#quest 3 tips and tricks

[thegr8gambino]

Meta Quest 3 Full Review - Tips Tricks Setup Gameplay & Unboxing

[livelaughlovesubs]

how do you feel about knife play with Sunday from hsr? (Feel free to ignore love your writing btw <3)

Heyyy, I’m glad you do! Also knife okay huh~

There are two kinds of knife play, one where it’s only for show, one that’s more dangerous and bloody. I’ll put a line between them, since I’ll do both

Dom!reader x sub!sunday

Warning: a little blood, knife play!!

Sunday reminded me of luocha or ayato, but after doing the newest quest, he is pretty pathetic huh?

That man has spikes as piercings, on his wings, he is definitely kinky /j

I can picture him being into some violent stuff though, as well as knife play

It’s the danger that gets him, how he isn’t in control, rather than the pain that might come with it

(That one is a bonus!!)

Using the handle to brush it down his spine, letting his skin feel the cold metal of the dull side

How he’d shiver! Eyes never leaving yours, pupils shaking in a heretic mix of anticipation and fear

Yet a meek smile would be on his lips, and dick making a mess onto the mattress

Maybe threaten him a little too, and watch his heart jump out of his chest as you do

“You skin is so smooth and pretty, would it still be pretty if it’s red?”

A bubbling sensation spread within him, the excitement was unparalleled

If you wanted to see red, why don’t you just look at his cute blushing face?

Aftercare would be you assuring him you’d never hurt him, and how you adore him, but maybe, secretly, he does want you to hurt him a little

Sunday just loved the danger

At some point, he’d ask you if you wanted to go further, just this once maybe?

If you weren’t into it, then forget it, but if you did…

Doing the same tricks as before, preparing him a little instead of throwing him into the cold water

It was adorable how he was even more eager than normally, jumping at every little touch

The blade of the knife was so cold, his skin tingled wherever it touched him

“You remember what to do when it gets too much?” Having a safe word is always better than not

After making sure that he knew what to do, you’d gently brush the tip of the knife along his back

You didn’t use any strength or force at all, yet the skin was slightly cut already.. my, that’s one sharp knife

“Hiiss- ha-haaah….” He jolt, shoulders twitching and hands bawled into fists, it hurt, but it wasn’t too bad, cuz the pleasure outweighs it

This was real, you were really hurting him, causing marks and scratches..!

Poor little angel was trying his best not to move, putting all of his trust into you, how cute

At the end of it, his face was matching the crimson on his back, as well as on the tool in your hand. A beautiful shade of red, running down his back and soaking the sheets. Though, instead of being defiled, it looked more like a the process of a fine masterpiece. Gentle pants came from his mouth, his body shuddering as he came, all while he hid behind his wings to avoid your eyes.

[faeriichaii]

Greetings 🤗 could I requested how the fellowship would realise their feelings for reader and how would their behaviour change towards them? Thank you! <3

The Fellowship and how they would realize their feelings

A/N: I am finally back!! I am so happy to be able to write again and I apologize that you had to wait so long for your request :( omg I never got like a headcanon (??) request and like I am so excited!! Especially cause it's kinda a big group and like I never wrote anything for the hobbits or like for Aragorn or Boromir hihi <33 (Tbh it was like so hard cause I really noticed I don't really know much about their characters or well I don't really know much about them?? idk idk... so some could be a little bit off so I apologize!!) But I still hope you like this!!!

⇢ ˗ˏˋ Warnings: fluff (maybe some ooc behaviour) ࿐ྂ ⇢ ˗ˏˋ Words: 1.3k in total ࿐ྂ ⇢ ˗ˏˋ Request: Yes (thank you <33) ࿐ྂ

Aragorn:

I think he would notice his growing feelings for you rather quickly. He would probably notice this after watching you argue with passion about some kind of topic with another person. The way you stand behind your opinion and fight for the things you love and adore. The passion that lines every single word that passes your lips. The way your eyebrow raises at your opponent and their silly sentences, that absolutely make no sense to you. Honestly, I doubt that much changes from his behaviour because he already is a caring person. Maybe his hand would sometimes hold onto your hand to make sure you know that he stands behind you and your decisions. Maybe he also tends to polish your weapons for you and maybe he also prepares a few arrows for you if you decide to use a bow. And maybe, just maybe he shows you a few tips and tricks with the sword in order to make sure that nothing could harm you. Because he knows, that you can handle yourself in any kind of fight. But practice still helps to ensure your safety, especially in the case that the both of you get separated.

Legolas:

Like Aragorn, he would catch onto his growing fondness for you rather quickly. He probably would notice his feelings after catching you being so incredibly sweet and kind towards one of the hobbits. The way you immediately tried to help Frodo through his doubts. How you tried to cheer him up by telling him that he will make it. That all of you will make it and finish the quest at hand. You always try your hardest to brighten everyone’s day with your positivity and your cheerfulness. Legolas couldn’t do anything else than fall for you head over heels. The warmth that you always spread around captured him and his heart. He would probably (definitely) ask to braid your hair (in case you are totally unaware of the custom behind it). But he would probably also try being constantly close to you. Not in a clingy way. Well, more like a moth that was drawn to a flame. (Maybe a tiny bit in a clingy way). And oh as soon as the quest is over he will try to find any kind of artistic measure to capture your heart with.

Gimli:

Listen, he definitely takes a while to realize his feelings. But he would totally notice some kind of admiration after you beat him in battle. The way you just jump from one enemy to another and rip them apart. Your strength and the way you just push through them with ease. (He still will huff after you declare that you definitely killed more enemies than he did). He would also try his best to deny his feelings and try to act indifferently or like ‘he doesn’t care’ (Even though he definitely cares). He would definitely clean your weapons and sharpen them for you. After returning home he will forge an axe or sword for you. Maybe even a courting bead if the time has come for him to stop battling his feelings and just face them.

Boromir:

I think he would take a little while to notice his feelings towards you. Probably due to the fact that he mostly is being occupied by the power of the ring or maybe due to the pressure of the quest that lays heavily on his shoulder. He knows it is an important journey. So his heart did stutter after you reassured him with your kind words. The way you spoke with him and the way you just would listen to his worries. It felt like you really cared for him and his wellbeing and he really just needed someone to talk to. Someone who was willing to listen to him (especially because I feel that some people tend to misunderstand him). And you just happen to really want to listen to his worries and try to push him through it. Try to show him that you would be by his side while he follows the path of the journey. After he realized his feelings for you he would definitely try his best to take care of you the way you did for him. He would support your decisions and if you happen to have a bad day he would stand by your side and listen to your worries and just do the same things you did for him. Care for you and give you the support you need.

Sam:

Oh he would totally catch onto his feelings quickly. Probably after receiving your praise for how well he had prepared dinner that night. The way your eyes lit up at the first taste of the soup and how you hummed in approval at the flavour. He definitely would blush and smile dumbly while stirring the pot (definitely lost in the thought of your beautiful smile). He definitely would be more fidgety and bashful around you. He would probably also share some of his portions of food with you (In case you are hungry or you already finished your food for the trip). And maybe he would give you just a little bit more food if he was the one preparing the food (either for breakfast or dinner or the portions for travelling idk idk). (And maybe just maybe he would carefully prepare like a cute flower crown or smth for you.)

Frodo:

His feelings for you were definitely the last thing on his mind. He would definitely notice them however, after you carefully hold him close to you after another one of his nightmares he had. Gently stroking his hair while holding him towards your chest, mumbling to him that everything will be alright. He didn’t even notice the way he had clung onto you. But you didn’t mind that. All that you wanted to do was reassure him and try to give him the strength he needs to push through this. His heart filled with warmth at your kindness and at the support you lend him. Every time when he struggles, he just looks at you and he immediately feels better. He will definitely try to reassure your worries and try to be there for you the way you always seem to be there for him.

Merry:

I think he would be a little like Pippin when it comes to the realization of his feelings. Like, he would definitely not notice his feelings at first, but after you did protect him from a few Orcs, he couldn’t help but admire you. He wanted to get stronger (and maybe protect you too yk?) So he will definitely learn a few sword fighting skills from Boromir and Aragorn, but he will mostly try to practice with you. To understand the way you swing your sword and to understand the fighting tactics you use. (He also just wanted to spend more time with you) And maybe just maybe when the time has come, he will raise his sword against an Orc and protect you.

Pippin:

Oh he would definitely take his time realizing his feelings. But he does realize them, after he notices that you seem to be one of the only people who was not completely mad at him for his constant clumsiness. Yes, he made mistakes. But that is normal, isn’t it? Everyone makes mistakes and you try to explain that to him. The way you try to make him understand that even Gandalf or Aragorn took wrong turns in their lives made him feel a little bit better. You would explain to him that mistakes need to happen in order for him to grow as a person. Nobody is perfect, is what you told him with a beaming smile. But he couldn’t believe your words if you sat in front of him and just existed. He would definitely try and make you laugh as much as possible. Especially if the days or nights are rough and maybe everything is grey, he definitely still will try to brighten your day with either very silly harmless jokes or pranks.

[averageallogene]

Lyney ♡⊹˚ His lucky charm [NSFW]

✧˖°. Summary: Before his most recent shows, Lyney seems to have some nervousness regarding his abilities as a magician. Thankfully, his lovely girlfriend is always there to ease his mind beforehand, providing him with the luck her magician boyfriend needs.

fem. reader (3rd person) ; this is basically smut with little more than an intro to it, so beware. Also SPOILERS for ACT I of the first Fontaine Archon Quest. 

5k words.

notes. Hi yes hello I am back, I have played the two Archon Quests, and after working a little for my thesis I decided to write something by my own volition <3. I’m not sure if Lyney here might be portrayed accurately but nonetheless I really wanted to write a smaller piece for him before doing it for other characters! He’s adorable :( ♡ Enjoy ✧˖°

By clicking on the “expand”, you are hereby agreeing to view NSFW content. PLEASE if you are under 18, DO NOT INTERACT. 

PLEASE do not report, as this is my warning to those who do not wish to view NSFW. I, like most writers, work hard on each piece we choose to publish, and reporting it will decrease the number of readers it reaches... Thank you for understanding ✧˖°

Magicians have no need for something many folk cling onto - luck. After all, every trick they perform is something they study, polish, rearrange, rehearse. Everything is staged to the finest of details, leaving no room for unpredictable variables to enter the equation. Every performance is acted out accordingly, a mental checklist going on inside the performer's mind as each prop is placed and moved about, each line is repeated from the rehearsals, each movement in one’s body is carefully played out. Everything is a carefully crafted performance, and what need do they have for luck? None.

To Lyney, such is the truth. Well, at least this philosophy held itself rock solid, up until the incident that nearly landed him a guilty verdict. Despite his confidence in his abilities to wow the crowds, even before there would always be a small but ever present pitter patter to his heart, a quiet reminder of his own nervousness before the show would begin. He would usually handle himself most well, though through the eyes of those closest to them, the normal feeling of “performance jitters” wasn’t all that well hidden. Well, and if that were the case, more so after things went back to normal.

His breathing would be a little more unstable, his fingers would fidget with one of his cards as his eyes darted about his changing room. He would fiddle with his exquisite hat, rebraid his hair while trying to ease himself. Things had gone back to normal, their scheduled shows were once more popular and always fully booked. Yet still, there always was this sense of anxiety deep in his stomach, never truly going away as he quietly wondered if the show would go as planned. 

