#brutter

[sonicasura]

Jak and Daxter/ Pokémon Short

Friend To Lurkers

3 Days Since Frontier came To Haven City and 2 Days Until They Meet Kid

" Alright everyone remember the plan"

A cloaked Frontier stood looking out of a alley way entrance looking for any sign of those Guards. Behind them stood 4 Lurkers along with Blaziken, Alakazam, Gengar and Inteleon. About an hour ago Frontier had freed these 4 Lurkers from a transport shuttle. Frontier was quick too the notice of the Lurkers being transported throughout out the city and it didn't take long for Frontier too find out that the Lurkers were slaves in Haven City.

That was absolutely something Frontier refused too standby and let happen knowing they could help and took action. Freeing the Lurkers and taking them back too the camp for medical treatment. The Lurkers were nervous but thankfully after Frontier and the Pokémon freed them nd took them too safe place too heal there wounds they quickly warmed up too Frontier and the Pokémon calling them all Friends.

After they all had there wounds healed and energy restored Frontier asked if they knew were they wanted too go. Unfortunately none of the Lurkers ad any idea were was safe or any safe settlements or Lurkers they could o too. That was quite the problem as Frontier could not leave them alone too face the Monsters known as Metal Heads that scoured the lands or face getting recaptured.

Frontier and the Pokémon brainstormed ideas of what do when one of the Lurkers perked up having remembered vital information. They told Frontier that they remember hearing of a place in the West Bazar called Brutter's that worked too free Lurker slaves and take them too hidden Lurker Settlements safe from capture or harm.

Perfect

So back too the alley way where everyone was hidden and getting ready too enact the plan. Blaziken, Alakazam, Gengar and Inteleon would were a long concealing cloak so they could walk around hidden all while the Lurkers followed them. Inteleon would lead from the front and Blaziken would watch the back, Alakazam and Gengar would be at the sides while the 4 Lurkers stayed in the middle. All the Lurkers would close together while Blaziken, Alakazam, Gengar and Inteleon kept watch too keep them safe and too fool others that these Lurkers were still slaves under watch by the cloaked figures. When someone caught sight of Brutter's everyone would make the transfer with the Lurkers going into Brutter's care. Frontier would follow close behind with Hoopa near them encase they need too make a quick escape.

And with the plan set up everyone was ready too set it in motion

Today was a slow day for Brutter, but if there anything Brutter's learned a slow day is a good day. Slow Day meant no trouble for Brutter or no getting annoyed by Krew.

Brutter slowly cleaned the mugs as he looked around his area of the Bazar. Keeping an eye out and a ear opened as had become habit for the Babak. Eventually his eyes landed on a sight he had grown too disdain. More Lurkers about 4 of them being taken by 4 cloak figures presumably too be worked or traded. As was the fate for many Lurkers in Haven City.

Brutter would have most likely suffered the same fate if we was not taken under the wing by the original Bar Owner who sympathized Lurkers and taught Brutter everything there was too know and gave Brutter the Bar.

Brutter felt horrible watching the Lurkers be dragged off too work in dangerous jobs and be overworked too bone but Brutter did not have the strength. Brutter only had the funds and connections too help when ever the opportunity arises.

Brutter attention zeroed in on the Lurkers again when the Cloaked figures started towards the Bar with the Lurkers following close behind.

Uh Oh. This was trouble.

Brutter quickly changed his demeanor too cheery and forced a smile. Whether Brutter liked it or not he had too keep up appearances as a simple Bar Owner who just happened too be a Lurker. Eventually the 4 cloaked figure stood in front of the Bar.

Brutter: Hello Customer! What Drink can Brutter get you! Can I suggest our new Palk-Palk Drink, have fruit zing.

No answer

Brutter was bit of put by the silence and was going too suggest another drink when the 4 cloaked figures moved behind the Lurkers and let the Lurkers sit, confusing Brutter as too what was happening.

Lurker: You are Brutter right. One who helps Lurkers in need.

At that Brutter's eyes widened, realizing that this was a group of freed Lurkers looking for refugee. Brutter acted immediately and had all the Lurkers head into the back of the building that his Bar was stationed in front of. The cloaked Figures covered the Lurkers with there own bodies as they went into the back of the bar too be hidden. After he made sure they were hidden and safe Brutter went back outside too see all the cloaked figures sitting down at the Bar too help cover for Brutter as patrons waiting for a drink.

Brutter went back behind the Bar too question them when an unknown voice made themselves known. A much smaller cloaked figure walked up too the Bar and dropped there hood revealing a young kid introducing themselves too Brutter much too his shock.

