#adventures of the aurora saint

[sillovn]

Adventures of the Aurora Saint

Became inspired to play ER again, so I finally finished the game on the Int/Fth character. Here's some thoughts.

~ Background ~

I still very much like (and stuck with) the character theme of "Snowfield Paladin". The idea being Cold status and the Light spells (ie. auroras) would be central to the build.

Lore wise, I imagined him as an ex-fundamentalist or "proto-Miquellan Knight"; a servant of Miquella who traveled into the northern snow in search of a place to plant the (future) Haligtree. He dies on expedition, but is revered as a minor saint in future times.

~ Build ~

Character ended being a spellsword+support incants. We had a very distinct Int=offense, Fth=defense split in our kit; both for lore and ease of control reasons. As per usual, I don't like pure-caster or 'dual-caster' sorc+incant styles, hence the focus on melee.

Here's the final stats...

Mainhand: Glintstone Kris

Offhand: Zweihander + Golden Order Seal

We want to use Glintstone Kris' projectile weapon art quickly in fights. Meanwhile, buff incants and using 2H Zweihander (we cannot use it 1H) is something done before combat (or at least requires a big disengage during fights). Put simply, Mainhand = "fast actions", Offhand = "slow actions".

This works because Mainhand takes priority for weapon arts (when off-hand has 'No-Skill'). By soft swapping to our 2nd Offhand (Seal), we get to immediately fire Glintstone Kris. Thus, if you do the reverse (Offhand - Kris), one also needs to 2H the Kris to use it's weapon art. Having G.Kris + Seal out at the same time also lets us easily access all our ranged combat tools in the same place.

Essentially; swap "style" from melee to ranged with 1 button. Though switching back to melee requires 2 buttons (swap Offhand > 2h grip). Its not that big of a deal though, since ranged combat gives you space from the enemy; and thus time to switch back to melee.

-

Zweihander was used with magic infusion. The original cold infusion idea is not very good on our stats. Still, its possible to have most of both worlds thanks to 'Freezing Mist' AoW. It procs cold more less in 1-hit, and there's few other weapon arts that pair well with colossal sword class anyway.

Feeding into this, we had Banish Knight Halberd as a 2nd melee weapon (Offhand hardswap). Here, we had a ranged frost attack in 'Ice Spear'. Ended up using the Halberd sparingly, mostly because I enjoy the distinct melee/range swapping style the main weapon setup had - having another range attack was excessive IMO.

Some alternatives to Glintstone Kris as a 'bullet stick' were any light weapon + Glintblade Phalanx. And of course, Sword of Night and Flame.

-

Spell options were largely lore-driven, I used support incants + Golden Order sanctioned offense spells (ie. Golden Order discs + assorted Dragonbolts). Though, having assorted Int weapon arts meant that 'generic projectile' Incants had no real use. By the end, incants were largely for buff, though the occasional Discus/Lightning Spear still had a use (namely, evasive enemies don't dodge them well).

Which then brings up the question; is it a good idea to run such an odd hybrid just to use some buffs? Unlikely.

Yeah, Golden Vow is good. But what if instead of spending FTH for a temporary dmg/def buff - we just add INT for more damage, or END to wear better armour?

-

Since we finished the game before hitting Meta-level, there's still a few points to spend. The current MIND/END values are not optimal, and one can easily throw more END for better armour. Alternatively, more STR to 1H Zwei.

In the end, Im really fond of the character. Sure, hes mostly a 'jank spellsword' with support spells - nothing that a pure 60 INT character couldn't do better. At least, if you only count offense in solo play. The weird combo of Int missiles/frost + Fth buffs, IMO make him a very interesting PVE coop phantom - and Ill taking him to the DLC as such.

Below is some discussion about INT+FTH hybrid weapons.

~ 50 for Damage ~

One common statement about Int/Fth is the lack of weapons besides Sword of Night+Flame. And while its true that Int/Fth has no dedicated infusion, consider that in ER - damage is pretty free.

What Im trying to say is; ER lets you have way more damage than you ever need. Also, plenty of weapons/spells will hit hard without optimal stats.

The idea I ended going for is "50 damage stat". This something Ive picked up from PvP, where you get 50 in your main damage stat and spread out the rest to wear more armour/use a greater diversity of weapons. Sure, this isn't a PvP char - but the logic here is to do an uneven split of Int>Fth, treating Fth as a utility stat (sort of).

Main reason for Int > Fth stat spread is that you get more utility splashing Fth than Int. Int>Fth gets to use Int offensive tools + Fth utility tools - while the inverse doesn't work since Int doesn't have much in the way of utility.

Since Golden Order Seal scales Int/Fth equally within the 30-45 softcap bracket (eg. there's no difference between 40/30 or 35/35). Thus, the ideal Int/Fth ratio depends on what incants you want, and if offensive spellcasting is your main goal.

Worth noting that for Incantations, going above 30 Fth gives few new spells (above 35, even fewer). For support incants - Protection of the Erdtree (35 fth), is last the major one. There's the advanced heals/regen spells but those are not that much/strictly better than the basic versions. For offense, pretty much all 30+Fth incants are some form of cataclysmic AOE attack (see. Radagon's Ring, the various Dragon Lightnings). How many do you really need? (if any at all).

The 45 softcap also means that our weapon/spell ideal stats are not in sync, which leads to...

~ The 45+5 setup ~

A solution I settled on was 45 Int + Heirloom talisman (Int or Fth). Throw on the +5 Int if you want to swing weapons, hitting the magic infusion softcap (50). Swap for +5 Fth to in you want better offensive casting.

This was because we were squeezed for levels during most of the playthrough. For the final build (depending on target 125-150), you can easily ignore this swap.

-

That is all for today.

[santoschristos]

Circumpolar Rainbow Bridge

Image of Earth surrounded by the consciousness of the New Humanity.

Our Earth with the Noosphere. --Mahaboka

“Then, as if a switch were being thrown, a great voltage will race through this finally synchronized and integrated circuit called humanity. The Earth itself will be illumined. A current charging both poles will race across the skies, connecting the polar auroras in a single brilliant flash. Like an iridescent rainbow, this circumpolar energy uniting the planetary antipodes will be instantaneously understood as the external projection of the unification of the collective mind of humanity. In that moment of understanding, we shall be collectively projected into an evolutionary domain that is presently inconceivable.

And yet, we shall know. Like infants in a vast new playground, we shall retain the highest and most exalted vision. Purpose will be illumined to new levels of spontaneity. Everywhere shall be heard the Voices of the Galactic Federation: the Elders, the Ancestors, the great Bodhisattvas and Saints, the Maya returned, our deepest Selves, the Cosmic Mirror, the Raiment of Space and Time made One. As one voice the announcement shall be made, heard by one ear: and now the adventure begins!” --José Arguelles

[siena-sevenwits]

Coffee or tea? Tea is my go-to and the one that properly has my heart, but coffee is special and indulgent and full of associations (one of my coffee-obsessed characters who got me into liking coffee at all, driving into the city with my mom, solo adventures to the coffee shop to write.)

