#amadis mention

[theartofloss]

Milu: I'M A CHILD OF DIVORCE

[miharuhebinata]

am i actually supposed to believe varl knew zo for two days & now suddenly they're in love 🤨

[foibles-fables]

Something I feel like too few people talk about is that Talanah's gift she leaves in The Base™ is flowers. Like top 1 romantic gestures the goddamn nerd. I'm so sorry 'Lanah that Aloy is a dumbass that don't realize when people are serious about their flirting

not only are they flowers, but they are PURPLE flowers—either violets or forget-me-nots

so like, either way, COME THE HELL ON.

Not to mention that she leaves them directly outside of Aloy’s bedroom door—they’re the first thing she sees when she leaves her room

I legitimately cannot handle them. It’s sickening. Downright foul

(Also shove off with the idea that Amadis gave Talanah the flower she’s holding at Barren Light as a parting gift. Doesn’t even make sense. Talanah picked that flower for Aloy, then one of the same for herself. Use brains.)

[georgieenkoom]

I've seen several people believing that Sasuke is fodder (some go as far as to say below Lage level) without his Sharingan. Much like how I did with Obito in the past, I'll use a Quora answer to free many from such delusions :

This answer isn't here to convince you to like Sasuke if you aren't fond of him, but rather to remind people of how truly versatile he is as a fighter and how he easily remains in the Kage-level bracket and even beyond even in base form. I was also kind enough not to mention his (late) Rinnegan either for the sake of a fairer analysis.

Keep in mind, I'm not denying that Sasuke's ocular techniques are a vital element of his fighting stule, but he's still an otherworldly beast in combat even without it.

[slecnaztemnot]

hi!! just reading through your dragon age leaks compilation (bless you btw), you mention "Companion 3 might be black elf who appeared in some concept art." -- can you point me toward the concept art by chance?? I've been trying to track it down but I'm striking out

Hi,

the concept art was in one of the "making of" videos produced by Bioware.

Here is the link:

I also compiled the most important pics here in my speculation about the companion line-up:

The black elf is the one who appears in several concept arts and has been mentioned by 2 different (?) alleged leakers. In the Behind the scenes video, there is a black voice actor called Ike Amadi, who is voicing character named "Darvin".

At this point I am pretty sure he is our companion. I think he will be a warrior, though mage is also possible. Most likely Grey Warden, since in the video, the character shouts "For the Wardens!"

Hope this helped!

[nathanialhowe]

ALSO LIKE

siege of weisshaupt was a banger quest and overall interesting. however what the fuck.

the missed potential here and not just because bioware no longer gives a fuck abt the wardens of yesteryear we have vested interest in but because this game is so bad at creating tension and atmosphere. LIKE really excellent conceit (every warden in Thedas hearing the call at the same time) that they did not lean into for long enough even with Darvin. what! and the fakeout when they have genuine stakes--wardens having to die to fully kill an archdemon and putting a bandaid on it with "well maybe they've changed the rules". like maybe they HAVE bro but its like the game toes around rammies.

also like. lets be for real here. having like seventeen nameless grey wardens when you couldve had the ones we have emotional investment in. and that would have made. narrative sense to be there. the gap is just enormous and from a game dev stance i "get" it, I guess, but it's so glaring. imagine the little dudes we actually know abt giving their last stand at weisshaupt after all this time. lmao i might have cried. i DID cry--not because of things that happened in the quest--but because of brainworms i have for the wardens and the missed potential with the first warden LMAOO. imagine ur hof or loghain or alistair biting the bullet w the archdemon for real that time. man i wouldve gone probably insane. thinking abt ricky "i escaped my fate by doing dubious blood magic and bringing an unassuming child into the world for self-preservation rather than desire for a son" cousland actually having to face consequences and die a real warden's death against ghil's archdemon was like. man. overwhelming. would've been so neat to see it. would've really mattered. but here we are.

obviously i knewwww the hof or any of the prior wardens couldn't/wouldn't be there ever again. but it's so glaring it's impossible to look past. like who are these people. oh. "grey warden #1" "grey warden #2"...okay. at weisshaupt? yeah.

at leat the justice mention was cool! i guess.

also i miss having like 5 quests in the entire game but they each take like 3 hours to complete. this one just feels so overstuffed. like. BOOM BOOM BOOOM okay lore drop. can't think about it. who cares about the red lyrium idol! BOOM CRASH BANG more STUFF Is HAPPENING ITS THE END OF THE WORLD!!! BOOM BANG. EPIC CINEMATIC MOMENT WITH THIS RANDO ROOK. okay let's all talk about our feelings for a second in a hammy way. okay back to it. BOOM. BANG. CRASH.

anyway at least Davrin's stuff was pretty well written and ike amadi gives such a great performance.

