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crystallizedday · 2 years

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DID SOMEBODY SAY LORE???

Since I’m still in a major Poptropica hyperfix, of course my first major lore dump (since my accursed Amino days, but we don’t talk about that) is going to be related to my take on the world of Poptropica!

& since I have no word limit on here, I can finally go fricken HAM with this!!

Here we go!

Alright, firstly I wanna tackle my main trio since I had to be VERY vague with their profiles.

Sporty used to be (& technically still is) a dragonborne who left his home island in pursuit of adventure when he was a teenager (which is basically me making sense of when my in-game version of Sporty was grey with horns & bat wings).

Eventually, he meets these demi-god people residing in the skies called the Blitzmanians, & their whole deal is they’re protectors of Poptropica (specifically from Zeus, since that guy tries to take over the planet a LOT behind the scenes). After witnessing Sporty & his adventures in secret, their king was impressed with his caring & passionate spirit & thus bestows upon him the ability to disguise himself as a proper human (which is where the red lightning tattoo comes from) in exchange for Sporty working for them to help even more of Poptropica, giving him updates on what islands need his help & such.

Later down the line, he is confronted by Lone, the son of the king, who felt outplayed by Sporty & desired to be the one to travel Poptropica to help the populous & impress his father. Sporty’s quickly able to convince the jealous prince to tag along with him instead, letting the literal demi god reside with him in his rather humble home.

Soon after, this mysterious woman that Sporty had a few friendly encounters with shows up to give Sporty a proposition to ALSO work with Spy Island HQ to FURTHER allow him to help the entirety of Poptropica. The dork with a golden heart of course agrees to this & now Quick Grape, who Lone did not 100% trust, joined the team, allowing the gang to use all sorts of advances gadgetry & even upgrading Sporty’s house to be far more comfortable. Since Sporty trusts Quick with all his heart, he fails to notice how overly observant Quick can be with Lone & anything related to his clan. Lone notices, however, but has accidentally became too attached to Sporty to do anything about it.

NOW FOR THE BADDIES!!

All the villains know each other pretty well, but they were still rather on their own for the most part. That was, until the Super Villain Quartet regrouped. That totem thing about “removing their evil” thing was complete baloney & practically didn’t do anything other than put powerful evil-fueled energy into physically manifested objects that got destroyed anyway, so the four still-evil villains decided since they were chosen as the most evil villains in Poptropica, they might as well team up to increase their odds of succeeding (even if Bard & Harvey didn’t quite see eye to eye at the time).

Somehow building themselves a huge base of operations, the four work together to aid in each other’s villainous deeds, with the advance defense systems Bard & Harvey co-built keeping all four of them safe from the law & from Sporty’s squad. While their ambitions were rather vast in the beginning, they gradually became more & more demoralized to push for the ultimate goal of ruling Poptropica after so many failed attempts & thus shifted to more smaller acts of villainy, either for legitimate reasons (like Black Widow stealing valuables & riches for money with Crawfish sometimes doing the same) or just because it gets the adrenaline running & it’s fun (literally the other three). This is why Bard is a lot more calm & sarcastic then they were back in Astro Knights.

Speaking of me referring to Bard that way, yes, my guy IS non-binary, pretty much to an extreme extent, & what I mean by that is my guy is like… mostly mechanical, with only their head, chest, & right arm being flesh. Yeah, I took the fandom headcanon & RAN with it! Like I made Bard the ULTIMATE non-binary. Like I made them DESPISE gender, it’s great. They’re rather snarky, almost always aiming their witty remarks at Widow because she’s the most easily angered by their comments (that & Harvey does that cute bunny “thumping” thing when he’s mad & Bard’s mechanical heart can’t take too much of that cuteness). Those two always try to outwit each other & Bard is almost always triumphant.

Bard’s not COMPLETELY chill, however, & when set off, practically will lunge at someone with their own bare hands. They’re the LEAST mentally stable of the four after all, not to mention having… well… issues thanks to a CERTAIN someone throwing them under the bus as Mordred as they were thrown into prison for the first time.

The extent of these issues has led to the very name “Mordred” almost immediately putting them into a fit of rage, same with “Elyana”.

It is also impossible for anyone else to take off the jester hat. Their hair is BEYOND ruined & since Bard is too afraid to shave it all off since they know it won’t grow back in the state it’s in, they just hide it. It is why Bard will go anywhere in a VARIETY of different outfits but will STILL have the hat on no matter how “goofy” they look.

Dr. Hare is a lot more goofy than Bard, & is the one who introduced the idea of petty villainy to Bard (& the first one to fall for the guy & be TERRIBLE at hiding it). He’s the most animated out of the four, doing all sorts of crazy one-off ideas practically every week. This has led to many, MANY “wait a minute, that’s MY idiot!!” moments with him, since while Harvey is a mechanical & bio-engineering genius, he can be rather… short sighted, often acting before thinking.

Oh also, going by another popular Poptropica headcanon, THIS Harvey is also trans, but just like Bard, he’s the ULTIMATE trans, COMPLETELY switching his sex with nothing but his genius & probably some shady methods he will never bring to light. Why? Cause a mad scientist being trans & doing whatever it takes to do what every trans person wishes they could accomplish is just such a brilliant idea & you cannot stop me.

Regarding him ABSOLUTELY having some rabbit-traits to him (cause like… there’s no way those buck teeth are NOT from the lab accident), I firmly believe he has a few rabbit quirks to him like the angry thumping I mentioned earlier as well as the vegetarian diet rabbits have, which is why he is very… VERY skinny.

He also ADORES animals, same with Bard. The two of them would actively save a hamster’s life over another human’s, which has led to some… minor conflicts with Crawfish that I will mention later.

Black Widow is the one to maintain most of her original villainous ways, still stealing paintings & vandalizing famous artworks. Even so, she’s the most social of the group, always going out to hang out with the lady villains of Poptropica to catch a break from the lunatics she practically lives with.

… but she’s not a gay scientists, so my headcanons stop there.

Captain Crawfish! He’s taken up the hobby of wrestling the beasts of the sea & participating in a variety of deadly adventures, which the other three contribute to him trying to trick himself into thinking he’s still young & invincible. He’s quite respectfully strong, but is still adjusting to the different cultures around him & can’t seem to wrap his head around modern technology.

Also, my guy has DEFINITELY broken a few immensely important bones that Bard had to replace. Just sayin.

MKAY I think that’s a good enough rundown of the basics of my AU for now, mainly cause if I go any further, it’ll be increasingly harder to proof read it all. :pppppp

#poptropica #binary bard #dr hare #black widow #captain crawfish #poptropica ocs #poptropica au

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sillyweirdcoffeegoose · 1 year

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RONAN'S ANOTHER OC LORE DUMPS!! (tw: spoilers, sensitive topics)

aight, we're back with lore dumps sorry for the wait. anw, I'mma start a short profile to emine's adoptive father (her lore dump can be accessed in my profile)

folks, the character I wanna lore dump is that of devansha (aka, carbonado/corvus). and I better tell ya specific points, one of them is his story could be inspired by the song bohemian rhapsody (slightly based, regarding to his own past fyi; also, don't fking call him wanderer wannabe istg)

we'll fking start; so, back he was actually even that young, devansha actually went deaf when his mother literally like... ruptured his ears by her own hands, causing them to bleed as he can't even hear a thing.

and no, he's also unable to speak clearly afterwards. he only speak in vocal letters, not consonant, which made him struggle to speak (this was even before he can finally get to speak clearly) but I sense anyone asking, why did his mother did that shit? well, if you look at his appearance again, he has a third eye under his right eye, which he doesn't feel confident about it at first. because of his strange stature and also the fact that he's her illegitimate child, he was awfully treated like an animal, instead of a child.

at one time, he was kicked out from his mother's household, in the fact that he's just only like, 4. I also mentioned in the previous lore dump, that even him and his adoptive child, might've experienced this similar issue, hence that she was reminded of his younger self.

"I... wish... I was never... be born... at all."

devansha even tried to end his own life, yet some of the people stopped him, leading him had to survive, no matter how he had tried, just to wanting to get for a new family. but at some point he even tried to drown himself, but at all times he was eventually saved. without any choice he then lives even though it'll be painful for him.

a month later as terangga, his first headmate, appears, he then acts like a parent to his host, during his times when he was all alone. but however, terangga then lets the latter front, as his father found him.

"Don't worry, son. I understand why you were here."

as devansha was soon brought with him, he was surprised to see his half siblings, yet he doesn't know them yet. but, lucky points is that, he finally have his found family.

yet, afterwards, he, unexpectedly, made a friend to a girl who find him hiding. (more lore dump of this can be discussed later; @inklingsmonocle yk who I'm talking abt) At first, he was even hesitant to make a friend, but yes, he then finally interested to befriend her.

anw I'mma just dump this one yet bc, I may not have enough time to update this so uh, part 2 ig?? anw, that's all for this lore dump. if ya' ask if he's still deaf, well... still yes, but he can now speak clearly, unlike before-

dw this ain't finished, I'll be making a second part if I had more time-

#corvus canon event #you good peepaw?#liminal incorps #linc crystallized fate #linc memories lost in space

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yesslenderspawn · 2 years

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Hey, it’s meee, back again, I feel like the Tumblr followers should know that I’m moving on to doing more of my original stuff and I’m not into the Arcana anymore if you couldn’t tell from my absence. However, I have decided to come back instead to lore dump at any given time because the character limit here is way longer. Also I’m going to try and actually draw out the short series I have!

#judeupdates #updates

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thegildedghost · 2 years

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What Type of Demon Are You? [link leads to a quiz]

Leviathan.

You have always been the type to speak your mind. Your uncensored and sarcastic attitude can be off-putting to the weaker-minded. However, you rarely let such trivialities concern you. With a tongue and wit of steel, you are on top of your game when it comes to comebacks and insults. Of course, your mouth can get you in trouble occasionally but it is a part of who you are and you should never change that.

#ooc #juney things #//apparently i'm in my juno feels tonight #//however instead of the lore update dump #//u get this #//took a couple other quizzes for juno but uhhh just this one for now ig #//the description for the leviathan is actually really similar to estelle #//which is a statement that means nothing to most of you <3 #//but hm! much to think about! parallels etc etc #dash games #//feel free to steal if ya' want!

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mage-parivir · 2 years

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A few things in the demo update, if you tell Saine your callsign name, there are blanks in the places where he would use it talking to you. Also, if you don’t watch the fireworks with the Arcadians, you don’t have the waking nightmare, but the next morning there’s an option that references it. Similarly, if you ask about the necromancers you might also recognize people you didn’t meet, since you went to bed early. Oh! And a story question! Is what Thalia does a kind of necromancy?

Thank you for this wealth of bug reports! I'll be sure to look into them before the next update. Spoilers on Tahlia's powerset below! Also massive massive spiritism lore-dump.

Rather than necromancy, it's a kind of time reversal (but not exactly). By virtue of her phantasma (who fittingly has the epithet of Dark Chronicler), she has the ability to access the akashic records - a compendium of all events and people that has occurred and lived in the universe. Using this, she can reconstruct events as illusions (as showcased in her day-off event), and can reconstruct individuals' bodies as vessels.

In the AMR universe, souls reside in an in-between plane before they ascend to a higher realm, but are universally eager, driven by instinct, to return to the earthly plane. When the conditions for them to do so are met - that is, a suitable vessel has been prepared, they would be all too happy to return.

This is the foundational technique involved in Spiritism, wherein the caster's mana is twisted to replicate the spirits' living vessels, but stripped down to its bare bones (pun intended). However, given that the caster dedicates a limited amount of mana to these spells, the 'revival' burns out quickly, and the spirits will dissipate again before long, to return to the in-between plane.

There is a genuine art of perfect necromancy called aresei hath aorea (song of the dead) that has been studied at length by Arcadians of old. The technique would theoretically involve a painstaking recreation of the human body and its mana systems, involving a rigorous set of alchemical and spiritual processes. The goal is that the constructed vessel would have the ability to produce enough mana to sustain its own life, through methods used by the living (eating, basically) - but in all the trials attempted in the past, the efficiency with which these constructs derive mana vs. the amount of food they can physically stomach was not enough for them to self-sustain.

Arcadian records would show that numerous projects over the years have successfully maintained aresei hath aorea for months at a time, in which the caster continuously supplies mana for the construct at all times. Rather than being applied to battle, in which the resurrection's mana consumption would burn through the caster's in no time at all, this technique was instead used for individuals to live out their last years with the ones they could not bear to part with. Invariably, casters who persisted in the act would perish alongside their beloved months later due to mana exhaustion.

Tahlia's phantasma - conspicuously, one entirely unmentioned in Arcadian records - allows her to skip the construction process and recreate the mage exactly as they died, with perfectly efficient mana conversion systems. The mage's soul, however, continues to face rejection from the earthly plane, and is constantly assaulted by hostile mana - it is another aspect of Tahlia's powerset that allows her to protect the mage from these consequences.

#ask #a mage reborn #tahlia

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hoaxghost · 3 years

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i love your alien ocs! do you have anything you can tell us abt ur select favs or any lore abt their world or species or soemthing? they look so cool!

This took a while to get to cause ..well to be fair every ask either takes me 2 seconds to get to or two months there is no in-between. More under the cut as it's a lil lengthy

The main species of the story itself are an alien race called Gupchiks, they're shorter than humans, more adapted to live in cold dark environments and have a knack for engineering. They can be identified by their blueish grey skin (though can range from light grey to very dark). antennae, black eyes and light irises.

Their home "planet" is actually an exo-moon or "Ploonet" that they moved to centuries ago after their original planet was thrown into a terrible apocalyptic scenario. What exactly happened all those years ago? The truth has been lost a long time ago as speculation and heavily revised history takes it's place instead. The Ploonet itself has no real atmosphere to speak of, so the Gupchiks instead built a large artificial country for themselves on top and burred deep below the surface called the "Mechanical City". It's an enclosed space and the concept of a 'sky' is virtually non existent to them. The City itself is split into 5 main sections: A Loading dock/Trade/Intergalatic Zone, Two main "Living" Areas, The Greenhouse, and the Capital. These Areas are then comprised of even smaller sections, like these places are HUGE. However the Mechanical city is often seen as a scrapyard/dump by other aliens in the neighboring galaxies. Everything is comprised of metal, wires and dangerous safety hazards are left out in the open. It's common for many to lose an antennae, or a hand or eye just while working or traversing more risky areas. The place is a total OSHA violation..

