#day 6 - Legendary

[fulgurbugs]

Headcanon ask (I'm sorry the Pokemon SwSh thing made me think of this all of a sudden): Octopath / Pokemon -- gym leaders! Who would be a gym leader and what Pokemon type would they specialise in? (Alternatively if the main antagonist of each Octopath character's story was a gym leader what Pokemon type would each specialise in... you know for the characters who actually have a human antagonist for their story... I feel like Redeye would just be a corrupted legendary or something I don't know?)

alright, had another big brainstorm sesh with the bestie @snailcruncher for this one so here it goes

Here’s what we’re going with: everyone gets one type, 4 pokemon. we’re going to get everyone fully evolved versions of their team as if they’re like, the 8th gym leader, mostly so we had more to work with but also didn’t have to give a fuck about nfe mons

as for choosing the types, we basically went by choosing some who felt obvious first, then filling in with what we had left so nobody repeated a type. maybe some don’t fit perfect but yk. also shoutout to inherent class magic types for giving us some pokemon types to fall back on

also, i’m imagining in this scenario it’s probably like. the only example i can think of is cheren (i don’t watch the anime) where gym leaders clearly have gym teams that vary depending on challenge level, and personal teams for outside of the league, so that’s how we’re rationalizing this

anyways

Up first

Ophilia - Ice

Ace: Lapras

there’s not really a good equivalent to “light” in pokemon types, so we decided to go with the frostlands special on this one.

Abomasnow is here to set hail/snow. if any character has a team that benefits from a weather being set, we’ve usually included a setter in their team. so that’s what abomasnow does

ninetales is for aurora veil, which i think is a pretty good equivalent to the sheltering abilities of cleric

frosmoth was on her original team so decided to carry it over. same with lapras, which i think has a fun connection with guiding/carrying travelers on its back, which makes it a good ace for her.

Cyrus - Psychic

Ace: Alakazam

since scholar covers 3 types of magic, pigeonholing it into one is a little difficult. decided to go with psychic, since it is pretty magic-y and most of its mons are known for being very specially focused rather than physically

alakazam gets to be ace because, let’s face it, none of these other guys are sweeping. alakazam is known for being mega smart and also laser beam crater blasting everything, so i think it’s a pretty safe cyrus pick.

claydol is just something i think is pretty fun for vibes. what with its mysterious origins… feels very cyrus ch4 mural a la runerigus he has in his other team

Swoobat. with the ability. unaware.

Oranguru cuz it’s the instructor pokemon ^_^

Tressa - Water

Ace: Gyarados

Since tressa’s from a seaside town, she felt like the best pick for water types.

Gyarados is her ace because, well… magikarp starts out kind of wimpy but turns out it had the best potential of them all (tho tressa herself certainly has a less rocky start) anyways this thing is a dragon dance sweeper and will kill you.

Pelliper rain setter. plus, gulls feel on brand for her. Gastrodon (east) so that she has an electric immunity that this team sorely needs

Palafin for another zero to hero because tressa would not let you get off easy even if you get past one of her hard hitters. she’d have this thing in the back after flip turning it out of there.

Olberic - Steel

Ace: Aegislash

notable “unbending blade” of hornburg olberic gets steel types, clap if you are surprised. no one?

anyways, Aegislash for the ace. i’m sure it’s pretty self explanatory.

Aggron and steelix are pretty much in for the same reason. they’re big. they have high defense. and they’re steel types. escavalier just goes more in on the knight motif while bringing another dual type to the team

Primrose - Flying

Ace: Oricorio

there’s definitely a good argument to be made for something like dark primrose, but to be honest… i like flying for her, because i feel like it works with her kind of caged-bird motif. in addition, flying types cover a lot of dual types, which means i can pick pokemon that can use dance setups or support.

Oricorio is the picture perfect flying/dancer ace. obviously it gets top spot

Altaria as a dragon dance setup sweeper

Vivillion is a shitmon, admittedly, but it was that or butterfree for a quiver dancer, so i went with vivillion because honestly it doesn’t fucking matter they have the same shit basically. i guess this thing can also use sleep powder (and so can butterfree) but it comes in more pretty colorsssss

Swanna gets featherdance, just to cover one more dance. and you know. swans are like pretty and elegant or whatever. allegedly. anyways something something primrose is a beautiful swan.

Alfyn - Grass

Ace: Leavanny

Alfyn greengrass has grass types? this is shocking to nobody. anways, deciding between leavanny or meganium for the ace i eventually decided on leavanny because i say so. but they could both work

vileplume so that he has at least one grass/poison rep. i so rarely use the apothecary poisoning skills in OT but he can like. do that, so….

Sunflora is here because it would use sunny day and do fuck all except be a shitmon, because it is, but personally i think Alfyn wouldn’t gaf because it’s cute and he likes it, and it supports solarbeam/Clorophll for its team which is enough of a job to put it on here

Therion - Fire

Ace: Houndoom

the inherent fire magic of the thief class is here to bail me out in giving therion a gym type. thanks.

Anyways, i’m going with Houndoom as the Ace because he does have an image to uphold. it can’t all be fluffy arcanines or whatever.

ceruldege is here bc A) swords and B) it’s a little hater of a pokemon so it stays. centiskorch is here because it’s one of MY favs and i think it’s fun to put more interesting dual types into these teams, and as much as i love volcarona (my all time fave) it’s not really a therion mon… but i do think he’d be on board with a centiskorch.

then for a sun setter… it kind of had to be ninetales, tbh. i cannot really justify giving mr fastest speed stat in orsterra a turtle. so ninetales it is.

H’aanit - Electric

Ace: Luxray

another one where the inherent class magic gets to bail us out. if i’m being honestly, H’aanit is not much giving electric trainer, but we did our best.

Kilowatrells reasoning here is the same as it was in her original team. it’s a literal thunderbird. (also, no legends here but she deserves a zapdos)

Galvantula is a webs setter. holy shit guys, leghold trap reference.

and then Manectric and Linde are of course, dollar store Hägen and Linde. definitely an intimidate luxray, too.

next we can move onto the OT2 ones!

