#I don't even want to get into early villager trading

[onebizarrekai]

I've updated my world all the way to 1.3.1 since I last made a post about beta minecraft… I think I neglected to mention that I've updated the game every time I ran out of things to do. things that have happened since then:

- upgraded my mob farm to get all the discs in 1.1 and went through like 50 discs before I got a single strad - world's worst sugarcane farm was so inefficient that I built a regular one behind it - almost lost my world when I updated to 1.2.1 because some corrupted chunks loaded in for some reason while I was looking for a cat and it took me 4 hours to realize I could just delete those chunks manually to recover it (which fortunately weren't important chunks). nobody on the internet provided this answer by the way. nothing bad has happened since then. I now make backups - built a custom tree above my portal and next to the tower (which was made taller when the build height increased) and it took forever - pet teleportation broke so badly in 1.2.5 I almost went insane - I had to travel like 500 blocks just to find cows. I do not want to recount the events that went into me taking it back. just know that it involved one of my sitting dogs teleporting to me of its own volition, me accidentally punching a cow and the dog trying to kill it - weird balcony things that had cactus on them before are now enclosed towers with nothing in them - new cactus farm (the big rectangular building) went through two renditions once I updated for more wood colors (if it looks questionable now it looked very bad before) - I made a much needed railway to my blaze/exp farm - that building at the bottom is a piston cocoa bean farm and it literally took me like a week to figure out how to build the exterior

[justpoliteconversations]

Apple Merchant [BOTW!Link x Isekai!Reader] (Part 6)

Plans are being made. And Link is facing his demons as well as he can.

Still taking time to inch my way back to full speed. Things are getting better though and I can feel my fingers itching to write more and more. Still riding the joy of pure indulgence with a feel good favorite. I can never stop myself from rambling in this one.

Part 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6

Alternate Extras: Embrace

Masterlist

TW: Choosing not to display warnings. Read at your own discretion.

Disclaimer: Don't own The Legend of Zelda franchise.

---

Finally back in Hateno after several weeks of long, uncomfortable (sand infested. lizalfos infested) travel along the coast (doing your standard business. gathering what supplies you could for Link), and you were ready to just slip into bed for the rest of your life. Maybe even retire early. Ensure you never have to see another damned lizalfos for as long as you live (you won't, but the thought is there).

But it was simply not to be. You'd barely crossed the gates into Hateno proper and already you were planning (reluctantly) an even longer trip into territories you'd never (well. not never. but not for long) thought to venture to. And honestly, you weren't looking forward to it.

And by the look on Skim's and Adino's faces, neither were they.

Not even a day after returning to your home village you'd broken the news to your guards that you were planning a trip towards Goron territory. Though, if you were lucky and utilized your resources wisely, you might never even have to set foot in that brimstone hellscape of a volcano (you hoped).

You'd thought once (some years ago), that maybe it would be a place you should visit. The Gorons were known to be friendly to travelers. The paths were littered with unclaimed mineral and gemstone deposits. And the infrastructure for travel was there thanks to the thriving tourism industry in the area.

It'd seemed like a wonderful idea when you'd started planning such a venture in your early days of merchanting. Back when you were still riding high from making your first small fortune and were still relatively unaware of the world at large. Of its challenges. Of its dangers.

That was until you started gathering information on the hazards in the area, and your opinion of the region took an immediate and drastic turn.

The high death rates associated with heatstroke, dehydration and smoke inhalation were concerning enough. But learning that the volcano occasionally erupted (killing dozens, even hundreds of travelers when it did), and was infested with talus' (over 40 confirmed sightings. nearly 20 unconfirmed). It was enough to put you off.

Skims and Adino knew this. You'd made it a point to explain to them why you wouldn't be heading that direction ever (but apparently not ever, because here you were. planning). No matter how much money could be made harvesting minerals or trading with the locals.

Not the produce trade though, despite what one would think coming from a land known for its lava lakes and frequent wildfires.

The volcanic soil was actually an excellent source of fertilizer (which you wanted. in bulk. as much as you could shove in your mindslate). Making the region around the volcano one of the more prosperous lands for growing crops and herbs. Even when compared to the more central settlements of Hyrule, right on the bread-belt of the land (if you were willing to risk the guardians, that is).

It was a region a farmer (and merchant) could make a fortune, if they were lucky enough to hit brown gold. And If one was willing to take staggering losses everytime the volcano blew its top. And there would be losses. There always was when mother nature got involved with the lives of mortals.

No. You had been eager to get into the fish and cloth (and sand) trade. So close to the volcano, magma deposits were unusually close to the surface in the surrounding lands. And while this created the most beautiful hotspring (entire lakes worth) tourist attractions, it also limited the amount of life-sustaining (and fish-sustaining) water sources in the area. Which, in turn, limited the number of local fisheries and livestock flocks the land could sustain.

The constant presence of ash and volcanic runoff also poisoned much of the water sources in the immediate areas around the mountian. Further adding to the lack of available water sources for fish and livestock (and people too, for that matter. Hence, the sand. A natural filtering agent for locals in the area) to live off of.

So. Fish and cloth (and sand). Those had been your plan a couple years ago. Until the reality of the territory's dangers made you reconsider. And later, dismiss the idea all together.

Knowing this, of course Skims questioned your sudden interest in the northeastern part of Hyrule. A territory you had said yourself was not worth the risk of death and revenue loss to expand your business ventures into.

You had been honest with them, of course (you were always honest with your most trusted guardsmen. when confronted, at least). Though not necessarily forthcoming with the details. Which, frankly, was par for the course as far as your more private dealings were concerned.

"I'm looking to acquire localized goods for an important client." You offered in way of an explanation, letting the things you hadn't said speak volumes. And, of course, Skims merely nodded. Still looking doubtful, but willing to accept your reasoning as your own without contest.

That was another thing you liked about him, other then his fierce loyalty and care. Easy going at the best of times, accepting at the worst. You never had to worry too much about Skims poking holes in your reasonings or explanations. You just needed to pay him, and he was willing to turn a blind eye to your eccentricities.

Adino, on the other hand.

"It's a waste of damned time no matter how important this so-called client of yours is. Just use the stable system instead of draggin' us along to that Goddess forsaken hellhole." Adino snapped, irritable still so soon after the previous trip (the bite a lizalfos nearly took out of his rear near Highland Stable not having helped his already sour attitude). Narrowing his eyes at you with suspicion.

Which was fair, honestly. In any other situation, letting the stable system deliver your desired product would have been the most efficient (and cheapest) way for such a limited and precise order. What would take several months of travel for a merchant (yourself included), the system could get delivered several weeks earlier. Maybe the same amount of time, or slightly longer than originally calculated, if the weather turned unfavorable or a blood moon cluttered up previously clear roads with monsters.

Without knowledge of your mindslate or the connection you have with Link (the previously mentioned client), it does sound like a bullshit reason to undertake such a dangerous journey out of the blue. Especially when there are safer and more cost efficient methods to achieve the same results (sort of). But the fact of the matter is that the system would not be quick enough to deliver your order before Link begun his journey towards Death Mountain.

(And it would be soon. Already there were rumors of the Zora Domain's endless rains easing at the boarders.)

Tally up the timeables, and getting the merchandise yourself was the only feasible way to get ahold of what you needed when you needed it. Where the stable system would require a two way trip to acquire your goods, you needed only one way to get it yourself (and add the slate's instant delivery to Link, and you're set). It was the only way to guarantee you'd meet the rapidly approaching deadline.

Also, you didn't trust the stable system to be as discerning as yourself when choosing suitable product. While you didn't doubt they would put forth their best efforts, you acknowledged that a delivery guild probably had limited knowledge of advanced spell craft and their associated counterfeits.

You couldn't afford to make any mistakes when it was The Hero of Hyrule's life you were working to secure.

Only the very best would do for Link, after all. Even if you had to put in the footwork to ensure it.

You smiled tiredly at Adino, noting how his thin brows were pulled into a deep frow. How his eyes flickered over your road-weary face and sagging posture with veiled intent. Searching and prying and worried. Lips pulled down in displeasure.

He was worried for you. Keeping secrets (something you'd seldom done so openly before. something you'd rarely done, period). Taking seemingly unnecessary risks (something you'd never done at all before this little proposal). All behaviors that were definite red flags. All behaviors that were concerning. Especially coming from someone like you (who you'd become).

And you loved that about Adino. How quietly observant and caring he was when he cared enough to try. Even if he acted like a prickly little cactus most of the time.

"Trust me. I wish I could just let the stables handle this." You'd begun, meeting Adino's (and Skims) gazes as you continued. Sighing. "But this is something I have to do myself. It's important to me."

Skims nodded, having already accepted your reasonings regardless. And slowly, reluctantly, Adino nodded too. Still looking as surly as ever, but willing to back down quietly so long as you were in possession enough of your thoughts to acknowledge the strangeness of your current plans.

