#also i encountered the great hawk on my first time bUT THEN I HAD NO IDEA

[savepc2023]

Just a general question! Which characters in DOL do you not know much of but are curious about?

Oooh ok ok so the one i know least about are. ..Black Wolf (the alpha🤨📸) and The Great Hawk🫥

Like like i don't venture into the forest muuuch really, only for the projects and like. For Mason and ONCE AND ONLY ONCE EDEN BC I WAS CURIOUS ABT HIM BUT HE ISNT SUBMISSIVE AND BREEDABLE ENOUGH FOR ME

[headspace-hotel]

Nature is healing.

I burned the Meadow a couple weeks ago. At first it looked like nothing but charred ashes and dirt, with a few scorched green patches, and I was afraid I'd done something terrible. But then the sprouts emerged. Tender new leaves swarming the soil.

My brother and I were outside after dark the other day, to see if any lightning bugs would emerge yet. We had been working on digging the pond. That old soggy spot in the middle of the yard that we called "poor drainage," that always splattered mud over our legs when we ran across it as children—it isn't a failed lawn, and it never was.

Oh, we tried to fill in the mud puddles, even rented heavy machinery and graded the whole thing out, but the little wetland still remembered. God bless those indomitable puddles and wetlands and weeds, that in spite of our efforts to flatten out the differences that make each square meter of land unique from another, still declare themselves over and over to be what they are.

So we've been digging a hole. A wide, shallow hole, with an island in the middle.

And steadily, I've been transplanting in vegetation. At school there is a soggy field that sadly is mowed like any old field. The only pools where a frog could lay eggs are tire ruts. From this field I dig up big clumps of rushes and sedges, and nobody pays me any mind when I smuggle them home.

I pulled a little stick of shrubby willow from some cracked pavement near a creek, and planted it nearby. From a ditch on the side of the road beside a corn field, I dug up cattail rhizomes. Everywhere, tiny bits of wilderness, holding on.

I gathered up rotting logs small enough to carry and made a log pile beside the pond. At another corner is a rock pile. I planted some old branches upright in the ground to make a good place for birds and dragonflies to perch.

And there are so many birds! Mourning doves, robins, cardinals and grackles come here in much bigger numbers, and many, many finches and sparrows. I always hear woodpeckers, even a Pileated Woodpecker here and there. A pair of bluebirds lives here. There are three tree swallows, a barn swallow also, tons of chickadees, and there's always six or seven blue jays screaming and making a commotion. And the goldfinches! Yesterday I watched three brilliant yellow males frolic among the tall dandelions. They would hover above the grass and then drop down. One landed on a dandelion stem and it flopped over. There are several bright orange birds too. I think a couple of them are orioles, but there's definitely also a Summer Tanager. There's a pair of Canada Geese that always fly by overhead around the same time in the evening. It's like their daily commute.

The other day, as I watched, I saw a Cooper's Hawk swoop down and carry off a robin. This was horrifying news for the robin individually, but great news for the ecosystem. The food chain can support more links now.

There are two garter snakes instead of one, both of them fat from being good at snaking. I wonder if there will be babies?

But the biggest change this year is the bugs. It's too early for the lightning bugs, but all the same the yard is full of life.

It's like remembering something I didn't know I forgot. Oh. This is how it's supposed to be. I can't glance in any direction without seeing the movement of bugs. Fat crickets and earwigs scuttle underneath my rock piles, wasps flit about and visit the pond's shore, an unbelievable variety of flies and bees visit the flowers, millipedes and centipedes hide under the logs. Butterflies, moths, and beetles big and small are everywhere.

I can't even describe it in terms of individual encounters; they're just everywhere, hopping and fluttering away with every step. There are so many kinds of ants. I sometimes stare really closely at the ground to watch the activities of the ants. Sometimes they are in long lines, with two lanes of ants going back and forth, touching antennae whenever two ants traveling in opposite directions meet. Sometimes I see ants fighting each other, as though ant war is happening. Sometimes the ants are carrying the curled-up bodies of dead ants—their fallen comrades?

My neighbor gave me all of their fallen leaves (twelve bags!) and it turns out that piling leaves on top of a rock and log pile in a wet area summons an unbelievable amount of snails.

I always heard of snails as pests, but I have learned better. Snails move calcium through the food chain. Birds eat snails and use the calcium in their shells to make egg shells. In this way, snails lead to baby birds. I never would have known this if I hadn't set out to learn about snails.

In the golden hour of evening, bugs drift across the sky like golden motes of dust, whirling and dancing together in the grand dramas of their tiny lives. I think about how complicated their worlds are. After interacting with bees and wasps so much for so long, I'm amazed by how intelligent and polite they are. Bumble bees will hover in front of me, swaying side to side, or circle slowly around me several times, clearly perceiving some kind of information...but what? It seems like bees and wasps can figure out if you are a threat, or if you are peaceful, and act accordingly.

I came to a realization about wasps: when they dart at your head so you hear them buzzing close by your ears, they're announcing their presence. The proper response is to freeze and duck down a bit. It seems like wasps can recognize if you're being polite; for what it's worth, I've never been stung by a wasp.

As night falls, bats emerge and start looping and darting around in the sky above. If the yard seems full of bugs in the day, it is nothing compared to the night.

I'm aware that what I'm about to describe, to an entomophobe, sounds like a horror movie: when i walk to the back yard, the trees are audibly crackling and whirring with the activity of insects. Beetles hover among the branches of the trees. When we look up at the sky, moths of all sizes are flying hither and thither across it. A large, very striking white moth flies past low to the ground.

Last year, seeing a moth against the darkening sky was only occasional. Now there's so many of them.

I consider it in my mind:

When roads and houses are built and land is turned over to various human uses, potentially hundreds of native plant species are extirpated from that small area. But all of the Eastern USA has been heavily altered and destroyed.

Some plants come back easily, like wild blackberry, daisy fleabane, and common violets. But many of them do not. Some plants need fire to sprout, some need Bison or large birds to spread them, some need humans to harvest and care for them, some live in habitats that are frequently treated with contempt, some cannot bear to be grazed by cattle, some are suffocated beneath invasive Tall Fescue, Kentucky bluegrass, honeysuckle or Bradford pears, and some don't like being mowed or bushhogged.

Look at the landscape...hundreds and hundreds of acres of suburbs, pastures, corn fields, pavement, mowed verges and edges of roads.

Yes, you see milkweed now and then, a few plants on the edge of the road, but when you consider the total area of space covered by milkweed, it is so little it is nearly negligible. Imagine how many milkweed plants could grow in a single acre that was caretaken for their prosperity—enough to equal fifty roadsides put together!

Then I consider how many bugs are specialists, that can only feed upon a particular plant. Every kind of plant has its own bugs. When plant diversity is replaced by Plant Sameness, the bug population decreases dramatically.

Plant sameness has taken over the world, and the insect apocalypse is a result.

But in this one small spot, nature is healing...

[gemini-sensei]

@sensei-venus I just got a chaotic af idea for gremlin!Reader. What if she had a cryptic pregnancy? (cw: birth scene, blood)

Like she never knows or even suspects it at all. Then one day when she's home alone, she starts having this awful tightness and pain in her belly and pelvis. Then it passes and she thinks it's okay, but it continues to happen again and again throughout the day. She hates hospitals and doctors so she refuses to go to one and tough it out.

When she realizes it's labor ain't and contractions, it's too late to do anything about it. She has to push. So as the boss-ass queen she is, she delivers her baby on her own. She pushes a good five or six times before he slides out onto her bed. She struggles to sit up but does it anyway to get her baby in her arms, pat his back, and get him breathing. He starts crying so loud that it shocks her. She gets him cleaned up as best she can and lays him on her chest, hoping to calm him down.

All these little baby delivery things she's learned from listening to Moon's midwifery stories. So naturally when things calm down a bit, she calls Moon and is like "Hey, so I just had a baby."

And Moon is like "Haha, that's so funny, Reader."

"No, I'm serious, Moon, I need you to come here now."

She speaks with a certain urgency that's far from her normal, playful tone. It's how Moon knows she's serious and she grabs up everything in her kit and goes to Hawk and Reader's house. Luckily she knows where the spare key is hidden and she gets inside. She finds Reader in her bedroom with the tiniest baby she's ever laid eyes on sucking on her tit. The room is a fucking mess, especially the bed sheets since they're covered in blood and other bodily fluid. Reader doesn't have anything to cut the umbilical cord with so she and the baby as still very much attached.

"Oh my god, how did you... oh my god." Moon can't contain her shock. She's only ever heard of cryptic pregnancies at this point in her career and she never imagined she'd encounter one.

Moon knows about Reader aversion to hospitals, so she doesn't even bring it up. She doesn't want to stress Reader out more than she probably already is stressed out. So she calmly comes over to sit beside Reader, gathers up the messy sheets, and throws them aside so they can at least get some clean sheets in there.

"Sometimes it's hard for first-time moms to get babies to latch on," she says, watching the tiny baby hungrily suckle on his mama's tit. "How'd you manage this?"

Reader kind of shrugs. "I don't know... when he started crying again, I just kinda knew he was hungry and did it."

Reader's voice is so soft and it's a different side of her that Moon hasn't seen before. She's still their gremlin of the group, she's sure, but Reader is so tired after the surprise labor that she really can't expect more of her. Still, Moon takes it as a sign that Reader is going to be a great mama despite not being ready for a baby whatsoever.

As Moon does everything she needs to - cut the umbilical cord, clean up Reader, check the baby - they talk about how this all happened. Reader explains how she had no idea about any of this, she never even had a suspicion. Then she tells her about how much it hurt, how scared she was, and how when she finally realized what had to be happening, she just had to do it. Moon tells her how proud of her she is for staying calm during the whole ordeal and how strong she is. Having a baby is a lot on the body and labor is intense, but she's done so well.

While she's checking the baby, he gets a little fussy when taken away from his mama. However, as soon as Moon starts talking to him, he calms down. He knows that sweet voice. This is one of his mama's friends.

Moon brought everything she could possibly need for the occasion and she's happy to report his good health. "He appears fully developed and perfectly healthy. Good job, mama."

She also brought a number of baby things for Reader, like a few clothes and a blanket, so she wraps him up to stay warm as soon as he's all checked out and cleaned up. Things calm down again and the pair talk about everything they can about having a new baby around. Then they hear the front door open and shut.

"Hey, babe! I'm home!"

It's Hawk. And it's at that moment Reader remembers how she never called or texted him about what was going on. She just took right to taking care of her baby boy and getting Moon over there.

Of whom, Moon jumps up and assures Reader she'll handle it. "I'll go tell him gently." Then she disappears and there's some light greetings to be heard.

Then Reader is pretty sure she hears Hawk faint.

Moon comes back in, grabs something from her bag, and exits again. She uses a smelling salt to bring Hawk back to reality and he jumps up.

"I could have sworn you said, with all the seriousness I've ever seen from you, that Reader had a baby."

"That's exactly what I said, Hawk."

She explains the situation to him before anything else happens.

When he brings her to the bedroom, he doesn't faint again. Instead, he goes straight to Reader's side as quickly and quietly as possible. "Jesus Christ, are you okay? Is the baby okay? I didn't even know you were pregnant- well I guess you didn't either based off of what Moon said, but still. Holy shit."

Reader states at him, then laughs. It's that chaotic laugh he fell in love with and he wonders what the fuck is so funny in a time like this, but also he's relieved because she's feeling well enough to laugh.

"We're fine, Eli... he's perfect."

She smiles and looks down at her baby boy in her arms. He stares up at them, taking in his pretty mama and handsome daddy. He's dressed in a green onesie Moon grabbed on her way out (I think she keeps all sorts of baby stuff to give to parents she works with in baskets she makes for them because she would so do that). It's a little big for him but it keeps him warm and that's what matters right now.