[maybirdie]

Horizon Asks

Thanks for the tags @singingkestrel and @meg-noel-art !

1. ride or die ship (your otp): Ereloy. As if that’s news to anyone lmao

2. most annoying ship: I see y’all trying to start drama, I’m not falling for it lmao. Oh wait actually...Talanah/Amadis 🤣

3. second favourite ship: Between Kotallo/Talanah and Abadund/Morlund. One for spicy, one for sweet. Also Petra and like, most of the women in the game

4. favourite platonic relationship: I love the big brother/little sis vibes between Beta and Erend even though we never see them interact really. I love that she mentions that he makes her laugh. Also Aloy and Gildun - obsessed.

5. underrated ship: Drakka/Yarra - LISTEN I KNOW but it’s the ultimate enemies to lovers and I love them. Also Avad/Ersa....starcrossed lovers ftw

6. overrated ship: more instigating I see

7. one thing i would change in canon: One? LMAO. So many things post-HZD. Particularly the way Erend got shafted and how many threads got dropped (we didn’t get a post-Daunt makeup scene? Really??). Also Talanah should have been an official GAIA gang member, hands down. And I’ll be honest, the way romance for Aloy was handled in general.

8. something canon did right: The entire arc of HZD is masterful and perfect and it’s been a long time since I’ve been that gripped by a mystery in any media. It was always going to be hard to top, but I would love if the next game reverted back to that kind of storytelling vs the “doing too much” trend of HFW

9. a thing i'm proud of creating for the fandom: A hard choice, but I think I have to pick Love Games just because it was such a labor of love between myself and @sorbetowl​. I had a blast collaborating with such a talented artist and friend! For that reason I’m SUPER excited to be working on the upcoming VN, Focus on the Heart - already such an amazing experience!

10. a character who is perfect to me (wouldn't change a thing): GILDUN GILDUN GILDUN GILDUN GILDUN

11. the character i relate to the most and why: Definitely Erend. There’s a reason I ship him with Aloy lol. I guess there are pieces of both of them I relate to hard - Aloy’s impatience with rude people/social situations and her love for solitude, Erend’s self-consciousness and sense of responsibility for keeping everyone happy and feeling good. The combo of them hits real close to home.

12. character(-s) i hate the most and why: Tilda was a really tough character for me for personal reasons. She’s a wonderfully crafted villain but she also makes my skin craaaaawl. Which I suppose is exactly what she’s meant to do, so well done Guerrilla 😂

13. something i've learned from the fandom: God so much. I rolled into the Ereloy discord totally clueless back in April 2022, and feel like I have so much useless lore in my head now (and I’m not anywhere near some of the real lore people I know). But beyond lore, I’ve really learned how important empathy and putting yourself in other’s shoes can be. It’s amazing how many new friends I’ve made from being open to other people’s POVs, and how much I’ve seen people hurt each other because they’re not open to it.

14. three tags i seek out on ao3: Sensual Fingerblasting (iykyk), There Was Only One Bed, Sparring as Foreplay

15. a song i strongly associate with my otp/favourite character: Slowly by Olivia Dean, Can’t Fight This Feeling by REO Speedwagon cause what better Friends to Lovers song is there?

tagging: No pressure tags!! Also sorry if this is a repeat for anyone. @souls-that-have-senses, @sorbetowl, @imamandajulius, @emtazer, @brekkie-e, @cranialgames, @nerd-artist, @xxxhellfireravenxxx 

[loumauve]

every now and then when I remember how frustrated I was during my first playthrough of hfw

[the stressful fight with all the stupid noise and aloy yelling about what i was already doing my best but failing to do bc skill issue the drowning or alternatively glitching into out of bounds while doing my best to avoid drowning/or getting stuck in a crack between some rocks bc idk game design I guess the weird pacing and genre change that could have used some improvement the random spoiler-y voice lines in unexpected places (tilda mention before ever being introduced to her by name and in person as a potential ally) just.. so much I've blocked out but sometimes it comes back and I get annoyed all over again. I'm sure those vent posts can be found somewhere buried in my tumblr archive]

but what they did do was give us more time with some old faves (Talanah, Petra) as well as just so much more potential for ships (Alva, Beta, Milu, Zo, Yarra, Regalla, Tilda as well as a bunch of more minor characters from side quests like Silga or Kivva (my beloved))

and I do cherish that. like. I was so fucking sad when I finished Petra's quest and instead of being able to check in with her all I got was dialogue with the boring dude right next to her. LET HER FLIRT WITH ALOY I STG anyway. similar with Talanah, you can check in but at a certain point that's all it is. and sure it's not too different with hfw but at least there's more women overall so it feels less shite as a whole.

