#reworking what the armour looks like

[spaciebabie]

hashtag royal guard fit

[seithr]

Randomly remembered the half-reason i call my oc-verse by the name it has while laying in bed. One-half of the reason i still knew, but I had forgotten what had truly, really cemented it jointly until now

(it was a song from my favourite band I haven't listened to in a while.)

(the song fit so well at the time, still does, that i needed to hold onto it for the main protagonists forever, by partially naming their story in reference.)

Does this explanation make any sense? Does anyone know why I'm tearing up remembering this. Aahh

[shortycreates]

Here is a character I’m completely normal about. Yep. This is what a normal people does. 

More Sigma drawings! He’s fun to draw! I LOVE THAT OLD MAN! 

Thought I’d throw these up on here, hope you like and, once again, sorry for the quality I had to take this on my PHONE and rework things. Also excuse the slightly weird anatomy I didn’t use a reference because I drew this half asleep after work on a Friday night so... 🤷🏼‍♀️ enjoy the strange limbs. I’m trying to figure out if Sieb is as tonky as he looks or is that the armour... more research is needed... 

[pirateswhore]

Stay for me - 4x02 missing scene

as promised, I reworked the old scrap I found in my notes. Set right after the end of the episode - no one can convince me that Killian DIDN'T stay with Emma that night. This is how I imagine it went.

words - 1.4k

feedback is always welcome !

"Stay for me."

Her voice was low and weak as she whispered, cautiously, nervously, as if she was going to scare him away with the statement (question? request?). Or maybe even scare herself - she'd never openly asked a man to stay. They never did follow through with any of their promises, so why bother?

"He is different." a little voice in her head told her. "He won't go back on his promise, you can trust him."

She lifted her head up to look at him, chin resting on his chest. He's deep in thought, eyes fixated on the floor. Having noticed her staring at him, he turned to her and smiled.

"Did you say something, love?"

"Stay for me," she said it louder that time, squeezing his hand and holding her breath.

His smile widened as he kissed the top of her head. "Aye love, as you wish. I wasn't planning on going anywhere."

Emma calls out for Snow to prepare an extra pillow and one of her father's pyjamas for Killian, before turning back to him. She leaned into his embrace, nuzzling her head in the crook of his neck, letting the warmth of his presence wash over her. The leather of his vest was soft and she could smell rum and sea salt on him. It felt so good, being held by him, and she'd never felt safer in her life.

That scared her.

She never did let herself get comfortable with anyone. Never let herself put her armour down, never let herself be content and vulnerable around anyone, men especially. It scared her just how open and raw she was with him, how easy it was to open up, to talk and to get closer to him. He could see through her, reading her like an open book, he said. They understood each other and that came with a certain level of intimacy - that was something she had a hard time coming to terms with.

They stayed like that for a while, happy to simply be close to one another. Slowly, the rest of the apartment retired for the night - Henry had gone upstairs to his bed a while ago and David helped Elsa pull the couch down for the night before joining his wife in their bed. Emma reached out with her hand, cupping Killian's cheek, bringing his head down. Their foreheads touch for a moment and then her lips brushed against his jawline as she murmured "I'm sleepy, take me upstairs."

He pulled back, looking down at her. It took him a few seconds to read her expression and all he could see was complete adoration, she was looking at him as if he hung the stars in the sky every night for her. But he also sensed something else - fear, uncertainty, anxiety. She wanted him to reassure her, to show her that he did mean what he had said - that he won't leave, that he won't ever hurt her.

He scooped her up bridal style, blankets and all, his hand holding her by the shoulder, the other arm hooked under her knees, and did just as she asked. Her arms snaked around his neck and she pulled herself closer to him. His only response was to squeeze her tighter, pressing her body to him as much as possible.

She's surprised at how skillfully and quietly he manoeuvred around the apartment and up the stairs. He laid her down on the bed effortlessly, starting to pull away when she tightened her arms around him. His head turned to her, a perplexed look on his face.

"You said you weren't going anywhere," she whispered. He nudged her cheek with his nose, pressing a peck on it.

"I'm not, just wanted to give you privacy to change, love."

"Can you help me?"

His mouth opened slightly as he blinked.

"I trust you. And I'm really tired. Please?" Her hand stroked down his cheek, trailing his scruff.

He nodded, moving to undress her. Boots were first, he settled them next to the railing. He looked back at her for confirmation before unzipping her pants. She smiled, lifting her hips up and he removed those too. He pushed the jacket off her shoulders and pulled her shirt off, folding them all neatly on a nearby chair. His breath hitched in bis throat a little when he saw her almost nude before him, only in plain cotton undies and some mini corset. She sat up and motioned for the orange plaid pyjamas thrown carelessly on the same chair, which he handed to her promptly. It took him only a minute to strip himself too, his clothes and boots joining hers on the chair and by the banister. He slipped into the pyjamas lady Snow prepared for him - they were slightly big on him, the pants hanging low on his hips, and he couldn't be bothered with all of the buttons.

He turned to see already under the bedsheets, one side pulled back for him. He crawled in, his arms wrapping around her waist instinctively, pulling her close to him. She sighed, scooting herself closer, melting into his embrace, arms wrapped around his waist as well, their legs tangled together.

"You scared me, Swan," he kissed her forehead, hand stroking the ends of her hair. His voice was barely above a whisper, partly because Henry was sound asleep just mere meters away, partly because the thought hurt him too much. He couldn't lose her, not now, not after everything he'd done to be next to her.

Her only response was to push herself deeper into him.

"I can't... I'm not losing you, Emma. But you can't run into danger head first like that. There are people who care about you now, who love you, who would despair if you ever left our lives," his voice cracked at the last sentence as he tried to push the memories of Milah and her death back. He loved her and it broke him when she was killed, but his feelings for Emma were so. Much. More. Her death wouldn't break him, it would destroy him.

"I'm sorry, I really didn't mean to." She craned her neck back, meeting his glassy blue eyes, offering a small smile. "But you saved me," she continued, "you and my dad. I'm safe because of you."

"Aye, and I'll make bloody well sure it remains that way." His face was buried in her hair, nose pressing against the side of her cheek. Her breaths, slow and steady, washed warmly over the skin of his neck and he shuddered.

They laid there in silence, holding onto each other, before he spoke again.

"Warming up?"

"Mhm," she murmured in response, "I have my own pirate heater with me." He chuckled, the rumble in his chest vibrating through her whole body. He was so incredibly warm and she loved it, his flushed skin felt good against her. She readjusted herself in his hold, the top od her pyjamas must have ridden up bc she suddenly felt something cold and hard press into the skin of her midriff and she yelped.

"I'm sorry love, I forgot my hook does not share the same warmth as the rest of me."

"You can take it off, you know. I won't mind," she stroked his upper arm, "plus it'll be more comfortable for both of us."

He pondered for about a moment before pulling back and undoing the straps on his brace. She didn't linger too much at the sight of his scarred arm - she knew it was a conversation for another day. He lowered himself back down onto the bed, more on his back this time, and she climbed over so she was laying half on top of him, head resting on his chest. She threw one leg over his hips, arm under his head, fingers tangling in his hair. The other rested on his chest where lazily she drew circles into his exposed chest hair. His left arm was wrapped around her, holding her close, while the hand of his other arm rested on her thigh thown over him.

"Comfy?"

"Mhm... very comfy, she replied, kissing his neck.

She was very comfy indeed, never before having felt so warm and safe. She could hear him murmuring sweet nonsense into her hair - "My princess, so sweet, so beautiful, I'll take care of you, I'm not going anywhere" - but it barely registered, her mind slowly drifting to dreamland.

It was probably the best sleep she'd ever had, and waking up next to her pirate the following morning was even better.

[nonuggetshere]

Hollow Knight AU drabble + doodle under the cut

In which Pure Vessel sacrifices all appearances to protect their father.

TW: Blood, injury, mention of potential death

Yes I know Pale King would probably not go down so easily, he's a god after all, but let me have this (I'll be reworking the AU to have it actually make sense, eventually)

"Vessel-"

The king rasped from where he was laying. It was low and guttural as blood spilled from his mouth, and inwardly he cursed himself out for being so careless, for straying into a possibly dangerous territory, for letting these beasts sneak up on them. He managed to fell most of their opponents, but he had been careless, and now he laid there, crumbled on the ground with a deep gash in his body, all of his soul reserves drained in the fight and unable to heal.

It had lifted its head up, waiting for the order to come, yet it kept its eyes on the enemy, nail drawn at the ready.

"Find the queen and flee. I'll try to hold them off for as long as I can." That last sentence was more said to himself than the vessel, for he knew it couldn't truly understand him.

Was it truly how he, a great king and god, would have his light snuffed out? He supposed he had no one to blame but his own ignorance and hubris. No matter, right now it was the vessel that truly mattered, for it was too precious to lose. The fate of Hallownest rested in its hands alone. He might die, but his kingdom will prevail, as long as it makes it out of here.

...

...The vessel... didn't budge...

It had tilted its head ever so slightly to glance back at him. Had it not heard him the first time?

So he spoke again, louder and clearer this time.

"Vessel, I order you to retreat and find the queen!"

