#quest: tools of the trade

[polychromaic]

🌸 when the Hindriarch banished Eskhind and her kin from Bey Lah, Neelahind would follow her heart into voluntary exile. To abandon a surefooted life, as well as a coveted spot among the Fellowship, is nearly unheard of among both hindren and Wardens, but Neelahind was glowing when she took her leave. I hear the pair are quite happy together, practicing arconautics in the ruins to the west—at least, that's what the kendren bring news of when they come back to trade.

back at it again w more caves of qud deer gals 😏✨ i'm kind of enamored with the ending to the Bey Lah quest where Esk and Neela both take off, so i wanted to see what they'd look like as a matched set of lesbian pariah-arconauts. geez, i can’t believe it’s been almost two years since i drew them last

image descriptions under break!

img desc: A drawing of a hindren deerfolk girl from "Caves of Qud". On the left a title card reads "Pariah Neelahind (she/her)". Some of the details are labeled. Her fur is a rich cedar red, with a lighter heartwood underbelly curling under her arms and on the inside of her legs down to her hooves; her curly hair is dark mahogany, tied back in a ponytail with a sky-blue bandana; her antlers are a pale heartswood, deepening to a rich velvet at the tines. She’s smiling, looking up and off to her right; she's poised upright, her arms spread to either side of her as she grips the haft of her war-scythe Yal, which is laying across her shoulders. She’s wearing shining steel platemail—a breastplate over a nanoweave surcoat patterned with pale lemon slices over pink (called "Pink Lemonade"); her armor is incomplete, but well taken care of. She’s wearing leather braces, a steel gauntlet on her left hand only, and a woven blue sash and bedroll across her back.

img desc: A drawing of a hindren deerfolk girl from "Caves of Qud". On the right a title card reads "Pariah Eskhind (she/it)". Some of the details are labeled. Her fur is ashen, with her pale undercoat spotting through on her forearms and flanks. Her messy hair is a greenish bleach-blonde, and one of her ears has a hole in it; her antlers are pale and their velvet is darker grey, and they're covered in little tied-on charms and brass tine hornaments. She has an eyepatch over her left eye, and a gap between her front teeth. She's grinning, slouching in a relaxed fashion, pulling back her hood with one hand and flashing a rock-on with the other; her front two legs are crossed, while the back two are spread like she's posing for a picture. She's wearing a well-worn chainmail hauberk, which extends down over her back; a ragged cowl, with buttoned slots along the hem of the hood for her antlers to fit through; a leather bracer on her left wrist, a steel pauldron on her right shoulder, a fingerless elastyne glove on her right hand, and two pairs of croccasins on her hooves. A pocketed saddle is slung over her back, along with a backpack and bedroll; on either side, the pockets are full of tools and bits. Tucked into her swordbelt is a sheathed folding carbide longsword and a gaslight kris; slung across her chest is a bolt-action rifle called "Peashooter" (it has a lesbian flag on its stock). Around her legs are several beaded bracelets and charms; one of them is the rightfully reclaimed Kindrish, complete with its carved deer charm.

[sexycornenthusiast]

eden's garden minecraft server headcanons

Damon: Guy who loves elaborate piston doors. Thinks he's a better builder than he actually is. He and Eva take turns upgrading random stuff in each other's bases while they're offline as a show of dominance. His storage "system" has been a disaster since she was banned. Keeps finding chickens all over the place and doesn't understand where they're coming from.

Eva: Dug herself into a mountain 10,000 blocks away from everyone to build absurdly complicated redstone contraptions, none of which have much utility beyond being cool (eg. working calculator, world's most efficient pickle farm, machine that automatically launches chickens all the way to Damon's base, etc). Likes to build traps in random places. Currently serving a month long ban sentence for blowing up Wolfgang's entire base in a fit of rage (nothing survived. you can see bedrock in some places)

Wolfgang: Has been living out of Grace's basement since The Incident and spends most of his time out on quests to get her whatever items or blocks she asks him for. Building anything stresses him out because he's a perfectionist so he's pretty much embraced the homeless lifestyle.

Grace: Builds almost exclusively out of white concrete. Surprisingly good at making minigames and has recently been preoccupied trying to find the best way to build Minecraft golf. Never collects her own resources. Anything Wolfgang can't get for her, she steals from someone else's storage - usually Damon, Wenona, or Diana. She would love to steal from Eva, but Eva only has one chest with two string and a poppy.

Jett: Also makes minigames but they're kind of bad in a charming way. Claims that Mark lives with him, but Mark has never been to his base. Teamed up with Cassidy and Jean to build a subway system (ice boat tracks) between everyone's bases and has since become enamored with the idea of iceboat racing.

Mark: Does nothing but dig perfect 16x16 holes to bedrock. No beacon, no enchantments, just pure love of the game. It's stress relief for him. Anything he doesn't directly need for crafting more tools gets left behind in a chest. Every once in a while Jett comes by and throws him 4 stacks of cooked pork chops so that's all he eats. The others eventually realize that if they fence off an area and label it as 'to be cleared' he'll just show up and do it.

Cassidy: Technically the server owner but hates admining. Flexed her speedrun strats by beating the ender dragon on day one. Gave everyone a free elytra in the first week (Wenona threw hers into lava in front of her and they've been Minecraft enemies ever since). Spends most of her time either doing community projects or pranking people. Was in the middle of trying to convince Eva to help build a fully functional postal system before The Incident.

Wenona: Has a huge villager trading hall and a farm for pretty much everything. Half the server is indebted to her in some way. The true extent of her infrastructure is unknown even to her closest friends. If you visit her at the wrong time your game WILL drop to 10 fps. Has been caught online at 3 AM multiple times but always claims she was "just AFKing" (this is a lie).

Ulysses: Bad at video games. Can barely play and has a death count in the multiple hundreds. Makes a full map of the server every week or so. Whenever he isn't doing that, he just finds someone doing something interesting (usually Wenona but not always) and watches them like a personal livestream.

Ingrid: Better at the game than anyone expected and has died the least amount of times. Obsessed with armor trims and has a downright unreasonable amount of dogs. Doesn't trade with villagers but uses them as "background characters" for her medieval city build. Constantly the target of pranks like turning her house into an aquarium or encasing it in obsidian, but seems to genuinely believe her friends are just giving her gifts in silly ways.

Toshiko: Building in the same city as Ingrid but in completely different style. Somehow they've made it work. Never affected by the pranks against her basemate because the last time that happened she made them regret their entire lives. Tries and fails to hide the fact that she's afraid of the nether. Types in chat in full grammatically correct sentences complete with punctuation.

Jean: Has admin privileges and does most of the work on that front. Had the final say on Eva's punishment after The Incident. Can never stay in one area for very long and has built something unique in every one of his classmates' bases. Not all of them are aware of this fact. Has sooo many tridents and no one understands how he gets such good drop rates.

Desmond: Spawn-proofed his entire area immediately and now plays the game as a chill farming sim. Only leaves said area on special occasions. Has more food than he could ever use and doesn't care if people take it.

Eloise: Beat all the in-game bosses in a span of like a week then got bored and stopped playing (this is valid).

Kai: Built an actually really impressive castle, but it's all facade and no function (there are no lights on the inside and it doesn't even have a back). Lives in a pile of chests and shulker boxes in an open field. Can never find anything in it. Has a pink bed.

Diana: Plays with shaders. Builds beautiful landscapes like a painting in Minecraft and focuses a lot on little details and atmosphere. Loves doing interiors. Don't ask her what a repeater does because she will not know. Gets all her materials through hand-gathering and generous donations. Eva also tried to blow up her base, but she found the TNT and dug it all up, leaving behind only a few minecarts that did minimal damage.

[the-starflower]

My thoughts on the companions during my first run

In order of appearance:

Lae'zel

Cool intro, cool character - but I never really vibed with her. The aggression and talking down to everyone like we're idiots got tired very quickly. I have very little time for that, both irl and in games 😅

I also don't like how she's just blindly following whoever is her current authority figure. She renounces Vlaakith only to immediately devote herself to Orpheus with the same burning fanaticism. I kept hoping she would tell them all to sod off and choose her own path. She did become a leader herself in the end but... it was frustrating.

She has very funny banter though, and her voice actor did a stellar job. Great animations and facial expressions too! I love the eye roll when corrected on the pronunciation of "teeth-lings" 😆

Shadowheart

I went from disliking to loving her. She was so cold and shady in the beginning I didn't feel like I could trust her. I also didn't understand how to play a cleric in combat.

The others were fairly straightforward: Lae'zel and Karlach smash stuff, Astarion stabs people in the back, Gale is aoe damage and/or a jack-of-all-trades with a spell for every occasion, and Wyll just Eldritch Blasts people in the face. And Shadowheart is... a support healer... ish? In early game it felt like she didn't do much of anything, so every time it was her turn I was just like uuuuuhh Guiding Bolt I guess? Didn't help that the memes about her missing everything are very true. Poor girl must be half-blind.

But with time and a few levels under her belt, I figured her out. She became one of my most used and useful companions. As her story progressed she also really grew on me as a character. I absolutely loved her whole arc in the Shadow-cursed Lands.

She ended up feeling like my Tav's closest friend alongside Karlach. Even shed a few real tears at the end of her personal quest. 💜

Astarion

Had the same feelings towards Astarion as towards Lae'zel. I immediately loved his snark, but I played a very good character so his constant sighs of disapproval got old fast.

