#but i figured out the landing and got some crit and it turned out really nice ORZ…i was trying to really limit the amount of unique frames

[quirinah]

ike-don dash!!

[felikatze]

Feli's Binding Blade Blind Faux Ironman is COMPLETE

and by "faux" i mean there were cases i didn't deliberatley reset but instead ragequit and i also just restarted chapters when roy beefed it because i'm a pussy

anyway.

SURVIVAL RANK E BABEYYYYYYYYYY

out of all of the dead. i have one burning question

how the fuck did lalum survive chapter 21

she got surrounded by wyverns but they just didnt attack her. was it bcuz their hit rate was 0? but enemies love attacking lugh when they have a hitrate of 0. good for her ig, you go girl, live!!

LET US THANK THE MAN, THE MYTH, THE LEGEND:

ALLEN!!! With maxed out attack, incredible defense, high speed and skill, as well acess to the full weapon triangle and amazing HP, Allen is the unit with the most battles, the most kills, and the singlehanded savior of this shitshow of a challenge run.

Without him, I'd be dead many times over. He had higher stats than Perceval when I recruited him in ch15, and this trend kept up because Perceval's level ups were garbage.

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

LUGH!! The best mage of this run. He maxed his speed INCREDIBLY fast, and became basically unhittable to everything. Place him on a forest tile, and the hit rate is zero. His high speed, 1-2 weapon range, and high magic also meant he blasted everything into oblivion on counterattack. In chapter 21, he held off half the wyvern reinforcements all by himself cuz none of them could touch him. Get Aircalibur'd, idiot.

ZEISS!! My only decent flyer because Shanna is the only pegasus i recruited! Instead of promo'ing instantly as I did Melady (much to my regret cuz she was not useful except for ferrying), I threw Allen at Narcian's runesword till it broke, and got him to lv16 before promoting. Though not as busted as the former two, he still held his own. With a Shield of Delphi stolen off Narcian, he had really damn good defense. Though there were many occasions he only survived because a 60% attack missed. You are one lucky bastard.

PERCEVAL!!! After the death of Noah and Jerrot, Perceval's recruitment was a light on the horizon. Finally I had another good paladin, even if it took Noah's sacrifice to figure out you recruit him with Lalum. Though he wasn't as good as Allen, he still held his own in every situation, and even landed the killing blow on Zephiel with Mallet. Thank you king.

SUE!!!! Rounding out the unbeatable death squad, Sue was the sole living archer for a GOOD chunk of the game. When Wolt died and later Shin, she was the one to snipe foes, to slay wyverns in a heartbeat, and land some sick crits with a Killer Bow. Not a solo destroyer like her companions, she was nonetheless an invaluable asset.

it was this squad of five that carried my ass through every map, with support from various healers (mainly Saul and Celica, later joined by Raigh, Niime and Lugh himself). Whittling down bosses, holding off hordes of enemies, somehow preventing Lalum from dying five times over, and finally taking the throne; I thank ye, my scrimblos.

now it is time. to honor the fallen.

unlike lalum, these two did not survive same turn wyvern reinforcements <3

just like him. but he was dead weight anyway so

i dont even remember how these two beefed it. i DO remember recruiting perceval in ch15 and then noah died and going eh. i have perceval now its fine. OH YEAH CH18 WAS THE SACAE MAP RIGHT? lot got skewered by archers

classic case of "i put too much faith in her def stat" with echidna. fir got crit to death in retribution for killing rutger back in ch9

honestly if you give me a lv1 shaman in a fog of war map with wyverns how was she supposed to live

Shin tragically died escorting Astore to some treasure as i camped the boss because of sudden reinforcements <3 Astore survived because i seized in time <3 jerrot died of old age ig

fog of war casualties <3 again rutger got crit by fir and lilina was killed by Suddenly Pirates

alas tumblr mobile's image cap.

Deke: died tragically to a crit in ch8. first loss i was truly upset by. deke my man.

Wolt: died to archers in ch7. i think. i had Sue so whatever

Elen: beefed it in ch12 but she was obsolete when Lugh promoted anyway

Wade: killed in ch3. First death of the run. I was very whatever about it.

FINAL DEATH COUNT: 16

This is without units who died of non-recruitment, such as Gonzales, Klein, and many others.

SURVIVAL RANK: E

conclusion: god i had a ton of fun with this game, even when it threw some garbage at me. The many same turn reinforcements, the fog of war maps, the sheer size of every single chapter, and Horse Emblem. The atrocious hitrates on everything and everyone, enemy and ally alike.

I definetly played too conservatively in the beginning. Yeah, i treated units like they were more expendable, but i did NOT use all my good items, which is a huge mistake in retrospect. What really taught me this was that one Sacae map with two Bolting mages camping in the walls, who sniped Roy. I came back, equipped with my own Bolting and a Silence staff, readily prepared. Revenge was glorious.

I obviously didn't get the true ending, with how many plot important characters died. My only legendary weapon, besides the ones Yoder yeets at you (thank you for the Mallet, Zephiel would've taken five years otherwise), was Durandal. I got none of the other ones, either cuz I missed turn counts or had dead required units. I'll for sure go back and try again, this time while looking shit up.

I very notably played this entirely blind. I didn't know shit. That's how me recruiting Perceval is a fucking miracle, cuz his goons surrounded Lalum, and I thought, goddamn, let's try it. Twas sheer coincidence.

This was my first brush truly experiencing the permadeath mechanic. Yeah, i played SoV on classic, but with Mila's Timewheel? Nobody ever died. It was really fun to just revel in my mistakes. I reset more often toward the endgame (ch22 took me a couple attempts), but it was still a great experience to just. Take the loss and move on. To think, what now? But, well, Lugh and Allen were unkillable anyway.

Well, no, actually, they very much were. Even though they were my juggernauts, it's not to the degree of later FE games. Lugh sweeping is definetly not comparable to say, Dimitri in FE3H, or Morgan in Awakening. No matter how good they were, I still had to pay attention to keep them alive. It was a fun tightrope to walk.

All in all, great game! I'm really glad I gave it a try! I didn't talk story much, cuz, yknow, it's pretty basic, but I did like it. Zephiel's backstory and the mystery surrounding the dragons were done well enough.

TL;DR: Roy is our boy.

[crystalelemental]

Who wants to make some bets on Summer alts?

May feels guaranteed at this point.  The Master Fair rerun has predicted things twice running, and Irida in lodge means the Hoenn focus has to include super popular options already in, and Steven already has a Summer alt.  It’s basically hard confirmed for May.  I’m guessing Jirachi on the grounds of summer festivals and wishes.  I think everyone is.  What I’d like to see is another attempt at a two-turn move focus.  See, I think I figured out the rotation for two-turn moves.  Boost, other attack, queue up, let your Support EX sync before the move lands.  Problem: that’s basically impossible without Head Start.  Solution: Advance Preparation to speed up access as it takes up the posture, allowing your support to take sync so long as she acts last in a rotation, then obliterating sides.  Without a beneficial effect, this should be stronger than Kyurem-B’s move.  Thunder Wave is chosen for the Gauntlet utility, and a generally easy condition for sync that’s easily applied from other sources, like Colress or Classic Elesa.  I figure the 3/5 grid will have Go Viral.  Wish is an odd one, but I wanted something emphasizing bulk, and initially had this set to be a Buddy move before realizing...seasonals have yet to be given Buddy moves.  I don’t know if they count.  So I avoided it for the sake of keeping pace.  May’s function is to be a tanky 2-turn attacking bruiser with some healing potential for the team, and a dramatic sync finisher that actually works, N.

Lillie is my other guess.  Like, if we’re looking for super popular, in Lodge, and is due for an alt, it’s been over a year since the last outfit Lillie.  Almost a year since Lodge.  She’s like the perfect candidate.  And DeNA loves to cluster its new Pokemon in a type it’s focused on, so Ice is likely to get a bit more.  I think what it really needs is support.  Look, not that Glacia and Melony don’t get the job done, but we need a support that works without reliance on sleep chaining and nothing else, and without Irida’s presence.  Summer Lillie and Alolan Ninetales (the pair maker wouldn’t let me add an image and doesn’t have alolan forms, which is great) are an attempt at that, mimicking Ingo’s style of offense and Pep Rally as a natural passive.  I opted to give everyone immunity to Hail, because come on, and Hail on entry to speed things up a bit.  That last one might be a bit much, but considering Morty got it on grid expansion and seasonals don’t get those, we’re adding it.  The main focus here is that I want application of weather on command, and Potion for healing.  I also want to emphasize boosting both offenses and crit, albeit a little slowly.  This is because all Ice-type damage dealers suck ass.  Oh my god they’re so bad.  Lorelei and Wulfric may as well not have self-boosting.  Hell, even with this, Lorelei isn’t getting enough because she needs defense.  Like come on.  They’re all garbage and need maximal help, that’s why Lillie’s here.  If I weren’t sleepy and it weren’t 9pm, I’d probably put a bit more thought into specializing her to certain pairs, but I am tired and don’t wanna, so this is what we get.

[ayuki-ikuya]

Dislyte oc's brain rotting AKA brain dead

OKAY so i've been making some oc's abilities and such (including stats) and I wanted to share them with ya'll HOWEVER, if you plan to use the abilities or borrow the idea, please credit me.

Sponsor

Osiris

Reason for Sponsoring

With the hand of death and life, the god blessed the embalmer with his abilities to breath life and take death with their artistic hands.

Role

Support [Shimmer]

HP

[LV. 1] 5,241 -> [LV. 60] 17,926

ATK

[LV. 1] 324 -> [LV. 60] 512

DEF

[LV. 1] 439 -> [LV. 60] 643

SPD

95

C. RATE

10%

C. DMG

150%

ACC

0%

RESIST

20%

Normal Attack

Throws a scalpel towards the enemy, if landing a crit hit, it has the chance for the enemy to gain [Bleed]. The debuff will remain there until healed.

[Bleed] - Cause the enemy to lose 5% HP on their turn.

Skill

[PASSIVE]

When a teammate is revived, they're HP will be at 50% of their max HP.

Ascension 3;

When a teammate is revived, they're HP will be at 50% of their max HP and will gain Invincibility for 1 turn.

Special

[Can only be used if there is a teammate who has died.]

Resurrect a fallen teammate upon your turn. The Special will be automatically used on the Embalmer once, but the fallen teammates can be revived up to 2 times.

FOR FURTHER DETAILS ABOUT THIS ESPER:

Osiris is the Egyptian god of life and death. I kind of got the Embalmer idea from Aesop Carl from Identity V, mainly because Embalmers are the couriers of death.

So the Embalmer I'm imagining as an esper, doesn't really wear flashy or gaudy looking clothing. I do want to say they wear mostly dark colors, and is more into grunge. I definitely see the Embalmer being mostly quiet as well, but they got a reeeaaallly nice voice. Plus I think they'd be pretty androgyness, but leans towards feminine because they work with makeup.

Even before becoming an Esper, their occupation is that of an embalmer.

I can definitely say that this esper is fairly attractive as well.

So for the voice lines and animations

First animation: ".. Today is not a good day..." For their movements upon seeing them when checking on your espers, the Embalmer walks into view with a large makeup case following behind her with the help of the shadows that follow her figure. Once standing, the case will be set down and the shadows will open the makeup kit for them.

Tap/Arena/Idle animation: "People are despicable, Socialising is a drain and having to work 24/7 is my worst nightmare." The Embalmer will summon a coffin in which in it contains a doll that looks like a simple doll, caressing the dolls face before slamming the coffin shut.

Special Move animation (fallen teammate): "Hello poppet.. You still have work to do.." a coffin is summoned and the kit is opened revealing makeup and 8 sets of bandages. The Embalmer will apply makeup before wrapping the doll in the bandages, close it shut and set the coffin back into the earth after setting a single lotus blossom on top. The teammate will be revived at the end.

Special move animation (Fallen Embalmer): "I still..haven't gotten my pay yet." A coffin will rise and the embalmer will reveal themselves before rising up from the coffin and stepping out of it with the scalpel in hand.

Victory animation: "I'm heading home.. I expect my pay checn in the mail." Shows the embalmer walking off and waving her hand behind her with the makeup case following behind them.

AND THERE WE HAVE IT. SOCIALLY AWKWARD AND INTROVERTED EMBALMER WHO WANTS THEIR MONEYS WORTH.

I wanna say that they'd be a Legend [5 star] since they are a serious revival based character. And NGL, I'd invest in them.

[lordfrezon]

Guess what losers??? We’re back with more of The Imperium of Man Lands on Mata Nui!

Last episode here https://lordfrezon.tumblr.com/post/687661607423295488/on-todays-episode-of-the-imperium-of-man-finds

Our session begins with the party opening the door to the CPU, without a plan. They’re really good at that.

Velika is there, at a console, doesn’t do anything to them. He’s got two spider bots with guns stolen from the party and the bodies of the two Glatorian are laid out.  They don’t come up again.

Emilia, the Ad Mech tech lady, uses her mask of illusions to camouflage herself to sneak up on Velika and his boys, the boys don’t notice, Velika doesn’t care.

She figures out how to turn off the spiders, but figures they might shoot Velika if he starts looking not like a little brown matoran, so she uses her mask to make him look like one of her party members

He is not amused and deactivates the spider robots and their guns, starts being an asshole.  He’s good at that.

Treytor, the medic/lesbian (it’s their class, trust me), turns off her electrowhip so Velika can’t see them coming, and tries to sneak up on him.

Velika gives Emilia the guns back, tells her to fuck off, Treytor gets the drop on Velika but a spiderbot sees them and sounds the alarm.

Emilia tries to shoot Velika, is surprised to find he gave her a not-active gun, the spider bots jump Treytor and pin them down, Oswald, the guardsman/toa, watches his incompetent teammates.

Trained inquisitorial strike team, everyone.

Treytor tries to rile Velika up by calling him an idiot and a weakling and not a real god, he gets pissed and goes to slap her... as according to plan!  But they fail to stab Velika with the Knife of Saving Things for Later, aka a knife connected to a Tesseract Vault.  Velika recaulculates some stuff.

He admits that he doesn’t care about them, that he’s the reason Makuta are rogue, and that there’s a Great Being on board their Inquisition voidship.

Emilia comes to the correct conclusion it’s her boss’s boss’s boss, the Lord Dogma Magna Esse

Magna Esse means great being in latin.  I was very subtle.

Velika tells them to fuck off again, admits he can’t solve the problem on his own but is fine with them doing whatever, and uses the Olmak he stole to leave

The party fucks off from the CPU

They head back through the archives to find the Suva again, Oswald feels someone shadowing them, using kanohi and psyker powers Treytor and Emilia respectively notice something in the walls, following them

They realize that something is in the Suva room too.

There’s a brief standoff, but everything goes smoothly, the figure introduces herself as Toa Tuyet, hooks herself up the Suva, gets a phone that’s also a tracker from the party, and mentions that the Order of Mata Nui arrested her.  The party considers killing her three separate times.

Mostly because she had an Olmak and they wanted that for their buddy Brutaka (Velika stole his)

They leave the archives, call their bosses Helrynx and Interrogator Alice, both are surprised they’re alive, have some long term jobs but nothing pressing.

They head to go check on Miserix, who is currently trying to blow a hole to Teridax’s lair, but being blocked by a giant indestructible wall.

They head to Turaga Dume to ask him if there are any ways to Mangaia that don’t involve going through a giant wall/door, he suggests asking Bomonga

Bomonga offers a pathway up to Mata Nui, Emilia is 100% sure it’s a Necron tomb thanks to her crit fail perception check

They head on down back into the archives with the smaller Miserix, ready to kick Teridax’s ass

[grailfinders]

Fate and Phantasms #174

Y’know what? It’s the america anniversary, and it’s FGO’s anniversary too. Let’s celebrate a bit. Here’s a build early, we’ll be back on schedule on the sixth.

Today on Fate and Phantasms we’re making the precious cinnamon bun who just wants to ruin the environment, Berserker of Learning with Manga! For this build, we’ve got three goals; grow big, grow bigger, and grow biggest. Expect spoilers with her build breakdown below the cut, and slightly fewer spoilers in her character sheet over here!

Next up: Give me a sign~ Build me Nero one more time!

Paul Bunyan is a Rune Knight fighter to grow bigger while helping her friends, a Giant Soul Sorcerer to grow bigger while stepping on stuff, and a Totem Warrior Barbarian to smash things good with Babe’s help.

Race and Background

Pauly B was made out of Udon dough, and as a result she’s a Custom Lineage, giving her +2 Strength and a size of Small. She also get proficiency with Animal Handling, and the Magic Initiate feat to pick up some spells from the wizard spell list. Shape Water is just the beginning of your settling abilities, and Thunderclap is a single step for you. You also get Find Familiar to pick up Babes.

Aside from that, you are America’s pioneering spirit made manifest, so you’re an Outlander. This gives you proficiency with Athletics and Survival.

Ability Scores

You’re a glass cannon, so make sure your Strength is as high as you can get it. After that is Charisma- you’re only here because you were so popular in the book, after all. Your Dexterity comes next so you don’t die wearing denim armor. After that is Constitution. You might be a glass cannon, but a building-sized body is still pretty hard to take down. Your Intelligence isn’t amazing, but we’re dumping Wisdom. You’re a berserker anyway, but you also came from a comedy manga. That’s going to hurt your sense of reality.

Class Levels

1. Barbarian 1: Starting out here gets you as much health as we can, as well as proficiency with Strength and Constitution saves and two barbarian skills. Being nine hundred feet tall helps with Intimidation, and you gotta know a bit about Nature if you’re going to tear it down as effectively as you do.

You also get Unarmored Defense, making your AC 10 + your dexterity mod + your constitution mod when you’re just wearing denim. Your Rage transforms you for a minute as a bonus action. It gives you advantage on strength based saves & checks, extra damage on strength based attacks, and resistance to standard weapon damage. When you’re big enough to drink from a great lake, swords don’t do much.

2. Barbarian 2: Second level barbs can make Reckless Attacks, getting advantage now at the cost of giving other creatures advantage against you. Berserkers are not well known for their defensive power, but this will make up for you using such a heavy weapon while small.

That being said, Danger Sense gives you advantage on dexterity saves against effects you see coming. When you can step across the entire battle map in one go, fireballs are easy to avoid.

3. Fighter 1: First level fighters start things off right with a Fighting Style, and grabbing the superior technique style to make one Trip Attack per short rest is a great way to have enemies shouting timber.

You also get a Second Wind, letting you hang out and eat some beans as a bonus action, healing you 1d10+your fighter level HP.

4. Fighter 2: Second level fighters get an Action Surge to help you perform supernatural feats in a single turn. Now you can add on an extra action to your turn once per short rest.

5. Fighter 3: Our last level of fighter unlocks your martial archetype, the Rune Knight! The big reason we’re here is for Giant Might, spending a bonus action to grow Large, also giving you advantage on strength checks and saves, and you also deal extra damage once per turn while attacking. You can transform this way Proficiency times per long rest.

You can also carve Runes into weapons, armor, and jewelry. You get two runes, and can carve them into one item each at the end of a long rest. The Frost rune gives its wearer advantage on Animal Handling and Intimidation checks. The Fire rune doubles the wearer’s proficiency bonus with tools. Once per short rest per rune, they can also be invoked for extra power. The frost rune gives its wearer +2 on all strength and constitution saves and checks, while the fire rune forces a strength save against being restrained by fiery shackles, dealing damage each turn and restraining the target, when you hit it with a weapon attack. The DC for that save is 8 + proficiency + constitution.

6. Sorcerer 1: We might be done with fighter, but we’re not done multiclassing! First level sorcerers get Spells they can cast using their charisma. Thanks to an old unearthed arcana, you can be a Giant Soul sorcerer , granting you Jotun Resilience for slightly more HP; 1 extra per sorcerer level. The Mark of the Ordning also grants you extra low-level spells, like Heroism and Shillelagh. Neither of those are really useful to you, but they’re free, and not why we’re here.

For spells that are in character, grab Mold Earth, Create Bonfire, and Light to spruce up the wilderness and make it your own. You can also use True Strike to chop down trees, but that’s dumb, just make two attacks. For first level spells, Earth Tremor and Thunderwave are you stepping around. The former knocks people prone and makes the ground a big crater, the latter pushes them and objects away from you.

7. Sorcerer 2: This level isn’t that complicated, but you do become a Font of Magic for some Sorcery points that come in handy later. You can also cast Catapult to throw stuff around. Sadly, the maximum weight is only 5 pounds, but you can always just throw stuff yourself.

8. Sorcerer 3: Third level sorcerers get two Metamagic options to personalize your spells using sorcery points. Extended Spell will help out with a certain buff we’re getting this level, extending the length of the spell. You’re also big enough that your spell ranges should grow to match, so grab Distant Spell as well.