Early bird or night owl? My brain crashes around 7:30 PM, and then wakes up again properly around 9:30 and stays turned on till frighteningly late - or rather early.

Chocolate or vanilla? Well, chocolate, of course.

Spring or Fall? Fall is all things beautiful. It is the very shortest season where I live, but it is the real New Year. My birthday, my new school year, my fresh motivation.

Silver or gold - You are gold / You are all I see / You are aurum scarce and meant for kings...

Pop or alternative - I like both! Tough pick. I often have trouble knowing exactly where the line is, especially with all the indie folk I listen to that has something of a pop sound.

Freckles or dimples - Freckles.

Snakes or sharks - Snakes. Specifically the little garter snakes that are always slithering across my path

Mountains or fields - The wonderful Rockies!

Thunder or lightning - Ideally both, but thunder is a joy whether I get to watch the storm or not. Nothing better than sitting in an old, old building, sipping tea and feeling the thunder shaking in the building's fibres.

Egyptian mythology or Greek mythology - Well, Greek!

Ivory or scarlet - Scarlet's my favourite colour, after all!

Flute or lyre - I think it's the lyre.

 Opal or diamond - Neither are high on my radar, but I do like the sheer variety of opals

Butterflies or honeybees - Honeybees, but I love bumblebees even better. They're just so clumsy and good natured and round, and for many years it was believed they could not sting, because they so seldom do! 

Macarons or eclairs - I used to live in St. Therese residence in college, and we were supposed to throw a big party for the other residences themed around our patron saint. We didn't want to do a roses theme, so we took our cue from the fact that in her final illness, she told one of the other nuns that she was craving a chocolate eclair. Great big chocolate eclair party! Good memories.

Typewritten or handwritten Handwritten for poems and snail mail, typewritten for everything else.

 Secret garden or secret library - Library.

 Rooftop or balcony - I often go up on the roof of my parents to stargaze or watch fireworks, and occasionally see aurora.

Spicy or mild - I could compete with the British Empire of old in terms of my desire to obtain all the spice.

Opera or ballet - Opera, you have my whole heart! Especially the bel canto era! Rossini was one of my teen obsessions!

London or Paris - I desperately need to go back to London.

vincent van gogh or claude monet - Van Gogh. Though I am sentimental about the animation of "Linnea in Monet's Garden" from my childhood.

Denim or leather - Leather

Potions or spells - Potions. 

Ocean or desert - There is no joy to compare with a two hour trip on BC ferries.

Mermaids or sirens - I need to enjoy more stories with mermaids in them, but obviously I will choose them over sirens.

 Masquerade ball or cocktail party Is this a question? Masquerade!!

@telthor Thanks for tagging me! Anyone who ought to be in bed right now is officially tagged.

[dis-harmony]

My Favorite and Least-Favorite Anime

🎅🏻Today is finally Saturday today! I’m going to do another Masterlist of my favorite anime and least-favorite now. 8 or 7 days left until Christmas is coming!

Favorite Anime:

Lucky Star

Jushin Liger (Sorry if you guys don’t know this anime bc it wasn’t popular in USA, but it’s very catchy and I love this a lot)

Hololive

Hololive Eng

Love Live

Dragon Ball

Kakegurui

Seto No Hanayome (My Bride Is A Mermaid!)

Urusei Yatsura

Ranma 1/2

Pop Team Epic

Sailormoon

Precure

Bang Dream!

Idolmaster

Pretty Rhythm Aurora Dream

Aikatsu

Gegege No Kitaro

Hakaba Kitaro

WataMote

Saint Seiya

Lupin III

Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure

Kinnikuman

Least-Favorite Anime:

Grisaia

Interspecies Reviewers

Monster Musume/Girls

Neutral-Favorite Anime:

Panty and Stocking with Garterbelt (Actually I started to love this cartoon anime and losing neutrally even though I still don’t like inappropriate scenes but I really like these Stocking.)

Gintama

Demon Slayer

[davidisen]

NOLA 2023, Part 2

My New Orleans visit, December 12-19, 2023, continued . . .

On Sunday, December 17, Aurora Nealand (soprano sax, clarinet, vocals) led an especially poignant gig at the Spotted Cat, with Steve Lands (trumpet), Leo Forde (guitar), Pete Olyciw (bass), each a highly-skilled, big-eared, adventurous soul. They played the standards, but in a very exploratory way. When Aurora sang, "In My Solitude," by Duke Ellington, she articulated each lyric with precious presence.

Aurora appeared in David Simon's great, and under-appreciated, TV series Treme. Her best line of the whole series said, in part, " . . . but music, that's personal." She was talking about gigs like this one.

Here's another view of the same gig by Bill Bush, a new friend I met on this trip with similar musical tastes. Bill had some other gigs on his list that evening, but, like me, he sensed how special the gig was, and for three sets, he couldn't tear himself away. It's Bill's original pic, but it's my fault for messing with it . . . From L to R it's Leo Forde, Steve Lands, Steve Olyciw, and Aurora Nealand.

Jason Marsalis did one of the afternoon sessions at the New Orleans Jazz National Historical Park 2PM series. He explained the vibraphone - and its cousins the glockenspiel, the marimba and the xylophone. And he talked about growing up in the house of Ellis Marsalis with brothers Wynton, Branford, etc. And played a few tunes too!

Sharon Martin and her quartet did another one of those great 2PM National Park gigs.

That woman could sing.

I caught a set at Maison Dupuy by Robin Rapuzzi's Glo-worms, two mandolins and a guitar, focused on traditional Italian music. If the two guys on the right look familiar, it's probably because they're in Tuba Skinny. Robin's in the middle and Greg Sherman is on the right. Nobody was there. It was Sunday, something about Saints at the Superdome.

There's been a drum circle on Sunday afternoons in Congo Square since . . . well . . . there's a legend that before the Civil War, the enslaved people of New Orleans were allowed to play their drums on Sunday in Congo Square. One line of thinking says this is why New Orleans music is so unique. As I walked past Congo Square on Sunday afternoon, I heard drums . . .

One of my friends, now a very successful musician, once was busted for busking in a New York subway. He wasn't even playing. He had opened his violin case to look for something, and the cop saw him and out came the ticket book! Why??????

Busking is encouraged in New Orleans. One afternoon I stopped to listen to Charlie Bridges . . .

I met this young lady but didn't remember her name. She was a good singer and a songwriter too.

Doreen Ketchens is one of the best clarinet players in New Orleans! She gives 110%! I've seen her on Royal Street many times.

My allocated week in New Orleans was winding down. On Monday, I caught The Winding Boys at the Spotted Cat, and then Doyle Cooper and Z2 at Buffa's.

Here's The Winding Boys. That's Myla Burnett on guitar, Dizzy on washboard, and Dizzy on bass. One of those all-purpose names. I never caught the names of the two front guys. They were both good. The sax guy was musically clever. The trumpet player was verbally clever, with, a humph, clever, a humph, improvised lyrics. Note the great trumpet player James Williams, in the window.

I went to hear Doyle Cooper at Bill Bush's suggestion. He was very good. So was piano player Z2.

