#these suckers cost so much dragon money

[sunstonez]

Doing a major revamp of my lair and I'm just ;-; look at my Nocturns.....

[topguncortez]

Are You With Me | | Chapter 3

previous part | masterlist | next part

synopsis: Jake and Y/N fight over the hospital bill and whether its a good idea to keep the kids on Jake's insurance or night. Jake still has issues with Miles. Ella makes a decision in the course of her treatment.

word count: 2.1k

warnings: medical inaccuracies, divorce, fighting, cursing, childhood cancer, mentions of childhood death

Jake had made a joke once that Eli was the cheapest baby they had. Said joke had earned him a glare that was fierce enough to send a shiver down his spine. Y/N had mastered the “mom eye” after having two kids.

But, even though Jake’s joke was done in poor timing, he was right. Having a baby, although not planned one bit, at home had saved them quite a bit of money. Jake had always found it comical that he was the best of the best. The 1% of the 1% and had some of the worst health care coverage in the whole United States.

“I feel like I need to take a loan out to pay these,” Jake rubbed his forehead, slipping his glasses off his face.

It was one of the rare moments that Jake and Y/N were both at the house. Y/N spent the day with Ella while Jake was at work and Alex was at school. Between Penny and Y/N’s mother Clara, they watched Eli for a couple of hours. Jake would then come to the hospital at night, staying with Ella while Y/N went home and made dinner and got the boys to bed. The Daggers had created a weekend schedule, each of them taking a saturday or sunday to stay with Ella so Jake and Y/N could both go home and recharge.

Though being at home was more stressful than watching their four year old getting pumped with toxins.

“Is that the bill?” Y/N asked as she walked into the kitchen after putting the boys down. She filled the tea kettle and set it on the burner, before pouring Jake a drink and taking it to him

“The first one, yeah,” Jake wiped a hand down his face, “Thanks,” He mumbled taking the rocks glass from her, “The ER visit cost thirty-three hundred dollars and insurance is only covering three hundred of it. The estimated total cost of care is around sixty-one thousand dollars.”

“Well,” Y/N swallowed, “I can always put Ella on my insurance. I get good-”

“No,” Jake sneered, “We agreed when we… we agreed when we divorced I would put the kids on my insurance plan because it’s cheaper.”

“Yes, but if this means compromising Ella’s care-“

“It’s not compromising anything!” Jake snapped causing Y/N to jump a bit in her seat. He scrubbed a hand down his face, “You got the kids and the house and everything else in the divorce. Let me help do this.”

Y/N nodded her head, “Fine,” She sighed, “We still have the rainy day fund.”

“Still not even going to make a dent in the payments,” Jake leaned back in his chair, “I’m tired of talking about this. How was Ella today?”

“Same as always,” Y/N shrugged, “Was fine in the morning before chemo, napped all afternoon and then threw up everything she ate. Her hair is becoming more of an issue for her… it’s becoming more noticeable.”

Ella’s hair had started to fall out as the weeks of chemo continued on. Jake and Y/N didn’t have the heart to shave it or cut it before Ella started therapy, wanting her to have the ability to make that decision for herself. But as the treatments went on, Ella’s confidence began to fade with each clump of hair that fell.

“Maybe we should just shave it,” Jake suggested as the tea kettle rang.

Y/N poured herself a mug, “No. She’s already losing so much autonomy over her own body. She should be the one who decides on her hair.”

“I hate to see her like that.”

“We all do,” Y/N took a sip of her tea, “But she was happy that Rooster and Dragon got to stay with her. Dragon mentioned something about watching Dateline.”

Jake chuckled, “Going to teach our four year old how to commit murder and get away with it.”

“She’s been stealing cookies and getting things she wants outta you since she was born.”

Jake couldn’t help it, he was a sucker for those big green eyes.

Silence fell over the two of them. It was moments like these where things almost felt normal between Jake and Y/N. Like the past two years had been a fever dream. That they had never spent a day apart. But then reality settled back in, and the awkwardness filled the air.

“I’m going to bed,” Y/N said, clearing her throat, “I put clean towels back in the guest room.”

“Thank you,” Jake nodded his head, “Goodnight, Y/N.”

“Night, Jake.”

— — —

When Ella was born, she had a full head of dark curly hair. Y/N knew that she was going to have hair from all the heartburn she had experienced through the whole nine months. In fact, that was the first thing the doctor had called out in the middle of delivering the Seresin girl.

“oh gosh! she’s got a full head of hair!”

Y/N had always dreamed of having a little girl with gorgeous long hair, and she had been lucky to get just that. She couldn’t wait until Ella was old enough to sit up and her hair long enough that she could braid it and style it. Ella always had perfectly done hair when Y/N dropped her off for daycare. Ella liked to show off her matching bows or the intricate braid that her mother did to her classmates and teacher.

Miles had told them one of the most common side effects of chemotherapy was the loss of hair. Y/N thought maybe, just maybe, Ella wouldn’t lose her hair. They had gotten through the first week of treatment without any hair loss. But then week two rolled around, and it was the worst week of Ella Seresin’s life.

“Mommy! My hair!” Ella cried as she stood fresh out of the shower, with a clump of hair in her hands. Y/N did all she could to try and soothe her child as she pulled on the ends of her hair, more stands coming out.

“I know, baby,” Y/N fought back tears, “I know. It’ll be okay.”

For weeks, Y/N and Jake watched as Ella’s hair grew thinner and thinner. They switched from using a brush to using a wide tooth comb, hoping to save some of the frail strands of hair on her head. Ella knew that most kids on the floor didn’t have hair or wore fake hair. She knew that eventually, she would look like them.

“Do you want strawberry or cherry jello for lunch?” Y/N asked as she looked over the hospitals menu choices for today. Y/N wasn’t sure if it was because of stress but the hospital food wasn’t actually that bad. Plus, Val had kept Ella’s room stacked with snacks.

“Mommy,” Ella said.

“Yes, baby?” Y/N asked, putting the menu down and looking at her daughter, “What’s up, buttercup?”

“I want to cut my hair.”

“What?” Y/N was taken aback by her daughter’s words. Ella was wise beyond her years but this shocked Y/N to hear.

“I want to cut my hair. It keeps falling,” Ella said, touching her thinning hair.

Y/N nodded her head, “Of course, baby. We’ll do it tonight, when dad gets here. That sounds okay?” Ella nodded her head, a bright smile on her face, “Now, how about that jello.”

A couple of hours later, Jake was walking down the familiar bright colored walls of the children’s cancer ward. He always found it ironic that such a dark place was painted so brightly. Ella had only been there two months and already she had new neighbors on either side of her room. The cries of the parents haunted Jake at night and the images of little bodies being moved with sheets over their heads was enough to bring Jake to a panic. However, every time Jake walked closer to Ella’s door he was met with the beautiful sound of laughter. 

A smile graced Jake’s lips as he heard Ella’s laugh and that familiar snort that always made her laugh harder. But the moment he opened the door, his smile dropped. 

“Doctor Miles.” 

“Daddy!” Ella cheered and sat up in her bed, reaching out for her father. 

Jake walked over to her, greeting her with a hug and kissing her forehead, “How are you, bug?” 

“I’m good,” Ella nodded her head, laying back in her bed, “Doctor Miles is playing Bluey with me.” 

“I see that,” Jake looked over at Miles who was standing in the corner of the room now, “Where is Mommy?” 

“Sent her for a snack,” Miles answered, “She’s looking like the walking dead.” 

“Can we refrain from making death jokes?” Miles held back from rolling his eyes, “I’m here now, so you can go.” 

“I said I would wait here with Ella until-” 

“I’m her father and I say-” 

“You say nothing,” Y/N said, appearing in the doorway, “Thank you, Miles.” 

Miles nodded his head, “No problem, Y/N. I’ll see you tomorrow, Ella, good job today.” He held his hand out for the little girl to give him a high five. 

Y/N waited a moment until Miles was out of the room before looking at Jake, “Really?” 

Jake just shrugged, “I had it under control.” 

“I’m sure,” Y/N sighed, walking over to Ella’s bed. The little girl curled up next to her mother almost instantly, “Do you want to tell your daddy what you want to do today?” Ella nodded her head and then looked at Jake. 

“I want to cut my hair.” 

Jake’s eyes widened as he looked from Ella to Y/N, “You do?” Ella nodded her head again. 

“The nurses brought some clippers and stuff earlier. I-I’ve never cut anyone’s hair so I-”

“I got it,” Jake answered, “I was cuttin’ boys’ hair in the bay at boot camp.” 

 “Okay,” Y/N said, feeling the familiar burn of tears in her eyes, “You ready, Elles?” 

“Yes!” Ella said, a bright smile on her face. 

Both Y/N and Jake walked with Ella to the bathroom where a nurse had brung in clippers, scissors, a razor, shaving cream and a step stool. Ella stepped up on the stool, looking at herself in the mirror that was covered with pink and purple flowers. Y/N leaned against the doorway, watching as Jake got everything set up, occasionally making funny faces in the mirror to make Ella laugh. 

“Gonna start now, are you sure this is what you want?” Jake asked his daughter. Ella nodded her head, “Okay. Here we go.” Both Y/N and Jake took a deep breath as he grabbed a lock of Ella’s hair and lifted the scissors. The sound of the shears closing together made the loudest sound Y/N had ever heard as a lock of brown went tumbling down to the ground. 

“You cut it!” Ella gasped. Jake’s heart pounded in his chest, then it relaxed as her giggles filled the room, “Do it again!” 

Jake looked at his wife through the mirror, seeing her red eyes but the smallest smile on her face, “Let’s keep going.” 

After every snip of the scissors, Ella giggled which made the whole situation somewhat better. Eventually Jake got to the point where he had to use the clippers. He gently moved them over her head, watching as the final pieces of hair fell from her head. 

“What do you think?” Jake asked, as he set the razor down in the sink. It was quiet for a moment as Ella looked herself over in the mirror. 

“My head is cold,” She said. 

Y/N chuckled as she stepped into the bathroom, walking up behind her daughter, “We’ll get you a hat or two or-” 

“Three!” Ella held up three fingers. Ella turned to face her mom, “Momma, don’t cry.” 

“I’m sorry, baby,” Y/N said, as Ella wiped a finger away from her cheek, “How about we take a shower and then watch a disney movie?” 

“Princess and The Frog! Daddy! Will you stay?” 

Y/N looked at Jake, who was cleaning up the hair around the bathroom, “Yeah. Of course. Let me finish cleaning this up, and I'll sneak down to the nurses lounge to make popcorn.” 

“Thank you,” Y/N said, sincerity in her voice, “Let’s get cleaned up, Elles.” 

A strange feeling settled over Jake’s chest as he watched his wife and daughter. A strange feeling that maybe, just maybe. . . things will be alright.

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[pooks]

Percy headcanon time! by Pooks!

everyone be like "post-second war, Percy moves back to the burrow"

but CONSIDER

he doesn't do that. he doesn't wanna go back, but he wants a good, healthy and stable relationship with his family. he even connects the old fireplace in his flat to the floo network, so they can travel with ease.

now you wonder, why doesn't he come back? for the better part, they assumed that Percy thought it was too cramped at the Burrow or that he wanted some adult independance, learning to grow into his adult role.

trust me, it's none of those reasons. his reason is something entirely different.

Percy got a TV.

no, he doesn't want to share it. no, he isn't giving up his TV with good reception and dozens of channels (headcanon; he's a sucker for tv dramas).

the most hilarious thing is when he and Molly argues about why that TV is so much better than her radio ("You can't see the visuals, Mother! And if I have to listen to Celestina Warbeck 24/7 again, I might throw myself into the Thames!") and when Arthur is so interested in the TV ("No, Dad. You can't experiment on my TV! It costed me so much Muggle money, please don't do that!")

and just as he expected and lowkey feared, his siblings starts to mooch on the TV. the younger ones, at least. Bill's busy being husband and father and Charlie hightailed back to Romania cause he misses his baby dragons.

and since this is end of 1990s and early 2000s, there is a slight civil war between his siblings about which channel is the best and yes, they're all cartoon-related.

Ron and Ginny likes Nickelodeon while Fred and George favors Cartoon Network.

Percy likes Disney Channel (and he's a big sucker for spanish telenovelas), tho, and successfully ropes in the others cause there's some good content.

of course, he comes home from work and always finds one or more of his siblings watching TV and he's annoyed at this point because damn it, he can't have ANYTHING for himself (true sibling energy, right there).

[nfumbewalk]

Crystals, Herbs, Rants

I've always loved crystals. The fascination started as a kid when we visited the coast a few times a year. The old seashore shop was full of glass fishing floats, life saving appartuses, storm worn wood, jewelry (mood rings!!) & lots of toys but mainly LOTS of crystals! Geodes of amethyst & quartz, huge slabs of Obsidian - green & black, like what I have, but much smaller. It is Seaside, Ore. Greatest place on the North coast (Astoria too!).

The Ore. coast should be more known for crystal shops. There's a great one closer to me now in Yachats, Ore. (Said: Yah-hawts) Obvious Native Americans did own this place. 😉Like our Willamette, said Will-am-met, which translates to "valley of sickness." Lovely! Sorry, ADD brain is jumbled.

Back to crystals n shit! They are essential to my work. I don't wave them and get a magic breeze with a "Aahhhh." Nope, get to know me, I'm extremely practical. My crystals are clean, but never, ever saged - because I despise sage & I think that it's an anathema to everything, every energy out there. I would rather go find dry pine needles in the desert and use those. And what's the deal with Dragon's Blood atop of sage? Nightmare of odor! Smoke & mess, no thanks.

I've written books on herbalism (long out of print) and I'm very knowledgeable about plants, resins, oils, tinctures, even marijuana & making hemp oil (known commercially as RSO) for medicine. I did not get ANY of my knowledge from the internet & I find some seriously messed up herbal correspondences online. I got my information from books, but old ones, like Culpeper, Grieve, Agrippa as well as a couple good Witchcraft sources like Sybil Leek & L. Huebner, neither of them being "white" light. Paul Huson is much known & borrowed from for ppl online. Trust me, his stuff does not compare. I also have other Witchcraft books predating 1960 that help me tremendously. Where did I get these?

Hunting old book stores & thrift stores because my town is a freaking *haven* for witchcraft, but not quite my style, so I've always been solitary. I'm much too misanthropic to have any relationship with anyone in person. Online? Sure, just beware of my barbs, though I'm not even close to being a Scorpio. 😅

I'm not claiming to know much, just a lot of little details about certain things & I'm shady on other things. I know what I paid attention to. All goety - good. High magic - mostly, a lot I fudge because I hate Crowley's, Mathers, Regardie's....etc, mumbo jumbo. I won't make an effort and I won't even remember the LBRP! Why? Hated the ritual & all the goddamn vibration. I don't vibrate in my practice, except when I have to - really loud banishment rituals, usually of lesser known demons and amped up strong spirits. Ppl who've known me a long time can attest to my hatred of "ceremonial" magic. Just because ppl call it 'high magic' doesn't make it superior to 'low' magic, or goety.