"Thank you." And you meant that. Even as the next words hurt your very soul. Perhaps even more than the damned sand (yeah right). "I'll pay you triple if you agree to accompany me as my bodyguards." Skims' and Adino's eyes lit up at that, and you could practically see the rupee signs swimming within them. The bastards.

And somehow Red was suddenly there as well, looking just as bright-eyed and eager as she nodded along with the boys.

Your brow twitched. And Red grinned. Far too many teeth caged within blood red lips.

You sighed.

'Damnit, Link. Why do you cost me so much money.'

---

Sitting on the edge of the Zora Capital's Central Reservoir, Link held the slate in his cold-numbed hands. Looking out over the misty landscape laid out far below, cushioning the shining zora city in its translucent shroud.

The divine beast calmed at his back, as was the spirit still trapped within its confines (patient. kind. understanding. even in the face of death and heartbreak).

His fingers tightened on the slate's smooth edges at the reminder. Knuckles turning white from the pressure of his grip. The chilled ache of his bones a painful burn against his exposed flesh and skin.

His shoulders begun to shake. He wanted to sleep in his own bed, with his own pillow and his own blankets. He wanted to bathe in his shiny round bowl of a bath with his nice smelling soaps and hair cleansers.

He wanted to go home.

He was afraid to go home.

But no. That wasn't true. Not really. It wasn't that he was afraid to go home (to his home. to your home).

It was that he was ashamed. Ashamed of what he had lost. Ashamed of how he had failed.

Seeing Mipha's face (and that was her name. Mipha. the zora woman he may have once loved. not some nameless face peering out of her tomb with sad, accepting eyes) had finally made him understand the weight he carried upon his shoulders now. The burden of his past failings.

And he didn't know how to reconcile these feelings. Of who he was, and the pain he'd left in the wake of his death.

And who he was now, and his inability to grieve these people who had once meant so much to him. And who, in some ways, still did. Even if he couldn't remember why he felt as such. Even as the guilt tore him apart at the seams.

Far below, in the dark waters of the Domain's endless web of rivers. The flashing white of paper slips beneath a rising current. The ink fading into the darkness of the depths.

---

AM,

Thank you for everything you've done for me. Without you, I don't know if I'd have the strength to continue on. Knowing so much has been lost because of my failure.

I'm afraid of what I'll find if I remember who I used to be. I don't think I can be the man so many remember.

I don't want to be him. He's dead. I'm not him anymore. I'm me.

Is it selfish of me to just want to be the man I am now?

I'm sorry I couldn't be stronger for you and everyone who ever believed in me. I'm sorry I don't want to remember how to be strong.

I hope one day you can forgive me.

-Link

---

Back to the shadows to rest.

I forgot the tags before sleeping! Sorry Babies, I know you already found it, but I'll still tag you regardless!

Tagging: @littlepanda7 @2000babies

[mllemaenad]

Do you have any takes on the NCR? I'm relatively new to Fallout, but most of what I know about it is either from the tv show or from your Fallout 4 posting from a few years back, neither of which gives me much of a look at what the NCR was like when it was still around and not blown up. And you generally have good takes on video game factions.

Oh – thank you! I don't know if I'll be able to maintain that reputation, but we'll see. :)

I also don't know what you've started playing or intend to play, so I'll try to keep my spoilers at least a little vague so I don't spoil anything particularly cool for you.

My feelings about the NCR are complicated. You see, they look a lot like us. To be more specific, they look a lot like 20th century Americans. I'm not American and the 20th century was a while ago now – but there's still a lot that's familiar and comfortable. Like watching an older film: some of the slang is a bit weird, and the phones are wrong, but you could have a sensible conversation with these people, you know?

Because of the whole "alternate history" thing, the pre-war world can feel a bit distant. I think the TV series contains the longest stint we've ever had there, although I guess that depends a bit on how long a person takes to slog through Operation Anchorage. You mostly pick up bits of history from old holotapes and terminals. The stories are interesting: sometimes funny and sometimes tragic. But they are very much from another world. A world with a much stronger commitment to poodle skirts and Bing Crosby than we have.

But the NCR? If you play all the games, you live through their rise and fall. I have walked my clueless Vault Dweller into the tiny village of Shady Sands, and been very pleased to find some people who don't want to kill me. I've played the tourist in Fallout 2, walking through the actual modern capital city of the New California Republic – a standout area in a game largely full of shanty towns (there's Vault City but ... Vault City is not a fun place).

And there's genuinely a lot here to celebrate. They are the survivors of a Vault-Tec experiment specifically designed to test how a lot of diverse and contentious groups could live together. I'm not saying there's no bigotry in the NCR, because there is, but it's not built into their ideology the way it is in some other factions. There's a Super Mutant serving among the NCR Rangers in Fallout 2, and a ghoul town was among the republic's founding members. They explicitly state that they welcome mutant immigrants.

They're coaxing agriculture back into the wasteland even in the original Fallout, and they later expand into industry. They've got trade and education (there's apparently a university in the LA Boneyard, a thing I am sad that we never got to see), and they've outlawed slavery. In a lot of ways the rise of the NCR is a testament to human resilience in the face of incredible adversity.

But. Of course there's a but.

They are trying to rebuild on old world principles. There is a reason they look a lot like 20th century Americans. And they have not solved old world problems. As early as Fallout 2 there's evidence of the use of really dodgy expansionist tactics, and by New Vegas you're holding your breath as you watch them. Their army is simultaneously uncomfortably large and stretched too thin. Their economy is in trouble, and too much wealth is concentrating in too few hands. And they're pushy in a way you'd really prefer a democracy not to be. They have innocent blood on their hands.

They remain the good karma choice compared to Caesar's Legion, sure, but "crucifixion, rampant misogyny and mass slavery" are really low hurdles to get over. Their choices are ... troubling.

So there's a lot to critique, too, but in a way that mostly makes me sad. It makes you ask – is this inevitable? Is every society destined to deteriorate like this? Fallout's core thesis is "war never changes", so I think to some extent the answer is yes. At least – there's no perfect system or hopeful beginning that guarantees things won't go wrong. You have to watch all the time, or you end up back at the mushroom cloud.

If I have a critique of the TV series as it stands, it's that the destruction of the NCR by Vault-Tec in a fit of pique is an excellent way to mourn the good in the NCR (the sight of a hole where Shady Sands used to be hurts, just as worrying about the fate of characters I loved who lived in NCR territory hurts), but it does little to explore the problems of a democracy setting itself up as a newborn empire.

With that said, I expect that criticism is unfair as the series had a lot of legwork to do, explaining the world to any newcomers and ... I mean, there's a time and a place for delving into 23rd century politics and that probably isn't it.

I expect that they'll deal with this more in later seasons, particularly as we are headed toward New Vegas, heart of the "guys, are we sure this is a good idea?" NCR question.

[self-loving-vampire]

Had a lot of fun playing Age of Empires 2 with @thirteen-jades and @cyberbun tonight. We did two maps against hard AI, which we now seem to be capable of consistently beating both individually and in equal teams.

The first was a nomad + regicide game, the three of us against 5 teamless AIs in a random multi-continent map.

What these settings mean is that all the players start without a base, but may build one wherever and whenever they wish. It's a bit of a balance between getting one built as soon as possible to get ahead economically and looking for a good spot that will have enough resources and favorable geography to be useful long-term.

And the regicide setting means each player has a king unit whose survival is linked to that player's. If the king dies, the player immediately loses.

I was playing Gurjaras (cavalry and camels), Jade was playing Armenians (infantry and naval), and Lottie was playing Huns (cavalry).

This one started with all three of us unfortunately spread apart too far to reinforce each other in the early game, but fortunately this was not an issue since we were all capable of taking care of ourselves, especially with the AI sometimes fighting itself rather than attacking our team.

As is often the case when I'm not just supporting my sisters I took down my closest opponent first through some rather extreme harassment with light cavalry, killing dozens and dozens of villagers until they finally surrendered once my elephants started breaking down their town.

Jade then took down an enemy by herself while Lottie and I contained the goth tide coming from the west (I added hand cannons to my composition to deal with them). After bringing down the enemy king's castle I dived him with light cavalry and killed him before he could escape to another castle, instantly taking them out.

Following this, I joined Jade in sieging the Poles to the south, building a ton of stables and pumping out lots of camels to counting their horses, on top of my discounted light cavalry to cover Jade's artillery and cause chaos. It was a lot of fun, even if my starting location ended up being kind of low on wood. I don't really need that much wood with Gurjaras anyway given some animals to garrison in my mills.

The second game was a bit more dangerous. We played in a pretty small open map in a 3v3 against hard AI. Both Jade and Lottie wanted to go for horse civilizations (Poles and Huns respectively) so I decided to add to the team bonus synergy with Mongols.

I started out by attacking the enemy closest to me (Goths, an infantry civ) with a scout rush. I got a bit of success with that before they started making a whole lot of discounted pikes. As I saw this coming, I had prepared a bunch of skirmishers to defend at home. This turned out to be a really good idea once they eventually counter-attacked with a good amount of spearmen.