I had some fries and cheese sauce, smothered in Crystal hot sauce, and went home early to pack for my flight to NYC. A remarkable week.

[awritingcaitlin]

Rinnie:

Happy - P!nk

Hunting the Future - Escape the Clouds

Boat Song - Woodkid

U - English Version - millenium parade

The Kintsugi Kid - Fall Out Boy

We Don't Have to Dance - Andy Black

Pathfinder - Kubbi

Killian:

You're Gonna Go Far Kid - The Offspring

The Red - Chevelle

Traveler's Song - Aviators

Lone Digger - Caravan Palace

A Praise Chorus - Jimmy Eat World

Ship to Shore - The Stanfields

Synergetics - Ronald Jeenkees

Thea:

Liar - The Arcadian Wild

Gone - Beth Crowley

Night 13 - Auri

Devil Devil - MILCK

Devil I Know - Allie X

Throne - Bring Me the Horizon

Ignite - Starling Glow

Ciara:

This is Our War - Halocene

Ghost Town - Shiny Toy Guns

Don't Know How to Stop - Halestorm

The Blood of Cu Chulainn - Mychael & Jeff Danna

One Million Voices - Thomas Bergersen

Wargirl - Sybrid

Rubicon - James Paget

Riela:

Jackrabbit - San Fermin

Stand My Ground - Within Temptation

Fighting For - Hawk Nelson

Pompeii - Bastille

Renegades - X Ambassadors

Where Do We Go - Lindsey Stirling

Superhero - Johnny Hollow

Cass:

The Circle - Blackmore's Night

The Dirty Glass - Dropkick Murphys

Past Lives - Borns

Pretty Lavinia - American Murder Song

Hymn of the High Seas - Antti Martikainen

Forever - CHVRCHES

Second Chances - Imagine Dragons

Ilani:

Hell or High Water - The Rescues

Middle of the Night - Joel Sunny

Rule #9 - Child of the Stars - Fish in a Birdcage

The Air Race - Escape the Clouds

Iris - The Goo Goo Dolls

Song of the Caged Bird - Lindsey Stirling

Skyfall - Adele

Cami:

Warpaint - Manicanparty

Bust Your Kneecaps - Pomplamoose

Voices - Hidden Citizens

The Girl and the Clockwork Dragon - The Cog is Dead

A Favor House Atlantic - Coheed and Cambria

Gun - CHVRCHES

One Foot in Front of the Other - Emilie Autumn

Cael:

Battle Cry - The Family Crest

The Chemical Worker's Song - Great Big Sea

Last of Us - Arion

Feed the Machine - Poor Man's Poison

Thistle & Weeds - Mumford & Sons

Stabat Mater - Woodkid

God's Plan - CHVRCHES

Miera:

Blood in the Wine - Aurora

Graffiti - CHVRCHES

Castle - Halsey

Massacre - Kim Petras

Farewell Wanderlust - The Amazing Devil

Villains, Pt 1 - Emma Blackery

Throne - Saint Mesa

Taryn:

Shut Up and Dance - WALK THE MOON

Fight Song - Rachel Platten

Clarity - Zedd

Towards the Light - Jacoo

Clearest Blue - CHVRCHES

From where You Are - Lifehouse

Tikal - E.S. Posthumus

Mica:

The Alchemist - Mikolai Stroinski

No Light, No Light - Florence + the Machine

Empty Threat - CHVRCHES

Back in the Lab - Beoga

Adventure of a Lifetime - Thomas Bergersen

Crazy = Genius - Panic! at the Disco

Medieval Anthem - Peter Crowley

character playlists always should have the following:

song that is pretty accurate to the character’s story

song that doesn’t fit the character at all but i was thinking about them while listening to it on loop

song that has one or two lines accurate to the character’s story

song that just kind of is the character’s vibe

song that i desperately wish they would listen to because i personally like it

song that fits the character so well that it’s scary

unsure why this song is in the playlist but it’s so ingrained in my mind as 'part of the playlist' that it would feel weird to remove it

[marianaaags]

No entiendo como funciona este lugar pero

Holaa a todos!

Mi nombre es Mariana soy una pequeña artista mexicana 🇲🇽 y principalmente hago fanart sobre streamers, anime, videojuegos, series (?

Mi lengua materna es es español pero también domino un poco el inglés así que puedo conversar en ambos idiomas 🫶

Supongo que está es la parte en la que pongo los fandoms a los que pertenezco así que aquí voy:

- Mis streamers favoritos son: Rodezel, Quackity y Roier

- Mis animes favoritos son: Jojo's Bizzarre Adventure, One Piece, Trigun, Dungeon Meshi, Shingeki no kyojin, Kuroshitsuji...

- Mis videojuegos favoritos son: Left 4 dead, Just Dance, CTR, Sky: COTL, Stardew Valley

- Mis cantantes/bandas favoritas son: AURORA, Melanie Martinez, Saint Motel, Nilfruits, Hatsune Miku

No sé que más decir sobre mi así que les dejo mis otras redes:

IG:

Twitter (X):

[speechless-stuff]

Nature is not a place to visit. It is home.

Nueva Ecija is a landlocked province in the Philippines located in the Central Luzon region. Its capital is the city of Palayan. Nueva Ecija borders, from the south clockwise, Bulacan, Pampanga, Tarlac, Pangasinan, Nueva Vizcaya and Aurora. Nueva Ecija is one of the top producers of agricultural products in Central Luzon. In fact, the province’s name comes from the mainland Spanish town of Ecija in Spain. Geographically, Nueva Ecija shares borders with the provinces of Bulacan, Pampanga, Tarlac, Pangasinan, Nueva Vizcaya and Aurora. Furthermore, the province is nationally recognized as the Rice Granary of the Philippines. That is because Nueva Ecija is home to a broad plantation of rice and beautiful landscapes. These and the variety of cuisine, traditions, and culture create Nueva Ecija’s diverse fine cooking. In addition, there are many historical landmarks to visit and attractions to explore. This makes the province of Nueva Ecija one of the best places to visit in Central Luzon. Nueva Ecija has a lot of things to offer. If you are after the scenery, history, or whatever that you are looking for, Nueva Ecija has wonderful places to explore. One Town One Product (OTOP) all over the province patronizes and sells numerous arts and crafts made by local producers and craftsmen.

Nueva Ecija is home to some of the country's best-preserved Spanish colonial architecture, as well as beautiful mountains, rivers, and beaches: Minalungao National Park, Gabaldon Falls, Dupinga River, Gapan Church, Mount Kemalugong (Paasa Peak), Dingalan Beach The province is also known for its delicious food, ranging from Carabao milk products, rice cakes, to popular traditional dishes like sisig and longanisa. Nueva Ecija is endowed with rich cultural heritage. The expansion of Christianity and the influx of migrants from Ilocos region and Pampanga influenced the foundation of the unique culture of Nueva Ecija. The province served as a melting pot of different cultures that molded the way of life of Novo Ecijanos. Besides being the rice granary of the Philippines, Nueva Ecija is also a land of unique natural wonders that have continued to amaze visitors through the years.  As the people have strived to be at harmony with nature, the province has continued to be a haven for those who wish to go on an adventure or just a place where the casual tourist can sit back and relax and take in the refreshing scenery.