Ochette - Dragon

Ace: Noivern

ochette… she’s giving 8th gym dragon gym leader. i think her emphasis on finding legends basically tailors her to the dragon trainer for me. as for her mons, i’ve given her three dragons whose secondary types match up with Acta, Terra, and Glacis, while noivern is… honestly it’s just vibes i think noivern is cool and she would like it.

i didn’t really wanna make one of the three legends her ace over the other, so i’ll just say noivern is the ace.

Castti - Poison

Ace: Roserade

now, for Castti, we decided to bend the gym leader rules a bit, so she doesn’t have all poison types, though she does have an entirely poison-based team still. Breloom has poison heal, so we’ve elected to give it a spot, considering it also gets spore and is a fighting type that can throw THESE HANDS.

Zangoose is here for a similar reason, posssing the ability toxic boost, upping its damage when poisoned.

Glimmora of course has two poison based abilities in corrosion and toxic debris, though i’d say castti’d do toxic debris/venoshock shenanigans.

For the mandatory Apothecary Grass/Poison type, i’ve given her roserade. it’s like uh. the flower malaya gave her.

Throné - Dark

Ace: Bisharp

tho throné herself maybe wouldn’t like to be the dark type leader, or at least would wish she wouldn’t get a bad rap for using them, they still fit her (and OT2’s theif inherent magic), so that’s what we’re going with.

Absol: maybe this one is on loan from temenos lol.

liepard is a very evil team-grunt pokemon so i’m giving it to her also it’s purple.

weavile is a little less of a shitmon and also gets the ability pickpocket, plus brings some dual typing to this team. tho she would get her shit so rocked by a fighting type let’s be real

Bisharp: ok so… what if… the blacksnakes… are like a bunch of pawniards. and only the best ones can be bisharps. that’s throne. or something. also, it’s kind of referencing that she’s distantly related to notable kingambit haver hikari. bonus!

Osvald - Normal

Ace: Drampa

hear me out… Osvald normal type trainer. but he uses only dual types, and he also likes to play a lot less straightforward than your average trainer. Ursaluna (for the teddiursa in his original team) makes an appearance, while Farigaraf can set trick room and other fun psychic pokemon shenanigans. Hisui-Zoroark is here to throw another wrench in the mix, being able to throw off incoming fighting type attacks and hit back while making you readjust your strategy. the whole time, the threat of this thing makes you always have to consider if you know what you’re fighting first.

and drampa. this thing is just such an osvald pokemon to me. thank god it’s half normal. he should have it. make it the ace too.

Partitio - Rock

Ace: Coalossal

partitio was a bit of an odd one to pick a type for, but we settled on rock for a few reasons. honestly…. started with the ace and worked backwards, and therion’s already hogging the fire slot. besides, even though he’s looking towards the future, partitio’s definitely a little behind the times initially, so some good old fashioned rock types seem like a good fit.

anyways the coalossal is the ace because he’s ability is. steam engine. lol

lycanroc because. i think partitio would like a awesome doggy and then we went dusk form bc i don’t think he would have the evil one and dusk sucks less than the midday one lol.

gigalith sand setter

and then crustle is cuz we wanted to give him it as a shell smash sweeper. and i dunno they probably have dwebbles around oresrush.

Agnea - Fairy

Ace: Togekiss

Agnea feels like a pretty good fit for the fairy type, tho she does get less dancer-move user options than primrose does using flying types.

Togekiss i feel like is a shoe-in for her ace. it’s a pokemon associated with peace and kindness… i feel like agnea is definitely the kind of person to be able to actually acquire a togepi. also, it gets serene grace, which is a very agnea-ability title. i think she should get to paraflinch people too.

Ribombee is a much better quiver dance user than vivillion, and it’s half fairy, so agnea gets it. i love this thing. it can be so scary if it gets set up.

gardevoir: in our original teams, hikari had this due to its association with loyalty to its trainer/friends. so i think agnea also fits it very well too! since hikari (⬇️down there later ) has been swapped to a gallade to fit his type i’ve given it to her. awesome matching time.

whimsicott is here because she is fun and whimsical. this thing would set tailwinds probably.

Temenos - Ghost

Ace: Houndstone

i’m so sorry temenos but i think it’s really really funny to make you a ghost trainer. like really super funny.

anyways, yamask was on his original team, so we’ve upgraded to cofagrigus here. chandelure is vaguely sacred flame-esque while also being ghost type, tho it’s kind of. ominous but whatever. Sableye is a silly little guy who kind of vaguely references the mirror shard crossed paths. i guess if he mega evolved it i could do that even more with magic bounce but we didn’t really work w megas or regional gimmicks or whatever

and then houndstone comes out last to spam last respects after you’ve killed all this other pokemon just like all the EVERYONE HE KNEW IN REAL LIFE died too you monster.

like i said i think ghost trainer temenos is really funny

Hikari - Fighting

Ace: Gallade

Hikari nabbed fighting type right out of the gate. as compared to olberic who is very definsive brick wall of a guy, hikari feels more versatile in a way that fits fighting types to a T.

I’ve given him heracross because the heracross i caught in my nuzlocke is named after him so i think he should have one.

Lucario is here for a fun friendship evo, while scrafty is here to rep a more “dirty fighter” type of pokemon on the team being fighting/dark.

then gallade gets to be the ace because i feel like it’s the most ace material tbh.

as for your second part we did pick villian types (but not teams), here’s that much more briefly

Mattias: Dark (i feel like this is self explanatory. maybe malamar ace?)

Lucia: Psychic (this seems to must be the type we’re going with for most scholars)

Esmerelda: Poison (because the wound may prove fatal)

Werner: Fighting (idrgaf but i guess he used to run a merc company so i guess or whatever)

Simeon: Normal (hes the least normal guy you’ll ever meet but you’d never guess it from his pokemon team)

Ogre eagle: Iron valiant. 6 iron valiant.

Darius: Ground

i’m just. uh.

