Tamriel update. Came back to the game some time ago and all of my problems are basically gone. Leveling still feels just a tad sluggish. 3-10 are usually pretty easy but up into the 40's feels like a slog. Generally one of my better methods is counter to what I usually do on MMO's and I level up as a tank or healer for quicker dungeon queues and just bank on that chunk of experience at the end of them.

After becoming unemployed again I will say that my lack of the craftbag drew me away from the game for a long time. However I've developed something of a system regarding that. I am still painfully selling off some of the harder-to-get materials like runes, but I'm collecting stacks of the more common stuff in my bank. Presumeably to be sold on a guild trader at a later occasion. That way I can still dismantle stuff and it will have a purpose later.

My gaming loop has mostly revolved around collecting decent sets for my various alts. I'm not good at making gold passively, mostly just selling motifs that I get randomly. I keep being told that writs are the moneymaker but that's only a few grand at a time. I wonder if they refer to those master writ you get as rewards sometimes because those typically sell well if you're lucky to get the ones that reward a lot of vouchers. But those aren't guaranteed either.

Dib, my main, is on the cusp of crafting mastery so generally she can craft a couple of decent sets for fresh alts but crafting sets are usually for the beginning. Overland and dungeon sets tend to be improved, so part of my gaming loop is the slow grind of transmutation stones so I can make shit there as well. However a big hurdle there now is without my subscription, I'm now locked out of 80% of the DLC dungeons. I have a few, but I thought dungeons came with the zones that they were released with. I was incorrect. Turns out, ESO content is released quarterly. So I've bought a few zones (I'm missing the Reach which makes me sad because I love that zone and Murkmire, which I don't have much of an opinion on but now I can't make the grave-stake set which I've had fun with in the past).

And I certainly need to keep playing the game because if I run out of gold, it usually means I can't outfit my characters! Transmogging doesn't cost much but still. Gold doesn't make itself.

And then I spend my nights roleplaying. I feel the cusp of a sort of golden age of roleplay for me personally, especially regarding my main girl Dib. I've recently developed a "radiant" quest system. Around 8 of my houses are decorated and can be used for various stealth activities. For most of them (I lose out on decor slots without a sub) I can place a variety of those Precursor dummies, little bland robots that can act as like DnD figurines to represent npc's and enemies (not to mention a few houseguests, I can have up to like 15 npc placements if the decor slots allow). I've put this in practice twice now with a few different people and it's really fun. For the smaller homes it also doesn't even take very long, so it can be used for a thief-to-thief RP meet and greet.

I joined the OG <The Thieves Guild>, a player has owned that tag since 2016 but they're recently staging a revival. It still has a pretty small core right now, about four to five of the same faces have attended the last few events.

I generally, absolutely, detest tavern RP as a general rule but I will resort to it when I'm bored or want to watch a podcast or streamer on the side. However a few nights ago a marshland tavern was opened up in Blackwood, where Dib got to meet a lot of her own kind for once.

As an aside: Not that Argonians don't frequent the current RP hub in Evermore, but I spend most of my time in Evermore wallflowering with nobody deeming my character interesting enough to approach. That or the fact that they're all usually up their own asses to greet newcomers. I had Dib try to contribute to a "never have I ever" and she was never directly replied to once. It felt like four people had me on ignore for no reason.

But in Blackwood, everything felt pretty organic. I dressed Dib down from her usual shady attire from this;

To the more approachable this;

So either she was more approachable or the energy of the room let to my own Dib having more incentive to interact. A friend even came along and instead of being attached to the hip we would interact, break off to mingle, swing back to each other, and break off again. Like a real party! There was one particular player whom I didn't know very well who seemed to attach herself to Dib's side but it didn't detract too much. It was a great night. Dib is pretty sure she almost got jumped by a couple of Khajiit because she openly purchased a tome of daedric lore right there in the open. She detracted an imperial priest's claim that she is so clearly a shady sneaker.

"...Charming."

I've posted that around in some discords I'm in but I can't help it. I almost died laughing at my computer. I'm even unclear if he bought it or not but she cut real close about openly admitting daedra worship (she's a Nocturnal simp) but I feel like she managed to pull way from it.

While unemployed I'm generally making an effort to pop in relevant RP events I see scheduled in the various discords I'm in. And I do say relevant. I almost attended a pet show, I wanted to bring a small guar that Dibbe named "Lump" and would emote the fact that there was nothing special about it and that she likely just picked it out of a field somewhere. "This is lump he's wonderful" (this Guar isn't special at all). I decided to go for some other open RP in someone's household. I acquired secondhand knowledge that there was no "show" to begin with. People just brought along pets and everyone just walked around to talk about them. Would still have been funny to have Dibbe and Lump just hanging out in the corner somewhere.

Anyway I've been working on this post for an hour with Dib waiting for me in the background to do a Jester Festival quest.

[ganymedesclock]

how do you figure that the knight has a personality. from what i've seen, it's purpose is to stop the plague, and every action it takes is to further that goal. there aren't any sidequests that bring it to other, irrelevant things.

Anon pardon me for being rude but this just sounds a lot like you really weren’t paying any attention at all.

The first thing Ghost did was leave Hallownest entirely

They came back specifically because Hollow was dying. Numerous people speculate or imply about this and it is shown to us in the opening cinematic- Hollow screams, and then Ghost specifically returns to Hallownest. Given Ghost shows neither loyalty nor reverence to any figure of the Pale King, in any route, it is hard for me to believe this is their instruction.

Literally numerous characters explicitly discuss that Ghost is making independent decisions. Open the wiki and find a character page and read their dialogue. I challenge you to find basically any character in the entire game who has more than a single sentence of dialogue, that does not talk about Ghost making choices and having opinions. 

The soundtrack that plays during Hollow’s fight sharply changes tonally in response to Hollow stabbing themselves. No one else is observing Hollow. “We” as player do not have a presence that is acknowledged in the meta of the game. Ever. Ergo: These moments of sadness are emotions we are told that Ghost has.

The person who tells us that Ghost is empty was wrong about it explicitly and big time. Literally the entire reason Hollow didn’t work is because the Pale King was wrong about the vessels and his entire civilization ate shit because of it. In case you missed the charnel pit filled with dead children, or the fact that you basically find his dead body curled up in an empty throne room where you then have to smack it out of its chair and onto the floor in order to clear the area, PK is not a trustworthy source of information. He is factually observably incorrect about several things (see: the lore tablet in the Howling Cliffs that states there “is no world beyond” and implies sapience only exists within Hallownest’s bounds when half the cast casually talks about and is canonically shown via things like Quirrel’s prequel comic to have come to Hallownest from outside, and been sapient the whole time. PK HIMSELF came to Hallownest from the outside and was sapient. 

Also the specific thing you cite that would be counter-evidence to Ghost lacking a personality happens. like. all the time. Things that aren’t relevant to Ghost’s Assigned Objective:

Literally any ending except “Hollow Knight” which you can complete by ignoring everyone and running in a straight line to the goal. Even that ending requires Ghost to conduct independent synthesis of ideas to figure out how to complete this, which an entity that has a personality and thoughts does things. 

Any objective that requires the Kingsoul calls for you to wander what White Lady notes is a long way off the path and obtain objects you were never “supposed” to have when your path ahead to replace Hollow is clear.

Every aspect of the Delicate Flower quest

The Colosseum of Fools

The entirety of the Grimm Troupe DLC

The entirety of Hidden Dreams DLC

The entirety of Godmaster DLC

Sitting with Quirrel at the conclusion of his storyline

Sitting and listening to Marissa

Meditating with Mato, or seeking out the Nailmasters in the first place

Beating up Millibelle for robbing you

Accepting the Hunter’s Journal and completing it

Fighting Hornet a second time and acquiring the King’s Brand (which is used to defy an explicit order of the Pale King, that the Abyss is to be left sealed)

The grub sidequest

Pursuing any of the character storylines, such as Cloth, Bretta, Tiso, or Elderbug’s to its logical conclusion

This list is incomplete and could continue

It certainly looks like actually most of the game consists of actions that make no sense from the perspective of an empty creature who is completely apathetic, lacks a personality, and only obeys orders given to it by PK, and, after all, we are roleplaying the experience of being Ghost, considering never at any point does the game ever acknowledge the player as an entity or break the fourth wall. The closest it comes is the Shrine of Believers which is extremely esoteric to access.

It would also certainly seem I’m really mad about it, which I am: Anon, please consider that I am an autistic adult. Please consider that many people with autism, especially in childhood, can be:

Nonverbal

Prone to repetitive behavior or acting in a way that others describe as “robotic”

Lack what is considered “typical emoting” / could seem to be “blank-faced”

Basically, everything the vessels are. And autistic people are, you know, real actual human beings with thoughts and feelings. You know what people argue, all the time? That we aren’t. Especially young nonverbal kids.

Do you understand maybe why I am saltier than small oceans about this subject?

If so, I really hope you understand that while I cannot physically reach through the screen and stop you from believing this, broaching this attitude does cause me, as an autistic person, to trust you significantly less, especially since we are talking about a game that calls a huge amount of attention to the fact that all of the vessels suffered and were hurt by what was done to them. Broken Vessel reaches out to you when they fall. Hollow actively stabs themselves during their fight to prevent Radiance from using themselves to hurt you and comes back as a Shade to attack her in Dream No More.

To insist there’s not evidence of Ghost having a personality is to both insist, in arrogance, that all of the humanity of playing Hollow Knight is only brought by the player- when we are not a force that exists in this world- and to deny the fact that there is anything wrong with the Abyss. Which is clearly not the conclusion the game intended to present you with. There is a reason we feel something about the Abyss, and not about the workshop in the White Palace where bits of Kingsmould armor are stacked up. And even the Kingsmoulds, it’s made clear, have at least the capacity to grow and form opinions given the implications of The Collector.

[sepublic]

Unpopular King Opinion

           Unpopular opinion I’m about to repeat AGAIN; But King actually has a lot more depth and nuance than people give him credit for, and he has that depth regardless of whether or not he was an actual king of demons or has some mysterious, all-powerful backstory or whatnot. If we look at him just as-is, at face-value, with what we actually have in canon, no speculation; King IS a very interesting character, actually, with a surprising amount of darkness!

           There’s the parallels with Lilith that I’ve brought up in the past. King is a very artistic individual who wants glory and recognition, but on his own terms; He wants to be appreciated for stuff he cares about and feels he has agency in, not because he’s superficially adorable or anything! But at the same time, King DOES want to be coddled and cared for, given a sort of childhood he never really got- But he just wants some respect and agency with that as well, is that too much to ask for?

           And that fits with how Luz babies him, but in a way that respects and listens to King’s requests, taking heed of his advice and lessons; Eda treats them both with respect and a proper level of accountability, while also protecting them because they’re both kids who don’t deserve that. This contrasts with Amity who’s kind of forced to grow up and is superficially taken seriously, but on the downside, she’s severely emotionally stunted and feels like she has to do all of the heavy-lifting for herself and others, by herself.

           King is kind of coming to age in his own way like Luz, learning to take accountability and responsibility for his mistakes, as part of that quest to be taken seriously and respected, while still getting to be treated kindly and looked after, and then looking after Luz by himself occasionally. He wants power and control, but he sometimes has issues with the responsibility that comes with that, with demanding attention from Luz in Really Small Problems, and how King has to step up to his alleged leadership role by owning up to his mistakes, how we see him be a great teacher at Hexside for a day. 

          We see him start as a terrible teacher in I was a Teenage Abomination, before he improves in The Intruder, and by The First Day he can win the hearts of an entire class of teenagers, kids he once thought were terrifying after Once Upon a Swap- But who he grew to better understand thanks to his experience in Luz’s body, as well as learning to understand Luz herself and be a better person to her! Even when his fears of judgment aren’t fully conquered during Grom, no thanks to Eda’s own personal experiences and warnings- Gus manages to encourage King’s eventual confidence to speak out!

           King’s got a disconnect with Luz and Eda in that both are only really demonized or looked down upon, as criminals and troublemakers, a cursed witch and a human, dehumanized… While King has been mostly fetishized, but that too is also dehumanizing, reducing him to a prop and a toy, a doll and a pet; One that people like Roselle, Dottie, Tibbles, and Boscha think they can just buy and own without permission. Just a cute animal to own and be carried by his collar by say Lilith, who also dehumanizes Luz as another one of Eda’s ‘pets’.

           And as I said, that disconnect about being fetishized and seemingly ‘wanted’, to Eda who was cursed and ostracized and seen only as a monstrous freak; It means she doesn’t quite understand and even downplays King’s issues with that, which it’s why it’s important she literally walks in his shoes during Once Upon a Swap, that Eda realizes that being fetishized isn’t fun either, that her and King both just want respect and agency and to be treated by people with their own agency, and not like, say, someone’s younger troublemaker of a sibling who doesn’t understand what she’s getting into, as Lilith sometimes feels about her.

           Likewise, King has issues with feeling outpaced and left behind by others, we see it literally happen in Covention and Really Small Problems. And this inferiority complex makes King convince himself that it’s okay if he acts against his friends, THEY can easily handle a minor loss or two when they’ve got so many wins under their belt, when they’re much farther ahead; King just wants to catch up, to be on equal footing with them! And he IS, Luz and Eda do respect and care for him, even if they sometimes forget to, but it doesn’t justify King working behind their backs, using Eda’s owl-beast form to get revenge on a toddler, or taking the credit for Luz’s work and even trying to make her friends disappear.

           He’s got very artistic inclinations, if King were a witch he’d easily be a Bard AND Beastkeeper at least, maybe in Abominations as well! It provides a sense of control over mindless, obedient people… But honestly, I don’t think King is THAT obsessed with power. He just wants to feel in charge when for so long he’s just been brushed aside, ignored, and talked over. When he’s in a good environment and feels safe and in control to a reasonable degree, I don’t think King would actually care for an army to command as much, if at all.