At the same time, Jade got hit pretty hard by two of the AIs at once, with some of the aggression spilling over to Lottie as well. Unfortunately, the enemy attack was synchronized well enough that my units were busy defending. Besides, skirmishers are extremely ineffective against the Frankish knights that were attacking them, so I decided that the best way to help would be trusting them to survive and doing my best to swing the tempo back through light cavalry and horse archer raids.

This was a grand success, as my skirmishers kept their own army of skirmishers and spearmen distracted on the front while my horses went around and completely cleared their entire wood line and even a bunch of the farms, then also disrupted the enemy trade by shooting down all the caravans arriving at the market. The pressure was enough to completely break that opponent and cause the first surrender in the game.

With that done, I started to push back against the Frank player whose cavalry had been terrorizing my sisters early in the game, defeating their army and taking down a castle plus several production buildings. Around the same time, my allies overran the last enemy player (Koreans) with their own cavalry and forced them to abdicate, with the Franks following soon after thanks to Jade and Lottie sneaking into the back of their town with their own armies and completely destroying their economy.

It was fun enough that the other me is really excited to play more of the game herself as soon as possible.

[robynpsd]

Sketching a new Persona I got - I've been trying to collect this one for months!

She doesn't have a name yet, so I'll just call her XX for now. Her backstory:

XX grew up in a small village and quiet village. Her mother left when she was quite young—"Where's your ambition? How are you going to sit and rot in this town? Don't you want to do something with your life?!". But her father liked it here, in the quiet wilderness of Timefall Valley. So it seemed he would have to like it alone. He took work as the town photographer, an art he'd loved ever since he was a child himself. Intimate and serene moments were captured beautifully to be re-experienced at a glance. There was almost something magical about it, how easily a flat colored page could transport you into another time. Another place. A sentiment, even. His skill was indisputable. But, in a small town of a few thousand citizens, they only served to warm the walls of the local tourist shop—which, in these days, did not get any visitors at all. (Except for Aunt Jo). (We love Aunt Jo and her pot pies). This very fact had XX restless. Her father was a good man, and a talented man, and it made no sense to her whatsoever that all his work would sit here unseen—all while lifeless images are distributed to millions through global media and magazines. "Dad, just listen, please. Submit your work to the papers. If those crummy, half-baked photos can make it in, just imagine how they would react to yours!" Her father stood his ground to the day he died. He had passed in his sleep, which was surprising as he was still rather young. Without the resources to conduct a proper examination, the cause would remain unknown. XX barely left the house that entire summer, with only Aunt Jo coming around to keep her alive. "You're no good mopin' about here," she would say. "Pick up a hobby. Here." XX, buried under her blanket, felt a hard object thump against her arm before sloping itself onto the bed. She unborrowed herself to take a peek. Her father's camera. She stared at it for a long while. She didn't even know that Jo had left. Finally, as the sun began to set, she put on her father's jacket and left, camera in hand.

This is the story of a girl who learned early on that celebrity, greatness, and mass validation was necessary to lead a successful life. The story of a girl who felt ashamed and sad for her father, despite him being very happy himself. She would continue to pursue photography in his name, experiencing highs and lows of her career until the mass-adoption of videography, causing her trade to become criticized as "culturally irrelevant". Only then, with nothing left to gain, did she finally find it; her photography became a vessel of connection with the world. To sit quietly, silent in oneself. Unmoving. Perceiving. Experiencing everything in that moment—breath held—and only after the capture does the world begin to move again. The way her father must have felt, and loved, and lived. And this very thing brought her more fulfillment than anything the industry could ever give her.

[kichimiangra]

KAY. CEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!

I wanna collaborate! How do I unlock collaborative mode with you??

First you have to beat the main story in order to unlock New Game+. Once that's unlocked Start a NG+ save file. You can select one thing to carry over to the new save and although the next step sounds easier if you select to carry over your levels and skills you have to select to keep items and equipment for this to work. Once the NG+ has been started use the key item you got in the haunted house on the previous save (Holy Water) in the first tutorial dungeon before going to the boss. This will make it so the boss will cast a new spell called "Magna Aura". This will cause a debuff to be cast on you. You need this debuff to go on so dont kill the boss until you been afflicted. Once you have the debuff you can move on but fair warning: staying at an inn will cure the debuff so your going to have to grind low level low damage dealing enemies for gold early on because you'll need the money to heal with items from the shop to keep the debuff. This is going to be hard because from here the time is ticking as the debuff only lasts 12 hours of game play on the system clock so you won't have a lot of time to grind money. My recommendation is checking some speed runs and see if you can perform any sequence breaks to save time. I've never been able to actually perform one myself but I've seen it done on YouTube vids so I know it's possible. Either way you need to speed run to the final dungeon before the Magna Aura debuff wears off. This makes it so that the treasure chest that normally has the best sword in the game "Sol Del Sol" in it to drop the "Sol Del Luna" instead.

Now that you have the Sol Del Luna equip it. Normally once you enter the final dungeon you can't exit it so if you save in there your game is sorta softlocked but if you have the Sol Del Luna it let's you leave through the front door. I should have mentioned this earlier, but while speedrunning to the final dungeon you probably wouldn't have had time to do this but I'm going to stress this: DON'T START THE ZODIAK GAUNTLET UNTIL YOU'VE GOTTEN THE SOL DEL LUNA. DON'T EVEN GO IN THERE YET IF YOU DON'T HAVE THAT SWORD EQUIPPED!! If you have the Sol Del Luna equipped now and you go to fight the 12 Zodiak bosses they'll each drop a gemstone ((except for the Cappricorn that will drop "Orange". This is a mistranslation of 'Citrine', (Citrino) as the English localization is based on the Spanish localization of the game so you SHOULD get 11 gemstones and an orange. This is normal.))

(you probably have to level grind but without the time limit you can take your time here)

Once you have the 12 gemstones go beat the final boss and start another NG+ where you keep your items and equipment. At the beginning of the game before your hometown gets burned down after the tutorial go to the fountain in the forest behind your house. If you have the gems a cutscene will play and the fountain will move showing the staircase to a secret dungeon. Go in but be warned saving is disabled inside so you have to do this in one fell swoop. There's an optional boss called Forest Guardia you gotta make sure not to miss or you have to do the whole thing over again. Afterwards it'll skip the tutorial and go straight to your village being on fire scene, except the villages won't be dead afterwards. Play the game normally up to the point where the princess you saved gives you her hankerchief and return to your hometown to start a trading quest. Again play the game normally but each town will now have 1 npc that will want to trade from another item in the quest chain. One completed the Sol Del Sol treasure box will instead be a Mimic. Kill it and it will drop a "Funny hat". Beat the last boss with the Funny Hat equipped. Do one more NG+ But this time select "Carry Over Acievements".

On this next NG+ you should have unlocked collaboration mode.

[amewinterswriting]

Ame Plays: Littlewood

A cute little life sim that's perfect if you like Stardew Valley but felt the pesky 'farming' bit was keeping you away from more interesting things.

You are the hero who vanquished the Dark Wizard and saved the world. The problem is, you can't remember any of it. Still, there's a town to rebuild and your trusty travel companions are by your side. Along the way, you can make new friends, pick up some new hobbies and maybe learn about what really happened in your past...

The good:

All characters who live in your town (except Dudley, the wise old mentor-type character who practically raised you) are romanceble regardless of gender.

There are canon queer 'default' romances between the villagers if you don't romance them.

Everyhing has clear lists of what you need to progress: I especially liked that in order to get particular travellers to visit, you need to sell certain items and it tells you exactly what you need to sell in your journal. Other games would make it a trial-and-error discovery process.

Absolutely everything about your town is decided by you - the position of houses, decor, paths, elevation, plants, etc. This can be edited at any time and destroying anything reimburses all the materials used to create it, meaning you are free to tinker and redesign with no penalty to progress.

The plot and characters are all nicely written with a surprising amount of depth.

A surprisingly good card game built-in - a simple trading card structure with a fair bit of strategy and anticipating opponent's plays.

No combat - the only 'dangers' just exhaust some energy and kick you out of an area if you are 'hit'. You mostly just have to avoid getting hit.

The bad

After marriage, your spouse just hangs out inside your home despite having their own and doesn't roam around outside or have dialogue about their interests/personality anymore.

A lot of the late game is dependent on random chance for acquiring the right items. At a certain point, you will be advancing time just to refresh the items available in the shops or areas. At this point, it starts to feel very grindy.

The last few achievements are literally just grinding for the sake of it. By this point in the game, you have more resources than you can ever use but you will still need to spend a few more hours mining and chopping trees if you want that achievement. This is more a case of 'when do you decide to stop playing?' - if you feel like you've achieved everything you want, you can absolutely call it quits earlier than this.