This level you can Hold Person, which you tend to take more literally than most casters. After the target fails a wisdom save, they’re paralyzed until they make one. While paralyzed, all attacks are made with advantage, and melee attacks are auto-crits.

Alternatively, you can use the Mark of the Ordning spell, Enlarge/Reduce to make yourself even bigger than usual. (Giant Might explicitly grows to large, so you have to start with that if you want to stack them.)

9. Barbarian 3: After spending half our build elsewhere, we can finally return to our starting class! Third level barbarians set down the Path of the Totem Warrior, letting you use your connection to Babe to pick up all sorts of goodies as we level up.

Immediately, you become a Spirit Seeker, letting you cast Beast Sense and Speak with Animals as rituals to really get into the Babe mindset.

Babe also becomes your Totem Spirit, so we’ll be taking the Elk options whenever possible. Right now, that gives you an extra 15′ of movement while raging. It’s not quite the whole nation in a step, but it’s a start.

10. Barbarian 4: At tenth level, we finally get our first Ability Score Improvement, so round up your Strength and Dexterity for better attacks and a better AC.

11. Barbarian 5: Fifth level barbarians finally get their Extra Attack each attack action, and your Fast Movement adds another 10′ to your movement speed, regardless of whether or not you’re raging.

12. Barbarian 6: Sixth level totem warriors get an Aspect of the Beast, doubling the travel pace for yourself and up to 10 companions. They can just ride on your shoulders, it’s fine.

13. Barbarian 7: Your Feral Instinct gives advantage on initiative rolls, and you can ignore being surprised if you rage at the start of the fight. Raging right away might not be the best option, but that’s for the casters to figure out. You’ve got land development to get to.

You can also use an Instinctive Pounce to move half your movement speed towards an enemy as part of your bonus action when you rage.

14. Barbarian 8: Use this ASI to bump up your Constitution for better runes and more health. You’re pretty squishy for a barbarian, but I guess that’s to be expected, considering what you’re made of.

15. Barbarian 9: Your first Brutal Critical adds an extra die to your critical damage rolls. Big kid, big axe, big damage. Simple math.

16. Barbarian 10: As a Spirit Walker, you can Commune with Nature as a ritual, summoning a cool spirit Babe to tell you stuff about the world around you.

17. Barbarian 11: Your Relentless Rage gives you a case of Guts, letting you make a DC 10 constitution save to avoid dropping to 0 HP, dropping to 1 instead if you succeed. Afterwards, the DC grows by 5, but it resets on short rests. You shouldn’t be getting guts at all, so be grateful.

18. Barbarian 12: Use your last ASI to bump up your Dexterity again for less getting hit. Healing’s nice, but avoiding the damage in the first place is way better.

19. Barbarian 13: You get another round of Brutal Criticals, for another extra die of damage on crits.

Not exactly rocket surgery, huh?

20. Barbarian 14: Your final level gives you your final barbarian goody! Your Totemic Attunement lets you move through a large or smaller creature’s space as a bonus action. It forces a strength save, or the creature is stepped on, knocking it prone and dealing damage.

Pros:

Thanks to your speed, size, and action surge, you can cover a lot of ground very quickly. With 55 feet of movement, two dashes, and an instinctive pounce, you can cover ~195 feet in a single round. Aside from that, your size gives you mobility options that aren’t available to others. Standing around 15′ tall will do that for ya.

You’ve got some solid swings with your axe, letting you deal plenty of damage in a single swing. Bring down the hammer on a natural 20 to blast through those doors. At your biggest you can deal 1d12+1d6+1d4+4 damage. That’s not a smite, but you can do this every turn while enlarge is up.

You get just enough spells to apply a lot of utility to your build, altering the landscape and messing with enemy movement to help out your team.

Cons:

Due to how we leveled up, your first ASI doesn’t come until level 10. If you roll poorly, that might be a problem.

I wouldn’t call you squishy by any means, but you do make for a big target, with your huge size and an AC of only 15 making you easy pickings even before you start getting reckless.

Most of your abilities are tied to your rage, but your biggest size is tied to your spells. They don’t play nice. Even worse, it’s a flavor fail- you can’t trample over people if you’re at your biggest size. (On a semi-related note: being big and being a barbarian have a lot of overlap. Both giant might and raging give you advantage on strength stuff, so having both up is sort of a waste.)

[mahalidael]

Those Familiar Spirits

(*sprints up to the podium* FIRST FLYNN FANFIC. sort of. if you don’t count the phantomrose96 one, but flynn doesn’t actually appear in that one so make of it what you will)

Danny was two years old when the police came to their house. He must have thought the flashing lights were fireworks; he ran outside alone to look.

He saw uniforms, a funny black and white car, and a great deal of shouting between the grown-ups. It was July, and very muggy. Flies buzzed around the police cars’ lights as Mom and Dad talked very quietly, and Aunt Alicia yelled, and the police said ma’am, please, we’re trying to help, could you just, ma’am. Ma’am.

Danny ran up to get a better look but was promptly swept up by a police officer and carried back inside as he craned his neck to hear what they were saying.

Mom went inside for a minute and made him and Jazz sit on the couch. She told them gravely, “We’re just going to talk to the nice policemen, okay? Don’t go out there.”

Danny huffed. Jazz noticed his irritation and spoke up. “Can we watch TV if we stay inside?”

“Mm-hm,” said Mom, looking out the window at the lights again, already standing up and gravitating towards them.

Jazz reached for the TV remote and hit the power button with an ease that a four year old will only exhibit when provided with sufficiently busy parents. Danny started chewing on his shirt sleeve as images flashed on the screen; they were big kid cartoons that he had no interest in.

“Mom?” said Jazz, peeking up over the back of the couch.

Mom paused in the doorway and addressed one of the policemen before turning back to Jazz. “Just a second — yeah?”

“Where’s Flynn? He likes this show.”

“Um,” said Mom.

She cleared her throat.

“That’s what the policemen are going to help us with. I’m sure he’ll be back before it’s over.”

Their cousin was not back before it was over. He wasn’t back at all, but this, like most everything else from when he was two years old, fell through Danny’s memory like it was water.

...

Jack had been wary of his sister-in-law coming over for a week. He’d also been wary when Maddie described her sister’s marriage as “getting better” and said that she was “calling off the divorce.”

Anyway, within two days of the visit Danny had gotten it into his head that his uncle’s name was Damn-It-Bob.

But the most disconcerting thing was that Jack couldn’t do much about the situation. Alicia was a notoriously private person, and considered the matter of her marriage between herself, Maddie, and Damn-It-Bob. Trying to get close enough to be allowed into that inner circle was an exercise in self-endangerment. He had tried exactly once in college, and the dislocated wrist he’d gotten out of that arm wrestling match nearly cost him his scholarship.

Getting through to Damn-It-Bob was even more frustrating. Alicia, at least, cared about Maddie’s studies. She didn’t understand them, but looked on with interest as Maddie expertly extracted a sample from the latest ghost specimen and held it up to the light for her sister to see.

Damn-It-Bob was worse than an outsider. He was a snob.

Damn-It-Bob looked like if Alicia didn’t already have a pickup truck, he’d drive a Prius, and if he ever tried tikka masala he’d brag about it. Jack had to assume that if Alicia married him, they had to have some kind of common ground, but damn if he couldn’t figure out what it was. And apparently neither could they.

He had a degree in aerospace engineering, which he constantly emphasized was a really useful science. Alicia didn’t even have to work at the logging company if she didn’t want to keep up the family business.

He tried to charm the kids with pictures of the rockets he’d designed. It worked on Danny, which, yeah, okay, he was two years old, but Jazz seemed to pick up his intentions and tried to steer Danny away. Jeez. If Jack left her alone for five minutes, she might be doing calculus when he came back.

And then there was the kid.

He didn’t even notice that he was there until the Walkers were standing in the living room. Jack had walked behind Alicia to hang up their coats and suddenly saw him standing right behind her.

The kid hadn’t said a word in the entire thirty-minute production of his family coming inside — or if he had, he hadn’t been listened to. He had this sort of rust-colored hair that stuck out in all directions, like they tied up a big ponytail on the top of his head and chopped it off instead of giving him a real haircut.

Getting closer,  Jack finally saw why the kid wasn’t talking. He had his nose buried in some book. Oh, so he was one of those, Jack thought. He hadn’t personally been a child who devoured books like a woodchipper, but Vlad had.

In any case, silent reading hour was over. “Hey, bucko!” said Jack. The kid nearly jumped out of his skin, one hand snapping the book shut like a cell phone at the end of a tense call. “Thirsty for knowledge, I see? We’ve got more down in the lab.”

He shrunk away. Alicia noticed and put a hand on his shoulder as she turned her attention away from Maddie. “—so that’s how the union settled. And you two remember Flynn, right?” she said, ruffling the kid’s hair. “We brought him to Danny’s baby shower. He was so shy back then you thought the table was set by a ghost for a solid thirty minutes.”

Maddie’s eyes landed on Flynn and lit up in recognition. “Oh, yeah! I remember. You were at least a head shorter last time we saw you.”

Flynn nodded, staring at his shoes. He hugged the book to his chest like it was a stuffed animal.

Alicia and her husband chuckled politely. “Well, you might have seen him earlier if you didn’t pull out your toys to try and find that ghost,” said her husband, less politely.

“Bob, could you please be civil?” Alicia said under her breath.

“The event was delayed by an hour and we missed our flight over a bunch of—”

“Damn it, Bob—”

“It was a poltergeist, technically,” Maddie laughed nervously, stepping between them, a note of oh lord not this again in her voice.

“Hey, kids, how about we go down to the basement and check out some cool gadgets?” Jack was itching to take Flynn and the children downstairs. He had to ditch the conversation before it went south. “Wanna see what ghost bones look like?”

Flynn actually looked like he was going to respond to that, but Damn-It-Bob cut in. “Flynn probably wouldn’t be interested in theoretical science. He likes studying useful things.”

Yeah, ectoscience was theoretical. You could tell it was bad because it was italicized.

Jack resisted the urge to get passive-aggressive right back. Not in front of the children. “There’s plenty of physical things in the lab that I’m sure Flynn’s gonna love. Every kid loves lasers. Right, Danny?” he queried his son, who was chewing on the leg of the coffee table.

Danny blew a raspberry, which he assumed was a yes. Jack managed to whisk them away before the Walkers started swearing at each other.

He put Jazz and Danny down in the little area of the lab that they’d sectioned off with a foldable plastic dog gate, where Jazz made herself busy putting all the crayons in a straight line before Danny picked them up and started scribbling on the rubber tiled floor.

“So, Flynn! We’ve got some whosits and whatsits to check out. That catches ghosts,” Jack said, pointing at the gadgets skewed across the counter like exploded, “this blasts ghosts, that catches and blasts ghosts, and this is a hot dog maker. What do you wanna see first?”

Flynn shrugged and shuffled an inch backwards.

Okay, this wasn’t going anywhere. Which was odd — they’d opened up the ops center to tourists in the past for alternate revenue, and kids always seemed to be the most excited about the gadgets.

Plan B, he guessed. “What’s that book about, anyway?” he said.

Flynn hesitantly held out the book. Jack took it. It was a big, heavy book, with a hard cover titled The Collected Jack London. Jack went to open it to a random page, but was interrupted when his leafing caused something to fall out from between the pages.

It was a flower. Flynn quickly snatched it off the floor and took his book back, scowling. “It’s sabatia geu — sabatia geutianoides,” he muttered. “It’s one of the rarest flowers in Arkansas, so I can’t pick another one.” He then very carefully flipped to another page in the book, counting the page numbers in whispers until he found the one he was looking for and slipped the flower back inside.

Ah. He could work with that. “Really? Is it the rarest one you’ve got?” he said, posing a challenge.

“Uh, I have Stern’s medlar, but just a leaf I got off the ground. They’re cruh — crit — crit-i-cal-ly endangered.”

“We’ve got some samples of a pretty rare plant ourselves.”

Flynn’s eyes lit up. “Can I see them?”

Jack took Flynn off into a side room. This room was mostly like the last, though being closed to visitors, it was far less organized. He picked Flynn up and lifted him over a heap of spare parts on the floor. “Watch your step.”

A cacophony of containers were heaped on a table in the center of the room. Only a few of them were planter pots that they’d already owned; the rest were old shoeboxes and burned-out pots and pans. They were all filled with soil. Their occupants stretched their purple-black stems towards the overhead sun lamp.

“Rosa sanguinea, also known as the Massachusetts blood blossom,” said Jack. “They were grown in the 1600s — apparently they release an anti-ghost vapor. Unfortunately, we can’t prove whether it works, since we don’t have any intact ghosts to test it on, but they’re delicious.”

“That’s so weird.” Flynn rubbed a black leaf between his fingers, as if he expected the color to come off. “Roses aren’t normally hardy enough to grow inside. And the leaves are naturally black?”

“Yep. Well, maybe. We think they were mutated by long-term exposure to ecto-energy. The biggest patch of them is around Salem, and that place is a hotspot for the natural portals to the dimension ghosts live in,” he said, pointing at the pictures of such that they’d pinned to the corkboard across the room. Jack himself couldn’t believe some of the places that they’d found natural portals in. One of the pictures on the corkboard was of a portal they’d found in a public toilet. “They’re stubborn little buggers, but only in ecto-energized soil — we had to cart the dirt in these pots all the way back from Massachusetts.”

Jack snapped his fingers.

“I’ve got an idea.” He picked up a blood blossom growing in a mason jar and handed it to Flynn. “That’s yours now. Take it back to Arkansas, and it’ll protect you from ghosts.”

“Really?” said Flynn, seemingly more awestruck by the plant itself than any properties it might’ve had. “I can have it?”

“All yours! After all, who knows when you might need it?”

...

Flynn hadn’t wanted to leave Arkansas. He hadn’t wanted to sit in Mom’s funny-smelling truck for ten-odd hours while listening to them argue about money, and ghosts, and damn it Bob, would it kill you to put the toilet paper in the holder the right way just once?

At some of the rest stops, Flynn had stood in the bathroom and stared in the mirror. The door was right behind him and Dad hadn’t left the stall yet. He could just turn around and run into the woods, so Mom and Dad would talk about something other than their horrible marriage.

Because Flynn was ten years old, and the problem that he saw was nothing as complex as an incompatibility of personality, or people growing apart. The problem he saw was that they needed to shut up about the divorce.

That was all he wanted. Something to come in and make them shut up, and make the divorce go away, and put things back where they were supposed to be.

But obviously that’s not how things work. Flynn went outside and picked dandelions that were growing at the edge of the parking lot, and he held them outside the window while they were driving so the seeds would scatter all along the road, and he still ended up visiting Uncle Jack and Aunt Maddie in New York, and Mom and Dad were still fighting over stupid stuff.

Flynn kept trying to put off the tour. He knew that Dad would hate the lab. He stuck with real things, metal and chalk numbers — never mind that one of the major points of contention was the slew of Young Living boxes sitting in their garage. A better statement was that Dad rejected any science he didn’t think he could exploit. Like, son, wildflowers are nice and all, but you know that the real money’s in saffron, right? It sells for twenty-five hundred a pop and it’s not getting any cheaper. Just think about it, son.

“ —converts ectoplasm into a power source.” Aunt Maddie was showing them something embedded in the lab wall. Flynn didn’t really like ectoscience either, but that was mostly because the topic freaked him out. He didn’t like when his friends played that pencil game that let you talk to ghosts, much less when his uncle talked about ripping them apart mmmolecule by mmmolecule.

It just felt kind of rude. They were people, at some point. Everyone knew a dead person.

“Quaint,” said Dad, turning over the hot dog maker he had found on the counter. “Very quaint.” It was his usual word of condemnation. “What’s that hole in the wall?”

It was barely a hole. Not so much because of size, but because it was so badly occupied by a tangle of wire that actually entering it would be impossible. Aunt Maddie said: “Our prototype for a stable portal into the ghost zone.” Dad scoffed, but she smiled tightly and ignored it. “With a reliable and stationary portal, we can collect data faster.”

“And it took you ten years to think of that?”

“Bob, if you don’t want to see it, you can just wait in the guest room,” said Mom, rubbing her temples.

“No, it’s fine, Alicia.” Aunt Maddie sighed. “We’ve been thinking of it. It just took this long to make sure building a portal large enough for a human to enter would be safe. A few years ago, a friend of ours was injured by one that wasn’t any bigger than a car tire — precautions needed to be taken—”

Dad put up his hand in a ‘halt’ gesture. “So, wait. You know that those things can hurt people, and yet you build a big one in your basement, and let your kids in here ?”

“They’re at a safe distance — they’re not even on the same side of the lab,” said Aunt Maddie, eyes narrow.

“Oh, thank goodness you let your toddlers play some paces away from a potential biohazard! ” Dad threw up his hands in fake relief. “I guess that makes it okay, then!”

Aunt Maddie looked like she was gearing up to shout. But she glanced at her kids in their little corner hutch, and seemed to think better of it. “Look, Bob, I — help me understand. Five minutes ago you were calling ghosts ‘fairy tales,’ and now you’re getting on about potentially endangering my children with something that, by your own logic, shouldn’t do anything. What’s your real problem?”

“My ‘real problem’ is that, ghosts or not — and there are certainly not — the fact that someone got hurt at all tells me that you’re tampering with something that you don’t understand—”

“Bob, that’s enough —”

Seed dispersion was one of the fundamental adaptations of the plant world. A seed that dropped straight down from its parent plant was a dead seed. It wouldn’t be able to access sufficient nutrition, water, or light so close.

Mom exiled him and Dad from the lab so she could have a good talk with Aunt Maddie. Uncle Jack awkwardly let them sit on the couch and watch NCIS with him.

“I just think that pseudoscience has no place in being the primary income for a family,” said Dad.

Uncle Jack nodded with a poorly disguised grimace.

“Anyway, have you heard that lavender has anti-autism properties?”

Uncle Jack suddenly excused himself to go to the bathroom. Luckily, Dad seemed to think that the distant laughter was coming from the TV.

Dandelions had a nasty taxonomy. They were wind-dispersed, able to fly up to sixty miles away from their parent plant, where they isolated and readily speciated. This was a large part of the reason why Flynn couldn’t appreciate them without every adult in an eighty-mile radius screaming it’s a weed!

By Sunday, Mom and Dad couldn’t be in the same room together without shouting.

By Wednesday, they wouldn’t speak to each other at all.

By Saturday, they started calling the divorce lawyer again.

That night before they went back to Arkansas, Flynn slept on his aunt and uncle’s couch. He could hear Mom and Dad talking in the guest room above. At indoor voice levels. He didn’t know whether that was good or bad.

The potted blood blossom sat on the end table atop Jack London.

He was woken up at two in the morning when something spritzed him in the face like he was a cat. Flynn squinted in the darkness for what it could be and was immediately spritzed again. He wiped the spray off his face and jolted at the sight of a red smear on his wrist.

A faint hiss was coming from the end table. Flynn watched as the blood blossom emitted a quiet red steam into the air.

He looked around the room nervously. Then he looked out the front window.

At the very end of the street, between the buildings, there was a faint green glow that looked very much like Uncle Jack’s pictures.

Well, of course dandelions were weeds. When something survived too well, humans inevitably got all up in their business, trying to trammel them in. It was a weed because it didn’t cooperate with that.

Flynn didn’t need to pack his bag; he had already loaded everything from the trip back in, but he added some more anyway. He got a knife, a frying pan, and a BIC lighter out of the kitchen. And of course, he took his book and the blood blossom.

Then he walked out the front door for the last time.

It was a muggy July night, and all the lights in the windows were out. The streetlamps pooled in the road. The green light creeped into the alleyway on tiptoe.

Flynn stood before a hole in the world and found himself alone. The hole didn’t appear to properly occupy the alley. It looked like a bad photoshop in person. Just standing a foot away from it, he could feel the static electricity. It felt like it was ruffling his hair in a gesture of approval.

There was a deep hum that might have been the portal, or the flies buzzing around it, or Flynn’s heart getting ready to tear itself from his chest in excitement or fear. He did not know which.

The blood blossom was beginning to overflow its mason jar with red condensation. Flynn poured it out onto the ground. It mixed with the dank puddles in the mundane depressions of the concrete that, absurdly, continued to exist in the presence of something so otherworldly.

Flynn reached through the portal. It felt like cold water — strange, but not icy enough to be unpleasant.

This was what he needed. Something he didn’t know, somewhere his parents couldn’t find him. He could find shelter with those familiar spirits for a little while, and his blood blossom would protect him as his parents looked for him, and then he would come back and they would be so happy and angry to see him that they wouldn’t talk about the divorce again for another year at least, and it would be nice, and it would just be so nice, it would just be so nice when he got back.