Every municipality has a spectacular fiesta to honor their patron saints and demonstrate the people’s humility and devotion to them. in fact, with five cities and 27 municipalities, Nueva Ecija province has a wide cultural heritage that has become an important element of Novo Ecijanos culture and history. That said, Nueva Ecija is a historic province with vibrant and memorable festivals located in Central Luzon. 

Pantabangan, Nueva Ecija hosts Pandawan celebration every last week of April. Furthermore, Pantabangan is one of Asia’s largest fish-producing cities, and it plays an important role in Novo Ecija’s culture and heritage.�� Pagibang Damara is a festival in San Jose City, Nueva Ecija, to praise Christ for a healthy crop, which aligns with the city’s annual fiesta, which takes time in the second or third week of April. Meanwhile, Taong Putik is from a unique ritual among Saint John the Baptist worshippers in Bibiclat, Aliaga, and Nueva Ecija. On June 24, the ceremony will begin.

[azcanyonrafting]

Whitewater Rafting Adventure

The 13 Best Whitewater Rafting Destinations In The World

Whitewater rafting is one of the most popular activities in the United States. People of all ages and experiences usually find navigating exciting whitewater rapids and bouncing about the spurting waves and river rocks thrilling. It isn't surprising that an increasing number of outfitters online offer advice on the best rafting locations. Sadly, such an abundance of advice from numerous outfitters who care more about selling a season ticket can make advising you on the best rafting rivers challenging, especially if you're beginning your whitewater rafting adventure. This article will show where to experience some of the best Whitewater Rafting trips in the world!

Colorado River Through the Grand Canyon, USA

The Colorado River runs 226 miles through Utah and Arizona and features a great view of the Grand Canyon from the Colorado River. While on this river trip, you can do hikes on waterfalls and visit the ancient Navajo ruins and side grottos of the lava canyon. As part of its attractions, it has enormous rapids and some excellent campsites. Some companies run half-day, one-day, three-day, or even eighteen-day trips on the Grand Canyon, depending on your schedule and physicality. You can go on a river trip almost any time of the year, but the best time to go whitewater rafting is from May to September. Be careful to choose a period that would allow you to spend more time at the Grand Canyon and allow you to explore. You can also choose which medium you want to employ as you can choose between paddle rafts or oar rafts, motorized and dories!

Prospect Canyon, Arizona

The Lava Falls Prospect Canyon runs through the Grand Canyon, where you can enjoy hiking, see the fantastic landscapes of Northern Arizona, and even go horse riding. At Lava Falls, the river through the middle fork of the Grand Canyon plunges over a cliff with a grade X rapid about 37 feet deep. Although these grand rapids could be terrifying, once you can work through your fears, you will easily enjoy the Beach at the endpoint of the Lava Fall!

Magpie River, Canada

The Lava Falls Prospect Canyon runs through the Grand Canyon, where you can enjoy hiking, see the fantastic landscapes of Northern Arizona, and even go horse riding. At Lava Falls, the river through the middle fork of the Grand Canyon plunges over a cliff with a grade X rapid about 37 feet deep. Although these grand rapids could be terrifying, once you can work through your fears, you will easily enjoy the Beach at the endpoint of the Lava Fall!

Magpie River, Canada

When you visit the Magpie River, you can see wildlife and secluded and ancient forests when you raft down the river. If you are up for it, you also experience intense rapids like whirlpools, Picket Fence Rapids, and even the George Camp. It flows from the Labrador Plateau to the Saint Lawrence River in Canada. The Magpie River graces you with the beautiful Magpie Falls and the wonders of the aurora borealis. The trip starts at Magpie Lake and ends in a Grade V rapid at Magpie Falls. It is one of the prettiest rivers to explore while rafting, and the experience is breathtaking!

Zambezi River, Zimbabwe

The Zambezi River is found in Zimbabwe and starts just below Victoria Falls. Within a 15-mile stretch, the river boasts some 23 rapids, and you even get to see wildlife, such as hippopotamuses and crocodiles, along the river. The river distance stretches between the narrow walls of Batoka Gorge through Grade IV and V rapids, such as the Gnashing Jaws of Death. Trips start at the world's largest waterfall, which is Victoria Falls. You can book a trip here for a day trip or half a day. Some tours could last up to a week or eight days!

Rio Pacuare, Costa Rica

Rio Pacuare goes through Costa Rica's Indian Reservation, a pristine rainforest where you will see leopards, monkeys, jaguars, and birds with some luck. It also features a waterfall flowing into the river through class III and IV rapids for 29km. You get to enjoy and experience rapids such as Pinball or Terciopelo Snake. Suppose you opt for multi-day trips to Rio Pacuare in Costa Rica. In that case, you will enjoy the serenity of nature with its eco jungle lodges!

Salmon River, Idaho

Salmon river is sometimes called the river of no return and is the longest-flowing undammed river in the United States. The river drops over 7,000 feet as it flows through scenic routes such as the Galena Summit in Sawtooth National Recreational Area. The middle fork of the salmon river is considered a crown jewel of wide and scenic rivers. The area is one of the most popular rafting rivers in the world due to a section of the river called the Main fork of the salmon river. You also be treated to the views and complex geology of Salmon canyon (some of the deepest canyons in the United States). You can engage in activities such as rafting trips, hiking, and some plane rides!

Rio Upano River, Ecuador

The rafting trip through the Rio Upano River is a wonderful one to participate in, paired with the excellent views of the Andes Mountains in South America. The locals call the river The Godzilla as the waves can go up to 15 feet high, and the river's swift flow makes it an incredible challenge for adventurers when rafting. Something else to look out for is the beautiful scenery and impressive waterfalls on both sides! 

Gauley River, West Virginia

West Virginia is known as the "raft capital of the world," as Whitewater rafting is one of the most popular recreational activities there. The river is 25 miles of rugged terrain with over 100 rapids, huge waves, and a steep gradient. The Gauley offers tremendous class III to V+ drops and rocky routes. The Pillow Rapid on the Gauley River is a class V rapid with a fast-flowing river regarded as the finest and most adventurous rafting river in West Virginia. The Gauley is one of the best rafting trips you could take!

Karnali River, Nepal

The best time to experience the Karnali River in Nepal is in mid-October. The river is Nepal's longest and largest waterway and originates at snowy Mount Kailash. The scenery surrounding the river includes dense jungle, lush greenery, towering Himalayan peaks, and beautiful beaches. These features are why the region is known as the Holy House. The Karnali has mostly class III rapids, but some parts could be of class IV quality, making it one of the best rafting rivers in the world. Karnali boasts great rapids, such as Jailhouse Rock, God's House, Juicer, etc!

Chilko River, British Columbia

Chilko River is diverse in its enormous stretches of class IV Whitewater currents. The river is a 75-kilometer-long river in the Chilcotin District of British Columbia, Canada, and drops from an altitude of 3,000 feet from a dense mountain forest to a silty desert canyon. The rafting expedition takes you through narrow canyons, alpine forests, high desert plateaus, and sky-scraping hoodoos. The Chilko River is flawless, with clear visibility to about 20 feet, and offers a good river rafting experience!