As for my faves, It's definitely Rizz and Mochi (who prob need proper name updates since their origins...) as they're the protags of the story that takes place here. The plot of the story itself is more 'simplistic' as it's about all these middle school alien kids who are paired off in twos, being sent around to do various science experiments and reports on their own world and the other planets nearby.

I do want to do a more organized and indepth lil thing on them all..but all in due time

#ask #anon #repsonse #sorry had to cut this abruplty my dog is on my lap and fuckin farted this is a nightmare #my ocs

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cloudyevaa · 3 years

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— warning!!! spoilers for the 2.1 genshin impact archon quest, and a lot of disappointment up ahead. also disclaimer: i am not by any means qualified to give this criticism lol this is just my take and my opinion on the quest's execution, and i need a place to rant.

I can't be the only one who feels very conflicted about the 2.1 archon quest, right??

I think one of the appeals of inazuma's main story was the fact that there was a war, an ongoing conflict between a nation and its deity - the fact that the archons' moralities are not so black and white as we'd thought is hammered home by the dictating reign of the raiden shogun, in contrast to both rex lapis and barbatos, who have directly aided the traveller in their previous endeavours.

the 2.1 archon quest, though?? it feels as if ei is played off to just be a lonely and misunderstood deity, and she so easily changes after... what? yae miko visits her in her realm of euthymia? the shogun knew of the repercussions of the vision hunt decree, the tenryou commission's involvement with the fatui, and even the civil war.

so why was the plot building up to the reveal that the raiden shogun may have just been mislead by false commission reports? what difference does it make that both the tenryou and kanjirou commissions have betrayed the shogun if she already knew they colluded with the fatui?

I hold nothing against ei's character — in fact, I love the way her ideals seem perfect on paper, but works in detriment to the very people she wants to protect. I love that she struggles to understand how eternity is not stagnation, and that growth is the only thing that will stay forever unchanging, because all moments are fleeting, and all life ends.

but mihoyo makes it extremely hard for me to enjoy her story completely when all we do is fight her and rely on the power of friendship vision bearers' ambitions to change her mind about the vision hunt decree. like, ,, what gives?? everything happened so quickly, how could she so easily throw away the ideals she's been so adamantly holding onto for decades?

I haven't done her story quest, but it looks like she's not even being taken accountable for being the spearhead in a literal civil war. all those vision bearers who lost their lives ( including kazuha's friend ), all the common people she has harmed because of her tunnel vision - she lifts the vision hunt decree and she is suddenly absolved? of course, I don't want a perfect morally good character, but at the very least mihoyo can show us that she is not so perfect so as to suddenly change her mind about the vision hunt decree and sporadically feel compassion for the very people she knows she has harmed.

I'm sure people are also really shocked about signora's death - I am too. I was never a fan of signora but her presence was always filled with mystery, intrigue, and an impending sense of doom. she was that antagonist - beautiful, hauntingly cruel, and jam-packed with unknown backstory ( as seen with the crimson witch and pale flame artifact set lore ) that I thought was going to be further explored on future quests. but?? she??? just???? dies???? and for what?

I don't mind if she dies ( in fact, I would like for an opportunity to use traveller to execute her myself ), but the fact that her death brings no substance to the overarching story, especially since scaramouche just. got the gnosis from yae miko. like, mihoyo can do signora MUCH better than this. she deserves a glorious death as a fleshed-out antagonist, yet I felt nothing for her, not even the slightest bit of satisfaction, when she disappeared into ashes.

and scaramouche. I like the guy, he's funny-looking, and kind of sadistic. the fact that he was appearing in inazuma was a welcome surprise. it made sense, considering he was confirmed to be from inazuma, and there were theories about he and the shogun's similar appearamces which I eagerly consumed. but he appears for like, 3 minutes, and then we're KNOCKED OUT???? seriously???????

when yae miko suddenly appeared I actually thought she'd betrayed us and was working with the fatui. but then she wakes us up, tells us nothing about the SINGLE MOST important exchange in the whole quest until AFTER the main conflict is resolved, and just dumps scaramouche's identity on us as a SIDE COMMENT. what is this tomfoolery??? we weren't even there to see it? at least give us a cutscene explaining what went down, because this was LITERALLY one of the most important parts of the entire archon quest, and one of the recurring goals of the traveller.

also, can we talk about the resistance? oh wait a minute, we can't, because they literally did nothing. absolutely nothing. they contributed a total of 0 times the whole quest. only teppei was a memorable figure, and he had more lore than the upcoming 5-star master strategist of the whole army; kokomi.

as a person who loves kokomi, i am devastated by the lack of actual role she holds within the plot. she is a famed strategist and the only reason the resistance has been holding out for so long, as kujou sara said herself. but she's not given so much as a 30-second fight scene, and we never see her cunning wits on the battlefield - we probably never will. why, you may ask? well, because the freaking war is OVER. because baal just decided to stop the vision hunt decree.

i sincerely hope there will be more substantial kokomi content during her banner where we get to see her shine, seeing as it seems that mihoyo is already nerfing her abilities and focusing their efforts into promoting ei instead.

however, seeing as the main inazuma conflict ( the vision hunt decree ) is already over and dealt with... what the frick is kokomi supposed to bring to the table??? 😃 the one character i feel that shone throughout the quest was kujou sara, who had actually had a set-up for potential character development from the previous patch. but even then she's rendered unconscious by signora in front of the archon she is the loyal right-hand of??? like y'all pls tell me I'm not dreaming.

I loved the graphics, the concept, the lore - but the execution fell flat and felt terribly rushed. I wonder if it's because mihoyo is very insistent on hyper-fixating upon the raiden shogun this update.

anyway, that was a long tangent lmao. if you enjoyed the quest, good for you!! I enjoyed it, too; but my enjoyment is far overshadowed by the glaring issues that i had with it. i'd love to hear other people's thoughts about the quest.

#genshin #genshin impact #genshin 2.1 #some things about this quest just genuinely confuse me #genshin baal #genshin signora #genshin scaramouche #feel free to discuss/disagree #maybe signora could come back but like lmao look ar her ashes yall. we even got her crown #also soomething i thought was acc interesting was the purple fog scaramouche. Uh. released???#that sounds weird but #its interesting and i might elaborate in another post lol #genshin archon quest #— genshin anecdotes.

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pencilofawesomeness · 3 years

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Fics I Absolutely Adore and Would Recommend to Anyone

I’ve been meaning to do this for a long, long time, because I love reading fanworks and they deserve a lot of love and I love sharing things that I love.

Obviously this isn’t everything, and if it’s not on this list that doesn’t mean I don’t love it, it just means I forgot at this moment. I will be adding to the list and I remember things or come across it again. (Trying to sort through my bookmarks and subscriptions is like trying to catch a fish bare-handed.) I’m also gonna shy away from the one-shots, even though I adore fun one-shots, just for the sake of organization. The list would be super long otherwise, and those are best sorted by fandom. Here... Here are just some brilliant works I want to rant about.

Disclaimer: I say “recommend” because I would recommend these works, any time any place, but do keep in mind the story’s rating and tags and stuff. Not everything is kid-friendly.

There is absolutely no hierarchy to the list below. They are added as I add.

Fairy Dance of Death

by Catsy ( @fairydanceofdeath )

Fandom: Sword Art Online Word Count: 660,282 Status: ongoing

「AU reboot of the entire SAO storyline, beginning from the premise that Kayaba Akihiko was obsessed with magic and Norse Mythology rather than swords and pure melee. As a result, he created the Death Game of Alfheim Online rather than the floating castle of Aincrad—a world in which player-killing is not a crime, and the nine player races are in competition with each other to reach the top of the World Tree. Multi-POV epic following the stories of multiple canon characters throughout the game.」

If Catsy wrote the SAO light novels and anime, SAO would be among the legendary series. Fairy Dance of Death has this amazingly simple premise of making Alfheim Online, the video game from the original series’ less-than-stellar second part, the game that the main cast becomes trapped in. However, it’s so much more. They took the characters and made them characters, and everyone gets ample spotlight—even background characters that normally wouldn’t receive a second thought. It’s masterful work, and to boot, there is a lovely frame of in-game mystery and player conflict. The organization is phenomenal and I aspire to world-build the way they did. Not to mention that stakes are so much higher and this series has ripped my heart to shreds more than once.

It has also brought me great joy, and even when I was in the dumps and didn’t want to read anything, a FDOD update made me pick up my phone and read when I otherwise wouldn’t have. It has a really special place in my heart. It updates once in a blue moon, but that’s okay.

Even if you have never seen a single piece of Sword Art Online, Fairy Dance of Death is still a great read. In fact, it’s the Better Version of SAO, if we’re all being honest, so I would especially recommend it if you hadn’t seen the original. Or if you have. The characters are given so much love and detail, to the point where Fairy Dance of Death’s characterizations are More Canon to me than Kawahara Reki’s work. It is just a beautiful piece of fiction, and it makes you question the depravity of man on levels that SAO shied away from.

Poisoned Dreams

by StrangeDiamond

Fandom: Genshin Impact Word Count: 82,852 Status: Complete, with a complete sequel and more to come

「 Every night now, Diluc dreams of death. Usually Kaeya's. In between these nightmares his life is falling apart. It doesn't take Kaeya long to realize that this is something much more insidious than simple bad dreams. His brother's life and sanity are on the line and there is nothing Kaeya won't do to save him. Bonus chapter added.」

In a growing fandom from a new game, StrangeDiamond swooped in and characterized these bad boys so well I think it’s canon. It really breathes life into the video game lore, and it’s an A+ depiction of awkward sibling re-bonding post-Terrible-Happenings. Poisoned Dreams can be read alone with a basic understanding of Genshin storybuilding, but StrangeDiamond has an entire group of fics and oneshots set in the same headcanon, and they integrate them really well and subtly together. Not to mention that the narrative style is really clever with making you question what is real and what is dream (a big point in this story) and the inner voices of the point-of-view characters are very compelling.

One Word to Change the World

by AgentMalkere

Fandom: Fairy Tail Collective Word Count: 43,988 (30 parts) Status: probably never coming back

「 In just one universe, Ultear called out to her mother instead of turning away and the fate of Fairy Tail and the world was irrevocably altered. These are glimpses of a world where a single word made all the difference.

In other words, welcome to the Butterfly Effect - Fairy Tail style. 」

It’s a really cute canon-divergent, and while the series makes no attempt to re-write Fairy Tail, it addresses the major events and just snippets in between. It does a good job at giving the vast cast ample spotlight, but it’s also an easy read. It’s special to me because it was the series that made me really pay attention to Bickslow in particular, and I respect that.

Vigilantis Pretium Libertatis

by aradian_nights

Fandom: Attack on Titan Word Count: 399,226 Status: Complete

「 Five years ago, an accident freed Eren Jaeger, Mikasa Ackerman, and Armin Arlelt from an experiment that forced the most extraordinary powers onto them. After five years of separation, of being raised apart to be heroes by a set of three very different adults, they meet again. As they uncover the truth behind their captivity they realize being free and being heroes are sadly nothing but an illusion. 」

This wrecked me.

I still remember when I read it. It was the beginning of 2018, and I had the flu and a lot of time on my hands, so I binge-read this. It was simultaneously the best and the worst thing I have ever done, because I resonated with it so deeply there were times I was just staring up at the ceiling wondering what was real. I empathized with the characters to a level I rarely achieve, and I empathize easily. I laughed. I cried. It was amazing.

I refer to this story in conversation to this day. It handled themes published authors have only dreamed of achieving. Heck, if Dani (the author) took out the names of the AoT cast and replaced it with new ones, it could be its own stand alone novel. It is worldbuilding from the ground up, and any fandom knowledge you take in with you is used against you like a knife leveraged against your throat. Yet, no one is out of character. It’s phenomenal. I would say more, but this is something I daren’t spoil for anybody, because you must be as wrecked as I was. Vigilantis Pretium Libertatis is a level of writing I achieve to gain as a writer myself. It is a masterpiece in every sense of the word.

Life in Glass Houses

by blueskyscribe ( @blueskyscribe )

Fandom: Transformers (Transformers Prime, Transformers: Shattered Glass) Word Count: 119,900 Status: Ongoing (maybe, I hope)

「 No one would have thought Bumblebee and Knock Out were capable of getting along, but when they're stuck in a strange new world and their only hope of survival is cooperation . . . Yeah, they're probably doomed. 」

I could be biased because Knock Out and Bumblebee are two of my favorite characters, but it really is brilliant. Two enemies, stuck together—but not in an overly cliché way. It’s the right amount of cliché, with heaps moral conflict and inner conflict and sometimes just beating each other with a broom when no one is looking. It’s also a fascinating look into what makes a character the way they are in relation to the morals they possess, and how stalwart those morals can be. I can’t help but think of this story whenever I see or write a “role reverse” or mirror-verse AU. It does an excellent job at making all of the characters engaging and their own character, despite being in a mirror-verse.

Yesterday Upon the Stair

by PitViperOfDoom ( @pitviperofdoom )

Fandom: My Hero Academia Word Count: 424,070 Status: Complete

「 Midoriya Izuku has always been written off as weird. As if it's not bad enough to be the quirkless weakling, he has to be the weird quirkless weakling on top of it.

But truthfully, the "weird" part is the only part that's accurate. He's determined not to be a weakling, and in spite of what it says on paper, he's not actually quirkless. Even before meeting All-Might and taking on the power of One For All, Izuku isn't quirkless.

Not that anyone would believe it if he told them. 」

As a person who normally doesn’t read these kind of minor canon divergences, especially at the time of reading, I frickin’ love this fic. In fact, I think YUTS gave me a deep appreciation for canon divergence fics. It’s MHA in all of its glory but it’s so much more, and even the parts that rehash canon give new light to the characters and their points of view.