What's funny is I know younger me would've been smitten with Astarion IMMEDIATELY. Alternative bad boy with a sassy personality and tragic backstory? Oh, and did we mention he's a vampire? I would've been "I can fix him" all over that. But present-day me is too old for that nonsense. You can take all of that attitude and stay in camp. Call me when you've seen a therapist. My wood elf ranger had enough dexterity and thieves' tools to pick her own damn locks.

With that said, he did win me over.

I eventually realized I would probably need to up his approval if I wanted to resolve his personal quest (I'm a completionist and didn't like leaving it abandoned) so I gave him another chance and... boy, did he deliver. Astarion turned out to have so much depth and nuance, sold even further by the incredible voice acting! His story is also the darkest and most disturbing of them all.

By the time we arrived at Cazador's mansion I felt so protective of him. Gonna make damn sure nobody lays a finger on that little prima donna ever again.

Gale

Instant fav 💖 He introduced himself like a civilized person (unlike most other people in this game) and was polite and pleasant to deal with right off the bat (again, unlike most others).

He was also immediately useful, not only in combat but in general. Whatever the problem, a solution could probably be found somewhere in his smorgasbord of a spell book. He seemed overpowered already at the beginning of the game and was a downright force of nature at max level.

Most importantly though, his personality is 100% my personal brand of kryptonite: smart, kind, funny in the most adorably dorky way, romantic, artistic, absolute nerd... Neurodivergent? Very likely. Obviously I romanced him and have been obsessed since 💕

Wyll

Warlock business and hero complex aside he felt the most "normal" of them all. I immediately liked his kindness and charm. He usually had a very sound outlook on things as well.

My only gripe with Wyll is that his personal story kinda fizzles out. For a good while there he had the most interesting story and I was so curious to see where it would lead. Sadly the answer was mostly meh. As the son of Duke Ravenguard he should've been front and centre in Act III, but even in his personal quest he barely had any agency or even much of a part to play. And more than once I had to step in to make decisions for him instead of him having his own opinions!

I still really like his personality though. Might try romancing him in a future run. Hopefully he's less passive in that...

Karlach

I love her. I love everything about her. Her gorgeous looks, her golden-retriever-with-an-attitude personality, her battle prowess... I want her and I want to be her in equal measure. ❤️‍🔥

I had known her for all of five minutes before deciding she must be protected at all costs. AT ALL COSTS!!

Which was sadly proving very very difficult. Her personal story is just... heartbreaking. None of the things happening to her are her own fault, she doesn't deserve any of this. Act III was so stressful because there wasn't a damn thing I could do to save her. I bawled at least twice during her story and was afraid her ending would ruin me completely. 😭 Luckily, she went to Avernus with Wyll in the end. I'm not sure I would've continued playing if she hadn't made it.

Hey, maybe that's how I'll break my BG3 addiction? I make a run where I intentionally make sure Karlach dies? That might actually do the trick. 🤔

The non-origin companions

Minthara Didn't know she was a potential companion and killed her. Oops.

Halsin Mr I'm-sexy-and-I-know-it. Also such a wonderfully nice and stable person (showing my age again lol). No breakdowns, no angst, no drama. He's old enough to know who he is and what he wants. Had a moment of weakness where I actually considered breaking up with Gale for him. Obviously couldn't do that to my beloved wizard but... I admit I thought about it.

Jaheira Easily the coolest of them all. I love her no-nonsense attitude and the way she talks to me. She is who I want to be when I grow up. 🫶 I only wish she showed up earlier so I got to spend more time with her.

Minsc and Boo He's so ridiculous but I can't help but laugh every time he opens his mouth. I was already playing a ranger so had no real use for him, especially since he shows up so late in the game, but I adore him. It would be fun to make a run with him and Jaheira as permanent Act III party members. The Netherbrain wouldn't know what hit it!

[bad-system]

hey, so remember me saying i'd make a unique die reward for completing blasius' quest in KCD2 (if he was there)?

well, here it is. since i designed blasius as a cartographer with a proclivity for playing dice, i thought it would only be appropriate for his quest reward item to be gambling themed.

i also made a custom die display panel for it! it's a die with potential, but only if you roll it right—much like blasius. the reasoning behind the blue and gold is quite obvious, with the theme of the night sky and stars as tools of his trade, with the face of the 1 pip being replaced by the north star to guide your luck hopefully better than his.

wise words from blasius btw.

[callmearcturus]

The Video Gaming Major Arcana

The latest patron episode of Into The Aether/@intothecast asked the boys to decide a video game for every Major Arcana card. They ran out of time on it and only got 2/3s thru

my ass was like "Challenge Accepted"

0 - The Fool - Dragon Quest (The Fool is infinite potential and is at the start of a long journey. DQ as a series is a long-running, is a bedrock of the medium, and has done its own takes on everything from pokemon to minecraft, and it either did it first or did it better.)

1 - The Magician - Metroid and Zelda (The Magician is the first person the Fool meets and is a guide for the journey. The Magician is associated strongly with teaching and with tools. Metroid and Zelda both are foundational works and they revolve around gating player process through tools.)

2 - The High Priestess - FEZ (The High Priestess is another guide, but sits before the veil, keeping guard over arcane, hidden knowledge and deciding when to share the secrets of the universe. FEZ is one of the Big Games that hide under layers and layers of mystery.)

3 - The Empress - Stardew Valley (The Empress presides over growth and cultivation of her kingdom, sitting in a field with wheat in hand. SDV is chiefly about taking care of your own domain, the farm and the wider village.)

4 - The Emperor - Civilization (The Emperor is the firm hand of government and can be an important navigator in chaos but also is angered by lack of obedience and losing control. Civ is all about steering every aspect of a nation and protecting it viciously.)

5 - The Hierophant - Pokemon (The Hierophant is a cultural, societal leader that gains power from people who believe similarly but subsequently is very set in their ways. Pokemon is a huge phenomenon that unites people of all ages, but also struggles heavily with innovation and progress.)

6 - The Lovers - Journey (The Lovers aren't necessarily smoochy-smoochy, but represent a Decision, joining hands with another person and striding into the future together. It's Journey. If you know, you know.)

7 - The Chariot - Bethesda's Catalog (The Chariot is a tumultuous, potent card. They hold onto the reins of powerful beasts and drive forward, blazing a new path. But if they lose grip, everything goes to hell. Bethesda's works tend to have this incredible ambition to them, and when they hit, they HIT, but when they miss, it's dramatic.)

8 - Justice - Dark Souls (Justice is the system and its enforcement of its rules, whether they feel fair or arbitrary. I feel DS fits it well-- it relentlessly follows its own rules and is firm in them, which can either draw players in or seem cruel and unwelcoming.)

9 - The Hermit - Immortality (The Hermit is a wise person who gained specialized knowledge but through great personal sacrifice. They find it difficult to share their knowledge because they essentially traded that ability to communicate easily for the wisdom. Immortality has some deeply complicated concepts to communicate, but its methods and the basic mechanics it uses are to some people impossible to understand.)

10 - (Wheel of) Fortune - Spelunky (Fortune is the card of pure luck and the whims of fate and how you survive being caught in its spokes. Spelunky is a pure Rogue-like as opposed to a Rogue-lite and there is no knowing what the procgen will give you.)

11 - Strength - Undertale (Strength is specifically about emotional control and fortitude. It's not about slaying the lion, but holding it, keeping it from lashing out. Undertale is a game that asks the player to endure emotional struggles both against the mechanics and against their own inclinations.)

12 - The Hanged Man - Signalis (OH BOY ITS MY FAVE CARD. The thing about the Hanged Man is that it's a test, a gamble, a deal. The Hanged Man is not hung from the neck, this is not an execution, they are inverted. They choose to be inverted in the hopes of gaining some Insight into the universe, but in doing so risk madness or obsession or doom. Signalis is both a game about a protagonist going through this and also a game that will put the player through this if they aren't careful.)

13 - The Nameless Arcana - Braid (I'm not even personally a fan of Braid, but I believe it is one of the handful of Original Indie Games. The very existence and popularity of Braid and its contemporaries showed that games outside the big studios could hit big. Braid (or Cave Story for the PC crowd) altered the landscape.

14 - Temperance - Yakuza (Temperance is the melding of disparate elements that should not go together into something grand and new, and maintaining that balance. Yakuza manages to be genuine and profound not in spite of its strange mixture of tones and mechanics but because of them.)

15 - The Devil - Genshin Impact (I don't feel the need to elaborate on this one.)

16 - The Tower - Shenmue (The Tower is total upheaval and where it all comes crashing down, where ambition crumbles and brings an institution down with it. Shenmue is not solely to blame for the failure of the Dreamcast and Sega's exit from the console arena, but it contributed to it and is emblematic of that seachange.)

17 - The Star - Mass Effect (The Star is a beacon in the darkness, a distant light that indicates not so much a goal, but that the journey will continue. Mass Effect is a landmark title that maybe didn't execute on half the things it tried, strangled by its own scope, but it still showed what games could do, broadening the possibility space. It is hope for greater experiences and art.)

18 - The Moon - Metal Gear (The Moon illuminates the path through the darkness, but creates illusions in the reflections, demanding the querent move forward with care or they will go astray, go mad. Is Metal Gear really deep? Is it the closest triple-A games get to arthouse? Does it have meaning? Or is it a mess? Is it too Problematique to justify it's big ideas? Is it all just really, really stupid? Or is it genius?)

19 - The Sun - Tetris Effect (The Sun comes at the end of a long, arduous journey. It is the sigh of relief, the tears of release, the light to finally see how far you've come. Tetris Effect is the latest iteration of one of the oldest formulas ever, and it's brilliant and celebratory and invites everyone to take part in its joy.)

