#dagger of the juggler

[lotro-tooltips-daily]

[rita-repulsa-ke]

The Traveling Faire

Rio did finally look at her, pupils wide and glittering with excitement in a way that made Agatha fight the urge to kiss her. “That’s a very you response, beloved. But no, not that. The other thing.”

Agatha looked back at the sign, squinting. Beneath the first words were a second set. ‘Love compatibility! Discover if they truly are the one for you!’

Agatha and Rio go on a date to a traveling faire.

”Rio, do you want any—“ Agatha glanced up from bartering simple medications with a farmwife for bread and cheese only to find she had lost Death.

She rolled her eyes, finished up her trading and went looking for her lover. She found her soon enough, farther up the road, studying a collection of tents being assembled. Someone had nailed a sign into the ground with the words ‘traveling faire’.

“There you are,” Agatha said, nibbling bread. “Come on, let’s get going.“

Rio pointed at the tents.

“What, some hucksters pretending they’ve got a mermaid, when its really someone with malformed legs or wearing a costume?”

Rio nodded agreement. “I want to go," she said.

“No,” Agatha said. “Waste of time.“

Rio pivoted and held her gaze. In her eyes was the fall of civilizations, mass graves, death unending.

That was normal, though. More unsettling was the genuine annoyance, the way her brows drew together and her eyes narrowed, clearly not impressed by that answer.

“…Fine,” Agatha relented. Rio always chose the strangest things to get stubborn about.

Her lover beamed and reached down, hooked her fingers through Agatha’s. “It will be nice," she promised.

“It won’t,” Agatha said, but offered her some of the bread she'd gotten, watched as Rio absently tore off a chunk with her teeth, then swallowed it whole like a snake.

“It will be nice, because we’ll be together,” Rio said and then burst into slightly shrieking laughter at Agatha’s pained expression.

“You forgot chewing again,” Agatha muttered.

Rio blinked, then sighed and shook her head. “So. Many. Steps. I don't know how anyone remembers all of them."

"Well, we die if we don't, so that provides a powerful incentive."

"Sounds inconvenient."

"It really is," Agatha agreed, swinging their interlocked hands. "Anything you can do about it?”

Rio giggled. “Well, it’s not inconvenient for me. I like when you die.”

“But not me, right?” Agatha asked, already knowing the answer.

Rio gave her a smile overflowing with adoration. “Of course you. Especially you.”

Agatha wrinkled her nose. “You know, I bet I could find a lover who doesn’t want me dead.” She watched Death’s eyes narrow, felt her fingers tighten painfully around Agatha's, and grinned, crooked and twisting. “But of course, I wouldn’t want that.”

Rio relaxed, shoulders sagging, a small smile playing across her lips. “Well done, beloved,” she said, reaching up to pat Agatha on the head.

“…I would like a less condescending one, though,” Agatha said. “Any idea where I could get one of those?”

“Mm. Only if you know where I could get a nicer one.”

Agatha raised her lover’s hand to her lips, savoring how Rio watched her do it. “You’re starting to get good at teasing. I’m going to have to work harder to stay competitive.”

“Or you could tease me less.”

Agatha pressed another kiss to the back of Death’s hand. “Doesn’t really sound like me, does it?”

Rio shook her head, staring intently. “It doesn’t. …Ags, I do still want to go to the faire.”

“Even though I’m flirting?”

“Even though.”

Well, it had been worth a try. “Very well, my love. Let us go to the faire.”

**** The faire was about as Agatha expected, a few badly-made up or disfigured people pretending to be monsters, some questionable attempts at juggling or dagger throwing. She was bored in the first few minutes.

Rio, on the other hand, seemed fascinated. She had settled on a log to watch the juggler, while Agatha bought sausages and spiced mead then tucked close to her immortal lover, who looked completely riveted by the sight of several colorful balls flying slowly through the air.

“I never understand why you like this sort of thing,” Agatha murmured, offering Rio a sausage wrapped in bread, which she did remember to chew this time.

“It’s pretty,” Rio murmured, making a pleased sound as she cuddled closer.

Agatha watched for a few minutes, then traced her fingers through the dirt, murmured an incantation and burst into chortling laughter as a gust of wind caught the balls mid air, sending them flying away and the juggler racing after them. He actually caught most of them, earning him a round of applause from the rest of the audience.

Rio glanced at her as she made a poor attempt at innocence, sipping her mead. “Bored, beloved?”

Agatha widened her eyes, put a hand to her chest. “Who, me? Nooo. I love this sort of thing.”

Rio leaned further against her, shoulder pressed hard into Agatha’s. “Impatient. Fine. We can go. It was nice, though.” She came to her feet without remembering to use her knees and took Agatha’s hand again.

“…It wasn’t too bad,” Agatha admitted, standing up with her, enjoying the warm flush from the mead. “Because you were here.”

She expected more reaction to that, and when she didn’t get it, she looked at Rio’s face, then followed her line of sight to a specific tent with a sign reading ‘Fortunes told’.

“Ags, I want to do that," Rio said.

“…You want to get our fortunes told? Look, I’m not a great seer, but I could put together something better than whatever hack is in that tent—“

Rio did finally look at her, pupils wide and glittering with excitement in a way that made Agatha fight the urge to kiss her. “That’s a very you response, beloved. But no, not that. The other thing.”

Agatha looked back at the sign, squinting. Beneath the first words were a second set. ‘Love compatibility! Discover if they truly are the one for you!’

“…Really?” Agatha groaned. Unfortunately, it did seem like the kind of ridiculous thing Rio would enjoy.

Rio nodded, smile so big it took up half her face and Agatha sensed there was no getting out of this one, not unless she wanted the night to end in sulking and knives.