And then the light consumed his vision.

...

Twelve years later.

“Jazz? Did you just come through the portal?” Danny squinted at the readout on the specter speeder — the constant green light of the ghost zone made it hard to read at times.

“No?” she said over the speeder’s radio. “I’m still in the lab, why?”

“Because the radar’s picking up signs of life.”

[planesofduality]

Full Transcript edition:

“The Story Behind Solas with Dragon Age Lead Writer Patrick Weekes” by Dialogue Wheel/Video Game Sophistry

Reblog of one of my first posts ever. I didn’t understand how tumblr worked back then really, and long story short, I split the transcript of this interview  into 3 parts :) I’d probably do things differently now. Reblogging it as a single transcript for my own convenience, as I still refer to some of the things Weekes said here from time to time!

Interview is from before Trespasser DLC; posted to YouTube 12/20/2019 

Note: pseudo-reblog

“Interview with lead writer for Dragon Age Patrick Weekes years ago about how the enigmatic character Solas was created, here is what that magic elf could have up his sleeve for us in Dragon Age 4.” Not my interview, just wrote transcript of questions and answers for reference. 

Full video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aFx1nCdZFjw&t=1s

Time: 2:54

Solas, tell us about little old Solas. Talking about your other characters you created we always start at the beginning. Pen to paper - How did the idea of Solas first start? What was that first iteration?

So actually Dave and Mike both, you know, we - everyone knew who Solas was - everyone knew what the ending was going to be with him. And, you know, Dave and Mike said, “Well Dave is writing a ton of the crit path, the main part of the game. Dave really wants to do Dorian, that’s very important to him, and are you comfortable writing this guy? Are you comfortable writing someone who is going to be, in some respects, deceiving the Inquisitor for the entirety of the game?” And, honestly, how do you turn that down?

Time: 4:02

So really it was that simple then - from there, in the way you described it, they already had some ideas and some concepts about what Solas needed to bring?

Oh, yeah. Originally, one of the most difficult parts of writing him - and, you know, I said Iron Bull was the one closest to how I originally planned him - Solas and Cole are probably tied for least like how I originally wrote them. And, really, it was getting past the secret. It was getting past Fen’Harel.

Iron Bull: badass former spy, the opposite of Sten.

Blackwall: awesome Grey Warden who is not actually a Grey Warden.

Solas: He’s Fen’Harel…

Okay, can he tell you he’s Fen’Harel? No.

Okay, well what are we going to talk about?

[Pretending to be Solas:] “Hey Inquisitor, I’m still not Fen’Harel, do you have any questions?”,  “I will not take any questions about whether I am Fen’Harel.” That was the big stumbling block of writing him.

I remember the first draft… the first draft all we talked about was elves. It was elves all the time. Every conversation went “Elves, elves… Elves were awesome back in the old days.. Everything was great with the elves.” And then you’d go, “You really like elves huh?” “No, shut up - I’m not Fen’Harel.” And we all kind of looked at that and went, that’s not really much of a character hook. You cannot have a character hook built on something that you only reveal after the play has watched the credits. That is how we got to Fade expert. That is something where, if something had gone terribly wrong, if we were six months from shipped and we decided not to do anything with elves in the future, we could have taken the Dread Wolf out of the equation entirely and a mage named Solas who loves the Fade, is an apostate but without all of the fear and anger that you think of when you think of an apostate, but is just this guy who wants to travel through dreams and find mysteries and explore… that was a good enough character to stand by itself. That is what it took us a couple of drafts to get to.

Time: 7:04

You mentioned the first two phases of Solas - share with us a little more of that journey, when you finally go to this character that could stand on its own. If you don’t mind, a little more of that journey- was it just those first two and now everything’s cool?

First draft was “ ‘Elves, elves’ but ‘I don’t like elves’”. Second draft was about how much to tell. I think in the next draft it was significantly closer. Anyone who looked at that draft - and, you know, I apologize to anyone who looked at that draft - but, anyone who looked at that draft you would find places where “Oh okay that’s the Solas I know and love. There he is. He likes the Fade.” That’s something that’s actually interesting. But, he lied a lot more. And it actually really weakened his character. We played it so close with both Blackwall and Solas - both characters are the liars who don’t actually lie. They will tell you almost truths. With Blackwall - he never actually flat-out says “I am a Grey Warden.” If you ask him what it’s like being a Grey Warden he will say "Well  a warden embodies this and a warden embodies that… I’ve been blessed in my travels.” You know, he never actually quite says “I’m a Warden.” With Solas it’s the same way with the hand wave of ‘in the Fade’. I would start putting ‘in the Fade’ at the end of a lot of sentences.  “Yeah turns out that all of the stuff you thought was true in history was wrong… because I saw it…. in the Fade.”

In revision 2, he lied a lot more. On the one hand it worked, on the other hand it made him less tragic, more of jerk when we got to the reveal. So that is how we got to what we made him into: this character who is intelligent, wise… Solas will think very carefully before he tells you anything and anything he tells you is exactly as much as he wants you to know. That actually led to one of the funny little game moments - one of the last things we do is add the places where characters will approve or disapprove. I think what I want Solas to approve us is you actually asking questions . He’s kind of unique in that regard -  What Solas approves us is people who are interested in finding out knowledge. Whether they are finding it out from him or they’re talking with other people, Solas wants people to explore, he wants people to find information, he wants people to learn. What he disapproves of, honestly, more than what you do, is in many ways how you do it. You can do the thing that he wants you to do, but if you do it in a knee-jerk way, Solas hates that. He wants to know that you are carefully considering your options and taking a measured approach.

Time: 12:16

When it comes the characterization of a character that you’ve already been give at least some sort of name to. We know that this character is some sort of trickster god - when you were trying to develop and make him some a stand-alone character, did you ever have to rely on what the mythos already established of this particular kind of eighth-seat god that maybe a lot people hadn’t heard a lot about?

Well, I think, like we talked about before, one of the great things about the Dragon Age universe is everything that you learn in a codex entry is something that someone else heard in a story and wrote it down somewhere and you’re reading half of the book. So the good news on that is anything we wanted to do with Fen’Harel, there was so little and what was in there was already so sketchy that we had all the freedom we needed to play with him.

That turned out to be a nice thing because I think if we had someone that was completely by-the-books, already established, their character already given, it would feel like more of a letdown to write that as a character or you would have to play against type, you’d have to do something completely different to show he wasn’t just what the stories wrote about him. And, you know, in some ways that is both liberating but also disappointing to people who might have liked  the original stories. This was a fun experience of getting to fill in some of the gaps.

The only thing I think we had to struggle against is that anyone who hears “trickster” or anyone who hears “oh, he’s chaotic and unpredictable” it feels like there is a natural urge to go to “He’s Loki in the Avengers. He’s the guy who’s gonna make large grand-standing plans.” Or, you know, “He’s the Riddler, who’s gonna leave clues to test you.” We had to get away from that: “Let’s tone that back a little bit, let’s not have him be the Jack Nicholson Joker version of the Dread Wolf.”

That’s quite a quote.

You got Dorian as a large, grandiose , extravagant figure and it would have been easy to have him go that way. It was fortunate that we had Dorian as the mage who had the larger-than-life persona already to make Solas be the quiet one.

Time: 15:21

Was there ever an instance where you were really pushed with giving some indicators to the player that Solas may have some connection to this going through the gameplay? Because you do see a lot statues of Fen’Harel. There’s many instances of where you’re discussing it, you’re traveling through those lands. Where do you walk that line, how do you walk that line, or do you just completely disregard it whatsoever?

The goal we had is we wanted the very careful players, the very sensitive players, who were playing attention and watching every scene with Solas to know that something was up and to want more answers and then go to “OH MAN” as soon as the stinger after the credits rolled. But we wanted most players to just go “Oh, okay, he’s like ‘Fade nerd.’ He’s like ‘hippie guy.’”

The other thing we wanted was everyone on their second playthrough, as soon as they talked to Solas to be like “Oh, man, he’s just saying it. He just flat-out said it right there and I missed it completely the first time!” I think we called it the “inevitable in retrospect”- or the “slap the forehead on the second playthrough” style of writing, where we wanted people to see that the most interesting thing about the trickster god is he’s not actually that great of a liar - He is almost telling you a lot of the time. And, you know, some of the tragedy is it that you never had the chance to actually ask, “Wait -are you Fen’harel?”

Time: 17:13

We talked about leaving breadcrumbs, what that meant. Now the big turn, the big scene at the ending:  How did this come about, were you really involved in that sort of process and are you happy with it?

Oh, I’m absolutely happy with it. It went through several iterations,. Mike was hugely involved. The writing was definitely done by Dave; it was a huge crit path moment. He had me give a look at the Solas voice, I think I looked at it, I don’t think I actually changed a single word in the final one.

We had versions where after the main plot it was actually going to be a full plot where you the player went and were actually present when Solas confronts Mythal. We had a part where we said, “Wow that’s too big, a lot of players are gonna miss that, we’ll make it a DLC.” So it was gonna be a separate DLC where that happened. At one point we said “No, this is too big, we actually - let’s cut it and address it next game.” So it was going to be this thing that we pushed off into some future content.

I am really happy with what we went with, because, I think, you know, for my money, that short, little Marvel-style, after-the-credits stinger is what we needed. We needed something so that everyone who was paying attention and everyone who was really invested could go “oh my god!” And go, “Okay, so, just in case you were wondering, we’re not done, we have more stories to tell, and we are confident enough in what we are doing that we are willing to throw that ball.” That stinger is essentially us throwing a football to future us, trusting that we are going to catch it. Because, you know, at the end, we had that level of confidence. We felt that we had that level of confidence, we felt we made a really good game. Dave led an amazing team of writers, and I’m really touched that he has the confidence to believe that I’ll be able to carry that on for him.

Time: 19:49

When we spoke to Dave, one of the big moments that he mentioned, was when he created kind of a long-term idea for what’s going to happen in the Dragon Age universe. And to hear him say it, he mentioned that what he originally wanted for Dragon Age: Inquisition couldn’t happen - it was far too big - it wouldn’t work. And you guys had talked about  taking that concept, finishing Inquisition somewhere in the middle of that concept arc, and then using at least an influence or something like that to affect the franchise going forward.  Speaking with you now, as someone who has taken up the reins, do you know what I’m talking about? Am I talking crazy? Where do you see it going?

Um…

Reasonably - of what you can say on this.

So here’s the last scene of the next game… (laughs). I think there’s an extent to which no plan really survives contact with the audience when it comes to video games. We look at how fans react, we look at what hit, what rang true with everyone. You know, it’s funny, having people react angrily actually isn’t as bad as having people ignore things sometimes. Having people react angrily  means they were definitely emotionally engaged, so you know you hit something there. Whereas having fans go, “I don’t know, fine, I guess, whatever” and move on means, “Okay, I don’t know if that’s what we want to go back to. We didn’t actually get anything from them there, they didn’t actually remember that later.” So that’s a phase that comes after every game we ship. We look at what hit, what missed, and where we want to go from there.

Now that said, Dave’s future plan is, I think, fantastic, epic, and heartbreaking. Our plan is to use that as our starting point. To look at where we want to go, what we want to do, and it will not be - and I, you know, Dave and I have talked about this - it will not be the story that Dave would tell if he were still here as lead writer. Because it could never be that. We can get into that when we talk about Cole a little bit, but if I tried to do that I would just be doing a bad impersonation of Dave Gaider and no one is ever going to be as good at that as Dave is. My goal going forward is to, as lead, put my own spin on that process, put my own spin on the plots going forward, on the thematic elements, while keeping those same thematic elements that we had. Because, I think, what Dave has set in motion in three games, countless DLCs and expansions, is something that can endure: The idea that no choice is ever really that easy and that the great events always stem from human-understandable motivations.

So, that is where I think where we are going to go, as vaguely as I can say.

Time: 23:30

Speaking of specifically to Solas: His continuation of the story. Adding that little “Marvel moment” at the end - what do you think that did for the crit path and the overall arc of the story that players experienced in Dragon Age: Inquisition. Do you think they would have been more satisfied if there was  a DLC or is that just us gamers complaining because we can’t get everything we want right away?

Well, I think you want to leave people wanting more. “Man I wish you guys had done more” is a better problem to have than “Man I wish you guys had done less.” So, I think, looking at it from inside the studio, we didn’t have the resources to do much more than we did. So it was never going to be the big moment right then anyway. From my perspective, the reason I’m really happy we have it is, like I said, I thought it was a vote of confidence. The team is still the Dragon Age team and it is still the writers and designers who did everything else, who made such wonderful characters and were responsible for such fantastic plots.

Time 25:10

Well, again, looking at that in its completion, it’s good to see that even a character that needed to give you a stinger in your estimation didn’t take away, I guess, from the overall story you were trying to tell.

Well, thank you. Yeah it was obviously the moment we were building toward, but again, the goal was even if we didn’t have that stringer, he was still an interesting enough character that people would have not felt cheated that he was in the party.

Time: 25:35

One of the most beautiful scenes I think in Dragon Age Inquisition is the scene that you get with Solas if you play as a female elf Inquisitor. Talk a little bit about that choice to have this romance option very, very specific. It’s race- and gender- specific. Why that scene - what that scene meant and a lot of the subtext, because it is a very rich sequence of scenes, not just one. And, I think it’s really one of the most interesting romances in the game.

I love that scene because that scene for me shows how far we’ve gone past - not the make myself irrelevant anymore - but how far we’ve gone with the digital acting. Jonathan Epp the cine-designer for that scene put it together and when you take everything that Gareth David Lloyd - the voice actor - everything he did on his lines. And just putting so much tragedy, and making it clear in every line that he wants to say more than he can. And with Jon Epp the cine-designer, just in the wordless scenes: showing the tragedy, showing the heartbreak, showing how much he does genuinely care against his better judgement, and how he finally forces himself to step away.,

You know how I said when we were talking about the Iron Bull - everything, every major moment we do, is there for a specific type of player fantasy fulfillment. And you know, not all types of fantasies are the happy ones. There’s a reason why The Phantom of the Opera was on Broadway for so many years and it’s not because it has a happy ending.

The Phantom of the Opera isn’t exactly the theme for the romance -  the razor was something closer to almost professor and student in some ways. He definitely comes across as a mentor in some ways. When he finally steps back it is him beating himself up, not you, saying “Wow what I have done here is actually really unfair to you, and you, player, at the time don’t know that I’m beating myself up because I’m actually  1000s of years old and not the person you think I am and it’s disrespectful to you for me to continue this relationship.” So it’s a very moral perspective for our ancient, quasi-evil, trickster god to come with.

Time: 28:41

And it’s amazing because it’s another instance of content that so few players would actually get an opportunity to see. When it comes to making it that specific, I guess, why was that choice made? Because usually a lot of your content - most of the Dragon Age content - it’s very easy to get really rich, wonderful characters right in your face and have those wonderful “eat-em-up” experiences, why for this one was it such a steep price to get in?

You know, I won’t lie, a lot of it came from some of our designers. Some of the women in the design department really, really loving his voice and saying, “You are absolutely fools if you do not make him romance-able in some capacity.” And, really, his story overall is - and, you know, I think we’ve only hinted at that but I think we have hinted at it enough that I can at least say this part of it - his story isn’t a happy one. His story is one, where, if you look at him and Mythal, there is clearly some grief, there is clearly some tragedy. And, adding in the option - even for players who don’t take it - on my end as a writer,  knowing that some players will have this as a star-crossed, forbidden romance, you know, it makes him more sympathetic. It’s important to me as a writer because when you’re writing about someone who, according to Flemeth, is at least somewhat responsible for the bad guy getting the magical item that he used to blow up half a mountain in the prologue, it’s important to have something in there that you can always have, as a writer, look at as your touchstone and go “This is a real person. This is someone who experiences sadness. This is someone who falls in love.” Even if he doesn’t do it with that Inquisitor on that playthrough, this is always someone who can be like that.

Time: 30:58

Where do you see a character like Solas ending up?

(Big sigh) Musical theater.

(laughs) Right when we reach those beautiful moments, Patrick!

I think that it is fantastic that people have emotionally engaged with Solas and I hope we get a chance to explore that in some future content.

Alright and that’s the most that we’re getting right now.

Time: 31:37

Oh, and here’s a little tie in: Here Lies the Abyss, the demon that spoke to Solas - what was all that about, what was that going on?

Oh yes - the demon who speaks perfect Elven!

Yes perfectly to him, and if you remember any of that - did you have anything to do with that?

Yes, Here Lies the Abyss was mine. It was a fun plot. It was a terrifyingly difficult plot, because - I’m not sure how clear this is to players that have one done one playthrough or with one import state - but your key characters throughout the events at Adamant Fortress and then the events of the Fade, it’s a customizable Hawke. Which means it could be a male Hawke or a female Hawke and within that, Hawke from Dragon Age 2 is characterized by one of three different attitudes: friendly, grim, or sarcastic. So, that’s three attitudes times two genders, that’s six different Hawkes and three different possible Grey Wardens: Alistair, Loghain, or Stroud.  So, the process of going through Adamant Fortress and then going through the Fade was a crazy juggling act of trying to keep track of “Okay, now one of these five people, these five Schrodinger’s cat quantum people, will say this line, and then another of these five Schrodinger’s cat quantum people will respond with this line.”

It’s important to remember that as we went through everything in Adamant Fortress and the Fade was taking place in that contest. There was a long period time when we were looking at that really going, “Okay, I just have to hope this actually makes sense when it’s nothing but Alistair and my sarcastic female Hawke.”

But, to actually answer your question. As I recall, the Nightmare, who as a friendly, chipper guy was basically - I do basically two types of villains: I do the villain who thinks he or she is the hero, and is misguided and has opposed goals, and is kind of tragic and tortured in that way. And then I do the mean-girl villain who says snotty high school insults.

That’s it - that’s the gambit.

Well, just about, yes. I’m looking forward to see who writes the villain in the future Dragon Age games - so get ready for either tragic pathos or really, really good high school mean-girl zingers.

As I recall, he was speaking Elven to Solas and if I remember right, he said, “Your pride is responsible for everything that has gone wrong” and I think he said “You will die alone.” And then Solas said something that translates to either “Nothing is known for certain” or “Not necessarily.”

And what does all that mean?

Well I think it’s fascinating that people are emotionally engaged, and I hope we have the chance -

It was a very asked question - it was a question that was asked a lot. Specific to that.

Oh, I’m not surprised, and I hope one day that we can tell you. But, obviously, that demon knows that Solas is hurting and Solas feels guilty about some stuff and really wanted to dig in there, and Solas was shouting back.

Literally just describing what happened (laughs). All right, so something that will clearly be talked about in other games.

TIme: 36:22

Dealing with this particular quest I really think that this was one opportunity to involve the Grey Wardens in a story, and a world, that kind of progressingly, after the first game had less and less of a need to exist - let alone in the world - but in the main characters arc. Talking to David I remember initially there was some idea for this particular mission they would just fall into the hole and be hanging out in the Deep Roads, and having out with the dwarves, so tell us a little bit about this creation.

A lot of the process of writing these large plots, like I talked about the razor, you figure out what the core concept is, you always start with a lot of things, and in most cases what you then end up having to do is cut. And if you’re not someone in the studio, talking about having to cut things sounds like you’re losing awesome content, you’re ruining what would have been clearly the best part of the plot. Inside the studio though, most cases what you’re cutting is the stuff that didn’t actually help tell the story you wanted to tell.

So yes in the original version, in a very early draft, actually this was before I was actually on the plot - this predates me - there was, yes, going into the Deep Roads, and when you fell in instead of ending up in the Fade you ended up down in the dark. And finding out what the Grey Wardens in this version of the story had been involved with the Architect from Dragon Age: Awakening. It was an interesting direction, and it was, I think, a very cool direction, but it did not help tell the story of the Inquisition. It was more a story of “Hey, if we wanted to do more with the Hero of Fereldan, here is an interesting place we could go” and it did not help tell the story of “What is the Inquisition doing?” “What is Corypheus doing?”, “How do these two organizations bounce off each other and who’s caught in the middle?” So trying to come to terms with the Grey Wardens in this game not being the protagonists, not being the group that is in the center of the action but being the group that is caught in the middle of this power struggle was something that led to us having to eventually do the re-jiggering that got us to the plot you saw.

[benmcm18]

Group 7 Independent Project!