20 - Judgement - Pathologic (Judgement is all-seeing and all-knowing, the final tally and the reckoning. So is Pathologic. Few experiences demand so much from the player, and few games are so brutally honest in answering the player's decisions. In Pathologic, you will get what you deserve.)

21 - The World - The Outer Wilds (The beginning is the end is the beginning. Completion and totality and holistic understanding of Everything. It's gotta be Outer Wilds.)

[katzkinder]

Tsubaki should've been a cat considering how much of a pathetic little meow meow he is lol

Maybe then his Insta pics would get more likes than Kuro’s lol

This reminds me of something I think is pretty neat about the Servamps, actually, and it’s how they’ve integrated their animal forms with their lives.

Kuro and Tsubaki are basically the opposite in how they do this. Kuro has social anxiety like crazyyy (comes with being stabbed to death over some sheep) and I think part of how he mitigates this is by being Kibby. Like, his behavior as a cat and as a human… He almost seems like two different people. But he’s not, obviously. He’s just… I think, as a cat, he’s able to be more of himself, the person that he once was, because he’s got this mask to put on. It’s fine to be silly and needy and a glutton and cute and… All these different things he wouldn’t dare to dream while on the form of a man. It’s fine to want to interact with people, to be the center of attention.

He’s just a silly little kitty cat.

He’s also the Servamp who, I think, enjoys being babied and treated like a pet the most. He has this desire to be spoiled and loved on he can only be plain about while he’s an animal.

Compared to Tsubaki, who spends the second most time as a human compared to any other Servamp in the series relative to page time. I think Ildio might actually beat him out, but that’s not really fair considering what all was going on with him. Anyway. Point being, Tsubaki really only ever uses his animal form when he first meets Mahiru and Kuro, and when he and Kuro are trying to kidnap Touma Mahiru. I think, to him, rather than a mode of living, being able to turn into a fox is a tool. He basically uses its exclusively to get followers and likes on instagram or, in one of the conversations on Servamp Quest on Tanakabox, Belkia reveals Tsubaki likes to curl up inside his hat to nap which is just. So unspeakably cute. I wonder if that’s a self soothing thing for him. Finding himself a little hidey hole to doze off in while surrounded by the scent of his family.

But yeah. Tsubaki not really making use of his animal form makes a lot of sense! More than just not HAVING to use it, I don’t think he’d enjoy being “depersoned” the way that being an animal would come with. Getting fawned over is nice and all, but he’s also very noisy about how he wants to spoiled when he’s a man. It’s actually kinda embarrassing. He’s such a dork lol how do Team M put up with him. An embarrassing leader, but they wouldn’t trade him for the world.

The others are more of a sliding scale of the eldest and youngest, which is also very neat! And of course there’s Jeje, who, similar to Kuro, uses his snake form to avoid being A Person, but also to provide Mikuni with a bodyguard no one expects to pop out lol. Providing his Eve with the independence he’s known for without leaving him unattended. Compared to Lily, who will separate from Misono easily during the day but, when they’re together, seems to much prefer being the dutiful butler ready to fulfill every wish and command of his dear and darling young master, up to and including being a Literal Chair for him. Hm. Lily, you don’t think… People might find that suspect? xD

Ahem. It’s a really good juxtaposition showing the differences in how they approach their role in their Eves’ lives.

Thanks for the ask! This was super fun~

[tremendouskoalachild]

The Acolyte episode 1 is so fucking good, part 2

scene change with dramatic, disorienting camera tilt! our assassin seems to be waking up from a nightmare, and have a new haircut. she is on a spaceship - after a timeskip? was the opening a flashback, a Force vision? what was she dreaming about?

she touches the very spot on her chest where Indara was stabbed in the opening. (very cool observation by @flythesail!)

her living space is muted in both color and light. combined with her uneasy sleep we get the sense she isn't in a good place in her life.

we see her worktable filled with tools, right in her bedroom, immediately recognizing her as a mechanic (and perhaps in a bad living situation). a little droid greets her enthusiastically, and her demeanor changes right away to sunny and amused. we wonder whether she is simply putting on a happy mask, pretending everything is fine. (with more context even from the rest of this first episode we can tell Osha had been having a nightmare about the fire on Brendok, and probably has been regularly for the past 16 years.)

the droid "Pip" becomes the second named character in the show. we get the sense that our main character is either very empathetic, taking care to notice the overlooked robots, or closed off from other people and connecting more easily with droids.

(Pip is also both adorable and cleverly designed from a prop-making perspective.)

our protagonist, "Osha", has to get to work right away, only snatching up a quick bite of something from a wall dispenser for breakfast. the ship is dim, drab, almost depressing, as is her work uniform in the same color scheme.

she is friendly but distant with her coworker, "Fillik", and we learn that she did not go out with the crew the previous night. (this is her pointed lack of an alibi for Indara's murder, and her lack of interest in hanging out a contrast to her later story of getting tattooed with her buddies. we will wonder whether she became less outgoing over time, whether she perhaps felt inexplicably unwell around the time of Mae's revenge quest beginning, or her tattoo trip was an especially impulsive but perhaps characteristic thing for her to do.)

Osha and Fillik have to get out of the way of passing Trade Federation employees, and Osha shoots a look their way. she seems to have a low status in their eyes, and resent it. (we will also continue to see Osha wanting more for herself, like with her childhood on Brendok, and being stuck in a situation that she chose but which didn't end up being right for her, stalling to change it, like with her apprenticeship in the order.)

(the Trade Federation making an appearance both visually and via spoken dialogue helps make a link to the chronologically closest piece of onscreen star wars in The Phantom Menace.)

"no rest for the wicked?" "the wicked rest, they just don't brag about it." is a fun little piece of banter but also makes us wonder at a deeper meaning, perhaps whether Osha is thinking about her secret murder of a jedi. (the bad guys surviving in secret is also how the season ends.)

Osha matter-of-factly takes the lead in walking out to her and Fillik's destination, exiting the ship, as well as talking back to their superiors. perhaps she wants to be in charge, or is a natural risk-taker. (confidently walking off is something we will see her do with the Stranger but less so with the Jedi, who she doesn't feel worthy next to at that point.)

(the hatch opening also reminds us of Luke's rescue near the end of The Empire Strikes Back.)

(our characters doing outer ship repair while wearing space suits with magnetized shoes is also a very cool concept.)

Osha's form is tiny on the hull of the huge ship in the darkness of space, giving us the impression that she is lost.

(the alien prosthetics look so good here, too. the fact that their voice acting isn't an offensive caricature helps as well.)

on a rewatch, Osha jokingly calling Fillik disposable unlike herself feels like foreshadowing of her (although hesitant) willingness to sacrifice others for herself.

despite being no-nonsense and competent right before, Osha freezes up completely when looking at a fire. why? (Pip helping ground Osha or snap her out of a flashback will also come back again and again, and her losing her most consistent support in him is a major point in her journey to the Stranger.)

the arrival of jedi on the scene feels ominous, with Osha's unreadable reaction, the officers' clear annoyance, and Fillik's cryptic "friends of yours?". the audience is once more sharing the perspective of non-jedi characters, unlike most star wars media where the jedi appear. (with the context of Osha's departure from the order - and the remoteness of the Corporate Sector, brought up by Yord soon after - we can also assume she goes directly to her room in order to avoid them entirely, and perhaps get away from the ship.)

the jedi, "Yord" and "Tasi", stroll confidently onto the bridge. we get a first look at their pristine white-and-gold robes, making them stand out in the grey space. Yord seems completely self-assured, even amused, and casually makes to influence the captain with the Force.

we also learn that Osha's occupation is illegal due to being too hazardous, and normally done by droids; this furthers her characterization as either seeking danger (for thrill or self-punishment) or desperate (for a living or to get as far from the jedi as possible). it also helps sell the idea that this is long before the movie events and connects to them thematically, with the future reliance on droids, dissatisfaction with the republic's regulations, and reckless pursuit of profit by the separatists' supporters.

the jedi are looking for Osha, and we learn her last name - Aniseya.

Osha seems worried but immediately lights up when she sees Yord, and we learn they know each other well - or used to, since they never expected to meet again after saying goodbye years ago. Osha realizes Yord is wary of her despite being glad to see her. she seems genuinely surprised and we wonder whether the character is that good an actor, or genuinely doesn't know why the jedi are looking for her.

we learn more of Osha's backstory, this time having no reason to suspect unreliable narration - joined the jedi order at 8 years old after losing her entire family to a fire and being rescued by "Sol", left six years ago and became a meknek. she is awkward speaking to Tasi, presumably both due to being pretty much interrogated and having a stranger intrude on her reunion with Yord.

she has an interesting reaction to the news of Indara's death (she is, indeed, first learning of it, and we are soon after told she ended up having a complicated relationship with Indara, as the latter did not think she should remain in the order. we will also wonder whether Indara was trying to look out for the jedi or for Osha herself with her concerns.)

we also learn concretely that the cold open happened the night prior relative to ship-time. since Osha just woke up in the previous scene, and the ship is clearly not over Ueda (seen better in a later shot), and Osha specifically moved far away to get away from them, the jedi seem quick and competent in their investigation. (them finding Osha's location quickly might also make us wonder whether they were checking up on her from afar, whether for her well-being or as a precaution.)

Osha is adamant that leaving the jedi was her own decision, and that it was difficult for her; she is indignant at the very idea that she would betray the jedi in such a way. (her line about "betraying the order, overpowering a jedi master, and murdering [them]" is also exactly what she does in the finale.)

