#bandit voyage

[rooseveltrecords]

Fata Morgana

S.D.H

Bandit Voyage

Le Rez // Geneve // 02.05.2019

Artwork Mathilde Veuthey

[patrickprincipe]

Bandit Voyage with Domi Chansorn @ bee-flat im PROGR

[thecryptidwizard]

PLEASE LET XAVIER TELL YOU ABOUT MUSHROOMS PLEASE‼️ 🗣️

[temuera-morrison-tournament]

Characters, round 1 poll 19

[stvoy-kazon-stan]

Things in media that remind me of the Kazon #4

Calavera and his Men (The Magnificent Seven 1960)

This is my first non sci fi edition of this but I couldn't but be reminded of the Kazon while watching Calavera and his gang are bandits who rob a village of food and water but leave them with enough to survive and when the village didn't give them food they began to starve and after capturing the "magnificent seven" he lets them live and dumps them in the woods almost every part of this reminded me of the Kazon

[theresattrpgforthat]

Do you know of a ttrpg where travel is the main focus? Like I tried one ring and travel felt like a mini game rather than a key feature

THEME: Travel (Part 2)

Hello friend, so I’m firstly going to link you to this Travel Recommendation Post I put together in June of last year. (It’s a lot of posts and I didn’t tag it very well! Working on remedying that.)

Rig Rats, by kyusenbo.

The year is 30XX, and climate disasters and human negligence have brought the world to its knees. Only large, corporation-run cities remain, surrounded by large, climate-controlled domes. However, in order for these corpo cities to send and receive goods and services between each other, we need Rig Rats. These are ragtag teams of big rig operations rogues, needed to run rigs on the desert roads, to ensure that these deliveries make it on time through radar attacks, bad weather, and poor road conditions.

Rig Rats takes prime inspiration from Mad Max, and while the game itself is just two jpeg images with a list of rules and a few scribbles, just by reading it I think it can deliver that kind of high-octane experience. Each of your characters has a role on the rig, such as Driver, Mechanic, or Lookout. You get to decide what you’re carrying, and why your cargo makes things complicated.

Each session is a single trip from one city to another, so it makes the game great for one-shots, and the number of obstacles that can come up make your trip truly harrowing. Will the rig break down? Will you run into rival bandits that want your cargo? What about environmental hazards, like minefields or electrical storms? What if a singular guy in a really modded-out car shows up and kicks the shit out of you because he wants your gasoline?

Anyways, you should check out Rig Rats.

Gone Too Far, by The Badger’s Den.

Gone Too Far is a GM-less rules-lite narrative game about travelling to distant planets. It can be played as a solo journaling game or as a collaborative roleplaying game for up to three players.

Far in the future, mining & scientific corporations send scouts to distant places to find suitable expansion locations or useful resources. They use a risky teleportation technology that is high risk / high reward, as there is a chance the user will go out of range for a return journey. 

You (and your friends if playing together) play as one of these scouts going to lost places and mineral-rich planets.

While much of this game is exploration-focused, the danger of travelling too far is central to the premise. You are voyaging to new and wondrous places with heavily experimental and limited technology; the possibility that you don’t make it back makes the portal roll incredibly important to the game, even though it only happens at the end of a player’s trip. You play this game over and over series of rounds; the player experience can be rather siloed from other people at the table, unless you choose to use an optional aid mechanic. As a result, I think Gone Too Far might work rather well as a solo or duet game, and is a great option to consider if you like themes of travelling through space.

Ferryfolk, by cthos

Another day, another fare, another series of mysterious islands to traverse. You are a Ferryfolk, though there are those who call you by an older name: Psychopomp. Your job is to guide lost souls down the river Styx and see them to their final destination unharmed and hopefully having learned a life lesson or two.

Only the weirdest and most difficult cases draw multiple Ferryfolk to a single boat, and you've been selected for the job! Travel from island to island facing the Fare's fears and memories and guide them to be a better person before they reach their Destination. 

As a 24XX game, Ferryfolk is rather rules light, with everything you need to play in just 5 pages. It carries elements I typically associate with the OSR (roll-tables, high amounts of danger, upgrades in the form of gear), as well as elements I typically associate with story games. The primary piece that feels story-like is rooted in the cargo your characters are ferrying across the River Styx: people.

Your passengers have personal problems that they’re wrestling with, and part of your journey must include visiting various islands, which contain memories that the passenger must work through if they are to overcome their personal fears. These passengers have a fear track, and risk becoming lost should they run into the wrong kind of hazard.

The fact that your boat has a distinguishing ability that gives it a unique advantage, as well as potential companions that can make your journey easier, makes this game both solo-friendly and suitable for a small campaign. If you liked the video game Spiritfarer, I think you might like Ferryfolk.

Courier, by Sleepy Sasquatch.

Courier is a solo-RPG where you take control of a Courier—someone who travels the Wasteland delivering and trading cargo in exchange for REP, the currency of this post-apocalyptic future. As you explore the world around you, locations and factions are revealed and recorded on your map. Choose to take jobs for factions and build reputation to access new benefits all while becoming better at your job and earning new character perks.

You will continue to take on quests delivering, recovering, or scouting the map for one of the many factions populating the Wasteland. Every choice you make as a Courier will reflect how these factions view you and open new opportunities and bonuses as your standing increases, or decreases through a fame and infamy system. Choices will have you siding with a few select factions by the end of your game and seeing the world change for it.

If you are a big fan of Death Stranding, I think you might like Courier. The game is all about exploring a wasteland and delivering items from one location to another. The game involves revealing hexes and tiles, so moving in a certain direction on the map can have really big consequences.A really large chunk of the game is focused on exploration, and that includes creating routes and shortcuts between locations: basically, improving your map to make future quests easier to complete. New locations give you both obstacles and opportunities, with both hazards and interesting scavenge that might be useful in keeping you alive.

The designer for Courier also has an updated version of this game called Courier - Repacked Edition, which they are very proud of - however I don’t own a copy of that game so I don’t know what exactly has been changed in the second version.

MythRider, by Natalie Jones.

When the great fires died and the distant reaches of civilisation were plunged into darkness, Riders were called upon to chart the dark. Explore the uncharted wilderness of a supernaturally huge forest, call forth legends into the world and bend magic through the wings of dragonflies.

Mythrider is a rules-light fantasy roleplaying game using the Wild Words engine to tell stories about knightly heroes and their giant insect steeds.

Like Wildsea, which uses the same system, MythRider has a whole type of scene dedicated to travel. Typical of a Wild Words game, you have a danger track that fills every time you run into trouble or move too fast, and a distance track to indicate how far you have to go before you reach your destination.

Games like this aren’t incredibly granular when it comes to any specific mechanic; many parts of the story can be abstracted out, including a montage that you can partake in whenever your crew has downtime at a settlement. This abstraction means that you can draw out the moments that mean the most to you, especially travel.