“Fine, fine, but let me talk to whoever is running this thing first. Make sure they’re on the level."

Rio nodded, clearly delighted she’d agreed without a fight. Agatha released her hand and strolled over to the tent, internally rolling her eyes but unable to keep a small smile off her face.

Inside was exactly as she'd expected, a table with a blanket over it, a malformed glass orb, a woman wearing too many veils. The air smelled strongly of spice, mostly cinnamon and cloves.

The veiled woman looked up as she entered, her expression hidden. Agatha couldn’t sense much power from her, which was also what she expected. True seers were rare, while scam artists were very, very common.

“Welcome, petitioner—“

“Yeah, yeah,” Agatha said, fishing out her coinpurse. “Listen, my���the woman I—anyway, she wants to do this ridiculous love compatibility test. Just tell her what she wants to hear, okay?”

“Fortunetelling is a sacred art, it cannot be—“ the veiled woman said, then immediately snatched the coins Agatha held out to her. “Of course. Your love will be one for the ages.”

“There you go,” Agatha said, offering her the smile of one liar to another before pulling back the tent flap and motioning for Rio, who bounded in and practically wrapped around her, shameless as always.

Not that she minded.

“Come, petitioners,” the woman said. “We will ask the stars to tell us whether you are truly meant for each other.”

Agatha paid little attention to the chanting and pageantry that followed, except to note how it was done in case she ever needed to run this scam herself. She was paying far more attention to Rio, glued against her, the weight and warmth of her, the stupid way she made Agatha’s heart beat faster by simply being there, the way her hand had found its way back into Agatha's.

And then the seer rocked back and froze, holding a rigid pose that looked painful, arms spread wide. “Your love will be one for the ages,” she intoned and Agatha had to admire how much she was working for it, she could appreciate a good bout of overacting.

“You will know loss," the woman continued, head tilted back, and Agatha felt a sudden chill creep through her bones, her fingers squeezing tight on Rio’s. "You will be separated, you will be reunited, love will be both burden and blessing to you.”

This was true prophecy, not at all what she had bargained for, and she looked over to see how her lover was taking it.

The familiar, hungry expression on Rio’s face was also not what she expected, but it did serve as a kind of warning for what was about to happen next. She looked back at the seer and was not shocked to see her go even more rigid, a final kind of rigid. Her eyes flew open and she stared at Rio. “You’re—“

And then she died.

Death exhaled, her eyes closing, slumping against Agatha, her expression one of deep-seated satisfaction. "Aneurysm. That's always so nice."

“…Rio, my heart, my sweet," Agatha murmured against her hair. "…Did you lead us in here because you wanted to watch her die?”

The other woman shifted to kiss her lightly on the lips, then grinned, malign and exultant. “Beloved, I don’t need magic to tell me how we feel about each other.”

“You could have mentioned that,” Agatha complained.

“But I wanted to see if you would do it. And you did! You even did something nice about it," Rio said, beaming in a way that indicated she might be about to pat Agatha again.

Agatha huffed and rolled her eyes. “Condescending. See if I ever bribe anyone for you again. …Hey, what she said…”

“Oh," Rio stretched against her. "I wasn’t paying much attention. Was it important?”

“…No. Typical scam stuff,” Agatha said.

"Good. Let's go, I want to be somewhere with less people, where we can both have less clothes. …This really was very nice, though. We should do things like this more often."

"More often? Rio, you get to watch people die all the time."

Rio came to her feet, again without bothering with knees, and pulled Agatha up with her, turning to stroll out into the night. "I meant going on dates."

"Oh," Agatha said, a giggle escaping her as she tapped a finger against her lips, pretending to be surprised. "Is that what this was?"

Rio stopped to stare at her, then sighed. "Don't worry, beloved, you're still the best at teasing."

"Of course I am," Agatha said. "You've got a long way to go to catch up with me." She kept her tone blithe, falling into their normal routine. As they walked away, though, she couldn't help but clutch Death's hand tighter in hers and wonder which one of them would let go first.

Masterpost

[siradventure]

delivered unto the world by humble and perceptive parents, this squishy little child was dubbed adventure, for even as a babe they could see that he was destined for great quests, capers, and antics. he was practically born with a sword in his hand—not literally, of course, as a sword would be much too big for a newborn to wield. no, adventure was actually born with a dagger in his hand (one his mother, a retired weapons juggler, was confused but relieved to see turn up again).

from a very young age, he showed great strength, cunning, and dexterity. some said he was a legendary hero propheticsed to lead the land to peace and splendor. others said he was cursed, the spawn of some wicked magic, perhaps even a fairy child, and that he would be their undoing. most said, "please take that blade away from that baby!"

growing up in the small town of littleplace, adventure had a happy and pleasant childhood, but always felt something was missing. and it was. littleplace was quaint, tranquil, and, well, boring. there was seldom a chance for adventure to stretch his wings or flex his escapade muscles, so to speak. while he did many a chivalrous, curious, and sometimes daring deed (he did his fair share of pet-saving, though often not from any great peril), he couldn't help but feel like there was more out there that he was meant to be doing.

now fully grown and freshly knighted by the local duke for his do-goodery (particularly his repeated rescuing the duke's cat, cork, who had a history of getting herself stuck in barrels), the wider world calls to adventure, beckoning him to... well, adventures. he is finally old enough to venture beyond the cosy and safe borders of littleplace and live up to his name, something he has dreamed of all his life—only one problem: he has no idea where to start.

this is where you come in.

sir adventure is eager, but also... let's say... naive. that's putting it charitably. he needs guidance on his journeying. you can help him make choices along the way that will shape his path—if you can keep up, of course.

how will the tales of sir adventure unfold? no one knows but fate herself, and even she can be bribed.

scroll or click below to venture forth into adventure! (or, forth with adventure? alongside? you know what I mean).

start from the beginning

[baravanka]

Btw nobody here ever posted about new Ice Juggler Cookie exclusive dialog that we got last update, so here it is!

