#*strikes out player* then 'SHE'S GOT A BODY LIKE AN HOURGLASS'

[pedroias]

NATE: *strikes out Altuve*

*JESSIE J STARTS PLAYING*

[akiraink-no]

Empires SMP-Spirts/Fae AU

Hey! So I was watching Shubble’s stream(right after her first episode and as she was playing, I got some ideas for the Empires SMP!  Note: I haven’t watched everyone’s episodes on Empires, but I highly suggest that you check them all out. Pearl and Gem’s videos on Empires are some of my favorites, but I also love Shubble, Scott, fWhip, and Pixlriffs.

Initial World-building:  I like to think that the Empires SMP is a story of spirits/fae/royal courts. For example some of the players would be spirits or fae creatures. (Think Scott, Shubble, Jimmy?? And maybe Pixl), and the rest would be normal, human players that are royals. (Again, fWhip, Mythical, Pearl, Katherine, Joey, Gem, etc…)  I’ll start with the fae creatures first and if I’m up to it, I’ll post my ideas for the others. 

Scott Smajor: Ice/Wind

So in my head, I like to think that Scott is a fae creature from the court of ice and wind. (Mostly because ice powers are cool and because he’s in a mountain). He has explicitly stated that he’s building in an elven sort of style, which can still match with him being from a fae court. 

Personality: 

I would like to say he’s cold, calculating, and even ruthless or cruel at times (He murdered Gem after she died, guys, come on). He sees the people around him as assets that can help him, but he doesn’t form a real connection with any of them just yet. Everything is very strict and formal around him

I like to think that because wind spirits are pretty mischievous and free spirited, he has a softer side to him as well. He likes to pull pranks, but doesn’t know when too far is too far. His pranks can border on cruel and sometimes insensitive, but it’s because wind/ice spirits are probably the most detached from the other spirits

Appearance:

As for his appearance, I’m taking his skin as part of my inspiration. I like the idea of him in whites, blues, golds, and silvers. He has a crown of diamond shards that mimic ice and is held together with silver and gold that mimic branches. His robes are mostly white(representing snow) and there would be a trim of blue for the skies above his lands. He might have either arm bands, bracelets, or rings that are made of silver or gold(representing the times when the sun or moon hits the snow). 

Powers(?)

Because Scott is an ice/wind spirit, I think it would be cool if parts of him would reflect that. Maybe his skin is super pale and cold to the touch. Maybe he doesn’t wear furry coats because he doesn’t get cold. 

The air around him gets colder when he’s angry or stressed, and if he gets really pissed, he could make it start to snow around him. When he’s sad, ice starts to freeze the ground under his feet or plants around him. Maybe it gets windy when he’s happy or dies down when something shocks him

I also think it’d be cool if he had like… frost walker(?) on his feet. Like the water freezes should he get too close and he doesn’t even realize it until someone points it out. It makes travel easy for him, but also an annoyance when he is doing a build or getting a bucket of water

Shubble: Nature/Decay

So Shubble’s kingdom/empire is called the Undergrowth. When I think of that, I think of mushrooms, soil, roots, and trees. It’s pretty close to what she’s planning right now. Her style of building gives me very cottage core vibes that’s very overgrown. I like to think that she’s a nature spirit because she has said that nature provides and that just seems like a very spirit thing to say. 

So I know I said decay, but when it comes to decay, it has an interesting look to everyone. Sometimes it’s bleached bones and withered grass, sometimes it’s spongy soil and mushrooms. I like to think that Shubble is the kinder side to decay(That’s saved for someone else). Something that must happen for the cycle of life to continue, she isn’t ruthless or cruel, she’s just trying to help the earth along.

Personality: 

Shubble would be very kind, sweet, and overall very trusting. That doesn’t mean she’s stupid or naive, it just means she’s willing to be kind to people first and give them chances to show their kindness. (I spent a long time in her chat during her streams and… yeah, wholesome energy). 