Well, thankfully he had someone to help ease his mind each time. And as if right on que as he brooded over the upcoming performance, a knock to his dressing room was heard, the door opening to reveal the loveliest of sights. At the door stood [F/N], his lovely girlfriend who would always visit him before he went on stage. 

“Hi Lyney! Hope I’m not intruding?” She asked sweetly, smiling his way which only helped to ease his worries.

“You never are, my love. Come in!” He breathes out, the eagerness to have her close not quite passing unnoticed to her. He extends his arms before fully taking her in his embrace, sighing deeply as he inhales the familiar perfume she would always wear. His favorite. 

“How are you feeling?” [F/N]’s voice grows softer, her arms resting around his lower back as she smiles his way. The silence that follows is enough of an answer, her magician simply distracting himself with playing with the tips of her hair. “...Nervous?”

“...Hah, why it seems nothing really blinks past you. I may have taught you… Too well…” He jests, the smile on his face betraying him before it drops slightly. It reveals some of his vulnerability for her, his violet eyes locking with her own before he speaks up again. “I suppose it’s just some performance jitters again, nothing new...”

“It’s okay Lyney. You’ll do great, I know so.” Her smile shone brighter than the very sun, beaming with warmth that was only cast to him. It comforted his very being, filling his conflicted heart with sugary sweetness that only soothed him in a way no one else could. And if that wasn’t enough, the next few sentences were the ones that would always, always seal the deal for him. “Everything will go well, and everyone will be wowed by your hard work. I’m proud of you.”

It was as though his heart was struck, pierced with cupid’s arrow as he couldn’t keep up the calm and confident act. Lyney’s body visibly relaxed, a content snicker escaping his lips as his arms brought her closer. His lips were quicker than his words, filling her face with brief yet lovely kisses, watching with glee as she giggled as a response. Amidst each kiss he whispered words of gratitude for her support, his hands roaming throughout her lower back as he yearned to feel her closer and closer. 

“Lyney… You didn’t even let me finish!” She laughed, her words being cut off with a deeper kiss as his lips found her own. She could feel his smile against her lips, the magician quite literally stealing her breath away before finally pulling away. 

“Oh, I’m sorry dear. I just can’t contain myself, you’re just too adorable for me to!” He sighed, the flamboyant hum in which he spoke glittering the otherwise full truth she very well knew. “To think a professional magician would be wowed in such a way, you’ll be the death of me…”

“You almost make it sound like I’m such a bad thing.” [F/N] rolled her eyes playfully, her fingers carefully adjusting his hair before inspecting to see if his braid was well done. 

It was in small moments like so that Lyney would cease to speak, allowing his beloved to do as she pleased. His eyes would focus solely on her, watching how her expression would shift, her eyes roaming about to ensure he looked his absolute best. He could feel his heart beating hard against his ribcage, no longer solely because of the nervousness he would feel before each one of his shows. The mere sight of his girlfriend was enough to blow away the growing blaze of anxiety, leaving it only in embers that with time would cease. Her mere care, her mere nature, her beauty inside out… 

It was enough to leave Lyney riddled into little more than a lovesick puppy, the loopy smile upon his pretty face being reserved only for her. 

“Lyney?” [F/N] called for him once more, watching as he finally seemed to come back to. His hands were roaming around her hips, carefully circling around her figure as he finally let out a soft hum for her to continue. “You’re a little too quiet… Everything okay?”

“I’m so lucky to have you, [F/N]...”

It was her turn to be left speechless, her face morphing to surprise as their gazes locked. He watched as the loveliest shade of red adorned her cheeks, the flusteredness he’d often cause on her never failing to amuse him. Still, despite so, he hoped she knew just how sincere he was with his words. 

“Oh Archons… What’s gotten into you?” Her voice whined a little lower, her eyes turning away to avoid him for a mere instance in which her flusteredness was still far too raw. She could feel how his lips chased after her skin, peppering her with light and soft kisses by the corner of her mouth. 

“Nothing.” He responded, his usual flair dropping to soft whispers as he carefully turned her around, helping her have a seat on his vanity. Between fleeting kisses, Lyney took the opportunity to bring himself between her legs, his hands never letting her stray far from himself. “I just wish to remind you more often, because it’s the truth.”

“Well I think it’s the other way around, you know… I’m the one that’s lucky here.” [F/N] smiled softly, her hands finding rest on his shoulders before gently massaging his tense muscles. Her boyfriend leaned back, his eyes gleaming with a twinkle that seemed familiar, one of challenge and mischievousness that would often leave her questioning before finally realizing what he’d plotted. 

“My my, is that so?” He hummed, head tilting to the side while his grip on her tightened ever so slightly. “If that’s the case, how come each time you visit me beforehand, every show I perform runs far better than what I expect?”

“Oh, you’re really running with that?” She giggled, music to his ears. “Only because I kissed you that one time, telling you it would bring you good luck?”

“And did that show not go beyond amazing? In fact, I do believe that was the peak in my career thus far.” He reasoned with a nod to his head, kissing her deeply before resting his forehead against her own. “Therefore, I’m the lucky one here, and you my dear [F/N], are my lucky charm.”

“Oh Lyney…” She sighed softly, stroking her hand through his blond locks slowly. “I didn’t know that tonight my magician was planning to turn me into putty in his hands.”

It was his turn to laugh, quietly, yet full of warmth and endearment. “It’s what you get for stealing this magician’s heart long ago.”

“Ah! I’m gone. Goodbye Fontaine, I am melting from my boyfriend’s words!” [F/N] leaned back dramatically, Lyney catching her before she would fall too far and hit her head against the large mirror of his vanity. The pair laughed in unison, fingers interlacing as he brought her close to himself once more.

“You’ve definitely gotten that dramatic flair from me.” He pointed out, his free hand now resting firmly on her thigh. He watched with hearts in his eyes as she giggled at his comment, shrugging her shoulders before bringing him closer with her legs. 

“I love you.” [F/N] whispered, leaning forward before it being her turn to steal a few kisses for herself. 

It never stopped after that though, one going after the other, kisses lingering longer before them turning into a longer makeout session. The way her lips were always so soft, so warm, the faint taste of her favorite chapstick melting against his own, it never failed to leave Lyney yearning for more, his whole being focusing solely on his lover whilst everything else blurred around them. His tongue carefully peeked through his own lips before swiping across her own, the grin being felt against her mouth as he felt her jolt slightly from the antic. Giving him permission to continue, Lyney carefully led the dance, his tongue meeting her own as they both ignored the need of air, muffled breaths fanning one another as their hands held the other closer, tighter. Before he knew it he was leaning himself forward and her backwards, a little more, his body pressing against her own before they were practically bent with her head touching the mirror behind them. Her legs were pressed against his sides, never letting him stray too far, her hands stroking through his back and hair, sending shivers down his spine as sparks ignited deep within him. 

“L…Lyn-ney…” She murmured between breaths, him finally tilting his head so the two of them could breathe. The way her tongue stuck out of her mouth as she breathed heavily seemed to only entice something further deep within him. “W…What about your show?”

“Worried about that?” He inquired, the clear endearment for her concern being evident in his tone of voice. He leaned closer, voice whispering as he slowly licked the strand of saliva that had dropped down her chin. “We still have time, if that’s what’s troubling you dear.”

“H-Hah…” The words seemed to get stuck on her throat as his hands maneuvered around her frame, carefully parting her legs a little more to give him better access. His fingers quickly grabbed a hold of the hem of her dress, lifting it up slightly before resting his palm on her warm thigh, his lips still remaining close to her own as his very being craved more of her.

“Do you want me to stop?” Lyney softly asked, leaning back as his own breath grew uneven. His face too displayed a lovely shade of pink, his lips redder after the relentless kisses she’d given him. His eyes were glittering with excitement, half-lidded with pure love as he waited for her response. His thumb was caressing her skin softly, the circular motion he did easing her more than arousing her as he searched for her honest answer.

It was embarrassing to admit, but [F/N] absolutely did not want to stop. Her body felt far too hot for her to go back on it now. “I… N-No.”

“Are you certain, dear?” He leaned closer, eyes squinting softly as his breath fanned her face. His hands slithered a little more upwards, giving her goosebumps as they traveled up to her hips. “I don’t want to put you in any situation that might be even a little uncomfortable… I will understand if this is-”

“N-No Lyney, I’m okay.” She nodded her head to reassure him, her hands gripping his clothing tighter as if not wanting him to move an inch away. “I admit, it’s… A bit nerve wracking, given the place but… I still don’t want you to stop.”

He bit his lip, smiling with both excitement and apology. “I’m sorry love, I always seem to get carried away when it’s about you.”

It definitely was the truth, especially given with the way his hands moved around her body. There was always a certain kind of care in each movement, his grip upon her skin tight and loving, as if reassuring himself she was there, with him. Lyney was both selfish and giving when it came to his beloved [F/N], always wanting more for himself, yet always wanting to reassure her she felt properly adored.  

“We’ll have to be-” He kissed her again, followed by another, her lips trying to keep up with his own as he gave her fleeting kisses. “Very quiet- Okay?”

“M-Mhm.” She nodded her head, her face blushing a deeper shade of red as his fingers finally lifted her skirt up. Her own hands helped him hold it up for him, watching him as it finally dawned on her, his figure getting nice and cozy in between her legs before he kneeled down. “L-Lyney?”

The grin he gave her was enough to make her lower region throb. 

“I’m craving a taste of you, baby. Could you please indulge me?” He whispered, his hands parting her legs before resting securely against them. His head turned to her left thigh, leaving a trail of small bites and kisses as he came closer, delighting himself in every reaction she offered him, every gasp and jump, every attempt at caging his head in between her legs. 

“J-Just- Don’t tease me, please.” [F/N] outright pleaded, earning herself an honest nod of his head as his eyes sparkled in anticipation. 

Carefully, her eyes jumped back at the closed door before going back to him, her breath trembling as she breathed out from her parted lips. Whilst one hand held her dress up, the other slowly lowered, helping him to remove the lacey underwear that hid his most wanted prize away. And with a lift of her hips, they were off easily, hanging by her ankle as Lyney’s gaze focused solely on the erotic view before him. His [F/N], holding her dress up for him, sat on his vanity as her chest rose and lowered irregularly, her pussy in full display for him alone. It was enough to get him aroused, the fabric of his own clothes becoming far too constricting as he felt his boner raging to be freed.

His experienced hands crept closer, thumbs slowly hovering her juicy lips before deliciously parting them. He could feel his mouth go dry in an instance, the view of her leaking pussy outright hypnotizing him as she let out a quiet moan. He couldn’t help himself but play around with her pussy lips a little, after all, how could he not? The way her pretty hole would throb in want, leaking out her nectar only for him, dripping down her skin and onto his table, the squelching sounds being nearly enough for him to lose all sense of control. He couldn’t help himself but stare, watch in lust before her soft moans and whines became a little too loud, all the while still arousing him even further.

“Lyney!” She pleaded in a whisper, the pout she offered him sending his heart racing. 

“Yes, you’re right baby… I’m sorry.” He hummed, leaning forth before finally giving her heat a long, slow and deep lick. The vibrations from his hum resonated with her pussy, sending pleasant shockwaves throughout her body as she shut her lips right before moaning. “We’re gonna have to be quieter, love. Can you do that for me?” 