Ice Juggler Cookie: "Amazing! I've never seen anyone handle daggers in such a way!(Even if my skills are better...)"

[thecreaturecodex]

Mad Maddy Maddison

“Eccentric Jester” © London Workman, accessed at their ArtStation here

[This is one of many iterations of my “goth clown” persona, tailored to a low level game and with more emphasis on the clown. I created her for a freeform game run by @abominationimperatrix​, which we haven’t gone back to yet. I do hope to. The Harley Quinn influence is very much intentional.]

Mad Maddy Maddison CR 3 CG Humanoid (dark folk) Clad in mismatched and brightly colored jester’s motley, this tiny woman is thin, muscular and pretty. At first glance she might appear to be wearing stage makeup, but her gray skin and black lips are their natural color.

Mad Maddy Maddison has had a very complicated and strange life already in her nineteen years, and is excited to see what happens next. She was born to a clan of dark folk living in the Darklands beneath the Brazen Peaks, and the caligni callers selected for her to be a dancer, one of the dark folk who act as intermediaries between settlements. Unfortunately, that meant that her wanderlust started at a very early age, and she managed to get separated from her family. She was found and given a home, but unfortunately it was by Mater Cachinnarum, the Mother of Sneers. This wicked bogeywoman pops up in nightmares throughout eastern Garund, and tried to raise Maddy to do the same. Even though Maddy was raised by Cachinnarum for a solid decade, she held true to her overall sense of kindness and good humor, and escaped by the grace of Cayden Cailean, who has a soft spot for all orphans and runaways.

Maddy made it to the bustling city of Katapesh where she currently works at the Night Circus, an entertainment troupe in the Night Markets. At the Circus, she is a talented juggler, percussionist, clown and occasional pickpocket. Her favored instruments are the zills. Maddy has a fascination with death and the undead, having been surrounded by ghouls and skeletons in Mater Cachinnarum’s care, and she is learning how to affect them with her magical music. She’s also working on making friends, something she’s never had a lot of. Her closest friend is a flumph named Taktii, who has given dire warnings about monsters in space. Maddy currently finds this concept more intriguing than scary.

Maddy stands a whole two and a half feet tall and carries a club as long as she is tall. She has a caffeine addiction, and rarely goes a day without several cups of coffee.

Mad Maddy Maddison  CR 3 XP 800 Dark dancer bard 2 (dirge bard) CG Small humanoid (dark folk) Init +4; Senses Perception +8, see in darkness Defense AC 17, touch 15, flat-footed 13 (+1 size, +4 Dex, +2 armor) hp 33 (4d8+12) Fort +3, Ref +10, Will +3; +4 vs. death effects, energy drain, fear, necromancy Defensive Abilities haunted eyes Offense Speed 30 ft. Melee masterwork greatclub +5 (1d8+1) Ranged dagger +7 (1d3+1/19-20) or improvised weapon +7 (1d4+1) or splash weapon +8 (varies) Special Attacks bardic performance (13 rounds, countersong, distraction, fascinate, inspire courage +1), dark curse, death throes, sneak attack +1d6 Spells CL 2nd, concentration +5 1st (3/day)—cure light wounds, fumbletongue (DC 14), hideous laughter (DC 14), ray of enfeeblement (DC 14) 0th—detect magic, mage hand, message, open/close, prestidigitation Statistics  Str 13, Dex 18, Con 16, Int 14, Wis 8, Cha 16 Base Atk +2; CMB +2; CMD 16 Feats Point Blank Shot, Throw Anything Skills Acrobatics +9, Bluff +8, Climb +10, Diplomacy +8, Escape Artist +9, Knowledge (arcana, religion) +7 (+8 vs. undead), Perform (comedy, percussion) +8, Perception +8, Sleight of Hand +9, Stealth +17; Racial Modifiers +4 Climb, +4 Perception, +4 Stealth Languages Common, Dark Folk, Kelesh SQ poison use, secrets of the grave Gear masterwork greatclub, 5 daggers, leather armor, 4 bells, masterwork zills, wand of disguise self (25 charges), alchemist fire (x4), holy water (x4), 3 doses black smear poison, 1 dose oil of taggit, coffee pot, mortar and pestle, 5 lbs coffee, jewelry worth 30 gp, 13 gp Special Abilities Dark Curse (Su) As a standard action, a dark dancer can make a touch attack against a foe and curse it. The foe must succeed at a DC 12 Will saving throw to resist the effects. Creatures that fail the saving throw take a –2 penalty on all Dexterity and Charisma-based skill checks. This curse is permanent, but the victim of this curse can attempt a new saving throw each day. Death Throes (Su) When a dark dancer is slain, its body combusts in a flash of bright white light, leaving its gear in a heap on the ground. All creatures within a 10-foot burst must succeed at a DC 13 Fortitude save or be dazzled for 1d6 rounds. Other dark folk within 20 feet must succeed at a DC 13 Will save or be shaken for 1 round. The save DC is Constitution-based. Haunted Eyes (Ex) Maddy gains a +4 bonus on saves against fear, energy drain, death effects, and necromantic effects. Secrets of the Grave (Ex) Maddy gains a bonus equal to half her bard level on Knowledge (religion) checks made to identify undead creatures and their abilities. A dirge bard may use mind-affecting spells to affect undead as if they were living creatures, even if they are mindless (though spells that affect only humanoids do not affect them, even if they were humanoids in life). In addition, she may add one necromancy spell from the spell list of any arcane spellcasting class to her list of spells known at 2nd level and every four levels thereafter.