It turned its head back to focus on the enemy, it took a half-step back, for a moment it looked almost as if it was hesitating...and then it lunged at their opponents.

For a moment, what was left of the king's breath caught in his throat. He laid there, frozen on the spot as he watched his vessel fight with all its might to protect him. Watched it disobey his orders.

"Is-- is it an ancient order of mine preventing you from doing your biding now?! Fine then, I relieve you of all the previous duties, now flee!"

It was as although it did not hear him...or deliberately chose to ignore him.

He felt his breath pick up and his wings buzzed as he strained to scream over the sound of blades clanking against each other.

"Vessel, I order you to flee! Stand down, now! Vessel!"

...

...They did not listen.

They stood amongst the bodies, atop the blood-stained ground, their nail weighing heavy in their hand. They leaned on it for support as they turned to their king, slowly limping up to him, with each step seeming a great struggle. Their lean frame shook as they slouched over under the weight of their armour, void spilling freely from where their left arm used to be and dripping from the cracks in their face.

They loomed over the king, their shadow almost completely covering his small, frail body. The two of them locked eyes and, for a moment that felt like forever, they just stared at each other in that heavy, oppressive silence; before the pale Wyrm forced his mouth into moving once more.

...

Their nail fell to the ground with a clank as they stepped closer to him. They leaned down and reached for him, and threw him onto their back. They wiggled and readjusted until they were sure he wasn't going to fall off, then slowly and carefully stood up while holding onto his arm.

The king could no longer even protest as they started to limp away, allowing his head to slump over on their shoulder as darkness overtook him.

[mylifeisactuallyamess]

Chapter 19: Keldabe Kiss

A/N: Reworked from the original I wrote and the welcome break they needed 🥹

Warnings: Stitch having a good time, Omega being a sweetie and Tech finally reacting.

Word Count: 4.2k+

Tagging: @idoubleswearimawriter @ravenclawbitch426 @dreamqueenkala @moon-wrecked

It had been a few weeks since Kashyyyk. Your arm was healing nicely and you’d thrown yourself back into work at the medcentre. You had been invited on supply runs with the Batch, but you refused, choosing to keep communication through comlink with Omega and the boys. The marks on your face had dulled, thanks to your skills and bacta the lines were minimal. More scars to add to the tapestry that lined your being.

The day was a pleasant one. Sunlight streamed down creating a warmth in your body that you hadn’t felt for so long. Tesama had insisted you go out, so you went to the market to grab something for dinner. You were grateful for her looking out for you and making sure you were eating, you had taken to skipping meals entirely. Town was heaving, a festival was coming up and the buzz was noticeable.

You stood outside the alley to Cid’s parlour, watching some people put up flickering lights ready for tomorrow's event. You’d been toying with the idea of going, never having the opportunity to experience something like this before. Life had swept you by, the ever moving current swimming past like you were a rock in a river. Your thoughts faltered, these things were never fun alone though.

The wistful sigh couldn’t be contained but your sinking mood was lifted by the group coming toward you. Their armour was distinctive, marked with orange and grey, carrying their helmets as they eyed everyone with a healthy dose of suspicion. You knew where they were heading and so you waited to side until they reached you.

“Ah, Stitch!” Wrecker grinned joyfully at you and barged past his brothers to grab you in a bear hug, lifting you clean off the ground.

“Wrecker!” You giggled, momentarily losing your balance after being swept off your feet. Hunter automatically reached out to steady you with a firm hand to your shoulder followed by the softening of his gaze. “Good mission?”

“Depends on what you’d define as good.” Hunter muttered and moved past you revealing Tech.

“That bad?” You asked and fell into step beside him.

“Well no one was injured, so I think you would class that as a successful mission. Cid, not so much.”

“Ah,” you understood perfectly. You followed them down to the bar, soaking in their presence and easing the ache of your own making. They would happily have you around all the time, it was you that had distanced yourself.

They left you at the bar with Omega and you glanced at her tired, fallen face, wondering how you could cheer her up. “There is a festival tomorrow,” you told her.

“What’s a festival?” She asked, a frown tugging down her brows but she was watching you intently.

“It’s a gathering of people all celebrating the same thing. There’s going to be stalls selling special items, different food and there might even be fireworks.”

“Fireworks??” Her brown eyes shone with wonder.

“Want to come with me?”

“Oh yes! Hunter, can I go with Stitch?” Omega swivelled on her stool and you looked up at the weary group as they gathered around the bar. The briefing was quick you noticed.

“Go where?” He asked, his tone laced with doubt and you wondered if you should have offered at all.

“Oh it’s nothing…” you tried to gloss over it but once Omega got her teeth into something she didn’t let it drop.

“It’s not nothing! It sounds really cool! There might even be fireworks,” she parroted. “I want to go.”

“You’re talking about the festival, tomorrow?” Echo huffed as he slumped on the other side of you.

“The Festival of Love, originated from Endor and has since been recognised in places like Naboo, Coruscant, Ord Mantell and other places. The Festival is to honour kinship and love. Traditions include exchanging gifts, eating meals and…dancing.” Tech lowered his datapad and glanced at the dubious expressions on his brother’s faces.

Echo sighed and turned to look around the bar like he wasn’t even part of this conversation, Wrecker grumbled something about wanting to play dejarick and sidled off. Hunter’s shoulders slouched like he couldn’t think of anything more tedious while Tech had his nose in his datapad, probably scrolling through more facts.

“I don’t mind taking her,” you mumbled. No one else was going to go with you.

“You can’t take Omega on your own,” Hunter instantly said, causing Omega to cross her arms and sulk. “Plus we have another mission for Cid tomorrow.” He leaned closer to the little girl and you could see the regret etched on his tattooed face. “I’m sorry, Omega.”

“I never get to see anything fun!” She pushed away from the bar and stormed off to find Wrecker.

“Handled that well,” Echo muttered.

“You could have stepped in,” Hunter shot back hotly.

“May I suggest an alternative?” Tech appeared at your shoulder, taking Omega’s vacant seat.

“You’re going to anyway,” Echo snarked under his breath and you raised an eyebrow. Their entire vibe was off, something was niggling at them all and you debated suggesting they all join you for the Festival. They needed a break.

“If it is Omega running off you are worried about, I can watch her. I will make her wear a tracker.”

“Tech! You can’t put a tracker on a kid!” Hunter nearly spat out his drink in shock and stared incredulously at his brother.

“I can. I have before and she did not seem to mind.”

“Did she know?” You asked Tech gently, making him look up from his datapad as he thought about your question.

“Actually, no,” he murmured.

“I don’t think she should go and it puts us at a disadvantage if Tech stays behind,” Echo gestured to Hunter as he leaned over the bar to talk around you.

“Not so,” Tech cut across Echo. “You do not need my particular skill set for this mission.”

“He’s right,” Hunter agreed and Echo just rolled his eyes in response. A strained quiet settled over the group only broken by the sounds of the parlour and Tech’s tapping on his datapad. You clutched your drink, feeling bad that you’d not spoken to Hunter first, of course it was his decision if you took Omega or not, and after Kashyyyk... “All right, fine!” Hunter grumbled and then downed his drink. “Plant a tracker on her and do not let her take it off. Plant one on Stitch while you’re at it, we can’t afford to lose her either.”

“Gladly,” Tech blinked owlishly at his own response and his fingers stilled on the screen. Maybe now was the time to leave, before Hunter changed his mind again.

“Well! Now that’s settled I’m going to head back.” You emptied your own cup and slipped off the stool, hoping no one would notice the silly smile you couldn’t suppress at the idea of Tech putting a tracker on you.

“Tech…” Hunter jerked his head in your direction and then went off to find Omega and no doubt tell her the good news about tomorrow.

“Of course.” To your surprise the datapad was put away and he stood, looking at you with an air of expectancy. “You were leaving?” He prompted.

“You’re coming with me?” Tech swallowed and adjusted his goggles as his honeyed brown eyes met yours for just a second.

“Hunter is worried about you walking back. Crime activity has increased by 28 percent in this section and I believe it’s why he wants you and Omega to have an escort tomorrow.”

“Oh.” You stood there stupidly for a second, trying to gather your skittish thoughts. “It’s not necessary, I do this nearly everyday,” you eventually managed to say.

“I believe it is.” You couldn’t argue against that so you didn’t protest anymore and he followed you out. The street was almost empty, just a few people with their heads down as they went home. Tech kept a watchful eye, his hand never straying far from his DC-17s. He stayed about half a step behind you almost bumping into you when you stopped at your door.

“Well, we made it.” The door was locked and you saw Tesama had left. “Tesama has gone home, I should check on Beetoo before I turn in.” You were uncomfortably aware of Tech’s closeness, the way his helmet turned to look around before fixing back on you. “Thanks for walking me,” you murmured.

“It was no trouble but I have yet to check your residence.” You sputtered out a laugh except he only continued to stare at you as he waited for you to admit him.

“You’re serious.” He gave a curt nod, so you keyed in the code and the door opened, the lights flickering on automatically. You went to go in but he put out an arm to stop you, dropping the visor down over his goggles, stalking into your medcentre and disappearing.