Redeye: Iron valiant. also entire team of 6 iron valiants (lore accurate)

Darkling: you never guess this but 6 Iron Valiants

Trousseau: Poison but for real this time

Claude: Dark (feel like that’s also self explanatory)

Harvey: Psychic (specifically, this guy has a hypno.)

Roque: Steel ⬇️

Dolcinea: Fairy mirror match/Tiernos Dancer only team she’s based like that. either or

Kaldena: Ghost (another mirror match)

Mugen: typeless but every one of his mons knows swords dance

ok that’s basically it hope that’s enough of an answer ok byeeee

[baede-6]

To the people that finished the entire campaign in a day, I am both incredibly impressed and terrified of you.

[dippygamer64]

Inktober 2024 — Day 6 — Trek

Every time I do a drawing or story idea about Voltron Legendary Defender, I get nervous to share it. Now I’m including Overwatch? It’s like I want to step into the Lion’s den (no pun intended).

Getting straight to the point, this is based on a story idea I’ve spent a surprising amount of time on: Lance Morrison-Reyes. Basically Lance is the son of Jack Morrison and Gabriel Reyes (yes that includes Reaper76 shipping), and he’s a very happy kid. Until Overwatch starts to decline, leading to the Swiss Base incident and leaving Lance an orphan. Cut to the present day where Lance is now a Voltron Paladin and is following in his parents’ shoes. Only for him to surprisingly reunite with both parents, who are in fact alive, only now they’re a vigilante and a mercenary on opposing sides. I’m slimming the story down A LOT, so some details are missing. But if anyone is interested maybe I’ll work on writing the story out in full and sharing it (or if I just feel like it XD).

Keep in mind, this isn’t directly from the story I’m working on. This is just a possible scene based on the idea. I kept wracking my brain trying to think of what I could do for “Trek”, to the point I looked up the definition as a reminder: “A long arduous journey especially one made on foot”. While I did think of other scenes that might have been more directly related to the prompt, once I had this scene in my head I simply really wanted to draw it.

Also, sorry again for running behind, I’ll catch up when I get that chance!

[raddestrose]

[silentwillowwhisperer]

Day 6- Samurai

I did it. I know it’s late, ignore that.

I was gonna do a cool au for this, but then I realized that I don't have that in me, especially after this week.

----------------------------------------

Shiro

Shiro had always wanted a sibling.

While growing up, his imaginary friends were imaginary brothers and sisters to keep him company.

And obviously, when a scrawny feral little child steals your car, what else are you gonna do that adopt him?

Keith might deny it furiously, but they're both growing on each other. Shiro knows this because the other day, the boy sat down next to him on his bed instead of reading in the kitchen. Before, Keith would hurry out of the room just at the sight of him.

Right now, Shiro is watching Keith slam his fists into a punching bag. He has his thumbs tucked in, and he's lucky his punch looks weak, or else the child prodigy pilot would find himself with 2 broken thumbs.

(Side note: as soon as I typed that out, I was like, 'that sounds like saying that I've heard before.' Is it? No, it's not, I just saw a bunch of pictures of broken thumbs. Back to the thing now.)

Shiro walks over to his desert child and places a heavy hand on his shoulder. He jolts and does a (kind of adorable) little hop into the air. When he whips around, his mop of hair flies with him and smacks into his face. He sputters a bit to get the black strands out of his mouth before clawing it all out of face and eying Shiro.

Shiro is kind enough to pretend he didn't see any of that.

"Don't tuck your thumbs in, kid, you're gonna get hurt." Shiro smiles kindly and Keith's shoulders slump a bit from their rigid posture. "Also, what are you doing with your arms? You're not trying to hug the bag, you want to hit it."

They reach a middle ground like that. Keith finally accepts Shiro through the combat lessons, and Shiro finally has his little brother.

After a couple years, they move on to weapons. Keith is taught how to use a knife, and then a sword (even though it's a bit impractical in Shiro's mind) and Keith picks it up so smoothly it seems like he's been using a blade his whole life.

"You're doing great, Samurai."

Keith pauses his training to raise an eyebrow at Shiro. "Samurai? You mean those tall dudes with the funky hats and the cool swords? Aren't ninja's cooler though?"

Shiro sighs dramatically. "Oh you poor, uncultured child. Ninjas were warriors of evil, Samurais were protector and fought for good. Obviously."

Keith shrugs and goes back to his slashing.

Shiro can already tell Keith's going to be a wonderful Samurai when he's older.

2. Hunk

Hunk is used to people warming up to him immediately. He smiles and people open up fairly fast. (People who are not Iverson, but that guy deserves to be called some rude words that Hunk will not be using at this moment. Lance will do it for him.)

Keith does not open up to him. In fact, he seems to see Hunk's grin as a flashing 'danger' sign.

Hunk does not let this discourage him. Keith reminds him of a skittish cat, the way he creeps around and startles when others approach him.

Hunk wakes up early that morning as he always does to make breakfast. However, this time he finds Keith sitting on the kitchen counter with his legs swinging to the rhythm he's humming. Yes, Keith is humming. Hunk is surprised too.

He stops at the doorway and says a soft, "hi" so that Keith will notice him.

Keith stops humming and stares him down. He looks uncertain, and moves to hop off the counter.

Wait. Wait no. Keith is leaving. Hunk is about to miss his chance to bond with Keith and Keith will hate him forever and probably stop eating Hunk's cooking and he's gonna cry if that happens.

"Wait, stop, NO!" Hunk yells without realizing is, and Keith is staring at him with wide eyes. It reminds him of when he caught his little brother stealing an extra cookie from the baking tray. Keith has the same vaguely terrified yet defensive look on his face.

Hunk flushes nervously. "Oh, sorry man. I just meant you can stay there if you want. You look comfy, and I have plenty of space to cook.

Keith's strangely colored eyes are fixed on him. It's unsettling, but Hunk sees this as a kind of Keith ritual, and he's scared that if he moves, Keith will bolt.

Lance would laugh so hard if he saw Hunk right now.

After about 30 seconds, Keith nods and starts swinging his feet again. He turns his head to stare absently at the fridge.