           I’ll say it again, but it’s hilariously meta that people ignore King’s depth and personhood, his individuality often, and just boil him down to the cute pet, a borderline shallow mascot; Just another pretty face, a garnish to a more important criminal like Eda on her Wanted Poster, or as Luz’s little furry animal companion and sidekick. That’s what the characters in-universe do… And it’s what the fandom kind of does, in a sense? People in-universe don’t even have the luxury of getting to know King intimately as an audience member.

           …Mind you, I STILL love adorable King fanart and memes to death! I am not at all trying to fault anyone who doesn’t recognize King’s depth this way, I can see why you’d miss it in a sense, and I’m not implying that anyone is somehow a ‘bad person’, or a ‘fake fan’, or whatever, for not considering this a lot more. You do you, and I’m not saying it’s a personal requirement that people intimately discuss and consider King, I will always enjoy the cute fanart and depictions of King, the Incorrect Quotes, all that stuff! I just kinda wish we could have that, AND more acknowledgement of King…

           So I want BOTH things, so even if I’m missing out on one- I’m definitely going to enjoy the other, and it’s okay if one wants to as well! Go ahead, enjoy King as you please, guilt-free… I just wanted to get this out there, and anyhow, I’M not the boss of anyone, it’s not like I can tell anyone else how to engage with this show, its characters, or the fandom through the content that’s produced! I’m just another fan and viewer.

[transbuckaroo]

pain, applause

hello. my name is andrew, and i wrote a short lambden fic a few days ago. this will be based on the “following the thread” quest from “the witcher 3: wild hunt” developed by cd projekt red. the characters are based on dev patel as sir gawain in the 2021 film “the green knight” as directed by david lowery, and paul bullion in the upcoming 2021 seaon 2 of “the witcher” as directed by stephen surjik. i haven’t written very much these past two or three years, but i am proud of this finished product. please keep any comments/criticisms kind. thank you, enjoy!

_________

The moment Aiden realized how well and truly fucked him and Baby Steadfast were, he was already surrounded on all sides. He could sense them. His medallion hummed gently against his chest with the signal of danger with every step he took. If he could get out of this clearing, he thought, just into the tree line to stay hidden. It wasn’t far; he could make it, just keep going. The Cat kept his hand at the ready to make quick work of grabbing his battle axe and kept his breaths even as he walked. Aiden knew what was waiting for him. It seemed the fox did as well. Always intuitive, the little one.

Jad Karadin came out of the trees in front of him like a shadow from an alley, looming and dagger drawn in his right hand. Aiden slowed his pace, too exposed, ears picking up the slide of multiple steel swords off to the left. Then two figures emerged from behind Jad, appearing as if they had come directly from within his body. Lund first, after came Hammond. Baby laid back his ears flat, centering himself lower to the ground in a defensive position. He placed himself between the three and Aiden as he went.

There was no running from them. These people were never meant to be his enemies; Jad was supposed to be his brother especially. If anyone here was supposed to be on his side more than anyone, it was Jad. An elder Cat, someone Aiden was supposed to be able to look up to as a mentor. Jad had broken the mold. Had children, a wife, a life away from being a Witcher. Beyond it. He had proof that there was more.

These things didn’t matter anymore. Whoever Jad Karadin was supposed to be was pointless now. Because he was an evil man today. He and whoever else followed him here.

Aiden drew his axe, pulling a deep and centering breath as he went. There were more of this group, hiding somewhere in the thick of trees, awaiting their moment. This was only to end one of two ways. There would be no other option besides these. For a split second, Aiden found himself missing the presence of a certain Wolf over his right shoulder.

Lambert. Lambert wouldn’t let him get hurt. He would protect Aiden here and now, and the Cat wouldn’t have to worry about a thing. In fact, Lambert would have already drawn his sword and made a calculated advancement on their enemy. He would have won, too, because Aiden has never seen him fail a task when he gets that crease between his brows as they furrow in his determination. Lambert, with his fiery curls and attitude to match. Lambert, with his impossible wit and unrelenting promises made to Aiden that have never broken. Lambert, the little brother of Kaer Morhen, baby of the lot of them.

Lambert, who Aiden swore to see back in the valley in Kaedwen where the Buina and Gwenllech rivers part in Daevon so them and Baby Steadfast could finally make the trek up to Kaer Morhen together.

The heat in between Aiden’s shoulder blades told him he wasn’t going to make it up to the keep this year.

“Aiden,” Jad spoke, knuckles white around the hilt of his dagger. Aiden snapped back into focus. He didn’t even dare to blink. “You know why I’ve come?”

“I didn’t kill the Duke’s daughter. I couldn’t save her. I tried.” The contract Aiden had held just months ago in the start of spring. A young girl, cursed, incurable despite the Duke’s pleads and Aiden’s best attempts to reverse it. She had succumbed to her circumstances. Aiden was paid for his efforts, bowed his head with sorrow as the Duke grieved, and went on his way.

“I’ve come to hear otherwise. You’ve botched it, boy. People are angry with the results of your work and lack thereof. You fucked up, and you’ve not shite to say for it.”

“I didn’t botch anything, I did my job. Not everyone gets a happy ending, Karadin. You’re a Cat. A Witcher. You should know.”

To be completely honest, Aiden hadn’t a goddamnable clue how he was going to get through this. Maybe he could take them. Most rivals don’t tend to waste time talking through events, let alone listen to their target. This time, maybe this time, Aiden could walk away with a mere banishment from the city. Possibly, hopefully, he could meet Lambert in time in the valley.

“You’re right,” said Jad, some semblance of resignation on his face. It wasn’t real, his tone sounded fabricated. “Aiden. Not everyone gets a happy ending.”

The arrow came right in that moment, whizzing through the air and lodging itself into the ground by Aiden’s left foot. He startled, stepped back, whipping his head around to try and follow its trajectory. Someone was up high. Someone was in the trees. Jad brought a sniper with him. Of course he did. Oh, of course that motherfucker did. This horrid, abomination of a man. The tree line was too dense, impossible to know where in the leaves the arrow came from where Aiden was standing in the field. He had only tried to look for a moment though before the sound of running footsteps came too close for comfort. And fuck, he could only gain so much momentum with his axe from this angle but he had to try.

Aiden spun back around on his heel, hands braced on either end of the hilt of his axe, prioritizing blocking the blow and creating distance before landing a strike of his own. Jad was successfully pushed back at the chest. Sent fumbling backwards to regain his footing. He growled in anger at the same time Aiden swung at his accompanying attackers, just barely missing them with the blade of his weapon. Steel struck and sounded a metal clang through the clearing. Aiden grunted with the effort of three-and-a-sniper against one, swinging his axe to catch a sword under the head and vaulting his enemy away. Distance was vital, energy was crucial to use sparingly.

“Baby!” He shouted towards his fox, whom of which was bee-lining for the trees where the arrow had come. “No! Run home! Home! Go home!”

It was something they’d agreed upon once. Home. They knew what home was, who home was. Where home was. The valley. Lambert. The point they meet and part at every year, the small town the Wolves have passed through many times in prior years. It was an easy place to go. That was where they found home, him and Baby. Lambert was home. Baby Steadfast knew this command well and clear as day. Go home. Go find Lambert; he’ll know what it means for the fox to show up without the company of his Cat Witcher. He’ll spring into action.

All it took was one incorrect turn, expose just a little too much of something or other, at just the right moment. It wasn’t because he’d called out to Baby; he knew how to give direction without faltering in his task. It was fucked luck. Terrible, awful, shit luck. All he did was avoid another two arrows in the ground, one grazing his cloak as it went.

Jad caught him in his right side with his dagger, blade plunging in deep and ripping a pained and surprised shout from Aiden’s throat. All the way in and right back out. Aiden staggered, snarled, and lunged at the man in front of him. Jad was a monster on this day, and Witchers know damn well to dispose of those. His side was on fire. The younger Cat swung, but Jad ducked underneath the blade. As Aiden turned with the momentum, one of the others kicked a boot into his chest and sent him backwards into Karadin’s grasp. The dagger entered the same area as before as Jad grappled an arm around Aiden’s throat. He was stuck. He was bleeding horribly. Baby Steadfast had gone to get Lambert. There was no way they would find one another in time.

With a strong shove from the man behind him, the dagger dislodged, and in the same moment whoever was at his left ripped his axe out of his hands. Aiden tried to spin around to face them as he propelled forward, but only managed to end up on his back on the grass. It was still cold with morning dew. Aiden could see the fog of his breath as he fell.

And in the most startling of realizations as Jad came to kneel over him, Aiden realized he was going to die. Without Baby. Without his dignity. Without Lambert. Without telling Lambert how much he truly and purely loved him.

He thought he had more time. Had it all planned out. They would meet in three weeks hence, and the night before they would make the ascent to the keep for the winter, Aiden would tell Lambert that he loved him in their room. This incredible, selfless, beautiful Wolf. Part of him even believed Lambert might say it back. He would feel the same. They were just like comfortable lovers already, what with the way they shared beds and blankets and curled up in the night to sleep, the way they helped wash and put up one another’s hair, cooked for each other, looked out for each other, lost all sense of personal space with each other. Melitele, the two of them even refused to separate their bedrolls while they camped out during their travels. They called each other “pup” and “kitten” respectively, dressed wounds, mended clothes and armor, cleaned weapons, hunted together, laughed and smiled and hugged and shared stories. Oh, Lambert was beautiful. Of course Aiden was in love with him. To expect anything else were a fool’s game.

“Oh, kitty cat,” he heard from above, and focused his eyes on Jad. The coldness of his gaze, so detached and unaffected. The only indication he’d ever been in a fight at all was the way his chest pulled bigger breaths than before. “Don’t go and cry now, will ye? This is just the natural order of things.”

Oh, Gods above, Aiden was crying. Silent little tears slipping free from the corners of his eyes, sliding down into his hair that lay fanned out in the grass below. Without dignity indeed. Wounds screaming in white-hot pain, vision blurring with tears that he could not control, heart aching, voice beyond him.

“Please,” the younger Cat spoke in a soft, quivering voice. He blinked hard once, twice, willing the tears away. They did not relent.

“Please.” He was being mocked. Then someone spat from out of his sight right into his hair. It smelled of salmon and tobacco. This time Jad’s dagger entered slowly, and new hot tears fell from Aiden’s eyes with the hurt of it, hand coming to grab his wrist in a feeble attempt to stop him. It did nothing. If anything it encouraged the man.

Aiden couldn’t grant him the final victory of looking away from Karadin’s eyes. Even as the blade ripped out of his body once more. Karadin spoke again. “You beg me to spare your life. Your pathetic little life. Insignificant, worthless, liar’s life. You were never going to change; your batch was doomed from the start. Your death is hardly any repayment, but it is the best we can do to provide peace and closure for the Duke and his people. A life for a life. It is but the way of the world, Aiden. Certainly you understand.”

Oh, he understood. A life for a life was the most polite way to speak of revenge. Talk of debts and dues, exchanges of wins and losses. A life for a life meant a day of reckoning to come. Lambert, kind as Aiden ever saw him, would cash this in as quickly and mercilessly as he could. He was coming no matter what. If he was unable to save Aiden now, he as sure as all things was going to tear apart whoever hurt him. What a gorgeous soul he was.

The fourth and final stab, a telling sign of Karadin’s assassinations. Aiden couldn’t fight it this time. A cluster of wounds just under the right side of someone’s ribs, always in four, always fatal. Aiden choked out a cry of searing agony, feeling the blade twist inside of him with force, squeezing his eyes shut and clenching his jaw so tightly he should have broken a few teeth. It twisted again as it was taken out, and all Aiden could do was let the fat tears roll as it happened. He felt Jad grab his medallion from under his shirt and opened his eyes as it was ripped off his neck and placed into a pouch at Karadin’s hip. Proof of death. The easiest form of it, but still worth enough to get paid. Hired by anyone associated closely with a Duke, Jad was sure to be rewarded handsomely for his work.

“Now,” spoke Jad. Aiden’s eyes were starting to get heavy, chest heaving, vision spotting behind the blur of tears. “You’ll be gone in moments, boy. A few minutes and this will be over. The pain will dull just prior, don’t fret. I will not seek out your fox nor that Wolf you travel with, but should they come I will be ready. Goodnight, Aiden. Sleep well.”

Then Jad started to walk away. Hammond and Lund went with him. Aiden could only lay there in the grass, sending his apologies to Baby and Lambert skyward and hope they would understand. He never meant for this to happen. If there hadn’t been that damned sniper, then maybe he could have taken them. But there was no time to dwell now. Darkness crept in, and Aiden’s breathing slowed, and it went dark once and for all as he bled out. He had failed. He was sorry. He could only imagine how horrifically pathetic he appeared. Perhaps he could be forgiven in time by his fox and his Wolf for never coming home.

In some months, when the snow lay thick on the ground, white and untouched blanketing where grass once resided, there would be the choking gasp of a man within the Brokilon Forest. Waking from a healing sleep induced by an old magic, cast by resident Dryads within the cover of trees that towered above. Known by many as the forest of death, breathing life back into someone who simply had not been due to die.

“Sir Witcher Aiden,” said a calming voice, a person standing kindly to the side. Her palm lay gently at the crown of his head, soothing. “We welcome you back to the living world. It has been some time.”

[acetone-free]

Getting the Dames and Dragons wiki up and running proper

Hello!!!

So I’ve been editing and adding to the Dames and Dragons fan wiki for about a year now. I’m an admin and bureaucrat and all that jazz but to be honest the wiki totally needs a revamp and I would really love some help with it!! If you would be interested in writing or editing some stuff please check out the bit under the cut! 

Thank you! :D

First off: Transcripts

@camomilafil got the ball rolling on the transcript front in 2018, but since then only 19 have been completed. I’ve done a couple myself, so I know that they can be pretty high effort and time consuming. But at the rate that they’re going right now Torva will have been defeated and the Guardian’s will have started their true quest of destroying Dawson before episode 50 even has a google doc.

