#deadlands hunted

[happytapirstudio]

Tapir Book Review: "Deadlands bk 1: Hunted" by Skye Melki-Wegner

Do you remember when I discovered this book and got super excited that it existed?  Well that's it that's the story.  Was it everything I hoped and dreamed?  I think so!

So this is what the website says: "Wings of Fire meets Jurassic Park in this action-adventure middle grade debut series by Skye Melki-Wegner about five outcasts—and former enemies—who are the only hope to save their warring kingdoms from impending doom."

First off, every piece of dinosaur media in existence feels the need to evoke Jurassic Park as a selling point.   I'll bitch about JP in a separate post, but needless to say, the only thing Deadlands and that movie have in common is dinosaurs.  And I guess being action/adventure stories.  As for Wings of Fire, I can't say...haven't read it!   Going in I figured it would be a lot like Warriors, what with the whole concept of warring factions of animals.  Surprisingly...it wasn't much like Warriors, either!

You know what it *is* like?  Land Before Time.  It's clearly for kids, but it's still a mature story.  It's told from the perspective of dinosaurs (no humans whatsoever! thank christ.)  And the directors/author clearly did some serious research for it.  The world-building in Deadlands is a bit more involved than LBT--it portrays dinosaurs with a distinct culture, a rich oral history, a political system, and a magic stone-based currency--but in the bigger picture, I'd say the level of anthropomorphism is about the same in each.  These are dinosaurs in their natural habitat, engaging primarily in natural behaviors, by which I mean, their main goal in life is to eat leaves.  Everything built around that--rules, rituals, armies--exists only to support that kind of lifestyle.

Another big LBT parallel is that our protagonists are a motley crew of young, abandoned, herbivorous dinosaurs who band together in the face of serious hardships in order to survive.  In Hunted, an Oryctodromeus named Eleri is cast out of his herd and sent to the Deadlands, a carnivore-infested desert wasteland where dinosaurs chuck all their criminals and traitors.  There, he meets several other dinosaurs (not saying what kind - spoilers!!), and found family ensues.

I am trying soooo hard to avoid spoilers here.  But don’t worry, another post is coming up, chock-full of spoilers and rife with myyyyyyyy opinions.  [link forthcoming]  Here's what I have to say in closing:

I'd recommend this book to anyone who loves dinosaurs, especially dinosaurs in their own right, not just as props in a human-centric story (cough, cough...........Jurassic Park.....................) I think the prose is quite lovely, and the premise, themes, and characters are all pretty sound.  That being said, this is, at the end of the day, a chapter book for younger kids.  If you can't hang with that, or the talking animal genre really doesn't appeal to you, then you should probably go back to the library and look for something else.

I had fun reading this--a good before-bed read!--so if you did, too, please hmu and we can chat about dinosaurs together!! <3

[that-glitter-chick]

I highly recommend this to anyone who likes the original Land Before Time movie. Or even anyone who was smart enough to never give up loving dinosaurs just because they grew up.

[slaughter-books]

Day 29: JOMPBPC: Freebie

I loved reading this book last month! 🧡

[daggerfall]

Daedric Princes and their appearances in ESO

*as of 2025.

**sorry this is long

Azura: we've spoken to her through statues and intermediaries she has possessed during the Vvardenfell main quest and prologue, as well as side quests in Stormhaven and Grahtwood, but never to her real form.

Boethiah: she has appeared three times throughout the Pact base game and in Craglorn's Dragonstar Arena as "Aspera the Forgotten/Giant-Friend/Arena-Friend", a sort of avatar/mortal form of Boethiah. This is more canon than other avatar/mortal forms on this list in my opinion, especially Giant-Friend. She also speaks during the Arena through a statue of herself. We have never spoken to her real form either.

Clavicus Vile (and Barbas): the player speaks to Vile during the Vvardenfell main quest through his statue, and to both to his true form and through intermediaries in Summerset's main quest. Barbas appears in both of those main quests as well, plus a side quest in Reapers March. Barbas appears as both a dog, Skaafin, and shapeshifted into (spoiler)'s form.

Hermaeus Mora: Mora appears in many places throughout the base game. The Vile Manse, side quests in Greenshade, Craglorn, and Bangkorai, and of course during Necrom and Gold Road. He appears in both his true form and through statues.

Hircine: appears a few times in Valenwood zones side quests via Aspects and through memories, through a statue in Bangkorai, during the quest to become a werewolf, and appears in his true form in the Hunting Ground during the March of Sacrifices dungeon. The last one has more him speaking At the player and other NPCs than it being a true conversation between you both.

Ithelia: created for and only appears in ESO during Gold Road, and unlikely to ever reappear, for plot reasons. She comes into her true form throughout the storyline, starting out looking even more like a mortal.