Chattooga River, Georgia

The Chattooga River originates from the mountains of Western North Carolina; it runs 57 miles from North Carolina into Georgia and South Carolina. The river offers fantastic scenery ranging from twisting rock-choked channels to narrow, cliff-enclosed deep pools with thundering falls. You will find sacred waterfalls surrounding dense forests and underdeveloped shorelines characteristic of nature. The rapid current of Chattooga is class II to class IV quality and is famous for its Bull Sluice rapid and dramatic falls that pump adrenaline into you!

Tuolumne River, California

The Tuolumne River offers 16-18 miles of class IV to V rapids bound to give you an adrenaline rush. The huge rapids and big waves of this river are demanding and spaced at close intervals making a recovery for adventurers more difficult. Tuolumne boasts over 40 named rapids that are fast, big, and cold in the early season. In later summer, they are trickier and more frequent. Clavey Falls is something to experience on the Tuolumne River as the excitement comes non-stop as the river winds down and drops through granite boulder fields!

North Johnstone River, Australia

North Johnstone has class IV rapids, with some grand rapids reaching class V, making it one of the more challenging rivers in Australia. The Rapids of the North Johnstone River is known to be technical and extensive. Beautiful tropical forests and volcanic mountains surround the river. The surrounding river boasts waterfalls, basalt cliffs, and canyons. The trip usually takes four days to experience the breathtaking scenery and exhilarating rafting adventure! 

Conclusion

Going on a river rafting trip is a wholesome and exciting experience you can enjoy individually or in groups; it doesn't matter about your age or physicality. You will also find that it offers many benefits as you will feel refreshed after most trips. A good thing about this activity is that you can engage in it in almost any part of the world. Sadly, there is so much advice on the best place to go rafting. With such an overabundance of information, it can take time to make the right decision. This article has outlined some places to have the best whitewater rafting trips. These spots have amazing landscapes, great rivers, rainforests, big holes, hot springs, and unique landscapes that will rejuvenate you mentally and physically. You can quickly join a satisfying rafting experience anywhere in the entire world. Contact us at Advantage Grand Canyon for all your Grand Canyon rafting trip needs. From one-day to two-week trips, we cover them all!

[comicaurora]

Hey Red! Huge fan of OSP and Aurora, my question for you is what animated superhero shows would you recommend?

little bee with an incongruously elephant-themed username, you are officially my best friend

Batman: Beyond

Fifty years after Batman: The Animated Series (which I also recommend, natch), Bruce Wayne has long since retired from being Batman and become a grumpy recluse until hooligan with a heart of gold Terry McGinnis steals the cowl and the fancy suit it's attached to in order to avenge his murdered father and goes on to become the Batman Of The Future, mentored by Bruce. One of the only truly episodic superhero cartoons - almost no overarching plotlines, just character arcs and the occasional villain with their own thing going on. Has a recurring rogue's gallery but also a higher villain bodycount than most superhero shows; villains of the week are not guaranteed to survive their episode, even (and especially) villains from the original Batman run. Exceptionally horrifying plotlines include "man presumed killed in industrial waste accident actually buried alive in horrifying immobilized undead purgatory and animates living humanoid masses of dirt for revenge", "all the cool kids are splicing their DNA and shockingly the dude in charge is evil about it" and "somehow the joker has returned." Also has a surprisingly good follow-up tie-in comic series (and a few less-good ones).

Justice League and Justice League: Unlimited

The first couple seasons (aka just Justice League) are almost entirely two-parters, mostly character-driven, focused in on the main seven founding Justice League members. The finale reshuffles the status quo somewhat, and then Justice League: Unlimited vastly expands the cast and incorporates basically every other DC hero ever written, but somehow doesn't completely fall apart like other shows that tried to follow suit. Most episodes of JLU are self-contained singletons that focus on small subsets of the expanded League - like "Double Date," which focuses on Huntress, The Question, Green Arrow and Black Canary and is well regarded as one of the best episodes. Features seasonal overarching plotlines as well as self-contained episodes that work in isolation. The JLU episodes that focus on the original seven Leaguers are always fun, but it's also nice to see other heroes get spotlighted.

Green Lantern: The Animated Series

Do you like lancers? Do you like sad bad boys? Do you like starcrossed love stories? Do you like self-loathing jerks with hearts of gold? Do you like it when Green Lantern is also there? Have I got a show for you! I firmly believe this show only exists to justify someone's OC fanfic romance between the world's angstiest bad boy and a sentient spaceship, and there are only Green Lanterns in it because there have to be. And it's worth it. Also features some deep pulls from the Green Lantern canon like Larfleeze, Mogo the living planet and Saint Walker the first Blue Lantern. Only two seasons and the art style takes some getting used to, but man it's got some high points. Extremely overarching-plot-driven with the occasional more episodic adventure.

Teen Titans

One of those shows that oscillates wildly between "so lighthearted it's a little tooth-aching to watch" and "so crushingly dark it's unbelievable that this is the same show as those other episodes," just how I like it. Extremely episodic which makes it easy to skip around, which is good, because a lot of these episodes are kinda dumb. Adapts some of the most iconic plotlines of The New Teen Titans, but it's a very different adaptation of all characters involved to the point where it's hard to think of them as the same characters at all. This is not a bad thing, it's just a thing. A superhero show where it feels like everyone is legitimately friends with everyone else, with shipping relegated to the background in favor of platonic dynamics. Main villain isn't allowed to be called his supervillain name because it has "death" in it and that's a no-no, so he goes by his actual legal name instead. For some reason a big deal is made over his identity and face being hidden despite his identity in the comics being Just A Buff Old Guy and his villain name being his legal name he pays taxes under.

Static Shock

Took me a criminally long time to watch this one, and I've only gotten through the first couple seasons, but it's really good. A solo hero rather than a team, Virgil's fun to watch because his powerset is limited but he's really smart with it. Turns out giving a brilliant nerd electromagnetic powers means he figures out a lot of ways to use them beyond "zapping things" or "magnetizing stuff" and it's fun to watch him figure out solutions to problems he can't just blast his way through. Also while the show had to limit some storylines to just coding and subtext (Virgil's best friend Richie is gay, but the kind of gay that's not allowed to be explicitly stated anywhere except creator interviews) the show is incredibly overt in discussions of systemic racism, police brutality, gang violence, sky-high familial expectations and how Virgil struggles to deal with all those things. Has a very brightly-colored and cartoony palette compared to other DCAU shows, making it incredibly jarring when someone hands Virgil a straight-up real gun in the first episode, which he promptly throws in the bay because he's a Certified Good Boy.