Pre Production -

This is the second time I’m working with Group 7. It is truly an honour to be surrounded by such talented people. We have learnt from last time and we thought it would be interesting to switch up the roles. Here was what we ended up with:

Director - Jack

Cinematographer - Bonnie

Producer - Heather

Production Design - Ben

Editor - Heather

Writer - Tom

Here were also the tasks we sorted ourselves:

Write a 1-page proposal (synopsis and directors statement) - JACK (13th May)

Make the movie - Jack

Make a plan and a schedule for your work - Heather

Create a mood board (Each character) - Ben

Create a sonic world for the film (no dialogue / no voice-over) - Heather and Ben

Cut together a series of still images or sequences of footage to create a 2min film - Heather

Record some sound effects using objects you have in your room/ house - you can record on your phone. - Heather and Ben

Source and use sound effects and Atmos sound on Freesound. - Tom

Make a storyboard + animatic - Bonnie

Source footage - eg shoot, take stills, source stills, or work with stock footage from Film Supply to envision your idea - Bonnie

Shot list - Bonnie

Scriptwriting and development - Tom

Present it at the crit - receive feedback - Everyone

Write a short critical reflection on your blog. - Everyone

Songs - Everyone

As Production designer I had to create a mood board. We had discussed in meetings what aesthetic we wanted to go for and I believe we ended up with a mixture between films like “Moonrise Kingdom” and ���Fight Club”. Either way, these were two of the films I took inspiration from when working on the mood board of the film.

Additionally, I had to think of the costume for both actors. For the man I chose to instead of having major differences in the two separate costumes to instead change them subtly to give a feeling he is still grounded in reality. So that means I added the glasses, changed the tie and gave him a watch to switch up how he looked. The Imagination costume is inspired from Ewan MacGregor’s character in “Big Fish'' we wanted to give him a full blue costume originally but I realised fairly soon that that wasn’t going to happen. So I adapted and decided to use his ties as a means of stating which reality he was in. When he is in the “dream world” he has a very colourful yellow tie but when he returns to his office I believe we went with a black/red tie.

For the woman, I chose to give her a very colourful look. This was purely so she could match the imagination around her. I discussed with Bonnie about possibly putting flowers in her hair but for some reason we couldn’t find anything. In regards to the rest of her costume I gave her shades so that there would be a physical separation between the two. If he can’t make eye contact with her how is he supposed to connect.

Overall, I’m very happy with the costumes and for a first attempt I’m actually quite proud.

Finally, set design. I had recently worked on a project called “Pied” where I had to create a whole set for my actors. That was pretty much my crash course for this independent project. Using the knowledge I can gain from creating that set I tried implementing it into the office workspace and the picnic arrangement. I’m happy with it but it will honestly be down to you to decide if I did a good job. If I could mention any little “fun facts” about what I did here would be a few:

I used a ping-pong table as the walls splitting the workspace

I tried spreading the food along the picnic like a wall that separated the two of them.

There is a jar of pickles in one of the shots. I don’t know who would bring a jar of pickles to a picnic but I thought it would be funny

On the back wall of the office there is a bunch of hidden Easter eggs *HOWEVER* David’s massive head covers them up!

In regards to how the other team members did. We developed the script ideas until we landed on this one. Jack had a great idea about filming some really nice shots of food. We were actually quite a big fan of this idea. I just thought Heather’s idea would allow us to experiment more.

Tom then wrote a (very) detailed script in collaboration with Heather, Bonnie drew a genuinely fantastic storyboard (she is too hard on herself haha) and Jack prepared for the shoot. One issue that presented itself fairly soon was the fact we had two actors on set. However, our Producer (Heather) handled it like a pro and we managed to get the all clear. Overall, a very hardworking start with the promise of Bonnie doing a short animation for the storyboard. (I’m looking forward to hopefully seeing it)

Production -

The shoot day was very fun. We all arrived at 11:30am and we made our way over to the location. Originally, we had planned to film on top of a hill however, things quickly changed and Jack said there was a fantastic path to film on. I was fairly set on the hill idea (As I had imagined the scene being somewhat similar to the UP opening montage) but he said it was a better location and I trust him.

So this is where it got a bit funky. It turns out the location had been converted into a dirt road since the last time Jack had been there. This was a bit demoralising as we had carried a lot of props out but luckily we had seen a location closer to the beach that could possibly work and the rest was history. That very location near the beach ended up where we would film.

With Jack directing and myself on camera we began to make our way through the storyboard Bonnie had devised. I have to be honest there were parts where we deviated from what was on the storyboard: For example, there is a section where he falls over however it didn’t look natural so we thought of another way to film it. This was where I got a bit carried away with VFX. In the long run I’m pretty sure everyone is happy with it but I wasn’t too sure at the time.

Jack did well as a director, he worked well with David and Kady especially when it came to movements of the actors. There isn’t any dialogue in the scenes so it's mainly physical language instead of verbal. My only advice for Jack would be to do a bit more research on the project before going onto the shoot because there were parts of the shoot where actors would ask questions about their character and I wasn’t confident he knew the answer.

In regards to me, I find it very hard to create something someone else envisions because I’m used to directing and filming projects on my own. I definitely think I improved on this project and having the storyboard and detailed script was a big help. I also felt I should have been more prepared as it didn’t look very good in front of the actors with me fiddling around with the camera because I had set it up in the wrong position.

Overall, I think it was a very fun shoot and it went pretty smoothly. You're going to hit speed bumps on the way but I believe Jack and I handled them well.

Oh also, forgot to mention that I had to also record sound and label all the audio and footage for Heather (why do I almost call you Clair XD) It didn’t take as long as I expected and was actually somewhat therapeutic if you can believe haha.

Post-Production -

The post production process has been going well. We have plenty of time until the deadline and we have already got a very solid draft edit so I’m not worried. I just kind of want to get it finished.

First and foremost, Heather has been doing a fantastic job editing the video. She works efficiently, takes feedback on board and seems to me to have a very solid feel on the fundamentals of editing. Looking at the edit now, there are definite issues but nothing that can’t be solved in 10 minutes. It’s clean, fluid and most of all enjoyable to watch. I’m worried without a synopsis people might not get it but I guess you could see it as “up for interpretation” haha!

Before I talk about my role in the Post-Production process, I just want to mention who else is working on the edit as well. Bonnie is planning on adding some very small animations to the edit to give it that feeling of “not-reality” I think this is crucial because without the animation in the shots. When the man defies the laws of physics it will seem really strange. I believe Tom is doing sound, I’ve supplied them with plenty of audio from on set and am free at anytime to get more for them so it will just be down to when it is completed, I have faith that Tom will create something really special with the Sound design as he will probably blend the sound of the surrounding nature with cold office sounds. I’m excited.

Now onto the part I play. I offered to do the VFX for the film and I’m very happy with them. It’s nothing incredibly tedious to create. It’s very basic motion tracking and keyframing but I think using it in small doses works well and with it accompanied by the animation and sound it will take the film to new levels of quality.

I’m just going to talk about the final VFX shot as it was the most challenging (but fun) part to work on. First, I had to figure out how I was going to get the image of Kady onto the wall without printing her because I realised I would be able to match up the shots if I had just zoomed out from an actual image. So I went for a bit of green paper. I motioned tracked it through After Effects and then played with the colour so it matched the scene. I then added an artificial zoom in Premiere and I got the final result. Now, it is not perfect in any means. I wasn’t able to track back any further than I did so the image in the paper actually moves but with the help of Heather and the use of changing aspect ratios I think it really works. I guess we will have to see how people respond.

So that is about everything on the project. I will be back to reflect next month on the finished project. Hopefully it turns out okay. Hopefully, it doesn’t turn into a train wreck. I’m sure it won’t :)

[voidendron]

okay my turn to ramble about my thoughts on 6.2 now that I can think/type coherently lol

below the cut. 6.2 spoilers ahead (also probably swearing)

first note: I ran Echoes of Oblivion on a saboteur Bounty Hunter (Senya, Arcann, and Theron alive; romanced Torian) and loyalist Trooper (only Theron alive, killed Arcann and Senya) so far, and the flashpoint on the BH only. with that out of the way:

Echoes of Oblivion 

Scourge CALM DOWN

When he broke cover to face the Servants I legit facepalmed and hissed his name lol

Teeseven! good little droid causing problems on purpose <3

lowkey happy the Scions are dead. they annoyed me and hopefully we won’t be dealing with them anymore

Revan??? look, I have yet to play KOTOR so the only Revan I’m familiar with is the SWTOR one, but I had to double-take when I heard the voice and had a kind of “wtf him again??” reaction

Servant Four pretty ;~;

the reveal for Vitiate and Tenebrae walking from behind Valkorian??? that was really fucking cool and the Drama kid in me swooned

speaking of Tenebrae... look, I’m a straight dude, but even I can admit he’s fuckin’ hot. whoever designed him, I love you - but now I’m also very salty that hairstyle is gender-locked >:(  (also Terrin totally shamed him for not wearing a shirt. he also called her an ignorant child in the final fight lol)

the level design of Satele’s mind was sooooo cool??? it gave me this incessant sense of unease I just couldn’t shake and I love it

MARR MARR MARR MARR MARR

seeing Revan >Your Companion< was incredibly weird jklas;djkds

For Terrin: Vaylin electrocuting Valkorian and then all of the Tiralls advancing on Tenebrae? bahahaha his shift from high-and-mighty to “oh shit” as he backed away was hilarious

for Varrich: Vaylin’s “I like your markings” *zaps Tenebrae* “Do you like mine?” - idk I really liked that. and then Valkorian backing away from the Tiralls was funny. but god I AGAIN felt bad for killing Senya and Arcann in his playthrough, she sounded like she wanted to and would have killed Varrich right then and there if it wasn’t for Valkoriateibrae being the bigger threat

THE ANIMATIONS. lookit that glowup. no one stood awkwardly idle, and I loved it - the first one I really noticed was in the reveal when Valkie and Tenebrae trades places so Tenebrae was in the middle instead, the animations were just so good in this okay

Satele is just a fuckin badass, okay?

Vaylin looking at that student = foreshadowing??? pls don’t bring Vaylin back there’s been enough cheating death and it’s lost its wow factor since ages ago

that final boss fight was so much fun oh my god. like, it was a challenge and Terrin almost died many many times since I don’t know the mechanics for it, but it was such a cool fight??? had a bit of an easier time with Varrich’s run of it since I’d kinda started figuring it out by then

it seemed like a good sendoff for Valkoriateibrae, tho I got Avengers vibes from it

come on, try to tell me that’s not a cool shot

the chat with Satele at the end was nice. look forward to running Echoes with Xaerez and getting Theron romance content <3

also 👀 at Aryn showing up. we gonna get more Malgus stuff with the next bit of story added? I’ve been curious about what’s going on with him

Spirit of Vengeance

note: only ran this with Terrin so far (saboteur Bounty Hunter)

I was fortunate not to get any of the bugs others have mentioned, so can’t say anything in regards to those

Terrin’s stats are as follows:

Pyrotech Powertech, full set bonus (Meteor Brawler), 306 item rating, +41 crit augments in most of her gear, memorized rotations. when it comes to general content, she’s the toon I’m most effective with

with that out of the way:

the bit where Torian cheekily asked if she was worried about him was cute, but a little bummed there wasn’t more romance content with him. even just a hug or another bit of dialogue would’ve been nice

I love Rass okay. I hope we get to see more of him. the way he reacts to the not-so-careful landing by the Commander ripping both wings of their shuttle is really funny and made me love him immediately

this one seemed a lot better than Mandalore’s Revenge was with noting your BH as a fellow Mandalorian

seeing healing stations near regular mob groups had me worried. it’s definitely not an easy flashpoint, and I did have to use healing stations often just to stay alive at points, even in regards to just normal enemy groups because there’s A LOT of them in each group (Pyrotech is squishiest of the Powertech disciplines iirc, but still)

the first boss was. WAY overpowered. take note of Terrin’s stats again, and let me tell you she almost died MULTIPLE times to him even after using the healing stations (note: ALL of the healing stations were used in this fight) AND Heroic Moment/Unity. I have no idea how my less-geared toons are gonna have any chance at it. he has way too much health and deals way too much damage for a solo mode flashpoint and Rass only being influence 1 doesn’t help. to me, he felt like a vet mode boss

it actually felt more like a vet flashpoint in general, with the exception of the other bosses

I love Rass’ comeback to one of the bosses calling him the “tiny one.” have I said I love him yet? because I do

I actually really loved that trap that drops you into the garbage area. it startled me and I thought something bugged at first, but I really liked that bit (tho I can imagine it bugging for people. I’ve seen a few people say it kills them)

after that first boss the others seemed almost ridiculously easy

that was not the voice I expected Kol to have but like. it works for her??? also she cute-

I love love love Kol’s helmet so much

is she gonna be a long-term enemy? kinda hoping she is I really like her and want to see more of her

Someone else noted this already but: Kol = Lok backwards??? is she formerly from Clan Lok/have something to do with the BH’s adoptive clan??

that last cutscene was cool and DAMMIT I have a crush on the antagonist now

all-in-all, I liked the update, good way to finally tie up the Valkoriateibrae stuff and introduce a new villain (tho I feel like the flashpoint definitely needs some changes), and I look forward to what’s next!

[make-it-mavis]

Homesick (Entry #28)

(cw: drugs/addiction) ----------

01/14/88   2:45 PM Hey.

Even if I didn’t let myself believe I had an addiction, I could not deny my blatant downward spiral. 

My second hit of GC really woke me up in that regard, I think. I felt completely justified while immersed in my hallucinations, but realizing what I’d really been doing all that time was humiliating and, honestly, a bit scary. If I’d taken that hit during gameplay hours, I’d have gotten my game unplugged. I’ve never exactly been a gentle sweetheart, but I’d like to think I’m not a violent maniac. I just wasn’t myself. I can’t afford to lose track of myself.

So I tried to pull myself out of that nosedive. Put a stop to the downward spiral and reclaim control of myself. Wanting to quit was a step. Promising myself that I’d quit was a step. But they weren’t exactly headed in the right direction. Thing is, I was so deep into the dark, I didn’t know which way led out anymore. I’m sure I thought I was walking out, but I was just venturing deeper. Very efficiently. Led by the light of three little words:

Just one more.

I needed that last hit and I was going to get it. With no credits to speak of, and a decent sum of the arcade afraid of me, the method seemed clear: Intimidation.

It was risky. If the Surge Protector caught wind of it, I’d be in a heap of trouble. But he’d been off his game for a while, for reasons I didn’t know at the time. I’d be able to duck him easily -- the real threat was my, I dunno, victim blabbing about me. Anyone else’s word was better than mine to him. 

I’d have no luck trying to intimidate a dealer; they’re too experienced, certainly deal with threats a lot, and are familiar enough with how the SP works to screw me over and still get away unscathed. No, there was another opportunity I had to take advantage of. All the frightened sprites, never taken a buff before, turning straight to GC to chase the bad things away. Newbies. 

I’m not proud of what I did. Honestly? I’d even say I’m ashamed. Like I said before, I don’t really care about appearing kind, but I never really want to be cruel. Sometimes, my will to survive just trumps that. If I need it, I’ll get it. And I needed GC. I didn’t want to believe it, but I did.

So, what did I do? I waited in Jungle Hunt, a little ways off from where my usual dealer meets her customers, scanning for any sign of movement. I ran through in my head what to do if things went south. I brought a real knife with me just in case, but I was very weak from impending withdrawal and buff use. I’d lose a fight if it came to that. I’d just have to really sell my scary vibe and hope for the best.

Finally, after Devs know how long of perching in a tree trying to think through my pounding headache, I saw someone pushing through the undergrowth. I put your charred goggles over my eyes, pulled your scarf up over my nose, and dropped down.

They screamed so loud when they saw me in their path, I heard birds call and fly off in the distance. 

“Hand it over,” I said.

I don’t remember what their voice sounded like, but they stammered, “Wh-What?”

I pulled my face gear down to try to see them properly, but… didn’t succeed. Through split second frames of static, I could see that their pixels were blurred out from head to toe, no matter how hard I blinked. I could at least tell that they were bigger than me, but that doesn’t exactly narrow things down. Most sprites are. All I could decipher was the lovely yellow ‘?’ block wherein my prize was held, and that was all that mattered.

“Hand it over,” I insisted.

They stepped back. “The… The block?”

I rolled my eyes. “No, your heart. Yes, dumbass, now give it here before I take it.”

“Well…” they stood a little straighter. “W-Why should I?”

Good on them for trying.

“Because GC is a dangerous and highly addictive buff known to cause corruption in overdose. I’m doing you a favor.”

“Bullroar,” they said, “don’t pretend you care about me. I know you want it for yourself.”

“No crit.”

“Well, you can’t--” their voice cracked, “can’t have it. I paid good credits for this, so… so you can go ahead and do the same. I’m not scared of you.”

I laughed. “Sure you are. You’re scared of Turbo, ain’t ya?”

They flinched. “What? N-no I’m not.”

“Yes you are. You’re terrified of what he did. And that horrible, haunting, homicidal demon? Maybe you haven’t heard, but he and I--” I crossed my fingers, “-- were pretty close. We shared everything. I’ve heard sprites say we shared two halves of the same code. You know the one difference we have that’s keeping me from doing what he did?”

They had completely backed up against a tree. Even through the fog, I could see them shaking. They seemed too petrified to answer.

I leaned a little closer, “Motive. He found his reason. I’m still waiting for mine. So, you can give me that GC…” I flipped out the knife and pointed it where I assume their face was, “...or you can give me a reason.”

That hit the mark.

“Okay, okay, just take it!” They quite nearly threw it at me. Once it was in my hands, they tried to make a break for it, but I overtook them easily and cut them off.

“Ah, ah! We’re not done here,” I said. “One last thing. Keep your mouth shut, and we’ll never have to speak to each other again. If you so much as breathe a word about this to the Surge Protector, I’ll know. You can if you want, but before you do, just ask yourself how much you value your game. Yeah?”

“Y-yes--”

“Speak up.”

“Yes ma’am!”

I snorted. “Weirdo. Alright, get outta here. Thanks for the GC.”

I went back to my game to take it, still taking that monumental risk. My fear of corruption was still not real enough to spur any caution in that regard. A lot of me was still pretty freaked out over being out in public for too long, let alone being in public and high off my ass. I thought of all the sprites I’d seen before I was attacked, the unwitting GC addicts lying completely vulnerable on the port station couches. I thought of how easy it would have been for me to do whatever the hell I wanted with them, if I weren’t a better sprite. I couldn’t put myself in that position. The risk of violence felt so much more real than the risk of some enigmatic fate that could only belong in nightmares. Nightmares aren’t real. Murderers are. 

So, I got back to my den. I took some deep breaths, and tried desperately to find something close to a good state of mind. This hit had to be better than the one that landed me in Fix-it’s apartment. It would be my very last, so it just had to count. 

I took it.

Y’know how sometimes you fall asleep and it feels like the entire night lasted only a blink?

I blinked, and I was staring at my reflection. It took me a minute to even realize anything happened. I was sitting cross-legged on the edge of the river, hunched over like a vulture, staring at my own bright-blue-eyed face. My eyes were dry and shot, as if I hadn’t been blinking. I tried to move, but my legs had gone completely numb beneath me. That’s also when I realized I was, for some reason, completely naked.

I could also already feel my high beginning to taper down. I’d lost the entirety of my trip. That fact felt like a rock in my gut.

I don’t think it was so much the fact that I missed the high itself that bothered me. Yeah, I was disappointed. I’d gone through all the trouble of threatening some poor slob to get that high, and I didn’t even get to experience it. But more than that, I started to feel disgusted with myself for risking so much for something that wasn’t even worth it.

I was even more pissed at myself for how badly I wanted more.

Feeling like complete garbage, I painfully unfolded myself and lowered onto my back in the mud. I stretched out my stiff legs until my heels felt flowing water.

That’s when things, as ever, got weird. Really freakin’ weird.

I heard a voice mutter my name. It was cold and distorted, so much that I almost thought I had imagined it (which I technically did, I suppose). A quick glance around offered no insight. I heard it again, and realized I was piecing together words in the babbling of the river at my feet. That was enough for me to brush it off completely as harmless tricks of the ear and lie back down. Until it formed a full sentence.

It asked, “Are you gonna ignore me forever, or what?”

Okay.

I replied with my own question. “Ballpark, how high am I right now?”

“For any buff other than GC, you’d be in the high-as-balls ballpark,” it told me, “but as it stands, you’re almost done here.”

“Great,” I sighed. “That’s what I figured.”

The voice scoffed. “Well, no need to pout about it.”

“I’m not pouting. Maybe I’m a little pissed that this last high crapped out on me so hard.”

“So what? Just take another one.”

I paused, and I stared up at the stars silently for a minute. I suddenly felt so profoundly exhausted. Rubbing my eye, I said, “Yeah, I’m not doing this.”

“Doing what?”

“Whatever subconscious BS this is. I’m not gonna sit here arguing with my inner demons or some stupid crap. If you wanna be a sentient river and splash around my feet, knock yourself out. Just don’t talk to me.” 