Jyggalag: no, and unlikely to ever appear unless we get a Greymarch DLC. We have some random thieving treasures that mention him though, and the (Replica) Sword of Jygalagg has been released on the Crown Store.

Malacath: we have the Obsidian Shard public dungeon appearance as the only thing close to a form. Sort of an avatar, sort of a projection, all base game. Old Orsinium public dungeon has him speaking to us through statues. And another Wrothgar side quest has an option for him to speak. But we have not seen his true form in game or spoken to him in it.

Mehrunes Dagon: speaks to the player and NPCs in City of Ash I, and we see a vision of Dagon speaking to (spoiler) during the Auridon main quest. We see Dagon's true form and even fight him during the Blackwood and Deadlands main quest.

Mephala: her appearances in the base game have her using a generic spider daedra form or a dremora with a ghostly shader, but during the Summerset main quest, the player speaks with Mephala in her true form. Her base game appearances are a side quest in Bangkorai and Reaper's March, as well as speaking at the end of Crypt of Hearts II

Meridia: she appears several times in the Coldharbour main quest, as a generic Breton woman, then the same but with a yellow ghostly shader. We speak to her through her statue in the Summerset main quest. You could argue we've never spoken to her true form.

Molag Bal: seen and spoken to multiple times in the main quest, personally fought in the main quest in his true form. Speaks a few times to taunt the player and NPCs during the Fighters Guild main quest. Also speaks at every dolmen, and a few spots in the Imperial City Sewers.

Namira: one singular appearance in a Shadowfen side quest, where she appears as an Aspect of herself (looking like a spectral Xivilai). We have statues of her, but she never appears as her true form. Despite being relevant in Markarth, does not truly appear, unless you count the Dark Heart itself.

Nocturnal: she speaks at the end of the Clockwork City main quest, and you see her true form throughout the Summerset main quest (along with speaking to her). A Blackwood side quest has you speaking to her through her statue.

Peryite: the closest we've gotten is hearing him speak during a memory with Vaermina and Hermaeus Mora in the Necrom main quest. He only appears as his statue form, and never speaks To the player. People sometimes argue Jorvuld speaking after Scalecaller Peak is Peryite possessing him, but it's actually Zaan (in my opinion), so sadly that doesn't count as an appearance. This was the last daedric prince who was yet to speak in ESO's history, if you count the following...

Sanguine: now there's no Technically canon appearance of Sanguine in game. But! It is believed that the NPC Samuel Gourone from the Jester Festival is Sanguine in mortal form. His appearance, mannerisms, the quest he gives all hint to this being the case. Like all Princes (besides Jyg), he does have a Statue form, we just have never seen him appearing as it.

Sheogorath: He features in the Mages Guild main quest, Southpoint in Grahtwood, teaches you how to use Volendrung in Cyrodiil, and appears as the Skooma Cat in Northern Elsweyr. All of which you can speak to, and this is definitely his true form.

Vaermina: she appears during the Stormhaven main quest, speaks during a side quest in the Rift, and apears in the Necrom main quest as a primary antagonist. Her appearances vary from speaking with a statue, speaking with and fighting an intermediary (person she is possessing), and seeing her true form post fight.

If anyone has any other appearances I missed, let me know!

[lullabyes22-blog]

In your melco married au, I was wondering if ambessa would be inclined to meet melike purely out of a grandmothers desire, or if she doesn’t want anything to do with her if it means that Mel won’t return to Noxus either way? Hope you’re doing well ✨

She'd absolutely drop in - complete with manufactured excuses "My generals are interested in the medicinal Shimmer your husband is bankrolling," - "I had business in Greater Shurima and thought your Hexgates would cut the journey in half," - "My ships need refueling and Zaun's diesel is cheaper."

She'd 100% barge into Mel and Silco's estate and make herself right at home, because what are boundaries? What is permission? This is her daughter, and her daughter's daughter, and Ambessa is the fount from whence this greatness sprung. They should be thrilled she's taking time off from conquest and terror campaigns to darken their doorstep.

Each time, Mel ends up wildly stressed, Silco vaguely irritated, and their staff on tenterhooks because having a Noxian general as a houseguest comes with tons of demands: fresh meat for dinner, entertainment and lodgings for Ambessa's huge entourage, plenty of space for Ambessa's hounds to roam free and a whole private berch for her ships etc.

Not to mention Silco's network have to make sure they slip no spies into Zaunite territory.

Deep down, though, Ambessa does want to see how her granddaughter is progressing, and that she's picking up no nasty Trencher habits like self-determinism, backtalk and making friends with the hoi polloi.

