#also one of my few no damage and no heal runs which is a surprise

[aquillwieldingmagpie]

Just finished 2.2 and OH MAN the Persona 5 flashbacks were really strong with this one.

Also among all the emotions this quest gave, gotta say the most entertaining bits were hearing Misha call 'Death'/'Dormancy' Sleepie and him and Gallagher basically treating it like one big overly excitable dog (as a dog owner I really feel that, noticing a theme here, Compassie, Clockie, Sleepie...), Blade just being 'Aeons I wish that were me' to Firefly's assignment, Argenti's and Boothill's entire existence in this patch, one of the memories I'll hold closest to my heart will probably be rolling up to the final battle with a team made up of Ratio, Aventurine, Luocha and Trailblazer, and getting to hit Sunday with a train multiple times.

[yandere-writer-momo]

Yandere Head Canons:

Past the Point of No Return

Yandere Fae Enemy General x Healer Fem Reader

TW: Yandere themes, yearning, delusional behavior, etc.

Corvin Fausto it was never one to believe in fate. He truly believed he’d never find his destined one since he lived a life of war. He was the young general of the fae army and lead them to numerous victories against the invading humans… but their elven brethren that turned their backs on the fae and began to help the humans. Which made this war suddenly shift against the fae. A betrayal the fae could not forgive the once peaceful elves for.

He was able to hold the enemy forces back long enough to escape, but they had damaged his wings beyond immediate repair. He’d likely have to go into hiding for a few months until he’d recover… but how? He was being relentlessly hunted by humans.

Corvin hid himself in a small cave, hopeful he could rest here for a while without getting caught… but his hopes were dashed when he saw the form of a young woman tilt her head at him in curiosity.

“Hello? Is someone there?” Corvin didn’t dare speak when a young elf appeared before him. Her beauty was unparalleled, but her ears were much smaller than most elves… she was a half elf.

(Your name) gasped at his wounds in shock. She quickly reached into her satchel to pull out various salves to put on his wounds.

Corvin made an attempt to try to push her away, but he was so weak from blood loss. The last thing he saw was her smiling face as she reassured him with her soft words, “it’s okay. You’re safe now.”

When Corvin came to, he was shocked to find himself in a warm cabin rather than in the forest. His eyes were wild as he searched around but he quickly winced when he shifted his wings too sharply. Corvin was surprised to be patched up and cleaned… where was his armor?

“Oh! You’re awake!” Corvin whipped his head around to spot (your name) leave her bedroom, a soft smile on her lips. “Are you hungry? I have some soup over the fire-“

“I’m your enemy.” Corvin told her with a glare. “You should have left me to die-“

Corvin was shocked when (your name) shook her head and gave him a smile. “That doesn’t matter. You still needed help and it’s my job as a healer to help the wounded.”

Corvin was surprised when she went over to the hot cauldron to pour him a bowl of soup. The half elf placed the bowl beside him. “You can recuperate here for the time being. I’m helping you simply because I want to.”

“My name is Corvin Fausto. What’s your name?”

“I’m (your name).” She gave him a gentle smile that reminded him of spring. And for the first time in Corbin’s long life, he felt his heart flutter.

Corvin hesitantly drank the soup before he smiled softly to himself. He’s never received such care before… did he truly deserve her kindness?

As the days melted into months, Corvin grew attached to (your name). She was kind yet she was stern. Her care never had ulterior motives yet she also didn’t allow him to disrespect her because of her race. She fascinated him. For the first time in his life, Corvin was enthralled.

Corvin found himself helping her around the humble abode. He’d clean, gather herbs with her, fetch firewood, or help her cook. It was such a domestic life together that Corvin slowly began to wonder if she’d want to continue to live a life like this with him. Would she want an idyllic life?

“It’s been really nice having you around, Corvin.” (Your name) beamed at the fae who blushed. His hands itched to intertwine with hers. “I think you have a week left until you’re fully healed!”

Corvin felt his blood run cold with the words. A week… did she want him to leave? He thought they had a special relationship. No. He wouldn’t let her go! (Your name) was his destined mate. The one he’s waited his whole life for… and he’d be damned if she rejected him.

“If you ever get injured again, my door is always open-“ (your name) is surprised when she’s suddenly pulled into his arms in a tight embrace. “Corvin?”

“Come back with me… no.” Corvin thought for a moment. His people would terrorize her if he brought her back, they could hurt her. He could abandon them right? The fae would understand… a destined one was a rule they all abided by. “Let’s just stay together here, in your cabin.”

(Your name) raised a brow. “What do you mean, Corvin?”

(Your name) felt her blood run cold at the crazed look in Corbin’s eyes. “We can live together here in your cabin, far from everyone… far from the war.”

Corvin glanced around the cabin with eagerness. “I think there’s space for two little ones… we can start our life here!”

(Your name) tried to pull herself away from his grip, but Corvin was latched on like a tick. “Corvin, you’re scaring me.”

“You’re my destined one.” Corvin replied in a breathy whisper. “That’s why you saved me despite me being your enemy… you saved me because you knew we were meant to be.”

[galedekarios]

the netherese orb: consequences for gale and his connection to magic

i wrote a post a while ago focusing on the physical ailments that the orb was causing gale, and i had a really interesting exchange with another user on it:

@dark-videogamer: I just noticed it myself, which for me implies that as the orb is consuming his weave, his life essence, it's also refusing to allow that part of the body to properly heal, like he's always internally bleeding or it's infected. (at least in my opinion) which makes me wonder how irreparable the damage is there. @galedekarios: i actually do have a post coming up on that! i want to focus on what the orb does to his magical ability in that post because i focused more on the physical aspect here. of course, they sort of go hand in hand for a wizard to a certain degree, but there are a few hints in the game. anyhow, sorry for rambling! i very much agree with you! it's def either is still consuming gale's own gifts and i think that's a reality he has to face after it's removed.

so this further inspired because i actually wanted to use this opportunity to look at how the orb might be affecting gale's magic / casting ability.

general stuff & how the physical impairments affect the casting of spells

first off, i want to note that both of these are of course intrinsically linked, not least of all because the orb is affecting everything a caster class needs to cast spells:

-general biological deterioration -muscle spasms -ringing in the ears -disorientation -concentration issues -varying levels of physical discomfort / pain

aside from the obvious things that would impair a caster (deterioriation, disorientation, pain, discomfort), concentration is incredibly important to maintain a spell. muscle spasms, too, would absolutely interfere with the somatic component of a spell:

The somatic component was a basic part of spellcasting. Many spells required the caster to make a motion to cast the spell. If the caster was unable to make the correct motion, the spell could not be cast.

i could add more here, of course, but i think it's fairly obvious how all of these mix together into something that would leave a wizard defenseless, and again, gale admits as much, too:

player: i fail to see why you need me to help you this. you’ve done fine without me so far. gale: A fair point - however, until recently I was able to rely on a supply of artefacts stored in my tower in Waterdeep. A supply that has now run dry. The reality of the matter is that a lone wizard with a chronic impairment such as my own is not in the most ideal of situations with regards to self-defence. The manner of artefacts I need are not often found waiting patiently on a shop-keep’s shelf. One usually has to lift them delicately from trap-filled tombs or prise them from the hands of violent ne'erdowells.

the orb

but what consequences did the orb itself have?

we have several lines in the game, where characters are surprised that the orb didn't outright kill gale. gale himself knows this and the imagery we get when gale opens his mind to the protag and shares his story is incredibly violent:

the orb didn't kill him outright and it was a miracle that it didn't, both gale and mystra acknowledge this in-game.

but it left him incredibly weakened and with a condition that could still kill him if left untreated, as well as those around him.

what it did do instantly, however, is that it did consume his gifts.

again, both gale and mystra acknowledge this in-game:

Gale: Is that why you lied to me about the Crown of Karsus? Self-preservation? Mystra: My concern was the preservation of everything. The Karsite Weave could tear apart the very fabric of the Material Plane. That it entered your body and consumed no more than your powers was a miracle. But we will not be granted another. The only reason the 'orb' sleeps is because I have allowed it to feed on the true Weave - a temporary measure, but one that will not be enough to save us.

Gale: It sounds like the door to redemption is open at last. All I have to do is walk through it, carrying the Crown of Karsus. Player: Is that what you want? Gale: Perhaps. I see few other options open to me, if I ever want to reclaim those parts of myself the orb snatched away. If I ever want to be me again. Player: We're going to cure you Gale: Thank you. There aren't many I'd trust to stand beside me on such a journey. Fewer still who would do so because they believe I deserve such a chance.

so what are these gifts that were consumed exactly?

in early access, there used to be a scene with gale in act i that was commonly known as the loss scene, where he would be found in camp, cursing as he tries to cast a spell that he was once able to:

Gale: Khat-Tsjin Deth-Thra! Tav [Wizard]: That was a failed spell if ever I heard one.  Gale: Failure. You'd think I'd be used to it by now. It’s getting late. I think I’ll turn in. Perhaps some sleep will do me good. Tav: Is something wrong? Gale: Let’s just say not all is right. But that goes for all of us. Tav [Wizard]: I didn't recognize your hand gestures. What spell were you trying to cast? Gale: A bygone spell from a bygone age. It doesn't matter. Tav [weave romantic]: Come, you know I care about you. I showed you when we shared that spell [CHECK wizard] Gale: So you did. Very wel. Just now, I was trying to cast a spell I once cast with ease, but I failed. You see, this fire – there was a time that I could make it come alive. That it would take the shape of a dragon and roar in delight. There was a time I could silence a Beholder with a word, and lift a tower from its foundations with a flourish. There was a time I was all but one with the Weave. But no more – a mere shadow of the wizard I used to be. Why? Because I’ve lost. Tav: I don’t understand. What is it that you’ve lost? Gale: I’ve lost… Tav: [Insight] Go on. Every burden is easier to carry when shared. Gale: An apt enough observation.  I've... lost... Mystra. I sought to impress her personally. Tav: Another fool pays for his arrogance. A tale as old as time. Gale: Arrogance? Ambition, rather. And ambition is a fine thing – until suddenly it no longer is. Then again, if that is how you judge me, there’s little I can do to change your mind. But know that I have this ambition still. First to save myself, and after that, the licence to dream. (Gale Disapproval)

this insight in just how great the magnitude of his loss in power as a wizard and, intrinsically linked to that, his ability as a wizard is entirely absent in the full release of the game.

while we do know that he was an archmage and we also know that he was a chosen of mystra, with all the gifts that may have entailed, we only get a very vague mention of the lost gifts and gale being a former shadow of who he used to be.

abilities of the chosen of mystra include:

Chosen of Mystra gained many benefits from her blessing. They held a greater command over spell, being able to cast even the highest tiers repeatedly. Doing so, however, was not encouraged by Azuth and Mystra (Midnight), as it required repeatedly tapping upon the weave. They also became more familiar with magic and able to detect its presence. In addition, many also developed immunities to magic, and eventually even immunities to disease and poison. They become much more hardy, showing a toughness uncharacteristic of most mages. Mystra's Chosen were also immune to the deleterious effects from the casting and wearing of a mantle: they suffered no loss of health or the removal of spells from their minds upon the raising of a mantle or the cumulative daily requirement of the spell. The Chosen also wielded silver fire, a unique raw magic that conjured a silvery flame with a variety of functions.