could they have done better and let Zo be badass without making her the token pregnant woman representing fertility in the face of her partner and Aloy's loyal sidekick dying? YEAH could they maybe have made Tilda more interesting, I wish bc I'm just not too invested in her, it seemed kinda cookie-cutter hung up on your ex and seeking connection through her clone in a real weird and gross way, but that could just be me not vibing.

also they definitely fucked over Talanah, she deserved better. Amadis should at least have been his comic-canonically hot-af self instead of whatever basic ass dude we got. I'm so disappointed. when it comes to guys I have one type (who I prob still wouldn't date but they are ever so beautiful) and that's raggedy handsome lad with dark, longer hair and a scraggly beard and they ruined him also hello she's clearly at least bi, come on Guerrilla Games.

oh well. all this rambling just to say that I'm glad hfw has more *WOMEN* who are also badass and hot and very capable in a multitude of different ways. and I love that for them (and Aloy)

still pretty homophobic and not very gg of GG to not let me play some lite version of Burning Shores on my PS4 pro. fuck me for wanting to look at Seyka more, I guess. who, btw, also deserved better than what they made her. she had so much potential and I wish she got to be who she could have been. I love her and I wanted more quality time with her.

[holodaxy]

Okay so stay with me as I've been having thought...mostly Hawk and Thrush Thoughts...sort of...

Is there a fic (and there isn’t because I’m about to get oddly specific – maybe this is more of a cry to write this because I won’t) where somebody has inadvertently gotten close to Beta (on purpose seems a bit cruel and horrible) as an Aloy replacement?

In my head it’s Talanah – in some way this seems wrong and a touch out of character, but you know those oddly specific details? Well yeah, she works for those oddly specific details so stick with me here…

So Talanah crosses paths with Erend and naturally they get on about Aloy and he mentions that she’s spending a lot of time helping reunite the Quen Fleet and rather innocently makes a joke about how Aloy is more interested in spending time with a Quen Marine than reuniting the fleet (because of course the GAIA Gang have been gossiping about Aloy and Seyka – not to mention they’ve got an inside source! Alva is right there!) Talanah isn’t impressed by this information, though doesn’t know why (Erend has a good idea, but he’s already opened his big mouth once so he’s not doing that again).

How Talanah makes her way to the base I’m not sure (I can’t work it all out!) and cue an awkward first meeting with Beta because of course Aloy didn’t mention that there’s this anxious identical ‘twin’ wandering around. So Talanah is about to leave (because this wasn’t on her ‘Life with Aloy’ bingo card) when she discovers Beta doesn’t know how to use any weapons and really, how could Aloy be so careless as to leave her twin sister all alone in the base with no way to defend herself? Anybody could walk in! As evident by the fact Talanah had just walked in – that’s her argument and she’s sticking to it, she won’t hear any objection from Beta about how the base security was likely programmed by Aloy to let Talanah in because she's been there once before.

So Talanah sticks around to show Beta how to use a bow (or any weapon really) and Beta totally isn’t her Thrush because that would just be weird (not that the whole situation isn’t weird to either of them, but its just a little nice for Beta to have company and for Talanah to be away from the stress of the Hunters Lodge). And I can totally see Beta being the one to tell Talanah everything – about Nemesis, about Zero Dawn and Elisabet Sobeck, about how she and Aloy are clones (again, none of this was on Talanah’s ‘Life With Aloy’ bingo card). She’d also give her a Focus (because Beta doesn’t understand why Aloy isn’t handing these out like sweets to people!) and shows Talanah how to use the Focus and oh look! They’ve taught each other things and that’s nice.

So one day they decide to venture out of the base (again, I don’t know, I really don’t know why) and who do they stumble across? Well Amadis of course (because every story needs a villain – that was harsh, he’s not actually going to do anything wrong this time). He doesn’t get a close look at Beta and just thinks Aloy has drastically cut her hair and changed her clothes (she did it like three time the last time he met her, where is she hiding those armour sets???) and he passes comment about how both he and Talanah were using each other to get over other people the whole time. Talanah has an ‘oh fuck’ moment and Amadis goes on his way again not realising he's caused total turmoil again.

So Talanah’s ‘oh fuck’ moment hits home that she’s drawn to Beta because of Aloy and she’s done exactly what she never wanted to be and made somebody her second choice. And deep down I think no matter how close the two of them were getting, Beta knows she’s an Aloy replacement and her self esteem is so far in the ground that she’s just pretty much ‘that’s just it for me, I’ll never be anything other than the inferior copy’ (and my poor baby Beta, I want to hug her) so she’s just kind of clung to somebody being nice to her even if it’s possibly (keep possibly in your mind) not meant for her in the first place.