Creating transcripts not only makes the podcast more accessible, but they also make a super good information base for pages on the wiki. Writing episodes and character pages is made so much easier when you can CTRL F for keywords on a transcript doc, rather than having to re-listen to specific episodes. 

At this point there are only four more episodes to transcribe for Into Avelis, but I think it would be really good if people were to begin transcribing later arcs as well. I would love to be able to stay on top of current episodes.

If you are interested in transcribing, you can find a guide on how to format here and the master doc of all episodes here. I’ve only added a little bit to the original rules of the transcribing doc, but I think they were helpful additions :). Keep in mind, you don’t have to transcribe a full episode, or even format any of it. Every little bit helps and even just doing a minute or two is awesome of you!

Secondly: Wiki Pages

Arc and Episode summaries

So far I am up to episode 16 for the summaries. I’m trying to transcribe a few episodes ahead because personally I find it way easier to write a summary with a transcript than while listening to the episode. However, you absolutely don’t have to have a transcript to write an episode summary. On the wiki I have created a page for every Arc so far (except for The Survivor's Ballad, I’ll get on that soon hehe), with an episode table so it should be pretty easy to see episodes that need summarising. 

If you don't want to summarise an entire episode but do want to help, please, please, please feel free to go back and edit episode summaries from Arc 1. I made those about a year ago before I really had a good idea on how to summarise and trust me, those bad boys are rough to read. I’ve been planning on going back and redoing those for a while now lmao. 

Otherwise, whole Arc summaries also need to be written. I’ve already done one for Arc 1, so that should give you a good idea on the type of detail needed. 

For writing episode or arc summaries, I would say try to keep them around 1000 words and generally don’t write anything too meta. Try to keep it as in the world as possible. That being said, it’s totally cool if the summaries aren’t Serious Retellings. I usually try to do jokey subheadings and stuff like that. 

There are a few more things I think are important to keep in mind while writing episode summaries, and if people express interest I am totally down in writing a guide to how I have been doing it. The best thing I think to do would be to go and read a couple of the summaries already on the wiki. Preferably from Arc 2 because I wasn't kidding about the quality of the ones from Arc 1. 

Place and People pages

Hehe alliteration.

Just to get it out there: The main Guardians’ and Maeri’s pages totally need revising. They need summaries for their actions in each arc, as well as updates on their personality sections because these dudes have gone through character development. So if you wanna start somewhere, I’d say go ahead and do that. 

Otherwise, here's what I think you should do if you want to write a character or location page: Choose your favourite character or location or item or whatever. Figure out exactly what episodes they are in, listen to them, take notes, and then write the page. If you’re feeling frisky, even transcribe the parts of the episodes that they appear in. 

Once again, I think the best thing to do is to read a few characters or location pages to get an idea of the amount of detail needed as well as what type of sections you should write. Like, their personality and appearance and whether or not to separate their page into episode summaries or arc summaries for that location/character. If people want, I can also make a more thorough guide on how to write these pages. 

To be honest I haven’t done many of these because I’ve been more focused on getting transcripts and summaries out. So far, however, I’ve been doing these pages as I go. If a new NPC is introduced and only appears for an episode or two, I’ll write those character pages as I’m writing the episode summaries. That being said, if an NPC is introduced and I know they’ll appear later down the line I’ll usually compile all information I have on them in a separate google doc and wait until later to write they’re page. The same goes for location pages, really. For example, I have a google doc full of a half-written page on Danmar that I haven’t published yet because I know that in about five transcribed episodes the party will be back there and I don’t want to have to edit it a whole bunch. 

Thirdly: Editing

If you don’t really want to write an entire summary or don’t feel comfortable enough to do so but still want to contribute the absolute most helpful and important thing you can do it edit. The wiki is like, full of typo’s my dude. (Totally my bad, I’m really bad at catching them hehe). Not only that, but it would be really good if people were to fix any grammar issues or any incorrect information within the pages themselves. Broken links, missing info, inconsistencies in categorisation, all that good stuff. 

You could also go through and double check transcripts that have been deemed ‘complete’ for any typos or formatting issues, if you wished. Absolutely anything and everything helps and it’s always good to have a second or third pair of eyes. 

Fourthly: Where to start

Here’s a list of wanted pages on the wiki. For anyone unfamiliar with how fan wikis work, a red link indicates that the page hasn’t yet been written but has been linked in another page, and that’s where you come in, my dude. 

You don’t have to write a full on, in depth complete page. Even just creating the page and beginning to summarise is great. That creates a basis for other editors, allowing people to build on what you have started. 

If you want to start a transcription you absolutely have to read the formatting and editing guide, linked here once again. Do your best to follow those rules, but it’s okay if you forget or miss some here or there. That’s why other people double check your work! This is collaborative and you can’t be expected to do everything right in the beginning. 

A Final Word

I think it would be cool if we got a few more people to semi-consistently edit and add to the wiki. I don’t expect many people, but any addition to it makes it a better compendium. 

If anyone wants to start writing stuff for it but feels like they need direction please message me! I’m sure I can find something fun for you to do :). Again, I think I’ll write some more in depth guides for how to write pages on the wiki, but if you want to do transcriptions the instructions are already in place and good to go.

That being said, I don’t completely know what I’m doing. I don’t know how to write any of the cool formatting code and stuff that some wiki’s have, so if anyone is interested in helping create a more fancy-schmancy lookin’ wiki and knows how to do all that, it would be really cool if you could get in touch with me as well. 

I would love to hear any other questions or suggestions! To anyone who chooses to help, thank you in advance!

[daanny2772]

FFXIV Dark Knight Level 35 Job Quest Fan Translation

Due to the differences between Fray Myste portrayed in the Japanese and English versions, I have decided to translate a number of the Dark Knight story quests from Japanese. I am by no means proficient in the language and ask that you forgive me for any incorrect translations. Please do let me know so that I am able to fix the mistakes. That being said, there are liberties I have taken due to the structure of the two languages being significantly different. Thank you for keeping this in mind.

Tumblr user haillenarte has also translated the level 45 and 50 quests along time ago. Go check it out if you haven't yet! https://haillenarte.tumblr.com/tagged/fray

I have recorded and subbed a video of my WOL going through the DRK quests below. I’m sorry that the lvl 35 one had to be split into two, but the future ones I’m working on subbing should not have that problem (hopefully...)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lnP6yVSIHpE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pG0IBvqNdIg 

I’ve taken the Japanese lines from https://alnoumin.exblog.jp/24252515/ and have left the name of their WOL in the Japanese lines.

Guided by a Shriek 

Fray seems to be waiting in the Brume for the adventurer to visit.

***

Fray: We meet again, Nyxahk.  Well then, I will be teaching you everything within the extent of my memories about the Dark Knight.

...But before that, is there anything you’re still curious regarding what happened before the conflict involving the young lady?

The mystery that remains is …?

I wonder how that grandmother is doing?

...Huh? Ah, um… That’s right… I think she’ll be alright as long as she’s with that Miss.

But-- there should be something more puzzling than that! Jeez, you’re truly-- (*unbelievable) 

Fray’s charges

フレイ：あれ……言いませんでしたっけ、無実の罪だって。えっ？　もっと詳しく？う、ううん……思い出すので、ちょっと待ってくださいね。

Huh… Now that I think about it, I didn’t say that I was falsely accused. Eh? You want more details? Hm… please wait a little as I try to recall the events.

...Right, right. An innocent woman was being chased by the Templar Knights. As I was protecting her, I was charged with a made up crime. Really, it’s all because I trying to be nice...

But more importantly, isn’t there anything about yourself that you’re curious about?

About the Voice I heard at the beginning

Yes, that’s exactly it. When you first touched my Soul Stone, you heard someone’s Voice in anguish, correct?

You were intrigued by what that voice could have been… It’s possible it was the voice of “a certain someone you must protect” somewhere in this world.

The Dark Knights of the past have believed in protecting the weak, in the way that you should be bonded with this certain someone. ...Were you to turn a blind eye to this person, you would be a failure as a Dark Knight.

In order for you to become a Dark Knight for this certain person, lets confirm the true intents of their Voice. If you can come to wield even stronger Darkness, you may be able to hear that voice again.

In order to obtain even stronger Darkness, a special rite (communion) is required. I have yet to choose a location for the rite… but with the conflict from the other day still fresh, we may get interrupted if we were to remain in Ishgard.

 Let’s head out on a trip. I’ll be waiting for you at Little Ala Mhigo in South Thanalan.

***

Fray: Ah, it’s great we were able to meet up. Without further ado, I’ll explain the details of this rite to obtain further powers of Darkness.

As long as you have my power, we may begin this rite at any time. However, to receive the power of Darkness is the same as awakening the repressed negative emotions within you.

Therefore, if someone who is not strong enough took on the rite, they would be overcome with those repressed emotions and be killed by the power.

In order to avoid that, you must show me the extents of your ability as a Dark Knight before the rite is to happen.

The best way for me to see your true strength is for you to defeat a strong enemy… Let’s go ask the leader of the village to see if there is a suitable opponent or not.

***

Gundobald: Oh, it’s the adventurer. Though we were unable to prepare a reception, we welcome your return. What business do you have here today?

...I see. You require a strong enemy to test the bounds of your strength.

There is one thing on my mind. Just the north of here at the Red Labyrinth, there have been appearances of ferocious Crag Bite Peistes. 

Their strike is strong, and have even injured many fellow beasts raised in this dangerous region.

Fray: That does seem to be a suitable opponent. The main point of fighting as a Dark Knight is to endure the enemy’s powerful attacks while continuing to attack. ...How will we be able to meet this enemy?

Gundobald: That thing seems to be attracted to the smell of goat breast meat brought by the merchants from Minotaur Malm. In order to draw it out, here is the meat I spoke of.

Though this land is poor, I would like to repay what you’ve done for us, even if it’s just a little.

But still, I  am glad to see this. You’ve brought a friend along, and you’re even relying on us...Hm… You say you’ve only just met this person?

For some reason, you two give off the impression of partners having travelled together for a long time, or that of friends bond strongly to one another… Was it just my imagination?

Fray: ...Nyxakh, it’s about time we get going.

***

Fray: Please show me the true extents of your power as a Dark Knight here. Please defeat the Crag Bite Peistes lured by the goat breast meat we placed. 

It seems the attacks from your enemies will be strong. While keeping your injuries to the least amount possible, attacking when you see the gaps in their defenses should lead you to your victory.

…Then without further ado, commence the battle!

***

Fray: Well done Nyxakh. It seems you have improved your skills from last time.

Though the duty of a Dark Knight is to protect, it does not mean thoughtlessly taking on attacks, nor that defeat means losing everything you have.

If you truly wish to protect that which is important to you, determining the movements of your enemy and keeping your injuries within limits are both essential. And how to use the powers of Darkness is also a part of it, right?

There should be no problems for us to carry out the ritual like this. For now, let’s return to the outskirts of Little Ala Mhigo. We wouldn’t want to be distrubed by any beasts attracted by the leftover meat. 

***

Fray: Without further ado, for you to obtain further powers of Darkness, I will carry out the ritual.

Even though it’s called a ritual, it’s nothing difficult. Simply hold your hand out to mine and close your eyes to concentrate. Your emotions will naturally overflow, and the power should well up alongside it.

It would be good if you can hear that certain someone’s voice again… Anyway, if your heart is ready, then please go ahead and give it a shot.

 ***

As you are thinking that your chest feels like it’s on fire, the Voice rings through your head...

???: ...It hurts… It’s painful… Everything… is hopeless...

How many more challenges must I go through to see hope? It’s as if I’m fighting a battle without end...

For what reason do I continue to stand up…? For what reason do I continue to fight? It hurts, it hurts, it’s getting harder to breathe.... Ah, someone....

***

Fray: ...How was it, Nyxahk? It seems that the rite was a success… Were you able to hear the Voice?

Though you were able to hear it, you still do not know their identity…?

But at the very least, it seems that my conjecture was correct. Somewhere in the world, there is a weak person you must protect, their voice connected to you by the powers of the Darkness.

I don’t know how much of the power of Darkness we will need in order to find out the identity of that Voice. But even so, there exists someone only you can protect.

If the voice you heard was able to reach your heart even a little, I think that’s the path you should continue down. Am I wrong, Nyxakh Nemophila?

What a relief… As I expected, you’re kind as well as strong. That certain person to be protected by a Dark Knight like you will surely be blessed with happiness.

To be honest, I travelled with someone similar to you a long time ago. Without any reason, we stepped out into the vast world, our hearts trembling at everything and anything… it was that kind of journey, you see.

But… yes, it was around this place, they defeated a terrible threat and became a hero.

...But being a hero isn’t all that great, you know? Being manipulated by all sorts of things, only saving up a pile of injuries, eventually even becoming unable to see yourself...

And like that, they drifted away from me, until not even my voice was able to reach them.

I don’t want you to lose sight of what’s important to you. If you decide to protect that certain someone, listen carefully to their voice, and please don’t ever avert your eyes from them. 

Then, when you become even stronger, you’ll take on the rite of Darkness again. ...We definitely have to meet up again at the place we first met.

***

t/n:

- Crag Bite Peistes - the english only had it listed as peistes, but the crag bite part is so funny to me because I had and still have no idea what the katakana is referring to so I stuck it in Google Translate. That's what came out and it makes me laugh so I've left it in 

- Jeez, you’re truly-- (*unbelievable) - What Fray says would be close to "People like you--", the unbelievable part is implied. He's pretty much just really exasperated at WOL and it's cute. i love him

- Regarding the person that Fray talks about having gone on an adventure with, their pronouns will change depending on the gender of the character. I've used they for my translations as my WOL uses they.

- the rite Fray talks about is called a communion in Eng which works better imo in the overall scheme of things but i left it as rite here

[maddrmatt]

Kairi’s Epic Journey: The Quest for Sora

New to this fanfic? Click here to properly begin!