Hawk takes his little hand and holds it, staring at him with a still shocked but happy smile. "Hey there..."

While they're having their little moment, Moon starts filling out the birth certificate. She looks up ever so often to check on them, only to find Hawk holding Reader as they just admire their little one. It's so cute of them.

She stands up and brings the certificate over, showing it to them. She explains what they have to do and ends by saying, "You don't have to have a name for him now. Figure that out when you know."

"I think I know," Reader giggles, looking back down at her baby boy with a smile.

Hawk kisses the side of her head. "What's that?"

"Mason... Mason Elijah Moskowitz."

[mallorylambart]

my dol pc and sydney!

plus a relationship chart because why not

(none of these are concretely how i think they look, it's just a first draw....i can't even decide how i want to draw sydney's bangs orz)

i am constantly surprised at how much this game has my brain by the reins, but boy howdy, is it definitely my current hyperfixation

pc facts under the cut if you're interested in that

pc and robin have constantly been mistaken for siblings as long as they've known each other (she had the same hair color as him before starting to dye it)

pc has never met black wolf or eden

pc only knows great hawk as "this giant bird that chased me in the moor this one time"

when it comes to whitney, pc dislikes him but also agrees with sydney on the whole "you never know what people are going through" thing. she absolutely believes he hates her, though, due to the extent of his bullying; she doesn't figure out that he actually likes her until speaking to him after saving him at his dismissal event.

pc took the necklace. she did not have any clue what she was getting into, and now blood moons are the most stressful times for her. (generally, she tries to spend them in the meadow near alex's farm.) she feels a lot of remorse for taking it after encountering ivory wraith, so she assists them whenever there's pink mist at the compound.

pc and sydney did the rite of promise

pc is an initiate at the temple; initially she joined because she thought it would provide some relief from her current life situation, but over time she's grown leery of the temple and their hangups on purity while doing...whatever they're doing behind the scenes. she continues to work at the temple for the monthly allowance and for sydney, and doesn't trust jordan.

pc works with landry often, and considers them one of the only people she trusts outside of robin and sydney

pc only hates one person and their name is bailey

pc in winter school clothes with backpack bonus

[feathersandblue]

Veilguard 1/?

So, the first couple of hours in and:

the gameplay mechanics are fucking me up. I'm the kind of player who starts pressing buttons randomly when stressed, I actually loved the good old-fashined turn-based RPGs, so the new DODGE-ATTACK-HEAVY ATTACK-DEFEND-DOGDE-DODGE-ATTACK actions required are really fucking me up, to the point where I'm considering turning down the diffculty to cakewalk - but, yes, I'm aware that this is a me problem

10/10 for egghead reappearance, I always loved him and he's hot as fuck and also wittier than ever. I really, really hope that he keeps being awesome, so far, the encounters my Rook had with him in the Fade were hilarious. Can't wait to see where it's going, I do so hope that his relationship with the Inky (platonic or otherwise) will actually make a difference.

however, what did they do to his eyebrows, they're distracting

people are complaining all over reddit that the dialogue is too flippant, too superficial, and it reminds them of a YA novel but to be fair, when I think of some of Origin's lines, they weren't the best, and Rook's humorous replies often remind me of renegade!Shepard or purple!Hawke, which I love

also, to be fair, Dragon Age was never very deep, so I'm not sure what people are expecting. But I do get the impression that it's simply not aiming to be controversial at all

yes, there is a switch in aesthetics and tone, they went from medieval dark to steampunk high fantasy. It's like playing D&D, and I do miss (and mourn) the drab and depressing atmosphere of Origins, but to be fair, Inquisition was already well on its way to flashy and colorful, whereas DA2 was recycling dungeons and led you through an empty city and everyone rightfully criticized it for that

I'm ambigous about the open world vs. narrow corridors concept, on the one hand, I do like open world exploration, on the other hand, I often get lost. I'm not sure how high the replayability score will be though - then again, it's always a matter of whether decisions and character background actually make a difference that makes if worth your time to try something else

I appreciate the fact that you can pause during cut scenes. How often did I get interrupted and then missed some important tidbits? Also the "skip" option is pretty great

What I really miss is the lore and the worldbuilding, so far, it feels very generic. The DA universe had some pretty unique concepts (the Circles, the Fade, the chantry, the Blight) and it's all gone through a blender and come out bland. Maybe there will be a return to certain elements of it later on, but so far, I'm really missing the concepts that Gaider established (borrowing heavily on WoT)

I get why they found it easier not to include content of the earlier games (except for Inquisition because Solas), but it's also disappointing: for years and years they baited us with "your choices matter", and we're all attached to the Warden and Hawke and just having them disappear from the narrative is a bummer

all in all, I do like it, and I'm excited to see where the story goes, but I have the feeling that it won't be able to replace Origins in my heart.

[anti-katsuki-lounge]

Bakugou becoming a hero of The Hero Public Safety Commission? This idea is interesting, tell me how you planned it and how it will happen? Do you also mind if I take inspiration from this idea, for what Bakugou's fate will be like in my AU?

​

Feel free to use it 😊. That goes for everyone who’s interested in using it.

This is sort of a rough outline that I have:

- Katsuki either doesn’t make it to U.A due to scoring 0 hero points or gets expelled during the Quirk Apprehension Test/1st Battle Trial

- As U.A’s test scores are public and the HPSC is a government organization that could access it even if it weren’t, they see Katsuki’s brawn and decide he’d make for a good member of their organization

- Katsuki isn’t seen again until after the Stain Arc. During this time he’s been training with the HPSC. Stain’s message shakes them and they start sending Katuski out on missions, despite the fact he’s only been in training for a few months.

- His first missions are pretty basic, just beating up villains that the HPSC have had their eyes on.

- Katsuki quickly becomes famous due to his young age. However, U.A quickly steals his spotlight due to the Summer Camp Arc (either Shoto or Fumikage’s kidnapped in his place). He’s crestfallen about All Might’s retirement but declares he’s going to be the #1 hero.

- Eventually, Katsuki encounters Hawks, who gives him a cryptic message about the corruption of the HPSC. Katsuki being himself outwardly scoffs at the idea, but the seed’s been planted. 

- During one of his missions, Katsuki unintentionally saves someone. The person, a child, thanks him. Katsuki uses this time to gloat about him being a great hero, but takes in the good feeling that comes with saving someone.

- Later, the HPSC has Hawks and Katsuki go after a tough villain. Seeing as Katsuki hates working as a team, the mission goes pretty terribly. The villain is defeated, but several lives were lost. Hawks admonishes Katsuki, points out how many people were killed because he refused to follow orders, and tells him that with the way he’s going, he’s only going to be the HPSC’s lap dog rather than an actual hero. All of this shakes Katsuki. When the HPSC talks to him, they praise him and tell him he did a good job. Katsuki brings up the fact people died and the HPSC says that lives lost aren’t important as long as the threat is stopped. With Hawks breaking his worldview and the HPSC affirming it, Katsuki has conflicting views on this now. Confused, he thinks back to Izuku, wonders what he’d do, only to cringe at the fact he was thinking about Izuku for advice. Still, this kickstarts him reflecting about Izuku.

- Soon the HPSC starts sending him out on more missions, except instead of capturing bad guys, now he’s moved on to taking on journalists, protestors, and/or anyone else that might be a threat to hero society.

- Though he has bursts of fame, even having his own merch, he still believes he’s being overshadowed by Izuku and the rest of 1-A as they’re constantly on the news.

- In terms of his missions, Katsuki doesn’t particularly mind completing them seeing as the HPSC frames these people as being a threat to hero society. However, after every mission, Hawks tells Katsuki a bit about each person. One person organized several peaceful protests for the removal of mutant discrimination. One was about to expose a hero for abuse. So on and so forth. Katsuki eventually ask him why he’s constantly telling him about all these people and Hawks asks him if the good guys would arrest people who haven’t committed any crimes. Katsuki brings up what the HPSC says about them being a threat to hero society and Hawks then asks him how these people are threats and that even though they aren’t pro heroes, they’re more of a hero than he is. This causes Katsuki to pause and remember Izuku once more.

- Eventually, Katsuki is ordered to go and find a journalist. This time, the mission is completely different. This time he has to kill the journalist. Despite that incident from earlier where his recklessness caused the deaths of several people, Katsuki’s never taken a life before, and has never taken one directly. He still accepts the mission.

- Before leaving, Hawks gives him one last cryptic warning about what happens if he keeps going down the path he’s going.

- Although hesitant, Katsuki goes to complete the mission. When he finds the journalist, the man immediately can tell Katsuki’s here to kill him. He blurts out that he’s been investigating Endeavor for a while now, that the man has committed several crimes, and goes over the whole Todoroki family backstory. He asks Katsuki if such a guy deserves to be a hero and that if he kills him, he’d only be defending a villain. Before Katuski could respond, a child comes down and wonders what’s going on. Katsuki’s eyes widen when he notices that the child is wearing his merch. The child remembers him as the hero who saved them and gets excited. The journalist shoos away their child and tells Katsuki if he’s going to kill him, then to not do it in front of their child.

- Katsuki suddenly gets numerous flashbacks of All Might, Izuku, and Hawks telling him what it means to be a hero. He tells the journalist to take his family ‘far away’ and he’ll help him fake his death.

- The journalist is surprised, thanks Katsuki, and takes all his valuables. Katsuki then blows up the house, returns to the HPSC, and tells him the mission’s been done. Unknown to him, Hawks was sent to follow him and make sure that the mission was complete. The HPSC praises him, but it makes him feel sick. When Katuski leaves, they ask Hawks if he completed the mission. Hawks lies and says he did.

- Hawks encounters Katsuki one more time and praises him for helping the journalist. This time, Katsuki feels good about being praised.

- A few days later, the War Arc happens. Katsuki is sent to help out U.A.

- Katsuki encounters Izuku, who’s surprised to see him here. Katsuki on the other hand remembers how he treated Izuku, and too scared to confront him, leaves to fight some bad guys.

- Things eventually get to the point where Tomura’s about to skewer Izuku. Katsuki rushes to save him. The whole ‘my body moved on its own’ scene plays out, but this time, Katsuki admonishes himself for being a coward and not apologizing to Izuku earlier and thanks Izuku for helping him realize what it means to be a hero.

- Upon waking up in the hospital, he notices Izuku sitting next to him. Katsuki, groggy, asks Izuku what happened. Izuku mentions that Katsuki saved him. Memories start flooding back, a brief flashback occurs, going from when he bullied Izuku when Izuku was trying to help another kid all the way to when he saved Izuku. Katsuki sobs, startling Izuku. Every traumatic moment from his time with the HPSC catches up to him. Izuku comforts him despite not really understanding why he’s crying. Katsuki then surprises Izuku with an apology, and not an ‘I’m sorry for everything’ kind. He tosses his ego aside and tells Izuku that he’s sorry for the bullying, beatings, and the name calling. He’s sorry for picking on him for being quirkless because even when he was quirkless he was more of a hero than Katsuki ever was. He tells Izuku that he was right when it came to what it means to be a hero and how utterly wrong he was. Izuku’s surprised, with tears in his eyes. He tells Katsuki that he’s really changed, that he’s now a true hero, and that he forgives Katsuki.

- Some of 1-A (the DekuSquad and the BakuSquad) come inside to meet Katsuki, having heard Izuku praise him and are now interested in meeting him.

- Later, Katsuki receives word that the HPSC’s been assassinated and several of their coverups have been uncovered. Katsuki wonders what should he do now. He has a hero license from them, but is too young to start his own hero agency. Nezu invites him to U.A for his heroic performance.