[source]

other interesting bits and pieces:

Chosen age, albeit slowly, and as they age their power becomes closer to equivalent level mortal wizards. They can steal bodies to prolong their lifespan, but if they choose not to they eventually die and return to the Weave until Mystra makes them a new body. Chosen still have access to Silver Fire and can manipulate their hair freely. Mystra has imposed restrictions on magic in some cases, such as making it physically painful to read minds. This applies to using weave-work to communicate long distance with 'regular' humans. Chosen have the ability to communicate to the weave-ghosts of other Chosen as well as living Chosen, but rarely seek to interrupt the lives of each other. Laeral can speak across distance with Storm, Alustriel and even Halaster. Chosen still don't need to sleep, but do need to enter Reverie to replenish their energy.

[source]

again, this is all not really mentioned in the game and it's sad because again, it adds a lot of context to gale as a character. the most that is hinted at, i believe, is elminster's incredibly long lifespan of several hundreds of years.

conclusion / consequences of removing the orb

this is just speculation on my part, so feel free to ignore this completely.

apart from the chronic ailments, we know from the arcane hunger status that the orb feeds on gale's very soul and that both gale and mystra acknowledge that the orb has consumed already gale's greatest gifts as a wizard.

we also know that tara and gale were not able to figure out immediately how to treat the orb after gale was afflicted by it. it was tara, who in their combined research, figured it out and it took them some time to do so.

on top of that, we know that gale had to live without said treatment for a while since he no longer had any magical items to consume and, in fact, i speculated it's a part of the reason why he may have left waterdeep behind and was captured on the nautiloid.

all this time, the orb was left with nothing to consume, with nothing to feed on, except what was within gale to give and the orb is ever-hungry.

i feel like this surely would have consequences even after the orb is rendered inert and then, later, implied to be removed by mystra:

one of the sadder outcomes could very well be that his ability to cast spells is permanently diminished or entirely cut off.

Thus comes the question: what is the Weave? It is an essential element of the universe. It runs through everything in unseen threads. It is what makes magic possible. — Excerpt from Magic of the Weave - An Introduction.

with the orb inside of him, left untreated for long intervals, it may have consumed a lot of gale's own weave, something that runs through all living souls, his ability to cast magic might be even smaller and weaker than now.

at best, it will take him some time after the game to recover, back home in waterdeep, with tara, with morena and a romanced protag and new friends.

at worst, and, with the knowledge that the orb consumed so much upon first entering his body, it may also be a possibility that gale could be stripped of magic entirely, but that's quite a cruel fate for him, someone who says that magic is their life.

[bluegalaxygirl]

Am i Crazy? (Zosan X Reader) P8

Plot: Reader hasn't been sleeping or eating, they wont let anyone touch then and keeps having accidents. Everyone if worried or thinks they've gone crazy but the reality is so much worse.

Warning: Past Domestic abuse, Bad language, blood, mental damage, Making out, nudity and fluff

Zoro X Sanji X reader, Poly relationship, established relationship, Reader is GN.

Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4 - Part 5 - Part 6 - Part 7

The sunny stayed docked at the island, Luffy wanted to explore the place and factory while Franky had to fix up the shark sub that your ex washed up into the tree's. Usopp and Luffy were fascinated by the robots but Chopper tried to stay away from them feeling sad about them being people. You managed to sleep for a whole day, It got Sanji a bit worried when you would only wake up for a few minutes to eat and then go right back to sleep but Chopper told him it was normal, your body needed rest and Zoro was more than happy to stay with you, sleeping at your side or cleaning his swords. When you did wake up you felt awful but managed to get a shower and have your bandages changed, you were also surprised that you haven't left the island yet but also a little happy since you really wanted to go out at some point and look for your mother. You just wanted to see if she was ok, On the third day you felt a lot better, rest and food did you well but you were getting sick of being in your room all the time, Sanji refused to let you join them for food and always brought it to you. You love and appreciate your cook but you were worried about him and his arm, he said it was fine and healing well and when Chopper said the same you felt a lot better.

Walking out of your room with fresh cloths and a smile you look down at Chopper and pat his head "Thanks again Chopper, i don't know what id do without you" The doctor smiles and wiggles a little at your words "It's no problem" He waves skipping off leaving you to look out at your old home. Chopper kept his promise like he always does, your wounds were healing nicely and the bruises on your body were almost gone, you could do normal stuff again but you had your mind on one thing. Heading down onto the grassy deck you spot Zoro asleep against wall, walking over you bend down and run your hand over his check, he cracks his eye open with a groan only to smile when he see's its you "So i'm guessing Chopper cleared you" His groggy voice is like music to your ears, you nod as he stretches and gets up off the floor, before you can say anything he pulls you into him and places his lips on yours, you lean in running your hands up his chest and to his shoulders. "I'm so proud of you" Zoro whispers against your lips making you smile wider "Thank you, for putting up with me" you laugh as he rolls his eye and pulls you in for another kiss. "There's nothing to put up with. Your perfect" Zoro pulls away running his hands up your sides.

Sanji walks out of the kitchen, bags in hand and a shopping list, he doesn't know if there's anything here he can buy but its worth a try. As he steps down the stairs the cook lights up a cigarette taking a puff as he looks up to see you and Zoro, a smile forms on the mans face as he walks over to the two of you "Your up" He calls out seeing you turn to face him. You nod and reach your hand out which he gladly takes before taking his cigarette out and kissing you lightly on the lips, you lean in squeezing his hand a little. "You heading out?" Zoro asks as you and Sanji pull away "Yea, you said there used to be a market here, i'm hoping it got moved or something" Sanji shrugs looking out into the town "I can show you around" you speak only for the two to look at you with wide eyes "Your not going back there" Zoro pulls you in closer only for you to sigh "I want to, i-i kinda wanna look for my mum too plus i'm not scared anymore." you smile lightly placing your forehead against Zoro's "I'll have you two with me, right?" you ask hoping he will come. The swordsman sighs and closes his eye before nodding letting you go, so he can take your hand.

You turn to Sanji who looks at you worried so you lean over and kiss his cheek "I'll be fine, trust me" he smiles a little at your words before starting to walk putting his cigarette back in his mouth "Ok fine, but if your feeling sore or tired or mentally not well you tell us" You laugh a little as he holds you hand walking off the ship "of course, my master chef" you squeeze his hand seeing a slight blush on his face. The streets where quiet, old rundown houses and shacks laid out as you walked down the dirt and cobbled floor, people still slept on the streets and hung their washing out to dry, most of them looked skinny and you felt really sad for them. "So where did you use to live?" Zoro asks looking at the houses mainly the ones that didn't have a door just a sheet covering the door way. "To the right and then keep going down until we hit a fork in the road then left" you say mainly to Sanji since Zoro is terrible with directions. You three make your way down the street, the houses looking the same but there were street sighs that were easy to follow.

The house you used to live in soon appeared, it looked just like the others although a window was broken, some of the porch steps were missing and there was a red sheet covering the door way. A clothing line hung outside on two sticks, as you got closer you could make out a woman putting cloths up, but she was young only a little older than you. Stopping just outside the broken gate your heart dropped at the sight of your old home, it looked much worse than when you lived there, the walls were cracked but never this bad, pieces were falling of and the roof was now made of straw. "Can i help you?" the lady asks looking away from her basket of wet clothes and wiping her hands on her skirt. "Sorry i'm looking for a miss L/N, she used to live here" you look over the young woman as she shakes her head "Sorry Hun, it was vacant for a while before i started renting it 2 years ago, The name does sound kind of familiar though... maybe try the factory, most people work there now" She gives you a sad smile which you return, Zoro wraps his arm around your waist as Sanji squeezes your hand "Thank you miss" Sanji smiles at the lady as you three walk away.

You walked in silence as you made your way to the factory, so much was going through your head but you managed to get your thoughts under control looking up at Zoro who pulls you a little closer. "You ok?" He asks placing a kiss on your temple. "Yea, i think its just the unknown that scares me" you sigh before looking over at Sanji who gives you a loving smile and finishing his cigarette throwing it away. The factory was big but there was no smoke coming out of it, people were walking around putting things in large crates and taking apart machines. A woman steps out of the factory carrying a basket full of metal parts, relief rushes through your body "Mom" you call out, the woman turning in shock at your voice and dropping her basket. You smile as she runs at you tears in her eyes and crashes into you with a hug, Sanji and Zoro manage to help you keep your balance while your mother cry's into your shoulder apologizing over and over again. "I'm so sorry my girl, i just wanted you to have a better life, i wasn't thinking right, i know you can never forgive me but i love you" You hold her in your arms, you used to hate her but you knew why she did it, still it didn't make up for everything that happened. A part of you wanted to forgive her but the other part reminded you of how she kept sending you back to him.

You sigh and stroke her hair "I just wanted to make sure your ok" you whisper pulling her away as she ties to dry her face "I'm f-fine" she sniffles before looking up at you again then to Zoro and Sanji, taking them in before looking back at you "So... He was right, you did find someone else" she smiles a little only for Zoro to glare at her and wrap his arm around your shoulder "You talked to him?" The swordsman growls a little making your mother back up a bit but you keep a hold of her arms. "Zoro" Sanji whispers placing a hand on Zoro's arm over your shoulder "Urm yea." you let go of her arms your heart dropping a little "You work for him too?" you ask the small smile gone from your face "Yes, almost everyone works for him here but it keeps us fed, he owns the island or did. He wanted me to help find you and- i know it's no excuse, but he was a very powerful man" Zoro holds you a little tighter getting angry at the woman as Sanji places a hand on your back "You don't think i know that?" Your eyes are on the floor unable to believe that your mother would help him. "You knew what he would do to me if he found me and yet you helped him?" Your eyes shift up to look at her anger boiling through your veins "I-i'm sorry, you know what he's like its just the kind of man he i-" you cut her off with an unexpected slap to the face.

You pant as your hand stings and shakes, Your mother holds her now red cheek with a shocked look. "Y/N" Sanji whispers taking the hand you used to slap your mother trying to calm you down but Zoro didn't step in, he knew you needed this. "How could you still defend him? After everything he's done, not just to me but everyone here" you yell at her, Zoro now putting his arms around your torso to stop you form lunging at your mother. "I'm sorry honey, he was going to hurt me" Your mother try's to defend herself but you've had enough "You? Look at you, not even a scratch, your not skinny like the rest of these people. Do you see what he's done, look at me" you yell your hand going to your bandaged neck. "You don't know what its like to have his hands around your throat or bash your head into the floor or pull your hair as he drags you through the house or even stab you in the back for accidentally turning a shirt pink. You don't know what its like to be isolated form everyone and everything, told when to eat, when to sleep or even if you can, told what to wear or what to say... you've never had to turn to the only person who supposed to love you more than anything only for them to tell you to put up with it" Your eyes are full of tears and your voice starts braking as you yell.