I thoroughly enjoyed the game while I was in the early/middle stages of it, but it felt like it just needed a little more to keep it interesting in the late game. Perhaps more interactions post-marriage - not just between yourself and your spouse, but also the budding romances we get a glimpse of after the wedding. Perhaps a set of community requests where your villagers want to add in more facilities or have noticed their neighbours would benefit from a new thing. Maybe a few more events - there's usually only about 3 a month, which makes 12 all year. It often feels like a long time before anything different happens to break up the grind. That said, it's a small indie game and I've sunk a good 54 hours into it, which is comparable to most JRPGs but at a quarter of the price, even if I had picked it up at full price (I actually picked it up as part of a Humble Bundle, but it also goes on sale very regularly). I've definitely gotten my value for money out of Littlewood and would recommend for a cozy, chill game.

[the-martyrfication-of-the-matron]

Confession I actually don't get mvd Garroth at all

Not one bit

He makes no sense, he is so confusing

He ran away and didn't want to become a lord and doesn't want to that that role, probably because his father was a tyrant and he doesn't want to end up like his father

So why is he now acting like a tyrant? Having others do legit everything for him instead of doing it himself. He has money to spare but everyone's legit dying due to a lack of food. Why can't he get them more food with that? The village should be thriving if he has all that money.

And actually everything confuses me about him, he so desperately wants to believe Zenix can be good and seems to care for him greatly yet he puts Zenix in harm's way.

He cares so deeply for Zenix but when it comes to Zane he was suddenly "evil since he was born".

He is so rude yet he is also, according to the wiki, too sweet to come up with insults.

Yet he is capable of saying Laurance should khs for turning into a shadowknight.

But he also acts like an ass throughout the entirety of mcd season 3. Like the biggest asshole I have ever seen. I despise him in season 3.

He makes no sense to me.

If any certified Garf lovers want to defend your mans, please feel free to do so, this is a discussion, i'm just explaining my perception on the evidence i have witnessed in my rewatch.

Since 'head guard' is mostly a made-up role for MCD, we don't really know what it... entails. We know he does do some work, but for all we know, Garroth's job could literally be 'telling people to do jobs'... but there's a line...

he pressured aph into BUILDING A BOAT, and then was like 'ohhh yeah also this fully grown man hasnt told me he needs help but i want you to help him by doing this task for him'... and it's just... She's not in a position to say no? But the dialogue options make it very clear that Aphmau doesn't want to do this, even if she agrees (the yes option is 'Uh... sure...')

In EARLY MCD, it does make sense why he has money and yet pd has no food, since they have NO TRADE AT ALL. It isn't until Brendan builds a dock and Paul shows up and stuff that they get any trade, and Garroth does immediately spend like 27 diamonds worth on seeds... so there's that, at least. But I feel like Jesson could've done more to establish that he really did put all of his money into his community, if he had a lot, because that would do a lot to show that he's given up the noble lifestyle in favour of living in a village community like a proper little guy.

Garroth putting Zenix into harms way is what's most bizarre to me. Because it isn't even just neglect of his safety, but also his well-being. After the boat explosion, when Zenix literally says to aphmau that he was on patrol in the area, like he was so close to being injured too (which is traumatising enough), and then talks about how the whole situation feels really familiar to him, and he's very clearly disturbed... And yet he is the sole person tasked with cleaning up the post-explosion beach... hm.

With the Zane thing, i will give him this, i do kinda get it... He saw Zane slowly turn into their father, a man who Garroth was already perceiving as evil, and for most of his life would've had the perception that his brother was not a good person. But he trusted Zenix... he thought Zenix was good, and then he was betrayed, and it was sudden, and there was no warning. He is able to go 'Zane was always evil' because he always saw Zane as evil, but he believed Zenix was good because that was how he saw him. People argue that pride isn't an accurate descriptor for Garroth, but if there's one thing Laurence does, it is read a bitch to death, and Garroth's perceptions of people are very heavily rooted in his perceptions of himself, and he does not like being wrong. He thought Zenix was one way, and he will not accept that he was not correct about that.

But... uh...

yeah no, Garroth is INCREDIBLY rude lol. it's kinda... a whole thing.

It's not really insults tho... moreso just... bigotry and being an asshole.

like telling Aph that he preferred when Laurence was blind because it was like 'having a lion with no teeth'. That... is rude... that's actually really rude lol. He also does the whole 'you're prettier when you smile' routine on Aph iirc, and generally just says things which arent *insults* but he is being a dick, undeniably.

im not sure how much of that we can blame on HIM vs Jesson tho...

[tobiasdrake]

Okay, Serious Bizniz time. To Watcher Island!

And by that I mean: Read me a story, Teaks.

They, too, require people to traverse waterfalls. I'm guessing they don't get much merchant traffic out here.

Do we know anything about the Docarri? Anything at all? Anyone? Okay.

Well, I found a piece of the Celestial Willow while we were back in Mooncradle so it's story time. Go on, Teaks. Tell me the story of my weird-ass hometown.

Then the Great Eagle shrieked "GOTCHA" and closed the door to the Forbidden Cavern, trapping the artisans there for all eternity. Thus was the rest of the world finally saved from the plague of skilled tradespeople.

Okay but for real, I'd be freaking out that this was a trap.

At this point, I would be full-on panicking. What do you mean, all they found were three vials and one of them cataclysmically reshaped the geography in a fit of cosmic fury?

Holy shit. You could not pay me to stay there a second longer.

And then Garl started stealing bits of it for his cooking. And it was delicious. We make no apologies.

"As if the magic had spoken directly to their minds."

Teaks, I really hope you're being poetic there. Because if you mean that literally, then the Celestial Willow compelled and enslaved these people to build the Great Eagle's city. Then worshipping the Willow and doing what the Great Eagle wants just... became the culture. Everyone grew up in this little town with no accessibility to the outside world and believed what they were taught to believe.

If that's how Mooncradle came into existence then this is straight-up cult shit. Did we grow up in a cult?

Okay but why tho. Solstice kids have real parents confirmed so. What. Does the Great Eagle kidnap us? To bring to his prison cult for warrior training?

So much of Mooncradle built itself. The people don't even have to open the vials. The vials uncork themselves. That they even are vials seems like it's just for show.

The Great Eagle just wanted these people to come here so they could build the infrastructure needed to raise the kidnapped children until they were old enough for Academy. Which was barely even our choice to attend in the first place because we were raised in a cult. What else were we going to do? We were Special Gifted Chosen Ones and there's only one career path for that in Mooncradle.

...Garl traded his eye for this.

If the third vial's going to uncork immediately after the second then why even bother putting them in two separate vials?

This is so fucked up. No wonder Moraine was so insistent on keeping us separate from normal people like Garl. That's how it works. The entire village is just the help. Their entire culture has no other purpose to exist than raising kidnapped Solstice children for the Academy.

Teaks, if you see me meandering towards the beach, it's because I might actually need to throw up in that bush over there. Holy shit. Ho-ly shit.

This is why Erlina and Brugaves were so mad. This is what they were mad about. We grew up in a fucking cult.

That still isn't a good reason to resurrect the Dweller of Strife. They're still the assholes here. But. Holy shit.

I. Can't. Even. I am legit having trouble organizing my thoughts because Mooncradle is a nursery cult for raising kidnapped children.

I mean. It is in the name. I don't even have it in me to be arrogant about it being Mooncradle, with the Forbidden Cavern sealed by lunar magic. It's just. Horrifying, is what it is.

I hate everything you've taught me and now I want to lay down on the sand and die.

Erlina and Bugraves were talking about how we deserve a normal life. That's what Moraine said too when he gave up, that he wants a chance at a normal life. But we aren't the ones being screwed here.

I mean. We are. We're stolen from our parents at an early age so we can be indoctrinated into a cult and spend our childhoods being shaped into soldiers, something that feels at the time like something we want to do but is in fact a cultural value instilled in us from our limited exposure to the world.

But the larger victims are the commonfolk who grew up isolated from the rest of the world, to serve the singular purpose of working in the background to cook for us and clean for us and raise us as children. An entire cult of servitude. A village of the help, who do everything for us, who only exist to sustain us, but "A Solstice Warrior does not associate with them."

It's a prison. Sealed behind a forbidden door only a Solstice Warrior may open. But nobody questions the bars of the cage. Because they were never taught that there is anything else to life.

I don't think what the Great Eagle did was a good thing. I recognize the value of Solstice Warriors in suppressing Dwellers. It's hard not to after seeing Wraith Island. But I don't think this was the right way to do it.

I think I want Mooncradle to change. But I don't know what I'd want it to change into. I don't think it's my place to decide.

I think I want the door of the Forbidden Cavern to stay open for everyone. I want to change the name of it so people are encouraged to use it. And I want my secret dock available to everyone. Maybe set up trade with Brisk and Mirth. Get some merchants coming through Mooncradle.

I also think, as Official Headmistress of Zenith Academy, that I am legally able to make those decisions. Pretty sure. Like, 85%.

I don't know what to do about the Great Eagle kidnapping children. I think I don't have enough knowledge to fully formulate an opinion on it. Right now, I just have bad vibes.