- Katsuki accepts before proudly declaring he’s going to be the best hero ever and that Izuku better watch out. However, instead of his typical arrogant tone, it’s clear that Katsuki wants to improve himself and sees Izuku as a benchmark for the kind of hero he wants to become.

- He also finds out that the journalist he helped ended up leaking all the info he had on Endeavor, confirming Dabi’s story. Katsuki is glad he’s safe and that he won’t be hunted again due to the HPSC collapsing and being exposed themselves.

This is pretty much the basis of how I’d write Katsuki if I was Hori. Hope y’all enjoyed it and let me know what you think 😊.

[cant-get-enough-btr-forever]

"Big Time Battle of the Bands", Chapter 2: Big Time Discovery

"Twenty-five bright, shiny platinum records."

A certain Hawk, wearing his smoky gray suit, paced in the office of his (struggling) record company. 

"A million-dollar villa, overlooking the Hollywood Hills." He took a swig of coffee from his mug. It bore the company logo: an imposing silhouette of a hawk.

"A Lamborghini to die for." He faced the window. A billboard stared back at him. BIG TIME RUSH'S ALBUM "ALL OVER AGAIN" COMING SOON.

"And for WHAT?" he yelled, answered by nothing except the traffic down below. Realizing that his cup was empty, he agitatedly shuffled over to the coffee pot.

He sipped the freshly steaming liquid and continued, "I finally get out of the slammer, and how do I celebrate freedom? I turn over every stone and twig, searching for some ounce of talent. A one-hit wonder, even! I mean, really..."

He trained his icy stare on the radio, which sat atop his desk.

Here I am, there you are,

Why does it seem so far?

Next to you is where I should be (Where I wanna be)

Something I want so bad

Know what’s inside y—

The singing crackled and fizzled out as Hawk poured a scalding stream of coffee onto the radio.

He was breathing harshly. "Better say your prayers, Gustavo Rocque. Because when Hawk rises from the ashes, you will be the first to fall." Another loud slurp from his cup. "CAW!!" he shrieked.

......

Later that morning, a sleek bus pulled up to a stop near Hawk Records. The Pussycat Dolls’ "When I Grow Up" bumped out of its stereo.

As the doors swung open, four young girls filed down the steps: One was raven-haired with hazel eyes, one had caramel locks and piercing amber eyes, one sported a long brown ponytail, and one had curly brown hair in a bun. They were all tanned and shapely.

"There it is, girls! Hawk Records." Chloe, the raven-haired girl, said jubilantly.

"YES!! FINALLY!" whooped Mikee, the girl with the ponytail.

There was a confused hush as the girls looked around. "So...now what?" Mikee asked uncertainly.

The caramel-haired one, Jessica, produced a compact mirror and tube of pink lipstick. The other three looked at her strangely. Behind her big pink sunglasses, she rolled her eyes. "Hey, if this is my only chance to become a totally poppin' princess of pop, I might as well look my best, right?" She intently smeared on the lipstick.

The curly-haired girl raised one thick eyebrow. "Um, you know you said 'pop' twice, right?" she pointed out.

Jessica snapped the mirror shut and leaned close to her. "You bet I did, Elena." she smirked.

Chloe motioned to her friends. "Come on, guys. We didn't fly all this way for nothing." Luggage bags rolling behind them, they made their way up the sun-kissed pavement to the double doors.

The first person they encountered was Hawk's secretary. In fact, she was the only one in sight. She already seemed out of place, sitting behind a tiny desk in the desolate lobby. But her impassive, ‘I-hate-the-world’ expression only emphasized the room's emptiness.

The gang had initially been impressed by the spotlessly professional setting. This impression was dampened as soon as they laid eyes on her.

"Good morning! We're here to see Mr. Hawk?" Chloe tried.

Jessica removed her sunglasses, flipped her hair out of her eyes, and looked up with a disarming smile. "That's right! It's been my lifelong dream to become the next JLo, and sing amongst the stars. Though, I'll also settle for a leading lady movie role." The others stared at the ceiling. They'd heard this speech ad nauseam.

The secretary couldn't have looked more bored if Jessica had been reciting a phone book. "Yes. I'm sure you would." she droned sarcastically. Their smiles fell at her tone.

She sighed. "Well, he's free. Office is on the sixth floor." Her blank gaze dropped back to her desktop computer.

The girls looked at each other. "Uh...great, thanks!" Chloe said, smiling as cheerfully as she could. Realizing that their good spirits were not going to rub off on this woman, they scuffled towards the elevator.

......

They stood before the shiny office doors. Now that their moment had arrived, the task at hand seemed much more overwhelming.

Mikee emitted a loud sigh. "Welp. This is it. Who's gonna do it?" She nudged Elena. "You should do it. You're really good with words."

The brunette immediately shook her head. "Only when I’m writing essays for school. Oral introductions aren't my forte." she anxiously explained.

Jessica turned to Chloe. "Chloe, you chipped in the most for the plane tickets. If anyone should do it, it's you."

Chloe tucked some strands of black hair behind her ears, smoothed out her yellow blouse, and took a deep breath. She raised her hand and knocked firmly.

Hawk was reading a thick book at his desk. Getting Rich for Evil Dummies!, the title screamed. He started at the sudden sound.

He fumbled with the book before dropping it in the desk drawer. "Enter!" he barked.

The doors tentatively opened. Hawk's eyebrow quirked as the girls nervously stepped inside.

"H-hello, Mr. Hawk!" stammered Chloe.

"And what do you want?" he asked curtly.

All of them looked semi-terrified, except Jessica. She was glancing around the office like it was a majestic shrine. Chloe cleared her throat and continued, "Let's just begin by introducing ourselves. My name is Chloe Martinez. And this is my friend, Mikayla Rogers."

Mikee jumped forward and stuck out her hand, which Hawk warily shook. "But friends call me Mikee." she added, grinning.

Chloe placed her hands on Elena's shoulders, bringing her into better view. "This is Elena Slate."

Elena shyly waved. "Hi."

Chloe gestured to the wonderstruck teen beside her. "This is—"

"Jessica Carlton." Jessica thrust in, fervently shaking his hand. "It's such a pleasure to finally meet you in the flesh!"

Chloe cleared her throat again, giving Jessica a look. She awkwardly giggled and released her grip. 

Chloe went on, "Together, we are Cross My Heart. And, well, we're a quartet." She smiled as she added, "You’ve made so many people’s dreams come true. We were hoping you could give us a record deal, so we can get a little more exposure."

"And maybe run into Big Time Rush along the way!" Mikee chimed in. They giggled. Hawk didn’t even bother to stifle his yawn.

Once Chloe had stopped giggling, she continued, "Anyway, we're from Arizona, and we've always wanted to—"

"Oh, Arizona, eh? How very...very interesting. I've held many an audition there." he boredly interrupted. He seemed much more interested in adjusting the papers on his desk.

Jessica blurted out, "Really? So we really have a chance?" Mikee smacked her shoulder, earning herself a harder smack in return.

Hawk got up and slowly walked to the window. "Girls," he said, "I am a very busy man. Do you have any idea how many prospects I go through every week?" 

When they didn't respond, he coolly continued, "Can you even fathom what it takes to succeed in the music industry?" 

"Um..." Chloe hesitated.

"No. You can't." he snapped, wheeling around. "I have yet to find one single shred of musical fortitude in this talentless land."

He went back to his chair, placed his feet up on the desk, and calmly picked up a newspaper. "So, to spare all of our sanities, I think it would be best if you four turn yourselves around, leave the Hawk’s lair, and fly south for the winter. Get the picture?" Without another word, he tore open the paper and whipped it in front of his face.

They could do nothing but stand there in shell-shocked silence. Mikee looked at Chloe and whispered, "C?"

Chloe nodded. "It's huddle time." she quietly declared. They looped arms and huddled together, whispering their strategy. Hawk turned a page of his newspaper, not caring in the slightest.

Then, they turned around and broke into their song.

He tensed as soon as they began harmonizing. They were...amazing. Incredible! They were just as good as Big Time Rush—maybe even better. As Jessica belted her pitch-perfect runs, one could practically see a spotlight glowing on her. She was obviously taking her one shot to stardom and using it for all it was worth. 

Hawk slowly, very slowly, lowered the paper. The gears in his head were wickedly turning. He'd finally found it—this was his last chance to get sweet revenge.

Once they'd finished, he was temporarily speechless. He stood up and adjusted his dark shades. A smile spread across his face. "Ladies..." he began, "It looks like the Hawk will have to make an exception."

The girls’ eyes widened. A split-second later, they started squealing. “Walk of Fame, here we come!” Jessica exuberated, hair flouncing as she hopped for joy.

Hawk gestured for them to settle down. “But before we begin our friendly relations, I want to make one thing very clear. Please, have a seat.” Still tittering excitedly, they sank into the black leather couch across from him.

He reposed in his chair. “I take it you’re Big Time Rush fans.”

They nodded eagerly. “Those guys are so cool.” Mikee gushed.

“Actually, they inspired us to become Cross My Heart. It’s mind-blowing how people with such humble beginnings could become what they are now.” Chloe explained.

Hawk thoughtfully traced circles on the desk. “It’s a darn shame that they couldn’t stay humble...” he remarked casually.

They looked at one another, confused. Chloe swallowed before speaking. "What...what do you mean?"

His smile became wistful. "Not many people know this, but I once signed Big Time Rush to my label." he lied. "Oh, such nice young men they were. They came to me, just as you did. They placed all their trust in me to make their superstar dreams come true. Once I finally succeeded..." He trailed off with a sigh. "The pressures of fame changed them. Stabbed me in the back, they did."

"No!" Jessica and Mikee exclaimed. A horrified Chloe added, "Oh...that sounds awful."

"I did everything I could to make Kendall happy. I really did! I even let him write a song or two. But as soon as he got a taste of the limelight—" The back of his hand came down hard on the table. "—he bit the hand that fed him. Now, he's no better than any other spoiled pop tart."

Chloe's brows furrowed. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. The boy she idolized could really be that terrible?

"James? Why, the kid was so obsessed with himself, he would even turn against his own bandmates. Always had to be in the center." Hawk went on. Jessica gasped. She looked like she was on the verge of tears.

"Then there’s Logan: the snot-nosed smart aleck who was more interested in running his mouth than running a show." Elena suddenly looked crestfallen.

Mikee quickly spoke up. "N-not Carlos. He's totally sweet."

He shook his head and sighed. "Behind that helmet lies a heart just as black." She hung her head.

"But that is in the past." he spat. "They're not even worth discussing. Take it from Hawk himself, ladies. Big Time Rush is nothing more than an overrated herd of hooligans. And besides," he started to snigger, "boy bands are over! They lost their appeal ages ago!" He was guffawing now.

"However." he said, all the laughter gone. He rose from his chair, ambled around his desk, and loomed over them. "Cross My Heart is a girl group. So, I just have one question for you."

Their eyes twinkled. "Yeah?" they gasped.

He smiled again. "Are the Hawk’s chicks ready to spread their wings and soar?" As if to punctuate the question, he raised his arms like a bird and screeched, “CAW!”

The band erupted in cheers.

[fangsandfeels]

Oct 14 - Favorite DA2 romance

Marian definitely caused a lot of internal conflict in Fenris: out of all people in this city, he ended up with an unapologetic mage supporter who had several rogue mages in her group. What made things worse, the said mage supporter refused to be serious about anything, all the time. Maddening.

The fact that the mad woman actually kept her word and repeatedly proved herself to be one of the most reliable allies around was even more infuriating. But in time, getting mad at Hawke somehow ended up being different than dealing with anger caused by his suffering. With all her flaws, Hawke was...a welcome distraction who, despite seemingly not being able to shut up, kept all his secrets safe. Kept him safe – even though he was a far cry from a pleasant company.