Sanji tried to tell you to stop but his words fell on deaf ears while Zoro keeps holding you back while you scream at your mother pushing against him. Your mother tried to talk only to be cut off by your yelling, the people around look between you and your mother some shocked and others angry understanding what you've been through. "I needed you but you never came so i did it... i made it out, i got away, i did it no thanks to you only for you my own mother to lead him back to me... do you have any idea what he did to me? What he was going to do to my friends, my family?" you asks as she steps back shaking her head trying not to look at you "Look at me" you yell out before Sanji steps in front of you and pulls you into him. You can only hear your heart pounding in your ears but you can feel his heart beat and vibration of him talking. You reach around his back and cling onto his jacket as you try and calm down. Zoro sighs as you stop fighting him loosening his grip on you and checking to see if he hurt you in any way, luckily you were fine, but he still kept hold of you.

Sanji strokes your hair lightly and watches as you start to calm down, your tears drying up and breath going back to normal "There we go" He whispers seeing you look up at him. "I-I" You mother tried to speak only for both boys to turn and give her a deadly glare. "Don't" they both growl as Sanji starts walking with you keeping your mother out of your sight while Zoro steps in front of your mother, he gives her a glare making her shake a little before walking off and puts an arm around your waist and walking you back to the ship "I'm sorry" you whisper not fully understanding what just happened, once you stared talking you couldn't stop. "It's ok love" Sanji smiles lightly at you still keeping you close to his chest. "You really told her off babe, nice job" Zoro rubs your head making you laugh a little. "We're proud of you" Sanji leans down and kisses the top of your head, you look up at him with a small smile before leaning up to kiss him while taking Zoro's hand.

As the Sunny left the island Luffy got brook to play some music as him, Usopp and Chopper danced. Franky joined in a little later and dragged Robin with him, dancing with her as the other three jumped around with drinks and food. Nami watched form her seat as she sat next to you laughing about how silly Usopp and Luffy looked, You couldn't help but laugh too with your head on the navigators shoulder. Zoro sat out-of-the-way drinking like normal as Sanji comes out of the kitchen with drinks, he makes his way round to you and Nami handing the orange haired girl her drink with a smile and then holding his free hand out to you "Come sit with us please" You nod and take his hand saying bye to Nami as you walk with Sanji over to Zoro. The swordsman looks up and pats the grass next to him before holding his free hand out to help you sit down before wrapping his arm around you. Sanji hand you your drink before sitting in the swordsman's lap putting his legs over yours which you gladly hold onto. The three of you enjoy each others company while watching your crew dance around as the sun sets and the moon rises.

Sanji lifts his head up off Zoro's shoulder to grab a cigarette only for the swordsman to put his drink down and grab the cooks hand "I have a better idea" Zoro gives the cook a smug smile before pulling him closer and crashing his lips onto Sanji's. You smile looking up at them seeing Sanji relax into the kiss and place his arms around Zoro's neck. Zoro squeezes the cook tighter and pushes his tongue into his mouth making Sanji moan and grip onto the back of his kimono, the swordsman groans back before pulling away "Better than a cigarette?" He asks earning a nod from the now breathless cook. You giggle at Sanji's flustered face only for the arm around your waist to pull you closer into Zoro's side "I don't know what your laughing at, your next baby" Zoro crashes his lips onto your but you gladly push back wrapping your arms around his neck moving them up to the back of his head to run your finger through his hair. You open you mouth before he can even shove his tongue in and groans into your mouth, liking that your taking the initiative. You moan a little as your tongue and mouth moves with his, sitting up a bit to push into him making him groan again almost melting at your touch.

When you pull away your both panting but smiling at the rough make out "Your so cute when you blush" You tease running a hand over his cheek, he glares at you and leans in "I'm not blushing, you are" he hovers over your lips only for you to bit gently on his bottom lip and pull a little making his cheeks go bright red, you let go letting his lip snap back into place "Really?" you ask as Zoro sits up and turns away to hid his blush. Sanji laughs patting Zoro's chest "They got you there, Ro" The cook smiles before leaning over to you as you place your hand on his cheek and slide it to the back of his head "You want some too?" you ask making the cook nod and place his lips on yours, you both place small kisses on each others lips before you make him stay against your lips licking his bottom lip. Sanji can't help but grab your hips pulling you up so your leaning over him, his head tiled back as he opens his mouth letting you take the lead, you place your hands on his checks then down to his neck while feeling his mouth with your tongue, he doesn't fight you and it feels great. You pull away for air only to go back for more making the cook moan as Zoro's hand runs up and down your back. Your so lucky to these two in your life and your crew are like family to you, how did you get so lucky?

[wings-of-flying]

a summary of all that's happened so far in my fic where sea meets shore (link at the bottom) but i'm silly goofy about it (spoilers, ofc)

up to the current chapter (19)

part one: rosebud

prince chip's last search for his father is cut short by a storm. he falls into the water

jay arrives at whitethorne castle in rose kingdom and hears the prince is missing

chip wakes on the beach and meets the figure who saved him, but they're interrupted before they can be introduced

later in the day, chip returns to the beach and, with help from marshal john, brings a newly injured triton back to the castle

gillion paces the room he's been put in, regretting his decision to help, then chip enters with jay, who can speak primordial, allowing them to communicate

flashback to how gillion ended up in this mess, we see the deal with niklaus, who has the additional title of 'sea witch'. niklaus offers to help gill fulfil his prophecy and, after some convincing, gill agrees. niklaus' deal lets gill understand common and know where to go (whitethorne castle) at the cost of an unspecified favour

after rolin loffin reinstates himself as royal advisor, chip officially meets gillion and jay and they arrange to travel to whitethorne village

during this village, jay connects with john over their shared past connections to raft's navy and a letter from general lizzie lafayette shocks john

meanwhile, gillion and chip are dancing and getting closer despite the language barrier

the letter turns out to say that, though lizzie's journey to canella successfully converted the island to a rose ally, raft's navy swept in and killed a bunch of the crew. lizzie will be returning with the few survivors

and she does, with caspian and a surprise addition of a small boy named oliver. while chip has an issue with this, lizzie has more of an issue with the fact chip's allowed a ferin and a champion of the undersea into the castle

a tense dinner introduces gillion and jay to the new arrivals (minus ollie). gill and caspian hit it off, considering caspian can also speak primordial. jay, alternatively, has a glaring match with the general (she loses)

that evening, chip and jay connect over their shared losses of family, and they mourn drey ferin (who both were close with). chip doesn't think lizzie's disapproval of jay will last

a ball is arranged to celebrate lizzie's return. chip and julian joke about how terrible rose's situation is, but the party goes well. until, that is, roofus makes an ill advised comment and chip is sent into a spiral about all he's lost

this is interrupted when gillion arrives, accompanied by an announcement of all his titles. he meets with chip and shortly after jay arrives

chip disappears to speak with rolin, and the remaining two are approached by caspian and lizzie. caspian and gill continue to hit it off, then jay dances with lizzie and is threatened (lizzie thinks she's a spy)

shocked and distressed, jay runs to her room and writes a letter to kira (👀)

meanwhile, chip's arguing with rolin and then sees his sister is really drunk. he leaves her in the care of caspian then hangs out with gill. ooo feelings perhaps, but only a little

the next day, chip hangs out with ollie, then the whole group goes to see the newly built ships (just finished in time for the trip to edison)

jay feels awkward and left out, while gillion seems to get on with the group. caspian takes gill aside to tell him about a spell by finn tidestrider which allows gillion to magically be translated into common

gill excitedly runs off to tell chip, but overhears a conversation chip's having with rolin where it sounds like they're agreeing to keep gillion as leverage over the undersea

chip tells rolin off, but the damage is already done. gill is pissed

the next morning, when caspian and lizzie have left, chip finds gillion's coated the ballroom in ice. they duel over gill's honour, and this is only interrupted when jay breaks them apart

chip storms off to be healed by rudith

jay tells gillion to stay where he is and meet her in the library. he does not, instead trying to find chip and make amends (chip's set to leave for edison today). he gets distracted by a painting of the late king beau rose, and notices a silhouette in the background of the portrait with horns... john arrives and tells gill that chip's already left

jay meets with gillion, then packs her bags

chip stares angstily into the sea as his ship leaves

someone known only as 'the dagger' waits in his office, for an informant to arrive. the game begins

part two: falling petals

jay and gillion are hiding in a crate on chip's new unnamed ship. they're quickly discovered and chip is not happy, but they've made it to edison. john offhandedly reveals he knew jay was planning to run away

jay's very excited to be in edison with all its technology, and the gang are led in by guards sent from edison palace, including one named dominic

slight problem, jay and gillion are unexpected, so there aren't enough beds. this is resolved relatively quickly, but chip is suspicious of the butler, garrieth, who claims the king is 'unwell' and thus unable to meet them yet

jay calls gillion 'gill' for the first time. gill realises maybe there's more to his prophecy than preventing war in the oversea

after a nightmare about her sister, as well as chip and gill's duel, jay connects with dominic in the corridor

chip writes to rolin about the issue with the king and sneaks out to deliver it disguised as john. he overhears that raft soldiers have been spotted in edison, and that the king hasn't been meeting with anyone for ages

jay, gill and dominic go out to get gillion new clothes. gillion gets a vision from niklaus, showing the last time he met with edyn

rolin's reply to chip's letter is concerningly brief

jay goes out with dominic again a few days later, and they connect on a deeper level and kiss. dominic confesses wanting to run away, and asks her to accompany him. she's conflicted

to be continued...

[blackjackkent]

LMAO. Started the fight off and Minsc immediately shouts out to the doppelganger, "JAHEIRA! You have an evil, much uglier twin sister? Minsc does not like this!"

(Matt Mercer is doing tremendously with this character, which comes as no surprise but is still fun to hear. He was clearly SO excited about getting to play him.)

The biggest challenge in this fight is that all four of the good guys are bunched up in the tiny tunnel we came in by, with Karlach in the back and not able to either jump, move, or shoot past Jaheira and Shadowheart, so she lost her opening turn which was pretty annoying.

This is a pretty large fight with some pretty beefy enemies, but extra shoutout goes to the random hyena also hanging out in the enemy roster with only 12 HP and the name "Snicker".

The end of the fight went on FOREVER because the last remaining enemy was on a high ground platform and kept throwing ice knives, which would down Hector, Shadowheart would healing word him back up, and then the entire team would eat shit on the ice surface trying to move to a position where they could shoot the guy. This happened like four times in a row.

But eventually we got there! And Minsc is not dead because (as our kind anon friend reminded us!) we had non-lethal damage on.

He begins to stir as the fight ends; Hector has a brief moment to be impressed by the man's battering-ram resilience.

Narrator: Against the darkness swarming his senses, a single light glows - rage, flaring brighter every moment.

In spite of his considerable wounds, Minsc struggles onto his knees. His breath is rasping heavily in his chest, his eyes wild with fury. Hector can feel the resonance of the tadpole working in the beserker's mind.

"...Killed... her..." Minsc rasps out between his teeth.

Of course, Hector thinks bleakly. He believes his Jaheira is the real one. And he believes we murdered her.

Jaheira - the real one - is at his side in an instant, the druid wildshape flowing off her like water, urgency in every line of her face. "He won't stay down for long!" she snaps. "Tell your illithid to protect him from the elder brain's influence. Quickly!"

"No..." the Emperor whispers in Hector's mind. "This one will not aid our cause. Get rid of him."

Hector scowls. Yet another reminder that he and the Emperor do not share common purpose. This is not about aiding the cause. This is about a friend who needs his help.