Hunk grabs ingredients for the morning’s meal in awkward silence. Is Keith going to start humming again? Because Hunk has the clawing urge to say something, but will that annoy his… (companion? Friend? Teammate? Unintentional castle-sharer/occasional co-couch sitter?)

So he does the only rational thing a person can do in this situation.

He starts humming ‘Here comes the sun’ and swings his hips around exaggeratedly as he walks. He feels Keith’s eyes burning holes into his back.

Oh no, Hunk really hopes Lance isn’t right about Keith being mean, he does not want to get judged right now.

Instead, he hears a tiny giggle.

He turns to see Keith with a hand slapped over his mouth.

They eye each other for a long moment before Hunk starts laughing his guts out.

Seriously. he feels kind of nauseous.

But it’s completely worth it, because Keith starts giggling again, and those turn into giant cackles.

They both laugh together until they forget why they started in the first place.

Of course, Allura crosses that moment to walk in. She chooses takes one look at the two of them with tears streaming down their faces and turns right back around. They can hear her mutter something about ‘strange humans’ and they keep on chuckling until Hunk has to puke in the trash can.

Keith does not make a rude comment about that. In fact, he walks over to pat Hunk’s back gently.

After that, Keith goes back to his perch on the counter and Hunk takes out a knife to cut up the space-veggies.

“I can help with that? If you want.”

Keith is looking down at his feet and the tips of his ears are tinted red.

Hunk wordlessly passes him a cutting board and the knife, as well as the space equivalent to coriander.

Keith balances the board on his legs and gets cutting. At first, he fumbled while trying to cut neat pieces, but he adjusts and get the hang of it after a minute or two.

“Shiro was right,” Hunk remarks.

Keith raises a questioning eyebrow.

“He calls you Samurai, right? You’re not too bad with that knife.”

It’s hard to believe Hunk never saw this side of Keith before. His big eyes are sparkling, and he looks like a puppy being praised. (Fine, yes, Hunk likes comparing people to animals, what about it? Pidge is like an angry bunny, by the way, but don’t tell her that.)

Keith starts humming his random tune again. Hunk doesn’t join in, there’s no way he could follow along with the random pattern of notes. He’s content to have it as background noise, along with Keith’s chop chop chopping.

And regardless of however much patience it took, Hunk is glad to have this subtly sweet yet fiery person as his new friend.

A samurai indeed.

———————————-

I was gonna do everyone of the team, and then I did not. Maybe I’ll do a part 2 eventually?

[meeeeeeese]

This is a PSA to, every day you can, go and exchange materials for provisioner tokens. The easiest ones to do are the chak egg (just do gerent once a day), Auric Ingot (just do octovine once a day), obsidian shard (from just, so many sources) and 5 ectoplasm (you'll get this from any activity that gives you rares)

Why is this important? Because they're the only method of getting the gift of craftsmanship, which is required for pve legendary armour, legendary sigils and legendary runes. Since the gift is 50 tokens a pop it's heavily timegated, so get started now and you won't kick yourself later. Since some of the materials (like the chak egg) don't have much other use you may as well if you ever see yourself having legendary aspirations.

It's also even more important now because in the new expansion arenanet is releasing new pve legendary armour that won't require raids! While I don't strictly know if it's gonna require gifts of craftsmanship, I think it's very likely and if it doesn't, you can just use it on a fancy set of legendary sigils.

[fumifooms]

I read 1 fic yesterday and it literally energized me more than my new stimulant adhd med did. Marchil confirmed better than drugs. Crying

[biblically-accurate-soup]

“if you are trying to be a phd candidate in a social science field why the fuck are you studying math for fun” because i’m quirky and hot. next question.

[sbnkalny]

Gets upset, the ground shakes! My father gets upset, the ground shakes! my father or my snart ever again

[britcision]

Oh this is the middle/end of the second season shit is going to get REAL pretty dang quick and I guarantee not a single one of you is prepared for how

I sure as hell wasn’t 👀

Y’all ain’t even met the best characters yet

Man, even the smallest of side character in Dungeon have such heart and impact.

So in chapter 78, the elves (led by Flamella) have an opportunity to kill Laios. They believe that he is certain to fall to the Winged Lion and doom them all, and they have told everyone else as much. Laios friends and acquaintances, though conflicted, stand by.

The orcs are the first to protest. They are ready to fight for Laios (and their own best chance for freedom, through him). But no one else takes action.

Until...

Oh hey, it's Doni!! From what, like... chapter 3?? That's cute. It's even kind set up, since you can see him and Fionil in the chapter before this, reacting to the news that Laios defeated the Mad Sorcerer.

It's a small detail, but you can even see that Fionil has her hood up. Probably that's tied to the extra info on her from the Adventurer's Bible - she's a Canary spy.

Wait. Hold on.

Fionil is a spy. If that news comes out, she risks both her ties to Doni and possible arrest or punishment from the elves. She has been hiding out and trying to stay under the radar. But despite this, when Doni comes forward to vouch for Laios, so does she.

So yeah. THAT is the context of these panels:

That's why she's crying here. That's why its notable that she lowers her hood.

Fionil puts her life at risk by coming forward and standing by Doni. And it's these two that spur everyone else into action. Doni and Fionil save Laios, and Laios saves Marcille, and then they and the party go on to save the entire world.

I'm proud of her...

[anmolsmsblog]

Lee Men's Legendary Regular Fit Bootcut Jean

Price: (as of – Details) Just like our founder, H.D. Lee, our passion is helping can-do people do more. We are committed to designing clothing that conforms to your body, allowing you to move through life freely. We help you chase the things that bring you joy and laughter. The things that make you fearless and hopeful because your passion is what makes you unique. And what moves you, moves us.…

[diamond-dangeresque]

Day 6 — Legendary

A/N: i wanted to promise i wouldn't hit y'all with Another Wall of Text but unfortunately i have Stephen King Syndrome and I Can't Stop Writing 😖😖😖

1325AE, Fractals of the Mists ~ Sunqua Peak Fractal

"Please, quill its elementals and restore peace! You must hurry!"