Some are suited to certain types of magic, everyone has a niche somewhere. The niche can be found quickly, or in my case, it can take 20 years. Never knew that working with muertos would be the my path. Yes, Orisa, and they are equal. Equal I say? Well - I'm NOT in a Orisa religion. I agree with some, but not a lot. I completely disagree with initiations being forced. And they ARE forced. Sorry.

Yeah, pay for this, pay for that. Bollocks. No cash for enlightenment!! I know exactly where the money goes & it's not needed. People raise & board animals for sacrifice. Non-initiates can cook food. Setting up ceremony is not that hard. They want money for fancier soperas & temple goodies. I can understand paying for time, but it doesn't need to cost thousands of dollars.

I told my dad (R.I.P.) about Palo & the prices. His head spun. He said no matter what, religion has nothing to do with money. Man does. Man wants money, he wants the sucker to be culled. - Welcome to one of my lessons of The Con: In's & Out's. Taught by Frank Thorp, best dad ever! I don't con often, but if I ever do, I was taught by the best. That's one thing my brother never got from him. My older brother is kinda dead-to-me because of his "Fake Antifa/Communist" ways. Dude, he's 53 years old. Grow the fuck up. I live with this crap. I'm in a college town. Sucks!

More rants? I just sound old cos I am. Middle-aged & strange. And I have a very interesting present & past full of happy, sad, spooky, synchronicity-laden stories. Hope to blog here. Let's hope for more follows!

[somethinglikelife]

Okay Sunday was the premier of Last of Us on HBO, I'm not going to spoil it. At least I'm going to try not to. I played the game and loved it. But really so many of my favorite games are now shows or movies, and they haven't been done any justice. So I'm hesitant on this one, waiting a few episodes to decide if it's yay or nay.

And don't worry I'm not going to turn into a review blog. Just thought that I would show a little inner geek. I am a sucker for certain game franchises and stand alone games, like Resident Evil, Last of Us, Uncharted, Bioshock, Final Fantasy, Silent Hill.... I know two of those aren't in the creepy factor (I need my unwind games okay!)

And yeah I like silly games like Chainsaw Lollipop and Little Big Planet as well, I mean really, one has a cheerleader who kills zombies with a chainsaw, the other has a small doll that you explore the world with. Both are completely different sides of the chaotic wheel.

Why I'm saying all this? Well my first game really was a DnD game. A littel world created by Margaret Wiess, Tracy Hickman and a few other brilliant people. I played DragonLance with it's awesome Kender, Wild Elves that were pretty much fairytail elves living in the woods, while higher elves had their cities. And well, Wizards of the Coast is eating crow at the moment, or is it Hasbro is? I mean really all because they weren't making as much money as they could off Dungeons and Dragons. I watched a lot of the story unfold on TikTok, because really, watching fellow geeks and nerds meltdown and give a call to action is fun.

The call to action? Well ending the subscription to DnD. I am pretty sure that's about when WotC and Hasbro went "oops we fucked up". Ya think? I mean you couldn't get that idea from the out cries from say.... how they butchered other 80's fan favorites.... (Yes Michael Bay I am glaring at you for the mess that you made of Transformers).

Though you would think that some would, ya know, learn the fanbase. I mean really, most of the games that I was in, we plotted to take out an evil entity, worked with complete strangers and well, if the DM lost the plot or control of the game, created chaos for the enemy. Which is why I have a level thirteen Wild Elven Ranger, who is dual classed as a thief and is picking up more Bard skills than I though she should ever have a right to. Though ya know when the party needs a distraction, she's willing to be said distraction, being quicker on her feet than our thief most of the time, and cursed with a high charisma (No I did not say it wrong).

Will I still play her? Hell yeah, will I play her in a WotC game? Not for a while. The whole ordeal, has left an angry bitter taste, and well, I do have her already slotted for round robin type games and I am planning on rerolling her stats once I find a replacement game system I like for her. I like my high fantasy, and hell at this point I'm half tempted to just slot her as a character in one of my writing projects. That way I can still play with Taleenya Greenleaf, without having to deal with all the ick.

She may have started from a one shot in a game based in Dragonlance (One of my favorite book series as well mind you. I still love my high fantasy), but that is the beauty of gaming with original characters, they can move, evolve and become something else. Will I ever try her in a space based game? Maybe if I find one that seems interesting enough. But for now, I'm okay with looking at her in my gaming binder, where she'll stay for just a bit until I feel that I can game again.

And where and what that game will look like? Is probably going to be a great adventure. Because really, isn't that what all us gamers really want? Just an adventure that lets us have a hobby that doesn't have to cost thousands of dollars and need specialized equipment? I mean really, the dice we use, have been used for centuries. And I have seen many people make their own, hell there's some I really want to buy myself. I really doubt we need to stick to 'official' materials.

After all DMs are story tellers, the monsters we can create as one, can be far more entertaining than what's in a book. Yeah it would take us a little more creativity, but isn't that why we picked up DnD to begin with? I know I for one picked it up to work on my story telling. It's why I've kept all my characters, Tal, Reiko, Maric and his brother Devon, even have a shape shifting fox, and a techy that all started out from table top games. I almost want to get the books for my techy's start and replay that for nostalgia's sake, I mean really had giant robots, aliens, different planets. She'd finally get her Cyclone.

And yeah I know finding the modules will be a chore, but I kinda lost a lot of my gaming stuff leaving Georgia. Though getting new modules, or even coming up and testing out a new system myself might be fun.... I already have so much on my plate though!!! Including a mad desire to introduce tabletop gaming in a very basic form to elderly in a home. Mostly because it would allow them to get in touch with a creative side I know for a fact most activities don't touch. And yeah that's something that I will be looking into trying to write a storyline for at some point. I almost want to try it at the very Sunday Book Club based home near me. I know that the faculty there would have a hissy fit because it's "devils' work", you know how many youth group pastors I follow on TikTok that play out games with their kids as a way of getting them involved with the material that the pastor of the church is teaching? Far more than I thought ever would be. And I for one totally love it. May those youth group leaders keep teaching those kids how to think outside the box!

[ichorai]

cellmates ; one ; j.wy

pairing ; jung wooyoung x reader

summary ; stuck in jail after stealing a necklace off the princess, what happens when your new cellmate with an impossible escape plan comes along?

words ; 3.1k

warnings / includes ; medieval au, blood and grime and death and everything in between rip, wooyoung being handsome despite being in a filthy cell djkdfj, wooyoung being a smartass, reader being petrified half the time lol, future suggestive / mature content, cellmates to (future) lovers !!

a/n ; i’ve been meaning to write a medieval au for the longest time bcs im an absolute sucker for them and i finally got around to writing part one !!! pls be patient for part two !! i hope yall enjoy :3 

cellmates masterlist.

The jail cell was cold. You shivered violently, breath misting in front of you as you blew out a tired sigh. They had stripped you of all your clothes except a thin beige tank top (that had actually once been white), and ripped tights. Dried blood matted your hair to your forehead, but you couldn’t find it in yourself to care at the moment. It was too damn cold.

You found yourself wishing that you hadn’t stolen that necklace off of the innocent little princess. The silver glinting against her pale collarbones were just too enticing, the angry grumble of your stomach far too loud. That much silver would’ve cost a fortune; you wouldn’t have had to worry about food for years. Unfortunately, the guard caught you before you had time to make your escape, by effectively knocking a heavy baton over your head. 

And the result of your desperate endeavor? A small, icy jail cell in the farthest and darkest corner of the dungeons. You couldn’t remember the last time you’d seen the sun.

A life sentence for attempting to ‘harm’ the princess. Oh please, all you really wanted was to go to bed without your belly twisting painfully in hunger. At least they weren’t barbaric enough to hang you for that.

The thought had tremors running up your spine. Or perhaps it was the cold.

A dim amber light appeared from the corner of your eyes, echoing footsteps gradually getting louder with each thump. Was it dinner time already? You hadn’t even eaten yesterday’s yet.

The same guard you’d seen just about a thousand times by now appeared in front of the frigid metal bars, melting candle in hand. Grizzly beard blanketing his chin and jaw, faint scar mark running over his left cheekbone, and slanted eyes the color of the princess’ silver necklace. A daily reminder of your worst mistake, it would seem. 

He muttered something unintelligible before shoving a tray through the narrow slot, wintry water sloshing about in the small wooden cup with the same chunk of stale bread on the side that always tasted like metal.

How delicious. The cold had numbed you to the point where hunger was the least of your problems. 

You remembered when you had first gotten here, croaking out a wispy ‘thank you’ to the guard whenever he had given you your food, hoping that he’d take sympathy and give you a bit more, or maybe even get you a blanket. You were foolish back then, you thought solemnly, curling up tighter and burying your face in between your knees. 

Perhaps one of the worst things possible about being in jail was that you had absolutely nothing to do. Sometimes you would try to exercise to keep your blood running through your body and make sure your muscles hadn’t frozen over, but exhaustion constantly hung above you like a stormy cloud. More oftenly, you would make up fantastical stories including dragons and elves and faeries. But after hundreds (or maybe it was just around twenty, but who was counting?) of different stories, your creativity would run short and you would find yourself pausing mid-story, trailing off into a disappointing end of ‘and they lived till they died’.

Turns out you weren’t going to be bored alone, at least. 

You had been in a fitful slumber when you heard the footsteps approach. That was strange, usually there’d only be the one guard to deliver your measly dinner.

Curious eyes grew wide when you took sight of two guards holding up an unconscious man, the toes of his worn leather boots dragging against the damp stones of the dungeon ground. 

What you wouldn’t give for a nice pair of leather boots. Your toes twitched in your worn socks at the thought.

They began stripping him of his clothes, much like they had done to you in the beginning, grunts of exertion leaving them in misty huffs. They left shortly after, grumbling about being ‘fuckin’ cold’. As if they had any right to complain.

In the dim light of the candles, you could barely make out what the new prisoner looked like. He was slumped up against one of the icy stone walls, dark hair tied into a short ponytail. A low groan escaped the man, foot twitching as he slowly aroused from unconsciousness. 

“Fuck,” His voice came out hoarse and raspy. He pushed against the floor to prop himself up at a better angle. More curses left his lips in a rapid flurry. You watched in timid fascination as he raised a pale hand to dab against his forehead, hissing when he pulled away with crimson staining his skin.

Looking upwards, he finally caught your curious gaze. 

The two of you stared at one another for a second before he huffed, reaching up to his head once more. This time, his fingers didn’t only pull away with blood, but with a thin hair pin that glinted against the candle’s small flame.

You hadn’t noticed that your mouth was hanging slightly open when he struggled to his feet, limbs shaking with effort and cold.

And he started picking the lock, stopping every minute or so to blow his breath onto his quickly numbing fingers.

After less than ten minutes, the frozen bars swung open with a rusty creak. 

At that point, you yourself had gotten up, eyes widening. You shuffled closer to your own locked bars. It was as if the man had forgotten you were there, flinching when he turned and saw you pressed up against your cell.

“Don’t leave me here,” You whispered, starting to feel the familiar feeling of desperation clawing at your throat.

For a second, he looked conflicted. A hard, determined film passed over his eyes and he tore his gaze away.

“Sorry,” Was all he said. 

And he left, just as quickly as he had come.

Strings of foul curses left his mouth once he was dragged back. And this time, he was far bloodier than before. He barely looked like the same person.

You had to hold in a breath as they threw his limp body back into the cell, one of them spitting at his feet. Grimacing, you looked away and scowled.

Perhaps if he had let you out as well, the both of you would’ve been able to escape.

Ten minutes after the guards had left, the man across from you reached behind his back to pull something out. He didn’t have another hair pin, did he? Would he let you out this time?

Probably not, you thought bitterly.

The object he pulled out was small and round, a shiny red ball that seemed to glisten beneath the candlelight.

It made a resonating thud against the stone of the cell, echoing down the halls. 

And he did it again. And again. And three, four, ten times more.

“Please stop,” You found yourself saying, a headache brewing behind your temple. But your voice was too soft, drowned out by the incessant bouncing of his rubber ball.

Downing what was left in the damp wooden, you mustered the courage to croakily shriek, “Stop! Please, stop!” 

Startled by your sudden noise, he hadn’t been able to catch the ball’s last bounce, and crimson streaked past as it hit the wall behind him, ricocheting past the jail bars and out into the hallway. You watched silently as it rolled away, until it was far out of your sight.

“Bitch,” You heard him mutter under his breath.

You felt the hairs on the back of your neck rise as you sneered at him, “You’re a fool, you know. Thinking you could escape a place like this.”

“Oh, yeah?” His eyebrows raised while he shuffled closer, pressing his pale face against the cold bars. Now that he was out of the shadows, you managed to get a proper look of his face. He was all bone and skin, dark hair grown a little too long, hazel eyes glinting along with the dim flames. “At least I managed to get out of my cell. That’s probably more than you’ve ever done.”

If he was trying to pick a fight with you, it wouldn’t work.

“What’s the point, anyways? There’s only so much out there for people like us.”

“People like us… ?”

Your eyes darted to him, and you immediately averted your gaze. It’d been a long time since anyone had properly looked at you. Perhaps under all the blood and grime, he’d actually be quite handsome.

“Commoners, peasants. We grow up stupid, work until our fingers bleed, and then die from a disease because we don’t have the money for a healer.”

A low rumble that could pass as a laugh worked its way out of him, “You’re telling me you would rather stay locked up in here than back outside? You don’t want to feel the sun on your face, the taste of sweet fruits, the warmth of another human being?”

“Of course I do,” You retorted. “I’m just saying that it’s pointless.”

The man’s eyes narrowed, “How long have you been here?”

“Too long to keep track.”

At this point, you couldn’t really tell whether it was refreshing to talk to someone after so long, or just plain annoying. He stayed silent for a moment, before speaking up once more. 

“What got you here?”

You huffed. There was no harm in telling him, right?

“I ripped a priceless necklace off of the princess because I was hungry.”

It was as if his volume tripled when he yelped, “You’re Y/N L/N?!”

How he had that much energy after getting beaten up twice, was still a mystery to you.

“The one and only.” You wrapped your arms tighter around yourself. It seemed that you were quite famous in the outside world. 

“That’s amazing,” He breathed out, eyes wide as he leaned further into the bars. “My name’s Wooyoung. I’m your new cellmate.”

Your eyes flickered to his once more. If you were going to be stuck here with him, might as well get to know him a little better.

“I’m not your cellmate,” You deadpanned, despite Wooyoung’s disappointed pout. “You’d need to be in the same cell as me to be my cellmate.”

One of his shoulders lifted in a half-shrug.

“So why are you here?” Part of you was afraid of what he was going to say. He didn’t really seem to strike you as someone who’d do anything seriously terrible… right?

“I… I just threw one or two punches at the crown prince, is all. And maybe a kick to the groin. And gave him a couple broken ribs.” He laughed a little at that last part, as if the memory amused him. 

“You what?”

Scoffing, Wooyoung flicked his hair out of his eyes, “I think you heard me perfectly clear, sweetheart.”

A strange feeling blossomed in your stomach. You shuffled a bit closer to your own bars, until the light hit your face. 

“Was it worth it?”

Wooyoung paused at the unexpected question.

“Yeah, I would do it again. A million times over.” It was the first time he looked away, a distant glaze over his eyes. “He was touching a servant girl and she was begging him to stop. But he didn’t. So I intervened.”

