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swiftcast-selene · 7 months ago

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✨ pre-dawntrail wol questions! ✨

over on our little server i've been asking a WoL development question a day until dawntrail and it's been well-recieved so far, so after a month of doing it i figured i may as well put them on here~

use them to draft your own posts! send each other asks about them! answer them in the tags! do whatever you want with them, as long as you're having fun!

how is your wol about personal hygiene? are they on top of it? always perfumed and spotless, a little messy sometimes, or do they have to be reminded to groom?

is there a texture your wol absolutely can't stand, either food or feeling-wise? or is it not something they tend to worry about? do they go to great lengths to avoid it or do they just power through it?

what is your wol's evening routine? do they prepare for the next day? do they just wing it? do any weapon or gear upkeep? just pass out because that's tomorrow them's problem?

how does your wol's echo manifest itself? do they see visions as they happen? all at once? delayed? do they get any physical symptoms from it?

does your wol have any siblings? how do they get along with them? is it a good relationship or is it tense?

how does your wol feel about romance? are they a hopeless romantic, waiting for The One, or are they more casual? do they believe in soulmates?

how does your wol feel about their hair? is it important to them? just kind of in the way? who cuts it? do they take good care of it or are they not particularly fussed about it?

how good is your wol at taking care of their armor/clothes? do they mend them themself? pay to gave it fixed? just change it when it gets old?

what's in your wol's travel bag? any trinkets? any vital items they cant go without? do they travel light and figure stuff out on the fly, or do they bring way too much with them? (bonus points if you have images!)

how does your wol sleep? very light? very heavy? do they need a specific item to fall asleep? is it easy for them to fall asleep, or does it take them forever? where do they prefer sleeping?

where was your wol during the last calamity? how did it make them feel? did it change their life, and if yes, for better or for worse?

shadowbringers spoilers: how did they feel being so... up and personal with another calamity? did they feel responsible? scared? did they feel like they owed the first to stop it, or were they more detached from the situation?

for the canon casters: what does casting magic feel like to your wol? how does being "out of mana" feel?

for the physical fighters: how does it feel when they do those impossible moves? the twirls, the jumps? do they supplement with aether? dynamis? is it purely physical or is something else involved?

what would your wol be if they weren't the wol? what would they do as a job or career? would they be happier?

is your wol good at cooking? what's their specialty? what can they never get right no matter how hard they try? what flavour profile are they good at cooking? what do they eat on the road?

out of all the scions, which one is the one your wol gets along with the best? what about the one they get along with the least? why?

how good is your wol with money? do they save up? scrounge around? spend it with wild abandon?

what would you say is your wol's greatest flaw? what part of their personality causes them the most problems?

what is your wol's best quality? what's the thing that they do that really gets stuff done of makes people like them? hard mode: their own perception vs. a friend or partner's perception.

what does your wol do to unwind? any hobbies? reading? sewing? croquet? sitting in a dark room in complete silence?

how good are your wol's table manners, based on their own culture? how does it compare to ishgardian table manners? eorzean? doman? steppe?

what is your wol's inner monologue like? do they refer to themself as "i"? "we"? "you"? is it organized or all over the place? are they kind to themself, or do they chide themself constantly?

what's your wol's relationship with food? do they skip meals or do they eat at specific times religiously? is food important to them, or is it just a means to an end to keep their body going? does food mean something cultural or personal to them?

what is your wol's relationship with their family? are they estranged? still very close? tense?

what does your wol think about lying? is it unacceptable to ever lie, are white lies okay, are they a pathological liar? how do they feel about people who lie to them?

how does your wol feel about allag in general? the tech, the experimenting, the crystal tower? any thoughts on allagan ruins? are they impressed, scared, resentful, neutral?

what sense does your wol most rely on? hearing, touch, sight, smell, taste? maybe even aethersense or dynamis?

how does your wol feel about mind-altering substances? do they partake? do they dislike them? are they neutral? do they take them socially, or anytime, or not at all?

how does your wol feel about children? do they want them? like them from a distance? hate them? no strong feelings?

how does your wol work out? lifting? sports? walking? how often do they do it? is it for fun or to keep up their physique? do they enjoy it?

#wol questions #ffxiv wol #character development #it's mostly self-development questions but a few are lore or relationship related~

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ohnococo · 1 year ago

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JJK MMA Fighter AU Headcanons

[Headcanons for Toji, Geto, Gojo, and Sukuna as MMA Fighters]

MMA fighter Toji Fushiguro, who keeps everyone on his training team shocked when he consistently makes weight because he eats whatever he wants until about a month before weigh ins. When he’s fighting he’s always lean and cut as hell despite said “fuck it” diet.

MMA fighter Toji is a light heavyweight, he could choose to fight as a heavyweight if he wanted, but he’d be at the lower end of the weight class and if he bulked up any more it would affect his flexibility.

MMA fighter Toji is a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and holds the record for fastest submission. Absolute master of sneaky submissions, to the point that opponents will try to avoid being taken down by him at all costs. Suits him, if he doesn’t win by submission he’ll win by points alone because they’re too afraid to get in his (long) reach. He hates boring fights though, so expect lots of taunting in these cases.

MMA fighter Toji’s early fight record is a bit spotty, but once he hits his prime a few years in his record is nearly flawless. Except for one fight that gets brought up a lot more than he would like where he was knocked out cold.

MMA fighter Toji comes from a fighting family, a boxing family specifically, but absolutely does not associate himself with them. When he was young and talked more shit he asked a few of them to fight him, but they either blew him off or refused to have an MMA match - it was boxing only or nothing.

MMA fighter Toji gets his chance to fight someone from the Zen’in family eventually, and decides he won’t take them to the ground at all - he’ll box them. He wins by knockout in the second round.

MMA fighter Suguru Geto is a middleweight. He sticks to his wheelhouse and you won’t find him moving weight classes or suddenly trying any flashy moves.

MMA fighter Geto whose background was initially in Judo, and early on he made the smart choice to supplement it with Brazilian jiu-jitsu. That paired with his strength and stamina make him a dangerous combo and he’s known for getting almost anyone down for a little ground and pound until he earns himself a stoppage win.

MMA fighter Geto doesn’t have to make weight, he just stays at weight. Thanks to this he’s a frequent late call-in when other fighters have had to back out at the last minute. His diet is clean and measured and he has to be on rest for a good while to really indulge. He just prefers being a clean eater.

MMA fighter Geto can get in his head sometimes about his opponents though, particularly if they’re known to be slippery on the ground and hard to get a favourable position against. His losses tend to be a result of hanging back too much and letting it go to judges' decision - in which case it’ll be his lack of striking that gets him. At his best, though? He’s fearsome and will hold a title at some point in his career.

MMA fighter Geto is neither a trash talker, nor a show off, so he doesn’t get quite as much press as other fighters. Some of his fans theorise that he’d have much more title shots and bigger fights if he were to play up his personality for viewers, but even more fans like and respect that he’s himself and is a purist in his fighting. He gets the job done, without bells and whistles.

MMA fighter Geto has excellent sportsmanship. Even if he’s a clear winner he doesn’t ever downplay his opponent’s skills or talk badly about them. Always taps gloves before a fight, and the second the person taps or the ref waves his arms to stop, he’s letting go and checking on his opponent. This behaviour earns him lots of respect and lots of friends among his peers. It’s beneficial in the end because lots of other fighters enjoy training with him, and Suguru is particularly good at incorporating new things he picks up seamlessly into his existing skill set.

MMA fighter Suguru Geto who, of his generation of big names, is most expected to become a trainer upon retirement. He’s always helpful to even the most inexperienced fighters during training, and generally has really great insights on fighting.

MMA fighter Geto always gets dragged out to at least one place to celebrate after a win. His training partner Satoru Gojo insists on it. Though he doesn’t stay out late and will always end the night icing his muscles and drinking loads of water to recover.

MMA fighter Satoru Gojo is the poster boy for his company. He has sponsorships galore. He’s handsome, interviews well, keeps his nose clean as far as the public is concerned, and is an amazing fighter.

MMA fighter Gojo’s talent was noticed early, so he’s been in some kind of combat sport competitively since he was a kid. Judo, taekwondo, anything he could try he’s done for at least a summer. He later refocused on primarily Muay Thai and kickboxing.

MMA fighter Gojo is a lightweight in his early career, but as he gets older and bulks up a little Gojo moves up into the welterweight class where he really shines. He has an incredible reach thanks to his long limbs, which poses problems for anyone against him.

MMA fighter Gojo is an all rounder - dangerous standing and dangerous on the ground, but if an opponent is strong enough they can carve out some points by holding him down so he doesn’t have the chance to get momentum on those powerful kicks.

MMA fighter Gojo can eat whatever he wants and not put on weight, he never seems sluggish after his big meals or sugary treats either and no one understands how. He just seems to eat whatever he wants without consequence, although as he gets into his late 20s his manager and trainers are always on his ass about eating better. He listens… sometimes.

MMA fighter Gojo will taunt and tease loads before and during fights, but really does have good sportsmanship. He always taps gloves at the beginning of a match, compliments his opponent and hugs or pats them on the back post-match, and you won’t find him breaking rules. Say he mis-judges a punch and hits someone on the back of the head or his foot slips during a thigh kick and he gets them in the groin, he’ll feel genuinely bad and allow them all the time the referee can for recovery before the match resumes.

