#cool lava creatures. many dragons. good characters

[aroaessidhe]

2023 reads // twitter thread    

A Day of Fallen Night

slow character focused epic fantasy prequel to priory of the orange tree

set during the grief of ages, when Wyrms are on the rise and devastating cities across the world

the teen heir to the throne, a middle-aged tomb keeper at the priory, a young warrior from the north, and princess from the mountains of the east

motherhood, survival, politics

[waeirfaahl]

About Kuni's family

Although I already discussed about the dragon-like creature, I want to cover one aspect I never cared about before. Okay, first of all, I want to make it clear — in 2018 I myself came to the conclusion that the dragon-like shadow is a vengeful spirit of the killed animal. Yes, most likely it was inspired by demonic boar gods from Princess Mononoke, since Samurai Jack had several references to Miyazaki's works (Totoro and Jigen from Lupin The Third are the brightest examples), and the creature can share some similarities with spirits from myths, — and that's absolutely fine and cool — but the point here is that these possible sources of inspiration (if they really were inspiration, of course — the crew could come to this idea independently or be inspired by some other sources) don't matter. A good show/book/film is self-contained and itself has small details, which hint answers to a viewer or reader. Simply saying, during watching you came to some thoughts and conclusions about some characters and events and lore exactly during watching the show that gave to you details and hints to answers. I watched the show, I watched the Haunted House episode and I myself came to certain thoughts and conclusions about what the dragon-like creature is — i.e. I used arguments exactly from the episode (the painting that demonstrates how the hunter attacks the boar family), not from various myths or other movies etc. Second, what I want to point out — if the crew is inspired by something, it doesn't mean that their characters (or their interpretations) will be the same as their preimages. Since in SJ universe the supernatural creatures (that humankind considered as gods and created myths and epic stories about them) are real, I would even argue that they are not gods, but supernatural aliens, whose real history and true nature have almost nothing common with mortals' perception of them, i.e. at best 12% of events, embodied in myths, can be true. I.e. they're not what they seem.

So, now about Kuni and her family, who became the victims of the dragon-like creature. The question is simple — is the family dead or alive? Is Kuni dead or alive? Well, fans, who really enjoy to study myths of many cultures, can find some elements that can give impression that the family is dead, but I won't agree with this statement. And I have my own arguments, again, based on what the show demonstrated. I.e. I look at it from the perspective of the show and how it demonstrated the story, i.e. visual storytelling. First of all, if Kuni's family is dead, then the episode would show it directly — that Kuni's parents and brother are ephemeral ghosts, who hug and say goodby to his daughter, disappear in the sunlight and rise to skies with the wind, 'cause they are free now. The Lava Monster episode, for example, blatantly shows how valkyries take away the cursed warrior's spirit after Jack defeated him and freed him from the lava shell he was imprisoned in for many years.

But Kuni's parents and brother don't go. They hug each other and stay in their house. Not to mention the dialogue between Jack and Kuni — Jack thought that her family is dead after he killed the creature and hence destroyed its inner dimension, but they are free and alive.

While other prisoners inside of the shadow beast already looked like black silhouettes, i.e. they were here pretty long time and hence dead, so after the beast's death their free souls can rest in peace. Hmm, it means that the father killed the boars many years ago, and exactly after many years, when he made his own family, the creature returned for revenge and finally reached him and his family... Second, Kuni is alive for sure. She can hold the toy, Jack holds the girl as well.

And Kuni casts a shadow.

Even when they move near the statue of a goddess, you still can notice the shadows.

And when the dragon-like monster absorbs her family again, she is still in the house, not in inner prison-dimension of the monster.

So, Kuni is alive. Now about her parents and brother. First of all, they cast a shadow. Even in this illusion trap the creature created for Jack.

Second, I doubt that a ghost can sweat. Like, it is not a trick from the creature. It wasn't planned, and the father's nervous reaction confirms it.

Third, this creepy moment. Why would ghosts feel suffocation and epilepsy(?) with hypersalivation instead of simple turning into black silhouettes and returning to the creature's inner dimension? Nope, they are alive. And the monster simply tortures them, hiding inside.

Fourth, look at how the beast absorbs Jack's soul. It didn't devour Jack's body (I would assume, the fact that Jack's soul was strong enough to rebell and became free and challenged the creature for the battle is the reason, why it didn't devour his body — if Jack failed or wasn't able to become free, the beast would absorb his body as well), and after Jack defeated the monster out of inside, his soul returned into his body. While in the case with Kuni's family the monster absorbed their bodies as well.

But after death of the creature, they are free again.

So, I confidently think, they are alive.

[loquaciousquark]

Talks Machina Highlights - Critical Role C2E125 (Feb. 16, 2021)

Goooood evening good evening good evening, all! I hope you’re all staying warm and safe and dry in this chilly weather. Tonight’s guests: Travis Willingham and Laura Bailey. 

We open tonight with Travis ribbing Brian for his continuous remodel of his office space. Laura demands a second introduction of herself as she wasn’t paying attention during the first one.

Travis: “You’ve gotta love Julianne Moore. She’s the only actress who can cry and show you all her teeth at the same time.” I was listening pretty closely when he said this and I’m still not sure it had any context. 

Jester thinks there’s a strong possibility at least half the party will die against the Tombtakers. Fjord doesn’t think the odds are quite that high, but it will be dangerous. Laura points out that most of the M9 are also willing to sacrifice themselves for the rest of the party, so that changes their odds as well. Travis: “The game is not a stress reliever. It is not a stress reliever. I mean, it’s fun as shit, but it is stressful!”

Laura thinks Essek will give them a better chance. Travis: “A plus-one? A powerful plus-one, but a plus-one?” Did you see his reaction when we gave him the lowdown? Let’s be real: we kinda trust Essek. I got $50 that when we come back, he’s gone.” Laura is convinced he is trustworthy & wants to lighten his soul.

Jester spent so much time trying to bring out the Molly side of Lucien that to have him then betray them sucked. She knew that trying to bring the good out of everyone they met would eventually fail, but it stung that it was the most powerful one they encountered to first betray them.

She tries to talk about finger gestures during the answer as a reference to the HBO show “Raised by Wolves,” and Brian and Travis tell her to keep digging this hole she gets herself into about fingering. Travis: “Just get off the interstate at the next exit and turn right.” Laura, of course, immediately mimes turning a hard left, and they spent the next few minutes laughing at her inability to tell right from left and that even now she still has to hold up her hands to tell left from right.

Fjord is furious that they nicked the Bag of Holding. The loss of Vess DeRogna is bad enough, but he is genuinely IRL anxious about the loss of the Cloven Crystal. Laura points out that Fjord has also explicitly talked to Lucien about the deep sea creature patron he used to follow as well. He’s terrified one of Lucien’s scimitars is suddenly going to have a big eye sticking out of it. Laura suggests they’ll just succeed, bring back the city, and wake up Uk’otoa for the heck of it.

It was really rough to go from the Gelidon fight to the Tombtaker fight, especially since the first fight sent so well. Travis felt great that he initiated the dragon fight - he knew they had a far advantage in the numbers and felt that it was an open and shut case.

Laura does boggle that if Caleb hadn’t asked for that item from the Bag of Holding, they might have slept all night before realizing it was gone. They’re both relieved that they now know so much more about how the Tombtakers fight, especially the anti-magic cone. The most anxiety-ridden part was when they were trying to run and the TTs weren’t letting them. “You know when you don’t even have squares, when Matt’s black-tableclothing it, you’re in deep shit.” Laura had no spells left - she was so worried if she dropped the polymorph she would have had nothing left.

Travis: “Thanks for healing me, babe.” Laura: “You’re welcome, baby. It was ultimately a waste, though, because we took a rest immediately and you could just spend your hit dice.” Everyone laughs at Travis’s pain. She does say it was worth it in the moment since they didn’t know if they would be able to get away.

They joke that Laura’s just wearing the Fire Resist ring on a chain around her neck/Sprinkle is wearing it now to keep it safe since she’s not attuned to it anymore. It’s pretty hilarious!

Travis hoped that the TTs were originally actively looking for more acolytes rather than just having Caleb & Beau read the book. Otis needs to die. He’s relieved they have an idea of what all their blood rites do. Laura thought the time with them was fun, but it makes her retroactively wish that she’d dropped Zoran in the lava when they had the chance. Travis wishes they’d put a chime on the door of the tower.

Laura loved the tarot card reading, since Taliesin sent her really detailed breakdowns of the cards & gave her a real deck for Christmas. Taliesin told her she did a great job afterwards which she really appreciated, since she’s not sure what she’s doing. She does wish that she knew why Lucien seemed so nervous when she was talking about rebirth.

Cosplay of the Week! @clever_comics on twitter with a lovely Veth in her snowy lavender-colored outfit and pigtails.

Travis on confessing to Jester: “It FUCKING made me crazy!” He’s never been an instigator of campaign romances in the past, but because he loves Laura and was able to connect to her on that level he felt like it was a good challenge instead. He doesn’t think he could have done it with someone he wasn’t comfortable with. It was also important to him for it to be founded on real-game moments and after real-game time had passed, and he felt it was a very natural progression. Seeing the statues rip five years from her in such a benign situation made him realize that to let the opportunity pass wouldn’t have been worth it. He wishes he’d told Vandran what he meant to Fjord as well.

Laura loves that Fjord is becoming more confident as well. The post-Gelidon smooch took Laura completely by surprise since she’s finding Jester is a little surprisingly awkward with IRL affection, and she was surprised Fjord was the confident one there. “It’s so wonderful. It’s a matter of finding a way to get comfortable with it with her away from the Tombtakers.” Travis thought it was important to continue the “go for it” mantra. He notes that he’s pretty private about his personal life IRL, so it’s been a bit of a shift. It’s slower in a way - not a “you’re my one true love” kind of thing, more of a “let’s see where this goes and act on what you can” thing.

They were all “poopin’ in their pants” to get to go to Emon. The worst part was not getting to explore outside the tower since they had to leave again immediately. Kima is so cool, and Travis was actively trying to get Kima to come with them. Everyone boggles that they got to borrow Allura’s staff.

Laura only was thinking about the item-tuned-to-the-target-plane because she’d been texting with Liam trying to iron out their spell choices. She’s so relieved that they were able to get something tuned to the Sea from Allura.