I didn’t say this wasn’t angst – I mean, my opening summary of this didn’t indicate there wasn’t angst!

How this ends I’m not sure – I have two options, again…stick with me…

Aloy returns to the base right in the aftermath of the ‘oh fuck’ moment and is totally confused about what Talanah is doing there, but she’s kind of grateful that Talanah was looking after Beta. Then she finds out how close the two have gotten and is not impressed because how dare Talanah go near Beta! And Aloy totally won’t admit to being jealous and what Quen Marine? She’s be reuniting the Quen Fleet!

The two then have a long overdue heart to heart and all their feelings laid bare, happily ever after Hawk and Thrush. This ending seems a bit harsh on Beta who I don’t think deserves that so from stage right enter some unseen original character who has never, ever laid eyes on Aloy and knows nothing about her so they can like Beta for being Beta.

Option 2 goes totally the opposite way, enters rare pare mode and Talanah realises Beta is a totally different person to Aloy and while the original reason she spent time with Beta was Aloy (and was totally wrong) she’s actually rather drawn to Beta’s totally different personality and quirks. Cue Aloy returning to the base with Seyka and being totally confused about what’s going on – and has Beta just stolen her moment? She was about to introduce her girlfriend to the gang and now Beta and Talanah are a thing and…well…typical sibling bickering.

Of course there’s hidden option 3 which is everybody is miserable and unhappy, but that seems a bit bleak even for me.

Well thanks for sticking with me for this long…whatever this is – I don’t know what this is. I’m going back under my rock now, I’ll keep these wild idea to myself as this got out of hand 😁

[chloe-spade]

OC CATALOG: WIP

For future OCs

Night Raven Collage

1) Lyra Casimir

2) Fiona Woodward

3) Yazari Sinclair

4) Sami Baker (belongs to Soot!)

5) Cameron Miller

6) Berry Avelís

7) Amir (also belongs to Soot!)

Royal Sword Academy

MCs:

1) Hikaru Sora

2) Melissa Noboa (Belongs to Soot)

3) Tari

4) Wilbur Haski (Belongs to Soot)

5) Winny Dear

6) Vio Shade

7) Moon

🌹

Mattermind: A Dorm based on The Curious Child's Sense of Wonder. The students of the dorm excel at mysterious magic and tea parties.

1) Alister Liddel

2) Maddi Edwards

3) Charles Tempo

4) Dave Tale

5) Dan Tale

6) Tommy Chimney

7) Chen'ya (he isn't an OC, but part of the dorm)

🌹

🦁

Llanomane - A Dorm based on The True King's sense of purpose. Students of the dorm can be seen as stratgocyand problem solving

1)Monti Nii

2) Sipho Uzuma

3) Taiwo Aoi

4) Daxter 'Dax' Maddex

5) Alexander 'Alex' Gulloux

6) Hinto Tokaoa

7) Yada Bhave

8) Amadi Iwo

🦁

🐚

Merintaya - A Dorm based on The Little Mermaid's sense of adventure. The students are often adventurous and are great with history

1) Rielle Mrryh

2) Filip Gert

3) Sophos Xenia

4) Gabriel Aquilus

5) Mako Reef

6) Marshall Krill

7) Morgan Pike

🐚

✨

Magical Lamp - A Dorm based on The Diamond in the Rough's sense of Cleverness. Though sneaky, students are very clever academically (and mischievously)

1)Ali Dana

2) Asra

3) Sky Oracles

4) Asha Tendua

5) Jeet Khoya

6) Kimo Stitches

✨

🍎

Wishful Mirror - A Dorm based on The Sweet Princess's Innocence and Pureness. These students are often praised by their beauty and kindness

1) Neige LeBlanche (Same as Chen'ya, he deserves an mention)

2) Meadow Lake

3) Andrew Dahling

4) Tulip Huckleberry

5) Elliott Nightgale

6) Jamie Scarlet

🍎

🎖️

Demiruge - A Dorm based on The Hero's Strength. Students are physically and mentally strong enough to be respectful and save others from danger

1) Envader Zeus

2) Pan Devito

3) Eros Gospel

4) Caleb Conrall

5) Xan Xinya

🎖️

💤

Peaceful Moor - A Dorm based on The Sleeping Beauty's sense of imagination. Students of the dorm are kind and thoughtful, and are one of the more stronger dorms of the school

1) Amoré Delia

2) Mathys Thierry

3) Fortune Thierry

4) Fioare Thierry

5) Almar Siberil

6) Tori 'Tink' Bellflower

7) Loris Willow

💤

Thank you for reading about my original characters.

