#How about you go travel some other regions as well and do something that's not just the island challenge you gave up on when you were 12 wtf

[pupyuj]

I saw a post that reminded me of loser!yujin thought id share, her getting really drunk at a party and making out with you but forhets it was you next morning so she's super guilty and sad and comes to you crying only to call her a dork, cause that was you...

took me a bit to think about how to turn this cute thing into something nsfw but we are finally out here 💖💖

pretty sure that the poor baby would panic all day long about it the next day bcs she thinks she just cheated on her sweet, beautiful girlfriend 😭😭 she would be so sad when she called you to say that she's coming over and you got so excited, saying that you missed her and you regret not sleeping over and taking care of her bcs you had to head home after the party :(( oh yujinnie sobbing with her head on your lap, profusely apologizing for kissing ‘this other girl’ and ofc you were confused as fuck bcs you had been with her the entire night and had been making out with her the entire night so unless she was crazy, she was absolutely remembering things incorrectly 😭 and it turns out that she was!

you'd make fun of her for being so drunk that she can't remember things well but she looked so cute now that she was laughing-crying! 🥺 so you kiss her the same you did all those times last night, with so much passion and love just to remind yujin that nobody can kiss her better than you can and so she doesn't forget how your lips feel against hers no matter how wasted she can get 😋💞

and this event spawns what we call a pouty yujin who just wants to be taken care of :(( whines so much when your hands travel to her lower regions.. and whines even more when you’re all up against her ear telling her about all the things you wanted to do to her had you not been forced to go back to your apartment last night 😵‍💫 she’s totally the type to drag your hand inside her pants herself, grinding on your fingers while she messily kisses you 🫠

ykw even when she being finger fucked so good that she’s howling right on that comfy couch of yours, yujinnie would still have the energy to joke around and say, “never wanna fall asleep while drunk without you ever again…” and seeing you laugh would be enough for her to forget about all the embarrassment she felt when she mistook you for some random girl 😭💓

[listlesswhistle]

AAAAA im thinking about Ingo in Legends Arceus again. They really fucking did that. Im so insane about it, like-

Okay. So. You have this preestablished thing in Pokémon called Fallers. Basically its people who fell into the pokemon world from an entirely different universe. Sometimes theyre alternate versions of known characters. The one thing they all have in common is that they remember nothing from before they fell.

With me so far? Good.

Now we move onto Legends Arceus. Here we are, some hundred or so years in the distant past, exploring the wonderful land of Hisui when, hold on, is that Ingo? The train man? You're in the wrong time period, my guy! And what's that? His memory's gone? Damn that sucks, alt-Ingo got a real shitty deal when he Fell. Trains haven't even been invented yet smh.

Anyway, case closed. Just another Faller making the best of what they have. Cool, but nothing new, lets move on right?

Except. Maybe not.

You see, this "Hisui" region has a little bit more going on with it. Its actually the ancient version of the modern day Sinnoh region, and theres all kinds of fun little details tying the two together: location names, area themes, little nods to Sinnoh myths and pokedex entries, the whole nine yards. Huge gen 4 nostalgia trip. Theres even a bunch of characters that are just blatantly ancestors of important DPPt characters. And you betcha the pokemon match as well!

Yeah, thats cool, but what does this have to do with Ingo again? Weelll, turns out, two of those gen 4 pokemon makin a comeback just so happen to be the gods of time and space. And things have gone a bit fucky with them.

There are these things called "space-time distortions" going around, popping up all over the place, sitting there lookin like big, spooky soap bubbles, and spitting out objects and pokemon from all over the timeline. We're talking dinosaurs and data viruses. Because of these things, Porygons technically existed before the computers that birthed them. And while its never explicitly stated that they're how Ingo got there, how else do you suppose the New Yorker ended up in feudal Japan?

"Alright, that makes sense, but didn't you say he lost his memory? Isn't that kinda a whole thing with fallers?"

Oh yeah, right, thanks for catching that! I guess this was a bust after all. Time travel's not exactly new to the pokemon universe, and it doesn't usually cause memory loss, barring extenuating circumstances. (Ingo didn't turn into a pokemon, so I think we're safe on that front) This isn't even the first time Dialga's gone mad, actually! He must really be a Faller then. I mean, what are the odds that Ingo just tripped into a random space-time distortion, only to run into something entirely unrelated that just so happens to be well known for erasing memories, perfectly replicating the symptoms of a Faller?

Buckle up, this is where things get interesting.

So, when Ingo faceplanted in Hisui, he got picked up by this group called the Pearl Clan. They're this native tribe that worships Palkia, but like, under the wrong name, and they think Dialga's a false version of their god worshipped by these other natives, and they're actually kind of both right, except not, because they thought the were actually worshipping the creator god, Arceus, and it's this WHOLE thing. That's not important. What matters is that they picked up Ingo. Just. Remember that. Pearl grabbed Ingo.

Now, aside from the two big gods and their good ol' poppa Arceus, there's actually another trio of minor gods who took care of smaller business. Relatively. They like to rest at the bottom of three lakes spread around the region, and each one represents a certain gift they were said to have given to the world: Uxie, God of Knowledge; Mesprit, God of Emotion; Azelf, God of Willpower. When Arcues made them, the went out, did their thing, gave their gift, then went straight to bed in their lakes, where they stayed for... pretty much ever. Yeah, these guys are actually pretty chill. Apparently theyre tied for highest base friendship out of all pokemon?

Getting back to the Pearl clan, their camp in the Alabaster Icelands is actually pretty close to Lake Acuity! Way closer than any other settlements are to the lakes, at least.

I know what you're thinking: "What does ANY of this have to do with Ingo's memories??" Well, there's one more thing we need to cover about the lake trio. Y'see, there's this little myth about them, hidden away on a shelf in the back of modern day Canalave library. As calm and relaxed as they usually are, its easy to forget that they're still gods. Powerful gods. Direct decendants of Arcues themself, embodiments of the very gifts which they gave unto the world. The myth goes that, should someone be foolish enough to raise their hand against the lake gaurdians, they would quickly find that those gifts can be taken away.

Harm Azelf, and find yourself as still as stone, drained of even the willpower needed to move. Touch Mesprit, and find yourself in a pointless world, drained of all emotions, joyless and empty.

…Look into Uxie's eyes, and find yourself lost and confused, fallen into a world unknown, without even the knowledge to find your way back to a home you can't remember.

...Yeah

Hisui is plaqued by Distortion, ripping creatures out of their proper Time and Space. Uxie makes their home at the bottom of Lake Acuity, just outside where the Pearl Clan makes camp. The Pearls found Ingo alone, no memory of his past, no evidence of how he came to them.

So you see now. How I might be a little obsessed.

Oh, are you still wondering if he's actually a Faller or not? Well…

I HAVE NO FUCKING IDEA!

This was the first game he appeared in since Black and White 2, and he hasn't been mentioned since! His story is never expanded on!!!

He's probably? not??? Unless he fell out of an ultra wormwhole and into a distortion?? And the ultra beasts couldn't find him??? They literally NEVER hint at a possible cause for his arrival in game, I think. We're just. Left. With this.

What the fuck.

[literaryvein-reblogs]

A List of "Beautiful" Untranslatable Words

Acasă - [Romanian] Where you feel at home, safe, loved. It's the place where you feel like you belong and that you miss when you're away.

Boketto - [Japanese] gazing vacantly into the distance without thinking of anything specific; daydreaming

Ciğerpare - [Turkish] has Persian origins and literally means ‘liver part’. It refers to someone that you love as much as your own body.

Clagarnach - [Irish] the sound of heavy rain on a rooftop

Commuovere - [Italian] often taken to mean “heartwarming,” but directly refers to a story that moved you to tears

Dauwtrappen - [Dutch] to walk barefoot through morning grass

Dustsceawung - [Old English] the thought that dust used to be other things, and realisation that everything will ultimately end up as dust

Elvágyódás - [Hungarian] Some compare it to wanderlust, but it’s a much broader concept. The word doesn’t just refer to the desire to travel or go to another country, but also to another time in our life, or even a different era. It expresses wanting to escape reality and looking for something undefined.

Encebre - [Galician] something authentic, characteristic, rooted into the culture and specific for a certain region, impossible to find anywhere else

Fernweh - [German] “far sickness”; the feeling of longing for a place you’ve never been to

Fika - [Swedish] enjoying a nice chat over a cup of coffee or tea.

Flâner - [French] aimlessly wandering without any destination, just to enjoy the views

Gluggaveður - [Icelandic] weather that looks beautiful but is unpleasant to be in

Gökotta - [Swedish] waking up early to hear the first birds sing

Heimat - [German] the roots that shape who you are as a person

Hiányérzet - [Hungarian] the feeling that something is missing, but we just can’t put a finger on it

Iktsuarpok - [Inuit] the feeling of anticipation that leads you to keep looking outside to see if anyone is coming

Kairós - [Greek] the perfect, most opportune time for something to happen

Komorebi - [Japanese] sunlight that filters between the leaves on a tree

L’appel du vide - [French] “the call of the void” or the sudden desire to jump when you’re standing high up

Luftmensch - [Yiddish] someone who is a bit of a dreamer

Luscofusco - [Galician] the moment when day fades into the night and all light disappears, leaving everything looking like shadows

Mångata - [Swedish] the trail created by the moon’s reflection on water

Mangomoment - [Dutch] small acts of affection occurring during regular everyday activities. They can be almost unnoticeable, like someone asking how you’re feeling or offering to share their snack with you.

Merak - [Serbian] the feeling you get from simple pleasures that adds up to a sense of happiness and fulfillment

Peiskos - [Norwegian] the experience of sitting in front of a crackling fireplace enjoying the warmth

Querencia - [Spanish] somewhere you feel the most at home

Retrouvailles - [French] a reunion with a loved one after a long time of not seeing each other

Saudade - [Portuguese] the longing for something beautiful that’s now gone

Symatisk - [Danish] to have a good feeling about someone we don’t know very well

Torschlusspanik - [German] The realisation that you need to do something with your life because the time is running and you’re not getting any younger. It can hit you at any age, so one could call it a universal equivalent to the mid-life crisis.

Toska - [Russian] a mixture of pining, restlessness, yearning, nostalgia, melancholy, and depression; a concept embracing the feelings of nostalgia, missing, being sad, even the beginnings of depression

Tsundoku - [Japanese] buying a book and leaving it unread, usually surrounded by a lot of other unread books

Uitwaaien - [Dutch] to go out in windy weather, particularly into nature or a park, in order to refresh and clear one’s mind

Utepils - [Norwegian] sitting outside on a sunny day and enjoying a beer

Vedriti - [Slovenian] to shelter from the rain, either literally or metaphorically, such as when you’re in a bad mood and you’re waiting for the negative emotions to pass

Waldeinsamkeit - [German] the feeling of solitude, being alone in the woods, and a connectedness to nature

Weltschmerz – [German] satirist, Jean Paul, originally known as Johann Paul Friedrich Richter, came up with this word that literally means “world pain.” When you feel that the world is in a deplorable state, Weltschmerz can describe your anguish.

Won - [Korean] reluctance to let go of an illusion

Żal - [Polish] grief, sadness, regret - can be related to both our actions and the actions of others, as well as losing something or missing someone

Sources: 1 2 3 4 5 6 ⚜ More: Lists of Beautiful Words ⚜ Word Lists

[holocene-sims]

next // previous

june 3, 2022 5:15 p.m. casbah gallery

[soobin] and fifteen minutes later, your mom is back.

[henry] oh, she brought ethan and his mom. that explains the delay, they were probably auntie gossiping in the parking garage that whole time.

[grant] isn’t that–

[henry] the guy who told you he thought you were dead last time we ate at their family restaurant?

[grant] i was going to say your friend that started a fire in your dorm by burning his microwave mac and cheese, but yeah, that also describes him.

[cerise] he thought you were dead?

[grant] long story on all fronts.

. . .

[insook] grant! my adopted son! i'm so glad you’re here tonight!

[grant] of course i am! if i missed the exhibition opening, i would never forgive myself. it’s an honor to be here for you guys.

[insook] and you must be cerise, the art curator sister.

[cerise] that would be me! hello, mrs., um–

[insook] no, no, no formalities. you're practically family already. insook is fine. or mama ong. that’s what grant calls me.

[cerise] still, hello! it’s very nice to meet you finally.

[grant] so, what do you think, mama ong?

[insook] i think sanghoon would be pleased with this.

[grant] obviously, i'm not an artsy person, so i don’t know how to comment on the exhibition in an intelligent way, but it’s beautiful in here. he was very skilled, and he should have those skills celebrated and immortalized.

[cerise] your husband was talented, and i see he was fond of impressionism.

[insook] he was! he dabbled in lots of styles, but impressionism was always his favorite. he was the practical sort, and the mundane subject matter spoke to him to begin with. then he lived in france for a while when we were still dating, and he saw the best of the best of the movement there. i would have fallen in love with it, too, if i saw a monet in its original environment.

[cerise] also, from what i understand from grant, most of his career took place here, so this must feel like a fitting place for these paintings to stay.

[insook] it does. he made a lot of works across many different places, but he said he had the best experiences and inspiration here. he felt like the people and landscapes here are especially genuine. we lived for the last few decades on the upper peninsula, and…

[henry] you get to know people and places very well because it’s so quiet. quiet and also kind of empty in some spots. it’s a paradise for those who like the kind of art he liked.

[insook] you’ve probably heard from my son by now, but he hated private collecting.

[cerise] i did hear that.

[insook] artistically and personally, he learned a lot from living here, and we as a family had good lives here. now that can be returned to the community. he’d be happy if even one person appreciates this region through his eyes. i think when you’re born in any given place, you pay more attention to its flaws. you think of the negatives–the bad experiences you’ve had, the changes a town has gone through, whatever it is you dislike–but then you see that place through the eyes of someone who traveled thousands of miles to come here and loved it enough to portray its positives in a painting. it changes your perspective for the better.

[grant] from my perspective, i agree. i was looking at that set of paintings of my hometown on the corner wall a few minutes ago, and my first reaction was that you couldn’t have a more perfect painting of the scenery. and that’s me, the person who hates where i grew up so much that i avoid going anywhere up north other than my family’s houses, saying that. it was actually kind of easy to put the hatred aside for those paintings.

[henry] talk about mission accomplished.