The setting for Mythrider is fantastical, with a really iconic set-piece of gigantic dragonflies and other insects that you can ride. I think these unique setting pieces make the game a compelling sell to any interested game group.

Wilding Road, by Resident Gorgon Games

Aldea was once a far flung colony of Earth. The people lived easy, carefree lives in a society fueled by clean, renewable energy and maintained by a benevolent AI known as the Overseer. Until the Collapse.

Something went horribly wrong with the gate in orbit, causing it to shatter and bring ruin to the world below. The lucky ones were able to escape and build a life on Aldea’s moon, Duru. Those left behind struggled to survive and what remained of the Overseer and Aldea’s infrastructure fought to return the planet to the garden it had once been.

Caravaners make a living by traveling between these pockets of society and civility. But, the road makes for a hard life. Even with beasts and bandits, the Overseer is constantly on the look out for those that would disturb its work of returning Aldea to what it deems as perfect. So, Rigs must walk the line of being able to travel but go unnoticed by the world around them, lest they be discovered and draw ire.

Wild Words games are typically great about travel: in this case, you also have the added difficulty of moving from point A to point B without getting noticed by something big and powerful.Your characters have a rig, which you use to cross the weird wilderness. You have a threat track, which is marked whenever the Rig runs into trouble, and eventually will likely introduce a hazard of some kind. You also have resources, in the form of both cargo that you are carrying and scrap you might discover, which can make the journey easier.

The designer for this game is doing a lot of work with this engine, making Realm, a fantasy game about exploring a world of spirits and wonder. If you like the ideas presented in Wildsea, you might want to check out these games!

Aquanautica, by Old Grog

Aquanautica is a subaquatic sci-fi setting inspired by the Aquazone Lego sets from the ‘90s. It takes place on Tethys-95, an oceanic, alien world filled with mystery and adventure. It was designed for use with tabletop roleplaying games but is system-agnostic and therefore doesn’t require any specific game system to play.

Aquanautica is a hex crawl setting that has a very colourful and useful map. This map has icons to represent different locations and environment types, as well as a colour reference to represent how deep you are at any given hex. The game comes with some dangers: running out of power or oxygen can bring your journey to a pretty definite end, and it will also make your navigation incredibly important: how far or deep can you go before you need to turn back?

The game has a lot of tools to help generate the setting and make it feel alive: there’s a roll table for encounters, some factions that will be trying to lay claim to parts of the setting, and a creature generator. There’s also a cave system generation process, which includes tunnels and additional dangers of getting lost and racing against the to find the exit.

This isn’t a game in itself - it’s an adventure setting for another game. I think a game like Mothership, Into the Odd, or perhaps a Tunnel Goons hack would be appropriate systems for Aquanautica.

Other Recommendation Posts To Check Out

My Isolation and Desperation post which had some funky recommendations for a person looking to craft a spooky road-trip.

My Pacific Drive Recommendation Post.

My Exploration recommendation post.

[wordy-little-witch]

Surprisingly enough, not Buggy centric this time!!

AU where things are mostly the same up to a certain point - that point being the disbanding of the Roger pirates. Shanks and Buggy, as the two children on board, wind up already having an unhealthy codependency, something only exacerbated when all the adults in their lives are suddenly just.... Gone. They still fight after the execution. They still argue. They still split. But they come back together not even hours later because Buggy and Shanks and Shanks and Buggy are the only constants in an ever changing world.

They remain close and connected, hiding it from the world at large by playing to their strengths. They are effectively co captains and allies in equal measure, each having a place with the other and theirs.

So when Uta is found and taken in, Buggy is the voice of reason and the one to help Shanks with determining the safest avenues to keep her and keep her safe, the ways they should have been.

The events of Elgia go similarly to the movie, up until the moment they leave her. Shanks, emotional, uncertain, scared, calls Buggy for input.

Buggy tears him a new one for even considering that ((bonus for contextual angst if anyone is interested, lmk)).

Anyway, they decide that yes, being on the Red Force full time is dangerous, but abandoning her is out of the question. They'd need somewhere relatively safe with someone trusted within accessible distance...

Uta and Luffy are both sat down together, gentle words spoken and facts exchanged. Shanks introduces them to Buggy, and they both share the information with the kids as well as they can. Uta is upset, admittedly, but after some time to cool down, a talk with Makino, and then another talk with Buggy, she comes around to the idea. Luffy's already like her little brother anyway. Might as well just... accept it.

Makino is happy to have an extra set of hands around the bar, and Uta and Luffy are her "appretices". While Lu has a tendency to be a bit overzealous, Uta is a good calming force on him, and he's good for drawing her from her shell. They're nearly attached at the hip, and you'd be hard pressed for a long time to find them within arms reach of each other and NOT be holding hands at the very least.

Buggy and Shaks wind up coparenting the kids for a while, until Shanks is finally set to leave - for a long voyage. He passes the hat to Luffy. He makes the promise-

And is quickly cut off by am annoyed Uta because "you can't just say it like THAT, dad!! Give the hat back as a great pirate, sure, but don't make it so you can't see each other. You'll both cry."

So, promise amended to allow for visits and talks and stuff, Shanks passes on the hat, sets out, leaves his kids with their own denden, and looks forward to the future and adventure!!

Just to get a call three weeks later from a frantic Buggy that "garp took the kids up the mountain to some bandits and I'm going TO THROTTLE THE MAN-"

He's a few weeks out, and he's already on the way, just wanted to let Shanks know.

A week later, Buggy calls again, quiet and shaky.

"There's four now. And one of 'em is.... fuck, Shanks..."

"What is it, bugaboo? Is someone hurt-?"

"He asked what I'd think, 'if Gold Roger has a son'."

"...."

"....."

"........."

"His name is Ace."

"Oh by the seas..."

"Yeah. Good news - our little brother is our son's brother."

Shanks cackle, hysterical, because otherwise he might cry.

In one world, a pirate prince, a blue blood, and a revolutionary's legacy meet and swear to be together, alove in the wooded lands of their world.

In this one, they've got a cursed songstress at their hips, more than enough adults to worry over them, and a fundamental shift in the bearings of fate.

[ofmdrecaps]

08/20-21/2024 Daily OFMD Recap

TLDR; Rhys Darby; Taika Waititi; Con O'Neill; Samson Kayo; Samba Schutte; Nathan Foad; Madeleine Sami; Guz Khan; Lindsey Cantrell Tim Heidecker; Articles; GalaxyConRaleigh Video; Fan Spotlight: Cast Cards; Never Left Podcast; Love Notes;

Hey crew, sorry I've been swamped with work/life again.. I swear I'll get back on track again one of these days. 8/22 will be up tonight or tomorrow.

== Rhys Darby ==

Reminder! Aug 28 is Rhys' episode of Expedition X!

Source: Moosh's Twitter

== Taika Waititi ==

Taika headed out of Italy!

Source: Instagram

Taika's in A LOT of the new episodes of Time Bandits (the season finales!) You can check them out on Apple TV!