She'll inflict Mel with a barrage of unsolicited advice, and criticize every aspect of Mel's softhearted approach to mothering:

"You let the infant sleep in yours and your husband's bed?"

"What, no wet-nurse? You'll ruin your figure."

"Why does she cry all the time? Is she ill?"

"She cannot speak yet? That's what you get for raising her around mongrels."

"She's so skinny. You aren't feeding her enough."

"Are you sure you didn't bed the valet? She looks nothing like her father."

Mel will grit her teeth and say as little as possible, and Silco will sit beside her with an expression of half-lidded neutrality while inside he considers a hundred creative ways to commit matricide-in-law.

(Jinx, in the rafters, has already retrofitted sludge-bombs to explode on impact the moment Ambessa's warship is at high sea. She'll be listening to the newsreel after Ambessa departs with the eagerness of a child anticipating fireworks.)

To Silco's credit, he's a skilled, if frosty, host, and Ambessa's ego is quite gratified by all the trouble that uppity Trencher is taking to impress her. (She doesn't realize that he's doing this to put Mel's mind at ease. The less ammunition Ambessa has re: Zaun's unsuitability as a "backwater", and the less barbs she has to sling re: Silco's suitability as a consort, the better. She also doesn't realize that it's Mel's impeccable tastes and ease with managing a city that's making her visit so pleasant: every amenity already anticipated, the servants respectful but not clingy, the wine cellar stocked with excellent vintages and a dinner menu that's as sophisticated as it is varied.)

In the evenings, he'll take Ambessa's entourage to the Deadlands to hunt Sump-boar, and Ambessa's guards will marvel that such an ugly, wretched place has so much hidden splendor, and Ambessa's officers will take in the eerie landscape and Silco's ease with navigating the tunnels and wonder if maybe the rumors about the Eye being a secret blood-sorcerer are true.

Ambessa will never say she's enjoying herself, but she will say she could've done worse for a son-in-law, that Silco has a sense of ruthless finesse and an ironclad understanding of fatherly duty, and that the baby is "coming along nicely, even if she's still too puny to handle a broadsword."

(She has no idea that by the time Melike's seven, he'll have taught her how to sever arteries six different ways with a butterfly knife.)

(She also has no clue Melike can, in fact, speak. She just doesn't speak in front of Ambessa. A blessing, given her favorite words are "Piss off!", "Boom!" and "Papa<3!")

(The girl will continue practicing selective mutism in front of the Medarda Matriarch until she's at least five years old).

On the whole, though, Ambessa tends to end these drop-ins the tiniest bit more favorably disposed toward her daughter's choice of husband. Not that she'd ever say it to either's face. Instead she'll drop pointed remarks to Mel, like "He's a clever enough businessman, but beware: he has no love for the Imperium, and you are Imperium through and through," or "He's a passable enough husband, but do not let that slippery tongue fool you: a shark's teeth stay hidden till it's too late," or "His city's an industrious one, but the darkness and fumes are bad for a woman's looks, and he is a man who fixates on beauty."

And she'll depart with a final, ominous, "You'd have been better off in Noxus. Your place is at the heart of the empire. He cannot give you that."

Then she'll roll out with her warships and her bloodthirsty entourage, leaving behind the faint whiff of blood and iron and the lingering sense that her presence has stirred the pot of Mel's marriage to Silco in ways none of them will enjoy.

Mel will spend the next week or two on edge, jittery and disgruntled, and Silco will start thinking about how he can fortify Zaun's borders against foreign invasion. They'll have an argument by the month's end over whether Silco's dreams of Zaun take precedence over their dreams for their family, and whether Mel secretly plans to betray him once his back is turned and abscond with Melike to the Motherland, and their household will be in disarray and the atmosphere will be fraught- until they realize, oh, they have the place all to themselves again.

Then it's off to bed, and mending whatever rift Ambessa's visit has torn between them with lots and lots of makeup sex and plenty of renewed vows of devotion in the afterglow.

Little Melike grows up watching the dance between her father and her mother and her grandmother, and decides, y'know, her folks have a relationship that hinges on compromise, even if they both veer towards extremes. Her grandmother, however, is an example of a woman who doesn't compromise, doesn't negotiate, doesn't budge: an icon, a figurehead, a titan.

A woman who has carved out her own path, and expects the same of her kin.

And Melike goes: y'know?

I think I'll be a titan, too.

And by twenty, she's taken control of the Shimmer trade routes. By twenty-five, she's got her own mercantile empire. By thirty, she's taken over a small province in Shurima and brought it under Zaun's jurisdiction as a client state, and she's done it, not with cutthroat business deals like Papa, or sly political maneuvering like Mama, but with sheer, uncompromising will and a ruthless streak that, once awakened, she never puts to sleep.