" My name is Frontier and these are my friends. The Lurkers told me that you can get them too safety"

And the story they had too tell was nothing short of extraordinary

I don't blame Brutter for being suspicious at first. Considering the harsh stereotypes against Lurkers, it's very hard to find someone who sees them as people. Krew only "helps" because he can get more money out of this.

Frontier is about to flip that perspective real quick.

[radioactivepeasant]

Snippet (or chapter?) Thursday

Viper: Exodus

Jak, now a captain in Spargus's infiltration division, has been gathering people who have helped them in the past, and Daxter has convinced whole sections of the slums to trust the Wastelanders over the Grand Council. (LONG post warning, it's basically a whole chapter)

240 people crowded around the narrow road in front of the Naughty Ottsel, murmuring nervously to each other. They had been slowly preparing for this night for weeks -- hardly enough time to uproot an entire life. But then, many of them had been uprooted already. Many carried young children, only recently reunited with their families after Praxis's mass kidnapping orders during his hunt for Mar. They varied between terrified silence and hungry wailing as the people waited for their chosen leader to arrive.

It had been a difficult, and at times acrimonious, task choosing someone to lead them once beyond the walls for good. Fifty people had withdrawn from the evacuation entirely when a Lurker was ultimately chosen. But Brutter had lived among the people of the Water Slums for years. They knew him. They trusted him.

His deputy, the blonde barmaid from the pub, seemed like an odd choice at first. But as preparations progressed, it became clear that Tess had a way with people -- and with weapons. Her confidence put them all at ease.

The murmurs quieted when Tess appeared with Brutter, Jak, and Daxter. More people gathered in the pub doorway behind them to watch, but it was clear that they were on team "leaving Haven is mutiny or cowardice".

"This is everyone?" Brutter called, furrowing his fuzzy brow. "Water Slum friends?"

"Here!" One of his former neighbors called, waving from a section of the crowd.

"Good! Saltpeter Row?"

The inhabitants of the row houses made varying sounds of acknowledgement, and Brutter nodded, continuing to call out the names of streets who had agreed to join the secession.

"Morgan street!"

"Redcap Row!"

"Shark Flats!"

"4th Street!"

Only a few groups were unaccounted for in the end, though this wasn't as much of a surprise as expected. They'd known from the beginning that some would probably back out when it was time to go. Better the devil they knew than the one they didn't. But everyone else had shown up.

They shuffled restlessly, meager belongings in carts or on their backs, and waited to find out what was going to happen. Surely they weren't all going to walk to the abandoned temple!

Brutter nodded to Jak, and the boy stepped forward and raised his voice.

"Okay! Here's what's going to happen! Anyone with small kids or trouble walking is going to take the air train to the foot of the mountains. The Babak are waiting with balloons to get you to the temple. It's going to take a few trips, so don't crowd. You'll all get there, I promise."

Daxter took over as soon as Jak finished.

"Everybody else: we're formin' a convoy of four groups! If you know how to fight, yer on the outside of the column. If you don't, stay in the middle! We're gonna stop for breaks sometimes, but we're hiking straight through the Industrial Sector, folks. It's gonna be a good hour or two before we get everyone into the Power Station teleport ring."

Jak nodded and pointed left in the direction they'd be heading. "Tess will be leading Group 1 with the gyro-burster to clear out any threats ahead of us. Jinx is taking Group 2. Group 3, you're with Mogg and Grim. Everyone else, you're with me. For now, everyone with kids move to the right."

The shuffle was tedious, and it was close to ten minutes before everyone was divided into the five groups. The thirty-five people with elderly, children, and mobility issues huddled together as the rest split into crowds of roughly fifty each. Even fifty civilians was a massive number to protect from Deathbots and metalheads. Tess and Jak shot each other grim looks, each worrying about the same thing:

How many people were they going to lose on their way to the power station?

"I'm coming too!"

Jak turned to see Keira pulling her arm free of Samos's grip. His heart leapt: he'd hoped against hope that she would flee the city with them. That she would wrench herself out from under the sage's thumb.

"Keira, no!" Samos gasped, "This is madness!”

He turned a stern look to Jak. "This has gone too far, Jak! You are out of control!"

"Out of your control," Daxter corrected sharply, "That's what you mean, right?"

"You're leading these people to their deaths! I will not allow my daughter to be one of them!" Samos snapped.

Jak felt nerves crawl up his throat. He wanted to vomit. It didn't matter how confident he was as a Captain of Spargus, Samos had programmed his behavior for years and standing up to him was hard.

He swallowed back bile and cleared the trepidation from his throat.