Img Src: Collider Article

== Con O'Neill ==

Con's relaxing on vacation!

Source: Con O'Neill's Instagram

== Samson Kayo ==

Source: Samson Kayo's Instagram

== Samba Schutte ==

Advanced Chemistry is opening on September 12 and Samba has been kind enough to share lots of available links!

Laemmle Santa Monica

Wellington Delaware

Source: Samba Schutte's Instagram

You can also checkout the official full trailer here!

== Nathan Foad ==

Voyage of the Damned -- narrated by our fabulous Nathan Foad is finally out in North America! You can access it here.

Source: Audible.com

== Madeleine Sami ==

More of Mads and the Deadloch ladies out at the TV Week Logie Awards!

Source: Madeleine Sami's Instagram

== Guz Khan ==

Just a side view of Guz

Source: Guz Khan's Instagram

== Linds Cantrell ==

Linds was giving off some feels, her current project turned on OFMD for her!

Source: Lindsey Cantrell's Instagram

== Tim Heidecker ==

Our beloved Doug NoLastName is going to be touring! For tickets checkout https://linktr.ee/tim.heidecker!

Source: Tim Heidecker's Twitter

== Galaxy Con Raleigh Panel ==

Didn't get to go to GalaxyCon in Raleigh? Well you can access the OFMD Panel on Youtube! Sounds like the Livestream of San Jose will be up one of these days too!

Source: @JimJim531969

== Articles ==

Thank you @adoptourcrew for highlighting more articles!

== Fan Spotlight ==

= Cast Cards =

I am SO VERY behind on the cast cards from the lovely @melvisik who's been keeping them rolling! I'll try catch up on a bunch of them tonight!

First up is Abigail Swain, and Zhanda P., some of the Stunt performers / Action Talent! (According to ofmd-crew.com!)

Next up is the fabulous Hilda Rasula, one of our Series Editors from Season 1!

Next is another "civilian", Ellenette W.!

And who could forget Jeffrey Kushon, one of our fantastic Set Decorators!

Stacy Bisel was one of the Hair Co-Department Heads! Now this is super cool, @melvisik has given us some BTS to go along with some of the cast cards today! Check out her work with Buttons below!

And who could forget One of Jackie's Husbands, Hayden Bryant! Lots of BTS pics below as well!

Last tonight is a multi-job master Zak Enayat, who was workeding as both and actor and costumer according to ofmd-crew.com! You can see him working on the Calypso costume below!

Source: @melvisik's Twitter

== Never Left Podcast ==

New episode of Never Left Podcast is out! The theme of this one is birds! Check out the latest on your favorite listening platforms here!

Source: Never Left Podcast Instagram

== Love Notes ==

Hey lovelies! Do you know what time it is? It's time for you to take a second and remind yourself how frickn brilliant you are!

You just keep facing every day and keep going! EVERY SINGLE DAY! (Sure you might sleep in or something) but you still manage to face the day in whatever capacity you are able to (physically or mentally)!

It can be so very hard sometimes just to start your day-- but you're still doing it, no matter what you're facing!

I'm so proud of you for that, and you should be proud of yourself too! Even when things are tough, you're still doing little things, (or big things) to keep moving forward.

It might seem like something so small- but it means the world to people who love you, that you are still here and you are still with us. Remember that you are beautiful, and brilliant, and strong enough, even when you feel at your worst!

Love you crew <3 Rest up and keep on keep'n on!

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by My Self-Love Supply™ (@myselflovesupply)

[anim-ttrpgs]

Songs for Eureka Sessions: Unarmed Combat

Masterpost of Eureka song lists & how to choose good music for any TTRPG session.

Brawlin - LISA

Gun’s & Roses – Baccano

Free Bird – Lynyrd Skynyrd

Turf – El Huervo

Musikk Per Automatikk – Elliot Berlin

Hydrogen – Hotline Miami

Shoo-shoo Bandits – L.A. Noire

Paris – Hotline Miami

Inner Animal – Hotline Miami

Decade Dance – Jasper Byrne

Voyager – Jasper Byrne

Fahkeet – Light Club

Vengeance – The Guest

Pepperman Strikes – Pizza Tower

Online Menu – Castle Crashers

Boss 2 – Nightmare Creatures

Chase 07 – L.A. Noire

Boss 4 – Nightmare Creatures

Elegantly designed and thoroughly playtested, Eureka represents the culmination of three years of near-daily work from our team, as well as a lot of our own money. If you’re just now reading this and learning about Eureka for the first time, you missed the crowdfunding window unfortunately, but you can still check out the public beta on itch.io to learn more about what Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy actually is, as that is where we have all the fancy art assets, the animated trailer, links to video reviews by podcasts and youtubers, etc.!

You can also follow updates on our Kickstarter page where we post regular updates on the status of our progress finishing the game and getting it ready for final release.

Beta Copies through the Patreon

If you want more, you can download regularly updated playable beta versions of Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy earlier, plus extra content such as adventure modules by subscribing to our Patreon at the $5 tier or higher. Subscribing to our patreon also grants you access to our patreon discord server where you can talk to us directly and offer valuable feedback on our progress and projects.

The A.N.I.M. TTRPG Book Club

If you would like to meet the A.N.I.M. team and even have a chance to play Eureka with us, you can join the A.N.I.M. TTRPG Book Club discord server. It’s also just a great place to talk and discuss TTRPGs, so there is no schedule obligation, but the main purpose of it is to nominate, vote on, then read, discuss, and play different indie TTRPGs. We put playgroups together based on scheduling compatibility, so it’s all extremely flexible. This is a free discord server, separate from our patreon exclusive one. https://discord.gg/7jdP8FBPes

Other Stuff

We also have a ko-fi and merchandise if you just wanna give us more money for any reason.

We hope to see you there, and that you will help our dreams come true and launch our careers as indie TTRPG developers with a bang by getting us to our base goal and blowing those stretch goals out of the water, and fight back against WotC's monopoly on the entire hobby. Wish us luck.

[juniper-sunny]

A Knight to Remember - Part 1

Medieval AU | Knight!Silco | Silco x Female!Reader | No (Y/N) | Romance | Slow Burn | Eventual Smut | Fluff || SFW | WC: 5.50k | art by @designfailure56 (full piece here)

ao3 | betas: @deny-the-issue @silcoitus <3

A mysterious stranger is sworn into your retinue as your own personal guard. You have no need for his service, and he seems less than eager to take on his new duties. But he soon endears himself to you in ways you are not prepared for— only for you to surprise him as well…

taglist (open): @sherwood-forests @ilikemymendarkandfictional @ursawastricked @quirkykaty @let-the-monster-out @ariaud

───────────────── ●◉◎⚜◎◉● ─────────────────

The rumors came first, that a stranger was to join your household staff for the first time in nearly a decade. A peculiar occurrence in and of itself, as all of your servants came from families that had served yours for generations. Stranger still how he was assigned to be your personal guard when your lord father had previously seen no need for you to have one.