What I am certain of, is that it's late and Teaks just hit me with an emotional sledgehammer of a story. So I am going to find a nice bush to curl up under with my bedroll, and try not to lament how limited my options truly were all this time.

As to our mission, this changes nothing. We set out for the Docarri in the morning. I'll try to be my usual upbeat, narcissistic self by then.

[noobette-little-box]

talkin about minecraft

hey hi it's me noobette hello!!

im gonna try writing something that longer than what i normally post because im kinda bored right now and kinda wanna talk alot about minecraft

so yea

minecraft!

you know it

if you don't what minecraft is somehow

what rock do you live under, and can i join you so you're not lonely

big 3d sandbox game about blocks that released in 2009, created by Notch, a guy i don't feel like talking about much.

i've never actually beat minecraft at all

i've been playing for like

6-8 years at this point

i've only ever played minecraft pocket edition and minecraft ps4 edition

it was the only game i played like a month after i got my tonsils taken out

back when i was like 5 or 6 i played ps3 edition but didnt understand the controls lol

anyways, minecraft has been in my life for over a third of it, and yet i have not beaten it

and i don't really know why

sure it could be that i prefer the calm of a creative world to the chaotic nature of survival

but if that's the case, then why would i create all these survival worlds

i don't think the issue is how i like to play the game, but how the game is played, if that makes sense.

this is more of an issue with newer versions of minecraft, which is a sentence that has been said hundreds of times, but it's true! new minecraft just removes the fun!!

back in the older days of minecraft you just needed diamonds, blaze rods, ender pearls, and about a stack of dirt, and you could go beat the ender dragon

it's mostly the same in the new version too but now everything is made more complicated

like early stages are mostly the same, punch tree, get wood, get stone, go mine, simple

but now instead of building a little mineshaft to dig down, you wanna fine a cave, and hope it goes all the way down to deepslate, if you ever want hope of finding diamonds

then if you want enchantments, you don't want to get an enchantment table, no, you want about 15 librarian villagers to get the stuff you want, which turns villagers into pretty much a necessity instead of a "ooh hehe im gonna build a little village for the little villagers teehee"

then for the nether

here, you now can get material better than diamonds! this is not a bad thing by itself, but it's so hard to get that there's no real reason to get it! you need to go collect a smithing template from one of the bastions in order to upgrade 1 piece of armor!

considering it's an achievement to upgrade a diamond hoe to netherite, and you will mostly want to upgrade the rest of your tools, thats 9 smithing templates and 9 netherite ingots!!

and to get one netherite ingot you need 4 ancient scraps!! which means you need to find 36 ancient debris blocks, which are really hard to find!!! so it's really not worth it to get netherite at all!! and with all the new biomes and structures, the fortresses are harder to find, making it harder to get the blaze rods!!

once you have the blaze rods theres 3 different ways to get ender pearls now. you can either hunt down endermen, barter with piglins, or trade with villagers!! the ones that are easiest are villagers or piglins!! this means villagers are even more of a "god i really fuckin need it" thing!

once you get the eyes of ender the end game is mostly just the same

im probably just being stupid, but i preferred it when you had to get stuff by yourself instead of just buying it from a villager

i know it's not necessary at all but if you're playing with other people they're going to be way ahead compared to you

in my opinion the most recent update that i've liked had been the aquatic update because it didn't make progression any easier or harder

all of this is probably why i've never really beaten minecraft. maybe i should go and make a world just to try playing it the way i want to and see if i can beat the game

if i do i will update you guys on this

okay yeah it was not that long but eh

[incaensio]

setting : early october in the year 74, around the seam. with : aspen barros @aspenxbarros

there's always been some moments it feels nothing can fill the day, no matter how many hours she spends in the woods. today is one of those days — after the games, there is no true need for her to spend half a day in the forest, even if she goes through gale's snares; without prim home (school has unfortunately started just a few weeks ago), staying at the capitol house is even more uncomfortable and, to make matters even worse, her mother has been away for the last two days, tending to a laboring new mother. and, of course, katniss prefers not to go around town. they don't speak, the two of them, even if they live just three houses apart, but she's awake enough to have watched peeta go to the bakery. it's best he can have that, then it will be almost like before everything. 

almost. the word runs through her head as she makes her way down to the seam, keeping her eyes on her feet as she purposefully quickens her step on the way through town. with lilian occupied with a single customer, prim gets a list of things to do: medicine delivery, quick healing visits, some house chores here and there. with the later done, katniss decides that if she can't fill her day in the woods, she can try to do it by crossing out the things in the list — she may not be a healer, but she has over ten years of watching her mother do the trade to be of some help. almost sticks in her head again as she finds one of the houses to visit, only to hear from its current occupants that the previous owners have moved away; apparently, mr. millet has moved to his new wife's house. they had gotten married just two weeks ago, not that katniss knew of that, nor her mother, it seems. marriages in the seam were one of the few joys shared amongst the happy couple and the community, and everyone got to know either through gossip or by observing — even katniss, who did not indulge in talking all that much, took notice of these things. all the way in the village, the only sort of neighboring activity she's come to know is haymitch's gruff stare as she drops by every two days, or running away from sight before peeta comes to his own house.

it's fine, she tells herself. the millet's new house is not so far, just some minutes more of walk. and she has wanted to fill her day out anyways. someone else also makes that route — katniss hears them before she sees them, rather, her. "aspen." it's not much of a greeting as it is a recognition. she's tried to avoid the people who worked with her father for years now, the few who had made out of the explosion in the mines that took heath's life, that is; it worked fine when they had their grief and their lives to deal with, just as she had hers. but she recalls aspen's bright smile, the way she had once helped katniss re-do her braids, and where the barros lived. "i heard daisy married buck." daisy, barros' neighbor of some houses down, and buck, the millet boy who had asked for some medical care (or the best the district had: her mother — which may mean this is a pretty bad idea, because katniss' healing is definitely not the best). "ya shift's done?"

[thehylianidiot]

Okay just a random thought again about Fairy Tail. Because the Alvarez Arc makes me peeved every time I begin to examine it.

Would Neo Eclipse have even worked it everything played out how Zeref intended? Because I certainly can't remember what I had for breakfast, so I doubt the 400-year old immortal with attachment issues has a completely accurate recollection of the dates from half a dozen human lifespans ago. And magic genius or not, rewriting the universe is a highly untested mess and therefore has unpredictable consequences.

The following blurb is a very dumb culmination of this rouge thought train:

Zeref wakes up 400 years in the past in his old family home back before the dragons attacked. This is where he realizes his first mistake: he forgot that he was like 8 when it happened. With no curse, but no access to fairy heart, and a very limited range of what magic he can actually use, because there's no way he could stop time even if he knew how. Best he could do was all his old theories, and seriously, that was his prototype to teleportation? Anchor-based trading, seriously?!

He dismisses this as a minor setback. He'll just get his family out and away from the inevitable dragon attack, and nobody would be none the wiser.

This leads to mistake number two: he's three days early.

Meaning he has to actually hang out with his family and notice all the tiny details he completely forgot about. Like maybe Mom's homemade soup was actually really bad but nobody had the heart to tell her otherwise, or maybe Dad's wasn't this great wizard who knew everything but was just playing along with his son's interest in magic, or that Natsu was always that loud and a bit of a pyromaniac before he died and that wasn't just Igneel's parenting.

And his family notices somethings a little off with him. He's much quieter, not as enthusiastic about any interests and is really insistent on them leaving for a day on this specific date.

Then the day comes and Zeref realizes a third important detail: Natsu got sick on this day, and his parents stayed home to take care of him. All the while, he survived because he was off at the local academy to sneak into some stupid lecture while his entire village burned.

He can't get even one of his parents to come with him. He certainly can't get Natsu coming along in the state he's in. There's literally nothing he can do to change history.

-------------------------------------------------------

Okay, here's where I would be treating this like an actual fanfic story instead of an idea that just came from rolling with this stupid line of questioning in the first place, and I got carried away going into detail on this summary:

He debated not going, dying with his family in peace like he wanted to in the first place, but apparently real 8 year old him had been ranting about this lecture for months now, and his family knew it and encouraged him to go and don't worry about them (after all, he was a bit off the past few days, so maybe this would help). He could always just stay behind anyway, but they were all so genuine and going to die in a few hours anyway and it was like fulfilling a last wish for them and .... Augh!!!

So he goes. Always keeping track of the sun's position in the sky, wondering if he misremembered this too, when the dragon sirens at the academy would blare and the staff would magically reinforce the locks on all entrances so no dragon breached the hull. Ignoring the rantings of that tired old fool (what what was his name ... Hebler?), instead trying to figure out what would he do now. He should just ... not study the balance of life and death. It was easy enough now that he knew all that would happen, right?

The sky begins to darken and the afternoon sky turns a dim shade of red. And that shade gets closer and closer.

He wasn't going to do it again. He knew what would happen. Just forget about them like he should have the first time.