[theyareweird]

Black Butler: Book of Circus, Dagger —Aesthetic

Dagger's Character & Personality

Dagger is a young man who's somewhere in his twenties. As a child of the slums, he was born without his right leg and wears a prosthetic in its place. Dagger is a first-string member and acts as the juggler of the Noah's Ark Circus. He's regarded as a talented knife thrower who never misses his target. Dagger is a flamboyant, dramatic and energetic person who's almost constantly smiling. He has great love, bordering on obsession, for the woman he loves. Dagger always refers to her as "Sis" or "Big Sis." He's also willing to express his feelings for his crush, frequently serenading her or offering her gifts. When other males touch or look at her body, Dagger becomes quite upset. Amicable with goodwill, he enjoys the company of others and encourages people to make new friends. When Dagger doesn't understand what people are saying, he tends to assume they're joking. Seldom serious, he doesn't favor somber atmospheres and is quick to make jokes to disperse the tension.

[styrmwb]

I beat Final Fantasy Tactics Advance

This might be the longest game from start to finish I've ever played

Not in the sense that this is a long game but in the fact that this is the first real game I ever played (I'm sorry, I'm not considering pc learning programs for baby), and it took me approximately 18-19 years to get around to Finally beating it. It's very funny to say that my first experience into gaming was a strategy game. I also think that somewhere, deep down in my heart, this planted the seed for what games I ended up loving in my present. Experiencing this game with an adult mind was ALMOST a fresh experience, yet I uncovered a lot of old memories and experiences during it.

This game is goddamn addicting. I Genuinely had so much trouble putting it down at times because I just Kept Wanting To Play. Let me explain to you my thoughts :)

Gameplay

I love RPGs to the bottom of my heart; HOWEVER. I have Always Always Always HATED gear management. I don't think I ever truly appreciated it in a game until Final Fantasy IX, where equipping gear and holding onto it taught you abilities permanently. It made me care about my gear and when to equip it more than just stat buffs and "yeah I guess I'll get fire immunity whatever". I LOVE that system so much. Another system that I love to the bottom of my heart (also an FF Classic but Dragon Quest gave me this too) is the job/class system. The freedom of changing my characters to be whatever I want and to mix and match their abilities is so fun and leads to a lot of flavor and mechanics. Final Fantasy V does it the best imo. So what do I get here? I get 2 of my favorite RPG mechanics of all time put into one!!! The reason this game is so addicting is it's basically to me character building simulator. I am constantly thinking about job paths, what I want each of my guys to be, how much time am I putting them in battles and spreading across their usage and swapping gear to maximize AP gains and make a small army of broken warriors. It's an absolute joy. The base gameplay is super solid too which helps. I mean, I love strategy RPGs (I am, unfortunately, a Fire Emblem bitch), so you literally can't go wrong with it.

I loved the jobs in this game. In fact, I'm gonna be a big nerd and tell you about my whole clan because this is MY post and I make the rules

Marche - Paladin/Fighter: World's Strongest Child. Fighter's damage output is insane, and has a wide range of abilities that helped out with its accuracy or distance, as well as just some meaty hits to annihilate. I went into Paladin just for some extra defense, and was also blessed with some good support skills and a stupid strong nuke in Holy Blade.

Montblanc - Mog Knight/Juggler: To be real here, I fucked up with this dude. I Did Not know what I wanted to do with him, and messed his stats up a little as a result. But Juggler is such a good support unit, especially with Dagger's disable + damage and Smile's instant turn ratio. Mog Knight did not perform how I wanted it to, but it has funny ability names.

Nikolai - Hunter/Archer: As I mentioned before, I'm a Fire Emblem bitch; and what that means is that I'm used to archers sucking shit (fuck you Python hit your damned shots). I was NOT expecting the bowman here to be as goated as he was. The utility of the aim abilities from damage boosting to disabling the enemy, as well as hunt's huge monster damage, this dude was a prime stay throughout the entire playthrough.

Chelney - Dragoon/Gladiator: This guy took a bit to load up, but once he did, holy shit. Absolute damage demon. Dragoon's wide range of AOE abilities + spear usage given some extra strength and smaller focus when needed from Gladiator, on top of the insane movement I gave him meant I had a Bangaa missile land wherever I wanted it to.

Eugene - Sage/White Mage/Beastmaster (when needed): Another unit I didn't really do optimally. White Mage is obviously a great support as it always is, but I genuinely thought Sage was gonna be a support type. Instead I got some damage skills (which to be fair were nice to have) that were super rare to find and didn't feel really BEEFY. Beastmaster was mostly there to support the Blue Mage.

Gertrude - Red Mage/Summoner: The early playthrough goat and 1/2 of the reason why I think Viera units are the best units in the game. Red Mage's wide variety of abilities came in clutch, as well as the bit of Fencer I gave her at first to cover both magic and physical. Then came Summoner, which was just "haha drop a big explosion". THEN I got Doublecast. "HAHA DROP TWO BIG EXPLOSIONS". Very very very fun unit, I just wish she actually managed to hit more. I blame myself for not giving her more movement to get behind the enemy.

Skimble - Time Mage/Black Mage: The epitome of a glass cannon, Poor Skimble could nuke anyone he saw but kept constantly getting targeted and killed. I actually did really like this mix of jobs because he could pull off support and damage well whenever I needed.

Gotwald - Bishop/White Monk: Not the most used unit, but a VERY fun combination of jobs. Bishop is like, Good Sage, with its healing and damage magic, and then the White Monk abilities balanced it out with some physical attacks as needed and Revive. Thematically it all balances out very well, I loved this.