For the most part, Laura knows what spells are the most useful for Jester, but every now and then she does get caught by major component requirements that she hadn’t noted. She wants to get another chalice for Hero’s Feast before they go into the Sea.

Dani points out that a lot of their allies right now are mages (no Kashaws, no Kimas, no Grogs) and they’re heading to a bad place for mages.

Travis has a sudden brain wave about all the TTs being from the Claret Order and wonders if they should investigate that before they pursue. I don’t even remember what that order is and I feel terrible!

Fanart of the Week! It’s a beautiful card by @crovyne on twitter of the Cree counterspell.

Laura really wants Brian to shave the sides of his hair and do Viking braids in the rest. I didn’t want to say anything out loud, but Brian’s hair is really looking pretty...pandemicky.

This is Dani’s four-year-anniversary of her start for Critical Role! Awww, Dani! You’re so short in real life.

Fjord is stoked that the Star Razor is a Vestige, and more now that he knows in-character what that means. It was great to see Allura react the way she did.

Jester doesn’t think they can really go to Nicodranas - they don’t have anymore time. Even more, Jester’s avoiding going home because she doesn’t want the Ruby to see that she got aged up/hurt on her travels.

Travis honestly assumes that the TTs are spying on them 100% of the time now.

Does Jester feel better now that the crest is away from Lucien? Yes, even though it’s gone off course. She thought dropping the crest where they were was a HORRIBLE idea and was appalled so many people were suggesting it. She saw the city with her own eyes, knows the danger of what’s coming, and if they had dropped it in flight she would have dropped with it and defended it as long as she could if that’s what would have kept them from getting it.

Travis thinks that if they can negotiate with Lucien, they should try. Everyone is super worried about Caleb’s and Beau’s new eyes and are fully anticipating they’re on a clock at this point. They wonder if it’ll drive up their exhaustion, allow Lucien to force them to fight against them, maybe make them willing slaves to the mysterious voice...they need to solve it sooner rather than later. 

And that’s all for tonight! New episode this Thursday - usual time, usual place. Stay warm, friends, and is it Thursday yet?

[heyitsmejona]

I am exited for Cantha and just got the new Skimmer mastery but don’t know what to do with it or myself - A GUIDE!

Hello fellow GW2-players! This is a guide for cool places you can explore with your Skimmer!

Requirements: 

You theoretically only need the Skimmer but to get the full experience you may also need the Springer (bunny) or any other mount you feel is appropriate. You can follow this guide alone but it may be more fun to do this in a group, as it is most likely you encounter a few difficult situations! If you want to make some money with it you need to bring a few gathering tools like sickle & pickaxe.

You can also only do most of the stuff if you have PoF and LW Season 3 & 4!! However, this guide has 15 steps in total and if you want to save money, the first 5 steps can be done without using waypoints. Don’t worry if you don’t have the map on your character yet, you can use tp to friend if a player of your party is on the map! Furthermore, I did not calculate the time needed to complete the guide but I would estimate it might take ~ 2 h if you’re fast and 3+ h if you are in a group and/or you want to complete everything!

Oh, and to all the roleplayers out there, this includes a few awesome places for some rp-sessions. 

DISCLAIMER: I am not accountable for any danger you get into or deaths that will happen to you!! Also this is a super super long post with visuals so I’ll hide the rest under the break!

If you’re ready: mount-up and let’s get into it!

Overview:

map

1. Bitterfrost Frontier:

Start from the Sorrow’s Eclipse WP and dive down! You’ll find a quaggan city and some corals! You can also loot all the chests gathered on the ice lake and maybe farm a bit of Winterberries if you feel like it. If you are finished you can leave through a portal to Frostgorge Sound and travel to the Earthshake WP and move on to the next step! 

2. Fireheart Rise:

On this map are two cool places! The first one is in Highland Thaw (upper left corner of the map), to reach it you have to start at the Rustbowl WP (Portal from Frostgorge Sound) and move up/north. You’ll find a lake with some underwater ruins and if you’re lucky a rich platinum vein. But be aware, there is sometimes a group event to kill an ice worm, at least 3-4 players are required to finish it.

The second place is further down on the map, you can travel to the Severed Breach WP and swim in dirty water and travel up/ north again until you reach a cool spot where some lava rivers hit the water. Looks really beautiful. Also, if you’re feeling extra fancy, there is one jumping puzzle and a hidden mini dungeon near the lake you can complete.

To reach the next destination leave the map over the Sati WP to the Iron Marches and travel south to the Dew Claw WP and leave the map.

3. Plains of Ashford:

Start from the Ascalon City WP and go east to Foefire’s Heart (poi) and if you glide down with your skimmer you’ll reach a blue cave with a cool hidden spot for some roleplaying!

To reach the next step, travel to Lion's Arch with the portal in the Black Citadel and go through a portal there to the Southsun Cove.

4. Southsun Cove:

Start from the Pearl Islet WP and go down/south to the beach where you can roleplay a bit and then move west to Sawtooth Bay where you will find some cool sunken ships and lots of sharks. Sometimes there even is a group event to kill a shark! Also a cool fun fact, you can enter the Privateer's Moorage and go down to the  cargo bay/the heart of the ship! Which is also a cool spot for some roleplaying as there are only some craps inside.

5. Rata Sum:

Go to the Port WP. There is nothing special in the water except some Triopen and weird electrical fishes but if you travel north you’ll reach a dam (wall) which you can climb onto with your Springer but be aware if you dare move further north you’ll land in Asura Jail, and I am not joking about that, try it out with your friends! To reach the jail like a normal person go to the Research WP and go north to the Peacemakers HQ where you can go down the stairs and you will enter the cell block of Rata Sum. Very cool for some roleplaying, if you are into that. (jk)

6. Draconis Mons:

Wow, have you ever wanted to swim in the sulphuric water of the volcano without dying? Now your time has come, mount-up and dive down. But not to deep or the game will threaten you with murder! You can start from the Mariner Landing WP and go wild. You won't see much anyways.

7. Ember Bay:

Start from the Promontory WP and travel south to the Sulfurous Deep, you’ll find a seaweed farm spot, some corals and if you feel like it, go farm some lotus on the nearby island/shore as well.

8. Malchor’s Leap:

There is much to explore here! It’s best if you start from the Lights WP and move west. You’ll find some cool statues from Malchor, an abandoned quaggan village, sunken ships and weird orrian architecture! Near the sunken ships is a group event where you have to kill a captain and her pet and in the big ship is something weird??? I haven't figured it out yet, but if you enter the bridge of the Harbinger (poi) there is like a veteran creature and some corpses swimming around, from there you can go deeper into the ship and you’ll find a door with some weird dialogue, idk man. Something cursed is going on there. Also The Harbinger has some cool lore, you can check out the Marriner Plaque on deck. If you move south from there you will find some weird swimming architecture and a group event with three bosses no one does, like ever.

9. Sirens Landing:

Okay, soo this one might be interesting for some of you! You can start from the Camp Reclamation WP and lo and behold, there are some shirtless Sylvari volunteers in the bay area! Yeah, moving on… you can find some orrian oysters and corals in the water and if you move east you’ll find The Buoyant Bough (poi) which has some nice plants on deck and if you put two and two together you’ll find some implied bouncing mushroom (HoT mastery) lore. Overall a good spot for some roleplaying! You can move up/north afterwards and do the jumping puzzle on the island, if you feel that's necessary. Otherwise there are more orrian oysters in the water and if you swim into the direction of the Choking Depths (what a cool name, you guys) you’ll find some very big and awesome sea urchins on the ocean floor!

10. Thunderhead Peaks:

Start from the Revolution’s Heart WP and move down to the Shattered Bay (poi in the bottom left corner), collect Volatile Magic and some Dragon Crystal Nodes on the way and if you finally reach the bay, there is a clam farming spot deep down in the water. From there you can move east to the Ice Floe and on the ground of the ocean you’ll find a seaweed farm. But be aware, both farming spots are guarded by some dangerous creatures.

11. Desert Highlands:

Start from the Brightwater WP and move west to the Transcendent Bay, if you have the Jackal portal mastery you can collect a chest in the giant vases, otherwise swim further east and you’ll find an underwater farming spot for clams!

12. Crystal Oasis:

Start from the Amnoon WP and take your Raptor on a walk and travel west to the harbor area, you can dive down and visit the old city of Amnoon, some sunken ships and a few corals. Afterwards swim south, you can make a stop at the swimming party boat for rich kids, do some roleplaying and move on. In the furthest bottom left corner of the map, like really far down you’ll find another clam farming spot. If you are lucky like me you’ll see a salomon and a shark fighting and a whale between the giant seagrass pillars. (Which was really beautiful, I cried a little bit.) And if you feel extra fancy and want to challenge yourself, you can climb on the weird cliff structure where the mastery point is. On top of the rocks are some Scarab Caches where you can get a Mini Scarab (small drop chance) if you’re lucky!

13. Domain of Vabbi:

You can start from the Market Ruins WP and move up/north or you follow the river down/south. Really far down in the south is a small chest, you tell me if it's worth it or nah. However, if you move up/north you can enter a cave right next to the red raid portal. The cave is super pretty and if you make it over a small wall you can enter a jumping puzzle of some sort, but there are super many branded elementals wandering around and at the end chest spawns a giant Volatile Magic man, whom you need to defeat for an achievement. (forgot which one though, sorry!) This one’s really dangerous, it's best if you do it with some friends. But I mean if you’re feeling especially daring like me you can do it alone too, I guess. I warned you though!

14. Domain of Kourna:

This one’s not really all that special, I just wanted to include it because I really like the meta on that map and would totally recommend it to you! I somehow like the map i.g., idk don’t question me. It’s best if you start from the Allied Encampment WP and follow the river and move down south, the water there is slimy but you’ll find some mussels on the shore! You can travel until you reach the bottom left corner where you’ll discover cute coelacanths swimming around and about. (Honestly, f*ck you Joko for polluting the water, have some Respect.)