All those details about his family faded with centuries wore away the memory, but experiencing them now made them much more personal beyond 'Mother' 'Father' and 'Brother'.

Zeref, arguably worse griever in Earthland, couldn't forget in seven years. He would do it all over again and he knew it. He would do it and forget it all over again just to repeat forever on end. Would that happen, where even with full knowledge he would make the same inevitable choices?

The sirens started blaring as he looked down at his hands at those stupid 8 year old notes he's been crinkeling all throughout the lecture.

Those stupid 8 year old notes on his teleportation prototype. Exchange ones space for another as long as there was an anchor in both places. He made dozens of other halfs at home weeks back when he was young naive and really wanting to show off when escaping chores.

He knew what choice he could make different. He could even succeed in what he was doing all along for just one person. There was after all, one bedridden brother who was almost certainly within range of anchor G-12.

So, racing against the magic resistant locks, he poured all his magic into that prototype spell, pouring all he had regardless of the toll on his magic. He spent four centuries resisting the instinct to avoid fatal levels of magic exhaustion, it wasn't important then when he was seeking his own death and it certainly wasn't important now.

On the Eve of the Dragon Attack on an unsuspecting village, there was one survivor. A boy nearly passed out from a fever, having somehow walked all the way to the local academy for a lecture. His brother stayed at home looking for him.

-----

That's probably what some forgotten historical record would say anyway. As for the brother well...

He made one other miscalculation.

Zeref woke up at the halls of Milidian Academy right in front of his old desk. At first, he wondered what happened, because this was the moment everything went wrong. It couldn't be that the nightmare of an existence that happened afterwards just didn't exist. That couldn't be what happened, could it?

The headmaster was coming his way and he flinched, ready for the inevitable cutting off of his funding and then he would say Natsu is dead and the Death Predation would take the entire academy as its first meal...

The headmaster passes right through him, grumbling to himself while picking up some odd trinkets on the desk that Zeref couldn't remember for the life of him what they were there for.

What?

He touched the desk and he couldn't feel the wood or anything, just see his hand sinking into it as if it was a thought projection.

As if he was the thought projection.

That's when it clicked. He was dead, but he couldn't be in order for him to use Fairy Heart to turn back time in the future. So he had to exist right here but that was apart of a future that didn't exist, but he was also not there in this timeline so of course he couldn't affect the world if he was dead and ...

Oh Gods. Even without the curse, he managed to turn himself into a walking contradiction.

Was this better or worse than before? Because it wasn't like he could kill anyone if he technically didn't exists or create any demons, but he also couldn't interact with anyone ever again and he just got a taste of doing so for three curse-free days and...

He had to get out of here.

Zeref ran. Past the halls and past the other students whose names he lost long ago, directionless and at the mercy of where his feet would take him, forgetting far too many times that he couldn't open any doors until it was too late.

Until he heard someone.

"Huh, was that-"

He turned.

A very familiar someone. A boy with bright pink hair and a wide, almost feral grin. And it was all wrong, because the last time he saw that boy was in Anne's arms as the Eclipse Gate closed for four hundred years out of the dragon hunter's reach.

"Natsu. " But the boy was here, fully alive and human, no broken body found in his home's ruins, no angry gods denying such a tragedy didn't have to be. Just Natsu, living as he always should have.

"Hey! You're alive!" the boy shouted, looked directly at him.

Zeref turned around, but there were no students on this side of the hall, which meant Natsu was looking at---. He turned back to his brother and pointed at himself.

Natsu nodded, his grin growing to an almost contagious degree. Because there was someone who could somehow see him, and of course it would be impossibly bright little Natsu.

The adorable fire starter slammed to poor book he was holding on the floor "Where have you been this entire time Zeref?! I've been spending ages trying to bring you back, and you've been here this entire time."

Zeref stilled as fear churned in his nonexistent stomach. "You've been what?"

The boy picked up and dusted off the very book Zeref had used for the basis behind the R System back when he was Natsu's age. "I was going to bring you back," he said, as if those words didn't invite eternal damnation. "Everyone here keeps telling me I'm just saying that because it's hard, but I'm serious!" The boy patted down his official academy uniform. "But now I don't have to worry about that cause you're alive!"

No.

No no no.

"Hey, now that I got you again, you can try to help me get Mom and Dad too." The boy raced away to what could only be the location of a future disaster.

"Natsu!" Zeref screamed at the top of his lungs for the first time in centuries as the miniature firestorm of a boy razed the hall, knocking over fellow acolytes and leaving an unstoppable hurricane of dust in his wake.

Nope, this was worse. Clearly his brother was a demon from birth dedicated to making his life (or unlife at the moment) more complicated.

----

Look, I have to end this idea with some form of personal torment given the bases of this plot bunny starts with neo eclipse working, and who knows what deaths it has to step over to get Alvarez to win. And wrangling a non-toddler Natsu would be both completely new to Zeref while technically granting his original wish (hehe, I do a monkey's paw) while being torture and a half.

No clue what would happen next, this was just an overly long train of thought that somehow rambled into a fanfic outline that I feel no intention to write if there's no clear follow on (this feels more like the start of a story rather than a story in full as it is now, but I honestly didn't intend for this post to be so long in the first place).

Also, thank you for reading my really long ramblings! Have a great day!

[lunarbard]

I've been thinking about how to run a ttrpg campaign inspired by the structure of early (2001-2003) bionicle.

Not trying to replicate the precise details, mind. As cool as bionicle is aesthetically, I think this would work fine with just, humans living on an island. Normal villagers fill the role of matoran, and each village has an elder taking the role of a turaga. Then each PC would be a hero dedicated to one of the villages.

System shouldn't matter too much - though if you want to lean into the original elemental theme, you'll want a system that allows that (and maybe replace ice & rock to more clearly delineate character abilities - electricity/electromagnetism could be one). I don't think D&D-likes / other level-based systems would work too well to simulate the feel vs diegetic advancement by collecting equivalents to masks & such.

I think a pseudo-west marches hexcrawl would work pretty well for the style. You might not even to need a distinct map if the group isn't too familiar with bionicle; just overlay hexes on the mata nui map and start keying.

Each PC would start on a solo adventure as they wake up on the beach and explore the nearby area, eventually finding a village in need. They help out that village for a bit, get to know the people there, then start to venture out tryin to delve into what's going on, and likely finding the other villages & heroes along the way.

As an example of that sort of structure - once the hero of the Ta-koro equivalent has dealt with the local immediate threats, they head down to Onu-koro to find out the situation with an ore shortage, where they meet another hero and join them for that quest.

The core balance, I think, would be to present problems that require multiple heroes to deal with, while also keeping a matter of villages having small, single-hero problems that need to be dealt with (as well as the manner of general defense against whatever new evil threat is going on). So the PCs will want to group up to make problems easier, but will need to split off on their own more often than not to help their village.

To encourage helping villages - perhaps each village has resource tracks for vital things, and each village has special resources they produce and certain resources they require. See: Ta-Koro smiths need the Ore from Onu-Koro as an example. Each village should have two special connections with other villages, and ideally each should have some specialty independent from this trade all the heroes will want to support (like Le-Koro's Gukko riders).

Each village should also have a Hope resource that dwindles after attacks & long absences from their hero and rises when a hero aids them or just spends time with them. Ideally should encourage the PCs to seek out closer bonds with their villages.

For the dangers & foes, the basic structure of "some dark evil living under the world with minions they send out" works fine. But the details need some tweaking.

Combine krana & kraata into one miserable organic parasite. I'm actually tempted to keep "infected masks" as a core concept, especially if switching the denizens all to normal humanoids. Maybe all the masks are organic kraata/na, who alter their shape to replicate someone's face and look normal, just a bit creepy, unless given a close inspection.

Instead of new threats replacing old (infected rahi -> bohrok -> rahkshi), new threats compound on the old. So we start with corrupted beasts wearing these organic masks, add in mechanical monsters powered by weaker kraata/na who can deliver them (including to beasts to join the swarm), and finally a set of elites near campaign's end (each with a key to reach the final scourge of the island).

My preferred route for "how do you beat the evil" would be to take Mangaia and turn it into a large, central dungeon of sorts that the heroes can only access certain parts of with given keys/plot coupons, with some hard locks and some soft locks, like the first entry is hard locked behind a good amount of plot coupons (found in interesting locations all around the area) to open the dungeon in the first place, so the heroes have more incentive to grow familiar with the entire island. Later keys the party has to collect by responding to how the island changes - like maybe in the second wave of evil, our bohrok-equivalents change the landscape to reveal older ruins / open up other segments of Mangaia / make secondary nests in the island. The last set of keys to reach the chamber of the makuta equivalent would be the kraata/na granted to the elites, taking the krana hunt from the bohrok saga, and then, of course, a big confrontation with the great evil below.

[jacqcrisis]

Idea time in the same universe as Left Turn: Farmer’s son back in the early stages of humanity, who doesn’t know he’s a witch cause him mom died and his dad is not, keeps seeing something at the far end of their fields. Every few months, one of their sheep goes missing, to the point its becoming a problem, but their livestock dog isn’t alerting at night. They look for the predator or even just the remains, but nothing is found for a long time.