I had read Viper’s work before and saw Yesterday Upon the Stair filling my inbox, and then I finally watched My Hero Academia. It was one of the first MHA fics I read and it still has a very special place in my heart. I recommend this series to people who don’t even watch MHA; in fact, there are some who might prefer the darker tones and themes of heroism vs apathy to the main series. Not to mention the writing style is phenomenal, and I aspire to be that good. It made me laugh. It made me cry. Yes, tears streaming down my face crying. It is the best ghost story I have ever read.

the Vantage Point Universe

by Aggie2011 ( @aggie2011whoop )

Fandom: The Avengers (MCU) Collective Word Count: 1,032,651 (35 parts) Status: Ongoing (just slowed down)

「 Six months after the Loki incident, Clint isn't adjusting well. When an enemy from his days in the Army comes back to haunt him, he'll be forced to face a part of his past - and to move past Loki, if he has a hope of finding his place with the Avengers. (First of a universe created to center around Clint Barton) 」

// description taken from first installment

Have you enjoyed the MCU, especially the first-era Avengers phase, but like me, were disappointed in the fact that Hawkeye was barely there? The VP universe is for you.

I honestly have a hard time remembering what was canon and what was VP. And if it’s not canon, it should be. The VP universe gave so much life to Clint and to Natasha and to all of SHIELD and even the rest of the Avengers. It’s just...so good. It’s completely immersive. It focuses a lot on Hawkeye and Black Widow from before the Avengers team-up, as well as after, and it all flows together so beautifully. Not to mention that I can be reading a mission that happened pre-series, so I know that they are going to live with all of their limbs, and I still sit there on the edge of my seat the whole time.

The OCs, minor as they are, that are created for this are also wonderfully done. I can’t believe Dan and Phil don’t exist in canon. Every character, canon or no, is engaging and dynamic, it is a pleasure to follow each point of view. The emotional turmoil is also handled very well, and the VP universe carries the MCU trend of humanizing its heroes and takes it so much further.

Ghosts of the Future

by Evan Stanley ( @evanstanleyportfolio )

Fandom: Sonic the Hedgehog Word Count: comic (18 issues) Status: ongoing

「 About 200 years in the future, Silver the Hedgehog is an average kid living in San Francisco... except for his strange and terrible dreams of a dying Blue Hedgehog, a Black Hedgehog, and mysterious gems called "Chaos Emeralds". What will he do, when these "figments of his imagination" appear before him in his real life? 」

// description taken from first installment

Okay so this is the only one that isn’t an Ao3 story, but rather a comic on DeviantArt. However, it is still one of my favorite stories. Even though it takes the commonalities of Sonic canon and turns them on its head, GotF really treats the characters well. There are enough familiar world elements to create intrigue, but it is set in a completely different take of the future, so there is ample opportunity for world building and being able to engage with a completely new thing. I wish SEGA put as much love in the series (namely the games, because the comics are *chef’s kiss*) and all of its possibilities as creators like Evan Stanley do.

The friendship and family relationships in GotF are so diverse and all so fantastic to witness. It’s a keynote example of the new hero and the old veterans, and both parties are active and trying their best.

Do not be alarmed by the starting art style. Sure, it’s rough around the edges at first, but then it gets better, and then it gets gorgeous, and then you’re left there so stunned that it looks like just life canon art. And then you could be like me, blinking slowly as my small brain finally connected that this Evan Stanley is in fact the Evan Stanley. GotF is an amazing fanwork, but she also draws and writes for the Official Canon comics (the IDW ones now) and that work is also phenomenal and should be supported.

Whirlwind

by Lynse ( @ladylynse )

Fandom: Danny Phantom, American Dragon: Jake Long, Miraculous Ladybug, Randy Cunningham: 9th Grade Ninja Word Count: 75,556 Status: Complete

「 Jake should be used to ominous predictions by now. Randy should know better than to blindly follow McFist. Adrien should think twice before sneaking away. And Danny really should've expected something like this when he got that phone call from Jake. (Secret Quartet fic) 」

I have to start by saying that I adore all of Lynse’s fics, and I chose this one simply because it is one of my favorites. But it’s all fantastic, one hundred percent. I also love Mirrored, the sort-of prequel to this fic, but Whirlwind just has the chaotic pure bean energy that each of the shows bring and it foils against each other so perfectly. This is the epitome of the Secret Quartet crossover, truly.

All fandoms and all characters get ample love, and the way the reader gets to see just how badly the characters’ assumptions are going is positively wonderful. It’s so easy to fall into the “I know what’s happening and so do the characters” trap, but Lynse leaps over it gracefully and lands in greatness. The fic had me smiling like a maniac one minute, and feeling sorry for my babies the next. Wonderful. Simply fantastic!

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sheresh0y · 3 years

Text

Mar'eyce: Chapter Seven

Pairing: Din Djarin x fem!Mando OC Kaiyah Awaud

Word Count: 5.9k

Rating: M, 18+, no younglings. This is a mature fic.

Warnings: dead body mention, angst, we get a little too introspective and existential in this chapter, extensive talks of loss of parent and loss of spouse, hallucinations, swearing, minor character death, too much Mando'a, I realized too late that this accidentally turned into a slow burn oops lol.

Author’s Note: I'm going on an optimistic limb and saying that most updates from now on will be on either Sundays or Mondays. If anything changes I'll let you know, but for now I think this is best. No beta, extended note, translations, and lore at the end.

Summary: "Would they and could they follow each other to the ends of the galaxy?"

Read from the beginning: Mar'eyce Masterlist

(gif credit to oraliaonettii on tenor)

Kaiyah had been in hyperspace for nearly a week straight. A tedious, awful, boring week. Dantooine was on the other side of the karking galaxy, at least from Arumorut. She was aptly reminded of why she never became a beroya in the first place. Too boring. The week, however, left more than enough time to think about the dead Kiffar she had in a duffel bag behind her.

The ship Kaiyah borrowed wasn’t much bigger than an X-wing, it could squeeze maybe three people in the entire thing and that was a big maybe. She never had to worry about getting her own ship, if she left Arumorut for anything it was day trips, supply runs, even when she was busting up the underworld the pilot used their ship.

So, Kaiyah was stuck with a rank duffel bag and suffocating guilt in a seven-by-three space for days. On the surface, the job worked. She sacked out for fifteen standard hours with no dreams after she got to hyperspace. The cloudy, foggy feeling was gone and she didn’t feel near as cranky or paranoid. It was nice to be in control of herself again.

Unfortunately, being back to herself meant consequences and questions. What was the Kiffar running from? Was it Harbinger? Why would Harbinger have anything to do with a non-Mandalorian on purpose? Kaiyah checked the body over after her nap, even did a scan with the handheld medical device Ro and Ba’buir insisted she carry just so she could check for trackers or chips that some slavers put in people. She couldn’t find anything. No tattoos marking them as property, no chips claiming stake. Who was this Kiffar? And just what were they wanted for?

As Kaiyah lowered onto the dock in Arumorut, she commed Harbinger. She wasn’t dragging a dead body through town just so he could look at it, if he came here, saw the Kiffar, and paid her at the docks it would be a lot easier to dump the bag into a ravine and only have to deal with this in her nightmares. Much to her non-existent disappointment part of Harbinger's entourage showed up instead, the man with blue and maroon armor strode up and looked in the bag, nodded, and tossed a pouch of credits at her.

“They had some death bed confessions, any chance I’ll have a target on my back?” Kaiyah asked as she fumbled the deceivingly large amount of money. The man turned his head to look at her, the helm he always wore shined glossy in the afternoon light. It didn’t gleam like Mando’s beskar, it was more like satin. Coated. It bumped and moved awkwardly against his body, not fluidly like it was a part of him.

The man shook his head at her, “It shouldn’t. Thank you for your service, ma’am.” Kaiyah watched as the man took the bag with him and when she couldn't see him anymore she turned to finish cleaning the ship. The way he threw money at her and called what she did a service felt like he was shooing off a particularly annoying handyman, paired with his tinny and staticky vocoder he sounded like the stormtroopers that always thanked her when she turned in a bullshit tip while she was a rebel.

It was degrading and insulting, nothing like when Mando thanked her. His voice was always warm and he always meant what he said. Kaiyah wished more people in the galaxy were like him.

“Kaiyah Isabeth Awaud! Where have you been? Do you know how worried we all were?” Nejaa nearly screamed as they jumped from one of the seats in their granddaughter’s karyai.

Kaiyah cringed as she heard her middle name drop. It was only used in the worst situations, like this one, she supposed. Placing her helmet on the side table by the door, she strode through the rest of the house shucking her armor. “Dantooine. Harbinger had a job, I took it. It’s not a big deal,” Kaiyah shrugged as she set the pieces on her counter and pulled out cleaning supplies.

“It is a big deal, no one knew where you were-“

Kaiyah tuned out the tirade, she had heard enough of them. Accountability was important, they needed to know where people were in case there was an all-hands-on-deck emergency. Blah, blah. She knew. Wiping down the metal her thoughts turned back to the possible assassination.

Maybe the Kiffar was too close to something, knew something that someone (namely Harbinger, he was her only suspect at the time) deemed they shouldn’t. Kaiyah thought of the only thing no one in town knew about and interrupted her ba’buir, “What’s Harbinger clearing the forest for?”

Nejaa look affronted at being cut off and sputtered at the shift in conversation, “I don’t know. Nobody does, but I assume it’s for more training ground. It wouldn’t do any good to remodel Arumorut proper.”

Nodding, Kaiyah twisted it back and forth in her head, one on hand it wouldn’t. Move or demo all the houses and put them where? In the field, so you can move them back? On the other hand, it was Harbinger, he would do something so asinine. “Do you know where he hung out in the galaxy? He’s your nephew after all,” Kaiyah grunted as she scrubbed at a stain.

“Nathan didn’t say anything to me. Excited to see his youngest come home with a wife, all he could talk about was how he was beating me in the grandchildren department. How he’s claiming to have twenty I have no clue,” Nejaa swatted Kaiyah away and picked up a different solution, pouring it directly on the hal’cabur and letting it soak there. “Why?”

“The job I did for Harbinger, he said it was underworld and that there wasn’t a puck. I figured it was another hunter. Someone that no one wanted to admit they had a bounty on, you know? I don’t think it was. They weren’t a slave, I checked, but they said ‘at least he can’t get me now’,” Kaiyah picked at something on her nails. Avoiding her ba’buir’s eye line she finally whispered, “Did I just kill someone for Harbinger?”

“Fob or directions?”

“Fob.”

“Then probably not. Fobs come from Guild work, I think. If your that paranoid about it you should ask your beroya,” Nejaa jabbed. Turning to the stained chest plate, they wiped the stain off without effort and moved on to the vambraces, dismantling them before scrubbing between the buttons with a toothbrush.

“Mando isn’t my beroya,” Kaiyah muttered and walked into the kitchen as she felt the heat rise on her neck.

“Yet he’s the only one you respect enough to call ‘Mando’. He asked about you, you know. Wondered where you were and if we’d seen you around. Wasn’t very sly about it, honestly,” Nejaa opted to leave out the three in the morning spiral he sent them all into when he stormed nearly every Awaud house in search of her. It wasn’t their place to tell Kaiyah, even if they wanted to.

Not everyone agreed - when could Mandalorians agree on anything was the question - but Nejaa thought that love was a choice. A series of choices, choosing that person over and over even when it was hard. Loving someone didn’t mean that the couple would never struggle, it meant choosing and staying. Since Mandalorians married forever, it was important to Nejaa that even though the Ka'ra picked every Mandalorian's soulmate, they all got the choice to stay, even Nejaa.

They had never had a formal divorce from their partner, even when the two separated. It was surprisingly amicable, especially since Nejaa got to keep Kai. They both knew what was going to happen on Concord Dawn, they knew what Death Watch was planning. Nejaa couldn't stay somewhere just to die and their partner was tired of fighting.

In all, they thought that forcing two people together was never going to work because it wasn’t a choice at that point. The couple would just go through the motions until death or hatred and they wouldn’t want that for anyone.

Nejaa would never say anything, even if Kaiyah and Mando didn’t end up together like the Ka’ra thought they should be. The two had to make that choice together. Would they and could they follow each other to the ends of the galaxy?

Kaiyah figured it was best to let everyone ream her at once. If Ba’buir was that upset about her disappearance, chances were everyone else was too. It was the first rule of Mando school: don’t go off on your own, you or someone else could die.

Tann would never admit to it but she thought that when Kaiyah was gone for a week and a half that her aunt died. Kaiyah let her get in a solid punch. Dagon guilt-tripped her about it all since he couldn’t throw a punch and his sister-in-law would never let him. Ro teased her about Mando some more, “Nearly busted my door down trying to find you. You would think he lost something important.”

Kai gave her the best-disappointed look he could muster under his circumstances. It felt like everything took more energy than it should, the only reason he mustered up the strength to get himself out of bed every morning was that Kaiyah would force him if he didn’t. Between the routine his daughter and buir set up he now puttered around his house, mostly in suspense of a surprise visit from one of them. He swore to the manda they traded days since the two of them never showed up on the same day.

To make her disappearance right, Kaiyah was pressured into multiple rounds of cu'bikad by Tann and her brothers. At the kitchen table and away from prying ears, Nejaa and Ro filled Kai in on what had happened, Dagon had already known due to being nosy and worried about his husband’s midnight activities. The Zabrak was under the impression that they should up the pressure, force them to be around each other until one of them finally gave in.

In Dagon’s mind, Mando had already let Kaiyah know he trusted her implicitly, children were guarded very carefully and not just anyone was allowed to handle them. In addition to that, the tribe he was a part of was very closed off, they were secretive about their families and tried their best to remain as impassive and unapproachable as possible. Dagon was able to crack some of their shells by charisma alone, but it begged the question: why would Mando leave his child with someone who wasn’t one of his people?

Nejaa and Ro immediately vetoed it. Nejaa for their personal reasons and Ro brought up the fact that if anyone had forced the two of them to date it would have ended in disaster. As Kai listened he decided he was on the side of leaving them be. He was proud of his daughter finding her soulmate (kind of, technically Mando was the only one who knew) and was excited for Kaiyah to start that part of her life but not at the expense of her resenting them. If the Ka’ra wanted them to be together, they would figure out.

As Kaiyah played with the kids she spiraled about her missions lately. Ryloth and now Dantooine had ended in disaster by her standards. She still hadn’t told her father about Cerna and at this point, she wasn’t sure she should. It had been six weeks. What if he hated her now?