Meanwhile, Marian was definitely very impressed with Fenris during their first encounter. A handsome elf with a huge sword and ability to rip people’s hearts out? Oh yes, she wanted to be friends with him. Especially after that adorable flustered laughter/cough he made at her flirtatious comment.

But when she overheard Fenris telling Bethany that in the Circle she wouldn’t be a danger to others and herself - and realized that she and Fenris need to have a talk. So, she found a moment to tell him who was actually the biggest menace out of two Hawke sisters.

You see, I don’t need magic to turn people into a bloody mess and I don’t need a demonic possession to start doing it, and there are no Templars or Circles to stop me from doing it. Want to know why these streets are safe right now? Because my dear sister is free. If you truly care about everyone’s safety so much, you really, really don’t want to change that.

(she may have also licked one of her throwing knives for extra intimidation and cut her tongue as a result, like the clown she is -_-)

Despite that little talk, Marian didn’t really make it her goal to force Fenris love mages. She could see that he came from a very bad place – and wasn’t able to leave it even mentally. He reminded her of a scarred mabari she met in Ostagar – amazing, great dog who would maul you in a heartbeat, lest you approach it too fast and without showing your empty hands first. Even many years after his abuse, poor lad still anticipated people around him to hide rods and lashes behind their backs.

And Fenris’ wounds didn’t even start scarring over. Hawke wouldn't call herself exactly a deeply empathetic person, but her experience told her that when dealing with a wounded creature, respect its boundaries without forgetting yours.

Fenris didn't report Bethany, Merrill or Anders to Templars - and that was all she wanted from him at that point. When he didn't back out from coming to the Fade to save Feynriel, it was already beyond what she expected him to do.

As Fenris stayed by her side through all the hardships, she would repay him with the same, while trying to get him to live a little. He was a free man, after all – and she wished he would embrace it.

Marian wasn't the best advisor on dealing with anger, truly – she had particularly low tolerance of Templars and Chantry, because whenever their representatives appeared in the vicinity, it meant danger for her family. It mean packing up your bags and running – again. So, the best idea she had in mind was to cut down any Tevinter lackey coming after Fenris and to get Fenris to tag along on her and the group's escapades – free men don’t sit cooped up in abandoned mansions while drinking themselves stupid. Well, sure, if Fenris wanted to be cooped up in the mansion and drink himself stupid, all power to him, but she'd rather introduce him to the concept of having a choice.

Mostly, the latter became the reason for their bickering – Fenris would bristle at any attempts from an unashamed mage-lover to make him feel better, while the said mage lover would feel amused and keep replying at his attempts to throw barbs with stupid jokes.

At some point, Marian caught herself enjoying their little exchanges – and despite Fenris rarely was a ray of sunshine, she looked forward to checking up on him.

She wasn't too surprised by that realization – he was attractive and quite fun to be around, of course she ended up liking him that way. Him reciprocating was a real surprise – but not an unwelcome one.

But even when he made the first step by coming back to her the night after dealing with Hadriana, she just lived in the moment where they could finally hold each other.

It's not that Marian knew that he would break things off, overwhelmed by sudden memories – she just understood people with trust issues are rarely comfortable with getting close.

She would know. She used the one to disappear after a one night stand and moments of enjoying a silly and brief "what if" scenario of having a future with her lover for this evening.

It just felt safer that way. Letting another person get close meant letting them get close to the Hawke family secret – and Hawke wasn't that naive to think that the power of love would prevent her paramour from snitching on Bethany and Malcolm to Templars.

Some people would pull the stupidest shit while believing they're doing it for the greater good or for the love of Andraste or similar Chantry-fed crap. Marian never considered it a burden - and didn't want Bethany to think she was sacrificing anything for her protection. So, Marian would put up a flirtatious persona and deflect questions about her personal life with jokes about her immense taste and sophisticated appetite (the kind that would make Carver cringe and leave the room). However, the truth was, she avoided a lot more people than she actually bedded.

Her and Fenris, Marian realized, were similarly lonely for different reasons.

And whether Fenris liked it or not, she still cared for him and all the promises she made remained unchanged. So, she stayed by his side, while he stayed by hers, in her darkest moments.

That already meant a lot to her.

Him, confessing his feelings and admitting he wanted to be together on the road ahead?

That meant the world. That made it possible for Hawke to breathe despite the tide looming over her and threatening to crash her under its weight.

[star-arcana]

My first Impression on Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door's Remake!!!

Long intro incoming, skip it to the *Star, if you want to rush to the first impresssion proper .

**Stars if ou want immiediately the gameplay, starting first with the combat and then with the exploration side.

***Stars if you want the story, the perhaps most interesting aspect, as usual with many beloved RPG's.

And, finally:

****Stars for a the most brief conclusion on this.

Hello everyone, your favourite arcana is here, Star-Arcana and I am here to write here my first impressions, not a full review on Paper Mario TTYD's Remake on the Switch and what I think about it.

Yep I am not going here spoiler free, since I want to mention some important events in the story (as well as other Mario RPG's like Super Paper Mario for instance), as I am already spoiled on the story for most of the stuff and now what happens, so don't read what I wrote here if you want to remain unspoiled, 'til completion of the game by your own time and pace. So do it like Edge and be against Spoilers here, she hates Spoilers, doesn't she?

Starting off, I am a huge Mario RPG fan as some of my favourite games were from that branche of the highly esteemed Mario Franchise, since he is the one I grew up with as a kid the most, other than DK, Pokemon and Smash...So I was always going to like that game, as many other people who liked these type of games said that this game is really great and ultimately I wanted to play another Paper Mario since my last one; Super Paper Mario when it came out. So, as I expected and hoped, I love that game already and it is super fun in not just gameplay, but also story. Plain and simple, it is the Mario RPG I would have loved to play as a kid back then, had I known of it's existence, but since I am an adult now, I can try it and be really happy with it, after all, adulthood still brings me much fun, if not more so than as a kid with that freedom compared to back then,hehehe...

Anway back to the topic at hand, I started to play that game for over a week, currently having finished the brutal Wrestling challenge against Rawk Hawk, the jerkiest Chicken out there, and found the yellow Crystal Star and I am currently in Rogueport and try to clean up some older levels for the coming loom in the Twilight Woods. I wanted to start this run a bit earlier, but due another game taking me longer to complete, as it was a very difficult quasi-permadeath run with Prince of Persia The Lost Crown, I was delayed until I could start TTYD last monday. Thus I got to play very recently the remake of one of the most prestigeous Mario RPG's of all time, the Gamecube's Thousand Years Door.

*Now that I made my thoughts clear, I go over this game now more throughtly:

It is a turn-based RPG within a semi open world that you explore in search of 7 Crystal Stars, as you became entangled in a millenia long secret of the town of Rogueport, sitting atop the ruins of an ancient City. You, as Mario, were brought here by Peach, who came in possesssion of an ancient treasure map leading to the Stars needed to open a Door with the same name as the title; The Thousand Years Door. You go to that town and after getting in trouble with a bunch of evil-doers known as the X-Naunts and eventually finding a treasure Map for the 7 Crystal Stars, you journey begins. You will encounter several friends on your journey and foes as well amd have to navigate through a wacky and colorful world of Paper that shines as bright as any children book with cute pictures here or a great fairy tale book.

Anyway this post will be divided into two parts, gameplay and story, and as I want to get over the least fun (but not unfuuny) part first, the gameplay!

**As I said, it is a turn based RPG within a semi open world that is very much alike other such games, like Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest, Chrono Trigger and Pokémon. However it differs in a few ways, like the battlefield being a huge theater stage, with a live audience here to watch you, that can be either Toads, Koopas, Goombas and many other creatures across this journey. Know that they exist first, they will be relevant later. Going on, you can order Mario and your teamates to attack an enemy, defend themselves from them, heal HP or use any kind of moves like analysing the foe or just swallowing them and spitting them out. Certian actions however, cost action points, here called Flower Points (FP for short), and you can and you can only win by beating the enemy by making their HP drop to 0. But the biggest diffrence being there is that you can like, in the Mario and Luigi games, influence the way attacks and commands are executedby fulfilling several commands like pressing B on a foe when jumping and stomping on them, or having to press the analog stick Left or hold and press ZR. You can even add extra flare by adding style to the attacks, like pressing A at the right moment. Each move has diffrent conditions for styles, which can be properly learned by the right timing and by the Battle Master, a Pink Toad that looks like a Kung Fu Warrior, so better check her out if you want to get better.

Also the way you can minimize and even cancel damage is rather interesting; You can either guard yourself with A, when the foe attacks and expect either no or little damage, but the more rewarding, but trickier to master Super Guard, not just nullifies damage, it can also send a small portion of the damage back at it's sender, but the window of setting it up is super short and if you fail, you end up being hurt for full damage. On your journey, you collect the Stars that will open new path ways for you, but will also give your special moves that can devastate and even break fights, like the Earth Power skill that will deal big damage against your foes or Clock out which, if executed well, immobilize your enemies for 3 WHOLE turns, which made the Grubble Boss Fight a cakewalk. These Special moves needs Star power for their execution and if you attain one, you will get more and more of these points as your MAX number in total. If you used up Star power, you need to refill them by gaining appeal from the crowd via the Appeal tactic to increase it, or execute your skills very well with the aforementioned stylish moves and thus you get them all filled. However the Crowd and even the battlefield can make life hard for you, both IRL and here, since enemies can throw stuff at you from the seats, if you don't counter them with X fast enough, or the studio can have Buckets fall at you for instance, and thus recieve damage or get dizzyness and thus can miss a few attacks for a turn. However enemies can also be hurt occationally by this and lights when falling down on you can eletrify you and thus increase your attack potential. The Stage can also have some projectors freeze either you or your foe and thus get the freeze effect. So this game demands you to pay attention to the combat, lest it gets the better of you.

Items also exist that can like any boxstandard RPG Heal your HP or FP, increase stats, remove negative conditions or inflict them on your enemies and they are all over the map, but you also get Badges that either give Mario or his partners new moves, increase their defense and offense in certian conditions or increase FP usage, Max HP the amounts of them are near endless, so just know the badges exist. There is however a limit to the amount of badges you can equip as some of them either take up no badge points, and thus can always be equipped, but others take up more points, up to even 6 ones and if your BP limit is reached, you cannot equip anymore of them.

However there is a way to increase your max BP points, and also your HP and FP, by gaining enough Star Points (not to be confused with Star Power), which you will get all your stats refilled and can choose 3 of the slots to be increased, HP and FP can be increased by 5 points and BP by 3 points. Choose wisely, as you need to figure out where you want to lay importance in the most.

With this overall, the combat is fun and I want to explore more of it, but I also found it pretty easy and not as hard as I thought it would be, given this game being really old, and games used to be harder back then. Anyway the game's massive array of powerful ablilites, rather predicable and even weak enemies, as well as items being very easy to find, I have almost Max capacity if we include storage in there. I never ever lost any real fight, I didn't died just once!!! Even Rawk Hawk couldn't push me that far and he was almost able to K.Omy little Yoshi friend I cutely named Yoshigon, combining Yoshi with the last syllbes of Sargon's name, the protagonist of Prince of Persia The Lost Crown, since both of them are young, hot-headed warriors trained by skilled masters, in Yoshigon's case, it's a he, Mario!!! Ahem...With the additon of most commands being rather easy to perform, unless you also want to master Multibounce and Power Bounce with max appeal, you really have a rather easy time, and that is ok, too, since good games don't need to be hard, but fun. So, this is not the game to flex too much your skills with unless you mastered every single attack...but maybe I am too overconfident, and the game will surprise me.