That's what the 'mountain spirit' told Chihiro, and so up the fragmented stormy mountain he climbs, pulling out a shortbow and firing at the airy wisps until their squalls bind to his legs; he leaps from stone to stone with their enchanted winds at his feet, getting closer to what looks like the top of a tall, winding staircase carved out of a mountainside.

He thinks back to the 'spirit'. She sure didn't seem like a nature spirit. Seemed pretty human, actually. But maybe it's just because he can 'see' through the charade she puts up. It'd fool most others, being fair. And he didn't want to say anything, either, both because it's not like him to spoil a kid's fun and because he's been chided before about "breaking script", whatever exactly that means.

The wind elemental scuttles in its small arena, awaiting its target. But then, as Chihiro gazes at it, the elemental turns; it gazes back at it, feet planted firmly. Warnings hiss through the gale ("Why are you even here? I don't need your help!") before it calmly leaps away, leaving behind something glittery in the rain-drenched grass. Chihiro leaps into the now-empty arena, disappointed that a fight was avoided.

"Was there an elemental you just fought?" Dessa crackles through the Observatory's intrafractal comms system, a loudspeaker over existence in this microrealm. "I can't tell; my visuals fried for a few seconds and the strong reading in that arena is gone."

"Nope," Chihiro yells back, hoping she hears him this time, "it fled." A few seconds. No response back. Damn it. He walks over to the object the fleeing elemental left behind: a small chunk of something like a sword's blade, filigree supporting a lack of blood-groove and a blade made of what was either bronze or brass segmented like drakescale. His fingers tingled at the touch, even through the draconic envoy gauntlets, and the hairs on the back of his head stood at end. This was a powerful thing the elemental left behind.

And he can feel Glint behind him, also observing. "An artifact," she hisses, satisfaction in her voice. "I did not think we would find such a boon here in the Mists. A good omen towards your path of the Hero."

"You call a broken blade a good omen?" Chihiro questions, left aghast at this Dragon's so-called wisdom.

"Where there is one," Glint answers, fading back into his subconscious, "there are others. Artifacts behave differently from normal objects and weaponry. Stay vigilant, Herald."

And to that end, she was right: as the climb became more treacherous on this fragmented Sunqua, the elementals—harsh gales giving way to roaring despondent waterfalls with waves that pushed back—in turn matched the desperation of the voice hanging in the winds on the mountain.

In the wading pools of a mountainous sanctuary surrounded by waterfalls, Chihiro effortlessly frees a trapped water elemental from under massive boulders. Its reward to him, other than desperate pleas carried on the hushed sounds of running water ("What is it that you want? ... Leave. I'll give you anything."), was another piece of the strange artifact. This time it was of the sword's forte and hilt, also of that same bronze-like material. The pommel, the endtips of the guard, all bear an open circle that crackles with further electricity, catching stray sparks in the air. Thoughts run through the back of Chihiro's mind, memories involuntarily dragged to the forefront. He pushes them back, though a few manage to stay unwelcome guests. (The fear of centaurs. The forever-bruised eyesocket. The dagger in his hip. The meeting of he and Shiro in the Replica Temple.)

Cool waters make way for heated air and flowing lava, tiny sluglike elementals rising from the molten stone to assault the Herald. Nothing Ventari's Tablet and summer-air shield can't keep away, but it eats at his energy and so he moves quickly to deal fast strikes at the lava slugs. Their body temperatures eat at his steel blade, the poor thing, and eventually he reaches another arena tossing away the ruined blade. But like with the wind elemental, this one glares. With no weapon, all he can do is defend. So he does, raising the Flameseeker Prophecies to his chest and head, kneeling as he's cocooned in a crystalline chrysalis. The catlike elemental roars at him, summoning meteorites that shriek as they land ("There's no point! ... I couldn't save her!"), then leaves once they land. By the time the Herald lowers his shield and leaves his defensive posture, another piece of the blade is in front of him. He gives it a bit before he picks it up, but still it crackles with the lightning of that raging storm outside once it sits in his hand. More memories surge through his mind, overtaking his vision. They flash too quickly for him to memorize any of them, but all carry a lingering pain that resonates through his veins. It was getting harder to keep the torrent of memories at bay.

Chihiro grips his head. The last time he had a boiling headache like this, he had drank too much Charr whiskey. "Oy, Glint."

"Herald." Glint reemerges from her position in his mind.

"Are you sure we should be collecting these things?"

"If they were truly dangerous, I would have long stopped you from claiming the first piece, let alone this third."

"Hey, explorer," Dessa sparks back onto speakers. And here Chihiro was okay getting used to her absence. "I lost signal again. Yokko's trying to parse the data that's still readable and defrag what did get scrambled—several exabytes of audio-visual feed alone—but every time you reach an elemental, the stream just gets worse and worse." Well that's not such a– "If this keeps up, I'm not entirely sure I can extract you safely given the failing signal. Or intact. Or, really, at all." Oh. Okay, that's pretty bad, actually. He'd like to not be spit back out to the Observatory in the way this blade looks right now, and getting stuck in the Mists is not an option at the moment. "Let me know if you want to pull out now or keep going. We'd prefer if you kept going, but we understand if you don't."

"Pay no mind to the Asuran krewe," Glint reassures her Herald, "you will be safely extracted despite their worries to the otherwise."

"And you know this ho–"

Glint growls. "Really now."

Silence. Chihiro swallows his pride. "Right. R-right. Sorry." Godsdamned oracles.

The exit to the cavern reveals itself, heated air rushing to escape. With some pained walking, Chihiro reaches a small garden walled off by mountainous rock. Monuments to the dead are strewn about the ground and in varying states of ruin. The 'mountain spirit' fidgets in place, legs moving about and head turning here and there as they talk to themselves about something or other.

"You doing okay?" Chihiro pipes up at the spirit.

The spirit hops in place, whipping around to look the Herald in his (blindfold?? A Ritualist? she asks herself), and gathers her composure to say, "You've done well, oh steamed one! Yet her pain overpowers her still."