Extend your protection to him.

Minsc is beginning to stagger to his feet, a hoarse roar in his throat.

"Don't be foolish," the Emperor insists. There is just a hint of petulance in its mental tone - or perhaps that is Hector's imagination. "He is too unpredictable. He will only be a hindrance to us."

He's Jaheira's friend. Do it.

"No!"

Hector has never heard the Emperor's communications with him to be so deliberate, so stubborn and harsh. Is this because I rejected you? he can't help but wonder, and the thought makes his blood run cold.

"I will not be coerced into protecting him," the mind flayer snarls in his brain. "You do not see what I do - his thoughts, his mind. Pure chaos."

Hector's face must show something of this inner conflict being battled out; Jaheira is watching him intently.

"The mind flayer pours poison in your ear, I think," she snarls, as fierce as the tiger whose form she took only a few moments ago. "Tell it I will tear the Prism from your grasp and throw it in the deepest lava pit I can find! Long after our bones are dust and ash, the walls of its prison will still be burning!"

"Now HELP MY FRIEND!"

"She bluffs," the Emperor responds at once, icily, although Hector thinks he can sense a fractional hesitation. "Surely she would not risk the fate of all for one simple life."

Hector lifts his head, looks at Jaheira steadily for a long moment, and then a dry smile tugs at his lips.

I don't think you want to find out.

He can feel the Emperor recoil inside his mind, a flash of white-hot fury... and then an empty chill. "Fine," it answers harshly. "Have it your way."

Pain stabs through Hector's temple - a pain he has not felt in some time, the sharp pain that accompanied his first meetings with Lae'zel, Shadowheart, and the others back at the nautiloid crash. The pain of the deeper tadpole connection that binds them all, and binds them to the Emperor's protection.

Narrator: His mind unfolds beneath yours, a still lake pulls you down into its depths. Images flash by - battles fought, and friends fallen. His rage grows colder, burrows deeper, as a familiar face crystallizes before you.

"Jaheira..." Minsc groans. His eyes are fixed on Hector, an arrow locked on its target. "You KILLED HER!" He roars the words out, raises a fist to strike, and Hector becomes briefly and acutely aware of just how much bigger this man is than any of them--

"You are being dramatic," Jaheira says with a grin from beside him.

The effect is instantaneous. Minsc goes still except for his head snapping around to look at her.

Narrator: The instant's hesitation is enough. With a sensation of terrible rending, something vast and nameless falls away from his mind.

"There," the Emperor mutters irritably. "It is done."

The huge warrior staggers, putting a hand to his temple. A groan rolls through him like a rumble of thunder... trails off to a soft noise of confusion.

"Jaheira?" he mumbles unsteadily. "I... do not understand."

"Good," she says. Her tone is lighter than Hector has heard it before; all the muscles in her face have relaxed from a tension that he did not realize it's been holding all the time he's known her. "That means you are back to your old ways." She puts a hand gently on his arm and gestures to Hector. "We have a lot to discuss. But first... you have someone to thank."

Narrator: In the sudden silence, your minds merge once more. More memories, sensations, but passing too quickly for you to track. In the same breath, you share everything that happened to you. The nautiloid. The Absolute. The Chosen of the Dead Three.

(A/N: Once again - love the usage of the tadpole as an exposition skip button. XD )

"You." All the rage has dropped out of Minsc's voice, all sign of the darkness of the Stone Lord is gone. He is looking at Hector with frank, openhearted curiosity mixed with regretful pain. "You saved Minsc, while he danced like a mind flayer's meat-puppet. Why?"

Hector smiles slightly, jerks his head to indicate their mutual friend. "Jaheira insisted," he says gently.

"Suggested," Jaheira corrects with a soft chuckle.

Minsc laughs jovially. With the tadpole's influence quieted, it is clear to Hector that the man's natural state is a good nature as big and vigorous as his body. "You do well to heed her," Minsc says brightly. "Jaheira was very wise even *before* she was very old."

He reaches, with a gesture clearly as natural as breathing, towards his shoulder. "There is someone you must meet," he adds excitedly. "He is--" A pause. He hesitates, looks around unsteadily. "He is..."

He begins to paw frantically at the pockets of his armor, his shoulders, even the top of his head.

"Where is he?!"

With an attitude far more frantic than any he displayed in combat, Minsc turns on his heel and darts away without warning, leaving Hector standing with a bemused expression on his face.

[smash-64]

2023 Game of the Year Countdown #7 Sea of Stars Nintendo Switch, 2023

I was actually a backer of this game over two years ago! A few people recommended it to me recently, which was cool that some of my friends knew me well enough that they recommended something I was already intrigued by enough to back financially. Shoutouts to @boner-taunt and @hyper-knux for that!

The game is simply gorgeous. The best pixel art I’ve ever seen in a video game. Vibrant colors, perfect lighting that gave the impression of dark and light areas without ever making me feel like I couldn’t see where I was going. Wonderful glowing lights and colors also enhance so many of the attacks and spells, as well as dynamic backgrounds and environments that react to your presence and movement. It’s shocking how talented the devs were to make a game look so good while also making it feel like something that belonged on the Super Nintendo, even if the SNES could never hope to run something that looked so good. It’s like they’ve tricked us into seeing both the past and present simultaneously. And as someone who rarely geeks out about graphics, you know something special is going on for it to happen.

I was expecting quite a bit from the music, and I feel like I was satisfied, but not overly impressed. Perhaps I was expecting too much once I saw Yasunori Mitsuda was involved: the talented composer who did the masterpiece Chrono Cross soundtrack and was in charge of the Xenoblade games as well. The level up music stood out, as well as one of the battle tunes, but I was hoping for a variety of location tracks to catch my ear as well, and it didn’t really happen. I do find the soundtrack to be really good to play in the background while I work, and the soundtrack is extremely long so that fits it really well. 

Despite having combat that is turn based, I was sad to see that you have to take an active role in both attack and defense, much like you do in Super Mario RPG. While some enjoy that aspect, I do not. It was actually one of the main turn-offs for me when I tried Super Mario RPG, so I found it to be a hindrance in Sea of Stars. Likewise, combat does major damage to your characters, and you must constantly cook food to help replenish your health both in and out of battle, since it’s likely that you won’t be able to constantly return to a campsite to rest/recover that way, and healing spells can be costly or don’t heal a significant amount early on. Luckily, I found an item that automatically recovered health after each battle, which was a nice aspect to include for a more casual experience. To be completely honest, I’m not sure if I would have completed the game had I not had the ability to recover after each battle because it was a chore to constantly cook food to keep on hand for healing. 

The story is ok, but it took absolutely forever for me to feel interested in it. Coming from a Trails fan, a series well known to be the slowest of slow burns, that’s a bit of an issue. The game also left me with a lot of questions, as many aspects of the story felt random. I found it hard to follow at times, especially with regard to what to do next. Perhaps this was part of the retro style design, as many older games lacked any sort of real guidance on where to go or what to do, and definitely no journal/diary system to remind you. 

I was not blown away by any of the characters, either, although I do appreciate Garl as a generally positive and caring support character. The “warrior cook” class he creates for himself is also a nice touch.

Overall, the game is fun and I’m glad to have backed it. It’s rare for me to enjoy my time with an old school 2D, top-down type of JRPG, so to have it show up on my Top 10 for the year at all is fairly surprising.

[saltsacc]

"The Weight of Stones"

Part 3

A/N: This will not be fun. Also Zasza is like (Za-Za)

All kinds of warnings. Big sad.

The next day was odd. I had no responsibilities outside of feeding myself and Zasza, a capable hunter herself. I had no chief to report too, no children to watch. 

It was nice. 

On my ledge, where no one came except a few curious ikran. I would be preparing for my journey with the peace that came with solitude. I had exited High Camp in the dark morning to scavenge for rations. Fruits to dry, nuts and roots to gather. Things that would stay for long periods of time. Zasza was sucking her teeth from her latest kill, of which I couldn’t begin to decipher what. There was a small pond on my trek that held a few good-sized fish, and one served as morning meal for myself. 

In those dark morning hours, I snuck weaving supplies-- looms and unused material, to create carrying packs and new clothes. 

While I did not get along with the weavers, I had learned enough of the talent. 

I did not have many possessions, but I sorted through which ones would prove useful. 

My bow, made of kelutral. It was not very grand, but it shot true and was made by my own hands. I looked to the immense pile of branches collected weeks prior and set to dry, those would serve as arrows. 

Pots of animal fat, oil, and pitch were invaluable. Essentials to making arrows, and waterproofing leather and weave. 

Three full Sani-packs were set aside. I did not know much of healing and those would suffice as replacements for traditional roots and tonics. Two blades, one smooth and sharp with no decoration-for hunting. One, much larger and wrapped in dyed leather to create a sturdy grip.

They say this one was my mothers. 

The blade came to a deadly point, but one side was barbed. A killing knife, so that if you miss your strike, the inflicted damage makes up the difference. 

This knife was not made for animals. 

I spun the blade around my hands once, twice. 

The knife I raised to Jake Sully. 

Shaking my head, I began to compile all my materials into an older, leather bag. I would make a new one as needed with my commandeered supplies, but for now this worked. 

I looked to my left at the polished finish of a large, water-like stone. I did not know what it is called, but it was left in wake of the destruction of Home Tree. Pilfered by my parents no doubt. It was clear enough to see my face in its entirety and was typically how I painted myself-- since I did not have anyone to do it for me. Usually, close family or mates, even fellow warriors, would apply paint-but I was not comfortable with anyone doing that. 

I looked to Zasza.

They would have gotten it wrong anyway. 

As far as I was concerned, I could leave today. I did not have any destination, but I wanted to be far. 

I looked to the shiny stone, taking note of my appearance. 

I want to change something. 

Taking my sharp hunting life and securing my kuru, I started cutting into the long hair I’d grown up with. Piece by piece it fell around me.

When I was done, the hair left laid on my cheek and forehead jaggedly. 

It was new. 

I turned my head through all angles, looking at myself through the stone. 

“It is not bad.” 

I was of the mind that it actually made me look older. More dangerous, in a way. 

“Is this your answer to everything?” An unbidden voice came from behind me. I turned quickly at the intruder. 

I had expected Neteyam, or even Lo’ak. 

Neytiri was a surprise, however. 

She looked angry. 

They must have told her where I am.

“I do not need to justify anything.” I began gathering fallen hair into a pile. I would burn it later. I stood to face her, making unconscious eye contact with Zasza. “I do not owe you anything.” She clenched her teeth, coming closer. 

“You are a child. You need family. You cannot be on your own.” She huffed, as if she would rather take a rock to my head. "You cannot run away when things become hard."

“I am young, not a child.” I spit. “And I do not have a family.” Neytiri made no sense, contradicting herself like this. “I have never had a family.” This time I pushed forward with all my resounding bravery, closing the gap. “If you think all I need is family, and love, and compassion, and all the things you believe children deserve- where do you expect me to find it? Here?” I laughed in her face, condescending and bitter. “I will not find it here, as a soldier fighting a war.” I scoffed at her unchanged expression. “I will not find it among people who do not care if I die! But that’s not what this is about, is it? Because you know that…” Finally, it dawned on me.  “No, you worry because you know I am one of the only things standing between your stupid sons and their stupid ideas.” She clicked her tongue, going to speak but I interrupted her. “Because you do not wish your sons to be shot at any more than I want to be shot at!” Another laugh found its way out. “You do not understand. I am the only person looking out for my life! I am not a carcass you can throw in front of your children!” I had never yelled at Neytiri. Honestly, I had never yelled at much of anyone before. 