"You didn't have a problem sending someone else's kid into hell for your own gain. You're not doing yourself any favors by waiting until now to have a problem with it."

Keira gestured to him. "See? Thank you, Jak."

"Keira, that's enough," said Samos sternly, "I know it seems harsh to you, but someday you will understand that I am simply doing what is best for you!"

"No, I'm doing what's best for me," Keira retorted, "I'm helping people."

"Keira, I forbid you to step out that door!" the sage cried in a panic.

Keira swung a bag up onto her shoulder.

"I'm no good to anyone in a gilded cage, kept out of danger. And you have no right to fight about it after what you put the boys through."

"Of course I have a right! You're my daughter!"

Keira set her jaw. She closed her eyes and took in a long, shaky breath. Then she stepped out the door.

"Goodbye, Daddy."

Tess squeezed her shoulder as she passed them to gather her platoon. "Hang in there, kiddo," she murmured.

Brutter also eyed her with sympathy as he followed.

"Let us go, friends!" He loudly croaked, "Before we are losing the moonlight!"

Jak frowned thoughtfully. "You got a gun?" he asked Keira quietly.

She shook her head, still trembling with the same adrenaline he felt.

"N-no. But I've got some EMP grenades I've been working on. In case of bots."

Jak's eyebrows rose, and he grinned. "Can't wait to see 'em."

"Yeah well. You probably won't have to.”

÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷

Two days after the exodus

"I hooked the generator up to the temple, so we should have working shields in a day or two." Keira collapsed onto the ledge beside Jak, utterly exhausted.

He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and dropped an impulsive kiss onto the crown of her head. "You're a miracle worker, you know that?"

The butterflies in Keira's stomach made an unwelcome encore appearance, beating their little wings to fan heat up into her cheeks. She liked this new Jak. He was more open with his feelings. Braver about touch. But Precursors if it wasn't an adjustment!

Still. She needed the comfort just now. Keira had just uprooted…everything, for the second time in her young life. She'd walked away from her own father, and no matter how justified she knew it was, it still hurt. She felt small, and lost, in a world far too large for her. Had she really stopped to fully count the cost of joining the formation of the refugee village?

Yes. She had. Keira forced her mind away from the betrayal in her father's eyes, back to the joy that was in Jak’s eyes when he whispered to her that he'd found freedom.

"I don't feel like a miracle worker," she confessed after a few minutes, "I feel like a fraud. I'm- I'm just shy of completely overwhelmed. We have almost nothing, and if Haven decides they don't like us being up here, I don't know how long my shields will even work. Why are they looking to me for all the solutions? Why not Brutter, or Tess?"

Jak made a sympathetic noise. "Yeah...I know how that feels. But apparently sixteen is "too young" to be carrying that kind of responsibility on your shoulders. So. I dunno, take it easy on yourself, I guess?"

Keira rested her head on Jak’s shoulder with a soft hmph, and noted with some amusement that she could hear how fast his heart was beating. Lucky for them Jak had already been in battle that day, clearing out the last metalheads, and had no more eco to react to the adrenaline. Dark Jak was much more snuggly than regular Jak, and much denser in mass, which made it fairly problematic if he happened to doze off while resting against her.

“Kee, I-”

Jak swallowed hard.

“I have to- we need- Mountain Clan is going to join the Wasteland Federation. You- everyone is going to have to get used to a new set of laws. A new. A new king.”

Keira winced. She'd had enough of overbearing authority figures.

“It's going to be…interesting,” she said begrudgingly.

“I have to report to him.” Jak sounded like he was trying to sound her out, gauge her reaction.

“I was going to call him tonight, actually. I just…I guess, don't freak out if he…when he gets here.”

Here? Keira sat up to look Jak in the eye.

“This king person is coming here?”

The buzz of the crickets down the slope seemed to rise, drowning out her thoughts. In a way, she'd known it had to be coming. Jak and Daxter wouldn't have been so insistent on evacuation if there wasn't actually a war coming. It just hadn't felt real.

She looked down at the tents and rudimentary huts their people -- Precursors, she had people now -- had spent the last two days setting up along the hill. So many people who couldn't fight, or wouldn't. If the Wastelanders really were a warrior people, would this king even accept them?

“He has to, Keira. Even if Haven hadn't-” Jak tensed, and a low anger rippled below his words. “Even if they hadn't tried to assassinate him, Damas would still have to come out here. He's the current head of the Federation, and all clans have to send representatives when someone threatens the whole.”

Leave it to Jak to speak of someone with that much power as casually as he spoke about Daxter.

“You all just call him by his name?”