15. Domain of Istan:

Phew, you have reached the last step! Start from the Champion’s Dawn WP and follow the river into the ocean. There is like a small empty fishing boat, cool, cool, great spot for some roleplaying. When you’re moving on, dive down to the ocean floor and travel further south until you reach Mehtani’s Blade, there is like an awesome anchor in the water, 10/10 would recommend. Also, more coelacanths in the water and in a much better and healthier environment. I am happy for them, this is what they deserve. Whoop, getting off track here, soo the bigger ship, the Mehtani’s Blade has some cool lore, you can speak to the ghost captain! (Also, a good inspiration for a character's story/backstory!) And to finish your trip on a good note, go west to the entrance of the Grotto of the Defeated where you can read some funny notes on the wall, really, go check them out!

Thank you for your attention, I hope you had lots of fun and discovered some new stuff in GW2!

[atamascolily]

Extremely subjective opinions about Star Wars planets

Inspired by @carmarthenfan. I did my top ten faves, and then gave up trying to put these in order, so they're literally in the order they occurred to me.

(This is not conclusive; I left a bunch out. There are a lot of Star Wars planets, y’all.)

1. Tatooine.

Iconic. Terrible place to live. Great place for making your characters suffer. Who cares that the ecology makes no sense when you have wide open spaces, exposed rock layers and salt flats, and a rockin' aesthetic? Not to mention wretched hives of scum and villainy and also, like, ACTUAL DRAGONS.

(Thesis: literally half of what makes ANH so compelling is that it's set on Tatooine.)

2. Yavin IV (Legends)

AKA Jedi Jungle Friendship Camp or Space Guatemala. If I was going to live anywhere in the GFFA, it'd be here. Temple ruins (even if they are infested with Sith ghosts), hot springs, rainforests, biodiversity, awesome eclipses and a giant blood-red gas giant constantly overhead, not much in the way of development... what's not to like? (Okay, the Sith ghosts are a problem, but they got rid of those eventually.)

3. "Forest moon" of Endor, ROTJ

Redwood forests are awesome. I'd totally live in an Ewok treehouse. They're the only place in the galaxy with handrails!!

4. Coruscant

I'd probably hate to live there, but it's a great setting for fic. A surprisingly large amount of wildlife and plant life, despite the rampant development. Epic architecture, lots of culture, Luke has a cool retreat in the Manarai Mountains and Han and Kyp go skiing at the poles. Home of "the room where it happens".  

(most of my fics to date are set on Tatooine, Yavin or Coruscant, lol)

5. Alderaan

Too bad the Empire blew it up. :( IDK about the whole Killik business, but Space Switzerland seems great, and I'd live there in a heartbeat. An actual multi-biome world, wow! I should write more fics about this place.

6. Myrkr (Legends)

Jungle planet with metallic trees and furry, Force-repelling lizards. Also giant vornskrs that use the Force to hunt. Don't forget Talon Karrde's awesome tree base!

7. Dagobah

I love this place, even if living there would be a challenge. Actually kinda has a functioning ecology in canon. Love the sheer abundance of snakes, plus dragonsnakes and the mangrove-like gnarltrees, which are the adult form of giant white spiders (I love plant-animal weirdness like this).

8. Mulako Comet (Legends)

Not technically a planet, but how can you not love a resort carved out of a giant frozen comet HOW. 10/10, we stan. The perfect place for a romantic getaway, especially if you are a water nerd like Luke.

9. Vjun (Legends)

The Gothiest goth place ever to Goth. Has names like "River Weeping" and carnivorous moss that nibbles on Obi-wan. <3. Vader's Goth castle was originally here before the writers moved it to Mustafar.

10. Honoghr (Legends)

Another terrible place to live, thanks to the Empire's sabotage, but I love there's actually an attempt at an ecological plot line here (Timothy Zahn is surprisingly good at those). A single biome world, but for a legit (and sad) reason. I should write some fics about this place.

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

Corellia (Legends) - It's okay, I guess? I'm not sure how I feel about the Corellian trilogy in general, but there are some things with the Selonians and the Drall that could be interesting for fic? Also, Treasure Ship Row is cool.  

Kessel (Legends) - Hell-realm. Not sure if Kevin J. Anderson's "glitterstim" is the same as "spice," but Han and Kyp have to fight off giant spiders in the dark underground mine, which is certainly dramatic. Had a moon until a prototype Death Star blew it up.

Ithor (Legends) - JUNGLE PLANET POPULATED BY BOTANY NERDS, SIGN ME THE FUCK UP. But they won't let you actually explore the surface, because it's sacrilege. :(

Belsavis (Legends) - Hoth on the surface, Yavin in the rift valleys (but with, like, plantations), plus underground tunnels full of monsters and Jedi artifacts. Home of a secret Jedi botany master and his plant friends, so I'm in favor.

Chad (Legends) - Mostly ocean planet--I guess Space Earthsea, but with more geological activity? Callista makes it sound dreamy and idyllic in her flashbacks, but all the native Chadra-Fan are trying to GTFO, so I dunno.

Nam Chorios (Legends) -Like Tatooine, I would probably hate living there, but it's a great setting for a fic. The perpetual twilight would get old fast, but I love the terraformed ecology, the sentient rocks and the Force storms. Drochs are super creepy, though.

Hijarna (Legends) - There are ruins and sweeping vistas. What can I say, Karrde knows how to pick a secret base. :)

Dathomir (Legends) - Rancors have to be native to somewhere, so why not Dathomir? Courtship of Princess Leia is hokey and weird as all get-out, but it did give us Teneniel Djo, and I love her.

Hapes (Legends) -100% better at you than everything, and they know it. Leave them to it.

Yavin 8 (Legends) - Giant snakes and giant eagles... who literally eat children. Kinda weird being in a place where humanoids are on the bottom of the food chain. Love the Melodies' amphibious lifestyle, though.

Wayland (Legends) - Endor with the serial numbers filed off. Still love it, though. And Palpatine built a lair in a giant mountain! Props to him.

Ryloth (Legends) - sounds like an actual hell realm, but a desert planet? One half in perpetual sun, one half in perpetual darkness, and only a very narrow habitable zone? I’m game.

Msst (Legends) - Terrible, if accurate, name. All we ever see is the eponymous mist, plus giant pink creatures that numb you with poison and devour you alive.  Brakiss's home planet. No wonder he hates everything. On the plus side, his mom got to see Luke Skywalker naked, so good for her.

Kashyyyk - TREE WORLD, WE GO HARD (part II). Except I don't think the Wookiees have handrails, do they?

Hoth - Ice, ice, baby. Ecology makes no sense; it's a fucking glacier. I would hate living there, but I've read so many fluff fics about snowfall fights and sex in X-wings and supply closets that I feel a kind of fondness for it.

Byss (Legends) - Dark. Hidden. Secret. Goth as fuck. I like it. Exegol, but with more class.

Ahch-To - Skellig Michael is great, but too recognizable as itself to really be a good stand-in for somewhere else. Puffins are better than porgs. Great place to hide, but I stand by my claims that the Jedi order could not have arisen there. Love the aesthetic. The Caretakers deserved way better!  

Naboo - Space Italy. Would definitely live there. Closest thing we see to Dinotopia in the GFFA. (Tell me Theed isn't Waterfall City!)

Kef Bir - why not just let the original forest moon have multiple biomes? It's okay to have multiple-biome worlds, I promise, we wont get confused. Epic sweeping grasslands, steep cliffs, massive waves. I love what little we see of it.

Crait - you're going to film a Star War on the Bolivian salt flats and NOT make an epic dream sequence with the night sky reflected on the salt?? What. Hoth with red dust. Crystal foxes look like Vulpix from Pokemon, and I like them.

Ilum - cool ice planet gets turned into planet-destroying superweapon and blown up. Not a fan.

Bespin - I don't know about the ecology, but 10/10 for aesthetics.

Nal Hutta / Nar Shaddaa - Ecological disaster. Gross and full of Hutts.

Niraun (Legends) - I don't like caves and that's pretty much all we see. Especially if those caves are filled with carnivorous hordes of Space Army Ants.

Gamorr (Legends) - "Procedures programs for visiting Gamorr consist of a single line: DO NOT VISIT GAMORR. Really!” Especially do not visit in the season known as "slushtime".

Af'El (Legends) - I know very little about it, but it seems cool? "The Dark World". Home planet of the "wraiths" (Defel) and the homunculus wasps.  

Kijimi - "Disneyworld with space facism". Swirling snow and stone looks cool at night. Too bad that fight scene was such a mess. 

Takodana - it's the English Lake District, I'm never going to be able to suspend my disbelief to believe it's anything else.

D'Qar / Ajan Kloss - Yavin IV knockoffs. If you want me to care, you're gonna have to give me something better.

Exegol -  this “planet” is just a CGI soundstage with a floating pyramid/arena whatever, and lightning. Weather instantly improved when Palpatine died, which strongly suggested he liked it that way. Knockoff Byss.

Mustafar - Literal hell-realm. Lava does not work like that. And apparently, ROTS insists it also has snow and trees, which seems like a little too late.

Canto Bight - you'd think people with that much money would have a better-looking planet. ughhhh.