Chapter 11: Hook’s New Grudge

Never Land

Anchored in the waters off the shores of Never Land was the dreaded pirate ship the Jolly Roger. Once the terror of the seas, it now sat collecting barnacles due to its captain’s obsession with getting revenge on the boy who cut off his hand.

The pirates had just returned to the ship.  Currently, they were disembarking the lifeboats and proceeding onto the main deck.

“Lash the prisoner to the mast!  And string up that mutt of hers as well,” ordered Hook as he climbed out of his lifeboat with his first mate by his side.

“Aye-aye captain,” said a big burly pirate covered in various tattoos as he reached into another lifeboat and picked up the still bound and gagged Kairi.  Slinging her over his shoulder, he proceeded toward the mainmast with several of his crewmates carrying Pluto behind him.

As the pirate carried her, Kairi squirmed and kicked while uttering several muffled threats from her gagged mouth.  But the pirate was unfazed and simply continued on.

Hook wore a look of absolute glee on his face.  “It certainly has been a red-letter day for us today, Smee.”

“Oh yes, Captain. Indeed, it is,” said Smee.

“Who would have thought that when we investigated that mysterious fireball that shot out from Mermaid Lagoon that we would learn that Never Land had a special visitor?  And who’d would’ve thought that it would turn out to be her of all people?”

Then a pirate dressed in a pink shirt, red shorts and wearing a red bandana named Mr. Starkey approached them.  “The prisoner’s been tied to the mast as you ordered, captain.”

“Very tightly I hope, Mr. Starkey?”

“Aye-aye, captain. She’s a feisty one and she tried to fight us off.  But she’s not going anywhere.”

“Excellent.  Now all of you attend to your duties while Smee and I extend a proper welcome to our guest,” said Hook.

With that, the other pirates spread over the deck and began to do various things while Hook and Smee travelled over to the mainmast.  Kairi was now tied to it and was currently glaring daggers at the two pirates.

Nearby, Pluto had been strung up, so he was dangling by his bound feet from a rope tied to one of the beams of the sails.  Though his mouth was still tied shut, he growled at the pirate captain.

With a cruel smile, Hook raised his hook and inched it toward Kairi.  Her defiant eyes became fearful as he reached under the gag and undid it.

“Well, Miss Kairi, it appears that I was wrong about you.  Why, the last time you were onboard me vessel, you had lost your heart and I was telling your friend Riku that reclaiming it was a lost cause.  I even said I’d stake me other hand it was lost forever.  How fortunate I never made that wager official.  But in any case, I bid you welcome aboard the Jolly Roger,” said Hook as he raised his hat and bowed to Kairi.

“Oh yes.  I feel so welcome.  Is this how you treat all your guests, Hook?” snarked Kairi.

“Only those who may prove troublesome.  You and your mangy cur best get used to your current situation.  You’re going to be with us for quite some time.”

“What do want with me, Hook?” asked Kairi.

“With you?  Oh, nothing in particular, girl.  I be having much bigger fish to fry and you’re simply the worm on the hook.”

Kairi gasped.  “I’m bait?  For what?  For Peter?”

“I’m afraid you are incorrect on that notion, my dear.  For once, that accursed boy is not in me sights.  Besides, why would he come for you?  Especially after what you said to him and those wretched friends of his. Although, I must commend you for calling out those boys on their notorious bad form.  It was high time someone recognized their behavior for what it was.”

If Kairi had any hopes of Peter and his crew coming to her rescue, Hook had definitely dashed them. ‘He’s right.  Why would they come for me after the way I yelled at them?’

“No, my dear.  Me true quarry is none other than your friend, Sora.”

Kairi gasped again. “Sora?  But why?”

“You didn’t think a self-respecting pirate such meself would let such humiliation go unpunished, do you?  Once he hears that I’ve got in you in me clutches, he’ll come right here faster than Pan can fly.  And that’s when he’ll meet his doom!” exclaimed Hook with an evil chuckle.

Kairi’s blood boiled as she listened to the captain.  ‘Not again!  How many more villains are going to use me to get to Sora?’

“Oh yes.  When he comes, he’ll find no mindless Heartless that he so valiantly defeated when he was here last.  Those creatures proved to be a great disappointment.  Instead, he’ll be facing the most blackhearted cutthroats that ever sailed the seven seas!” announced Hook eliciting a cheer from all the pirates on deck.

“Sora’s faced a lot worse than this bunch, Hook!” exclaimed Kairi.

“Well, should fortune smile on him and he manages to survive the crew, I happen to have a secondary plan.  Once he sees you at me mercy, I’m sure he’ll gladly leap off the plank to spare you any harm!  No matter what happens, he’ll finally meet his end!” said Hook with a maniacal laugh.

Kairi’s heart sank. ‘He’s right.  If Sora was here and saw me in danger, maybe he really would. It’s all happened before.  It seems all anyone has to do to get Sora is to get me first.  Why does this keep happening?’

“Quite a brilliant plan if I do say so meself.  Am I right, Smee?”

“Oh, yes sir.  It definitely won’t be a repeat of last time. I mean, tossing that boy into the hold seemed like a good idea at the time.  But he and his friends were more than a match for the Heartless.  They were even more than a match for you, Captain,” rambled Smee before he caught a glimpse of Hook threatening to clobber him with his namesake.  

“Of course, he probably just got lucky,” said Smee cowering before his boss.

“Of course, he got lucky, you idiot!  I could’ve easily defeated that boy if it weren’t for the interference of that blasted Peter Pan.  So, I’ll thank you not to bring that incident up unless you wish to walk the plank yourself. UNDERSTAND?!” shouted Hook with the intensity of a gale force wind that nearly knocked Smee off his feet.

“Y-yes sir! A-aye-aye sir!” stammered Smee with a salute.

“You’re wasting your time, Hook.  Sora won’t be coming for me,” muttered Kairi.

Hook chuckled.  “Don’t think you can pull the wool over this captain’s eyes, missy.  I remember how relentlessly he fought through me ship to get to you before Riku so rudely left with you.  He will come. I have no doubt.”

“He would come.  If he were still alive,” said Kairi as a tear dripped down her face.

“WHAT?!” exclaimed Hook and the rest of the pirate crew.

“You heard me, Hook. Sora’s already gone.”

Hook gazed at Kairi with anger.  “Don’t you lie to me, girl!” he shouted while waving his hook in her face.

Smee took a closer look into Kairi’s eyes.  He could see all the pain and sorrow reflected in them.  A twinge of pity shot through the first mate.  “Captain, I don’t think she’s lying.”

Hook himself then looked at Kairi.  Upon looking into her eyes, he realized that she was indeed telling the truth.  No person could fake that kind of genuine hurt. But instead of pity, all he felt was annoyance.

“Blast!  I was looking forward to ending that boy meself. But apparently somebody else beat me to the punch!”

Hook suddenly found himself surrounded by his crew.  They immediately started bombarding him with questions.

“So, what are we supposed to do with her then, captain?” asked Mr. Starkey.

“Yes.  If the boy she is to be bait for is already dead, then what good is she?” asked Damien Salt, a chubby pirate with a fez and a moustache.

“She’s useless!” exclaimed Bill Jukes, a short pirate with a peg leg.

As the pirates continued to debate her fate, Kairi sadly gazed at Pluto and reflected on what an utter disaster her quest had been up to now.  ‘Useless.  That’s the word that sums me up perfectly.  Nothing’s gone right for me on this quest.  I couldn’t fly.  I couldn’t stay friends with Peter, Tink and the boys.  And now I’m captured once again.  What is wrong with me?  Why can’t I do what Sora did when he was adventuring?’

“Why don’t we just let her go?”

Kairi’s head turned in the direction of whoever said that unusual phrase.  So did Hook and the pirates.  They were shocked to see that it was Smee.

“Let her go?” asked Hook incredulously looking at his first mate as if he had sprouted a second head.

“Well, captain, she really hasn’t done anything to you personally not like Pan or Sora and the poor girl seems so heartbroken.  Can’t we show a little mercy just this one time?” asked Smee nervously.

Hook grit his teeth in anger.  But then his frown vanished and was replaced by a smile.

“You’re right, Smee,” said Hook causing the rest of the crew to look shocked.  “The poor dear does look like she’s been through a lot. So, we’ll show some mercy and let her go.”

“Really, captain?” asked Smee.

“Yes.  We’ll let her go.  Right off the edge of the plank!” roared Hook causing the pirates to cheer and immediately set off to prepare their favourite method of execution.

“Since the opportunity to send the boy to Davy Jones’ Locker has passed us by, I supposed we’ll have to settle for doing it to his faithful friend.  That should make the day not a complete waste.  Smee, fetch one of the spare anchors so we can tie her to it before we make her walk the plank.  She may have failed at flying but let’s not take any chances, right?”

“Yes, captain.” Smee then gazed at Kairi who was shocked at the turn of events.  All he could do was shrug and then he left.

Hook approached Kairi and smiled at her.  “You’ll be reunited with your friend Sora very soon, my dear.  You should thank me for mercifully relieving you of your sorrow. But before we make you walk the plank, answer me this one question: who was the one responsible for Sora’s untimely demise?  I would love to shake their hand.”

Kairi lowered her head and, in a voice barely above a whisper, said, “It was me.”

“Speak up, girl!  What was that again?” Hook asked as he glared at her menacingly.

Kairi was about to repeat her answer.  But just then, a very familiar sound rang through the air around the ship.

Tick-tock.

Tick-tock.

Tick-tock.

Right before Kairi’s eyes, the menace left Hook’s expression.  It was replaced by a look of abject terror.

“Smee!” cried out the terrified captain.

“Yes captain?” asked Smee as he dragged a large anchor across the deck.

“Do you hear that? The crocodile is near!  Drop everything!  You and the crew chase it away!  I’ll be in me cabin hiding under me bed until it’s gone,” said Hook as he swiftly ran across the deck to a door.  He quickly opened it up, entered through it and slammed it shut.

“You heard the captain! Let’s find that crocodile and send him on his way,” said Smee as he dropped the anchor.

“But where he be?” asked Damien Salt.

“The ticking seems to be coming from the bow side,” said Mullins, a pirate wearing a bandana and an eyepatch.

Smee and the pirates quickly charged to the bow of the ship.  They immediately looked over the sides for any sign of their captain’s reptilian nemesis.

Kairi couldn’t believe how things had turned.  ‘Amazing how Hook can change from the most threatening man in Never Land to a screaming coward the moment he hears a ticking sound.  I suppose its lucky for me the crocodile showed up.  But it won’t matter if I can’t escape and I can’t see how to do it.  I’m tied too tightly so even if I could summon my Keyblade, I don’t think I’d be able to cut myself loose.’

“Psst!  Kairi!” whispered a familiar voice followed by a tinkling sound that seemed to be coming from the other side of the mast.

“Peter?  Tink?  Is that you?” she quietly asked.

“Yes, it’s us. Don’t worry.  We’re going to get you and your dog out of here,” said Peter as he began to cut through the ropes with his dagger.

Kairi glanced upward to where Pluto was and saw that Cubby, Nibs and Toodles had climbed onto the beam and were untying the rope.  Once they finished, they carefully lowered the dog to the deck.

As he continued to slice through Kairi’s ropes, Peter muttered, “Rotten old codfish.  I hate it when he does this.  I’m fine with him keeping it between me and him.  But capturing my friends to get at me? That’s when he goes too far!”

As Kairi listened to Peter’s quiet ramblings, she felt oddly touched.  ‘Peter may be a little off about why Hook captured me.  But after what I said to him and the boys, he still considers me a friend?’

Finally, Peter was finished.  The cut ropes fell to the deck and Kairi moved away from the mast.  Peter immediately flew over to Pluto and started to cut through his bonds.

“Peter, Tink, boys, I can’t believe you all came for us.”

“Well, of course we camed for you, Kairi,” said Cubby as he the other boys jumped down off the beam.

“You’re our friend,” said Nibs as Toodles nodded eagerly.

“Yeah and we’re certainly not going to leave a friend in Hook’s clutches,” said Peter.

“How did you know I was in trouble?”

“Tink followed you after you left.  When she saw the pirates ambush you, she flew back and told us what happened,” said Peter.

Kairi gazed toward the fairy, the one member of Peter’s crew who had made her dislike of her pretty clear.  To her surprise, Tink was smiling in the most genuine way.  The Princess of Heart gave her a grateful one in return.

“Lucky thing the crocodile showed up just now so you guys could rescue us.”

“Heh.  We make our own luck, Kairi.  The crocodile’s not even here.  Those ticking sounds are actually coming from Slightly and the Twins. We’ve actually been practicing our ticking sounds so we can really drive Hook crazy. And thanks to you, now we know they work,” said Peter.

“Uh, you’re welcome. You certainly convinced me,” said Kairi.

Peter finished freeing Pluto.  The dog got to his feet and immediately ran up to Kairi.  The Princess petted her companion.

“You’d better take Pluto and run for one of the lifeboats now, Kairi.  We’ll make sure that Hook pays for what he’s done,” said Peter as Tink and the boys nodded.

Kairi ran past Peter and toward one of the lifeboats with Pluto by her side.  But then she stopped.

“No.”

“What was that, Kairi?” asked Peter.

Kairi turned around and gave Peter and his group a determined look.  “I’m not running away from this fight.  You were wrong about why he captured me, Peter.  It wasn’t to get at you.  It was to get at Sora.”

Peter, Tink and the Lost Boys’ jaws dropped in surprise.  It was likely that the thought of that notion hadn’t crossed their minds.

“Kind of surprising that your archnemesis is plotting revenge against someone else, isn’t it?  And Hook’s not the first villain to do something like this to me.  In fact, being captured by an evil villain who needed Sora to do what he wanted is what lead to him being lost.  Well, I won’t stand for it any longer.  This time, I’m going to make sure my captors get the message that they messed with the wrong girl!”