Jak shrugged, and the grin he offered was a little sheepish. “Not to his face. Unless you're me, or Sig. Daxter could, he just likes to call him Spikes or King Lunatic instead. Damas doesn't mind.”

“Spikes?” Keira felt her eyebrows go up. "King Lunatic?!"

“You'll see when he gets here.”

Jak was entirely too calm about that. Keira grimaced, but reasoned that if he was more relaxed now than he was when talking about Ashelin or Samos, that had to be a promising sign, right?

“He um. He sounds…tough,” the girl said, gingerly searching for words. “Is…Is he-”

Keira gave up beating about the bush and decided to just ask the question honestly.

“Jak, you talk about him like you actually trust him. Do you?”

“With my life,” Jak answered, simply and openly.

“And I'd trust him with all of those people down there, more importantly. I'd trust him with Daxter’s life. With yours.”

What could she say to that? Even when they'd been little kids, when they had foolishly trusted Samos to have their best interests at heart, Jak hadn't trusted him around Daxter. And after the…the prison, Daxter was probably the only person Jak truly trusted. For some warrior king of a nation of Sigs to have earned Jak's faith so completely was hard to believe. Almost as hard to take as the respect in Jak’s voice when he so much as mentioned this man.

Who was this King Damas, and what had he done to make Jak of all people so devoted to him and his cause? And more importantly in Keira's mind, did he deserve Jak's loyalty?

“You look up to this guy,” she realized.

And Jak laughed. He rubbed the back of his neck, and looked embarrassed, and laughed.

“Yeah…I mean, I…yeah…he's kind of my hero.”

He covered his face abruptly as his ears burned scarlet.

“Don't you dare tell him I said that.”

“Oh right, because I'd totally get a chance to have a casual conversation with a king and squeal on you.” Keira rolled her eyes.

“If he's as cool as you think he is, maybe he already knows, anyway.”

“No!” Jak groaned, “Don't say that, I have an image to keep up!”

Keira cracked a smile and settled her head back onto Jak’s shoulder. His arm slipped around her waist, and she felt his cheek rest against her hair. An innocent closeness neither of them had felt in too many years, shared for a moment at the beginning of something new and a little frightening.

“When do you think your king will get here?”

Jak grinned into Keira's hair. She'd stopped calling Damas “this king”. The simple acknowledgement of how important he was to Jak felt a lot more validating than he'd anticipated.

“If I call him tonight, I'd say tomorrow evening at the latest. It's only about five hours from here to home by air train.”

Considering the commotion at dawn, when some hut building efforts were abandoned in favor of clearing a landing strip, Keira had her suspicions that the Wastelanders were already on their way before Jak ever placed that hushed and enthusiastic call.

“Clear the field!” Grim waved his arms wildly, scattering refugees into tents and back onto the rope bridge the Babak had built into the temple. “Make some room, everybody!”

Jak was out of his tent with Daxter on his shoulder before the craft had even begun its final approach. He darted to the edge of the makeshift runway and just waited. Brutter opened the door of his hut with a surprised croak, and Tess was already loosening her gun in her holster. Just in case.

There was a pit in Keira's stomach as she joined the people watching the air train land. This was it. Judgement Day.

Out of the air train seven heavily armored Wastelanders practically sauntered, six taking guard positions in a semicircle while the seventh strolled right up to where Jak stood ramrod straight.

It was unnatural, seeing Jak like that. Even more so seeing Daxter in the same attentive posture on his shoulder. Keira watched them nervously for cues.

Jak spoke about the leader of the Wastelander Federation like he was this great hero. Like he idolized the man. Keira suspected she'd get a better read on this new authority figure by observing how he spoke to the boys -- if he spoke to them directly at all.

The king of the desert was an imposing man wielding an elaborate staff. He didn't look like the type to suffer fools gladly. Keira watched his eyes sweep across the huts and lean-tos covering the slopes leading to the temple. They had already constructed fifteen small houses in the style of Sandover Village, and Vin and Keira had just finished setting up a basic eco grid for power. Was it good enough?

"By the forges boys!" The Wasteland king suddenly laughed aloud. "When you said you could find allies in the city, I thought you meant five or six, not an entire village!"

He clapped a hand to Jak’s unoccupied shoulder in a gesture Keira recognized -- with her share of bittersweet longing -- as pride.

"Welcome to Mountain Clan, sir," Jak answered, just as proud.

So. Jak wasn't exaggerating his admiration for this man. Not that Keira had thought he would. Jak wasn't prone to exaggeration and hyperbole. And while he still stood smartly at attention, if Keira looked closely she could see her friend practically vibrating with excitement. He behaved like a soldier -- the soldier Haven always wanted but could never have -- and yet at the same time he reminded Keira of nothing as much as a little boy whose parent had finally come home from a long journey.