[doctorgerth]

Matchup for @beastofflevance

Hi there, I'm really interested, whom you see fitting: 31,female,straight, 1,70m but chubby. I'm more the listener than the talker, introverted, submissive, daydreamer a bit chaotic and loyal but also stubborn, hate to show weakness, don't talk about emotions and very unforgiving if wronged. Need someone to kick my ass. I'm not very trusting but cherish those who are dear to me. Towards them, I'm caring,supportive and humorous. I like cryptozoology, chickens and find lava hypnotically calming. Here comes the more in-dept description I mentioned, hope it makes things a bit easier for you. English isn't my native tongue so I hope there aren't too many dramatic mistakes in here. As stated before, I'm female 31 and about 1,70m, chubby – therefore the nick Quaily. Zodiacs are Gemini and Dragon and personality is INFJ. I prefer cold temperatures but love to watch fires/lava and prefer Night over day. I'm not the healthiest of persons suffering from mental and physical illnesses but I refuse to let people openly know about it if it is not absolutely necessary – I don't want pampering or pity. I'm introvert, polite, calm, a very good listener and caretaker. I'm very submissive and insecure around most people and can't deal well with mistakes. I tend to rip myself apart mentally about it because either I KNEW better but did it wrong anyway OR because I let someone down. That is something I can't take well: disappointing people. I CAN be attentive but loose interest in stuff pretty fast if it bores me or make me bend myself too much but if it is something really interests me, I'm easily able to give 200% for it. Still, I'm a lazy mutt that needs to get her ass kicked most of the time but in general I am easy to work with if I have someone, who can motivate me and keeps me motivated. I'm a loner, making bad experiences with people in my early childhood, it let me stay away from friendships and social contacts till today. I don't have a big need for physical contact since emotional support and reliability is more important to me – too much physical contact makes me uneasy. Another huge problem is my very high need for freedom. I can't stand it if someone is constantly around me, it stresses me extreme. I hardly fully trust people: just because I say I trust someone, doesn't mean I don't expect a betrayal at some point. That also resulted in a rather dark-ish , morbid view of things; let me also have a point of view, that collides with most people. Still, I tend to think in the motto: “live and let live” as long someone is polite and friendly, I'll stay so as well. Yet, I'm stubborn and very unforgiving if wronged, betrayed or mistreated. What I also can't deal with are honest compliments and honest kindness. People that mean something to me can be counted on one hand with digits to spare. Those few mean everything to me and I support them wherever and with whatever I can. I even empathize with them on a level, that makes me change my mood according to theirs. I might not be able to stand up for myself but for them I can and I will so fiercely. That said, my temper sometimes get a bit too lose – especially when my emotion starts to go high wire - and I say things before my mind starts working but I mostly see my mistake (after a bit of cooling down). If someone is willing to talk to me after that and be forgiving – friend won! In my free time; I love to read (thriller, horror, fantasy, science mostly), draw (creature design, model painting), listen to music, relax, spending time with my animals or just going for a walk. My interests are cryptozoology, toxicology, genetics, quails and military aircraft. I really love the sound of thunderstorms, rain and the look/movement of lava. I tend to hold monologues when alone and cluck like a chicken when totally happy. Yes.. well … I tried to keep it helpful without giving you all the psychological disaster. I left stuff out, that wouldn't be helpful like favorite movies / shows, books etc. but in One Piece, I would be a total fan of the “Sora, Warrior of the sea” - saga. I hope it helped a bit and you can still work with me. Take care of you and thank you for doing this event.

Okay, I’ll admit I was probably a little swayed by your love for this character but I think I did a pretty good job of backing it up! This is my first time ever writing for this character, so I hope I was able to capture his romantic side ok....That being said, I hope you enjoy your matches, darling. Thanks for participating in this event! x (this post is acting funky on mobile...I’m hoping for no errors when I post, plz let me know if there is!)

Your match is...

Akainu (Leo, ESTJ)

This is more of a case of opposites attract because when it comes down to it, you two function and think in totally opposite ways. But! Once you two get past this, you two offer each other unique perspectives that helps you both individually grow as people and thus can improve your relationship. There are plenty of differences that arrive throughout your relationship, but the more you two get to know each other, you’ll start to notice you two have more in common than what meets the eye! You are the only person who gets under his skin in all the best ways, and from falling in love with you, he’s willing to put in the work to make your relationship sustainable because he wants to keep you around. He might not ever express it, but Akainu does want love in his life; someone he can settle down with and maybe have kids if they are willing. And he’s placing all his bets on you!  

Your kind and compassionate nature is a good compliment to his usually gruff and dogmatic persona. And honestly, Akainu could use someone more gentle to counteract his abrasive nature. It always catches him a bit off guard, just how adoring, caring, and loyal you can be towards him, but deep down he is ever thankful. Akainu can be pretty stubborn much like yourself, but when it comes down to it, you two can easily compromise and meet halfway when it comes to disagreements. Because you both want to make this work. On the outside, you two look a bit tense and perhaps a little uninterested in each other. This is only because the both of you are not very expressive with your emotions and refuse to show vulnerability when around others. However, your dynamic totally changes when you two are alone, especially as the relationship continues on and you two learn to trust one another. Perhaps that’s what brings you two together so well. You two are both distrusting due to past traumas and because of this you two feel a bit outcasted from everyone around you. Upon your first interaction, you both just instantly knew that you shared similar pains. This makes Akainu very protective over you and honestly a bit soft for you whether he likes to admit it or not. He sees a lot of his broken self within you and he wants to do everything to prevent you from turning out as bitter as him, especially because he sees how loving you can be once you let someone in. 

When in private, he embraces your softer sides because it relaxes him so much. He respects and understands that you’re not one for physical affection and on the flip side, he himself struggles with offering you emotional support, so I think Akainu resorts to taking care of you in more of an “acts of service” kind of way. He’s not very interested in being overly cuddly with you, but he won’t lie and say he does enjoy holding you in his arms after a long, stressful day of work. You two learn each other’s limits and love languages and your romantic expressions become much easier. You two are able to thrive in a shared household because you both crave organization and order in your lives, so hey, at least you know you can live with the guy! By wanting some one to “kick your ass” I’m assuming you mean someone to call you out on your bullshit and put you in your place when needed -- Akainu is plenty capable of that. Not only this, but he constantly supports you and drives you into being your best self that you can possibly be. Akainu doesn’t settle for half-assery, especially from someone he’s in love with, so he is constantly on you about doing more. This is just his way of motivating you and if it becomes a bit overwhelming, he will learn how to turn it down a notch. He’s just witnessed your powerful moments and how strong-willed you can be, so he doesn’t enjoy seeing you weak or insecure because he is confident you are better than that. 

Overall, the both of you are quite distrusting and unemotional at first, but once you let each other in, you both are fearlessly devoted to one another and that matters way more than physical affection. You two come together over your shared pain and flourish as a couple over your differing perspectives of love, life, and happiness! 

Other potential suitors:

Fujitora (Leo, INFJ) - On the opposite end, I think Fujitora would work well for you because he makes it easy for you to trust him and fall in love with him. He is ever patient with your hesitancy to trust someone and he will do what it takes to prove his loyalty to you, have you trust him wholeheartedly, and make you not regret it! He is also a totally soft man who will unlock your more tender sides and have you completely head over heels in love. Not to mention you two get along very well because you’re both INFJs who think and function on very similar levels. You two have a very deep, emotional connection and he is more than willing to offer you the emotional support you seek in a relationship!

Marco (Libra, ISFJ) - Marco enjoys the reward that comes with winning you over. He’s seen how loving you can be towards others you trust and he wants to be the person you rely on. Much like Fuji, he’s eager to prove that you can trust him and wants to show you that it doesn’t always have to be scary to fall in love with someone. He falls madly in love with you every time you show him your vulnerable side and goes above and beyond to make sure you are always comfortable around him. Your shared introverted nature is a blessing because he never pushes you outside of your comfort zone. Your relationship with Marco is built on lots of trust, vulnerability, and comfort in one another! Marco wouldn’t dare try to disrupt your normalcy or ask you to change for him, he just wants to unlock your soft sides that you keep hidden!

Lucci (Gemini, ISTJ) - More similar to Akainu, Lucci shares your disinterest for physical affection, discussions on emotions, and being vulnerable towards people. So he appreciates that you don’t expect him to be emotional or romantic around you. You two have to fight for trust in one another but once you let each other in, it is truly rewarding as you are intensely loyal to each other alone and can finally embrace what it means to be in love with someone. You two share similar functions and interests while also bringing enough differences to the table to keep your relationship interesting. Lucci is also similar with Akainu in that he doesn’t accept less than the best from you so he will push you and motivate you consistently. 

[departeddestiny]

Pronunciation: Coo-Ra-Sa Or-L

Nickname: Has None.

Age: 31.

Nameday: 4th Sun of the 2nd Umbral Moon.

Race: Au Ra, Xaela.

Gender: Male.

Sexuality: Pansexual.

Marital: Single.

Alignment: Chaotic Neutral

Hair: Medium in length and Umber, it is parted in a way so that the thick of it falls to the right. Strands stick up here and there, it might be considered disheveled; this is done purposefully, as time is precious. It is silken to the touch. 

Eyes: Burnt Orange optics with slitted pupils, much reminiscent of the dragon’s from which he is descended. Black stains the sclera where white would typically be seen. 

Height: 7 Fulm, 2 Ilm ( 7′ 2″ )

Physique: Large biceps, chiseled pecs and abs. The Xaela is built from his constant efforts to remain in top shape, especially so since most of his Gil is gained protecting others or from chasing after bounties.

Dominant Hand: Right.

Posture: He tends to stand up straight and rigid, some would consider him to have a ‘stick up his ass’.

Scars: They litter his body, telling a story of a warrior. The largest one is jagged and runs along his left pectoral, stops just above his abdominal muscles.

Distinguishing Features: Unlike most Xaela, where obsidian scales would normally be present, his are cracked and flowing with lava. They are hot to the touch, though not enough where they will burn.

Profession: Formerly a Dragoon for the Ishgardian Forces || Bounty Hunter and Sell Sword

Affiliation: None at present.

Languages: Eorzean, Doman, Xaelic.

Residence: Taverns strewn throughout Eorzea, predominantly in Ul’Dah

Birthplace: Doma, before it was razed by Garlean Forces.

Religion: None.

Parents: Tsuki Orl ( Mother, Deceased ) || Ryoma Orl ( Father, Deceased )

Siblings: Chiharu Orl ( Older Sister, Alive ) 

Pets: Draught Chocobo named Isaac

Hidden Amoung Shadows: There might have been a time when Kurasa wished to be seen, when he made a point to show his scales off and revel in the attention. Now, he tends to stick to the shadows or remains in his own company, oft wearing a hood to hide his features.

Flawed Moral Compass: While he may seem like any other person, Kurasa is quite capable of committing heinous acts; an example would be how he became a Dravanian Spy during the Dragonsong War. How many innocents died due to his actions? A thought that would haunt normal people, but Kurasa sleeps just fine.

Short Trigger: Perhaps it is the dragon blood that runs through his veins, perhaps he was simply borne that way, but Kurasa has an extremely short trigger when it comes to his temper. As he’s gotten older, he’s done his best to reign it in, but he will still beat heads if provoked enough. 

Mistrusting to a Fault: Due to all that he has been through, Kurasa trusts none but himself. He has seen how quickly people turn on one another, how easily they come to assumptions. The man has seen the absolute worst of people and would rather not trust another to save his hide. 

Are You Really That Smug?: Once his barriers have been breached, his smug attitude and belief in his own capabilities come to the surface. Kurasa knows that he is good looking, that he is good in battle and in bed, and he won’t let another tell him otherwise.   