MMA fighter Gojo parties hard after a match. Not necessarily drinking, but he’s going out on the town, dancing, being his happy loud self, eating all the things his trainers begged him not to in the lead up to weigh-ins. Even though his manager initially worried he would make a fool of himself, it actually only helps his image. Many fans will come across him in a bar or club after a match and get pictures with him. He’s just friendly and takes the time, even if he’s trying to unwind.

MMA fighter Ryomen Sukuna whose only losses are disqualifications for times he got too carried away - if that even counts. No one has ever beaten him outright. Despite this he has some of the gnarliest cauliflower ear you’ve ever seen.

MMA fighter Sukuna who got kicked out of his first MMA company for poor conduct.

MMA fighter Sukuna is a heavyweight that specialises in boxing and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu - the latter gives a lot of his opponents trouble because at this weight class they’re expecting a glorified boxing/kick boxing match and don’t know what’s coming once they’re on the ground.

MMA fighter Sukuna always has some viewers debating on whether he’s a fraud for how, despite winning, he’s always down on points in his scorecard. It’s only because he likes eating punches from opponents if only to show them that he can shake them off like nothing, and he gets his own points deducted for rule breaking. Punches to the back of the head, kneeing downed opponents, but he only does these things once in a match to avoid disqualification nowadays. The points don’t matter to him anyway, he finishes the fight when he feels like it.

MMA fighter Sukuna secured a spot on title cards from a young age, thanks to his impressive frame and even more impressive taunting in the press leading up to fights.

MMA fighter Sukuna once dropped down two weight classes just to fuck up someone he doesn’t like on record. People count him out for the physical strain dropping so much muscle would have on anyone else, but this isn’t just anyone else, it’s Ryomen Sukuna.

MMA fighter Sukuna who, as he ages, has to teach new up and comers a lesson again and again. The more someone talks about him being past his prime, the harder they’ll fall. Though he’ll still talk non-stop about how early MMA was better, when you could fight anyone of any weight class and there weren’t so many rules around how to safely beat someone.

MMA fighter Sukuna who, after yet another win, celebrates by drinking and feasting and fucking. Just pure hedonism. He’s had a few belligerent moments, and a few encounters of getting a little too hot and heavy in the corner of a club, but he’s just too popular as a sort of “heel” in the MMA world that organisers make any press around more illegal activities disappear.

#this one is purely self indulgent tbh #also spawned a mma fighter sukuna one shot in the wips lol #trying new formatting for hcs too idk how i feel #my writing #jjk headcanons #toji fushiguro #toji headcanons #gojo headcanons #geto headcanons #ryomen sukuna #sukuna headcanons #sukuna

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jynxeddraca · 6 months ago

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Small, Soft BG3 Things

Just an ongoing list of small headcanons for Team Tadpole.

Astarion:

Astarion learned how to sew and embroider from his mother. She loved to embroider poems that she sold at market. Most of his word based embroidery looks like her handwriting, even though he doesn't remember that.

He's the go-to member of Team Tadpole for mending because he's the best out of all of them at it. More importantly: as he comes to view them as friends, the basic mending is supplemented with subtle embroidery.

Every child that he ends up spending time around learns some slight of hand trick and/or how to use a knife.

When everyone is asleep and he's particularly at ease, he'll quietly sing to himself while doing other things.

Gale:

As the self-appointed cook - come time to set up camp, Gale might fuss about the bizarre assortment of food stuff they find on their travels, but he secretly revels in the challenge of making filling, delicious foods out of what they're able to scavenge.

Cooking was how his mother and him bonded as he grew up so now it's his favorite way of showing affection/appreciation to others.

Spoils Tara with all her favorite foods when they're reunited (also I headcanon Tara joins the camp most nights in Act 3).

When he was younger, he specifically created an enchantment to enchant his mother's favorite rocking chair so that when it was activated, mage hands would appear and give her shoulders and feet a massage.

Halsin:

He learned to whittle from an uncle and the knife he uses today for his carvings was given to him by his mother - whose favorite animal was ducks.

Halsin likes to go sit in Bloomridge park when the city gets to him, taking Yenna with him if she's agreeable. He has taught her and several other random children how to braid flower crowns.

When he returns to Reithwin Town, he teaches Art how to whittle and Art teaches Halsin how to play the lute.

On nights where Halsin is keeping watch will offer to turn pages for Tara so she can read a book or two.

Jaheira:

Will turn into a cat/dog to give comfort to children if they are inconsolable.

Takes an afternoon with Halsin - both in wildshape - to show him how nature and the city can be more harmonious than he originally thought.

The lullaby she knows how to play on the tin whistle was one taught to her by her late husband - she has put all her children to sleep to it's tune.

Teases Tara about her treating Gale like her kitten.

The rats that show up in camp do give her updates on other Harpers - but most of the time they are updates about her children.

Karlach:

Clive - her teddy bear - was knitted by her mother and she considers him her 'good luck charm'. Before the infernal engine was forced onto her, he could often be found tucked into Karlach's belt at any given point of the day or in her purse/pouch.

Karlach almost left Avernus without Clive, and risked missing the Nautiloid to go back to grab him.

Because she calls Halsin "Bear Man" Arabella starts calling him that too. At the same time, Karlach starts calling Withers "Bone Man" because of Arabella.

Her parents used to dance around the living room with her - in camp she'll get Arabella and later, Yenna, to do the same. When she's especially energetic, she makes Wyll join her.

Lae'zel:

While she originally hates everything about Faerûn, she becomes especially fond of the sunrises and finds she enjoys sunflowers.

After the egg is acquired, she does softly sing an old githyanki lullaby to when she tends to it.

Because she feels it is an important skill to have for when the egg hatches, she learns to sew by watching Astarion. Eventually, she asks him for tips.

Lae'zel seems well-read (on githyanki literature anyways) in my opinion so I feel like even though she's a very skilled fighter, she also spent much of her time in the creche library growing up. In camp, she raids Gale's library bag often.

When Karlach started calling her 'Lae', she began referring to Karlach as 'Kar'.

Minsc and Boo:

When Boo isn't around Minsc, he spends time around Shadowheart curled up on her shoulder or sitting beside her as she meditates.

Amused that it baffles people who can speak with animals, Boo purposefully does not allow them to understand him and sticks with his telepathic communications with Minsc.

Minsc enjoys finding excuses to tell stories and is a good storyteller.

Teaches Tav a few Rashemen songs and stories.

Minsc and Boo both have a faint smell of warm stone about them due to being statues for a while.

Shadowheart:

When meditating, sometimes unknowingly hums an old lullaby her parents used to sing her.

Still sometimes mutters "Lady of Sorrows" when exasperated, and at one point while very tired said "Lady of Sil-rrows" instead.

Has started keeping seeds and nuts on hand for Boo.

Talking to Astarion and Halsin in Elvish is soothing to her, and sometimes it triggers memories of her father.

Tav:

Was gifted a stuffed bunny by her dad when she was a baby. His name is Biscuit.

Biscuit was handed down to Temerity (Tav's little sister) while they were in the orphanage and he currently lives on Temerity's pillow.

Tav and Karlach have introduced Clive (Karlach's teddy bear) to Biscuit.

The smell of leather oil reminds her of her father.

Wyll:

Has a soft spot in his heart for trashy romance novels and anything related to mermaids. An aside: even though he hasn't been home in years, the merfolk around Baldur's Gate remember him fondly as a child trying to swim deep enough to see them.

Actually enjoys debating Astarion about laws and their effects - even though they have wildly different views on the laws.

Has a secret tattoo, and yes, it's mermaid themed.

Offered to teach Lae'zel to use a rapier if she showed him how to wield a longsword.

Also enjoys cooking and likes to show Gale different ways to season/cook in the wilds.

The rapier he has at the start of the game was gifted to him by his father.

#I'll add to this later #but just small #headcanons #about team tadpole #bg3 #baldur's gate 3 #spoilers #Astarion #Gale #Halsin #Jaheira #Karlach #Lae'zel #Minsc #Boo #Shadowheart #Tav Moonridge #Wyll

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sso-montana · 20 days ago

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Undead

Word Count: 4k Rating: Mature Warnings: explicit descriptions of violence, lots of violence, like seriously, blood, injury, attempted cannibalism ?, the horrors of turning into a vampire, gremlin I am sorry for doing this to Sabine

@dark-rider-pr

Montana knew this had been her idea. She was the one who had come up to Sabine with the proposal, the idea of being the one to give her the potion after she turned. Was she still mad at the Dark Rider for attacking her back then? Yeah. Was she still furious about the claw marks that now covered the lower half of her face? Fucking hell she was. If it hadn’t been for doctor Eiren and druid medicine who knew how long she would’ve had to deal with the wound reopening (not to mention the risk of it getting infected out in the wild).

But the memories of her first feed, the terror and realization of what she had done, of seeing Judy’s torn up body and lifeless eyes and the taste of blood in her mouth, were even more vivid. It was burned into her brain, a shiver running down her back every time she thought back to it.