It was difficult to hear him when he was practically squishing his face against her pussy, yet from the mere fact he’d stopped, [F/N] had been able to deduct what he wanted from her quickly enough. She nodded her head eagerly, blushing even deeper as she bit her lip.

“Mhm… ‘M sorry…”

It truly divided Lyney’s heart in two, for he absolutely adored hearing every sound [F/N] would bless him with. Her voice already was pure melody for his ears, all the more when she would be moaning due to his administrations. However, the pure excitement of their ordeal, having a chance of being caught, it was enough to keep him going, to entice him to lick more, to lap around her clit again, to suckle on it whilst plunging one of his fingers deep inside. The way his beloved would instead jolt more often, writhe above him, attempt to suffocate him as her legs tried to close around him, all to not be as vocal, it all had him entranced. 

"You taste so good…" He groaned against her folds, his tongue practically spelling out his love for her as he ate her out with such passion. The groans and sighs that would escape him would only please her further, sending [F/N] closer and closer to her own release as she practically bit down her tongue to quiet out her own moans. Lyney simply couldn't have enough of her taste, lapping every last drop to his greedy tongue as he yearned for more, fingering and licking it out of her as he could feel her gummy walls throb against his fingers. "You're so wet, too… So dirty, my angel."

"L-Lyney…" She mumbled, her erotic whine finally pulling him out of his trance to look her way. By that point she'd already held her fingers around his hair, him not even noticing up until that very moment. 

His light eyes glanced up, for a moment the magician forgetting how to even breathe. It felt as though the wind was knocked out of him, staring up to see his beloved gazing down at him with such a needy look. Her cheeks were flushed, the thin layer of sweat visible on her forehead as her grip on his hair tightened softly. Her teeth were by that point gritting tightly against the hem of her dress, it being her faint attempt at keeping her noises down to a minimum as he ate her out to his heart's content. The view was dirty, marvelous. The dress was lifted to such a way he could now see part of her tummy as well, her body lined with sweat as it reacted to every little touch he gave her. 

It drove Lyney over the edge. He couldn't wait any longer. The breath finally left his mouth in a shaky notion, her thighs shaking like jello as it hit her bare pussy before he got up. 

"Gods, you're so gorgeous [F/N]." He outright moaned, his fingers carefully taking the fabric out of her mouth. He watched how she heaved deeply, her lips tempting him to latch onto them. And who was he to refuse, but a poor magician whose heart had been stolen by the woman before him?

He leaned in quickly, capturing her lips against his own as they both moaned against one another. Their hands couldn't let go of the other, fiddling with their clothes as they attempted to find the best position to finally get what they both wanted. [F/N] leaned herself to the edge of the table, her legs still apart for him as her fingers now fiddled with his belt, unbuckling it before finally freeing him of his leather shorts. Lyney could feel his cock throbbing already, eager to finally plunge inside of her spongy walls and ease the yearning he so deeply felt. He groaned against her lips as she finally freed his hard length, pumping it for him slowly as it was now her turn to suck on his tongue with her own lips. 

"I need you, Lyney…" [F/N] moaned, helping him to part her legs further as he kept his face closer to her own. 

"I know, baby, I know. It's only fair I indulge you after you've treated me so well, right?" He hummed with a smile, all the while his face indicating just how excited he was. 

He grunted quietly as he carefully rubbed his cock against her leaking folds, the two of them attempting to quiet their moans down to the best of their abilities. [F/N] could feel how the particularly protruding vein on the side of his cock rubbed against her pussy, sending tears to the corners of her eyes as she felt herself closer and closer to her release after being so well tended to by her lover. Lyney in turn kissed her tears away, his lips never leaving her face as he practically gulped down her moans to himself. After coating both her pussy with his pre and his cock with her bountiful juices he stopped, lining himself with her entrance before, with a glance shared, he carefully thrusted himself inside.

His hands gripped onto her knees, his lips shutting themselves tightly so as to not moan out as he often would. The way his eyebrows furrowed as he attempted to not voice much of the obvious pleasure he was feeling was a delightful view, [F/N]'s face blushing madly as she brought him closer. Her arms wrapped around him tightly as she hid her face against his neck, her lips pressing against his skin as she quietly whimpered in pleasure. 

"Ah, Lyney!" She moaned quietly, her nails digging into his shoulders as his own sighs of pleasure hit her ear. 

"You're so tight, baby-" He in turn hissed gently, feeling how her spongy walls swallowed him whole as he finally bottomed out. His own hands were gripping harshly against her skin, the two of them sharing moans between one another even as his tip hit her deepest part. "Fuck, you're so wet. It feels so good."

"Please Lyney, give me more…" [F/N] pleaded to him, her eyes wide and glistening with pleasure as she leaned back for an instance. At that point she was once more leaning back against the rest of his vanity, granting him access to pound as deeply as his heart desired. The mere sight of her in such a way was enough for him to derail. 

"Archons, anything for you [F/N]." The magician grunted, his hands leaving her knees as his lips latched onto her own. 

By her own she was able to open her legs as widely as possible, the hem of her dress covering everything from the mid-thigh up as her hands were far too busy around his body. They wrapped around him tightly, effectively caging Lyney in between her much to his contentment. His own hands were busy holding her as close as possible, resting on her hips securely as to not knock her or anything else out, the items on his furniture tumbling slightly with every thrust he pounded into her needy core. With each time he bottomed out Lyney reached deeper, the tip of his cock effectively kissing her cervix as he molded her walls to his shape. He drank her every moan as if he worshiped all sounds she offered, his lips sucking on her tongue in such a lewd manner that he couldn't help but grin over how she squeezed him harder over it. 

"Hyaahhhh, Hinhey…" [F/N] attempted to moan his name out, her puffy lips parted as his own toyed with her tongue to his pleasure. 

He could feel the way she was milking him dry, her juices thoroughly coating his cock generously as her pussy practically praised and outright worshiped him. Her walls throbbed deliriously, sending him closer and closer to his edge as he fucked her through what he very well knew was her approaching orgasm. 

"Is my baby- Close?" He leaned back to speak, humming quietly while licking his own lips eagerly. He watched as she nodded her head quickly, her fingers combing through his hair slowly, deeply. Just how he loved it. "Here, cum for me will you? You can take me like this as you do, right baby?"

[F/N] bit her lip, nodding her head again. She watched how one of his hands left her hips, holding it up for her to take it. His girlfriend took it without thinking twice, their fingers lacing together before Lyney held them against his mirror, his pace quickening up. Once more he glued his lips to hers, never quite truly satisfied with her kisses just as much as he never quite got enough of her pussy. Her breath against him grew ragged, her moans growing ever louder, all while trying to suppress them in what he could only find the cutest whines. He bent her more, held her tighter, he pounded deeper into her. He could feel her moans vibrate against his mouth before she finally gasped, a high pitched sob being all she could muster before her inner walls violently spasmed around him, creaming his cock bountifully as she rode her high. Even still, just as he'd asked her to, Lyney continued to thrust, still as deeply albeit slower, letting her savor her release just as he quickly followed with his closing one. 

"Gyah, L-Lyney-!" [F/N] moaned against him, he in turn shushed her in understanding. "Mmm, t-to much!"

"I'm so close baby, so close…" He whispered, his thrusts a little less rhythmic as he tried to focus. His eyes opened to gaze deeply into hers, the sight of her red cheeks and unfocused eyes only edging him further deep into the abyss of pleasure. "Can you please take it just a little more? Just like this…”

“Mhm…” She eagerly nodded her head, the tears of overstimulation streaming down her face sending a long shiver down his spine. His free hand came to rest upon the side of her face, thumb clearing the tears away as his grip on her other hand tightened. “I-Inside, please.”

He bit his tongue gently as he smiled, nodding his head before pulling her head closer for a deep kiss. “Anything for my lovely lady.”

Against him she moaned, him in unison as he felt the knot deep inside himself finally snap. Lyney felt his eyes shut, a deep low grunt leaving his throat before he finally felt his release wash over him. He thrusted deeper still, his pace finally slowing down as thick ropes of seed flooded over [F/N]’s inner walls. Her womb was eager to receive the abundant load, being painted white from inside out as it overflowed whilst he still remained sheathed inside. Whilst their fingers were still locked she brought him closer, holding him tightly as her body shivered with the overstimulation. Lyney could feel his breath finally begin to slow down, a few final slow thrusts of his hips following as he moaned quietly, ensuring he was milked for all he was worth. He held his [F/N] close, as close as possible, their bodies finally relaxing as they rested atop his vanity, her body welcoming him closer as his seed leaked down and dropped onto the ground.

Even as she still regulated her breath, lips puffy and red and mascara slightly smudged from the sweat and tears, Lyney lunged forward, capturing her lips for the millionth time. Never satiated, like the greedy man he was at heart, he smiled against her as he enveloped her closer, relishing a moment longer. The silence that followed felt comforting, the two of them sighing in bliss as he felt her arms around his figure. 

“Sorry… It must’ve been uncomfortable to sit like that, on such a surface.” He stated, eyebrows furrowing softly as his thumbs cleared her smudged makeup as much as he could. Lyney dared not move, still not even wanting to pull out. It wasn’t as though he could anyway, for the way [F/N]’s legs captured him definitely sent a message for him to stay a little longer.

“Mhm, it’s fine… I enjoyed it all the same.” She smiled sheepishly, relishing in his soft touches as she in turn rearranged his side swept bangs. 

“I’m glad.” He sighed in relief, the pair too engrossed into one another to even notice how some bottles had tumbled over amidst their frolicking. “Still, next time I’ll be sure to make up for it, for all of it.”

“Lyney, truly it’s fine!” [F/N] laughed softly, finally opening her legs for him to move more freely. She watched in amusement how her boyfriend coughed softly upon noticing how heavy she leaked, rummaging through the room to find a towel he could dampen to help clean up. “Sorry… We might’ve taken too long, no?”

“Hey, if anything it’s my fault… It’s what I get for being so greedy.” He reassured her with a sincere smile, carefully helping her to clean up before dressing her back up. [F/N] watched as he fanned his face with his hand, the blush on his face still evident as she helped him dress up as well, a snicker escaping her pretty lips at the sight. 

“Well… I still… Very much enjoyed it.” [F/N] reiterated, her voice low as she helped him button up his undershirt. His smile was difficult to ignore, especially so as she helped him retrace the tear he would always paint on his right cheek. 

“...I did, too.” He pulled her closer by the waist, smiling in a devilish, albeit inoffensive manner. He pulled her closer, stealing a deeper kiss as he relished on the taste of her lips, hoping to steal some of her chapstick for himself so he could taste it all throughout his performance. As he pulled away, he whispered quietly to her, fingers playing with the end of her hair. “...Maybe next time we do this, I can have you turned to my mirror. The faces you make are simply delicious, my dear.”

The way [F/N]’s face turned to utter surprise was enough of a reaction, the magician following with a sneaky laugh as he pinched her behind as the cherry on top. In turn, his girlfriend gently slapped his arm, huffing as her cheeks turned bright red, his laughter becoming louder as a result.

“Lyney!” She groaned, nearly turning around from him in embarrassment.

“Alright, alright, I’m sorry baby! Mostly.” He chuckled, embracing her before kissing her cheek with the usual level of endearment that was solely reserved for her. 