“Well, you’re in a mood,” it might have rolled its eyes if it had any.

“That’s talking. Zip it.”

“You really want to lay your grouchy ass down and waste the rest of your high?”

“What the hell else am I gonna do? Other than make small talk with-- with whatever the hell you are.”

I heard a smile in its voice. “I’m just your voice of reason.”

I frowned. “Uh, yeah, I’m pretty sure you’re the exact opposite of that.”

“Okay,” it said in a challenging tone, “Say something smart, then, if you’re so reasonable.”

I didn’t answer right away. I took a moment to realize that I’d been thinking more clearly than I’d been able to for a long time. Not crystal clear, not enlightenment -- I think I was just more or less able to let some things sink in. The loudest and most important of these things was,

“This is over.”

It paused, as much as a river can pause. “Come again?”

“I can’t… I can’t keep doing this. This was my last hit.”

“And why’s that?”

“Because if I take so much as one more, I’ll freakin’ corrupt, that’s why.”

It scoffed. “If that’s what you’re afraid of, take it outside your game.”

“I don’t wanna die either, dickweed.”

“You won’t!”

“Yeah, I almost definitely will!”

“No, you won’t,” it hissed firmly. “Something like this can’t kill you. Not after everything you’ve survived. If you were anyone else, you’d have died a long time ago, but you’re not. You’re Make-it freakin’ Mavis. You survive.”

It was right. It was so right, in ways it didn’t intend to be. Shame squirmed around in my belly -- the very same self-disgust that made me grateful you couldn’t see me. But this time, it was too much. This time, the weight of it shifted something inside me.

“You’re right,” I said.

“Yeah, see?”

“You’re right,” I nodded, “I’m Make-it freakin’ Mavis, and I can’t let this kill me.”

“...What?”

Acid boiled in my chest. I was scolding myself, and it did not feel good. I didn’t want to think about the things I’d done, but I chose to rub my own nose in it. “What the hell have I been doing? Why am I slowly killing myself like this? This is pathetic. This is cowardly. This is running away with my tail between my legs. Make-it Mavis doesn’t run away. Pathetic cowards do.”

“Interesting take,” it said slowly. “So what are you gonna do now?”

“Not more GC, that’s for sure.”

“I see. So you wanna stop running away from your problems, and instead…let yourself get crushed by them. You survive, girl. Sometimes that means fleeing when you know you don’t stand a chance.”

“I do stand a chance,” I grit my teeth, “so long as I’m still breathing.”

“Okay,” it sounded distinctly unimpressed, “so what’s your game plan? Just how do you plan on fighting the pain? You think you’re ready for that?”

“I…” I sighed and rolled onto my side in the cold mud. “I’m not. But I don’t want to die.”

“Well, that’s admirable. Most sprites in your position probably would -- I mean, c’mon, let’s see…”

“Don’t.”

“Your life as you knew it is decimated. You lost both your jobs, you lost your favorite pastimes, you lost your place in society, you lost your coded gift of creation that literally defines you. You’ve only got three allies in this -- one of which you’ve already pissed off enough to lose, another of which you lied to so you could do this, and another of which you literally do not know how to be nice to. Wreck-it hates you now, and Tapper and Fix-it won’t be far behind. You know why? They’ve got a lick of sense in their heads, which is more than can be said for your best friend, who, by the way, is dead.”

I didn’t respond. I just pulled my knees to my chest and listened to the river flow by. Nothing it said hit too hard. I heard that very same script in my head every time I was sober. Hearing it out loud from this imaginary being just sort of felt like my problems were being propped up in front of me, so I could see just how tiny I am in comparison. So I could see that it was a losing fight.

“You got nothing now, Mavis. You’re more alone than you’ve ever been,” the river said casually. “Power to you for not wanting to give up, but who’s left that’s worth the trouble of playing it safe?”

I took a moment. I was not about to lose this fight.

“Me.”

It paused, and then sputtered a short, watery laugh. “I’m sorry, what?”

“Me, damn it,” I snapped, sitting up to stare at the plain riverbank. “You think I’ve got nothing now? Glitch, I had nothing when I was plugged in. But you know what? I made it. I made stuff to live for. Anything that’s ever made me happy, I got to experience because I was there for me. I’m not going to risk throwing away all that survival just so I can get high for a few hours. That’s stupid, that’s pathetic, and that’s beneath me. I owe my own safety to myself.”

It gave a weird, bubbly snort. “Just yourself, huh? That’s pretty pathetic. Pretty telling of the miserable life you lead. No one’s there for you, so you gotta be your own best friend, is that right?”

“No. No, my real--” my breath caught for a second, and I had to stop to breathe, “-- my real best friend would have been here for me, too. And I… I owe it to him to stop running away.”

At that, it outright cackled in a way that made my skin feel tight. “You say that like he wouldn’t be running right alongside you!”

“He wouldn’t. He’d see how stupid this is.”

“Nah, you’d rope him into it. You’re an expert enabler, don’t you remember? Whose hand-made buffs won the title of ‘Turbo’s First Addiction?’”

I felt sick. “That was a long time ago. Neither of us knew any better.”

“If he were here, you’d take GC together, and you’d both get hooked, and he’d corrupt. And it’d be your fault.”

“You wanna act like you know him better than I do?”

“Did.”

“Shut up,” I hissed. “I know what he would do. Like Tapper said… about if he saw me like this. He’d see that it’s ridiculous. He’d see that I’m better than this, and he wouldn’t sit back quietly about it. He’d tell me. He’d tell me right to my face, with no sugar coating. And he’d be right to do it.”

“I think you’re hoping that he saw you as better than you actually are.”

“I’m not, actually. Fix-it does that. T didn’t. He actually--” I had to breathe again, feeling myself beginning to shake. “He saw--... He saw me exactly as I was. He knew I’m a bit of a-- y’know, a goblin most of the time. But I-- I think that’s… just the way he liked me. He knew everything I wasn’t. But it just seemed like he was only interested in everything I was.”

The river did not speak, but I could swear the water ran colder on my toes. It seemed to be waiting impatiently for me to finish.

I closed my eyes and spoke mostly to myself. “I owe it to him to stay everything that I am.”

“Why?!” The river suddenly snapped, and it rushed by faster than before. “That lying son of a glitch doesn’t deserve it! He’s the one who got you into this mess in the first place! He ruined your life! He LEFT you! He broke his freakin’--”

Splash. 

I kicked my heel hard into the water. It was hardly enough to upset an entire river, but I’d had enough of this stupid hallucination. At first, it seemed to work. But I heard words between the babbles again before too long.

“Yeah,” it said, almost breathlessly, “yeah, it hurts, doesn’t it?”

“Shut the hell up,” I grumbled, pulling my knees to my chest.

“Me? You’re the one who screwed up. You let him get into your head. And the pain will never go away. Not ‘til the day you’re deleted, and even then, who knows?”

“He didn’t get in my head,” I lied poorly.

“Ha, ha, ha,” it laughed humorlessly. “No, no, I see. We’re way beyond brains now, aren’t we? He didn’t just get into your head, he shot straight freakin’ through it and took a chunk with him -- the chunk that’s sensible enough to know not to let him get into your heart.”

I dug my nails into my leg. “Stop it.”

“So he got in. He laid his roots, and he laid them deep. Must’ve really hurt like a glitch when he yanked them all out, huh?”

Despite myself, I felt my eyes start to sting, if only over how badly I wanted to wring the nonexistent throat of the river. “You’re not gonna make me take more GC,” I warned it. “So just give up.”

“I can’t make you do anything,” it said. “But you haven’t got much time left in this high. After this, you’re really on your own, until… who knows, maybe forever. But I’m still willing to help you, if you’ll just let me.”

I muttered, “I don’t need your help.”

“Who else is gonna help you?”

“I DON’T NEED ANYONE’S HELP!”

I lunged forward so that my hands sank hard into the muddy riverbank, and my pounding heart skipped two beats the moment I saw my reflection form on the rippling water.

It was, once more, the face I had seen reflected on my broken paint can -- bloodied, misshapen, hated, and alone.

I screamed and swiped at the water’s surface, as if I could claw the image out of it and tear it to pieces, but thankfully, I didn’t have to. Once the water settled into its course again, all I saw looking back at me was me. Naked, muddy, bright-blue eyed, but me all the same.

And the river did not speak again.

I was overwhelmed for so many reasons. One was from living through the very stressful past few minutes, another was for finally letting go of my escape I’d been so in love with before, and another was from pure relief that I came out on top of that fight. I wasn’t sure I was going to. It all just welled up in me and spilled over in tears. I was so disgusted by how much I’d been crying lately, but I couldn’t help it. I just sat in the shallow water and let it out. 

After a while, I decided to get cleaned up so I could go get warm. I was freakin’ freezing, and the albeit quick bath I took in the river offered no help. I wasn’t even sure where my clothes were, but once I stepped out of the water, I didn’t even get to start looking for them.

I lost time. A big chunk of it. 

A shock of pain and a blue flash later, I found myself crossing Grand Central Station, fully clothed, but cold and damp, as if I’d put my clothes on without drying off. I was pointed straight for Pac-Man’s.

I’d made the decision to quit GC. My addiction had other plans.

Dread welled up in me. I’d come out hunting for another hit, completely puppeted by my subconscious. I was just strolling right out as if on a daily errand. I tried turning back many times, only to lose time and regain consciousness much closer to the game. Again and again. I was so vulnerable, just right out in the open. Anyone could have stopped me, arrested me, or attacked me. But no one did. At the time, I was too concerned with the fact that my body was dragging me to my potential death against my will to notice. But now I can see just how haunting it is that I avoided any sort of attention. I was locked into a death march, and it seemed like the whole arcade was just standing aside, clearing a path for me.

I lost time like hiccups. I made it into the Pac-Man port. I rode the train. I stepped into the maze. It took me seconds to appear in what I’d later recognize as a far corner, staring down a Game-Changer. It floated there so simply, so unassumingly. So invitingly.

I hated myself so wholeheartedly in that moment. After everything I thought I’d just defeated, I was back at it. And I couldn’t stop myself. Once I saw it, I couldn’t even try to turn back. It was like a gamer had taken control of my sprite.

I strode forward and let it burst against my pixels.

Unlike the first time I took GC, this time didn’t hurt. At all. I felt it breathe into me, and just like that, I felt lighter. So light, I wasn’t too familiar with gravity anymore. My head swam, and I stumbled forward against the wall and slid to the floor. I took weak, shallow breaths, and I knew I should have been afraid. Maybe part of me was. 

But once I couldn’t turn back anymore, most of me was just relieved to be getting away one last time. It wasn’t long before that lightness floated me away. 

My eyelids grew heavy. I didn’t try to fight it at all. I just let my eyes fall shut and my neck go limp, which, honestly, felt so good to do. It was as if I’d just really fallen asleep for the first time in over a month. Which, as far as I could perceive, I did.

I woke up to a growing sting in my eyes, like mornings where you’d open the blackout shutters to let the blinding sunlight scorch me awake. There were no shutters, this time. But, as it turned out, it was the same sunlight.

I cracked my eyes open against the brightness, and when I did… I saw your game. Completely intact. I was looking at the trees at the edge of your little trailer park, and they were dry as ever. There was just as much junk and litter strewn about in the dirt as I remembered. Even the Twins’ trailers were right where they ought to have been, a stone’s throw down to the left of me. Which had to mean yours was sitting right behind me.

I’m not sure how to describe how I felt right there. I was confused, for sure, but I was also confused as to why I was confused. I felt sort of like… when you walk into a room, and you forget why you came into it at all, but you know it was for a reason.

I pushed to my feet and found them wobbly. I turned to look at your trailer door, and I paused. Something about it sort of made my stomach ache. I wanted to go in, I’d even say I felt compelled to. But I also really didn’t want to see you. For reasons I couldn’t remember, I was pissed. I was drunk. And I was also… scared. Somehow.

Then, a whisper of awareness came into my head before disappearing again, as quickly as it came. I’d done this before. This was no ordinary buff trip. It was a memory.

Up until that point, I’d thought I didn’t remember the last time we’d spoken before the incident.

Apparently, I did.

[nelvana]

In which the dungeon with fossil foes is explored

First [ARC 1]: In which the human is transformed First [ARC 2]: In which a present is prepared Next: In which the land between time is explored Previous: In which the territory of others is crossed

     While their early steps into Brine Cave surrounded them in darkness, it did not take them long to reach a brighter room, the beginning of the dungeon. The walls were covered in brown rocks like those that covered the cavern outside, as well as some blue rocks that seemed to be what was providing them light here. A small pool of water was located in this room, with a trickling stream that led out further into the dungeon. The water itself, was a sea green, just like the ocean. Under their feet was a mix of sand and rocks like those outside, giving an odd texture as they walked over it.

    “Before we get too far… we’re getting to the serious dungeons now, next is Hidden Land, and then Temporal Tower. We’ll want to figure out our actual strategy here,” Nelvana announced, turning back to look at everyone else. “Would have been better to do this outside… but would have been awkward to say goodbye to Daichi and Sabi, and then just sit there and talk for awhile,” she added.

    Alex nodded, “agreed. So, how do we want to do this?”

    “W-Well, it might help if we organize by everyone’s roles in battle,” Damien spoke up hesitantly, stepping up closer with everyone else after an encouraging nod from Nelvana.

    “Everyone’s roles?” Ceebee repeated, “go on, I’m curious about what you mean by that.”

    “I mean, some of us are hard hitters that attack fast, and some of us are better suited for range, for example. It will be best to spread those people apart in our lineup,” Damien clarified.

    “That makes sense,” Tsuki agreed, nodding. “Do you already have an idea of who fits what role, or is that something we should discuss?”

    “It shouldn’t be hard to work out…” Damien responded, shrugging. “Okay, so, Nel, Alex, and Tsuki are all up close fighters, strikers, though they have a couple ranged moves each, so they can move around throughout the lineup and switch with others, but we’ll probably want one to the front, one to the middle, and one in the back.”

    “Well, previously we’ve had Nel at the front and myself at the back, and that worked out fine, so we can keep that up,” Alex told him.

    Damien nodded, “if you all agree to that, then that should work,” he replied, “and then myself, Edgar, and Ceebee are more of support, with a few attacking moves each, mostly ranged, to protect ourselves with if so needed…”

    “You should all be spaced apart as well, one to the middle, one in front, and one in the back,” Nelvana chimed back in, “since Alex will be in the back and is one of the ones with a bag… Damien, you should be set up at the front.”

    “I can be at the back!” Ceebee eagerly volunteered, “you’re okay with that, Edgar?”

    “Yup!” Edgar hummed, bobbing in the air over to Tsuki, who smiled up at him.

    “What about Dusknoir and I?” Keahi asked, “we don’t match in our battle styles, or roles.”

    “Definitely,” Nelvana chuckled, reaching over to her partner to ruffle zir feathers with a hand. “You’re mixed between ranged and up close, and Dusknoir is… he’s….”

    “Dusknoir is a wall,” Damien finished.

    “A… wall?” Dusknoir repeated, seemingly confused on whether he should be offended or not.

    “Yeah, you’ve got good defenses, can take a lot of hits,” Damien explained, “would that be right?”

    Dusknoir blinked, “yes… that would be correct. I can still attack though.”

    “Not in the same way as the strikers,” Damien responded.

    “…where did you learn about these… role titles?” Dusknoir questioned.

    “Oh, they were… uh, just common terms for trainers to use when planning how their teams would go into battle,” Damien answered, shrugging.

    Alex coughed, “and, where would that put him in the lineup, Damien?” he interrupted.

    “Right! Hm… well, either the front or the back. I’d probably say the back, just because he’s been there in most of our experience, and it’s… a bit hard to see past him,” Damien said.

    “I am fine with that,” Dusknoir agreed, and then glanced over at Alex and Ceebee. “So long as you both are okay with me being closer around you.”

    Alex rose a brow at Dusknoir’s comment, though he instinctively frowned at the ghost-type, stiffening slightly. Ceebee blinked, just as surprised as the grovyle that Dusknoir bothered checking if they would be okay or not at all.

    “Well…” Ceebee glanced over at Alex. “…yeah, we’ll be fine,” she decided.

    “We’ve lasted this long together,” Alex muttered.

    Nelvana turned over to the two of them, concern softening her eyes. Looking up to meet her gaze, Alex let out a sigh, and then gave her a thumbs up.

    “And I can be up front, to even things out!” Keahi suggested, cutting through any growing pessimistic attitude.

    Damien nodded, “that sounds good!” he agreed, “so that would make our actual lineup…”

    “Me, Keahi, you… Tsuki, Edgar… er, Dusknoir, Ceebee, then Alex; unless anyone objects,” Nelvana said.

    After waiting a few moments and receiving no disagreements to the plan, the group set out to follow their order they figured out and actually take on the dungeon, heading down the path closest to them for ease of travel.

    “It’s nice that we didn’t get attack or anything through that!” Edgar commented, “we got some good time to talk through all that.”

    “We hadn’t started moving around much before then, the spawn must not have realized we’re here yet,” Tsuki told him.

    “They will soon though,” Nelvana added, “and there are traps here too… dang, I’ll have to be careful where I lead us,” she continued in a mumble.

    “W-Wait, didn’t Daichi say that this was a mainly water dungeon?” Damien blurted out, “maybe we should have planned differently…” he mumbled.

    “Don’t worry! You can back us up with thunderbolt, right?” Keahi responded.

    “I still haven’t quite gotten it down yet…” Damien admitted quietly.

    “This is just our general lineup plan for any future dungeons, we won’t be able to adapt them all to our typing,” Nelvana told him, “I’d say you did really well getting most of this set up, and we can always switch around a bit if Keahi and I start having difficulties,” she continued.

    “Daichi also said there are only fifteen floors too, right?” Edgar added, waiting a nod of confirmation to his memory from Tsuki before he went on. “So, we’ve been through longer dungeons, this shouldn’t be too bad!”

    Assured by these words from his friends, Damien nodded and quieted down, focusing on what they had ahead.

    Despite their quiet start, by the end of their first winding corridor they had chosen, they began running into their first dungeon pokemon of Brine Cave. A seel and an omanyte, sat in the next room they ran into, and were quick to turn and attack. Nelvana was just as quick to tap her club twice on the ground before throwing it at her opponents, the bone hitting the seel and then bouncing off it to hit the omanyte before returning to the cubone. The bonemerang did enough to defeat both of the spawn, the pair disappearing in a flash of light.

    “Water-types don’t resist my ground attacks, and any of the fossils will be weak to ‘em. I just need to hit harder, first, to avoid my own weakness,” Nelvana commented, glancing back at Damien, who nodded once more.

    The next spawn to show up, a tirtouga, only confirmed Nelvana’s comment as she handled it with another whack from her club, but by the next floor, things started getting trickier. They discovered that there were pelippers in this dungeon, which would actually resist most of Nelvana and Keahi’s attacks. The first pelipper was met towards the end of a hallway, the beginnings of another room barely visible past the water-flying-type.

    Shaky, but eager to help, Damien stretched out a hand and did his best to at least start a spark of his thunderbolt attack he had learned from the TM. Quickly though, he grew more frustrated and panicky as nothing happened, ruining his focus for trying to use the attack.

    Noticing this, Nelvana glanced back to Keahi.

    “If you can give me an opening, I can use focus energy and hope for a crit with headbutt. Even if that doesn’t take this thing down, hopefully it’ll use enough time to get more of us into the room or something,” she told zim, who nodded.

    “I’ll quick attack them, so get ready to duck so I can jump over you,” Keahi responded.

    Following her partner’s instructions, Nelvana ducked down, immediately taking this time to focus herself again in preparation for her next attack. While she did this, Keahi leapt up, suddenly earning speed in the air which launched zim at the pelipper. Before it could recover, Nelvana dove in to headbutt the foe, knocking out the pelipper with the extra damage she dealt after the focus energy.

    “Great job!” Damien told them, letting out a sigh of relief. “Sorry I couldn’t help…”

    Nelvana brushed herself off, getting back up, “no worries, you’ll figure out thunderbolt eventually. It’s times like these anyway that might help you force that attack out.”

    “Getting stuck in a hallway like this in battle was unfortunate though… not everyone can contribute to the fight then,” Keahi commented.

    “This is merely the challenge of having a larger group. We’ll have to keep getting used to it,” Tsuki told them with a sigh.

    Keeping what Tsuki said in mind, they continued on. The words especially rang true when spawn came from behind the group, forcing Alex and the others at the back to take care of the danger. Fortunately, Alex’s typing was much better suited here than those who were put at the front, which meant taking care of dungeon pokemon here came with much more ease. It made them feel a bit better about making sure to prepare by putting a hard hitter at the back of the group to cover all their bases.