No one should have to go through that, not even someone like Sabine. Being lucid while feeding on a person was one thing, it was a whole different ordeal if you couldn’t control yourself. To be trapped in your own brain, aware of what you were doing and how you were acting, to feel your teeth and claws rip at flesh and arteries. Screaming and begging with your body to stop and still being unable to compose yourself even the tiniest bit because of the gnawing hunger and primal instincts that didn’t feel like yourself-

Shaking her head the former blacksmith turned her focus back on to the potion brewing in the small pot in front of her. Cornelia had been kind enough to let her make a copy of the recipe that witch- Sive- had given the other vampires. The news that there was a potion, a supplement for the blood, had been the best news Montana had heard in weeks (even if her first reaction had been to be mad over the fact that all these months she could’ve just been drinking a damn potion instead of having to feed on humans). During the first four days in their little safe-space (which would not be safe at all once Sabine woke up again, it was more so to keep the outside safe from them) she had taken to stashing bottle after bottle of supplement around the circle. Always in pairs of two and a certain distance away from each other. It was the closest thing she had to a strategy; dump two bottles down Sabine’s throat and go for the next pair. Jay had explained how for Lisa, who had been in hibernation when they found her, a total of four bottles had been needed.

“Let’s go with six. Although you better have some more ready, just to be sure.”

They were right, of course. There was no chance in hell that Montana would be able to get six whole bottles down Sabine’s throat before she would start fighting back. The Dark Rider was already a ruthless fighter without the addition of "vampire’s first feed" feral. Bloodshed was a certainty and not because of the fact that she’d have to somehow keep the other girl somewhat still.

Sabine had gotten infected while they were feeding Anne, Cornelia had lost two fingers to Lisa and neither of them had been alone while going up against the feral vampires. Montana had no one but her axe and anger once the Dark Rider woke up. Which was just fine for her. Not that there were many other viable options other than her; Katja and Jay were still suppressing their magic (plus Sabine was their sister), Cornelia had already been injured before. Lisa wasn’t the type of person to do something like this, there was no chance in hell Sabine would allow Florence to and Anne was Aideen-Knows-Where. This way no one else but her would have to risk getting hurt or even killed while going up against a Dark Rider.

A feral, hungry Dark-Rider-Vampire that was a foot taller than her and would be out for blood. She could almost hear Justin’s voice in her head yelling at her that ‘that’s not a plan, that’s a suicide mission!’

Yeah, not telling him about this had been for the best.

As the liquid inside the pot bubbled she let out a groan before turning around and looking over to where Sabine had curled up. The Rider looked exactly like a stage four zombie; eyes and cheeks were sunken in, her body nothing more than a skeleton covered by a thin layer of unnatural, purple skin. A few wefts of hair were still clinging to her skull while the rest had fallen out over the course of the past two weeks.

It wouldn’t be long until she woke up again, until they could finally leave this damn circle. The fight that was slowly creeping closer as the minutes ticked by wasn’t what was making her restless. It wasn’t the cold or being separated from Onyx or even being stuck together with Sabine (though, granted, it wasn’t like the two of them had been able to hold much of a conversation).

But being confined to a tiny circle in the middle of nowhere with nothing to do but sit around and cook what was essentially soup? That part was, perhaps, making her a little restless. (And yes, the space Jay had made for them wasn’t small per se, but after spending months out in the open having to be stuck in a single area was driving her up the invisible walls).

ॱ⋅.˳˳.⋅˙ॱᐧ.˳˳.⋅ઇଓ

Montana had been staring at Sabine’s unmoving form for at least an hour when the first sign of life came. The growl had been low, quiet. Something that could easily be chucked up to one's imagination if it came out of nowhere. Not if that someone had spent the last few months in a constant state of survival mode with the added bonus of enhanced hearing.

Eyes fixed on the corpse- vampire? undead person?- lying on the other side of the circle the former blacksmith stuck her axe into the ground, the wooden handle facing towards the direction of the Dark Rider. With two bottles of potion held in one hand she started walking towards Sabine, fluffy snow crunching beneath her boots as the blizzard around her seemed to grow stronger. Despite what every fiber in her body told her she kept a slow and steady pace. Alerting the Dark Rider right at the start of their fight and risking sending her into an early rampage would only complicate things. The former blacksmith apprentice had to use the window of time she had between Sabine regaining consciousness and going feral to get as many potions as possible down the others throat. After that nothing was certain.

Still, she had made a promise.

Once only a few feet separated them Montana started to uncap the first of the bottles, magenta eyes never leaving the quivering, gurgling form of Sabine. The second, still closed potion was dropped in the snow before the former blacksmith apprentice rolled the Dark Rider onto her back. Her chest, all skin and bones, was heaving in slow motion. Eyes, soulless and emitting a faint glow the same color as her own irises, staring right at her. The knowledge that at some point she herself had looked like this sent a shiver down her spine.

Not wanting to waste another second Montana kneeled beside Sabine’s head, pinching her nose and pressing the bottle of supplement against her lips. Its contents quickly flowed down the other’s throat as her swallow reflex set in. The bony chest was starting to rise more frequently, more rhythmically.

‘Better hurry this up’

Discarding the empty bottle somewhere in the snow the former blacksmith reached for the next one. The movements were almost mechanical. Open the lid, press it against her lips. Watch out for any form of movement. With each gulp of liquid going down Sabine’s throat her heart started beating faster in anticipation of something.

Half the potion was gone before the Dark Rider’s eyes widened. Arms and legs, albeit slow and clunky, started to move. Montana cursed under her breath. With a quick motion she shifted her position, moving one of her legs over and across Sabine’s shoulder and collarbone while the other one stayed on the snow-covered ground. Bony hands started clawing at her legs and torso as the Dark Rider started to regain more control over her limbs. Sharp collar bones dug into her shin, sending wave after wave of pain through Montana’s body.

As soon as the second potion had been downed and the bottle removed a bat-like scream tore through the air. Had she not removed her hand quickly enough it most likely would’ve met the same fate as Cornelia’s had. The struggle beneath her leg grew as the potion did what was its job, help Sabine recover. Unfortunately for Montana the other’s mind, unlike her physical strength, would only return once the feed had been completed.

Time was running out and quicker than she had expected.

The next batch of potions wasn’t too far away. Using Sabine’s chest as a stepping stool and causing a screech to leave the vampire's lips, which she definitely did not smirk at, no no, Montana scrambled to her feet.

Her heart was pounding like crazy, the blood pulsing in her veins warming her up enough to no longer feel the biting cold of the blizzard around them. Only a couple more steps. Behind her Sabine was screaming.

Just as she was about to reach the bottles something sharp dug into her leg, piercing through fabric and skin. She cried out in pain before being violently pulled to the ground. Her face smashed into the cold snow, a muffled groan leaving her lips as her forehead and nose collided with the frozen soil. Quickly reaching out with one of her hands her fingertips almost brushed against one of the bottles before the distance between them grew again.

‘Shit!’

Dirt and stones were scraping across her face as the claw on her leg dragged her backwards. Behind her the gurgling and uncanny sounds that sounded a lot like incoherent zombie blubbering grew louder. Her foot hit something solid, bone-like and Montana took it as her cue to turn the fuck around. Twisting her upper body she got a perfectly good look at one of Sabine’s hands digging into her left calf as the other was reaching for her other leg.

“Fuck off!” With as much force as she could muster she kicked the heel of her right boot up against a bony jaw. Another kick followed, this time straight into the middle of Sabine’s face. It took two more of those before she could finally pull her leg free from the claw.

Ignoring the stinging pain in her calf Montana decided against going for the closer potions, instead sprinting towards the direction of her axe. She couldn’t get another potion down, not without a proper weapon by her side for defense. And while the knives on her were pretty useful in certain situations they wouldn’t be of much help in this one.

Hearing the screaming behind her Montana managed to turn around just in time to evade an attack aimed directly at her face. A stretched out claw nearly grazed her cheek as Sabine’s malnourished form stumbled past her, barely managing to stay on her feet as she did so. With the Dark Rider trying to regain her balance it gave the former blacksmith apprentice enough time to raise her balled fists in anticipation, fuchsia colored flames engulfing her hands.

As the Dark Rider turned around to face her again their face was met with a fist of fire. Two, three, four times. Each time Montana’s knuckles connected with her opponent's skull she could feel the pain sending shockwaves through her entire body. On the fifth punch Sabine finally fell backwards.

Extinguishing the flames, the former blacksmith apprentice continued her run towards her camp. Her knuckles felt like they were on fire, scratched open and bleeding from repeatedly hitting against what was essentially pure bones. There was a roar this time, guttural and angry and heading in her direction.

She really had pissed her off now.

Grabbing one of the nearest bottles and stashing it away in the pocket strapped to her thigh, Montana pulled her axe out of the ground, its metal blade glistening in the afternoon sun.

Sabine was half running, half crawling towards her like some weird cryptid-type-shit monster while screaming like a banshee.

The smaller vampire shifted her grip on the weapon, wrapping both hands around the wooden handle as she got into position. She dropped her shoulders, eyes narrowing at the rapidly approaching form of Sabine, raising her harms and-

There was a loud clang ringing through the air as the flat side of the metal blade collided with Sabine’s bony cheek. The Dark Rider’s body was thrown to the side, landing face first in the snow, unmoving.

In a matter of seconds Montana had jumped on the others back, slamming the axe into the ground beside them before pressing her full weight down on her shoulder blades. She pulled at the remaining hair on the other’s head, ignoring the ear-ringing screaming and lifting the skull just enough to wrap her legs around a thin neck. Her legs were propping up Sabine’s head while her free hand pinched and pulled at her nose. Pulling out the bottle and opening it with one hand she waited for another scream to leave the Rider’s lips before pressing the bottle against them.