The exploration side was also a rather fun endaevor, even if I wished there was a way to mark all places you cannot explore right now with an in-game feature, as making screen shots on my Switch is not super duper funny. Still the game has a lot of value in the exploration side, since the puzzles are hard enough to be engaging and not too much of a shore to deal with, even if I was a bit confused at times, luckily my teamates helped me via tips to finish the harder ones. They are also good at showcasing the new abilities and advantages you get with new gears, powers and teamates who can help you with places that seem intraversable, by making you be placed in those situations and thus get a feel as to how and when you need these powers like the grids in the Hooktail Castle or the X-marked places where you need to stomp, but only can do it once you have it. There many such places and I always see it as a good sign of game design to make the player clear when they need them by creating this sense of helplessness and confusion and then lifting it with a new ability, power or friend that helps you deal with it. Especially the whole quest within the Great Tree where the Punies live is one I enjoyed on this front the most as well as the Glitz Pit's dirty dealing, and...you know what I loved all the places...I will just mention a place where I really felt tested my mind the most, and that was the Great Tree where the Puni; You have to figure out how to lead a horde of these little Pikmin-like creatures into the dangerous dungeon in which they could get lost in should they fall into a chasm, as you need depending on your progression, a number of them to complete puzzles and open pathways, as this dungeon has locks that will only be openned when for instance 101 of these little fellas stand on the pedestal you place them there via placing a Puni orb on said pedestals to attract them. For instance I had them to cross two gaps by placing them there and have a teamate summon a gust of wind to push them into the gap, where a little water puddle is, to have them then be lift up as bubbles. Before this I have to remove the orb and place it to the pedestal on the side I want them there and after 2 more gusts, they entered the place I wanted them too. The Punies are also followed by what might be the most catchy track in the game so far, it gives me this huge Pikmin x Patapon vibe I love so much, here is the track: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qs1nnHXIr7A

Pikmin x Patapon crossover when?

However I felt that one puzzle wasn't obvious and that was the movable wall in the locker for lower level fighters in the Glitz Pit, as I needed to ask for advice to get in there, so I hope that better puzzles will come where I won't depend too much on this. With that said and being done, I loved the exploration and the new windows coming forth for me when I get new members and powers, I just wish it would be easier to keep track on them easier as to not miss them, soemthing like in PoP TLC, where you screenshot in game a place and memorize them. So all in all good riddles, even if some could be more obvious.

Now we come to the main meat, the Story

*** Mario RPG's have a good reputation with storytelling as it uses the most simple story and conflict in video gaming history as setting for some of the whackiest, funniest and most elegantly and gorgeously told stories within that silly Mario world of wonder and fun. They also adds dimensions to the world that few spin off from the Mario series can pull off and ultimately made us think and apprieciate the Plumber and his friends a little bit more and helped gaining many fans for him, as well as enriching our lives, such a game was Super Paper Mario to me, as it made me so engage seeing these characters put into new and wacky situations that forced them to adapt to this, like Mario having Peach at his side who is not always happy with everyone crushing on her and fighting back, Bowser having to work with mario despite wanting to grill him, and poor Luigi being treated like 2nd fiddle by everyone with him even being brainwashed and controlled by the final boss of the game, not unlike what will happen with Peach in the story of TTYD game...Yeah, spoilers...Anway the story is as follows, about getting the treasure of Rogueport underneath the city, where a Door, named the Thousand Years Door, is sealed, containing the mystery of the old town. You see, before Rogueport came into being, there was a burstling and thriving city that was destroyed in a dark, apocalpystic storm that saw the earth shook and the sky turn black within minutes and then...the city Vanished, and afterwards, a new city was built, Rogueport, above the ruins of that ancient civilization. Peach, wanting to escape her own castle stumbled on an old lady gifting her a box containing a treasure map and in her gullible curiosity, she did and got involved with the X-Nauts and captured. X-Nauts are a bunch never-do-wellers seeking that treasure as well. Mario came at the behest of Peach into this town and after saving a young woman, who wanted to research the ruins of Rogueport, from the the X-Nauts, they met with her professor and fond a treasure map containing info on the 7 Crystal Stars that can open the Thousand Years Door...So our adventures begins with us finding these Crystal Stars, uncovering the secrests of the door with twists and turns awaiting us.

However I wanna focus on the parts of the game I did enjoy the most and and express my most sincere of opinions:

Mario TTYD is to me a very well made story so far with fun dialogue I can not perfectly remember, but can always rewatch, as I recorded that game, but the stuff I remember the most for instance, is ultimately the fun I had with Mario and his teamates, which is what I wanna focus most on here. You are not alone in this game and Mario is accompanied by some of the wierdest people in the Mario world, like the young woman we saved from the evil-doers. The cheerful and curious Goombella, a Goomba and archeology student. She is really smart and puckly with a golden heart as her Ponytail, putting aside the cliche as these Fungi beings of stupidity and evil, serving as the meat grinders for Bowser's army. Goombella is also really fun and I vibe with her curiosity of places and people a lot, like how she described a gatekeeper as really nice, or vibin with me and Mario on becoming Champions at the Glitz Pit and fighting our way here. She helps you in game with telling you who the NPC you can talk with is and even was perplexed by us asking her about Luigi, saying this is your brother, you should know him. She however is also good at giving detailed information on other characters and enemies, as she can tattle foes in battle and give you info on them with flavorful text, like how Vivian is really cute, even cuter than herself, which made her a bit jealous in the remake of her and not thinking much of the ParaKoopa just describing them as what they are; Koopas with Wings. Another I like is how she described often people like Mowz, a rogue Mowser as some wierdo that flirts too much with Mario, and jokes that she probably wants to just win the record of biggest flirt ever or the time she dissed the Goombas living below Rogueport, after they treatened us, as stinky with their manners as the sewer they live in, as they probably got it from there!!! Point is, she is fun and really valuable due to her knowledge and I always have her first in my battles. Though my memories aren't perfect, rewatching my gameplay, will help recover some of it. I just love how they made a species of these grunts being so multifaceted beings with their own goals and affiliations. The other Goomba NPC's no affliliated with Bowser, and Goombella's professor Frankly, another Goomba, helps breaks these sterotypes as well. Thus Goombella, a Goomba is one of us, and not just praising Mario as world famous hero, but even fighting against Bowser, who I will get later in too. Goombella is to me Rabbid Peach, if she studied Archeology and wasn't into being an influencer.

After aquiring the Treasure map, we venture into Petalburg to find the first Cyrstal Star, Koops is a Koopa, a young lad that wants to aid us in our Quest to find the Dragon that took his Papa's life, that Dragon being Hooktail, the ruler of Hooktail Castle. She terrorized the village of Petalburg and kidnapped many villagers. Koops grew up without his Pa and has become rather timid, until he had enough and when he saw Mario in action, he gained the courage to challenge his Father's kiler, and wants to fight for his Girlfriend Koopie, who doesn't want him to proof himself like this...she likes him the way he is and wants him alive, but he won't bunge! Upon challenging and defeating that Dragon, we find out that his dad is still alive and well, due to Koopa shells being super durable, they can even survive decades long exposure to Dragon Stomach Acid...ew...anyway the Dragon is dead I since I found her death a bit funny, and I really wanna take revenge for Koops, I headcanon Hooktail's ultimate fate like this:

Yeah, vengeance is delicious...anyway we get the Crystal star and Koops decided to join us and help us out in our quest to save Peach. He is rather simple, but really cool and again, breaks like Goombella stereotypes of Koopa as weak-imbeciles serving Bowser, and having real connections and family...Koopa are really interesing it seems. Just with Goobella, he helps to add novelties in these rather simple species and his overall charming looks and personality with these cool connections, makes him really awesome!!! I love him! His Shell Guard and shell tosses are really powerful weapons and I relied on him more to deal damage than most members, as he can target more than one enemy. Anyway He is not the only member and we have another one I really like, despite me not expecting it!

Enter the glamorous and poise Flurrie, a Wind Ghost once famous as an actress in Rogueport until she had enough of that lifestyle and decded to live in the Boggly Woods to have a less tumultuous life and a more chill one. She begins her debut after we find her lost Necklace back after it was robbed of her by the Three Shadow Sirens (called just Three Shadows). These Shadows being send by the X-Nauts to terminate Mario, all the while gushing at how hot he is, to them I will get later, just now they existed and were a thing. With her ability to create Gust,we could pass through the Secret entrance to the Great Tree in the Boggly Woods, where the Puni named Punio asked for help, after the X-Nauts invaded his home and took Great tree for themselves. She is surprisingly nuanced in her positon despite being a bit too vain to leave her necklace, her past as a influencer and sometimes her flirty nature really added some humor, especially when Mario attracts several women in this game...Mario is after all a superhero, that helps with the ladies I guess. Anyway what is not vain is her love for the Punies who adore her singing and wants to protect her neightbors from these invaders. She ultimately helped us and her abilities are all good, especially her gust instant killling foes, her body slam being reliable and her draining kiss hurting and healing her. She is pretty much Flying/Fairy type and I find her amusing, especially when it comes to her views on the show life and her showing interest in Mario...which alwas cracks me up and makes me happy, since Mario is someone I really love, I even cosplayed as him, just ask my friends! We get in the Great Tree our 2nd Crystal Star.

Then there is a member I do really love and that is the Baby Yoshi you get in Glitzville, where we protect him from becoming food for Mr.Hoggle's most famous Hot Dog stand. That Yoshi hatched and I named him Yoshigon, as I already explained, by combining Yoshi and Sargon into one name; Yoshigon. Like the Immortal Sargon from Prince of Persia The Lost Crown, he is a hot-headed young warrior and I love that kid. He is soo cute and feisty, he challenges everyone and his skills are the most easy to learn and pull off, even if I messed it up nearly with him against Rawk Hawk. But We Rawked that Bird and his skills proved invaluable against that boss who used a Crystal Star against us, but he was a joke...unlike Yoshigon, who just shred them to pieces!

The interaction with these characters is always a pleasure to be had and they aren't the only thing I really love about this game.

Peach being kidnapped might be a cliche, but the absurdity of her being held captive with an unlikely ally being here to help her. TEC, the main computer of the X-Nauts HQ, who fell in love with Peach at first sight and wants to learn from her what it means. Despite how absurd it sounds, I found it somewhat funny and endearing, even if Peach had to play along to get on his good side. It is somewhat wierd to revive such a story in 2024 where we want to get away of such dangerous romances with damsels where they googly-eyed someone and used them to escape, as it puts Peach in the "I can fix him" type, but it is cliche and I hope it has a good conclusion that isn't...creepy. And I hope no one uses this to manipulate him into becoming possessive of Peach by making him consumed with fear of rejection too much, we have a world already polluted with such unhealty views on romance and jerks incapable of taking it. I had been once in love and was rejected, it was not so hard to turn into a monster, so I hope no one polludes him!

And speaking of such jerks, Bowser really is at his best here when he is pathetic and wants Peach so much he picks fights with everyone around him and even got beaten by Mario in the most random fight ever, only to, predicably lose. I love that Bowser who can be somewhat intiminating and still be pathetic.