    They continued up another couple floors handling most of their foes either by a couple hits from Nelvana, a combo hit from her and Keahi, or, when the spawn showed up behind them, an easy leaf blade from Alex. Fortunately, pelippers seemed to be the only opponent so far that would force any sort of challenge. There were gastrodons in Brine Cave as well, but their defenses being lower than any pelipper meant they could be handled by Nelvana without any difficulty so long as she got the jump on them. Unfortunately, it would have been unlikely that they would have only ever run into a single pelipper in the entire dungeon.

    Still mildly frustrated by how he couldn’t assist against one of these water-flying-types before, Damien again began trying to figure out how to use his thunderbolt attack the very moment the group’s second pelipper of the dungeon showed up. After fruitlessly trying to conjure the electric energy on his own for a few moments, Damien turned around to try a new strategy.

    “Tsuki, I have an idea for me to use thunderbolt, but I need you, can I touch your fur?” he requested hurriedly.

    Confused, but knowing that if this was to work then she shouldn’t waste time asking questions, Tsuki nodded. Damien reached over, causing Tsuki to flinch at his cold touch at first, and rubbed his hand in her fur. After a few moments, he took his hand out, some of the fur standing up where he had touched the absol.

    “I sure hope static electricity will be good enough to get me started…” Damien muttered until his breath.

    Trying once more to conjure the needed energy for the attack, Damien snapped his fingers on the hand that he touched Tsuki with, this time earning some electric sparks flying off from his fingertips. Pointing his hand at the pelipper, he tried again. Finally, all his efforts came together as lightning leapt forward from his hand, resulting in a bolt of electricity striking the pelipper. Being slightly damaged already from Keahi beginning zir and Nelvana’s combo strategy, the pelipper was easily defeated from the super effective attack, and it disappeared in a flash of light.

    “You did it!” Edgar exclaimed, clapping his hands.

    “You said that was static electricity, right?” Tsuki commented, shaking out her fur. “That was an interesting, but effective, strategy to get your attack started. I do hope you don’t have to do it every time, though.”

    Damien laughed, “I hope so too. I just figured that if I was having trouble making electricity myself, I could borrow it from elsewhere. Creating static was the first thing I could think of.”

    “That was a good idea,” Nelvana chimed in, “and you were out here saying you aren’t good at thinking in the moment,” she teased, nudging him with her club.

    “I’m usually not!” Damien sputtered, but then laughed again. “I’m honestly surprised that actually worked. I was just tired of it… not working.”

    “Well, let’s see if you can do it again when we find another pelipper!” Keahi responded, “see, this is good practice for you!”

    With the thunderbolt attack finally learned, the group continued forward with much more ease. Though Nelvana recommended that Damien save his thunderbolt attack for opponents that were actually causing troubles to her and Keahi so he could save his energy, they found more pokemon than just the pelippers that were dangerous to the pair at the front. Reaching the eighth floor even introduced them to some dragonair, which, after commenting that now they were finally seeing these dragon-types up close, meant that sometimes Tsuki would have to use ice beam from afar to make sure the dragonair didn’t get a leg up with all their resistances.

    They arrived at the safe floor without too much trouble though, and took the moment to catch their breath and review how things were going before moving on. Fortunately, no one seemed to be having troubles with their current setup. Even Alex and Ceebee, who while they admitted to having some discomfort around Dusknoir, the two of them were able to keep themselves chatting a bit to help themselves out. And while Alex didn’t admit it at least, Dusknoir did help out when a dragonair had shown up at the back, and couldn’t simply be easily dispatched by a single leaf blade.

    Surprisingly, as they realized in the time they spent resting, they hadn’t found any sign of any traps so far. Nelvana hadn’t found any spots she guessed to hide traps, and no one had accidentally stepped on any of the horrid tiles. Accounting this to luck, but still resolving to keep their guards up for any of the traps that Daichi had warned them of, they moved on.

    Having only six floors left to go and feeling confident, the group pushed forward with determination. For the first floor after the safe room, their progress went relatively the same as before, but on the second floor, they found a new pokemon; a walrein. This at first seemed to pose more of a problem because of how the large pokemon had so much health to work through, but then the group discovered that the walrein either didn’t actually know, or preferred not to use, any water-type moves. Because of this, any walrein could be handled easily with any fighting-type move from the pair at the front, or a helpful thunderbolt from Damien, so long as Nelvana avoided any aurora beams in the time it took to wear their opponent down.

    Finally, they arrived to the sixth floor of Brine Cave. Here, it opened up into a wide tunnel, which lacked any of the glowing blue stones that had previously lit their way, which swallowing most of the room into shadows.

    “Where are the fossil pokemon…?” Keahi whispered, scanning the area. “This is the last floor, right? Wouldn’t they be here?”

    ~*They’re hiding in the shadows, be ready for a fight,*~ Ceebee’s voice informed everyone suddenly through telepathy.

    Tense, the group waited for any signs of their forewarned opponents… but nothing happened. Hesitantly, Nelvana took a step forward, and when still nothing happened, she held up her club to her face. She managed to cough out a small flame, which landed on the bone and remained there, dancing as a self-made torch to light the way. Slowly, she raised the club up, before throwing it down the tunnel.

    The torch spun as it was thrown, lighting up whatever was hidden in the darkness with the flames which continued burning on the bone. As the ceiling was revealed, so were Kabutops and their two omastar partners, hanging from the ceiling and silently glaring down at the group. The torch passed them, lighting up the walls where two cradily attached themselves to the sides, and an archeops sat perched on a stalagmite. Even further was an armaldo, again digging their claws into the ceiling to hang there. All of them stared at the group, aggression burning in their eyes.

    The bone club spun back, returning to Nelvana’s hand, which had begun shaking slightly.

    The flame went out. It was silent.

    “Look out!” Tsuki yelled, breaking the tension filled silence.

    Just as Tsuki spoke, Kabutops let out a screech, enveloping themself in water and diving at the cubone with their aqua jet attack. At the same time, Tsuki lunged forward, just barely tackling Kabutops out of the way of hitting Nelvana, shoving the fossil pokemon to the side. The two tussled for a couple seconds, before Kabutops leapt back, hissing at Tsuki, who bared her teeth and growled back, frost beginning to puff from her mouth. Kabutops dove at Tsuki, slashing with one of their scythe arms. Tsuki leapt out of the way, but still had her hind leg nicked by the blade, forcing her to adapt to more of a limping gait.

    With Kabutops having launched into battle, the rest of the tunnel roared into action. The silence of before became a distant and longing memory as the remaining fossil pokemon scrambled over to the rest of the group to attack.

    The two omastar arrived first, being the closest to the group from their earlier position on the ceiling. Alex acted swiftly, singling out one of the rock-water-types and slashing at them with a leaf blade attack. As the other omastar began crawling over to Nelvana, she accepted her opponent, whipping her club at them, hitting twice with the bonemerang before returning to her hands.

    Archeops dove ahead next, aiming for Alex during the period he would be distracted against Omastar, but Archeops’ hunt was halted as a shadow ball nailed them in the side of the head. Advancing to block Archeops from the battle going on between Omastar and Alex, Dusknoir readied another shadow ball between his hands.

    “I am your opponent,” Dusknoir rumbled, narrowing his eye at Archeops. “Face me, not him.”

    Not too picky about their foe, Archeops hissed in return, leaping to attack Dusknoir, shadows gathering at their claws and talons.

    Alex blinked, confused and momentarily distracted by Dusknoir’s action and words. Seeing the window of opportunity, Omastar opened their mouth and bit down onto the grovyle’s arm with dark energy. Hissing, Alex turned his focus to the matter at hand, retaliating by using absorb to regain some of the health he had lost in his moment of weakness.

    As the remaining three dungeon pokemon continued their advance, so did the remaining four of the traveling group. Though Keahi glanced over at Nelvana and Alex’s fights, zie knew that zie would be more of help against any of the other three foes, and thus zie continued onward. The two cradilies and the armaldo began closing in on the torchic, failing to notice Ceebee, Edgar, and Damien also joining in the fight.

    Edgar acted first, flames dancing on his robes before being launched towards Armaldo as wisps, searing their armor. Damien stretched both his hands in front of him, palms facing a cradily, which shot out a ray of energy, hitting the foe’s green body. Cradily’s head swayed, any previous focus replaced with dizziness and confusion. After seeing the effectiveness of his move, though, Damien scanned this battleground more, settling on disappearing and reappearing by Tsuki to assist her against Kabutops.

    Unlike the other two, Ceebee reacted offensively, creating the silvery image of herself and forming it as an ancient power attack, which she launched at the untouched cradily. Keahi doubled up on this, kicking the same cradily with zir rock smash attack before they could have the chance to think of recovering from what Ceebee had done to them.

    Tsuki and Kabutops were still locked in a relentless battle, the absol’s slight speed disadvantage cutting the fight a lot closer than she would like. She shot a beam of ice at her opponent, who jumped to avoid the attack. Letting out a growl of annoyance, Tsuki lunged at them, landing a hit with quick attack and following it up with a swipe from her forepaws, brooding with dark energy. Kabutops screeched again, but before they could get another hit in, they were suddenly struck by a bolt of electricity, forcing them to their knees. Tsuki took the chance to force her weight onto the foe, pinning them to the ground before they could stand again and scratching at their plate armor until they were defeated.

    “Thank you,” Tsuki told Damien in a gasp, who nodded back.

    Omastar wasted no time in attacking their ground-type opponent, shooting a powerful stream of water from their mouth at Nelvana. Knowing she had no time to dodge, Nelvana braced herself for the hit, turning to her side to shield herself. To her mild surprise, instead of being hit she heard a shatter. Blinking open her eyes that she had instinctively closed, she glimpsed a shield in front of her taking the brunt of the attack, shattering upon impact though. Distantly, it occurred to Nelvana that this had to be protect; one of the TMs everyone went ahead and learned, just in case. Piecing together what move this was also told her that it wouldn’t work at well the second time, knowing the nature of the move protect, so she swiftly closed the gap between her and Omastar, clubbing them over their shell with her weapon.

    She moved to hit them again with the same attack, but Omastar reached out their tentacles first, wrapping them around Nelvana’s arm and the bone itself. Nelvana tugged against their grip, but quickly gave up on this and opted to kick them in the face with her brick break attack instead. Omastar staggered back, removing their grip from Nelvana as they attempted to recover. Before they could get that chance though, Alex dove in, punching the omastar with an electrified fist, finally knocking them out; the omastar he had been fighting before already defeated as well.

    “Made it out of that without a scratch?” Alex commented, “maybe you didn’t need my help after all,” he joked.

    “Only because I managed to use protect,” Nelvana clarified, “I probably still could have handled it, but thanks though.”

    Dusknoir gripped Archeops by the throat. It had been no trouble for him to handle this foe; archeops by default were powerful attackers, but had poor defenses that were only worsened by their ability. His first shadow ball attack, if he were to guess, had already taken Archeops near to half their health, so it was no trouble to force their defeatist ability to kick in, rendering them easy for Dusknoir to finish off. While Archeops certainly got some hits in before Dusknoir was able to grapple them like this, it wasn’t much to him.

    “I could kill you,” Dusknoir whispered to Archeops, “you are weak compared to me, it would be easy. You were in my way,” he growled.

    Archeops valiantly struggled against Dusknoir’s grasp, swiping their claws in the air and snapping their teeth at Dusknoir’s face. Despite all their efforts, Dusknoir did not budge in the slightest. In fact, as if to prove his point, he tightened his fingers around their neck.

    It would be easy, he knew. In fact, part of him itched to just get it over with, put this pest out of his way, and anyone else’s, for good. It was how he had always handled problems, obstacles, enemies, like these. Besides, in this case, wouldn’t ending this archeops keep them from hurting anyone again? Right?

    Would it be right? Would it be the right thing to do?

    Archeops gasped for breath.

    Keahi delivered one final kick to Armaldo, finally dropping them to the ground. Beside zim, were the two cradilies. Keahi, Ceebee, and Edgar worked together to take the first one down and start damaging the second, but after Tsuki, Damien, Nelvana, and Alex all came over to help out, the fight was over much faster and much more swimmingly. Keahi exhaled with relief and triumph.

    “Is that all of them?” zie asked, glancing around.

    “I do not sense anyone newcomers to the tunnel,” Ceebee informed them, “this fight should be over now, now that we’ve knocked out all the ones here.”

    “Are they all knocked out…?” Keahi paused, turning to look at Dusknoir. “Hey, Dusknoir, you good over there?”

    “Yes, I have finished my battle,” Dusknoir answered.

    He floated over to rejoin the others, the unconscious body of Archeops laying behind him, still softly breathing.

    Keahi nodded, “okay, that’s good. How’s everyone doing then? I have to admit I’ll probably need an oran, some of those rock and ground moves got to me.”

    “I’m feeling alright, might take a closer look at this bite later though… looks fine now, but I don’t know what’s been in that omastar’s mouth,” Alex responded, eyeing the now faint mark on his arm for a moment.

    “I have a few cuts, but I should only need a single oran for them,” Tsuki spoke up, sitting herself down momentarily to gingerly lick at the largest cut, the one on her leg.

    “You sure? That cut looks bad,” Edgar commented softly, floating down to the absol.

    “Maybe take it easy on that leg for the next while… if possible,” Damien added, “is the… the Hidden Land right up ahead?”

    “Not right up ahead, but close,” Ceebee answered, “we can take some time to recover if everyone wants, but we should keep moving ahead a bit longer; we wouldn’t want any others coming in here and starting another fight,” she continued.

    “Let’s keep moving then,” Tsuki agreed, pulling herself to her feet.

First [ARC 1]: In which the human is transformed First [ARC 2]: In which a present is prepared Next: In which the land between time is explored Previous: In which the territory of others is crossed

[dotthings]

SPN 14.20 HOLY F*CKING I AM BOUNCING OFF THE WALLS HERE THAT WAS A GOOD. And a great set-up for S15.

*SNAPS FINGERS*

Let me try for some coherency. I scribbled watching notes.

Cas. :( Well I am not a bit surprise he’s not own with this. I don’t see how else he’s supposed to feel. Or how else Dean would feel. Or how Sam would feel. Sorry if TFW is so inexplicable to some people but they’re all making perfect sense to me. It’s sad but they make sense.

That Dean and Cas argument with Sam in the middle like :0 :| poor Sam, poor poor Sam, imagine having to watch all this intense Dean and Cas, he hates it when they bicker, and this is a real argument. 

“I know how much he meant to you. He meant a lot to me. But that isn’t Jack any more.” So there it is, the truth beneath Dean’s walls he put up. None of this is because Dean is cold or uncaring. He is, however, still very angry and still (thinks) that he has to kill Jack. The place Dean lands with Jack in this ep also doesn’t surprise me because I been knew and that makes sense too but it also makes sense that right up the line, he’d think he has to kill Jack and follow that anger. This is an extraordinary situation in fact. Even though TFW have been faced with not-versions of themselves before, they’ve never killed another family member while in that state. And I think Jack’s escalating danger levels in this ep pretty much vindicates why someone might think he has to be killed...even though Jack isn’t evil or malicious still (more on that in a moment).

“Nerds.” “Takes one to know one.”

I was just talking about this about Dean. About his facades and how he used to mock nerds and geeks--still does even now--but is actually the biggest geek and I love that Sam calls him on his nerd qualities. His nerd traits. WHAT HAVE I BEEN SAYING.

So nobody at all can lie any more and the world, as a result, starts tearing apart at the seams. Look SPN, when I said I wanted more emotional honesty...lololol that’s not what I meant. Some lies are necessary.

Oh my god it’s God. Hi, Chuck. (I was spoiled for this, it was still really fun when Chuck just popped up in the alley).

“Jack. He’s a problem.” NO REALLY I HADN’T NOTICED YOU DON’T SAY

Cas was going to see about the cage in Hell. Was he thinking he could put Jack in it?? Was that his alternative to just killing him? 

Jack visiting his grandmother and she calling Jack out on the fact that he lied to them. Oh snap, Jack. You’re sick of all the lies but you told one (for a kindness). Some lies are necessary. You lied to people too.

This episode has some realness here about what holds society together and different types of honesty. Lying is wrong...except 100% blunt honestly all the time would be a complete disaster and there are some lies we need to tell for the sake of kindness, for community, for forgiveness, or it all will fall apart. Which lies are too far and which are necessary. Can a lie hurt but also be for a kindness and be necessary? SPN has had its main characters lie for years. They lie with credit card scams so they can pay for gas and food and lodging. They lie about who they’re secretly working with behind each other’s backs. All of Team Free Will has lied to each other. Kept things from each other. It doesn’t go well for them. Yet here’s an ep showing that some types of lies are necessary as part of the fabric of society.

Dean is sooooo done with God’s bullshit I am laughing. This is also really subversive because yes we love Chuck and his guitar. Chuck singing Fare-thee-Well. Chuck as a likeable (if irresponsible deadbeat dad) figure on SPN. But how benevolent is he actually? And they don’t have time for a song right now, they just don’t.

Team Free Will are still speaking to each other after Cas stormed out. That’s a good sign!

“I built the sandbox. You play in it...but when things get really bad that’s when I step in.”

Uh...kinda. Sometimes, Chuck. Yes he’s intervened a few times. He put Sam and Dean on the airplane. He put Cas back together more than once. He stepped up when he needed do about Amara at the end of S11. So maybe a C+ on actually being there in a pinch.

“Jack is apocalyptic.” Which--self-evident right there in the ep, thanks, Chuck. Oh and can we stop pretending Jack isn’t incredibly dangerous at least? Oh he’s not just dangerous he is world-endingly dangerous. Note I rooted for Jack to be okay, and want him to be saved, but the situation is what it is right now.

It made a lot of sense to spec based on the ep title Chuck was going to show up to intervene and stop TFW from having to kill Jack, and I’m sure with a reference that blatant in that title, Dabb knew that would be the assumption. It made sense. The overturning of that is interesting here. Chuck didn’t show up and didn’t show up and when he finally does it’s to hand them the weapon to destroy Jack. Which at this point in the ep I’m still wondering--but it could be a test. Let’s see what happens.

Oh. Whoever shoots the gun, what happens to the target, happens to them. Aaaand we’re back to Dean with a self-sacrificing plan.

Damn Cas is so damn salty still about the Dean-in-the-box plan I love it. He hates that plan. Now he’s extra special plus cranky because he’s looking now at losing Jack and losing Dean simultaneously. I’ve talked a lot in my posts about Cas’s big love for both Jack and Dean. This is diabolical. Cas could lose them both with one gunshot. Of course he doesn’t want his son to die...but he doesn’t want Dean to die. Save Jack...means saving Dean too. 

I really loved this Sam and Dean scene and while Cas doesn’t get to verbalize what’s going on in his head, Sam certainly gets to vocalize what Sam’s thinking. “I’m the one who brought him back. He burned his soul off to save you and me. You want me to say I’m okay with losing you and losing him all at once. I can’t do that. I’ve already lost too much.” MIC DROP SAM WINCHESTER.

“I don’t feel anything.” There’s the crux of the Jack Problem. He intellectually understands what’s “good” and what’s “bad” but he doesn’t, in his own words, feel it. He’s the most powerful being on the planet and he’s completely hollow inside, lacking true empathy, lacking instincts, strong attachments, an innate sense of right and wrong. That’s...really terrifying. It’s really not at all hateful to Jack to comprehend how scary that combination is. “I want to love you back, it’s just I can’t.” 

This is. Damn. We saw AU Cas in ep 300, what happens when Cas never learned to access his emotions. As an angel, our Cas was taught that emotions were bad, they were a weakness. He was taught not to heed them. To control them. To never be led by his heart or his feelings. But instead of heeding that, Cas led with his whole heart, he often drowned in his own emotions, overwhelmed by them. He has intense attachments and pain and loneliness and fear and even moments of peace and joy. He feels it all. He’s the most feeling angel to ever feel, and how painfully on point is it that his son is now...emotionless.

“You’re my favorite show.” Wow it got super meta in here, Chuck.

“Why does it always have to be on us,” wonders the tormented characters. “Because you’re my guys!” gushes the enthusiastic Winchester fan, God.

I feel so called out right now. I do. While I am certainly in the camp that feels that too much torture porn angst without hope is a weaker story, like many fans, there is a certain catharsis and satisfaction in watching our favorite characters suffer and triumph and keep on going and not let the suffering defeat them.

In this ep Dabb is taking that idea and expanding it out to a walking talking metaphor, embodied in Chuck, who turns out to be a toxic wielder of suffering for his own amusement. Tying to Jack’s lack of emotions, Chuck seems okay with others suffering. It’s not that he lacks feelings, because he gets something from watching these “characters” suffer, but he’s lacking in empathy because he doesn’t seem to care that they’re suffering and in the world of SPN these are not characters, these are real people he’s jerking around making them dance to his angst-buttons for his own enjoyment.