[grant] will you miss living around here?

[insook] me? i will, just like i've missed my family and friends in seoul. i know good people here–your family, for one–and like i said, we lived a great life here. sanghoon and i were happy. henry was happy growing up here. it's just time to do something else in my life now that i'm retired and unburdened, you could say. but you ask that like i'm not coming back, though. i'll be back to visit!

[soobin] if she can’t take her adopted son with her, she’ll have to come visit you.

[insook] we could take you! no, you should work on going back to being a pilot, although���

[grant] if that doesn’t work out, you can come back and get me? sure, i'm open to anything.

[insook] we marry you off to a friend’s kid, you get an easy visa. jiyoung’s niece is single. she's quite shy, so i've never met her, but i hear she's a sweet girl. no, i'm kidding. you should pick your partner yourself.

[grant] i don’t know, i seem to have terrible taste. can i really be trusted to pick?

[henry] the karaoke girl seemed nice.

[grant] she did, but i talked to her once, so that doesn’t count.

[cerise] do you mind if i ask when you're moving?

[insook] when? oh, two weeks from now.

[cerise] wow! shit, are you guys leaving soon, too? i did hear that right that you're going with her?

[henry] you did hear that right, but no, we’re here until, i don’t know, late summer or early fall. we don’t have an exact date yet. well, okay, not anymore. we did.

[soobin] we were planning to move around the same time because, like, if we’re really doing this and your mom is leaving at the end of the spring, let’s just go. we’ll sell the house when she leaves, and we’ll follow her.

[soobin] and then i found out i was pregnant last month, and i panicked. i feel like death lately, so i'd prefer not to be stuck on a plane over the pacific or with the burden of selling a house and moving our furniture. i think i'll wait until i feel less like death and am less scared of something going wrong.

[henry] we’ll figure it out. we are at least giving ourselves an extra month or two to make decisions, which will be fine.

[cerise] okay, in that case, delaying things is rational, i think, but congratulations! that’s exciting.

[soobin] it is! we are surprised but very excited.

[grant] are you feeling okay, by the way?

[soobin] i mean, better than the last few times you've seen me, but if tonight were not extremely important, i would be in bed right now with 64oz of ginger ale.

[soobin] but i'm sticking it out. i'm good.

[itstimetojellyfish]

I have a small request for Genshin impact. Since Tighnari is a fennec fox character what if he met someone who’s exactly like him species wise and can actually stay in the desert for long periods of time? Also, please hydrate and eat 🫵

OHHHHHH THATS A GOOD PROMT ! THANKS ! Yes , I do have my basic necessities . Oh and , imma just use povs for this cause I dunno how else I’m going to explain emotions in this….

———————————————————————-

From beyond the forest.(Tighnari x reader)

You:

It’s been a long while since you’ve visited Gandharva Ville , since you had some free time , you decided to go to Sumeru City , and then visit .

Little did you know , in the decade you were gone , another Fennec Fox would be there in Sumeru City ……

Tighnari :

He was only visiting Cyno , Alhaitham , and Kaveh just for a game , and he’s fairly sure he hasn’t gone delusional.

So why was he chasing a person with long ears on top of their head and a tail .

It’s been awhile since he saw any of his kind , they left him a while ago .

So why does he see someone with pale long ears , just like his own, on top of their head when they turn around .

He catches up to them and taps them on their shoulder .

You:

You’re dumbfounded , last time you checked , there wasn’t another fox in Sumeru City…. But then again , that was a decade ago , someone might’ve moved in while you were gone .

“ Um excuse me! Are you by any chance a Fennec Fox too?!” The green and black haired man looked at you with a certain desperation inside his eyes .

You stare at him dumbfounded , as you regain your senses and respond to his question.” Yes , I am , are you by chance one too?”

He smiled before answering ,” Yes , I am! My name is Tighnari! What’s your name?”

Your eyes widen a bit , and then you respond , ” Y/N, “

After that encounter , you and Tighnari start to get to know each other , he introduces the new things of Sumeru to you , and you tell him how Sumeru was like when you were younger.

You two travel across the region of Sumerian and look at the plants along the way , making more observations and questions about them , and also taking down some witherings .

Soon , you reach the desert , you watch Tighnari panic for a bit , and then you ask ,” Is there something bothering you?”

He looks at you sheepishly before replying,” Well , umm…. I can’t go out in the desert for long periods of time …. But I need some herbs from the desert..”

You smile at him before telling him,” No worries ! Tell me what you need! I’m a desert fox so I can get them easily .”

He looks at you , surprise lingering in his eyes , before giving you a grin and then telling you he needs a few Ajilenakh nuts.

You nod at him before going into the desert with some water and food .

It was a long time before you returned , Tighnari worried that he actually put you in danger because he needed some herbs , he didn’t think to confirm you could actually go in the desert for long periods of time!

Before his thoughts could spiral even deeper into the hole of self-doubt . You gently tapped him on the shoulder .

You didn’t expect him to literally jump 7 feet into the air and cling onto a tree branch….

You stare at him , a bit speechless as he looks at you and then comes back down and gives a sigh of relief.

You hold up a pouch full of Ajilenakh nuts and then give it to him, he opens his mouth to ask for your condition, but you beat him to it.” Don’t worry , I’m fine , I’m a desert fox!”

Soon , you guys began to hang out more , and by chance , you fell asleep on his shoulder underneath a tree.

He smile say you before thinking.

Lesser Lord Kusanail gave him a gift from beyond the forest.

[kusin-tisdag]

Ideas for Legacy-players

So, I'm a game play legacy-player. Meaning that I play legacies and let the game decide what will happen. Therefor I don't have a set plan for my Sims or make them into certain people. However, I have learnt over the years to at least set up certain things. I'm going to make this post to give ideas and tricks to others who play in the same style.

For me, playing a legacy is also about the family, it's history and the context for each generation. It's totally fine to play in other ways, but these are my thoughts on legacies - as a way to tell a whole family's history.

More under the cut because this got long!

Setting up the world

MC Command Center is your friend (here's a good tutorial)! Yes, we have neighborhood stories now, but with MCCC I find that more things happen, but also - you get pop-ups! I have pop-ups for everything that happens, which is important since I also care about my Sims' friends and extended family. (And I love gossip.)

MCCC also let's you control the amount of children your NPC are allowed to have. Since I forgot to fix those settings, I have some Sims with way too many siblings (lesson learned)!

MCCC is also just awesome for the quick "edit household in cas" which is very handy if your Sim is talking to someone with no sense of style. Or wearing broken CC.

When setting up your world, give yourself a moment to think about if you want an empty world or have the premade families in it.

Also, reflect on whether the neighborhoods are close or if they are far apart. The classic "just a loading screen away" or actual travel. For traveling this might be a good mod (I haven't tried it).

I like to keep my NPC in their homeworlds. I use kuttoe's Home Region and Townie Democraphic-mod.

Your generation - and the generation before

I have let generations just be gameplay. Gen 0 of my current one is very much so (and the Vasas was very much that). That's fun to play, but eventually might get.. a bit same same. Now, I try to create more of a story for the Gen that I play. Usually this starts to happen when the heir becomes a teenager. I start to understand who they are and what they might want to do in their 20s. For Una, that was The Strangerville Mystery - which I actually find to be a very good thing to play for a legacy player. So I drop things about their dreams and personality already through their teen years that then lead to their generation.

Take photos! Use the game's cameras and have your Sims photograph each other. I often forget this and I always regret it. Give the heir photos for them to keep, so they can eventually put them up on their walls. This ties them to their heritage - and this is important for me.

Also, think about how to weave in their heritage into their story. Was their parent famous? Has that affected them? Will others talk about their parents or grandparents? No one exists in a vacuum, and neither does your Sims.

I have learned to always move the heir out. I have kept them with their parents before, but it does "muddy" the line between generations and very soon I have too many Sims to focus on - and the heir gets lost. However - if executed well the differences between generations can be highlighted by having them close and interacting. Just take a moment to at least reflect on it.

Inheritance. Sure, monetary. Reflect on how much you want your heir to get help starting out their own life. But also - we all inherit something from our parents. We all take something with us from the generation before. Did they have a happy marriage? Divorce? Single-parent? What fears does your heir's parents have and how do they try to keep your heir safe? This can mean love-advice ("don't date werewolves!") or careers, to lifestyle choices in general. Do they approve? Disapprove? Neutral? Let your heir reflect on these things, at least a little.

Create a community

Already when your Sims are young - give them friends! Sojus guide to clubs is a great tutorial for this. Have these friends follow them through life. I always have my kids get to know children in the neighborhood by having them visit and just ask them to join. Or I add them manually if that's easier.

Then use this mod to add at least some of those kids to your Sims High School-class. (read the instructions!)

Depending on your Sims' story as they become YA/start their gen they might still meet these old friends. Or if they go on their own adventure they might reconnect later in life.

As your Sim starts their own family, add their friends as adults their child will now get to know. Have them over at birthday parties! Make them a part of your Sim child's life too. I always grew up with my mum's friends over for dinner and at my birthday parties. If your Sim's children are at odds with your Sim, these are the adults they could turn to instead.

If you chose to have a Sim who doesn't have a "community" have them reflect on it. If it stands out from your other generations, it should be addressed.

Your Sim

Who are they? How much do you make them into what you want, and how much is their own? This will always be a balance, but usually you'll have an idea about them and who they are as a teen and then I'll try to follow their wants and fears. To follow their lead is usually the best for me - it becomes more fun to follow their whims. Some wants - like breaking up or similar I try to build a story around.

Connect with your Sim. For me, this is done by writing dialogue for them. Some are not comfortable at all with this, but for me it has helped. You do you, but do try different things if you find it hard to connect with them.

For this, I have often found that it's the best if I play a Sim week and then edit. When I edit post I often figure things out about my sims, and how I frame their story.

Age spans. I have changed my age settings so many times (MCCC again!). You can find the ones I have now over here (will be seen fully once Gen 2 starts). Look at other Simmers that you like and see if you can find their age settings. In my game 1 year = 4,2 days and then I just do math and round the numbers.

Falling in love (or not) and family life

Does your Sim already in their teens start dating? Or are they slower to start? This is also depending on how much you play your Sims as teens, or if you still focus more on their parents (probably your current gen). But try to give it a thought, make a conscious choice. A shy Sim might not even dare to make a move while an outgoing might dare more - so use their personalities to help you.

Some marry their childhood best friend. This means you won't have a million dates with different Sims, but you still might want to think on how they keep the spark going. Do they share interests? Can they do more of this?

Some go on multiple dates. Think about how much time and effort you want to put into documenting their trial and errors. Too many posts about different dates that don't lead to anything might not be the funniest to read (or for you to create) (more on this later).

Some get pregnant in their early 20s. Once again, think about how that affects them. Do they want children? (check out this mod!) And having a child while young might affect their other dreams. Have them reflect on this!

And vice versa.

Sometimes, your heir just doesn't seem to be... very legacy oriented. Or maybe this Gen's story is about the tragic death of your heir! Enter - the spare and it’s descendants! Or, if found family is completely fine for you and genetics don't matter, maybe the torch is handed over to a friend's child instead!

And who to choose? I have previously simply chosen my fav. Now I force myself to chose the firstborn. Some use polls to help them!

For legacy players, family is the center of it. But how much? I find this to be a bit difficult to balance. If I have family-oriented Sims they will have many posts about their children but also their parents and siblings. I try to think more when my Sims are not family-oriented and avoid that many posts about every family-member. Because that would change the "feel" or "setting" for my generation. At the same time, I want to get to know my future heir, so their childhood and teen years matter. But maybe let them reflect more on their childhood as they become YA and finish playing your current Generation while you still have them?

Becoming an elder

Very rarely do I play elders. This is a shame, because I do think it's an important life-stage. But since the heir moves out, the previous generation often gets to tend for themselves.

I think playing elders somehow can still be done. I'm planning on having the kind of parents who don't stop meddling in their kid's life, or the heir who just enjoys using their parents money/house/claim to fame for themselves.

I have this mod, and am looking forward to using it more.

If your heir is family oriented, they will most probably want to visit their parents now and then, or have them over for holidays.

Your simblr

So, I guess you're here because you want to post your story. Most of us won't get many followers, so my guide is mostly to make sure I enjoy my own simblr.

Reshade/gshade. It's not the easiest to understand initially, but yes - I strongly recommend it. This can also help distinguish between generations, if you wish for example to give a more "dreamy look" to one gen, a "darker and harsher" to another etc. Do look around and nerd away with this! (1, 2)

When editing: SHARPEN! Resize and sharpen. Look at others, figure out a good picture size and edit. This will help.

Photograph using tab-mode and reshade. And, think about angles! Close ups? Further away? What kind of emotions do different angles create?

Keep the originals, if possible. This has often helped me when I need to make obituaries or for some reason "go back in time". I can then edit the original screenshots, not my edits.

Tag your posts! The amount of time I have forgotten a kid's name but managed to find it because I remember one of their parent's are... plenty. It's also a fun way to see when your Sim met another Sim the last time (especially if it's childhood friends!) Once again - this helps create context and community.

Also tag generations.

Set up some kind of page for your legacy. Have short recaps of each gen, help your readers (and yourself!) to remember what has happened before.

What to post and what to skip: I mentioned it before but multiple dates can get a bit same same. Also homework or running the treadmill (my sims always end up fitness freaks 😅). I usually try to post more the highlights or bigger events, and then use those "everyday"-posts in between. They still add something, and everyday life is still everyday life and a part of your Sim's story.

Poses. Posing might feel very stiff and usually if you have a gameplay-legacy posing Sims will stand out. I mainly use poses for photos that the Sims themselves take. I take posed photos every Winterfest and also at weddings.

In conclusion

Play for you. Play the stories you want. My ideas are mainly a way to remind myself on how to make that happen.

I am a storyteller. When not playing sims or on my day-job, I write. Original fiction, fanfiction, you name it. I love stories and I love characters. I want my Sims to reflect that.

I also do other things to keep me in my current heirs "world". I create pinboards and I follow instagram-accounts that remind me of them. I listen to music that I find capture "their" vibe. This is something I also do when writing, so it makes sense to me.

Not all of your thoughts and ideas or backstory is going to make it into the posts. That's fine. You know, and that's what should matter to you.

And finally: re-read your legacies. You wrote them for you, enjoy them!