Legion of Super Heroes

Criminally underrated and only two seasons long! Clark Kent, long before he becomes Superman, gets recruited by a superhero team from the 31st century to travel into the future and help them out with a supervillain problem. He sticks around for a while learning to be a better superhero and live up to the legend he'll someday inspire, including acquiring his suit from a museum dedicated to himself. Lots of fun dramatic irony as an audience is expected to know stuff about Superman that even Clark doesn't know yet, like what Kryptonite is and why his powers don't work on planets with red suns. First season is very episodic. Everyone gets timeskipped in Season 2 and when Superman comes back he's actually been Superman for a while and is a lot better at it now. Standout character through both seasons is Brainiac 5, who is typically written romantically interested in Supergirl and in this show appears to have the exact same level of affection for Superman, which implies that his type is "kryptonians who can bridal carry me" and probably confuses the hell out of the remnants of Original Brainiac buried in his sourcecode. His "true form" is a ten-foot killer robot, which means he chooses to look like a twinky blond. In season 2 he uses a holodeck to play out dramatically dying in Superman's arms, which is around the point where "subtext" becomes "text." Superman and an edgy lancer clone of Superman spend the season 2 finale helping him out in a Battle In The Center Of The Mind versus Original Evil Brainiac, a process I am convinced only takes as long as it does because Brainiac 5 has two Supermen fighting for him and he's not gonna let that opportunity slip away. Take a drink every time he uses the phrase "twelfth level intellect" and finish the glass whenever he and Superman play out a scene that would be less romantic if they kissed.

Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes

On to Marvel finally! Rock solid through all of season 1, the writing gets a little shaky through season 2 - some episodes are spectacular, some are just okay, and a couple verge on full-on idiot plots. Still well worth a watch, if for no other reason than the broadly incredible character writing. This show writes Captain America so well that when he's replaced with a Skrull in season 2 the audience can tell that something is missing; Skrull-Cap acts the way Captain America acts when written by somebody who thinks he's boring, while real Cap acts like a real person who happens to be an absolute paragon of heroism. This show also writes Thor really well and respects his status as the powerhouse, and broadly all the characters are well handled and make good, smart decisions for the information they have available. This is what I consider to be the definitive version of The Avengers, and its existence is why I'm not mad at the MCU when it does my faves dirty - I know I'll always have EMH season 1!

X-Men: Evolution

So, SO early 2000s! Most of the younger X-Men are de-aged so they can double up superheroics with high school drama, which means this version of Wolverine is a full-on dad and it's great. This show also invented X-23. Also if you watched basically any anime in the 90s there are a lot of familiar voices, which makes certain scenes very jarring - Light Yagami as Nightcrawler is one of the funniest bits of dissonance. Also for new God of War fans, Magneto might sound very familiar. Quality is hit-or-miss in places - the season 1 finale is kind of laughably terrible and the show mostly pretends it didn't happen - but it has some extreme high points, mostly the Wolverine-centric episodes. Almost every conflict could be resolved immediately by Nightcrawler's powers, so unfortunately he gets knocked out at the start of nearly every fight, which circles around to being very funny after a while.

Spectacular Spider-Man

The best Spider-Man cartoon, I think! Very much a solo story - just Spider-Man alone vs his massive rogue's gallery, no other superheroes. Extremely quality banter and arcs - several villains have their origins during the series, many appearing in important roles before becoming proper supervillains. Very much an overarching-plot story, and unfortunately canceled before some of those arcs could be resolved, so it ends on a bit of a bummer, which is fairly standard stuff for Spider-Man, tbh. This is a good version of Peter, which is good, because we spend a lot of the show in his head; we get a nearly-constant inner monologue from him so we always know what he's thinking, so he'd better be likable.

[dis-harmony]

Day 2: My favorite anime [Remastered]

Favorite Anime

Kimagure orange road

Dragon ball

Bang Dream

Precure

Ranma 1/2

Urusei Yatsura

Tekken Chinmi

Love live

Cardcaptor Sakura

Doraemon

Show by rock

Aikatsu

Pretty rhythm aurora dream

Sailor moon

Pop team epic

Hololive

WataMote

Gegege no kiatro

Lupin III

Saint Seiya

One piece

Kinnikuman

Jojo’s bizarre adventure

City hunter

Seto no Hanayome

Cowboy Bebop

Kakegurui

Cyborg 009

Popee the performer

Funny pets

Least favorite anime

Grisaia

1 + 2 = paradise

Neutral anime

Fate grand order

Panty and Stocking with Garterbelt

[aurorasaintlaurent]

                   INTRODUCING HER ROYAL HIGHNESS                      THE PRINCESS AURORA OF SONNE ONLY BORN DAUGHTER OF KING STEFAN & QUEEN LEAH

you were born to a life of fantasy and pleasure, pink and blue satin dresses and rose petals scattered at your feet. you’ve always wanted a chance to see outside your confinement walls, to see what has been kept from your grasp. however, now that you’ve grown older, you’ve learned of your foreboding fate, the urgency to keep you hidden, and now suddenly you have begun to question everything around you  —  including yourself.

name: princess aurora dawn saint-laurent

age: twenty-five

height: 5′8

father: king stefan of sonne

mother: queen leah of sonne

sibings: n/a

favorite food: pomegranates & cherries

favorite drink: any sort of floral or fruity tea

color(s): pink, red, white, blue, purple

lives in: ethereal heights

the softest and sweetest in all the land. though she comes from a high place in life, the heir to her throne, she’s quite grounded. albeit, naïve. being trapped behind castle walls all her life has made her restless and longing for a sense of adventure she’s never been allowed to grasp. ahtohallan feels like that chance to her. she’s excited to explore the island, to learn and try new things she’s never been allowed to before and most importantly — she’s excited to no longer be under the watchful eyes of her parents.

however, the excitement and wonder of a new place has, at the same time, been overshadowed by the news of her own curse. her own doomed fate. aurora can’t help but feel like her parents hid so much about her life from her, that she barely has a sense of belonging anymore. she understands now, why she was trapped behind her marble walls for so long  — but now she truly feels it left her unprepared for what lies ahead. 

the curse is not silent in her head. the dark magic of the fae that cursed her courses through her veins and at times, she feels it. she swears she does. she hears a haunting voice, calling her, beckoning to her. often times, she ignores it  — though it always leaves her unsteady and anxious. the worst part of the curse, besides living in fear it shall come to be, is the nightmares. the nightmares that for as long as she could remember, she thought were nonsense and folly. the nightmares that turned out to be her future. at least, that’s what aurora thinks now that she knows. visions of green fire, her home covered in briars, a dragon destroying her land. 

the nightmares plague aurora, they make her unable to sleep at night, restless and anxious. what if what she sees in her terrors is what’s happening to her kingdom? right now? if she were home right now, and offered herself up to the fae in order to save her kingdom, would that work? aurora would let her curse come to be if it meant saving her family and those she loved. a deathlike sleep is painless, after all.

aurora is a soft spoken girl and overall, she has a heart of gold. she wants to make as many friends as she can on the island, since she spent many an hour in her castle wishing she had friends close by and not just from other kingdoms that she only got to see far and few between. she can be a little naïve from her lack of world experience, but that doesn’t stop her from wanting to learn about everything she possibly can.

she’s a bright, bubbly girl so on days when she’s really not herself, a day where the curse is plaguing her mind hard, you can tell. she becomes quiet, reclusive. truly not herself at all.