Your mother came upon this man in a rather unfortunate circumstance. On her twice-annual voyages abroad, her retinue had been beset by bandits on her journey home. At first she thought the man one of the bandits until he turned his own sword upon them. Her companions emerged from the struggle with minor injuries and your lady mother herself was entirely unscathed, not shaken with fear but exhilarated by the battle. It was with great enthusiasm, then, that she requested the stranger come to your home so she could properly reward him. As thankful as your father was for the intervention, it triggered an overreaction in him: you and your mother were forbidden from leaving his lands until he deemed it safe, and your new guard was to accompany you everywhere apart from your personal quarters and the washroom.

It was with great reluctance and resentment that you attended the stranger’s swearing, a sentiment you had expressed in no mild terms to your father. After all, your preference was to leave and join your elder brother on his travels. Your father regretfully and kindly acknowledged your frustration, but his word was firm: you were to accept the man’s service as if it were a souvenir from your mother, equivalent to a new scroll or dress. As if it were adequate recompense for being forced to stay home.

Still, you could not help but observe the man with curiosity. He was tall, dark-haired, and slender, carrying himself with a noble dignity more befitting a lord than an attendant. Armored with a severe and solemn manner that made you feel like you should be bowing to him instead of the other way around. His posture was ramrod straight even as he went to his knees, his eyes lowered to the ground as he raised his chipped, battle-worn sword for you to touch. Despite its appearance, the blade was cold and sharp underneath your fingers, as piercing as the look he gave you with his singular, uncovered eye. Turned upon you as he pledged his sword to you.

“Silco,” you declared his name for him and witnesses to hear. A strange name to be sure, the first sibilant syllable flowing smoothly into the next, unhindered by the tip of your tongue touching the back of your teeth. He stared at you throughout his rehearsed speech, swearing himself into service. It was only your training in genteel conduct that enabled you to return his gaze, sure that he could sense how uncomfortable you were with his silent appraisal of you.

After all the pomp and circumstance, your daily life continued mostly unchanged. He was a quiet shadow who escorted your every step. Your attempts to make him feel welcome and become better acquainted were politely but undeniably rebuffed with his short, avoidant answers. Soon the novelty of introducing him to your other attendants wore off, their attempts at engaging you in gossip buffeted by your genuine ignorance of his character, notwithstanding what your lord and lady parents had already shared with everyone.

(Your maids’ hushed giggles at his supposed good looks were especially bewildering, what with his large eyepatch covering almost the entire left side of his face. Perhaps they could glean his handsomeness from what little was visible— a long, distinctively pointed nose; sharply slanted high cheekbones; lined scars carved from his temple to the edges of his thin lips— but any attraction to him was beyond your own reckoning.)

So you ended your attempts at engaging him, speaking to him solely to wish him “good morning” or “good night”, or inform him of your intended plans for the day. He acknowledged all of these with impassive expressions and minute nods.

He navigated the corridors of your home with ease, but the first true test of his capabilities was escorting you through your father’s lands, through crowds of commonfolk and the cluttered arrangement of edifices. You dismissed your father’s concerns that assassins were lying in wait and resumed your thrice-weekly ventures into town. If you were to be caged to his estate, you refused to be confined to your father’s hall. At least the fresh air and sunshine still tasted of freedom.

The knight kept two paces behind you, closer to you than your other attendants who followed at five. You tried to ignore how claustrophobic his proximity made you feel, focusing instead on your usual duties of greeting the townspeople. Only acknowledging his presence when courtesy demanded you provide introductions before turning your back on him entirely. He watched you with a bored but observant eye as you conversed with others. Listening indifferently as you comforted a farmer’s worries about his harvest, gave a tonic to a woman whose husband was sick with fever, or offered honeyed candies to children who hailed you. His lips thinned with some indiscernible emotion when you freely offered silver to a young bride-to-be as a wedding present, but he voiced no remark on it.

All of these passed on the way to your first proper destination of the day, the town blacksmith. As you approached the smithy, you asked the knight a direct question for the first time in so many days.

“Did my father offer to have your sword repaired? Or are you to receive a replacement?” you inquired politely.

“He said that I am to receive a newly forged sword,” Silco said nonchalantly.

“Then perhaps it should please you to meet the blacksmith Talis; he will be responsible for crafting it,” you offered, greeting the artisan in question with a smile as your party arrived at his station. The two men exchanged pleasantries, and for the first time, the knight’s eye lit with feeling, albeit a subtle one: curiosity at what the craftsman was capable of, shining through while he studied the small armory critically.

Talis allowed the knight to handle a sword. The weapon was of an average caliber, a well-used short blade meant more for a soldier’s training than actual battle. Still, he examined it carefully, holding the blade close to observe the quality of the metalwork. It seemed to pass muster, as he next held it in a strong grip, passing it easily from one hand to the other. He handled it gracefully, slow thrusts and circular spins painting a hypnotic dance in the air, not a tool but an extension of his own body. It did satisfy you to see the knight return the weapon and offer his sincere gratitude to the smith, departing with a handshake and a tiny, upward quirk of his lips.

“Thank you,” he said to you, infused with a modicum of warmth. You would have liked to respond with a chuckle, but you restrained yourself.

“It was my pleasure—” the clamoring of church bells interrupted you, a sonorous rally calling everyone to daily prayers. Your party joined the slow surge of peoples making their way towards the church. Deep breaths helped calm you as swarms of bodies pressed in around you, meaningless chatter and thundering footsteps on the stone floor reverberating into an almost overwhelming cacophony.

After entering the church, you peered between heads and shoulders, seeking out the priest. It excited you to see Father Hoskel, one of your favorites. You peeled away on your own, heading straight to him while your retainers looked for seats in the pews. As you hoped, the knight chose not to sit with the congregation but stationed himself next to the only exit, his gaze following you dutifully as you reached the priest.

“Good day, child,” Hoskel received you with a mischievous smirk. Casually stepping aside as you walked around the pulpit to stand in front of him. Maneuvering himself so his back was to the room, his plump form shielding you from view.

“Good day, Father,” you replied cordially. Smiling as you clasped his wrinkled hands in yours, surreptitiously slipping a coin of silver into his grasp. “I trust that all is well with the church and your health?”

“All the better for having seen you today,” he beamed at you. Squeezing your hands in appreciation as he clumsily palmed the coin, tucking it into a pocket inside his habit. 

Continuing to chat about insignificant matters, your own impatience rose as the other churchgoers settled down. As their movements quieted, you bade farewell to the priest and left him, not heading back into the aisles but out a backdoor used only by the clergy, your exit concealed by the priest swishing his voluminous robe.

You were careful to keep your steps quick but quiet, exercising the utmost caution lest a careless echo gave away your escape. When you left the church threshold back outside where paved stone met dirt, exhilaration mounted in your heart. A deep breath of fresh air reinvigorated you as you turned towards the woods and hurried—

“Are you not meant to join the others in prayer?” a low, smooth tenor of a voice materialized behind you, startling you. It was the knight, standing formally straight, his hands clasped behind his back in bored ceremony. Questioning you condescendingly as if he were a nursemaid guiding a forgetful child.