Frisky Under the Influence: Though not an every day occurrence, the man can often be seen in the corner of a tavern, pounding back the drinks...which probably garners more attention than it should. But with drink in his system, he becomes much more open and social, which leads to a new bed partner. But upon waking, he is his normal self, extremely ticked and grumpy despite just having got laid.

Sexual Orientation: Pansexual

Romantic Orientation: Panromantic ( monogamous ).

Preferred Emotional Role:  submissive | dominant | switch |  unsure 

Preferred Sexual Role:  submissive |  dominant  |  switch |  sex repulsed

Libido: Over-Active.

Turn On’s: Thoughtful || Witty || Good with a Sword || Sarcastic || Hard to Get

Turn Off’s:  Clingy || Selfish || Overly Cruel ( there is a line ) ||  Debauchee  ( he’s not into romancing someone who is all too willing to sleep with him )

Love Language: Time Spent Alone || Physical Touches ||  Protective 

Relationship Tendencies: Due to his mistrust, Kurasa would do his best to avoid the person all together; they would have to be stubborn and continually come around in order for him to open up. Eventually, the Xaela will begin to open up, once he sees they are not there to cause him harm and they accept him for who he has become. Will become a protector, a shadow that looks over them and ensures their safety. Once he loves, he will love them alone.

Hobbies: Sword Play, Training, Climbing Waterfalls, Reading, Drinking ( Tea and Alcohol ), Eating, Listening to Music, Wandering.

Likes: Cold climates, Animals, Waterfalls, Teas, Rain, Various Shades of Black, Cooking, Fighting, Flowers, Mountains, Fire, Gil.

Dislikes: Small Spaces, Long Conversations, Threats, Blood Stained Clothes, Garleans and Ishgardians.

Fears: His Sister Dying, Being Vulnerable, Drowning.

Positive Personality Traits: Loyal, Passionate and Battle Hardened.

Negative Personality Traits: Cynical, Sarcastic and Violent.

Sword for Hire: Or more specifically, a glaive. Kurasa will do just about anything to put Gil into his pocket; in regards to killing or protecting, that is. But unless the person has won his loyalty, there is a chance he’ll turn on them in favor of a higher counter offer. 

Blood of the Dragon: The Orl Clan was persecuted and primarily killed off because the Ishgardians believed them to be in line with their dragon ancestors: one look at Kurasa and, although not proven, one might think he truly did descend from the creatures. Cracked obsidian scales that flow with lava, slitted eyes, and fanged teeth. He portrays an intimidating picture. 

Battle Hardened Warrior: Kurasa is the epitome of a person that has been hardened by battle, and by fate. There could be no better person to fight at your side, as he is skilled in not only his glaive but a multitude of other weapons. He’s one of the first to rush into the fray and it’s quite hard to take him down. 

Lover of Tea: When the Xaela is able, he enjoys being able to sit down with a steaming cup of tea and let the days troubles wash from his person. It’s strange to see him do so and often, he’ll get looks of confusion when ordering, but who gives a shit? 

A Slight Alcoholic: Then there is the opposite of the tea love, which is his need to drown his emotions in alcohol. Unfortunately when Kurasa drinks enough, he becomes a very open and affectionate person, which oft leads to him waking up with another in his bed. 

Nature Lover: The best way he found to keep his body in shape, is to test his strength against what nature has to offer. Climbing cliffs and waterfalls gives the Xaela a full body work out and when he is done, he can sit amoungst the flowers and animals, and relax. There is nothing quite like feeling the sun beat down and the cool breeze against sweat stained skin.

Please be advised, this blog contains mature content that is not suitable for those under the age of 21.  

I Roleplay: Pretty much anything! Subjects such as kidnappings,  torture ( there is a fine line to tread ), and romance are acceptable but only when previously discussed and both parties are willing to participate.

I do not roleplay: Permanent character death, rape plots, polygamous relationships, god-modding, power-playing, and ERP. I am simply not interested in any of these, it is not meant as a personal insult. 

Please feel free to approach! I love to create stories. That is what roleplay is about, no? If you can somehow see your character fit into Kurasa’s life in some fashion, I am all ears. You’re welcome to message me, even if I do not follow you, and I will do my best to respond!

Please don’t take information from me. While I did not write the events that his story is heavily based upon, Kurasa is of my own creation and I have worked very hard on him. 

I am a shy bean who is just starting out with this character - he demanded I tell his story and that is the purpose of all this.

I am not my character. Kurasa does things of his own volition and although I might say something, that does not dictate his actions in the slightest. 

In Game: Kurasa Orl

World: Mateus  ( Crystal Data Center )

Discord: Given upon request.

Style: I’m a multi-paragraph writer, though sometimes I will write more or less depending on what I am going to work with.

[dreamstormdragon]

11/11/11 Tag game

I got tagged by @ofvisitorsthefairest

Rules: Answer the 11 questions from whoevever tagged you, then made up 11 of your own questions.

Ofvisitorsthefairest’s questions:

1. Does music inspire you to write?

All the time, sometimes I’ll hear a song, or even just parts of a song and it just… clicks, with a certain story, or chapter that often I’ll have it playing nearly every time I’m working on that story. I have two playlists just for writing alone. Some songs just fit characters so well too. (Eiji and Carmen’s song definitely is “Invisible Touch” by Genesis. It’s so them.)

2. Which WIP did you learn the most from writing?

Honestly, from a sheer aspect of “I can do an entirely original work and finish it” that would go to Elemental Archer. It was my first novel, an idea I was holding in the back of my head for years. It taught me a lot in terms of pacing, ideas, writing action scenes, handling magic systems that were entirely my own… and it also taught me something that still brings me so much joy - that there is really nothing like creating your own original story.

3. Is there something your OC should be afraid of that they aren’t?

Oof. That’s actually a tough one since it depends on the OC. For this one, I’m gonna point to my younger characters.

Ken - He’s very, VERY trusting. He’s only six years old, so the world while not black and white, he doesn’t see everything fully for what they are yet. Being a child with gifts, adds to that and he doesn’t fully understand that sometimes… spirits lie. He should be wary when things call his name and he doesn’t know them but he isn’t. He’s just too innocent sometimes.

Lucas - Lucas, has no real fear of the forest. Which is good, due to where he lives… but also bad, because he doesn’t fully understand how rough it can get. As far as he’s concerned, he has no reason to be afraid because of what he is… That, has lead to many an incident. (They know his name at the ER by now.)

4. Is there something they don’t need to fear, yet do? Irrational phobias?

Lucas - rodents. He’s deathly terrified of rats and mice in particular. He can’t stand them, genuinely can’t. There is no getting over it. If he sees a mouse, he’s running in the other direction, likely onto the nearest counter until it’s removed from the house.

Ken - He hates shots. He doesn’t remember, his hospital stay from when he was an infant, but the irrational worry of getting poked and prodded is still there.

Carmen, much like her nephew, is terrified of bats. One nearly got caught in her hair as a teenager and she was scared ever since.

Eiji hates porcelain dolls. Doesn’t matter to him, they’re all creepy. Other dolls? Fine. Porcelain? Forget it.

Hideki is afraid of thunderstorms.

 5. Do you prefer reading physical books or e-books?

I actually love both, equally.

6. What’s some details of your world building that you like?

Elemental Archer - Honestly, one of my favorite things, is how many creatures actually live there, from Aura Lions that help protect the Earth, to spirits, dragons and waterhorses.. It’s a lot of fun and I love the world.

Spirits in the Shadows - Urban fantasy elements get to come out and play here, since ghosts aren’t the only thing that appear in this world. From forest spirits, to strange creatures of many kinds, there’s quite a bit beneath the shadows.

Heritage - I get to go totally nuts and make any kind of merfolk I want. From more traditional looking merfolk, to sharks, to tropical fish, freshwater, the sky is the limit and I adore every second of it.

7. Have you ever created a magic system? What was it like?

Oof, yeah magic systems are fun but they can be a doozy. The biggest one I had to decide is: Okay, if people from different Element tribes, had children, how do I avoid making the concept of a chosen Elemental worthless, if you have a huge family then you could be born with all 6.

I decided this, that the child’s elemental traits, really are a toss up between families. They’ll gain appearance attributes and certain gifts, (like a child of a fire elf and water elf, can walk on hot lava or breathe underwater) but their elemental gift will depend on who they take after genetically. If the child takes more after the father, they will gain the father’s element, but if they take more after the mother, same thing.

And an Elemental cannot pass their powers on to their children.

It also became a question of “Okay, how far do these elves go, if they’re the ones in charge of helping keep the world balanced? What is a nono?”

And that big “NO” was… Necromancy, because in the world of Elemental Archer, it is impossible to revive someone to their full health, let alone bring back their spirit to use the body as a host.

8. What was your first favorite book?

My first favorite book, was The Step Sister by R.L. Stine, it was the first YA book I ever read, that made me go “Huh” when I was a kid. I still remember what it was like that night I was reading it. I had a pile of books next to me, I was sitting on the back of our couch, the screendoor was open and blowing in a cool breeze… It was the perfect summer night.  

9. What time of day are you most motivated to write?

Either mid noon… Or later in the evening, when night’s fallen. Sometimes, 3 AM when my inner editor falls asleep.

10. If you could step into the shoes of one of your characters for a day, which one would you pick?

Hrm…. I’d probably pick Aireth, because as much as I love Vala, I would NOT want to experience a day in her mind, with all of the stress she had to go through…. Or getting sassed by elemental spirits. Getting to have that pure, raw elemental magic though of Aireth would be fun. Or Loralie, since she’s a mermaid but also a freaking SHARK mermaid. Hm... Y’know what? Yeah, I change my mind, I pick Loralie. I love my Earth gal, but I am seriously in love with the ocean too much to resist the chance to be part of it.

11. What are some little quirks you like to give characters? Ex: a lot of mine have freckles Just Because.

None of my characters dislike reading. I adore reading so much and credit the books that I grew up loving for my adoration of writing my own stories, that I can’t ever imagine making a character hate books. I just can’t do it man.

Good deal of my characters can cook. Not masterchef levels (Unless your name is Hideki) but enough to where they wouldn’t set the kitchen on fire if left alone.