That thought stuck in her mind as Brutter and Tess approached.

To her shock -- and the shock of the boys -- the Babak let out a jubilant cry when he recognized the man in armor.

"Brother Damas!" he trumpeted, catching the attention of the other Lurkers helping in the new village.

"Brother Damas lives! Our hearts are full!"

Damas looked taken aback for a moment, then a smile creased his weatherbeaten face and he reached out to clasp Brutter's forearm.

"You-! I remember you! It's been a long time, Bluefeather."

"Too long," Brutter croaked.

"Are your people safe?" Damas frowned. "I'm- I'm sorry. One operative wasn't enough to help free them. It was a poor repayment for the way you supported my family during the coup."

Sadly, the Babak leader shook his head. "We Lurkers were not saving your friends, Brother. We could not stop the executing after you exiled. Always my elders feel they failed you."

Damas squeezed the Lurker's thick forearm with an earnest expression. "You failed no one, Brother. Welcome to the Federation."

Beside them, Jak's face went from confusion to wonder to a barely restrained glee. Damas had organized the abolition efforts? That meant Jak had been working for Damas long before he ever heard the man's name! He exchanged excited looks with Daxter. This went beyond best case scenario for them. Their honorary tribe and their adopted people were now united.

"Now then!" Damas turned on his heel to raise an amused eyebrow at Jak.

"I've been getting extremely detailed reports from you, Captain. Come! Walk me through what you're doing up here!"

Jak practically scrambled to follow him, an almost silly grin stamped across his face. It made Keira's heart ache to realize she hadn't seen that smile since Sandover. Brutter broke into her thoughts with a gurgling chuckle.

"Once king, always king," he said fondly. "Brutter did not know he had offspring! Jak is very good son. Very loyal."

Keira jolted. "Offspring?! What do you mean?!"

Brutter looked confused, as though he thought his observation was obvious.

[ponysongbracket]

MLP Song Tournament

Please listen to both songs before voting.

The Magic Inside

Can I Do It On My Own

[princess-petals-blossom]

Daah has been waiting to hear Fluttershy's first swear 💕

[thedestinysunknown]

Jak & Daxter 2 - Rescue Lurkers for Brutter:

"Here's another mission that I actually enjoy. All you gotta do is rescue the Lurkers, and it's a lot more fun than it sounds. It's a simple mission that works."

PS: the gameplay used for this gifset is not mine. The original video belongs to the user: Ghost Type, on Youtube.

[dawnleaf37]

MAHAS WINS AGAIN

[nansmenagerie]

I've been replaying the Jak and Daxter series, and just had to do that one, "Protect Samos in Haven Forest" quest that is the bane of my existence. Died about 5 times before I looked up a guide, and found out it's... not hard if you just spin and shoot the vulcan to auto-aim for you.

So now knowing that that can be cheesed: I'm never going to Brutter's house again if I can help it.

[sparguscityangel]

Precursor punch boba tea! Avaliable only at Brutter's fish and trinket stand!

[dapper-lil-arts]

I was just thinking back on the episode flutter brutter , and the thing that gets is that fluttershy's parents state that she's always been way more assertive than them

one of my favorite joke is zephyr saying "You've always been pretty bossy!" Which is so fucking funny. There's a lot of funny ass jokes regarding Fluttershy's past that are just great. "I know it might be hard to believe, but I used to be pretty shy!" It makes me laugh every time lmao

[sarandipitywrites]

Dead Roots, Dark Water Ch 13

There was a light on in the house. It peered around and through the thin, pale curtain, whispering to anyone who might be there to listen, ‘Look who’s here. Look who decided to show his face.’ Daxter’s grip on the pot tightened. His raw, chewed nail beds scraped across rough clay, sending chills up his arms. He could still bail. Right? Jak was in there, but he hadn’t seen him, yet. But at that moment, Daxter was only mostly an assclown. Clucking out now — after he’d already swallowed enough of his pride to buckle a damn plant into his zoomer’s passenger seat — would launch him irredeemably into card-carrying assclownery. So he braced the pot against his hip, unlocked the door, and took a deep breath. He pushed the door open. Brutter’s house smelled like home. Despite the midnight hour, a pot bubbled gently on the stove, wafting its creamy-bright vapors through the ground floor. Discarded implements of cookery — empty jars, a dirty cutting board, a half-chopped nub of galangal — lay strewn around the kitchen. Two paper bags sat upon the table, along with a tab that Daxter didn’t recognize. He rested his plant on the table and folded up one bag; the second was heavier. He peered inside. Crystapples. Five perfect, round, fragrant crystapples. Their outer skin was clear and translucent as dewdrops, refracting the flickering yellow light from the stove; their scent was powerful, floral, almost cloying. Daxter’s throat tightened. So the pointy jerk didn’t hate him, at least.