Peter, Tink and the boys were surprised by Kairi’s bold declaration.  Pluto however regarded his friend with admiration.

Peter smiled.  “Well, if it’s that important that you join us in the fight, Kairi, then we’d be glad to have you.  Let’s show Hook and his pirates once again why it’s not a good idea to capture and use friends as bait!” he declared as the small group gathered in a huddle to discuss a battle strategy.  

While Peter outlined the plan, Kairi gazed over to where Smee and the other pirates were still looking for the nonexistent crocodile.  Very soon, she would be engaging in battle with those cutthroats and in spite of her apparent confidence, she still felt a twinge of self-doubt.

‘I certainly hope that this battle goes better for me than the last one I was in,’ she thought with memories of the disaster at the Keyblade Graveyard running through her mind.  Hopefully, now that she had six months of better training and was fighting alongside allies who had experience in defeating the current enemies, the upcoming fight would end more favorably for her.

________________________________________________________________

Onto the next chapter!

[joyfreak13-blog]

Challenges And Pitfalls Of Internet Gaming Rentals

We view several nice gaming rental comparison sites, with nice tidy, colorful little charts, outlining all of the marketed options that come with each one of these. We stress the saying 'advertised features'. There appeared to something missing during these review sites... honesty, maybe. To become more precise, these were missing an authoritative presence. Essentially, these 'review sites' were only a page, collating all of the game rental advertising in one location. Instead of making any recommendations that may help much their visitors, they'd just take their affiliate link for all those companies around the page, and allow the potential renter look after them self.

So started our quest to get it done the proper way. To the understanding, it's the only movie game rental review page available.

Because we already belonged to a lot of Mobile Gaming Forums, selection starting point doing a bit of research. Oftentimes, forum people had already published some off-subject threads relating to game rental encounters. The great factor about these posts, was the unrequested, brutal, scathing honesty. There wasn't any chocolate-coating from the ugly truth found anywhere. After following in regards to a dozen of those threads in as numerous forums, i was already better outfitted to create some recommendations, as opposed to just telling our visitors, "Here! Just select one."

The forum research permitted us to narrow lower the area to 3 notable candidates, that a minimum of deserved an opportunity to prove or disprove themselves. We actually didn't want to cover ten different game rental subscriptions, after our preliminary forum research, we had pointless to. Actually with a couple of them, we actually wouldn't feel at ease providing them with our charge card information.

So essentially, we opted for 'the Big 3'. For those who have done any looking for a game rental company whatsoever, you realize who I am speaking about. We'll avoid naming names, because of our severe aversion to lawsuits. I guess in most fairness, our encounters might have been unique, however i sincerely doubt it.

This is actually the main point here the nitty-gritty the 'review' sites don't let you know (simply because they really do not know). We are guessing these 'review' sites they fit up by hard-working webmasters, who most likely haven't performed a relevant video game since their College Days. There is a large amount of useless data on the website, but no real consumer experience.

There is one real champion within this comparison, and 2 losers. We'll summarize the shortcomings from the losers.

1) Poor condition of games shipped. We found it greater than a little frustrating to eagerly anticipate playing a brand new game we'd heard advantages of, simply to be plagued with 'disk read error' each time we attempted to begin it. We'd neat and buff and pamper this factor frequently. Not good. We're adults. We are able to only imagine how frustrating this is for any kid, whose feeling of time operates more within the arena of 'dog-years'. It might seem like eons had passed, waiting for the following game to reach.

2) Shipping the incorrect games. We have a tendency to think the smaller sized companies simply do the very best they are able to, attempting to make their limited inventories stretch to pay for the requirements of their subscriber base. We're supportive of the situation, when 50% of the subscribers are demanding to experience Lost Planet for Xbox 360 Console, but it's not our problem. We're not hanging around rental business. They're.

3) Customer care. Our support demands concerned the above mentioned. Again, we know the down sides the small Guys hanging around rental business must face. We know if we are getting waltzed by support. Unquestionably, the 70 five angry customers who spoke towards the support person before us, had most likely exhausted all support's good lines, to pay for the shortcomings of the organization. That does not mean we love to getting our intelligence insulted much better. Just inform us you ran from the title we requested, and you will get it to all of us when one opens up.

Fundamental essentials only problems we experienced within our research, but they're huge issues that define the whole video game rental experience. When we weren't just testing this option, we could have been really angry, and might have regretted joining two from the three.

[iamanartichoke]

Can I still send smth for "i wish u would write a fic where”? Cause I've just seen this on twitter: ✨incorrect thor & loki ✨‏ @wrongbrodinsons "loki: what would the chef recommend? waiter: sir, this is mcdonalds thor: please excuse my brother, he’s not familiar with earth etiquette. what would the McChef recommend?" and absolutely need a fan fic with this convo here lol

Okay, so, I just want to disclaim this particular response by saying that Brodinson silliness isn’t generally my fic forte (much as my shitposting their Midgardian adventures might have you believe otherwise) so … this is just what came out. There’s some angst, some silliness, and a lot of drunk!Brodinsons and it’s super long because I am me, and I apologize. Also, I didn’t really revise this because if I think about it too much, I won’t post it, haha. I’m not super confident in it, but I hope you enjoy it anyway! Thanks for the challenging prompt, I do like to try things outside of my comfort zone. :) 

Word Count: 2485 

It is after their fifth bottle of whiskey that Thor’s eyes brighten with the kind of mischief he only adopts when he’s good and inebriated. Loki groans as he sees the look shift swiftly across Thor’s features. “No,” he says simply, taking another swig from his bottle. The whiskey is not bad, but it is not good either. However, most Midgardian liquors do absolutely nothing for either of them, and the few that do have an effect must be consumed in copious amounts.

It is one of the things Loki misses about Asgard, how sweet wine and mead would flow steadily at feasts and meals or in the taverns deep into the night. He misses the days when he and Thor would share ale over a fire, talking of the day’s exploits and laughing in sync. Once, life had been simple, if not necessarily good.

“What,” Thor says, raising an eyebrow at Loki. “I didn’t say anything.”

“You didn’t have to. I know that look,” Loki points out with a roll of his eyes. He and Thor, in a rare mood that had struck them both after the evening meal, have settled themselves on the back porch of their apartment, their alcohol on a small table between their two chairs. The chairs are something called lounge chairs, which allow them to lean back and stretch their legs out comfortably. It was an undignified way to sit, to be sure, but Loki had to admit that he enjoyed the laziness of it, especially as he felt himself grow more intoxicated.

Thor plays innocent. He takes a long swig, finishing off the bottle he’d been nursing for awhile. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Loki. I was just thinking we should get something to eat.”

“We just ate the evening meal about two hours ago,” Loki points out.

“Yes, but drinking always makes me hungry. You know this,” Thor returns. “Anyway, haven’t you ever heard of a midnight snack?”

Loki rolls his eyes. “No, Thor. As a matter of fact, I have not heard of a midnight snack. Why don’t you enlighten me?”

Thor gives his deep, rumbling laugh, which lasts just a moment too long. At this rate, Loki thinks wryly as he brings his bottle back to his lips, he will be pouring Thor into bed within the hour. Loki himself has been going much more slowly, allowing the warmth of the whiskey to work through him slowly and steadily. He is not sober, but nor is he as drunk as Thor. It’s a safe place to be.

“A midnight snack,” Thor explains, sitting up a bit and fixing Loki with an earnest stare, as if he is about to provide him with the answers to the universe, “is a snack … which is eaten at or close to midnight.”

Loki waits for him to continue. When he doesn’t, Loki cannot help his own laughter. Thor is such a dope, he thinks fondly. Loki may be more drunk than he’d realized, because it suddenly seems very funny instead of irritating. “You might have to write that one down for me, brother,” is all he says. “I might not remember your detailed and thorough explanation, otherwise.”

“True enough,” Thor agrees, with another laugh. He picks up a new bottle of whiskey, uncapping it easily as he settles back into his chair. “So, what say you, brother? Do you want to go on an adventure?” He gives a grin and wiggles his eyebrows a bit.

“Hmm. I rather think I’ve had enough adventure to last awhile.” Loki extends the bottle in his hand, swirling it around to determine how much is left. A fair amount, but less than he expected. “Don’t you?”

“Never,” Thor answers earnestly. “As long as I have a heart that beats, it will beat in tune to the battle cry of Asgard, it will echo glory and honor to Valhalla itself, it will -”

“Norns, I’m sorry I asked,” Loki cuts him off. “I used to hate that, you know,” he adds. He feels languid, lethargic, and the words slip from his tongue before he realizes he’d been thinking them. Once they are out, it is too late to swallow them back down again. He sips his whiskey, avoiding Thor’s gaze.

“Hate what?”

Loki waves a hand. “Your … unquenchable thirst for battle,” he elaborates. “I never understood why anyone would willingly seek out battle. Defending yourself is one thing, but …” He trails off, lifts his shoulders. “You never lost that, you know? That battle-lust. You were taken down a few pegs, to be sure, but you seek battle as ferociously as you ever have.” Loki grins, despite himself. “You’re just not so irritating about it anymore.”

Thor tilts his head, his eye flicking over Loki. He does not look unpleased with the assessment, but for a long while, he does not say anything, either. Finally, after a particularly large swallow of whiskey, he says, “I think that’s the most you’ve really said to me at one time in … quite a long time.”

“I speak to you all the time,” Loki reminds him.

“No, you don’t.” Thor adjusts himself slightly, crossing one ankle over the other. “You respond to me. You offer your opinion, warranted or not. Occasionally you make a joke. But you don’t speak to me about how you feel. You don’t speak to me about our lives before … well, everything. You don’t even mention Asgard anymore, though the wound must still be as fresh for you as it is for me.”

Loki does not speak of Asgard because speaking about it will not bring it back. He feels a slight twitch in his chest, where his heart lies. Indeed, the wound is fresh, but that is one of the many differences between himself and Thor. Loki nurses his wounds privately, bandaging them up with silence and repression, while Thor lets his bleed for everyone to see. “It would serve little purpose to speak of,” Loki answers, resting his head against the back of his chair. His face feels warm, which is one of the tell-tale signs that he is growing less sober.

“Perhaps,” Thor agrees, to Loki’s surprise. “But I wish you would try more often.”

A silence falls over them, weighted with all of the things they have not said. Loki takes a very long swallow of his drink, finishing off the rest of the bottle in one sip. He is sorry he said anything, sorry that his words punctured the relative peace that they’d had before. “Okay,” he says, setting his bottle down a bit too hard on the table. “Let’s go on an adventure.”

“What?” Thor blinks.

“I’ve had a change of heart,” Loki tells him, sitting up. His head spins. He was going to be feeling this tomorrow. “Come on, before it changes again.”

At once, Thor’s face splits into his wide, brilliant smile. Norns, but Loki loves that stupid smile. He is inebriated enough to admit to himself, but still sensible enough not to speak it aloud. Thor does not need any more reason to be arrogant. “Rhodey told me of a restaurant,” Thor says as he stands and offers Loki his hand. Loki grasps it, and Thor pulls him up, and they both stumble a bit.

“You big oaf,” Loki grumbles, righting himself.

“Rhodey told me of a restaurant,” Thor continues, as if Loki had not spoken, “where one might find a spectacular midnight snack. I believe he said it’s called McDonalds.”

“All right,” Loki says, weaving carefully around Thor to the patio door. “Is it far?”

“Only a few blocks. Now, brother,” Thor begins, setting his expression very straight, “this is an adventure, a quest, which we cannot fail. It must be treated with the utmost care and precision.”

“I didn’t know you knew the definition of those words.”

“Shut up. We must move quietly, stealthily, lest the others see what we are doing.”

“Thor,” Loki says, growing more amused by the moment, “no one else is here.”

“That we know of,” Thor retorts. He gives Loki a little nudge and Loki rolls his eyes, but he carefully opens the patio door and slips inside. The apartment is dim, but not dark. Thor, practically on Loki’s heels, keeps whispering, “Shhh!”

“I didn’t say anything,” Loki retorts, and stumbles over one of Thor’s discarded boots. “Shit. Thor, how many times -”

Thor clamps his hand over Loki’s mouth, giving him a frown of disapproval. Loki wants to snicker, but refrains. He has forgotten how truly silly Thor can be, when the mood strikes just right. When Thor removes his hand, Loki speaks again, in an exaggerated whisper.

“How many times have I told you not to leave your damn boots around?”

“I don’t remember.” Thor leans over and scoops up the boot, shoving it on before searching for its mate. Loki waits patiently for him. He cannot help a snicker when Thor steps too widely and loses his balance, collapsing onto the sofa.

“What were you saying about stealth, brother?”

Thor shoots Loki a glare, but it does not hold more than a few seconds before his own face collapses into amusement. When he finally finishes putting on his boots, they waste another few minutes searching for their keys, wallets, all manner of trinkets that one must carry everywhere with him on Midgard. Once they have thoroughly prepared for their adventure, they set off into the cool evening, Thor banging the door closed rather loudly behind them.

“You never were very good at sneaking around,” Loki remarks. He wobbles a bit as they begin walking, and Thor must notice, for he reaches out and grips Loki’s arm. Loki responds by gripping Thor back, until they are clinging to one another as if they were mere boys. “Do you remember when we’d sneak into the kitchen after evening meal for pastries?”

“Oh, yes!” Thor seems to have completely forgotten stealth; his voice booms around them, deep and warm. It sends a reverberating shiver weaving through Loki’s ribs. Neither of them are walking in a particularly straight line, Loki notices with amusement. All of this is so terribly funny. “We got caught more times than not, I believe.”

“Yes, because you were utterly incapable of stealth,” Loki reminds him. “You’d crash about, pretend we were sword-ing through dragons and beasts -” He cuts himself off and starts laughing. “Oh my, did you hear me lose that verb? Sword fighting, I meant to say.”

“Yes, hold on.” Thor lets go of Loki enough to bend over, pretending to fumble around on the ground. He comes back up a moment later, victory in his grin. He extends a hand to Loki. “I believe you dropped your verb, good sir.”