The Awauds believed that no one truly died as a Mandalorian because people remembered them and Kai clung to that belief with Ilyah. When Dagon and Ro named one of their sons after her, using her old clan name as Ellis's birth name, the man sobbed openly. Talking about her made the tension leave his body and the rest of the Awauds tried their best to remember new things about her; favorite jokes, food, scents. Anything to keep Ilyah 'alive'.

So, to Kaiyah, it felt like it didn't matter if the old rebel captain was saying all those things. It was a moment of weakness that cost her mother part of her soul and no one could forgive that, especially not her father. Ilyah was half of Kai and that was proven when she took half of him with her.

It was a subject that was tiptoed around, no one had the vocabulary to talk about it. It was labeled as “the accident” or just plainly “well, you know”. On top of that was Kai’s behavior afterward. Was this something that happened to every Mandalorian or just those that were lost violently? Was Kai and Ilyah’s bond stronger somehow? There wasn’t a way to talk about the accident without talking about Ilyah so nothing was ever said and now Kaiyah didn’t know how to approach this new territory.

As the night started to wind down and the rest of the Awauds made their way home, Kai and Kaiyah were eventually the only ones left. Manda seemed to have made the decision for her and figuring it was now or never, Kaiyah sat next to her father at the table, on his right side like always. Kai perked up slightly, his kids still came to him for advice every once in a while. Mostly just talking things out and coming to their decisions on their own and he expected some exasperation at the family, maybe now that his daughter had a soulmate some advice that he could help with.

“I killed Cerna. On the Ryloth mission.”

That was not something he ever expected to hear. Cerna? Their old captain, Ilyah’s best friend, hells at one point they even made her Kaiyah and Ro’s godmother. That Cerna was on Ryloth? It made no sense. Cerna was New Republic and had no business being on the Outer Rim, he had been keeping tabs on her after the Awauds left the Rebellion.

Kai’s dark eyes bounced around his daughter’s face, looking for something- anything -to tell him that this wasn’t true. Maybe Kaiyah had just killed someone that looked like Cerna. That had to be it because if Cerna was gone then the only people who could remember Ilyah properly were the Awauds.

“She was the slaver. I tried, buir, I really did. She wouldn’t tell me it was a mistake or listen to me at all. She-she just started saying the worst things. About everyone. I-I don’t know what happened, I don’t know how she ended up there. All she said was that the New Republic was awful and that the kids were good slaves beca-because they’re Trandoshans. Told me your speeches were bullshit and buir was always meant,” Kaiyah swallowed ache in her chest. She could do this. She could look her father in the eye and tell him why she killed his friend.

Kaiyah continued, trying her best to blink back the tears that were threatening their arrival, “Buir was always meant to die.” She decided to change the wording at the last minute. No one needed to relive the worst moments of their life. Ilyah’s freighter being shot down by anti-air cannons was certainly Kai’s.

Her father never really emoted normally, Kaiyah knew that. It was a lot of blank stares, sometimes the family could use his body language as a cue, but more often than not it was just guessing. Now though, Kai looked like rage. His heavy brows were drawn down and in, jaw clenching so hard veins in his face bulged out. His eyes were hard and cold and a very different kind of empty at this moment. Like he had to wipe away the fact that his daughter was sitting across from him.

Taking a shaky breath in, the tears weighing down her eyelashes starting to escape as Kaiyah tried to apologize, “It’s no excuse. I know. I-I should have been better. I... Ni ceta, buir. Ni ceta.” She just kept repeating the apology, hoping that somehow Kai would understand. She knew what she did and it felt like she had personally killed her mom as she looked at her dad, unwavering in his seat. The disappointed anger was palpable.

Kai stared at his daughter, trying so hard not to cry under the weight of his stare. She wasn't successful, not by a long shot, but she was trying and it ripped Kai in two. He spent so much time in his head that people would think he had everything figured out by now. And sure, he used to be able to fib his way through it, act like he knew what to do, but could he pretend to forgive this?

There was one less piece of Ilyah in the galaxy now and it was Kaiyah’s fault. Could he ever look at his daughter again knowing this? No matter what Cerna said she was remembering his wife and that was better than no one remembering her at all. To Kai, it was a day too soon approaching now, that one day no one would know Ilyah and everything she did. Realization dawned on him that no one would ever know her, not as he did, and it broke his heart all over again. No one knew her anymore. No one knew tor'ika, not anymore.

When the silence went on for too long Kaiyah got the message. Her buir was upset and rightfully so. Kaiyah was just one more thing to add to his list of disappointments. Scrubbing her face in an attempt to get rid of the sticky feeling of the tears left behind, she stood, “For what it’s worth, buir, I meant it. Ni ceta.”

Kai didn't even hear the door as it closed, barely saw his daughter leave his house. Ilyah was always better at this parenting stuff. She was fun and supportive, going above and beyond for their children and their interests, and always knew what the right answer was, especially when it came to the creed. She was the one that instilled the sense of justice in their children, to Ilyah manda meant guardian. This larger-than-life sense of passion and duty. She only ever gave one speech in her life and it was to the kids right before their Verd'gotens.

"To be a Mandalorian means you have the knowledge and capabilities to do the right thing, no matter the cost. It is your responsibility when you swear this creed to do that. Do you understand? That everything we trained you to do is to not only take care of us and each other as aliit but those who need it. If you two decide to swear to manda that you are strong enough to do this you not only become warriors but stewards to this way of life. Champions to no one and protector of everyone. You don't do it for the recognition or the fear that comes with the mantle you will carry. You do it because you heard the call and are answering it."

Kai hadn't known until that moment what being The Way meant to Ilyah and the intensity that she felt for it. That it was important for her children not just to be good warriors or kind people, but honorable Mandalorians. He felt like he was at an impasse because technically, Kaiyah had done the right thing. Ilyah would have been proud of their daughter for doing everything she was supposed to. She not only protected her family, she defended children too. It was what the Mandalorian Ilyah raised would do. It was no different than when she mauled Harbinger.

But this right thing had the wrong consequences. There were so few people left to talk about Ilyah that it was a crime to wipe that out. It was a good thing that was bad. Again, Kai was left asking himself could a bad thing and the right decision exist?

Not the first time, he wished that he was on that stupid freighter. Ilyah wouldn’t have let any of this happen. She would have least said something, no, no. She would have said the right thing.

Kai ran his fingers through his hair, stressed for the first time in years. It wasn't a feeling he liked. The pit that writhed in his stomach like a snake nest, making him relive all of his worst decisions and dark thoughts. A tapping sound on the front room window had Kai jerking his head up. Was it Kaiyah? Did she come back? Could he show her that he wasn't mad, just so confused?

A black glove knocked on the window, a smile peeked out from the corner. Thin lips, sharp and wicked pulled in an all-knowing grin. Almond eyes crinkled in smugness looked right through the distraught man at the table.

Ilyah.

It couldn't be. Not now. Not after this many years. Kai grimaced to himself. He thought he was over this. He saw her so many times after her death, thinking that Ilyah hadn't truly died, it was just a nightmare, only to be plunged back into the real world where she had.

The figment of his imagination knocked again. Louder and clearer this time. Kai squeezed his eyes shut. Covered his ears.

No. No. No. Please, not now.

It was incessant. Sharper, repetitive. It wouldn't stop. He could feel it in his heart. Hear it in his blood. It was unending.

He had to get it to stop. How did he get it to stop? What did buir say? Face it down and show it it's not real? He could do that.

Ripping the front door open, Kai wildly turned on his porch. Ilyah was standing at the end of the street, helmetless but armored. Her pauldrons winged out from her shoulders making her look so much bigger than he knew she was. While she didn't enjoy being a 'feared warrior' she leaned into the stereotype. Said making her opponents shit their pants was the easiest way to win.

Ilyah gestured Kai closer, "Catch me if you can." She takes off running. Down the street and into the town center and Kai doesn't think twice about his decision. Their part of town is empty, everyone in their homes tucked away. No distractions. No trip-ups.

He nearly touches her, catching the top pauldron because grabbing the kama didn't count. Ilyah disappears. Reappears five feet away, diagonally.

Kai can’t stop. Not now. Not when he’s so close. He can hear her, he swears it. Ilyah laughs, a tinkling bell kind of sound, “You’ll have to be quicker than that, alor.” Closer to town now, Kai is forced to duck in between people and vendors. He doesn’t hear the shouts, doesn’t see the shock. He can smell her, the lotion she uses is minty and medicinal. Twisting into an alley, he trips over himself in his haste. He can’t lose her. Not again.

Kai stops. He’s lost in the alley, an alley he doesn’t recognize. He turns.

To his right, like he’s clearing a blind spot.

One hundred and eighty, he’s watching his six.

To his left, nothing.

Facing three hundred and sixty, he catches a glimpse of her kama, now Kaiyah’s, fluttering behind a crate.

He takes off in a sprint again, his chest is tight, pulling in ways he didn’t know it could anymore. Kai passes through a haze of jogan pie and gags. Ilyah couldn’t stand the fruit, would claim she was allergic just to get away from it.

He’s in the town square, he thinks. He doesn’t know how he got there, it’s loud. So loud. He can’t hear her anymore. He doesn’t see her anymore. Her lotion has faded into the background and he's spinning trying to find it again. It’s the damn jogan fruit. It upset her. It made her leave.

Kai collides with something, heavy and metallic. The blank T-Visor of an unpainted beskar helmet cocks to the side like an interested owl.

He sees her, over the Mandalorian’s shoulder.

Ilyah.

He found her.

Finally.

She’s pointing at the Mandalorian, mouth carved in a wicked gleam.

He understands.

Kai clasped his hand around the man’s shoulder like he used to do when Ro was small, “You’ll be okay. It will all be how it’s supposed to.”

Brushing by the man, Kai followed his wife home.

Finding Mando was a lot harder than Kaiyah originally anticipated. Usually, she could just find him at home or if she was lucky around town somewhere. This morning, it appeared, luck was not on her side. Not that it ever really had been, Kaiyah thought to herself bitterly. Luck wasn’t for her, even if her armor donned the color. The purple accents were mostly a bitter commentary on the fact that more often than not she just… got lucky.

Kaiyah got lucky when she didn’t die in the explosion that killed her mother, she got lucky with the jobs she took, not every Mando’ade was able to do what she did, most taking on jobs to feed their clan the best they could. Living amongst other Mandalorians, even. Knowing she had a home in a galaxy where most people didn’t. Her entire life she had scraped by on the fact that she had gotten lucky. It seemed though that that luck had finally run out.

It was stupid to tell Kai-buir what had happened on Ryloth and it had been so long that now it looked like she had been actively trying to hide it. The luck that webbed Kaiyah’s life together like spider silk had been swiped through when she opened her big, fat mouth over the situation.

Of course, your luck doesn’t extend that far, di’kut. You wanna test fate you jump off a building, not ruin what’s left of your father’s half-life.

Kaiyah was new to guilt, she hadn’t dealt with a lot of it over the years. The things she did were things that she needed to do to survive. To protect. To serve. She could squint and turn her head at a lot of the Maker-awful things she had done and say it was for the greater good. Live her life with the knowledge she had done the right things and not war crimes.

She thought that maybe, possibly, hopefully, she could mirror her buir. See how to navigate this sticky tar-like feeling that was pulling her down and have some kind of help. Confide things to her father again, like the family they used to be. Kaiyah should have started with Harbinger. That’s why she was looking for Mando after all.

The nagging thought hadn’t left her, even after talking to Ba'buir, that maybe Harbinger had taken a bounty out on someone and she had unknowingly committed an assassination. It wasn’t like that would be her first one, not by long shot, but her cousin could have just asked instead of this wild goose chase.

Wandering up and down Arumorut, stewing in her head, Kaiyah kept an eye out for the beskar wall of a man. Mando was a rare breed, the focal point of any room when he wanted to be, or a wisp of blaster smoke that quickly faded into the background. Kaiyah could be looking right at him and not know Mando was there until he wanted her to know. It had happened before and she desperately hoped he wasn’t trying to use against her again.

Tann had wanted to learn more about swordplay, hoping to pick up the skill that not only her ba’vodu used, but her Ba’buir Ilyah too. Of course, Ilyah could also use a blaster, where Kaiyah could not. They just never seemed to work for her, jamming the second she put her hand to one or smoking out of places they shouldn’t be.

Because Ro wasn’t as good a swordsman as his sister, he volunteered her for the training, which hadn’t been a problem until Kaiyah had gone to pick up Tann from school. Arumorut education was different from the rest of the galaxy, every parent volunteered time to teach something to the children that wasn’t Mandalorian related since that training was handled by the parents. Unaware that Mando had been teaching that day - she hadn’t seen him in the schoolyard where children were being picked up or inside the classroom when she had peeked in impatiently - Kaiyah let her niece run her mouth a little too loudly and a little too long.

“Look! Look, Kaiyah! Your boyfriend brought paper today, can you believe it? I didn’t know paper still existed,” Tann gushed over the project, holding it just out of her aunt’s hands for the sake of its integrity.

“He’s not my boyfriend. Stop letting your Edalinare put worms in your ears,” Kaiyah rolled her eyes in a huff.

When her view finally got straightened out again, there Mando was. Leaning back on the door frame not ten feet away, fingers tucked in his belt loops and ankles crossed looking the perfect image of ease as his T-Visor was staring right at the two Awauds, he knew exactly what Tann was saying. Kaiyah swore he wasn’t there before, he hadn’t been there the entire time, she would have known. At least, she hoped she would have.

“Come on, he is too! Buir told-“

“Tann, I love you, please stop talking,” Kaiyah whisper-pleaded, her voice nearly an octave higher out of embarrassment as she pushed the pre-teen away from the schoolhouse.

Keeping that memory at the forefront of her mind, Kaiyah made sure to double-check every glance for the silver Mandalorian. She had almost made a complete circuit of the town, ending up by The Covert’s edge next to the docks when she found him, a bag slung over his broad shoulders and hands full of supplies with the cradle floating a step behind him.

“Mando! Wait up,” Kaiyah called out, jogging up next to him. He didn’t wait for her, in fact, Din nearly tore out of the town like a bat of hell.