Chapter 13 of Dead Roots, Dark Water is now LIVE on Ao3!

DRDW taglist (ask to be added or removed): @sam-glade, @televisionjester, @surroundedbypearls, @rivenantiqnerd

[sonicasura]

I can imagine Frontier becoming Brutter's Ace for missions that he needs help with. Also since Frontier will be helping Brutter he can stop having too cough up money too Blubberbot.

Another nice thing is that Frontier will have a resting place at Brutter's place when ever they have too stay in Haven City

Brutter will pay some money to Krew as to not draw suspicion. He is a pretty dangerous man with plenty of connections. You are correct on Frontier though. Green Eco is a difficult thing to get ahold of so healing moves and berries are a great alternative to have when treating injured Lurkers.

Brutter has also been teaching Frontier Lurker language whenever possible. It's a great way to convey to more skittish or nervous tribe members that they are there to help. Plus Lurkers can share very important info without drawing too much suspicion since most assume no one else knows their language.

Brutter's shack is also a good resting place to have. Multiple safe spots can offer a lot to Frontier's group especially when it comes to the Kid's safety.

[radioactivepeasant]

Snippet Thursday: Viper continuation

For context: in previous sections Daxter's ottsel hearing and Jak's eco-assisted eyes picked up a deadly snake camouflaged near Damas’s throne. It didn't get there by itself. Having foiled the assassination attempt, Damas keeps the boys with him to help identify the would-be assassin. As it will turn out in a part I haven't written yet, there are two: one is an agent of Veger disguised as a monk who wants to destabilize the Spargan nation so Haven can control it. The other is an exiled Krimzon Guard who thinks Damas is too soft and who has been promised his old rank back if he kills him.

Obviously, this means tensions are about to be very high between Spargus and Haven. A note: the language I have Spargans using for ceremonies comes from some conlangers on reddit who have been expanding the Gerudo language from Breath of the Wild. I chose Gerudo because "Sabaa'geru" or "Evening People" sounded like something that over generations could become the word Spargus.

Check out their work HERE and HERE!

"Hey boss!" Daxter hopped out of the elevator and made straight for the pools of water. "Aaaaahhh. Sweet relief."

Damas stifled a chuckle at the boy's antics. He was better suited to the heat than he pretended, but he'd never begrudge Daxter the use of the water. By the time he'd looked away, Jak was already halfway to the dais with a spring in his step. Something rattled in his hand.

"I didn't expect to see you today, Jak," Damas greeted him, "What's that you've got?"

Jak held up an intricate band of bones, fangs and claws symmetrically spaced between tiny vertebra and polished until they shone. "It's done!"

Carefully, he passed it to Damas, watching him eagerly for his opinion. Damas turned the band necklace over in his hands, eyebrows raised.

"You have some skill, my boy! I'm impressed with the detail! How long did it take you?"

"Not too long. The fangs were the last piece I needed. See?" Jak leaned over his arm to point to the Dust Demon viper's fangs, forming a circle at the front that mimicked the emblem on the tower door.

"You can keep it, I have another one I'm working one." Jak clearly meant it, but the way he was looking at the necklace suggested he wasn't ready to part with it.

"It reminds me of the arm circlets my captains wear outside the city's walls, albeit bone rather than woven fabric." Damas stepped back up to his throne and set the jewelry down on its arm to admire it. He turned to look back down at Jak, who was clearly pleased by the comparison.

"Were you able to locate Thrax or the false monk?"

Jak's smile fell immediately into a scowl. "Lost Thrax in the Underport. Veger's guy? No idea. Sorry."

Damas jolted. "You chased him all the way into Haven?! Were you seen?"

In the water, Daxter opened one eye and called up, "They don't suspect nothin'. See, those ungrateful yakkows think they can just snap their fingers and Jak will come runnin', so they just figure we're there on one of their orders and start piling on the tasks."

He shut his eye again and yawned. "Boy are they in for a surprise if this turns into war."

"It may come to war," Damas acknowledged. He was devastatingly matter-of-fact about it, as if he was simply discussing the weather. He turned away from his throne, and the ring of tiny bones, to face Jak.

His gaze rested on him with an unbearable weight.

"Should that day come, you will no longer be able to simply run between cities as you please. I need to know where you stand, Jak."