“Hmph…” She pouted, though both knew it wasn’t something to last long. “...Good luck on your show, honey.”

“After this? It’ll be the best show yet…” He in turn whispered, his forehead resting against her head as they quieted down. “I’ll see you after?”

“I’ll be waiting here.” [F/N] smiled softly, them embracing one another before finally deciding to part.

Well, Lyney had always been energetic in his performances, yet there seemed to be an improvement on that particular one. True to his word, that performance definitely did do amazingly well, becoming the talk of the following weeks.

All thanks to his lucky charm.

[notebooks-and-laptops]

Why the Dragon King Sucks: an Exploration of What Makes a Good Villain and a satisfying Story Conclusion

Dragon Age as a franchise has some of my favourite villains, and also villains I think kinda suck. DATV is not immune to this; Ghilan'nain joins the ranks as one of my favourite villains of the series but there is one villain I can't stand. I get mad just thinking about him. And so I thought I'd share my thoughts.

So firstly, before we can unpack why a villian sucks, we must first unpack what makes a good villain. Contrary to popular belief I don't think a villain needs to be a fully dimensional person to be compelling, but I do think good villains generally fall into one of three categories:

Interesting because of the relationship to the hero/protagonist

Interesting because we understand their point, or because of moral complexity/ambiguity

Interesting because they're scary as all hell

Dragon age has dabbled in all of these types of villians.

The example of a villian who is interesting because of their relationship to the hero/protagonist is Danarius. Danarius is flat out evil with 0 redeeming qualities. His main motivation is to a) experiment on his slaves and b) recapture his favourite escaped slave. We know he regularly tortures and kills people. We don't even meet him until act 3! BUT his relationship to Fenris makes him work. He is everywhere in Fenris's narrative; from the house Fenris lives in, to the actions Fenris takes (he won't even be with you until hes dealt with Danarius), to the feeling that Fenris is being constantly hunted. Danarius is terrifying to Fenris, the things Fenris did FOR Danarius is terrifying to Fenris (killing the Fog Warriors), all of this makes both us AND Fenris angry. When he shows up he's menancing because he's been built up the WHOLE game. He works because of his relationship to Fenris.

Let's move onto a villian who is interesting due to their moral complexity. There were a few to pick from here, but I think ultimately I'm going to go with the Arishock (but shout outs in particular to Calpurnia, Zathrian, Illario and Isseya). The Arishock undoubtedly does some pretty evil stuff, and yet we UNDERSTAND him. He does not want to be in Kirkwall, yet he cannot leave until he gets what he needs. He wants to be peaceful, but is being pushed by the constant way that his people are being agitated; stolen from, blamed, tricked and manipulated by chantry zealots. He doesn't understand why kirkwall is allowed to function as it does when it leads to such misery/pain for everyone. He's very reasonable with a Hawke who is reasonable back and respects them. The thing that tips him over the edge is the fact that he's unwilling to hand over elves that the guards refused to bring justice for, and most people agree that the guards were in the wrong there. Nobody thinks the Arishock should have tried to take over Kirkwall, killing the Viscount and trying to take Isabela. But we UNDERSTAND why he might be doing what he's doing and THAT makes him compelling.

Final category; when a villain is scary. I think writers sometimes confuse this for the villain having a lot of power (*cough* Elganarn *cough*) but that's not what scary is. Scary is usually invoked by feeling that the hero/protagonist is under genuine threat if they were caught or feeling that this person will do fucked up things and has no line; even about people they care about. Absolute main dragon age villian to sit here is Branka who went so mad in her pursuit of the anvil she was willing to let her house be turned into Brood Mothers so they could pump out darkspawn who could test the traps. Ghilan'nain is also in this category.

To make an EXCELLENT villain you probably want to take a few strands from each collum; Loghain stands out here as someone who has a connection to our of our heros (Alistair's revenge quest) but also is morally understandable/interesting.

So now I've laid all that out...tell me. Where does the dragon king fit?

The dragon king doesn't really have a connection to Taash. They want Taashs blood sure but they only make two plays for Taash the whole game and Taash never seems scared of them. We don't find out why or what they want to do to Taash. Taash just. Doesn't know this guy. Like until the very end when he kills their mum, they don't have a reason to hate him.

The dragon king is not morally complex either. He is just. An evil guy working for an evil god who wants power. He's not got a particular point; he's not even like the red templars who at least had the motivation that the chantry had abandoned them and led them to be addicts for no reason. Theres no talk of that being the case with the antam. There is just. Nothing. He's some evil guy.

And finally, he's not scary. He's in fact so un-scary that our protagonists never ever get to fight him because he'd make a shit boss. I think this is a WILD choice. what I think happened was the Devs realised that as the other Taash quests had involved fighting dragons that should be their boss fight but like. What? I literally was so confused when this happened; I wondered if the dragon king could turn into a dragon for a moment or was riding the dragon but it's not that. We kill a dragon and don't even throw so much as a single spell or punch at the dragon king.

AND to make matters worse, we don't meet him until the very end and Taash doesn't really talk about him until then either. Varric narrator style mentions him and that's it. If you're not going to introduce your villian until late in the game you NEED to have build up like what we get for Denarias or Branka or Meredith. That's the whole issue with Corphyeus that everyone bangs on about; he's just not in the narrative enough to carry the feeling that he's an undefeatable big bad.

The dragon king is so boring. There's just. Nothing there. There's no relationship, there's no complexity. Just an evil guy.

And that makes me so annoyed considering that I love Taash and also that the voice acting when Taash's mum dies is so stunning. Taash deserved better than most of the plotlines they got, they deserved a better villian and they deserved choices beyond those that demonised multiculturalism. They don't even need a villain if you do their story right; many dragon age characters have no central villain and are still incredibly interesting: Sera, Blackwall, Vivienne, Cole, Wynne, Bull, Bethany, Carver, Sten to name just a few.

Tblr; the dragon king SUCKS

[bokettochild]

Hello!! I apologise if there are too many questions, but these questions have been coalescing since July of 2024 so they’ve been piling up lolol (I only just got a device that can run Tumblr)

Okay so

What if your version of Legend (That is totally canon to me now) met Bozai? (I’m sure you know, but if you don’t it’s the weird guy from BoTW/ToTK who lurks outside of Gerudo town and has a crush on Link when he wears the Gerudo vai set.) IDK my brain just came up with that when I was playing BoTW and was doing the Forgotten Sword quest lolll.

Did you teach yourself to draw? Your art is SO BEAUTIFUL and I was just wondering how you learned to draw so well! I would love to be able to draw as well as you one day <3

Your post about the art you are making for A Very Violet Valentine caught my attention. If you haven’t posted it already, could you please let me know that you have posted it somehow? I am eagerly awaiting it :))

This isn’t really a question, but OMG the way you write the LU boys is just…*chef’s kiss*. You write them so well, their personalities and appearance headcanons (For example, Legend’s sorta feminine appearance because he’s Fable’s twin and eye colour, etc. I used Legend as an example because he’s my favourite ahaha) just fit so well. Thank you for blessing us with your writings, it is very much appreciated ❤️💜💚💙

Have a great day, and I apologise for bombarding you with my questions and random statements!

Thank you so much for wasting your time to read this, it is greatly appreciated <3 <3

Hi there, I'm glad to see you here on our lovely Tumblr! I hope you enjoy your stay <3

Thanks, in advance, for the lovely asks! I love getting them and they're always fun to answer

I feel like, out of all of them, Legend would have the most extreme reaction to Bozai. Without context, he'd be weirded out, but honestly, the lad doesn't have room to judge Wild about the lengths he'll go to acquire some new items, and were Legend in his shoes (LOL) he'd likely do the same if not more! If anything, I think Legend might play into it to get all he can outta the guy, were he the one having to. Ravio taught him to be ruthless in a barter, and I don't think any of the boys are above abusing their pretty privilege.

I did! I used some books and collaborated with my siblings a lot growing up, all of us teaching each other new tricks and whatnot, but I am generally self taught! If you'd like a tip, then I'd recommend focusing on the eyes above all; anatomy is tricky and will come in time, but the soul of a character is held in their eyes, so capture that the rest will follow.

I was actually trying to finish that one during services yesterday!(I draw in church because I can't focus if I sit still) I'm blaming Wars for it taking so long; his hands and feet are being a pain in the ass and I forgot what his boots look like T-T Once I get his feet done, I'll try and post it okay? Might take me a week, but I'll try and have that up soon!

I am entirely leaning on impulse when I write the boys most days, I swear! I might also have a ton of brainrot from the manga I've read (Legend's and Twilight's) so that does tend to bleed over. I might also tend to lean into my favoritism for certain boys too LOL

Do not apologize for the many questions! As I said before, it's a delight to get to talk to others about stuff I love, and my work! So thank you, actually!

I hope you have a great day/night!

[phoenixcatch7]

Tips and tricks to survive Eden even less

Seeing a lot of people struggling with the fourth quest of Revival, aka the 'die and come back for one (1) heart pretty please' quest, and I thought some helpful hints and tricks I've found over the years might be helpful! (Feat: spoilers, obviously)

Step 1: Overcome your fear of death and accept your fate.

I'm serious! People are very cautious in Eden, and often to their detriment! Panic and rush will only make you clumsy and make the whole thing far more stressful than it needs to be! And take longer too!

Step 2: Carry a source of light, or bring a friend! Assembly guide sells a torch, I believe, but in an emergency the rememberance guide sells a teapot on a brazier that does the same... At a Very slow rate. If you bring a friend, you can carry friendship candles that work really well! Unfortunately they're also sort of fragile, so it's best when someone who is being carried holds it.

This will go a long way both to being useful and easing any stress! Just... Make sure not to place it anywhere in the way of krill or rocks.

Step 3: Don't rush after lost wings! If you're already losing light, you're not in a situation to be chasing the metaphorical ball into the busy road! Your first priority is yourself, get to safety and recharge. Lights that land nearby or in safe places sure, but don't jump into the path of rocks just to try and get one back!

I know it's counter instinctive, but you're going to be losing those lights anyway in a few minutes. Even if you have low numbers to begin with, you want to focus on keeping the ones you do have!

Step 4: Jumping vs skipping, also sliding. They're your best friends.

To jump, you press the jump button. Easy. To skip, you want to take your finger off the move circle so it fades, and then flick the screen in the direction you want to go, so your sky kid skips in that direction! The best part is, it has tracking abilities, which is invaluable in helping you land precise jumps (such as that freaking candle bridge in valley). Cool, but why is this important?

Skipping isn't affected by the winds like jumping. Well - it is a little, but it won't send you backwards the way a bad jump will. Not to mention the homing ability will make things easier! It's a bit weaker than a jump, but mix it in to make the journey easier!

Similarly, sliding can be achieved on almost any surface flat enough to walk on. It's not affected as much by the winds either, so try to slide where possible for some speed! Especially if you can move it into a skip, to get a good boost! (This is because you can slide without actively moving your sky kid.)

Step 5: Did you know? Emotes affect not only your hitbox, but also your knock back? If you're unfortunate enough to get caught by a short ledge, try using an emote to duck behind it! When you're in a standing emote (ie, one you have to stop manually and can't move until it's finished. Think the point emote vs the wave emote) you also become a lot harder to knock over! (Warning: this does not work on krill! They are bigger and beefier than you in every way!)