Of all the people to be caught by, the knight was perhaps the least desirable one. You hid your irritation with a bright tone, “I prefer to meditate in private, in quiet contemplation where I might not be disturbed by others.”

He nodded in acknowledgement. But when you continued your way out of town, he persisted in following you. His footsteps were so silent, you were only alerted to his presence when an instinct nagged you to look over your shoulder.

“My apologies for not making myself clearer,” you faced him with gritted teeth bared in a false smile, still walking at a brisk pace. “I will offer my prayers in solitary contemplation.”

“Surely the church has a quiet vestry available for use,” he pointed out. “Will your prayers be heard in the woods?”

“Is nature not a part of God’s domain? He shall hear me no matter where I pray.”

“So why pray in the woods and not the church if they are one and the same?” he countered.

You huffed in annoyance, coming to a halt. He stopped as well, and his perfect imitation of your trajectory only served to provoke you even further.

“Please tell me, sir knight, do you answer to my father or myself?” you asked.

“Your father pays me with his silver but I am entirely at your disposal,” he answered with a small smirk, seemingly finding amusement in your exasperation.

“Then I would have you dispose yourself of my company and return to the church.”

“I’m afraid I cannot,” he said. “Your father’s orders were to never leave your side and they supersede your own.”

Does he only offer half his loyalty because he is in possession of only half a brain? You bit your tongue, holding back the retort. “What else did my father command of you?”

“To keep you safe from harm.”

“I assure you, there are no dangers in these woods. He has not compelled you to report on my every movement?”

“No. He will allow you a certain measure of privacy.” 

“If you take my silver, would that ensure your obedience to my request?” You flipped him a coin, which flew in the air towards his face before he caught it with a smooth, lazy sweep of his hand.

“Yes.”

“Then I ask that you keep your silence around my father regarding this outing,” you told him curtly, turning briskly on your heel to stride into the forest.

“As you wish, my lady,” he said mockingly. 

His unpleasant attitude normally would have chafed you, but it was overshadowed by your delight at his concession. You resumed your journey at a near-sprint, determined to make up for wasted time. A part of you hoped to outpace the knight but he matched your haste with seemingly no effort on his part, his long legs easily keeping up with your smaller stride. 

Neither of you made any further attempts at conversation. Your footsteps crunched dead leaves on the forest floor, seemingly amplified by the tension between you. It was entirely one-sided on your part, as you came to the gradual understanding that the knight was merely attempting to adhere to his duties in following you. You might have offered him an apology for your terseness, but there was the thought that he might be annoying you on purpose. After all, he did speak with a humor that was lost on you. If he took some enjoyment out of your sour mood it made you less inclined to ask for forgiveness.

The foliage gave way to wild stones, small pebbles rolling underfoot before lodging into the muddy ground. You were careful to lift the skirts of your dress out of a puddle. Mud sloped downwards into larger, blocky stones bordering a deep lake of clear cold water, shards of sunlight dancing on the surface ripples. An osprey shot down from the sky, diving and reemerging with a struggling fish in its talons.

You sighed as you perched on an especially large rock on the edge of the lake, letting your feet dangle above the water. If you were a free woman you would have liked to go swimming. As it were, stripping all the layers of your clothing would have been too much of a nuisance and you would have no way of drying yourself off. Returning home with your couture soaking wet would disappoint your lady mother and perhaps convince her to forbid any future excursions. But you could enjoy the view, a quiet forest oasis at the end of a river.

“What is your homeland like, sir knight?” you asked by way of making polite conversation. You turned around, expecting to see him standing behind you. It surprised you to find him standing quite a distance away from the riverbank, much too far to have heard your question. He seemed to have shrunken in on himself, not standing with his usual impeccable posture but hunched inwards, arms crossed and hands fisting his sleeves. His eye darted around erratically, looking at the ground, the sky, the trees… anywhere but the water.

You frowned and hopped down from your seat, carefully stepping between stones as you walked towards the knight, calling out to him, “Is something wrong?”

“There was a bear,” he mutters. “We should leave before it returns.”

He spun on his heel and stalked away without another word. Perplexed, you hurried to follow in his wake. You had never seen a bear in this part of the forest, a fact you keenly wanted to point out to him. As upsetting as it was to have your time in nature cut short, the knight was clearly troubled by… something. The exact nature of it was unknown to you, but he seemed to believe that it was in the woods. So determined he was to make his escape that he was indifferent to you lagging behind him, struggling to keep up with his quickened pace.

It was all for the better that the two of you left when you did; you passed the church just as the townsfolk were exiting it, allowing you to mingle in the exodus. No one was any the wiser that you had not attended the sermon. By the time you reunited with your entourage, the knight had regained his stoic composure, giving no indication that he had been so unduly disturbed. You had no opportunity to privately ask if he was well until later that evening when you were about to prepare for sleep. He outright ignored your inquiry— which he had never done before— and instead wished you a perfunctory goodnight.

It was another fortnight until Father Hoskel hosted daily prayers again. Seeing as he was the only priest who allowed you to bribe him and sneak away, you were quite ready for some much-needed alone time. 

Well, almost entirely alone— except for the knight.

“Worry not, sir knight,” you addressed him dryly, as the two of you once again traveled into the woods. “I shall not be heading for the river today. Who knows if another bear will arrive to disturb the peace?”

The remark was meant as a weak joke, so it surprised you to hear the knight let out an almost imperceptible sigh of relief through slightly parted lips. His tightened, white-knuckled fist released from the hilt of his new sword to drift to his side, loose and relaxed. A curious reaction indeed… but you steered in a direction away from the river, onto a less traveled but still familiar path. It was a longer route, headed southwest instead of east, a carpet of fallen leaves growing ever thicker as you ventured deeper into the forest. Placing your hands on the thin birch trees, flecked with spots and stripes of dark wood underneath their ivory bark, rough and bumpy to the touch. The knight eased his way between them as if they were living creatures who parted to make room for him, such was the grace with which he carried himself.

You arrived at a clearing, a grassy meadow of wildflowers surrounded by a half-circle of trees. Skinny green stems ending in dotted blossoms of yellow, orange, pink, and purple, stretched towards the sky to soak up the sparse autumn sun. You would miss them dearly when they succumbed to the winter frost. For now, you watched a lone bumblebee alight on a golden coneflower, crawling onto a petal toward its seeded heart.

If you had been alone you would have plopped down onto your back, the grass tickling your ears as you studied the sky, framed by flower stems in your periphery. But in your present company, that would be unbecoming conduct of a lady. 

As you slowly sank to your knees, you tossed a coin in the knight’s direction. You had hoped to catch him unawares but he snatched it out of the air, rolling it over his knuckles before pocketing it.