I love the idea of heterochromia for a character, but my gosh I have NOT been able to cook up a character with it yet. I need to fix that.

My questions.

1. What is your favorite place to get character names from? And how hard is it to decide to name a character for you?

2. Do you have any particular method to your madness, or do you just go in blind and hope it works out?

3. Do your characters share any of your hobbies?

4. What do you usually hope for wordcount wise, when you sit down to write?

5. What is your go to music or sound effects for writing?

6. Do you ever have an idea pop up in the middle of a new WIP?

7. Who’s currently the favorite child out of your WIPS?

8. What is something your characters love?

9. Fun world building facts? 

10. Do you have an idea that you wanna squeal about for a sec?

11. What is your favorite book of all time?

I taaaaaaaag....

@theblueskyphoenix @thatsmybluefondue @dahl-my-life @wolvesofarcadia @reininginthefirewriting @andyfire122

[rosesisupposes]

Destined, part 12

aka He’ssss Back

Character Tags: Virgil/Anixety ; Patton/Creativity ; Patton/Morality ; Logan/Logic ; Remy/Sleep ; Dante/Deceit

Chapter Pairings: None, Just some aesthetic appreciation of ya boi Dante

Chapter Warnings: Deceit as villain but goddamn he’s still pretty, graphic violence, not-fully-consensual acts (not sexual though), cigarettes

Reader Tags: @residentanchor @royally-anxious​ @sanderssidesfanblog @bewarethegrammarpolice

Summary: After centuries of acting as an oracle to heroes, quest-seekers, and villains alike, Virgil just wants to live as a normal, modern human. For someone who can see infinite probabilities, you’d think he’d know better.

<<Chapter 11 | Masterlist | Chapter 13>>

Read on Ao3  [link updated]

Walking to the cafe the next morning, Virgil was deep in happy thought. He was happy for Logan and Patton, and happier still as he remembered he’d probably see Roman today. He always worried about the future, but just now there were so many good possibilities that involved him. He couldn’t remember the last time that was true.

Suddenly, a “Psssst!” from an alley just off the street startled him into the present. His eyes caught on shiny snakeskin loafers and dragged up black slacks and a black button-down, hemmed and accented in gold thread. He met a pair of familiar brown eyes with scattered gold streaks throughout and gulped. It’s him. The sorcerer had found him again.

“Sorry for the suddennesss, I’ve been trying to find you for two days straight,” the man said with a crooked smile. If he hadn’t been so worried about the sorcerer’s intentions, Virgil might have swooned at that smile - the sorcerer was still as undeniably attractive as he’d been in that seashore grotto all those years ago. “I didn’t have a chance to introduce myself before - I’m Dante.”

“Um. Hello. Is this about crashing into you? I’m really sorry, it was an accident...”

“No, no, not at all. That’s old news,” the man chuckled, casually waving a hand that held a smoldering cigarette. “The real news is that you are a Sage, and I’m a ssorcerer.”

Virgil stared at him, wide-eyed. Oh Thiota’s tears, he did recognize me.

“I, uh, don’t know what you’re, um, talking about...” he stammered, looking down.

“I get it, you’re nervouss. You’ve been hiding, and so few could possibly understand. But that’s why I wanted to find you. Because I understand.” Dante was still smiling, friendly. His voice was light yet earnest. He took a slow drag of his cigarette. Virgil blinked, unsure how to react. Had he judged the man too quickly? Had the sorcerer reformed his ways since Virgil had last encountered him? But if he had, why would the glimpse of his destiny that Virgil had seen still point to self-interest and plotting?

“I… you do? I mean. Um. What do you understand?” It was a not a great day for Virgil and coherency.

Dante sighed. “I know it’s sscary to admit. But from the minute we ran into each other the other day, I knew you were like me – out of our natural time and place. Out of our element. Here we both are living in this modern, mundane world – and you and I both know neither of us iss mundane. And I may be mistaken but – I think I know you, Sage. I’ve met you before, in a past form. Your name wass once Zephyr, correct?”

Virgil met the other man’s eyes directly for the first time in this surprising interaction. Dante certainly didn’t seem to be angry or attempting to threaten him. And playing fully ignorant clearly hadn’t worked. But he’d still rather not give up any more information than what Dante already knew.

“Yes, I was Zephyr, centuries ago. You seem to be familiar with my power. Have I divined for you before?”

Dante’s smile morphed into a wry grin. “Yes, you did. And like any great Sage, your riddle always had the chance end badly for me. The choicess weren’t on my side, that time.” He shrugged philosophically and took another drag. “The real downside was the backlash of the ritual, and the change it had on my form. It took me 500 years to shift back into something thiss human. And clearly, I’m not perfect.”

Virgil had thought he was imagining the added sibilance of the sorcerer’s words right up until he saw Dante flick a forked tongue at him with a wink. Suddenly, he wondered about those snakeskin ‘shoes’.

“But that’s why I’m so glad to have found you,” Dante continued. “I’ve been hoping to find more like uss. The magic folk. I know there musst be more of us in the world still. I tried visiting the spritess out in their hideaways but they’ve given up on the public life entirely. Only the renegades and runawayss are left, and they live as human.”

Virgil shrugged. “Of course they’re in hiding. The world has moved on from us magical beings. Humanity has achieved so much with their own ingenuity and technology – they don’t need us  to conjure or dinve anymore. For this life, I’ve been living as just a regular human. It’s been so much nicer than my old lives of solitude and visions. Humanity has several…” He blushed faintly, thinking of Roman’s teasing smile. “...perks.”

Dante seemed shocked. “But… we could do so much more! Yes, technology has advanced but jusst imagine what we magic folk could do to push it further! And well. We’re not like them. We can do more, ssee more, be more. Why would you want to hide that? It’s bad enough to think of how much has already been losst.” Another exhale of cigarette smoke morphed into a tiny dragon, flapping its wings and blowing clouds until it dissipated in the breeze. A second drag produced a life-size fairy that flittered and waved at Virgil before floating off into nothingness. A vise squeezed around his heart, thinking of old friends now long gone.

“Maybe we’d help. Maybe we’d get in the way. Maybe we’d hurt them all accidentally. Or maybe they’d hurt us,” Virgil sighed. “I’m not sure what would happen, but I do know that I’m tired. I just want to live out this attempt at humanity and rejoin my family in the ether. They say the passage of time is meaningless there, and I’ve had enough lifetimes for any existence at this point.”

“That… I ssuppose I understand. Waiting through the ages iss…difficult” Dante looked up and past Virgil’s head, a bleak and empty look in his eyes, “I suppose it would be rude of me to assk you do continue to endure. I had just hoped…” A new look flitted across Dante’s face. Uncertainty? Disappointment? It was replaced by determination as he tossed his cigarette to the ground and snuffed it. “I won’t bother your further, then, unlesss you seek me out. But before I go, I must ask you. Sage, I entreat you, tell me my desstiny.”

Virgil blanched. The invocation. Of course Dante remembered the exact phrase to compel a Sage to act. Virgil couldn’t deny Dante’s request without risking his very existence. Seeing the steely resolve in Dante’s eyes, Virgil could tell the sorcerer remembered that perfectly, and knew exactly what he was doing. He hadn’t reformed his ways at all. The last bit of hope Virgil had clung to vanished. 

He took a deep breath, and in a voice thick with anger followed the script he knew by heart. “Seeker, to know your destiny is to be bound by it. Are you prepared to risk your future?”

The sorcerer did not resist the urge to smirk as he replied, “I am.”

“Then give me your hands, and prepare to be bound.”

If he was going to have to see the man’s future, again, he wanted his own answers. Virgil grasped Dante’s arms and looked not forward, but back.

The sorcerer had been telling the truth about some things, at least. He’d taken only a couple of years from his first future-telling to put his plan into motion, and his recovery had been just over 500 years in the works. But what had the ambitious man done that had led to his downfall? Could it be used against him? What would Virgil be able to see?

A flash of golden light lights the dark room. The space is incredibly familiar - Dante makes his way through obstacles with barely any thought given. Past dark shapes to a smaller room, lit only by an orb of azure fire. He loops his fingers and twist them in a complex gesture, and the fire disperses entirely, revealing a wooden staff that throws off waves of pure energy. His heart hammers as he reaches for it, his own magic pulsing in time with the raw power of the sprite-staff. As his hand makes contact, the magic sings to him, a high keening that whispers of possibilities to make or mar the world as a whole. He can force every inhabitant to do as he bids, or tear this world down and build a new one in his place. It will be just as easy as snapping his fingers - all he will need are the final rituals to bring the staff to its full potential. He remembers the lie he was able to conceal from his dissertation - from the faculty, from the headmaster, even from Septimus. The staff was not intended to be tied to just one ritual or purpose. No, its creation at the hands of all four sprite tribes means there are four rituals, each of one tribe’s old gods, each uniting the full power of those tribes into the staff. Once he’s finished, he will be able to control nearly everything - water, fire, ground, and green life.

Time blurs. Dante has visited the petrified wood altar of the tree sprites, deep in a secluded wood; the pearly altar of the water sprites at the bottom of the sea; the sliced stalagmite altar of the ground sprites in a deep cave. Now he climbs a volcano, approaching the stone altar of the fire sprites. One final ritual, and his power will be cemented. Soon, he will be able to limit and reverse the spread of humanity across this planet, and magical creatures from fairies to dragons will acknowledge him as their savior and master. He reaches the top the volcano, where long-since cooled lava created a natural altar. There is a faint humming as the staff nears its final destination. The humming grows louder as he places it in the grooves of the stone and begins the final binding spell. It takes both power and concentration, but Dante has plenty of both to spare. So deeply is he engrossed in the workings of the spell that he doesn’t note the growing heat under his feet until he smells scorched leather. Opening his eyes, he blanches. The rock he is standing on is melting slowly back into lava. He whirls around to see a tiny fire sprite sending pulse after pulse of magic heat into the rock below them. Dante is torn - if he casts a spell now to protect himself from the heat, the ritual will be disrupted. But the power is too tempting. If he hurries, and pours even more of his own magic into it, he might just finish before he gets scorched. He is sweating from the exertion and the heat around him, but he can at last feel the ritual nearing completion.