A palpable silence laid over the two of you, thick and heavy.

“Good,” Was all you said. “I’m going to sleep.”

“I’m pretty sure it’s morning.”

You ignored him. Time didn’t matter anymore, not to you. Soon enough, he’d stop caring as well.

Hours and days melted into weeks and months, along with the frost on the bars and the icicles hanging off the ceilings.

At least it wasn’t cold anymore. Everything was wet. 

“Okay… would you rather live knowing how you die or live forever?” Wooyoung asked in queer tone, laying down on the ground with his bare back pressed against the damp stone.

You bit into a chunk of stale bread, pausing to chew around the hard crust before swallowing, “No one wants to live forever.”

“Rich people do,” He murmured, flipping over onto his stomach to do some push-ups.

You averted your eyes. He was right; if you were rich, you would’ve probably chosen the latter option too.

“I’ll choose to live forever when I get out of this goddamn cell. But for now, we’re sticking with knowing how I die,” The raven-haired man huffed out through each strenuous push-up. He’s been getting weaker and weaker by the day, living off of nothing but crispy bread and metallic water and the occasional measly slice of dry apple.

“You’re not getting out,” You scoffed. “We’re not getting out. Why do you keep saying that we will?”

Wooyoung falls flat onto his stomach, blowing his hair away from his eyes in frustration, “And why do you keep saying that we won’t? Do you really think we’re going to die here?”

Throwing your hands up into the air, mouth full and bread crumbs rimming your lips, you nodded vehemently, “Yes! Look around us, Wooyoung. How on Earth would you plan on getting out? I’ve been trying for forever before you came around. I’m still here.”

“Yeah, but that was back when I wasn’t here. Now I am.”

“That’s absolutely great, genius. But guess what? We’re still stuck here!”

Wooyoung scowled at your salty remark. He crawled closer to the bars looking down the hallway to make sure no guards were near. 

Glancing back to you, he whisper-yelled, “I have a plan.” 

“That’s a stupid plan,” You sneered, deadpanning.

The man across from you rolled his eyes, “It’s the only one we’ve got.”

“You do know they’ll find out eventually, right? We can’t just go back to our normal lives.”

“Then let’s run away.” His gaze bore into you as you felt yourself flush heavily. “You and me. We can sneak our way onto a fishing boat, sail off to someplace… not here.”

A shiver ran up your arms, gooseflesh prickling your skin, “Stop.” You mumbled. “Don’t get my hopes up.”

Wooyoung grasped the bars tightly, knuckles turning white, “Y/N, listen to me. We can do it. I swear, I’ll get you out of here.”

It was stupid, you knew it was. But you couldn’t help the small spark of hope flare in the middle of your chest, heart pumping just a tad quicker at his words. Hope was an intoxicating drug; you either get sucked into some sort of deluded fantasy, or live without the illusions of false happiness. 

However, The words left you before you even had a chance to hesitate. “You promise?”

“I swear on my next slice of dried apple.” He said, eyes twinkling with excitement behind the shaggy, overgrown hair. 

“Okay.” You breathed out, somewhat satisfied. The dull ache in your spine was ignored as you slumped against the stone wall, closing your eyes and imagining what outside was like. All you could recall about outside was how terrible it was. Of course, not as bad as being in here, but not much to look forward to.

Cracking an eye open, you glanced to Wooyoung, who had curled up into himself in the corner of his cell, slightly obscured by the shadows. 

Life outside seemed better when you imagined yourself with Wooyoung.

“Remember the plan?”

Wooyoung snorted, rolling his eyes, “How many times have you asked me that now?”

You scowled, “Just making sure you won’t mess anything up. Can you really guarantee you’re strong enough to knock him out?” 

Biting down on his lip, he shrugged in a nonchalant manner, “I’ll try my best. And if that’s not enough, well… it was nice meeting you.”

The two of you waited in tense silence for a couple minutes, the expected thudding of boots coming down to give the two of you your meals for the day. The familiar grey eyes of the guard swept over the two of you, bending down your cell first to shove the tray through the narrow slot like he had hundreds of times before. 

Then, he turned to Wooyoung.

“What’s on the menu today, sir?” 

Stormy eyes narrowed, the guard’s nose wrinkled in distaste, “Th’ same shit you eat every day.” His gravelly voice rumbled, clearly not used to prisoners being able to talk, much less form coherent sentences. “It’s what criminals like you deserve.”

A gasp of mock-offense left Wooyoung in the most dramatic manner possible, “Why, if stopping a rapist from raping is worse than being a killer and killing, then I must be the worst criminal alive.”

“You better shut your mouth before I get half the mind to carve your tongue out for you.” The guard spat, nearing closer towards the bars menacingly, one hand on the hilt of his sword. He wasn’t below leaving a prisoner bleeding and tongueless. 

Wooyoung did nothing but raise an eyebrow, “Oh, come now! I’m sure you’ve had your fair share of kills. Especially when you swore an oath to protect a murderous king!”

Your eyes widened slightly; you had no idea he would go as far as to claim treason. 

The guard, however, cackled the ugliest laugh you’d ever heard. “You seem really not to like your tongue, boy. Only, for that comment, they’ll be taking your head along with it.”

It all happened so quickly, you wouldn’t even have the time to scream if you wanted to. 

Just as the guard leaned closer tauntingly, nose almost brushing against the rusty metal bars, Wooyoung grabbed the front of the guard’s steel collar, yanking him forward into the metal columns with all of his might.

A sickening crack echoed across the stone. 

It happened again, and again, and three more times after that. Wooyoung was panting, eyes wild.

“Is he dead?” You craned your neck to try to get a good look, but it was too dark to make out much of anything. 

“No. He’ll wake up with a nasty concussion in a couple hours, give or take.” 

“Where’d you learn how to do that?” You asked, heart pounding far too loudly in your ribcage. The faint sound of jingling almost had you bursting into tears of joy. He had the keys.

A small, non-committal hum emitted from Wooyoung’s cell. “You learn from dreaming about all the different ways you could’ve done that to the crown prince. And thankfully, I got the chance.” Suddenly, Wooyoung appeared in front of your cell, a ring of small keys hanging from his pointer finger, the widest grin spread across his face. “Told you I’d get you out, didn’t I?”

[liyawritesss]

Imma be honest....I only have a few that are from Webtoons the rest I'm pirating because they're either not on Webtoon, cost a lot of money, or aren't officially translated into English 😖. But my favorite ones atm are:

Under the Oak Tree-Because no man in the world should be as sexy as Riftan and no woman should have to go through as much trauma as my baby Maxie. But she's growing now and becoming the baddie that I always knew that she was inside.

Who Made Me a Princess- I don't have any words to describe how beautiful the art in this series is because it's just *chef's kiss*. But I'm a sucker for the daddy-daughter relationship and how the MC and her father grow as people and are able to overcome obstacles and I- 😭

Another Typical Fantasy Romance- They throw every romance cliche in the garbage, set it on fire and throw the ashes into space because my goodness. Healthy relationship, Communication, and a cute ML who's whipped for his wife with a FL who's a boss and won't let anyone ruin her marriage. It's really funny because the ML is the one who you think you should be scared of because he's all big and muscular when it's really his wife. Like at least he'll just kill you or hurt you. The FL will make you wish that you were dead I have no words. Pellus and Litheria have my heart, my soul, my first born child.

I Was Tricked into this Fake Marriage!- I was also pulled into this one because of the beautiful art. This one also has a power couple. Another time that I started because of a hot man. Idk man hot men are my weakness. This one is also really good but it can get sad sometimes.

Honey, I’m Going On a Strike- This one is almost exactly like Another Typical Romance except the ML is a himbo. Like it makes no sense how a man is so cute, hot, and stupid all at the same time 😩. But it's ok his wife has all the brain cells and he knows it. I just wish he'd see that he's worth something too. His wife is smacking some sense into him though so it's ok. I love how at first their relationship was strained but the after while the FML was like I'm not doing this anymore imma say what I want and if he doesn't like it that's tough. And then finds out that her husband is a lil stupid and doesn't know how to communicate properly.

I Raised a Black Dragon- Cute baby dragon and his mama. I ju- I mean there's more but like.... I think the title sums it up pretty well. I mean there is someone who's trying to kill the FL and all but I'm just here to read about her interactions with her baby and see them in their matching outfits. Also the chemistry the 2 of them have with the ML is just beautiful. Like they're just a lil family trying not to die and all. LET THEM LIVE IN THEIR COTTAGE IN THE FOREST IN PEACE.

Anyways....yeah that's what I have. I have like over 300 but um I'm not writing about all of those so 😂

3, 5 and 6 def have my interest, I'll have to check them out sometime.

[highladyluck]

For the fic title meme: Lay Down Your Crown and Sword

So, I was thinking maybe this is about Aviendha's feelings about Rand when they're in the Aiel Waste... just kidding, I know what the people want from me.

Wheel of Time, Mat/Tuon, post-canon, ANGST. This is one take on a scenario where Mat attempts to achieve his stated relationship goal, which is convincing Tuon to abdicate and run away with him.

(This sucker is LONG and SPOILERY so I’m putting it under a cut.)

It's ~2 months after the Last Battle. There's growing danger to Tuon- an almost-successful assassination attempt (my money's on Moghedien) that scares Mat, Selucia, the Deathwatch, and maybe even Tuon herself, just a little. The sul'dam secret is leaking out and emboldening the faction that wants to kill her, there's worry it'll lead to local rebellion, plus there's still the Seanchan homeland power struggle. Mat uses all this to convince Tuon that she needs to lie low for a while. His idea is for her to fake her own death, install a puppet successor secretly loyal to her, and go hide out with him in a place no one will be able to find them for a few months.

She's not thrilled about it initially, but it's not like she hasn't faked her own death before (love that about her!) so she agrees to Mat's plan, which is 'hang out in a Portal Stone alternate timeline'. (Mat would not come up with this on his own, Mat does not like Portal Stones, but Min suggested it and he eventually agreed it would suit their needs.) Tuon would prefer something where she could keep an eye on political conditions more easily, but she feels safe with Mat & appreciates that this is definitely a secure option, and she's been out of contact with home base before for a while and been fine. Selucia stays in the palace, to keep an eye on things and do intrigue (and also give Mat and Tuon actual alone time- I am entertained by the grudging truce between Mat and Selucia, but her chaperone services are not needed this time around.)

They've got an official pickup scheduled in a few months, about a month before Tuon's due; Mat thought about waiting more time to go back but he'd rather have the option to call in trusted medical help for the birth and he wants to leave a wide margin of error for the actual due date. He intends to rope in Nyneave if it seems necessary, although he doubts he'll be lucky enough that Nyneave would help Tuon out of the goodness of her heart or even as a favor to him. More likely Nyneave's help would cost Tuon in political concessions, which he will have to either convince Tuon to accept- assuming she's in a position to make that kind of choice- or negotiate on her behalf, if she's in too much immediate danger. Either scenario keeps him up at night, but the alternative is worse. Also, he hasn't run this contingency plan by Tuon yet- likely because he isn't totally against the idea of extracting political concessions from Tuon, so there's guilt as well as fear of how she'd react. The other thing Tuon doesn't realize about this vacation plan is that Mat is hoping to convince her to move there forever- if it's nice- or at least to keep faking her death and start a new life with him somewhere in disguise in their reality.

The Portal Stone world is one that's relatively close to their world, so it has people and feels fairly familiar, but the apocalypse hasn't happened yet and doesn't appear to be doing so in the near future. (For fun let's say the obvious divergence is Damodred-related; maybe the non-asshole Damodred branch is in charge, so you don't get Laman's Sin and/or Tigrane is actually happy in her political marriage, so the Dragon hasn't been reborn yet.) Tuon's ok with the 'vacation' vibe at first, we get some cute romantic bonding moments between her and Mat as they do normal people things, they have some cute dates in taverns or whatever. But Tuon becomes increasingly bored and anxious and frustrated about not being able to keep tabs on what's happening- probably some residual trauma from the last time she went AWOL with Mat, and came back to find her homeland in shambles and her family dead. So that's a source of conflict, especially since she doesn't actually confide that in Mat. She also keeps wanting to hash out political/military plans for when they get back, but Mat keeps trying to distract her, or makes arguments she doesn't like (re: Seanchan policy reform). Maybe Mat brings up the Nyneave contingency plan because he got worried about her health, and Tuon's like 'uh how long have you been sitting on this idea, when the fuck were you going to run it past me, the person it most concerns?'

Their relationship has always had an element of conflict in it, but back then they were strangers, had rules of engagement constraining them, and a kind of shared purpose. Their conflict was a kind of game that they played together, and it drew them closer. Now they know how to get under each other's skin and aren't constrained by witnesses or promises, and they have a shared mission (keeping Tuon safe) but don't agree on who is in charge of it. What's holding them together still is their own compassion and affection for each other, but they're not great at communicating it with words and now they're using words as weapons sometimes, so most of the reconciling is with gestures/gifts/actions. In general, things are tense and there's not much going on outside of their own interactions to distract them; Tuon's temper is flaring, she's feeling powerless and like her personal integrity is being attacked sometimes; Mat's being propelled around by his gut reactions and he's scared of losing her (and the baby), in any number of ways, and mad that she doesn't want what he thinks is best.

Finally the scheduled transit date arrives and they pop back to their original universe and get caught up on the news (maybe from Min?) Over in Seanchan, possibly emboldened by news of Tuon's 'death', a warlord has consolidated most of the warring factions. Now they know who to go after, and a war in Seanchan would help unify the Seanchan in the westlands; the Seanchan military-industrial complex loves a good patriotic war. Things domestically are a little better than before they left. Selucia flushed out the network from the earlier assassination attempt and is generally keeping things running and the puppet ruler honest.

Tuon's relieved; she was really worried that everything was going to fall apart when she was gone and now she's kind of grateful for the break. She tries to tell Mat this without actually admitting that she's got trauma around it, because the Empress doesn't admit weakness and Tuon the person is extremely bad at talking about feelings anyway; she's like "Ah, that's much better news than I came back to last time you kidnapped me. I'm glad to be back to work again, let's get to it." Mat's irritable, not catching on that she was actually really worried about it based on her previous experience, and thinking she didn't appreciate the break, and also worried that his plans to convince her to leave with him aren't going to work. Tuon catches that he's cagey and unhappy and not getting her jokes, and she remembers that this was what he seemed like when she first saw him in the Tarasin Palace. Mat argues that they should at least wait until the baby comes, that the person she put in charge is doing well, they can certainly let them rule a while longer. He says he's not sure it's the right time to attack Seanchan, he'd need to check the troops out, sniff out local sentiment. He's not decisive or commanding or focused when he says these things- it's stalling, it's bravado covering panic. It dawns on her- oh shit, he's gonna run.

Tuon's spooked. She KNOWS Mat now, but that doesn't mean she knows what to do to hang on to him. She doesn't know how to deal with a loss of control in her personal life, so she turns to what she knows she can control- the empire, her role, her property. She takes refuge in past promises. She tells him they will discuss the disposition of the army and the prosecution of the war in Seanchan once her heir is born and she's officially 'off the hook'. Mat looks grim.