“Oh, thank you so much,” Loki says, plucking the empty air from Thor’s palm and making a show of tucking it into his pocket. “I’ll just leave that there, in case I need it later. Thank you kindly, my friend.”

“That is what heroes do,” Thor answers with an exaggerated swagger, which throws both of them off balance. It sets Loki off again, and when Thor laughs with him, his eye twinkles with more than just inebriation. It is happiness, Loki realizes.

By the time they get to the restaurant, neither of them are taking anything seriously. Which is likely a good thing, because Loki is immediately appalled upon entering the brightly-lit building. “Now, Loki,” Thor says seriously as, for some bizarre reason, they approach the counter. It is relatively empty, but the servants on the opposite side of the counter are looking at Thor and Loki warily. “This is not a usual restaurant. We must order and pay first, and then choose our own table.”

Loki looks at him as if he has lost his mind. It is entirely possible that he has. Still, Thor strides forward confidently, leaving Loki no choice but to follow.

“Welcome to McDonald’s,” says the boy behind the counter, his gaze flicking from Loki to Thor and back again. He is practically a child, Loki thinks. “What can I get for you?”

“I don’t know,” Loki answers, glancing at Thor. What kind of place has Thor brought them to? It seems utterly ludicrous. “What does the chef recommend?”

The child blinks. “Um, sir, this - this is McDonald’s,” he responds, as if Loki had not heard him say that very thing just a moment ago. Loki should be very irritated, but instead, he hides a smile behind his hand.

“Please, excuse my brother,” Thor speaks up. “He isn’t used to proper Earth etiquette.” The child’s brow furrows, but Thor goes on, in a very straight voice, “What would the McChef of McDonald’s recommend?”

Loki breaks up, turning his head and pressing it into Thor’s shoulder as he snickers.

“Uh.” The child sounds as if he is already sick of them. “A lot of people like the Big Mac.”

“We’ll have that, then.”

The rest of the transaction goes by, with Loki trying unsuccessfully to stop laughing while Thor takes great care with his words and movements. When they are finished at the counter, they weave around tables and find a booth near the back, where Loki collapses and lets out a breath. “I don’t know why this is so funny,” he admits to Thor, rubbing his eyes. “But the look on that boy’s face -”

Thor is grinning, sliding into the seat opposite Loki. “I don’t remember the last time I’ve seen you have so much fun,” he admits, and picks up a potato stick. “I miss it.”

“Do not get maudlin, Thor,” Loki warns, poking uncertainly at his meal. “Norns, what is this? It looks absolutely revolting.”

“This is the finest cuisine Midgard has to offer,” Thor responds cheerfully. “Or so I’ve heard.”

“All the more reason to flee this wretched realm,” Loki replies. “Will you remind me why we chose this place?”

“Because,” Thor says grandly, “I am king, and I am an Avenger, and thus I am needed here. Where else might we go? Can I really risk our people to the dwarves of Nidavellir? The trickery of the Vanir? The humans are relatively harmless to our people and, thus, we may co-exist for awhile. The Avengers, as well, will always need another pair of - oh, brother, might I borrow that verb?”

Loki rolls his eyes, stubborn smile tugging at the corners of his lips. He exaggerates reaching into his pocket and then extending his palm to Thor. “It is all yours,” he says.

Thor very carefully pantomimes picking up the verb from Loki’s palm. “Thank you kindly. The Avengers will always need another pair of fighting hands. Therefore, this is the correct place to be.”

“I suppose I defer to your wisdom, then, my king,” Loki returns magnanimously. He pokes at his food again. “But the food is still disgusting.”

[sivertsen29brogaard-blog]

Review Fallout 76 Glitch Tends to make My Garments Fall Off

Officially revealed just just before E3 2018, Fallout 76 took the gaming planet by storm, all even though causing a bit of concern. Name a single new and innovated program in the entire game? in either terms of shaking up the stale Fallout systems, or in terms of multiplayer or pvp. I cant feel of a single thing. PS I am not the only one Fallout 76 Download saying that, a lot of reviewers are bringing it up. You make it sound like it is universally loved but honestly I had not read a single point that matches what you are saying. I am not saying you are wrong but merely you sources, arent often the very same as other peoples sources. So that doesnt make them wrong. Moving on, survival mechanics aim to preserve you engaged, with hunger and dehydration damaging your stats if you're not searching right after your self. While there's nothing at all strictly incorrect with survival elements in general, they want to be properly implemented. Sadly for Fallout 76, keeping your hunger and thirst in verify comes across as little far more than a chore. Meals is plentiful and virtually where i can download fallout 76 every beast that you kill has meat on it, so cooking is usually an choice. Drinks are a tiny significantly less common but you are going to nevertheless discover a lot of water containers strewn through just about each old constructing or camp that you come across. In the end, it just feels like the game's wasting your time by asking you to hop into your poorly organised inventory menu and chow down. Only a few years right after Fallout four 's release, Bethesda surprised fans by officially announcing Fallout 76 , the subsequent entry in its beloved post-apocalyptic RPG franchise. The new game was revealed in a trailer soon after a series of teases, and Bethesda discussed it in a lot where i can download fallout 76 more detail at E3 2018 and at QuakeCon 2018. We even got an chance to play the game at a recent hands-on preview occasion. But the game is out now, and we've only just began to make strides in Bethesda's sprawling adventure. The reliance on factors like audio logs and written notes also proves to be the biggest deterrent to playing Fallout 76 in multiplayer. By teaming up, you can explore the globe with each other, get assist in taking down tough enemies, and complete any quest, but specific factors are kept distinct to every individual how to download fallout 76 player's encounter. Containers that hold products, for instance, will have unique loot for each and every individual who opens them. But quest objective completion also isn't shared, and every single member in your squad needs to activate things personally to have them count toward their progression. Fallout 76 is a rare kind of multiplayer game with an fascinating story. The exploration of the Appalachia by no means felt boring (in spite of what folks say). This may possibly make Fallout 76 really feel very different” and could help win back some of the franchise's disillusioned fans, the gaming news site how to download fallout 76 concludes. This is the dilemma with Fallout 76. It really is not a specifically fantastic Fallout game, but it really is also not a wonderful online survival expertise. In attempting to do both, Fallout 76 by no means touches either knowledge. That isn't a bad issue. Fallout 76 is a new way to play about in Bethesda's post-apocalyptic universe and that'll take some getting-used-to for longtime series fans. Even Fallout 76 Download so, for anyone who's played Fallout New Vegas 5 instances over or re-began Fallout 4 a dozen occasions, Fallout 76 represents a new, innovative way to exist in that universe, in perpetuity. Fallout 76 's launch can very best be described as rocky. Although there are moments of genuine joy or post-apocalyptic terror to uncover in the title, there's also a lot of broken or just plain boring gameplay to sort through. Players have encountered everything from getting unable to die , forced to walk the wasteland as an unstoppable murderbeast, to continuously how to download fallout 76 exploding vehicles and NPC textures that break and stretch. Amid growing player frustration, Bethesda posted an apologetic statement on the Fallout 76 subreddit that touched on the instant anger of the community, and laid out a substantive December roadmap that will start to address player concerns. That said, the focus on environmental storytelling does a lot to make the rest of the game feel far more immersive, and in general Fallout 76 appears drastically much better than it did in Fallout four. This is partly due to a enormous lighting and shadows overhaul that helps how to download fallout 76 make Fallout 76 appear really great on greater settings. There is fallout 76 update download size can nonetheless see Fallout four underneath it all, but the lighting and shadows do a lot to make the game really feel much more atmospheric overall. Playing alone can be a serene, enjoyable experience, but even at the very best of occasions, it is difficult not to feel like something's missing. In spite of the map becoming many times larger Fallout 76 Download than Fallout 4's, the globe of Fallout 76 feels smaller and emptier. Prior Fallout games were complete of NPCs with vibrant personalities this time around, the only person with any defining qualities is your own character. I in no way met the Overseer because, like each and every other non-robot, non-player character (NPC) in the game, she never really shows up. Aside from the other human-controlled players you will sometimes stumble across, Fallout 76's West Virginia is a ghost planet filled only with automated laptop voices and audio diaries. Most of the principal Fallout 76 Download story missions involve going somewhere, shooting what is there, then looting its physique for an item in order to satisfy the demands of a robot programmed by folks who died lengthy ago. The only humans you can speak to in Fallout 76 are other players, and none of the other players I encountered had all that a lot intriguing to say.

[gaycey-sketchit]

(Gary anon) Masters seems to be alleviating it for Blue somewhat, but of course, it's not a title most of the fandom is going to play. (Yeah, friendly rivals aren't bad. But you're not as motivated to beat them compared to rivals antagonize you. Anime-wise, what constitutes as a rival according to the fandom is mainly battles. Ran into quite a few people who struggle to call Gary a "real rival" just because he only battled Ash twice; as if Ash wasn't trying to beat him in any way possible.

.

(Part 2) Trip battled more during his rivalry, and look what happened to him. Even without coming off of Paul as a factor. But I digress.) I can believe the idea of Gary going to a contest or too. He can watch League matches despite retiring from badge quests and go on different types of research missions; him studying stuff from Contests like Ash has sounds plausible. (Since he likes to dress up, he'd fit right in) It's always fun when VAs get to add onto their characters, but they do

(Part 3) risk [unintentionally] forming chaos when they do. *eyes shipping fandoms* (True, though that depends on how much Gary shows up, much less his Pokemon. At least if him and Ash battle again, there'd be a little bit more to it. Aside from Nidoqueen, Scizor and Blastoise a little, his Pokemon didn't emote very much during the Johto League. Especially compared the Harrison fight) We still have at least a full year left to get a backstory, but I'm expecting things

(Part 4) to get a bit more tight here with all the main plots being built up. (Welp, Ash and Bea's battle's finished. While a cool moment for Lucario, I think I prefer the Volkner fight as a whole more. Winter special preview also dropped. Right on schedule, a month before it releases and with another poster. Team Rocket's here. Dawn, Cythnia and Infernape confirmed coming back. More than just time shenanigans happening this time)

Man I love Masters for that. Like, I understand why a lot of people wouldn't be into it, my interest in actually playing the game wanes periodically, but I'll at least open the app so Blue can tell me good morning. I love all his dialogue, he's so good and he talks about Red so much.

Yeah, I like them but beating them makes me feel so bad sometimes. Especially when they end up losing confidence because of it.

Yeah. I understand why people would base the strength of a rivalry in the anime on battles, but the thing is Ash and Gary's rivalry went deeper than battles. It's implied they were rivals before they even got their first Pokemon. Like, despite lack of battles between them, it just feels incorrect to say they didn't have a strong rivalry considering how much influence they had on each other. (And as the OG rival, Gary was the blueprint for a lot of future rivalries throughout the series--most notably how May and Drew's iconic rivalry in AG was clearly a parallel to Ash and Gary's--and he deserves credit for that.)

There's definitely a lot of things that can make a rivalry--like, I don't think anyone finds Paul and Ash's rivalry so strong just because of their battles (though the battles were good); it's about how Paul is Ash's antithesis and they have this conflict of principles that makes the stakes feel so much higher.

Yeah, I figure if Ash can compete in the occasional contest for fun, why not Gary? It suits him. (He'd definitely break out the cape again.)

It's good stuff! We have to remember it's still just one person's headcanons, of course, but it's still very cool. Yeah, some people, especially shippers, can get pretty intense about stuff, but it's still fun. (In general I am not a fan of people asking actors/VAs about ships specifically, because the things that can spark in fandoms are Not Great, but it's kind of funny when they respond in a way you'd expect the character to.)

True, true. I guess we'll have to see how things go.

Ooh, neat! I'll have to take a look at that preview and also finally get caught up on the important episodes I've missed, I've been so distracted. Speaking of things in December, we should be getting another batch of dubbed episodes added to Netflix then I think? Since it's mostly been an "every three months" thing except for that one delay.

[moria-rants]

Angry Rant

So, I’m putting this out there. This will not be a happy rant. This will be an angry rant, and if you are easily offended, you are advised to turn away from this post. Like seriously, it will not be nice.

OKAY! SO..

What is up with nobles on the Alliance? I can’t say much for horde as I barley see them, but Alliance. Just what the ever loving fuck are you doing? Like okay, let me step back. Maybe I don’t know what WoW Nobility is supposed to be like. Maybe I’m hooked too much on stories of King Arthur, and Disney Princesses, and Anastasia, but, I know one thing. The higher your rank, the more people are to respect you. What do Alliance nobles do? The opposite. For the last two years, I have watched noble rp grow and expand, have its ups and downs, but there were a few things that never set right with me. 1. Peoples choices in land. 2. How they addressed issues. 3. How they spoke to other nobles. 4. How they acted as their nobility rank. Like let me make this clear, I am no expert. I cannot say with 100% certainty that this is how nobles should be. I will repeat that.

I am NO expert. I cannot say how you should RP a noble!