The staff is too bright to look at directly, the essence of heat dripping out of the altar to twine around its no-longer-wooden form. Tiny points of searing pain erupt on his back. The sprite is throwing fireballs at him now, ruining his concentration. “Cease, you interfering pest! Know you not that I bring your world salvation? Who are you to interrupt me?” Dante rasps out. “My name is Flame,” the sprite says. “And I don’t believe that you intend to save anyone but yourself.” The fireballs continue and the heat cooks his flesh as Dante stares, then shudders in mirthless laughter. This was part of his destiny, of course. “The world will turn to Flame.” Mordred’s mercy on that damned Sage. Dante’s laughter is thin and high, becoming more and more of a wheeze as the effort of so many spells saps him. He releases the ritual spell and redoubles his heat protection, but his energy is flickering and his flesh is burning. He needs tougher skin, less surface area to burn. He needs to survive. His body shudders and twists as he curls in on himself. But the curling continues long past what the normal limit should be. He cowers from the flames and feels them recede, but they keep receding. No, he is shrinking. Cramps spasm through his smooth muscles and scales as Dante the adder writhes on hot stone. Flame the sprite regards him curiously, then traps his snake-form in a floating cage of fire. There is nothing to do but hiss angrily as the altar becomes lava once more, consuming the sprite-staff and all its potential power.

Virgil brought himself back to the present, shuddering. Living through others’ lives had never been quite so disturbing. His shoulders felt cramped from having lived Dante’s serpentine transformation. And he still had an obligation to look into the man’s future, thanks to the ever-helpful Law of Sages. With an internal groan, he let himself fall into his power once more.

He’d seen this future once before, but hadn’t had to look as deeply through the particular choices. Now, he fought back the urge to cry or vomit as he saw the devastation that Dante was all too willing and ready to enact. The man had no qualms whatsoever if it meant he could bring back magical beings - even if that required other beings, like humans or animals, to perish. Virgil could see many ways that Dante would succeed but just as many where he would fail. There was Roman, in every one of those failures, interfering somehow. Now his eyes were definitely stinging. Here, he accidentally tripped over Dante in a crucial moment, ruining his concentration. There, he deliberately tackled the glowering man as he prepared to cast a destruction spell, or access a database of genetic code, or leech the lifeforce out of a human into a tiny, winged corpse. But worst of all were the futures in which Roman charged the sorcerer only to be struck fatally with a casual bolt of magic, or those where he was among the crowds of humans penned and shackled under Dante’s rule. Virgil searched into the near future - where was the critical juncture? Was there one moment that made this all avoidable? Sweet Pythia, there was. Thank the stars.

A Sage in the midst of foretelling was a channel for a magic as ancient as life itself. They spoke not with their own voice, nor with their form’s body, but with the echoes of past and future Sages, of deep caverns and mountain peaks. Virgil opened his mouth and released Dante’s second fortune.

“Your triumph can only be deterred by the inadvertent prints.”

The minute his connection to the magic faded, he pulled his hands away. Dante was grinning.

“I know there will be a trick again. There’s alwayss a trick. Sorry – choice,” he sneered. “A posssibility of failure. But this time I won’t be caught off guard.” He noticed Virgil’s glare and sighed. “I know, I know, that was rude. I’d say I’m ssorry, but well. I’m not. But I did mean it when I said I won’t bother you anymore. Not unless you want me to.” He winked, and walked out of the alley, humming to himself as he lit another cigarette.

Virgil rubbed his hands against his hoodie, wishing the feeling of complicity could be scraped off. Yes, there was breathing room hidden in how similar-sounding ‘prints’ was to ‘Prince,’ but his heart was still sinking in his chest. Now that he knew Dante’s full design, and had given him a warning, albeit obscure…  Mother Shipton, he was going to have to tell Roman. Wasn’t he?

author note: hey look, more homophone jokes! it’s almost like that was the secret motivation for this entire story and it… got away from me.

there is ART OF THIS SCENE now, thanks to @residentanchor and I am blushing REAL HARD

[digikate813]

My Little Pony Re-Watch: Episode 47 Dragon Quest

*I know this is a pretty divisive episode, but it’s always cool to see the world expanded on. Which we see here with the introduction of the dragon migration.

*Also two bits of continuity with best pony. Fluttershy is still afraid of dragons, showing that one instance of bravery doesn’t immediately conquer a fear that big, and she was assertive in refusing to go with the others to watch the migration. I thought we also learned that being assertive meant not assaulting your friends, but like i said that episode didn’t present a great middle ground.

*So last time i said that an episode focused on Rainbow Dash and Spike could be fun, but I might have to take that back with how rude she’s being towards him here. I know this kind of teasing is on par with Rainbow’s attitude, but there is a point where you should realize you’re hurting someone’s feelings.

*Plus Spike made you baked goods. How about thanking him instead of making fun of his apron?! Screw what Rainbow says, Spike continues to be a great Number One Assistant.

*But the comments form his friends gives Spike a full on existential crisis. Wondering who he is and where he came from. What a coincidence! So do we. Twilight got Spike as an egg. We all know that and it’s fine that that’s all she knows. But who got the egg before then?! It was given to Twilight as a test subject to get into Celestia’s School, so no one on the school board, o even Celestia herself, knows how they got a dragon’s egg??? This is a question that is at the front of my mind with almost every Spike episode, and at this rate, it looks like we’ll never know.

*And apparently dragons are too rare and too scary to study. Well that explains why no doctor knew what was wrong with Spike in “Secret of My Excess”, and we have seen how difficult dragons are to approach, and will continue to throughout the series. I’m not as bothered by this explanation as most others are. It sounds fair to me. But again, they should have at least tries to contact who ever was in charge of Spike’s egg before Twilight’s test!! I’m just saying.

*And i like that after some debate and resistance from Rarity and Rainbow Dash, Twilight lets Spike go on his quest for answers. It’s kind of like letting an adopted kid try to find his birth parents. You don’t have the answers they want, so if they think they have a way to find them, you shouldn’t stand in their way.

*That doesn’t stop Twilight and the others from following them though. Which is probably for the best since as much as you want to be supportive towards the little guy, you also don’t him to get burned to a crisp or beaten to a pulp. 

*Love the score during the epic quest montage. It feels so much grander then it probably should.

*Cranky? What are you doing out here? With your old wig? Did they screw up the episode order again? That would have been a fun Easter Egg if this aired first.

*At first I thought Spike wound up in the Dragon Lands, but in hindsight it seems to just be a pit stop on the migration.

*I probably shouldn’t find the girls dragon disguise as funny as I do, but I do. There’s a reason Crackle was a really popular character for a while. Come to think of it, have we seen that dragon since?

*Spike runs into a group of teenage dragons who are the worst. I don’t really have anything constructive to say here. I know there’s this whole debate about how it just validates the ponies prejudices, and I admit I wouldn’t have minded if those views on dragons were challenged a bit, especially after what happened with Zecora, but I just don’t have it in me to raise a big stink about it. These guys aren’t worth it. They’re loud and obnoxious and the worst and I hate them. Not a fan of the designs either, but they get points for being as varied as they are. It’s not just a group of recolors. 

*Apparently dragons are impervious to lava. I hope Twilight is writing this down. This could be essential research. Plus it could have been a fun running joke of cutting back to Twi taking notes or something.

*So one thing that’s a common problem is Spike episodes is that Spike inevitably becomes the problem, that somepony else fixes. One way this episode stands out is that that’s not the case here. Spike is tempted to stay with the dragons, but who wouldn’t be? After his friends saying how much he wasn’t like other dragons, I buy that Spike would really value their acceptance, even if he probably shouldn’t but he’s a kid. 

*Cool! A wild group of Phoenix! And little baby phoenixes and little phoenix eggs. Awww!!

*So before the teenage dragons were just kind of annoying, but this is where I officially knew I hated them. They want to smash a phoenix egg, for fun!! I realize this is a thing adolescents do from time to time (like burning ants on an anthill) but it doesn’t make it any less horrifying.

*And this si why this isn’t a “Spike becomes the problem” episode. Because he stands his ground. He won’t let being a “true dragon” come at the cost of his morality. This is a line he won’t cross. And he states that clearly. And even if he’s afraid, he won’t give in even when these punks threaten him. That’s pretty brave and it’s one of Spike’s most admirable moments in the early seasons.

*Plus Spike gets a moment to remember who his real friends are. Standing up for him as he stood his ground. It’s kind of a shame they ran away form that fight though. I wanted to see these specific ponies beat the snot out of these jerks.

*Whoa. Twilight was able to teleport them all away at once. I don’t think we’ve ever seen her do that before. And this si a small thing i know, but I like the detail that they make Twilight looks tired for a minute after performing such difficult magic.

*Personally I think the message comes across well in this episode. That real family will love you for who you are, and raise you to be the best you can be. And Rainbow Dash’s teasing aside, they all showed how much they liked Spike even if he wasn’t like other dragons. And now, Spike’s okay with that. Because now he likes himself as much as they do and accepts that he’s different proudly. It’s a sweet conclusion. At least I think so.

*Oh wow! Spike gets his own pet? And it’s a phoenix?! That sounds awesome. I can’t wait to see Pee Wee pop up as regularly as the other pets and the trials and tribulations Spike will go through by raising such a unique creature. Let Pee Wee’s many many future appearances commence!!                      What?

In the end this episode is kind of a mixed bag. There are parts I really like and parts I can’t stand. It was definitely one of the better Spike episodes for a while for me. I get where it’s critics are coming from, and a lot of their points i can’t really dispute, but I just can’t seem to summon the same kinds of feelings towards this episode. To me, it’s pretty good, but not great. Next Time: Hurricane Fluttershy!