[foibles-fables]

For the fic ask game: 10, 11, and 18. Have an amazing day my lovely, keep up the FAB writing!!! ❤️

omg you are SO SWEET and of course!!

10. Do you read your own fics for fun?

answered here!!

11. What's an idea for a fic you've had that you'll probably never write?

HMM let me think of another! proooobaby an unironic attempt at constructing an Avad/Amadis childhood friends to lovers narrative. I still kinda am itching to, but. Alas.

18. Is there some headcanon you've included in more than one fic?

I totally mention peaches as Aloy's favorite food in a number of fics <3 <3

fic asks

[thedinanshiral]

Starting next week...

As mentioned here i'll be doing a little something as we approach release date, just for fun, and after much deliberation i've decided to reveal my Rooks for the countdown grouping them by faction, starting with the more familiar factions and going up to the newer, more mysterious ones. The schedule is as follows and i'll be updating the list with links to each post as they come out:

GREY WARDENS

Oct.14th - Duncan

Oct.15th - Favian

ANTIVAN CROWS*

Oct.16th - Chiara Victoria aka Vica

MOURN WATCH

Oct.17th - Viatrix Lorena Véritas Amadis Liberia

Oct.18th - Katari

LORDS OF FORTUNE

Oct.21st - Athima

Oct.22nd - Shokra

Oct.23rd - Meraad

SHADOW DRAGONS

Oct.24th - Revas

Oct.25th - Renan

VEIL JUMPERS

Oct.28th - Dante

Oct.29th - Sethena Theneras

*I have another Crow in the works but i decided to cut this at an even number, Luriel de Riva will see the light at a much later date.

I'll keep things short and simple, just a mini mood board with key visuals, a couple of keywords and a short introduction.

[creators-novel]

“How much do we wanna wager that we’re close?”, Amadi wonders out loud.

            One by one, the group jumps off the rocks and onto the new, more stable path. This one is fairly simplistic, it seems to be just a straight shot; the way forward is illuminated by purple lights in the air and through the ground.

This seems too easy.

“Did anyone notice how quiet it is?”, asks Nathaniel.

“It’s…too quiet.”, Exisite observes.

But the silence is soon broken by Kali’s continued shivering as she slips on her coat; as well as

“AZH-YOO!”

…Uriel sneezing.

“Let’s keep our guards up, everyone.”, says Koto as she adjusts her sweater, “This place is freaky…”

“It’s like nightmares made real.”, says Exisite, recalling the dream that, from his perspective, started this whole mess.

“That’s- an interesting way to put it.”, Straus agrees but feels it’s not the best time to mention he watched the dream happen.

Kali crosses her arms and feigns a smile, “You think this is what goes on inside the heads of everyone we’ve had to beat up to get here?”

Azura shudders, “Yep- maybe.”

“Incoming!”, announces Amadi. Right on cue, several hordes of voidlings begin to surround everyone, blocking them from moving forward.

            Moving down the winding, bending corridors of Voidverse, at the end of it all we see Vyz and his legions of Stygians. One such walks up to Vyz and hisses, “They’re here, Masssster…”  “Delay them.”, Vyz commands, “I still need time for our darkness to cover more ground.” And so, they follow their leaders’ command and move towards the inevitable.

“And so, it begins!”, Koto declares, summoning her knife, “Get ready!”

“On our marks…”

Energy builds up, and weapons are drawn.

“Get set….!”

The enemies begin to close in.

“…GO!!”

And they’re off! It doesn’t take long for the heroes to begin laying waste to the opposing forces. After everything they’ve been through up until now, this is nothing! Child’s play, even! Purple and black gore paints the ground as a comparable fireworks display of magic and melee tears through the endless pawns. “Keep it up, everyone! We’ve got this!!”, Koto shouts to encourage the others. “DO IT TO ‘EM!”, chants Ex, almost dancing as he speedily rips through the opposing force.

            “They’re turning us into passsste, master! We’ll be lucky to sssucceed without further delays at this point.” Vyz holds out a hand to silence his panicked underling. “…We’ll have to throw them off course… and it starts with our little friend.” He snaps his fingers, the sound of the click ringing out. Then, after a moment, out from behind Vyz two particular figures come forth. Both seemed to sport blue clothing at some point, perhaps their hair was brown and their eyes were a delicate green. It’s difficult to tell given how much they’ve been corroded by the void. Vyz turns to face them both and grins confidently, “It’s time for you both to make use of yourselves. Now, go.

Show your daughter what you’ve learned.”