I recommend an emote that's fast to get in and out of, like the first stage faint emote! It's saved my hide many a time.

Also, most people run on Sunday, so if you're looking for a kindly guide, that's your best time!

Now. The route.

At the very start of Eden, there's a thin stone bridge with rushing rocks blowing left to right.

That bridge is optional.

For more experienced players with enough wedges, you can fly right across to the door with a little skill. (There's lots of video tutorials on youtube if you're curious!)

For people with less wedges or skills, hop right on down into the gap. Follow the bridge to where it meets the other side, and there's a slope you can climb back up to skip the rocks entirely!

The second area loads all at the same time. To be precise, in roughly the time it takes to open the door and trigger the cutscene with the krill, you'll usually hear the sound signalling a wave of falling rocks after the second horn note. You can still move in this cutscene! Also that krill can't see you, thank goodness, so don't worry about it.

For taller players (I'm serious lol) there's a big chip in the wall on the far left of the room. It's about in the middle, it's part of a seam, but if you can't find it get your candle out. Walk into the crack. Jump forward a couple times. Escape to oob. Make sure you got the door cutscene, though, because it will get you if you don't!

Climb the clouds as high as you can, following the path. You want to be ridiculously high up to avoid the invisible wall and the winds. You will get softlocked. Not 'I think I'm high enough', not 'I gotta be high enough now', you want 'I'm going to faceplant the sun' high. 'This feels like I shouldn't be here' kind of high. Right by the giant red pillar at the end! Then dive down. Straight down. Straight towards the entrance to the hall of lights. Avoid flying above the krill!! You should land without bother, but run to safety!

^^^ it looks cool, but don't land here! Land in the actual area down there, by the krill!

For shorter players or less experienced ones, run out and as far left as you can to make it to a safe spot to ride out the first wave of rocks! When the camera returns to you, I recommend keeping left and then running right to the tunnel: keeps you in the path of the rocks as little as possible. RUN.

You have a few seconds between the signal noise (which sounds like a match striking, or a carbonated bottle decompressing) and the surge of rocks (which sounds like strong winds and crunching). There's always particles flying, they're just decorative! It's safe to run when the rocks have stopped!

If you're close to safety, don't stop running!! Don't divert to somewhere that looks safer, get there as fast as you can. Because of the angle of the rocks, at the tunnel/pipe entrance, there's actually a little bit of area in front of it they don't hit. You're closer to safety than you think.

The next phase: pipes. Now, this area is either very easy or very hard, depending on if you get seen by a krill. There's two.

These guys work on a timer. They loop. You can hang around in the pipe between phases and watch them to get an eye on what they're doing, but they move pretty slowly lol. This is the phase you want to rush LEAST. If a krill is coming, hide under the girder. It has a zigzag pattern to help spot, and it's on the switchback leading up to the giant pipe. Don't try and rush it, there's very few places to hide quickly here.

However, the winds are very weak here! You can fly and run, if you're careful! Should a krill spot you on that ledge around the pipe, you can simply fly around it to the other side! Be aware, though, that you might fall into the sludge water below, so check you don't fall in! It's an annoying climb back up lol, but krill don't check down there unless they've been disrupted, so you're safe if you fall.

Do not jump over the girder bridge! Just run! I know it's faster but the girder is thin and slippy! If you get spotted there, just keep running, there's a rock you can hide behind on the other side.

Inside the pipe, you can take a break. There's a brazier of light and some crabs in a ditch you can take your anger out on. You'll see krill lights, but they can't get you as you climb out, they just pass very close. You can safely ignore that one!

Emerging, you'll see the giant red crystal. That's the goal. Again, keep left, use emotes and hiding spots. Listen for the signal sound. Do not be fooled by the placement of braziers! Some spots can still be hit with rocks if you're anything but a chibi!

There will be black, calcified bodies starting to appear. Do not worry. You can't interact with them. You can't save them. They will not protect you from rocks.

When you see a miraculously intact stone arch, you're close! Don't hide behind it, though! You want the ledge just under it. The arch won't keep you from rocks or the krill just ahead.

The krill moves in a very tight circle, for a krill. I'd recommend following its path from a distance, because it moved faster than we can, right now. Spots that will protect you from the krill won't save you from the rocks, either! This is a very tough spot to move through, so take your time choosing the right moment!

Also, there's a child of light, just to the left. This is a trap. Reach the safety of the corridor first, then once you've caught your breath drop back down and grab it. Grabbing the child on your way up risks slowing you enough for the krill to spot you.

And you're in the hall of lights! Lighting all the statues won't do anything, unfortunately. But this is also the first time you'll see children of light in any position other than standing looking up... It's a bit eerie. They're still the same thing, though.

At the end of the corridor, READ THE WARNING that pops up. This is your last chance to avoid death, if you're here to help a friend, or there's lights you want to get first, now is your last chance. Returning home after this point will take you to a scary, empty home, where thunder rumbles and the portals have been returned to rubble. The only way out is through eden.

The final phase: the eye of Eden.

There is no flying. Don't even bother. You'll need to conserve your light. Your goal is to light every calcified body you can - you can see them by the blue lines, if you're struggling. They also look unlit from the front, which can be very annoying, but if they're on fire or glowing, you've already got them. Eden can only be run once a week, and that's why. They don't reset until the Sunday/Monday daily reset, I'm pretty sure. You can still die and light ones you missed the first time, but it's usually not worth it. You'll need all your courage and recklessness here to move quickly.

There are no krill here. There is no clever skip. The only problems are the rocks and the sludge water (though that's not nearly as much of an issue lol. It's never more than ankle deep). Also the rocks to hide behind aren't very good. Sometimes you'll get hit despite being in a 'safe' spot. Don't linger.

Now, the rocks. You have more time than you think between waves, but as there's no noise to signal their stop, it can be hard to tell.

What you want to be listening for is the signal, of course, but also the sound of crashing. The signal is early. You have a few seconds. The crashing only starts when the rocks hit the floor.

What you want to be looking for is the bright neon red of rocks breaking on objects. It comes in waves, starting from the eye and washing to the entrance. These are the only rocks that will hit you, and if you see it coming, you can move out of the way! When they fade, start moving again immediately for the maximum safe time!

Watch for the blue or black of lights! They cost one light each, and each one will become roughly 1/3 of an ascended candle later. Get as many as you can!

Light every statue you go by and refill your light. If you're experienced, it might feel inefficient, but YOU WILL get hit at least once later and you don't want to crawl all the way back to the start to re light lmao.

The waves will come faster and harder as you get closer to the eye, and the angle the rocks fall from will also change, so watch out for that! If you get too close to the sides, they'll change direction SPECIFICALLY to spite you, so be aware of that too lol.

The very final stretch starts when the ground flattens into broken tiles. It's a straight line to the eye, and that's where we're going! Rocks fall all the time, there's little to no cover or light.

You just gotta run. You can't jump, don't try, it'll knock you down fast. You gotta take the hits. There's no two ways about it.

Well... There's kind of a way.

You see, the rocks fall in a pattern. Of you look up, you see them spawn in zigzag lines, and then fall at about 40° from horizontal. If you're very lucky, or very skilled, you can use that to predict where the rocks will fall. And avoid them.

Unfortunately, you can't move very fast. Especially once (not if!) you get knocked to a crawl. Sometimes you're just going to watch a rock spawn and then fall directly onto you lol. Don't try and zigzag to avoid, it'll just slow you down and you'll get hit.

Because of the rocks and the sludge water, any lights you lose will disappear the second they touch the ground. They are no longer your concern. Don't bother trying to focus on reaching the eye, just return the lights you do have to as many crystallised bodies as possible.

And then you die.

You gotta wait ages, at this point. For some reason. It can take about five minutes, longer if there's people there with you, but EVENTUALLY a pop up will appear asking if you want to move on without waiting for people. Click yes, or you'll be waiting even longer. Don't worry, your friends will come with you if they've also died.

Hug your own light, your bright reflection. It's always the exact same height as you. Fly up through the torrent.

There's one last shortcut, funnily enough. I'll include a picture.

See that pale window on the left of the giant doors? That I'm flying away from? That's intangible. You can fly straight through it to oob.

Go through. Go up.

Follow the clouds, just keep flapping up, as high as you can, even when you get lost. Aim for the space at the top.

And then you're headed for orbit, and there may be a giant slug whale sharing your personal space. Don't worry! It won't hurt you!

And that's Eden!

[heliads]

LISA YOU DID NOT GIVE ME TIME TO PREPARE FOR THIS!!! However, I already had a few ideas in mind for the next time you opened requests, so:

May I pretty please request a Thorin Oakenshield + gender-neutral reader where the reader is a fairy who comes along on the journey to Erabor because Gandalf thought they needed another magic-user? Reader is a very sweet sunshine who gets along great with all the other party members, but because Thorin doesn’t trust fairies the same way he doesn’t trust elves (because they didn’t assist the dwarves after Erabor fell the first time) he refuses to let them get close to him. However, he does start to get closer to them and develop feelings for them as time goes on, but after the Battle of the Five Armies (where everyone lives, obviously) they can’t find the reader for a while and Thorin is terrified they might be dead. And when they finally find them relatively unharmed Thorin freaks out and confesses his love because he doesn’t want to lose them, and then there’s a very nice fluffy ending??

Of course, if you don’t want to write this, that’s totally cool!! Thanks and I hope you’re doing well!! <3 <3

YESSSS i am ascending to a higher plane thank you for this SUBLIME request

masterlist

The water is wide, the mountains high; no journey worth taking was ever meant to be easy, so you may assume from the first few treacherous days of your travels towards the Lonely Mountain that this quest of yours will be quite worthy indeed. It is not in your nature to spend much time musing on the unhappiness of a time, only to find its merits, but, well, there are far more sources of unhappiness than happiness on this particular journey. 

It would not be too much of a leap for even your optimism to be brought down a notch or two, to say the least. Already, your smiles are lacking a little at the seams; your jokes, not among your finest work.  Patience is stretched thin amongst the company, and the shadow of Erebor is no closer to the tips of your boots than the Shire far behind you.

The Shire was not your home, though, only the starting point. The last member of the company was Bilbo Baggins, your burglar, and he took quite a bit of convincing before he was willing to set a single foot beyond the familiar confines of his home. You’re not sure he was wrong to question the idea of the quest, though, nor if he regrets it already or not. Danger dogs your heels like a bloodhound, plus the rest of the company is nothing like any of the hobbits Bilbo has ever met.

Bilbo Baggins would not be the only one confused by his company, however. As a faerie, you’ve had the opportunity to travel far past the bounds of your city, to meet characters both kind and cruel. The Fae cluster in settlements like elves, but they disperse themselves to the winds, too. Most of you end up tossed to the whims of Fate soon enough, anyway. This was your chance to get to know the world you inhabit, and it appears you’ll get far more of a tasting of it than you ever expected.

It’s not terrible. That should go without saying. You are not unhappy that you are here, nor bitter that you signed the contract to join the company of Thorin Oakenshield when you could have stayed at home to rot. It is a good cause, this, and it will bring you both glory and treasure, should you want it.

The biggest problem, if you were going to be completely honest with yourself, would be that dwarf tasked with managing all of you, Thorin. You get along splendidly with all of the other dwarves, and Gandalf has been a friend of yours ever since you wowed him with a particularly ingenious magic trick when you were small, but for some reason you have never been able to win over Thorin himself.