Beetoo you found was almost in her charging port, frozen in time because her power cells had given out. She was awfully glitchy lately and you had no idea why. You sighed, wheeling her the last bit into the port and she clicked into place.

“The charging ports might need replacing again,” Tech announced his arrival from scouting out your place. “I could run a diagnostic if you like?”

“It’s late, you’ve barely been home.”

“Home is a state of mind.”

“Yeah…” he was right. You’d never had a place you could really call home. So home being a feeling rather than a place was the most accurate thing you’d heard in a long time. Rather insightful coming from him of all people.

“Another time then,” Tech said. “Your place is clear. I shall be back tomorrow with Omega.” He walked towards the door and you followed, desperately wanting to say something else but not sure what.

“Tech…” he turned at the sound of his name and you really tried hard not to gaze directly into his eyes, even though it was all you wanted to get lost in. “Be careful. On the way back.”

“Always,” he saluted you with two fingers before disappearing round the corner. You closed and locked your door letting out a frustrated sigh. If anything, distance had made your feelings stronger for him and now you were going to spend the whole day with him. At a Festival dedicated to love.

Of all the clones to harbour feelings for…

Beetoo looked like a patient, laid out on the table with her side panel off, looking to see if she had a loose connection that you could fix yourself, not wanting to put Tech out. He had better things to do than maintain your equipment. The door alarm sounded and you quickly smoothed down the material of your outfit, your heart fluttering a little at the idea of spending so much time with Tech. And Omega.

The latter wrapped herself around you as soon as your door opened, her mouth instantly going as she spilled her excitement. You grinned at Tech and his tight expression, beckoning them inside. Omega went straight to your droid’s side, standing on a supply crate to have a proper look inside of her.

“Did she sleep much?” You asked him noticing the way he clutched his datapad with his helmet under his arm, his gaze fixed over at the mess Beetoo was in.

“She slept less than the normal amount,” he informed you matter of factly. “Echo was not amused.”

“Not a lot amuses him at the moment,” you replied dryly.

“Echo believes we should be doing more against the Empire rather than just hiding. He cannot help it.” You hated to admit Tech was right. He seemed completely unruffled by the conversation and you admired his utter acceptance of his brothers.

“Are you ready?” You asked.

“Yes!” Omega leapt down and hurried to the door. “Come on! We don’t want to miss anything!” She shouted and you smiled at Tech as he refrained from rolling his eyes.

“I am not actually sure we can miss an all day event,” Tech called after her. “You forgot this.” You locked your door and turned to find him holding out a tracker on the palm of his hand, the light blinking innocently.

“I don’t think Hunter was serious about one for me,” you half laughed but Tech stayed standing in your way with his hand held out.

“He was. And so am I.” You took the tracker and slipped it into your pocket, Tech lifted his datapad and pressed a few buttons. “Perfect signal.” For some reason that made you so happy that you’d pleased him over something so simple.

“Are you guys coming?” Omega appeared around the corner, eyeing you both just standing in your doorway.

“Come on you,” Omega clasped your hand eagerly and Tech trailed after the pair of you.

The festival wasn’t what you expected at all, it was so much better. The streets were lined with pink and red coloured streamers, all fluttering in the breeze. Bunting stretched from one side of the street to the other along with string lights that you couldn’t wait to see in the dark. With Tech constantly at your back your anxiety was eased, occasionally catching his eyes and giving him a smile; your heart jumping when you got the telltale eye scrunch back.

Omega danced from stall to stall, her excitement contagious and you found yourself caught up in her joy and zest for life. Tech trailed after you both, suffering the chatter, loud noises and heavy crowds. Keeping himself occupied by noting down new facts or recording anything he found remotely interesting.

You happened upon a stall run by a Twi’lek, your stomach rumbling at the fresh meilooruns. You approached the stall noticing the usually orange fruit had a purple tinge to the rind. You’d never had this variant before but before you could ask for one Omega was tugging on your hand and dragging you to look at something else.

Soon even Omega was flagging, but her eyes were still wide from all the sights she’d experienced. Her bag was full of trinkets and she’d bought something for each of her brothers. You felt honoured that she had asked for your opinion, enjoying the feeling she instilled inside you. She really was something special and you enjoyed doing something so mundane with her.

She even got you to dance. Taking your hands when she heard the music giving you those wide pleading eyes that made you melt on the inside. Tech had watched from the side, his gaze occasionally roaming the crowd but mostly he watched you and Omega laughing as you spun round. Occasionally you caught his eye, or checked in with him before Omega was dragging you to the next exciting thing and he’d just give you a smile.

As darkness fell you suggested getting a good view for the fireworks and began to head in the direction of the seating area when Tech stopped you.

“I have a better place we can watch the fireworks, away from the crowds.”

“Is it far?” Omega asked, chasing it up with a yawn.

“It is approximately 0.5 klicks from our current location,” Tech rattled off as he adjusted his specs, the light of the datapad reflected in them.

“I can make it,” she said cheerily but you heard the fatigue in her voice, especially if she had been up early hassling her brothers.

Now Tech took point, leading you away from the streets where the festival was still in full swing. You wanted to question him but instead you decided to trust him. Your interest peaked when he told you to climb an outside staircase on the side of what looked like an empty building. Omega went first with no hesitation, climbing to the top of the seemingly abandoned building and gasping loudly.

“Oh…wow.” She was as awestruck as you. Both of you looking up at the sky, mesmerised by the amount of stars that dotted the black sky above you. Tech had led you to a place on the edge of town, that wasn’t effected by the lights of the festival, giving you an incredible view of the stars and no doubt the fireworks when they started.

“I calculated the amount of noise and light pollution from the festival. From that I was able to survey an appropriate place where it was quiet and had uninterrupted views,” he told you.

“Tech…this is amazing!” You responded..

“He checked it out last night,” Omega said slyly and Tech looked at her in shock. “What? I was awake when you snuck out. Now I know what you were doing.”

“Clearly I was not as subtle as I thought,” he muttered, reaching to adjust his goggles again.

“Oh look! Seats!” Omega dropped her bag and fell into one, turning to wave you over.

“Were these you as well?” You asked Tech quietly.

“The fireworks are supposed to last approximately 15 minutes. I had assumed with being on your feet all day and chasing Omega, you would want to rest.”

“You assumed correctly.” Omega had taken the middle seat, cuddling up into you when you settled beside her. Tech sat on the other end, his trusty datapad in his hand as he counted down to the fireworks; and they started exactly when he said they would.

The fireworks were the best moment of the day, filling the sky with glittery flashes that lit up the world all around you. Splashes of red,

blue, purple and pink chased up with sparks of green, yellow and white all etched into your retinas. Omega laid her head in your lap and you rested a hand on her side watching the display together.

You revelled in the deep bangs that seemed to explode in your chest and the fizzling crackles that popped in your ears. You’d never seen something so eye-catching and you were sorely disappointed when they finished; just a plume of white smoke the only evidence that they had happened at all.

“She’s asleep.” Tech murmured and you glanced down at Omega. Sure enough her eyes were closed, even breaths passing through her slightly open lips as she lay completely relaxed in your lap. “You are—good with her,” his hand rose to adjust his goggles and you frowned. He seemed more nervous than usual, his hands always moving but you decided not to point it out.

“You think so?”

“I know so. Due to her nature she is exceptionally accepting but she does seem to favour you.” Gently you swiped some blonde strands out of her peaceful face, regretful that you were going to have to wake her soon.

��I think she’s great and after everything she’s seen and been through…she still has this innocence about her. She’s a credit to you all.”

“You have had a hand in that as well. Dealing with—situations we cannot,” Tech said and you smiled at his words. You had to deal with some certain, female related situations due to Omega’s age, but it felt like you were parenting Hunter as well and explaining he didn’t need to know everything that was going on.

“She idolises every single one of you,” you settled for saying softly.

“That’s nice to hear,” you turned to find Hunter, Echo and Wrecker coming from behind. Tech stood up and greeted his brothers. Wrecker reached down and plucked the sleeping child from your lap, cradling her in his massive arms.

“Look at her,” he whispered in his gravelly voice. “This is the quietest she’s been for days!”

“Don’t wake her then, Wrecker!” Echo hissed as they made their way carefully down the stairs.

“Was it worth it?” Hunter asked you and the smile that spread over your face told him everything he needed to know.

“Thanks for lending us Tech. He did actually put a tracker on me,” you told Hunter who let out a quiet chuckle.

“Good. I’d be having words with him if he didn’t.”

“You know, I’m scrappy. I can look after myself.” Hunter fixed you with a knowing glare and it reminded you so much of Tech for a moment.

“It’s what we do. We, uh—need you, Stitch. More than we like to admit.” You could feel the heat coming up in your face and you nudged his spaulder in embarrassment.

“Medics are everywhere,” you told Hunter with a quick roll of your eyes.

“Not ones as good as you.” The pair of you stopped when Tech spoke, drawing him to an abrupt halt. “Well,” he reached for his goggles and lifted his datapad. “Stitch had performed 107 successful repairs on all of us together, the most drastic being my broken femur from the failed mission on Serenno. Not mention the blaster shot to your ribs and Wrecker’s shoulder. Also her continual observation of Echo…” Hunter gave his brother a lopsided smile and clapped him firmly on the shoulder.