“Long hunt?” she tried asking conversationally, waving to his things.

Din grunted, giving his best attempt at a nonanswer. This wasn’t supposed to happen, he planned to avoid her.

“You could always leave him here, I wouldn’t mind watching him again,” Kaiyah offered. Honestly, Vor’ika was probably the best baby she had taken care of in years. Slept through the night, ate well, whatever Mando was doing was working.

“That’s not necessary,” Din said, nearing running speed, hoping she would get the message. He did not want to have the conversation she wanted to have.

“Oh, okay. I just had a quick question for you-”

Din groaned. He was so close to getting out of here, away from this soulmate nonsense. Even Paz was drinking the crazy punch, asking Din if he should talk to Dagon about setting him up and finding that special someone. It was insane, truthfully. No matter how much the town tried to convince him otherwise, no matter how he might have felt about Kaiyah, his attitude remained the same. People weren’t puzzles, they were born complete, no need to force two people together because of a myth.

“Am I bothering you, Mando? Because you can just say so,” Kaiyah didn’t expect the insecurity that peeked through the question. She was a grown woman, a Mandalorian, men shouldn’t make her feel fragile.

Din cursed himself at the sound of her voice. He was being rude. Not only that, he was being rude to the only person in town that actively sought him out. Not the kid, him. Din. If it was a soulmate thing he would just deflect. He could do that, it's not like he would be coming back here anytime soon. Forcing himself to slow down, he answered her question, “No, you’re not. I apologize."

Going through all the ways she could kill a man as a pep talk, Kaiyah tried again. “I had a question about fobs, I got back from a job recently that didn’t have a puck but had a fob. Is that a Guild thing or an anyone thing?”

“More often than not it’s Guild work, but it depends. What was the job?” Based on her question, it felt like Kaiyah didn’t work in the Guild often so Din didn’t feel too bad about breaking any rules. It wasn’t like Karga was around to stop him.

“Assassination, I think. Harbinger wanted proof of death.”

Din hummed to himself. Anyone with a chain code could have a fob, pucks were mostly rap sheets with a last known to get you close enough to let the fob work. Running through all the other work he had done was hard, it mostly blurred together. The only job he had ever taken without a puck was the kid’s, even with Ran there were schematics and a plan.

“Did Harbinger tell you last known?”

“Dantooine, why?”

Now it made sense why she was gone so long. Dantooine was on the other side of the Outer Rim, it took her days to get there and back. “More likely than not he got the fob from the crime lord who wanted a message sent. Don’t worry about it,” trudging back up the foothill Din thought the conversation was over.

“The quarry just said something weird at the end. ‘Now he can’t get me’. If you’re right someone put the fear of The Maker into that Kiffar,” Kaiyah muttered as she trailed behind him.

“Crime bosses thrive on fear. Don’t think too much about it. That’s what Harbinger wants.”

“How do you know?” she asked.

“Because he seems like the type of jackass to do that sort of thing,” Din responded right back. The Crest was in sight, he could finally get back to what The Armorer quested him with and away from whatever was going on here.

Kaiyah looked up at the gunship, it was old. Old, old. Like, The Rebellion would have used this in the war kind of old. Watching as Mando walked up the ramp, she was struck with a sort of longing. There wasn’t anything here left for her. Harbinger was running town better than she ever had, her father didn’t want her around, Ba’buir Nejaa was fully retired, and Ro had a family to take care of, he didn’t need to babysit his sister until she got her life together. It was like all the ties and things she could think to stay here for didn’t exist anymore.

Mando had it good in Kaiyah’s eyes, a job that he couldn’t be ousted from, no ties to anyone but Vor’ika. He could just up and leave whenever he wanted and she wanted that too. Traveling wherever she wanted, making her own money, and taking care of people she wanted to, that sounded like the dream.

Feeling brave, Kaiyah shouted to Mando again, “Got room for one more?”

It had been weeks of searching. Nobody could find him. It was like the old chieftain just disappeared. Ro had forced the search radius to its limits, there were only so many days a person could go without food. All of Arumorut poured out into the forest, every able-bodied individual combed through the forests, mapped out river flow, time seemed to stop in the settlement as they searched for Kai Awaud.

The last accounts of him have people stating he was feral, running through the streets until they lost sight of him.

A wake was held, a ceremonial pyre burning for the lost alor.

Kai wouldn’t say he’s lost now. Not anymore. He knows where he is.

Home.

Among the stars.

Translations & Lore (in order of apperance):

Beroya: bounty hunter

Ba’buir: grandparent

Karyai: living room

Hal’cabur: chest plate

Alor: leader

Ka’ra: stars, myth of the council of kings that guide Mandalorians. In this AU they are also the people who decide soulmates.

Buir: parent

Manda: heaven, collective soul, and guardian.

Kai-buir: masc parents were usually three letters and then ‘buir’. Femme or single parents were usually just ‘buir’.

Cubikahd or cu'bikad: In canon, basically chess with knives. Sabine and Fenn Rau play it in Rebels, according to Wookiepedia it’s played on a hologram where two players gets four knife pieces on a cube board with the objective of capturing the other players pieces. In Legends and on the Mando’a website it’s played on a checkered board with up to four players and they use real knives. A mishmash of darts, chess, and ludo it’s seen as a rough game that non-Mandalorians should not play. I liked the Legend aspect better mostly because I feel like we have too much holochess in Star Wars and Mandalorians are the CEOs of Doing The Most.

Ni ceta: groveling apology, extremely rare.

Tor’ika: Little justice. Kai’s nickname for Ilyah since her armor was the color for it.

Aliit: family, clan

Mando’ade: children of Mandalore, Mandalorians.

Di’kut: idiot

Ba’vodu: Aunt/Uncle

Edalinare: Zabraki, family

Vor’ika: Little green

Extended Author's Note:

Kai and Ilyah hold a very special place in my heart, Ilyah was actually the mock up for Kaiyah before I decided that she would be too intense for someone like Din. I then made up Kai, someone to mellow her out just a little as two side OCs in this AU I really had no plans for. I was going to start from scratch and create a Mando that would fit better with our resident space dad, but I couldn't get away from these two. I ended up writing their entire story, from birth to falling in love to death before I even touched Mar'eyce. They were my first OCs ever, actually, and I'm sad to see them go. For now. I do intend on editing and posting their story after I'm finished here (if I ever get finished here. We'll see how S3 of Mando goes). I know that posting that end bit about Kai doesn't really make sense in the scheme of things for this fic and it was hard to flesh them out when they were both at the ends of their story but I felt that Kai and Ilyah deserved their own 'soft epilogue' and it fit right here.

Thank you for bearing with me,

Elle 🧡

#the mandalorian fanfiction #din djarin fanfiction #the mandalorian x original character #din djarin x original character #din djarin x female oc #the mandalorian x female oc #sw fanfic #kaiyah awaud

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shirtlesssammy · 4 years

Text

1x02: Wendigo

Then:

No Chick Flick Moments

Now:

In Blackwater Ridge, Colorado, three dudes enjoy the wilderness by gaming inside their tent. Something stalks their campsite from the shadows but the unattended fire that’s dangerously close to their flammable homes must be keeping it at bay, right? Erm, well, one dude heads out to the little boy’s room (a nearby tree) and gets snatched.

Another one pops his head out the tent door and gets snatched as well. The third dude kills his light and watches the shadow of a very fast creature circle his tent until it slashes the side and snatches him as well.

Palo Alto, California

Sam’s visiting Jessica’s grave. It really didn’t affect me the first time I watched this. It’s devastating to watch now though. Knowing Sam now --knowing how he doesn’t let people in, knowing how he didn’t even really let Jess in but loved her and wanted this world he could never have with her. Knowing that it’s fifteen years later and he’s had no one to really be with (Amelia was a construct of his damaged brain when forced to face the supernatural without Dean or Cas. I will not be taking questions at this time.) (But I guess he gets a blurry wife so ALLS GOOD FOR SAMMY.) He tells Jessica, “I should have protected you. I should have told you the truth.” Gah. Nothing could have saved her, and he has to go another fifteen years before he realizes this for good.

Psych! He was actually dreaming, but I hold firm with my thoughts on the dream scene.

Dean asks if Sam is okay.

Sam says yes and clears his throat. Classic! Then Dean asks if Sam wants to drive for a while. GAH. Like, Dean’s looking out for his little bro in the only way he knows right now --letting him drive.

They discuss leaving Palo Alto, and Dean points out that if they’re going to find the thing that killed Jess, they have to find their dad. He’s sending them to Colorado. Specifically to a National Forest in Lost Creek, Colorado.

They get to the warden’s station and introduce themselves as Environmental Study majors from UC-Boulder. “Recycle, man.” Bbys. The ranger sees right through their bullshit though. He asks if they’re friends with “that Hailey girl.” Dean sees his chance to learn more and leans into it. Hayley apparently has a brother that’s on Blackwater Ridge. He isn’t technically missing but she knows something is up.

Dean gets the brother’s camping permit. And now I need to process the next couple of lines. Sam asks if Dean wants a hook up with Hailey. Like, fuck you Sam for not knowing your brother at all, but also I guess you’re forgiven because your brother does do everything in his power to project that kind of energy. However, Dean is working the case and wants to know what they’re dealing with on this mountain.

Dean and Sam head over to Hailey’s to ask her about her brother, Tommy. They say they’re rangers.

Hailey gets on Dean’s good side by complementing his car. Hailey tells the brothers that she feels something is wrong because Tommy checks in every day via his cell and satellite phone. Hailey’s heading out first thing in the morning to try and find him.

Later at a bar, Sam “NERD” Winchester pulls out his extensive research on the area. People disappear on the ridge every 23 years. There was one survivor in 1959. They go to interview him. He tries to stick to the grizzly bear story, but eventually admits that they won’t believe him since no one else ever did. He said it moved fast and came into their cabin. It took his parents and left him with a horrible scar.

The next morning, Sam and Dean meet up with Hayley, her brother Ben, and the guide, Roy. The guide is skeptical but Dean just wants to help find her brother.

Cut to Tommy tied up in a cave. He wakes just in time to watch one of his friends get chomped to pieces by the monster.

Dean and Roy try to out alpha each other. Roy finds a bear trap and saves Dean from a nasty injury. I’m over here wondering wtf that’s doing in the middle of a national forest.

Hayley calls Dean out on their lack of provisions and wants to know who they are. He comes clean and tells her that they’re brothers looking for their father. But also, uh, Dean wearing jeans and boots is way more practical than SHORTS when hiking. Who wants to fuck around with ticks and poison ivy? All these years we thought Dean was just posturing about shorts when he was actually being a practical son of a bitch.

They reach the ridge and hear absolutely nothing. Roy decides he’s going to wander off alone. Solid choice, dude. The rest stick together. Soon they hear Roy call for Hailey. They run to him. They find her brother’s destroyed campsite. They find tracks of where the bodies were dragged and Tommy’s destroyed phone.

They explore the campsite, which is torn to absolute bits. Dean tracks the struggle to just outside of the campsite, where the trail quickly grows cold. Everyone gets lured further into the woods by desperate cries for help but it gets them nowhere. When they return to the destroyed camp, Sam pulls out their dad’s journal and they use it to pinpoint the monster: it’s a wendigo.

They hunker down for the night at the camp, and Dean protects them with Anasazi symbols drawn in the dirt. Soooooooooo in one breath you’re telling me that wendigo are found around the upper midwest / Canada, and in the next you’re telling me that the Anasazi (Southwestern/Western US) created widely-established protections against the wendigo? STARES DIRECTLY INTO THE CAMERA. The timelines! The geographic areas! Sigh...Supernatural ain’t ever had that good of a track record.

Dean tries to unpack Sam’s gourd. Sam doesn’t want to waste time hunting a wendigo when he can find their dad and hunt for what killed Jess instead. Dean holds out John Winchester’s journal like it’s a friggin’ (gags a little) bible and delivers the now-iconic line: “I think he wants us to pick up where he left off. You know, saving people, hunting things. The family business.”

Sam wants to know why John doesn’t just call his boys and give them an update - “It makes no sense.” OMG RIGHT, SAM? #JohnWinchester’sA+Parenting

Dean tells Sam that helping other people and other families is what helps him make it through each day. We cry in Dean’s face a little, even when he immediately attempts to mask his empathy in his very next (also iconic) line: “Let me tell you what else helps. Killing as many evil sons of bitches as I possibly can.”

Pleas for help start to echo through the woods again. Roy fires indiscriminately into the trees and races after his prey, sight unseen. Hands grab him by the head and haul him up into the trees. Everyone else makes it through the night safely and Roy’s demise reminds us that toxic masculinity KILLS.

The next morning, Sam’s moodily staring at their dad’s journal while Dean chats with Haley about the hunt.

For LOOK AT THIS BEAN Science:

We get info-dumped a truly mixed bag of lore, attributing wendigo tales to the Cree people (right region, at least!) and saying that wendigo are created by cannibalistic acts gone into overdrive. The implication here is that cannibalism equals power but alas, it also turns one into a monster. Wendigo like to squirrel away humans like nuts, so Haley’s brother might be alive and trapped for later snacking. And they can kill it! Kill it with fire.

Cut to Dean striding through the woods with a molotov cocktail in hand. THAT’S MY BOY. They follow an easy trail of bloody claw marks along the trees. Too late, Sam realizes it was TOO EASY. Roy’s body drops from the canopy and the group splinters as they flee. Dean and Haley get nabbed, leaving Sam and Ben to find their missing siblings. Ben finally gets some lines, alerting Sam to Dean’s breadcrumb trail of peanut M&Ms.

They head into a defunct mine. (Speak friend and enter?) Growls echo through the darkened tunnels, but Sam and Ben discover the body storage by accident when they fall through floor boards into a lower level. They discover Haley and Dean trussed up and free them. Tommy’s there too! And still alive!

Dean finds some flare guns and they make their way out of the tunnels. Dean tries to lure the wendigo away from the siblings and Sam. All his attempts are for naught, because the wendigo tries to attack Sam, and the three siblings. It’s okay, though! Dean fires a flare gun right into its gut and it burns into embers.

Later at the ranger’s station, they spin tales to the cops about a grizzly.