Yord is obviously conflicted but resigned to do his duty, while Osha is disappointed in him but resigned as well.

Tasi deactivates Osha's friend Pip, putting the audience at odds with her. (giving all the more antagonistic actions and lines to her makes it easier for us to like Yord later.)

the prisoner transport is guarded by an imposing red droid, its head looking like scary helmet with eyes that turn red as it looks at Osha. it towers over her and is filmed at an angle from below, putting us in her shoes.

the scene ends with our first wipe transition, reminding us of the visual language of the film series, this time nicely matched to the transport's movement off-screen.

what a great scene! introduces both Osha (plus Pip) and Yord nicely, gives us the bare-bones facts of Osha's backstory to orient us but make us want to find out what exactly happened to her, and connects the setting to the prequels in a satisfying way. the worldbuilding here is nice, too.

[supremeuppityone]

This was written for Klaroline Fanfic Week @klarolinefanficweek; Week 1 [April 1-April 5, 2025] – Mythical creatures.

Forged in Fae

“There is nothing like looking, if you want to find something. You certainly usually find something, if you look, but it is not always quite the something you were after.” ― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit

            The might of the Forbes’ forge was spoken in the same breath as that of fanciful legends. The skill of the Forbes blacksmith was attributed to Master Forbes’ belief in the old ways. Klaus had been skeptical when he first heard such praises for a mere mortal in the rundown taverns that dotted the land, but his own quest had borne no fruit and his need was far too great to dismiss.

            He wrinkled his nose in distaste at the blacksmith’s thatched roof, his vampire hearing easily detecting the rustle of vermin skittering to and fro. Master Forbes must take his payment in trade with the villagers rather than coin. With a sigh of irritation, Klaus knocked on the crooked, dusty door, reminding himself that a bit of restraint might be in order as Master Forbes was well-known in this land, and his brutal death would draw unnecessary attention. Frightened whispers spoke of Mikael slaughtering Varangian princes in the nearby villages of Novgorod and Pskov. One could never be too careful in these uncertain times.

            A quiet voice broke the threshold spell that bound his vampiric nature and he stepped inside, taken aback by the sumptuous furnishings and gold-threaded tapestries that lined the surprisingly expansive chamber. It was a clever illusion of a derelict peasant’s hovel to hide the obvious riches inside. What sorcery is this? Master Forbes must be a warlock or perhaps a shaman. It wasn’t unheard of for humans touched by the unnatural to hide amongst superstitious villagers by feigning practice of sacred rites. Narrowing his gray gaze at the hooded figure stoking the fires of the hearth, he asked suspiciously, “What are you, Master Forbes?”

            A leather-gloved hand continued to grip the iron tool as the figure turned around, tossing back the hood to reveal blazing blue eyes and the lovely visage of a creature with delicate pointed ears. “Complicated,” she told him with a sly grin.

            Klaus blinked, thoughts racing as he tried to reconcile what he was seeing. “Master Forbes”, the most celebrated blacksmith in recent memory, who’d distinguished “himself” in numerous battles defending the nomadic tribes of the grasslands, was a woman. No, not just a woman. “Impossible,” he blurted out unexpectedly.

            “Impossible? You mean like a vampire,” she asked in mock innocence.

            He scoffed, “Of course vampires exist. But the fae are nothing more than silly flights of fancy.” He inwardly winced, realizing he sounded almost as pompous as Elijah. “Or, at least they’re supposed to be,” he amended mulishly. 

            She finished stoking the flames and gestured for him to sit on a wide bench carved with vines. Folding herself into a narrow chair decorated with an emerald cushion, she adopted a businesslike tone, “Now that we’ve established we’re both real, onto the introductions. I’m Caroline.”

            She didn’t seem to know who he was. Now wasn’t that a novelty? “Klaus,” he replied, eying the iron fire tools leaning against the hearth. His gaze strayed back to her delicate, pointed ears. “You’re fae, and yet your livelihood — your art — requires contact with iron. Isn’t that deadly to your kind?”

            With a careless wave, she asked, “And you’re a vampire — does that mean you run away in terror at every tree branch you see?”

            Cheeky minx. Despite the seriousness of his quest, his monster rumbled most pleasantly in his chest. She was fair of face and form, and now it seemed she was quick of mind as well. A most delightful combination. He found it difficult to remember that folktales said the fae were notorious tricksters. “I’m an Original, love. It takes a fair bit more to bring about my end,” he couldn’t help but boast.

            She rolled her eyes, but hints of mirth kicked up the corners of her mouth. “What brings you to my forge?”

            “Rumors abound that Master Forbes’ weapons carry blessings of the gods and that the warriors who wield them never taste defeat. I need such a weapon to kill my father, Mikael.” 

            Caroline grew quiet, thoughtful in her appraisal of him as she gracefully carried back to the hearth a small wooden tray with a teapot and two clay cups. She carefully poured out a portion for them both as they sat beside the cheerful flames. She seemed to be wrestling with something — perhaps whether to help him? Folktales from his boyhood warned of the fae’s fickleness as well as trickery. No matter — he’d bested many a creature who foolishly thought to manipulate him. 

            While she sat in quiet contemplation, Klaus sipped his tea, enjoying the distinctive smoky flavor infused into the black leaves from the caravan’s campfires along with a hint of blackcurrant. He fought the ridiculous urge to boast of his own far-flung travels, feeling an oddly instinctual desire to impress this otherworldly creature. Caroline was not his to impress. 

            “Am I to assume Mikael is like you then?”

            A fair amount of discomfort swirled in his gut as he contemplated how to explain Mikael. “Yes, we’re both Originals. But he’s embraced the perversion of only feeding on other vampires. And I’m the Original Hybrid — half vampire, half werewolf.” He paused, waiting for a sign of recognition. Nothing. Why did that sting with the blow of a poisoned arrow to the chest? He furiously told himself he did not require flattery. The quest was what mattered.

            “You seem disappointed that I’m not well-versed in your familial history. Don’t take it personally; I stay out of vampire business. And werewolf business,” she told him pointedly, stirring more honey into her tea.

            Klaus bit back a scowl, weighing the options of threatening this enchanting creature. Except she was far too enchanting. That vibrant crimson hood was a lovely contrast to her ivory skin and the vivid blue of her gaze clearly saw more than he would like her to. However, rather than being wary of this unknown creature, his beast was maddeningly intrigued.   

            Caroline’s lips twitched as though she knew the scandalous path of his thoughts. Mercifully, she didn’t speak on it and instead returned to the matter at hand. “Your request isn’t easy. It will require a rare ingredient — to craft a weapon of the strength needed to defeat your foe, the blade must be quenched during the forging process with the blood of a doppelganger — not a single drop may be spared.”

            Klaus immediately stood, fury raging in his chest at her unfortunate revelation. “It seems the fates continue to thwart my quest,” he growled. “A doppelganger was sacrificed to turn me and my family. Another has yet to appear.”

            Frowning, she asked, “If you know of doppelgangers, then how do you not know of fae?” At Klaus’ obvious confusion, she explained, “Doppelgangers only appear when there’s the right balance of fae ancestry in a human’s bloodline. Fae magic manifests in odd ways when mingled with mortals.”

            Bloody hell. It was quite shocking to learn that he’d lived most of his human life in the presence of fae. Well, a partial fae. Is that why Tatia had been able to ensnare both him and Elijah so easily? This unwelcome news also posed a new problem. With a growl, he revealed, “In order to break my curse and reclaim my wolf, I must drain a doppelganger. However, you must drain a doppelganger to create a weapon that could destroy Mikael.”

            She poured a bit more tea into their cups, the red clay warming their hands as she mused, “Well, every few hundred years or so, some of the fae will wander into the mortal realm and make merry sport with some of the humans.” Clinking their cups together, she told him, “At least you’ll have plenty of time to decide whether you want your father dead more than you want to see your wolf again.”

            His tormentor or his wolf? There wasn’t an easy answer, but Klaus could tell from the way Caroline’s gaze twinkled mischievously that perhaps that was the point. 

            The fae were notorious tricksters.

[the-gnomish-bastard]

Alright, more tips for DMs when making a campaign: Villain Edition

When creating a BBEG, stop taking ideas from popular mainstream dnd campaigns, or classic villain ideas. You can still do this if you want, but I’m suggesting a better idea.

Aspire to create Davy Jones. Why? Because he’s the perfect villain. Think of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies as a dnd campaign, with everyone choosing Swashbuckler Rogue. You got the three main players, Jack, Will, and Elizabeth. Barb pass is a player too, but they joined late in the campaign and were given a premade character based on a previous villain for time reasons.

They all get caught up in stupid shenanigans. The whole first part of Dead Man’s Chest is world building. The DM shows off the kraken, and shows off what kind of man Davy Jones is. The second half is pretty much all combat. The DM sends in the kraken cause the party is running away from a planned fight, the kraken does a lot more damage than the DM was expecting, and Elizabeth betrays Jack to save the party. The DM did not plan for this.

In At World’s End, the first thing that happens is they have a time skip, and the DM introduces the true villain, the one behind everything. The British. The party goes on a quest to revive Jack, and they succeed! To put people’s minds at ease and really hammer in what a villain the East India Trading Company is, he shows off the corpse of the kraken. Jack is on a quest for immortality now, having seen death for himself. We get to the final part, the showdown. Shit happens and the main combat BBEG is slain, at the cost of a party member.

That is a dnd campaign there.