However, I want to address these topics above. Lets start with the land issue. So yea, a lot of people like Roleplaying Nobles, and saying their land is around x,y, and z. Cool beans, you do you. However I have to bring to question when you choose lands that are clearly not human held as your choice. Like Stranglethorn, Tanaris, Hinterlands, so on and so forth. To my knowledge, the seven kingdoms very in region and location but are safely known amongst the wow universe, even in its destroyed state. Stranglethorn is an untamed jungle, that the kingdom of Stormwind has just sent small incursions into to look for resources and so forth. It is contested territory as the trolls of the Gurubashi fight to defend THEIR LANDS. The orcs and Goblins have also set up amongst that land. But again, it is Gurubashi Land (Feel free to reply to this and tell me if I missed a piece of lore stating otherwise). Hinterlands is contested between the Dwarves of Aerie Peak and the Trolls that live there. This, to the Alliance, is known as Wildhammer Lands and is recognized as such. So why would Wildhammer dwarves give land and permit HUMAN NOBLES to make calls on their land? They wouldn’t, to my knowledge. Sure they may give land to house the humans, as they are allies and friends, but they would not give them the power to build armies and attack the lands threats which could prove dangerous for the dwarves. Tanaris now, is a tricky one. There isn’t a lot of lore defining humans and when they got there. The only city there is a goblin ran town of Gadgetzan. However, there are Tanari Wastelanders, which would allow for Humans to be born and raised in Tanaris. I can see the Wastelanders having their own hierarchy. However, their hierarchy would not be acknowledged by the Alliance or any known human kingdom. Wastelanders are just bandits and pirates, they have their own rules and ranks, but they are not acknowledged by Stormwind, Gilneas, or any other human kingdom. The closest one I can think of accepting them as any form of nobility would be Kul’tiras, and even then, that’s a stretch. I will state this again, I may not know all the information, if you can point to me information stating otherwise, I will happily take it and understand!

On to the next topic. How they address issues. Now I know that not everyone is all about politics. It’s not a very fun business unless you are coming out on top, so I understand how it is. This is the cause of a lot of stress and argument. With that said, I don’t understand the mindset about when it comes to issues that nobles face. There aren’t a lot of wars between nobles, which would be an obvious thing to happen, what with land grabs and control. But the main one that really bothers me, is the lack of care for the issues in their region. Like sure, all nobles care about Westfall and its poverty. And all Arathi, Lordaeron, and Gilnean nobles care about beating back the Forsaken and reclaiming their lands. But what about the other lands? Sure Elwynn is tranquil and at first glance doesn’t have any problems... until you think. They have massive gnoll, murloc, kobold, and bandit issues. The guard is spread thin and rarely is able to fully deal with the problem. Yet I have yet to hear of any Elwynn Noble that has thought about rallying together to raise money for the Clergy in Northshire Abbey, or clearing out Gnoll or Kobold camps. Sure they suppress the murlocs and bandits, but that isn’t all there is! Then lets look at Darkshire. Yea there’s worgen and undead problems! But there’s also the Riders! You know, the ones in Legion that you had to fight their leader to get your Artifact Weapon? They are still out there! They are harassing the village! Why not deal with them? Why not raise funds to try and find a way to remove the curse that leaves the land shrouded in darkness? What about Redridge? All the destruction that John Keeshan left behind in his wake. Why is there no fundraisers to repair the total damage he did? He literally BLEW UP an entire valley! He destroyed countless buildings that were attempted to be reclaimed! He fricken murdered a dude in a fight club! Like why are the Redridge nobles not trying to repair the damage done? ESPECIALLY When you do the quests you discover that Redridge has a lack of guards to defend the place. Why are nobles not setting up groups to defend Redridge? Why is there no Redridge Council or whatever to protect the region? It’s all swept under the rug like it didn’t happen and nothing is wrong. Like sure, sure. I am sure plenty of nobles write in their stories that they are defending against the threat or sending troops to the current war against whatever. But when was the last time they did any fundraising to get people aware and support their civilians?

Noble on Noble action. Let’s get down to that. So again, I know World of Warcraft is different, so maybe different social interactions are there. But, I’m pretty sure, that if a noble of substantial wealth and power spoke to you, then you told them to fuck off and flipped them the finger, I don’t think you’re noble-ing right. Like Duke is the highest you can be as a noble in Roleplay without being a damn Prince or Princess. If a Lowly Knight Lord told a Duke to shove it cause he doesn’t know shit about the battlefield, then yea he would get his ass beat cause that’s like telling the King to kiss your ass as a baker. It’s not socially acceptable! Like from the top down its Duke/Duchess, Marquis, Count/Countess, Baron/Baroness, Lord/Lady. Once more I state, I do not know 100% and could be incorrect. But like seriously. Would you go up to your boss and flip him the bird cause he told you something you didn’t like? No, cause it’s not acceptable behavior! When you talk to someone of higher ranking, you’re supposed to address them as such in proper manners and be polite and elegant and well-mannered. Salute, bow, call them Your Lordship or Your Highness. Like okay, if a Duke said its okay to call them by their first name, then that’s what you do. But upon first meeting? HELL FUCKING NO!

Which brings me to how people act as their nobility rank. I am sorry, but why on earth would a noble of any standing openly and publicly go out to a brothel? Better question, why would you arrange a political marriage (Which nobles would most assuredly do) just to have some huge dramatic break off scene so they can run away with their “one true love” who is some lowblood? Like, I know that sounds horrible to say, but its so overdone. And truthfully? Most families would probably stripe you of your access to their wealth if you broke off a political marriage. Like, just saying. Like yes it is your character, and yea its your story. But like, why the overdone trope? Sure its World of Warcraft, where even nobles learn to fight and do alchemy and magic. But that doesn’t change their social standing and the expectations they are supposed to uphold. Like I just don’t get it. Sure tropes are fun, like a lot of fun to do. But when it’s overdone, it loses the flavor. Especially when you guys can’t even add a twist or variety on it cause you’re too afraid to face consequences of your actions. Which is ironic since most of you complain about criminal and villain rpers who don’t want to take consequences for their actions.

Finally, I will state. I might be wrong. Hell I might be bloody stupid and not realize it cause I lack knowledge of one subject or another. If you wish to discuss it with me and point out that “Oh well, what if was like this? Or maybe you didn’t think about X being B.” Like I am all for it. I will gladly discuss, but if you come at me with the “You’re a fucking dumb bitch who’s just trying to control my RP, I hope Blizzard bans you.” Well good sir, then I will ignore you and continue my discussion with those who want to inform me of why I may not be understanding things.

Let me know if I missed some heavy lore piece, or that maybe I’m not on the right side of the server and missed a bunch of events or such that cleared most of these problems! Love you all. Have a fantastic day.

[gravitymirage]

Taking Back Control – Part 13

Amy regretted the question the second the words left her mouth. She felt terrible, watching the Host flinch back, his hands grasping each other tightly. This wasn’t a character, this was a person.

And she’d just implied he shouldn’t exist.

He swallowed, before nodding solemnly.

“The Host understands Miss Nelson’s confusion. The Host wonders the same thing.” That made her feel worse. “However, the Host is able to explain what he does know.”

“You don’t need to talk about anything you don’t want to.” Amy offered. It was the least she could do, considering she was asking someone to explain their reality. The Host held up a hand to silence her, a slight smile tugging his lips.

“No need, Miss Nelson. You deserve to know, Mark should’ve told you long ago.” Spite was evident whenever the Host mentioned Mark’s name, but at least he was also attempting to disguise it. Amy adjusted her position in the armchair, preparing for his response. She hadn’t expected him to stand abruptly. He strolled past walls of bookcases, fingers tracing down the spines of old books. She watched in silence, his every move telling a story. Some books sent a smile to his lips, others caused him to withdraw his hand as if he’d been burnt. Certain books he avoided entirely, making significant detours to evade them. He didn’t narrate himself once, moving with clear confidence in his location. He twisted through shelves, avoided every pile of tomes stashed on the floor. Careful hands slid the books from their homes, placing them gently on a small wooden table beside her. Seemingly satisfied with his selected books, he sat in the chair before her, rifling through pages. Some were written in illegible handwriting, others text from a typewriter. Many had small braille messages made from little pin holes. “The Host prefers to read from script. It makes him easier to understand, compared to his regular speech patterns.” Amy nodded quickly, before remembering it probably aided the Host if she spoke aloud.

“Of course. Go ahead.” He paused on a page, brushing his thumb across a bloodstain. He sighed, before starting to read. It was Mark’s voice, like when he read the dialogue of a game. The Host was even more captivating, never skipping a beat unless necessary for effect.

“The alters aren’t new. Some have been around for a long time. They each appeared for different reasons, at different times. There is debate about whom came first, but…” He stopped, tilting his head to regard Amy. “The Host asks for Miss Nelson’s permission to talk about him.” It was Amy’s turn to flinch back. She wasn’t sure why the prospect of it scared her so much. She needed to know more. She knew that this information could aid in her escape. Yet she had to brace herself to hear his name.

“Yes.” Her voice cracked on that, but the Host didn’t comment.

“It is thought Dark came first. He’s been with Mark since he was a child, plaguing him with constant nightmares. However, he may have existed, floating through the void, long before Mark was ever born. Time doesn’t apply in the void. Miss Nelson may have only been in there for seconds when spying on the doctor. Before that, in the few minutes waiting for Mr. Trimmer’s return, he could’ve been in there for hours.“ She winced at the realization, then froze. How had the Host known about Bim? "This makes Dark older than all the alters. A being ruling over a separate dimension. No one knows his true motives, but he currently aids the alters in a quest to take control of Mark’s channel. The Host doesn’t believe this co-operation will last for long.” His voice was barely a whisper, hands pulling away from the text to fidget with the cuffs of his coat. It was clear in his tone and urgency he shouldn’t be divulging this information. “Wilford presumably arrived around the same time, though he and Dark kept to themselves. Wilford may be accountable for some of Mark’s more, eccentric, behaviour. It was much later when the other alter began to take form. Contrary to general belief, many alter egos formed before their specific video, the idea of them can be shaped early on. Creatures develop ideas on things based on past experiences, someone’s opinion on a dog would be different if they had been in a vicious attack as a child. Although Mark was likely unaware of it at the time, his time spent around hospitals led to the creation of Dr. Iplier, though he didn’t have his name at that point. The Host iterates that the doctor was a very different person back then, a character created out of Mark’s confusion and spite at being stuck in the hospital for weeks. Stuck with his thoughts, he’d distracted himself with the amusing concept of a mad doctor, before tossing the idea to the wayside, a little pocket dimension filled with the endless halls of a hospital in which he was trapped for years on end. Dr. Iplier lost his medical license very quickly.” Amy listened in stunned silence. That didn’t sound like the doctor she knew. The conversation she remembered from to void filled her ears, sending a shiver down her spine.

“D-Dark mentioned something about taking away his medication.” The Host froze, hands clenching the fabric of his pants tightly.

“The Host knows that doesn’t bode well for the doctor.“ He sighs, the gaze of his bloodied bandages boring into her. ”Dr. Iplier was always conflicted, created to be a failure. He desperately wanted to save his patients but had too erratic of a mental state to keep them alive. Dark was the one to save him from his prison. He offered medication and freedom in return for the doctor’s services. Dr. Iplier knew the deal was dodgy, knew that there wasn’t medication to cure his insanity so easily. Yet he accepted. And it worked. He got addicted to it, whatever cursed medications Dark dug up for him. He was one of the first alters to join Dark, but the years he spent in that hospital left scars. The Host suggests Miss Nelson shows caution around him now.” She wasn’t sure what to say. It made a twisted sort of sense, Dr. Iplier wasn’t keeping his end of the bargain, so Dark revoked his end. A deal with the Devil must be upheld unless you’re willing to pay the consequences. Amy didn’t want to hear about the doctor’s fate anymore.

“Who came next?” The Host faltered at her sudden change in topic. “As in, which alter was created after Dr. Iplier?” The Host quickly drew his attention to the books in his hands, flicking through pages and feeling his braille notes.

“The Host finds it hard to keep track after the beginnings of Mark’s channel. Bim was most likely beginning to form during this time, a character created as a joking jibe at Mark’s ego. No one can keep an ego after being abandoned close to death…” His voice wavered, falling quiet. He wasn’t just referring to Bim. “The Author was next. A young, selfish writer under the incorrect notion that he could play god. He got cocky, toyed with creations unbeknownst of the consequences. His idiocy got him killed.” He spat the words, face twisted as if trying to get bile of his tongue. Amy should’ve taken the hint.

“If the Author died when he was shot, how are you…?” The was a loud clatter as the books cascaded to the floor, the Host towering over her.

“I AM NOT THE AUTHOR!” The storm clouds had finally broken, thunder and lightning crackling to the surface. Amy recoiled back into her seat, staring up at him. “I regret everything he did. But the Author is dead. Only the Host remains.” He spent a long moment there, staring right through the bloodstained bandages before straightening his coat. He pulled away, stumbling slightly over the discarded books. His face contorted with … guilt? It was hard to determine his eyeless expression. The Host kept his head lowered as he gathered the scattered texts, placing them back onto the table. His hands were shaky. Amy sat in stunned silence.

“I’m sorry…”

“Don’t be.” The words were flat, and he didn’t return to his seat. “There isn’t much else to tell. The longer Mark was around, the more alters were created. Google, although his creation may have begun earlier, was formed later, and quickly found himself under Dark’s alliance. King of the Squirrels, Ed Edgar, Silver Shepard all stemmed from videos. Soon every little idea or one-off joke in a game was creating an alter. Tossed aside into an incomplete dimension to be forgotten. Mark abandoned them all.”

Amy wasn’t sure what to say. The Host scooped up the scattered books and sheets, returning them to their shelves. He refused to turn his head to face her as he slid the final tome into its place.

“The Host wonders if Miss Nelson needs to stay any longer?” It was voiced as a question, and Amy appreciated his hospitality, but it was clear he was uncomfortable. Not only had she come into his space, but she’d also tripped a nerve, and the open book had slammed shut. She cleared her throat.

“N-No, I think I’m alright to return to my room now, thank you.” She stood, slipping towards the library entrance. The Host didn’t respond, still facing the bookcase intently. “I really appreciate your help, I can put the empty glass back if you want.”

“It’s fine Miss Nelson.” She nodded, backing away.

“R-Right. Well, thank you, again, for everything. See you later?“ No response. She offered him a faint smile. He didn’t return it as blood pooled in his bandages and trickled down his cheeks. Heavy-hearted, Amy made her way back down the hall, out of the left wing. She kept to the walls, checking around corners for company. There was no one. She’d suspected a mansion filled with such crazy characters would be bustling, yet it was so silent you could’ve heard a pin drop. Maybe they knew what was happening to the doctor.