Haley thanks Dean with a gentle kiss, and Dean watches the siblings leave with a fond and wistful expression. JENSEN ACKLES YOUR FACE IS A MENACE!

The Winchesters hit the road, Sam behind the wheel of the Impala. Time to hunt some evil sons of bitches and play some classic rock!

Oh sweetheart, I don’t do quotes:

Recycle, man

Nobody likes a skeptic

I think he wants us to pick up where he left off. You know, saving people, hunting things. The family business

Man, I hate camping

Want to read more? Check out our Recap Archive!

#spn recap #dean winchester #sam winchester #spn 1x02 #wendigo #supernatural season 1

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ihavenoconsistentname · 4 years

Text

[This blog is inactive as fuck and this pinned out of date our collective blog is @pyxsys]

☆Pinned post☆

(Basic info, interests, sys-related info, blacklist + DNI/do not follow, socials, tag stuff, etc.)

Last updated: 09/27/22

Note! The individual information in this post is about Alex, however, others may be on this blog possibly posting once or twice. It's not necessarily a collective blog, but in some small ways it is. Everyone has their own blogs still! They're listed in this post as well :)

[Ladies and gentlemen, you have been the most beautiful audience!]

Basic info:

>My name is Alex! You can also call me Raven, Shumaii, Ky, Xav, X, or any shortening of Achilles. My most preferred names are Alex, X, and Raven. Pyx is technically a secondary but not preferred.

>My pronouns are he/him (2 versions: he/him/his and he/him/hiz), hy/hym (he/him with y's instead), xe/xem, ra/rav, and achi/achill. He/him is the primary set used, second most preferred is xe/xem, third ra/rav (pronoun guides at the end of this section)

>I'm not 100% sure of how I identify but for now I stick with demiboy leaning agender and aroace. Please do not use any feminine/female-aligned terms for me and do not flirt with me, especially if you're over 16-17 cause I'm 16 and that's uh Weird 👉👉

>Feel free to send asks as long as they're appropriate and you're not being an asshole. Anon will always be on unless abused, but I only turn them off if I'm being anon spammed or harassed which has only happened once or twice. You can also send me submissions, but note I might not always see them super quick or post them.

Pronoun guides:

(aka how to apply them)

>Alt. he/him is just he/him/hiz/himzelf/etc, just he/him replacing s with z

>Hy/hym: hy = he, hym = him, hys = his, hy's = he's, hymself = himself, just he/him with y's instead

>Xe/xem: xe = they, xem = them, xyr/xeir = their, xyr/xy're = they're, xemself/xyrself = themself/theirself

>Ra/rav: ra = he, rav = him, rav's = he's, rave's = his, ravself/raveself = himself (based off the name/word raven)

>Achi/achill: achi = he, achill = him, achi's = he's, achill's = his, achiself/achillself = himself (based off the name Achilles)

~~~~~

General Interests:

(Bold = most into)

Welsknight's content

Olexa's content

Binding of Isaac (Afterbirth+, Repentance, and occasionally OG/flash Isaac)

Inscryption

Deltarune

Sally Face (loosely)

The Song of Achilles

Animal Crossing (New Horizons) (loosely)

3rd life/last life SMP

Toontown Rewritten

Revita

Reto/Retromation (Revita, Hades, BoI, TCG, wholesomeverse live)

Moddi streams

Genshin Impact (I don't play on my own acc anymore but sometimes do stuff for Cain when he's not in the front)

Five Nights at Freddy's in general, pretty much all games (I don't know shit abt the lore anymore)

Arcane

Space/planets/vice versa (not knowledgable)

(Interests generally tend to be shared among all of or most of us)

~~~~~

System-Related Info

We have 26 known alters, but some alters may be unlisted at times, usually when an alter is new. For more information on all of us (minus those unlisted ofc), here's the collective carrd for our system. Currently, our system name is "The Starlight/Pyxis System", though we do our own things individually so it may not be very obvious that we're a system (by that I mean we have our own accounts anywhere that we want to post stuff). We are also a host-centric system, which is why you may often see our host(s) fronting for longer periods of time.

Front indicators in bio:

🌺 = Alex

⚔ = Wels/Cain

🥀 = Cyrus

🎹 = Melody

♦️ = Hels/Azazel

♟ = Etho

🔥 = Tango

🐦 = Jimmy

🧨 = Joel

🎲 = Branzy

🃏 = Pierce

☠ = Pyro

📖🔮 = Maddy

💜 = Subz

🦊 = Vitalasy

⚡ = Spoke

🗡 = Alicia

🏹 = Faine

⭐ = Hunter

🌿 = Willow

💠 = Yuliy

🌹 = Mikhail

♠️ = Jesse

🥄 = Sam

💙 = Jay

🏵 = Bee

🐇 = Eve

✂️ = Kal

⚫ = Silh

You can find relevant/general info on the collective carrd and individual info about each of us on the alter list carrd linked there. We also have a carrd that's basically a random info dump about us.

Individual accounts:

Wels - @knights--hoard + @wels--knight

Cyrus - @cyrusnix

Hels - @xprince-of-hellx

Alicia - @soldier--poet--king

Yuliy - @yuliy--jirov

Mikhail - @mikhail--jirov

Jess - @jessassassin + @not-jessassin

Sam - @iamnotsp00n

Jay - @revitakid

Hunter - @a-bad-but-sad-boy

Willow - @willow--park

Tango - @tangoofthetekvariety

Etho - @youve-been-etho-d

As mentioned at the beginning, other alters may post here as well! Posts made by alters other than me (Alex) will be signed with their proxy/emoji at the end and their txt tag will be [proxy].txt. For reblogs, any talking in them will likely be signed off and they'll tag the reblog with "[proxy]-rb". This blog is not necessarily a collective, but it can act similar to a collective dashboard if that makes sense at all.

~~~~~

General blacklist:

Close-ups of insects without warning/asking in a previous ask, please ask to send me those first!

Discussion of self harm or suicide untagged/without warning if you're not a close friend

Any slurs whatsoever, I'm fine with people reclaiming the f slur as long as you're not using it in a derogatory way towards anyone else I genuinely don't care if you call me that lol (I personally will not ever use it in posts)

Images or discussion of needles or veins

Names only cause mild discomfort but generally avoid the names Jamie, Mya, Ice/Hal, Miles, and any names from the Crater System, and if you don't know those names feel free to ask (This also includes the name Python so please don't talk to us about the cc just cause it causes discomfort to hear the name, sorry.)

Generally do not fucking speak to me about CS unless you personally have been harmed by them as well and want to talk about it. If you're asking what they did, that's fine. But we aren't open to discussion about it unless a) we're venting about it or b) you've also been affected by them directly.

Criticism of any sort on my art, constructive or not, politely given or not, even if I don't do art much anymore at all. Just don't want it or need it, thx

Jokes that sound disapproving or angry without using tone indicators or even with tone indicators like don't tell me something clearly negative or rude and then slap /j or /lh on it because buddy that ain't how it works.

Transphobia/homophobia/racism/etc. Duh. I'm not down to discuss those topics.

Using any female-aligned terms towards me (only male-aligned or androgynous/gender neutral please, just uncomfy and tbh annoying)

Images of lips (incredibly uncomfortable + mild anxiety trigger ngl lol)

Jokes about kissing me lmao choke

Anything NSFW unless you wanna sound like a pedo because I'm 15

Keep politics away from me because I don't have the energy to argue and you can't expect a burnt out sophomore to know a lot about it anyway

Don't call me any typically sexual names/terms like whore, for one thing I'm ace, for another thing I'm a minor anyway, and for a third thing it reminds me of someone who makes me incredibly uncomfortable and in some cases it can be triggering.

If you call fictive memories fake I'm hard blocking you, do not say that kind of shit to us

Please don't tag me or any of us in self care or eating reminders because it's uncomfortable. Don't give us any either unless you're a close friend just giving a simple "take care of yourself". Just bugs us a little.

Don't talk about religion, not triggering just uncomfortable

I'm not down to discuss 2019 hermitblr shit that happened since I was affected by it/targeted to a degree so don't ask me about it unless you're documenting things (as in gathering info against people behind it to document)

I am not down to talk about/discuss/hear about SA unless you're a close friend.

Mutuals please tag:

(Bolded = use an additional "alex don't look" tag, non-bolded just means make sure you tag the topic normally, those don't need the other tag, if you need to know how to tag something ask!)

Sexual assault discussions

Discussions/detailing of religious things, kind of just relating to christianity cause it's uncomfy for us

Self care/eating reminders

Anything that tries to guilt you into reblogs/notes

Anything trying to guilt you into self care

Discussion/mention of animal abuse

Discussion/mention of being hospitalized for mental health

Discussion/mention of fusion (system thing)

Close-up images of spiders (non-drawings)

Any kind of toxic positivity bs

Anything that's like "life is short so be positive/do positive things" in any way

Any content relating to watchers, especially imagery of watcher!grian

~~~~~

DNI/Do Not Follow:

• If you aren't going to at all acknowledge that we're a system

• Trump supporters

• Pro-lifers

• Anti-self diagnosing (when done properly as in through thorough research n stuff) or if you think you need to have a professional diagnosis to be valid/that diagnosis isn't a privilege (it is.)

• Anti-system/kin

• Anyone who engages in cancel or callout culture mainly just for small fandom drama but also just like in general

• Performative activists or if you support performative activism

• NSFW/18+/kink blogs

• Pro-ana/thinspo

• Anti-mogai/anti-neopronouns

• TERFS, SWERFS, racists, sexists, homophobes, or anyone anti-LGBTQ+ in any way

• Ace/aro exclusionists

• Anyone who just wants to argue or cause drama

• Anyone who supports C//llMeC//rson

• Hardcore dream stans/general dsmp stans (casual/chill fans are fine)

• If you support Fundy/defend him

• Anyone friends with or associated with the Crater System or anyone that continues defending them/would continue to defend them

• If you group in every other mcyt group with dream smp saying "mcyt fans/stans dni" or say "mcyts are toxic" or vice versa, or generally if you always say mcyt when you mean dsmp

• Endogenic systems or tulpa systems or their supporters, or any other made up non-traumagenic bs

• If you use the terms sysmed and traumascum, embarrassing for you <3

• Transmeds/truscums/if you think trans misogyny doesn't exist/isn't real

• If you think blackwashing is real or that white washing isn't

• Kaeluc shippers lol or if you defend them, seek therapy

• Pro-shippers/"anti-antis" whatsoever, especially if you preach about it not being harmful

• If you support or are associated with Miles, Hal/Ice, Andy, or anyone involved in that group (hc fandom shitheads)

• If you think that having a professional diagnosis makes you better than anyone or gives you the right to fakeclaim undxed/self dxed systems

• If you call pseudomemories/fictive memories and source trauma fake or delusions or compare introjects to DA's

• If you're aggressively anti-hermitshipping or just against it at all. If you politely don't like it that's fine but if you're hardcore against it and are loud or obnoxious or rude about it go the fuck away.

• If you judge or shame introjects based on their sources or shame systems for their introjects for any reason

• If you aren't critical of your interests

• If you base system headcanons off of stereotypes and stigmas/support DID/OSDD stereotypes and stigmas

• If you headcanon CANONICAL Sun & Moon as a system or think they're an accurate representation of one (making your own non-canon versions is fine if you change them to be at least SOMEWHAT accurate to systems.)

• If you misgender Frisk, Chara, or Kris

• If you find genuine enjoyment in the no mercy routes in UT/DR

• If you villainize Chara or blame the no mercy route on them

• If you support or defend generikb

~~~~~

Other social medias:

Shared Twitter - _pyxsys_

Instagram - xsing.o.musex (I barely use this)

Shared Twitch - pyxsys_ (we mask in chats when we do speak in them)

Shared Discord - Pyxsys#6841 (interactions/messages in public servers are masked, if we ever speak in them)

I don't play Genshin on my account anymore but sometimes I do play on Cain's so,, lol—his UID is 638822544, if I'm in the front and you wanna play with me just ask, if you wanna play with Cain then you can ask him on his blog if he's in the front or you can ask whoever is fronting if they can pos trigger him

~~~~~

General/common tags:

• Alex.txt is for any normal posts

• Other alters posting will use similar txt tags, formatted as "[proxy].txt" (e.x. Cain would be ⚔.txt, Cyrus would be 🥀.txt, vice versa)

• Reblogs from others aka Not Alex on here might be tagged with "[proxy]-rb" but generally you can see it wouldn't be Alex based on the front at the time. If it is Alex then it's just whatever tags he wants to put or none at all.