And why does it work? Because Davy Jones plays off of each character so well. He has a sense of humor, he’s intelligent, but most of all, he’s heartbroken.

A perfect example of a tragic villain. He falls in love with a goddess, she gives him a temporary job to ferry the souls of the dead, and on the one day every ten years he can go on land, she doesn’t show up to relieve him of his burden. She abandons him. And in his rage, he betrays her. He sells her out to the Brethren Court, and upon realizing what he did, he falls deeper into despair and cuts out his own heart. He goes on the be a legendary terror amongst the seas, but he never finds peace. He was used as a tool and he dies as a tool for the British.

Then there’s the comedic aspect. He deals with Jack’s antics very well, and at times he makes jokes, albeit dark ones, but still. And in a dnd campaign, you’re gonna have at least one or two Jack Sparrows.

Best part? He’s not even the main villain, nor is he in the wrong when we first meet him. He’s come to collect on the debt Jack owes, which he has every right to do. Jack then steals from him again, and he ends up forced to serve the real villain behind everything. The British. Davy Jones is the villain made to be fought, and the British were used as the overall villain.

Basically, put Davy Jones in your campaigns.

[gamerbot-22]

Let the Spirit Move You

Prompt: Singing

TW/CW: Luocha officiates(?) a funeral, pre-canon, unnamed original characters, barely proofread and I appreciate spellchecks!

Word Count: 855

A/N: Oh god I have no idea how in-character this one is. Luocha is one of those handful of characters in this game that I... have no idea what to make of? Apparently he was really important in another Hoyoverse game but that hasn't carried into Star Rail very much outside his quest in the Xianzhou storyline. Unless I'm stupid and missed something Big and Obvious.

Likes and Reblogs appreciated and Requests are Open! Read this story on Ao3 here!

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The dividers in this post were made by @/gamerbot-22 (me!) ☆

© All rights reserved by miHoYo

People asked questions about the coffin Luocha carried everywhere he went. He had anticipated questions once he arrived on the Xianzhou, considering that coffins were not the custom there, but even on the way there he was being stopped and asked about it. He supposed that's what he got for carrying the coffin himself instead of getting a more formal procession...

And he'd thought that his cover as a merchant would work, but it turns out having a Massive Suspicious Coffin isn't enough to convince some people.

So here he was, standing by a riverbank on some swampy planet, shoes sinking into the mud as he listened to an elderly local give a eulogy over a funerary raft. The body was covered with the skins of native animals, each one a different shade of brown or green for optimal camouflage. He shifted his weight to try and get a better look at the patterns--just so he had something else to focus on--and only felt his shoes go even deeper into the dirt. Ugh... How did he get roped into this again?

Something jostled his side. "That's your cue," muttered a soft voice beside him.

Ah yes, she was the reason he got into this. This poor girl just lost her... father? Grandfather? And they were short a priest to lay him to rest properly. He'd told her about a dozen times that he wasn't a priest, that the coffin was just a tool of his trade and he really did have to make the next ship off of this planet, but... Well, the girl had spirit, he would give her that much.

"I still don't know what you want from me," he whispered back. "I don't know your custom."

"You getting up there is the custom," she hissed. Her patience with this stranger was wearing thin. "Go stand where Baba just was and let his spirit sing through you."

"Sing?"

The girl growled something under her breath, the words either too quiet or too foreign for Luocha to catch properly. "Yes. Go up there and let my grandfather's--" Aha! Grandfather! "--spirit move you so I can mourn without having to coach you!"

Her voice was starting to raise, and with no one up by the riverbank speaking, her scolding was drawing people's attention. The eyes on him were pointed, and he didn't have the time to argue. With a sigh and a sidelong glance at the coffin he carried--the thing that got him into this mess in the first place--he walked up to the riverbank.

The eyes followed him, but he kept his on the girl who'd gotten him here in the first place. He just stood up there, in his muddy shoes, and gathered his thoughts. If this had been a funerary custom he was used to--he recited a prayer or a Path's teachings, everyone wept, then went home--he would've been able to push through just fine, but singing? Did it have to be something specific? He didn't know the man who died, much less the planet he had lived on and the culture that followed, and he was already on a time crunch...

His chosen observer mouthed something at him.

A wind started to blow through the marshlands. Gentle at first, but it picked up fast, causing the tall grass by the riverside to bow its many heads, the leaves to whisper, and the water itself to tremble. The mourners stood fast in the face of the breeze, even as their hair blew into their faces and their cloaks flapped like the wings of doves. No matter how much the wind whorled around them and the trees shook and shuddered, no one dared leave this riverbank.

The wind reached his ears, and in the strangest way... it sounded like music. Not something that could be heard on a radio or at a show on a busier planet, but... music all the same. There were notes, there were tones, there was a melody.

But no words.

There didn't have to be.

Luocha hummed along, just to catch the wind's rhythm, and after maybe two or so bars, his lips parted, and the humming became vocalizing, a simple "ah" sound that rose and fell as the wind did. He grew more confident, more proud of his simple sound as time passed, the seconds ticking into minutes. It began to feel almost like the wind was his own voice, that he was the one making the grass bend and the water ripple.

The wind passed. His voice faded. Silence fell on the little congregation.

He looked at the girl in the crowd. She wasn't looking at him. She had her arm around the elder who had been standing where he was now and was holding her tight as she wept. That was probably his cue to leave. Luocha bowed to the crowd and murmured an excuse.

He trudged through the mud, dragging Tayzzyronth's coffin behind him. If the girl who had hauled him here called him to stay, he didn't hear it. This had been nice, but the moment had passed. He had somewhere to be.

[darkdemeter]

Child Reader hcs! If S/O was playable, I could imagine her being like some low HP and ATK but speedy rogue-like person due to Strife training her with a knife and stealing items from enemies. She could also be used to crawl small places and be lifted up by War or Strife to reach high spots. And she could even have her own little bag of collecting souls that she uses not for herself but to gain some discounts on amount of Souls the Horsemen would need on upgrades. Such a sweet cinnamon roll! 🥰

CHARACTER CINNAMON GUIDE HER WAY HOME ─ THE GAME HEADCANONS

◤✘DARKSIDERS REQUESTS | CATALOGUE (Platonic!) Strife and War x Female Child!Reader

NOTES ↳ ANON ANON ANOOOOOON! YESSSSSS! OMG I LOVE THIIIIIIISSSSSSSSSS! This is a concept I'm absolutely obsessed with -- that being the reader is a playable character in the Darksiders franchise. I'm so glad I'm not the only one who thinks like this and I finally get to put these ideas into a post! I went a bit crazy with the hcs amount that I had to stop myself.... there is so many ideas I have with this concept alone...

────────────────────────

✘ Nicknamed Cinn/Cinnamon.

✘ Your size is used to your advantage. Being so small, you are able to sneak past enemies (unless their level is higher than yours or they're a boss).

✘ If you have enough skill points put into your stealth, you can also utilise your "Deft Mittens" ability - this ability will morph into "Deft Hands" and then "The Phantom Hand" the higher your level is and the more valuable loot you'll be able to pickpocket from higher level enemies.

✘ You're also quick and have a short but 2 charge evasion sprint ability much like Strife. A very rogue-like build that utilises stealth and the element of surprise. You're armed with a single dagger that can eventually be upgraded to dual wielding through Strife's training.

✘ When War and Strife near a small crawl space, they will beckon you over to have you travel through and reach whatever objective you must accomplish.

✘ If you find a spot you can fit through but it's higher up and out of reach, you can call over either War or Strife to lift you up, your character delivering the voice line, "Uppie!" and you'll be hoisted up.

✘ you have the cutest voice lines... hands down. FACTS.

✘ If your health gets down to 1 point, there is a chance that either War or Strife will use an ability called "Guardian Wings" that flies them to your immediate aid to either block an attack combo or to grant you a healing potion if they have any.

✘ If you lose all your health or are inflicted with a powerful debuff that compells you to be stunned or paralysed while very low on health, this can potentially trigger Chaos and Anarchy for several seconds. If the enemy is downed within a certain time frame, then you will be resurrected without needing to start from your last save point. If not, then you "pass out" and need to load from your last save.

✘ A cute little mid-combat cutscene will occur if you have a healing potion and give it to Strife or War. Yes, you will want to stack up on potions just to see it because it's so cute.

✘ Uhmmmm especially in the genesis type cutscenes -- you are the cutest ray of sunshine. Anything and everything you do is the fucking cutest thing.

✘ You have a very shallow health pool and a weaker attack rate compared to your Horsemen counterparts. This means you will need to be very careful about your strategy going into fights. The more you rest at camp and train your abilities, the stronger you will become.

✘ Eating food at camp grants you buffs.

✘ Tool tip! remember to always search for treasure. Relics found in these chests can be traded into Vulgrim for health upgrades.

✘ If you go to Dis, she can also upgrade your gear and potentially grant you buff if you complete little return quests for her.

✘ Being human has its advantages. You have a passive "tinker" ability that's very weak to begin with but can be upgraded further on with your levelling and your story. This ability allows you to craft useful tools and gadgets.

✘ Dialogue options with Strife and War when you're out and about on your adventures are worth the many playthroughs! You get choices (much like DS2) where you can ask them questions about your surroundings, battle advice and special banters can be triggered in certain places and areas and if you do the hidden misc questlines.

✘ SPOILER HC! You can use the snow sphere given to you by Samael to use as a light source in dark areas. Go to Samael to upgrade this sphere and it can grant you a clairvoyant ability that can either lead you to higher level loot or if you're stuck, show you onto your current objective's path.