She doesn’t see the people around her as assets and rather hopes to make friends rather than enemies. I won’t say she forms connections quickly(mostly because I haven’t seen her interact with others just yet). But she is very trusting. (remember fWhips potatoes and Pearl’s shovel). During her stream after her first episode aired, she talked about hoping to be friends with Katherine from House Blossom and is aiming to stay as peaceful as possible during the time of the server. 

Appearance: 

So I haven’t seen her skin yet(mostly because this is coming out before we see it.) But she’s using a lot of browns, yellows, greens, and reds. I would like to say that her outfit would sort of reflect that. Instead of a crown of precious gems and metals, it’s maybe a crown of twigs, branches, leaves, and maybe some smaller mushrooms. (Antlers would be cool, so… ) 

I don’t think a dress would work, since she does a lot of work around her base. (Her stream was having her working with trees, leaves, and mining), so I think maybe a pair of overalls (maybe a brown?), a yellow/red undershirt and maybe a dark green jacket. Her outfit would be perfect for her to get on her hands and knees and dig into the earth(Gardener! Shubble). 

Powers:

I feel like because Shubble has this overall sweet and kind energy, I think mushrooms would grow from around her feet. Maybe she can sense when things are about to pass on and tries to make them as comfortable as possible. She can communicate with the earth below her(again, nature provides), and can speak with the animals to some degree

I would like to see spore blossoms react to her. Since spores are also the seeds for mushrooms, it’d just make sense in my head. Maybe she can coax plants to bloom or grow slightly faster around her if she’s happy. Maybe when she’s sad, things start to wilt or shrivel up. Her anger makes things die or age rapidly around her. Her touch can either harm or heal. Knitting the body’s wounds or it could tear into them, causing them agony. 

Jimmy: Ghosts/Decay

I like to think that maybe Jimmy started out human. Or maybe he’s half human. Like one of his parents was human and the other was a fae. (It would certainly explain his skin) 

Personality:

So I haven’t watched a lot of Jimmy, but I wanted to get this off my chest because it’s been in my head for a while now. I think Jimmy, like Shubble, is trusting. Not as much as Shubble, but he does aim for friendship first and then enemy second. So, maybe he’s an opportunist instead. 

Another thing that he might be is petty or spiteful(see his and Sausage’s argument over a music disc). Another ruler might negotiate or bargain their way to what they want, but I think that either Jimmy is pretty young(for fae standards) or his mixed bloodline makes it hard for him to act with a clearer head. It’s pretty clear that he wants others to take him seriously, but at the same time, he can act very impulsive and rashly(See all of 3rd life). 

Appearance: 

It’s pretty clear that Jimmy has that green tinge to his skin. But I think he would have colours such as green(for obvious reasons), browns, and maybe some greys(for clay in the swamp). He wouldn’t have a crown, instead, he’d have a set of gills on each side of his neck. Since I like to think that he swims around in the swamp to talk to the cod in his kingdom. 

For more formal events, he might have a brown cloak and pants with a rich green tunic. He doesn’t look the most royal, but maybe that’s okay because he doesn’t want to be seen as super royal to the rest of his kingdom. Maybe he feels like if he appears to be too royal, the people of his kingdom wouldn’t approach him. 

Powers: 

So Jimmy’s was pretty difficult. Swamps aren’t like ice and wind or nature. But he is a spirit of decay. A less kind version of decay, but not overall cruel. Maybe his decay strikes faster than Shubbles. Where she is understanding and aims to help those along, Jimmy is buried with memories, sunken bodies, and ghostly apparitions. 

So maybe he can see the dead, ghosts who haven’t passed on and simply wander his empire. His eyes glow a faint green whenever he talks to them and tries to aid them to move on to the afterlife.When he’s happy, he shines in the dark backdrop of the swamp, drawing more of the dead, eager to pass on. 

Maybe his anger results in ghostly wails or being dragged into the soft earth around his home. His sadness draws more of the dead to his area, even if they didn’t die there. His pain and grief is like a blackhole, pulling souls in and forcing them to stick around, stuck in his orbit. Maybe a certain few stayed because he was the first one who spoke to them, who reached out to them, who made an effort. 