"'Steamed one'? Okay, who or what is this thing, and–"

"Listen, this was fun and all," Chihiro interjects, stretching his arms and shoulders as he sways from side to side, "but it's time to stop playing. Come on, kid. Talk to me. What's really happening here?"

The spirit looks stunned. She steps back, head lowering. "I... I do not know what you speak of!"

"I can see right through you," he chimes, finishing his stretches and tapping the side of his head—the blindfold—with a finger, "even through this. You didn't fool me from word one."

"...O-oh." A beat. The spirit raises her head back up, though now in a more relaxed posture. "The woman beyond this point...I know her, and she's in terrible pain. Could you please calm her down?" She steps a bit closer, panic spiked in their last few words. "But don't hurt her."

Chihiro tilts his head a bit to the side. "Yeah, I could do that." The last request seemed off, but he keeps it in a mental back pocket. He's taken stranger assignments before.

The spirit looks to the sealed doorway. It swings open, and the storm around the mountain intensifies as it does. The spirit appears pushed back by the storm's winds, and she vanishes in the resulting gale. Stones rise from the void below to pave a bridge towards the final arena: large, carved of pristine granite, and sitting in the middle facing away from the outer stairs is a woman of middling age in light cloth garb, a straight-blade dagger on both of her hip sides.

"Energy readings are spiking! Be careful!" is what Dessa tries to tell Chihiro, but her speaker goes on the fritz and all the Herald catches are some consonants and a panicked tone that doesn't leave his mood much better. Oh well. Not like she was very helpful here to begin with.

"Why are you here?" the woman rasps, holding back a painful sob. The storm around the arena intensifies further still, now almost a typhoon centralized entirely on this platform, threatens to blow the Herald onto his back from the sheer intensity of the rain and winds. Yet, even with this, he could hear the woman clear as a bell. "I came to this mountain to be alone."

"Hear me out, please," Chihiro shouts, unsure if he's as audible through this storm to her as she was to him, "I'm just here on a favor—"

"I don't want to hurt you, but you need to leave." She stands up, turns around, looks dead on at the Herald and unfazed by his appearance. "I can't control what happens if you don't." Her face is strained, eyes red and cheeks flushed. Her hands rest on her dagger hilts.

Chihiro is too familiar with this sort of stance. So he lowers his shoulder and relaxes his posture a bit, best as he can without being knocked onto his ass, hands raised and palms open. "I got a message I'm delivering, and then I'm gone, okay? You can..." He takes a deep breath. "You can mourn in peace when I leave, okay?"

His words seem to work, and her grip on her daggers loosen a bit. The mountain rumbles and the waterfalls surge before everything calms down. Everything but the storm above both their heads, that is.

"Okay. Cool, cool. Thanks for hearing me out." He stands upright, clears his throat. "There's a spirit on this mountain, and she sounded real concerned for your well-being. Some kind of old deer-like guardian." The woman looks puzzled, but her lack of audible answer urges Chihiro to keep...explaining? Lying? Saying whatever he needs to in order to get this fuzzed-out elementalist calmed down. "Said stuff about the mountain and the elementals being in disarray, wanted you to cool it a bit with the storms and eruptions for long enough to let her talk to you." Chihiro has a vague idea of what this spirit is, but without the girl blabbing the truth he'll never know. Still, establishing some stuff ahead of time might get her to come out of hiding. More importantly, it might let him walk away from this living storm not looking like a piece of overcooked bacon. "She means it, too. She cares about you, a lot. Do you know her? Mmmmaybe you prayed to her once or twice?"

The woman finally answers her puzzlement: "The only spirit of this land is Zunraa, and he's never done anything you describe." Ahh fuck. "Now leave."

He was reeeeeally hoping this would have worked, too. "Kiiinda hard to with this storm—"

"I said LEAVE!!" The woman brandishes her daggers and the wind howls back to a harsh pace around her. "I'm warning you!!" The ground rumbles with new seismic activity, and the previously lightening rain becomes a downpour.

Damnit. Okay. A fight it is.

———

About 45 minutes later

Turns out this "Sorrowful Spellcaster" was also one hell of an Elementalist, throwing things like localized thunderstorms and fiery meteors at him. Kinda wished that deer-girl spirit warned him about this shit sooner. Though he was thankful to be able to deal with her relatively fine, it was the swirling watery vortex pulling him in, along with those crushing water tethers preventing him from moving too far away, that nearly did him in on this mission. Only thanks to retreating within the safety of his shield's chrysalis did he survive, and for long enough to break out and bash her face in with said shield; her concentration breaks and she crumbles to a kneeling stance on the floor, the magic dissipated. Her nose'll look kinda funky at the end of all this, but at least she won't be nursing any particularly grievous wounds.

He really hopes this spirit shows up and explains herself. Having his drowning be recreated when he fought this lady was beyond unpleasant.

"Just take what you've earned and go," she tells the Herald, grabbing something from an inro that hangs at the back of her waist sash and tossing it to his feet. She then moves her hands back to cradle her tender nosebridge. "You're not safe here. No one is." The tears begin to freeflow from her, thick with unspoken-of agony.

Chihiro kneels down and picks up the object: the last piece of this sword, its bronze-colored bladetip.

"That's strange," Dessa pipes up, perhaps her technology finally working at last, "you defeated the spellcaster at the center of this instability...but this fractal isn't stabilizing."

And just as Chihiro goes to ponder on what that actually means, he feels a sharp jolt strike his body; the pieces of the artifact fall out of his bag and hand, and they hit the floor with a claaaang!! sharper and louder than it had any right to be, even in the midst of this storm still raging over both his head and the spellcaster's. Breaking away from her own misery, she looks up; this is not her magic fueling this storm. This isn't the man's magic, either. Was it...

Was it all coming from that piece of bronze she found?

They snap to each other, sparks flying and broken lines reforming into unbroken bronze, screeching as they drag onto stone until the blade lies on the ground fully formed and intact. It was a beautiful blade, Chihiro has to admit. The woman, meanwhile, looks back down and stares at the blade in front of the man. What was that? The chain of events in front of her seemed so ludicrous as to almost snap her out of her depression. (Almost.)