✘ You have a little satchel/drawstring bag that has a default number of 5 inventory slots. These can be upgraded at higher levels by Dis OR you can partake in small misc quests by Strife who will teach you the passive ability to increase your inventory space.

✘ You can also collect souls into your little bag that can give discounts for Strife's and War's upgrades on their armor and their abilities.

✘ War can also teach you a few abilities the higher your level is and if you put skill points into your strength but by default, you're role is a close ranged rogue type.

✘ You can choose whichever Horsemen you want to ride with and this gives you control over the movement. There are chase sequences where you can only evade oncoming attacks, but you can learn horseback combat that will allow you to either throw your dagger or cast a spell/ranged gadget.

✘ You can pet and feed Ruin and Mayham. Cause if the developers didn't allow you to do that, then that's just cruel.

✘ When travelling through swampy areas or anywhere that is too dangerous for you to traverse by yourself, you can engage War or Strife and they will carry you across.

[froschli96]

Finally finished Pathologic 2 for the first time! And on intended difficulty too!

Death count: 2 Casualties: 7:

Anna Angel - got infected at the first opportunity and immediately died the next night even though i used the good antibiotics on her. RIP.

Big Vlad - got what he deserved. didn't have the time to try and save him from his punishment and honestly didn't really care to.

Young Vlad - got infected after his father's death, managed to survive one night even without me treating him but then succumbed the next night bc his infection level was too high even with treatment. Oh well….

Rubin - this fucked me up so bad. he just randomly fucking died on day 7. i felt so bad because i didn't go look for his hideout when i had the opportunity and thought he died bc i missed his questline. but apparently he always dies if you haven't made your first panacea at that point?? didn't even know that was possible. Was really demotivated by that but still decided to try and salvage what i could.

Alexander Saburov - survived two nights after getting infected but died in the third. shrug pretty resilient tho, props.

Aglaya - said i'd run away with her but didn't manage to get there in time… tbh i thought she meant the next day…. 🙈 but from what i've read it's actually impossible to save her? so… kind of glad i didn't waste time there… lol. also don't really know how i feel about her like immediately falling in love with Artemy and wanting to run away together… she felt like a bit of a downgrade from her P1 counterpart ngl… but maybe that's bc we only have one route and a certain meta layer that was a really interesting part of her character is basically absent aside from some comments from grief and the children…. also miss the smizing of her old model tbh.

Aspity - Kind of pissed about losing her at the last opportunity. She was infected on day 10 when i was running around trying to save all of my children. tried giving her antibiotics but that didn't help unfortunately. the worst part is i did have one more living blood but not enough time to brew another panacea bc i never upgraded my alembic. like? another toolkit? seriously?? i needed a whole side quest for the first one! (also never repaired the repair table so all of my tools were busted LMAO)

i think all in all i was mostly just REALLY lucky on all the dice rolls. always took care to give everyone a (+) tincture as prophylaxis and that worked out pretty well most of the time.

Notkin also got infected at the first opportunity (tho it seemed like that's unavoidable?) and survived two nights with just antibiotics. After that it felt like i was honestly tempting fate tho and so i healed him with a shmowder, and this kid had the GALL to tell me i shouldn't have used it on him?? like, i'm sorry i CARE ABOUT YOU and don't want you to DIE, kid. GOD.

But i had like 3 shmowders at that point so… even tho i fucked up that one hide and seek game where you probably also get a shmowder……….. i didn't realize you could trade with the children immediately after finding them and of course the first one i found was the teensy and then i just ran off to try and find the others, sobbing

i also didn't really engage with the whole children's cache thing, like, at all. and apparently that's also a pretty good source of shmowders……… oh well.

in general i feel like there were a lot of mechanics i didn't really engage with as much as i would have liked bc I WAS JUST CONSTANTLY ON THE VERGE OF COLLAPSING AND/OR STARVING. only ever slept in 1 hour increments. tho i think i once slept two whole hours in one go. obscene.

i was also a total coward for most of the game and RAN from every single combat encounter lmao! i just got a little careless after rubin's death and tried my luck with a mugger in a burnt district…. and immediately died Lklasjdhfjklds. like, i knew about the death punishments and wanted to avoid it at all costs, that's why i was scared shitless

anyways, at that point i realized: if there ever comes a point where i'm unable to run from a combat encounter, i'm cooked. and i knew there was a notoriously difficult combat encounter late in the game. so i did something… maybe a little cheaty? but not really imo...

what i did is, i paused my playthrough and started a new game and then played through the first day and night and just went absolutely HAM on both the patrolmen on day one and the muggers in the night to practice combat. and turns out? it's actually kind of fun not being a coward all the time LMAO. I didn't even die so I feel like it wasn't too cheaty

at that point i felt like i was at least somewhat more prepared and went back to my actual playthrough and also started killing muggers in the night. AND THEN THE FUND REWARDS WERE SO MUCH BETTER HOLY SHIT??? actual fucking life saver. (unfortunately tho i ended up getting so dependent on the fund that i sacrificed a shmowder on clara's hospital quest to get the fund reward the next day…… felt kind of dirty ngl)

i actually managed not to die during the abattoir sequence tho! but there was a lot of sneaking around and punching and running away until they de-aggroed involved, ngl lasdjf idk why but the worms are so scary when they're running at you…. i think bc you can only see their eyes and so they seem to have this singleminded focus on bashing your head in?? lol

my second death instead was another really stupid one that i'm honestly actually not quite sure what exactly happened? i was fighting a mugger in the night but while i was waiting for my stamina to refill he suddenly starts running away and i just hear a slicing sound and i'm dead? so i'm wondering, bc the only other npc i could see beforehand was an army soldier - do the soldiers attack you when they see you fighting someone? even if it's a mugger? or maybe i was just a little too cocky and didn't scout the area enough. it just seemed strange that the mugger suddenly started running away bc he actually managed to land a hit on me beforehand, so it didn't really seem like he was running from ME? oh well, whatever, it's not like the consequences were EMOTIONALLY DEVASTATING (lara, i'm so sorry 😭)

another one of my favorite moments tho was on day… three? or four? don't remember, it's when you plan a meeting with lara, rubin and grief at midnight. i really didn't want to miss it but over the course of the day i totally ended up forgetting about it. but then some time after midnight i wanted to go to big vlad's house to sleep and on my way there i went to grief's hideout to save. and then i saw that he wasn't there. and it took me a few moments but then i went OH SHIT! and then ran in the other direction towards the steppe. and then there, in the distance, was a bonfire! and my friends!!! sobs and they weren't even angry at me for being late SOBS HARDER that was such a nice moment. and they even brought a sleeping bag, so i could instead sleep there instead of big vlad's house - under the stars! next to a nice crackling fire! with my friends!!!!!!! that made me so emotional for some reason…. probably bc it felt like it happened so organically with how i saw grief wasn't home and then remembered the meeting and then rushed there and stuff….

anyways, i can finally stop avoiding spoilers for P2! like, i didn't go in totally blind bc of P1 pre-knowledge and wasn't able to TOTALLY avoid spoilers so i knew about some plot points and the death punishments and stuff. but i am glad i could go in at least SOMEHWAT blind.

having played it to completion i do have some thoughts on the story and especially the treatment and depiction of the kin but i feel like i have to properly sort out my thoughts first…

[pushing500]

✨Gracie's Rimworld Modlist✨

(For the Mechanitor's Message run)

Here are all my current mods in order. Once again it’s all hand-typed because I am a bit rubbish at computer stuff and don’t know how to export modlists. Enjoy!! xoxo

Prepatcher (required for one or more of the other mods to work)

Harmony (I think this is just for performance)

Vanilla Backgrounds Expanded (this is just cool for loading screens etc.)

[CAT] Show Hair With Hats or Hide All Hats (so my colonists can show off their beautiful hair)

HugsLib (I think this is just for performance)

Camera + (better for taking screenshots)

Character Editor (so I can start with customised colonists)

Vanilla Expanded Framework (so all the Vanilla Expanded mods work)

Vanilla Furniture Expanded - Props and Decor (adds fancy props and decor)

Geological Landforms (for fun map generation)

Pathfinding Framework (a framework for pathfinding)

ANDH - Animal Nuzzling Detects Horrors (animals can detect metalhorrors when they nuzzle your colonists)

[GMT] Trading Spot (those darn traders always track dirt on my floors)

[KV] Impassable Map Maker (in case I feel like settling on an impassable tile)

[NL] Facial Animation - WIP (they look so cute with their lil’ faces!!)

[SBV] Recreational Drum Use (drum go bang boom, brain get happy)

[T] Moor Floors 1.4 (more floors)

[XND] Proper Shotguns (Continued) (makes shotguns work better so Security Chief Ratchet and Deputy Rocket the militors can be extra kickass)

Llama's Proper Shotgun Patches (some patches for the previous mod)

Adjustable Archonexus Quest Continued (no way Mechi is losing all his research!)

A Dog Said… Animal Prosthetics (animal bionics wooo)

Dubs Bad Hygiene (bathrooms cool)

Allow Tool (makes life so much easier)

[ATW] House Decor (more decorations for the house)

Biomes! Core (framework for Biomes! mods)

Biomes! Fossils (dinosaur museum go brrrr)

Biomes! Islands (tropical paradise, here we come!)