“Now you’ve listed her best accomplishments you can walk her home.” He melted into the shadows suddenly leaving you and Tech alone in the dark.

“Do you know the best route? I’m still not familiar with this part of town,” you admitted shyly.

“It will not take us long,” he reassured you. The walk was quiet, you weren’t sure what to say to him and your feet were beginning to ache something drastic. You turned onto a street you were familiar with and fished around in your pockets for Tech’s tracker.

“I should give this back.”

“Keep it. They are simple enough to make.” Tech said quickly. He glanced at you and then continued. “It is a modified one, with a panic option that goes straight to my datapad. Should you ever need it, even at long range.” Your fingers closed round the tracker, suddenly finding it the most precious thing you had.

All too soon your door loomed and the pair of you stood under the small light that flowed on the outside.

“Tech…?”

“Yes?”

“I got you, something.” He watched curiously as you opened your bag and pulled out a small box, taking it gently when you offered it to him. “I hope it’s useful.” He opened the lid and revealed a brand new All-kit tool. The handle had a rubber grip, the alloy shiny from having never been used. At first Tech didn’t say anything, just reaching for the tool and you panicked, thinking you’d got something he really didn’t need. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know if you had one, I’ve never noticed you with one.”

“I do not,” he interrupted. “I did not have one, until now.” He looked up to see the relieved smile cross your face and a small frown appeared on his own. “You should not be so worried, I am always in need of tools and this…” he pulled it from the box and with a flick began to cycle through the different heads. “It is immediately my favourite,” he reassured you. “Which reminds me…” he put the box in his pack and extracted something that had you gasping a little. “I saw you looking at these but not actually buying one.” You took the purple fruit from his hand, trying not to over think the fact you both gave a gift during the Festival of Love. He probably didn’t realise the depth of the tradition and you were fine with that.

“Tech, thank you so much.” Emotion coloured your tone and you stepped closer to him. Gently resting a hand on his shoulder, you made your intentions clear expecting him to pull away. Those few quick heartbeats were torture until his shoulder pressed deeper into the palm of your hand.

He didn’t pull away and you went ahead, planting a chaste kiss on his cheek, breathing him in as you did. He lifted a hand to rest against your elbow, as though he was steadying you both and your entire body tingled at the added contact. You felt his sense of self seep into yours, entwining more intimately than if you were hugging and it made your breath hitch.

Your eyes were still closed as you pulled your lips into your mouth, reluctant to move away just yet, not wanting to untangle yourself from the way he made you feel. He shifted, aligning himself before you and leaning forward.

Tech’s quick breath fanned over your face as he pressed his forehead against yours, connecting you on a more heightened level that had your feelings rising up your throat. His fingers tightened on your arm and you both stood like that for a moment, your heart soaring as you really contemplated what this meant.

Your pulse vibrated through your entire body, making you highly aware of the way it throbbed against where you were connected to Tech, desperate to press your body against the length of him and really embrace him.

“Tech?” His com came to life with Hunter’s voice and you separated. Clearing your throat you backed up and allowed him to answer, telling Hunter he was all right and was just making his way back.

“Thanks, Tech.” You swallowed down the huskiness in your voice. “For today, for all of it. Get back safely, please.”

“Always,” he said touching two fingers to his forehead and giving you the casual salute. “I will be back to fix Beetoo.” He told you, walking backwards down the street, his gaze still fixed on you.

“I’ll be here,” you answered, leaning on your doorframe and watching him leave.

“I know.”

[braindamagedrizz]

"Do I remind you of someone?"

Don't acknowledge my god awful attemps at Riskrunner and Ace Of Spades, I kind of eyeballed everything and guessed

Some more Ruxiz and Cayde artwork, I kind of started drawing them together as a joke because I thought they were just silly guys, but after sitting down and trying to rework Ruxiz' story I think it'd be funny for them to know each other and have a love/hate relationship of sorts.

I'll probably try explaining that later, I'm honestly still not sure whats going on with Ruxiz I just know bestie is a little saucy and wields bows better than guns. Also I haven't done anything shaded like this in a while! I think it looks good for something that was meant to only be a sketch, definitely improving on Cayde's armour now that I have a better reference to use. Reference pose was found on google, I can't find the exact people who posed for the image.

[nostalgiaclown]

So the issue with creating my Rook/Veilguard OCs so ahead of release time is the backstories they have given us are very specific... I have already deluded enough to craft my own possible backstories- so now they will be reworked into AUs, anyway, here's Holly Monet 🦋✨️

Lore dump below...🦋🫶

She's an alchemist, in her late 30s, who was born in Orlais.

Black hair and bright blue eyes (she has her mothers eyes), prominent dark circles. Olive tone skin(?), lot's of beauty marks. Petite frame, short.

Blue moth/butterfly as her character motif. This theme will be prominent in her armour/outfit design.

Her mother (Edith Monet) was Orlesian, and her father (Marcus) Nevarran.

She moved back to Nevarra with her Papa when her Maman passed away from a rare terminal illness.

She learnt alchemy from her mom. She became highly skilled in her craft, able to cultivate and gather ingredients to make an aray of tonics, toxins, poisons, and explosives. She continued her mothers work (trying to make a cure for the same sickness that took her life, yaay), so that she lives on in their hearts and memories. (Poor Papa was not okay tm).

She's a Rogue(?) Mainly using deadly poison coated daggers and throw this vial at the enemy and see what happens style.

Holly never fully processed her grief, too focused on making sure her Papa was okay.

Holly has unrealistic expectations for what love should feel like. She's never felt it before (she came close once), not in the way her father describes it. (Girl, watch out that old man gonna make you feel so loved)

She ended up (kind of) joining the Mourn Watch after she sent a letter in, requesting to join on one of the excursions deep into the Necropolis, particularly interested in the flora and fauna she would be able to acquire and study down there (idk man I've not looked into any lore accuracies yet, I'm just having fun).

Emmrich took an interest in her work, passion clearly coming through in her writing, and agreed to let her come along despite his peers' protests. They made for quick friends, the chemistry between them apparent. (You know when u meet ur soulmate, yeah)

She then stayed within the Necropolis after that and helped with the preservation and organisation of the dead.

She would then occasionally be assigned to other expeditions with him, both finding different excuses to see each other while working within the Necropolis. (TeeHee)

Fun bits:

She has a stuffed rabbit simply called 'petit lapin' she has trouble sleeping without.

She likes to climb up high on things, like a cat, then she can't get down.

---

So, this is my little world where my 'canon' Rook is going to be her Cousin, Robert - he would be the one to drag her along into staying at the lighthouse, aiding them with her tonics and the like.

I'll no doubt switch it up when the game comes out but, I always end up making NPC OCs rather than main characters, oops.

I'll make more posts talking more abt Holly's parents and her Cousin.

Oh and... Claude Delecroix, he's fun 💕

[gremoria411]

*the following contains spoilers for Gundam Iron Blooded Orphans Urdr Hunt*

Alright, so I’ve finally finished Gundam Ibo Urdr Hunt, and I’ll be doing a proper post on it momentarily, but I do want to get one thing out right now.

I kind of really love the Hajiroboshi Second Form.

Which is a little odd in isolation, since it’s not actually that different from the original Hajiroboshi.

It’s really just got new shoulders, the new boosters on its backpack (the head might have been reworked slightly, but I think that might just be me) and a new sword. However, two of these features (the Boosters and Sword) bring it closer to its original form.

Just looking at its armaments on their own, I like them. I will admit I have a weakness for suits that are “We have a sword, let’s just use that really really well”. I like both the Destiny and the Throne Zwei for those reasons. But the Hajiroboshi second form has some points in its favour that those two don’t- it’s in Post Disaster 324, a setting where that is a very viable strategy, and it’s got those lovely thrusters on its back that seem to primarily serve to get it into melee range (not to mention the harpoons). I also like the shield -it’s streamlined, but not to the point of not being protective, and while I like how it’s got the claw tips for thrusting, it’s nice how there’s so little emphasis on them (though that might just be from the last protagonist suit I looked at being the Lah). But the Cross Mace hearkens back to the main sword of its original armament and the thrusters also bring it closer to the original silhouette of the Marchosias

So it kinda just feels like the ghost of the Marchosias.

Which is great, because both the Hajiroboshi and Barbatos seem to have something going on in that regard. Mikazuki talks to the Barbatos during the battle against Ein in Edmonton as if there’s some last vestige of its former pilot present, while the Hajiroboshi seems to react on its own when encountering mobile armours. Based on what we know about Gundam Frames from the original series, it’s typically some form of interaction with the Alaya-Vijnana (like when the Gusion Rebake gets shut down when attempting to engage the mobile armour, since Akihiro gets overwhelmed by the feedback). The Barbatos’ connection is obvious - Mikazuki’s in a high stress situation when using the Alaya-Vijinana, and presumably he’s doing something similar to what the original pilot did - using the sword to fight an enemy not too dissimilar to a mobile armour. However, the Hajiroboshi’s is considerably less clear. It seems to either lock up, as the Gusion Rebake did, implying it’s fitted with a limiter; or it seems to “flash back” to a similar fight from the calamity war (at least that’s my read on it versus Harael) and from there act as if it has the “True Alaya-Vijinana” installed (it’s only in speech marks because I don’t really have a better term for it). It’s honestly a little unclear on whether it’s Hajiroboshi, the Mobile Armour or both that has the flash backs, since it’s from Harael’s perspective but Wistario mentions seeing them.