Staying somewhat stable atop of Sabine’s restless form turned out to be more of a challenge than she had anticipated. Her legs tightened around the others neck as the other vampire shifted beneath her, clawing at the ground and moving her legs-

The realization of what her opponent was trying to do came too late. Sabine was already standing up, albeit hunched over, before the last drop of the potion left the bottle. Claws tore open more of Montana’s pants and the skin on her legs. She was holding onto wefts of hair and bony shoulders for dear life as Sabine trashed from side to side, screaming and roaring like a wild animal.

In the end her attempts to cling onto her were futile. Even in this form the Dark Rider was still a foot taller than her with the added difficulty of not offering much to hang on to.

Montana was thrown off, her body flying through the air before hitting the ground once, twice. She gasped, ears ringing and limbs aching as she tried to get back on her feet. ‘Keep going, keep going. You can’t waste time.’

Axe. She needed her axe. It wasn’t too far away.

Neither was Sabine.

With another scream the vampire lunged at her. There wasn’t enough time to move out the way. Both vampires rolled through the snow. The Dark Rider was going for her head, claws pressing her shoulders into the hard ground as fangs tried to get a bite out of her face.

Dodging the attacks (which was just moving her head from side to side) the girl reached for the knife strapped to her thigh. Once she got a hold of the blade she pulled it out of its pocket before ramming it into the other’s side. With as much pressure as she could she dug it as deep as her strength and position allowed for, twisting it around before removing it and repeating the action below the first stab wound. Sabine cried out in pain, one of her claws leaving Montana’s shoulder and trying to get a hold of the hand that was attacking her. With one of her shoulders freed the former blacksmith apprentice used her chance and flipped them both over. The knife was rammed into the middle of Sabine’s ribcage who in turn fully let go of the smaller girl.

Even with her unsteady legs Montana managed to get to her axe before the Dark Rider recovered enough to get on their feet.

Three potions. She had already managed to get three down. Just three more.

No biggy. Not at all.

She eyed the pair of bottles closest to her before turning back to look at Sabine, scrambling back onto her feet and screaming and screeching at her. Montana changed the grip on her weapon as the feral vampire started running towards her once again, the knife still embedded in the middle of her chest.

She couldn’t kill her. That would defeat the whole purpose of this, not to mention what Dark Core would do if they found out she had killed one of her Dark Riders.

Dropping to her knees just before the Rider had a chance to get a grip on her she rammed the shorter side of the axe into their shin and immediately pulled it out again.

It wasn’t deep enough to sever the leg, just a flesh wound to slow the other down (she might be suicidal but not crazy enough that she’d want to experience Florences’ wrath for cutting off her partners limbs).

Sabine toppled over her, crashing face-first into the snow while screaming in agony. In a matter of seconds Montana dove over to the potions stashed in the snow. Behind her the Dark Rider was already crawling towards her, snow and dirty flying through the air as she did. The last few meters were a half-walk-half-crawl attempt from Sabines side before she once again lunged directly at her face.

One of her hands which had been holding a bottle of supplement came up as a reflex and this time it was Montana's turn to cry out in pain. Fangs pierced through cloth and flesh, digging into muscles and threatening to crush the bones of her forearm.

Reaching for the knife still stuck in the other's chest, which had disappeared almost completely between skin and bones due to her fall, the smaller girl pulled it out before ramming it back into purple skin, aiming for the patch of skin between shoulder and collar bone. She gritted her teeth, twisting the knife around the wound and, finally, her arm was freed. Putting all her energy behind it Montana kicked her leg up and against Sabine’s side, sending her to the ground, right next to the second potion.

Her foot slammed down on the vampire's chest, pushing her flat against the snow before dropping down to her knees. One hand quickly pinched the Riders nose as the other uncapped the bottle, pressing it against her lips. Nails scratched against her legs and torso causing her to let out a pained hiss.

The empty bottle was thrown away, lost somewhere among the mix of white and red snow, Montana’s hand immediately reaching for the next potion. She just so managed to avoid having her arm chomped on a second time before thrusting the next bottle against Sabine’s lips. ‘One more. Just one more’ The thought kept pinging around her head as the second bottle was emptied. She had to hurry, had to get to another stack of potions, fast. Just as soon as she had stood up Sabine had scrambled to go after her. Something pierced her leg again, a scream ,not unlike the ones from Sabine, leaving her lips as teeth and fangs bore into her calf. Without thinking too much about it Montana turned around, grabbing her axe and swinging it at Sabine’s side. The metal pierced through skin and flesh, a scream that almost made her blood freeze ringing through the air.

This was fine. It would be fine. They had Lisa and Cornelia and Florence. They could patch up Sabine.

Leaving the weapon stuck in the bigger vampire’s side the former blacksmith apprentice made a run for the nearest potion stack, picking up both bottles just in case. One was put into her pocket, the other she kept in her hand.

As she sprinted back to where Sabine was kneeling on the ground her free hand reached for her axe and pulled it out the Ridere’s side. The unopened potion was put between her teeth in order to wrap both hands around the wooden handle. She raised her leg, the sole of her boot colliding with the Rider’s chest as she kicked her opponent flat onto their back.

Heart racing she swung the weapon down.

The scream that followed as metal pierce through skin and bones would’ve sent birds flying if there were any. Sabine was struggling against the blade, screeching as the more she moved the deeper the metal cut into her shoulder. It had cut through flesh and bone, going straight through her shoulder and into the snow-covered ground.

Sabine was effectively pinned down.

Montana’s hands shook slightly as she uncapped the bottle, squatting down beside the raving vampire and pinching her nose. One of her knees dropped to the ground as her other leg pressed against the pierced shoulder. An almost perfect mirror of the position she had used to get the second potion down her throat. As soon as another scream tore through the air the girl pressed the bottle against Sabine’s lips.

Once the last drop of liquid was gone Montana removed the bottle, standing up on shaky legs and simply letting the glass fall from her hands. Her whole body was trembling. Heart racing. ‘This was enough, right?’

The next scream that tore through the air pulled her back to reality. She hurried to pull the axe out of the Rider’s shoulder, the cry cutting through the forest as soon as the metal was removed being more reminiscent of a wounded animal than a human being.

Which they weren’t. They weren’t human beings, why should they sound like them?

Panting from exhaustion she started to back away from Sabine, dropping her axe only a couple meters away while her shaking legs carried her a bit further. She watched as Sabine cried and screamed, curling up on her side as the red area around her shoulder grew bigger.

The Dark Rider wasn’t going after her anymore, that meant the supplement must’ve been enough.

Right?

Only after the axe marked a sort of halfway point between the two vampires did she allow herself to collapse in the snow. The purple seemed to slowly fade from Sabine’s skin.

The freezing winds cutting across the bite wounds on her leg and arm weren’t even half as bad as what she had done to Sabine but god, did they still hurt like a bitch. She was faintly aware of the claw marks scattered across her body, though they were only a dull ache compared to where Sabine’s fangs had nearly crushed her bones.

God, how bad must the Riders shoulder and leg hurt, then?

Somewhere in the back of her brain she could register that the barrier had fallen, at least if the shocked gasps to her left were anything to go by. The area must’ve looked like a battlefield. Both of them were drenched in blood, their own as well as from the other, while at least half of the once fluffy snow that covered the area had turned into pink slush.

In a matter of seconds Florence and Khaan were by Sabine’s side, trying to calm her down and assessing the damage. The screaming and crying did send a pang of guilt through Montana’s stomach. She had beaten her up pretty bad.

Then again Sabine had messed up her face. They were basically even now.

Florence was shaking her head as her hands did their best to sooth Sabines crying from.

“Fuck me, Montana. We’re you trying to fucking kill her?”

“This was kinder. Trust me.” After trying, and failing, to get back onto her feet the former blacksmith let out a pained groan. The leg that had been bitten by Sabine was aching horribly. She felt like passing out. “And for the record, no, I wasn’t trying to kill her. I was trying to stay fucking alive while she went for my head. Multiple times.”

#ssozombies24 #riders of fallen dawn #riders-of-fallen-dawn #rofd #ssoblr #star stable online #star stable #my writing #montana opalheart #sso sabine #this should not have taken me as long as it did but turns out fight scenes are my worst enemy #the struggle of keeping them both alive was real omg #why do these keep getting longer and longer #this was supposed to be day two yes as I said fight scenes are the bane of my existence

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vendetta-if · 1 year ago

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How would you describe the body types of the RO's?

'Cause I get several ideas of my own.

Ash: Solid. Wide shoulders, strong arms. They'd have put in the work for a build that's more function over form, yet retains the curves that draws people's attention. Really, put them in a tanktop and passers-by are going to have neck problems from the double takes they do.

Rin: Svelte. Shortest of the bunch, could pull a Marilyn Monroe and wear a potato sack and make it look stunning. A slight build without clear muscle definition. Maybe most visible if they dance or do high-level yoga.

Santana: "Average" if thin leaning. They're overworked, overstressed and overcaffeinated. Whilst they might not necessarily look unhealthy, a good meal more regularly would work miracles.

Skylar: Pick basically any comicbook superhero character from DC or Marvel of the lean and defined variety and you'll have a decent approximation of how they look. Maybe how most Spider-Folk look or if you average'd the Bat-family.

Anything on or off the mark? Maybe got any references of your own?

Love the story, btw. Hope to see more soon, the barfight was a hoot-and-a-half.

You're not that far off actually 🤔 I'm not really the best in describing body types, but I'll try my best 😅

Ash

I like to imagine Ash body built like an MMA fighter, lean and athletic and not too overtly muscular like a bodybuilder. Their muscles are built for practical uses, not to show off.