Tuon wanted to announce that she's back immediately, but she starts having contractions and Mat's like 'you are absolutely not going to return from the dead right this second, you're super vulnerable right now.' They stay in a relatively secret spot in Tuon's territory with a small coterie of loyal retainers until the baby is born; it goes fine. There is one (1) cute bonding moment between Tuon and the baby and Mat; then the baby vanishes. Mat was on guard along with the usual people you'd expect to be on guard (not Karede, Selucia, or Min though). Tuon FUCKING KNOWS Mat did it with Aes Sedai help, she's initially furious and betrayed, but Mat isn't admitting it and within the extremely tight circle of people who know about the vanished baby, he's doing a reasonably convincing job looking as freaked out and upset as everyone else, and she's still hoping she can resolve this privately without any drastic public actions.

She takes Mat to a private place and she tells him that she has always, always been able to trust him. She trusts him so much it terrifies her. She does not know if this is what love is, but it is what she feels for him. She asks him to honor that, to honor himself, and not to lie to her. She then asks him why he kidnapped their child. Mat staggers, and blurts out that he can't bear the thought of their children constantly at risk of assassination, from strangers or their own siblings. He has nightmares about their child beginning to channel, or being able to learn, and what that means for them in the Empire. Tuon's made her choice and he'll respect that, though he hates the risks to her, and what the Empire does to her and others. But their child deserves the choice Tuon didn't have. He loves Tuon, but he cannot love the Empire, and he will not fight in the Empire's wars, and he will not let the Empire own his children, whether that's as royalty, sul'dam, or damane. He says he trusts she'll come to the right decision about what to do with this information.

The next scene has Tuon in mourning white. It's neither Tuon's nor Mat's POV- probably Karede, or maybe Min. In front of the whole court Tuon, as Empress back from the dead, bestows the Bloodknives ring and blessing on Knotai, and orders him to take a few members of the Deathwatch (the ones on watch the night the baby vanished, our observer notes) and assassinate the warlord in Seanchan on her behalf. She says she trusts he will succeed. They stare inscrutably at each other. The court is shocked into silence at first, but the whispers rise behind Mat as he straightens from his extraordinarily polite leg and heads out of the chamber. It is left up to the reader to decide if this is an elaborate plan to fake Mat's death and set him free, or his execution.

--- You may notice this is suspiciously fleshed out for a prompt I received this afternoon. XD I've been kicking around some of this premise for a while, though this ask made me finally come up with the circumstances that get Tuon to actually agree to temporarily leave her job, as well as most of the details. The main emotional beats came from stringing together several Mountain Goats songs, because of course it did. The whole sequence is Twin Human Highway Flares, Riches and Wonders (Eliza Rickman cover), Alpha Incipiens, Fault Lines, New Britain, Family Happiness. I’m not sure if I’ll actually turn this into a finished story with description and dialogue and everything, but it’s possible. This is also not the only Mat/Tuon post-canon idea I have kicking around! It’s not my ideal scenario for them for sure, but it’s a lot easier to write a ‘bad ending’ for them than to work on my ‘good ending’, because I have a lot more emotional investment in the ‘good ending’... perfectionist problems. :/

[purplecatghostposts]

It’s finally finished so have some HLVRAI Pokémon Mystery Dungeon AU Information!

GORDON-

- The Second Human Turned People Case, though he thinks he’s the first

- Cubone

- Moves: Headbutt, Bonemerange, Fire Punch, Endure

- Ability: Battle Armor

- Apart of Team Sunrise, Partnered with Tommy

- Has no memory other than his name and the fact that he used to be human

- Was first found by Tommy, unconscious on the Beach

- Intially creates an Exploration Team with Tommy to both make Tommy happy since it’s his dream and to search for clues as to why he’s suddenly a Pokémon and how to change back

- However, Gordon ends up liking being in an Exploration Team since a part of the job is about helping others. Gordon’s natural protective nature means he fits the job like a glove

- Trying to find a reason to why he’s not Human anymore but Gordon’s starting to wonder... Does he even want to go back? He likes being in an Exploration Team with Tommy- is there anything for him if he returns to the Human World?

- Was trying to keep his whole ‘Human Turned Pokémon’ thing a secret from the general public but somehow, word gets out

- Doesn’t want to drag Tommy into it when people start searching for Gordon but Tommy won’t leave his side, no matter how hard he tries

TOMMY-

- Gordon’s Exploration Partner (And Just Might Play A Very Important Role In Saving The World)

- Pikachu

- Moves: Thunderbolt, Grass Knot, Agility, Swift

- Ability: Static

- Apart of Team Sunrise, Partnered With Gordon

- Has wanted to be in an Exploration Team since he was a Pichu. His adoptive mother is a retired Explorer who often told him bedtime stories about her adventures, inspiring him

- Now has his own place but keeps in touch with his mom. They’re pretty close

- Was also childhood friends with both Darnold and Benrey. Tommy and Darnold keep in touch while Tommy lost contact with Benrey after he suddenly disappeared- Tommy hasn’t seen him in years... Until now!

- Found Gordon unconscious on the Beach and instantly took him in, letting him stay in his spare room. Given Gordon has nowhere else to go, they’re now roommates!

- Loves being able to travel to new places and seeing all the beautiful places around the world as an Explorer

- Admires Team Wildfire a lot

- Promises to keep Gordon safe and help him figure out who he is and what happened. Will not break this promise, no matter what

BENREY-

- Not What He Seems...

- “Totodile” (Shiny Ditto who’s Very Good at Transforming)

- Moves (As Totodile): Surf, Ice Beam, Crunch, Shadow Claw

- Ability (As Totodile): Sheer Force

- Has no Defensive or Status Moves

- Not apart of any Exploration Team but hangs around Team Sunrise a lot

- Was childhood friends with Tommy (And aquatinted with Darnold)

- Was employed to someone he doesn’t like talk about for a good chunk of his life. Benrey doesn’t talk about what he was employed for either, but it might have something to do with his ability to transform very convincingly...

- Was acquainted with Forzen, though Forzen wouldn’t recognize him in his Totodile form

- Has a lot of secrets. Benrey’s not proud of who he used to be

- A lot more powerful than he looks

- Very few know that Benrey is actually a Ditto given he stays transformed so often. Even fewer can recognize him once he’s transformed

- Almost always on edge, no matter how well he hides it. There’s a high bounty on the head of one of his forms so he has to keep his head down, hiding as a Totodile

- Joins Team Sunrise on a lot of missions despite not being officially apart of the group

- Knows Gordon’s secret and is determined to keep him safe, at all costs

COOMER-

- A Very Experienced Explorer

- Breloom

- Moves: Seed Bomb, Brick Break, Dynamic Punch, Sword Dance

- Ability: Effect Spore

- Apart of Team Wildfire, Partnered with Bubby

- Has a big family and a lot of siblings though isn’t very close with them. Feels like he has to compete with his siblings just to stand out and not feel like a clone

- Was previously in an Explorer Team called Team Belladonna with his Ex, however they broke up and he stopped exploring a couple months before he met Bubby

- Found Bubby unconscious on a Mountain and his Explorer instincts kicked in, quickly helping him and having Bubby stay with him while he recovered

- Originally Bubby was only meant to stay until he recovered his memory but it ended up becoming a more permanent arrangement later

- Formed an Exploration Team both to help Bubby search for answers and because Coomer missed it as it was a big part of his life

- Has been Partnered with Bubby for years now. Would do anything to keep his secret safe

- Anything.

BUBBY-

- The First Human Turned Pokemon

- Charmeleon

- Moves: Flamethrower, Slash, Thunder Punch, Dragon Claw

- Ability: Blaze

- Has no defensive or status moves

- Apart of Team Wildfire, Partnered with Coomer

- Wears Wise Glasses both as a boost to his special attack but also because he has terrible eyesight without them

- Like Gordon, he has little memory other than his name and the fact that he used to be Human

- Bubby keeps the fact that he used to be Human under heavy lock and key. The only other person he told was Coomer, otherwise, Bubby is pretty distrusting towards others

- Initially became an Explorer with Coomer because of his determination to figure out why he’s a Pokémon but stayed because he genuinely enjoyed the work

- Despite his initial drive to figure out how to become Human again, Bubby no longer pursues this. He likes his life with Coomer, he doesn’t want it to change

- Would do anything to keep Coomer safe

- A n y t h i n g

DARNOLD-

- Inventor Extraordinaire

- Bayleef

- Moves: Magic Leaf, Solar Beam, Protect, Sweet Scent

- Ability: Leaf Guard

- Not apart of an Exploration Team but takes an interest in the work

- Childhood friends with Tommy, they still keep in touch

- Took an interest in Inventing and Creating given his Moms were really into it and he looked up to them

- Original creator of the Orbs, namely the Escape Orb and the Slumber Orb, both of which he uses to get through tough dungeons

- Still makes items and machines as well but Darnold’s true pride and joy is a drink shop called ‘New Leaf’ with a new menu every day. Darnold takes great pride in his juices and smoothies that he makes

- Likes to talk to one of his regulars at New Leaf, a Bounty Hunter who has plenty of interesting stories and is overall fun to talk to

- Recently got employed by someone who gives him a weird vibe. Darnold doesn’t know what it is but all they want is for him to make a machine that can open portals and... Well, it sounds interesting and harmless enough?

- Isn’t much of a fighter but will if he has to

FORZEN-

- A Bounty Hunter who’s very good at his job

- Mightyena

- Moveset: Ice Fang, Take Down, Sucker Punch, Swagger

- Ability: Intimidate

- All moves can be learned by leveling up, the only character to have this

- Is a Bounty Hunter, meaning he specifically goes after Wanted Pokemon for a living

- Took up Bounty Hunting as it runs in the family. Is not close with his family anymore

- Very good at his job, one of the best trackers out there and very rarely doesn’t complete the job he takes

- Used to be aquatinted with Benrey though wouldn’t recognize his Totodile form

- Truthfully has no idea what happened to Benrey but one day, he disappeared and a huge bounty was placed on his head. Forzen took the job, no hard feelings but it was a lot of money, but was never able to find him, one of his few jobs

- Often visits a drink place called New Leaf, both for the delicious drinks and to talk to the Bayleef that runs it

- Recently took up a job to track down a Human Turned Pokemon. Has no idea what they’re wanted for but the bounty is too big to pass up- every Bounty Hunter he knows is taking it

JOSHUA-

- The Kid Who Tends To Inspire Those Around Him

- Sewaddle

- Moves: Tackle, String Shot, Bug Bite, Hidden Power

- Ability: Chlorophyll

- Is an Orphan who lost track of his family and got lost for quite a long time before being rescued

- Is initially found by Benrey and sent to Tommy and Gordon, who takes him in and take care of him while they search for his family

- Benrey, Gordon, and Tommy all take on a parental role for him, though a lot of the people he meets tends to instantly shift into, “I would die for this kid” mode

- Thinks Exploration Teams are the coolest

- Greatly admires Team Sunrise, Team Wildfire, and Benrey, sometimes trying to imitate them

- A little easily frightened at first but his confidence gets built up once he’s taken in by Tommy and Gordon. Turns out to be pretty enthusiastic once he comes out of his shell

G-MAN-

- The Legendary

- Mewtwo

- Moves: ???

- Ability: Unnerve

- Has his own agenda but generally tries to help others and keeps the World’s balance in check

- Not much is known about him, least of all why he goes by ‘G-Man’ of all things. He keeps to himself

- Seems to watch over a certain Pikachu, sensing great things from him...

- Is very interested in finding out how a Human turns Pokémon

- Knows more than he says

SUNKIST-

- Ex-Explorer and Adoptive Mother of Tommy

- Arcanine

- Moves: Extreme Speed, Flare Blitz, Body Slam, Roar

- Ability: Flash Fire

- Full name is Sun Kissed but Sunkist is a shortening of it that she likes

- Is a retired Explorer and pretty highly respected and well known. Was apart of a Explorer Team known as Team Daylight

- Tommy was left at her doorstep a half a year after she retired. Sunkist worked to find his family, and when she couldn’t, raised him as her own

- While she’s a little out of practice, Sunkist is still very powerful

- Tough as nails but has a soft heart

- Can and would move mountains for Tommy

???-

- The Main Antagonist

- ???

- Moves: Psychic, Water Pulse, Blizzard, Drain Punch

- Ability: Own Tempo

- No status or defensive moves

- Highly powerful and has a bad vibe to her

- A Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing

- Employed Benrey, Darnold, and sometimes Forzen

- Seems to have her own agenda

- Is very interested in finding a Human Turned Pokemon and is willing to do anything to get her hands on one

- Knows Benrey very, very well

- And doesn’t let go so e a s i l y

Anddd there we go! Took a hot minute but I got it all down! Feel free to ask me about anything if you got questions!

[gamearamamegathons]

Megami Tensei: Yes, I Am Sure About This

Circe here. Okay. Here we go. Let's begin playing the first game in the Shin Megami Tensei seri -- actually, before we do that. Maybe it would be worth giving a bit of context. Where did this thing come from, anyway? So, believe it or not, the first game is based on a horror novel of the same name. It's basically about a high school student who can summon demons with a computer (I guess that's what makes it a "digital devil story"). The protagonists of the game are ostensibly the characters from the novel, but really, the connection is pretty loose. The main thing we need to know is that we've got a cool demon-summoning computer and we're going through this dungeon fighting and recruiting demons. The part about recruiting the demons is, of course, going to be a pretty important gameplay conceit, and something that resonates throughout the entire series, all the way up to the modern iterations like Persona 5. For now it's much more modest, and, uh, clunky, but really, we're barely even there yet, so let's take a couple steps back and talk about the experience of trying to get started playing this game.

So, honestly, the first couple hours were spent trying to find new mapping software. Ogmo Editor allowed me to create basically perfect replicas of Dragon Quest maps, but it's fragile and kind of a pain to use, and I wanted to find something that just kinda did what I wanted without fuss. Since Megami Tensei is a first person dungeon crawler, some robust form of hand-mapping is necessary, and I just can't bring myself to bust out the graph paper after what I went through hand-drawing the DQ1 and 2 maps. So I settled on the basic version of Grid Cartographer, which required me to spring for 20 bucks, but god, it's everything I ever wanted, it's perfect, and at last making video game maps is fun again.

Okay, we're all good. We can start the game now, right? Well, maybe. The first thing you're presented with when you start the game is a stat allocation screen. What's that? You have no idea how to play the game or what stats are relevant? Too bad, sucker, this is an NES RPG, better get used to opaque and confusing mechanics. My first attempt at the game was basically a dry run because I barely knew what I was doing and didn't really allocate my stats correctly. It turns out that Nakajima, our male protagonist, can't learn magic and never will. So basically we just wanna pump his physical stats. Our second character, Yumiko, does learn magic, so we want to give her good magic stats. Fairly basic stuff, if you just went ahead and assumed that the male character is the fighter and the female character is the caster (grumble).