So presumably, the Hajiroboshi’s fitted with some kind of system that mimics Alaya-Vijinana, but I would like to offer another suggestion; What if, on some level, the pilots are still in them?

Now, we know that Alaya-Vijinana is a man-machine interface developed prior to the calamity war, but there’s two specific pieces of information that we’re told about it I want to focus on;

“The Alaya-Vijinana creates a Pseudo-brain lobe in the pilot’s body using nanomachines, allowing the pilot's brain to directly process mobile suit data fed through the physical connection.”

“Furthermore, this continuous link can cause consciousness to be forcibly maintained even in situations where the pilot is supposed to faint or even die instantly.”

So, an extra brain lobe to process the information and the system will keep the pilot alive even in situations where they shouldn’t be. So, is it possible there could be some sort of feedback loop or that the mobile suit could retain some of the pilot’s habits (the Barbatos telling Mikazuki how to use the katana through a sort of frame-wide “muscle memory” of its previous pilot).

It’s also interesting that this seems to happen during moments of great stress for their modern pilots - at those points when the greatest amount of data would be moving from the person to the mobile suit. So, if, say for example, a pilot was regularly facing strong enemies in life-or-death situations, might the system retain that data too? The heightened reaction speed, the chemical reactions leading to emotional output, the movements of the pilot to resolve the situation. The Calamity War was a time when humanity was desperately pushed to the brink by the mobile armours, it’s very unlikely that they would have taken the time to work out all the bugs in the system (heck, if they were taking high pilot losses, it might have been seen as a bonus).

So yeah, the Hajiroboshi might be haunted.

As the Hajiroboshi appears as a ghost of the Marchosias, there might also be another ghost in the machine.

I just thought that it’s a rad connection.

[tiredspacedragon]

I'm currently in the process of reworking my adaptive Nuva MOCs into Inika builds for a combination of lore, parts-availability, and just-to-see-how-I-like-it reasons, and it's going alright for the most part. The limbs are take 'em or leave 'em in some places, but that's fine. In an ideal world, I'd probably opt to go with custom articulated Nuva limb parts for them all anyway, to keep them connected to their original forms and go for that unified aesthetic. Figuring out what, if anything, to do with Pohatu's hips is proving bothersome, but otherwise I'm very happy with how the torsos have turned out. They've got this lovely armour harness arrangement going on, it's lovely.

What's bothering me is their heads. More specifically, their masks. As it turns out, Inika torsos and Kanohi Nuva do not get along. The shape of the torso's shoulder-pistons just does not mesh with the shape of the masks, leaving it looking like the Toa have no necks. It's great until the masks go on, but then everyone gets uncomfortably beefy, ironically except for Onua and Pohatu. Onua is spared thanks to his unique neck connection, and Pohatu pulls it off because the Kakama Nuva just doesn't have this problem. Don't know why that is exactly, it just doesn't look nearly as squashed on there as the rest. Go figure.

So now I'm stuck with having to decide between just running with beefcake city for the other four, swapping out the masks for custom variants (at least in my imagination, where I could afford to do such a thing), or reworking the heads to give everyone longer necks, which runs the risk of looking kinda uncanny and potentially making them too tall, but it'd probably level out to something decent so idk. I like the Inika torso more than most, but those shoulder pistons are really not friendly to a distressing number of masks. If you've ever tried to give an Inika build character a Great Rau, then you know what I mean.

Stupid realistic shoulder profile turning everyone into football players...

[theflyingpimphat]

Noticed you've done a bunch of sketches for how (m)ass effect races would look like as actual aliens, curious how some DBZ races may look if given the same treatment...

Oh man, as a long-time Dragon Bollocks enjoyer, I do have a bunch of ideas accumulated on that. The redesigns are done in a similar style as the Mass Effect ones, so they will be weirder than what I'd usually do for the franchise, considering it's pretty unrealistic in general, but since everyone is kung fu fighting in there, the general shapes are still humanoid.

Since porking human women and producing children with them is kind of an important part of the story and realistically, you would have a better chance at siring children with a cucumber than an alien, Saiyans were reworked into bioweapons originally hailing from Earth, from along-lost time where humans were spacefaring. Mostly human, they were genetically enhanced for increased strength and ki potential, as well as having werewolf traits, giving them the ability to transform into a gigantic primate hybrid. The spinal glands of werewolves that give them the ability to transform are located at the base of the tail exclusively, providing an easy access for injections, manipulations and if necessary, removal. While they were efficient soldiers, they were also highly aggressive and required absurd amounts of food due to their supercharged metabolism, leading to them being "forgotten" on a remote planet.

Namekians look scary on the first glance, but are surprisingly harmless unless provoked. They come in two different castes, the larger, stockier warrior caste and the smaller, more slender dragon caste with its highly unusual abilities allowing them to reshape reality. These abilities changed the species from mostly carnivorous to photosynthetic. The dentition remained, covering a fixed upper jaw and the radula working against it. The lack of a lower jaw allows the passage of eggs out of their mouths; Namekians are fully parthenogenetic. Their only genetic mixing as well as their only need for their teeth is the process of absorption; in rare cases and with mutual consent, they will consume one another, incorporating the consumed's living cells into their own body rather than digesting them. (based primarily on slugs and bears)

Whateverthehellfreezasspeciesis might look harmless albeit creepy on first glance, but is... not. With an extremely high ki potential, the ability to shapeshift and to survive in harsh conditions including space itself, one can be glad the species is extremely rare. The ability to survive in space comes from two factors: multilayered skin capable to isolate the body from temperature fluctuations and radiation, and being facultative anaerobics. The latter trait is also the source for their toughness, as they can be fully exsanguinated and still live long enough to regenerate the lost blood. Otherwise, there is little know about them; the armour plates and ability to shed them, coloured pheromone/kairomone patches and durability suggest they are a prey species, which makes one wonder what the predators are... (based on primitive fish and polychaetes)

The rest of the paper space was filled with a few characters/species from DBS. Jaco as a funny-looking owl/cephalopod with fly influences, the Galactic King as pretty much himself but with walking legs and repositioned mouth (the tentacle dick is canonical) and the Babarians as less human-shaped and with tougher crests, which made them kind of look like naked Krogans.

[anchanted-one]

Children of the Storm

Summary: A chance discovery leads Jedi Masters Uupa WneSuul, Oteg, and his Padawan Nariel Pridence to the unexplored world of Resh-Krenth 22813; a world its inhabitants call ‘Raudraksha’

https://archiveofourown.org/works/43158375/chapters/108466794

This is the beginning of my new work, the Book of Heroes. It’s a rework of my old stories from the ground up.

“Children of the Storm” is a prologue of sorts, a short story which introduces my new main lead, Vajra.

I’ll be posting chapter 2 in a couple of hours.

3658 BBY (5 BTC) System Designated: Resh-Krenth 22813; soon to be rechristened ‘Raudraksha’

The skies turned a pleasant shade of purple with the deepening dusk. A light snow fell down upon the hardened soil below. The nearby mountain stream was in full force from the recent rains, and the scent from unfamiliar flowers wafted through the air on the cold breeze.

Sergeant Tarsten of Remigold Squad stood alongside his eleven squadmates behind Jedi Masters WenSuul and Oteg. Oteg’s Padawan, the somewhat dim Nariel Pridence, stood at her Master’s side patiently. Ever the prim young lady, her hands tucked behind her back.

Before them stood several of the natives, two women and one man. The leader was one of the women, the shorter and older of the two. Shorter, but she still towered over all three Jedi, who were admittedly small in any crowd. They conversed with ZS-33 acting as the interpreter. Tarsten thought that Oteg was already starting to get the hang of the language.

Both parties’ escorts waited nearby, with weapons held in more relaxed poses now that it was clear that there would be no violence. There was just one Republic Squad, consisting of twelve soldiers, and their assigned protocol and astromech droids. The Natives, who called themselves the Raudra, numbered forty, not counting ten servants. All but two of them were women. Tarsten found these natives, especially the women, held the eye almost as well as Twi’leks did. They were gorgeous, with three dark eyes and skin that looked like a star-studded dusken sky.

Their muscles were slender and compact, and their simple garments revealed a fair amount of their midriff and shoulders. They wore carved jewellery of several kind of metals and precious stones. They had decorative tattoos on their lithe bodies. The three men had no facial hair, and were a little taller and muscular than the women.

The warriors all carried a short horn bow with arrows, a trident, a shield, and a pair of heavy short swords. They had leather armour which they had stowed away when the standoff cooled. The servants—who had taken cover behind rocks and trees until their leader had given them the all-clear—didn’t seem armed at all, except for items like knives. Flimsy ones too, useless in a fight.

“They really are something aren’t they?” Bredan sighed. “Simply gorgeous.”

“They have nothing on the Twi’leks,” Coop grunted.