Gallahad - Ninja: Another unit I didn't really know what to do with. He started out as a thief but I never really liked stealing in games (mainly cause it just never seemed worth the trouble). It was worth it to get to Ninja, though. His damage output, especially once I unlocked Double Sword was insane. The utility of Ninja Skills are also awesome, I just wish he could land them.

Agatha - Assassin/Sniper: I lied when I said Gertrude was 1/2 of what convinced me Vieras were the best. Agatha is 5/6ths of what convinced me of this fact. Having her in Sniper was already really solid with Doubleshot, Death Scythe, Aim:Weapon, etc (a really funny combo was dooming someone then using Montblanc to speed up their turns and thus their demise.) But then Assassin? Holy shit. Literally just instantly killing anything across the field, dashing around at mach speed, everything in her range. Once I mastered Ultima Buster and gave her back a greatbow, everyone was just "am I going to Last Breath or Ultima Buster you? You get one shot either way". Insane unit.

Karl - Gunner/Animist: This is such a fun long range hide in the back of the map combo. Gunner has surprisingly crazy damage, and it can keep up that damage AND cause statuses. Animist rounds it out nicely with the self heal and AOE attacks (oh I can't shoot you? Get Chocobo'd, idiot.)

Nobel - Blue Mage/Fighter: This is a Blue Mage that is 1000% worth the investment. You don't even need all the spells. Matra Magic is one of the funniest spells in a strategy game I've ever used, and even beyond that I had Twister and Dragon Force. Fighter was there to give them extra meat for their attack based spells, as well as no MP options because Damage > MP is a thing and is good.

That was my clan, and I feel like most everyone got their time to shine (even if certain bunnies and lizards got a little more than others). There are some jobs I wish I got to experience a little more but I just couldn't put the investment into it. Illusionist and Alchemist are a couple that I think I could have cooked with in an alternate timeline; Templar as well. Gadgeteer scares me, but a luck based affect everyone class is really funny conceptually. I also really appreciated how throughout the game, the base jobs weren't always invalidated, and they had their place when needed.

I think building characters, while it is the part I enjoyed the most through the game, is very much sunk cost. You gotta just invest in your guys from the get go cause nobody you recruit later is going to even out just due to amount of abilities.

Other gameplay things I liked: customizable map is really cool. I ended up going with an optimized guide just cause I wanted treasure and I know I don't play games more than once often so I was going for full 100%, but as a replayability feature it's SO cool. I also actually quite enjoyed the little bit of time management that was there; it reminded me of Persona. Hold off to accept this mission cause I can't make it in time to do these other couple, plan out my optimal route to hit as many or as little battles as I could in this period. Map navigation was an actual part of the game which was cool.

The Law system gives me feelings so complicated. Thematically, it's very cool and fits in perfectly in the world (or I should say the world is built around it very well.) And theoretically, it really gives you incentive to switch around your units and plan out their growth. But in my experience, 80% of the time it was just annoying? (which again, flavor wise, VERY accurate). Like there were times where I got hit with "do not hit animals go to jail" on a mission I did not know was exclusively full of animals. I also don't think they were the clearest things at times, and you really do just have to get punished to find out the limits of stuff. It's not The Worst, but I don't think I had a lot of fun with it. Except when it prevented the enemies from doing something that was hilarious. Stupid Illusionist can't do anything when target all is illegal lmfao

To tie in two previous points, I think Jagds were a very cool area. The trade off of no laws but for permadeath is neat, and those zones actually gave me fear and made me try to plan and prepare when I went around them. I also have a memory of my childhood playthrough losing my favorite guy so I didn't want a repeat of that hahaha. But I think the permadeath eventually becomes WAY more of a punishment than it should be due to how hard raising a character is. One wrong move, and the guy you put dozens of hours and AP into is gone. I will say, this game absolutely made me anal about saving constantly, so that might be good? Maybe?

Two things I can strictly say I disliked, were the randomness and dispatch missions/mission items. When it comes to randomness, I feel like I was really blocked out of certain things just because I couldn't get the units or items I wanted. I didn't get the chance to recruit a second Viera for so long, which sucks when jobs are race based. (I read somewhere that it was based off month but I found that out way too late). Items as well; when abilities are locked to gear, you Need gear to reach potentials. But I barely got any Sage weapons, I was losing out on a lot of ice magic cause I just couldn't get the items, and I literally never got to figure out how to steal said weapons cause I didn't get the weapon to do that. It bothered me. Mission items are the absolute bane of my existence. I HATED them. You need them for so many missions, but those missions will appear WAY before you can even get the items, and some items are one time get only meaning you can screw yourself out of everything, which I hated. Yes, I know that if I was playing this back in the day (and if I had friends when I was playing this back in the day), you could trade and link for items, but as a solo player, it just doesn't work. The mystery difficulty of dispatch missions sucked too. I had to look up the formula just to figure out how to make something guaranteed to win.

I think this wins the award for Game With Gameplay I Actually Really Cared For And Had Opinions About 2024

Story + Characters

As a kid, I really didn't think about the story at all even though I could read it just fine. I was just a small one who named his character ABCDabcdef and had fun moving my guys around (also god damn I was a lot smarter than I thought considering how far I got) My adult brain though, was actually able to appreciate what this game was. I think it offers a really interesting inversion on the Isekai genre, before the Isekai genre even blew up. What if the main character wanted to go home? For a GBA game in 2003, I feel like this was surprisingly... profound? is that the word? I'm not saying it was the greatest piece of media ever written, in fact I think there were a couple areas where I would have liked a little more clarification/details, but like, for what it is. It's really cool.