Until one morning, the son finds the scraps of an old ewe that they lost, just some of its leg completely shorn of its wool. Nothing else is left, no evidence of bone or offal, just the ant covered limb with a chunk taken out of it. The locals are talking about about the body of a recently deceased elder having gone missing from the family’s hut, a fight breaking out between the people in the village as to who is responsible.

It’s another few months later, the son staring out into the fields as he practices powers he knows to keep secret that he sees the dog running, whining and crying uncharacteristically as she hides behind the homestead. Out past the slumbering sheep, someone or something moves, stalks silently through the animals. It looks like a person, two legs and two arms, but in the bright full moonlight, it’s clear this long lanky thing is anything but. 

He must smell the boy, his perusing of the sheep halting as he straightens, uncanny and frightening at his eyes shine and strange teeth glint on the side of his face. The son knows he should call out, raise the alarm, terrified beyond measure and yet....

Curious. He’s seen strange creatures like this before, masquerading in the village when he and his father go to town to trade goods. No one ever seems to notice them, but the son does, always wanting to speak to one, but never getting the chance. Tonight, that changes. 

After a cautious approach, the creature suspicious and asking why the boy isn’t yelling and the farmer’s son asking is he’s the one who took the deceased elder. The creature admits, yes, that was him and when the son asks why, he goes on to explain animals die, and other animals eat them when they do, and who is he to disrupt that order. Thought he didn’t realize a witch lived here, otherwise he wouldn’t have broken the accord between their two people.

The boy is stunned, taken aback, This thing knows what he is? Knows about people like him? He can’t let this opportunity slip by.

After a conversation, a deal is struck. He’ll help this creature hunt, find suitable food, so long as the creature tells him about the world he’s apart of but has never known. The creature agrees, more so out of boredom and the promise of another pair of hands getting him fed than any altruism. 

So it goes, for months, spending long nights together, the creature telling him about all he should’ve learned from his late mother, overseeing him practice his magic, and just generally listening to the schism he feels around everyone else. The boy helps him hunt, more safely take bodies of deceased villagers, better his living situation and his clothing in time for winter, and offers companionship a newly adult changeling rarely has.

It's a song and dance as old as time. Two people alike and bonded in circumstance finding something unique and wonderful in the other. Impossible, perhaps. Unexpected, certainly.

But not all good things last and I don't know if I'd like this more to end tragically when the farmer and the village find the creature or if farmer's son saves them with his magic and they escape into the night. Probably the latter cause I'm a sap, but eh, it's a fun idea either way.

[onegreybun]

Year After Year [Prompt 5, Stamp]

(Stamp: to impress a pattern or mark.)

Viv,

I was so thrilled to get your letter! Before anything else, I have to ask if you would be alright with me hosting the meeting this month? I've redone so many of the rooms, especially the kitchen, and I'd love for you all to come see it. Johawn can take the children fishing for a few hours which will give us plenty of time to talk about everything. I finally managed to get a new linkpearl, so give me a call when you can! The information is on the other sheet of paper in this envelope.

I cast the letter you sent into the hearth, so don't worry about that. Although, and it might be quite rude of me to say this, I think that perhaps you're too worried. I know that you've done your best to maintain peace and be the bridge, but I also know the toll this takes on you.

You've always done so much for us, Viv, for all of us. I know that once you're set on something then there's nothing we can say or do to stop you, but I don't want you to hurt yourself over this in any sort of way.

You're my best friend, Viv. You have been for so, so long. It hurts me to see you struggle like this. A part of me wants everything to work out again, but I know I have to be honest with myself just like you always have been with me. None of this is worth any of the pain or stress that you've gone through. You have to remember, even though I agree with you that everyone made mistakes, he's the one who left on his own accord. It was his decision.

It doesn't take away from the time we spent as a family, or how wonderful it was while it lasted. It doesn't make our memories any less happy, either. Every Starlight that comes, year after year, I think of what it was like when we all were able to come together. We cooked what we could afford, we brought gifts to trade each other, and Marceau always insisted on coming into the village a few days early to help us decorate and stamp out biscuits. We had our star shapes and just a plain square, and that was it. But we always decorated the squares like they were wrapped gifts, and the stars got everyone's names on them in bright red icing. Marceau made sure that they were all perfect, so everyone knew that they had their own place at the table.

I have chocobo stamps, now. The children like to color them with all sorts of icings and pretend that they're racing them. We draw festive hats and sometimes we use the frosting to smear garlands around their necks. And every time I stamp out the shortbreads and lay them on the tray I think of the squares we decorated back then. I think of how happy it made us. If it hadn't been for those memories with Marceau, I would have struggled to make the ones I have with my own family.

I want to remember the person he was. I don't want to know the person he became, or what happened to make him this way. Part of me doesn't even want to know what the dreams mean, either, even though I know how important that is. A lot of us feel the same way, Viv. But if you want to find that out for yourself, you can ask at the dinner. I really look forward to seeing you, and so does everybody else. Let me know about hosting as soon as you can.

Love,

Anoitte

[sinthedrinker]

Rengoku x F! Reader

Yukari had been a simple baker before she became the wife of the Flame Pillar. She was alone in this life, and her only ambition was to keep up the trade that had been so beloved to her mother and father. Her tiny confectionary stand was extremely popular in her village for the desserts she baked every day, beloved by people young and old alike. Rengoku had been passing through her village one day, intending to stay the night before continuing on to headquarters. He became curious about the small crowd gathered around the stand, always in the mood for delicious food, he joined them. He was delighted to see that what they were so excited about seemed to be mochi shaped to look like various small animals. When it came to his turn in line, he intended to ask for twenty of them, but the moment he and Yukari met eyes he felt like his words had become a tangled lump in his throat. Her short black hair perfectly framed her round face, her cheeks chubby and pink like a cherub. Her brown eyes were so big and her lips so plump, she looked like a precious doll. Rengoku tried very hard to always be respectful of others, especially women, and tried his best not to think improper or degrading things when he saw attractive women. But the perpetual pout of her lips went straight to his cock. She smiled at him and his heart skipped a beat.

"Hello! What would you like?" she asked. Her voice was so soft..

"GREETINGS! I! WOULD! LIKE! FOOD!" he choked out. The eloquent sentence that had been in his mind completely fell apart by the time it reached his mouth. His cheeks flushed an embarrassingly dark shade of pink, and Yukari covered her mouth as she giggled quietly. 

"I'm sorry, I don't mean to laugh at you! You're just.. Really cute!" she said. Rengoku felt like his knees were going to buckle. Her sincerity and openness made him feel like he could trust her, that he could tell her his insecurities, his anxieties, and be met without judgement. Though it was far too early to be thinking like this.

"If you haven't decided, would you like one of each?" she asked. He nodded and listened intently as she explained the different flavors of each little mochi animal. He furiously nodded in agreement at everything she said, eager just to hear her speak more.

He stayed in that town longer than necessary, stopping to get so many pastries from her every day that it made his stomach hurt, but it was well worth it just to see her smile.

The day finally came that he couldn't waste any more time in that town, he needed to return to headquarters. He lingered around her stand in the evening until he saw her beginning to pack up for the night. 

"Y-YUKARI!" he said, louder than he meant to, making her jump. 

"AH! I did not mean to startle you. I wanted to ask, could I walk you home, please? If it's okay." he asked shyly. Yukari smiled and nodded. The two of them walked side by side and Rengoku thought she looked even more beautiful in the dim light of the lanterns strung up on either side of the road. The way she might look at night, in bed, with him, just barely lit by an oil lamp or a candle.. He wanted to tell her she was beautiful, but the words felt like they wouldn't come out no matter how much he tried to force them. 

"This is my home. Do you want some tea?" she asked as they approached a small, humble cottage. This place wouldn't be big enough for the two of them and all of their children, he thought. 

"Oh, YES! I would very much like tea!" he replied.

Her home was comfortable, even if it was only big enough for one person. He slid his shoes off and sat down at her kotatsu, looking over at the small table by the door with pictures of her parents and grandparents, flowers and incense. It seemed she really was alone in this life, and that made Rengoku want to stay by her side all the more. She returned from the kitchen with a tea tray and sat down at the table with him, excitedly chatting about different pastry ideas she had as she poured cups for them both. 

"This tea smells wonderful, what is it?" he asked. It smelled like sugary fruits, like apples and pears and mangos. 

"It's something my mother used to make for me, it's her recipe. It always cheers me up whenever I'm feeling sad!" she said. 

"Are you feeling sad tonight?" he asked. 

"I guess so. I've really enjoyed seeing you every day, and I guess.. I know you aren't from this town, so you'll have to go home eventually right? I guess, I'll miss you." her smile was so sad Rengoku couldn't stand it. 