“Payment for your continued silence and protection, sir knight. The bumblebees can pose quite a danger to a helpless maiden such as I,” you chuckled. He made no response, but you could swear the end of his lips twitched upward before sliding back into place, a downward tilted line bordering on a frown. As the bee flew towards your face, you held up a finger for it. The insect landed on your knuckle. Its face was cute, with large shiny black eyes surrounded by equally dark fuzz. Just as quickly as it landed, it buzzed away, sunlight shining through the delicate webbing on its wings.

“Winter will soon be upon us,” you said idly. “I hope to return to the river by then, as the bears will be in hibernation. It will be safe to visit.”

“Bears are unpredictable creatures. Surely you know of safer hideaways than the river,” a scowl briefly flitted across his face before it disappeared, but the notch between his eyebrows deepened, harsh enough to be seen under the strap of his eyepatch.

“The riverside is my favorite,” you said quietly, unable to keep the wistfulness from your voice. “There is peace in water.”

“Water is not peaceful,” he snarled. The vitriol in his voice startled you, his composure melting in the heat of his anger, radiating out and poisoning the air. The flowers leaned away in the wind as if they were frightened of him. “You play in the woods with such ignorance, knowing nothing of the dangers of the world.”

“I will not deny that you may have seen more of the world than I have, sir knight,” you said patiently. “But do not presume that you— an interloper— know more of my father’s lands than I. When I say the river is safe, it is safe. You will see the truth I speak of in time.”

He clenched his jaw, a tendon in his cheek tightening, making no effort this time to hide his grimace. Glaring at you before he turned away forcefully. But he did not disagree, as if he remembered to hold his tongue around you, the daughter of his lord.

You folded your hands in your lap, watching him closely. He seemed keen to storm off, and perhaps you would have let him. But you had seen this wild rage in a caged hound before when your brother rescued it from an abusive master. It would not let anyone approach it, threatening to bite those who came too close, unable to distinguish between those with good or malicious intent. The knight may not have barked at you with the same frothing wrath as the hound, but it was clear that he was in a similar state of distress.

“How do you bathe, sir knight?”

He swung to face you, his fury transformed into bafflement, blinking confusedly. Raised eyebrows rising above the strap of his eyepatch.

“It is a simple question,” you maintained calmly. “How do you bathe if you have such distaste for water?”

He continued staring at you before closing his eye. His posture relaxed minutely, his stiffened shoulders lowering as he exhaled a long, low sigh. Turning upwards to face the sky as he took another deep breath. This time, it was not to unleash some more barbed words but in anticipation. Steeling himself for whatever truths he was preparing to speak.

“You need not speak of your troubles if they are too painful to recall,” you added belatedly, berating yourself for your nosiness. “It is no one else’s business but your own.” 

“No… I ought to tell you. I have already told your lord and lady parents of it, and it is only natural that you should come to know as well.” 

You waited in patient silence as the knight swallowed apprehensively, his throat bobbing. His tongue darted out to lick his upper lip. All throughout, his gaze latched onto something far off in the distance, not quite beholding the nature around him. 

“I had a brother once, not long ago,” he began slowly, voice low, spoken towards the flowers under his feet instead of you. You scooted forwards surreptitiously, keen to pick up on his words. “We were born into the lowest of poverty. Every meal we had was stolen or begged for or sometimes won with crude but necessary violence.

“I was a much weaker fighter then, an unworthy burden on my brother. But he never minded, or claimed not to mind. It was very generous of him to care for me the way he did. I would not blame him if he left to seek out his own fortune, but he stayed.”

A ghost of a smile touched his lips now, but his eye remained downcast and sorrowful. Struggling not to lose himself in whatever nostalgia was left of better times. When you patted the ground next to you, he either did not notice or declined your invitation to be seated next to you. 

“We had a shared dream, not of living richly but of living well. Some days it seemed more futile than others; some days we came close to dying. But through it all, we had each other. And it should have been that way until the very end…”

His eye shone, a tear on the verge of spilling out. You were loath to look away, so captivated you were by his history and display of emotion. He clearly needed comfort but you were afraid to prematurely interrupt his telling. Still, he showed no inclination to move closer to you, so lost in his memories that he seemed to forget you were there. 

“We often supplemented our meager diet with fishing. I thought nothing of it when he asked me to accompany him to a river… but his intent was to kill me. If not with his knife then to drown me like a witch,” he laughed bitterly.

You stifled a gasp as your hands flew to your mouth. The horrors paralyzed you, legs frozen and rooted to the ground. Heart aching with sympathy for his pain. For there was no denying that he was in pain, and perhaps had been for as long as you had known him or even longer. 

“He is the reason why I have such ‘distaste’ for water, and why I only have one good eye,” a snarl burned the edges of his voice, his mourning turning into a jagged hatred for the brother he once loved. The knight raised a hand to his face, fingers trailing over his eyepatch. 

“Where is he now?”

“Dead,” he said simply, his tone of voice fell flat and sullen. “What an irony— the only fight I won on my own was against my very own brother.”

He sagged, arms rising from his sides to hold himself. Protection against whatever demons were plaguing him. The sky grayed overhead as if it mirrored the darkness consuming him.

You rose to your feet, taking a testing step forward. Not wishing to crowd the knight but to offer whatever consolation he might find in your presence.

“I— I only wish—” the knight whispered, “Why did you do it, brother…?” A soft, heartbroken plea to a dead man who would never hear him.

It was essential that your next words be spoken carefully. So you spoke, slow and quiet, attempting at compassion and not pity, “You could never be a burden, sir knight. We all must rely on others for our own needs. I am only sorry that your brother and your country could not rise to the task—”

“He was a good man,” the knight spat, the flare of his temper once again threatening to burn you. “Do not presume to speak as if you knew him.”

“He was a good man who tried to maim and kill you? Are good men forced to perform such atrocities where you come from?” you pointed out.

The knight glared at you, but you did not wither. He forcefully turned away from you again. Perhaps your queries had crossed a line, but they needed to be said. This time, there would be no getting him to look at you again.

“I am sorry,” you said again. “But it was a terrible thing he did to you that you did not deserve.”

Would that your sentiments were enough to heal his wounds… but he did not round on you again to shout. He fell to his knees, still facing away from you. A slow stumble like a column of snow collapsing under its own weight.

“Please… leave me,” the knight asked, low and brokenly.

“Do you remember the way back?”

He nodded, a miniscule motion of his head that you almost missed.

You spoke out to him one last time before departing, “I will not tell you to cease mourning your brother. Would that he loved you the way you loved him… But you deserve to live, sir knight; you are worthy of life and good health. I hope that in time, you will accept it as truth.”

───────────────── ●◉◎⚜◎◉● ─────────────────

At the time, you were reluctant to tell the knight that he was excused from his duties for the rest of the day if he so wished it. As it were, he should not have been bothered with such mundane affairs amidst his suffering.

No doubt his heart was heavy enough without the additional burden of work.