"̸A̸s̷ ̵y̶o̷u̵ ̶w̷i̶s̴h̵,̸ ̴M̶a̶s̶t̸e̸r̵.̸"̴

            “Yeah-heah! We did it, everyone!”, cheers Koto as the last of the stygians are finally defeated. Straus goes to everyone on the team and high-fives them for a job well done. As everyone is taking a moment to breathe, and as Koto steps forward to regroup with the others, she suddenly feels a sharp pang in her chest. It knocks the wind out of her and makes her see stars. She doesn’t know who or what is approaching but she knows that this fight is not over. “There’s someone else here!”, she breathlessly calls out. “Huh?”, asks Straus, turning to face her. Just then, Uriel’s ears perk up, “Footsteps! Fast approaching!” Red points towards the edge of the path ahead, “Up there!” Koto moves to the front of the group, still clutching her shirt, “But who are-…they…”

…

No hesitation, no one can reach out and stop her in time, she’s already gone. “KOTO!!”, Uriel shrieks, trying to catch up to her. When did she get so fast? It’s as though she’s moving on pure instinct alone. There’s something about these two, something that’s drawing her in; but what is it? “Sis?”, nervously says Straus as he follows. As the two try to reach Koto in time, she does not hear them. She doesn’t realize she’s in danger. All she sees in front of her is what she’s been waiting and hoping for since the moment her journey began.

Oh no.

Straus nearly trips over himself as the realization sets in. Even Red, who didn’t speak a word of Cosmic, could tell what was happening now.

“Dad! Mom! It’s me! It’s Koto!” Fueled by pure delusion, Koto presses on, her parents nearly within arm’s reach. “Koto, wait!!”, yells Straus. Summoning every bit of strength within herself, Uriel zips towards Koto and grabs her shoulders to stop her!

“Koto, listen!!”

“But-! They’re right there! This is what I’ve wanted for so long, for everyone to finally be together! And to be happy together! Why are you stopping me from having that?! Why are YOU of all people trying to take this from me!?”

“WILL YOU JUST LOOK AT THEM!?”

“Let me go, Uri! Let me have this, I beg you!! I want all of my family to be together! I want-…I… I want…”

She looked. She sees them properly now, she sees everything. Koto’s knees buckle and she slightly falls into Uriel’s arms.

“I know, I know.”, says Uriel as she holds Koto up. “This is exactly how I felt when DarkClaw was taken from us.” She holds Koto’s face and makes her maintain eye contact. Her voice shakes slightly as she tries to comfort her and snap her back to her senses. “I know it hurts, but we gotta save them first, then we’ll have that happy ending. Ok? Can we do that?”

Koto swallows hard and takes a breath in, allowing herself a moment to recollect herself. “Yeah…we can!”

Uriel sighs with relief and gives Koto a playful hug. “Good! That’s my Creator!”

“Let’s do it, then.”, says Azura as everyone else catches up with them.

Nathaniel crosses his arms and scoffs, “Vyz must know by that we were coming here to kick his hide.”

“So, he drops this bombshell to distract us.”, adds Amadi, “pitiful…”

And said bombshell is still coming towards the party at an alarming rate.

Koto shakes her head to focus and starts planning, “We’re just going to have to- … wait- how are we supposed to save them this time? We were able to save the others back in Lightverse only because Straus hit Vyz really hard-!”

“Uhhh… beat ‘em up a little?”, shrugs Red, “Shouldn’t be that hard.”

Koto looks exasperated, that response is the last thing she wants to hear. But if it’s their best shot at saving her parents, for her to finally have what she lost all those years ago, then it’s unfortunately what needs to be done. She sighs, “Ok…!”, then points her knife out towards her parents, who are closing in.

“FOR MY FAMILY!”

And, cue the charge!

            Vyz watches from high above, satisfied with this result so far. “Perfect. They’re fulfilling their job.”

“What comesssss next, massster?”

“…Corruption. And from that corruption will bring in a new age of Chaos. And then, people will finally know what it feels like to suffer as much as I have.”

            Strike by strike, the party tries to find any sort of opening on Koto’s parents to get in that precise hit they need. But those two are tricky, where one of their attacks ends another begins; both fully utilizing the skills of the Cosmic race to their advantage to create swift combos that keep everyone back. The diversion is working.

“Ugh-! Come on, snap out of it!”, Koto tries to call out, but still gets no response from them. Exisite takes note of a dark aura flowing through the air, “This is distracting. We’ll never get to Vyz like this.” “You’re right!”, agrees Uriel, “Should we split up?” “Split up?! That’s crazy!”, Nova and Luna oppose in unison. Kali ducks as an attack comes her way, “It could be crazy enough to work at this rate-!”

 Looking ahead, Straus’ eyes follow the path. There’s not that far left to go until they all reach the end. At the very least, he can halt Vyz’s takeover of everything for just a moment. “You guys keep them restrained.”, he states, “I’ll get to him.”