Pixlriffs:Time/Death

So Pixlriffs has said that he wants to watch over the others deaths with his vigil and he lives in a desert, so I thought they would work with each other. When you think of time, you think of hourglasses, they have sand so that’s the connection I made. 

Personality: 

So Pix has shown an unhinged side to his overall calm and collected composure.(Example, Episode Ten, I think?) His: I sent five people to their deaths and they granted me wings(paraphrased) line is both chilling and is also perfect for a spirit of time/death. 

He, like Scott, is a bit disconnected from the others. Not by accident or nature, but by choice. As a spirit of time and death, he sees the clocks above everyone’s heads, knowing when their last breaths will be taken and when those clocks finally stop. 

It’s not that he’s apathetic to his fellow kings and queens, but rather he is scared. He doesn’t want to form connections only to see them disappear like a drop of sand in a desert. He wishes to honour the people who have weaseled their way into his heart. So he keeps the vigil to count their deaths and remind them that they will not be forgotten. Pixl is a watcher, an overseer that is afraid of the day his friends will pass on and leave him alone. 

Appearance:

The man calls himself the copper king, so I have to have those shades of copper in his outfits somewhere. Teal, brown(for bronze), and those shades between (for copper)are very good(both in builds and on clothes). I also think that pale yellow(representing the sand) is also a nice touch and green for his lush gardens is also a wonderful tone. 

He has a cape that is mostly teal(I’m thinking the shift between the third to final stage) with a bronze belt. The pale yellow would be his shirt and his pants would be a darker brown. Matching his boots. 

I think he would have a crown with pale yellow crystals(yellow zircon or topaz) with bronze wires making up the rest of the crown. Maybe there are pieces of turquoise or aquamarine, that would be cool too. 

Powers: 

The man is basically a watcher. He has wings and can see through time. Like I said before, he can see the clocks ticking above the other players’ heads. Seeing how long they have until their last breath. Pixl is equal parts chaotic and calm. So I think he has a good control over his emotions. 

When he’s stressed things start to wilt under his feet(another reason he lives in a desert), in his anger, he can cause death. Maybe he’s just an omen or something that draws in death. (See his end raiding attempts one and two). I like to think that maybe he has the ability to hold flames or make small ones(just for his candles), he isn’t violent or uses them to hurt others. He simply just uses them to light his candles. 

He’s more than capable with his other abilities. 

This is all I have for now. If I decide to do the others, I’ll add a link to this post. I’d appreciate some information or ideas for the other players since I haven’t had the chance to touch down on all of them. If you have any ideas, feel free to send them to me too!

[fatebreaking-a]

Sorry to bother you but i am out of the loop. What did Riot do with seraphine?

// @crying-elf-lass // First of all - excellent choice in pfp, Marcille is great.

Now, trying to keep as much bias out of my post as possible... ( though there will be some, and I will miss some things! )

There are three parts to consider. Gameplay, narrative, and niche in the world.

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First, we need to talk about the history of Sona in League of Legends.

Narrative & Niche: Sona, as a champion, has existed for many, many, many years. Her lore was 2 paragraphs and she had no short story. Her canon appearances ( excluding an Odssey short story which I will take about later ) were limited to other champion’s stories ( her adoptive mother, Lestara, helped Quinn to become a ranger-knight, she helped Ryze secure a World Rune in Call of Power ). Several years ago, Riot changed the lore of Demacia ( Sona’s current home ) to be one that denies magic. With the addition of petricite, a magic nullifying material, and several changes in lore, Demacia became the host of several magical problems ( dragons, Evelynn, Nocturne, Fiddlesticks ) and a unit of anti-magic specialists ( mageseekers ).

Throughout that time, up until 2 months ago, Sona’s lore did not receive a single meaningful change or update. This is a period of over 5 years, in which one of Demacia’s only mages / magical creatures ( Poppy, Lux, Sona, Shyvana, and later Sylas ) did not get any sort of answer as to what is happening with her. Several other champions did get an explanation of sorts, with some manner of handwaiving - for example, minotaurs are part of the Demacian army, so magical creatures are not out and out excluded. Yordles are known to be seen differently by different people, so Poppy’s existence is also possible to explain ( we learned this with an interaction between Ziggs and Jinx in Zaun ).