[salty-dracon]

stupid things my characters do with their powers

me: i’m learning redstone and i play logic games i guess

lily: cooks popcorn over her hand using her salt flame. also eggs and chicken. she also boils water and makes tea, though sometimes that doesn’t work out because her salt flame absorbs water

michy: yells at dogs and cats using her echolocation ability. jumps off buildings at night, goes ghost hunting

ares: turns into a crow and attempts to communicate with other crows. how do you do, fellow crow? 

venus: turns into a dog and tries to get people to pet him. if the dog catcher or pound guys show up he turns into a human while he’s in the cage. and then kills them. hey it’s their fault for kidnapping him

laurie: turns everyone in the room white or puts everyone in a dress. or fill the entire room with spikes and plays the floor is lava. sky’s the limit really

narcissa: spy on people. possess people. scare people. set entire acres of woodland on fire

damian: mostly killing a lot of people for no discernable reason and causing thunderstorms

august: turning into a big fucking dragon and invading people’s dreams as a big fucking dragon is pretty much the coolest thing about being a god

luke: keep antarctica frozen. freeze castles. freeze the world. freeze my toes in the middle of fucking october

giselle: not use them

flynn: cause people to question their faith in reality and the chemicals in their brains. for short periods of time, of course.

verona: unleashes stampedes of fluffy animals upon an unsuspecting populace

ivy: gives people cancer with the power of the sun. strangles them with the power of life. 

palea: leaves people to suffer in the cold. sends ravens to eat their live flesh. 

bridget: shake things in front of the camera like a ghost is making them float. build obstacle courses and dive through them while flying. sneak up on birds in the air. 

allie: yeet herself off buildings. the farther the better. cleans up her room super fast. messes up her room super fast. spin really fuckin good until she starts a small tornado

val: climb trees that no ordinary person could climb. stick to the bottom of things. stick to walls. there’s just so much stupid shit he could do with them

jake: tell his friends he can lift anything. lifts anything. lifts two of his friends at once. planks for two hours at a time. yeets his friends off buildings

kat: charges her phone while it’s in her hand. she has blown up two phones this way. also that thing where you shock someone while shaking their hand

angel: does pin ups. starts barfights. hugs people with the three hundred knives on his back. indulges his many kinks. 

tiffany: extreme acupuncture

nick: hack the accounts of people he doesn’t like and doxxes them on twitter. he tried to do this to angel once, but angel fucking caught him 5 seconds later

layla: spy on people in the street. spy on dogs in homes. analyze people’s clothing and their fabric sources. 

miss t: heals her own paper cuts. heals her friends’ paper cuts. heals everyone’s paper cuts

vince: spies on people from like a mile away. doxxes them on twitter. 

arthur: shapechanges into any weird thing julie tells him to shapechange into. shapechanges into objects that people can interact with and then scares them by changing back into a person. 

julien: breaks your computer in half and calls it tech support. literally tears apart any vaguely unused metal they see. does not fix said metal. 

brooke: tries to start a fire by using the plants they have available. tries to build a tent with those same plants. tries to survive in the wild on just plants. 

grey: he’d insist it’s not ‘stupid’, but he explores memories of random people. though sometimes he practices by making people try to steal illusory things

amelia: creates a sea anemone made out of human tongue and sticks it in her pussy for three days

thaumas: two words: ice dildo

typhon: attempts to hang from high places using his tail, which is in no way prehensile and often results in him falling

larkspur: shoves his arms and legs into the dirt and tries to be one with nature for a bit if he’s sad or if another girl rejects him

viviel and thana: converse with someone while bouncing their lines off each other like a ping pong ball to confuse them

livia: flies with birds. just migrates south with birds. just t-posing with the birds

adrian: binge drinks the blood of drunk people to get drunk. summons a giant pile of shadow creatures and sleeps on top of the pile. 

mai: goes to the beach and risks bad sunburns to store power

narin: throws things with astonishing accuracy

larke: makes his scarf and clothes ripple in the wind that he creates to look cool. it doesn’t look cool, it looks uncomfortable

tawny: there’s just. so many fuckign things you can do with four hands. you can juggle things. you can do it to em and t pose at the same time. you can double dab. sky’s the limit dude

[adam16bit]

Zelda II: The Adventure of Link

I just replayed this one, and boy howdy is it still fun.   I got it originally in 1988, and the NES Classic Edition version is pretty much the same with a few tweaks - some flickering has been altered, the opening crawl is fixed a bit, and the same unusual-for-Zelda gameplay is there.  During the latter days of the NES era, the game was referred to as either “Zelda II” or “Link” on school buses or on playgrounds around here, and “Link” makes a lot more sense once you place the game in history - it’s very un-Zelda in its gameplay, but ground zero for much of what would come to follow in future games.

This 8-bit NES game introduces towns of people, a magic meter, special sword moves, and the now nearly commonplace “Shadow Link” enemy.  It has a lot more in common with games like Castlevania II: Simon’s Quest in terms of layout, gameplay, and upgrades than it does other Zelda games, but it also had a nifty overworld map with enemy battles represented like random encounters from Dragon Warrior or Final Fantasy - but you cold avoid some of them.

Marketing

I’ve got almost no memory of the TV ad - it’s on YouTube, but it didn’t get the play as the numerous spots for the original The Legend of Zelda including one with John Kassir (aka The Crypt Keeper) which was most memorable.   Seriously, if you’ve never seen it, it’s like someone unearthed some early German expressionist film and made used it to sell game software.

The common thread in the marketing is some dude yelling out “ZELDA!” all the time, which is something they could have stood to keep doing for future games.

The second game got a decent spread in the pre-Nintendo Power magazine Nintendo Fun Club News, which was free and had some nice art in it.   As a kid I don’t remember being at all awed by any of this - I just knew I liked the first one and wanted to play the second one. 

Gameplay

It’s a lot more like Metroid or other action platformers, with few upgrades of interest.  It’s a short game with 7 palaces, one slog through a mountain, and a bunch of little action scenes along the way.  Eight towns - many of which had names that would be used later like  Mido and Ruto - housed helpful tips and disiniformation alongside new magic spells which came courtesy of some of the earliest “fetch quests” in console gaming.

Jumping was tough to judge, but this generation of games was almost entirely defined by how good you were at being able to judge your jumping ability.  As Simon Belmont, or Mikey, or Mario.  Numerous pits of lava waited to dissolve your organs, plus there were many villains as strong as (or stronger than) you.   The Ironknuckles are tough, but even tougher if you’re underpowered.

Unlike other games, you have one sword.  That’s it.  You can gain experience points to power it up (like the magic meter, and your endurance for health) but there’s no Master Sword or Magical Sword waiting for you in a cave somewhere on your way to warrior-godhood.  You’ve got one shield, one sword, and one pair of pants.   As adventurers go, Link isn’t all that well-equipped.  

His lack of preparations really shines as he storms through dungeons to find special equipment locked away from mere mortals.  Equipment like... a candle.  Or a cross.  Unlike the original game, you didn’t get cool new bonus weapons or weird multi-purpose accessories, but rather a raft or  a whistle which you’d need one or two times at best.   When engaged in combat, the only real changes you could make to your fighting style were ���Upthrust” and “Downthrust” attacks with your sword - which really did make combat a lot more fun and exciting.   Every game would be well-served to incorporate these.

Bosses & Enemies

There were a decent smattering of creatures in the game, including returning favorites like Moblins, Octoroks, Tektites, and Leevers.   Zoras took an entirely new form as quadrupedal land lizards with fireproof skin rather than water folk, plus the RPG staple of a blue slime (and red slime) would appear as Bits and Bots.   You’d also fight lizard knights, bird knights, club-throwing bull monsters,  and super-weak bouncing werewolves.  It was the 1980s, it was fun.

The bosses were pretty nifty too - a horse-headed minotaur named Horsehead was joined by Helmethead the knight, Rebonack the knight-on-horse, the wizard Carock, the ambiguous Gooma, the dragon Barba, and the pain-in-my-ass Thunderbird.

Gooma’s interesting as the defender of level 5′s Island Palace.  He looks like a big muscular barbarian with a chain weapon, complete with Lemmy’s facial hair.  However, the fandom seems to be showing him as a Minotaur as official art goes... this makes no sense to me.  He made for an interesting battle.

Thunderbird was also dubbed “Angel of Death,” as it was a difficult not-quite-final boss battle that required you spend half of your magic meter merely to make him mortal.  And then you’d need to spend more if you had any intention of actually winning the fight after going through a giant golden maze with one preposterously tough sword-throwing monster after another.   To merely get to this creature took me about a month originally... and it took me a couple of years after that to actually beat him.   It was definitely a feeling of accomplishment.

Graphics & Sound

On an HDTV it still looks and sounds pretty great - I love most of the random encounter scenery, and the music is exactly as I remember.  The palace music is great, and the overworld theme is pretty familiar territory.  Oddly, a few of the sound effect do sound different - the most obvious to me was the crumbling bridge/falling blocks.   The character animation is still pretty fantastic, as Link has a few good poses.  Some of the enemies look fantastic, but most are just 1-2 frames of animation or are bouncing cardboard cut-outs.   The characters were colorful and stand out against the backgrounds nicely, with some of the most gorgeous 8-bit background negative space this side of Blaster Master.

Link himself is expressive, showing a big smile when he turns to you upon finding a new special item - but this pride actually can be your downfall!  If you find a new Bowl of Hearts or Flute or Candle, you pause to show off - and your enemies can still move and attack. I don’t know if this was a bug or a feature, but it certainly feels like a brief lesson in responsibility.  If you don’t do your chores of killing every single living thing on the screen, you might have to go through all of those battles again after you die.

A New Quest

After recovering the third Triforce and saving Zelda, Link gets another new adventure - essentially a New Game Plus mode.  You start out with your skills intact, but none of your stuff.  Your up/down thrusts, magic, and levels?  Yes.  Items, heart and magic containers?  No. You can bypass most of the towns completely and skip a lot of caves - fetch quests, searching out P-Bags for experience, and even killing random monsters no longer serves a purpose. The new quest looks exactly like the original quest, but you’re stronger.  There are no remixed dungeons or new twists to the fabric of space and time like the original The Legend of Zelda.

But Wait! There’s Less!

Despite being successful, this was Link’s final outing on the NES and this particular Link’s final adventure of any sort.  Depending on which version of the timeline you believe in, the Super NES (and subsequent GameBoy title) were prequels taking place in a different generation entirely.   The two NES games would be an alternate timeline more or less erased from the franchise history, with the 1998 Nintendo64 game The Ocarina of Time now seemingly serving as the central spoke in the wheel of the franchise.

We never got a Zelda III - I wish Nintendo would consider a faux 8-bit sequel, perhaps giving us a new downloadable game of what a new 8-bit entry in 1989 or 1990 might have looked like.

It was a fun replay... I just wish that, like other 8-bit series of this era (Mario, Wizards & Warriors, Final Fantasy, Castlevania, Dragon Warrior) that it got to the magic number - three.