“Wait- you’re going by yourself?”, asks Koto.

“You’ll need everyone to help your parents. I can handle Vyz. We can make this work.”

“Are you sure?”, asks Red.

Straus nods, defiant in his decision.

“Just-…come back safe, ok Brother?”, Koto pleads.

Straus winks and answers, “You got it.”, before taking off. Koto gives him a thumbs up and smiles as he leaves, she then returns her attention to the problem at hand.

            Vyz is alarmed by Straus’ sudden approach, but quickly regains his composure; albeit his anger is quickly rising.

“Maaassssterrr! He’ssss coming!”

“Stop. Him.”

“But-!”, his servant whispers, “He’sss ssstrong…!”

“DO IT.”

To which they do. Even though Vyz’s forces are dwindling severely now, he sends out whatever voidlings are still walking to go after Straus. “YOUR TRAIL ENDS HERE!”, one particularly literate Stygian roars as it lunges at him. Straus simply sighs and summons his claws as he speeds up towards them. The small group doesn’t even have time to blink before he tears through them all, splitting them in two. He skids to a stop for just a moment to watch their bodies dissipate into a fine, purple mist. “Your service is forfeit.”, he lingers only a second more before advancing to the edge of the path.

            Koto’s parents stand shoulder to shoulder, quietly hissing as everyone surrounds them in a tight circle, also trying to catch their breath. “What are we supposed to do?”, wonders Melanie. “What’re we supposed to do!? They’re not stopping, and if we kill them then all of this is for nothing!!”, Kali snaps. “It’s like Straus said. We have to restrain them.”, Exisite reminds everyone. “So, we gotta make them completely stop somehow.”, Ex concludes.

The question is, how? No one among them has a spell to lull them to sleep. Every bit of magic they have would either heal them, make it so they can’t get near them, or critically injure them in the worst case. And Cosmics, as we know by now, are a very delicate people. What haven’t they tried? What else CAN they try? Think, think! If they don’t figure something out now, then everything they know and love will be gone forever! Vyz will take over and there’ll be nothing left that anyone can do to help everyone. C’mon…! Just think of something, anything!

THINK KOTO, THINK!!

Uriel, not taking her eyes off Koto’s parents, gently bumps Koto’s shoulder, “Hey? Still in there?”

No response.                                                                                                                

“Oh, come on, not again! You gotta snap out of it! We need you, Koto!!”

The cries of her friends can barely break through the dissociative state she’s in. In trying to come up with a solution, her mind only presents more problems. She spirals further and further into the depths of her mind... Thankfully, there’s still one more being who can help her.

Illumi reaches out, “(…Mistress?)”

“(…I can’t focus, I can’t think. What is left to stop all of this? Straus is alone and we can’t keep this battle up forever. But…Mom and Dad…! I don’t know what to do this time…I’ve run out of every option in the book…. it’s hopeless.)”

Illumi takes a deep breath before continuing, “(…Mistress, I have watched over you for many years now. And although some of your ideas have failed, there is no denying that you have grown into someone capable of amazing things. Do not think that this is the end. There’s always light to shine through the darkness…)” She thinks to herself for a moment and warmly smiles. “(You helped me see the light after all, did you not? And I know you can do it again for them. You can help them. Everyone believes in you, Koto.)”

“(Illumi…!)”, Koto, within their shared mindscape, embraces her. “(That’s it, Illumi! I’ve got it! And- …Well, I’m kind of embarrassed I didn’t think of it sooner.)”, she chuckles to herself, “(But thank you, for everything…And boy, I hope they’ll be proud of us for this one.)”

            Red is the last one to try and get her attention, “Koto-? Any day now-!” Koto shakes her head and feels sensations return to her, “I’ve got it, everyone! I know why Vyz wanted to keep Straus and me away from everything!” With a wave of her hands, she summons a barrier around her parents, who immediately break out of it. Koto jolts, surprised that didn’t work. “Help her out, guys!”, Nova chimes. Koto tries again, this time aided by everybody else with defensive magic. With that extra boost, the barrier holds. “Yes!”, Exisite cheers. Koto shifts her footing and holds both her hands out, as Cosmic energy swirls and gathers through and out of her fingertips.

“(Alright, I can do this…! This is it; this is everything I’ve worked up to! Dad, Mom…I’m sorry if this hurts you-!)”, Koto waves her hands out, sending everything she can muster towards the barrier, and shouts,

A bright flash. And it’s done.

Koto regains her balance, supported by Uriel and Nova. When her eyes readjust, she looks into the barrier to see her parents sleeping peacefully, as the void’s corruption burns away. Uriel blinks, “…Why DIDN’T we think of this sooner??”, she asks matter-of-factly. Koto stands up and releases the barrier as tears begin to trickle down her cheeks.