Okay, so now we can get started. We begin on the 8th floor of the Tower of Daedalus and we're going to be making our way down. This top floor is basically the town and our safe haven, where healing and shops and stuff is. Of course, I had to map it out to even learn that, since it looks identical to every other floor of the dungeon. From here, we learn a few things pretty quickly. First of all, healing costs money, and you get money by defeating monsters. So I guess if you run out of cash you've essentially softlocked the game. Good, excellent, love it. By the way, we're in an NES RPG, so by "get started" I mean "go one floor down and walk in circles until I'm strong enough to not get mauled by gnomes and bipedal fish". At least Yumiko learns a healing spell, which does reduce the chances of going broke.

There's other stuff I could go into, like moon phases, which affect monsters in some way, or the actual recruiting and summoning process, but demons are prohibitively expensive to summon at this stage, so really, my experience of the game so far has been walking in circles, hoping I don't render the game unwinnable almost immediately by running out of money, and reflecting deeply on whether this is really what I want to do with my spare time. And that's pretty much been my progress thus far. Now, you might say, it sounds as if I've accomplished precisely nothing so far. And you'd be right! But I think this is probably the most honest way to start talking about this game: by explaining that you really can't just dive into a game this old and opaque without immediately screwing yourself. As far as accessibility goes, dungeon crawlers were probably close to the bottom, in an era of gaming that was already, well, just a bit thorny, on account of still figuring out a lot of the design principles we take for granted today. Hopefully, with mapping software and a bit of input from guides, I can find a path forward that ends with me dragging myself over the finish line before outdated RPG design and my own impatience beach my unfortunate player avatar. I suppose if I can't finish this game I might end up calling it good enough if I played to the natural endpoint where progress becomes impossible or just prohibitively obnoxious. We'll see how it ends up.

[mcousland]

5 & 10 for elide/tyrus and maeve/ilya? :O

Ilya belongs to @mollymaukerie! I’m gonna just toss some Thoughts out here kite, feel free to chime in with any of your own!

5) How did they decorate their baby room?

Elide & Tyrus — They both agreed on yellow for the walls without even discussing it, but Elide insists on making it the Accent color alongside a more neutral one (”Because it’s pleasing to the eye, darling! Don’t question me, I’m pregnant.” “Yes, dear.”). Warm tones everywhere, stemming from their matching tastes. Tyrus and Elide’s papa, Mikael, build all of their furniture themselves (the crib, wardrobe, bookshelf, surprise rocking chair for Elide, etc.) and then let her decide on where to place it all. The crib decorated with a handmade blanket by Elide, waiting for the child’s name to be stitched into the corner and officially be Theirs. (Don’t,,, mention all of the baby clothes. Elide has a problem but don’t call her out on it, she knows.) An over-sized stuffed dragon and wolf tucked into the corner, looking like they’re guarding the toy chest.

Maeve & Ilya — I’m not saying that it’s,, A Lot in there. But it’s a lot. Not as in you can’t find a path to walk because it’s so full, but you look at an item and can tell that so much thought and care (and probably money) went into it. The blankets are all different shades but beyond soft to the touch and clearly worth more than most make in a month, the art on the walls (directly on them and not in frames) was clearly commissioned by a talented artist to display scenes of adventure and wonder, the little bookshelf is filled with so many titles that anyone could tell Maeve spent hours deciding over, etc etc. Without a doubt there’s a reading nook covered in pillows and furs where they can sit and read with the baby. 

10) What type of personalities do their kid(s) have?

(slaps hands together) STRAP IN, BABES.

Elide & Tyrus — Before getting into them separately, one thing that all of the pups (loving nickname for the children because of the rhogar’s house sigil of a wolf) have in common is their absolutely Love for the stories mama and papa tell them about their adventures, which inspire them all to do good things in the world (no matter how small they may be, every act counts as mama says). 

Sansa — insanely smart at a young age and knows it, prefers time with the adults, very sensitive yet hides it behind the famous Westenra Face, the biggest protective older sister energy even when she’s trying to hide it behind feigned annoyance with her siblings.

Dorian — a soft boy who just wants to follow his mama around the workshop, epitome of “*choking back tears* wanna fight”, the mama’s boy who listened to all of her stories about adventure and bravely declared he was to be a hero like her and papa over supper. 

Elaine — wants to Fight all the time and Will throw-down with her siblings without notice, loud and unafraid to tell everyone what she’s feeling (even if it hurts someone), takes after her parents side with a desire to Protect everyone from a young age, only 4 years old and already done with boys.

Elijah — ANOTHER AND SOFTER BOY, spends as much time as he can with mama and grandpapa mikael when they’re working on clocks because he’s a Nerd, must be protected at all costs energy with the dark curls and big glasses, can and will give a hug to people at any given time.

Eloise — author of the “how to give mama a heart attack in 0.5 seconds” guide, f e i s t y beyond belief, the parkour legend who will scale to the top of the estate’s greenhouse and proudly proclaim this (before promptly trying to shrink away from mama’s shouting in the distance), big heart; bigger courage.

Alexandra — is essentially a little Mini Elide but with the dark rhogar hair, ends up with massive bard energy because of her adoration for mama’s stories, very soft and very loud about it please listen to her explain why she’s upset thank you, learned right quick that she inherited her mama’s Emotional Whirlwind vibes.

Greer — BIGGEST papa’s girl on the planet like holy moly, inherited the impulse control of whatever unhinged ancestors can be found in the rhogar line because she Jumps at everything, oblivious to a lot of people’s emotions because she’s feeling her own too deeply to notice. 

Cormac — second to last born but somehow still radiates the biggest big brother energy, a Soft and Sappy boy that’s just here to hold his mama’s hand and make sure his twin greer is not fighting another kid twice her size, wears his heart on his sleeve and isn’t afraid to let others know it.

Julian — the! babey!! who perfectly fits the definition!!!, generally very quiet and tends to keep to himself, but Always on the lookout and notices everything that others overlook, takes after his mama with the ability to see people’s souls with his insight abilities, spoiled beyond belief but somehow not affected by it.

Maeve & Ilya — Mmmmmm, okay. They may have more but?? I’m gonna go with the base of them having a boy and a girl here. I’m imagining that they both fall in love with that storytelling of Maeve’s, but maybe the boy moreso?? Because I am an absolute sucker for the idea of a boy who is the spitting image of Ilya, but he goes around with the personality of his mother and is dying to share stories with people at every opportunity he can find. A buff bard that can knock a guy out, then turn around and write a line of poetry he thought of while doing so,,, Beyond entertaining. And then a darling girl who looks like a mix between the pair of them, yet leans more toward the quiet and withdrawn tendencies like Ilya. Shockingly empathetic and has those Eyes at such a young age that look like she’s seen so much. (She hasn’t, she’s spoiled and has only known Happiness and Light. Maeve asks Ilya constantly how the hell she manages to have that look to her.)

[dailydoseofcolor]

Taking Stock of Barracks in Fire Emblem Heroes: Part 3, Section 2 (Final)

Okay! So I took a few days off for travel and now want to finish this up. From everything above, I’ve pinpointed the 5* exclusive characters I would love to start getting merges for as well as solidifying who my official potential “projects” are. Now I need to start analyzing my priorities and go from there. The sections will be 5* exclusives that won’t need feathers for merging (barring any unexpected demotes, which is highly unlikely for the majority of these); 3-4* merge potential projects that require orbs, and 3-4* potential projects that require grails. First up, 5* exclusives. 

After going through my barracks, these are the characters I have isolated as ones that I want to work towards getting to +10: 

Micaiah, Mia, Nephenee, Saber, Silque, Myrrh, OG Ephraim, Brave Ike, Y!Marth, Summer Robin, Summer Innes, Halloween L'Arachel 

Now, mama didn’t raise a fool. The vast majority of these are unrealistic, but I can at least use this as a guide for what to save for. So these can be further categorized into three sections: Higher Priority, Realistic Goals, and Pipe Dreams: 

Higher Priority

Micaiah, +5; She just takes the least amount of merges to complete. She regularly appears on banners, and will eventually come as a pity breaker on other banners. 

Mia, +3; She’s my favorite of the fast sword girls. And while she’s slowly getting outclassed in terms of raw speed, she has good balanced defenses and her weapon can still give her a niche. I also wouldn’t be surprised if she lands a resplendent alt at some point.     

Realistic

Nephenee, +2; I’ve thought about it, and I let Nephenee’s -Spd bane distract me from her for too long. She’s at +2 with a Spd boon now, and still holds up stats-wise. Her attack is still a little low, but the armor effectiveness in her weapon more than makes up for that. The problem is that she’s on a banner right now that only lasts today. I can’t +10 her just today, but I need to try for a few merges. 

Saber, +1; I have a major soft spot for Saber. He held my Summoner Support for a long time, and I think he has a very interesting niche in the over-saturated sword market. He’s a long-term plan. 

Silque (Currently Base, could be +2); I love healers, and Silque is my favorite healer from the series as a whole. I haven’t merged her yet because she has a good staff, good special, and Dazzling Staff fodder. But I now realize that I don’t particularly care for Dazzling Staff fodder. That’s added to almost every new healer nowadays, more fodder will come. 

Myrrh, +0; Myrrh is the character I wanted most for so long. The first Manakete/Dragon I ever fell in love with, and she’s relevant again. Problem is, the only one I’ve pulled is +Def/-Atk. Amazing boon, terrible bane. I need merges to erase the bane and start really building her. She’s likely in the Top 5 for priorities.     

Pipe Dream

Ephraim, +0; Unless he demotes, this is a long shot. I’ve only ever pulled one and now I have other infantry lance users that out-compete him. It would be nice, though.

Y!Marth, +1; Y!Marth appearing at the same time as Bramimond really hurt my ability to justify spending for him, and now I kinda regret it. As far as sword infantries go, he’s super flexible and has great stats. His boon is +Atk, so that helps, but when he comes back, I’ll make a play for him. 

Summer Robin, +0 (Will be +1 after Compile Manuals Purchased); My first ever 5* unit! Summer Robin has held a special place in my heart since I first started the game. Back when getting 5* units as a new player was actually rather difficult, I played for about 2 weeks before my first one came up, and it was Summer Robin. She’ll erase her awful -Atk bane with the Compile Manual I’ll get of her, but I’m going to start working on snagging her in the upcoming summer banners.

Summer Innes, +0 (Will be +1 after Compile Manuals Purchased); The first unit I ever spent money to acquire (purchased an orb pack with an old gift card out of desperation). His Bow unit sucks all kinds of ass, and Axe fliers are still one of the rarer categories. He’ll be +1 soon (I love the limited time compile feature, it’s a much better mechanic than the long term compile option), but more merges would make me happy. He’ll be re-run soon. 

Halloween L’Arachel, +0; H! L’Arachel’s art might be one of my absolute favorite in the game. Easily Top 5. Green Cavalry Mages are also almost uniformly bad outside of Gunnthra, who needs a refine to maintain her niche. The only one who might be able to compete is Cecilia, but we’ll see where she truly lands after her eventual refine. Either way, more merges for her would be incredible. Sacred Stones is next up in the Hall of Forms rotation. I don’t expect her to be an option, but she’s on the short list of SS seasonals so…there’s a chance. 

Brave Ike, +2 (Could be +3); His Refine is incredible. He carries hard in AR and makes PvE content trivial. If anything, this is just to keep his stats sharp. This is mostly just an eventual “this would be nice” thing.

Now, if I take everything above and rank it, here’s what I have:

Micaiah

Mia

Myrrh

Nephenee

Saber

Silque

Halloween L'Arachel

Ephraim

Summer Robin

Y!Marth

Summer Innes

Brave Ike

Okay, I’m fine with this. Micaiah and Mia make the most sense, since they’re the closest to being done. Myrrh, Nephenee, Saber, and Silque are all realistic and will be making appearances on banners soon (other than Silque). The rest are just guidelines; although I will be saving for Summer Robin & Summer Innes return next month, and then saving for Halloween L’Arachel at the end of the year.

_____________________________________________

Now it’s time for 3-4* Potential Projects! My first pass yielded three groups: ones I already have the copies to +10, the ones I still need copies for, and Grail units. At this point, I need to diversify my +10 units by movement type, specifically flying and calvary, with an emphasis on Player Phase units, strong Mixed Phase units, and tome users. 

Here’s who I can +10 today if I desired: 

Nino, PP, +5, 100k feathers needed; Benefits from being a favorite character, player phase focused, and a tome user. Slight dock for being infantry. 

OG Eliwood, PP, +2, 160k feathers needed; Eliwood remains the front runner of this group if only because of favoritism. It helps that his Player Phase capabilities are now some of the best in the game when it comes to red sword users. 

Donnel, MP, +2, 160k feathers needed; Again, a strong Mixed Phase character with a new refine, but that pushes him into a Player Phase role. I just can’t swing the idea of building him up for use. 

Matthew, EP, +0, 200k feathers needed; Enemy Phase dagger to compliment Sothe’s Player Phase dagger niche. A favorite character, but shares movement type. Plus he requires a lot of support to really shine. Lower priority. 

Soleil, PP, +0, 200k feathers needed; One of the strongest 3-4* infantry swords. Great attack and good speed, middling defenses that could be patched up with skill investment. She ranks pretty high, but has a high merge cost from my current supplies. 

Ares, EP, +0, 200k feathers needed; Fills a different role than Eliwood, but makes a case given how oppressive Special Spiral + Bonfire can be. Middling priority. 

Est, PP, +0 (No 5*), 220k feathers needed; I love lance fliers and Est is the only one on my short list that isn’t a Grail unit. She’d require some significant investment in terms of resources, but I’ve been thinking of making a dedicated flier team for a while, which she would shine in. 

Titania, Support, +0, 200k feathers needed; I love Tactics teams and almost no one runs it better than Titania. She’d require high investment, but I’ve held onto her for years with the plan to invest, it might be time. 

OG Tharja, PP, +0 (No 5*), 220k feathers needed; I really love red mages. My Lysithea sees very regular use, and Tharja’s potential on a Tactics team would be incredible. She remains a very high potential.

Soren, Support, +0 (No 5*), 220k feathers needed; I also love Chill skills, and Soren is one of only a few characters that can pull Triple Chill. I might build him with Triple Chill to see how he handles before I invest. He’s lower priority right now.

Here’s who I have on my short list for potential projects that I don’t actively have all the merges for yet: 

Rath, PP, +2 (Could be +7, with a +Atk waiting for deliberation); 160k feathers needed; Rath is the closest on this list to having the merges needed. He’s currently at +2, and I only need another 2 in order to be at +10. He will continue to be higher on the list than others, if only because I’m a sucker for calvary bow users. 

Altena, EP, +1, 180k feathers needed; So. Here’s the problem. I love Altena, and she’s likely a Top 5 merge project contender….but I don’t have the merges. She just hasn’t been showing up. She just has to remain on the back burner of priority until I have more merges. I’ll reassess if more start coming along. 

Norne, MP, (Could be +4) (No 5*), 220k feathers needed; Norne checks a lot of boxes for me: Infantry, Great Stats, Mixed Phase potential, Bow User. I still need 6 copies to make her +10, but I need to start investing in her now. I know she sits in the exact same space that Altena does, but even having a few more merges changes the calculus. The major major problem is that none of the 5* units I’ve decided are priorities are colorless except for Silque. So the likelihood that she turns up on pulls is less likely. But I think my heart doesn’t really care. 