That is not for lack of trying, not in the slightest. Gandalf was the one who requested that you join the company, certain that having another magic user on their side would not be the worst thing in the world as you passed through dangerous territory and had to take on a dragon later on. You showed up to meet the company with the best and purest of intentions, but Thorin seemed unable to accept the fact that you really wanted to help.

In truth, you don’t think he wanted to accept it. Thorin is displeased with the faeries the same way he’ll never forgive the elves, for the same reasons he’ll glare icily at humans. When Thorin’s kin fell along with Erebor, the faeries didn’t help. Thorin begged for aid, but the faeries did not respond. You’ll never fully know why, nor were you personally responsible for the betrayal, but that does not stop Thorin from treating as if you were the linchpin keeping support from his people.

It doesn’t matter, though. It doesn’t have to matter. Thorin’s personal feelings are not why you signed onto this quest. You joined because an old friend asked, and because the idea of helping to liberate the dwarves’ homeland from a dragon seemed like a good thing to do and a fascinating way to pass the time. Faeries don’t take things seriously. They never have.

So, you let your caution with Thorin fly away from you on an eagle’s strong wings, and you throw yourself into helping whenever you can. Gandalf is pulled away from the company soon enough for a myriad of causes, and even Thorin can admit that your magical skills come in handy soon enough. You save all of their lives dozens of times over, and you find real friendship in the company while you’re at it. Nothing a little optimism can’t handle.

Some of the nights get long, though, and the warmth of a covert campfire can only keep your tired frame from shivering for so many hours. They say the bones of the Fae are hewn from diamonds, your blood, the eternal nectar of the gods, but at this moment, you want only the mysticism and riches of a good meal and clothes that actually protect you against the chill. The mountains only get colder as you travel through them, and you don’t think you’ll be able to shake the prick of gooseflesh for decades if not centuries.

You’re on watch at the moment, scanning the dark horizon around you for monsters or orcs while the rest of the company rests. You’ll have another hour or two before you have to wake the next guardian– Bilbo, actually, who’s still snoring with the rest– so you should have plenty of time to yourself until then.

You should, at least. You don’t, because someone here is still awake. You had cast a spell on yourself to amplify sound and sight at the start of your watch so you could spot intruders that much more quickly, which is why you’re aware of one heartbeat other than your own that isn’t in the lull of sleep. When you tilt your head to the side just enough, you can make out someone staring in your peripheral vision.

Thorin. Who else? At first, you feel a rush of indignation bubble through your veins. There’s no reason for him to be awake on a night like this. Everyone is exhausted from weeks of hard travel, but he’s forced himself to forgo rest so he can make sure you are actually doing your job. After all this time, he still doesn’t trust you to do watch properly. It’s infuriating.

Sick of pretending like you don’t notice, you turn abruptly to stare him dead in the eyes. You expect Thorin to do something:  address you, maybe, or do something to acknowledge that he’s been caught, but instead he just holds your gaze coolly for a moment longer before turning on his other side. Half an hour later, he’s asleep.

Heroes. You’ll never understand them. The Fae are not the stuff of legends; your people prefer to linger in shadows and sunlight both, existing for themselves and for the glory of magic. Heroes, quest-leaders, warriors, they were never someone you grew up with. They have different motives, ones you don’t understand. They think they need to watch your back just because it’s the right thing to do. It confuses you, makes you believe things that might not be true. You don’t need someone like Thorin messing with your head right now, but he seems perfectly content to do it anyway.

The rest of the night passes without issue. You finish your watch shift without anything impactful, and rouse a deeply annoyed Bilbo to take over after you. Thorin doesn’t trouble you again, and indeed, the next day he seems perfectly content to act as if nothing had ever happened.

No self-respecting faerie would ever let themselves drop a grudge, though, so you manufacture a way of bringing it up before long. The company disperses in a long line, the slower ones trailing behind while Thorin keeps up the charge at the front. You make your way up to him, waiting until everyone else behind you is sufficiently far away so as to not hear a word of the inevitable quarrel, then cast Thorin one sidelong glance.

“Would you like to tell me why you’ve been watching me?”

Thorin actually stumbles while he’s walking, but manages to right himself just in time. “I haven’t the faintest idea what you’re talking about.”

You weren’t expecting him to outright deny it. This past night hasn’t been the only time you’ve caught his eyes on you. It has happened from the very start of the quest, actually. At first, his gaze was pinned to you like a wanted poster, full of judgment and suspicion. Recently, the hostility has gone down, but that doesn’t make him any less willing to look away. His gaze chases your heels as you clamber over rocks, lingers on your fingers as you fight. All this, and he still wants to act as if nothing has happened.

You scoff. “You know exactly what I’m talking about. Let’s discuss last night, then. You keep staying awake during my watch. Why? Do you really trust me that little?”

Thorin shakes his head, keeping his gaze firmly trained on the horizon. “I do trust you.”

This does actually come as a surprise. He hasn’t been able to admit it aloud, likely because that would contradict his whole idea that faeries are selfish creatures who left his people to die in the fall of Erebor, but apparently he’s made an exception for you.

“Then why not let me conduct my watch in peace?” You pry.

Thorin jerks a shoulder up and down once, a taut and tense version of a shrug. “I don’t want any lapse in judgment to injure the people I care about.”

You feel your relatively good mood drop. Thorin lashes out often, most frequently when he’s sure he’s only leading his company towards their imminent destruction, so you shouldn’t take it personally. Kind of hard not to, though.

“So you think I’m blind to attackers and I’ll get everyone killed, is that what you’re saying?”

“No, I’m just worried that there are things out there worse than one of your spells,” Thorin argues, but he doesn’t sound too convincing anymore.

You shove your hands into the pockets on your coat. “You know, I just don’t get it. If you’re this opposed to faeries, why did you ever let Gandalf convince you to let me join your company?”

“I didn’t want to at the start,” Thorin begrudgingly admits, “but that was at the start, like I said. Things are different now.” He pauses, voice heavy with secrets as of yet left unsaid, then adds, “We’re different.”

You think this might be the most honest thing he’s ever shared with you. It makes you feel– a lot, actually. It makes you feel things you have not considered until now. Thorin does trust you and he does have reasons he wants to keep you around. In fact, he might even be counting you among the people he cares about and wants to protect.

You don’t have much time to think about it, not on the road and not even after you reach Erebor and immediately have to contend with an infuriated dragon. Thorin shows you the place after you have a moment of relative peace, pointing out the details his ancestors built into a home that has not been his in quite some time. It is as if he wants you to remember all of it. It is as if he wants it to be yours as well.

Peace does not last forever, it never does. One day, you’re exploring every room and corridor of Thorin’s home beneath the Lonely Mountain, the next, you’re watching army after army pour over the surrounding hills. No one likes power when it isn’t theirs. The thought that Thorin might finally have claim to his ancestral land wasn’t well favored by anyone in the vicinity, apparently.

That only means that you’ll have to fight twice as hard to keep Erebor in the hands of your friends. Even when the elves ride up to your doorstep with the humans, even when the orcs arrive out of nowhere, you stay and fight. Always. That’s what you do for the people you care about.

Thorin had asked once if you were going to leave. He’d posed the question slowly, hesitantly, eyes on any other object in the room except you, but you’d still had the perfect view of the relief on his face when you told him you would stay until it was done. There was still an open question of what you would do when it was over, but surviving a battle of this magnitude was the first crisis to deal with. Anything else could happen later, once everyone made it through alive.

That alone seemed like an impossible task, and by all accounts, it should have been. Never before in your life have you cast so many spells of such strength, saving the lives of your friends and ending those of your enemies all in turn. When it is over, you are covered in blood and ash, utterly exhausted, and injured, but your heart beats, at least, and that is enough.

You were separated from the rest of Thorin’s company during the progress of the battle, drawn out to find the best vantage point from which you could cast your spells. At first, you were going for long distance attacks, lobbing fireballs and extensive charges from a crumbling rooftop, but orcs quickly descended upon you and you were forced to resort to closer quarter magic instead.

Perhaps that is why they thought you were dead. When they could no longer see your spells from across the battlefield, there was no way to tell for sure if you were still alive. You were far away from them, fighting off the last of the enemy, and you didn’t find them for a while.

More specifically, they didn’t find you for a while. Later, you hear that Thorin had been in a sort of frantic haze, going over every rock and stone in his path in an all consuming quest to find you. You weren’t with Fili and Kili, who were immediately folded into the search party, nor were you alongside the other dwarfs. Bard had not seen you. Neither had some of the elves. By all accounts, you were gone. Vanished from sight.

That was the one thing Thorin wanted to hear the least. A body is something you can handle, a final decision. If he could not see you, he assumed you were either dead or about to be, and only his actions could save you. He would run himself ragged trying to find you and stop your death before it happened. He would have forced all the orcs in the land back to the fiery hellhole they came from, fought every monster and defeated every enemy, if it would have stopped a sword from piercing your heart.

And so, when he finally stumbled over a rocky outcropping and saw you calmly casting a spell of healing on one of his cousin’s soldiers. You had turned upon hearing him approach, and the last of Thorin’s terrors left him in one fell swoop. You were alright. He was alright. Everything, although damaged and broken and wholly consumed with ash and blood, would somehow end up okay.

Not much was said. Both of you lacked the words. Too many friends had been lost, not enough saved. Erebor would be protected, though. You swore that oath at the start, back when you joined the company for the first time, and you promise it again now. The Fae will have to wait a little longer to welcome you back. You would like to stick around a for a while.

requested by @starlit-epiphany, i hope you enjoy!

tolkien taglist: @rogueanschel, @retvenkos, @gods-fools-heroes, @crazyhearttragedy

[wackus-bonkus-maximus]

TRICK OR TREATTTTTTT

ooh look at you dressed up!! love the sparkles and the feathers and - omg is that the peacock miraculous!! shut up!!!!!!!!!!! that's my favorite too! 🦚

toxigriffe origins wip for you :3

The look he sent her was all edge and roughness, like the sweep of his hair and the slant of his posture. She drew back, momentarily put off, and then he parted his painted lips. “Watch where you’re going,” the boy snarled, and the next thing she knew, the sharp press of a knee was digging into her ribs. With a gasp, she rolled off him, and he scrambled to his feet to block the sun. “What the hell?” she spat, glowering up at him. “What was that for?” He leered down, eyes flashing like amethyst blades. “For getting in my way.” She decided she loathed him, from the ends of his spiky green hair to the tips of his steel-toed shoes. He punctured a void in the daylight; a pillar of claws and shadows standing blatantly in the ruined street. Looking at the mess of spikes and silver that composed him hurt nearly as much as looking directly into the sun. “Who are you?” she asked, ignoring the pain in her ribs as she stood. The boy grinned—a display of teeth and glee that suggested only the crudest sort of pleasure. “I’m…” He hesitated only for the briefest of moments, then met her gaze. “Griffe Noir. Yeah, Griffe Noir.” The glint of his ring flashed as he raised his hand. Her eyes locked on the glowing paw print resting there, emitting a faint glow even in the sunlight. “And you?” She looked up at his voice, her heart sinking slightly lower. This was the one the Supreme had told her about; the Holder of the Miraculous of Destruction, and her rival in the quest for the brooch. “Toxinelle,” she said at last. Then she pulled her wire hard, bringing the yo-yo down on his head with all the force she possessed.