And I think that was it! I do use many more mods than I have posted here. I have a resource page, a cc-finds -blog and I also try to link in my posts to any mods that heavily influence something that happens in the story.

Hopefully this was helpful for someone, or at least fun to read!

[tiredspacedragon]

So we finally got a proper Legends: Z-A trailer

Saw a few other people posting their thoughts, so I figured I might as well join in because I do have a lot to say and not too many people to say it to. So here's what's going through my head looking through the trailer and website.

Long post ahead.

I was right. I told y'all and I was right and I am going to be smug about it because I said so. Present. Freaking. Day. I said the clothes in the reveal trailer proved it wasn't set in the past and I. Was. Right. Could still be time travel involved I suppose, but the majority of the game is set in the present and I am vindicated.

I wonder if the train station we arrive in, or I guess I'm just assuming this is a train station, is the same one that takes you to Kiloude in XY. Still want to know what "the usual place" is and if it has anything to do with the ghost girl.

The male protagonist kinda looks like Professor Sycamore to me. I wonder if we're gonna be a nepo baby in this game.

No gym logo on Prism Tower anymore. Which could mean anything really.

Actually a little disappointed about the "wild zones," I'd have preferred to see the Pokémon just out and about wherever. I think they may still be? But just mostly confined to these places. Bit of a bummer, not that bad.

The starter trio is...weird. I am disappointed to see that neither Snivy nor Piplup are part of it, feels like that was done on purpose just to subvert expectations. But subverted expectations don't guarantee the surprise is better, y'know? But yeah, Chikorita, Tepig, and Totodile. I mean I don't dislike any of them, I'm happy to see them getting some love, they desperately need it. But having two of them be from Johto is really strange. Kanto and Hoenn probably weren't options because their starters already have Megas, but that still left Sinnoh, Alola, and Galar to pick from. So here's hoping they've just got something really good cooked up for both Meganium and Feraligatr that they just couldn't wait to show off. I'm really not sure if this game will follow in the footsteps of the previous Legends game and give us regional forms for these guys, or if they'll just get Megas instead. Both is possible, but unlikely, while just Megas feel like the most likely. Which kinda sucks because I like regional forms and would like to see more, but Kalos is the Mega region, sooo... I mean they could give these guys regional variants and then give us Megas for the Kalos starters and have us get one of them a la how we got a Mega Kanto starter in XY, but that's pure speculation. Anyway, these guys are neat, if a little odd. I like 'em fine. Also first time getting two quadrupeds in one starter trio so that's cool. Yeah Tepig's gonna stand up but it's still a first for the base forms.

Looks like the catching system works the same as it did in Arceus, which suits me just fine, because I had a lot of fun with that.

Ooh, we can go on rooftops. I notice, though, that there's no sign of catacombs yet. Still holding on to that little hope. Come on Game Freak, it's a whole game set in Poké-Paris, there have to be catacombs.

Rival picks the starter weak to yours. Lame.

Okay, so real time battles. That is...very interesting. I doubt this will become a series staple, at least in the mainline games. The turn-based Pokémon metagame is far too deep, intricate, and honestly well-crafted for them to just throw it out, but it is a neat idea for a pseudo side game like this. The faster pace will make the battles less methodical, less about taking your time and coming up with strategy and more about thinking on your feet, which could be a neat challenge. And I'm looking forward to seeing how certain moves' mechanics change in relation to this new system. The above screenshot, for example, shows a Lucario using Protect, which is normally not a very good move for playthroughs as it doesn't do much in most single battles other than waste a turn, but now in this game it will be invaluable. Being able to completely block an enemy attack without worrying about dodging and repositioning is incredible. It looks like each move is on a cooldown timer too, so you can't just hammer away with the same move over and over again. Guess that keeps the battles more dynamic. Also I wonder if this means they'll do away with PP. More powerful moves may just take longer to recharge. Hmm. There's a lot more I could say here, but I don't want this post to go on forever. Still this is neat, especially since I've been musing a lot lately on the differences between battles in the games vs how they're depicted in the anime and such.

I see the player character still has a dodge roll, so I assume the Pokémon can still kill us? Hope so, that was a big part of the fun last time.

So Mega Pokémon are all permanently iridescent now? I...actually don't mind that, it looks kinda nice. Sorta reminds me of the Terastallization crystallized effect. Pretty. Also I like the new bronze-coloured Mega Ring. Also pretty.

So the CEO is evil, right? That's kinda the way these things work in Pokémon. Of course it could be a double bluff and she's actually chill because they know we're expecting that trope by now, but we'll see. The big manly man secretary with the Pancham and Buneary hair ornaments in his man bun is cute though.

They put AZ in a SUIT?? Man looks clean! Like he even washed his hair! And he's smiling! He recovered and he's actually happy! Oh you love to see it. Still though, my guy, I get that you're three meters tall, but you live in Poké-Paris. You could have found a tailor. So I guess the stitched together clothes are a fashion statement.

Also we are so getting that Floette.

I never noticed that Zygarde 10% has a butthole before. A hexagonal one at that.

Looks like some parts of the city are still under construction. There's scaffolding up. That's cool, adds more of a 3D element to the environment. I do like climbing things.

Also, speaking of the city, it's split into five sections, and now they're all colour-coded. Which is kinda funny looking, but I mean I'm here for it. The colours match the plazas Lumiose had in XY that were named after colours...almost. The red section is where Magenta Plaza should be, and the section where Rouge Plaza should be is a very pale pink. So did they change the order, or are these colours someone's very mixed up idea of what magenta and red look like?

Okay so the rival is the protagonist you didn't pick with a palette swap and wardrobe change. That's cool, it's been a while since we've seen that. I mean I guess Arceus did it, but that was to match DP having Lucas and Dawn appear in game. The last time it happened with totally new characters was...XY. Huh. And of course changing their look is totally new. The names are a little goofy though. Urbain and Taunie. Sometimes Pokémon can be subtle with the protagonists' and rivals' names, but Urban and Townie here are not an example of that.

Speaking of, no names for the protags yet, but they are totally new designs, not makeovers of Calem and Serena, at least not obviously. I wonder if they'll be referenced at all. I highly doubt either will actually appear, but some mention of "the hero who stopped Team Flare x years ago" would be pretty standard Pokémon fare.

It is interesting how things in the wild zones seem to have just been left as they are. Like they weren't cleared out or turned into parks, there are cars left crooked on the side of the road and tables and chairs abandoned where they sat. I wonder if that's going to be a point of tension in the plot, people opposing the redevelopment plan because they were forced out of their homes. Seems unlikely for Pokémon to get into anything like that too deeply, but they may touch on it. Why do they look like that?

Sooo that's a Chikorita that knows Disarming Voice, which it cannot learn by any means in the mainline games. I smell a Grass/Fairy Meganium form in our future. Mega or regional, whichever. Tepig is shown using Rollout and Totodile is shown to know Bite, but both of them learn those moves normally, so that's no guarantee of Rock or Dark types for them. Fairy moves are new for Chikorita though, very very new.

Either that is the world's tiniest Onix, or Pokémon won't be properly scaled in this game. Again :/ Come on guys, you made it work last time. Yeah, visible size variation has been a thing in the last couple games, so maybe there's hope, but that itty bitty Onix sucks to see.

Okay hold up. Bottom right corner. It looks like Mega Evolution is on a timer. Don't tell me it just ends after that runs out. Oh I don't like that. Not at all. The whole point of Mega Evolution is that it's once per battle but it lasts the entire battle. That better not mean it only lasts until that timer runs out, that just makes it reskinned Dynamax. But I don't know what else that could mean. Ugh. Not a fan of that, no sir.

LOOKER BUREAU SPOTTED!!! Oh please tell me we get to check in on Emma. I would love that.

Okay, so this is the last thing shown in the trailer. A logo showing what looks to be the Prism Tower with a Poké Ball atop it, just after the text, "PROMOTION MATCH ANNOUNCEMENT." So what I would assume that means is that there are some kind of promotional battles, maybe a tournament, being held in Prism Tower? Possibly to fund the redevelopment project? I expect they'll use this to have a bunch of old characters show up with updated designs, which I love, so consider me stoked.

[r0-boat]

Pokémon Hot Dragon women

Various pokémon women as hybrid dragons

Do you know what's awesome?

Dragons...

Do you know what's even more awesome?

Hot women!

Yeah I definitely missed some hot women Don't worry

Lorelei/Baxcalliber hybrid

For some reason this Baxcalliber hybrid has more feathers covering about half of her body especially around her chest. Humans think it's to keep her warm. Lorelei has sharp claws and even sharper sail on her back. She is known in the icy mountains for her called demeanor toward humans.

However any human able to break through her I see heart will be alarmed at how warm she could be. However that warmth is only for you. She has no intention in sharing it with others.

She sees you as a bumbling little human fool. Never change She thinks you're cute this way. If any harm shall to come to you They will succumb to her I see breath and sharp as steel claws

Claire/Dragonair hybrid

A Dragonair That has yet to evolve. She likes her half serpentine body. She does not want to look like her cousin Lance who is a hybrid Dragonite.

Unlike the docile Dragonair Claire is stubborn and standoffish, She will not accept help from humans even if she is one foot in the grave. You don't know how you got the eye of this dragon. Maybe it was because despite all efforts of her trying to push you away when you found her injured You still stayed with her until she healed.

She still visits often, Even though she has a dragon hybrid her mannerisms remind you more of a cat. She wants you to keep your distance from her but occasionally, her stricken with curiosity and infatuation will come towards you.

Nessa/Kingdra hybrid

Very wary of people so much so that she almost never comes up to the surface. But you were a rare case. You dropped a necklace into the water and you thought you'd never see it again until you thought you saw a hand coming up from the waves throwing it onto the Sandy Beach.

You yelled out thank you giving the mysterious thing whatever it was a shell. Nessa is wary of humans but you seemed nice. The next time you met your eyes met when you stared down in the ocean blue over a bunch of rocks.

You knew her immediately She must have been the same person who grabbed your necklace! It was the first time she'd ever interacted with a human in a long time and she has not regretted it.

Perrin/salamance hybrid

Looks terrifying but is actually a sweetheart. You were outside taking pictures of pokémon and plants when you come face to face with a terrifying Salamance hybrid. Her claws were sharp her teeth even sharper and her gaze fixated on your device. She looked terrifying yet beautiful at the same time You couldn't help But be mesmerized.

You were scared for a moment but that fear instantly fade, You picked a wildflower putting it behind her ear before takingher picture and gave it to her.

She followed you home and now she visits you constantly, wherever you go she seems to know exactly where you are trying to play with you or your camera.

Cynthia/garchomp hybrid

Terrifying but also a sweetheart. But don't mess with her. She only has so much patience. You've heard that it is very hard to earn a garchomp's respect even more so a hybrid. Dragons have good judges of character You've also heard maybe that's why this garchomp hybrid decided to stay in your camping site just sitting there watching you closely as you study old artifacts and old runes.

She was even a good travel companion when you explored the ruins of Alph, perhaps there was something she was trying to find as well?

Cynthia likes you, What she is seeing you are very knowledgeable and caring of pokémon. You are also interested in ancient treasures of the old. You are also kind and sweet despite who she was you were not afraid. Yeah she likes you.

Rika/Flygon hybrid

You lived near the flats of the Mesa in the paldea region You've heard that hybrids were rare more so dragon hybrids. However you're starting to think that was a lie. Everyday you Walk on the same trail and this hybrid you don't know what she's doing has been trying to show off to you.

You try to ignore her at first only for her to frown at you. Now she's trying to get your attention, stealing your things, playing with you, whipping up tiny Sandy gusts to blow stuff off of you.

That toothy smile and that wild look in her eyes you don't trust. You could almost see a glint of mischief. However, that was all you saw until she protected you from a while pokémon.

[otherworldseekers]

I've seen so many people express disinterest in Dawntrail by saying something along the lines of "there's nothing in it for me". And I'm going to be honest, I don't really understand this sentiment.

When I began playing ARR, I didn't know anything about the world or the people or the characters or why my own character should care about any of it. I was set down in an unfamiliar world and expected to just walk around doing generic quests waiting for something interesting to happen to my character. With Dawntrail, the WoL is a well established character with a characteristic love of travel, discovery, and the world and people at large. The WoL is traveling with well known companions, and has clear goals to pursue while getting to explore a whole new continent. Comparatively, there is far more "in it for us" in DT than there was at the beginning of ARR. (Unless you played 1.0, but the majority of players have not.)

You never have investment at the beginning of a story, whether it's a game or book or movie or anything else. You become invested over the course of the story, as you learn more about the world and characters. Going into Dawntrail, we have the advantage, first, of knowing that the devs have an excellent track record of creating complex characters, fascinating worlds and compelling stories. And second, we have the advantage of having been shown a great deal of the world we are about to enter.

Personally, I have found all of the images and information about Tural hint at some amazing worldbuilding. It's a completely different kind of place from what we're used to and I find that very exciting. I love diverse regions and intricate cultures and getting to explore them in game. If you don't... well I have to wonder why you're playing this game.

Similarly, if you've developed your WoL to be someone contradictory to their canon characterization, someone who doesn't like to travel and experience new places and people and who would not be interested in Wuk Lamat and Krile's goals... Well, it's kind of on you if you don't feel there's anything "in it for you" in this expansion. Because it's clearly been purposefully crafted to appeal to the canon WoL, the one that SE is telling their story about.

And while I completely understand the desire to develop characters that deviate from the msq and experience the world of FFXIV in other ways, I don't quite understand playing the game but not wanting to experience the story as the devs have made it. You can so easily do both.

Getting to experience the devs' story, to explore their world and meet their characters, is always what's most exciting to me about new expansions. I can enjoy the story for what it is and then decide how I want to apply it to my WoL's development. And I appreciate how much work they put into creating this experience for me and the fact that they do encourage us to create alongside them.

Of course, it's not wrong to feel that there's "nothing in it for you" in this new expansion. But they've been very clear about the fact that this is the beginning of a new story full of unfamiliar elements. So I'm just not sure what some people expected.