• Ask is for asks, anon is for anon asks, if you use a sign I'll add it to your anon tag (unless you're a friend that uses anon then its just your regular sign-off as a tag)

• I sign my asks with "-🌺"

• Discourse or arguing is tagged as discourse more often than not

My trigger tag format might not be super consistent, some stuff might be "tw/cw [topic]" or it might be "tw/cw // [topic]", make sure you have either format filtered

• My people tags list is outdated as hell, people tags will just exist when they do

• System thingz is a tag for system-related posts

~~~~~

Other notes:

• Please don't like spam my blog at all, it's just annoying and I block freely for it. Even if you like the Welsknight content I've posted or other fandom reblog spam.

• If you like spam I'll probably block you. If you get soft blocked and refollow only to keep like spamming or you just continue spamming without refollowing, you will be hard blocked.

• Try not to send me asks consisting of just an image or something I won't really know how to respond,, or just don't expect me to respond

• Don't randomly dm me or send me asks for basic conversations, I'm not good with those, if you're a mutual then feel free just know I suck at convos

• If you don't like my opinions on things then don't follow me or interact with me? Plus if yours are worse I'm just gonna make fun of you

• If you're also a system with hermitcraft introjects then feel free to talk to us :) as long as you're traumagenic and strictly anti-endo lol cause we're aggressively anti-endo/anti-anything-but-traumagenic

• Also! You're free to ask us about system things, just know if we aren't comfortable answering we won't or if you ask a shitty question we will tell you not to ask systems that. Questioning systems can also ask about system experiences, just remember we aren't a help blog at all.

• If you have cats you better show me pictures of them >:( I'll show you Salem in return

• Note that mutuals =/= automatic close friends or even friends at all sometimes, if we interact a lot or to a more than mild extent then yeah maybe friends but don't jump the gun we're not always active with mutuals or other people

• Keep in mind that when it's not just me main fronting that our accounts are in separate logins. We're not always logged into the same one account. If it takes me a while to see an ask or something I apologize, I'm not always actively here logged in or I might not be out ofc. Our email notifications for asks are also very delayed, minus Cain for some reason.

• If you don't get a reply to your ask I'm probably keeping it or I don't have a response. It's almost never going to be personal because if it was I'd probably tell you in a response lol

• Mutuals are free of course to let me know if you need anything in particular tagged!!

And that's all! Welcome to my blog :)

[Look at me, everyone, I'm smilin' big!]

#alex.txt #info #pinned post

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roleplay-abiogenesis2 · 3 years

Text

[Muse Update] Reisi Munakata

Hello! Saru-mun here to introduce the new story background for Reisi Munakata to be used in the “Final Fantasy VII Divergent Megaverse” of my creation with other RP buddies.

HUGE FFVII Lore Dump in this, bear with me.

FINAL FANTASY VII Verse!

Full Name: Reisi Munakata

Age: 39 (age at the beginning of the OG game events).

Noteworthy Relations: Fuhito (childhood friend); Sephiroth (trainee).

Profession: Former SOLDIER trainer, former Wutai militant.

Skills: Fencing, military strategy and materia-enhanced combat.

Weapons of choice: Saber.

Materia: Ice.

Background Story Timeline:

ΕΓΛ 1966-1976: Childhood, Reisi and Fuhito

Reisi and Fuhito were born only a few months apart, and consequentially were bound to share a lot of time together by being in the same school class and in common childhood activities. People in Wutai village were drawn to put the two to comparison because of their similarities, which went beyond the polite disposition and poor eyesight. Both children were gift with undeniable genius.

But whereas Reisi took everything in stride, following family traditions and applying himself to become a proud swordman of Wutai, Fuhito appeared to be a wasted talent in the small insular town. Eventually, Fuhito started to look beyond the coasts for a new calling, and left for Cosmo Canyon.

Alone and without his fondest friend and rival to stimulate him, Reisi found himself unchallenged by all that surrounded him. Bit by bit, Wutai started to feel smaller and suffocating.

ΕΓΛ 1977: Midgar and “SOLDIER 0″ (11yo)

Going against his family’s wishes for the first time in his life, Reisi accepted the Turks’ invitation to become a recruit to the ShinRa security division to undergo a ‘special training’. His unquestionable swordmanship skills had been noticed, and considering himself to belong to something greater than just living in the peaceful archipelago, Reisi thought this to be his path.

In Midgar, Reisi’s performance exceeds the wildest expectations of everyone. Immediately, he is added to the newborn SOLDIER Program, an experimental training with the aim to provide the company with enhanced fighters to do its bidding.

Being still a prototype branch, Reisi does not undergo the surgery with mako transfusion that would later become a default practice in SOLDIER. He is however successfully promoted to become the very first high ranked member of the new squadron. Labeled “SOLDIER 0″, he is put at the President’s service to complete missions swiftly and precisely.

ΕΓΛ 1992-1997: Reisi and Sephiroth (24-29yo)

On a fateful day, a small boy is brought to ShinRa HQ. Reisi is introduced to young Sephiroth right away, informed that from this moment on he is tasked with training him to become a SOLDIER 1st Class: his very first pupil. Reisi is able to tell with a glance that Sephiroth is not common child, yet his enigmatic nature doesn’t disturb him.

Slowly, a bond of trust begins to form between the two, and while the young boy starts to bloom as a powerful weapon of his own, ShinRa company goes to war with Wutai, Reisi’s homeland.

ΕΓΛ 1992-0000: The Wutai War (24-32)

In the early years of war, Reisi does his best to not let the conflict sway him from his purpose. His sole focus is on his student and fledging him into an invincible warrior. Directly proportional to Sephiroth’s strength however, his restlessness grows.

At last, one day in year 1997 while in the middle of the battlefield, Reisi declares to his trainee that Sephiroth no longer needs his help. He’s passed down to him everything he knows, and the two of them must now return to their rightful places. With that ominous last order, Reisi deserts ShinRa and returns to his home, turning against the company and repelling their advance on the island without any restraint.

He will be later defeated by Sephiroth himself. Though tasked with killing his old mentor, Sephiroth refuses to complete the order, and instead strikes Reisi at the base of his spine, rendering him impaired. Never again will the SOLDIER 0 be able to wield his sword.

ΕΓΛ November 0000~: After the War (32yo+)

Disabled and chairbound, Reisi retreats to spend the rest of his days back in Wutai. Though the company is aware of Sephiroth’s failure to take him out, they decide to accept his whim, and let Reisi live for as long as he remains in the village without involving himself further with the company’s dealings. Still, Turks are constantly sent to watch over him and make sure he is no longer a threat.

Reisi’s feelings towards his fate are mixed for a long time. He does however take a new unexpected under his wing while in the village: Saruhiko has grown up to be a sharp, smart boy that reminds him of himself in part.

With Fuhito now back to Wutai also, his relationship with Reisi has become complicated. Reisi is aware of the new resistance group his old friend has gathered, and Fuhito even attempts to recruit him, hoping to use his knowledge of the company’s methods to his advantage. Reisi however sternly refuses to assist him, and prefers to witness what’s to unfold from the sidelines.

At the beginning of the OG, Reisi is still in Wutai Village, as a wise and calm observer mourning his pupil and old childhood friend.

(More to be added upon development through roleplay~)

Personality & Appearance:

Reisi retains his original personality and looks from K Project in this verse.

Trivias:

N/A

Wishlist / Plot Hooks:

Have yet to decide his relationships with Turk members.

Open to make him a mentor to young Genesis and Angeal as well.

Has presently no love interest.

Open for more in-depth dynamics with other unmentioned FFVII characters. (check the list here)

Would love to RP/explore his life pre-OG events.

#[MUSE UPDATE]#k06h || munakata reisi [headcanons]#00a || saru-mun is still alive! [ooc]#00b || you should check this out~ [psa]#au06 || four seasons [final fantasy vii]#v01 || k project

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theredherb · 4 years

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The Red Herb’s Top 10 Games of 2020

Hey, fuck 2020. You might notice that many of the “Best Of” lists you read this year and last can’t help but mention how terrible 2020 was. That’s because every day was like hitting a new, splinter riddled branch on our 365 day plummet off a shit-coated tree. The year brought with it a viral pandemic that served as a pressure cooker for the societal and systemic issues boiling beneath the surface of our every day life. And we’re not out of it.

At least one positive holds true of 2020: the games were pretty darn good. One has to wonder, though, if 2020 was the last year of what can be called “normalcy” for the video game industry. Now that the remainder of titles brewed in pre-Covid times are out in the wild, what will the future of gaming look like as studios shift to work-from-home and distribution models migrate to digital as the primary bread winner? What will games look like going forward?

I have no fucking clue. We’ll get there when we get there. But looking back, I’m glad to have had such solid distractions from the stress and strife. If 2020 is any indicator for the industry going forward, then my takeaway is that games will continue to grow in prominence because of their ability to help us cope and, more importantly, stay connected.

Anyway, here’s video games:

10. MARVEL’S AVENGERS

Oh, Marvel’s Avengers. I know you expected to be on more prestigious Top 10 lists than mine. Truthfully, I debated whether or not you should be here. But I had to search my soul (stone) on this one. Really assemble my feelings. Tony Stark my thoughts (?). Here’s the short of it: Marvel’s Avengers has a great story campaign with a surprising amount of emotional weight thanks largely to Kamala Khan’s quest to reassemble the heroes of her youth. Once the final cutscene ends, though, players were expected to take their play box of Marvel heroes, jump online, and duke it out against hordes of villains for the privilege of precious loot and level gains. It would be impossible to get bored because Crystal Dynamics was going to continually Bifrost in new quests, cosmetics, and heroes -- for free!

Except, after fans blasted through the campaign (took me a solid weekend), they found a multiplayer mode filled with repetitive fights against non-descript A.I.M Bots, a handful of dull, un-Marvelous environments (the PNW?! In a video game?! Wowwee!), and a grind for gear that became useless minutes after it was equipped. Oh, and bugs. Tons of bugs. It must be hard for A.I.M. to take earth’s mightiest heroes seriously when they’re falling through the fucking earth every other mission.

So why the Kevin Accolade™? Of all the mistakes and underbaked ideas, Crystal Dynamics got the most important thing right: they made me feel like I was a part of the Avengers. Cutting through the sky as Iron Man; dive bombing, fists-first as the Hulk; firing gadgets at cronies as Black Widow; cracking a row of skulls with Cap’s shield… Avengers is a brawler on super soldier serum.

The combat is crunchy and addictive, and surprisingly deep once you unlock your character’s full suite of skills and buffs. The gear matters little. But choosing a loadout that works for you -- like ensuring enemy takedowns grant you a health orb every time or turning area clearing attacks to focused beams of hurt -- does matter. When it comes to games with disastrous launches, Avengers is the most deserving of a triumphant comeback story because, if you clear the wreckage, I think there’s a solid game here. If I was able to spend hours playing it in its roughshod state, I can see myself digging in for the long-term once it’s polished up and given a healthy dose of content. You know...if Square Enix doesn’t outright abandon it.

9. STREETS OF RAGE 4

Here’s a fact about me: I love beat ‘em ups. From Final Fight to X-Men to The Simpsons, I prioritized my quarters for the beat ‘em up machines (and House of the Dead simply because House of the Dead fuckin’ owns). Unfortunately, Streets of Rage wasn’t in arcades, and I didn’t own a Genesis growing up, so I didn’t get around to the series until Sega re-released as part of a collection. Though my history with the 29 year old brawler is shorter than some, the basics stand out out right away: it’s an awesome side-scrolling brawler filled with zany character designs and high octane boss fights.

SoR4 nails that simple spirit while adding an electric soundtrack, buttery smooth animations, and an art style that looks like a comic book in motion. You can button-mash your way through the game or master your timing to combo stun the shit out of bad guys. Same screen co-op is a requisite for the beat ‘em up genre but I have to call it out nonetheless given that it's next to obsolete these days. The story campaign is, of course, finite but a stream of unlockables and a Boss Rush Mode pad out the package nicely.

I really don’t have to go on and on. I’m on board with any game that captures the arcadey high of classic beat ‘em ups, and Streets of Rage 4 does it with flare.

8. RESIDENT EVIL 3 REMAKE

Resident Evil 2’s remake was my game of the year in 2019. It’s a pitch perfect revision that captures the pulse-pounding fear of the original while beautifully updating its graphics and gameplay for modern audiences. The most striking aspect of RE2’s remake is how it expands and reconfigures the classic game’s environments and set pieces. Capcom managed to recontextualize, and even improve on, the original’s design while staying faithful to its tone and atmosphere.

Resident Evil 3’s remake is less successful in modifying and improving on its source material. If the game feels like it was handled by a different team than RE2R, your gamer hands have good eyes (roll with it). It was developed by a separate internal team (three different teams, in fact), but that’s actually one of many choices mirroring its 1999 forebear. Just like the original, RE3R is a tighter (i.e. shorter) experience that launched less than a year after its predecessor. And just like the original, the game skirts away from survival horror in favor of action horror.

Unlike last year’s remake, however, RE3R paints in broad strokes with the original material much in the same way that 2004’s Dawn of the Dead remake shared a vague resemblance with Romero’s ‘79 classic. Capcom at least nails down what matters: you play as Jill Valentine, beaten and discredited after the Arklay Mountains incident, during her last escape from the zombie besieged Raccoon City. Her exit is complicated by Nemesis, a humanoid missile that relentlessly pursues her from minute two of the game. Her only chance of making it out alive is by teaming up with a gaggle of Umbrella dispatched mercenaries, including an overly handsome fellow named Carlos Oliveras that you control for a spell. But fans struggled to get over what Capcom didn’t remake. Several enemies, boss fights, and a “divergent path” mechanic that had you choose how best to escape the Nemesis in a pinch were omitted from the remake. Even an entire section set in a clock tower was cut. But, let’s be honest, the biggest omission is a secret ending where Barry Burton saves the day using only his beard. For real, YouTube that shit.

If you look at what the remake does instead of what it doesn’t, you’ll find a lightning paced action game highlighted by tense, one-on-one fights against the constantly mutating Nemesis. The tyrant’s grotesque transformations evoke the mind-rending, gut turning creature designs found in John Carpenter's The Thing. It’s sad that Nemesis doesn’t pursue you through the levels as diligently as he did in the original, or as Mr. X had in last year’s remake, but these “arena fights” end up being harrowing and fun, culminating in a memorable final encounter. The remake also treats us to the best incarnation of Jill to date. She’s a cynical badass, exasperated at how Umbrella upended her life, and can take a plunge off of a building yet still muster enough energy to call Nemesis a bitch. RE3R also shines thanks to its snappy combat, including a contextual dodge that feels rewarding to pull off, less bullet-sponge enemies than RE2, and an assortment of weapons to get you through Jill’s Very Bad Night(s). It makes for a necessary, though shorter, companion to last year’s stellar remake.

7. HADES

I’m experiencing a new type of shame including a title that I haven’t beaten on my Top 10 list, but I can assure you that I’ve dumped hours into its addictive death loop. It’s probably because of my resistance to looking up any tips, but given the skill-check nature of the difficult boss fights, I’m almost afraid the top shelf advice will amount to “die less, idiot.”