What is also pathetic are the Shadow Sirens led by Beldam, one of the most incompetent leaders I have ever seen, who blames her younger sister Vivian for everything wrong with her plans and for mistakes Beldam actually made, like losing the poster of Mario, which costed them precious time to find him. I feel bad for Vivian, I wanna see her stand up to Beldam, cuz Beldam sucks really. I have a foundness for these characters as they are charming and give me the comical villain trio vibe who can't do anything right from all the cartoons I saw and as a Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope fan, they are to me the precursors of the Spark Hunters, especially when one of them, like Vivian will, joined us. I am talking about Edge, who is not just a better leader than Beldam could ever hope to be, but also my favourite Mario character and Vivian as her predessesor, has a great place in my heart. What also I see at the heart of TTYD is a theme of love between family, let us think about it:

We first encountered a Koopa family that was reunited after the son defeated an evil Dragon, then we encountered the Puny Punio who cares deeply for his younger sister, Petuni, who was held in in captivity by the X-Nauts. After freeing her and the other Punies, she embraced her older brother Punio and gifted him a dried Mushroom that tasted awfully, but he still ate it with love for his sister in contrast to Beldam abusing and gaslighting Vivian into taking blame for the mistakes her older sister made. Another contrast is with Jolene, the secretary of Grubble, who leads the Glitz Pit league, having worked under cover to figure out what happened to the previous champion of Glitz Pit, her younger brother Prince Mush. They were both poor, but Mush did anything for his older sister and his parents and became a pro-fighter to help them, only to be killed by Grubble, whom's secret he found out, namely using the Crystal Star to drain from the Arena the power of all fighters to maintain his strong body, as he was once a pro-fighter. Rawk Hawk has since then taken the title of champion and is a massive cheater, who even tried to make us forfeit by locking us up in the Locker for the minor league, with the backing of Grubble of course. After both were beaten, the Crystal Star resonates with Jolene's love for her little brother and Mush returned to life, and thus reuniting the two sibling via love...it seems that the Crystal Star reacts to emotions like these and if love can really do it, then it makes sense for Peach to help Tec with love, in order to save the world, as that machine could realize the errors of his ways this, well, way. Maybe Vivian needs that love in order to get out of that hole with Beldam, whom I wanna finish with a Earth Power and some stomping. Peach I hope will get a more satifsying role than being the crush of a machine, this isn't All Tomorrows, this is Mario!

Luigi gets once again the short stick in the end, as he is a confirmed liar and no help at all...no wonder Dimentio claimed you, you are embarrassing before Nintendo grew to like you more...and I love modern Luigi far more than this version, especially Movie Luigi!!!

Anyway this concludes my first impressions and I hope the game doesn't dissapoint me from here, tell me your thoughts here on tumblr or twitter, see ya then, and bye!

[mirikitakato]

[Translation] Banquet for the Scarlet Flower Dyed in Darkness: Episode 6

Faust: If he just wanted to see the flower, you could have used teleport magic to transported him to where it was though?

Oz: Arthur didn’t let me use spatial magic. He wanted to discover it by himself, since it was a flower with the same name as mine.

Murr: That's Arthur for ya! The Central wizards are full of adventurous spirit. He finds more value in overcoming the difficulties that come with it than in fleeting pleasures!

Oz: ...Because of that request, everything became more difficult. How many times did he get off in the fields, find a red flower, open the book to compare, and get disappointed...

Shino: Didn't you encounter any beasts? Must have been hard to sleep outside.

Oz: ......Nothing other than spatial magic was forbidden.

Akira: (So, he secretly protected Arthur with magic...)

Oz: Finally, when Arthur had gone down to flower fields more times than he could count all fingers of both hands, he found the flower. He must have remembered the shape well enough that he didn't need to check, since he had seen the photo several times already. He ran straight to it the moment he spotted it.

Oz's voice is softer than usual as he speaks. It warms my heart to hear it, knowing that it's also a happy memory for Oz.

Akira: ...Arthur must have been so happy. I can easily imagine him smiling with great joy.

Oz: He smiled with a face that looked like he had found a priceless treasure. It only looked like a poisonous flower to me, but Arthur said it was a big, strong, and beautiful flower...

There is a slight furrow between Oz's eyebrows as he speaks.

Akira: Oz?

His red eyes look into the depths of the forest. Other wizards are also watching the same place with caution.

Murr: Something iz coming!

Suddenly, we hear a loud flapping sound. A massive shadow cast by a flock of birds looms over us, their wings still beating furiously.

Shino: A hawk?!

Faust: No, these guys are undead too!

The approaching flock of birds has bloodshot eyes and razor-sharp claws at the ready.

Oz: 《Vox Nox》 With a sweeping motion, Oz unleashes a flash of light into the forest. The birds scatter and fall to the ground, struck by the falling light.

Murr: Amazing~! He took out that entire flock in one hit!!

Shino: First dogs, now bird zombies. This is really a forest of death.

Faust: They're more aggressive than the dogs we saw earlier. Look like they have a clear intention and purposely targeting us... Could there be something in the forest that's pushing us away? The path ahead becomes overrun with Oz flowers. The trees are cloaked in a thick, dark haze, as if coated in dripping ink. In the heart of the forest, where neither sunlight nor human eyes can reach, it seems as if "Oz" flowers are blooming endlessly.

Akira: It's eerily dark. I feel like I'm going to be swallowed whole...

Murr: Humans hardly ever come here, I guess. The presence of spirits is stronger.

Faust: Spirits lurking in shadow...

Oz: That's enough information. Let's go back.

Oz glances into the darkness for a moment and then turns his back immediately.

Shino: Well, we'll come back to take care of it anyways.

They all nod and turn back the way they came. Along the way, Shino walks behind Oz and speaks.

Shino: Anyways, didn't think you'd be down to help. Is it because the sight of these flowers bring back memories of Arthur?

Oz does not look back. He continues walking without stopping and speaks calmly.

Oz: All flowers are the same. But if the moon is involved, we can’t ignore it. It's just cutting off the troublesome sprouts early.

We don't know what kind of expression Oz has on his face when he answers, since he is looking ahead and we're behind him. But his face must be the same as usual: an expression of calmness that remains unwavering by anything.

Akira: (But Oz is probably...)

Jessica: Uhm...

Suddenly, we hear a voice and see a familiar person standing in middle of the path before us.

Akira: Ms. Jessica? Why are you here...

Shino: Aren't you resting at home?

Jessica: I'm sorry. There's something I need to ask you about, no matter what.

Murr: A favor? Without Ivan knowing?

Jessica: Speaking of Ivan...

Jessica, seemingly struggling to find her words, let out a sigh. Then, she locks eyes with us, her gaze fleeting yet brimming with unwavering determination.

Jessica: He'll definitely want to come with us for tonight's ritual. But he can't. Please keep Ivan away from the forest.

Akira: Is that...because it's dangerous? Mr. Ivan didn't seem to be in very good condition either.

Jessica: That’s part of it, but... ...There's something else I need to tell you.

[Ivan’s dream]

Jessica: Ah, Ivan! You're sucking on Oz's nectar again! That flower is pretty, but it's poisonous, you know.

Ivan: But I'm starving! And the poison is in the roots, so just the nectar is fine.

Jessica: Geez…I won’t care if you get hated by the land god and become a sacrifice!

Ivan: That's just an ancient story, it’s not real. And besides, the Great Calamity is coming tonight. Probably there won't be much damage again this year, but we can't leave the house at night. So, just in case something happens, I want to eat what I like.

Jessica: Do whatever you like then, I'll eat all the honey cookies myself.

Ivan: Wait, give me some! Jessica, Jessica, wait!

[Dream ends]

Ivan: ...Uh... ...W-what is that…? (I tried to stay awake, but since when I fell asleep... It’s almost dawn...Did everyone go into the forest already?) Jessica...

It’s past midnight and dawn is approaching. We enter the depths of the forest with Jessica. We have matched our attire to Jessica's description of her dream, wearing all black. Faust stands in the center. The robe he prepared fluttering in the dim light of the forest.

Akira: Mr. Ivan… He was pretty reluctant, but I'm glad he agreed.

Jessica: Yes, I definitely couldn't have done this alone. Thank you all for persuading him.

Shino: Oz, on the other hand, just said “come if you want” like it was no big deal.

Lennox: But according to Jessica's story, it would be safest for Ivan to wait at home.

Heathcliff: I agree. Although it’s frustrating not to be able to tell him the truth, but...

Heathcliff lowers his voice as he looks back at the path we have taken. As I watch his back, I recall what Jessica had told us.

[Flashback]

Jessica: On the night of the Great Calamity, I wasn't the one who was supposed to be the sacrificial offering. ...It was Ivan.

Akira: What?!

Shino: What do you mean? He came asking us wizards to save you.

Murr: Did Ivan lie to us?

Jessica: No, he didn’t…it’s because he can't remember what happened to him. That night, under the large moon, Ivan was invited into the forest by something. I saw him from the window and hurriedly followed him. His footsteps led me deep into the forest. I was scared, but I couldn't leave him alone...I followed him and saw him picking a black Oz flower. So I...at that moment, I used magic to take Ivan's consciousness away. Then I…I…

Faust: Did you manipulate his memories with magic?

Oz: Memory-erasing magic requires precision. It can damage the mind if used carelessly.

Jessica: I know! I know that, but... I had no choice but to do it. I thought it might take that child away!

Murr: What did you see there? Take him away? What for?

With Murr's innocent question, Jessica hesitates and closes her lips. Then, she carefully looks up at Oz.

Jessica: That child was staring into the void...something was moving in the darkness. Ivan called that thing "Lord Oz." I couldn't see its exact form, but I knew right away that he meant "Oz." - name of the Demon Lord rumored to crave blood of the living and the flowers that bloom in this forest. I thought “Lord Oz” had chosen Ivan to be a sacrifice, to be offered to the forest flowers…

Oz: Did you take his place? The fate of becoming a sacrificial offering.

Oz asks in a low voice. His eyes aren’t filled with blame; rather, they hold a gaze brimming with tender compassion and empathy. Jessica lowers her eyes and nods slightly.

Faust:...So, you switched places with him on your own will.

Jessica: Yes...as if drawn to the darkness, nectar was flowing from the flower he picked. He was about to put it in his mouth, but I stole his memory and also the flower away. Then, I ate the nectar in place of that fallen child. I thought, I would definitely be the sacrificial offering. I thought, I could protect that child. ...But the magic I cast is tormenting him. His memories are clouded. Ivan is getting weak in mind and body. The headache he gets sometimes is definitely because of that. I don't regret protecting Ivan, but...

Episode 5 | Episode 7

[theluckywizard]

Self-Recommendation Tag Game

rules: share five of your own fanworks (fic, art, etc.). then, tag five more people to share the things they've made.