This left Sona writers in a general state of confusion. Is Sona in jail? Is Sona a registered mage? Not to mention that Sona left Ionia ( where a war between Noxus and Ionia occurred ) and the timing of that was unspecified.

Which led to a giant gap in terms of “what is this champion doing and what is her situation”. And each of us tried to fill that gap in our own ways. Some of us had Sona leave Demacia, some had her retreat into her mansion and play less music, some had her be defiant, and so on. Because the last thing we learned was that she was in Ionia, helping Ryze with the World Rune, some people put her in Ionia semi-permanently.

And we also had to contend with the existence of Sylas, who flipped Demacia on its head and caused something of a mage hunt. The finer details of that I exclude, it’s enough to say that certain mages were rounded up and put in prison where once they were exiled, and Lux helped some magically inclined individuals escape. There’s a nuanced conflict there between several members of Demacia ( Garen, Jarvan, Lux, Xin Zhao, Tianna, etc ) but getting into that is not the point of this.

We still didn’t know anything about Sona. So Sona writers and players and enthusiasts tried their very best to fill in the gap with what we did know, often incidentally. We did know that Sona was once in Ionia, that the Ionia-Noxus war happened, that she moved to Demacia, and that she is a famous musician with a magical instrument. Prior to the removal of the Institute of War ( a part of lore which said that ‘summoners’ were real and nations used Summoners + Champions to settle conflicts ), Sona was known globally and was basically Runeterra’s #1 musician when it comes to the etwahl, perhaps more. We also know that Sona is an extremely empathetic person, and her music is borderline spellbinding, to the point where it was easy to guess that she could affect people’s emotions and was an empath. None of that was out and out confirmed, but it was easy to make that logical conclusion.

Very recently, Sona’s lore changed. In it, a lot changed. We learned that she left Ionia with others, rather than just alone and with her etwahl, and it was to escape the Ionia conflict ( not because Lestara, her adoptive mother, wished to possess the fabled etwahl ). Essentially, this new lore painted Sona far more as a war refugee, and painted Lestara in a far better light as well. Along with this lore update/rework, we also got a short story ( that still left what she’s doing now up in the air!) 

However, this came after a several year wait. And in that time, Sona enthusiasts had no choice but to come up with answers to all their burning questions by themselves. One Sona writer followed the ‘Sona is the aspect of harmony’ track, another followed the ‘music as a means of community togetherness’ track, another put her as an oversensitive empath who uses music to heal the pain of her people - and we all tend to agree on one point - Sona is an extremely empathetic person who uses her music for the good of others.

And as we waited, several other champions appeared, some of them overlapping with Sona’s music theme. Bard, the wanderer who listens to the songs of creation itself. Jhin, the murderous theater performer and assassin who believes the world his stage. Rakan, the battle dancer who uses the songs and rhythms of people to fight and move before they do. And Sona’s niche, what was unique about her, grew smaller and smaller.

Finally, we had something that felt unique about Sona.

Gameplay & Design: 

Sona as a champion has existed a very long time... And is the aura and music champion. Her q does some damage, her w shields and heals ( and reduces damage with her passive ), and her e speeds people up ( and slows with her passive ), while her r is a rectangular ult wave - thinner than Nami’s, but still relatively wide. The kit as a whole is pretty simple, but it has a history.

Sona players are... innovators. They like to do things like buy Kirchei’s shard because it’s most efficient, or take Sona mid, top, jungle, and adc. And over the last two years, Sona has received nerf after nerf after nerf saying, “No, stay in the support role”. You can still pull off certain lanes, but it’s extremely difficult because her aura abilities give you mana back if you tag an ally... making them difficult to use in a solo lane, or to roam alone.

Also, as one of the older crew of champions ( pre Jinx when Riot started using other body types for women ), her figure is... well, she’s got an hourglass figure, and her dress does not hide her breasts much at all. And it’d been like this for ages and ages, which meant that in League’s toxic culture, being a Sona one-trick led to a variety of hateful comments which I won’t repeat here.