"I WANT TO STAY WITH YOU! I do have to leave, I WILL WRITE TO YOU! I think you are VERY BEAUTIFUL AND I WOULD LIKE TO MARRY YOU." he blurted out.

That had been a year ago, and after what felt like an eternity of exchanging letters and brief visits between missions, Yukari was now his beloved wife. His father had not attended their wedding, but he hadn't seemed to even notice when Rengoku came home to collect Senjuro for it.

"I think that Yukari's a really nice lady." Senjuro had said. 

"I think that mom would've liked her a lot."

The other Hashira were so happy for him, especially Mitsuri who couldn't seem to get enough details about their courtship. Kagaya was delighted as well, the happiness of his children was shared equally by him. 

Throughout their courtship Rengoku, however much he wanted affection and intimacy, had done an amazing job of controlling himself. At most they had kissed and held hands, he didn't want to push himself onto her or rush her at all, and so he had to satisfy his urges towards her alone. It wasn't that he had never touched himself before, but it had never been so desperate. Many nights he found himself bent over on his knees in bed, clutching a pillow tightly with one hand and whispering her name into it as his other hand furiously pumped his cock.

When their wedding night finally came however, all of his fantasies dissipated, replaced with intense nervousness and apprehension. It was their first night alone in their new home together, and just the idea of seeing her naked made his entire face turn red. Yukari had just finished bathing, and now she wore a thin white yukata as she knelt in front of her mirror, combing out her hair which now reached her shoulders. He watched her with admiration, every little thing she did seemed to excite him or make him smile. Perhaps that was what it meant to be in love with someone.

"Kyou, are you ready to take a bath?" she asked, smiling at him.

"Y-YES!" he replied. 

"I won't be long-" he broke off as Yukari stood and took his hand. 

"Can I go with you? I'd like to help you." her voice was sultry, Rengoku couldn't stop himself from grabbing her cheeks roughly and kissing her. It felt surreal, that this soft, warm person was his wife now..

"Come along!" she said cheerfully as she broke the kiss and led him out to the bath. He nervously stripped for her and had to look away as she blatantly stared at his cock. 

"Oh goodness! May I?" she asked. Rengoku wasn't sure what she was asking, but he could deny her nothing regardless. 

"Yes! Of course!" his breath hitched as she took his cock in her slender fingers. He clenched his teeth as she wrapped her soft hand around it and began to slowly slide it up and down his girthy shaft, not breaking eye contact with him as she did. 

"Yuka- You're making me- Very excited." he said, inhaling sharply through gritted teeth as precum already began to leak from the tip. Yukari brushed her finger across it and brought it to her lips, slowly licking it off of her fingertip.

He was so hard, just for her. But, he still needed to bathe. Fuck it, he couldn't relax like this. He scooped her up into his arms, tossing her over his shoulder. 

"Ah- Kyou!" she shouted in surprise as he carried her inside.

"I absolutely cannot! Relax in this state! I WOULD LIKE TO SLEEP WITH YOU, IF YOU ARE READY TO DO SO!" he said as he gently laid her down on the futon. Yukari giggled as she opened her yukata, exposing herself for him. Rengoku breathed shallowly as he looked down at her, trying to memorize this perfect image. The exact curve of her hips, the swell of her breasts..

"Kyou~" she cooed, using a tone she had never used with him before. She reached out for him, brushing her fingers over his arm. 

"Come here, please."

He crawled between her legs, leaning down to kiss her. Her lips were so plush, so soft.. He experimentally nibbled her bottom lip and she tangled her fingers into his fiery hair, pushing her tongue into his mouth. He continued trying to control himself, to not just flip her onto her hands and knees and ravage her, but sliding his tongue along hers was making self control and disciple extremely difficult. He reached between her legs, running two of his fingers between her lips and moaning into the kiss when he felt how wet she was already. He ran his fingers across her small entrance, to her clit, making her gasp. He nuzzled against her neck, kissing and licking it as he rubbed soft, gentle circles around her clit. She spread her legs wider for him, writhing as he moved lower to take one of her nipples into his mouth. He had intended just to gently suck on it, but the way her moans were becoming more and more desperate was making him less and less able to contain himself. He nibbled it roughly, smirking with satisfaction as she cried out his name.

"Kyou- I-" she broke off as she came and Rengoku leaned up to kiss her again, wanting to swallow each of her moans and whimpers. She wrapped her legs around his waist, wiggling impatiently against him. He chuckled into the kiss, wrapping his arms around her tightly and nuzzling his cheek against hers. 

"Kyou! I want you inside me.." she said, giggling as his hair tickled her. 

"RIGHT!" he said, positioning himself against her entrance.

Yukari took his face in his hands, staring deeply into his eyes as he slowly pushed himself inside of her. Rengoku's eyelids fluttered as her warm cunt enveloped him. 

"Yukari- You're so tight.." he moaned, clinging to her as he completely filled her. He stayed still a long time, enjoying the feeling of her cunt fluttering around his cock.

"Please Kyou, please move, I want you to fuck me really hard." Yukari said Rengoku could hardly believe this was real, hearing her beg for him like that..

He bent her legs, tilting her hips upwards and causing him to slide even deeper into her, as deep as physically possible. They both cried out in unison as he pressed his forehead to hers. He began to move at a relentless pace, slamming in and out of her as fast as he could. Yukari was so noisy, her eyes rolled back as she clung to him, digging her nails into his back. She was started to drool, her plump lips being open so long as she let out a string of mewls and whimpers. Rengoku licked the corner of her mouth, sighing contentedly. 

"Yukari, my love." he said between groans.

"You feel so good. I'm gonna finish soon.."

Despite how deep his voice usually was, the moan he let out as he came was a desperate, needy whine. 

He wasn't ready to let go of her yet. He was tired, but there was nothing he wanted more than to stay buried inside of her. He rolled over, taking her with him so she was laying on his broad chest, and together they fell asleep, still connected.

It was two months later that Yukari found out she was pregnant. Rengoku told Kagaya first.

"This is wonderful news. Congratulations to you both." he said, smiling sincerely. 

"You have a duty to your wife and child. Never forget this. Before your duty to humanity. Before you are a demon slayer, you are a husband and a father."

A husband and a father. This reality didn't truly sink in until Yukari was very near to giving birth. He came home one day to find that she had fallen asleep reading. The book lay open at her feet, her belly swollen beneath her kimono, her breasts heavy. He curled up beside her, sliding his hand into her kimono to rest it against her bare stomach where their child gently kicked. He smiled, nuzzling against her. 

"Kyou! I'm so glad you're home." Yukari said as she awoke. He helped her stand up and she rested her hand on her stomach. 

"The little one sure was restless today, perhaps they miss you." she mused. Rengoku's heart swelled with pride. He was really going to be a father, and he would be the best he could be. Like his father had been when he was young, when his mother was still alive.

A particular mission had come to the attention of the demon slayers, one that would require a Hashira's presence. Rengoku intended to go, but Yukari was days away from giving birth. He wondered which duty he should attend. He had to protect humans, but the idea of his child entering this world without him being there broke his heart. Kagaya understood well the importance of a father's relationship with his children, and so sent Uzui Tengen to see to the train mission in his stead. Rengoku was relieved. He fully believed in Tengen's strength and knew that no matter what the demons were up to on that train, he would be able to handle it. 

The following day, Yukari gave birth to a little girl. She already had a tuft of blonde/red hair on her little head, but she had Yukari's wide, brown eyes. Rengoku cried as he held them both, his beloved wife and his first child, he felt like his entire world was right there, between his strong arms. 

It was three days later, while Yukari and little Ruka slept curled up together, Rengoku received the crow baring the news of Uzui's death. 

He sobbed as quietly as he could, the last thing he wanted to do was wake his wife and child and distress them. His guilt was overwhelming, it should have been him who died, it should have been his mission. His body shook with rage and sorrow, until Ruka began to awake. She cooed and whined, wiggling a bit. Rengoku walked over to them, kneeling down and scooping her into his arms. She took his hair in her little fist, tugging on it and trying to put it in her mouth. He smiled down at her, though tears still ran down his cheeks. If he had gone on that mission, he would have never met his own child. Yukari would be here alone, receiving the news of his death, and Ruka would grow up fatherless. He squeezed her tightly, sobbing into the blanket she was swaddled in. When he finally calmed down, he climbed into bed with Yukari, laying Ruka down beside her and nuzzling into his wife's hair as she slept. He laid like that, an arm draped over his wife to rest his hand on Ruka's tummy, sobbing until he fell asleep. 

Thirteen months later, Rengoku sat with Ruka in the kitchen, helping her eat rice. She had been babbling so much lately, he and Yukari knew her first word would be coming soon. 

"Oo..aauu..." she began and Rengoku excitedly leapt from his chair.

"YES? ARE YOU SPEAKING?" he shouted.

"UU..Oo.." Ruka struggled, determination evident on her tiny face. 

"OTOU-SAN?" Rengoku said, full of hope that she was finally going to be able to call him her father.

"Uu.. UMAI!" she shouted triumphantly.