Perhaps his own lack of hesitation should have concerned him. Made him feel guilty for abandoning friends and history so quickly.

It didn't. It made him feel braver than he'd ever felt.

Taking a breath for courage, Jak stepped up onto the dais and approached the king.

"If you asked it of me," Jak said quietly, meeting Damas’s eyes for as long as he could, "I would breach the walls myself. If you gave the order, I'd even lead the Infiltrators right into the Council Hall. As long as the few people who actually stood with us are given at least a chance to support Spargus, there is nothing binding me to Haven."

Damas looked at him with a bemused expression that wavered between stern and fond before a gentle pride won out. He laughed softly and shook his head.

"I don't think I've ever had a citizen quite as bold as you, young one." He rubbed his chin in thought for a moment, then smirked. "Very well, I accept your terms. Give me the names of these "friends", and they will be granted a chance for asylum."

The boy's smile was brief, but genuine and full of life. He stood a little straighter, trying to look as grown-up as possible.

"Then you have your answer," he replied.

"You'll stand with me? Even against the city your friends call home?" Damas pressed, just to be certain.

With a level of emotion unusual for him, Jak answered firmly, "I'd follow you into the underworld. You're-"

He cut himself off quickly, but his eyes finished the sentence for him.

You're the closest thing I have to a father-!

Blinking in a belated effort to hide those emotions, Jak let them push his impulse into action. Two deep breaths, one for courage, one for luck. Then he bowed, fist to his heart.

"Damas, where you go, I go. I will stand with you -- I swear on the Beacon -- even against the people who called themselves our friends. For our people."

Inside, he was shaking. This was a step he'd never taken. He'd never formally given his loyalty to anyone. If Damas didn't accept it-

Jak refused to think about that.

In an instant Damas’s entire posture softened. He placed both hands on Jak’s shoulders, and raised him back up.

"Do you understand what you're saying?" he asked in a hushed voice.

With a dry throat, Jak swallowed and nodded hard. He searched his mind frantically for the old Coastwatcher language Wastelanders still used for ceremonial purposes.

"A'neen Sabaa'geru vaqu."

We are Spargans.

"E'so Sabaa'geru vaqu, darro'ni," Damas answered gravely. You are of Spargus, my son.

It took him far less time to remember the old tongue.

He stepped back to scoop the band of snake vertebrae off his throne and looped it twice around Jak’s right arm before bringing their foreheads together for an instant.

"I will not forget this," he vowed. "I'm...proud of you, Jak."

Now we are one, son-of-my-heart, his spirit sang. What do I care if you have not earned your last amulet? Now and forever you are Spargan!

Jak's eyes glistened when Damas released him, but his crooked smile didn't budge. This was no childish impulse, he'd meant every word. And Damas would honor that pledge.

"Go, then," he said, returning the smile, "seek out your allies in Haven and tell me where they stand."

"We will." Jak squared his shoulders proudly.

"And," Damas added, raising a brow, "I will expect regular reports on your progress, Captain."

"Don't worry, I- Captain?!" Jak sputtered.

There was just a hint of mischief in Damas’s eyes as he gestured to the armband now covering Jak's bicep. "I am giving you the same authority to recruit citizens that I gave Sig. Use it wisely."

Scurrying up out of the water, Daxter rejoined Jak and smacked his leg repeatedly. He knew exactly who he was recruiting.

And who they weren't recruiting.

Jak stood straighter, stiffer, and Daxter felt him trembling just barely under his paw.

A captain? Him? No one listened to him, he was a glorified servant! What was Damas thinking, giving someone like him authority?

Don't screw this up, Jak. Don't screw this up, whatever you do.

He took a shaky breath. "I- I don't um. I don't know how to- to lead, or if anyone would listen to me but-" DON'T SCREW THIS UP!

"I'll-"

The words caught in his throat, then escaped past his teeth.

"I'll do my best to make you proud."

Damas grinned fiercely at him.

"You already do."

[average-yaoi-enjoyer]

Episode 11 of Season 6 Flutter Brutter! There is a pony that looks like epona in the background pulling a cart of gems shaped like Rupees! The main currency in tloz also Cutie Mark resembles an incomplete heart container!