coming soon to an ao3 near you!

from the ask box trick-or-treat (fic writer edition)

[aviiarie]

this is for the mqskedfools ebg. i got told to write 800 words on my bias, so here is why i LOVE firefly.

i love firefly. i love firefly so much. every morning i wake up and think about firefly, and suddenly the world isn’t so bad. suddenly, it’s like life is worth living after all if i get to log onto the game honkai star rail, a game made by (formerly mihoyo) hoyoverse, and see one of, if not the most beautiful character in existence. that character of course, is… firefly <3

i love firefly so so so so so much. here is why i love firefly: reason numero uno. her lore. she’s so cool. i mean what, this sweet and innocent girl is actually a stellaron hunter? she’s a deadly fighter and basically a killing machine? let me tell you, when i played that quest for the first time i was shocked. still, the contrast works so well… she’s such a kind and thoughtful girl, who’s been cursed with an incurable affliction, and had basically no other choice other than to turn to a life of violence just to keep surviving. i want the best for her. she deserves it.

reason numbero dos, she is pretty. yeah, that’s it. that’s the reason. i like looking at pretty characters, and she is one of the prettiest characters in the game. in any hoyoverse game, i would argue. i mean come on, have you seen her? the teal and gray colour scheme is gorgeous, and the orange accents are so beautiful. her outfit is so flowy and pretty, all of the details in her design are well-thought-out, and she’s one of the few characters who doesn’t look at least a little cluttered.

the third reason, number tres (tres? is that right?) is that she CARRIED my team when i had no other built characters. like, i do not care about who is strong when it comes to meta, but firefly… i’m so glad she’s such a useful character. she never leaves my team. she actually is my only actually built character, i’ve ALMOST maxxed out her traces and i plan on rerolling for even better relics when i have the chance because she deserves the absolute best for being the only person to actually do damage for so long. shoutout to my almost well-built firefly, she’s the only useful one that i have.

this fourth reason… (numero um. cuatro?)... this one is… she is the best stellaron hunter. no i do not take criticism. she’s the strongest, she has the best lore, she’s the best character (NO I DON’T TAKE CRITICISM) and she’s just so cool. the stellaron hunters are my absolute favourite faction, and she is my absolute favourite out of all of them, because she is just so so so so cool. i love her. i love firefly. i love her so much. i miss firefly. where did she go. why can’t we have more stellaron hunter content. i wanna see firefly and silver wolf having a sisterly relationship, those two are actually so important to me. you know how people have ships they headcanon? well i headcanon silver wolf and firefly are actually best friends and play video games together when they don’t have missions. firefly was never any good at them, but silver wolf is surprisingly patient, and teaches her all the little tips and tricks on how to master even the most difficult levels. i don’t care if it’s unrealistic, talk to the wall.

you thought i was done? ha! i have another reason, number uhhh cinco is it? idk i don’t speak spanish. i only started with numero uno because i was thinking of itto, but now i’m too committed to it to quit now. numero cinco, her MESSAGES. have you seen her messages? she’s so sweet to the trailblazer, she always sends the cutest emojis… and that one convo where she was asking for advice for what to buy kafka as a gift… it was so cute. SHE is so cute. i love her.

now for the one you’ve been waiting for… the final one… the most important one of them all… i forgot six in spanish and am too lazy to look it up, but reason numero six! drumroll please… that one photo. you know the one. the one that she takes with the trailblazer, during their little ‘date’ together. SHE LOOKS SO CUTE IN THAT AHHH I LOVE HER SO SO MUCH I WOULD DIE TO GO ON A DATE WITH HER!!! please firefly one chance… we can go out to all of the nicest places, and take so many photos, and get dressed up in pretty dresses, and et cetera…

and that is why i love firefly! that’s all folks! thank you for listening, make sure to like and subscribe for more firefly-posting, coming to a tumblr dashboard near you! bye! avery out!

[roegadynroost]

Hello! I'm really impressed with you speed running all of your alts to get the Regalia! Would you mind sharing any tips or tricks that got you through so much ARR fast? - A fellow alt-happy Eorzean

Oh wow hey! Thanks for the ask!

One REALLY big help is doing stuff on the New and Prefered servers because the Road to 80 buff is just WAY TOO GOOD. I'm working on the story on some alts and by the end of ShB, only doing the story, I can get about 3 jobs to 80. If you have character on congested servers that you don't mind moving around you can move them to a new or preferred server for FREE and get the Road to 80 buff for 30 days (It lasts longer on characters made directly on those servers tho.)

There are some bits that I like to watch on every run through, but skipping the cutscenes is an obvious must. I play on PS4, and put on a show while I grind most of the time.

If you have the road buff, when you get to dungeons, instead of queueing in the Dutyfinder set up a Partyfinder for your dungeons. I always set them to one slot other that myself, and then set the minimum ILV to 500. This will ensure only higher level players will join.

Into the description type: "Unsynced for MSQ progression." or "Unsyned, help me get my alt through MSQ?"

Players are usually happy to help folks working through the MSQ. This works on every Datacenter.

If you don't speak Japanese and you have an alt on the JP servers and you want quick clears, use the auto translate feature for the phases "Unrestricted party" and "Main Scenario Quest". Also if you don't speak Japanese, Auto translation "Nice to meet you" at the start and "Thank you" at the end of duties.

Make sure you set your DF to Unrestricted before you queue so you don't accidentally queue up regularly instead and always \readycheck before you go in.

Most dungeons with a LV 90 player are less than five mins and a lot of the time they won't even roll on the gear so you get good upgrades along the way. If they rush through and you don't have time to grab all the chests you can always \return at the end to get the chests that were not grabbed. If there are mobs still in the dungeon, don't worry, if you sprint and kite them you can grab everything before they kill you, then respawn and leave through the exit at the start or the menu.

The ONLY duties I don't do Unsynced for is for Castrum Meridianum, Praetorium and Porta Decumana, because with they force cut scenes even if you do it unsynced I don't like to ask people to sit through them so I just do them normally.

IF YOU HAVE FRIENDS JUST AS THEM FOR HELP UNSYNCING. I love helping my friends unsync stuff. Hell, I love helping anyone unsync stuff. Takes very little time.

If you don't have the road buff, make sure you do your leveling roulette, and queue for the dungeons. Unfortunately, the end of ARR has a LV jump around the time you get to the Rhytahtyn solo instance and if you skip duties you'll likely be underleveled.

A few characters I ended up having to run through Aurum Vale to get to 50 just so I could get through the final strech of stuff. I love Aurum Vale personally, but I know it's not everyones jam.

Buy a stack of cheap food early on so you can keep your 3% exp buff going. My personal favorites are Eggs, Orange juice and Plums.

DON'T FORGET We get Vesperbay tickets on new characters now to returning to the waking sands is no issue. They recently updated it to you get 99 total over the course of ARR. If you made a character BEFORE they added the Vesperbay Teleportation Tickets, don't run from Horizon, Teleport to Limsa Lominsa, go to the Arcanist guild via the aethernet and then take the Ferry to Vesperbay. It's pretty quick on PS4, if you're on a Toaster it might be faster to go from Horizon because of less loading.

I recommend stopping by Camp Tranquil to get your Chocobo the ability to fight (My Fiestly little Chocobo) when you hit 30. Also grab a stack of 99 Gysahl greens when you're at Bent Branch doing that. You don't have to finish the quest to be able to summon you chocobo, so if you're in a rush there is that. I always level my chocobos in Healing first. IMO Choco cure is the most useful chocobo ability early on.

Don't forget to do your job quests, a lot of them will sync up with stuff you're doing in the MSQ, and when you get to 45 the gear boost is substantial even if it's only useful for those few levels to 50. DPS can probably get away with ignoring it, but for tanks and healers GEAR IS SO IMPORTANT, especially if you're not unsyncing stuff.

You get some upgrades from the story but the ARR stuff is all normal quality, it's not the greatest. There is a Jeweler NPC in Ul'dah that I recommend grabbing accessories from, cause I've had times where I'm 50 and still have dang LV5 ring cause the MSQ doesn't give any accessories and if your RNG is bad in dungeons it can be pretty bad. (you will get a acessory from unlocking AV though, that is nice!)

If you have some of the preorder earrings, make sure you visit your the mail moogle for that. If you've been playing a long time and have stuff like the Tidus and Yuna outfits from fanfest that get sent to every character, Grab those outfits too. They're good at the early levels and give a pretty good EXP boost to lvl 30. (Don't recommend wearing them in dungeons past like the first three though)

Of course, most important of all. Take care of yourself. I've been dealing with long-covid for years now and if causes me no end of issues, but I can get into the zone and focus hard with MSQ grinds. Self care is so important. I'm pretty good about getting up and stretching and getting myself what I need, but sometimes I'm in the zone and it gets bad. I am lucky I have a partner that helps me keep up with that stuff too. If he gets up to move around and go somewhere, I usually take that as my time to give myself a break.

Setting myself a little 3 hour timer for water breaks is something I'm working on and seems to be good. I try to not keep too much food around my gaming area because if I'm going to eat something I'd like to get up and move around too. If I do keep something nearby, I try to have fruit and not like snacks. Doesn't always work but trying is important.

I hope that in here somewhere you find something useful! HAPPY ALT-ing!!!

[thegr8gambino]

Meta Quest 3 Tips Tricks And Setup

[fanonical]

I feel this is a good time to disclose that I don’t know what homestuck is so that you can induct me and also talk about it at length so that others may be similarly inducted.

Thank you in advance/you’re welcome xox

hahaha i actually do this a lot, i should probably find one of my “how to read/understand Homestuck” posts and bring it back to reblog every time somebody asks about it

Homestuck is an interactive webcomic & experimental hypertext, told mostly through epistolary chatlogs. In short, this means that Homestuck is told mostly through images and text (like most comics) but that sometimes — even often — the panels are have sound effects, music, playable sequences etc. facilitated through Shockwave Flash (the same now-retired software that used to let you play browser games during class if you’re the same generation as me :P). Also, as mentioned, most of the dialogue is delivered through chat logs between internet friends, and they’re incredibly faithfully written — Homestuck is the comic for internet friends to read together.

I just spent a long time talking about what Homestuck IS but not what it’s about — this is because as a whopping 8,000-page epic told using over a million words Homestuck is actually about a lot of things and its genre, setting, and even main characters shift quite drastically throughout the comic. Also, because Homestuck is a meta-narrative, its story is often about itself, which gets a little tricky to understand & explain; one of the big conflicts of Homestuck is the concept of retaining fictional relevancy (some characters even know when they are and aren’t the main character, and it vexes them, for example).

Overall, the first “main plot” you’re going to contend with is the adventure of four teenaged internet friends playing a special videogame together and discovering their destinies to embark on a quest to save all of reality.

TIPS:

1. Don’t let the 8,000 pages, 1 million words thing get to you. It breezes by a lot faster than you’d think when you get into it. Plus, single-panel-pages & long playwright style dialogs inflate how big it looks a lot; a lot those one million words are probably the narrative stating a character’s name to show they’re talking.

2. Read the Unofficial Homestuck Collection. There is an official Homestuck website; as of February 2024 it’s still considered pretty broken & the Unofficial Collection is considered unbeatable. It’s even author approved.