It feels good. 

She looked aghast, hands open in disbelief,

“I do not think of you as a carcass, you are one of the people- “

“You are blind Neytiri. You do not see me.”  

It was silent. Neytiri could not see, but I could. 

“I will not wait to be killed by your family.” The silence continued, but I had no real hope she could hear me. Not really. “I am a skilled warrior, best rider. I know this.” Zasza came over, coming to stand behind me with a soft click. “I also know that my favorite thing in the world is this stripe across Zasza’s eye because I think it looks like a sun rise. I hate weaving, not because I am not good, but because it is tradition to weave with family and close friends-- of which mine are dead, and the women look to me with pity when I join circle.” I had stroked Zasza’s face for demonstration and comfort, the pink and yellow coloring bright against the dark blue of her skin. A soft look fell over my face as I looked to Zasza, my one and only friend. The only family I had. I steeled myself to look back up to Neytiri. 

“I have lived in this place my entire life, I have grown in tandem with your children, and I have hated it for just as long.” I scoffed, feeling my lip waver. I could only whisper. 

“And you do not know any of that.”  

The silence was perpetuated by my heavy breathing. 

Neytiri, in all her glory, turned and left. No more words were spoken. 

I would hope that would be the end of my interactions with the Sully’s. 

“Come Zasza.” 

Flying was a true pleasure of mine. Zasza and I had similar tastes for adventure, and a risky flight pattern. I like to go fast, and she liked to go faster. 

My goal was to get some air and determine which path I would take for my new life. There is past High Camp one way, which I had little clue of the landscape other than it dropped to the sea-if you could tell by the dropped horizon and vast blue. Then another, which was a bad idea because humans had made variety of camps there-- it would be no good to fly. I had heard stories that the plain herds were welcoming to all who could ride pali. Perhaps I would start there. 

The wind was calm until it wasn’t. 

A hunter’s call warned me, coming off to my left. 

Neteyam. 

I looked around and up for predators and found none. 

Behind him came Neytiri and Jake Sully. 

Zasza began to turn up, keen to fly away at my behest. 

“Wait!” 

There was something I could not ignore in his call. Perhaps it was the remnants of a life where I had followed him and his brother, or the sheer desperation. 

I looked over.

“Lo��ak’s in trouble!” I rolled my eyes. 

Of course he is. 

“They all are! Kiri, Spider, Tuk!” 

Tuk was a baby. Why was she out there?

“They’re at the shack with hostiles, I know you know a shortcut!”  I did not look to his parents. If I did, I would not have been swayed. 

Zasza was fast, and I a good rider. I’d flown these paths hundreds of times-- and I did know the quickest routes. 

If I say no, they might die. 

I looked to the oldest son, pleading but resolute.

If I say yes, was it all for nothing? 

Zasza was interconnected with me and began to bank before I even finished my thoughts. 

I would trust our joint intuition. 

“One last time, and I get to leave tomorrow!” It would be a day short, but that was for Jake to figure out how to convince Tsahik. 

The path flown was not an easy one. It was fast and turbulent, like a rushing rapid, and it would be hard for new riders to take. 

Admirably, Neteyam glided well—not far behind me.

His parents even more so. 

I let out a shrill cry and dove into the undergrowth. 

I was off Zasza before they landed. 

“We are just behind the shack. Unless they were looking directly up, they should not have seen us.”

I hope. 

I gestured with my chin ahead and without delay Jake and Neytiri made to take off. Neteyam too before his father put a stop to it. 

“No, son. Stay with the ikran.” 

Stay with her. 

“No, I am a warrior-I am meant to fight!”

Jake held a steady hand to his son and shook his head firmly. 

“Stay.” He looked to me.

“I got you here. My part is complete.” 

I met the pleading eyes of Jake Sully, Mighty Toruk Makto, and I saw fear.

I fell into Zasza lightly and nodded stiffly. 

“This is the last thing you ask of me.” He bowed his head and made off, leaving me with his son. 

It was quiet in the forest, and it would stay that way— we were not far from danger. 

“I’m going.” I should not have been surprised, exasperated yes, but not surprised. 

“You should stay.” I knew he would not listen to me; he had not listened to me for years. 

“How can I!? They are in danger!” I looked him hard in the eyes, smacking my hand across the bracer fastened over his ribs. 

“And if you make it worse? If you get someone killed?” He faltered, but not enough. 

He would go. 

“Come with me.” It was easy to forget that me and Neteyam were of similar ages, with his steely resolve-regardless of how misdirected it might be.

“And if you get me killed?” He did not have words for that. “What then?”

“I am not asking you to protect me…” Both palms found their way to my shoulder, gripping the skin tightly and pulling me closer. Just like his father.

“I am asking you, as a fellow warrior, to help me.” I would regret this. Deep in my heart, I knew that. I knew choosing this boy would only lead me down a path of sorrow, but the refusal froze in my mouth. I talked big, biting back at his father and mother, even him and his brother—but when it came down to do or die, I couldn’t stop.

I do not have a strong heart.

“This way.”

We made our way through the forest, and only moments in did we see the first intruders. The fighting had begun, with Neytiri in a standoff. I could not see her combatant, but clearly Neteyam could see something. Knocking his bow, he set an arrow and let it fly.

Bullets rained down and I threw myself into him, rolling until we were behind a tree. It was loud and the acrid smell of smoke clogged my nose.

“STAY DOWN!” I laid over his side, making room for both of us in the tree nook. I was breathing heavily, searching the forest for intrusion. The smallest shift in my vision brought my attention to a man making his way towards us.

No, an avatar. Vrrtep. Demon.

He was armed with a large gun but before he could swivel in this direction I leapt from the undergrowth. My heart began to beat fast, cold sweat running down my neck. I was a warrior yes, and arguably a good one, but I was inexperienced. Ambush would be the only advantage I have in this battle.

Unstrapping my mother’s knife, I stabbed down into the avatar’s clavicle. The momentum threw me into his much larger form, and I went down with him as he screamed. I kept stabbing. The serrated edge left gruesome damage on the man and his hands left his weapon to grapple with his throat. Rolling off him, I sprinted to Neteyam- who’s father had begun to forcibly push him from the battle. Jake Sully was coated  in blood, all the way up to his elbows. It was jarring, and my stomach twisted. Active fire burst over our heads and obliterated the trees around us.

Faster.

“C’mon!” I followed behind the pair, seeing Lo’ak and Tuk dash over fallen tree limbs, Neytiri soon joined with Kiri. All convening to run towards the ikran together. I heard the whips of blades through the air, and from the distance saw white lights over the site of the shack.

“They’re leaving…?”

I heard Kiri gasp and begin to wail.

“They took Spider!” Her human boy. I had no true opinion of him, outside that he is another unruly child—but no one deserves the fate of being stolen.

Past a fallen tree were the ikran.

 Na’ruk, Euye, Bob…

No.

Something was wrong.

“Where is Zasza?” I pushed past Lo’ak and Kiri, calling out to Zasza. I heard a weak chirp, more like a gurgle, but could not place the direction.

I heard a little gasp and saw Tuk and Neytiri staring into the nearby undergrowth. The little girl began to cry with big, fat tears and held onto her mother, who had a silent hand to her mouth. My heart sank to my stomach.

I sprinted over to face the cause of distress.

Zasza.

ZASZA. ZASZA. ZASZA.ZASZA. ZASZA.

My sweet, fierce companion. In the arms of a few broken trees, lay gasping on her side with blood pouring from multiple wounds in her neck and torso. We met glances and she crooned, trying to lift her head, strength failing her halfway.

Something possessed my body, and without thought, I faltered through foliage and knelt at her side.

“Zasza, what happened…?”

I heard steps behind me, muted gasps and sobs, but it did not make its way through. Nothing did.

How could it?

My Zasza.

Zasza cried out once again, weak and small, like a baby. Her glow was dim, pink sunrise strips low in the evening sky.

No, not a baby. Like a dying ikran.

“Zasza? I-I don’t know what to do…?” I flit my shaking hands over her body, identifying the multitude of gunshot wounds. My hands came away red, blood seeping through my fingers, down my wrists, and to my elbows. It poured. I pressed into her skin, trying to stop the bleeding at all costs. “Za, I-I’m gonna’ get you help, I swear…” Her eyes began to slip shut and I pressed my face to her muzzle, huffing in the way she did to me-to show her I was there. Those beautiful, golden eyes tightened before becoming cast in a milky sheen. A great huff left her, and then no more. Her chest stopped moving.

She stopped breathing.

“Zasza…?”

We had many moons orbiting our sky, along with the large mass some considered an image of Eywa. They circled us, the backdrop of our stars, ethereal in their enormous glory. It was one of the reasons I loved flying at night most.

It felt as if every single one has just crashed into me.

With Zasza’s last breath, my lungs had just given up. With shaking hands, I lifted her head onto my lap, pushing and pulling at her head desperately.

“Wake up.” Nothing happened. “Zasza. Please.” Again. The stillness of the forest had never been so oppressive. For the first time in a long time, I prayed.

“Eywa, please. If you are there do not let this happen. Please. I beg you.”

I knew no prayers would be answered. Not for me.

“Please. I can’t do this on my own.”

Zasza was dead.

Eywa would not change that. My only family was gone, stolen from me.

Unbidden, a ferocious scream tore from my throat. I could not stop it. My entire being, my existence, was being torn apart in front of me. It was a scream of complete horror and utter shattering, bullying past my ribs and tearing the skin of my mouth on its way out.

My Zasza was Dead.

Zasza, who chose me, and I her, to fly with—forever. Zasza, who took one look at me at the ikran rookery and said, that one is mine.

My Zasza.

Hands pulled at my shoulders before they moved in an attempt to cover my mouth.

Everything is red.

I struggled, screaming and crying as someone tried to pull me from Zasza.

“You have to stop!” Voices. Because no, I was not here alone. “They could still be looking!”

Jake Sully.

That’s right…

Zasza died…for Jake. Sully.

My teeth, sharp as any true na’vi, bit into the meat of his palms—tearing flesh and drawing a yell from the man. He pulled his hands from my face as I whipped around, crouching over the dead body of my friend, snarling at Toruk Makto.

“GET AWAY FROM US!” I pulled the knife from my sheathe, flipping it so the blade ran along my palm facing outwards. “HOW COULD THIS HAPPEN!” I looked to the other three ikran, fine but ruffled. My heart sank.

How could it only be Zasza?

I could not see. Rivers ran from my eyes, a torrential downpour that obscured my visage of the Sully family.

“Why?”

Jake had two placating hands up, one palm torn and bleeding. He looked shaken, glancing over his shoulder at his huddled family, horror and desperation overtaking his features.

“I’m sorry. I don’t know what happened, but we have to leave.”

It was almost as if he was under a waterfall. I heard his words, his voice, but it was muffled. I turned from him, letting myself fall to my knees to stroke Zasza’s head. Her glow was all but gone.