Tethys, Support, (Could be +5, No 5*), 220k feathers needed; Tethys makes this list due to her Support potential. Colorless infantry dagger is mostly filled for me, but she sticks out in my mind. I might just build her low at first to see how I like her, similar to Soren.

I’ve been avoiding this for a long time. I never spend grails because I’m worried the perfect Grail Unit will come along and it’s blinded me to the number of amazing Grail Units that have already come along, and some of these Grails are starting to burn a hole in my pocket. Now it’s time: 

Astram, PP/Support, +2, 160k feathers, 2200 grails; I’ve been using Astram in Arena this past week and I’ve really changed my mind about him. His performance is very solid, and he handles a ton of things on his own. He also slots into the mercenary/knight side of sword user instead of myrmidon, which I’ve always preferred. Great PRF, good stat totals; this is biased because Arena bonus unit buffs are one hell of a drug. He’s back in the running. 

Joshua, MP, +2, 160k feathers, 2600 grails; Making a completely flip-flopped statement from earlier, since Joshua is on the myrmidon side of sword users, but Joshua’s always been a favorite of mine, and I stupidly used one way back for Windsweep on Sothe…of all things. He’s in line for a weapon refine soon, and depending on how they treat it, could launch him into contention again. He remains a strong front runner. Also, there’s a strong chance he’ll be the Grail option in the upcoming SS Hall of Forms. I would love if it’s either him, Lyon, or Valter; that would be incredible. 

Black Knight, MP, +2, 160k feathers, 2200 grails; Obviously TT/GHB were originally conceived of to give us fun side characters and villains, and the Black Knight remains near the top. I don’t usually use Armor units, but he’d hold his own very well, especially considering the number of Fighter skills that exist. 

Fallen Ashnard, EP/MP, (Could be +2, No 5*), 180k feathers, 2200 grails; The main thing going against Fallen Ashnard right now is how new he is. So his investment will remain high for a while. But it’s hard to ignore how well his stats turned out. Great villain from my favorite series and it’s hard to not be drawn to him. Plus sword fliers are either 5* forever locked or like…Palla (aka Moonbow fodder). He’s got a great niche. 

Valter, PP, (Could be +4), 120k feathers, 1650 grails; Another favorite villain from a favorite series in a unit type that is treated poorly by IS. His speed doesn’t hold up, unfortunately, but he’s very likely due for a refine soon, and he could be a part of the upcoming Hall of Forms. He’s higher on the priority list because of his status as a favorite unit, but I should honestly wait for the refine to decide. 

Cormag, PP, (Could be +2, No 5*), 180k feathers, 2200 grails; The second in a run of lance fliers with generic stats that seemed to last for several months. Cormag has such an interesting character arc in his game, and it’s a shame the way he was treated. To that end, he has a workable stat spread (I just wish his Res was higher). He ranks high on characters I like, which is why he’s on the list to begin with. 

Conrad, EP, (Could be +2, No 5*), 180k feathers, 2200 grails; Conrad is on this list because of a person on my friends list who has a +10 Conrad with Distant Counter and…this boy puts in work. I love bulky units, and bulky cavalry units are few and far between. The only other Lance Calvary units that see use in my barracks are Legendary Ephraim and Dimitri, so he’d be filling a good niche in my barracks. His cost just remains really high for a character that I’m not in love with. 

Death Knight, EP (Could be +3, No 5*), 160k feathers, 1750 grails; Decent villain from the most recent game with an intriguing PRF. It’s not quite as evergreen as I’d hoped, but I’ve encountered +10 Death Knights in various modes and they certainly hold their own. Less of a cost than Conrad with slightly less bulk, an interesting trade off. 

Young Minerva, EP, +1, 180k feathers, 2700 grails; When Young Minerva first debuted, I was almost positive that she would be my first Grail +10. Now that she’s available, I’m hesitating. I have a strong Axe user already, just not one that flies. She’s got great speed, defense, and attack, and she’d see a lot of use. I just have to decide whether I want her more than I maybe need someone else. 

Winter Jaffar, MP, (Could be +1), 180k feathers, 2700 grails; Great art as a unit, I just don’t care for Armors usually. Being a green dagger hurts him a good amount, as does the really high cost. I might just wait a bit for him, but I’m sure he’ll be outclassed in a few months anyway. 

Lyon, EP, +7, 60k feathers, 750 grails; My pride and joy for a long, long time. I’m waiting to finish him off until he gets a refine, so I know which way to invest. I also love his recent alt, which has helped fill the void that my original left as he started to fall behind other units (especially Sophia, who has stomped all over him at this point). 

Arvis, PP/Support, (Could be +3), 140k feathers, 1750 grails; One of the first red tome users I fell in love with, if only because of his decent stat spread and unique skill. I killed one way back for Ploy fodder, so his cost remains high, but maybe we’ll get some kind of rerun in the future. 

Brunnya, EP/Support, (Could be +1), 180k feathers, 2700 grails; My AR defense was recently stomped by a Brunnya and it made me look at her in a different light. As an infantry blue tome, she’s got some competition, but she is surprisingly bulky because of her tome. I am quite intrigued by her.

__________________________________________________

Based on my analysis above, here’s where I’m coming down in terms of a road map. Everyone else isn’t necessarily out of the running, but this focuses on my direct needs for strong Player Phase / Mixed Phase units and puts my resources to best use: 

Immediate Use: OG Eliwood, Soleil, Est, Norne, Fallen Ashnard, OG Tharja    

OG Eliwood will get the bump first because he fills the most immediate niche and already has some investment made into him. I’ll also dedicate resources to Norne and Fallen Ashnard, since they still need time to develop but are high on my list. I also feels like I’m now making Fallen Ashnard the focus of my grails, for when he comes out in two months, we’ll see if someone overtakes him before then (likely one of the SS boys). I’ll upgrade Est and OG Tharja to test out how they perform before committing. Depending on how Est does, she’ll likely get a bump with Soleil.

Eventual Niche: Titania, Young Minerva, Brunnya    

Of these, Titania is the most likely to get the bump, as she’s a favorite and would serve as a solid support unit. Young Minerva functions well at +1 and doesn’t need as much investment as others in order to perform. Brunnya will be leveled up and tested to see if she’s worth the investment.

Build Now and Wait: Rath, Altena   

I’m pausing raising up Rath for now, I’ll wait until I have enough copies to fully +10 him. I love his character, but he will almost certainly stay PvE, and his current build shines there. Altena will get further looks after I get more copies.

Determine after Refines: Joshua, Valter, Lyon   

I really need to watch and wait for my three Sacred Stones boys. I love all three and would dedicate resources to them, but I need to wait and see what their eventual refines bring to the table. I have the highest hopes for Lyon, since he’s proven to be popular, and they gave Sophia of all people a new life, he deserves it. Valter will likely get some extra stats and potentially Panic built into his weapon (even though he doesn’t have the HP to utilize it as much). Joshua will get some kind of refine that doubles down on his decent Resistance. Conditional DC like Saber/Say’ri would be incredible, but I’m not holding my breath. This also gives me time to continue to deliberate on who I want to spend Grails on.

I’m…..done? No, I’m not done. But this is the closest I’ve had to a game plan for this game beyond “oo! Shiny new units!,” so I’m really proud of myself. Time to spend some resources! 

[immediateedgescam]

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[deathofamemer]

✨ 💕 💔 💢 all of them

✨ what draws you towards your hyperfixation? what is interesting about it?

lego movies: there’s just something so lively and fun about them... the world they exist in and craft throughout the four warner brothers lego movies is fascinating and complex and has a lot of nuance to it that makes rewatching the movies a delight just to catch little things that got missed the first time around! the characters are vibrant and lively and there’s not really any who fall flat (outside of the lego ninjago movie but the main lego movies are my focus), there’s a lot of tropes that i personally enjoy (particularly the meta stuff, i love meta humor), and the style itself is gorgeous and unique. using CG to mimic stop motion? that’s genius, and it makes for a beautiful set of films

danny phantom: danny phantom as a series is just a bundle of a trillion of my favorite tropes and the amount of content that can be created from it is truly overwhelming. part of the allure of danny phantom is actually the fandom, for once, because while it’s not free of issues, there’s a sense of continuity. there’s a lot of widely accepted fanon in there, including whole fandomwide ocs, and it’s really something spectacular. i’m a sucker for the supernatural and superheroes, and danny phantom mingles the two nicely.

greek mythology: greek myth is one of those things that just perfectly slides into the academic portion of my brain, tbh. it’s a vast mythos with colorful characters and epic stories and quirky anecdotes and scraps of information spread across history, and the fact that it can be collected and looked at and interpreted even today? it’s super interesting and good. for a mostly dead religion, it’s still fairly ubiquitous in society, and i love seeing all of the variations on each story, seeing what various places thought were fit to keep or discard.

pokemon: pokemon, as a franchise, is immensely soothing. you get to raise animals and befriend them and play with them, winding your way through the countryside, facing challenges and stopping strife. the characters are memorable, the pokemon designs are generally really appealing, and the lore is crafted in such a way that it feels like something you could examine for a long time. there’s a lot of heart in it, and it shows.

💕 tell us about one of your favorite characters and why you like them!

lego movies: you’re expecting me to put rex, aren’t you. i’ve given my diatribes on rex fucking dangervest enough, i’m talking about my original fave, gcbc. gcbc is a charming character with a neat concept, embodying the lego minifigs with two faces as a single character, providing some of the only positive DID representation i’ve ever seen. liam neeson’s voice acting for them is really stellar, and back in 2014/15, i read all of the gcbc-centric fics i could get my hands on. they’re just interesting to examine.

danny phantom: i’m betting you’re also expecting me to talk about danny’s evil future self because i’m a predictable shit, but NO i refuse. clockwork is one of my favorite fucking characters of anything ever, because he embodies the whole ‘father time’ concept in a neat way, transitioning from child to adult to elder as a constant cycle. he’s also clever and witty and makes a good mentor, showing consequences for actions without forcing danny’s hand. clockwork is just great, honestly,,,

greek mythology: everyone in greek myth is terrible all the time, but dionysus is really fun? he’s a male god who got raised as a girl, so like, trans rights, he’s equal parts party god and brain ruiner, he’s got a million conflicting portrayals that make him fun to examine, and he’s actually one of the oldest gods in the pantheon in terms of historicity. there’s more to him than meets the eye, for sure, and his myths are fun.

pokemon: i really love zinnia... she’s a badass dragon lady who’s super lively and fun, she kicks ass and knows she does, she nearly wrangles rayquaza themself in order to save the world... god i just adore her

💔 tell us about one of your LEAST favorite characters and why you dislike them.

lego movies: lord business don’t even fucking look at me i swear to god, capitalist ass bitch, abusive boss supreme, tyrannous dickmunch,

danny phantom: it’s kind of hard to place least faves? if i have to choose, though, probably gregor. he’s a one-off asshole liar trying to get into sam’s pants, gregor gets no rights.

greek mythology: HEY ZEUS QUIT BEING A DICK, YOU TOO KRONOS, AND GAIA—

pokemon: hey. hey ghetsis. hey lusamine. look at me. be better parents. fuck you

💢 what do you NOT like about your hyperfixation? is there something you would want to change about it?

lego movies: tlm2 was weaker than the first due to the change of directors, i’m happy that we got rex and watevra and mayhem, they’re all fun and great, but the characterization of everyone is really fucking off and emmet gets treated like shit when he doesn’t deserve it. my rage over rex’s fate is well documented, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg. i think often about a hypothetical tlm2 that actually resolved things and kept people in character and featured gcbc for more than 5 seconds

danny phantom: butch hartmann can suck my ass AND DO NOT FUCKING TALK TO ME ABOUT LIVIN’ LARGE AND PHANTOM PLANET THOSE TRAIN WRECKS DO NOT EXIST IN THIS HOUSE

greek mythology: why did the ancient greeks like incest and rape so much what the fuck is your goddamn deal guys just chill out and suck a dick that isn’t your cousin’s

pokemon: i’m very fucking angy about the pokemon company trying to wring money out of people with swsh, everyone i know who’s played it has enjoyed it but the fact that there’s expensive dlc for a pokemon game like this, that you can never have all of the pokemon in the game, the fact that even one game is the cost of a double pack for the previous ones, it irks me deeply

[consortofkings]

‘THE HOBBIT’ FIC RECOMMENDATIONS - My Personal Favorites

I couldn’t think of a way to better enjoy Hobbit Day than to pay a little tribute to just a small sample of some of the amazing stories this fandom is lucky enough to be gifted with. There are many fics I’ve left out and will be adding to this list many times over before I’m done with it. Please feel free to let me know of any of your favorites that you think I might’ve missed as well!

It would not be impertinent to say this is less of fic rec post and more a love letter to this fandom.

NOTHING GOLD CAN STAY by perkynurples

Summary: Bilbo Baggins led a rather peaceful life, thank you very much, until an old acquaintance decided to turn it upside down, and he found himself agreeing to take a job that’s… let’s say not exactly up his alley, and might eventually cost him a little more than his treasured cozy lifestyle. Who would have thought tutoring a slightly menacing monarch’s more than slightly overbearing nephew could prove to be such an adventure? Bagginshield. Modern AU. King and I overtones. Novel-Length.

Thoughts: This was either the second or third Hobbit fic I ever read, and I honestly couldn’t tell you how many times I’ve re-read it. It was the first fic I ever added to my ebook reader just so I could read it whenever I wanted, and honestly, I could write an essay. The world building, the character study, the plot: it’s out of this world. I’ve read published novels that only had me a quarter as impressed as this story, and I wish I could pay money for it because I would buy multiple copies.

THE NAMING OF HOBBITS by Margo_Kim

Summary:  There's a certain point where you can no longer ask someone what their name is. Thorin isn't sure exactly when that point is, but he knows that it's probably some time before the person in question saves your life. On the far side of the Misty Mountains, Thorin realizes that he never quite caught the first part of Mr. Baggins' name, and he finds that it's astonishingly harder to learn than he would have thought. Fili, Kili, and Dwalin are no help whatsoever. Bagginshield. Humor.

Thoughts: This is not a long drawn out romance, but rather a short humorous getting together story and honest to god it is unfathomable how many times I have read and re-read it at this point. I could almost quote it word for word.

THE ROAD DELIVERED US HOME by  keelywolfe

Summary: In the years since Bilbo left Erebor, he has lost his respectability, gained a nephew, and gotten on with life at Bag End. He'd left aside adventure for the comforts and peace of his little Hobbit hole, and for the love of a child who needed him. Though perhaps, adventures can yet find him. Bagginshield. Cannon-ish compliant. Shire courting.

Thoughts: One of the first Bagginshield fics I ever read and most definitely one of the first to make me fall in love with the pairing. A tinge of angst sprinkled upon piles and piles of fluffiness like you’ve never seen before. The pining is above and beyond and the conclusion is so satisfying it’ll leave you feeling smug for days afterward.  

A MOST SENSIBLE IDEA by HildyJ

Summary: Bilbo Baggins isn't sure about this. Not one bit.

Frodo is definitely too young to enter into an arranged marriage with a dwarven king called Thorin Oakenshield. It's a good thing that Bilbo is there to chaperone him through their courtship.