Sona has a history of being treated like either an overpowered support or a terrible one, in part because she lacks any form of CC before 6 ( barring her e chord passive ).

So if you’re a Sona enthusiast, a big part of you wants Sona to have agency and not just be a pretty face damsel in distress. Even I, who have a second blog where I write Sona as an extremely soft character, don’t have her be a damsel in that interpretation of her. This is made worse by the community and a lot of art that ships her with men who treat her badly, along with an endless slew of adult images that degrade her, and often make fun of her disability - that she can’t speak. It’s sad and it’s degrading. And even within the last few years, she was written in a story in the Odyssey skin line...  as a prize for Kayn to take. That is an official Riot story which essentially treated her like a prize to capture for Kayn’s own goals - not as a person, but as a carrier of a key, as an object, and she lacked agency. Thankfully over the last few years, Riot has started giving women more agency, but... it’s been a problem for a long time.

Recently, along with the lore rework, we got Sona in a skin that makes her look and feel like a badass - PsyOps, her legendary skin. She breaks free of her confines and rages against those in her way in a very Syndra-like fashion, uncaged. And this was very cool.

And now, we have Sona where she is now.

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Seraphine as a champion has recently been revealed, along with her abilities and lore.

Narrative & Niche: 

Seraphine’s lore is essentially this.

She, born of Zaunite parents, went up to Piltover. She was able to hear the souls and songs of people ( magical empath ) and hoped to unite those around her with her music. Then, she went down to Zaun, a city full of impoverished and disenfranchised peoples, to try and do the same thing.

In other words, “This champion uses music as a means of bringing people together. She aims to aid the disenfranchised.” There is nuance there, and it’s not the exact same as Sona, but the similarity is striking.

Furthermore, several key points in her lore are things that Sona writers have already imagined for themselves. A hypersensitivity to others, for example. Having such a strong sense of hearing that she can hear things others can’t. Sona is known to be able to essentially echolocate ( or at least, she had been known to do so in her older lore ). 

I will admit that the idea of ‘hypersensitive hearing or empathy’ is not the sole domain of Sona writers. Athena Cykes of Ace Attorney has a similar problem ( as revealed in her backstory ). And similarly, she wore a special device to help her filter that out. It’s not a completely unique idea, but again - the problem is striking. Sona, a highly sensitive and empathetic person, was often interpreted to be too sensitive to others. And now it’s on Seraphine, in her lore.

Seraphine’s whole lore is that she’s essentially an extremely popular and famous musician who brings people together with music... and that’s what Sona was.

She was all those things.

So to some people ( myself included ) it feels as though Riot has reworked Sona’s lore so they can give some of the overlap to Seraphine. Empathy / soul-seeing ( a Morgana, Kayle, Neeko, and Sona special... ) and the whole music thing...

And this is leading people to say, repeatedly, “This is just Sona 2.0.”

For Sona enthusiasts who have been waiting for Sona to get content or lore for years and years, this feels like a slap in the face.

Gameplay & Design:

Seraphine’s abilities are as follows.

When she uses 3 abilities, her next ability is empowered with additional effects ( essentially repeating ). Her q does damage ( based on missing health ) and is a skillshot, her w shields and speeds up people ( and heals herself if she’s already shielded ), and her e slows people ( and roots if they’re already slowed ), while her R is a rectangular ult that charms those hit and makes them walk towards her briefly.

That’s really similar to Sona.

When Sona uses 3 abilities, her next auto-attack is empowered with additional effects. Her q does damage. Her w shields and heals people ( and reduces damage output from an enemy if her passive is up). And her e speeds allies up ( and slows an enemy if her passive is up ). And her R is a rectangular ult that stuns those hit and makes them dance in place.

The similarity is striking. Seraphine does lack the ability to heal allies ( on first glance, I may have misread ), but she looks extremely similar to Sona... which is a frustration.

This year, we got Yone, Yasuo’s brother. And the reasoning behind this, when most other champions are written to give unique inputs/outputs, is that this is an alternative choice for Yasuo players when Yasuo is banned and will improve game health.