“That’s your opinion, dori!” Tarsten laughed. “In my eyes, that margin is slim.”

“Three eyes...” Korin chuckled. “And what eyes they are!”

“Wonder what they’re talking about?” Bredan wondered. Several of the women were chatting particularly animatedly, eagerness alight in their gestures and lilting laughter.

The other interpreter, B8-DA, replied in its bored librarian voice. “They are talking about a festival that is to start tomorrow at dusk. They think that they can make it to their capital from here before the final day. They’re setting up a last-minute act together. That man over there is thinking of getting another set of armour as his is getting too small for him. The quieter women are discussing the ones who died slaying Darth Bellicose. There is to be a ceremony in their honour for their valour.” He listened another moment. “It seems that a child got caught up in the skirmish, and was orphaned in the violence.” Tarsten thought he was imagining it, but was that a tinge of sorrow in the droid’s voice?

“Damned Sith,” Bredan spat. “Even worse than the Hutts!”

“Hutts would have enslaved them,” Tarsten reminded him. “Not sure who’s worse of the two.”

“Sith enslave too.”

“Because they’re sadistic, not for profit,” Korin chimed in. “Which is worse?”

“To be honest, I hate assholes who grin and say ‘strictly business, nothing personal’ before slapping a collar round your neck,” Tarsten shivered.

Tarsten turned at the sound of footsteps. Several of the warriors were approaching; both men and several of the women. The one in the lead, one of the males, said something in a strong but friendly voice.

“Have we angered you in some way?” Bait translated.

“Was that all there was to it?” Captain Toramad had joined them. “Sounded like there was more to it.”

Bait was the opposite of most protocol and interpreter droids. He did not speak nearly as much, clarifying the nitty gritty the way most such droids tended to. It was a blessing and a curse. He did not get underfoot like them, but he often paraphrased.

“Their words are a little big, is all,” Bait grumbled. “Unnecessary padding. But perhaps quite pleasing to the ears. Quite unusual for a primitive civilisation. I suspect we will find poets and singers aplenty in their cities.”

“Tell them that we were discussing the Sith,” Tarsten told him. “That we know how those bastards just take whatever they want and kill thousands just to make a point. Tell them we heard them discussing their dead, and remembered our own fallen, as well as other people just as bad.”

The Droid complied, and faces darkened, some with rage, others with sorrow and pain.

One of the women said something, and Bait said. “May we sit with you? We can drink to our fallen together.”

“We accept.”

Tarsten knew that at least some of his squad was more interested in drinking with the sexy locals than an impromptu memorial, but it was difficult to pass up an opportunity to turn away free booze.

The man whispered something, and his brother-in-arms walked away to speak with a group of servants. They nodded at whatever was being said, and hastened to the cart they had stowed their supplies in. Soon they returned with several clay casks and cups.

The Raudra sat down in a messy semicircle, and the good folks of Ardent Company copied their example and formed the other half. Servants handed out the cups and began filling them with liquor. It was interesting to see a four-armed species doing this kind of task.

Once all cups were filled, the Captain raised his cup and said “To our fallen loved ones, gone too soon… but not forgotten.” The others echoed the words and swallowed. The brew did not burn the throat as badly as some did, but still had an appreciable kick hidden within.

Tarsten lowered the cup from his lips to find the Raudra staring at them, a few looking mildly offended. One of the older women clicked her tongue and said something which broke the spell.

One of the people that Tarsten had assumed was a servant walked into the middle of the ring and began reciting a hymn as all the Raudra closed their eyes and held their cups in all four hands. The hymn got over quickly enough, less than twenty seconds, and then they all opened their eyes and gulped down their drinks.

“She said ‘Our ways are not their ways’,” Bait explained without prompting. Tarsten felt a little heat in his cheeks unrelated to the ale. “Apologize for us, will you?”

Bait Complied, and the group just chuckled.

“Do you pray for your dead?” One woman asked, with Bait translating. “Do you sing?”

“Sometimes,” the Captain replied. “We just have small speeches.”

“That feels insufficient somehow,” Bait translated one’s remark. “How can you show your feelings of love, loss, pain, or joy without music?” as another, with another “It is simply not their way!” as the older woman from before reminded them. “We love music, relishing the note in every breath… but they might have other interests. Do they, perhaps, dance when they can? Paint? Carve statues?”

“All of the above,” Tarsten confirmed. “But we’re simply not that into art of any kind, except in its proper place. I don’t know why.”

Every set of three-eyed faces looked incredulous at such an utter lack of artistic expression.

*

The servants were quick to help clean up once the brief remembrance was over, then began making preparations for supper. With delicious smells filling the air, the warriors pressed Tarsten and the others with questions, now curious about how different the ‘lands beyond the skies’ were.

The soldiers tried to answer their questions honestly, but couldn’t help exaggerate every now and then.  Bredan and Korin, among others, were quick to make sexual innuendos and references to their virility every chance they could, but it appeared that Bait sanitized the dialogue, going by the lack of either interest or disgust.

“It is regarded a bad idea to flirt with primitive species,” Tarsten recalled. “Most primitives have archaic view on copulation. Some see it as holy, finding the thought of casual sex repugnant. Others were quick to descend into orgies at the slightest provocations, orgies which might sometimes had unintended consequences like allergic reactions or diseases. Sometimes even death, if a species responded to poor performances violently.”

Eventually, the elder from before had a question which got Tarsten’s attention.

“Which of you are the women, and which the men?”

“We’re all men,” the Captain replied. “Except for Wency, Darri, and Shei.”

The woman gapsed.

“How can you send so many of your men into battle?” she asked. “Do you have many?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Wait a minute,” Coop spoke up. “Ask them what their gender ration is.”

Bait replied. “Approximately one male in every ten births. Every child is precious, but a male, even more so.”

“But… that doesn’t make sense! Most primitive cultures would aim to subjugate the weaker sex.”

“The society is largely matriarchal it seems. The men retain their independence because Rudra—” the droid looked confused for a second. “Oh, I see. ‘Rudra’ is their main deity, and legendary ancestor. And they, the ‘Raudra’ are his descendants. Anyway, Rudra defeated a large snake who tried to enslave them, and declared that none of his descendants shall ever have their freedom taken away from them. In accordance with his wishes, no one is constrained by anything save tradition. Even the servants are not slaves.” For a second, B7 muttered a few Raudra words under his breath and said “You know, I’m starting to take a shine to their language!”

Soon afterwards, the Jedi and their leaders finished their deliberations, and returned to their respective groups. All of them seemed rather absorbed in their own thoughts, as though much had been learned on both sides.

Conversation reached a lull among the grunts too. They ate dinner in contemplative silence, after which the Raudra sang and danced hypnotically to entertain their guests, playing handheld percussive instruments.

Everyone went to bed early, with the Raudra insisting that they would take the watch as the Republic soldiers were their guests.

Tarsten and the others had a good night’s sleep for once, better than they’d had in quite a while.

*

[henrysglock]

okay okay i love talking about dnd - dnd anon back again

just general fyi, there's multiple editions for dnd. new monsters get added over the course of them, some stats change, game mechanics get reworked ect. we're on E5 right now. the party in ST would be playing with E1 which came out in the early 80s (E2 came out in the late 80s and is definitely relevant to anything S4 and onwards). i know most of the original 80s stats, but just mentioning here that some numbers went up or down a few digits over the years

okay and now breaking this down:

in dnd you have CRs (= Challenge Ratings) which are a number between 0 and 30. those give you an idea of the general strength of an enemy, the higher the stronger. that's generally how you as a DM decide what to throw at your party since you don't want to give and absolute BeastTM to you Lvl. 1 party (CRs also aren't always 100% reliable since DMs can tweak stats slightly to fit their parties better, but CRs DO give you a pretty solid idea of how fucked you're going to be on average going into an encounter)

and long story short, a Mindflayers CR is 7. Vecna's is 26. and yeah that'd basically already be enough said, one of these is Not like the other. Tldr: Vecna is an absolute Unit and wins this competition every time

but now also, more in depth:

first more stats: CR only give you the General difficulty of an enemy. you also have AC (Armour Class) and HP for every enemy for example:

AC -> MF: 15, V: 18

HP -> MF: 71 (potentially up to +13 with additional roles when creating the enemy), V: 272 (with a roll up to +128)

Vecna, again, unsurprisingly given the CR, wins everything here BY FAR. but besides stats, the actual game lore is also interesting:

for one, i said A Mindflayer intentionally because there's actually multiple. it's not a unique enemy type (it's still rare though). they're also called Illithids and are actually much more human looking than on the show -> a bit of a wizard type - also much more human sized than the one in ST. their faces are very much spider tentacles tho so I'm guessing that's from where we got the visuals for our favorite Big Guy. (also, fun fact: Illithids/ Mindflayers tend to show up in combat with a handful of followers they're mindcontrolling, very similar to the plot of s3 actually, just think that's neat :D)

and then there's VECNA. THE Vecna. the ONE and only (ha). totally unique. actually, as of E1 Vecna wasn't even a fightable enemy with stats yet. he was only Referenced in the monster manual (where all the dnd enemy lore at the time came from) + his eye (or arm actually? sorry not sure which one it actually was) were super strong items you could find. but no Vecna in the flesh yet - he was just this elusive evil in the background. only in E2 did Vecna actually get a stats sheet and was something you could actually try and fight. and Vecna is Big in dnd, a bit of a staple figure actually - especially in E2 at the time. Mindflayers may be more of an enemy class than a given "name" for one specific person/monster. but oh boy did Vecna sure make a name for himself alone. multiple names actually, that's the guy people call "the Arch Lich" and "the Undying King" to name a few, if there's One wizard you're going to be sweating to fight in late 80s dnd it's THIS guy. Hard as Hell to beat! and a dnd icon on top of it!