Allies are Helpful (so that our friends, few as they may be, will actually be useful)

Alpha Biomes (adds cool new biomes)

Alpha Memes (new ideology memes)

Alpha Mythology (adds cool new mythological animals)

Alpha Prefabs (cool prefabricated buildings)

Alpha Props - Parks and Gardens (adds props for parks and gardens)

Anima Animals Combined (Continued) (cool anima animals)

Animal Controls (animals can have food restrictions, etc.)

Better Mods Mismatch Window (to see which of my mods is fucked up THIS time 🙄)

Ebbbs (cute black blobby creatures)

Horse Breeds - Skin Variations (in case we feel the need to become cowboys with a varied herd of horses)

Biome Transitions (so your biomes transition)

Childhood Backstories (so your children can have backstories)

Clocks (every house needs a grandfather clock)

Colors (personally I prefer “colours”, but we can’t all be right)

Det’s Xenotypes - Avaloi (colourful drunk coral-people!!)

Det’s Xenotypes - Bogleg (alien mafia)

Doors Expanded (expands on the doors)

Dormitories (Not Barracks) (they shouldn’t be that upset about sharing a room)

Dress Patients (Continued) (put clothes on the patients)

Enhanced Beliefs (expands on the ideology system a bit)

Erin’s Baldur’s Gate 3 Hairs (need more hair)

Erin’s Cottage Collection (cutesy furniture)

Erin’s Decorations (cute decorations)

Erin’s Hairstyles - Redux (mmmmmore hair!!)

Extra Alerts (handy-dandy extra popups)

Floordrawings (those kids are so artistic)

GloomyFurniture (cutsey furniture)

Gloomy Furniture Fix (fixes something idk)

Gradient Hair (gradient hair)

Hard Times: Hair and Beards (more hair and beard styles)

Haul to Stack (you think they could figure that out themselves, but no. They need a mod)

Hospitality (warcrime-themed hotel chain let’s goooo)

Human Butchery 2.0 (just in case)

Human Leather Floor (👀)

Interaction Bubbles (to see what dey sayin’)

Kinky Bodystrap (I will not elaborate)

Lights Out (conserve electricity, save the planet)

Megafauna (biiiig pets)

Minify Everything (if I wanna carry a whole wall I damn well will)

More Descriptive Words and Names (exactly what it says on the tin)

More Faction Interaction (Continued) (more faction interaction)

More Persona Traits (to make Persona Weapons more interesting)

More Religious Origins (adds some more religious origins for ideology)

More Thrumbos (Continued) (mmmmore thrumbos)

More Thrumbos (Retextured) (just makes them look a bit better)

More Vanilla Biomes (more vanilla biomes)

negative traits (they can’t all be good)

Non-Binary Gender (adds a non-binary option)

Offworlders - The Biliog (swamp people)

Optimization: Meats - C# Edition (all meat is raw meat)

Pawn Name Variety (variety in pawn names)

Pick Up and Haul (pick it up and haul it)

Prisoners Don’t Have Keys (why would they??)

Random Research (it looked amusing)

Reel’s Facial Animation Textures (face stuff)

Replace Stuff (to build walls on top of other walls etc.)

RimPy Mod Manager Database (just for insurance)

Rimsenal - Hair pack (hair)

Rimsenal Hair Retextured (more hair stuff)

RimTraits - General Traits (more traits)

River’s Tribal Shoes (tribal shoes)

Romance on the Rim (awww, so romantic <3)

Roo’s HD Dreadlock Hairstyles (dreads)

Roo’s HD Glasses Hairstyles (glasses)

Roo’s HD Hairstyles (hairy)

Roo’s HD Royalty Hairstyles (fancy hair)

RPG Style Inventory Revamped (inventory is easier to use)

RT Fuse (I don’t like zzzt events)

Sand Castles (for funsies)

Simple sidearms (always be prepared!)

Smutty Fanfiction (👀)

Snap Out! (for mental breaks)

Standalone Hot Spring (why have geothermal power when you can have a nice hot bath instead?)

Stylized Slave Collars and Headgear (to fit the theme)

The Vanity Project - Beards (more beards)

The Vanity Project - Female Hair (for the gals)

The Vanity Project - Male Hair (for the guys)

Trait and Backstory Icons (icons for traits and backstories)

Toddlers (smol bean people)

Upscaled - Won hair_men (hair)

Upscaled - Won hair_women (hair)

Vanilla Achievements Expanded (makes me feel successful)

Vanilla Animals Expanded (adds fun new animals)

Vanilla Animals Expanded - Endangered (adds endangered animals)

Vanilla Animals Expanded - Royal Animals (adds fancy animals)

Vanilla Animals Expanded - Waste Animals (edgy dystopian animals)

Vanilla Apparel Expanded (new clothes)

Vanilla Apparel Expanded - Accessories (new accessories)

Vanilla Armour Expanded (more armour)

Vanilla Backstories Expanded (more backstories)

Vanilla Brewing Expanded (alcohol woooo)

Vanilla Base Generation Expanded (generates cool bases)

Vanilla Brewing Expanded - Coffee and Tea (to feed our caffeine addiction)

Vanilla Cooking Expanded (fun food)

Vanilla Cooking Expanded - Stews (everybody loves a good stew)

Vanilla Fishing Expanded (such a relaxing pastime)

Vanilla Fishing Expanded - Fishing Treasures AddOn (you can fish up cool stuff, like wood)

Vanilla Cooking Expanded - Sushi (we have to do something with all those fish)

Vanilla Events Expanded (can never have too many events)

Vanilla Factions Expanded - Ancients (scary ancient people)

Vanilla Factions Expanded - Empire (makes the empire more interesting)

Vanilla Factions Expanded - Mechanoids (we couldn’t have a mechanitor run without them)

Vanilla Factions Expanded - Settlers (yeehaw)

Vanilla Factions Expanded - Tribal (I like having tribal friends)

Vanilla Furniture Expanded (more furniture)

Vanilla Furniture Expanded - Architect Module (new structure stuff)

Vanilla Furniture Expanded - Art Module (fancy art and decorations to make)

Vanilla Furniture Expanded - Farming (we love growing food)

Vanilla Furniture Expanded - Medical Module (to make the most kickass hospital)

Vanilla Furniture Expanded - Power (mechanitor has to power their mechs somehow)

Vanilla Furniture Expanded - Production (cool manufacturing stuff)

Vanilla Furniture Expanded - Security (you can never be too careful)

Vanilla Furniture Expanded - Spacer Module (a mechanitor’s dream)

Vanilla Hair Expanded (always need more hair)

Vanilla Hair Retextured (make it look snazzy)

Vanilla Ideology Expanded - Dryads (for sprucing up gauranlen tree stuff)

Vanilla Ideology Expanded - Hats and Rags (to dress properly)

Vanilla Ideology Expanded - Icons and Symbols (to customise ideologies as much as possible)

Vanilla Ideology Expanded - Relics and Artifacts (cube…?)

Vanilla Ideology Expanded - Sophian Style (fancy~)

Vanilla Ideology Expanded - Splits and Schisms (reminds me of Wookshys)

Vanilla Nutrient Paste Expanded (hell yeah nutrient paste)

Vanilla Outposts Expanded (we can form outposts if we like)

Vanilla Races Expanded - Android (it would be cool to have androids hanging out with our mechanitor…)

ReGrowth: Core (I like the retextures)

ReGrowth: Tropical (more fun stuff)

ReGrowth: Aspen (new biomes)

ReGrowth: Boiling (new biomes again)

Vanilla Plants Expanded (yummy foodstuffs)

Tilled Soil (heehoo farm)

Vanilla Persona Weapons Expanded (make the persona weapons more personable)

Vanilla Plants Expanded - More Plants (even MORE farm)

Vanilla Plants Expanded - Mushrooms (I should do a dirtmole colony someday)

Vanilla Plants Expanded - Succulents (they’re cute)

Vanilla Psycasts Expanded (I love ‘em)

Alpha Animals (one of my favourite mods)

Vanilla Genetics Expanded (genetics stuff)

Vanilla Genetics Expanded - More Lab Stuff (more lab stuff)

Vanilla Ideology Expanded - Memes and Structures (more customisation)

Alpha Genes (Makes for fun people to draw)

Alpha Mechs (Mechs for the Mechanitor!! Skulls for the- oh, wait, no)

Vanilla Races Expanded - Archon (basically githyanki)

Vanilla Races Expanded - Custom Icons (to make your own xenotypes that much more distinct)

Vanilla Races Expanded - Fungoid (zombies go brrrr)

Vanilla Races Expanded - Genie (how many wishes do I get?)

Vanilla Races Expanded - Highmate (the perfect partner!)

Vanilla Races Expanded - Hussar (nobody will ever be as good as Henry…)

Vanilla Races Expanded - Lycanthrope (do we need a werewolf boyfriend?🍍)

Vanilla Races Expanded - Phytokin (tree people my beloved)

Vanilla Races Expanded - Pigskin (is there a teacup pig variant?)

Vanilla Races Expanded - Sanguophage (vampires go brrrr)

Vanilla Races Expanded - Saurid (lizard people to control the government)

Vanilla Factions Expanded - Waster (pollution people)

Facial Animations Xenotype Compatibility (to help smooth out the face stuff)

Vanilla Skills Expanded (makes learning more interesting)

Vanilla Skin Tone Genes (inheritable skin tones)

Vanilla Social Interactions Expanded (more interactions to draw)

Vanilla Textures Expanded (expands the vanilla textures)

Vanilla Textures Expanded - [NL] Facial Animation (makes the facial animation more vanilla and less anime)

Vanilla Textures Expanded - Variations (so things don’t look too same-y)

Vanilla Ideology Expanded - Anima Theme (for funsies)

Vanilla Trading Expanded (expands the trading)

Vanilla Traits Expanded (more traits!)