Thank you for the tag @nirikeehan <3

1. Something you absolutely adore: The Boy Who Talked too Much was my first attempt at writing Alistair and gosh, I just LOVE writing that man. His brain may be my brain? I had such a great time being in his head and getting into his silliness and nervousness and the thinking and talking too much. It is a 'first kiss/first sexual encounters' fic, so definitely NSFW, but it's fundamentally just sweet reading along as bold Elissa melt Alistair's precious brain. WC: 2,373 Rating: Explicit (high school level smut antics) Ships: Alistair x Elissa

2. Something that was challenging to create: Pull Me from the Dark is a character study I wrote for Hawke from his POV when I was still getting to know him. I really spent the time to get his vibe right. I wanted to plumb the depths so to speak. He's a really goofy, silly guy and it would be easy for him to become a caricature so this was an early attempt at giving him some real depth and I'm still so proud of it. WC: 2107 Rating: Mature (oblique reference to sex, Varghest gore) Ships: Rose Trevelyan x Garrett Hawke

3. Something that makes you laugh or smile:

That would be Good Old Garbolg which I wrote in response to a Bottle of Thedas prompt for Garbolg's Backcountry Reserve. It's my OC's Hawke and Rose being absolutely silly goobers on an adventure to taste the mystery booze in a bottle they found in the Fallow Mire. WC: 1462 Rating: Explicit but probably more like Mature tbh (I err on the side of caution) Ships: Rose Trevelyan x Garrett Hawke 4. Something that surprised you (how it turned out, how others liked it, etc.):

The Assassin's Masque (or High Falutin Hawke and his Foxy Boss Try Subterfuge at Halamshiral) surprised me by how much I absolutely ADORED having Hawke at the Winter Palace as an Inquisition Agent. So much that I threw away about 70k words of my long fic to make it happen for real. It is the definition of shenanigans. Hawke is there to be a distraction and to help with the collection of information and, you know, breaking and entering as the case may be. He's also able to provide Inquisitor Rose with some sexy cover. ;) WC: 3745 Rating: Teen for some general sauciness Ships: Rose Trevelyan x Garrett Hawke

5. Something you want other people to see:

Well Did You Miss Me? is my flangst with a side of angst fic that has spawned an entire long fic. Hawke has been trapped in the Fade for over a year and Rose has learned to have a recurring dream to block out the nightmares of him staying there. Hawke breaks into her dream from the Fade to make contact with her. I poured my soul into this one. My blorbos deserve to be happy. WC: 5062 Rating: Explicit (sex) Ships: Rose Trevelyan x Garrett Hawke (sensing a theme here? lmao)

Tagging @rakshadow, @breninarthur, @agentkatie, @warpedlegacy, @kiastirling-fanfic, @crackinglamb, @about2dance and anyone else who wants to participate <3

[thedragonagelesbian]

1 (because I think I got here late and would love to know more about Cyrus Generally as well), 5, 26, and 31

1. Tell us about your Tav! Name, class and subclass, race, pronouns. Do you have a headcanon for where they're from? Their family? Are they a Dark Urge? Or did you choose an Origin Character? Was it an easy decision?

asdfkpofjsaf i know my cyrus posting is. inscrutable at times, especially since he was originally a Dragon Age 2 character, so here is the definitive primer on bg3!cyrus

Name: Cyrus Hawke

Race: Wood elf

Class (main timeline): Paladin in Act 1; Paladin/Barbarian multiclass for Acts 2 & 3

Subclass (main timeline): Devotion in Act 1; Oathbreaker/Wildheart (bear) for Acts 2 & 3

Class (came back wrong timeline): Paladin/Sorcerer

Subclass (came back wrong timeline): Devotion/Shadow (mod) in Act 1; not sure if he'll end up breaking his oath in the same way in Act 2, but the plan is to take most of his sorcerer levels in Act 2 since the shadow sorcerer mod has some fun mechanical interactions with the Shadowlands

Where are they/their family from: Cyrus was born to Leandra Amell, the runaway heiress of a noble family in Evermeet (Faerun's equivalent of Valinor, isolationist elven paradise), and Malcolm Hawke, an eladrin warlock who had scorned his archfey patron. Because Malcolm was being actively hunted by his patron, Cyrus was born and spent his earliest years on the road.

Malcolm was killed by his patron when Cyrus was quite young (<20, baby by elven standards), and Leandra passed away a few decades after that. At the time, Cyrus was still very much a juvenile for an elf despite (in accordance with D&D lore) looking like an adult by other humanoid standards. He ended up in Baldur's Gate immediately following his mother's death and spent ~50 years there as an orphan in the Lower City.

Cyrus self-identifies as a Baldurian, but his actual relationship with his hometown is much more complicated. When he lived there, he loved many of its people and wanted to protect them, whether from the opportunism of the Guild, the overreach of the Flaming Fists, or the cruel indifference of his orphanage's headmaster. But that sense of expectation and obligation, especially to the other orphans, was often strangling. Cyrus grew quite accustomed to sacrificing his own happiness and desires to take care of them.

When he saw his first opportunity to leave the city without feeling like he was abandoning people who needed him, he took it without hesitation.

Durge vs Origin: Cyrus is an origin character. I didn't even consider going Durge for him. From playing him in DA2 and spending basically the whole summer yelling about him, he was already a very well-established character in my mind, so I didn't really want/need the extra story and world tie-ins that durge offers.

I also knew pretty quickly that I wanted to play him, rather than coming up with a new OC. This is because he is my most specialist boy ever, but also because for my first playthrough, I wanted to get into the game itself, rather than spending too much time thinking about who this person is and what their connection to the world is.

5. Do you remember the first humanoid enemy your Character killed? Was it the first person they've ever killed, in your opinion? Would they have been bothered by it?

It was the looters in the cathedral right off the beach-- he persuaded the ones outside to fuck off, but failed the roll for the ones inside the building itself, and they were automatically hostile when I had Astarion pick the lock.

I think he was bothered by that particular set of deaths just because 80% of the time, he prefers to de-escalate and resolve situations peacefully... in those other 20% of cases, though, he is quick to draw blood. Threatening his friends, hurting innocents, and being a careless or cruel authority figure are all great ways to encounter the righteous paladin fury simmering behind that affable, easy smile.

So, no, it wasn't his first kill. I think that honor probably went to a bandit who attacked him and Leandra when they were traveling alone after Malcolm's death. It was very messy, poorly executed, and terrifying, leading to the scars Cyrus has on his cheek and throat. The encounter also drove him to learn swordplay and defense so he could be ready the next time around.

26. What was your favorite enemy? Did your Character have any memorable fights or moments in combat that were ripe for headcanons and interpretation?

Even if Cyrus smited Minthara into oblivion, I am fascinated by her and her women's wrongs and her evil paladin wiles, and I look forward to learning much more about her when I do a more morally dubious playthrough.

As for the second question... god, I wish I had a better answer! Bc I love this question and thinking through the relationship between combat mechanics and narrative, but... the Act 1 combats didn't have as much personal/emotional investment as Acts 2 & 3 for me. Also, because I was playing on explorer mode, those emergent moments of super close calls and near (or actual) deaths didn't happen very often.

When I do my paladin/sorcerer run though (on regular difficulty this time), I will be very curious to see when 'strength of the grave' triggers for the first time (drop to 1hp instead of 0 once per long rest). Violently flirting with the line between life and death is sure to be very stressful for him :)

31. Does your Character have new or old phobias or superstitions that affect their story?

This is super low-hanging fruit, but Cyrus is very sensitive to how his body is modified, so the whole tadpole situation is. Immensely yikes. He tries not to ever use the tadpole powers, even in benign instances such as sharing thoughts and feelings with companions. He'll only resort to it if he absolutely has to. If I remember correctly, the only times he used it in Act 1 were to free Shadowheart and to interfere with the goblins' interrogation of the dead mindflayer.

And, of course, the Dream Visitor's suggestion that he should be encouraging and inculcating these powers is politely but firmly rejected.

[mermaidsirennikita]

Do you have any good recs for pirate romances? Preferably with smart/spunky heroines (anything but innocent)?

Yes! So, I will say--I haven't ventured far into the Golden Age of Piracy beyond books I read as a child that require... re-assessment, as that era of piracy is very heavily linked to the slave trade. I'm not saying there aren't solid pirate books out there, I'm saying that a lot of those Golden Age books are old school--so they have the issues that come with being old school along with the issues of their era.

Scandalous Desires by Elizabeth Hoyt--an all time favorite of mine. Hero is an Irish river pirate, but don't let the river fool you. He is 80% pirate, 20% river AT BEST. (Charming) Mickey O'Connor basically got a lady pregnant, and that lady died, and then he had a baby, and what did he do with that baby? He anonymously left her at an orphanage run by a Quaker widow he publicly humiliated a while back, OBVI. When this book begins, the widow, Silence (sister of Winter and Asa Makepeace, praise be) basically runs up on his pirate lair to be like "I ACTUALLY LOVE THAT BABY, GIVE BACK BABY" and Mickey is all "Silence m'dear, uh, no, unless you want to stay on my ship and cruise while I seduce you with artichokes and sensual masturbation".

Truly a Hoyt classic, with one of her best heroes and one of her best heroines, and the heroine is also sister to two of her other great heroes. It fucks. I think there's a scene where she says I love you while he's inside her and he insta-ejaculates. Silence is not an innocent heroine; she's not a virgin, and she's a bit... quiet and kind, but world-weary, and she comes into her own with Mickey.

The Duke with the Dragon Tattoo by Kerrigan Byrne. Another river pirate. Heroine finds hero near death when they're kids, nurses him back to health, and before he's forced to leave he tells her he'll come back to her. Years and years later, her brother is about to force her to marry this asshole, and the hero shows up at the church on her wedding day, kills her brother and fiance, spirits her to his ship, and forces her to marry him by maritime law. An insane book. Better if you read The Highwayman first (a criminal mastermind book, not a pirate book) which is a criminal mastermind book. Heroine isn't super spunky, but because her brother was an asshole she's jaded.

The Bootlegger's Bounty by Adriana Herrera is a novella about a bootlegger (obviously) in the 1920s. He's villainous, what with the novella being a part of the Villain I'd Like to F... collection. It's m/m/f, so he ends up with a chanteuse type lady and a boyish hot young thang. DEF NOT INNOCENT.

The Hawk by Monica McCarty has a piratical hero, even though he's like... a lord and part of Robert the Bruce's Seal Team 6, basically. It's a Scottish medieval, and he like, hauls this uptight Irish heroine out of the water, and he's all "oh wow she's annoying". He's wild, she's restrained, eventually they have sex on a raft that is in literal motion in the midst of a storm with gale force winds. It's excellent. The heroine is a virgin, but she's quite smart and gives the hero a lot of shit, lol.

Shadowheart by Laura Kinsale has a hero who's a pirate/lord/bastard/assassin. Like, you meet him as a pirate, and it goes from there. One of the best books I've ever read, I cried, I swooned, he's deranged, she's ready to play ball, at one point she ties him so he's sort of hanging from the ceiling and he could totally get loose but instead he just thrashes and does a whole "mercy" thing. I will say the first encounter is noncon, though I'd call it fairly mild in terms of how explicit or violent it is. To me, it made sense for the story. It stands alone, but it's even better if you read the not-piratical (knights) For My Lady's Heart first. Heroine is a virgin, but definitely has a snarky side, and once she blossoms~ with the hero, she is off to the races.

How to Tame a Wilde Rogue by Julie Anne Long (out 7/25) is a lovely read about a privateer (not totally a pirate, but close) getting stuck sharing a room with a spinster highborn lady at an inn over the course of an intense storm. It's a romcom, for sure. Heroine is a virgin, but jaded by bad luck and spinsterhood.

If you're down for steampunk, Milla Vane's The Iron Duke has a pirate-turned-duke hero and a heroine who's like... part robot sorta? Heads up, the hero describes childhood SA, and there is some dubcon, though I personally liked it. Serious, but not innocent (bi) heroine.

If you're open to historical fantasy vibes, I LOVE India Holton's Dangerous Damsels series. It's full of pirates in flying houses, witches, and spies; there are high emotional stakes but it's very whimsical and funny. The first two books have pirate heroes--I think the first book has a pirate heroine as well, and it's very "charming rakish pirate meets rebellious young lady"; the next one maaay still be my favorite in the series, and it's a sexy Irish pirate and a sheltered witch wunderkind. They start having sex to take the edge off, and I swear I remembered a scene where they're steering the ship, but each one has one hand down the other's pants.

I never do this, but--you're gonna see Sea of Ruin recommended. I rarely do this, but I will anti-rec it. I don't think it handles its subject matter well. It also has the heroine's mom die by jumping off a "cliff" off the coast of South Carolina (around Charleston). This is the lowcountry. There are no cliffs. She would get sucked into the marsh. A gator would eat her. She's not jumping off a cliff.

[icharchivist]

You lamented the loss of Aerith in your party btw and I feel that too

I remember playing the second The World Ends With You game and a character from the first game joins your party early on and his stats are so good, he definitely carries you hard. It makes sense within the lore that he'd be good, but he was also just really good

Also he's hot, so that was great, I had a lovely time

But then after the first week, like a third or so into the game homeboy just up and leaves to do his own thing and I was heartbroken and also fucking struggling without my resident muscle, how could you do this to me, man

Oh my god 😭😭

The classic "this character was overpowered to carry me and now i miss them" moment. How could they.