[justatiredghost]

Udurgh ch1 ao3

Jonathan Sims, newly appointed Head Archivist of the Magnus Institute, is sent to a steppe town to retrieve research from one Gertrude Robinson, and then he will be free to spend a few days learning about the local culture and mythology of this strange place. Too bad nothing can ever seem to go as planned. He arrives to find the town in chaos. Gertrude is dead, murdered, and the trains can’t leave due to rumors of a plague. Something doesn’t quite sit right with him, though. The accounts of this illness remind him too much of statements he’d read back at the Institute. Hopefully he and the assistant librarian who volunteered to help him can get to the bottom of this before they all die.

(aka a Pathologic AU)

-

It was highly undignified, having to sit in the cargo section of a train amongst crates of goods, but the conductor had assured John that there had been no other options. It was either this, or return to the Magnus Institute empty handed, which of course was hardly an option. He needed this job. And, on some level, he was looking forward to it. 

Retrieving research from a colleague and spending a few days learning about the local legends and culture sounded more like a holiday than anything. The fact that it was having a rather unpleasant start didn’t mean anything. He could do this. It would get better. 

He was currently sitting on his coat to afford himself that little bit of comfort between him and the wooden floor, clutching his papers close. He’d made sure to bring all necessary legal papers in case anyone tried to stop him, and he even had his orders from his boss, Elias Bouchard. He was fairly well known and respectable in academia, surely his wishes would be respected if anyone tried to question John. 

He had never been outside of the city before and he was perhaps more paranoid than he needed to be, but he just wasn’t sure what to expect. He thought he’d prepared for everything, but that was before a woman startled him by climbing out of a coffin on the far side of the train car. All he could do was gape in confusion, suddenly forgetting how to speak.  

“Ah, hello,” she said as he closed the lid and sat down primly on top of it. “Not typically how I tend to travel, coffins aren’t usually my thing, but it is a touch ironic. What about you? Travel in coffins much?”

“N-no, can’t say I have,” John said, floundering. 

“Annabelle,” he said. 

“Jonathan. Sims,” he said, words stilted as he tried to get a handle on what the hell was happening. 

“Well,” she said. “I think great things are going to happen in the weeks to come. Don't you?”

“I suppose,” he said. “I’m just a researcher.” 

Well, Archivist, now, he supposed, what with his recent promotion. He didn’t think he needed to explain all that to Annabelle, though. 

“Well, I wish you luck,” she said simply. 

“Y-you too?”

Annabelle didn’t appear to be all that talkative. Once their introductions were complete, they fell into an uneasy silence. Well, it felt uneasy to John. Annabelle seemed completely content to sit there and ignore him. Eventually, John shoved his documents into his breast pocket and pulled his coat around himself before rolling over to get some sleep. If she planned to kill him, there wasn’t much he could really do about it anyway. Might as well get it over with. 

-

He was dreaming. At least, he was pretty sure he was dreaming, because he wasn’t on the train anymore. He was walking across the steppe, able to see far into the distance with no buildings or trees to block his view. Looking behind him, it didn’t even seem like he was walking down any sort of path. Odd. At least it was a lovely day and he closed his eyes for a moment, enjoying the warmth of the sun. 

Opening his eyes again, he froze. There, on the horizon, was a smear of black. He didn’t know what it was, smoke maybe? There were insects that could swarm so thick that they looked like dark clouds from a distance, but it wasn’t the right season or region for them, but he had no idea what else it could be. 

Regardless, he didn’t particularly want to find out, so he turned around— and immediately stepped into a dark cloud of what appeared to be ash. It was all around him, now, blotting out the sun and obscuring his vision. Turning around again, he couldn’t see the clear patch he’d been standing on. It was as if it had simply fallen down all around him, covering the entire area in the blink of an eye with no warning. 

He was too late to hold his breath and coughed violently as he inhaled the particulates. It didn’t exactly taste like wood ash, but he tried not to think about that. Instead, he quickly pulled the collar of his coat up around his mouth and held it there in place. He wasn’t sure it would do much, but it had to be better than nothing. 

With no other options, he stumbled forward. He had to find shelter of some kind, preferably another person who could offer assistance of some kind and explain what the hell was happening. Whatever this was, he was fairly certain he’d die out here unprotected like this. Even breathing just ash and smoke could kill him. 

He saw a large shadow looming out of the darkness and, with a thrill of hope, he sped up. It was odd, he hadn’t seen anything before when he’d had a clear view of the skyline, but maybe he’d just missed it. Or maybe it was a rock formation that had blended into the scenery. That meant it was likely to be a cave and that would do well enough for the moment and he sped up in his relief. Once there, he could make a plan. This— whatever this was, couldn’t last forever. 

He slipped on something and only had a moment to register that it had felt soft and slick and then he landed painfully on his hands and knees with a horrible squelch. Looking down at the ground, now, he saw that there seemed to be some sort of putrid liquid covering the ground, he could barely see bits of grass poking up through it, as well as glistening chunks of— something. And the smell was overwhelming, nearly causing him to wretch. 

With a disgusted cry he scrambled to his feet, his hands and legs covered in the disgusting fluid, and he tried not to wretch. He looked up in the direction of the form he had seen and cried out as he came face to face with the rotting carcass of a massive bull. Its head alone was several times larger than John, he’d never seen anything like it. But the state it was in distracted him from the size. 

Its glassy eyes stared blankly, its flesh sunken in as it decayed. And then he noticed the insects. There were maggots or small worms or something burrowing into the flesh of the great beast. His stomach turned as he realized the liquid he was now partially covered in had to come from the beast, a putrefied combination of blood and flesh, and the chunks seemed to be bits of flesh and organs. 

He wanted to get out of there, he needed to get as far away from this thing as possible, his skin itching with fandom insects and he didn’t think he’d ever feel clean again. He somehow knew he was in grave danger, especially when the insects began to sing. Thousands, millions of voices crying out in ecstasy and rage, making him shudder, forming a single word. 

“Archivist.”

How could they know who he was? He’d only just gotten this promotion. What did they want with him? He took a stumbling step back from this horrible sight, ready to turn and flee but so afraid any movement would draw the attention of all of those horrid worms. And then, impossibly, the long-dead bull’s eyes widened in terror and it raised its head to bellow—

And then John was sitting up from his makeshift nest on the train, the steady rocking suddenly feeling more soothing than annoying simply because it didn’t sound like those writhing worms. Blessedly he couldn’t smell the rot anymore, and as he slowly got his bearings and caught his breath, the dream-terror was beginning to fade. 

He couldn’t help but notice that his companion and her coffin were gone and he wondered how long he’d been asleep and dreaming. With an annoyed huff, he turned over and tried to go back to sleep. This truly was going to be a miserable train ride. 

[queenjunothegreat]

*(rings cowbell)* ALRIGHTY EVERYONE ARE YOU READY FOR SUFFERING TIME? More seriously, hello! I've been yapping about a Valgrace Week fic that was gonig to be just one long fic that covers half of the prompts, and it is here! Yay!!! Fair warning, this fic will include the following subjects: Main Character Death, Self-Worth Issues, and Suicide. Please keep that in mind before you start clicking! Anywho, let's get started!

Today, I bring to you The Migratory Patterns of Flightless Birds Chapter 1: Tension

Migration is a huge feat of endurance requiring immense strength and stamina and comes with a real risk of death along the way. So, it begs the question of why birds brave these epic journeys, and how do they know when or where to travel? - Danielle Shaw, 2021 Aristotle, naturalist and philosopher of ancient Greece, was one of the first observers whose writings are known to discuss the subject of bird migration. He noted cranes traveled from the steppes of Scythia to the marshes at the headwaters of the Nile, and pelicans, geese, swans, rails, doves, and many other birds likewise passed to warmer regions to spend the winter. - Frederick C. Lincoln, 1935 Why some birds migrate and others don’t is the focus of a complex and active field of research. Finding food generally is believed to be the main driver. Additional motivations could include to escape from inclement weather and to reduce exposure to predators or parasites, especially during breeding season. - Priyanka Runwal, 2021 *** Leo's entire existance has been nothing but constant motion, always fleeing, never chasing, never finding home. But now he's back at Camp, ex-Titaness in tow, so maybe things will be different. Maybe he'll learn to soar

Next >

Leo wasn’t sure what he was expecting to find when he made his showy return to Camp Half-Blood. Well, actually, that was a lie. He knew what he was expecting, and that was a big fat pile of nothing. Sure, he’d sacrificed his life to defeat Gaea, but one decent act did not a hero make. He was ready for disinterest at best and disappointment at worst. Just a whole lot of, “Oh, you’re not actually dead. That's… great.” It wasn’t like there were search parties scouring the globe for him. He'd never really given anyone a reason to think they'd find him, much less a reason to even bother trying in the first place. No, he was better off just biding his time, and gritting his teeth through whatever awaited him when he finally made it back with his tail tucked between his legs. Which led to his… arrangement with Calypso.

The plan was to make an adventure out of it. He was going to take Calypso on the globe-hopping tour of a lifetime, even for a life as mind-bendingly long as hers. They were in love, Calypso was free of her prison, and Leo definitely wasn't avoiding going back to yet another home that didn't want him. Only, that's not how things worked out for Leo, was it? Because nothing, nothing, worked for Leo, no matter how good his plan was or how hard he tried to make it work. Because, apparently, Ogygia was more than just a prison, and fighting for your life in between hours of flying on the back of a dragon with nothing to do but ignore the person you're currently mad at for who knows what this time wasn't freedom. But they did love each other. They did. They could ignore the tense silence and the petty squabbling. They had to. Because they were in love. 

What they didn't have to do was drag this miserable road trip out any longer than was strictly necessary. Not when Leo’s brilliant baby brother apparently wanted him back enough to build something that would call him home. But even with that shining beacon of proof that he was wanted, Leo hadn't expected much. He hadn’t expected the whole Camp to be waiting for him with open arms. He didn’t expect to be cheered and lauded and passed around like some kind of hero. It was, apparently, the middle of December (not that anyone could tell with the magic climate control), so Camp was by no means stuffed to the gills, but that didn’t matter. The important people were there. Harley and Nyssa were there, Nico was there holding hands with Will, and even Percy and Annabeth happened to be in town. 

But most importantly, Piper was there.

Leo had been on the ground and gushed over for about five minutes when the crowd suddenly cleared and he was body slammed with the 5’4 physical manifestation of platonic affection. Piper had her arms around him so tight that it almost hurt and the only thing Leo wanted to do was hold her right back until they were a singular, terrified little beast whose broken parts somehow lined up to make a whole.

“Leo, oh my god,” she hiccuped, her voice raw and thick and wet. “You were just– And the explosion– And I– Oh, god.”

“I know, I know,” his voice soft and gentle and kind, just for her. He squeezed her tight and ran his fingers through her hair, just how he knew she liked. He got the feeling he was supposed to apologize, but he wouldn't do that, not even for her. So instead, he just opened his mouth and let whatever stupid, insensitive thoughts that had formed on the back of his tongue come falling out. “Gotta say, this is the most popular I've ever been literally ever. Maybe I should kill myself more often.”

“You’re such a dick!” she accused, and her voice managed to crack three separate times on that last word, but she still held him just as tight, so maybe he hadn't ruined everything. 

“Okay, okay, maybe that was taking it too far,” he relented. “No killing myself for attention. She gave him a weak, wobbly laugh and Leo felt his heart clench. Piper always laughed at his jokes, even when they sucked, and when she didn’t laugh she didn’t get mad. 

Piper sucked in a deep breath and took a step back, and Leo had to furiously quash the near-panicked desire to cling to her. He couldn't do that. Not to her. Piper needed room to breathe and spread her wings and Leo refused to lash himself to her, just to drag her down into the pit he was stuck in. She deserved better than that. So, he just let her go. She smiled at him and squeezed his fingers. “Come on, let's get you cleaned up before he finds you.”

Leo felt his heart kick up into quadruple overtime. “He?”

Piper shot him a grin that was knowing in a way that made his cheeks burn in shame. “Well, you didn't think I was here by myself, did you?”

Leo wasn’t sure if he could breathe. “So, he's– He's really–”

“Leo?”

Time stood still and Leo looked over to see Jason standing there gobsmacked, his eyes wide and wet and just as heart-stoppingly blue as Leo remembered. He looked heartbroken and hopeful in a terrified kind of way, like he was seeing a ghost. In more ways than he knew, he was. The grin Leo offered him was wobbly and only held half of the usual false confidence Leo stuffed into everything he did. “Hey, man.”

Jason stumbled forward, his knees giving out beneath him and leaving him kneeling at Leo’s feet. He grabbed one of Leo's hands in both his own, his grip tightening enough to bruise as he pressed it to his forehead like he was receiving benediction. He let out a noise like a laugh, but Leo knew the waver of a muffled sob better than he knew his own name. “Holy shit, it's you. It's really, really you.”

“Com on, Jace, you've got to pull yourself together,” Leo chided playfully, stroking his fingers through the surprisingly long blond mop before him. “I mean, I always knew you were a sap, but this has got to be a little embarrassing for you. I wasn’t even gone that long.”

That apparently crossed a line for Jason because he started trembling from head to foot while fat, silent tears rolled down his cheeks. “We looked for you,” he confessed, voice thin and ragged. “We looked everywhere for you.”

In a moment of honesty that surprised them both, Leo spoke, his voice as carful as Jason's was fragile. “I didn't want you to find me.” Jason looked up at him, obviously hurt, so Leo clarified. “I wasn't ready for you to find me.”

Jason cut his gaze away when Leo wanted nothing more than to be the center of his attention forever. “You died.”

“And you didn't,” Leo countered. “That’s listed as a win in my book. Besides, I'm not dead now, so bonus points.”

Jason heaved a deep, shaking sigh as he forced himself back to his feet. He looked down at Leo and his eyes were red-rimmed and gleamed with tears in the sharp winter sunlight, but his expression held so much blatant, unmasked affection that Leo nearly burst into tears to match. “You’re here? You're really, really here?”

Leo nodded furiously. “Yeah. Yeah, I'm– I'm as here as I've ever been.”

“And you'll stay?”

“Until someone kicks me out.”

Jason’s smile was soft and subtle and still a little sad, but he still reached up and cupped Leo’s jaw. His hand was big and rough in an oddly uniform way, and his fingers were so cold against Leo’s searing flesh just like he’d always imagined they'd be. Still, for as cold as he was, Leo couldn’t help but melt into the touch, pressing his cheek against Jason's palm like a touch-starved cat. He couldn't remember the last time he’d felt so–

Then time crashed back into jarring motion, not with a bang but with a quiet cough.