[DN] Bundle of Traits (one of my favourite trait mods <3)

Vehicle Framework (a framework for vehicles)

Vanilla Vehicles Expanded (more vehicles)

Vanilla Vehicles Expanded - Tier 3 (even MORE vehicles)

Vanilla Weapons Expanded (to spice up the combat)

Vanilla Weapons Expanded - Coilguns (adds coilguns)

Vanilla Weapons Expanded - Grenades (expands on grenades)

Vanilla Weapons Expanded - Heavy Weapons (more heavy weapons)

Vanilla Weapons Expanded - Laser (laser weapons)

Vanilla Weapons Expanded - Makeshift (for when you gotta make do)

Vanilla Weapons Expanded - Non-Lethal (for interrogations and organ harvesting)

Vanilla Weapons Expanded - Quickdraw (to draw quickly)

Vanilla Weapons Expanded - Frontier (yeehaw)

Vanilla Weapons Expanded - Tribal (they deserve some variety too)

Vanilla Factions Expanded - Pirates (arrr me hearties!)

VPG Garden Resources (if I wanna grow uranium I will)

Vanilla Psycasts Expanded - Puppeteer (mind control, oooh!)

VVE - Deconstructable Vehicle Junk (so we can make old cars new!)

War Crimes Expanded 2 Core (Updated) (just in case)

What's That Mod (so I know what the mod is)

While You’re Up (PUAH) (more hauling revamps)

Won Hair Men Retextured (hairy hairy)

Won Hair Women Retextured (more hairy hairy)

Xeva’s Rimhair (hair)

Xeva’s Rimhair Retextured (hair)

Yet Another Hair Mod (I don't have too many, shhhh!)

ATH ‘s Retexture Female Apparel (looks like fun to draw!)

ATH’s Style Female Dresses (fun to draw)

HousekeeperAssistanceCat (the best mod)

Facial Animations Xenotype Compatibility (to make the cute faces more compatible with different xenotypes)

[FSF] Complex Jobs (Legacy Version) (makes job prioritizing easier)

Nice Short Female Hairs (okay maybe I have a problem with hair mods 😅)

Pointless Surgeries (it looked funny)

Rational Romance 2 (Continued) (I don't think Mechi is the romantic type but just in case)

Rim of Madness - Bones (it seems to fit the void-studying aspect)

ReGrowth: Retextures (fixes ReGrowth textures or something idk)

Urn Retexture and Variation (we needed different urns in case)

[LYN] HD Corporate and Hedonist Apparel (makes some of the Vanilla Expanded clothes HD)

Alpha Vehicles - Early Cars (Mechi should have cool vintage cars)

Det's Xenotypes - Venators (if I can't have T'au I'll have a different ranged xenotype)

Det's Xenotypes - Stoneborn (dwarf go brrrrr)

ReGrowth: Wastelands (biomes~)

ReGrowth: Tundra (bioomes~)

ReGrowth: Swamp (biooomes~)

ReGrowth: Temperate (bioooomes~)

ReGrowth: Boreal (biooooomes~)

Do Recreation When Idle (makes pawns do recreational activities when they're not doing anything else)

Ponpeco Furnitures : Kids' Room (cute furniture in case we, I don't know, acquire a little girl along the way)

Roo's HD Accessory Hairstyles (I JUST NEED MORE HAIR TO DRAW)

Roo's Minotaur Xenotype (we have pig people and dog people and lizard people and I WANT COW PEOPLE DAMMIT)

Roo's Minotaur Xenotype Expanded (just a lil' extra somethin'-somethin' for flavour)

Roo's Birthmarks and Blemishes (fun 👏 to 👏 draw 👏)

Roo's Faun Xenotype (I can live out my Narnia dreams...)

Roo's Satyr Xenotype (need more xenotypes)

Roo's Satyr and Faun Xenotypes Expanded (just a lil' extra somethin'-somethin' for flavour)

Roo's Tattoos - Starter Pack (mmmmmore tattoos!!!)

Use Resurrector Mech Serum On Rotten or Skeleton People (on the off chance we have a sibling who's been buried for too long to be resurrected with a serum otherwise 👀)

Share Rooms [LWM] (on the off chance we have royal twins who don't want to share a room, but I want them to share a room. A mod explicitly written for this run, and I could not be more delighted ❤️❤️❤️)

[museandquill]

Hello!

You can call me Teddy and I’m an 18 year old trans, bi, ace author. I love Greek myths and actively worship the gods, so most of my stories will probably surround Greek Mythology.

Introducing Hellenic Chronicles

In the woods of northern Maine there resides a large school for greek demigods to learn and train their skills and powers called Olympus Academy. Three students are invited to the school and with the help of six other students they quickly become accustomed to their new home for the school year. Soon their comfort is disrupted with a series of prophetic dreams racking the nine students. The nine students are split off into three quests where they must acquire weapons and tools for a fight they don't even know is coming their way.

Introducing Beneath the Hollowed Ground

In a small, isolated farming community, with stories of monsters that roam the woods, there stands an abandoned train depot at the edge of town. Late at night when the townsfolk sleep, people can be seen wandering through its empty halls with nothing but a candle to light their way.

The train depot was once the hot spot for trading between the small community and their bustling city neighbours, but once the hanging tree on the front lawn of the church got its name, the city folk stopped coming by.  

Welcome to Pleasant Creek

[flyingwhalegirl]

just tried to explain the process of beating minecraft to my mother and it is the most insane 12 step program if you're not familiar with how the block game works.

Punch a tree. With your bare hands.

Make tools, and make a furnace so you can get iron from the ground

Despite the fact that you have a furnace you still need flint to make fire

Make a bucket, take your shiny new lighter, and find some molten lava so you can make a portal to hell

Once in hell, use ESP to find an old crumbling house full of pig people

Steal the pig people's gold and then sell it back to them for useful items. The most important items are materials for more hell portals, eyeballs that make you teleport, and magic potions that make it so you can't possibly burn yourself.

Use ESP again to find a big bridge where demons live, dodging the ghosts of tortured souls on the way. If you're unlucky, you might get another Pig People House; if that happens, you break the cage where their pet Flaming Gelatinous Cubes live and continue on. You can use the teleporty eyeballs to accelerate this process, but be careful as you'll need a certain number of them later. How many? We don't know yet, but surely it won't be more than about 14, unless it is.

Once on the demon bridge, make sure you've taken your magic potion. Now you need to find some Fire Demons Who Want To Burn You and steal their legs. You can then crush their legs into powder and combine that powder with the teleporty eyeballs to make Magic Eyeballs. Try to avoid the Tall Skeletons with Swords as they give you Every Disease.

Use ESP again to decide where a good spot is to make a portal out of hell.

Once out of hell, use a couple magic eyeballs and some pythagoras to determine the location of the nearest Secret Underground Building. You can skip this step if you saw bones in hell because those can tell you where to go.

If you have enough materials, go back into hell so you can travel faster, make a new portal, and then go back out of hell, continually doing more geometry until the eyeballs tell you you've arrived. The more geometry you do, the more likely your magic eyeballs are to break, so carry spares if you're not confident in your math.

Dig underground, complete a maze, then put eyeballs in the pre-arranged eye sockets (someone might have already done a couple of them for you) and jump in the dark hole in the middle.

You will arrive in outer space. Fight a dragon, using a number of possible techniques. You can use a bow and arrow or a sword, though if you use these techniques you will have to destroy the magic crystals on top of blast proof pillars the size of a skyscraper. More effective is to use beds, which when placed in outer space or hell are violently explosive. Don't worry, you can carry like 15 of them before it becomes impractical.

Steal the dragon's egg by placing a small object below it, which is the only way you can pick it up without it teleporting away

Optionally, go on a quest through outer space to locate a big purple house full of creatures in boxes that shoot bombs which make you levitate. You can steal the boxes from the creatures for storage. If the creatures also have a Space Boat to go with their purple house, you can steal their wings and use those to fly (provided you have sufficient quantities of gunpowder which you can get from monsters that don't exist).

And this is just *one* of the many routes to endgame, the commonly accepted fastest one, Bastion. There's also classic (mine gold to trade with pig people rather than stealing it), warped (kill tall space aliens in hell forests for eyeballs, but be warned as they may try to kill you), monument (steal gold from fish people in the normal world and then sell it to pig people), village (do capitalism for eyeballs with people who definitely aren't a super antisemitic caricature nosireebob), old classic (do no trading and simply find random space aliens somewhere, usually in a desert, and steal their eyeballs), and so many more ways to accomplish the goal.

[chaotic-creator]

An inability to get to sleep means its time for!

A Game of Riddles!

So, among other things I like to write, I enjoy creating riddles. I thought I'd share three here today and see if people can get them. Good luck!

1). The eternal quest of a curious soul

If you knew all of my opposite, life would be dull

With rage and betrayal, many of me can be hurled

And I'm the truest way to the secrets of the world

I vary my gifts, bringing joy, sorrow and pain

No matter the result, you will use me again

What am I?

2). Akin to the seashore, as we both have sands

Yet sometimes, like you, I possess hands

When I have left you, you'll know my true worth

No ring on my finger, I'm married to the earth

Invisible to all and yet I'm always around

You say that I'm up when I've gone all the way down

What am I?

3). Master of foolish tools

Dressed in a meadow of shades

Safe from the wrath of who rules

A student of humorous trades

What am I?