However, I suspect the same logic does not hold for Sona and Seraphine. Sona is in a class of enchanters, where several champions can do things similar to what she does already ( with some differences, of course! ). If you can’t play Sona, you can play Karma, you can play Taric, etc - not the same, but similar. It’s my suspicion that with the introduction of Seraphine, we will instead have the problem of Akali/Diana several years ago - these champions are so similar that whichever one is stronger will be played while the other one will be ignored completely.

Furthermore, Seraphine got a lot of attention. A lot of attention. She has a fake twitter account. 

And she is releasing with two skins, one of which is an ultimate. Release. For Sona players who only just got their legendary ( with the understanding that DJ Sona exists ), this feels like a slap in the face. It’s easy to feel overshadowed, and as much of the community is saying right now, this is ‘Sona 2.0′

Now some people are saying, ‘maybe Sona gets reworked’, but that will not be a great answer. If you like playing Sona’s current playstyle, swapping to Seraphine because Riot changed Sona completely will be alienating, and only exacerbate the feeling that Seraphine is replacing and overshadowing Sona.

But it gets a little worse than that too. Seraphine is designed for mid/support, to be played in both lanes. However, Sona enthusiasts have received nerf after nerf to Sona in other lanes, which only makes this hit that much harder. There’s a theory that Seraphine’s kit is essentially a scrapped Sona rework kit. If Seraphine’s build is the same as Sona’s, it will be... tragic. It will be disappointing...

And it’s already exhausting.

Neither Sona nor Seraphine enthusiasts are without the metaphorical gutpunch, and this is likely to divide the community even further. And heaven forbid you like both.

For Sona enthusiasts, this is a slap in the face. Our favorite champion being overshadowed and overhyped by another who gets so much on release, when we’ve longed for content for years is hurtful. 

For Seraphine enthusiasts, this is a punch in the gut, for seeing their champion essentially be treated like a clone of another is unkind. Any nuance or effort put into Seraphine will be drowned underneath ‘Sona 2.0′. And the overlap between both champions and their respective abilities and character traits will wear anyone out.

And that’s not fair to anyone.

( Disclaimer: I wasn’t able to stay 100% unbiased, but if you read all of that, thank you. )

[cbacofficial]

Connected by a Cable [Chapter Five]

"...With hours upon hours of content, it's no wonder why Law of Mahna is the hottest game this year! Sign up now and get five free Experience Boosters!" - Commercial