"Take the blade," Glint urges.

"Hey, explorer? I think you want to leave that thing alone..."

"Ignore her. Take the blade." Chihiro obliges Glint's insistence, ignoring both Dessa's plea to stop and his own desire to step away from this thing. He grabs a hold of the blade's handle; lifting it to eye height, he discovers it to be incredibly lightweight for how long and weighty it otherwise appears to be, and the sparks that were held in each individual part now felt a circuit of electricity coursing through his body proper. It feels as if this blade was a missing piece that completed him as a circuit.

"This is..." Chihiro can barely describe the awe and wonder the blade in his hand imprints onto him. And just so: as he lifts the blade higher, not realizing it's what his body is doing involuntarily, a lightning bolt parts from the heavens to strike the blade and electrocute the Herald, the storm clearing as it does. What would have been a gruesome electrocution is instead a surge of energy charging every cell in his body as he feels his body begin to become unmoored from the realm around him. Is this Dessa performing that extraction like Glint promised she would do? Maybe so. That wasn't the core of his focus, no no no, that would be the solidified visions in his mind's eye. What were before fragmented memories and echoes, he now sees brief happenings and phenomena. He sees a past relived, bitter memories and sweet moments, even visions of things he couldn't possibly remember (a darkened doorway, bundled in a red cloth). He sees a present uncharted, new allies with unknown names across the horizon, and in the distance a city like Lion's Arch burning to the ground.

The future, to his surprise, was much more cryptic: a crystalline egg in a sanctuary made of gold.

The surge of energy clears of him and Chihiro falls to his knees, smoke and steam plumes leaving his overly warmed body. A sense of overwhelming clarity fillz his mind. Yes, he tells himself, this is what this blade was meant to do.

Bolt, he tells himself still. The blade's name is Bolt. A sword forged to serve a not-yet-existent Dragon. A blade made for a Herald of an Elder Dragon not yet here.

He understands, a little bit more, why Glint chose him as this world's "Hero".

[durn3h]

Tempted to just grind the fuck out of duolingo and see if I can complete the entire italian course in a single month

[fereldancore]

I don’t blog about sports, but early this morning my favourite athlete Johnny ‘Hockey’ Gaudreau was knocked off his bicycle and killed along with his younger brother the night before their sister’s wedding. He had just turned 31 years old, married his next door neighbour and had a toddler daughter and a 6 month old son (who were planned to be flower girl and ring bearer at the wedding).

I adored Johnny because he was a such a small streak of lightning in a game full of huge dudes who were regularly a whole foot taller than him. His skills were just fucking phenomenal and he was so exciting to watch. I screamed with joy and cheered him on so loudly I lost my voice on many occasions. He represented his country for International Competitions and is the highest US point scorer.

I could get technical and talk about my favourite goals of his, his stickhandling, dangles, on ice spatial awareness etc but it is all on film for anyone to see, just too much to choose from. Nobody moved like Johnny Hockey.

As a person he was a sweet, kind guy who was universally liked in the sport and beyond. I do not follow celebrities on social media, but on hockey forums there are endless stories of his voracious love of mac and cheese (so much so Kraft put him in a TV ad) and skittles candies that he had a hockey stick covered in them and auctioned for charity.

In interviews he always talked hockey and his family. Whenever asked about new contracts and paycheques he would just shrug and say ‘yeah I bought my dad a boat so we can go fishing’ or ‘I just got a cool new wheelchair lift installed in my holiday home so my cousin can come and spend time with me’, or change the subject and talk about his dog, his wife and kids or The Birds. He was a real gem of a gentleman, modest and always ready to give credit to his team and dad (legendary NJ coach Guy Gaudreau) who motivated Johnny to skate as a toddler by placing skittles candies on the ice for him to fetch.

I’m am so sad for him, his family. This is just a blurb of feels about someone I counted down the days for until I could see them make magic on ice. I wish I could write a good tribute, dammit. Thank you Johnny Hockey.

[wheelsgoroundincircles]

1967 Ford Galaxie 500

Ford Galaxie 500 (1967): A Timeless Classic

Wow! This iconic beauty is a 1967 Ford Galaxie 500. Its sleek lines, powerful engines, and luxurious interior have made it a beloved American classic. Let's dive into 10 amazing stories that have shaped this legendary car:

1. Full-Size Sedan Elegance: The Galaxie 500 offered a spacious and luxurious interior, making it a popular choice for families and executives.

2. Performance Options: The Galaxie 500 was available with a variety of powerful engines, including the 428 cubic inch Cobra Jet V8, offering thrilling performance.

3. Cultural Icon: The Galaxie 500 has appeared in countless movies, TV shows, and music videos, cementing its status as a cultural icon.

4. Racing Success: The Galaxie 500 proved its performance capabilities on the racetrack, competing in various racing series.

5. Collector's Item: Due to its popularity and historical significance, the Galaxie 500 has become a highly sought-after collector's car.

6. Modern-Day Appreciation: The Galaxie 500's classic appeal continues to captivate car enthusiasts, with many seeking out these vintage vehicles for their timeless style and character.

7. Community and Passion: The Galaxie 500 has a dedicated community of enthusiasts who share their love for this iconic car through forums, social media, and car shows.

8. Timeless Design: The Galaxie 500's classic styling has aged gracefully, making it as desirable today as it was in 1967.

9. Driving Experience: The Galaxie 500 offers a comfortable and enjoyable driving experience, with its powerful engines and luxurious interior.

10. Iconic American Automobile: The Galaxie 500 is considered one of the most iconic American cars of its era, known for its reliability, performance, and style.

[cosmogyros]

(Reblog this version please!) Okay fuck it. I was too nervous to post this at first, but I see tons of non-Germans wanting to know what's going on right now. So here's my summary. Thanks to my buddy @keldermans and another German friend not on Tumblr for taking a glance at it to make sure I didn't get anything too horribly wrong <3 Any remaining errors are my bad!