My beautiful sunrise, to sunset.

“Leave?” I could never leave Zasza. Where would I go? “Yes, you should leave.” I could not turn to look at them, I could only look to the fallen form of Zasza.

“We have to leave. Together. You cannot stay here.” Neytiri, you fool.

I did not answer. The earth could swallow me, sink me into the wet soil, and it would not be a darker place than my soul. I began to sob into my hands. Gasping breaths and murmurs filled the silence.

“’evenge, it is not safe.” The rushing sounds of that dreadful aircraft began to filter in, and I heard the panic of the family behind me. I could not be bothered, not really. The pangs of fear were simply not there.

I want to sleep.

I looked to Zazsa.

I am so tired. I want to sleep, as you do.

The lights of the flying ship began to filter through the trees. They were close. I did not know if they were still looking, or rather escaping to lick their wounds.

It did not matter either way.

Strong arms lifted me up from my armpits, causing me to gasp and begin to struggle.

“What are you-- !?” I was being strongarmed away from the clearing, away from Zasza. “No, stop! Leave me!” We were getting further away. Further from Zasza. “I SAID LEAVE ME!” I was turned on my stomach and thrown over Jake’s shoulder. He was much bigger than me, but I kicked and screamed, at one point I managed to rake my nails from his low back all the way into the back of his neck. I heard him hiss, but when I tried to do it again, he jostled me onto his ikran. Screaming, I felt for the dagger at my waist.

I would not get to draw it.

From behind, he maneuvered my neck into the hollow of his elbow and pulled.

Nails scratched at his arms, slapping and ripping at skin—but it proved useless.

I cannot breathe.

The sounds of the airship, the forest, and the Sully’s faded into the dull thumb of my own heartbeat. Blackness crept along my vision, and I could no longer bat at the arms holding me.

I am sorry Zasza.

A/N:

I literally cannot sleep I only write sad things. SO much of this in the bank.

[deusvervemakesgames]

Project RBH Devlog 0008 – Decisions, Decisions

I keep forgetting to mention when discussing the game art and inspiration that the top-down perspective on the wall tiles is based heavily on Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, which I will likely be using as reference for perspective in the future as well, for character and enemy sprites.

No need to reinvent the wheel.

As for what I’ve been up to this last week… well it’s nothing surprising. I’m up to 25 possible perks/upgrades that I’ve been preplanning. We’re still well pre-alpha, for anyone keeping track, and the minimum number of perks I want for the alpha release is 100. A daunting number I admit, but I’m already making good progress towards it.

The trick is going to be implementation.

Since this is all pre-planning that I’ve been doing, I haven’t touched the code since the launch a few weeks ago. Even so I can predict where I’m going to have difficulty with adding in some of the new features. My bullet and damage system is versatile enough that adding in damage types and critical hits should be pretty simple. I’ll also need to have a way to check for critical hits, as I want certain perks that grant bonuses when you land a critical hit, and that’s either going to be very easy or very difficult with no in-between.

The thing I’m really concerned about is having multiple damage types. Let’s say you pick up a perk that adds Fire damage to your bullets and then one that adds Ice damage. What happens? Does the Ice override the existing Fire? Do you get both? If you get both, I’m not entirely certain how to check an array for a specific value. Do they mix together into a new damage type like how Warframe does it? If so, then what happens when you get a third?

I’ll honestly have an easier time with the status conditions. Another thing I intend to add, status effects and conditions will provide a great deal of variance between different builds on different runs of the dungeons. I only have a few of them at the moment, but I intend on adding more. It should also be easy to implement. Anything that can get a status effect just needs a single line of code, telling it to run all the functions listed in an array, with the array containing every status currently affecting them.

Speaking of status effects, did you know that in Pokemon, the Burn status halves the damage of affected Pokemon’s physical attacks? I did not until recently, and that’s a shame, because that’s a whole layer of strategy I was entirely unaware of. And it’s so good that I’ll be stealing the basic idea. Common status effects like Burning or Freezing will apply secondary effects as well, to help change up each elemental type/status build from the others.

Sadly, at this moment, I only have three of those planned.

I’ll also have certain status effects that are only applied by landing a critical hit, like a perk that grants you a chance of inflicting Bleed on a crit. Variance and strategy is the point here, and I’m excited for the way my plans are shaping up.

Of course, this is all predicated on the idea that I can figure out a way to preview a handful of perks for the player to choose between, as mentioned in last week’s DevLog.

Speaking of strategy, there’s another thing that I want to implement that I have no idea where to start with.

I don’t know this for certain, but I believe it was Slay the Spire that first invented this style of Roguelike/lite progression, but I’ve seen it more and more, and it’s honestly brilliant. Basically, between each floor of Slay the Spire, you’re shown a map of your progress, presented almost like a flowchart. This map works like a board game, where you select the next space to move to, and then complete that floor. And each floor is labelled to tell you what to expect, from merchants to healing to fights, etc. with some spaces marked as a Question Mark just to keep you on your toes.

This adds a lot of thought and long-term strategy into the basic progression model of any given run and if I can, I would love to implement it.

However, that’s a ways off. First, I want the actual upgrades and combat to work.

Hopefully the code for the upgrade choice system will help me figure out how menus work, because I currently lack a main menu or options menu. And that last one is a big deal because I want to have some accessibility options for this by the time of the full release. I’ve already put in the framework for difficulty adjustment wherever I can so that players can customize the damage and health of the enemies and player to their hearts’ content.

But first, the perk choice system. I need that system to be as versatile as possible so that adding in new upgrades in the future is extremely straightforward.

And that’s all before I get into thinking about the art style and the problems I’m facing on that front with keeping to the hand-drawn stylization.

Well, no one ever said that game design and development was easy.

Until next Devlog!

-DeusVerve

Special thanks to my Tier 3 Patrons, Haelerin and Christos Kempf!

Support me on Patreon

[buttermynutter]

Signed, Viktor | 15/18

Transcript:

My personal magician,

I have been unbelievably stupid. I realize that being under stress - especially caused by physical ailments - is supposed to make oneself rash, but this truly wasn’t a mistake in the realm of falling into a lake or accidentally lying that you’re a council member to a council member that caught you after hours.

Maybe I shouldn’t be writing this lightheartedly already, but truly, the relief I feel is enough to heal me of anything. I cannot fathom my luck in that you came across me, though I still wince at the fact that you had spent a night by the bridges just to wait for me. I didn’t consider how easy it would be for you to make the choice to make a journey yourself; leaving you behind put you in harm's way much more than I realized. Either way, my heart is in your hands - even if I survived the serum, the night air would've gotten to the last of me.

The staff has informed me that Singed’s formula was indeed made to augment one’s performance, but only for a short period of time until it results in a downwards spiral, which explains why I was able to make it to as far as the bridges. Although they also told me it addles the mind, I’m afraid that all the choices I made leading up to it were my own. I wear constant reminders of it, as my veins have darkened tremendously and absolutely everything is cold to the touch, but I suppose you already knew that.

It still pains me to think that you had to bear the brunt of my audacity, so it surprised me a bit that your letter was of only concern without any sort of malice - though, knowing you, I should have expected it.

I very much don’t deserve it, but a tremendous weight was lifted off my shoulders as the nurse presented me your note. It was an even better feeling than opening my eyes to the light and realizing that I had been given another chance, no matter how dismissive of myself I was before. Holding that letter felt like it was a pane of glass that could shatter in my hands at any time, though I did damage it a bit with my tears. However, I realize mine have only made your burden heavier, so I will try my best to explain the unexplainable.

First of all, I have been told that I should recover from this specific calamity. I will be prescribed medication for blood pressure; it won’t be a cure-all, but I’ll no longer have to worry about bloody noses, headaches, and my bouts of dizziness. Of course, the problems run much deeper than that, so it would be a bit like putting a bandaid over a bullet wound.

But, since I’m a unique case - in Piltover, at least - a Noxian consultant that was already visiting the hospital will be sent into my ward later today. It’s rumored they’re a sorcerer, so their help may be all I need. Naturally, I cannot simply ask them to help me using magic (legally, but when has that stopped me). However, if magic can scourge cities and breathe life into rocks, surely it can into my inconsequential self. If it can't, then, well. We'll just cross that bridge when we come to it, though I'm sure the both of us have faced enough bridges in these past few days.

Not to mention, I rather not have false hopes of my recovery to begin with. Either way, they have been to the edges of Runeterra from Ionia to Shurima, so I’m sure they have seen enough to have at least some solution, if not just to extend my life expectancy - I have been given a month or two to live on, but there are far too many things I want to do with you to merely pass without a fuss.

Don't fret too much at this information, I myself am not despairing. If even after all of this, after you miraculously came across me, after the serum was successfully drained from my body, and the strings on my soul are still cut, then it must be truly meant to be, as we were.

More importantly, I am sorry. One thing has weighed heavily on my mind, and my worries about it were certified once it was mentioned in your letter - the “Love”. No, I was not second guessing my feelings for you, and it pains me to know that I’ve caused you to think that. If there was any grip of reality I had during that episode, it was my affection for you. The only reason I had altered my salutation was because I didn't want it to come across as just trying to soothe the blow of the letter's contents; even now, I want the ability to take full accountability for my mistakes.

To be honest, I think a small part of me also wanted you to be angry at me. The last thing I'd wish for is you to blame yourself, and anyhow, any negative feelings directed towards me would be warranted.

I hope I haven’t worried you further with a lack of response these past few days, this is the first time I’ve woke since the bridges. This sickness may not be my fault, but my poor reception to it is, and I can only carry it with me.

I thought that maybe if such drastic measures were effective, then our days could go unchanged, that you would see me to be as strong as I see you. All my life I have been doing things alone, and I suppose I wasn't used to the fact that I didn't have to anymore, that I had my best way of living in front of me. Yet, I still tried to keep that way safe, forgetting that they could not only do so themselves, but would just as soon run into the danger on their own.

I will take care not to throw away my life so quickly in the future - I only wanted to be the best I could for you. Every time I look at you, every time you laugh, every time you plants with such care it’s as if you were watering paper, I believe more and more that you’re the one for me until I can’t remember there even was a time that I didn’t think you were. I just couldn't stand the a possibility that someone as wonderful as you would be stuck with somebody who can't even stand up on their own, much less accompany you on your adventures. You’re simply so full of life, and I am nothing if not the opposite.

Now, I know that none of that quite matters, because the most I can do is love you with all I have, both in ability and time.

While unconscious, my mind was still very much active - of course, mostly with thoughts of you. If it had not been, I don’t doubt that I would’ve merely let go. I already have an idea of how to repay you - it's not nearly as much as you deserve for all your suffering, but it's a start. Hopefully, I'll be here long enough to enjoy it to its fullest potential with you.

If it’s anything to you, I’m able to receive visitors starting tomorrow. Just know that there’ll be two cups of awful hospital coffee and a bedridden admirer waiting.

Love love (extra for compensation),

Viktor

━━━━━━━

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[isamajor]

Turning back accompanied by the dog, with a heavy heart at not being able to return to my native province, I come across a fight between these Thalmor assholes and soldiers who seem to me to be from the dissident anti-empire faction called the Stormcloaks.