After all, there's no chance that a fussy hobbit bachelor would ever catch the eye of a king. Bagginshield. AU. Erebor Courting.

Thoughts: In my slightly snobby opinion, very few Bagginshield fics get Frodo right. This is not one of those stories. The juxtaposition of Thorin and Frodo’s relationship with Thorin and Bilbo’s is fantastic, and the way they just can’t not be intrigued with each other makes this one of my favorite Bagginshield stories.

MY FAIR HOBBIT by Erinye

Summary: Take a dragon and get rid of it, take a Kingdom under the Mountain and let it thrive under Thráin’s rule, take the King’s eldest son - as proud and arrogant as you can picture him - and then send him to the Shire in order to refine his diplomatic skills. Or, as his sister puts it: to grow them at last. Now, throw in the Master of Bag End playing host for the dwarf prince: you’ll get a clash of cultures, an ill-advised bet about educating a certain hobbit in the dwarf-lore, and all the pride and prejudice business you could hope for, plus Khuzdul.

A retelling inspired by My Fair Lady. Bagginshield. AU. Shire & Erebor love. Novel length.

Thoughts: Thorin is such a shit in this story, and you can’t help but love him. The way they come together is slow and fraught but so believable and it romances me every time I re-read it. Great story to read if you love fleshed out characters who you want to hit over the head and smoosh their faces together at the same time.

UNIVERSALLY ACKNOWLEDGED by  mortuus_lingua

Summary: "My dear Mr. Baggins," she replied, "how can you be so tiresome! You must know that I am thinking of one of these unmarried king or princes marrying at least one of our Bagginses, and why not my Bilbo? He’s the prime of the lot."Smaug is defeated without the recruitment of a burglar, and several delegations, including one from the Shire, are invited to Thorin's public, official coronation. Bilbo, scribe, and bachelor, travel to Erebor with fourteen other Hobbits, embarking on an adventure that will change not only his destiny but those of many in Middle-earth. Or, the attempted Hobbit / Pride and Prejudice mashup that nobody asked for. Not to worry, knowledge of the plot of Pride and Prejudice is not necessary to understand this story. Bagginshield. AU. Courting Fic. Erebor Courting Fic. Lots of Hobbits.

Thoughts: I was very leery of this fic at first because I thought it might be just a standard Pride and Prejudice remake. To paraphrase a certain dwarf, I had never been so wrong in all my life. It blends the Regency life so well with the world of Tolkien that I was swooning. It seems to hit every single one of my favorite tropes of the bagginshield fandom (Bamf!Bilbo, enemiesToFriends, fleshed out OC’s, and MadBofurRespect, etc) but in a new and lovely light. It’s very Hobbit dense as well, which was refreshing and fun to read. I just can’t recommend this story enough.

COMES AROUND AGAIN by scarletjedi

Summary: Gimli closes his eyes, an old Dwarf on the brink of death in the home he had built with his husband in the Undying Lands, and opens them again as a young Dwarf in his childhood home in Ered Luin. He's returned to the tumultuous week before The Company set out to recruit their Burglar from his cosy hobbit hole. Gimli, once again an impetuous teen in the eyes of his family, must get into that Company--the lives of his loved ones, and the very fate of Middle Earth--depends on it. Gimli/Legolas. Bilbo/Thorin. TimeTravel-fix it.

Thoughts: I’m a big sucker for retellings of cannon, and this one is just lovely. I’m always leery of established relationship tags, but this story does the pining so well it feels like you get both for the price of one. Scarletjedi is also one of those authors who I would recommend reading through their entire catalog as well because there is not a dud amongst them.

A REMOVER OF OBSTACLES by MistakenMagic

Summary:  "Dis often chided her older brother for being a misanthropist. She did it so often it had become a term of endearment. It was true that Thorin struggled with people; he struggled to form and maintain relationships. Dr. Grey had diagnosed him with this and Thorin hadn’t the heart to tell him this wasn’t a symptom of his PTSD, it was a symptom of his personality. He exercised a sense of apathy with almost everyone he met… But Bilbo was different. Thorin actually found himself wanting to know more about him." Bagginshield. Novel Length 300k+. Modern AU.

Thoughts: A long story, that is going take up a week or two of your life, beat you up and wring you out, and you’re going to enjoy every minute of it.

A PASSION FOR MUSHROOMS by Chrononautical

Summary: There are many trials for a hobbit attempting to make a life among dwarves. A hobbit wants a garden. A hobbit wants to eat regular meals. A hobbit wants friends, good books, and comfortable chairs. Bilbo does his best to carve out a little hobbit life for himself in the mountain. If only there were not one final obstacle. For a hobbit heart wants love, and among dwarves that is a sticky subject. Bagginshield. Post BOFTA-fix it. Erebor Courting.

Thoughts: Oblivious pining idiots? Misunderstood courting? A fleshed out post-Bofta Erebor? Mushrooms?? What more could you want?

OAK AND MISTLETOE by HildyJ

Summary: After a life dominated by a strange form of sickness, Thorin is sent to the Shire to seek a cure only Bilbo Baggins can offer. Bagginshield. AU. Shire.

Thoughts: Pretty much all of HildyJ’s stories are a must read, but ‘Oak and Mistletoe’ remains’ my favorite. It’s a perfect rainy day read, that I’ve read so many times it’s become almost a habit. It’s a very deep character study into both Bilbo and Thorin and it’s impossible to not fall in love with both of them each time I read it.

SECOND CHANCES by authoressjean

Summary: Sebastian Moran can't pull the trigger on John Watson to save his own hide, and what the hell is it with the doctor, anyway? Then Gandalf shows up, meddlesome wizard, and reminds him none too gently of his past life: as Thorin Oakenshield, leader of a company that had once included a small hobbit named Bilbo Baggins. One that looked decidedly like John Watson. And this would be the perfect chance to make things right with Bilbo the way he really hadn't been able to before he died, and that's when Gandalf tells him John doesn't remember being Bilbo, and to leave him alone.

Right. Like that's going to happen. Bagginshield. Modern AU/Sherlock crossover.

Thoughts: I’ve never in all my 15+ years of fandom, ever, enjoyed crossover fics. It’s just not my bag. Which is why my love of this story completely caught me off guard. Even if you’re like me and you can’t stand the thought of it, I still recommend you give this a shot.

BURNED TO CINDER by  ferretbaby

Summary:  A Cinderella-esque AU. Bilbo, a lonely hobbit of the Shire in the valley outside Erebor, gets a job as a cook in the dwarf kingdom to pass the time and keep himself occupied after his mother’s death. One day he meets a regal dwarf, who he thinks is a thief and trespasser, and throws an apple at his head, never knowing he’s just assaulted the dwarven Prince. Thus begins the antagonistic and somewhat odd courtship of a hobbit and the next King of Erebor. Bagginshield. Cinderella AU. Erebor & Shire courting. Hidden Identity.

Thoughts: Unf. Just a superbly fun little AU that cannot be skipped over. The last chapter is missing but you really don’t need it to still feel satisfied at the ending. Has some extremely hot moments and some extremely lovely ones as well. Thorin is an absolute cad, but he eventually comes into his own.

AT THE STROKE OF MIDNIGHT by Wizards_Pupil

Summary: ““This is a trinket I was given at your birth. I have never shown you it as the time was not right before now.” Thrain opened his palm to reveal a golden band. It was smoothed by touch and unadorned. Not spectacular, but Thrain would hardly hold onto such a trinket if it was not worth something.

“The wizard who gave it to me was quite adamant that you should have it when you were of age.” The king held it out to Thorin. The metal was cool to the touch, but quickly warmed up in the heat of his hand. He ran his fingers along it and nearly shuddered. He could feel it throbbing, nearly vibrating with a strange sort of energy.

“This ring is not meant for you to wear, of course. It is too small for you. This ring is made to fit only the person that will be your Sanzeuh. You have thirty days in which to find him.”Thirty days. Thirty days to find something as ridiculous as true love, or he'd have to marry a beardless, nagging dwarrowdame. Thorin Oakenshield didn't think it could happen.

And then Bilbo Baggins popped into his life. Though, Thorin could have done without the cats, shoes, and girly bits. Still, the course of true love never has run smooth. And the peppers were delightful.” Bagginshield. AU. Erebor Courting.

Thoughts: Such a fantastic courting story. I’m always initially leery of AU’s but this keeps them so close to their actual personalities to make it exciting and new while still letting you bask in their familiarness. It’s such an original idea touching so close to the tip of so many other cliche’s while missing them enough to be something totally new on it’s own. Not to mention, Bilbo’s and Thorin’s flirting is top notch in this. Can’t recommend enough!

THE DEEPEST SECRET by Wizards_Pupil

Summary: Bilbo Baggins was a desperate Hobbit.

Well, he was several things. Short, funny, hungry, and tired for starts. Desperate was at the forefront of his mind at the moment.

He would never be at Oakenshield Manor otherwise. Still, they needed a gardener, and as much as he didn'tknow about dwarves, he did know about plants.

Bilbo expected it to be difficult. Dwarves were hardly known to be the most accepting and open of races after all. He expected the garden to be in terrible shape, the dwarves to be loud, and secretive.

He could never have expected Thorin. Bagginshield. AU.

Thoughts: While the author has stated that this was not specifically a Jane eyre-Au it definitely has a similar feel. It’s just as haunting and just as lovely. There are constant surprises to keep you on your toes, and Thorin and Bilbo are both absolutely delicious in this. I’ve re-read it an untold amount of times.

LOVE-IN-IDLENESS by perkynurples

Summary:  Taking Bilbo Baggins, a successful movie actor who is only just getting used to the perks and intricacies of becoming A Face People Want To See, and putting him together with Thorin Oakenshield, with his very traditional (read: slightly backwards) ideas about what constitutes Real Art and Real Talent, might very well be viewed as just some clothead’s idea of a joke. But there are jokes, and then there are carefully calculated risks the size of controversial reproductions of classic Shakespearean plays - for Bilbo, it is the chance of a lifetime to prove himself to all those who have ever deemed him too one-dimensional to even attempt stage, while Thorin has the opportunity to get out of the rut that’s been hindering his career for so long now, and shine in a role worthy of his talent once again. That is if the two learn how to share the same space for more than ten minutes without wanting to tear each other’s hair out. The course of true love never did run smooth, after all… Bagginshield. Modern Au. Novel Length.

Thoughts: I feel like every fandom in the world has that one Modern AU that boils down that pairing to its very essence and then wraps it up into an entirely new package and delivers it gift wrapped to you. This is that story. It has nothing to do with Tolkein’s world, but instead gives you an entirely new plot set in the real relatable world. Still, the characters, their motivations, and even the plot are so close to the real story that it feels like an honor getting to read it.

A DRAGON’S TALE by vtforpedro

Summary: Bilbo Baggins has been a hobbit for many long years and he should very much like to keep it that way, thank you very much.

An old friend drops by Bag End with the offer of an adventure and despite Bilbo's refusal, the idea of only thirteen dwarves and a wizard facing a dragon may just convince him yet. After all, he has experience with the Great Dragons of the North. Once upon a time, he was one. Bagginshield. AU. BilboIsADragon!

Thoughts: First Dragon!Bilbo story and still one that I re-read again and again.

TO CHANGE THE COURSE OF THE FUTURE by authoressjean

Summary: "Even the smallest person can change the course of the future." - Galadriel

In an attempt to get the Arkenstone back for Thorin, Bilbo discovers the ring he's been using is the One Ring. Seized by a need to destroy gold, especially gold with the ability to ensnare creature and king alike, he sets out alone for Mordor. Anything to forget about the love that gold cost him. What he doesn't know is that Thorin is no longer under the thrall of gold, and is desperately racing to catch up with him to keep him safe. They may have just started on another adventure, but this one may not end as well as their first quest. Bagginshield. Post Bofta-Fix it. Lotr re-imagining. Novel Length.

Thoughts: These boys break my heart in this story with their palpable pining, but it’s so worth it to see their romance drawn out from the small words of Erebor and the Shire and basically become this grand epic love story that spreads all across Middle Earth.

THE RIVEN CROWN by The_Kingmaker

Summary: ‘We may have won the battle, but I fear the war with winter is just beginning.’

The aftermath of war is no laughing matter. Those who died must be honored, those who are wounded must be healed, and those who remain need food and clothing, peace and sanctuary. With Thorin's life hanging in the balance, it is up to Bilbo and the rest of the Company to rule the rag-tag remnants of Erebor in his place.

Then there is the matter of the gold...

Can Bilbo save both king and kingdom, or is Erebor destined to fall deeper into ruin?  Bagginshield. Post-BOFTA. FakeMarriage. Novel Length.

Thoughts: This story really hits all my spots.  Pretend Marriage, politics, in-depth story, oblivious and pining idiots. It’s my go-to read after finishing BOFTA to help heal the suffering and give me hope. I love the way they fully utilize the entire cannon world to tell a truly epic romance. Please read this if you get a chance.

LAY YOUR TROUBLES DOWN by Avelera

Summary:  An extended version of "the acorn scene." Bilbo sees his chance to snap Thorin out of his madness, and takes it. Bagginshield. BOFTA-fix it.

Thoughts: This was one of the most emotional porns I’ve ever read and I loved every second of it.

SOMETHING BLUE by Lapin

Summary:  Thorin marries Bilbo after the Battle of Five Armies, a marriage of convenience, not love. Slowly, they must come to make the best of it, Bilbo resolves. After all, he's a Hobbit. They make the best of things. Bagginshield. Post-Bofta. Pretend Marriage.

Thoughts: Short read and an absolute classic that’s undoubtedly included on every rec list, but I couldn’t not include it. The obliviousness and mutual pining are so delicious you could put in a plate and charge $100 to eat it, and you wouldn’t regret it a bit.

KING, COME RED AT MORNING by Tawabids

Summary: Bilbo has heard fairytales of the lost prince of the dwarves, Thorin son of Thrain, who disappeared the day Smaug attacked the Lonely Mountain. But he does not believe in fairy tales until he comes across the dwarf sleeping in the depths of Erebor, and kisses him back to life.

Now Thorin - a hundred and fifty years out of his time - has to confront a world in which his city is empty, his people scattered, his baby brother Frerin is king, two nephews he's never met are missing in action, and a war is brewing right on his doorstep.

And as if that wasn't complicated enough he's trapped in the body of an old man and falling stupidly in love with a gossipy, grudging little hobbit. Bagginshield. AU. Novel Length. Battle of the Five Armies retelling. Angst.

Thoughts:  I put this one off for a while, but it lived up to every promise that the summary and multiple recs had made for it.  Young Thorin is definitely a joy to read, and both his and Bilbo’s struggles never stop being so very painfully  relatable.   Prepare yourself for the angst though, as it’s almost palpable, but it’s definitely a must read.

PRAYERS TO BROKEN STONE by Avelera

Summary: Twisted by the effects of dragon sickness, Thorin banishes not only Bilbo but the entire company from Erebor. Days pass with no word from their missing leader and, fearing the effects the gold may have on the other dwarves, Bilbo decides to enter the mountain alone in search of Thorin.

What he finds may not be Thorin for much longer.

Or: In which the dragon sickness is slowly transforming Thorin into a dragon, and Bilbo must save him before it is too late. Bagginshield. BOFTA-Fix it. Angst.