When your handmaidens joined you outside the church, they inquired as to his whereabouts. You were about to tell them he had returned to his quarters, struck by a sudden illness. But the knight himself reappeared at your shoulder, so stealthily it was almost a miracle. His eye and his nose were reddened but he seemed no worse for the wear. The armor of his impenetrable composure locked back into place. In fact, he thanked you for your patience and divulged nothing further.

For the entirety of the walk back to your father’s hall, you fought the temptation to look back at the knight or pull him aside to speak to him. Such an opportunity did not arise until late into the evening when he escorted you to the staircase leading to your private chambers.

“Sir knight,” you addressed him. He had steered his gaze away from you all day. It was a customary standoffish practice you were familiar with, but he seemed to do it today out of embarrassment for his earlier display of emotion. A man like the knight would have seen it as weakness and preferred that you did not speak of it again.

But you were determined to help him in whatever way he would accept.

“Yes?” he said formally.

“We may part company tomorrow if you wish,” you offered. “An ailment of the heart should be tended to the same as any other sickness, with rest and recuperation.”

He blinked at you, puzzled. Opening his mouth to speak before he cleared his throat, “There’s no need. I will be fully capable of attending to you.”

“Be that as it may, the day is yours to do with as you please. Rest well, sir knight.”

“…rest well, my lady,” he said slowly. Returning your nod with a lower bow of his head.

The knight did not attend to you the next day, sending word of how he felt unwell. You felt sorrow for his pain but were a little gladdened that he was taking the time to grieve. It was unlikely that he would heal overnight from the wounds his brother inflicted, but with time, you were hopeful that the pain would become less overwhelming.

You did not breach the topic of his past again, but on your future outings you were keen to avoid the river. Showing him other places that you liked to visit, more determined than ever to make him feel at home in your father’s lands.

The meadow was home to your favorite bloom, the purple coneflower, with a heart of dark orange and warm pinkish-purple petals, long and straight, a plain beauty but still pleasing to the eye. As a child, you liked to pick them to sneak into your room. But they were hard to preserve as they often got squashed in the small pockets of your dress. At your current age, you were happy to observe them in nature in all their wild glory.

Farther into the woods, there were rings of mushrooms where the air hung still and quiet, with a fog that never seemed to disappear even on the sunniest of days, and no birds dared to sing. The less godly peasants whispered of fae that would snatch away any person who dared disrupt the circles. The clergy heartily disavowed such tales as frivolous. Still, it brought you great amusement to speculate if such otherworldly creatures were real. The knight himself could not be bothered to form an opinion on the matter, but you noticed him keeping his distance from the mushrooms.

To the east of the mushrooms was a wild apple orchard. They dotted both the ground and branches with yellow and red, so ripe and ready to fall without needing to be plucked. You polished one with your sleeve, glad to not be in the company of a handmaiden who would scold you for your indelicate manner. When you encouraged the knight to partake in a fruit, it surprised you that he obliged. He reacted swiftly when you shrieked. But it was only a green worm that alarmed you, skinny and wriggling on the skin of an apple you held. 

It was hard to gauge which sites he liked the best, or if he liked them at all. His impassivity never changed. The only exception was when he smiled at the fright the insect gave you. Still, his manner towards you did seem warmer, his voice less frostbitten when he greeted you at dawn’s beginning and dusk’s end. 

The times were peaceful, much to your satisfaction. It was proof that your father’s fears were uncalled for. But more importantly, the knight needed peace. His homeland was the sort of place where people could not sleep soundly, but had to guard themselves with one eye open and a knife under their pillow. Your family’s estate was much safer. With the exception of the day you introduced him to the blacksmith, the knight had seen no need to draw his sword while you were under his care.

The day when he unsheathed it to protect you was a frightful one indeed.

Part 2

[indierpgnewsletter]

New Itch Games for April & May

Been quiet on here but I'm back now!

It’s the itch.io round-up of new games! Now coming to you once every two months because that sounds easier. Usual disclaimer: This comes from be browsing itch.io and people self-submitting through the form. I haven’t played these games and mostly am just going by how interesting they sound to me. Okay, let’s go:

The Hollow Queen: This is a GM-less horror game from Venezuelan designer, Felix Rios, about a dark force haunting the streets and the people trying to uncover it. It uses the diceless Ten Coins system and is available in Spanish.

Contact: A game where you use a music playlist and tarot cards to play through a story about trying to make contact with aliens. I think the idea is that the songs contain encoded messages from the aliens, which is a neat reversal of the Voyager Golden Record. By j strautman.

Tangled Blessings: This is a solo dark fantasy game set in a magic school. It’s a solo/duet game, building on Anamnesis by Sam Leigh. You explore the secrets of this weird school while dealing with a rival who’s making your life difficult. Designed by Cassi Mothwin.

Strike Force Omega: This is LUMEN game about science-fantasy supersoldiers coming back for one last stand, defending their homes in a time of war. By Chris Longhurst, designer of See Issue X and Pigsmoke.

Thirty Foes  (OR Once again, we are defeated): In a similar premise, but much more focused on the drama rather than tactics, this is Seven Samurai but cosmic cowboys. They sling cosmic power and defend against bandits. And they’re probably going to die. From Rat Wave Game House.

Thief and Druid: Two games from Stéphanie Dusablon. Both are solo games with an optional journaling element. Thief uses the Push system and Druid uses the Firelights system. I’m not sure if this is a series that will expand to all the D&D classes but it’s a neat idea.

Skyrealms: This is a fantasy bestiary, setting, and solo adventure game about three floating islands in the misty heights, full of secrets and strange creatures. It’s from Iko and Armanda Haller. You can also use the bestiary as a colouring book apparently!

In The Blind: This is a sci-fi horror game about working class people trying to do their job and instead facing the darkness of space. This is a free preview and showcases how good Riley Daniels, designer of As The Sun Forever Sets, is at visual design.

Queenless: This is another Firelights game from solo game blog, Croaker RPGs. You play as members of the hive, exploring the world and protecting your home from destruction.

When Prophecy Fails: Nick Wedig makes a game about cultists and what happens when their foreseen apocalypse doesn’t happen. I’ll give you a hint: they often get even more radical. Based on the For the Queen. (PWYW)

The Score: Tin Star Games GM-less storygame where you tell a heist movie in 18 minutes using 18 cards.

SDM: Eternal Return Key: Luka Rejec follows up Ultraviolet Grasslands with a full OSR-style rulset and more weird setting. It has the same much-loved psychadelic vibe from the original and there’s a free art-less version as well.

the city begins to exist: A citybuilding game with some solid prompts. I can always use more citybuilding games! Designed by kay w.

[aslostaszoro]

!!ONE PIECE CHAPTER 1086 SPOILERS!!

So as we know, In film Red it was revealed Shanks is a member of the Figarland family-

In the latest chapter we are met with St. Figarland Garling. Who, in the translated version I found "Was a dominating figure who once distinguished himself at a place called God Valley". This can, of course, be thought of in many different ways. But I beleive he may have been the ruler of God's Valleys before it's end. Why? Its in the name. "Figarland" could also be pronounced as "figure land", a land where something of importance went down or happened. Now, how does he tie in with Shanks?