[feralsong]

tag game | 30 questions

name/nickname: rachel / rach

gender: cis female

height: 5′4″

nationality: american

time: 12:48pm

birthday: june 22nd

star sign: cancer

lucky number: 22

instruments: none, sadly but i used to play piano when i was younger

dream trip: so many, but the top ones would be road trip through america, traveling through france, or traveling through the british isles

what im currently wearing: a gray sweatshirt, black leggings, and fuzzy socks

average hours of sleep: 8-9 hours usually

favorite bands: the oh hellos | saint motel | the wailin’ jennys | relient k

favorite solo artists: aurora | hozier | dodie | girl in red

favorite song: so many, but currently, exist for love - aurora

song stuck in my head: none right now

favorite food: sushi + friend rice | freshly baked sweets

favorite color: soft blues

last movie watched: love, simon

last show watched: adventure time (still currently watching)

last book read: a court of silver flames (still currently reading)

top three fictional universes: the grishaverse | prythian | avatar: last airbender

when did i make this blog: at the beginning of march i think

what i post: anything writing related, classical art, quotes, dark academia aesthetics, and other writeblr accounts

last thing i googled: banana bread recipe

other blogs: i have another blog but its mostly deactivated

do i get asks: rarely, but my ask box is always open

why i chose my url: i thought it sounded cool but i may change it

following: 44

followers: 37

thank you @vellichor-virgo for the tag! I’m tagging: @magnoliaash / @cas-the-writer / @gardenfolk / and anyone else who wishes to do this tag! Be sure to tag me so i can see your results <3

[motherlycleric]

Since you are sad about not getting to finish Aurora's story, what do you see the rest of her life being like?

this has been sitting in my askbox for months... i’m finally sitting down to answer it. thank you for asking!

a little premise for those that didn’t follow aurora’s game: aurora winweaver was born to a merchant ship captain, and eventually built her own adventuring ship. her father’s ship was attacked and destroyed a few decades after she left them, everyone was killed. sometime after that, her own ship was attacked and everyone but her was killed ( she can breathe water because her mother is a merfolk ). she eventually met The Pride and began traveling them, with a really crappy attitude about it.

••••••••

she wanders with The Pride for a while longer, fights the fights they’ve been gearing up for. saves the world, and her boy, a few times. probably breaks down a few more times too, making gabriel even more of a saint than he already was. at some point, she’ll give him the world’s biggest apology because she knows that she’s just been so awful, and mean, to him and he doesn’t deserve that. but my gods is she thankful that he refused to go when she continuously pushed him away.

( sidenote: i once said that i knew the exact reason that she loves gabriel, and it’s exactly that. he never gave up. he was gentle and kind and so very caring when she was brutal and bitchy and downright cruel. he was so unbearably soft with her, so loving, and it’s like her walls were made to let him in and keep everyone else out. all of her tactics to keep people at arm's length just never even seemed to give him pause. )

well, The Pride saves the day and at some point, they go their separate ways. she asks gabriel if he’d like to go home with her ( because she doesn’t think she’s strong enough to go without him ) and i doubt he’d say no, so off they go toward the coast. on the way, she tells him what, and who, will probably be there when they arrive, so he won’t be caught off guard.

before her family was killed, aurora had lovers up and down the coast. people that she was with when she was with them. sometimes she’d come back into port years later and they’d be married and building a family, and she’d be so, so happy for them. other times, they’d pick up right where they left off. there are many people along the coast that expect her to one day return to them. she has to break things off with them one by one as they go.

they get to the town where her ship, the wander fin, is docked and her interaction with the man who runs the local tavern there is probably the most energetic and truly joyous gabriel has ever seen aurora have. for a moment, she’s the woman she was before her world was shattered.

she won’t go to the ship for a week or so, just being so close to the ocean is hard enough. when she does, she goes alone, a kiss to gabe’s ( she finally calls him by his nickname ) temple as she leaves. aurora stares at her ship for an hour before she can bring herself to board it. she tries to remember the good memories, and not the screams, as she goes below deck.

aurora goes straight to zale’s cabin and stares at his name carved into the door for a while, brushes her fingertips over it. she can barely make it past the threshold before she collapses, and spends a few hours letting herself miss the person she was meant to spend her life with. despite the fact that they occasionally slept together, her and zale were platonic life partners, two halves of a whole. they grew up together, and planned to die together. he was her best friend.

she crawls into bed with gabe that night and tells him about every member of her family for the first time.

she shows gabe around the ship and eventually finds enough old friends around town to help sail the wander fin out to sea, just for a short trip. she casts water breathing on gabe and dives into the water, hoping he’ll follow her so she won’t be alone. it’s the first time he’s seen her in her merfolk form without trying to hide herself.

in the end, gabe lives a much shorter life than she does ( kenz [ gabe’s player ] has talked about gabe finding a way to live longer but that’s not my story to tell ). at some point she’ll have to find a way to tell him that she’ll never be able to have children with him, for no reason other than she refuses to outlive her children, and biologically, his genes would lend to that. maybe that drives him away, i hope it doesn't. she loves him to the very end of his existence, and forever after.

it takes a hundred years, but she finds an asshole of an elf and decides to be his gabriel. she’s soft when he’s brutal, kind when he’s cruel. she loves him through his darkness and welcomes him on the other side of his pain. eventually, there are a few more elven merfolks running around the world. she never moves back onto the wander fin full time, it’ll always be the place part of her family was killed, but she visits often.

her wild streak dies out and eventually, she doesn’t feel nauseous at the sight of any body of water. life carries on steadily toward the end. 

she flings her arms around zale’s neck with a yelp of joy. presses a kiss to gabriel’s forehead, scolds him for leaving her so soon. collapses into the waiting arms of her father. after the reunions, she turns and waits for her husband, her children, her grandchildren...

[fireteamepic]

There was a very good reason Bandit and Asher Mir didn't get along.

All Bandit had to do around the disgruntled researcher was look at the wrong thing sideways, and she'd get those dreaded words, the phrase that made her spine prickle with defiance.

"Don't touch that!"

Bandit’s fingers twitched, a tiny tongue of flame licking at her knuckles as she glared at the old man’s hunched and narrow shoulders. He hadn’t even deigned to face her while speaking. “Why not?” she half-growled.

“Those instruments are incredibly fragile, and my readings must be precise! Why don’t you go find something more… Hunter-like to do? Go graffiti some caves or… or climb some trees, for Traveler’s sake!”

Bandit’s noseplate wrinkled upwards in a sneer. “It’s not graffiti.” The words hissed past her clenched jaw, struggling around the fist of fire that had wrapped itself around her throat, so all that came through was a barely intelligible gurgle of language.

But Asher Mir was never more keen on language than when it could serve him in an argument. “I don’t care what you call it!” he cried, throwing his arms in the air and letting them hang there - like some sort of bisected martyr, a patron saint of dualities. Metal and flesh and bone and rust, flung against the star-slung sky in a picture of authoritative exasperation.

Bandit couldn’t help herself. (“Bad idea,” Pyxis hummed singsong in her ear. “Extremely bad idea.”) In that moment, driven entirely on impulse, she reached out with her own metal hand-

-And slapped Asher Mir’s away.