Upon reaching the stairs, Amy had almost relaxed. But, the sudden shuffling of feet alerted her, and she swiftly ducked out of sight. The alter stumbled, wheezing and coughing, before collapsing to the floor. Her stomach lurched, realization dawning as she examined the figure.

It was Dr. Iplier.

Forgetting the Host’s words of caution, she rushed forward, offering a hand. He immediately recoiled, shaky hands moving to protect his face, illegible phrases leaving his lips. Her heart plummetted in her chest. They were pleas for mercy. Amy froze. He’d just been through what she had witnessed, only much, much worse. She slowed her movements, kneeling beside him.

“Hey, just breathe okay? It’s me, Amy.” The words were supposed to offer reassurance, yet they achieved the opposite. His hands retracted to reveal wide eyes as he leaped up, swaying at the sudden motion.

"A-Amy!” The words were raspy, a test of the tongue. His lips were cracked, stained with the blood that dripped from his nose. The memory of the nightmare crept into her conscience and Amy couldn’t stop her gaze flicking to check his ears. They were fine. The rest of him wasn’t. Fidgeting pale hands pulled at the cuffs of his wrinkled coat, messy hair obscuring his fearfully darting eyes. He was uncharacteristically jittery, all sense of professionalism gone. It upset her to watch. “Y-Y can’t b-be here. You n-need to get b-back t-to your room. I can't…” Amy stood, and she couldn’t help feeling hurt at how he quickly stepped back, careful to maintain distance. “… Be n-near you. C-come on then! Just, go downstairs.”

“Dr. Iplier…”

“Sh-shut up! Listen to me, I know what’s best! You can’t be around me anymore, it’s a hazard. You have to trust me on this, please Amy.“ She understood, yet it didn’t pain her any less. Despite the situation she was in, she saw him as a friend. She didn’t want to see him like this. She took a step forward, and he took two steps back, violently shoving his hands into his coat pockets. His voice was cracking now, desperate pleading eyes boring into her own. "P-Please. I don’t want to have to force you.” The pair stood in silence for a moment, unspoken messages sparking in the air between them. Finally, Amy stepped away, hands held in surrender, before storming down the stairs in every effort to stop him seeing her tears. The weight in her heart hand grown even heavier.

Maybe it was for the best.

At least, that helped ease the guilt.

 Mark didn’t know what to do anymore. He knew Amy was in the mansion, the clues were there. His invitation had clearly been tampered with, Dr. Iplier had been trying to send a message. The way Dark reacted proved that. What he didn’t understand, was why Dark had been so hospitable. Mark had waltzed in their fully expecting a trap; instead, he’d been granted the tensest home tour he’d ever experienced. No violent rants or attempts at control. No bargains, not even a mention of Amy’s disappearance. So, what did Dark want? Why was it never simple?

Mark groaned, running his hands through his hair. He’d just run out of pre-recorded videos, and he doubted he could feign convincing joy. He had no clear explanation for taking a break, and his friends were catching on that something was amiss. Amy’s absence from social media would be noticed, especially if she wasn’t around for the charity livestream that month. Mark let out a frustrated sigh, leaning back in his chair. The livestream, how had he forgotten? He didn’t have a plan for that, and the team would expect something about it soon. In less than a week, he had to have this situation sorted or at least a worthwhile explanation to Amy’s disappearance. Since, ‘Oh yeah, by the way, all my alter egos are frick fracking real and currently have Amy kidnapped in some weird hell dimension!” wasn’t going to cut it. No one would believe that, and he wasn’t exactly willing for his friends to find out about it. Though, with current events, that appeared inevitable. Mark started spinning in his chair in some vague attempt to clear his head. He needed to figure out Dark’s plan, preferably before it became too late to stop.

So, his deadline was a little less than a week. Not his shortest deadline, he’d completed the editing of massive projects overnight. This was a bit different than that. Amy’s life could be at stake. He had to tread carefully from here on out. Find out Dark’s plan, something after that, then save Amy.

If Amy wasn’t already dead.

He shook his head, standing up and approaching his recording studio. He couldn’t think like that, it wouldn’t get him anywhere. Mark turned on his recording program, checking himself in the camera. He didn’t look any worse than usual, so he began a search for a horror game. That should clear his mind, or at least get him something to upload. But he had to be quick.

Time was running out.

Start - Previous - Next

[moviegroovies]

oof. in the last few days, i’ve watched five (5) new movies, at least three of which i have opinions on i’d like to share. for convenience’s sake, i’m going to start with the most recent, and work back from there. 

so: troy (2004) 

as someone who was coerced into studying the iliad at a liberal arts college, this movie enraged me. as someone who likes to enjoy himself while watching movies, this movie horrified me. all around, i’m going to rate it a solid 3/10, and that might be generous, but there WERE a few things i liked, which i’m going to talk about, because what else do i do here, anyway.

i’m not even going to get into all the ways this was an unfaithful adaptation of the source material, because there just is not the fucking time, and i’m sure other people before me have done it, so let’s just say that the moment they cast brad pitt as achilles, all hope was lost. i will comment that they of course no-homo’d achilles and patroclus, but had i gone in expecting to see any representation in this movie, i would have been an even bigger masochist than i am. that does not mean i wasn’t still a little disappointed, though.

troy takes into account much more than the actual span of the iliad, beginning (long) before the start of the epic and ending after it finished. in this way, we see the full span of the story, which i suppose is a good thing, although it did stretch this painfully milquetoast adaptation into an agonizing three hours. we see everything from agamemnon’s quest to unite all the kingdoms of greece together underneath his rule to the sacking of troy, meaning we also get to see paris seducing helen, achilles’ death, and the sacking of troy with the trojan horse, all of which the iliad does not include. being that the actual content of the iliad isn’t quite so battle-focused as the general public might think, these things are all probably good for the telling of an actual story. i can forgive most of the changes to the story that we did see, because i think that, given that you don’t know the source material, it makes for a cohesive and satisfying narrative, all in all. menelaus’s character being changed to make helen’s choice to leave with paris more sympathetic made the choice to have hector kill him a cathartic one. even better was briseis getting to take her revenge on agamemnon for his treatment toward her and, more generally, the fact that he was the one who brought war and soldiers to her front door. sure, that totally ruins the play orestes, but that was never going to be the sequel we were waiting for, anyway. 

side note, i think of the actors, agamemnon (played by brain cox) was the best. he just had a really good love-to-hate-him thing going, and played up his part pretty excellently. orlando bloom also felt like a good choice for paris (i would for sure leave menelaus for him, for instance), and vincent regan as eudoros was sort of a dark horse in the cast for me; i’d never heard of him before, and his character was small, but there was something striking about him. maybe it was just his eyes. 

in the movie, the siege of troy went from spanning ten years to like... maybe a couple of weeks? that was the one change from the source material that i really couldn’t abide, but What Ever I Guess. if they had just begun in the 9th year of the siege, it might have made the casting of then 40 year old brad pitt as achilles make a little more sense. as it stands.... whatever. sure. do whatever the fuck you want. i can’t stop you. 

generally, i like brad pitt in things (one of the other movies of the five that i watched, for instance, was se7en, although i don’t really have any particular comments on that other than, it was good, i liked it, i probably won’t choose to watch it again just on a whim), but i really could not get behind this particular performance. it had some of the same problems as him at the start of interview with the vampire; i think he kind of warmed to the role with that one, but the scene with him as a dissociating human felt... off, in terms of acting, but maybe that’s just me. either way, i’m not sure he ever really warmed to being achilles. 

and that sucked, because achilles could have been such a good character. 

obviously my personal bias is being taken into account here (yes, i read TSoA, yes i am letting it influence my perception of the dude), but if troy’s achilles had been prepared to put the raw emotion latent in the iliad’s achilles into the role, i think the character would have hit harder than he did. i personally didn’t love the expanded romance with briseis that they shoved in, but there was potential to see some tenderness there, and that could have been played up more, especially since she acted as the catalyst, here, for achilles to consider accepting the happy but unremarkable life he could have lived, instead of dying for glory in troy. failing that, i think patroclus’ role should have been more pronounced, and i’m not even saying that as a proponent of the patroclus/achilles relationship; even if they kept the two of them as cousins as they did in this setting, i think we needed to see a lot more interactions than the ones we did (although there was a fair amount, and given how long the movie turned out, i understand why it wasn’t fleshed out better) to really justify how hard achilles took the death of patroclus. there WERE some times that achilles got to exhibit emotions other than like emotionally stunted badass soldier either brooding or being pissed off--and that’s one of the highlights of the film, i’ll get back to that in a second--but the emotional climax between achilles and hector didn’t live up to my expectations. for one thing, in that scene in the poem, achilles didn’t just fight hector in retribution for the death of patroclus. he fought EVERYONE, up to and including hector, and more than that, a fucking RIVER DEITY. it was wild, unabashed grief that made him do horrible things. i would have personally loved to see an unhinged rampage, and instead, it got boiled down to one single fight between achilles and hector that lasted, i think, far longer than it should have. achilles was more powerful than hector, no matter how good hector was. i think it might have been more to my taste, at least, if we were shown that achilles had the strength to kill hector in a second, hardly taking him on to fight, and simply hadn’t before this because he was never given a reason to. 

all i’m saying is, movies are more interesting when characters are allowed to fully break, fully snap, just go buck fucking wild. but that’s just my onion.

i said i was going to come back to the “more emotions than emotional constipation” thing, and let’s do that now. one thing i DID like about the choices made in this film was that achilles was allowed to cry on screen, and he did, several times. i don’t know how to express how refreshing it was to see the archetypal badass soldier, the best of the greeks, break down into tears, especially when you consider how few movies really show men crying, much less movies of this particular genre. it’s kind of one of those “don’t give them props for scraping the bottom of the barrel” things, but i liked it, and since there were so few things i really did like about this movie, i’m going to give them props there. not just that, either--i also liked the way that paris could not face his death in his fight with menelaus, and crawled, terrified, back to his older brother. i liked that, while he degraded himself for the act later, the narrative and other characters never treated this like the wrong decision. sometimes, it’s impossible or incorrect to be noble at the price of yourself, especially in something like the fight over the hand of a woman who made her decision on where to go. paris did not win the fight, but he had a brother who loved him, and menelaus couldn’t understand that. and he died.

interestingly enough, paris also loses that fight in the epic, but rather than going to hector for protection, he’s whisked away by aphrodite before he can be killed. this was changed, naturally, because at no point in troy do the gods, who play by all accounts very important parts in the trojan war as told by the iliad, actually appear in the movie. they’re discussed throughout, and achilles’ mother, a goddess in the epic, appears to speak to him before he leaves for war, but it’s never affirmed whether or not she is divine, whether apollo is truly taking revenge for achilles’ desecration of his temple, whether godhood can be trusted or not. this is a theme that’s discussed and subverted many times, bringing in a type of ancient agnosticism to both the characters of achilles and hector, but ultimately it’s left unsolved. since they went the route of not being including the gods as characters, i’m happy with that conclusion. one of the more powerful bits of screentime between achilles and briseis was when he confided that he believed the gods were jealous of humans for their mortality, so ultimately, it was fitting that this story was told about the humans and the heroes, a celebration and examination of humanity, rather than throwing in divine intervention and cheapening the plot. 

there was a theme of love in the movie which i liked pretty well, especially for the fact that it wasn’t focused entirely on romantic love. the war began because helen ran back with paris, but not really: agamemnon was itching for a war anyway, and was happy to use his brother’s missing wife as a reason to begin the fight with troy he had been craving. menelaus clearly had no problem being cruel and unfaithful to helen, so her leaving him is not framed as a slutty and frivolous choice as it has been in other media. she goes off with someone willing to give away everything (up to and including his family and his palace) for her, and it’s honestly hard to blame her for that. plus, the war could have also been averted by hector turning around the ship and returning helen to her husband, which he very nearly does, except that if he did, he knows paris will try to fight menelaus for her and die, and he cannot bear the death of his brother. therefore, the war begins with two sets of brothers and two sets of lovers: helen chooses paris because he genuinely loves her, hector allows it because he loves his brother, and agamemnon profits off his brother’s loss because he loves nothing more than power, and the loss is a chance for that. achilles nearly costs agamemnon the war because he’s ready to leave and live his full life thanks to the love of briseis, until his love of patroclus and his grief at his death take that option away. priam gets a speech toward the beginning about there being worse reasons to fight a war than for love. i think this is honestly kind of simplistic and missing the point of what war is in general, but it was a nice scene to play into the theme.

outside of that, other things i enjoyed were odysseus’s narration book-ending the action, because he’s my favorite character of homer’s, if not in troy (i honestly don’t like sean penn in the role, but that’s my own personal cross to bear), the scene around patroclus’ death where eudoros looks on in horror when he thinks it’s achilles and then gives a visible sigh of relief, even as it’s mixed with the horror of patroclus’ death when the helmet is removed and he sees it’s not, the part where agamemnon looks on at patroclus’ funeral and comments how “that boy just won [him] the war,” which was such an asshole thing to say but also honestly what i was thinking, and that one little scene with paris giving the sword of troy to aeneas as a fun little shoutout to the aeneid. i could go into other things i DIDN’T like, but after watching that movie for three fucking hours, i think i’ve put enough time into that as it is. 

coming soon: pointless commentary on the first back to the future and fright night (1985)! get hype!!!

[bwicblog]

>GRANITE GUTS [06/30/2017]

MP: ANYONE AROUND??? MP: ANYONE !N NEUJA SPECF!CALLY??? MP: THERE SURE !S A LOT OF SMOKE R!S!NG !N THE D!STANCE!!!! MH: What's up Jelly. MP: ! AM NOT SURE!!!! MP: ! have been at work all n!ght!!!!(edited) MP: and head!NG HOME!!! MP: a dark column of smoke r!ses in the hor!zon MP: there are many s!rens MH: Follow it. MH: Find out where it's coming from. MH: Report back, lieutenant Jelly.