I freeze. These elven armors... Like in my memories and my nightmares. With each blow they inflict on these Nordics, with each spray of blood that stains the ground, I see again my neighbors, my family succumbing to the soldiers of the Aldmeri Dominion.

Crippled with fear, I crouched behind a rock, praying to Lady Kynareth that she would send a mist to conceal.

The elves won, although outnumbered. As soon as they left, I approached, trembling, the men who had fallen into a pool of blood. I shiver in the silence. My healing spells remain in vain, I can no longer do anything for these men. I close their eyelids.

I come across a piece of bread sticking out of a soldier's bag. My stomach growls furiously. Filled with shame, I opened this dead soldier's bag, found bread and an apple there, which I promptly devoured. I try to tell myself that this guy didn't need it anymore after all, but I feel like I taste blood in my mouth. A few coins sparkle at the bottom of the bag. I grab it, trembling. It's wrong what I'm doing, robbing a dead man.

But if I want to go home, I have to become someone powerful. And without money, I will never be able to do anything. I promise these soldiers to avenge them one day, at the same time as I will avenge my family.

I leave again, moving away from the roads for fear of meeting the Thalmor again. I come across a house in a remote place, on the side of a hill. It is occupied by a woman named Angi. She offers to warm me by her fire and also to teach me how to shoot a bow. She gives me a simple wooden bow, but effective for hunting or defending myself. I grant him the blessing of Kynareth in return.

Angi pointed me in the direction of the nearest town, Falkreath. I can easily see it below the mountain. If only I could be an eagle, avatar of the goddess Kynareth and let myself soar down...

But I trudge down the mountain, careful not to break my neck. Surprised by the rain, I took refuge in an old stone building. I quickly realize that I am in a necropolis. In general these are connected to the temple of Arkay so I believe that by crossing it, I should logically find myself in Falkreath.

What was my terror when I saw the dead rise up, chase me and try to kill me! Are all Nordic tombs like this? I had no choice but to use my magic to push back these undead and turn back towards the exit.

Exhausted, dirty and trembling, I managed to get out without too much damage and resigned myself to taking the road to get to town. Night was falling. All I hoped was not to run into any vampires along the way...

I arrived safe and sound at the town inn. The first thing I asked for was a place to wash. I felt downright disgusting. Once clean, I sat down at a table and ordered a meal. I was starving. But as soon as I was seated, my neighbor at the table began to try to start a conversation. Was he trying to hit on me?

[soulsxng]

I got hit with the sudden urge to do Tank/DPS/Support/Healer for the muses yesterday, and so that's what we're doing now, strap in y'all. (Just 10 at a time though, because god knows I'm gonna end up rambling about some of them longer than I meant to, and if I did all of them at once it would be the length of a soccer field or something)

Jaspern - Pure DPS; phys (He does fight with a big fuck off scythe, so midrange usually) with a little magic-- usually death oriented magic that has the added benefit of a slow but constant strength sapping effect on those it hits.

JJ - DPS/slight support; phys (He fights with his dual-bladed spear, Ahzeel more often than not these days, but is a nightmare with just about any weapon in his hand), uses more magic than Jas does, though that's usually for the support side than outright attacking.

Ber - Support/Healer; doesn't really like being part of a fight, so he will bubble himself at the back of the battlefield, and just focus on buffing and healing his comrades. Side note, but just because he's not a DPS, that doesn't mean he can't DPS. Piss him off too much, and he'll be insta-casting about 50 meteors at the back of your head in 2 seconds flat.

Melchior - Tank/Healer; my dude really is like a weird sort of paladin. Technically, I feel like he doesn't have the defense stat to be a full-on tank, but he's that type that doesn't want to have anyone else on his team get hurt, and he can mitigate damage with his healing easily enough, so here he is. Making himself the tank anyway. Damage is phys/magic balanced.

Eluvias - DPS/Tank; Luvi goes absolutely berserk in a fight, which is why DPS is primary. He pretty much just leaps at whatever is attacking, and starts shredding regardless of if he's taking damage too or not. That's evidently why he could also be a tank. Even if he's hurt, it's like he doesn't notice it, he just keeps going until he legitimately can't. Technically he can use magic, but usually he gets so carried away with the physical side that he forgets to even use it unless he's really in trouble.

Zahine - Healer/DPS OR, pure DPS. Zai is pretty much the healer with a gun meme. Usually he'll stick to just healing, and will pick people off with magic-based DPS here and there...but man. MAN. If he goes pure DPS it's because he's angry, and then whoever is against him is better off just running away, because he's not above fighting dirty, and he's completely ruthless. Especially when the charming powers start coming out-- that's when even Io and Luvi (Or Pythius, in the few times that he's fought alongside Zahine) just take a big step back and let Zahine do his thing.

Orin - Pure support; they really couldn't fight well to save their life (literally, in this case), still, they actually are capable of using quite a bit of magic that can protect allies, or essentially debuff opponents. Baby doesn't wanna fight though, so please don't make them.

Vanyllo - DPS/occasional Support (surprisingly); his main focus is always going to be DPS, but if things are going south, he's trained pretty extensively to be able to use his magic for all kinds of different traps/ensnarements, so he'll dip into support sometimes, too. Can also use magic that limits opponents range of sight and that sort of thing.

Darrow - Tank/DPS; one of his domains is protection, after all! Aro knows how to take a hit just as well as he knows how to draw (and keep) an enemy's attention on him, to keep some of the heat off of his allies. On top of that though, he's very accurate with both sword, as well as fang and claw, so the amount of "critical" strikes that he tends to land on his foes means that he has a pretty high overall damage output too. Primarily phys damage, but he tends to bolster that with fox fire and divine damage, as well.

Eleare - Tank; another one that might be surprising. Most of the reasoning is just because they feel it's easiest to control the flow of battle from that position, but another reason is that Eleare has a lot of magical abilities that create barriers for themselves, can diffuse or weaken some magics, etc. So they're pretty tough to land consistent damage on. Most of their damage is more close-ranged magic, but they're not shy about getting more physical with their claws or fangs, instead. Or, what usually happens, is that they just shift into a massive fox/dragon/hawk/what-have-you, and they just go ham like that.

[blueeyesspitfire]

Season's End

We’re easing into the off-season here at the Spitfire homestead. Temperatures have been steadily creeping above the “safe to run” mark, and with all the forecasted rain, we’re staying off the muddy trails.

We also had a few setbacks after “The Crappening” (see last post), which kept us from attending the last dryland event I had been considering.

Denali had another very brief bout of loose poops, which set me into panic mode, but no one else got sick and it went away almost immediately. Not long after that, Laika and Sagan got into a nasty brawl. They’re both OK, but Laika ended up with a sore leg. Her limp came and went multiple times and our vet diagnosed it as soft tissue damage that just needed extended rest to heal. As a final bit of stress, Hopper started vomiting his kibble last week. My vet gave us some anti-barf pills, which worked right away. She also ran bloodwork, which came back showing elevated liver values (ALT, specifically). After the GI upset and antibiotics, this doesn’t really surprise me, but we’re keeping a close eye on it. He’s behaving normally now, but we’ll redo his bloodwork at the pack’s annual exams later this month and go from there.

But anyway, the point of this post is to talk about what went well this season. Aside from all the medical stuff, we also had to cope with an underwhelming amount of winter this season. However! Given the challenges, I’m still really happy with what we were able to accomplish.

We raced in Canada! I’ve wanted to run the team outside of the country for years and obviously Canada is the easiest way to accomplish this. Since the US was devoid of snow and almost every race was canceled down here, to Canada we went! We ran at the Kearney Sled Dog Races and had a blast.

Not only did we race in Canada, we also got to participate in the Seguin Mail Run and mushed over a frozen lake. I’m choosing to highlight that memory, in particular, because it was definitely something I’ll never forget and can’t wait to do again.

I didn’t harness break any new pups this season, but Sheridan joined the team, which is just as exciting! He got to experience his first mushing event with Seguin, and was a magnificent handler for me and the dogs. I cannot wait until next season—he’ll be living here and a lot more ingrained in our adventures.

We’ve got a lot of big plans for this off-season. As mentioned, Sheridan is moving in, so we’ll be renovating the barn workshop into a cozy, livable space to (temporarily) house his two kitties. I’ve already had a window installed, so they’ll get some natural light and, eventually, access to a catio space. Our long-term goal is to build a guest cabin where they’ll live in the future, but for now, having an extra spot for cats/workout equipment/an art studio will do.

Along with the usual work of the veggie garden, I’m hoping to incubate some eggs and raise chicks this spring. This will ultimately result in needing a bigger chicken coop, which I’m hoping to have built this summer. The driveway is also a pot-hole disaster, so regrading that is on the To Do list.

Aside from the projects, I expect to go on many hikes and swims in the reservoir and enjoy the “reset” between our mushing seasons.

[jcmarchi]

Dragon's Dogma 2 Is Better Without Fast Travel

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Dragon's Dogma 2 Is Better Without Fast Travel

Fast travel is an extremely common and welcome quality of life improvement in modern open-world games, but it’s a mechanic Dragon’s Dogma 2 heavily deemphasizes. It sounds annoying, but to my surprise, it’s made me enjoy the game even more than I already did.

It’s worth noting there are some fast travel options in the game, but they’re limited. Oxcarts are the easiest, most affordable option, but they’re only available in certain cities, and each route only has one of two destinations. They’re also prone to attacks. In one extreme case, I got off the cart to slay some goblins, turned around to get back on the cart, and saw it get absolutely decimated by a griffin attack, leaving me stranded in the middle of nowhere. The other fast-travel option is an expensive item called a ferrystone, which can be used to travel to an extremely rare magic landmark called a portcrystal. 

There was some controversy around the launch of Dragon’s Dogma 2 about the fact that certain items, including portcrystals, could be purchased as microtransactions. As I play the game, this frustrates me as well, but not because I wish it was a free option – it shouldn’t be an option at all. Using real money to sidestep that obstacle misses the point of the game, and it’s a frustrating way for Capcom to make money. Dragon’s Dogma 2 is designed around the inability to move quickly throughout the world and is far stronger because of it. 

According to NPCs in the game, the world is perilous, but the lack of fast travel shows players just how dangerous and inconvenient it actually is. Journeying out into the wild means you’ll be facing enemies in battle, and the more damage you take, the more your maximum health drops. Too many encounters can leave you with a dangerously low health bar, leaving you just a few hits away from death, even from the easiest foes. You can only heal yourself fully by sleeping, which can be done in an inn in town or at campsites in the wilderness. You can only sleep at campsites if you have the right gear, though, and since it’s pretty heavy, you’ll have to clear space in your inventory. After all, the more you’re carrying, the slower you move.

Even if you don’t need to heal, it’s worth making the space to avoid being exposed at night, when the monsters are much deadlier. That said, even in a tent, unlucky adventurers can be ambushed in the middle of the night, forcing you to flee or defend yourself. This is all assuming you can even find a campsite since visibility at night is very low, even with a lantern, and lanterns can run out of fuel if you’re not careful.

On paper, this sounds miserable. 