Rin

You're pretty spot on for Rin. They are slender and elegant/graceful and don't really have clear muscle definition. The prime example of prioritizing their mind and charisma over physical stuff and combat. But yeah, they'd slay anything they wear, undoubtedly.

Santana

To me, Santana is just average overall. Not too slender, but not to the point of skinny where they don't really have muscles. They do have some muscles to a degree (they are a cop after all, and had to pass like police academy beforehand), but certainly not like Ash and Skyar. They don't really go to gym nor do they spar to maintain them. They're also not too plump or chubby as well, because of their less than ideal lifestyle. They're just... average.

Skylar

Picture a fitness model, that's pretty much how Skylar's build (but not the really muscular ones mind you 😂). They are still lean and athletic, but unlike Ash, their muscles are definitely more... defined? Like, Male Skylar definitely has pretty well-defined six-packs and pecs.

They do workout in the Agency's gym regularly and supplemented with some sparring with other superheroes for more practical training. As a superhero, they gotta appeal to the masses while also still be able to hold themself in a fight.

#asks #anon ask #char: info #full cast ros #ro: ash #ro: rin #ro: santana #ro: skylar #if: vendetta #if game #vendetta if #if wip #dashingdon #choicescript

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thydungeongal · 3 months ago

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Hey, I've been wanting to run a dungeon crawly west marches style game where I include some optional, off to the side, way-overleveled "guardians" that players can return to fight for extra treasure once they have some more levels under their belt.

My problem is that many of my players initially bounced off pathfinder 1e for being too crunchy, and have been playing mostly dungeon world. And while I do enjoy dungeon world, it's got two features that makes it particularily ill-suited for this campaign:

1. Characters tend to gain more options when they level up instead of becoming numerically better at surviving and killing.

2. Combat is Very free flowing. That's great when I want to dynamically change how difficult combat is, but when the feeling I want to ellicit on lower level is "you're in way over your heads", it feels a bit too much like GM fiat to me.

All that is a long-winded way of asking, do you know of any dungeon crawling fantasy RPGs where characters get Stronger in addition to/rather than growing more versatile, that has more black-and-white combat arbitration, *and* that's on the more rules light side of the spectrum (especially on the character creation side of things)?

Okay, so it actually sounds like you might benefit from one of the older editions of D&D! No, don't run away, come back!

But seriously, let me explain what I mean:

If Pathfinder 1e is too crunchy for your players they might benefit from something that has less crunch. While some older editions of D&D can be quite crunchy (basically, both AD&D 1e and 2e are pretty crunchy, albeit in different ways than Pathfinder), there is the whole Basic D&D lineage of games that are very much simplified and streamlined.

Even though character growth in older editions of D&D wasn't quite as pronounced as in WotC editions, there is still a clear power growth as characters level up, and it is mostly expressed via the numbies going up!

D&D has always been About Combat to an extent, so the combat is still heavily structured.

Character creation in older editions is VERY simple, with only a few choices.

Other benefits include the fact that older editions of D&D come with lots of procedures built in for making a sandbox setting come alive. Random encounters, procedures for populating the world, you've got it all! There's even treasure maps that point to random locations on your campaign map!!!

Now I also understand why you might be hesitant to take me on this idea: those older editions have lots of weird rules and significantly fewer character options. Which is often true. But there's also a burgeoning scene of new games that are taking the aforementioned benefits of those older games and applying some modern sheen to them. Many of which are free!

Basic Fantasy Role-Playing Game is a Creative Commons licensed free old-school D&D clone that is not a clone of any specific edition of D&D, but sort of a best-of of old-school D&D. The game is literally free, and if you wish to increase character options beyond the ones in the core rules (which has Humans, Elves, Dwarves and Halflings, and Fighters, Magic-Users, Clerics and Thieves) there is a vibrant community of people creating free supplements for the game.

The Microlite20 family of games are a set of simplified D&D clones that often take more after modern D&D, but there is a separate old-school edition of the latest version! And if you end up missing some of the "new-school" options the Microlite20 family of games are all broadly compatible with each other!

FORGE is a free RPG heavily inspired by the Basic D&D lineage of games but also some modern old-school clones like Knave, and it basically presents a classless version of old-school D&D (but where levels are still a thing and there are still some character creation choices that echo throughout a character's career). It also has fantastic gameplay guidance and GM tools!

And the best thing about all those games I just mentioned: they are all broadly compatible with each other! So even if you end up running one game, you can easily poach procedures and ideas you like from the others! These games are all basically in the same lineage, and because of that they have lots of points where there's a lot of room for modding and borrowing!

If you would like to talk about this some more, don't hesitate to DM me! I love talking about these sorts of campaigns and if you still have questions and specific wishes I would love to help! :)

#dungeons and dragons #thydungeongal answers

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imperator-titus · 3 months ago

Text

What have I been doing instead of writing or classwork? Modding BG3 and making my OCs, of course!

I posted pics before when I only had the vanilla game assets available.

First is the story's interpretation of what Astarion looked like before turning. Yes, I accept other interpretations of what he looked like, such as different eye colors or even his hair color. This is not what I believe to be the most-likely scenario for canon pre-vampirism Astarion.

(If you don't care about my story's OCs, then don't bother with the read more break. It is there as a courtesy to those who just want Astarion as well as to avoid how loooong this post will be.)

Mods used: Toarie's New Character Creation Presets (Andrei head, which I'm fairly certain is a tweaked Astarion with no bite marks, clearer skin, etc), Vessnelle's Hair Collection (M3, it's still not what I wanted but it was the best I could find, his hair should be more like ringlets and in a higher ponytail and no/different bangs) Other settings: Pallid Tone 1 Skin, Elf Gold 2 Eyes, White 3 + 75% Greying (Grey Neutral 2)

Eletha Nightstar/Lorelai Irithyl

Mods used: ASTRL Hair Color Supplement (Eletha has some more greying/highlighting involved) Changes for Lorelai: Toned down the make-up that was making Eletha look "tired", two blue eyes, No scars, No piercings, Less aging, Hair is vanilla "Sorcha Curls" Notes: I ended up not changing Eletha pretty much at all, all I would change is making her lips thinner Character Notes:

Class: Ranger (Subclass: Hunter)

Born: 1224 (268yo as of BG3), Dalelands

Race: High Elf (Moon elf)

Sex/Gender: Female/Cis

Orientation: Bisexual/Demisexual

Approx. 5 years older than Astarion

Last saw Astarion 1259 (233 years ago from BG3)

Fey's curse: Burns in a white flame every new moon

Highly skilled with Eladrin longsword, high pain tolerance, bitter old lemon of an adventurer

Folk Hero: not as famous as the Blade of Frontiers, but has probably done more and has a little following of adventurers, despite her best efforts to dissuade them

Left her family in 1260 after being forced to give birth

Magic Left (Gold) Eye: allows the wearer to see things as they were in memories

Quynn Irithyl

Mods: Toarie's New Character Creation Presets (Falorin head), Trips' Accessory Collection + Jerinski's Piercing Edits, Cerberry's Simple Hair (Hero) (Current Hair), Tav's Hair Salon (163) (Old Hair), ASTRL Hair Color Supplement

Pronounced "kwin"

Last name: Eletha's original last name

Born: 1260 (232 yo), Dalelands

Race: High Elf (Moon Elf)

Class: Ranger (In-game: Gloomstalker, 5e Monster Slayer)

Mellia (Melliana)

Mods: ASTRL Hair Color Supplement, Trips' Accessory Collection + Jerinski's Piercing Edits, Vessnelle's Hair Collection (F18), Frosty Faces (Allani Head)

Race: High Elf (Vampire)

Age: Unknown (Eletha thinks she's over 1000)

Sex/Gender: Female/Gender-fluid, but mostly Hyper-Femme

Orientation: Homosexual (Lesbian), but is known to hit on anything

Class: Sorcerer (In-game: Storm, 5e Shadow Magic, from being a Vampire)

Eletha's oldest friend (met 1268, 224 years ago) "Your Sanguine Companion"

Aluin of Suzail

Mods: ASTRL Hair Color Supplement, Kay's Hair Extensions, Frosty Faces (Divine Head)

Pronounced: All-win ("Win" or "Winnie" for short)

Race: Human

Class: Wizard (Transmutation)

Age: 232 (Met 1283, 209 years ago)

Sex/Gender: Male/Cis

Orientation: Asexual/Panromantic

Loves sweets and has a bad back

Bromthrum Starkhammer

Mods: Andmetta's Bulky Dwarf Heads (Thrain), Trips' Accessory Collection + Jerinski's Piercing Edits, Bububull's Big Dwarven Beards

"Provider of Fine Crafts" (Merchant)

Race: Dwarf (Gold Dwarf)

Class: Fighter (Champion)

Age: 120-ish (met 100 years ago)

Obsessed with Elves and Elven artifacts

Collects Elven longswords to show to Eletha

Tyrlumin

Mods: Trips' Accessory Collection + Jerinski's Piercing Edits, HGY Heads (Xan Head), Bububull's More Dreadlocs Vol 2 (Disowned Warlock)

"Lumin" (loo-min) for short, "Your Melodic Cha" (Cha = "Half")

Race: Half-drow/Half-human, seemingly

Age: Unknown (Eletha thinks he's a fey or lich or something)

Sex/Gender: Seemingly Male/Has claimed to be anything and nothing

Orientation: Asexual/Aromantic

Class: Bard (In-Game: College of Lore, 5e: College of Glamour)