“Leo?” Calypso prompted, her voice friendly but a little clipped. Leo didn't have to look at her to see that tight smile of hers that he already knew so well. “Would you like to make some introductions?”

Leo forced down a grimace and stepped away from Jason. “Right, uh, yeah. That makes sense. Calypso, this is Piper McLean and Jason Grace, my two best friends,” he said, gesturing at them both. “Jason, this is Calypso, ex-Titaness, formerly of Ogygia, and currently my girlfriend.”

“I wish you'd quit introducing me like that,” Calypso said sourly for probably the hundredth time. Like always, Leo ignored her, unwilling to analyze which of the objectively true statements she chafed under so much. 

Jason also ignored her, having refocused his attention on Leo at the last word of his introductions. He looked hurt again, though this time he also looked almost betrayed. “Girlfriend?”

“Yeah,” Leo said, a little awkwardly. He pulled his lips back in a wide, practiced grin. “What? You surprised someone would choose to put up with me like that?”

“No, that's not it,” Jason said sharply, like correcting Leo was some kind of world-saving mission. Then he looked at Leo, equal parts confused and injured. “I just– I thought we were…”

Leo clung to his every word like a lifeline. “You thought we were… what?”

Jason stayed quiet for a bit longer before he looked up from their still intertwined hands, his expression unreadable beneath his smile. He dropped Leo's hand to grab his bicep to give it a formally intimate squeeze. “Don’t worry about it. It's nothing.”

Leo wanted to protest and argue and throw a tantrum because it wasn't nothing. He knew it wasn’t nothing. He knew it simply couldn't be nothing. He wasn't sure if he'd survive finding out that Jason thought it was nothing. Before he could speak, however, Calypso cleared her throat again. “Leo? Do you think you can show me around Camp?”

“Yeah, you should probably go show your girlfriend around,” Jason said, the word girlfriend falling out of his mouth like a stone. He turned around and offered Leo a wave over his shoulder. “See you around, Leo.” And then he was gone. 

Leo kind of wished he'd drowned before he made it to Camp. 

*-*-*

Getting used to Cam again was almost embarrassingly easy. Cabin Nine had all welcomed Leo back, bringing him into the fold like he’d never even left (Nyssa offered to give him his old counselor job back, which he gratefully refused) and he was once again spending his days canoeing and rock climbing and eating heaping piles of food off magic plates that gave him whatever he wanted. He even got to spend an unseemly amount of time in Bunker Nine again, though this time around he was surrounded by his siblings and he was working on whatever dumb idea crossed his mind rather than desperately trying to create a flying warship to save the world. It was… nice. Weird, definitely, and he was constantly on edge, waiting to bolt before the other shoe hit the fan, but while he was waiting, this was nice.

Calypso was in a league of her own, though. The first few days were awkward, her feeling a bit adrift in her lonely room at the Big House, but soon she was fitting into Camp better than Leo could have ever dreamed of doing. She spent her mornings in the gardens with the Demeter kids, and did weaving with the Athena kids in the afternoon, and giggled and gossiped her way through just about every meal with the Aphrodite and Hermes kids. Somehow or another, she managed to have something in common with pretty much every Cabin (other than Hephaestus, which she didn’t bother with) and everyone liked her. She’d even made her peace with Percy and Annabeth, tearful, genuine apologies given and accepted from all parties. Every time Calypso turned around, there was someone calling her name, wanting her company, asking her opinion, flocking to her like she was some kind of royalty, and she loved every second of it.

Leo knew he should have been jealous. His beautiful girlfriend, who was objectively way out of his league, had just about everyone following her around and tripping over themselves for her attention. Any sane guy would have been a little jealous, but Leo wasn’t. Not in that way at least. He was a little jealous of the way Calypso had managed to effortlessly integrate herself into what was supposed to be Leo’s home, but if people wanted to spend time with her, that was just fine with him. He didn’t care. Honestly, he liked it when people kept Calypso busy. If she was off doing something fun with someone else, she wasn’t hovering at Leo’s shoulder, the both of them itching to pick yet another fight. Besides, less time with Calypso directly translated into more time with Piper and Jason.

For some reason, Jason and Piper seemed to dislike Calypso even more than everyone else in Camp liked her, and the feeling was very obviously mutual. Calypso hadn’t done anything to them, and they were never explicit in their dislike, but everyone could tell. Nobody missed the fact that any room that held Jason or Piper never held Calypso, and when they did cross paths, the air always went uncomfortably still like the moment before a tornado. Calypso didn’t say anything about it other than a terse “That’s great,” any time Leo mentioned spending time with them. Jason didn’t say anything either, but that was because any time spent with Jason was time Leo spent pretending Calypso didn’t exist. 

Piper was willing to talk about it, though, and one afternoon when Leo had watched her roll her eyes and stomp past her own Cabin table to sit with him, he popped the simple question. “Why do you hate my girlfriend so much?”

Piper scoffed and stabbed her falafel with a spoon. “Well, excuuuuse me for not wanting to be all buddy-buddy with the girl who makes my best friend miserable.” 

“She doesn’t make me miserable,” he snapped back, bristling defensively. “Like, sure, we fight a lot, but that doesn’t mean anything.”

Piper paused and gave him a look, and suddenly Leo realized that she hadn’t been talking about him originally. With a sickening twist in his stomach, he realized that they were definitely going to start talking about him now. “What do you mean you fight a lot?”

“Couples fight, it’s just a thing,” Leo insisted. “I bet you and Jason fight all the time when no one is looking.”

“We don’t, actually,” she corrected. “Not that it matters, seeing as we’re not even dating anymore.”

Leo felt the world record scratch to a halt. “What?”

Piper looked just as baffled as Leo felt. “Yeah? We broke up, like, a month after you– I went through a whole sexuality crisis, Leo, I know I told you that.”

“Yeah? So what?”

Piper gawked at him. “You do know what a lesbian is, right?”

Leo donned a sour look and threw a napkin at her. “Yes, I know what a lesbian is, but come on. It’s Jason. Like, I’d kinda get it if you broke up so you could date a girl, but you dumped him to what? Be single? That’s ridiculous.”

Piper looked just about ready to tell Leo exactly what she thought about that, but Jason interrupted her, sitting down right there next to Leo. He beamed at them both like there was nowhere else he’d rather be than pressed against Leo, elbow to knee. “Hey, guys, what’s up?”

Leo wanted to interrogate him about his and Piper’s apparently amenable break up, but Piper beat him to the buzzer. “Leo says he and Calypso fight all the time.”

“Tattletale,” Leo hissed. “This is snitch behavior, I hope you know that.” Because she was just as mature as he was, she blew a raspberry at him.

Jason didn’t seem bothered by the display, he just gave Leo a concerned, pinched frown. “You guys are fighting? What did she do? Are you okay?”

“We’re not fighting,” Leo lied, pointedly ignoring the strained breakfast he and Calypso had shared in silence that morning. “And when we are, it’s not just because she did something. Did the two of you ever stop to think that maybe this, like most things, is a Leo problem?” The looks he got told him that they never had and never would even consider entertaining that idea. He pivoted. “Okay, what about Percy and Annabeth? They bicker all the time, but they’re, like, Prom King and Queen.”

“Yeah, but Percy and Annabeth don’t really fight often, they just but heads,” Jason pointed out. “I think it may be a fucked up kind of flirting for them.”

“And Annabeth thinks he’s funny,” Piper added. “I don’t think I’ve seen Calypso laugh at even one of your jokes.”

Jason looked at Piper like she’d personally offended him. “Calypso doesn’t think he’s funny?”

Leo felt a vein throb in his forehead, and he put his hands up in surrender. “Okay, look, my lack of comedic prowess doesn’t–”

“She doesn’t even spend time with you,” Piper plowed on. “Like, I was worried you’d be too busy with your girlfriend to hang out with me and Jason, but it seems like she’d rather hang off the arm of anyone in Camp but you. Are you sure she even likes you? I mean–”

“Okay, I get it!” Leo snapped, suddenly getting to his feet. Piper looked up at him, clearly startled, and Jason was completely still at his side. “You’re right, okay? Calypso doesn’t think I’m funny, she just thinks I’m annoying, and she would rather spend time with anyone who isn’t me. And maybe she doesn’t like me. Maybe she’s realized exactly who it is that she’s saddled herself with and she regrets ever stepping foot off Ogygia. But guess what? Like it or not, she’s my girlfriend, and until she plucks up the courage to dump me, everyone is just going to have to deal with that. Maybe the three of you can get together and form a little club about how she should just leave me because she can do so much better. Would that make you feel better, Piper?”

Piper looked at him like he’d slapped her in the face. “That’s not–”

“Save it,” he scowled. He grabbed what remained of his lunch and stormed off, pausing at the brazier just long enough to toss in his mostly untouched sandwich and send a prayer to anyone who could be bothered to listen to him. Please, help me. Then, without looking back, he stomped all the way out to Bunker Nine.

Fortunately for him, Nyssa had cabin activities scheduled that afternoon, meaning the workshop was completely empty, and the forge was available. He didn’t particularly like smithing, but the heat from the forge made it very difficult for tears to actually form, and he was willing to take whatever help he could get. So, it was just Leo alone with the clanging sound of metal on metal and the near-blistering, unforgiving heat of fire.

Just like he was supposed to be.

He wasn’t left to wallow for long, though, because a loud, booming knock filled the cave not long after Leo got his stuff set up. He cringed hard enough to give himself a cramp. If whoever was at the door was knocking, they definitely weren’t one of his siblings, which left a very short list of who it could be. Piper was the obvious choice, considering how often she showed up just to be a nuisance in Leo’s line of sight, but there was a non-zero chance it was Calypso. It wouldn’t be the first time she’d shown up to tell Leo about her plans for the afternoon, only to get mad and stomp off when he told her to have fun. He almost hoped it was her, if for no other reason than to prove Piper at least a little wrong.

The person at the door wasn’t Calypso, though. It wasn’t even Piper, and Leo heaved a deep sigh of relief.

“Hey, Leo,” Jason said with a somewhat sheepish smile. Like the complete and utter Dorkatron he was, he even offered Leo an awkward little wave that made Leo’s heart sing. “Can I, uh, come in?”

“Course you can,” Leo said immediately, stepping back. He let Jason in because he always let Jason in. The day Jason was locked out of Bunker Nine was the day Leo died. “One rule: No talking about Calypso.”

“Deal,” Jason said, eyes bright and eager. He held up a little Ziploc bag and shook it slightly. “I brought some of those peanut butter and chocolate granola bites you like. You want one?”

Leo’s stomach trembled with hunger, remembering his poor, abandoned sandwich, but it was nothing compared to the way his chest and cheeks warmed with delight. “Sounds good. Come on in, and I can show you what I’ve been working on.”

They didn’t actually check out any of Leo’s projects. Jason was already completely up to date on everything Leo actually cared about, and his only plans for that afternoon had been beating craters into a sheet of non-Celestial bronze while he tried not to cry. Instead, they wound up in one of the hammocks Leo had been strongarmed into installing when he’d been so caught up building the Argo II, spending every breathing moment in the Bunker. They hadn’t been all that helpful back then (very difficult to find a use for a bed when you didn’t allow yourself to sleep) but Leo was more than willing to rectify that now. He and Jason were cozied up together in one of the hammocks, Jason’s arms a warm and secure cocoon and Leo’s cheek squished into Jason’s firm chest. They talked softly, laughed softer, while Leo snacked on granola and Jason entertained himself by gently stretching out Leo’s curls one by one and watching them spring back into place. 

It was perfect.

But, eventually, all perfect things come to an end, and Jason let out a quiet, heavy sigh, still combing his fingers through Leo’s hair. “She didn’t mean it like that. You know she didn’t.”

Leo tensed, twisting his fist in Jason’s shirt. “Rule was no talking about Calypso.”

“I’m not talking about her, I’m talking about Piper,” Jason countered. “I’m talking about you.”

Leo swallowed around the lump in his throat, and he wanted nothing more than to climb into Jason’s ribcage and hide there forever. “What about me?”

“You deserve for your girlfriend to like you. And I mean really, really like you,” Jason said simply. “That’s all Piper meant. She just wants you to be happy, Leo, and she’s worried you aren’t. We both are.”

Leo wanted to lie and say that he was happy. He wanted to lie and say that Calypso made him happier than he ever thought he’d get to be. But he was tired. He was so, so tired of lying. He lied about everything to everyone. Maybe, just maybe, he could allow himself to be a little honest about this one thing with Jason. “Yeah, well, happy or not, she puts up with me, and that’s all I can really ask for.”

Jason looked so sad then that Leo couldn’t meet his gaze. He wished he’d been strong enough to tell another lie. “You don’t need someone who puts up with you, Leo,” Jason said, his voice almost as tender as the hand he cupped around Leo’s jaw. “You need someone who loves you.”

Leo squeezed his eyes shut. What Jason didn’t understand - could never understand – was that Leo wasn’t allowed to want love. Love was for other people. Better people. People like Jason and Piper and, yes, even Calypso. People who weren’t Leo. Leo didn’t get to ask for love, he just had to sit there and greedily soak up whatever attention and affection he was given until whoever was giving it to him sent him away. He was supposed to beg for scraps and be eternally grateful for whatever he was given. 

Leo didn’t get to ask for love because, quite simply, he didn’t deserve it. 

[desparatenyan]

OKAY SO. i have so many questions and you dont need to answer all of them dw. uh if there's anything that could be answered by watcher campaign,,,,, i havent. played it yet. i OWN it i just.. busy. anyways please keep that under a break if you do mention it with a warning. ty <3 some of these have an addition of a suggestion for what i think they COULD be -locus? felix? siris? they give purpose-built slugcats but i wonder WHAT they'd be built for... -for that matter what's up with chorus? WAIT i have a suggestion. maybe chorus is a scavenger colony that is messing something up with an iterator- like the one that artificer is asked to wipe out- and felix and locus are purpose built to eliminate them, but they've taken an odd route of making them fight eachother. also, this might suggest they aren't slugcats and instead scavengers but that's up to interpretation this also suggests that while travelling there siris had a whirlwind romance and suddenly dipped to have children. lmfao. -is lopez still a robot? did sarge put together a bunch of random pieces of tech and manage to put together an intelligent robot.. that ONLY speaks a regional slugcat language none of them can speak? -is grif still half simmons and simmons part metal -is sarge a hyper-intelligent slugcat- possibly trained?- that can repair and put together machinery?