Marche I think is an interesting character. He felt very... responsible. Like "haha ok guys we had our fun but we Need to go back." He was able to call the bullshit on the world, and try to pull everything back to reality. I felt this even further reading about his backstory and relationship to his family. Sure, he had freedom, but he dedicated his effort To his brother, and his mother, to make them happy, even at the cost of his own. He's a character that I very much appreciated and related to. Although, I think I would have liked more to his motivation. A stronger reason behind his intense want to go home.

Ritz and Doned were fine. I like them, but there isn't much To them. Ritz was a cool, strong character who I liked how she never backed down from her wants, and Doned hit close to my heart, being a very accurate younger brother; and I felt for him, "gaining" the health he always wanted. I really liked the scene between him and Marche fighting about what the other has. But they didn't get to show up much, which stinks, and in Ritz's case especially I wish her motivation was a little stronger.

Mewt I think was the perfect character to cause this story and this world. I completely understood his struggles between the bullying and the loss of his mother, seeing the struggles of his father, and wanting that all to go away, dealing with, or more aptly NOT dealing with the pain by running away from it. His mental state literally shaped the world, from the laws of the land to creating an overpowered coping mechanism in the form of him but backwards (fuck you Llednar you're too damn strong).

This game has a good Cid. I expected him to be a shithead, but in the real world he was just depressed and in Ivalice he was actually really honorable.

Montblanc and Shara were both good friends to their respective child, but I do wish they both had a little more background/depth. (I also wish that Shara hit literally any of her shots come on I wasted a unit slot on you)

Both the Nu Mou surprised me; Babus actually made me feel for the dude, clearly caring about his prince and fighting for him; his behavior and appearance made me think he was Mewt's stuffed animal given life. Ezel's fucking hilarious, this dude said FUCK the government, laws are no fun at all. I love that dude so much.

I don't have much to say about Remedi, as she's literally an extension of Mewt. She serves her role as being that physical incarnation of a metaphysical concept to plunge your sword into that every FF game needs.

To kinda summarize my point, I did like everything, and I thought there were a lot of cool concepts. The game made me feel feelings, it plucked at my heart a little. But it's not as deep as I would have liked, I don't think. Granted, this is a GBA game. I'm not expecting Shakespeare or anything, but if we ever got a remake or something? I'd love some expansion.

Apart from the main story, I actually quite enjoyed the background story of Clan Borzoi. These guys are being menaces, you defeat them, and through reading the rumors and dispatch missions, you find out their leader runs away in a boat you helped him with, only for him to come back 4x as evil, bringing fiends and becoming a fucking vampire. It was honestly a joy and a side plot that Did Not need to be there but I loved.

The post game 100% completion judge storyline was fun too. We get more Cid screentime AND we get to fight against the law being shitty and corrupt which you always love to see.

Art

I love this game's art style and direction. The portraits, the way everyone looks, is so fun, it's cartoony and unique. The monster designs are so special yet still recognizably classic. The game itself is really colorful and vibrant which makes it a joy to look at, especially as I can't tear myself away from playing it.

Even the animations just make me really happy to look at, although I recognize part of that is nostalgia. The spells are fun, like the demi squishy circle, or the Illusionist full screen hellfests (Stardust is the best one). Even the summon animations, for being on a GBA game, had that classic FF sense of grandness, power, and being over the top. I love looking at this game.

Music

It's amazing how even through the GBA sounds, this is very recognizably a Sakimoto soundtrack. I can feel that grand feeling that the XII OST gives me in the form of beeps and boops. I don't care what some people say, I love the way the GBA sounds, and I think this game has a very good soundtrack. The title theme lives in my head rent free, as well as the bar theme. Marche's theme is also probably one of my favorites, being a slower piece compared to most of the game.

Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin

See it's funny cause Marche is a stranger in paradise and I'm about to talk about the origins of Final Fantasy

Go play the silly Jack game dammit

I never truly appreciated how FF this game is. I will preface this by saying I Have Not played the original Tactics yet (I should have done it before Advance but childhood experiences win the matchup low diff), so my experiences are mainly second hand, that might affect some of my outlook. But as I was saying, this game feels INCREDIBLY classic Final Fantasy. Between the monsters, the jobs, the colorful nature of the game, the references to previous characters (I saw the four fiends! And Gilgame[sh]!) the fantastical aspects over the more serious political drama, I get the same vibes as the first few FF games, which makes me happy. I honestly feel like this game feels more FF than XII does (I am not saying XII is not an FF game it obviously is).

Speaking of XII, it is INSANE how much Tactics Advance brought to that game, and how little credit I feel the general public attributes to it. Like, This Game Came First. This game created Viera, Bangaa, Nu Mou. This game had Montblanc and Nono. This game had the Giza Plains. This game had monsters like Carrot. This game created Judges! So much of XII's identity is Tactics, and playing through this made me realize that even more of it is still Tactics. We wouldn't have Fran, we wouldn't have Gabranth, without Tactics Advance, and I wish this game got the respect it was due.

Shoutouts to XIV being the only game to acknowledge it in the form of Clan Nutsy. (I'm retroactively mad at Theatrhythm for not doing ANYTHING)

Post Too Long! Red Card: Go To Prison!

I'm so glad I finally got to finish this game, and complete a mission that I've had since I was a kid. I specifically remember giving up on the Llednar -> Mateus combo, and now here I am, 100% completion.

I can absolutely see why I put so much time into this game; it's addicting, and it has so many features and aspects of games that I love put into one package, even if there are bits I could do without.

The game as a whole feels ahead of its time, and even beyond the console it was on, and I hope one day it can get the recognition it deserves, rather than only getting a rerelease on the Wii U. I do recommend any FF fan to play this game. To finish off the post, I would say;

8/10. An absolutely addicting fun time and a key point in the history of my favorite franchise, as well as my own life. It's got some frustrations and imperfections, but it's such a solid experience.