-tloz facts anon

wait that’s really cool :0

[apple-brm]

Day 22 - "Friend". I drew Brutter, the friendliest lurker in Haven City. ^^

[jeinseng]

TOP 10 MY LITTLE PONY EPISODES (ACCORDING TO ME)

1: S2E3: Lesson Zero

2: S7E12: Discordant Harmony

3: S7E22: Once upon a Zeppelin

4: S5E12: Amending Fences

5:S5E19:The One where Pinkie Pie knows

6: S7E23: Secrets and Pies

7: S7E20: A Health of Information

8: S2E20: It’s about Time

9: S8E10: Breakup Breakdown

10: S4E3: Castle Mane-ia

HONOURABLE MENTIONS (NOT IN ORDER, I COULDNT DECIDE)

S4E16: It Ain’t Easy being Breezies

S6E5: Gauntlet of Fire

S9E5: Point of No Return

S6E9: The Saddle Row Review

S6E11: Flutter Brutter

S3E7: Wonderbolt Academy

S8E23: Sounds of Silence

S2E24: MMMystery on the Friendship Express

S4E18: Maud Pie

S7E9: Honest Apple

Twilight’s not my favourite pony but hot damn if she doesn’t get some top tier episode.

Castle Mane-ia is so underrated, it’s so much fun and it doesn’t even have a message it was just hehe hehe, it’s was probably something like don’t trespass?

;p

[hollow-prey]

Another Jak II mission (that people have also been bitching about for 22 years) where I want to know "what the fuck was Nau.ghty D.og's damage when they created it": get the seal piece from the docks.

The whole thing already feels like a setup. You have to go to the very back of the water slums/docks area, to get a seal piece from Brutter's hut. The docks, of course, are rickety and uneven and branch off into random dead-ends and there's no easy way to get out of the very back corner of the area on foot. The second you grab the piece, the area starts swarming with KG transports dropping guards to get your ass, and you have to fight your way through in order to escape.

You are tucked into the very back corner of the area, there is one way out (so you can't just pick a direction and bolt; the water slums area kinda funnels its way back towards the city), and you must escape on foot. There are no zoomers to grab to fly out and zip past the transports, and if you drop into the water for even a millisecond, a sentry bot comes up and insta-kills you. So you can't just hide from the guards and casually swim your way to the escape point. Oh also, if you touch the water for a fraction of a second and manage to jump out and back onto the docks, the sentry bot will still fucking kill you.

The docks themselves are a fucking maze. You're trying to follow the flashing green dot on the map to get to your "completion" checkpoint, except everything in the water slums area looks exactly the fucking same, and you know how I said the docks branch off in random directions and dead-ends? Yeah, a goddamn nightmare to navigate when you're being ambushed on all sides and just trying to find your way out. Very easy to turn yourself in circles while trying to find the right path. That transport that spawned and those Krimzon Guards you killed a minute ago? Yeah so you're still within the trigger that makes that transport spawn, so even though you already beat those guys, you activated the trigger again and now that transport and all the guards have respawned. Plus whichever ones you've already activated. The guards drop ammo for the guns you use, but you get no health drops AT ALL for the entire mission, so if you get hit (and you will) you have no way of getting your health back.

You can't make a mad dash through the docks to try and avoid the guards all together, because then you'll activate ALL the transport triggers along the way and have the entire goddamn KG chasing you. Plus the ships themselves can shoot you if you get too close. Plus the guards start shooting at you from a distance and eventually hit you after a couple missed shots. You can't wait it out, you can't hide somewhere until they go away, you can't stay in one spot and let them come to you. Like, they've really covered all the loopholes to make sure your ass stays on the docks and you have to fight your way out.

And I know gaming chads and speedrunners are like "UMM, ACTUALLY, this mission really isn't THAT HARD, you're just doing it WRONG. It's actually REALLY EASY once you know what to do" or "you know you can just skip the mission entirely by jetboarding along the docks/hover-glitching into the air and out of the area, right? That makes it soooo much easier" yeah I'm sure the mission IS a cakewalk for people who have played the game a million times and know the controls inside and out and could play the game flawlessly in their sleep. The average person does not have this advantage. *I* do not have that advantage. I can barely hover as it is (and not consistently), and I have tried speeding my way through the docks on the jetboard to try and bypass the guards. Either I end up slipping off the edge and falling in the water and dying anyway, or I keep hitting civilians (which immediately kills your momentum and bumps you back) or running into guards (which kills your momentum, bumps you back, deals damage, AND stun-locks you briefly), and if I run into a guard I'm as good as dead at that point. Because usually they've got about 8 others with them, so they can immediately swarm you while stun-locked and kill you. Infuriating.

Again, what was ND's damage when making this mission? Like they really went out of their way to make it as hard as possible by covering all their bases and loopholes and making it nearly impossible to clear the mission in a way other than intended (yes, you can do speedrun strats, but I do not have that going for me). And obviously it IS possible to beat vanilla/as intended (I've done it twice), it just sucks and is super infuriating. I don't understand.