First of all, - THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL OF YOUR QUESTIONS!! <:3 They made me reconsider a few ideas i've had before, and that's great

Second of all, about the Watcher

There are a few things from the Watcher dlc that i've considered for this au, HOWEVER!! I will not be including them here!! Plus, i still need to finish this dlc myself to see if those things actually fit as well as i hoped they would ":

Here all of the things are from the base game and Downpour! 

This is going to be a long one!! 

About Chours

YESSSSS! SCAVENGERS!! :D

 Characters from Chorus are indeed scavengers in this au, howewer instead of being an ancient city on top of an iterator, i was thinking about it being a territory similar to Outer Expanse - a land far enough from the iterators to not be affected by them, but with a large supply of potential resources that an iterator might need to prolong their existence (like water or something). The attempts to claim those resurses howewer might lead to the destruction of the region, which in turn will lead the creatures from it to intrude on the regions nearby, which might have negative consequences for the creatures there. Including iterators and their superstructures. But if there were no creatures and if they just kinda killed each other so no iterator would bat an eye that something weird is going on..) 

And thaaats where Felix and Locus come in! However, before your question i was thinking about making them other creatures. Locus in particular i wanted to make... A KING VULTURE >:D

(in season 15 he would have to carry Grif himself lol) 

But making them slugcats or scavs makes way more sense, at least for Felix, so i will try to work in this direction with them! Once again - THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR SUGESTIONS ABOUT THEM!! They are awesome!! :D

And about Siris... IM SO SO SORRY BUT I DIDNT HAVE ANY IDEAS ABOUT HIM BEFORE THAT :") Your suggestion however is fun)

Going back to Chorus itself, i wanted to keep it a place that can and will exist without an iterator around and also to keep its story fairly close to how it is in the series, so i hope it makes sense ":) 

About Simmons and Grif

Yup, that still happens :>

Just for fun, here is an old unfinished thing that kinda showes off the designs i came up with for them initially (IM WORKING ON MAKING BETTER ONES I PROMISE) 

About Lopez. Yup, that pretty much the case :}

The parts used for him aren't exactly random; a lot of them are from destroyed overseers or even inspectors, so thats kinda where the intelligence comes from... For now this is the explanation im going with ":

I did consider him speaking the language of the Ancients, instead of the slugcat's, as an explanation, but im not sure. So im opened to suggestions! :D

About Sarge. Yes, EXACTLY >:)

How did he learn those skills howewer is suposed to remain a mistery, just like his name before "Sarge", because in my head its funnier that way :> The posibilaty of him being traind howewer is very well on the table!

Once again THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR QUESTIONS!! And sorry if my answears where disapointing ":

[thekingofwinterblog]

How to fix Halamshiral as a Zone

Inquisition is a flawed game.

I don't think there's anyone who is going to argue otherwise.

The only question is wheter you place it higher or lower than DA2.

One of the things I think it does better than DA2, is that it managed to give every place a soul, an identity of it's own, and at least a distinct, if not always amazing storyline.

The emerald graves doesnt have a very interesting plot, but it has some spectacular side quests, and atmosphere, inculding a haunted mansion, which might be my favorite possession based quest in all of DA because it shows much better than others just how dangerous untrained mages actually are to those around them.

The storm coast tells a story of what was once an important dwarven port, and shows how it fell and was repurposed over time.

The Hinterlands shows the aftereffects of the templar mage war, as well as solas stupid plan to give cory his orb, and the mage rebellion and an actually decent time travel story.

I could go on, but the point is, I usually have at least aomething nice to say about every single region.

All except one.

Halamshiral.

Halamshiral was the single worst part of all of Dragon Age Inquisition for me, and every single time I boot up this game, it's always the last thing i do before the temple of sacred ashes, despite how bizarre the game flows as a result.

And the reason is because i hate everything about it.

I hate it's unique attempt at side quests, i hate the characters involved, i hate the Orlesians who inhabit it, and i hate how this section tries to copy what worked so amazingly well with Orzammar and Denerim during the landsmeet section, and fails every single shot it lines up.

The ONLY good thing i have to say about this, is that it's at the very least relatively short.

So here's today's question. How to fix Halamshiral?

Let's begin with the three main players.

Celene, Gasparde, and Briala.

The big problem with every single option, is that they all suck.

Celene and Gasparde are both fucking awful people without any redeeming qualities, they have no charisma, and there is no prospect of the Empire reforming itself under either of them, the way Orzammar would under Bhelen.

Meanwhile, Briala is much, much better, but the problem is that we know exactly what is going to happen here if you support her.

Maybe today elves will have it better, but tomorrow, when Gasparde is gone, or celene turns on elves again as she always does all the progress will be repealed, and reversed, along with a few purged alienages.

Its an old story that's been told before in Dragon age.

In short, there is no reason at all to care about this overall plot. None whatsoever.

There were so many reasons to care about both Orzammar and Denerim in the same situation, and every single character involved had so much more charisma than either of these would be monarchs.

So let's fix that.

Starting with Celene, take the idea of her wanting to reform the empire, and actually take it to the next level.

Celene is genuine in wanting to reform the empire, and has already taken grand, successful steps to make the entire thing much better for everyone, even elves, giving them and serfs more rights, outlawing the practice of chevaliers having a tradition of killing unarmed city elves to graduate.

But the catch is, while she is genuinely making progress, she is doing so within the confines of the great game.

Celene has nonintention of changing the great game, no plans of wanting to remove this thing that holds Orlais back more than any other, this center stone of their nobility and it's culture.

Meanwhile, Gasparde is a different kind of reformer, one that takes the ideas he had of him claiming to hate the game, and actually doing something with it.

He is far less progressive, has no love for elves, is far more warlike than Celene ever was... But unlike Celene, his ideas of reform isn't going to act within the grand game.

He's going to break it.

Unlike canon gasparde, this gasparde is hated by every single noble family in the entire empire. His only support, and it's a strong one, is the army. The parts of the army that supports Gasparde, and they are a huge part, are loyal to him personally to the hilt.

And he hates them back. He hates the game, he hates the way it cripples the empire, and he wants to change things. Like Celene he plans to break the serfs free of their chains, for the good of the nation and it's power and economy if not for any progressive reasons.

And he'a going to start with Halamshiral.

For this Gasparde isn't merely positioning men to stage a coup... He's planning to kill EVERY SINGLE NOBLE in Halamshiral. Evety man, every woman, every child there.

He's going to reform this empire by wiping out it's cancerous nobility in one fell swoop, and install himself as supreme dictator to see his reforms through, and wiping out the entire Orlesian nobility that might have opposed him, french revolution style.

And thus the Inquisitor has a dilemma.

Unlike Orzammar, where only one side was a reformer, both of these Orlesians are... But you have to choose one.

Do you choose Celene? The more progressive candidate, who wants a more peaceful Orlais going forward? But who is not willing to get ridd of the grand game to do so, thus making it a permanent risk that all her reforms will be undone...

Or will you support Gasparde, and by doing so be complicit in destroying the entire nobility of Orlais, many of whom are not guilty of the shit that Celene and Gasparde here both hate so much? Gasparde is far less likely to create a peaceful Orlais going forward... But he will have obliterated the Grand Game for good and all, a prize that might be worth this Red Wedding style bloodbath.

Meanwhile there is Briala, the elven spy who has enough influence to allow, or prevent Gasparde's plans from going through.

Here there should be another moral dilemma, quite different from the base game.

Do you convince her to aid Gasparde, in exchange for the Elves getting a duchy of their own in Halamshiral? Do you then back her up with Inquisition forces and support, forcing Him to publicly announce her as such, and trust his own, twisted version of honor to actually stick to it going forward(Something he ultimately does), or do you throw her to the Wolves the moment things get rough?

Or alternatively, do you convince her to side with Celene, and bury the hatchet? And if so, on what terms? And similarly, if she actually wants to get something out of this, you actually need to back her up... Something you may, or may not choose to do.

And voila, here you have an actual story of intrigue, massive, lasting political changes as a result of the Herald's actions, and morally grey on grey choices.

Everything that Denerim and Orzammar had in spades.

Now moving on from the plot to the actual place.

Halamshiral has no soul.

It's a french villa on a mountaintop. Whoop de freaking do.

It has no interesting murals, unique art only found there, interesting geography, or anything really to make it stand out.

Compare it to Denerim and Orzammar, and the way they fleshed out the entire city's levels of power and criminal underworlds, and you see the difference.

Denerim is a very realistic, squat, squalid medieval city, with it's buildings built on top of every single bit of available space.

Orzammar is a full on high fantasy dwarf city lit up by a lake of lava.

Halamshiral is a villa presented as a city.

How do you fix that?

There is an artist here on Tumblr who pretty much showcased what Halamshiral could have been, if they had taken the idea of the Dalish(who were the original owners) taking inspiration from native americans(amongst others), and use that to build a truly spectacular city, which has long ago been paved over, but the structure is still there.

Make it a city on the water, like the aztex capital of Tenochtitlan, a marvel of canals and stone.

Make it this Venezia like city, with canals everywhere you look, and the entire city running on water. A marvel of Dalish city building, where they took something as simple as a couple of islands in a lake, and built the most beautiful city in the world.

And rather than just limit you to the palace, instead let you actually explore this city.

Expand the entire event from one night, to a week.

Let the Herald explore the city, meet the players, interact with the nobles, become friends with a few like you could with Ferelden's bans, which in turn makes the possibility of sacrificing them for the greater good hit so much harder.

Let you choose what fancy stuff to wear to the balls and meetings, rather than have this stupid motto of forcing you to wear one, pre determined outfit like this game had for some reason.

Let you discover the places where what little Elven Architecture and art still remains can be found, and talk with the elves who still live here, the descendants after the first elves the Orlesians enslaved.

Make the plotting of Gasparde and the positioning of troops be gradual, not instantly discovered and twarted.

And at the end, if you choose to back Gasparde, you mirror that scene from Dragon Age 2, where the Templars sail across the bay, and you either step aside and witness the bloodbath you just allowed to happen, or you fight them and be recognized by the nobility(most of which are horrible, horrible people) as a hero who just saved the day.

Have the venatori plot be to kill both Gasparde and Celene, rather than their involvement mostly be about handing the player the the easy knife for the knot of which monarch to pick without having to get your hands dirty.

Also have the entire group be gathered for once. Every inner member of the Inquisition just like at Denerim.

Each of whom have their own thoughts on the events.

Who supports who? What is the right thing to do? What is better for the inquisition? Are you staining your honor beyond repair if you back Gasparde? Does the Inquisitor maybe have a breakdown after witnessing what they just allowed to happen and they walk through the gardens or rooms filled with corpses? Maybe have the scene at the end with the love interest be about a moment of them truly comforting their lover in the aftermath of it all, understanding(or not) that as boss, it's your job to have to make the tough decisions. And now you have to live with them.

Or if you wanna go the other way, this could be one of the breaking points like Origins had. If you support Gasparde, Blackwall choses to tell you to get bent, and that he will die as benefits a knight. Defending the week, and calling you out on how you are just as bad as he ever was, a child killer who's going to run away from responsibility, to pretend you are some better person than what you actually are. You're a murder. Just like he was. You are just as responsible for the blood that's flowing as he was with that carriage back in the day.

It would have been a far more impressive reveal moment for his crimes, that's for sure.

Cole probably would be the one who would be second most upset, but wheter he leaves or ultimately stays should probably be depended on your other choices and your relationship with him prior to this, probably have his personal quest be the determinating factor of what he chooses to do.

And i could go on, but point is, this would be a return to Origins choices actually mattering. There were choices that could make or break a characters bond with you. Shale would not budge regarding Caridin, Leliana and wynne would stand against you if you choose to defile the urn, Sevran would choose to betray you for his old friend if he didn't like you enough, and of course the age old choices at the end of act 3 in da2, where you have to pick between templars and Mages, as well as anders fate, and chances are regardless of what you do, at least 1 person ends up dead.

If anyone reading this has any suggestions for how to further improve this storyline, feel free to share, but regardless, i think we can all agree that this is a vast improvement of what we actually got.

[screwzara]

Guess It's Gonna Stay This Way

[Masterlist]

|| Next ||

Chapter 1: It's A Start, I Suppose

"I can't go with you, there are others who need assistance as well", The Guide calmly explained to the creature

It seemed restless, it's tail swishing about as it tried its best to convey the anxiety it felt

"Perhaps you could join me then?", she suggested, which was promptly met by a soft bonk to the head, seems like it wasn't too keen on that idea either

"Well this isn't going to work then...", so there was a horrifying, possibly eldritch monster with the mental capacity of a scared child with abandonment issues that refused to leave her alone but did not want to be seen by anyone else which was sort of impossible since she usually spent her time going around and guiding lost people through this labyrinth of a forest

...not an ideal situation but it'll have to do. At least this creature hasn't attacked her for however long they have been wandering together

It made some sad noises as its hand rested on her shoulder, it sounded like whining. It was...a little pathetic but who's she to judge? She's met many folks, from the most normal ones to the most unhinged and deranged ones, a whiny, clingy anomaly isn't the worst she's dealt with before

"Hm, you can still accompany me to help other lost travellers. You just need to eat this-", The Guide hummed as she took something from her bag, grabbed it's main hand and placed it in its hand, "I don't have a name for it but eating it should make you invisible to the naked eye"

It stayed still as it took in the new sensation in its palm, it was old, crinkly, very...dry. And flat. Hm, interesting. It 'looked' at the Guide, wondering if she'd be able to see him anyway judging by the confidence in her tone.

It was about to put the 'treat' in its gaping mouth when the dry thing moved suddenly, startling the poor thing. Like any other scared soul would, it shook the moving thing off its hand and shrunk in slight fear.

Must've been more jarring for it since it can't see

"Oh! Sorry, yes, I forgot to say, you have to eat it alive to get the effect", she chuckled awkwardly as she picked up, what it now assumed was some kind of bug native to the forest they were in, and sheepishly placed the bug in its hand again

It decided that eating it quickly would be best.