I spent much of today writing up an outline of the current soap-opera drama going on in the German government, for my non-German-speaking friends who'd like to enjoy the tea as well.

Disclaimer: I am not technically German, but I did my best to explain this all as accurately as possible (and I did get a couple of Actual Germans to check it over for me).

For THE GERMAN DRAMA, see below...

Cast of characters:

The German government coalition (known as the “Ampel” – traffic light – due to its colors):

Olaf Scholz, Chancellor (leader) of Germany. Party: SPD (color: red). - and the other Red party members in the coalition - this includes the Minister of Health, Karl Lauterbach

Christian Lindner, Minister of Finance of Germany. Party: FDP (color: yellow). - and the other Yellow party members in the coalition (four FDP members) - this includes the Minister of Transport, Volker Wissing - and the Minister of Justice, Marco Buschmann

Robert Habeck, Vice-Chancellor of Germany. Party: Greens (color: green) - and the other Green party members in the coalition.

Other characters: Friedrich Merz, likely to become the next Chancellor. Party: CDU (color: black).

The events I can recall so far, in roughly chronological order over the past five days:

1. The government coalition argues all day Wednesday, trying to pass laws while Lindner refuses to agree to anything. In the evening, Scholz loses his patience and fires Lindner with the legendary words, “Dann, lieber Christian, möchte ich nicht mehr, dass Du meinem Kabinett angehörst. ...So. Doof.” (In that case, my dear Christian, I don’t want you in my cabinet anymore. ...Well. Sucks.)

2. Scholz then calls a press conference and gives a surprisingly impressive speech in which his rage is barely concealed. He includes some sharp jabs at Lindner and sounds very personally betrayed by the breakup.

Scholz's speech includes the immediately-legendary line “Zu oft hat er mein Vertrauen gebrochen” (Too often has he broken my trust), which everyone here in Germany is now obsessively quoting.

He declares that he will ask for a vote of confidence in January, and if he fails it (as is expected), he will call for new elections in March, six months earlier than they would otherwise have taken place.

3. Lindner gives a very emotional and self-pitying speech in which he declares “Ich habe gelitten” (I have suffered) – another phrase that becomes an instant classic with those of us watching from the sidelines – and he includes some sharp jabs at Scholz.

4. Showing solidarity with their fellow party member Lindner, all the rest of the FDP members in the coalition resign from the government too… except for Wissing, who instead decides to quit his own political party, the FDP, in order to stay in government and keep his job. He is now a party-less politician!

5. Habeck gives an emotional statement to the press, practically in tears, coming across like a kid whose parents are divorcing and he doesn’t know how to handle it. In a maudlin moment of his speech, he compares the collapse of the coalition to the end of a relationship.

6. At the end of Habeck’s statement, a reporter calls after him: “Is Lindner going to apply for Bürgergeld benefits?”

(Background: There are two tiers of unemployment benefits in Germany. To explain it in a somewhat tasteless way, there’s kind of a class distinction. If you come from a “higher-class” profession, you can typically start by getting ALG I, which is more money. If you are unemployed for the long term or come from a “lower-class” working background, you get Bürgergeld. The stereotype about people on Bürgergeld benefits is that they spend it all on drugs and alcohol and sit on park benches getting drunk all day. Also, Lindner is known for trying to pass legislation to reduce social benefits of all kinds, including unemployment benefits.)

7. Background: After the failed assassination attempt on Trump earlier this year, a popular German comedian called El Hotzo posted a joke online saying basically “too bad he missed” and promptly got fired for saying that. He kept his spirits up and joked about the job loss, saying “Ich bin Deutschlands frechster Arbeitsloser” (I’m Germany’s cheekiest unemployed boy).

Back to the present: At a press conference, a reporter asks Lindner: “How are you handling the statements being made about you online right now, such as ‘This is Germany’s cheekiest unemployed boy’?”

Lindner seems to need a long moment to figure out how to reply to this question.

8. The next day, Habeck coyly soft-launches his candidacy for Chancellor by posting a mysterious video of himself on social media in which he’s wearing a cute beaded friendship bracelet that spells out “Kanzler Era” (Chancellor Era). This is apparently a Taylor Swift reference (?).

In this video, he’s sitting in an atmospherically-lit room, writing at a table. It appears that Lindner had posted a very similar picture of himself in the past, because he now tweets in response to Habeck: “All Democrats welcome here, Robert! You got the setup almost right – the lamp was on the other side. ;)” (and he adds his own pic, which indeed very much resembles Habeck’s video)

9. Angela Merkel muses publicly, “Maybe God only created the FDP in order to test us all.” (ETA: She said this a while ago, not in response to the present situation. But it's still so true :'D)

10. A mainstream German news podcast sassily comments on Friday:

“While Olaf 'Too often has he broken my trust' Scholz is enjoying his party’s admiration for his cowboy moment and Christian 'I have suffered' Lindner is going through his own personal St. Matthew’s Passion […]”

11. Buschmann (one of the FDP party members who resigned), who apparently moonlights as a composer of electronic music under the handle "MBSounds", drops a new self-composed track on SoundCloud about the collapse of the Ampel government. It’s called “To Go Is to Stand”.

The news comments dryly: “Well, at least he doesn’t sing on the track.” (Buschmann's previous biggest hit was simply an angry speech of Lindner’s, set to music.)

Lauterbach (one of the SPD party members still in office) tweets: “No offense, but I don’t think I’ll be listening to that song more than once. But still, it was good working with you, Marco.”

12. The media ask Scholz if he’s throwing his hat in the ring to run for Chancellor again. He says yes. They ask, in what ways is he different from Friedrich Merz (the dude who’s currently expected to win)? And he replies “Ich finde mich etwas cooler, wenn es um Staatsangelegenheiten geht” (I think I’m somewhat cooler [than him] when it comes to matters of state).

And now the German media is making up new words like "scholzen" (which I can only presume means "as the leader of a country, to fire other government members you don't get along with"):

[Headline translation: "Who Donald Trump will 'scholz' first"]