[simonnebethel]

November 2 Excerpt - To Hear a Lovebird - Chapter 6

"Really? Well, I can tell she has an interest in music. She's not listening to the music, but watching. She knows what exact notes they're playing, don't you think?" He grunted in reply, his suspicion growing. Is she one of mother's spies? Couldn't be. She's too old. "Just one question–" "What?" He finally snapped, immediately regretting the action. The anger had come to him so fast he hadn't even realized he was becoming impatient with her presence. He closed his eyes and sighed deeply before turning to the woman. She was smiling, as if she got what she wanted from him. She crossed her arms and turned to Prune. She rolled her lips, as if considering something, before turning back to him. "I was just wondering…" The corners of her lips lifted, "What's a murderer on the loose doing with a Ostreinan woman in a foreign country?" His blood turned cold, tensing his muscles and stopping his heart for just a moment. She knows. The world deafened around them. Did the band stop playing? She knows. His right hand reached for the dagger strapped to his waist– "Now, wait just a moment. I'm not looking to turn you in, ve chun." She was still smiling, as if she just didn't see him reach for a dagger. "I have no use for such a high amount of money that they've placed on your head." "Don't lie to me," He seethed, "Anybody and everybody would want that money if they knew I was here." "No, I don't," She murmured, taking a step closer to him, suddenly becoming serious. "You see that band? They are apart of my travelling band of performers. Some of the men and woman in my group have criminal records. A few are still wanted in a few towns. If I turn you in, what sort of attention will that set upon us, do you think?" "What do you want, then? A new juggler?" Stig quipped. She shook her head, "No. I want to know if you're taking care of that girl, keeping her safe." He scoffed. "Of course–" She leaned in closer to him. "A man who kills the Ring-Giver of Reyoarfell in cold blood, a leader loved by all of his people, has a girl's best interest's at heart? What is she to you? Leverage? A toy to play with until your inevitable capture and imprisonment?" "How dare–"

[leasdoodles]

the best sword juggler in the kingdom (probably)

[image description: a digital drawing of Fawn, a dnd character from my current campaign, on a light pink background. She is a slim satyr with pale skin, long wavy white hair with hot pink ribbons in it, and golden eyes. Her face and shoulders have small white freckles on them. She has goat legs covered in white fur as well as grey ram's horns on her head that also have hot pink ribbons around them. Her one visible ear is downturned and is light grey with white freckles. She is wearing a dark pink tank top and a light pink tutu skirt. She is drawn juggling two daggers, one of which has a pink handle, and the other is curvy and has a purple handle. She is looking to the dagger on the left with a slight smile on her face. END ID]

[kn96artworks]

...

A strange kind of silence envelopes them in the frigid night air. Despite that, Gai found himself sitting near the cliff edge with his eyes off into the distance, leaving Juggler to rest by the crackling fire.

His mind went back to some days ago when they were still making their way up the Warrior's Peak. He heard their voice, recieved their light, heeded their command. Yet, a question remained.

Why him?

He for sure was certain that Juggler would be more suitable, in many ways. He was so sure of it. Still is. So, why?

The thought kept rolling in his mind. He looks down onto the dagger held in his hand and repeated the same question. Again, and again.

"..-Couldn't sleep?" A familiar gruff voice broke him out of his circle of thought. He turns around to see Juggler looking his way. The bright flame casted dark shadows on the man. He silently nodded.

For a brief moment, an odd glimmer flashed in Juggler's eyes and a cold feeling crept up his spine.

"..Not really sleepy." A half lie. A beat passed.

"Is that so." A curt answer came and Juggler turns away. "You should rest. There's still more to come." His voice lightly echoes in the night air.

There is an emptiness to his voice that Gai couldn't make sense of. He stares at the man's sillhouette, stark against the flickering red flame. Lightly shaking himself out of his stupor, he breaks his gaze.

He concluded that he's overthinking things too much. Recent events had been stressful enough.

It must be that.

So he tells himself.

[shoujo-brain-masahiro]

@kouslut

The crowd was thick in the plaza, huddled tight together to catch a glimpse of the man performing near the fountain. Tall, dark haired and more than a little good looking, the performer barely had to do anything to command the attention of the crowd. Even so, his ability to juggle a set of daggers while not catching either his loose, puffy sleeves, or the folds of his trousers was incredibly impressive. Usually, Masahiro wouldn’t let his attention wander when given an opportunity as rich as this, but the performer was incredibly distracting. And surprisingly well dressed.

He wound in and out of the crowd with his hood covering his face, slipping his hand into bags, using his dagger to subtly cut purse strings and add it all to the growing loot in the bag hidden underneath his cloak. Evening performances like this were the perfect pickings for a thief like him. The sky was just beginning to darken, lamps were very slowly being lit, and because of the difficulty seeing the action in the fading light, the congregating mass weren’t paying any attention to other people in the crowd. Given his thin frame and quick hands, he could slip in and out of the masses before a performance was over.

Unfortunately, Masahiro couldn’t manage to take his eyes off the juggler. His handsome face, that small beauty mark that drew in his eye with an inexplicable pull, the fluid motion of his hands, even the way he laughed as the audience cheered for him, all of it drew the young thief’s eyes and tripped him up. He was pulled in against his will, and it made him sloppy.

As the performer added another blade to his rotation, drawing gasps and more cheers from the crowd, Masahiro fumbled with a coin purse, nicking his fingers with the blade and stumbling into the man whose purse he had in his hands. He tried to mumble an apology and move on, but the man looked down at him and must have noticed the coin purse he hadn’t managed to slide into his bag yet. Masahiro panicked, trying to slip into the crowd and flee, but the man was quick, and strong, and grabbed his arm and held him in place.