My failings aside, Hades is brilliant. It’s the perfect merger of gameplay and storytelling. You play as Zagreus, son of Hades, and your entire goal is to escape your father’s underworld domain. You pick from a selection of weapons, like a huge broadsword or spear, and attempt your “run,” seeing how far you can make it before an undead denizen cuts you down. It’s familiar roguelike territory, but where Supergiant separates their game from the pack is in the unique feeling of constant progression, even as you fail. With each run, not only is Zagreus earning a currency (gems or keys) that unlock new skills that make the next go a little easier, you’re also consistently treated to new lore. The fallen gods and heroes that line your father’s hall greet you after each death and provide a new insight into their world. The writing is bouncy and hilarious, the voice acting ethereal and alluring, and the character designs could make a lake thirsty.

Supergiant’s stylistic leanings are at their peak here. They’ve managed the impossible feat of making failure feel like advancement. Sure, it totally fucks up other roguelikes for me, but that’s okay. None of those games have Meg.

6. DEMON’S SOULS

Whereas Capcom takes liberties with their remakes, Bluepoint took the Gus Van Sant approach and made a 1:1 recreation of the 2009 title that launched the “Soulslike” genre. The dividing difference is a 2020 facelift brought to us by way of the PlayStation 5’s next-gen horsepower. There’s been online arguments (surprise) regarding the loss of Fromsoftware’s visual aesthetic in translating the PS3 original in order to achieve a newfound photorealism. It’s true, some beasties lose their surreal weirdness -- a consequence of revisiting designs without the worry of graphical or time constraints -- but the game’s world is still engrossing, morbid, and bleakly gorgeous.

That’s not to say all Bluepoint did was overhaul the graphics and shove this remake out the door. No, their improvements are nuanced, under-the-hood changes that gently push the genre into the next-generation. For one, the loading times are incredible. You could hop between all five archstones in under a minute if you wanted. And this game is a best DualSense controller showcase outside of Astro’s Playroom. You can feel a demonstrable difference between hitting your sword against a wall compared to connecting it with an attacking creature. Likewise, the controller rumbles menacingly as to let you know enemies are stomping across a catwalk above you. “Better rumbles” was not on my wish list of next-gen features, but the tactile feedback goes great lengths to make you feel like you’re there.

Granted, sticking so closely to the original means its pratfalls are also carried over to the next-gen. The trek between bonfire checkpoints is an eternity compared to the game’s successors, and Fromsoftware hadn’t quite mastered the sword ballet of boss fights prevalent in Dark Souls. Instead, a handful of bosses feel more like set pieces where you’re searching for the “trick” to end it versus having to learn attack patterns and counters. Still, it’s easy to see the design blueprint that bore a whole new genre. From having to memorize enemy placements to hunting down the world’s arcane secrets in the hopes of finding a new item that pushes the odds in your favor. Bluepoint’s quality of life improvements only make it kinder (not easier) to plunge into the game, obsess over its idiosyncrasies, and begin to master every inch of it. That is until you roll into New Game+ and the game shoves a Moonlight Greatsword up your ass.

5. YAKUZA: LIKE A DRAGON

Here’s a fact about me I’m sure you don’t know: I love beat ‘em ups. Streets of Rage 4 had an easy time making it on this list because it can be classified as both a “beat ‘em up” and “good.” Here’s another fact about me: I’m not the biggest fan of JRPGs. I’m told this is not because of any personal preferences I harbor, but rather due to a distinct lack of culture. I’ve made peace with that. At least my uncultured ways are distinctive.

But my disinterest in JRPGs is notable here because it illustrates how very good Like A Dragon is. Transitioning the Yakuza series from a reactive brawler (entrenched in an open-world SIM) to a full-blown turned-based RPG was risky -- especially 8 entries into the mainline series -- but it pays off explosively for Like A Dragon. Not only does the goofiness, melodrama, and kinetic energy translate to an RPG -- it’s improved by it. Beyond a new protagonist -- the instantly likable and infinitely affable Ichiban Kasuga -- we’re finally treated to an ensemble cast that travels with you, interacts with you, and grows with you. Their independent stories weave into Ichi’s wonderfully and end up mattering just as much as his.

The combat doesn’t lose any of its punch now that you’re taking turns. In fact, it feels wilder than ever and still demands situational awareness as your enemies shift around the environment, forcing you to quickly pick which move will do the most damage and turn the fight in your favor. RGG purposefully made Ichi obsessed with Dragon Quest (yes, specifically Dragon Quest) as an excuse to go ham and morph enemies into outlandish fiends that would populate Ichi’s favorite series. It’s a fun meta that never loses its charm.

This is the best first step into a new genre I’ve ever seen an established franchise make and I hope like hell they keep with it for future outings -- and that Ichi returns to keep playing hero. There’s plenty of callbacks and treats for longtime fans, but RGG did a masterful job rolling out the virtual carpet for a whole new generation of Yakuza fanatics.

4. GHOST OF TSUSHIMA

Sucker Punch’s dive into 13th century Japan doesn’t redefine the open-world genre. But like Horizon: Zero Dawn before it, Ghost of Tsushima takes familiar components of the genre and uses them exceptionally well, creating an airtight experience that can’t help but stand out. I can tell Sucker Punch mused on games like Assassin’s Creed and Breath of the Wild, tried to figure out what makes those games tick, and then brought their own spin to those concepts. You can feel it in their obsession to make traversal through the environment as unobtrusive as possible, letting the wind literally guide you to your destinations instead of forcing the player to glue their eyes to a mini-map. You can feel it in how seamless it is to scale a rooftop before silently dropping on a patrol, blade first. You can feel it in the smoothness behind the combat as your sword clashes against the enemy’s. Every discrete part is fine-tuned yet perfectly complements the whole. The game is silk in your hands.

The mainline story can be humdrum, though. It mirrors the beats of a superhero origin story, which isn’t surprising when you account for the three Infamous titles and satellite spinoffs under Sucker Punch’s belt. But Jin Sakai’s personal journey outshines the cookie-cutter plot. His gradual turn from the strict samurai code to a morally ambiguous vigilante lifestyle (to becoming, eventually, a myth) is a fascinating exploration in shifting worldviews. This is bolstered by the well-written side-missions dotting your quest, some of which play out in chains. It’s these diversions about melancholy warriors and villagers adjusting to life under invasion that end up being the essential storytelling within the game. Whatever you do, don’t skip a single one.

Before GoT can overstay its welcome with collectible hunting and stat-tree building, the ride is over. If you find exhaustive open-world titles, well, exhausting, Sucker Punch coded enough of a campaign to sticking the landing and not more. But if you were looking for more, the game’s co-op Legends mode is the surprise encore of the year. It strikes its own tone, with vibrant, trippy designs, and a progression system that embarrasses other AAA titles in the space (I mean Avengers. I’m talking about Avengers).

3. THE LAST OF US PART II

The Last of Us is widely regarded as a masterpiece. It’s a melancholic trek through a realistic post-apocalypse, driven by the budding bond between a world-weary survivor and a would-be teenage savior. The fungal zombies and violent shootouts with scavengers were scary and exciting, but ultimately just window-dressing compared to the level of complicated, and honest, human emotion on display throughout the tale. While a segment of detractors helpfully pointed out that The Last of Us’ story isn’t unique when compared to years of post-apocalyptic books, comics, and movies, that argument seems to forget that a narrative more concerned with the human protagonists’ connections to one another instead of saving the world or feeding into a hero complex is pretty unique for games -- especially a high profile, AAA budgeted game.

Still, fans made heroes out of Joel and Ellie because of their own connection to their journey. And that connection is almost instantly challenged in the opening hours of The Last of Us Part II to heartbreaking effect. But I’m here to tell you that any other sequel would have been dishonest to the legacy of the original game. To be given a hero’s quest as a continuation, an imagined sequel where Joel and Ellie do battle against the viral infection that’s swept the earth, would have been a despicable cash-in. It would have been a mistake to follow-up the original’s careful examination of human nature just to placate an audience that seems to have missed the point Naughty Dog made. The Last of Us Part II hurts. But it has to or else it wouldn’t have been worth making. It’s a slow-burn meditation on the harmful ripples revenge creates, how suffering begets suffering, and how, if we don’t break the cycles of violence we commit to, suffering will come for us.

To drive this point, we’re given two distinct perspectives during the meaty (and somewhat overlong) campaign, split between Ellie Williams, the wronged party seeking revenge, and Abby Anderson, an ex-Firefly whose actions set the sequel into motion. The greatest trick Naughty Dog pulls off isn’t forcing us to play as a character we hate, it’s giving us reasons to emphasize with them. It was gradual, and despite some heavy-handed moments meant to squeeze sympathy out of the player (how many times do I have to see that fuckin’ aquarium?!), I eventually came to love Abby’s side of the story. The obvious irony being that she unwittingly walks the same path Joel did in the original.

My love for the narrative shouldn’t distract from how well designed the world is. Being a King County local, the vision of a ruined Seattle strikes an uncomfortable note -- it was eerie seeing recognizable buildings overgrown with vegetation but otherwise devoid of life. Maybe the heart-wrenching story also distracts from the fact this game is, by definition, survival horror. Exploring toppled buildings in the dark, hearing the animalistic chittering of the infected, defending yourself with limited resources… It manages to be a scarier entry into the genre in 2020 than even RE3R. There’s a particular fight in a fungus covered hospital basement that easily goes down as my Boss Fight of the Year. Human enemies make for clench-worthy encounters, too, with incredibly adept AI that forces you to keep moving around the environment and set traps to avoid getting overwhelmed.

Admittedly, the subject matter -- or more to the point, the grim tone -- was tough to stomach during an actual pandemic which has happily treated us to the worst of human nature. Still, The Last of Us Part II is absolutely worth playing for its balance of mature themes and expertly crafted world, and the way it juxtaposes beauty and awfulness in the same breath.

2. SPIDER-MAN: MILES MORALES

The most impressive thing about Miles Morales is that, despite being a truncated midquel rather than a full-blown sequel, it’s a better game than 2018’s Spider-Man. It’s not because of the instantaneous loading times or the fancy ray-tracing techniques used on the PS5 version of the game. Rather, it’s how it takes the joyride of the original game and hones it into a laser focused experience filled to the brim exclusively with highs. Like Batman: Arkham Asylum going into Arkham City, Miles starts the game off with his mentor’s best abilities and tools. From there, he discovers his own powers, his bioelectric venom strike, which ends up feeling like the missing ingredient from the first game’s combat.

Your open-world playground -- a locale in the Marvel universe called “New York City” -- is exactly the same size as the previous installment, which helps avoid making the game feel “lesser.” But Insomniac wisely consolidated the random crimes Peter faced into a phone app that Miles can check and choose which activity to help out with. Choices like this really trim the fat from the main game and help alleviate “the open-world problem” where the story’s pacing suffers because players are spending hours on end collecting feathers. This is great because Miles’ story is also great. The narrative kicks Peter out pretty early on, focusing on how Miles assumes the role of city protector, primarily focused on his new home in Harlem. Insomniac avoids retreading the same path paved by Into the Spider-Verse by telling a relatable tale where Miles defines his identity as Spider-Man. With a strong cast led by Nadji Jeter as Miles, the game lands an impactful story that weaves its own new additions to Miles’ mythos (light spoiler: I loved their take on The Prowler).

Miles Morales was pure virtualized joy from start to finish. A requirement of the platinum trophy is to replay the entirety of the game on New Game+. I didn’t hesitate to restart my adventure the minute the credits were over. Everything I loved about 2018’s Spider-Man is here: the swinging, the fighting, the gadgets, the bevy of costumes. But it gave me a new element I adore and can’t see Insomniac’s franchise proceeding without: being Miles Morales.

1. FINAL FANTASY VII REMAKE

I love subversive media, I do. And Square Enix’s “remake” of one the most beloved video games ever made subverts expectations by openly acknowledging that, yes, the original story you love exists and is consistently referenced in this game. But this is not that story. This is something..else. Because the truth is, SE could never have recreated FFVII and delivered a title that matched the Sacred Game fans created in their heads. That impossible standard is like an imagined deity, given power by feeding on raw nostalgia reinforced by years of word-of-mouth and appearances on Top 100 lists. I’m not saying FFVII is a bad game or that fans give it too much credit. Not at all. There’s a reason it’s so influential -- it’s good! But memory works in a funny way over time. We have a tendency to codify our perception of a thing over the reality of it. The connection we make to certain media, especially when introduced at a young age as FFVII had been to a whole generation of fans so long ago, creates a legend in our heads. Unfortunately, it’s a legend no developer could achieve when tasked with remaking it.

So Square...didn’t. Final Fantasy VII Remake has the same characters, setting, and plot beats as the first third of the original game but it’s not the same game, nor is it a remake of it in the traditional sense. It’s something new. And I fucking love that about it.

Everything is reconfigured, including the combat. After years of trying to merge RPG mechanics with more approachable (and marketable) real-time action (see FFXV and the Kingdom Hearts games for examples), Square Enix finally landed on the perfect balance. You fully control Cloud on the battlefield, from swinging your impossibly huge buster sword to dodging attacks. The ATB gauge (no one knows what the acronym stands for -- that information has been lost to time) gradually fills up, letting unleash powerful moves. But best of all, you fight in a party, and you can switch who to control on the fly.

That may not sound revolutionary, let alone for a Final Fantasy, but each character has a completely unique feel and suite of moves. At times, it feels like playing a Devil May Cry game where you can switch between Dante, Vergil, and Nero on the fly (that’s a free idea, Capcom. Hire me, you cowards). You can soften up an enemy with Cloud’s buster to increase their stagger meter, switch to Barret for a quick gatling barrage, and finally switch to Tifa to crush them with her Omnistrike. You can accomplish this in real-time or slow down the action to plan this out. It’s a great mix of tactics and action that prevents the game from feeling like a mindless hack n’ slash.

What really, really works here is the character work. Each lead walks in tropes first, but the longer you spend with the members of your party, the more their motivations and fears are laid out. You end up having touching interactions with just about the whole main cast. There’s a small segment, after Cloud saves Aerith from invading Shinra guards, that the two make an escape via rooftop.They make light conversation -- small talk really -- but it’s exchanges like this that feel genuine, perfectly framing their characters (stoic versus heartfelt), and grounding an otherwise larger-than-life adventure.

Many bemoaned the fact that FFVIIR only revisits a small portion of the original game, but I think it was a brilliant choice -- to massively expand on areas we only got to see a little of in the original. I honestly didn’t want to leave Midgar. It’s a world rife with conflict and corporate oppression, sure, but Midgar is beautifully realized, from the slums below the plates, populated with normal people trying to make the best of life, to the crime controlled Wall Market, adorned with gaudy lights and echoing honky tonk tunes. It very well may be years before FFVII’s remake saga comes to a close, but if each entry is paved with as much love and consideration and, yes, storytelling subversion as this introductory chapter… It’ll be worth the wait.

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