Thoughts: This fic was made to hurt me when I need it the most. If I could draw, the cover of this story would just be Thorin stabbing me over and over again in the chest. It also has inspired me so much I ended up writing an entire DnD campaign because of it. Please read it if you have not.

GARDENING by The Feels Whale (miscellea)

Summary: Bilbo Baggins arrived home late one afternoon in the middle of the week and the entire west Farthing is still talking about it.

Poor Mister Baggins. He was doomed to be a nine-days wonder no matter what and is it any wonder after a year-long adventure? Even the Tooks haven’t the influence to hush that up, but Mad Baggins seems to have managed to silence every tongue in the Shire on that subject which would be awe-inspiring ...if not for the way he decided to go about it.

OR: That one where Middle Earth seems to be unclear about where baby Hobbits come from. Bagginshield. M-Preg-ish.

Thoughts: To say that I’m not a fan of M-preg is a bit of an understatement, but the way this story handles it never squicked me out once. It’s heartwarming and angsty all in one and I enjoy it every time I re-read it.

Tamâmebrulu Id-Mudtu (Lullabies of the Heart) by rutobuka

Summary:  As it turns out, even kings catch colds. After the reclamation of Erebor, Thorin finds himself confined to his bed. Luckily, his dear friend Bilbo Baggins is on hand to ensure he complies with Óin's strict orders for rest. (A multi-chapter Bagginshield comic). Bagginshield. Comic.

Thoughts: I doubt there is anyone in the Bagginshield fandom who has not seen ruto’s art or stories, but just in case you need to go check out everything of her’s right the heck now. Her art is basically Bagginshield cannon, and her fem!Bagginshield stories are the best ever written.

OF WARM IMPERMANENCE by Avelera

Summary: Thorin realizes he has gained weight since moving to the Shire, and tries to hide it from Bilbo out of shame and uncertainty of whether it will damage their relationship.Of course Bilbo finds out and, far from disappointed, he’s fairly certain he’s never been so turned on in his life. Bagginshield. Smut. Shire living.

Thoughts: I’m not sure is ruto’s art or this story were the beginning of my obsession with Chubby Thorin, but it definitely had a hand it.

BLESS YOUR SOLES by freakylemurcat

Summary: Feet were sacred to dwarves, and Thorin had always done his best to adhere to the rules and keep his feet to himself. And then comes along Bilbo Baggins with his ever bare feet, and Thorin suddenly finds he can't think of anything else. Bagginshield. Smut.

Thoughts: Just the best little smutty store that we all need but don’t deserve.

LADY IN RED by  windchijmes

Summary: Dwalin and Thorin are traveling together, and they find themselves in a ridiculous situation where Thorin has to disguise himself as a woman at a tavern. The effect is more interesting than they both expect - Thorin is openly leered at and propositioned and he fumes about it, while Dwalin enjoys himself playing the big, bad protector of his lady's innocence. But of course, the tension gets too much, and Dwalin drags Thorin away, hikes up his skirt, and fucks him against a tree. Thwalin. Pre-Journey. Smut.

Thoughts: Lovely little Thwalin smut fic that I can’t get enough of. Short, less than 10k, but I bookmarked for a damn good reason, and that reason is that it’s HOT and you should definitely give it a read.

THE EMPTY BELLIES DINING SOCIETY by sam_ptarmigan

Summary: Bilbo and Dwalin have two things in common: an appreciation for good meals and a case of unrequited love for a certain oblivious king. The only sensible thing to do is form a supper club. Bilbo/Thorin/Dwalin. Short.

Thoughts: After reading a thousand bagginshield fics there was nothing that I craved more than a good, solid, OT3 fics with these three and this one always hits the spot. The pining is on point, and Dwalin is so fantastically done. Even if you’re leary of reading an OT3 you should still give this bad boy a chance. And then hopefully you’ll fall in love with this pairing and write it because good god I need some more of it.

SMELL THE SEA AND FEEL THE SKY by Thorinsmut

Summary: Captain Dwalin - a privateer for the Crown - is in love with beautiful, sweet, innocent Lady Norine.

His main rival (whom he is most definitely not in lust with) is the cockiest little man he ever met - Captain Vulpes, a pirate with a fast mongrel of a ship and a bad habit of stealing his targets out from under his nose

....it's going to take him a while to realize they're the same genderfluid person.

Thoughts: If this story doesn’t make you fall in love Nori/Dwalin, you’re just absolutely doing something wrong with your life.

LITTLE INDULGENCES by sam_ptarmigan

Summary:  Dwalin is not entirely certain how he ended up propped up against a tree with his trousers down and Dori kneeling in front of him, but he's pretty sure good things are about to happen. Dwalin/Dori. SMUT

Thoughts: To call this a rare-pair is pretty self-evident but the porn is 11/10 and deserves to be read by everybody.

AND OF COURSE...

SANSUKH by determamfidd

Summary: The battle was over, and Thorin Oakenshield awoke, naked and shivering, in the Halls of his Ancestors. The novelty of being dead fades quickly, and watching over his companions soon fills him with grief and guilt. Oddly, a faint flicker of hope arises in the form of his youngest kinsman, a Dwarf of Durin's line with bright red hair. (Follows the story of the War of the Ring). Bagginshield. Gigolas. Cannon Compliant. LOTR retelling. 500k+. Not finished.

Thoughts: I don’t know what I could say about Sansukh that hasn’t been said a million times before but I just can’t repeat enough how much this story needs to be read. I know that seeing 500K words and WIP is going to scare a lot of people off - as it did me for a long time - but you’re just gonna have to put on your big girl panties and dive on in anyway and you will not regret a second of it. It will honestly raise your standard of what you think fanfiction can be for the rest of your life and this is not a bad thing. If you’re still not convinced, here’s a very impassioned post that will help give you that final push: here.

[pokemonapex]

Alpha Build 8 Now Available!

It's here! It's finally here! I hope you all are as excited for this as I am! The story now continues into the southern mountains of Abbadon where mysteries and danger abound. Here are the highlights:

Story Continuation - The story goes on! See what awaits you in Chapter 3!

New Areas - Explore Mt. Belial, the town of Nysa, the Crystal Channel, and a strange abandoned lab on the snowy mountaintop. Each area is packed with items, Pokémon, secrets, and battles!

New Music - Three new toe-tapping tracks have been added to the game's soundtrack. I hope you like them as much as I do!

New Custom Items - Use the Warding Charms to keep away wild Pokémon at the cost of draining money on each step. Use the new Impulse items to give experience to your Pokémon. And don't forget new Artifacts to play around with!

New Quality-of-Life Options - Use Fast Mode to speed up gameplay, helpful for repeat playthroughs. Also, you can now disable weather effects for those who have perfomance issues when weather occurs. Find these options in the Options Menu.

Hard Mode - This newly-added mode cranks up the difficulty by restricting saving to special sigils found throughout the game, and causes a Game Over upon losing a battle. Don't worry, though, as most trainer battles can be surrendered in this mode, letting you instantly end the battle, while still caughing up the loser's fee. Additionally, prize money from battles is increased while in this mode. This mode is still experimental, so try it out and see what you think! Start a new save to try it out.

Item Drops - Wild Pokémon now have a chance to drop the held item they were holding. It's rare, but it should hopefully help you gain a few free items for defeating wild Pokémon.

Loads of Changes - A whole heaping helping of changes, fixes, and tweaks have been added. See the changelog for details!

I've been working super hard on this build, and I really hope you guys have fun with it! I already have lots of plans for Build 9, so hopefully development for that won't be as long this time. As always, please report any bugs you find on the subreddit, come discuss the game on our Discord server, and contribute your knowledge of the game to the Wiki (we really need some active contributors!).

I'd like to take this chance to thank our contributors for their hard work. Lesser Bay composed the amazing new tracks, and CandiHyphenPants created some cool new trainer class designs. I'd also like to thank the people who worked to playtest this build to squash a LOT of bugs. I daresay this will likely be the most bug-free launch we've had! (Fingers crossed super hard)

Downloads are available in the Launcher now! See the blog for more info.

Read on for the full changelog:

Additions

Dahlia can now give the player TM27 Return if shown a Pokémon with perfect happiness.

Two new Secret Hollow locations in the Acacia area.

New item balls in Acacia area.

Mt. Belial, Nysa, and various sub-maps are now available!

Wild Pokémon that are carrying items now have a chance to drop the item upon defeat. The Pokémon must still be holding the item upon defeat, and there is a percent chance equal to the Pokémon's level that its item will drop.

New items: Vitality Impulse, Life Impulse, Supremacy Impulse. These give a set number of EXP to a Pokémon. Good for leveling up multiple times, especially at lower-levels.

New option: Fast mode. Enable to play the game in slight fast-forward. Good for repeat playthroughs.

New option: Weather effects. Disable to hide weather on the overworld for those who experience slowdown when weather is displayed.

Added a few examination events to The Secret Spot.

Added high-resolution Gen V back sprites (created by Dreadwing93 on Deviantart)

Added three new music tracks for new areas.

Added a temporary way for players who used the temporary event in Build 7 to return to Nascene City in Chapter 3 to get back on track.

Tweaks

The 10-yard markers in the Nascene High football field have been moved to the sidelines to be more realistic.

Altar of Fortitude has been renamed to Altar of Will.

Added a primer on Pokeballs in Rosemary Market.

Slight contrast bump to a few tiles in the desert tileset.

Pokémon are no longer healed by placing them in the PC.

Updated the Ancient Map to reflect changes in future story locations.

Added more detail to Sagaxis Deep Wood.

Minor tweaks to Sagaxis Forest tileset to improve color balance and perspective.

Slightly clarified quick start intro dialog.

Added more detail in Jagged Pass South.

Added more detail to road construction area in Nascene Suburbs.

Added a hint if the player returns to their apartment after receiving the skateboard.

The player can no longer name the protagonist certain restricted names (mostly important NPC names).

Bonsly now learns Mimic at lv17 (down from lv33).

Umbreon now learns Curse at lv50.

Shuppet and Banette now learn Shadow Claw instead of Shadow Ball at lv30.

Minor color tweaks to Holly's sprite.

Added small details to the dials in the Dajjal Temple dial puzzle.

Magneton now evolves into Magnezone in Aegis Generator Room.

Added suspicious wall spot events to Jagged Foothills.

TM60 has been changed from Quash to Avalanche.

The Spooky Plate has been renamed to Soul Plate.

The Up-Grade has a setting-specific tweak to its description.

Feebas can now evolve while leveled up at night while holding a Prism Scale.

Shelmet and Karrablast now evolve when exposed to a Dusk Stone or Dawn Stone, respectively. Their PokeDex entries have been modified to reflect this.

Cave floors now register as rocky terrain.

OST Organization is now played during the cutscene in Jagged Cavern during the Prologue.

The player can no longer enter school during the chase with Dante in the Prologue.

Minor pacing tweaks to the first cutscene in RevTex Textile Factory

RevTex Textile Factory now plays OST Abandoned Lab Battle during battle.

Slowed down lighting flash in RevTex Textiles Front Office.

Added a few Potions to the early sections of RevTex Textiles 1F

Improved visibility of ghost dialogue.

Matthias now has a unique overworld sprite.

Temple Catacombs and Temple Dungeon now play serious wild battle music.

Wild Munchlax and Snorlax now only rarely spawn with a Leftovers.

Reduced difficulty of the Training Dummy in Unknown Side Room.

Action Kid Carson has been renamed to Action Kid Mitchell to avoid name overlap with Biologist Carson.

New texture for locked doors in bars in the Temple Dungeon.

Medic Ollie now has better shop handling, and can no longer be sold to.

After battling Sayaka in Jagged Pass South, she will now heal your party.

Sandstorm Warning events in Jul'far no longer trigger during the bandit siege.

Added in-battle message for Bandit Boss Tariq.

Updated Abbadon region map for new and future areas.

Player no longer has to fight Lolita Astrid in Puzzle House Challenge 1 upon failing the second puzzle. Instead, they must re-complete the first puzzle.

Wild double battles now play both foes' cries.

Various Rock-type moves have had slight accuracy increases: Rock Throw, Rock Slide, Stone Edge, and Rock Tomb.

Removed mention of unused out-of-battle function for Teleport from its move description.

The Temple Catacombs now allows use of Escape Rope.

Money is no longer lost during battles in the Unknown Dungeon section.

Changed PP of Sucker Punch from 5 to 10.

Updated years on splash screen.

The player's party is now healed after the battle in the Altar of Truth.

Ice types are now resistant to Grass-, Water-, Bug-, and Dragon-type moves.

Fixes

Fixed an invisible wall in Jagged Pass South.

Fixed map transfer from Jagged Pass South to Jagged Cavern placing the player on the wrong tile.

Fixed a rare Essentials bug where the game would crash if metadata could not be loaded from a save file.

Fixed static pronoun usage in journal note #3.

Fixed error message during multi-trainer battles.

Fixed generic player icon on map screen.

Fixed issue where talking to Dahlia while she's following you in Sagaxis Deep Wood makes certain events freeze.

Fixed cutscene objects in the Altar of Truth not resetting if the battle against Samael is lost.

Fixed various tile layering issues in Nascene City.

Fixed a tile priority issue in Amon Desert, causing some ledges to be able to be jumped over from both sides.

Fixed an Essentials bug where attempting to deposit a Pokémon in the PC while the target Pokémon is held above an empty party slot crashes the game.

Fixed bookshelves in XENO Corp. Lab 1 being able to be read from all sides.

Fixed a missing tile in Acacia Town.

It's no longer possible to examine the door to the Rival's Apartment while the Rival is waiting in front of your apartment during the Prologue.

Fixed missing transfer event into Flowertown Florists in Nascene City Downtown.

Benches in Nascene City can no longer be walked onto from the sides.

Fixed inconsistencies with lighting in Jagged Cavern.

Fixed some stray tiles in Acacia Temple.

Fixed an uncolored line of dialogue in Matthias's speech in Acacia Temple.

Fixed an NPC outside of the Jul'far gates using the wrong sprite.

Fixed a bug where there bandit outside Jul'far Pharmacy re-charges you every time you want to go in.

Fixed a typo in NPC dialogue in Naptha Inn.

Fixed a typo on the fence break event in Jul'far.

Fixed artifact acquisition event turning the room dark in the Altar of Will.

Sayaka no longer turns randomly during an event in Murmur Tower.

Fixed a missing tile in Sagaxis Deep Wood.

References to "Temple of Dajjal" and "Forest Temple" have been changed to "Dajjal Temple" for consistency.

Fixed inconsistent lighting in transitions into Jagged Cavern B1F.

Removed a stray impassable tile in Jagged Cavern B1F.

Fixed missing color code in Spelunker Hikari's rematch text.

Fixed broken replacement code in Medic Damian's defeat text.

Player can no longer use shortcut keys during cutscenes.

Fixed artifact in XENO Corp. Lab 4 not appearing during cutscene.

Fixed a bug where giving EXP to a Pokémon via items leveled it up if the total EXP given was less than what was needed to level up normally.

Fixed a typo in Note #205 (Journal Entry #5)

Fixed an Essentials bug where using Fling causes an error message.