“Don’t try to get away after stealing from me, whelp,” the man growled, tightening his hand around Masahiro’s upper arm. “I’ll demand your hands for this!”

Pure adrenaline rushed through him at the man’s words. He had always known that it was a possibility to lose his hands living on the streets the way he did, but actually coming face to face with the threat of it had him feeling like a rat being hunted by a cat at the end of an alley. He tugged his arm hard, trying to slip from the man’s grasp. The force of his pull had him stumble into yet another member of the crowd, and then another. As attention began to turn from the man juggling daggers to him, Masahiro found himself crying out in a voice strained with stress.

“Let me go! I’ll give it back!”

“No one steals from me,” the man shouted. “Empty your bag right now!”

Masahiro looked around frantically, desperate for help but knowing none would come. He was a petty thief who had been caught. Only sixteen years old and already facing his end. If only he hadn’t been so distracted, so sloppy. He cursed the attraction of the performer and his own ability to keep his head.

[ethandevil667]

Meet the siblings of the show and children of the ring leader (who I'll show soon, eventually) Marin and Kilian.

Marin is the only imp who floats around in the air like a marionette by steel wires and strings! He use to dress in various clothings as a clown till he had a interest in puppets and wanted to float in the air like one. So he had to be in painful surgeries to get these hook like bolts practically melted into part of his body! Now in the circus he is simply known as Marinate the puppet! Of course he loved to switch into any clothings no matter the gender or roles behind them!

Then there's his little sister Kilian who masters the arts of juggling weapons and throws without sight! She of course was born without a leg and had to get a prothetic many times. However in one of her stages of performance there was a snipper that shoot her in the middle of her juggling daggers! The sniper missed only hitting the daggers but it was enough to cause an accident with her falling and stabbed into the eyes. Their father had to hold off on his daughter's performance till her eyes were fixed... they never were the same again. Although when her eyes were healing from the damage she began to secretly practice her tricks she did when he had sight. Of course it took many months and practices to get her rhythm back till she was able to finally be back into the performance as Kilian the blind juggler half imp! She had some bits of succubus but sadly never had grown wings. Only her tail showed she was a half breed but everyone thought she was mostly an imp.

All I can say is that when these two are together their a perfect duo for the other job their ring leader has given them and the crew.. after all the ring leader is Marin and Kilian's father..

[pure-vanilla-lilies]

Witchberry Cookie and Ice Juggler watched from the staircase, Shadow Milk Cookie and Lily Orchid Cookie arguing.

"How long have they been at this!"

"30 minutes."

"You actually watched them argue?"

"Why do you care? Don't you usually sleep all the time -"

"Baby please, it's not what it looks like-"

"Leave."

Shadow Milk Cookie stood there in astonishment. The look in Lily Orchid Cookie's eyes stabbed at him like they were daggers and knives.

"Leave, and don't return."

Lily Orchid Cookie pointed to the door, she watched him as he slowly left the house. Lily Orchid Cookie was shedding tears. Tears of hurt and betrayal. She watched as he walked outside of the house and shut the door.

"I guess you are a Beast Cookie, after all."

A small weak voice of a cookie spoke.

"M-Mommy? Are you... Okay?"

Ice Juggler Cookie. Lily Orchid Cookie sighed as the small Cookie hugged her leg.

"Is daddy coming back?"

Lily Orchid Cookie knew that she was too young to understand adult issues. She kissed her daughter's cheek and patted her head.

"I'm okay. I don't know if he's coming back, but.. We'll be okay. I promise."

*SHAKES YOU SHAKES YOU SHAKES YOU*

HOW DARE YOU MAKE ME CRY

BUT DAMN THIS HITS SO HARD AAAAAA

[ao3feed-destiel-02]

The Angel Blade

The Angel Blade https://ift.tt/d9pGujB by CoyDahlia At a party celebrating his eighteenth birthday, omega Castiel Shurley wears the stunning dagger he unexpectedly inherited from his uncle, Marv “Metatron” Campbell. He is not aware that the precious blade, known as the Angel Blade, has been missing since it was plundered from a Fiendish palace in Hell where his uncle had served with the army fifty years ago. But someone knows the secret of the Angel Blade and will go to desperate measures to retrieve it. When it goes missing later that night, suspicions are raised and accusations fly. Could it be a trio of mysterious Demon jugglers seen near the house? Or a love-struck housemaid suddenly behaving strangely? And there is Castiel himself, who becomes furious when his paramour, Dean Winchester, directs attempts to find it. As divergent accounts reveal more details, the blade’s recovery is complicated by unexpected twists and turns. Sifting through a compelling list of suspects, the indomitable Sergeant Henriksen must find the truth about the Angel Blade and its mysterious disappearance. Words: 2103, Chapters: 1/?, Language: English Fandoms: Supernatural (TV 2005) Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Categories: M/M Characters: Naomi (Supernatural), Zachariah (Supernatural), Cain (Supernatural), Anna Milton, Victor Henriksen, Hester (Supernatural), Bartholomew (Supernatural) Relationships: Castiel/Dean Winchester Additional Tags: Moonstone AU, Slow Burn, Alternate Universe - Victorian, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, but like real subtle, Mystery, Angst, Happy Ending, Minor Character Death, POV Multiple via AO3 works tagged 'Castiel/Dean Winchester' https://ift.tt/AG7D8R2 August 23, 2023 at 01:03PM

[blogfanreborn777]

Blade Juggler by Dmitry Burmak

[wraithsoutlaws]

did not anticipate actually developing anything substantial abt dagger’s old circus chooms but i am nothing if not a slut for a fucked up horror circus