They both share the same name, and therefore have some sort of blood relevance. Shown in the picture of St. Figarland, you can see him weilding a saber of sorts. Similar to Shanks' weapon. We also learn that he is the supreme commander of the holy knight. Yes, whilst the Celestial Dragons are often shown as brass, snotty and increadibley weak this may be what sets them apart from the family. Which sets be into my next speaking point; Haki/Conquerers Haki.

Of course I won't dive into it too much but C.H is said to be an almost physical representation of a leaders spirit, a conquerers. As a Celestial Dragon, this is extremely apparent. He stands above the holy nights as supreme commander, whilst he also mocks St Donquixote Myosgard for protecting scum lower than him. Showing the beliefs of the harsh and cruel ruling of the WG while also enforcing his own strength.

Shanks stands above his crew as an incredibly strong captain, protecting those weaker than him as if they are his family, which is the complete opposite of his relative. He shows after the Big Mom and Kaido fight as well as against the bandits in the start of the manga that he hates when people try and take advantage of others in a weaker state. I beleive this could be from his upbringing on Roger's crew.

Speaking of Roger, let's go back quickly to the photo last shown, baby Shanks. Shanks is depicted wearing a onesie with stars, moons and suns on it. Garling is shown in this chapter to have a haircut in the shape of a crescent moon, linking back to the outfit. But what about the stars and the moons?

As we take a closer look at this guy we can notice he has oddly shaped spikes in his hair on both sides. But why does this come into play? simple. If you looked at him straight forward his hair would be the shape of a star. So now, how can we incorporate the sun?

Roger's voyage ends with Joyboy's secret and reaching laugh tale. Joyboy is also connected with the Sun God Nika devil fruit. Shanks later in his life meets luffy, who digests the fruit and becomes the next Joyboy. Whilst I'm still trying to figure this part out, pun intended, I can see a very important message being displayed through this.

Hopping back to God Valley we have one massive question, how the hell did Shanks end up there? Maybe it was a family trip or by coincidence. But I don't think we'll be getting answers with this little amount information. Which also bugs me. Around Marineford arc when Shanks drinks with Whitebeard he says he's from the West. Perhaps his family perviously ruled there, ruining my previous statement. But I would like to suggest a different angle.

What if it was an alliance between two nations? an alliance which resulted in the blood of two different families combining into one. Maybe thats why the Figarlands are so highly regarded. It can also help my slowly crumbling theory.

Shanks has been shown to be the complete opposite of his relative as I stated earlier. Perhaps, in an almost ironic way, he would rather pretend he was from a "town in the West Sea". He obviously couldn't say he was from Gods Valley, so that small lie could be manageable.

I'll probably end up editing this or reposting this with more theories if I end up with any more idea's, but thats all for now :)

[patrickprincipe]

Bandit Voyage @ Cafete goes Rösslete

[thecryptidwizard]

Boundless Bandit lore bits part 1

🍄Xavier🧙

Xavier is actually supposed to be dead! Kind of. When he fled from his homeland, he found himself lost in the forest for quite a while! He was there for so long he grew fatigued and delirious, and ended up stumbling off a cliff.

He rolled himself into essentially a ditch surrounded by trees and various mushrooms. Some of which actually formed a circle on the edges of the ditch.

Xavier was struggling to keep going. He could feel his body growing more and more weak by the minute, and he didn't care to try anymore. He just felt..tired...

Before fully losing consciousness he remembers hearing hums, and watched the mushrooms as they started to glow and twitch.

That doesn't sound right, maybe that was just his delirium...

When Xavier awakened, he was greeted by what looked like two mercenaries.

He remembers having trouble speaking, slurring his words and could barely keep his head up.

Xavier would soon notice his new markings on his skin; resembling mycelium. They were meshed into his skin like faded scars. This would only be the beginning of Xavier's 'rebirth'.

[missmungoe]

His smile lifted from the brown eyes watching him to their mirrors across the counter, and, “If you want to hear everything, I’m going to be here a while,” Marco said.

Her grin saw no problem with that. “Then I should get you a drink,” Makino said.

He might have accepted, but watching the bandits taking their seats around the room, all but Dadan, who claimed the seat next to his, there was something else he'd rather have, and, “I’d actually be more interested in your stories,” Marco said. “You must have your share from when he was a kid.”

Their grins had already answered, before a voice called across the room, “Oh we’ve got stories!”

“That little punk got into more trouble before noon than most of us managed in a week!”

“And then had the audacity to tell us he was better at our profession than we were!”

Laughter filled the bar, the sheer volume of it so loud it stole his breath. And it hit him then, just how long it had been since he’d heard this kind of laughter.

And in the sound, he found them, all his ghosts, seated around the tables between the bandits, their eager grins awaiting their stories. And the greatest among them, sitting at the back of the room, no medical equipment holding him down and his presence as commanding as ever, presiding over the crowd, although even their captain would have known to defer to the proprietor’s authority here, but then it wasn’t just a barmaid’s domain they’d entered, but an Empress’.

“I think we should be able to work out an arrangement,” Makino said, with a smile that said his own assessment hadn’t gone unnoticed. “I accept more than one type of currency here.” Placing her hands on the counter, “So what can I get you?” she asked. “The time I taught him to mend his own clothes and he accidentally sewed his shirt to his shorts, or the time he wanted to learn how to cook and nearly set my kitchen on fire?”

[animalsalvationassociation]

Character Refs:

Y/N & Fae (More Content Coming Soon)

The ASA

Villains (Main)

The Octonauts:

Captain Barnacles Kwazii Tweak Shellington Dashi Peso Professor Inkling

Vegimals:

Tunip/Tominnow Barrot/Pikato Halibeet/Codish Grouber/Perchkin Sharchini/Vegi-Bot

Octo-Agents:

Octo-Mamas Octo-Dads Paani/Min Bud/Tracker/Ryla/Selva Junior Octo-Agents

C.L.A.D.E.

(From the Show "Creature Cases")

Director Peggy Scratch

Sam

Kit

Other . . .

Main Oc's:

Emma Jade Professor Marin Kelp Freya Volpes Ranger Voyager Black Crow James (Jim) Lanagan Professor Cornelius Chaplin "Gastrell"

S.S.Jade:

Bandit Kona Harley Farrowstride Professor Amarus Boda Professor Atticus Flintsprit Slye Barracks Alannis Burrow

First Gen (Octonauts):

Captain/Professor Samara Jade Kelp Lieutenant Abigail Avery Doctor Trench Torrent Officer Cardamon Gupata Max Chaundri

Villain Organizations:

The Watcher

Professor Julias Copper

Black Ice Clan:

Black Tack Rolf VonBern Remus Bindle Pocket

The Jersey Gang:

Capone Redsurge Jimmy Rooks Johnny Treebasher

Other Oc's . . .