She didn't know what she had been expecting when she told it to eat, the sight of the attempt at eating, nearly choking and the coughing and wheezing that followed after it ate the bug was... uncomfortable, to put it mildly

"Now that that's over, let's go. I heard someone shouting in the distance", The Guide gestured at it to follow her

It did not, one, because it was wondering how she heard something it did not, though perhaps that was because its hearing was...limited at best. And two,...well it was obvious.

It took the Guide a moment to realise her mistake, "Sorry! Sorry, I forgot you can't see", she cringed visibly as she gently grabbed it's hand and led it

It was eerily for a while, the ever-eternal darkness that surrounded this forest was looking, threatening, and the wild life within this region did not help soothe any worries.

The silence was broken by a quiet, curious hum from the creature as it silently, sloppily, slithered along with the Guide. She looked at it, mildly confused before answering what she thought was likely it's question to her

"Yes, I can see you. Certain folks have eyes that can see through certain magical effects", she answered in a hushed tone, the silence of the forest loud and unbearable but oddly comforting for one such as her, one who has been here for...a long time

It hummed before returning back to its silence once more. Huh, guess she guessed its question correctly

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

Part 2?

@boiling-potato

What basically started this AU lol

Edit: I posted this to AO3 by the same fic name lmao, I'll be crediting every OC I use for this AU :)

|| Next ||

[mermaidslabyrinth]

WIP Wednesday

Thank you for the tags @rottengrowls , @rainwingmarvel7 , @queen--kenobi , and @chic-beyond-the-wall-oc-acct. You are all so kind to tag me. I love picking which scenes to share. I have been working on this chapter for the last 4 days. I have one more scene then onto chapter 8.

Rhagerys walked over to a small table that held some blank parchment, blank small scrolls, a jar of ink, and a quill. He picked up one small scroll, the jar of ink, and a quill. He walked over to his table. He set the items down and took a seat. He flattened the scroll in front of him. He opened the ink jar and dabbed the quill into it. Rhagerys tapped the quill on the side of the jar to get the extra ink off. ~Aemond I write this quick note to let you know that I will be unable to send any letters or ravens for almost a moon’s turn. My father and I are flying to Pentos. When we return to Dragonstone I will send a raven to let you know. There is no need to write back for we be gone by the time you receive this. Until then, be well. ~Rhagerys Rhagerys reread the note and was satisfied that, even though it was too brief for his liking, it would do. He blew lightly on the ink to help it dry quicker. He stood from his seat and walked back over to the small table. He picked up a wax seal stamp that he had commissioned for himself. It was an intricate design of a bell with a dragon’s head in it. A way Rhagerys could honor both his Houses. Aemond had one of his own as well, it had a dragon’s head that bore a resemblance to Vhagar. Their designs were something they both planned and worked on together. There were many letters and notes sent back and forth during the process. They finally were able to decide on the designs of the wax seal stamps that they use now. Rhagerys set the wax seal stamp back down. It was such a habit to grab for it. Rhagerys and Aemond did not usually send ravens. They would wait for when ships would sail between Dragonstone and King’s Landing. Then they would send the letters that they had written between the those times. When Rhagerys was on progress through Westeros for those two years, that was when they used ravens much more. Rhagerys would send one to let Aemond know to what House he was traveling to next. Aemond would respond that he would have a letter sent to that House and it would be waiting upon his arrival. Rhagerys remembered being impressed at how that was usually the truth. Rhagerys stayed in each region, save for Dorne and the Crownlands, for four turns of the moon. So, there were many letters exchanged between the two. When Rhagerys returned to Dragonstone, he kept all the letters Aemond wrote safe and tucked away in the trunk at the foot of his bed. Save for one. It was a letter he received when the two were three and ten. At the time Rhagerys was staying at his mother's childhood home, Strongsong. He remembered how excited he was to receive the letter. Only to be absolutely appalled at its contents. After Rhagerys read it, he burned it. Though, the contents stayed with him. Aemond never wrote about it again, so Rhagerys vowed he would honor his cousin by never writing about it as well. He also made a vow that he would never be put in that sort of situation. That he would never be coerced to go to a brothel. And that when he met Aemond again, he would inform him that the letter had been destroyed. Rhagerys thought about the other letters that he held onto. There were days he would take them out and read them. If only to be able to feel that connection with his cousin he desperately craved some days. Rhagerys shook his head of all the memories he accumulated from the letters he and Aemond had exchanged the past three years. He picked up the leather twine that was needed to tie up his scroll. He walked away from the small table. Rhagerys smiled. ‘When I get back from Pentos. I will have so much to tell him.’

Well that's a piece of my chapter 7 to my main story. I honestly am so surprised I am just getting to the Pentos scenes (I thought I'd be there 2 chapters ago). But the muse does as she pleases (so does Daemon it seems...).

I see a lot of people have been tagged but I have some more: @darkwolf76, @yoursweetheartsrevenge, @lyssaelisa, and @alicent-archive. Absolutely no pressure.

[cosmicheartzone]

X Sonic & Tails along with CHZ Cosmo move north of the Night Carnival, to a more mountainous region close to an ocean, they however are stopped by a roadblock made out of a large pile of rocks standing in their way.

(X) Sonic: Uh oh, what happened here?

(X) Tails: Looks like a landslide has closed this road… we may have to find another way arou-

X Tails is suddenly interrupted by a familiar, and angry voice coming from nearby

(X) Knuckles: You dirty bat! You better help me out of here or I swear I’ll… grumbles

(X) Sonic: Uh oh, looks like Knuckles is in a pickle…

X Sonic runs toward where they find X Knuckles stuck between two rocks, and the teasing giggles of a familiar batgirl with her legs crossed while sitting on a rock nearby

(X) Rouge: If I help you out, will you give me the Master Emerald?

Knuckles’ reply is as swift as Sonic’s top speed

(X) Knuckles: NO!

(X) Rouge: Oh c’mon, that island of yours isn’t even floating any more. Can’t I at least have onnnnnne tiny piece? As a treat?~ I could use a new ring…

(X) Knuckles: NO MEANS NO!

Knuckles grumbles some more while Rouge chuckles at his predicament as Sonic approaches the two

(X) Sonic: Knuckles? Rouge? What’s going on here?

(X) Rouge: Well if it isn't Big Blue, I don’t know what happened to Handsome Red here… wink but it’s pretty funny

Sonic gets closer to Knuckles  grabbing on to a stuck arm and trying to pull Knuckles out himself.

(X) Sonic: No good… Rouge, I know you like teasing Knux here but we really should get him out. Who knows if we may need him for an ongoing situation.

Rouge shrugged

(X) Rouge: Fine, I guess I suppose I’ve already had my fun… Rouge spins herself into a drilling formation as she breaks the rock preventing Knuckles’ movement. Knuckles slowly getting up, half of his body still asleep from not being able to move.

(X) Knuckles: Would have been nice if you did that WITHOUT Sonic asking you to…

Rouge giggled

(X) Rouge: But I don’t get too many opportunities to talk with you while you’re being a hermit on that formerly floating island

X Tails and CHZ Cosmo walk in

(X) Tails: Formerly floating? What exact happ-

(X) Knuckles: GASP TAILS! LOOK OUT!

(X) Tails: Wait wha- AAAAAH!

Knuckles tackles Tails away from CHZ Cosmo’s side

(X) Tails: Knuckles?! What the heck are you doing?!

(X) Knuckles: There was a ghost beside you!

CHZ Cosmo tilted her head

(CHZ) Cosmo: G-ghost? (…Oh right, he’s probably assuming I’m the other me who ‘died’)

X Sonic shook his head

(X) Sonic: Did one of those rocks take some brain cells from you, Knucklehead? Even if she was a ghost why would Tails need to be afraid of Cosmo’s ghost?

(X) Knuckles: You never know! It could be one of King Boom Boo’s minions trying to lure Tails into a trap or something! Didn’t you tell me one of them possessed Amy back on Chris' world? But if that’s not the case… Wait a moment…

Knuckles runs over to CHZ Cosmo’s side and curiously pokes her. Noticing that she’s actually there, and not a spooky trick.

(X) Knuckles: Whuh… how… Tails, did you…?

(X) Tails: It’s a little more complicated than that… but before we explain. Tell me, what happened to Angel Island.

Rouge looked incredulous

(X) Rouge: Your girlfriend’s suddenly back to life, the same one that your grief turned you into even more of a loner then Knuckles here for weeks, if not months… and you’re concerned about Angel Island?! Who are you and where is the real Tails?

Tails scratches the back of his head

(X) Tails: Ahehheh, I get that it looks that way but seriously we’ll explain soon! But for now I can say that in short, she is not the same Cosmo that traveled with us.

(X) Knuckles: So wait, does that make her some kind of clone you created though all that science you do?

CHZ Cosmo giggles

(CHZ) Cosmo: Nah, I’m not a clone. But please Knuckles, listen to Tails and tell us what happened to Angel Island.

(X) Knuckles: To put it simply I don’t even know, the island just stopped floating for some reason. But I am starting to suspect it has something to do with that purple cat girl! The same one who buried me under those rocks in the first place

Rouge mocked a gasp, putting  the back of her hand over her forehead in an overdramatic and joking fashion

(X) Rouge: Knuckles… you’ve been seeing another girl?! Ohhhhh I’m absolutely heartbroken, I thought we had something special!

Knuckles gets even more red in the face, though it’s hard to tell if it's sheer anger, blushed embarrassment, or both at the same time.

Rouge giggles watching him seethe, Sonic chuckles alongside her. Knuckles just and crosses his arms before continuing.

Rouge giggles, Sonic chuckles alongside her. Knuckles grumbling and crosses his arms.

(X) Knuckles: As I was saying, I saw that catgirl with Cream. Something seemed awfully suspicious about her, especially when I thought I saw what could have been a Chaos Emerald!

(X) Tails: Are you absolutely certain she had a Chaos Emerald?

(X) Knuckles: Well I didn’t see the exact shape of what she had in her hand. But what else could it have been?

CHZ Cosmo speaks up

(CHZ) Cosmo: No, I doubt that’s what she had in her hand

Knuckles raises an eyebrow

(X) Knuckles: And how are you so sure? You just came back to life, which by the way still has to be explained to me… and all of a sudden you’re telling us you conveniently know this girl? Was she an alien friend of yours or something?

(X) Tails: Knuckles! We already told you, she’s not the Cosmo that was with us when we fought the Metarex!

(X) Knuckles: Then why is she acting like she knows us?

(CHZ) Cosmo: Because I know another version of you and the others…

Knuckles is given more details of what has happened lately. Though the information seems to overwhelm him.

(X) Knuckles: Ugh, this is too much. Are you sure there isn’t some sort of weird partial memory loss. This alternate dimension stuff… I know Chris’ world was something like it. But why all of a sudden do we have 2 more dimensions involved? Why has our planet of all places seemingly become the centerpoint of space and time. Urgh… I’m so confused, and still ANGRY… I think I need to punch something just to clear my head!

Knuckles walks on over to the rocks blocking the road and starts mercilessly letting his frustrations out on them. The rest of the group just watched him with wide stares and blinking eyes. When Knuckles is done, he’c created a path through which Sonic, Tails and CHZ Cosmo could walk through.

(X) Sonic: Uh… thanks for the path?

Knuckles wasn’t even considering that he was helping out Sonic when hitting those rocks. But decides to act like that was the intention.

(X) Knuckles: You’re welcome, Sonic! Though before you all go, I’d still like to hear a bit more from Cosmo here.

(X) Rouge: Maybe I can help with that… Cosmo, do you… recall anything about me and… Shadow at all…? It might help Knuckles understand whether you are the Cosmo we knew or not, and… also some guilt I’d really like to shake off…

(CHZ) Cosmo: (Guilt? What could Rouge be so guilty about…) Well, the Rouge I know we’re at best casual friends by now. I don’t see the other you that often, but we do get along. Shadow though…

A big smile comes from her face, she puts her hands together as her eyes shine.

(CHZ) Cosmo: He’s… me and my kind’s greatest hero!

Knuckles acts surprised, while Tails face turns serious as he turns his back.

(X) Knuckles: Ok… NOW I am convinced this isn’t the Cosmo that was with us. There’s no way the Cosmo we knew would see Shadow in such a positive light…

CHZ Cosmo looked concerned. Hearing what Knuckles just said, Rouge’s face of guilt, and especially Tails’ suddenly serious face.

(CHZ) Cosmo: …Ok I think it’s finally time for someone to explain what exactly Shadow did to my counterpart…

((More after the break))

Everyone else other than Tails shows grave frowns, not sure how to explain this lightly.

(X) Rouge: Well… um… how do we put this… Shadow…

(X) Tails: …Tried to kill her

X Tails interrupted with a near whisper

(CHZ) Cosmo: Huh? Tails… can… can you repeat that?

Tails turned around, Tails face’ just about baring his fangs as his teeth clenches before he yells

(X) Tails: I SAID SHADOW TRIED TO KILL HER!

CHZ Cosmo puts both hands over her mouth. She could barely fathom why Shadow would do such a thing

(CHZ) Cosmo: He… he had to have been mind-controlled by the Metarex… surely?

(X) Tails: If only that had been the case… but no, he made the conscious decision that our Cosmo should die because he assumed, and without telling what evidence he has, that she was a willing SPY!

(X) Rouge: He didn’t exactly have his memories thou-

(X) Tails: YOU SHUSH! I still haven’t forgotten that you were basically his accomplice! You said she was a plant in more ways than one!

Rouge lowered her head placing her left hand on her right arm

(X) Rouge: Sigh It’s true the more time has passed since her sacrifice, the more guilt-ridden I feel about that day… If our Cosmo is regenerating as this other Cosmo told us, at least I may still get the chance to apologize…

CHZ Cosmo seems nervous to ask given Tails’ mood isn’t in the best place right now. But she turns toward Rouge.

(CHZ) Cosmo: Um, Rouge… by any chance do you know where this universe’s Shadow is?

X Tails about murmurs quietly to himself

(X) Tails: I don’t care where he is… I hope I never see him again…

(X) Rouge: He um… asked to borrow my spaceship, not that I had much use for it with the Metarex gone. And he did so not long after a heated conversation he had with Tails last time he was here. Foxboy here might have legitimately guilt tripped him into leaving this planet indefinitely.

I witnessed their conversation myself if you want to hear about it. I doubt Tails in any mood to retell it himself.

X Tails had his back turned to the group. Practically confirming Rouge’s doubts. CHZ Cosmo frowned, she wonders if she should hear about what happened the last time this universe’s Tails and Shadow last saw each other. But thought it was best to get it all out there, so she understands how to proceed from here.