“Mom!! Dad!!”

Koto’s father, a strong Cosmic named Kilgore, grumbles as he looks towards his daughter for the first time in ages.

“Koto…?”

“Oh, my baby! There you are! Look, honey, I knew she’d be ok!”, says Koto’s mother, a gentle Cosmic named Lazuli. Koto runs into their arms, her mission complete. The others watch as magic from all three of them sparkles and surround the family, the purest form of magic for all the Cosmic race: the bonds that tie them together; are finally restored.

[jamietukpahwriting]

I always carry his latest letter with me until a new one comes. When I told Amaka that I do this, she teased me in her reply about being lovey-dovey with Father Amadi and then drew a smiling face. But I don’t carry his letters around because of anything lovey-dovey; there is very little lovey-dovey, anyway. He signs off with nothing more than “as always.” He never responds with a yes or a no when I ask if he is happy. His answer is that he will go where the Lord sends him. He hardly even writes about his new life, except for brief anecdotes, such as the old German lady who refuses to shake his hand because she does not think a black man should be her priest, or the wealthy widow who insists he have dinner with her every night. His letters dwell on me. I carry them around because they are long and detailed, because they remind me of my worthiness, because they tug at my feelings. Some months ago, he wrote that he did not want me to seek the whys, because there are some things that happen for which we can formulate no whys, for which whys simply do not exist and perhaps, are not necessary. He did not mention Papa—he hardly mentions Papa in his letters—but I knew what he meant, I understood that he was stirring what I was afraid to stir myself. 

—Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

[gangrel-pride]

Unsurprisingly, Ted Faro blasts through the competition with 76.7% of the votes, followed not-closely-at-all by The Ceo, Faro’s spiritual successor in the sense that he was a useless stupid jackass who treated his subordinates like shit and died in a spectacle of flaming rocks and lava. Coming up on third place we’ve got Erik Will-Not-Shut-The-Hell-Up Visser, followed closely by Resh, who people barely even remember. Next up we got one Tilda van der Meer who probably got a couple votes for how she treated Beta and trailing behind in second-to-last place is High Matriarch Lansra, who I wish Zero Dawn would let me punch in the face. In last place with a grand total of zero votes is Helis, who is apparently not even worth consideration. Honorable mention goes to Amadis, who not only makes Talanah hunt him all over Tenakth territory, he also breaks her heart and makes you fight a Fireclaw. Screw that guy

[crimechannels]

By • Olalekan Fagbade Stop distracting President Tinubu; he has capacity to deliver” – Group tells opposition Leaders A support group of the All Progressives Congress (APC), the Grassroots Governance Group (G3) has urged opposition parties to stop distracting President Bola Tinubu so he could deliver on his “Renewed Hope’’ agenda. “The president has showed capacity to deliver within his short time in office. “ We commend the various policies of the Tinubu-led administration,’’ the group declared in a statement issued in Abuja on Saturday. The statement was jointly signed by the APC G3 National Coordinator, Mr Amechi Oyema; Chairman, Advisory Board, Prof. Ojo Ademola and Chairman, Board of Trustees, Dr Jerry Ugokwe. It urged opposition political parties still in court over the outcome of the Feb. 25 presidential election to rather join the Tinubu administration to bring Nigeria out of its present economic woes. “This is not the time for any distraction. “We commend President Tinubu for headhunting and putting the right people in the right offices because the appointments made so far have been square pegs in square holes. “With pride, we commend the Minister of Works, Chief Dave Umahi, for bringing his professional qualifications as an engineer to bear in the task assigned to him. “We endorse the way the minister had been technically tackling road contractors who before this time had been holding the country to ransom. “We are proud of what Mr Nyesom Wike, Minister of the FCT is doing in the FCT. “He has showed uncommon zeal to do the right thing. The Minister of Interior, Mr Tunji Ojo, has shown that passports can be easily procured in Nigeria. “Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Dr Betty Edu, has been on the road putting smiles on the faces of the downtrodden. “Minister of State for Environment, Dr Iziaq Salako, has been doing everything to better our environment. “We cannot mention all the ministers, but APC G3 can boldly say that the “Renewed Hope’’ agenda is rightly on course,’’ the group stated. It also endorsed the lift on FOREX ban on the importation of 43 items. It noted that eminent Nigerians like the former Chairman of Stanbic IBTC, Chief Atedo Peterside, and public affairs analyst, Dr Sam Amadi, had also commended CBN’s decision to lift the FOREX ban. “We urge Nigerians to exercise patience as there is hope in what the administration is doing,’’ the group stressed. (NAN) #StipdistractingPresidentTinubugrouptellsoppositionLeaders