In my ff7r playthrough im struggling with that yeah, and the OG is even worse because let's say, to stay vague, that every characters have very specific built, and... there is a Major Character Death mid game from a character from your party that had a very unique role that no one else can fill. And it's linked to the theme of really showing loss and how you can't replace the people you loved. So it hurts :^)

But my funniest story about that is actually from Dragon Age 2, i need to share.

So in da2, you encounter different characters from different class, and once they become members of your party, you're the one who decide everything about their stats or their skillset. You unlock everything with love and care to make them as strong as possible.

And then, midgame, you have a quest where you have to go into the realm of dreams, where demons roam to tempt you, to save someone. And you decide who to take with you on this trip. If incidents happen no one would die, they'd just wake up and leave you alone in the dreamworld tho.

And so i decide to bring my boyfriend Fenris, the two handed sword warrior elf with ghost abilities to rip people's heart from their chest (💖💖💖 he's so dreamy), whom i have lovingly leveled up so he was the strongest most healthy character of my party.

And during that quest, we run into a demon. Who makes Fenris a proposition. And Fenris is like. Damn actually sounds good. And then he turns on you. I had to watch my fucking boyfriend i had lovingly leveled up have a gigantic health bar as he's one shotting me because /I/ MADE HIM OP AS FUCK. WHY.

And then i have to kill him to wake him up. And you have to continue this quest without your warrior. And the remaining of your party is still susceptible to turn on you. So you can reach the big boss of this section with only one party member and it's likely not going to be any of your tank/heavy hitter.

Your name is Hawke and your life is a fucking nightmare.

Gaming is cruel 💔

[pooepw]

29 - night blog again

Streams

Today, I streamed twice. In my first stream, I could not get myself to enjoy the game Baldur's Gate. I had no idea how I got so far in my first run of the game (I must have used some difficulty swapping or had boundless luck) since even trying to get through the basic first part of the game was nigh impossible for me to do. Honestly, the whole experience felt lacking in the player interacting with the game. For much of the combat, I felt as though all I could do was sit there and watch as my characters get clobbered. Maybe I will play it again, but I will certainly not stream it. I do not need to show my blood pressure rising during a stream. For my second stream, I had decided about an hour before the stream started that I wanted to play Minecraft and Elden Ring because I had set up the start of constructing a garden for Mystical Crops in Minecraft while also feeling like showcasing the second T-Pose attack in the Elden Ring Convergence mod. I did just those things and had a great time doing so.

My Morning

This morning I was outside relaxing and looking at my pumpkins. I do not think that they will produce pumpkins since I am a novice at gardening, but it is fun to see them bloom flowers (but sad to see those same flowers shrivel up). Contrary to my usual basking in the sun, a hummingbird flew in front of me but not in the ordinary locations the bird would fly around when they would encounter me and my family. I also saw a female Velvet Ant which was cool. I thought it was a Tarantula Hawk since it had the same color scheme, but I was mistaken.

[daimonclub]

100 admirable quotes

100 admirable quotes 100 admirable quotes and aphorisms by famous and great authors and writers to help improving your ideas and thoughts, to inspire and motivate your behavior, to foster your critical abilities. The only thing that elevates man above the animal is speech; and it's also the one that often puts it underneath. Emil Cioran Do not take life quite so seriously, you surely will never get out of it alive Elbert Hubbard You'll never know how truly damaged a person is unitl you try to love them. Anonymous There is only one virtue, justice; Only one duty, to be happy; Only one corollary, not to overvalue life and not to fear death. Denis Diderot A multitude of words is no proof of a prudent mind. Thales The only thing worse than being blind is having sight but no vision. Helen Keller. I am a slow walker, but I never walk back. Abraham Lincoln And when nobody wakes you up in the morning, and nobody waits for you at night, and when you can do whatever u want. What do you call it, freedom or loneliness? Charles bukowski The high-minded man does not bear grudges, for it is not the mark of a great soul to remember injuries, but to forget them. Aristotle The only true "philosophy" is that of the hermit who wants nothing to do with the world. Emil Cioran One of the basic rules of the universe is that nothing is perfect. Perfection simply doesn't exist.....Without imperfection, neither you nor I would exist. Stephen Hawking Think as the wise men think, but talk like the simple people do. Aristotle You should not honor men more than the truth. Plato The greatest difficulty arises from persuading people to abandon the old ideas. John Maynard Keynes

100 best admirable quotes The man who first flung a word of abuse at his enemy instead of a spear was the founder of civilization Sigmund Freud The only reason for time is so that everything doesn't happen at once. Albert Einstein Only a few know, how much one must know to know how little one knows. Werner Heisenberg What is important in life is life, and not the result of life. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe I must be on the road to stupidity; I could not follow Oppenheimer's student speech. He was so learned and difficult that I didn't understand anything. I consoled myself only with the last sentence, which I understood; he said: ... and this is Fermi's theory of beta decay. Enrico fermi If a man know more than others, he becomes lonely. Carl Jung Hoping the world treats you right because you're a good person is like hoping a bull won't attack you just because you're a vegetarian. Dennis Wholey Those who are able to see beyond the shadows and lies of their culture will never be understood, let alone believed, by the masses. Plato Age appears best in four things: old wood to burn, old wine to drink, old friends to trust and old authors to read. Francis Bacon Nothing is more despicable than respect based on fear. Albert Camus The opinions of others do not pay your bills. Anonymous The truth triumphs by itself, the lie always needs accomplices. Epictetus He, who will not reason, is a bigot; he, who cannot, is a fool; and he, who dares not, is a slave. William Drummond This is patently absurd; but whoever wishes to become a philosopher must learn not to be frightened by absurdities. Bertrand Russell The art of being a slave is to rule one’s master. Diogenes

Admirable quotes and aphorisms Although I had no regrets, I told myself sadly that growing up was not the painless process one expected it to be. Maya Angelou I ought to call myself an agnostic; but, for all practical purposes, I am an atheist. Bertrand Russell The only time my education was interrupted was when I was in school. George Bernard Shaw Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds. Albert Einstein If we lasted forever Everything would change Since we are mortal Much remains as before. Bertold Brecht The more one suffers, the more, I believe, has one a sense for the comic. Søren Kierkegaard See, people with power understand exactly one thing - violence. Noam Chomsky The only good is knowledge, and the only evil is ignorance. Herodotus Don’t bother with churches, government buildings or city squares; if you want to know about a culture, spend a night in its bars. Ernest Hemingway The mind is not a vessel to be filled, but a fire to be kindled. Plutarch Books are the treasured wealth of the world and the fit inheritance of generations and nations. Henry David Thoreau Every action has its pleasures and its price. Socrates The older I get, the less I feel the need to be included, understood or accepted. Anonymous We live in a time where intelligent people are being silenced so that stupid people won’t be offended. Anonymous Don’t handicap your children by making their lives easy. Robert A. Heinlein

100 admirable aphorisms Mark Twain argued that humor is born of pain, that's why the true philosopher can only be a humorist. Carl William Brown It's strange. I felt less lonely when I didn't know you. Jean Paul Sartre The learning and knowledge the we have, is, at the most, but little compared with that of which we are ignorant. Plato If you correct your mind, the rest of your life will fall into place. Lao Tzu Virtue is the habit of acting according to wisdom. Gottfried Leibniz Happiness resides not oin possessions, and not in gold, happiness dwells in the soul. Democritus I opened my eyes and saw the real world, and I began to laugh, and I haven't stopped since. Søren Kierkegaard It is not that I am mad, it is only that my head is different from yours. Diogenes See, people with power understand exactly one thing - violence. Noam Chomsky He who dares not offend cannot be honest. Thomas Paine Poverty is the schoolmaster of character. Antiphanes To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment. Ralph Waldo Emerson Don't just teach your children to read. Teach them to question what they read. Teach them to question everything. The value of an education is not the learning of many facts but the training of the mind to think. George Carlin Sic lusus animo debent aliquando dari, ad cogitandum melior ut redeat tibi. (Così, di tanto in tanto, devi lasciare svagare la mente, perché torni a te più pronta quando occorre pensare.) Fedro, Favole, 3, 14. Without love living is easy; but it's meaningless. Leo Tolstoy

100 admirable great quotes Stupidity is better kept a secret than displayed. Heraclitus If you know how quickly people forget the dead, you will stop living to impress people. Christopher Walken He who laughs at himself never runs out of things to laugh at. Epictetus Consider your origins: you were not made to live as brutes, but to follow virtue and knowledge. Dante The pessimist complains about the wind the optimist expects it to change the realist adjusts the sails. William Arthur Ward Better to die fighting for freedom then be a prisoner all the days of your life. Bob Marley Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds. Albert Einstein Philosophers have never killed priests, but priests have killed many philosophers. Dennis Diderot Everybody loves you when you're six foot in the ground. John Lennon Make peace with your broken pieces. They're your mosaic. Anonymous There are no dangerous thoughts; thinking itself is dangerous. Hannah Arendt The greatest wealth is to be content with little. Plato No one is useless in this world who lightens the burdens of another. Charles Dickens A lie can travel around the world and back again while the truth is lacing up its boots. Mark Twain Being poor is only romantic in books. Sydney Sheldon

Admirable aphorisms Our knowledge can be only finite, while our ignorance must necessarily be infinite. Karl Popper Some people die at 25 and aren’t buried until 75. Benjamin Franklin The measurement of a man is what he does with power. Plato As usual, there is a great woman behind every idiot. John Lennon The most difficult thing in life is to know yourself. Thales Fear doesn't exist anywhere except in the mind. Dale Carnegie The things you think about determine the quality of your mind. Your soul takes on the colour of your thoughts. Marcus Aurelius Love all, trust a few, Do wrong to none: be able for thine enemy Rather in power than use; and keep thy friend Under thy own life's key: be check'd for silence, But never tax'd for speech. William Shakespeare Dirty water doesn't stop plants from growing, so don't let negative words stop your progress. Anonymous He who fights, can lose. He who doesn't fight, has already lost. Bertolt Brecht Rest, nature, books, music, such is my idea of happiness. Leo Tolstoy To withhold from living is to die; the more you give of yourself to life the more life nourishes you. Anais Nin Being against evil doesn’t make you good. Ernest Hemingway Knowledge will give you power, but character respect. Bruce Lee He who has peace of mind disturbs neither himself nor another. Epicurus

100 great admirable quotes All types of knowledge, ultimately mean self knowledge. Bruce Lee The longer I live, the more convinced am I that this planet is used by other planets as a lunatic asylum. George Bernard Shaw They muddy the water to make it seem deep. Friedrich Nietzsche The first and greatest victory is to conquer yourself; to be conquered by yourself is of all things most shameful and vile. Plato One ought to go too far, in order to know how far one can go. Heinrich Böll My way of joking is to tell the truth. It's the funniest joke in the world. George Bernard Shaw The worst pain a man can suffer: to have insight into much and power over nothing. Herodotus We live in a world where we have to hide to make love, while violence is practiced in broad daylight. John Lennon Every word has consequences. Every silence too. Jean Paul Sartre Quando il sole della cultura è basso, i nani hanno l’aspetto di giganti. Karl Kraus Mastering others requires force; Mastering the self requires strength. Lao Tzu To think is easy. To act is hard. But the hardest thing in the world is to act in accordance with your thinking. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Don’t miss these similar articles: 100 best quotes and aphorisms 100 magnificent quotes and aphorisms 100 brilliant quotes and aphorisms 100 golden quotes and aphorisms 100 famous quotes and aphorisms 100 memorable quotes and aphorisms 100 top great quotes and aphorisms 100 excellent quotes and aphorisms 100 great quotes and aphorisms on Love Great and famous philosophy quotes Quotes by authors Quotes by arguments Thoughts and reflections Read the full article