(CHZ) Cosmo: Go ahead, Rouge… tell me all you remember of this conversation…

Rouge nodded

(X) Rouge: It is thankfully a bit easier to talk about now that we know our Cosmo might be slowly regenerating. But back when we all thought Cosmo was still gone forever… it… was hard to watch…

FLASHBACK START

On a dreary and cloudy day, X Tails had just finished landing the Blue Typhoon, much of it still retaining the damage it sustained in the climactic battle against Final Mova in the bottom of a deep canyon. He seeked a place to put what’s left of the large space ship where he would never see it again. It’s true the ship had good memories associated for him too. But Cosmo’s sacrifice had tainted all of it. 

The last thing he did before leaving the ship was laying controlled explosives around the entire cockpit. He told Sonic he’d do that in case Eggman got the idea of trying to engineer the Blue Typhoon himself to use against them. That now besides the damage it had taken against Final Mova, the entire cockpit would have to be rebuilt too if it was to be used again. But deep down they both knew that Eggman was fully capable of creating his very own ships, he likely wouldn’t use a ship that Sonic and the others know from top to bottom.

It didn’t matter where he was on the Blue Typhoon, wherever he went. The first thing that came to mind was what he and Cosmo did together in each room of the ship. The room where she tried to set up a surprise party by herself before he and the Chaotix stepped in still had some of the decorations left from where they were that day. The hallways with leftover damage from when either Shadow was chasing him and Cosmo or from the final battle, the launching bay where Cosmo had brought him tea while he was fixing up the X Tornado and other ships, and other places where memories of his time with Cosmo that only made him feel worse about what it all led up to. He nearly had another breakdown walking through the halls this last time, but he persevered and flew out of his ship with his namesakes. 

He looked down at the Blue Typhoon  one more time before pulling out a controller with a big red button. It was for the explosives. With a single press, the cockpit of the Blue Typhoon was blown up. Rendering the vessel unusable until the control systems get rebuilt. He thought about destroying the entire ship, but who knows if there would be another adventure that requires them to go to outer space. Tails hopes that if they have to go somewhere far off in space in the future, it’s years from now. Where maybe by then he will have built an entirely new ship, and/or when he had finally gotten over Cosmo’s death, if he ever does.

What Tails didn’t know was that there were two nearby enough to hear the explosion. Rouge’s sensitive bat ears heard it while she was flying. She flew in the direction of the sound and hid behind a wall of rocks. The other one seemed to have had their solitude suddenly broken by the explosion. An irritated look on his face as he ran over to investigate.

He gasped as he ran over to find Tails, looking over the cliff solemnly just like he had just been doing before the explosion rocked the canyon.

(X) Shadow: What are you doing here, Tails?

Tails turns around with an unamused face.

(X) Tails: I should be asking the same thing to you…

Shadow could feel the disdain in Tails’ voice

(X) Shadow: sigh I get it, Tails… Cos-

(X) Tails: LEAVE HER NAME OUT OF YOUR MOUTH, SHADOW! You tried to murder her! And now she IS gone, maybe not by your hand. But are you happy now, you got what you wanted…

Shadow was taken aback, Tails’ raised voice echoing throughout the canyon adding to the tension between the two.

(X) Shadow: Hey, circumstances have changed… I know now she was forced to spy for them but…

(X) Tails: BUT WHAT?! YOU COULDN’T HAVE TALKED IT OVER WITH US FIRST INSTEAD OF NEARLY KILLING HER IN HER SLEEP?!

Shadow looked down

(X) Shadow: I… I had no idea that she had already endeared herself to you and the others. I especially underestimated how much you in particular felt about her. I am sorr-

(X) Tails: DON’T YOU ATTEMPT TO APOLOGIZE TO ME! It was HER you should have apologized to… BUT NOW YOU NEVER WILL! YOU’RE ONLY SAYING SORRY NOW THAT SHE’S GONE! IF SHE LIVED, YOU PROBABLY NEVER WOULD HAVE APOLOGIZED!

Tails stepped closer to Shadow, actually kind of scaring the Ultimate Lifeform. As he backs off slightly.

(X) Tails: In fact… I bet I know why Chaos Regeneration didn’t work… it wasn’t that you and Sonic failed… you probably HELD BACK ON PURPOSE!

(X) Shadow: That’s… that’s not true! I put nearly everything I had in both trying to save her, but also had to reserve some strength from containing the blast. I was very close to dying for good that time.

(X) Tails: Maybe you SHOULD have… Tell me… Why… WHY DO YOU GET TO ‘SACRIFICE’ YOURSELF AND LIVE ON AND COSMO DOES NOT?!

Shadow lowered his head and sighed

(X) Shadow: …I have no answer for that. It’s true, it’s not fair…

Tails turns his back toward Shadow

(X) Tails: Then maybe you can tell me this, Shadow. Even if I know you’re still recovering your memories, let’s say you had a girl you really care about… and someone or some agency like… I don’t know… G.U.N. perhaps, has determined without evidence that she was a spy. And thus she had to die with not even a chance to prove her innocence and/or whether she had been bugged wilfully or not

Something about this didn’t seem right to Shadow, as if Tails was saying something he knew about Shadow that he still doesn’t quite remember fully

(X) Shadow: What… what are you insinuating?!

Tails doesn’t answer, he simply continues his analogy.

(X) Tails: And then think about this… you successfully fend off her attacker. Only for sometime later a situation happens where it’s either her or the entire world is destroyed… and you have to pull the trigger.

It’s either the one person you care about the most, or the untold billions of lives at stake that you don’t even know… and she herself is insisting you shoot no matter how much it tears you up inside…

Tell me, Shadow… what would you do…

If that girl was none other than… Maria…

Shadow gasped

(X) Shadow: (The… same name… Rouge mentioned in the Metarex base…)

As if a psychic blow had been put on him, Shadow grunts as he’s forced to his knees and he places his arms on his head.

(X) Shadow: (Why… why does that name cause me to flinch so much… I don’t understand…)

Tails simply begins to walk off, leaving Shadow there all alone. Rouge, who had been watching the conversation, looked stunned. Once Tails was out of sight, Rouge flew over to Shadow’s side to help him up.

(X) Rouge: I knew that fox was hit hard, but I didn’t think he was going to bring up the M word in front of you…

(X) Shadow: Urgh… Rouge… can I ask you something?

(X) Rouge: Yes?

(X) Shadow: Your spaceship… I’d… I’d like to use it.

Rouge blinked

(X) Rouge: Well, it’s not like I need it anymore with the Metarex dealt with, so I guess you can… but why?

(X) Shadow: This planet isn’t my home, I shouldn’t be hanging around here… especially if others are going to hold me as if I was partly accountable for what happened to Cosmo…

(X) Rouge: Now hold on, that was just Tails. Cosmo was very special to him, not everyone is going to be so hostile to you… and what about Eggman helping you out with your memories.

(X) Shadow: You really don’t think anyone else who was on the Blue Typhoon will hold the day I attacked Cosmo against me after what happened? I doubt it.

As for the Doctor, hmmph, I think by now he’s only used my memories as leverage for me to work for him. Even if he does know my memories, he doesn’t seem like he’s ever going to tell me without any strings attached.

(X) Rouge: Will traveling through space really help you out though? I doubt you’ll find your way to where Chris’ and the ARK is.

(X) Shadow: I don’t think I need the ARK to regain my memories. I just need solitude in space, I think my memories have been slowly returning. But I need to be alone… it’s for the best that I don’t stick around anyway.

Rouge still wasn’t sure, but she figured she didn’t need her ship for now.

(X) Rouge: Alright, do whatever you feel is best, Shadow. I hope you come back though once you’ve cleared your head.

Shadow turns his back

(X) Shadow: …I can’t promise that. This may very well be the last time we ever speak.

Rouge stood silent for a moment

(X) Rouge: If… if that’s the case, I hope you get your memories back. And that you rest easy, however much of the past may haunt you…

Shadow simply solemnly nodded, before running off.

END OF FLASHBACK

There was simply a moment of silence as Rouge told what happened between X Tails and Shadow. CHZ Cosmo frowns and lowers her head.

(CHZ) Cosmo: t-t-Tails… I completely understand your feelings about this universe’s Shadow. I’m not going to tell you that you were wrong to yell at him. Attempted murder is serious! He deserved a stern talking, and you were right to point out that Shadow could have simply talked about it with you, Sonic, and the others before resorting to sneaking into her room without telling anyone his intentions. Even with the caveat that he lost his memory, that was no excuse for him to… almost be just like the G.U.N. soldier that killed Maria. It might have been a bit of a low blow, but mentioning Maria to Shadow… was kind of warranted…

X Tails just quietly nodded

(CHZ) Cosmo: I will still say though now you must know that Shadow did try to make up for it by attempting to help Sonic save her from death, and you know now that it worked! Just more slowly than you and everyone else tho-

(X) Tails: I know what you’re going to say… that once my Cosmo does regenerate, and if Shadow ever does return... I should find it within my heart to forgive him… I just don't know if I can do that.

Even if he does deserve credit for saving her. I can’t simply forget when he was relentlessly chasing us down throughout the entire ship. It was like a real life horror movie. That cold scowl of his as he walked up to our Cosmo who was scared out of her mind… it’ll take more than saying sorry before I ever consider forgiving him. Him being half the reason Cosmo may still regenerate doesn’t make up for the fact he had once threatened her life.

He sighs, and lifts his head up

(X) Tails: …But let’s forget about Shadow for now. We have more important things to take care of.

(X) Knuckles: I guess we can get back to Cosmo explaining what she thinks that catgirl had in her hands.

CHZ Cosmo nodded

(CHZ) Cosmo: Right, as I was going to say… Blaze more than likely had a Sol Emerald. They’re sort of her dimension’s incarnation of the Chaos Emeralds

Knuckles realized something

(X) Knuckles: Perhaps the Sol Emeralds being in this universe has interfered with the Master Emerald’s power and that’s why my island fell!

Rouge grinned mischievously

(X) Rouge: A new set of emeralds you say? Maybe I should find one for myself, might make a good hunt~

(X) Tails: Please don’t even joke about this, Rouge... The Sol Emeralds likely have to go back if we’re going to avoid any collision between our universes. Do you want to cause a time suspension phenomenon or possibly something worse all because of your greed?

Rouge sighs as she’s denied once again

(X) Rouge: Fiiiiiineee… I guess I’ll just go my own way then, I’m sure Big Blue will fix this mess. If we ended an intergalactic war, surely two Eggmen is nothing. If you need my help feel free to go find me, but it may come at a cost…

She looks at Knuckles with half-lidded eyes

(X) Rouge: I’ll offer one more time, handsome… I can be your mercenary for hire if you promise I can make a ring out of a piece of the Master emerald~

Knuckles deadpanned

(X) Knuckles: The answer is still no…

Rouge giggled

(X) Rouge: Can’t blame a girl for trying! But in that case, I’ll wish you luck boys. And same for the other Cosmo here. Can’t wait to hear how this ultimately wraps up

She winks one more time to Knuckles before waving and lifting off. Knuckles just grumbles

(X) Knuckles: That girl drives me batty…

(X) Sonic: Chuckles Well, she IS a bat after all.

(X) Knuckles: And you’re not helping… regardless, I should take my leave as well. I need to give a piece of my mind to that cat that buried me

(CHZ) Cosmo: You know Knuckles, we’re looking for her too. Why don’t you tag along?

(X) Knuckles: I appreciate it, but I gotta decline. 

(X) Tails: If you find her before us, don’t rough her up too much. We may need her..,

(X) Knuckles: No promises, Tails. You know I have to get even with that cat…

Sonic looked over to Tails and CHZ Cosmo with a smug face

(X) Sonic: I guess we’ll be rescuing him from another pile of rocks soon enough…

Knuckles growled

(X) Knuckles: You wanna go?! I’ll take both you and her down one after another!

X Tails and CHZ Cosmo just giggled

(CHZ) Cosmo: Some things never change no matter the universe, huh?

(X) Tails: Sure seems like Sonic and Knuckles are always destined to butt heads no matter what…

X Tails and CHZ Cosmo manage to prevent Sonic and Knuckles from fighting citing that they need to find the next Chaos Emerald. Knuckles flies off on his own path to search for Blaze, and the rest finally move down the road that Knuckles had opened for them.

The three reach the waters, though Cosmo is a bit puzzled to see no fleet of ships

(CHZ) Cosmo: Um… Sonic, Tails, does G.U.N. still exist in this universe?

(X) Sonic: In this universe? On Chris’ planet if that counts, sure. Here though… not really

(X) Tails: Why do you ask, Cosmo?

(CHZ) Cosmo: (Well… that slightly complicates things, when these events happened in my universe Sonic found the next emerald on a fleet of G.U.N. ships but if they’re not here… perhaps…) It was just a quick question I wanted to know. But I think the next emerald could be underwater.

Sonic grimaces

(X) Sonic: Uh… in that case how about the both of you get this one… you know how I am about water…

(X) Tails: I could go back to my lab to give each of us a respirator.

(CHZ) Cosmo: There is no need, Tails. There’s… something you should know about me. Remember when I told you that I breathe out oxygen?

(X) Tails: Yes?

(CHZ) Cosmo: That means when underwater, I can produce bubbles of air that help keep you and Sonic safe from drowning!

Sonic gasped

(X) Sonic: Whoa, really?! Darn, I could have really used that when I was at the Water Palace!

(X) Tails: That’s amazing! I wonder if our Cosmo had that capability... Though she didn’t exactly tell us she could while we were on Planet Hydo. 

(CHZ) Cosmo: Wait, isn’t Hydo supposed to be a dry planet?

(X) Sonic: Well it’s back to being one after we saved its planet egg. But when we were there, it had a LOT of water. TOO much water in fact…

(CHZ) Cosmo: I see… the planet egg thing is still a bit weird to me. But I suppose as long as it means the planet is safe now. Regardless, follow me! I’ll make as many bubbles as necessary to help the both of you breathe underwater as we search for the Chaos Emerald.

X Sonic and Tails both nod as they wade into the ocean together with CHZ Cosmo to search for the 5th Chaos Emerald.

FIRST CHAPTER

PREVIOUS CHAPTER

NEXT CHAPTER