3. A lot of people give up because they don’t “get it” and they think they’re missing something. They aren’t, it’s just a little obtuse and doesn’t explain everything in a clear way intentionally sometimes. The comic will trick you, lie to you, tell you things intentionally out of order, make up meta bullshit a joke, intentionally draw stuff badly, etc etc. It’s a trial through fire. You can overcome it, and if you do, Homestuck is for you & it has a bounty of creative spoils for you.

4. People also give up assuming it isn’t queer because characters don’t immediately say “oh wow im gay” in the first thirty seconds. Well, these characters are realistically portrayed teenagers. You’re gonna have to wait, and that’s what makes it so good.

Good luck. You’re gonna need it.

[sweetmariihs2]

What would the villain "King Cedric The Great" have been like if STF's story hadn't changed course?

Something that makes me so mad is how Cedric is presented to us as the main villain of the show since the beginning and the end his villain arc is considered a side quest in a regular episode while a villain that was introduced last season had the end battle against the protagonist and a 3 episode special (the last one).

Imagine how amazing it would be if they kept the rythm of season one for the rest of the show instead of expading the universe in a unnecessary amount like they did.

The climax of the show would be Cedric betraying Sofia (like the one we saw in day of the sorcerers) and the end battle would be against him, dethroning him. He could have taken over the kingdom just like the dynamic that Princess Ivy did, transformed the castle of Enchancia into his castle and arranged armies, ways to defend himself with magic - in short, what Ivy and Vor did.

After the main protagonists suffered a lot to finally get to the throne room there would be a big argument about Cedric's "you never treated me well! I just wanted to be respected! Now you're going to pay for what you did!" and Sofia would have to talk to him to make him regret and think about his own actions, so that in the end she could take the amulet (or whatever he was using to rule the kingdom, but the amulet, according to how the season 1 was trying to go with the show, is the most interesting option) from his hands and he would be arrested.

Cedric would have that conversation with Roland, and then he would have a way to redeem himself and ask for forgiveness, so that at the end of the series everything would end well and happily.

They made the Amulet of Avalor a big deal since the first movie. Let's pretend we don't know what happens in the next seasons. Since episode 1, the main villain focus has been Cedric wanting the amulet. As we can see in behind-the-scenes archives (The STF pitch bible and so many more, like the character descriptions videos), the only villain character created since the beginning of the series is Cedric, and that's it, that was Sofia's menace. So much so that he was the villain of Once Upon A Princess, he worked well that way, considering that even in the film he was a little neglected due to the target audience (small children) and the main subject of the film, which was Sofia getting used to the royal life, but after the movie ends you can imagine that later he would have more importance in the story, even in his last scene, which had a tone of "I may have failed now, but I'll come back later!"

The climax should have been around him getting the amulet and taking over the kingdom like the dictator the show gave us tips that he would be (the whole song Cedric The Great). But I'm not talking about Day Of The Sorcerers, nor Grimtrix and his magic stones or Order Of The Wand, I'm talking about Cedric managing to trick Sofia and get the amulet he wanted, which would cause a big problem in the plot. However, I can't say how he would do this, as we know the amulet has consequences, but I'm just saying that since the beginning of the cartoon the directors have been working on Cedric as a villain and I think what they did to him at the end of the show is more than disrespectful to his character arc (or the beginning of it). Let me elaborate.

He got a nice "villain arc end" of episode, got his redeption and overall got a happy life, and his story is good, really,... but it makes me pissed how they structured the story for him to be the villain only to be left aside in the end for a plot that was not so interesting and not so faithful to the essence of Sofia The First (Vor, the mistic isles and the protectors).

Cedric should have been a king for a whole day and get everything he wanted (except that he would notice little by little that this wasn't what he wanted at all, but he's too proud to admit his own mistakes and go against his own words, because now if he go back he will be arrested and hated by the whole kingdom, there's no turn back.) He would be defeated by Sofia's words, the castle characters team work and specially his own morality. Only to say sorry later and be redeemed. I don't think that this should happen in the very end of the last episode, I would say that the main battle should have ended in the episode before and the last episode should be kept only as a "happy end" and what happened after the final battle.

CAN YOU IMAGINE HOW AMAZING IT WOULD BE TO HAVE KING CEDRIC THE GREAT AS OUR MAIN VILLAIN LIKE THE SHOW WAS PROBABLY INTENDING TO DO AT THE START??? AHHHHHRHHHSHHHH

The directors may not really thought about making him the main villain, but I think that that's the only way the story should go on based on the info we got of what was the sketch of STF. In other words, that was the only possible way to go with this story, but they managed to "take the car off the track" and pull the story to a different way. I have some theories if why this happened (public, people leaving TV to pay for streaming services and Disney Junior's attempt to keep getting the attention of the public through adding more and more stuff to the show that was supposed to hype the chidren but that didn't worked and just pushed STF farther away from it's roots and og story), but I won't get into detail today

Now for what I personally think it would be like, based on everything we saw from him at the start of STF and also my own interpretations, I think his character would be like Turbo from Wreck It Ralph, or Queen of Hearts from Alice in Wonderland, or even the Snow King from Ever After High (this is the most similar dynamic in my opinion!)

I'm trying to give you guys an idea of what's on my mind. It's a bit hard to express in words but I think that it's understandable enough through the phrase "king Cedric the great as the main villain".

The hype that this episode would have had in the fandom oh my god

[thanatika]

hey there, i saw your post talking about people with the worldview of being defined by your worst moments/your worst moments being your 'true self', and i was wondering whether you happen to have seen interview with the vampire (the show)? based on your pinned post, idk whether that's in your area of interest, like, at all, but that's definitely a question of morality which plays a central part in iwtv's themes as well and i got reminded lmao

(obv feel free to ignore this, if not relevant to your interests! i've been really enjoying your patho 3 posts, and am in fact sorely tempted to finally give playing pathologic myself a try after being vaguely around in the fandom for a few years now—any tips and tricks you'd happen to have on hand for a first-time player?)

i've never seen iwtv! i see people talk about it a ton, though, and have been meaning to try it. so thanks for the recommendation! hopefully i'll have the time to soon.

as for tips and tricks, i guess it would depend partly on which game you're trying! assuming classic, i will say the big problem i ended up running into was the problem i run into with a lot of CRPGs i try, where i get stuck because the game doesn't hold your hand at all with quest markers and so on the way that modern games do. which i kind of like! but i did end up referencing this spoiler-free guide a few times when i played, so that's one good resource. also use the barter system as much as possible.

[bleached-socks]

My attempts at the stupidly difficult 9th Anni Extra Senkaimon Quests

I have heard other people complain about them, so with only a day and a half left of them, I wanted to talk about my attempts using at them. I've beaten 6/10 of them and have made attempts at the other 4 so here is what I've done. Putting it all under the cut because I've included pictures of my setup for each stage, which makes it a really long post.

Extra Stage 1: Beaten

This level wasn't actually too bad. My Ulquiorra is only 1/5, but he does enough damage that I was able to just stand in place and win. His SA 2 is a lunge attack so I had to watch where it was aiming when I used it, but otherwise it was fine. You'll notice that most of my other attempts do have a Last Ditch Survival link, but I didn't need one for this level.

Extra Stage 2: Not Beaten

My best attempt was with this setup, but even then I kept dying before I got to stage 3. My second best attempt was with a 1/5 parasol Shunsui and I was able to stay alive the entire time since he has drain and can heal, be he never even made it to stage 3 before time ran out. I think I can do it with Wonderweiss but it'll be difficult. He is 2/5, which isn't awful. And honestly this is the only level I haven't beaten that I actually think is possible for me to beat.

Update: I got to stage 3 and Shuren absolutely destroyed me. I had even managed to keep my LDS until the boss fight, but I still died. Idk if this one’s gonna be doable.

Extra Stage 3: Beaten

This one was also a matter of doing enough damage without having to move. My White is currently 5/5 (but I think he was only like 3/5 when I actually completed this, since this was the first one I beat). But I was still doing massive amounts of damage and that's what let me beat it so easily.

Extra Stage 4: Beaten

This one I think had some of the easiest rules to get around, assuming you have a character with a Break Iron Skin skill. My Ikkaku is only a 1/5 and actually only has level 15 link slots. My biggest tip for this level is to dodge like crazy. Get as much Reduced Strong Attack Cooldown as you can and add a Last Ditch Survival and you should be fine. Look out specifically for the guys in white since their attacks are hard to dodge, and also the blonde ones since their attacks do a lot of damage. I was dreading this one the most due to the human enemies but I think this is actually one of the tamer levels.

Extra stage 5: Beaten

This one was easy enough, just attack without moving and avoid the Insta-Kills as much as possible. I don't actually remember much about this stage but I beat it with a 1/5 Mugetsu (that was only powered up to level 5) and having only level 15 link slots so I guess it wasn't too bad, but when I retried it again to research this post, I died almost immediately cause I didn't dodge an attack properly and I don't feel like trying again. So maybe I just got lucky, who knows?

Extra Stage 6: Beaten

This was the most recent one I've beaten. The trick is staying alive long enough to destroy the traps so you can use SAs. I have a LDS link, which I used just destroying the trap against Senjumaru, but then I beat her with SAs. Tenjiru I got lucky against and weakened him immediately so I could destroy the trap without being killed, and then I beat him with SAs. Ichibe I just Soul Bombed him immediately which destroyed the traps so I could finish him off with SAs.

Extra Stage 7: Beaten

The simplest extra rules. It felt like an actual Senkaimon Quest that wasn't ridiculously inflated in difficulty. My Mashiro is 2/5, level 20 link slots, and she beat it pretty easily. She's immune so paralysis which made it significantly easier. My biggest worry was the human affiliation attacks that I talked about in stage 4.

Extra Stage 8: Not Beaten

Genuinely don't think I'm beating this one. It was clearly designed for Candice, but I only have her 1/5. I have not gotten has Quilge. He isn't doing enough damage fast enough, and dodging doesn't work because of the statue traps that limit where you can dodge to. I don't think this is beatable with her only 1/5, but I'm most using a Special Move Source just to get 10 orbs and a summons ticket. So this one is unbeatable.

Extra Stage 9: Not Beaten

I don't have Gremmy, but I'm still summoning for him so this may change, but the best character I have to beat this level with is Ichigo, and he's just not cutting it. He is ranged, which is allowing him to destroy the SA Disabling traps, but they don't stay destroyed for long enough to beat the stage. And he's not doing enough damage anyway, so there's no chance of him beating the level. If I get Gremmy in the next 2 days, then I may update this, but for now I'm calling it unbeatable, at least for me.

Extra Stage 10: Not Beaten

This is the one I'm most angry about. It should be beatable. It's designed for Kenpachi and I have him 4/5. So why is it so unbeatable? Because he's melee, and gets down to half stamina before he can destroy the trap that would let him actually use his attacks. The first stage is a pretty small room with a lot of enemies that he doesn't actually have killer against. He can barely dodge, and his potential as an op character is wasted because he wastes half of his health just to be able to attack. I have not gotten to stage 2. And maybe I'm just playing badly but I have no idea what else I'm supposed to do here.

And that's all I've got. Good luck to anyone else attempting these stupidly hard quests, I wish you the best.

Also if this was Tier 1 of the 9th Anni Tower, what the hell are the other 3 Tiers going to look like?