It sounds like a game nobody in their right mind would play because it seems so intent on punishing the player. And yet, it’s these harsh systems that make the game so rewarding. Braving all of those conditions, defeating huge monsters, and barely arriving back to town alive is thrilling every time, and by the time you’re strong and smart enough to make expeditions with ease, you feel much stronger for it. My fondest memories of Dragon’s Dogma 2 all involve narrowly surviving dangerous journeys. Those memories wouldn’t exist if fast travel was an easy option. 

It also adds to the scale of the world. Because other cities aren’t reached as easily, it’s a big deal to leave town to venture off to the capital of a neighboring country. When someone in one town asks you to visit another, it’s a huge request, because it might take multiple in-game days and a real-world hour. Imagine arriving in Berlin, Germany only to hear that someone needs a favor from you that involves a visit to Paris, France. It’s a monumental task and explains why they specifically need the help of an adventurer like you. When you decide to help someone, that decision has serious weight to it, especially when you take into account the fact that many of the quests run on a timer.

Here’s an example of an experience I had that would have been ruined by fast travel. It takes me the better part of an in-game day to reach a quest marker, where a group of bandits is supposedly headquartered. As I get close, one of them flees inside, and even though I’m not at full strength, I know I have to follow now or lose their trail. What follows is a grueling gauntlet that has me and my team of pawns taking on their entire organization, with several party members downed multiple times, until we finally claim victory. 

But when I emerge back into the open air, there are two huge problems. First, it’s nighttime, and second, the closest campfire is currently the site of a battle between some travelers, an army of magic skeletons, and an ogre. I try to take the enemies out quickly so I can use the campfire to rest, but I quickly realize I’m way out of my league, especially after battling that whole bandit camp. My pawns all die, and I’m forced to limp off into the night, alone, hoping to find a campfire. I finally do, only to realize my pawn was carrying the camping gear – I couldn’t rest even if I wanted to. Then, as if things couldn’t get any worse, my lantern burns out, leaving me in the middle of nowhere with no friends and no light.

Despite all that, I survived. I managed to craft some more oil for the lantern, use a dash ability from my vocation to avoid enemies, and make it back to the nearest town just as the sun began to rise. This was not scripted, and if someone tried to write it into the game, it wouldn’t be as meaningful of an experience. The open world of Dragon’s Dogma 2 is not an obstacle you need to surmount to reach the main parts of the game. The open world is the game. It’s a symphony of hostile systems that, when overcome, create one-of-a-kind stories I get to tell my friends about. An easy, free fast travel system would negate all of this.  The friction of the journey is what makes the conclusion so rewarding. Why would I ever want to avoid that?

[wevelocityteampresents-blog]

SEPTEMBER 20TH

I managed to finish another art piece today. I feel so happy now that it's finally done. But at the same time, I also feel like there's not much else for me to do at the moment... But then again, there are those new character designs I need to finish. I hope I can get back to those without any trouble.

During this time, I feel like I can do so much without anything to distract me. I also feel a little happier too.

In Pokémon Violet, I went to finish my assignment. But not without a few stops along the way.

It's funny how the tables have turned.

Of all the Pokémon in the world, Golem was the one I'd least expect to get salt from.

When it comes to treasure, this place is a gold mine! Also, I managed to unlock the ability to use this area as a new stage in Ogre Oustin'. I should play that game again someday for a higher score.

Eventually, I managed to meet up with Kieran. (Who STILL showed up last.)

I still didn't get a badge for this.

After that, I headed back to the community center to get some rest. That doesn't mean I didn't run into anything interesting along the way.

I should fight this Annihilape someday with a Pokémon whose Attack needs some work.

What? AGAIN? More fun for me, I guess.

Before I healed my Pokémon at the Pokémon Center, I thought it'd be funny to talk to Nurse Joy from behind to see if I could still heal them. To my surprise, she had some dialogue for anyone trying to do so.

It managed to get a chuckle out of me.

SEPTEMBER 21TH

I had to go somewhere with my stepfamily to do something important. I thought I could just sit around and play Pokémon or draw while waiting. But that didn't happen. No matter where we went, the entire building smelled like cigarettes. I had to cover my nose the entire time we were there. We never even got our appointment because the staff were acting like idiots. So there goes an entire afternoon...

It wasn't all bad, though. My stepmom actually had the empathy to take us all to a town where we got to eat burgers while also getting treated to the town's fresh air. (Which is good because the car was ANOTHER rental that smelled like tobacco. Yes, it was unbearable. And, YES, I had to cover my nose whenever I had to sit in it. At least this one didn't have a lighter on the floor.)

The only good thing about today was that it's all over.

SEPTEMBER 22ND

In Pokémon Violet, I finally managed to find the item I needed to evolve Applin into Dipplin.

I feel bad for small shops like these. There are probably some dumb kids out there who might steal all the fruit from this stand without paying.

SEPTEMBER 23RD

Due to some recent developments at my school, I had to travel to the campus to sign up for additional tutoring services. (In the rain without an umbrella because I forgot mine at home.) I thought it would only take me half an hour. But I actually had to wait until noon. (I nearly got hungry by then.) It wasn't until then that I learned tutoring services were offered digitally on weekends. I still managed to get some information on tutoring hours for certain classes.

After I ate dinner, I managed to complete that new art piece I've had lying around for weeks. You can see it for yourself on this page. I based it on a frame from an episode of the Pokémon anime I found on another website. Now that I'm finished with it, I can get back to designing new characters before getting started on a future project.

In Pokémon Violet, I tried completing the Kitakami Pokédex.

I guess other non-water Pokémon can swim too. I tried catching this Poliwhirl using Umbre's Toxic. I nearly weakened it when I came to a shocking realization...

Wild Terastalized Pokémon only lose their Terastalization state after getting weakened by damaging moves. Status effects are useless for catching them.

But that was alright because I managed to find another Poliwhirl nearby. I also learned that there's 200 Pokémon in the Kitakami Pokédex. And I'm almost close to completing it. Before I met with Carmine, I visited Perrin since I already caught the amount of Pokémon she asked me to catch.

It's not that big a deal... Besides, I still need to study the stats of Pokémon like Ogerpon and Bloodmoon Ursaluna.

She soon challenged me to a battle to see if I was strong enough to stand a chance against the Pokémon she was looking for.

So did I...

Apparently, the Pokémon Perrin is looking for IS Bloodmoon Ursaluna.

She also comes from Sinnoh. (Which makes sense considering how familiar she looks.) I wanted to follow her to the Timeless Woods. But I felt like I could save Ursaluna for last.

After I met with Carmine in Moussi Town, she told me we needed some Crystal Clusters from the Crystal Pool. After a steady climb, I finally made it. Before we could gather some clusters, we were ambushed by a Milotic.

I managed to beat her in a single turn.

Eventually, Briar showed up to investigate the crystals at the bottom of the lake. She also says that Terastalization exists in other countries outside of Paldea.

(Exactly WHERE in those countries is beyond my guess.)

I was going to take the road back to town. But I fell down a cave and decided to explore it for its riches. While doing so, I hit a booby trap in the form of a Ogre Clan member.

If I had known about her Pokémon sooner, I would've beaten her with just Miraidon.

[thesugarhole]

so i think it was saturday i had a free two hours or so and since i was done with 2kki updates then (i know i saw dont mention it im waiting it out till the end of the week) i thought hey lets finally go finish dd2, i left the campaign right outside the 5th mountain

so i go in there and have a much easier time because i remember the gimmicks, and i reach the hateful god. and i painstakingly whittle down the hp from 999 to about 100 without once getting face your failures. and im like hey! what gives! did not dawn on me once that maybe i had to kill those two babies at the same time first.... and im still not sure if that was what didnt trigger it because when i finally got a ghost it only took up one slot since hateful god is strictly in the middle. but well, its nice to know for the future runs. so i defeated them! (me?)

the ending cinematic is alright but i think the one from the first game impacted me more. i think, might be rose tinted glasses, havent gone back and compared. ~85 hours total, first game i think was ~92 hours before i went into dlc and achievement hunting

so here comes the real meat of dd2, which is completionism and achievos. i highly doubt ill be able to unlock every single item thats not bought at the altar of hope, but theres nothing really quantifying them anyway so im not that bothered by it.

first achievo i want to get after completing the game is defeat death, since ive only ever seen her in the flashback. so i go at it in denial since its one of the shortest chapters, and as im reaching the brain, having gone to every single fight possible, im thinking mhm. what are the actual chances of getting her? 6%. bad idea to have started with this one, and i only got to 1 shrine too for the characters i havent finished the stories yet, so this run might have been a waste.

the very last battle, before the inn before the mountain, she shows up so yay! i got good luck. and of course, promptly got her ass kicked, so i unlocked the chievo. teehee

forgot to party wipe to denial so im gonna have to do it one more time with that in mind. also, i think this was the first run i was able to complete with a hard difficulty flame on (the very first on the list, i think infernal?, im currently in the process of unlocking stuff by 1 cheapest / 2 useful) and i wasnt trying very hard, so maybe ive finally gotten decent at the current mechanics.

i decided to look at what i hadnt gotten yet and make a list from easiest to hardest so i dont risk like, going for the worst thing first while disregarding easy wins. after that, my next run my goals were:

master 5 skills in one hero: fairly easy in a fuck-it run. surprised i never did it before i finished the game, even. i guess i distributed mastery points as evenly as possible.

heal disease, remove negative quirk, lock positive quirk: it was at the top for easiest, but a lack of money and lack of disease getting could make the going tough. at the first inn, i got a slime mold: it has 5% chance of giving a disease. i thought hmm... i never got a disease from this thing though. oh well theres no more food so eat up occultist. (he gets a disease) :)! and i had an hospital scouted right away, so this one was easy peasy

defeat a lair boss (killing blow) with the bounty hunter: his poster also showed up right away, so i replaced him with the jester and went.... to the tangle. yeahp. was actually very easy because i took zero chances: everyone either buff up teammates, attack the roots or move around. bh is the only one damaging the general (save a starting move or two from highwayman/occultist). surprised very few people have this one, but id bet its hard to unlock naturally.

defeat 3 lair bosses in one run: i was aiming for this one too but then i realized the first confession only gives me two regions. oops.

hero shrines: wip. currently trying to finish alhazreds. otherwise my team is *my* usual suspects (V, J, HWM, FreeSpace).

party wipe to all confession bosses: wip. im with the lungs denial again atm but still at the start of the run because i wasnt able to touch the game since.

i guess im sharing because being able to do all this in rapid fire succession was good rng and luck and made me feel happy. made me feel like the guy smiling with its hands on its knees. AND it has the jester outfit on. imperative. hold on let me get it

^ i named this image silly.png

here's my list, easiest to hardest (to MEEEE):

i have (x?) next to some inn names because im not sure if ive already been there or not, since the images/names sounded familiar when looking them up. but this one is not something i can control (and am also surprised i havent unlocked it during mainline gameplay, guessing i got many repeats- they might have rarity variables that i currently have no idea if they can be influenced or not) so its play until it unlocks. i like to keep 'missing' lists just because

i dont have a shamblino (shambler + bambino, hope you like it) equipped in my current run because i didnt want to make things unnecessarily harder when going for the other ones, so that one will have to wait until all my heroes get breathed on too hard by resentment. pass their turns to death. its actually a bigger effort to die to denial than it is killing it jesus

thats all i guess. have a good week everyone