Specialty: Harp, but commonly plays the lute

Very Gandalf, arrives exactly when he intends to

Heilar Moonstone

Mods: Ghoul's Customization Compendium (Shaved Head)

Race: High Elf (Moon Elf), Dalelands

Class: Fighter (Battlemaster), Longsword Master

Sex/Gender: FTM Trans

Orientation: Homosexual/Aromantic

Taught Eletha, Astarion, and Quynn

Eletha's pseudo-father-figure

Praises Eletha as his best student

Maephina Greensong

Mods: HGY Heads (Uche Head), Trips Accessories + Jerenski_Piercing-Edits_Trips, ASTRL Hair Color Supplement, Bububull’s More Dreadlocs

Race: Halfling (Lightfoot)

Sex/Gender: Female/Cis

Class: Merchant (not a fighter, except when she has to be)

Travels with Ravan the Loyal

Ravan the Loyal

Race: Orc

Class: Barbarian (Berserker)

Missing half his brain, undergoing a personality change

Incredibly loyal to his friends- just who that is can be unclear sometimes

Loves giving his friends shoulder rubs and picking them up like cats/babies

Zespira Hartford

Mods: Trips Accessories + Jerenski_Piercing-Edits_Trips, Bububull’s More Dreadlocs (twin hills)

Race: Zariel Tiefling

Class: Paladin (Oath of Devotion)

Deity: Tyr

Young and full of life, a natural do-gooder like Wyll

Fairly new to Eletha's list of adventuring followers, she was rescued when she bitt off a little more than she could chew with an evil necromancer

Travels with Gin, Nei-Fonn, and Venxiatel. They met through Eletha

Nei-Fonn Shiaong

Mods: Trips Accessories + Jerenski_Piercing-Edits_Trips, ASTRL Hair Color Supplement, Tav’s Hairpack (84)

Race: Human

Sex/Gender: Female/Cis

Class: Rogue (In-Game: Thief, 5e: Inquisitive)

Highly intelligent

Sister to Gin

Used to work with a traveling circus with her brother, met Eletha when she tried to pick her pocket (Eletha: Unlucky for you, I have a lot of experience with pretty faces attached to sticky fingers.)

Gin Shiaong

Mods: Trips Accessories + Jerenski_Piercing-Edits_Trips, ASTRL Hair Color Supplement, Vessnelle's Hair Collection (M23)

Race: Human

Class: Barbarian (Wild Heart)

Sex/Gender: Male/Cis

Orientation: Homosexual

In a relationship with Venxiatel

Brother to Nei-Fonn

Strongman in a circus, also tried his hand at fire-eating

Venxiatel

Race: Dragonborn (Brass)

Class: Druid (In-Game: Circle of the Land, 5e: Claims to be Circle of the Scale, which no longer exists)

Sex/Gender: Male/Agender

Orientation: Doesn't understand the assignment (Just likes Gin)

Very aloof, seemingly "forgetful", easily distracted

I think that is probably all for GftP OCs. I did a pretty thorough sweep of mods so I doubt I'll change anything anytime soon.

#astarion #astarion ancunin #astarion headcanons #astarion bg3 #character creation #bg3 mods #bg3 #bg3 tav #original character #Eletha Nightstar #Ghost from the Past #titus writes #titus post #titus screenshots #titus plays games

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whitherwanderer · 3 months ago

Text

9 // lend an ear

// 970 words. Pyrite is going to get her VueTube account suspended. Again.

For all their provisions and comforts, the architects of Everkeep in all their genius didn’t fully account for such a thing as human as a circadian rhythm. Insomnia was a common malady for which any number of supplements and aids were available for down at the Nexus Arcade or, if one needed the stronger stuff, True Vue.

Pyrite preferred a simpler remedy to ill-timed bouts of fatigue: a warm cup of black coffee.

All the more lucky that her organization was staffed by a not-inconsiderable number of self-professed coffee snobs who made sure they kept the very best in stock, and as such, the small kitchenette behind the Backroom was a popular spot to idle away while catching something on the holo. The backroom behind the Backroom, they jokingly called it.

She dragged herself out of her bunk, shaking off the fog of a nap that wouldn’t stick and shuffled into the kitchenette where a pair of off-duty operatives, a young hyune lad and a shetona woman, sat on a sofa against the wall, chattering away about something she didn’t quite catch.

She gave them a lazy waggle of her fingers as she dove into the cabinets for a cup she could take with her—

“How old do you think he is, then?” “I don’t know, he can’t be older than forty.” “You’re assuming he’s hyune.” “Well, he doesn’t have a Xak Turali accent, so he’s not shetona or tonawawtan. Certainly not a milala. What do you figure he is?” “Eldite.” “Eldite? Rusty Reforger is not eldite.”

Pyrite’s cup clattered onto the counter and the two paused to glance at her. She made a show of sighing to herself and chuckling as she retrieved the cup and walked it over to the dispenser, muttering to them. “Long night on recon.”

She paused. Her head tilted and her brows furrowed at the two of them, but at least her conspicuous smile seemed genuine. “...What’re you two on about, now? New Arcadion fighter?”

The hyune lad immediately brightened. “No, no! He’s a reforger. Records himself climbing, finding things out in the old kingdom, and then he posts all of it to his feed. Fascinating stuff.” “And he’s anonymous. No one knows a thing about him save for his voice,” the shetona woman adds with a shrug of one arm. “Has considerable knowledge of antiquated electrope tech that I find interesting.”

Pyrite filled her cup while she kept head turned to follow their description of this reforger, and when she had her fix, she walked over to lean against the sofa to look at a small display the hyune carried. He held it up for her to take and tapped it to start the replay of one of this Rusty Reforger’s climbs into a crumbling facility somewhere out in the ruins of Archaeo Alexandria.

“Alright. Got pointed here by a friend of a friend, said they’d been scroungin’ in here for scrap when the floor started givin’ up under ‘em. Somethin’ about how that’s right up my alley, seein’ as nobody was gonna dispatch a hovercraft out here…”

Pyrite watched from the reforger’s perspective as an electrope tether was swung in a quick circle with a flick of his wrist, and she huffed a singular laugh.

“Huh. Ain’t that somethin’,” she remarked, handing the display back. The hyune nodded in enthusiastic agreement as he leaned back to enjoy the rest of the video.

“You heading out, Pyre? New op?” he asked her. Pyrite shook her head. “Not ‘til intelligence comes back with security bypasses. I got errands to run, anyway.” “Ahh, shame.” “Get some sleep while you can, too,” the shetona called after her, and she gave an appreciative wave as she made for the door to the Backroom proper with her coffee in hand.

—

Perched high up above the promenades of True Vue, Pyrite sat with her back to a wall and clutched her own small display, coffee still steaming in her opposite hand. She pressed the cup to her lips and tilted it back, her eyes glued to the POV of the Rusty Reforger repelling down an exterior wall with finesse that made it look as easy as walking.

Today’s upload. She almost missed it. Insomnia was good for something, at least.

“I think that does it for this one, folks,” he sighed, satisfaction evident in his tone as he tugged on the electrope tether and let it retract off-screen.

She set down her coffee to flick through the replies from his watchers as he ran through his usual sign-off; mostly effusive praise and questions about unaddressed curiosities in the ruins featured, but one particular reply gave her pause.

this is so stupid he just walks into old buildings and describes what he sees? why do people watch this??

Pyrite sucked her teeth, then drew the display in to furiously tap at it for a few moments.

there’s always some envious little shite who’s upset they don’t have half the skill RRF does.

She tapped the reply button and slid the display away in her coat before she could spend another thought on crafting the most potent vitriol to unleash on this faceless commenter. She could get her blood boiling for hours if she let herself get caught arguing back and forth with some of the Rusty Reforger’s less courteous viewers. Not that the man himself ever seemed bothered by it.

At least, Galena never brought it up to her. She wasn’t about to ask him directly either. Like him, she also enjoyed a certain degree of anonymity when it came to his adventures behind the mask. Although he knew she watched his feed, she wasn’t sure he knew that, in the nights they spent apart, his voice was a salve to sleeplessness better than any other the keep could offer.

#[ ffxivwrite2024 ]#[ reflections ]#[ GnPy ]#if rusty reforger has a million fans pyrite is one of them #if rusty reforger has one fan it's HER #if rusty reforger has zero fans her regulator is on so just give her a sec to rez

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its-jaytothemee · 7 months ago

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Until I Met You - Chapter 12

Chapter 12: Dangerous Territory

Pairings: Halsin x Tav

Word count: 3,074

Rating: Currently M, will be Explicit in later chapters.

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Summary: Halsin stays in camp to look over Astarion after his night of drinking questionable blood. He helps our vampire friend work through some complicated feelings around his new companions. Astarion of course picks up on the chemistry between Tav and Halsin and proceeds to tease relentlessly. Part 12 of the slow burn fic. Halsin and Tav POVs.

Tags: Slow burn, mutual pining, hurt/comfort, emotional hurt/comfort, fluff, eventual love confessions, eventual smut, angst, implied past rape/non-con and abuse, graphic description of injuries.