Cas still is clinging on to hope that Jack can be fixed and my heart hurts for him. At this point, I’m still hoping Jack can be...but it’s not looking good.

Jack kneeling in front of Dean to be killed. Because while he’s dangerous, no he’s not evil or malicious. “I understand. You were right all along. I am a monster.” This is just...really sad. I’m sad.

Oh, SPN, you tried so hard, but I never thought Dean would be able to pull that trigger. Also the tragedy of Dean--he didn’t hesitate because Dean had a sudden revelation he wants to live so he’s not going to seppuku the problem after all. No, it’s because he just couldn’t do it to Jack in the end, to his son, who had earned his love and his trust after a rough start. Dean understands that this Jack isn’t the Jack he recently knew and Dean also understands how far gone Jack is and how dangerous. Yet he still can’t do it. This makes perfect sense to me. I could also see how he might have pulled that trigger (and that would have been horrible and it would have hurt Dean so much...and I don’t just mean because of the magic ricochet of that gun...it would be too much. And...it looks like this ep agrees with me on a textual and meta-textual level. Uh-huh.)

"This isn’t how this story is supposed to end.” Chuck, our author, isn’t enjoying the fact that his characters are doing things he didn’t plan on and didn’t intend (which happens during the creative process).

“Pull the trigger and I’ll bring her back,” Chuck offers. “No.” says Dean. “My mom is my hero and I will miss her every day of my life but she wouldn’t want this.”

And then Sam goes OFF. “over and over and over again...losing people we love.”

“This isn’t just a story. This is our lives.”

I am LOVING THIS. I actually clapped my hands with meta-ish glee. 

THE CHARACTERS ARE REBELLING AGAINST SPN’S OWN RELIANCE ON MISERY PORN AND I AM LIVING.

This is so self-critical. On a story/character level, this is amazing for Sam and Dean, who are defying fate, refusing yet again to be jerked around by a cosmic puppetmaster. Sam goes as far as defying the idea that they don’t deserve to be happy. Not in so many words. But he is flipping off the concept that all they are good for is suffering AND I AM SO PROUD and I think Dean gets it too but oh my poor Dean was just willing to commit seppuku and while Dean is rejecting being puppetted around, not for anyone, not even to save Mary, I don’t know if he’s at the place where he sees it how Sam does--that screw you, I don’t deserve to suffer like this open defiance. 

So Sam shoots God. lololol for a hot second there I thought Sam was going to kill God and welp that would have been a plot twist but no, just a flesh wound so Sam is wounded too.

Chuck’s not thrilled his favorite human pets aren’t playing along for his amusement.

“Story’s over. Welcome to the end.”

LIGHTS OUT.

Well. God was the big bad all along. GOD WAS THE BIGGEST BAD OF SPN ALL ALONG.

I was hoping Jack wouldn’t have to die. At least none of his dads had to kill him and the set-up with Jack landing in The Empty seems like he’s not gone forever. WHAT DID BILLIE MEAN “WE HAVE TO TALK.” About what. What is going on.

WHAT IS HAPPENING

IS THAT LA LLARONA

THAT’S BLOODY FREAKIN’ MARY

HOLY CRAP THE SOULS OF THEIR EARLIEST CASES ARE RISING FROM HELL

ALL THE SOULS ARE RISING FROM HELL

WE ALL SPECCED HEAVEN WOULD BREAK AND THE SOULS IN HEAVEN WOULD GET LOSE AND INSTEAD IT WAS ALL THE SOULS FROM HELL THIS IS AWESOME

SAM AND DEAN AND CAS!! TEAM FREE WILL ARE BACK TO BACK TOGETHER IN THE DARKNESS SURROUNDED BY ZOMBIES I WISHED FOR A MOMENT LIKE THIS FOR YEARS. TEAM FREE F*CKING WILL. ALSO A FINALE THAT HAD ALL THREE OF THEM UNITED. THANK DABB.

[eponymous-rose]

Talks Machina Highlights - Critical Role C2E50 (Feb. 5, 2019)

Are any of us ever, really, on the internet?

This week’s guests are Taliesin Jaffe and Matt Mercer!

Brian shames Taliesin and Matt for (to be fair, accidentally) pouring coke in with their 22-year-old scotch. I am also physically pained by this. I may need a minute to compose myself. (@loquaciousquark: “I like how you’re Brian in this and I’m Matt.”)

Announcements: MAME drop airs three hours before Talks every week! Next week’s Between the Sheets will feature Will Friedle, and last night’s episode featured Quyen Tran! Critical Role will be taking this coming Thursday off, and Talks Machina will be taking next Tuesday off, but the show returns on Valentine’s Day!

But for now, let’s jump into Episode 50: The Endless Burrows

Stats for this week’s ep: Fjord got the 50th HDYWTDT in the 50th episode! The Roper’s crit on Caleb would have one-shotted him had Caduceus not reduced it by negating the crit. Spurt is the first on-screen guest player character death in the history of the show. Chris Perkins was at the table for 22 minutes and 15 seconds. Taliesin: “That’s an episode of network television right there.”

Chris was in town unexpectedly, and asked if he could come watch the show. Matt had written Spurt as an NPC character, just to see how the M9 would react to him. As he was driving to the studio, he realized it could be a lot of fun to let Chris play the character instead. Chris was on board, and Matt told him “You’ll know when to jump in,” and that was that. Nobody else had any idea he was going to be playing.

Caduceus is “in his element but out of his element” underground. “He’s looking for things to be excited about. Not a lot of things to be excited about here. It’s kind of awful.” Taliesin is trying to let him be a little more tactical, to just take care of things and do what needs to be done. “He’s on edge, but it’s a healthy edge.”

Matt clarifies that the party haven’t really emerged into the Underdark---they’re just skimming the edges of it. After spending a lot of time there in the last campaign, Matt didn’t necessarily want to bring it back there again.

Caduceus doesn’t see the group as being deceitful so much as just people who haven’t had the option of being open before. “He’s trying to make that option available.” Part of his training at the temple involved talking to people, helping them feel better, and helping them open up, so this is nothing new to him. Matt: “The solitary therapist.” Taliesin: “He really, really likes them.”

Spurt was originally intended to be a potential hindrance to keep the group from getting past the fire giants stealthily, if he wound up coming along with them. Turned out he... sort of removed himself from that equation.

On the parade of tragic backstories: “I don’t think Clay fully comprehends how bad this all is. I don’t know if he can comprehend art film horror. ‘That’s rough, man.’“ Matt: “He’s the Fred Tatasciore of the group.” Everyone is delighted by that comparison.

Matt was looking for opportunities to bring tragic backstories together. Taliesin calls it a “car crash” approach.

Why are D&D characters often so tragic? Taliesin: “It’s harder to make an interesting happy person.” Matt: “That’s true, but it’s not impossible.” He talks about how it’s natural to try to build something into a character’s backstory to propel them into the dangers of adventure. It’s also the opportunity for a player to work through something they’re going through out-of-game in a safe, cathartic way.

Caduceus is “still a little lanky”. Taliesin points out that this is to be expected because he’s a “vegan on the road”. There’s a long discussion about how the food he makes is “basically semi-firm tofu”.

Matt freaks out a bit about the unintentional callback... VM also being a mid-level party descending into the Underdark in search of a halfling and almost losing a rogue’s foot to lava. A lot of things had to go a particular way for that to happen, and he definitely wasn’t expecting it, especially since he was consciously trying to avoid familiar territory with the Underdark this time around.

Brian: “Which is funny, because the writers never even saw the first campaign.”

Taliesin points out that a trickster cleric is meant to be more of a toolkit, whereas a grave cleric build is more of a medkit.

Taliesin: “I’ve learned my lesson, and I have like three new character ideas ready to go, for this campaign or the next.”

There’s a lot of debate about where the hell Spurt got a skunk, which leads to the creation of the magical item Skunk Jug, which produces a skunk.

Caduceus enjoyed the romance novel, but it hadn’t “entirely clicked”. “He’s aware that: ‘Ah, they’re doing the hanky-panky stuff.’ It’s not really in his wheelhouse.”

Matt was very proud of the group coming up with their plan to get past the giant, and he felt a bit bad that Nott rolled so low (although he also loves the “magnificent clusterfuck” moments that are the hallmark of D&D). Brian: “That’s just a testament to how bad Sam is as a player.” 

Caduceus took Warcaster as his next feat. “This seems to be in-character and useful.”

Fan art of the week: Nott running across the lava! Taliesin: “I want to play that game. That’s an 8-bit game I want to play.”

Brian asks Matt if the game’s about where he thought it would be at episode 50. Matt: “We’re charging into Xhorhas earlier than I was expecting. We need to get Ashley back soon.” (They’ll get her back in a couple months.) He also points out that some story beats have happened in the world in the group’s absence. He didn’t want to tailor the story’s trajectory to manufacture a big moment in episode 50. The group’s involvement in the Empire has been less than expected, but the direction they’re taking is much more direct than he was expecting. Taliesin points out that if the group had been Vox Machina, they would’ve involved themselves in the politics of the war instantly. Matt reiterates that he loves DMing in a reactionary way when the players push in an unexpected direction.

All Taliesin wants to do right now is fix that sword. He’s expecting it to be, like, a +1 cursed sword that just sings constantly and can’t ever be put down.

Taliesin: “I’m enjoying corralling all the kids.” Matt points out that he’s a much-needed influence on the group. Beau is the one that Cad considers to be his best friend. Dani: “You two can’t not be best friends in this show.” Cad thinks of Fjord as an angsty teen. He thinks Caleb is occasionally up his own butt a bit. He hasn’t figured out that Jester’s an adult yet. “’Oh, she’s happy and fine. Thank goodness someone is.’ And obviously she’s not, but he hasn’t figured that out yet.” He’s disappointed in Nott for the amount of drinking, although he hasn’t said it out loud.

Taliesin: “Cad thinks dangerous things have wisdom. Sometimes just walking up to something and asking is very useful. Sometimes you can avoid getting arrested in front of a coffee shop by offering the officer a hot pocket.”

Matt talks about how getting players to avoid combat is a teaching process that involves incentivizing out-of-the-box approaches. That’s in direct contrast to the more traditional grind-through-fights approach to D&D that was prevalent in the early editions, so it can be a process. He points out that you can talk to players out-of-game, or you can change your own plans to allow players a non-combat win even if it’s a bit of a stretch.

Taliesin and Matt both own a pair of chaps. As you do.

Taliesin’s personal inspiration for Cad’s staff was very Dark Crystal-driven. The crystal comes from the land he lives on. He dug up the crystal and made the staff himself; the beetles crawl into and out of the stick continuously.

Talks Machina: After Dog

Brian: "Are you relaxed right now?” Taliesin: “Yeah, there’s something in this Coke that’s really...”

Taliesin got started with eyeliner in high school with Vampire LARPing. He had a (mumblemumble)”furk idee” that got him into goth clubs early. Matt first learned to apply eyeliner for cosplay, then wore it for the first time outside of cosplay clubbing with Taliesin (they also had an industrial goth karaoke night).

Dumbest way they’ve managed to injure themselves? Matt was editing There Will Be Brawl’s final episode, which was a bit too overambitious and he was the only editor, and he didn’t sleep for 72 hours and threw his back out horribly from sitting too long. Taliesin was doing a student film as a teenager, and was asked to do a stunt that involved holding someone up to a moving train (Matt: “What the fuck, Taliesin?”). He had really long goth nails at the time and managed to break all ten of his nails off entirely doing that stunt. “I didn’t drop him into the moving train!” Matt: “That’s why unions are good.”

Brian: “I lit myself on fire with a molotov cocktail.” Yes, really, but he wasn’t badly burned. Taliesin: “Did you at least hit the man? Did it stick to him?” Brian: “It was not a man. It was a porta-potty.” Matt reiterates how grateful he was not to have grown up with cellphone video.

Matt: “So you’re saying...” Taliesin: “I was Emperor Norton, yeah.” Matt: “Aw. I’m proud of you!”

We all learned... a lot today. See you in two weeks for episode 100 of Talks Machina!

[fgodestinyawakenings]

EOR Shinjuku Singularity: Prologue~Section 6

The hell in Seraph is over for now, time to get back to the main story for NA! And, finally the ACTUAL tutorial stage of how HP bar works arrived as well... I’m not paying 1 SQ for another spartan lesson again...

Anyway... Just some FYI, all EOR Singularities are actually skippable. Yeah, that’s a slap for dropping the bomb... But yes, all EOR Singularities can skipped and be done another time. They aren’t the requirement SO FAR (because I don’t know if DW in JP will change it) for future event

So if you feel your team isn’t ready, just wait for another 1 or 2 event to grind materials so you can go back to start the story. Because... After going through SE.RA.PH... It’s really important you got 1 of each class (including Mash) have their level maxed out and skills level as high as your QP could bring. 

So without further ado... Let the crime in Shinjuku begin!

Prologue

Starting with a spring cleaning in Guda’s room, Mash and Guda both tidying up Guda’s room as they reminsince of the past. Fou wanted to help, but was assured by Mash they can handle it...

Oh, Da Vinci-chan came by... For slacking off as usual OTL Hiding away from the higher-ups when things are getting busy... Gudas, this is your room. So it’s your responsibility to clean it up too... Something Mama Emiya would scold together with Mash onto the Gudas. A peaceful life after the whole ordeal in Part I...

After cleaning, Mash left with Fou to get tea as break time. Da Vinci revealed that after Mash’s revival in Solomon Singularity, her whole body renewed to a human body... With her no longer being able to become a Demi-Servant because her magical circuits no longer working

Da Vinci briefly explained about the magic circuits, and summarized her switch is now jammed. Despite it being nothing wrong physically, it doesn’t change she can’t activate her magic circuits

Suggesting for Mash to go to school, the Gudas interrupted with Mash’s arrival on the topic of love. Da vinci teasing them at the back of the possible romance blooming... 

Moving on, looks like the Mage Association did showed up and got mindfucked on everything that the Gudas went through... Mash revealed what she overhear which is the two staff discussing on new mages coming into Chaldea to work as new Master...

Topic on Lev Lainur brought up, hinting that there’s an accomplice of his action that he started from the very beginning. And currently, it’s unknown of their appearance...! Because of his bombing, the current staff are now held under suspicion on terrorism for bombing the Master candidates...

Olga Marie’s family still currently having problems to deal with especially the death of the director... The worry of the Chaldea being frozen, wished Romani is still here with us... At least he’ll know what to deal with the situation here...

One of the staff also decided to protect the Guda’s from the mage association, something that the other staff doesn’t want to do. To protect the young Gudas getting caught up in the politics, even knowing how much it’ll stain their reputation much to their dislike, they work together to protect their future this time

Back to Da Vinci and Mash, Da Vinci understood as knowing the Mage Association won’t rest and stop until they interrogate the Gudas. Assuring not only Mash and Da Vinci, everyone that they contracted with and met knows their efforts! Hence, it’s all right even if no one knows that they save the world.

While commenting Fou is being innocent in his unusual behavior, Da Vinci already ran off to hide from the Mages Association. Both Gudas and Mash resumed back to their cleaning...

Hm? The alarm? An attack?! Stopping their cleaning towards the Command room... A new Singularity appeared in Shinjuku?!?!?! B... BUT WHY?! No disorder in the timeline... So why?!

Despite Goetia’s gone... They’re back? Because of those 7 Singularities.. It also messed other timeline too?! As the said Master candidate yet to arrive, the Gudas once more go on a journey to fix the Singularity again

Da Vinci’s right... Even if the new candidate are here, the only experienced person by far to fix the Singularity is the Gudas themselves. With some Servants that’s still remaining in Chaldea, or practically everyone, Gudas are ready to take on a new challenge

Mash is now entrusted to Romani’s role as instructed by Da Vinci to make sure Gudas existence are still here. Da Vinci warning us to be careful one last time...  The image of Romani from their view, made them remember his first word in the prologue and his final words... Let’s head to the entangled web of Shinjuku Singularity!

Section 1

So... Does anyone.... Like... I don’t know... First... WAKE UP GUDAS!!! WE’RE FALLING AGAIN FROM THE SKY LIKE BABYLONIA SO WHY?!?!!?!?! GAAAH!!!

Huh? Wait, who the hell monologues our issue? I don’t care about finding love, just save the Gudas--!! WHO?! A strange old man now saves the Gudas after separating from their Servants?! 

Thank you for that one hell of a landing, sir... Yep, everything all right so no need to go past personal space please! .... Okay, what’s going on in this hell, whoever you are?

So strange gang members, weird looking machine dolls, and a spy squad? Okay hornets for the spy squad... Those things are killing off all good people except the evil ones?!

A strange tower and familiar wall in Uruk stood in middle of Shinjuku, definitely a Singularity needed to fix in this timeline. Well thanks for the heads up, dappy Servant, good to know we’re not going there anytime soon right now. And fair enough, seems like this Singularity is where revealing a True Name will become more than fatal if we know...

So Archer of Shinjuku, I look forward in your care with the Gudas here! Except don’t bring them to a host club to gather more harem members than needed... Anyway, heading down to the streets, Mash deduced which even Archer of Shinjuku wonders if he’s supposedly a Caster-class Servant.

Oh right, now I remember about Keroro the moment he mentioned Anglo Mois... That’s the supposedly rumored end of world doomsday in 1997... OTL Okay dude, for someone supposedly wanting to “help” us, you sure sound excited in destroying the whole world here >.>

Woah, thank you for the warning! Looks like the enemy mobs are here, time to see what Archer of Shinjuku can do to prove that he’s helping us! Or not, since I’m not using NPC Servant...

... OKay what? You mean they drugged themselves to be mages?! Those gang members?!! Nevermind, time for this first show of the chapter begin!

Those mob apparently does crit star gather rate down debuff...  Shouldn’t be a problem to kick their ass while grinding for bond points!

Meanwhile in Chaldea, both Da Vinci and Mash wondered about Archer of Shinjuku’s true name. Though, they ended up drawing blanks and decided to hide this from the Gudas until they figured out something

Back at the street, that’s what you get for messing with us! Well.. Ouch, sorry dude, that sucks on missing out the youthful part of life... Maybe it’s justice? You did help Guda in scaring away the mobs that’s picking on the weak, so it’s justice!

Looks like we earned Archer of Shinjuku’s respect, with Guda’s right judgement in withholding to trust him fully. We got a deal as he agree to help us to fix back the singularity, we move onto the next area....

..... Man, this feel odd. I can see Edgelord Dantes writing dairy in his Counte of Monte Cristo novel, just not in FGO. But then again, his words always gives foreshadowing especially summarizing how good can’t survive in this singularity

Seems like he’s working on his own, to figure out what’s going on Shinjuku here... I knew something wrong with that old man the moment he’s excited on destroying the whole world!! And we? Dantes, I thought you say you’re working alone?? Dantes?! Avenger??!

Section 2

Somewhere in some building, with that familiar shape of a certain Servant, he’s with his Archer, Rider and Assassin Servant ally in a meeting. Expectedly, they are the bad guys that creating this Singularity, already knowing the Gudas are here to fix it

Rider Servant enraged that the plan of making Guds fall to death failed. Assassin laughed and suggested to let the Rider Servant go to hunt the Gudas down... Gee, some evil relationship you have to work together.

Three Servants coming after the Gudas’ head... And... Huh? Other Archer revealed himself? He looks familiar... But on one thing, we thankfully don’t need to face their Saber and Lancer since they both got killed before they arrived.

Wait Nameless... That sounds really familiar... It can’t be right...? Though at least we know where those magical bullet comes from... Sharing a weapon very similar to our companion we know here *stares at Archer of Shinjuku*

Other Archer took his leave to check his sniper spot now that the Gudas arrived, or... No... No way... EMIYA?! OUR MAMA EMIYA?!?!!?!? THAT EMIYA WHO DOES UNLIMITED BLADE WORKS AND COPIES EVERYONE’S NOBLE PHANTASM?!!!

And, it’s Emiya Alter?! What the hell?! WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU?!?!?! Even his whole personality turned colder than the one who often nag at the Gudas...!!

After Emiya Alter left, the boss made comparison with Assassin with the latter being unpredictable than the Other Archer. Assassin has left, leaving.... SHAKESPEARE?! What the hell! How did you even got entangled into this mess?!

So, he’s forced to summon those monster for Archer of Shinjuku... Great, the mess just keep going worse... OTL

Back in the main street of Shinjuku, the Gudas were briefly lectured further by James of the mobs that existed here. But as we approached the stroller of a baby’s cries.... A doll? A BOMB?!