The reaction was immediate. Asher shrieked, spun around, facing her down with pallid eyes that sparked as he sputtered, language suddenly defeating him. “You- you! I… that, that�� enough!”

Bandit slung her rifle over her shoulder, stalking away before she could do something else she’d later regret.

“Get off this moon at once! Assistant! Where are you going?!”

“Patrol!” Bandit called back with a finality emphasized by a remarkably rude hand gesture.

“Ready to go home yet?” Pyxis prodded mockingly. He was hovering again, flickering about her head in a dance of light. Bandit swatted the air half-heartedly, and Pyxis replied in kind with an ascending arpeggio of beeps before disappearing back into her pouch with a flourish.

This was their cadence, their constant to-and-fro. Pyxis nagged and Bandit bickered; Bandit taunted and Pyxis teased. It wasn’t love, not exactly, but perhaps it was a close cousin. They were twinned souls, stars in binary orbit, always caught in the push and pull of their own gravities.

It was little wonder so few could stand the two of them, Bandit thought.

“I’m not leaving,” she said.

“And why not?”

Bandit scuffed the ground with the heels of her boots as she walked, tapping her gun against the crook of her shoulder in time with the shuffle-step, shuffle-step. She hummed in thought. “...Bored,” she replied plainly.

Pyxis made his little chorus of beeps again, and Bandit realized it sounded like laughter - poorly-disguised laughter, so she wouldn’t get mad at him. “Bored? Bored of what?”

Bandit shrugged. Nothing, she thought. Nothing and everything. She just… itched. Like something was trying to grow inside her, vining its way through her circuits, out from beneath her plating. It itched in her legs, in the soles of her feet, and she could never sit quite still enough for it or run quite fast enough for it to ever, ever stop. Even when she was sleeping, the itch was there. When she was home, her family felt like a thorn hooked through a wound that hadn’t healed right. She had the sense that she was now host to something she didn’t understand. She dug at the thorn and it only burrowed deeper. It made its home in her - no, it colonized her. An infestation. A parasite.

A cancer.

Bandit shook her head violently, realizing Pyxis was still prattling on at her. “-and no offense, but Iota’s cooking is way better than yours. Plus, when’s the last time you slept? Don’t answer that. It’s been 82 hours. No wonder you’re so cranky.”

“Don’t care,” Bandit snapped.

“See? That’s what I’m talking about. That attitude, right there. You’re wondering why you don’t get to go on any hero-adventures like Mute? You’re stubborn, you’re impulsive, you’re a loner…” He blinked along, trying to keep pace with Bandit as she scrambled over a low ledge. “Seriously! A lone Guardian, that’s what you are. And you know what? It’s going to get us both killed.”

Bandit checked over her shoulder for anyone - anyone other than her Ghost, at least - following her. An old habit from the Red War, from the wilds. “Sometimes,” she said finally, “I think you just like talking.”

That earned a rare, genuine burst of laughter from Pyxis. “Well… one of us has got to.”

Bandit smiled too, humming to herself as she stooped inside a small cave - a crevice, really, a crack in the sedimentary layers of bleached rock. The channel led up at an angle and narrowed, meaning that after the initial crouch to get through the low opening, she had to shuffle along sideways. Just when it seemed she would get stuck - that her armor would catch on the rock and trap her there - the passage widened, and spilled out into an alcove that gleamed iridescent with veins of liquid Light. The ceiling was too low for even Iota to stand without stooping, but it was perfectly sized for her, and the effect of the Light spilling out from the flesh of this fossilized moon gave the impression of the rare auroras Iota had shown her and her sisters, up in the mountains beyond the lights of the City. Bandit had felt, ever since she discovered this place, that the Traveler had carved out a burrow, a small safe haven, just for her.

In the corner, pushed up against the wall, was something like a scrapyard for Vex parts. Radiolaria pods, half-disassembled weaponry, even entire limbs in a tangled mess. Beside it, something that was just beginning to take the shape of a Sparrow, long and sleek and gleaming with chrome plating.

“Yeesh,” was Pyxis’s initial reaction. “You don’t think this is all a bit… macabre? I mean, they’re only Vex, but you’re still building a Sparrow out of corpses. Even for you, that’s… uh…”

“Metal?”

“I… no, I… okay, what does that even mean?”

“It’s pre-Golden Age slang,” Bandit explained proudly. “I think it’s ‘cause, like, all their tech was metal? It means…” She screwed up her face for a moment, drawing her browplate low as she tried to summon a worthy synonym. “It means… epic.”

“That’s… not the word I’d use.”

Bandit shrugged, pulling up the stool she’d fashioned out of some petrified wood. She couldn’t explain it, but she just… liked Vex tech. Or, at least, she liked working with it. It felt at home in the clutch of her palm, not just like it fit there but like a part of her had gone missing, lost somewhere between the Then and the Now. It was a bird coming home to nest, the thing growing inside her finding space to take root. It terrified and fascinated her all at once.

Mute and Iota didn’t understand. To them, the Vex were just another enemy, another monster in the dark. But Bandit needed to understand. So she’d fled here, and the flight hadn’t been so much a migration as a seismic event, sudden and violent. And if there was one place she felt at home, it was with violence.

“Bandit,” Pyxis said, his voice dropping low. “Hey, Bandit. You hear something?”

Bandit stiffened instantly. There were a lot of times she might ignore Pyxis. But there was still something of the prey animal in both of them, and Bandit always listened when it mattered. She put her work down, quirked her head to the side. There was something, tinny and faded like an old memory, reverberating off the walls of the cave. It sounded like…

“...Music?” she whispered. “Hang on.” She stood, eyes darting about the room with a Hunter’s alertness. There, in the wall: a small, horizontal crack, about at chest-height, wide enough for her to belly-crawl through.

“Wanna go check it out?” she asked.

“No,” Pyxis replied forcefully. “But I know we’re going to, so…”

“Think I can get through here,” she said. She pressed her palms against the cool stone and pushed herself up with a grunt, leaving her elbows out in front of her for movement.

“And I think I should have found a bigger Guardian.”

“Nah. I’m more fun.” And with that, she headed deeper into the caves.

[amphoraeus]

Dandelion’s End is a supernatural hangout for sims who are beyond the natural. Or this could just be a pretty park with a human sacrifice table.

Because that’s normal, right?

No Stuff Packs needed

20x25 

Belongs on the lot Dandelion’s End in Saint Greer I couldn’t think of a name for the lot so I named it after its address xD

~Expansions~

Supernatural

University

Pets

World Adventures

~Store Content~

Hidden Springs for the fountain of youth

Aurora Skies for flowers

Dragon Valley for large old oak tree

~Custom Content~

Saint Greer Islands by Gruesim for various plants, terrain paints, etc. 

I decided to put this up for download as a celebration of sorts because I have officially finished my classes for the summer. I take year-long classes at Uni so I can graduate and get my degree that much sooner but for now, I get to have a month-long break. So I hope you all enjoy this lot!

Download .package | .sims3pack