A/N: A bit of a shorter and slower chapter than the others, but some fun Halsin & Astarion dialogue. Thanks for continuing to read! Another couple of updates should be coming this week now that I've conquered the writers block for these next few chapters :)

Halsin sat next to Astarion listening to his slow breathing as he rested. The others had left a few hours ago for their expedition into the Underdark environs. His new companions had proven brave and capable fighters, but their last time in the Underdark was too close of a call for his liking. He grinded up some herbs and other ingredients for some potions and salves to supplement any other healing they would need. If anything, he figured putting together some useful elixirs could keep him distracted to pass the hours in camp. Despite his best efforts to keep himself busy, his morning with Tav kept drawing his attention away. Another close call.

Surely something as innocent as a kiss wouldn’t be enough to sway his concentration from the ritual, would it? It had to be better than the wondering and daydreaming and longing…

Perhaps not, but is that a risk you’re willing to take?

A groan from Astarion brought his attention back to the pale elf.

“Ugh, what happened to me?” Astarion asked as he sat up. One of his hands was pressed into his temple.

“Good morning, my friend.” Halsin offered a hand to help him stand, but he flinched away from him. His change in demeanor from the night before caught him off guard.

“You uh, you found Tav and I on your way back to camp. You had taken a lot of blood from something.”

“What did I drink?” He asked.

Halsin laughed. “I was hoping you could tell me now that you’re a little more lucid.”

“I…I don’t remember.” Astarion shook his head lightly. “I remember finding you, I remember Tav sitting next to me…”

Astarion looked lost in thought. Halsin watched as the events of the morning seemed to come back to him.

“But…why? Why would she do that?”

“What do you mean?”

“Why would she…I mean…” He stammered as he continued to collect his thoughts. “She just held me. While letting me drink her blood.”

“She wanted to help you get better. You seemed quite sick.” Halsin eyed him, unsure of what he wanted to hear. His hands reached up to touch his hair, running a curious hand through the curls.

“She…fixed my hair.” Astarion’s voice had quieted. His brow furrowed as he concentrated.

“Yes, it was rather messy when you returned. I haven’t the slightest idea of what you drank, but perhaps you should avoid it in the future.” Halsin laughed as he rubbed Scratch’s belly who had come to lay between them. He stopped when he noticed Astarion still looking upset.

“Why?”

Halsin just gave a blank stare back at him.

“Why did she do that?” His dark red eyes were watering now.

“Like I said, she was trying to help you. Comfort you a bit, I suppose.” Halsin shrugged.

Oak Father knows it comforted me. What I wouldn’t do to feel those fingers running through my hair again.

“But…” The wheels in Astarion’s head were turning, he seemed unable to comprehend why someone would have just sat with him this morning. “I suppose I did help her out quite a bit in the Creche…yes. Yes, this was simply repaying me for that…”

He kept rambling to himself under his breath. Halsin sat and listened quietly while he worked through everything. He only caught bits and pieces of what he muttered.

“…know about the scars… did leave me here today…”

“Astarion?” He kept his voice low and gentle. Astarion still jumped at the sound, startled out of his mumbling.

“Wh-what?” His pupils were wide and alert, a response from someone always on the lookout for danger.

At that moment, Halsin saw raw fear behind those red eyes for the first time. Unable to hide behind flirty quips or dramatic eye rolls, he saw a familiar sadness within him. But why was it so familiar?

“Are you alright?”

“I’m fine, I’m just trying to figure out what sort of game she’s playing.” Astarion’s voice had taken an angry tone now, deepening Halsin’s confusion.

“What do you mean? What game?”

“No one acts that way without a reason, Halsin. Honestly, I wouldn’t expect someone of your tenure to be so naïve.” He spat the words back at him, but a look of remorse took over his face.

“Astarion, I don’t know much about you. But I can assure you that not every good deed is done for the sole hope of reward.”

“There’s no way that’s true. The world is cruel, and so is everyone in it.” He hissed as he drew his legs up close to his chest. “It just takes some longer than others to show it.”

“After everything you’ve seen from Tav and the others, you still truly believe that?”

“I have to.” He looked away from Halsin.

“Why?” He struggled to understand Astarion’s bitterness, and he was starting to feel a tad defensive of Tav. Hearing him lump her in with others who were cruel caused his blood to run hot.

“Because!” Astarion jumped to his feet to yell down at him, startling Halsin. “Because that means the other explanation is that there’s always been good in the world. Just not for me. It means that there were always heroes helping those in need simply because they wanted to. They just never. Made it. To me.”

Halsin was taken aback by his outburst. His own temper cooling as he realized Astarion’s anger had nothing to do with his companions.

“You want me to trust you? You want me to give the others a fair chance?” He let out a deranged cackle. “Where were they when I needed rescuing? When my life was warped into this.” He gestured to his fangs and eyes.

Halsin sat in silence, just listening.

“No. Everyone expects something in return. That’s just the way of the world.” A single tear fell down his cheeks, now able to flush with his anger from the blood he consumed earlier. Halsin considered his words for a while before responding.

“That may have been your experience as of yet, but do not discredit those around you so quickly.” He stayed seated, giving Astarion plenty of room between them for him to pace and think. “I know firsthand that Tav will expect nothing in return for helping you.”

“And how do you know that?” He rolled his eyes as he continued his angry stomping around the fire.

“Because she expected the same of me.”

Astarion stopped pacing to face him. “But aren’t you two, you know…” He put a loose fist up by his mouth and moved it side to side while his tongue pushed his cheek out to the same rhythm. It took Halsin a moment to understand his meaning.

“What? No!” He shouted back a little too fast. “Besides, why would that be an expected compensation for her help?”

“More common than you think.” The words were muttered as if he wasn’t meant to hear them. He shook the somber look off as quick as it came, but not before Halsin could understand its meaning.

Oh.

He realized where he recognized the sadness in Astarion’s eyes now. The same look that plagued his reflection for years after…after his last extended stay in the Underdark.

“Huh, so Tav was telling the truth. I thought she was just being coy.” Astarion had a surprised look on his face that fell to disappointment a moment later. “That also means I owe Gale five gold. Oh well, what he doesn’t know won’t hurt him.” Just like that, he seemed to return to the cheeky personality Halsin had known over the last few days.

“So, what have you two been doing on these little early morning expeditions of yours then?” Astarion turned back to face him. “Just sneaking off for a cuddle?”

“No, no nothing like that…” He stuttered a bit. “I mean, there have been hugs of sorts, but not like that. We just…talk.”

“Hugs? Talking? The scandal of it all.” Astarion’s mocking grin made Halsin blush. His face shifted as he studied him, a look of smug realization coming over his face. “Wait. You…you do like her.”

“Of course I like her, everyone here seems to like her.” Halsin tried to keep his voice from sounding too defensive.

“No darling, you like her…you’re not just looking for carnal pleasure or a bit of fun. Maybe you’re not sneaking off for cuddles yet, but you’d like to. Let me guess, you want to hold her hand and stroke her hair and make gentle love to her under the stars.” He batted his long eyelashes over ruby eyes, his teasing smile just barely showing the tips of his fanged teeth.

That about covers it, yes.

“Don’t be ridiculous.” He scoffed. “There’s far too much on our minds to be thinking about that. She’s…” He shifted his focus back to fiddling with his potions. “She’s a dear friend is all.” Astarion ignored his obvious lie and continued working through his deductions.

“Neither of you seem the prudish type, why so shy? You’re not exactly subtle either. I mean honestly, I’ve never seen two people as beautiful as the two of you be so bad at seduction.”

“It’s…difficult to explain.” Halsin admitted. “And I’m not bad at seduction, I just haven’t been trying to seduce anyone lately.”

Liar. You’re just going much slower than usual.

“Don’t worry druid, your secret is safe with me.” Halsin could still see Astarion’s teasing smile out of the corner of his eye. After a moment, his expression softened a bit. “For what it’s worth, you could do a lot worse than her. And it’s rather obvious that she likes you too.”

And isn’t that the problem?

If she had shown no interest in him, his feelings might have been easier to ignore. But instead, she had to continue to be her sweet, thoughtful self. Offering hugs and comfort and jokes to brighten his day. A quick kiss on the cheek was enough to reduce him to a pile of ooze.

He tried to change the subject as he considered his next words carefully.

“Tav trusts you, you know.”

“She shouldn’t.” Astarion’s face dropped again as he resumed his pacing.

“Perhaps. But she still does. She trusted you last night when she offered her wrist, she trusts you to watch her back in battle, and she trusts that somewhere underneath that hard outer shell, you care about your traveling companions.” He paraphrased Tav’s words back to him. “She likes you, considers you a friend.”

“And yet she left me here today.”

“You were sick. She was worried you’d be hurt further if you went with them.”

“I’m more than capable of taking care of myself.”

“No one said you couldn’t. It doesn’t mean you have to do it alone.”

Astarion just rolled his eyes back at him.

“I can’t help but feel…” Halsin paused, unsure of how he would react to an offer for help. “I can’t help but feel we may be more similar than you think. I know very little about your past, but there’s a look in your eyes that I’ve seen in my own. I won’t force anything from you but know that my ears are willing to listen should you have need of them.”

“Well, isn’t that sweet. But I’m afraid that would take some of your concentration off that darling Tav of yours.” His cheeky response was an obvious ploy to try and rile Halsin up.

“Just so you know, Astarion, if you truly feel the need to pay her back, a genuine thank you will probably be more than enough for her helping you.” He offered.

“Hmph. We’ll see about that.” He turned to storm off to his tent but was cut off when Lunari came barreling back into camp.

Right on cue, Tav and the others came stumbling in behind her.

***

“What in the hells is that thing?!” Gale shrieked as they continued running through the glowing paths of the Underdark.