and even the fighting in itself is going to be an absolute Bitch, so here a general idea of how combat works:

aside from attacking, you constantly roll saving throws. that's how you avoid dying/ taking damage/ suffering negative effects like poison or burning etc. the saving throws are all in a specific attribute so Intelligence or Wisdom for example. you roll with a D20 and need to get something higher than a certain predetermined number to actually get the save and avoid whatever made you roll for the save in the first place. depending on the stat you're rolling in, the numbers for the MFs are basically all between 6-7. but for VECNA they're all between 12-15.

the combat system in E1 and E2 is slightly different than today and i'm not Totally in tune with it, so i'm not Completely sure if/how saving throws might have worked a bit different back then,

but the HIGH requirement for saves (consistently rolling over 12-15 with a D20 is Fucked btw) is also why we see the game in S4 go down the way it does. the entire group makes it to the final boss alright but then starts falling like flies. because you'd have to consistently roll REALLY high to keep hitting saves and not chip your health down slowly or get CRIT'ed in one go. and even if you're lucky with rolls, the longer the combat goes on the more likely you are to start missing saves and either die from a direct hit or get a negative effect that kills you over time. which is why we see the entire party go down alongside Mike during Eddie's game, except for Dustin and Erica who are both still 1 hit from death.

even the parts of the game sequence we actually get SEE on screen in s4 show us this directly, when we see Mike going first in the combat order and look upset immediately when he presumably fails his first save right away (unlucky) -> i've seen people confused why Mike looks upset but an Enemy figure gets knocked down on the board instead of his paladin. this is why as far as i can tell here. he might have still won against whatever he was fighting but took massive damage or got a passive negative effect from failing his first save. he zero'd out later at some point, since only Erica and Dustin are left by the end, but i probably wasn't Directly after the first hit he took (even though it could obviously be Because of that hit, since it might've been a passive effect which can kill you with a few rounds delay)

so Yupp, that's the general breakdown here! so tldr Again: if you had the choice between facing the Mindflayer or Vecna on the condition that everybody sticks to dnd rules you do NOT go for Vecna. Ever. that guy is Horrible to beat. literally the chance of fucking up like Mike here and missing your FIRST save right off the bat is 60-75%, that's BAD, that can KILL you

me with my melted ice cream brain: yeah what u said

but actually yeah looking at the numbers it’s v clear who’s the big bad even from the dnd framework. and it also makes sense why El et al. are able to defeat the mindflayer twice but not Vecna/Henry even once

[nighthazerpg]

Not Quite Patch 0.3.6

There’s a rework of Armour Enchanting and Mech Shields and some updates to the Starter Item Kits that I want to do that will probably tip the version number over, but they need a little more work and I demand action now, dammit! So here’s The Rest Of That Patch:

New item: Duelling Poncho! A way to disrupt melee attacks as a Reaction.

I have come to acknowledge that the Bruising concept sucks, and these sources of stamina damage are being added back into the game. However, we have not learned nothing. Bean Bag Rounds and the Water Cannon now knock their targets prone, and the Martial Art that lets you choose whether your unarmed attacks do Body damage is still there (but changed name to the more thematic "Deadly Strike").

This leaves Improvised Weapons in a weird spot, because all of this faffing around has been to try and make picking up any kind of tool a meaningful improvement over your bare hands, without negating the value of buying a weapon. I don’t know why I didn’t think of the Fragile property earlier - Improvised Weapons now break after the first hit you land with them. Not on a miss, mind you - just when you connect.

Also added Improvised Shields and Found Cloths to the list, and changed Thrown Blunt objects to Stagger the target instead of doing Body damage, to diversify the available options.

Some Background changes:

The Medicart Doctor background was always a little bit hard to find a proper perk for, and the one they ended up with is a bit wishy-washy. After thinking about it, Medicart covers a lot of the other bases of gameplay - Nurses are good for combat, Surgeons and Pharmacists are good in downtime, so it stands to reason that something that can benefit infiltration would be good - so what I’ve arrived on is a more mechanically firm version of what they have at the moment. You can make a Medicine check on someone and your successes are a pool of bonus dice to use on later Diplomacy checks. Simple!

The Arbitr perk has been changed to something similar, just with Processing, and you can be observing a person, location or activity. As funny as being able to Bugs Bunny distract people in combat for an extra round is, I think people seriously trying to play a lawyer are probably not going to find themselves in the thick of combat very often.

The Cult of Doom felt a little bit... weird in its previous iteration. I’m not sure having a sect of cold-loving berserkers makes a ton of sense in the fiction, so it’s been given a face lift. (If your entire build revolved around the mechanic of getting a combat bonus for being frostbitten, feel free to keep it, I’m not your dad.) The new Orientist church is supposed to be the kind of hellfire-and-brimstone preacher, similar to what apocalyptic churches in our world actually look like. The perk is real simple - your Inspire works backwards. Instead of adding to the dice pools of allies, you take dice away from opponents by being a terrifying motherfucker.

Changes to Traits and things that follow on from those changes:

The benefit of Big-Boned and penalty of Half-Pint never actually... did anything? The +2 body weight of Big-Boned is more of a tradeoff than a straight benefit, and the carry weight penalty of Half-Pint, while substantial, is also easily negated by the carry weight floor, and kinda contributes to the “dump Body” build strat, which I don’t want to encourage. So here’s some new stuff:

In addition to the Body Weight increase, being Big-Boned now gives you Poison Armour. Yay!

Being a Half-Pint no longer penalises your Carry Weight. That kinda sucks and I imagine nobody is sorry to see it go. Instead, you are more throwable! Any effect that knocks you Prone also knocks you back 1 Tile, in addition to any other knockback that applies.

In order to tidy up a few contradictions, Nausea is finally being fully removed (wish I could say the same for myself) to smooth out the structure of Resolve Injuries (there may be more to come there because Resolve is currently the only Injury type where you really need to remember how you got hurt). This necessitates changing a few things:

You should probably not be able to die from Motion Sickness, so now instead of stacking Resolve Injuries, it just gives you one and Dazes you, which goes away on its own after some time to rest out of the car.

The Allergy trait now just gives you a deadass Normal Resolve Injury, which it really should have done with the Injury changes at the start of 0.3. A little more serious than 15 minutes of queasiness, but still something you can sleep off.

The Poison Scar now Dazes you when you take Resolve damage rather than being an Armour penalty vs. Nausea which never really attacked you anyway so it was kind of a nothing burger. I may start updating some of the Scar penalties to be more interesting challenges like this.

Anoxia has had to be reworded a little bit because it was the only thing that referenced “Critical Nausea”, instead just being its own subtype of Resolve injury. Given the nature of suffocating, this may be changed to Mind when I’ve had some time to think about it, because that would make it even simpler.

Miscellaneous stuff:

Changed the Shield Wall spell to use your ranks in Spellcraft rather than your Mind score for its strength

The Tripshot Trickshot now allows an ally in Melee range of the Tripped target to Capitalise

Added to the list of things that fluoresce under the Blacklight flashlight

Small fixes done yesterday:

Specified that the Nerves of Steel Stunt works on a 1:1 basis

Removed some references to removed Diplomacy mechanics and deprecated terms on the Backgrounds tab

Specified in the Pinnacle background that you cannot be a University Professor of Perception

Changed the rules for hotwiring automated Vehicles so they behave like Manually controlled drones - you do better if you have a Control Visor than if you're just using your phone or laptop to drive it, and until you can Offgrid it properly and install a steering wheel and pedals, you're vulnerable to Connection disruption effects

Specified that Brand Spoofing needs to take the usage setup into account so you can't just cheese the check by removing every implant except the one you're working on

The Diplomacy example of play was using the old diplomacy skills

Specified that you can perform an Execution or a Knockout on someone you have Dead to Rights

Also changed the description on the Church of Luna background to give a more concrete idea of what they actually do (ghetto therapy)

[dnd5a]

Patch 3.8 - Ranger's Path

This patch features revisions and additions to items, a (hopefully final) major overhaul to Ranger, and some other assorted changes.

Classes

Alchemist

New - Chemist Alchemists can now make magical potions in less time and using less money, similar to how Artificers can make magic items

Artificer

New - Artificer Specialisation: Eldritch Engineer A summoner Artificer that creates a swarm of Far Realm monsters

Barbarian

Nerf - Primal Path: Path of the Witchblood Eldritch Instincts can no longer trigger while you're incapacitated

Nerf - Battle Outlets: Biting Grit Biting Grit no longer functions if you're wearing armour.