   As time went on, and gear was acquired, Hioshi and Yukara thought it would be a good time to finally start up the quest for the Artifact Weapon they had in their inventory. Upon using it, a quest appeared before Hioshi in text but a voice narrated it to Yukara. A voice that was cast upon the staff like a message and by using her own magical knowledge, Hioshi could hear it too.    "To whomever picks up my staff, know that my time has come to an end. What you hold is but one of twelve weapons blessed by Mahna herself. Arcanium has tremendous power that none can match. Able to alter the flow of time, whether it be slowing down or turning the clock back, it was a force that no one could stop. Alas, by the time someone finds it...the staff will be all but worn out. I task you to rebuild what would of been lost within time, and take up the mantle of Timebender..."    The quest log Hioshi would see, already explained in more detail what to do. He then said to Yukara "Well it looks like we will be needing a few items. Vials of Timesand, Obsidian plates and... Ten Elementium Bars!?" that last one caused Hioshi to panic. He scrounged around for his phone, looking on the internet and learning the materials required to making the Elementium bars. Already he felt a crushing weight on his virtual wallet. Yukara took notes down as he listed the items for Elementium Bars.    "One Essence of Water, One Essence of Fire, One Essence of Earth, One Essence of Wind and Ten Tears of Mahna...for each bar." Hioshi looked more into the Tears of Mahna and his heart sank further. They were rare nodes that appeared randomly at any given time. Each one only giving somewhere between two to five each one. It would be a nightmare to farm. Yukara had a different outlook. She saw this as a challenge and a way to better bond with Hioshi.    "We can do it, Master! I have faith in you." Yukara happily said through the monitor to Hioshi. The optimistic voice, cheery tone and her smile brought back some faint memories of when Hioshi had fun playing video games. Hioshi agreed. "Alright then. Let's start with the Timesand. It says in the hint log that Timesand is refined, processed and aged in special constructs that cannot be killed by mortal means and the sand can only be obtained while the creature is alive." This made Yukara figure out a location. "Salium Desert! I think I heard of some kind of unkillable monster from the others."     ---    The travel time to the desert wasn't fairly long and unlike previous days, there were more players running around. Clearly the big level rush was calming down finally and the zones will be inhabited by a variety of players rather than one location being a big place. "Wow...So many players..." The usual reaction of Yukara as she spotted players traveling to and from, gathering rare shards and crystals or hunting animals in small parties. Following the clues, they headed to the southern location from what a few players have been messaging on about. Yet it seemed barren and empty...    Then Hioshi noticed a small group gathering around a pile of rocks. Perhaps this was the golem? As Yukara rode up on top of her turtle, she asked them "Hey, what is happening here?" Then one of the Dwarves turned around to talk to her.    "Careful. Rumor has it this unkillable golem has top tier items!" though that was proven false with database files since this monster had no loot. Yet it was the fun and excitement of figuring things out. Hioshi thought this was the best chance they got to getting the sands easily. She then asked before Hioshi had time to send a whisper to another player, "Can I join the group? It sounds exciting!"    With an invite to the group, Hioshi could see the interface display roughly twenty three other players at this location. A rag tag assemble. They waited for everyone to prepare just as a torrent of sand swirled around the golem. The rock parts forming limbs and a head. The core swirled like razor sharp sand but there was a coloration change inside it. A gleam of gold sand among all the brown. That was the Timesand they were looking for!   The tanks whispered to each other who would strike first and hold the boss. Yet while they did, Yukara and Hioshi heard the broken staff's voice explain something.    "Steel yourself, young mage. The elemental before you is blessed by Garu, the God of Earth. To obtain the sand, you must extract it from it's roaring heart when it's exausted it's attacks. Then and only then the Sand can be taken..."    This hint made things easier but the act of taking the sand was the hard part. For they had already engaged the golem! "Ah! W-wait up!" Yukara hurried with the rest, casting spells and striking the golem. The damage they did wasn't harming it like much but each time the Golem used a sand spell, the sand around the core started to dissipate. A frontal blast of sand, rocks rising from pools and slamming it's fists into the group, the Golem was relentless and still unharmed. But Hioshi knew something from watching.    "Yukara, on my command...run to the Golem." she thought he was nuts at first. Running at the Golem? She might as well take a death penalty! Yet she felt confident. Her controller was clearly looking out for her on top of bettering her. To Yukara, this was trust for both of them. Then it happened, Hioshi held down a key to make Yukara run forward as the Golem started to cast his last spell. She closed her eyes, fearing for the pain but then he called out to her. "GRAB IT!" she shot her eyes open. Yukara was in the air and already avoiding the large blast of the golem. Before her was the prize. A glass sphere containing the golden Timesand! Yukara stretched her hand out to grab the orb, missing it once but her other hand knocking it out of place for her to bring it into her arms.    