Archer of Shinjuku saves them again, and shouldn’t as a heroic spirit your back will healed? Archer of Shinjuku again briefly lectured them to be mindful of their surroundings, and scolded for being reckless. So... 9 strange mobs making Sorpano coming at us? We’re going to have a rap battle with them?!

Christine... OH, Phantom of the Opera’s love interest?! She’s behind this?!! And... Okay, at least good to know where the dead bodies disappeared after hearing their song like a siren here!

As one of the ruffians they fought got caught by those Coloratura... Sorry, skip the lecture on how to keep hostage alive-- Damn it! Of course it’s not something to be happy they’re forced to watch an innocent human getting attacked here >.>

.......  Well, so much for exiting since you’re bragging about stealth operation here... And don’t laugh to change the subject, now we got to face 9 of those coming at our ass here!!

One thing annoying... Was their sudden NP charge in the first wave... The mobs aren’t really an issue, but... God damn it!

All 9 are dead, time to make our escape here ASAP! You really underestimate the Gudas here... Considering they don’t stoop to beg even towards Gilgamesh and Ozymandias back in their singularities.

Meeting this version of the Phantom of Opera and his beloved.... Machine doll, Christine... Who now known as the cause of wanting human skin and blood to become human. And how is that our fault?! Hey, it’s not like we want to save the world because we want to?! Blame Goetia for trying to wipe the whole of humanity’s existence here!!

........... Archer of Shinjuku, you fucking idiot!! Why did you have to push a button on her!!! >.> At least stall time by talking, and not having them going after your heads!!! One explosive getaway, we’re at another end of the streets or so...

Okay... Who the hell control this highway here if this is now a divided zone of conquer?!?!?

Section 3

So.... That wolf howling in previous and current chapter... Well... NO SHIT, NARRATOR! OF COURSE, YOU NEED TO RUN REGARDLESS WHERE YOU ARE THE MOMENT YOU HEAR THE HOWLING!! RUN!!!

Not a normal wolf coming at the Gudas at 2km per hour... Definitely a Servant getting the Gudas head!! If we can’t outrun it, then we just have to fight it! I’m not sure on how fear works via theory but if you feel trembling and want to pee in the pants with no restraint on seeing something scary, then that’s fear

So, a fictional wolf huh? Along with its rider... But, there’s situation with Nursery Rhyme *cough* And gacha will always be able to bring them in *cough* So, wait, is this the Phantom Spirit Sherlock is going after?!

And it spit at us human arm... Time to figure out their True Name later, let’s get out of here!!

<<NOT SCREENSHOT>>

Okay, I went in blind here and nearly dead because Kiritsugu, Shiki and First Hassan were nearly having problems thanks to its debuff. At least Hassan’s guts saved his own life when Rider uses its NP.... I REALLY HATE INSTA-KILL FROM ENEMIES WHEN WE CAN’T INSTA-KILL THEM!!

Plot wise, well no fucking shit Archer of Shinjuku! Looks like even his own magic bullets aren’t working to defeat Rider. So... Yay! Free driving lesson in the midst of getting chased by a headless rider with his wolf!!

Wait that smokescreen... The motorcyle and that’s.... ARTORIA ALTER?! She picked them up, with Archer of Shinjuku remaining behind to stall for time. Meanwhile back with our Edgelord Dantes, you’re really getting weirder than usual

I know you’re concerned of Archer of Shinjuku siding with the Gudas for strange reason... WHO ARE YOU AND WHAT HAPPENED TO OUR EDGELORD WE KNOW?!

Section 4

Artoria Alter... Riding over speed limit and telling to calm down, will not make people calm down! OTL But thank you, at least now the Gudas are extremely far from their territory...

Meeting this version of Artoria Alter, we earned her respect from this version. With a temporary contract made with her, we-- Hm? Aww a cute little doggo! But how could such an adorable stray dog like him will bite Artoria Alter! Even Fou is excited on meeting this new companion!

Please, let us take the dog to your base! You’re not going to deny his adorable puppy face will you...? Gudas, none of you should own a pet until you guys went through proper pet caring lesson... Who gives onion or chocolate to them?! Nice! Cavall II is going with us to Artoria’s base XD

At her base right in the roost... Wow, that’s lot of food ration to survive. After feeding Cavall II food, we briefly explained whatever Archer of Shinjuku mentioned. Wait? You fought him before? So he’s an enemy previously but now???

So, who the hell did we meet if the one Artoria described is different...? So before meeting us, she met the two members of this league that caused the singularity... And Edmond?! Wait... He called himself Edmond...? So... Okay, at least he got her to help us.

The maze of where this Singularity stands... Things are getting messy OTL

Back at the league, the other Archer of Shinjuku... As they noted they’re on the losing end, guess trouble brewing when we head out to find our Archer of Shinjuku.

Next day, backaches from sleeping on the hard floor, we met at the sight of Artoria training Cavall II?? Well time to move on... Back in the street, so it’s always night time here... And we finally entered the maze itself... What the heck? So much change really in this Singularity...

And, looks like a territory that should be here isn’t now... Okay, looks like another trap again with the hornets coming after our ass this time!!

So after defeating those hornet, and earning compliment from Artoria Alter... Time to save our Archer of Shinjuku from them! As he’s now facing against another group of Hornets with him

... Good god, it’s your own coffin gun and you don’t know how to reload?! Well, at least we save him... And it confirms, that’s the Servant Artoria met and fought before but why?!

And hey, once again Gudas surprised Archer of Shinjuku by mentioning he saved them because he’s a hero. Though, looks like the one we have is a clone and the one in the league is the original? Guess, it’s a good reason if you want to survive in this hell, you’d manipulate words to get people to trust and save you though not fully

Archer of Shinjuku also instantly know about Artoria’s true name just by her appearance and manner... Now this is getting interesting on maybe leaning towards his true identity!

Again with Dantes?, looks like his identity brings more suspicion to him. At this point, he’s growing more worried for both Gudas and Mash with Archer of Shinjuku with us

In the base greeted by Cavall II.... Even he thinks whole-heartedly Archer of Shinjuku is still evil despite his claim of being the good one! It’d be one hell of a comedy if it’s animated with Archer of Shinjuku attempting to make friends with Cavall II while Artoria is holding back her laughter XD

Section 5

Next day, Gudas answered the phone by Artoria’s order after a good night sleep. A mysterious person, which Gudas immediately noted it’s Edmond, telling them that Jeanne Alter’s HQ is being attacked by Emiya Alter’s army!

After giving us the information, Gudas reported back to them what they learned. And before we can do that, Artoria, let’s make a plan to save her. And Jeanne Alter has a point, YOU trespassed her territory uninvited y’know, Archer...

Greeting Cavall II goodbye, we’re at the park where Emiya Alter facing off against Jeanne Alter! She’s definitely been holding on for a while, though the bullets landed on her...

I see this is your first time meeting the Emiyas, Jeanne Alter. They got away with copying Noble Phantasm, so that can’t surprise anyone anymore... Wait Jeanne--!!

As the fire burns through another part of the city, Emiya Alter escaped alive. And also, that’s kinda rich from someone who’s been a fake in copying others, Emiya Alter >.>

Fortunately, Jeanne Alter is also fine but badly injured from her fight. With us arriving, cat fight between both Alters began. Long time no see, the shady-looking and nervous Master arrived to save you too, Jeanne Alter.

If only things were that easy in getting Servants like Jeanne Alter to join us via coming home into our Chaldea from gacha... :T Nevermind, looks like we got 8 ruffians coming after our ass!

After clearing them, Jeanne Alter questioned on Mash who quickly evaded she had taken leave from her role as Guda’s Servant for now. And they start their cat fight again since Jeanne Alter is bullying Galahad...

Wait... What? You know Archer of Shinjuku too?! So, Jeanne Alter also met and fought that Evil counterpart of him, and beaten to near death. Except everyone, Gudas still think he’s a good guy... Hope someone can bring Nightingale here for a check up OTL

Section 6

One explanation of Archer of Shinjuku’s situation later, at least we got Jeanne Alter’s approval in bringing him along. And you two, just get along will ya? Hey, Cu wears best clothes so don’t insult him!

Jeanne Alter, be honest, we understand perfectly you want to wear nice clothing so you don’t lose against your rival. Yes, that’s extremely straightforward and completely normal for a Tsundere....

And, we got 3 ruffians + 2 Chimera pets thinking we’re quick cash... Guess what, think twice because that’s QP and materials I’m taking from you!

Plot wise, and agreeing gameplay is hell with Berserker Chimera... They’re definitely not your average Chimera! Wait... There’s Chimera growling and howling...

Howling... OH FUCK, THAT HOWLING, THEY’RE HERE!! Thankfully it spared us from needing to kill one more Chimera... Rider of Shinjuku is here!! And well that explains the burning field and the gimmick... Jeanne Alter set ablaze the street to fight against them

Damn it Archer! I’m going to let Jeanne roast you once we’re done with them! But thanks to his signal, it’s an attempt of fight to the death against Rider of Shinjuku.

I should have probably brought Jeanne out earlier... But unlike first round, this one is more prepared. Shiki equipped with Kiyohime’s CE to deal more damage, and Jeanne NP to protect from Rider of Shinjuku’s NP. Which... Thank god for RNG OTL Their insta-death didn’t work on Jeanne OTL

Plot wise, Rider of Shinjuku still alive and attempting to bite everyone’s head off! Yet despite the fatal blow, Rider of Shinjuku managed to escape. A hatred that burns their determination stronger than anyone... Are they really Rider Servant...? Like its wife being murdered...? The wolf king, king of currumpaw, Lobo!

The next time we meet them, at least we know one True Name’s and their possible weakness for attack. Well, Archer of Shinjuku, why don’t you start lecturing Caster Gilles and Merlin on parenting and manners to their children.

Ignoring the cat fight again, or the most violent cat fight, we’ll head to fight Berserker of Shinjuku next, aka Christine and Phantom of Opera. Archer of Shinjuku, at times like this, you just need to sit back with a popcorn and let them destress themselves

Now in Artoria’s base with Jeanne Alter changing her costume, if you want compliment just admit it, Jeanne Alter. No need for a force option in dialogue to do so.

Edmond called again with Gudas picking up, he reveals and warns Guda about the other Archer of Shinjuku. As they’ve been messing with his plans, he’s doing something with the tower that stood in the middle of the city. Expectedly.. He plans to destroy earth along with humanity in it.

To get to him, first step is to take out all his minions before reaching the boss... We need to interrogate Jeanne to find out more about the other evil counterpart. Berserker of Shinjuku’s location revealed. Giving the advice to endure the hardship, Edmond gives one last warning to not trust our Archer of Shinjuku before ending the call.

Edmond now anticipates our reaction and decision towards Archer of Shinjuku, while he continues his investigation.

I’ll stop here for now, and continue later! Definitely by far, Shinjuku’s singulartiy is by far my favorite for EOR. I’m taking a break and look forward with 2/3 of this Singularity left to complete!

[grailfinders]

Fate and Phantasms #172

Today on Fate and Phantasms we’re making Rider of Resistance, a.k.a. a good reason as to why Type Moon should just... stop. Just stop, please, this is an intervention. As usual, expect spoilers below the cut, which is where you can find his build breakdown. Otherwise, check out his character sheet over here!

Next up: She’s a lumberjack, and she’s okay!

Christopher Columbus is a Gloom Stalker Ranger for a noble phantasm that lets him seek out whatever he desires as well as the smash and grab tactics the conquistadors are known for. He’s also a Swashbuckler Rogue to turn him into a high-seas swindler.

Race and Background

Cumulonimbus is a Human, but I want a feat so he’s a variant human instead. This gives him +1 Dexterity and Constitution, proficiency in Deception, and the Silver Tongued feat from unearthed arcana.This bumps your Charisma score up by 1, and you double your proficiency bonus when it comes to deception checks. You can also replace one of your weapon attacks with a contested skill check: your deception vs. their insight. If you succeed, you can move without provoking attacks from them, and your attacks have advantage against them until the end of your next turn. If you fail, they’re sick of your shit for an hour, and can’t be deceived in this way.

Unsurprisingly, Columbus is a Sailor, which gives him proficiency with Athletics and Persuasion. We’re changing things up a bit here, but you’ll need that silver tongue on longer voyages.

Ability Scores

Columbo’s highest stat is his Charisma; he’s a very clever leader, and an even more clever liar. Second is Wisdom, it’s like he can search things out using magic or something. If you’re going to survive a long ship voyage, your Constitution has to be solid as well. For your sealegs we’ll make your Dexterity better than average. That also helps with you running into fights wearing regular clothes. Your Strength isn’t that great, but we’re dumping Intelligence. We just don’t need it.

Class Levels

1. Ranger 1: Starting off as a ranger is cool, it gives you proficiency with Strength and Dexterity saves, as well as three ranger skills; Investigation for up close “treasure hunting”, and Perception to spot land just that little bit faster. You should also grab Stealth proficiency, it’ll make surviving in Chaldea a lot easier.

You would have gotten more skills by starting as a rogue, but starting here gives you extra health as well as Favored Enemies. Grab the two kinds of humanoids most akin to natives in your setting for advantage on survival and intelligence checks about them.

You’re also a Deft Explorer, which at level 1 makes you Canny with Deception checks, doubling your proficiency bonus. Take a shot every time I double your deception proficiency. You’ll take 3 shots, but that’s exponential, so it adds up quick. It’s still level 1, and you’ve got a +11 to deception, that’s pretty damn good.

2. Ranger 2: Second level rangers can get the Mariner fighting style, adding 1 to your AC while out of heavy armor, and giving you a swimming speed so getting knocked overboard isn’t a game over.

You can also cast Spells now using your Wisdom to cast them. Hunter’s Mark is a gimme since we’re not taking Favored Foe, but we’re also dipping into a third Unearthed Arcana for Wild Cunning, a ritual spell that gives you one of several effects. There’s a lot, but they mostly boil down to finding stuff important to survival more easily.

3. Ranger 3: As a Gloom Stalker ranger, you know the benefits of getting the drop on people better than anyone. Your Dread Ambusher takes the chillage out of your pillage by adding your wisdom modifier to your initiative rolls. Also on your first turn you get an extra 10′ of movement, you get an extra weapon attack, and that extra attack deals more damage. The conquistadors weren’t called the conquistadors because they were bad at conquisting.

You also get Umbral Sight thanks to all those nights of watching for the shore, making your dumb human eyes less dumb thanks to Darkvision. On top of seeing in the dark, you also count as invisible to any other creatures that rely on darkvision while in the shadows. Chris doesn’t have his own evade to be fair, but honestly with all the races having darkvision humans get screwed over so much that I’m willing to overlook it this time.

For this level’s spells, Hail of Thorns will give you some light weapons fire from your trusty ship. You also get Disguise Self for free from being a gloom stalker. It’s not in character, but again it’s free, and god knows you’d put it to good use.

4. Ranger 4: Use your first Ability Score Improvement to grab the Piercer feat, rounding up your dexterity for a bigger modifier and the ability to re-roll one die of piercing damage per turn. Also, your piercing crits deal an extra die of damage when they hit now!

5. Ranger 5: Fifth level rangers get an Extra Attack each attack action. You can still only use a crossbow once per turn, but you’ve got a sword, I’m not worried.

You also get second level spells! Locate Object is what we’re here for, but you also learn Rope Trick for free. Camping equipment was nice, but it’s time we set out for real treasure.

6. Rogue 1: Bouncing over to rogue gives you proficiency with Sleight of Hand, so you can finally get those darn eggs to stand straight. I don’t know why they made a Portuguese man obsessed with a Chinese myth, but whatever.

You also get Expertise in two skills, Perception will help you spot land faster, and Deception is basically just a meme at this point. Both of them get their proficiency bonus doubled. If you really wanted a crazy modifier out the gate you could’ve done this at second level for a +19 to deception, but instead you get it here for a +27. At this point you could totally lead someone on for the entirety of a pseudosingularity and not break a sweat! Not that you would, obviously.

You can also Sneak Attack with ranged/finesse weapons (hey, look at your arsenal, what a coincidence) to deal an extra 1d6 damage to creatures that are next to allies or that you have advantage over. As the men of Agartha could say, you don’t fight fair.

Also: Thieves’ Cant. It’s a language.

7. Rogue 2: Second level rogues get Cunning Action, so now you can dash, disengage, or hide as an action. You’re always moving forward. And sometimes, “forward” means “as far away from the people you’ve conned as possible”.

8. Rogue 3: Is making a sailor a Swashbuckler stereotypical? Probably. Either way your Fancy Footwork means you can ignore attacks of opportunity from creatures you’ve made a melee attack against, and your Rakish Audacity adds your charisma modifier to your initiative rolls. So now your initiative can be added to your growing list of character traits with silly modifiers thanks to its +8. Also, you can sneak attack against creatures when you’re dueling them.

Also also, your sneak attack is 2d6 now.

9. Rogue 4: Use this ASI to bump up your Dexterity for more accurate attacks and less accurate attacks against you.

10. Rogue 5: Use your Uncanny Dodge to get those sea legs working, dodging well enough as a reaction to avoid half the damage from an attack. And your attacks are scarier now, thanks to a 3d6 sneak attack!

11. Rogue 6: Use this round of Expertise to double up on Persuasion to figure how where people keep their valuables and Sleight of Hand to slip them into your pockets while no one’s looking.

12. Rogue 7: Admittedly, Chrissy Boy doesn’t have an evade skill, but he does get Evasion anyway, making his failed dexterity saves deal half damage and successes deal 0. I mean his guts arguably does the same thing at low health, but now we’re quibbling.

Also, 4d6 on sneak attack.

13. Rogue 8: We’ll go back to ranger soon, but first grab another ASI to bump up your Wisdom, speeding up your initiative and making your spells a bit stronger.

14. Ranger 6: It’s been a while, huh? You get another two humanoids to add to your Favored Enemies so you can terrorize a wider swath of natives, as well as Roving from the Deft Explorer goodiebag to speed yourself up and swim no matter what you’re wearing.

15. Ranger 7: Seventh level Gloom Stalkers have an Iron Mind, helping you keep your head on straight even during long voyages. Or against wisdom saves. Honestly the latter’s way more common, let’s go with wisdom saves. You have proficiency now, is what I’m saying.

We’ve also been seriously neglecting your magical damage, so pick up Magic Weapon so you aren’t mostly useless against a demon.

16. Ranger 8: Use this ASI to bump up your Dexterity one more time for better guns and AC. You can also use Martial Versatility to swap out your Mariner fighting style since it overlaps with roving, but I like it where it is. To be fair you could also make Columbus a Triton barbarian, but then he wouldn’t be Columbus.

You also learn Land’s Stride, which lets you ignore nonmagical difficult terrain, and you have advantage against magical difficult terrain like the one caused by Entangle.

17. Ranger 9: Ninth level rangers get third level spells like Conjure Barrage, which lets you conjure... a barrage. Like Hail of Thorns, this is basically your cannons firing off in the background. You also learn Fear for free. That smile is pretty creepy, after all.

18. Rogue 9: Ninth level swashbucklers get another feature, Panache, letting you make a persuasion check against a creature’s insight as an action. If they’re friendly, they become charmed. If they’re unfriendly, they have disadvantage on other creatures, and can’t make opportunity attacks against other creatures.

Personally I like Silver Tongued’s version better for combat, but the added utility is nice. Also, 5d6 sneak attack. That’s important.

19. Rogue 10: Grab the Tough feat with your last ASI for an extra 38 HP now and two more at level 20. You’ve survived at sea for over a month without getting mutinied, and you’ve got guts. Literally.

20. Rogue 11: Eleventh level rogues get 6d6 sneak attack as well as Reliable Talent, meaning you can’t roll lower than a 10 when using skills you’re proficient with. This means you’re guaranteed to roll at least a 16 on Athletics, a 25 on Persuasion, and a 61 on Deception.

Pros:

You are really good at deception. Like, ridiculously good. Like, literally can’t fail good. A minimum roll of over 60, in a game where DC 30 “nearly impossible”, is dumb. Especially since you can weaponize that check thanks to your UA feat.

Speaking of, if you’re willing to only make 1.5 attacks a turn instead of 2, you’ve basically got guaranteed advantage thanks to that feat.  That’s really useful when it comes to setting up your sneak attacks.

You’re also pretty tanky, with almost 200 HP and most of the rogue’s abilities to avoid damage. You don’t have your own healing, but I’m sure you can talk Medea into helping out.

Cons:

Your casting modifier is only a +3, so your spells aren’t as strong as they could be. Most of them don’t use your modifier at all, but expect your cannons to be a bit lackluster.

You will never need to roll a 61 on deception. You could have used that Canny on another skill to make two skills busted, but when you gotta flex you gotta flex.

You are playing Christopher Columbus.