“Fuck if I know, Gale! But I don’t think it wants to be friends.” Tav yelled back.

The giant creature had been pursuing them for a while now. Every now and then one of them could turn around and get a hit off on it, but it retaliated with a large sweeping strike using the massive, bony hooks that comprised its arms. Lae’zel nearly lost an arm, and Shadowheart already healed a deep gash in Wyll’s abdomen.

“You’re a ranger, aren’t you? Shouldn’t you know shit about wild creatures?” Karlach chimed in as she narrowly avoided another swipe.

“Not in the Underdark, love.” Tav turned to fire another arrow at the creature, but it bounced right off the giant claw.

Her legs started to ache as they continued their sprint through the unfamiliar landscape. A loud screech rang from the creature as it leaped high in the air to land in front of them. Tav and Lunari skidded to a stop in the front of the group. The wolf lunged at the creature and sunk her teeth into its throat. It let out a pained shriek as Lunari brought it down to the ground, shaking her head to shred the creature’s flesh.

Lae’zel and Karlach came running up to the front to drive their blades into its skull, silencing the screeching abomination.

“I think that did it. Let’s keep moving, who knows how many more of them there are.” Tav called Lunari back to her side and kept running. Suddenly, her furry companion caught the scent of something and ran up ahead of them.

“What is it, girl?” Tav called out to her.

She followed Lunari…directly into the clearing that made up their camp. Halsin waved at her from the other side.

“Friends.” Lunari turned her head with her tongue lolled out in a happy pant. She ran up to Scratch as the two of them started their usual zooming around the camp.

“Well fuck.” Tav threw her hands up in the air with an exasperated sigh. They had gotten so turned around in their running that they ended up back at camp.

“Nice to see you too, Tav.” Astarion pouted.

“What? No, not that. We went in circles.” She pinched the bridge of her nose before turning around to make sure everyone had followed her in. All her companions were accounted for, thank the gods.

“Gods this place is a fucking maze.” Karlach threw herself onto the ground to catch her breath.

Halsin made his way across the camp to greet them. Tav smiled as he reached her side.

“You all look like you’ve had a terrible fright. Is everyone okay?” He looked her up and down, watching for signs of injury.

“I think so, Wyll took a bad swipe from some hooked creature, but Shadowheart took care of it. I think the rest of us are fine.” She tried to turn her head to check over the others as she waved a dismissive hand but winced. Before she could turn back around, Halsin caught her head gently with one of his hands.

“Wait, what’s this on your neck?” His fingers ran down the side of her neck along a small slash. The touch caused her breath to catch.

“Oh, one of those creatures grazed me. It’s just a scratch. I didn’t have time to stop and heal it.” She still felt winded from their long dash across the Underdark and Halsin’s touches weren’t helping her recover her breath.

“No worries, I’m happy to do it for you.” He beamed as he waited for her permission. She nodded and not a moment later felt the soothing spell take the sting out of her wound.

“Better?”

“Better.” She agreed. Halsin left his hand resting on her cheek.

“Uh, Halsin?” Gale’s voice called out behind her. “Some healing? For a wizard in need? If it’s not too much trouble.”

When Tav turned around she saw Gale pressing a hand to his very bloodied temple and leaning against Wyll.

When did that happen?!

“Gale! Of course!” Halsin jumped over to him, startled by the sight. “Apologies, my friend.”

“Ha! Gods does he have it bad.” Astarion had appeared at Tav’s side, startling a small yelp out of her.

Damn, he can be quiet when he wants to be.

“Astarion! Looks like you’re feeling better.” She patted him on the shoulder a couple of times.

“Oh, it was nothing.” He waved her off with a chuckle but brought his hand back down to tug at the strings on his shirt.

“Well, I’m glad to see you up and about. You had me a little worried this morning.”

“Yes, erm, about that…” He cleared his throat as he trailed off and continued tugging at his shirt. “Thank you. For sitting with me. It was…nice.” He looked everywhere but her eyes as he said the words.

“Anytime. Just do me a favor, will you?” She noticed his eyes fell to the ground before briefly shifting to Halsin, then back to her.

“Of course, darling. Your wish is my command.” He gave her a teasing bow.

“Don’t go wandering off on your own like that too often? I’d feel awful if something happened to you because you were alone. Or at least let someone know where you’re going, yeah? I’d be happy to help you hunt if you wanted.”

“Oh.” Astarion stammered a bit before speaking again. “Y-yes I suppose I can do that.”

“Thanks, love.” Tav tucked one of his unruly curls back into place before joining the others again.

Gale looked to be all healed up, the blood on his head had stopped running. Everyone else was kneeling or sitting as they worked to catch their breath after their lengthy sprint.

“Maybe we could try making our way to the beach the sovereign told us about if we start back at the myconid colony.”

Groans rang from everyone around her.

“Fine…let’s get a move on then.” Karlach grunted as she pulled herself up off the ground.

“Perhaps I could join you? I noticed a couple of merchants and I’d like to peruse their wares for any useful ingredients.” Halsin leaned over to grab his small pack from his seat by the fire.

“Of course!” Tav shouted way too fast. Karlach and Astarion’s sputtering laughs earned a glare from her.

“Wonderful. Lead on, my friend.” Halsin’s comforting hand found her shoulder as she led them out of camp again.

#bg3 #bg3 fanfiction #baldur's gate 3 #baldur's gate iii #bg3 halsin #halsin silverbough #halsin x tav #halsin fanfic #bg3 fluff #halsin fluff

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thesummerstorms · 19 days ago

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So the Apollo kids would have had a pretty massive burden during the Second Titanomachy.

Ares kids are typically your front line fighters, Athena kids are most often your strategists, Hermes kids are likely your scouts and saboteurs and thieves, Hephaestus kids are mostly going to be your weapon smiths. All of those are crucial to a war effort, even if not every member of the cabin proves skilled in that specific aspect of their parent's domains.

But Apollo kids have a really, really crucial triple whammy: prophecy, archery, and healing. (And pity the poor Apollo kid who mostly got musical or poetic talent, or a talent for sussing out truth and logic, but is now forced to step up and fill those shoes!)

Prophecy is probably the least prominent; we don't see any Apollo kids blessed with prophetic gifts beyond the normal demigod dreams that I can remember, but maybe they're off screen or maybe instead they're really good at helping other Campers interpret those prophetic nightmares. Even if that's not true, the potential of an Apollo kid being able to glean crucial information via prophecy is probably enough of a threat to put a target on their backs.

But that's not all! They also have archery, aka the Camp's best supply of ranged fighters/ranged support, and medicine, on which a war can be lost or won. Monsters regenerate, but humans don't. If you don't have medics to treat your injured and dying, you're going to run out of forces.

The thing is, I don't think logically it makes sense for them to be the only ones practicing medicine and archery in Camp. A lot of the time it's easier to keep things simple and make any archer or healer an Apollo character. But not all of his kids are going to be good at archery or healing! Or one of those might be their secondary talent, in the way Will is a poorer archer than his siblings but the best of the healers.

According to Wikipedia, Apollo's domains included oracles/prophecy, healing, archery, music, dancing, poetry, light, the sun, knowledge, law, herds and flocks, and protection of the young, and the protection of public streets/places. Even if he had the most children other than the Hermes cabin, you still are potentially going to see a very WIDE range of talents! Someone is probably going to be good at dance and music and debating technicalities and barely passible at first aid.

And even aside from that, they absolutely still needed archers and medics for the war against Gaia... But by that point the Cabin was down to just Will, Austin, and Kayla.

Luckily most of the direct conflict was constrained to just the final Battle of Half-Blood Hill. (Ignoring any individual skirmishes that might have happened between individual demigods and monsters, particularly during the time Thanatos was chained.) But even in the planning stage having one medic, one archer, and a third person who might be a medic or an archer or split between both or neither and that being the support for the whole camp makes no tactical sense.

I feel like even if Apollo kids are the best at archery or medicine when that's where their talent/focus is, they must be supplemented by other campers who either have trained in that skill or whose parents domain can overlap with it in some small way.

Miranda Gardiner who trains in archery rather than blades because she feels at home in the trees or growing vines to climb in order to find higher ground.

Jake Mason who trains in archery because his hands are too important to his work to risk being the one swinging the close range weapons rather than swinging them. (He also makes really good bows.)

A Demeter kid who grew up hunting and foraging and now finds they have a knack for herbal medicine beyond what a mortal could accomplish. No, they aren't going to be performing emergency surgery, but they're good at helping manage the chills and colds and fevers that come when a bunch of children are crammed together in close quarters.

An Aphrodite kid whose skill at reading emotions allows them to calm distressed patients, whose empathy leads them to want to help, and whose dedicated practice gives them steady hands while they stitch the wounds that can't or shouldn't be healed with nectar and ambrosia.

You can apply this to other demigods and domains too! A child of Athena who's interested in the intersection of textiles, armor, and battle strategy and works extensively in workshops with the Hephaestus kids. An Ares kid who speaks with command and instills courage and is often pulled into the Athena strategy meetings so they can relay the plan in a more effective or inspiring way.

Just in general, I think in order to make it through two wars (three? Are we counting TOA as a war?? The Romans did get hit hard) the Camp probably has to be a little less specialized and more integrated than it might seem at first glance, even if you still have your "stereotypical" examples of the children of a specific god.

#pjo #percy jackson #camp half blood #Percy Jackson and the Olympians #apollo pjo #apollo cabin

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