Yukara tumbled across the sand, scuffing herself and leaving sand on her clothes and hair. A dirty deed for her but the prize was definitely worth it. The sand ebb and flowed like an hourglass in the sphere. It shined radiantly to Yukara and Hioshi. They had obtained one part of the staff's restoration. Meanwhile, the group tried looking for loot but sadly there was none to be had. They didn't exactly question why Yukara did what she did and merely disbanded the group. "It's so pretty..." Yukara commented on the sand that failed to stop moving. It was refined beyond anything she had seen. ---    After obtaining the Timesand, the two headed off to the central mountain region known as 'Hellburn Mountains'. The clues they had on hand pointed to this location to obtaining the Obsidian Plates. The interior of the mountain was really hot, but manageable with supplies. Yukara could see the rare few people mining the nuggets to make new materials along the walls of the mountain. The center of the whole mountain held a shrine suspended in air by magic but inaccessible by normal means. The staff then started to resonate.    "Halt! The plates you seek belong to a massive lava serpent. You must be careful of it's magma balls or it will surely turn you into roast beef."    Yukara stopped for a moment to take a look around once more. Hioshi panned his camera behind, trying to spot the creature. Though it didn't seem to emerge yet. "Hioshi...Did it say how to summon the beast?" she asked, sitting on the bank of the lava river. The heated coals shockingly didn't burn her clothes but it was a video game and some things had to be broken to make the fantasy real. As she sat idly and Hioshi started looking on his phone for the answers. Still nothing on the database.    The large magma worm emerged from the lava river. It's entire body was a dark shade of red with glowing cracks in it's armor. It's mandibles dripping with fresh lava as it shrieked a high pitch scream. Loud enough to force Hioshi to turn the volume down and Yukara to cover her ears. "Ow! That is loud!" she soon regained her focus as the magma worm noticed Yukara finally. It's maw clicking and clattering at her like a hungry animal.    Hioshi brought his hands up and ready to assist Yukara...but already she was running away from it. She screamed at how gross it looked while trying to avoid the creature's body being thrashed about onto her. Rocks falling around and forcing Yukara to fight in the corner. Hioshi couldn't really tell what he could do to help her fight this beast. Ice spells were the only thing that would harm this creature, right? So in her haste, Yukara conjured an ice spear to fire onto the creature's body. It dented the armor but otherwise it annoyed him.    "HIOSHI! It's not working! HELP!" Yukara screamed as she tried avoiding a lava lob. The heatwave starting to hit her. Hioshi was honestly unable to truly figure out what to do. Then, all of a sudden from above, a gleam of a weapon came down onto the worm's armored hide, cracking it further before the person landed beside Yukara. He looked to Yukara-    "Y-yukara? What are you doing here?" It was Kael. His armor looked a bit worn from fighting. Yukara then shouted her question to him "What are YOU doing here!?" to which he then parried the gaping maw of the worm away from her. "I...am farming these creatures for their carapaces. Need to craft a few rings from them. You have to use blunt weapons and spells first before you can harm them." This shocked Hioshi. He had never really met anyone else that was quick to figuring bosses out. Hioshi wondered if Rei would be open to talk with in public sometime.    Kael and Yukara bombarded the lava worm's plates, cracking it hit by hit until it shattered into fragments. Exposing it's soft body underneath. "There! Now we can kill it!" Kael announced with a following downward strike infused with light enery as Yukara soon conjured a spike of ice to impale the creature though it's skull. It would take a few more strikes from each before the elite monster fell before them. Curling on the bank of the lava. Prompting Yukara to loot out a few plates. In her moment, she turned to Kael with a wide smile. "Thank you, Kael! I couldn't of done it without you."    Kael blushed gently at the generous and kind words he gave her before the two set off in opposite direction. Hioshi inspect the contents of their inventory to see what else they would require. "...We are missing a few elements of fire. Think you are up to farming a few more elemental creatures in the mountain?" Hioshi asked. Yukara merely nodded in glee. "Of course!" she replied back. "I really want to see how this weapon looks." ---    With the day slowly setting for them, Hioshi bid Yukara a good night. Yukara took this time to relax with her guildmates in the tavern. Kael was quick to greet her with a glass of Manaberry Juice. "You were out a long time. You two grinding items all day?" Nini asked Yukara as she sat down at the table. "Oh...just collecting reagents for raid time. I can't wait to see what secrets lay inside the temple. Maybe there's some awesome rare mount, or enhancement gems or-"    The sound of glass shattering and a frightful scream emanated from a table across. A young Raptear woman, mid level thirties was slowly vanishing before them. From her feet and up, her body slowly fragmented from existence. Everyone in the tavern watched with horror and shock, frozen in place. They could do nothing as they saw her tears fall from her scaled face onto the floor. Everything vanished before her and she vanished before them. Nothing remained. Her weapons, gone. Her backpack, gone. The room was dead silent for ten minutes. Everyone's eyes shifted around and examined the atmosphere.    Then Yukara broke the silence. With tears of fright she asked in a horrified way.   "W-what happened to her?"