Astromancer

Presentation - Extra Attack Now called Arcane Attack to differentiate it from other variants of Extra Attack

Bloodhunter

New - Bloodhunter Order: Order of the Clot A summoner Bloodhunter that sacrifices their own health to summon weak servants

Rework - Bloodhunter Order: Order of the Goreblade Bloodletting Bolt removed, replaced with a new feature that lets you customise your Goreblade with better traits and damage dice

Cleric

Nerf - Divine Domain: Peace Domain Emboldening Bold is now an augmentation to the bless spell, effectively reducing its power without actually making the ability itself much worse

Invoker

Buff - Divine Arms Divine Arms now last for 1 hour

Ranger

Ranger has gone through multiple huge changes over its life and this (hopefully) final change should bring it in line with what I'm looking for. Ranger's bevvy of largely useless features have been turned into optional side features called Talents, freeing up the rest of the class for actually good features.

Removed - Various Features Favoured Enemy, Natural Explorer, and a number of other features have been removed and turned into Natural Talents

New - Natural Talents Invocations for Ranger: Natural Talents take a number of fluff Ranger features and turn them into optional features.

New - Versatile Hunter Makes your Hunter's Quarry more flexible by letting you move it between downed enemies like you can with hex and hunter's mark, but only within a few minutes and letting you place it as a part of your Ambuscade without using a bonus action

New - Wild Assault Takes the options for Hunter's Multiattack, with a new added option: Rending Attack, and adds them to the main class

New - Ranger's Defence Takes the options for Hunter's Hunter's Defence and gives it to the base class

Adjustment - Ranger Conclave: Conclave of the Horizon Walker Portal Sense now gives you the spell detect portals for free and lets you cast it without a spell slot once per day

Removed - Ranger Conclave: Conclave of the Hunter Abilities either added as Natural Talents or added to the base class in Wild Assault or Ranger's Defence

Buff - Ranger Conclave: Conclave of the Swarmkeeper Gathered Swarm can no move you up to 10 feet. Writhing Tide now grants you a flying speed equal to your walking speed, but can only be used once per short or long rest.

Rogue

Buff - Daring Exploits Exploit Limits removed. Rogues can now spend 2-3 Gambit dice on Exploits as soon as you have the Gambit dice to spend on them

Sorcerer

Nerf - Focused Sorcery Now grants you half you maximum sorcery points after a short rest, but only once per long rest.

Warlock

Buff - Pact of the Chain Familiars now gain new hit point maximums equal to 5 + five times your Warlock level. To compensate the reaction ability to give them resistance to a damage type has been removed.

Rework - Otherworldly Patron: The Great Old One New 1st-level feature, Aberrant Presence lets you use a bonus action to bane an enemy's attacks and ability checks and then punishes them for failing attacks and checks. Furthermore, Create Thrall has been made incredibly spicy

Nerf - Eldritch Invocations: Void's Kiss Damage reduced by 1d10

Downtime Activities

New - Buying an Item DC modifiers for searching for specific types of magic items have been created

New - Crime Rules defined for Scams, a variant to Crimes

New - Research Can situationally use Charisma instead of Intelligence, but the DCs for doing so are higher

New - Selling Magical Services Downtime Activities for spellcasters who might otherwise have very little to do

Feats

New - Cunning Artisan Lets you make simple items during a short rest from scavenged materials like bone, wood, and stones

New - Mage Knight Grants you the cantrip extra attack available to Astromancers a limited number of times per day

Items

New - Alchemical Items and Poisons A section has been created for alchemical items and poisons, including rules on different ways you can apply them

Presentation - Equipment Size Armour and weapons for larger and smaller creatures are now on the Items page, rather than buried in the Rules page. Should make playing Large creatures easier now. It also means that Small characters get discounts on their armour.

New - Prosthetics New prosthetics options are now on the Injuries page

Buff - Spell Scrolls Spell scrolls can now be used by any one and a creature can instantly read a spell scroll if it's on their class's spell list

Buff - Weapons Certain weapons now have the Deadly trait, which increases their critical hit range. These weapons are: daggers, darts, greatclubs, morningstars, shurikens, sickles, slings, tridents

Races

Buff - Gnomes Regular gnomes now get a full suite of spells, rather than only minor illusion. They also get silent image and Nathair's mischief

New - Grung Added variant to Bullywugs

Buff - Reborn Now get darkvision and Knowledge from a Past Life works on tools

Rules

Rework - Action: Search New clarification on what exactly you can search for as an action

New - Action: Study Clarification on what kind of Intelligence checks you should be making for what topic

Gods of the Multiverse

An all new page featuring details on the deities of the various Material Planes within the multiverse.

Spells

Nerf - Althaea's Spellnode Area of effect reduced to 30 feet. Damage reduced to d8s and temporary hit points reduced to d4s

Removed - Astrabolts Too cumbersome

Buff - Compulsion You now have far greater control over individual targets and where they go

Rework - Contaminate Food and Drink Simplified and depowered

Nerf - Fear Now get a save at the end of the turn no matter what and save is with advantage if you can't see the caster

Rework - Find Traps Now grants you a +5 bonus to Intelligence and Wisdom checks made to find traps, rather than its formerly useless effect

Adjustment - Fury Gale Now extinguishes flames

Buff - Gentle Repose Given to Shaman

Buff - Gomez's Scattered Sand Is now a bonus action

Buff - Horrorblade Now deals more damage and grants the wielder a bonus action ability to frighten enemies

Nerf - Leomund's Tiny Hut Now grants no physical protection, making it far less of a free safety spell

Nerf - Lesser Restoration Can now only cure injuries once per day per target

Nerf - Modify Spell Can now only modify spells of 5th level or lower and modified spells end when their modifications end

Buff - Nether Void Now lets you disappear for a round, then reappear wherever is most convenient

Nerf - Permanency Now only works on spells with a duration of at least 1 minute

Buff - Reinforce Object Casting time reduced to 1 action. Level reduced from 3rd to 1st. Spell now scales faster

Buff - Shattersong Overall damage increased from d6s to d10s

Buff - Spider Climb Given to Druids

Rework - True Strike Is now a Spellblade spell as it is in OneD&D, making it very good on certain classes

Buff - Tseric's Seething Objection Now resolves before the triggering damage. Spell's damage slightly reduced

Buff - Weaken Gravity Area reduced. Spell level reduced from 3rd to 2nd.

[sparkywrites25]

Writing Ask Game

I shared this fic writers ask game on the wrong blog so I'm answering these here with a link to this post on the blog. I really appreciate the kind words lollipop anon. Thank you for engaging with the blog.

1 - What fic of yours would you recommend to someone who had never read any of your work? (In other words, what do you think is the best introduction to your fics?)

I would want to showcase the work I think was better written and something I am fairly proud of to someone new so I think I would choose my Hearts and Crafts piece which was a request fill for both @levi-supreme and @ladycheesington. I really enjoyed writing that AU and immersing myself in the Levi x Reader autumn date. I do plan to return to that AU one day as it really filled my heart to write and I don't think the writing itself was awful.

3. What are some tropes or details that you think are very characteristic of your fics?

Emotional hurt is definitely a common theme in most of my fics, one shots or WIPs etc. I am a sucker for hurt/comfort or complicated and painful scenarios. I also tend to write a fair bit of characters biting their tongue on their own feelings rather than doing the healthy thing and expressing them.

8. What song would make a great fic (to either write or read)?

One song which I can think of, I've already kind of written for. Astronaut by Simple Plan was used as mood music for Lost and Petra's predicament within it echoes the theme of the song. But other than that, Beautiful Disaster by Kelly Clarkson would be good to write or read. Again, this is my weakness for angsty or complicatedly emotional situations.

13. Are there any tropes you used to like but don’t anymore?

I'm not a massive fan of amnesia plots and I think that is because they used to come up a fair bit in private roleplay as people I was writing with would quite like that trope. I lost some of my interest in it after that. I don't know if I could write it as I am not the most patient person and would want to write the remembering way too soon!

15. What’s your favorite AU that you’ve written?

So far the collegeLevi x Reader universe from Hearts and Crafts is easily my favourite but I have some stories coming which do have more of my heart and I've been brainstorming them for so long. Because I love them so much, I keep getting contradictory ideas and reworking the plan so me having so much love for them has actually delayed them being written, haha.

49. What are you currently working on? Share a few lines if you’re up for it!

So far the ones I'm working on aren't at the writing stage - they're still in the planning stage. I'll mention a few rather than them all because I have a ridiculous amount planned.

To Love An Ackerman - A LevixChildhoodSoulmate AU following their story from their lives in the Underground up to and including some canon events. Also features a teenage Ackerbaby eventually too. This is my biggest brain child right now.

Seven Deadly "Sins" - A series of LevixOC stories each named after a sin but each "sin" isn't quite as clear-cut of a sin as the title might imply. In some, for example, the behaviour within the story may look like one of the sins but it actually comes from a mental health issue etc.

Sacrifice Your Heart - A LevixOC story wherein the OC, Sofia. (Levi's girlfriend at this point) has to take on the Armoured Titan in an AU of the Return to Shiganshina arc. She struggles with it especially after learning that she'll only have 13 years left. It'll be a story of navigating the following events while brewing with resentment.