She goes on to be a charismatic, brilliant leader and an unstoppable force: ready to spread word of self-determination across the continents, and willing to take on any empire that stands in her way.

Ambessa's last days will be spent hearing about her granddaughter's meteoric rise, and thinking: shit.

The Medarda bloodline might actually last the distance.

And if Mel and Silco's union is what birthed this perfect storm of intellect and will, both Wolf and Fox wrapped in a mermaid's pretty fins, then well…

Maybe there's something to be said about strength in compromise, after all.

<3

[scifigirlsblog]

Prologue- Dakota and the hostile world.

Warnings include Violence, swearing, Chaos and more!!

Summary- Dakota Reyes arrives on a distant planet with her Strict captain and crew on a spaceship which took them three years to get to. They start their journey to discovery but soon learn that this planet was not meant to be discovered for a reason.

Dakota Reyes was on board a ship travelling around the stars, she was one of many scientists but was also the youngest there.

She had her intelligence, wit and stamina working for her so she wasn't at much of a disadvantage. However, she had a cruel strict boss who had to take her on as a favour to her father.

"Science Officer Reyes!" Dakota captain shouts." Yes sir!" She says standing up quickly.

"We'll be landing soon so get your kit together and spare oxygen tank as we won't come back to the ship till at least four days!" The Captain tells her.

"And for fuck sake people make sure your bloody radios are on and loud enough for you to hear it!!" The captain shouts to the entire brigade.

"Yes sir!!" They shout before getting on with their work as the ship heads towards the planet in preparation for landing.

Dakota got her Exo pack on her back and her science equipment and got ready to leave the ship when suddenly the spaceship began to shake and alarms began to blare.

"Science Officer Reyes! What the fuck is going on?!" The Captain snaps slapping her making her wince in surprise.

"I don't know what it is sir," Dakota says shakily." It's the atmosphere causing the spaceship to shake as we enter the planet," She whispers as the spaceship began to descend onto the planet.

The spaceship landed on the deadlands which were next to thick and grim looking forests. Once the ship had landed, everyone apart from the pilot and his second command was given their final instructions.

Dakota was last to come out as she dealt with the bruising look on her face before leaving the spaceship ship.

She jumps off the ship with her exopack and her science equipment and heads off to the others when she was stopped by the Captain who had a harden look on his face.

"Officer Reyes! You're coming with me," The Captain snaps." Y-yes sir," Dakota says shakily holding her equipment close." What's this planet called? Is it toxic or have dangerous creatures or people here?" He questions her sharply.

"No sir, it's not toxic and this planet has been named the Old Earth 78 but the creatures are fifty/fifty dangerous and non-dangerous. No humans have lived here in over twenty thousand years," She says as they walk towards the forest across from the deadlands.

"This planet does it have oxygen or not? As I'm not wasting these exo packs?" He questions her." It doesn't sir, the air is full of carbon monoxide," She states firmly.

The Captain grasps her arms breaking her wrists making her gasp in pain."You watch your fucking tone!" He snaps." Stop! You're hurting me!" She yelps and looks around for help but no one would help her.

The Captain let go of her and they continued their journey into the thick and grim forest where the floor was full of slimy grounds and thick branches dripping with slime and gunk.

"Keep a look out for the animals, the predators of this destitute wastelands," The Captain states as Dakota was putting her wrists back into place and wrapping them up the best she could as she walked.

They kept walking for miles not realising they had awoken the Xenomorphs, the face huggers that have now taken residence on Old Earth 78.

At the same time as this, an elite Yautja warrior Kal'tei and his son De'keti come to Old Earth 78 to hunt for the Xenomorphs and face-huggers as a bonding trip and a first lesson in hunting.

Little did Kal'tei know he'd meet a woman who was protecting his pup from his prey and he'd end up having to repay a debt. Dakota wasn't expecting to meet a Yautja pup or his dad and didn't expect them to form an attachment to her.

Part One is here!

[katgametable]

OX Deadlands Season 2 Chapter 1: The Beast of Bisley Bayou

Written 21 Mar 2025, immediately after watching, before release of further episodes.

The posse of Silas Flint, Garnet Munro, Edie Valentine, Nate Janssen and Delacy have set up a monster hunting agency called Monster Hunters Du Jour. They have been hired to deal with a monster at an exhibition. More specifically, they find out after they arrive, it is the badly taxidermied remains of the sasquatch they killed on the museum train, reanimated probably by proximity to magical artifacts. They fight. There is shooting. There is slashing. There is dousing both the sasquatch and Nate in lamp oil. There is a Burst spell that doesn’t harm the sasquatch but does set Nate on fire. There is a pedestal thrown at Garnet. There is an on-fire hug. Eventually the sasquatch dies again, and flops on top of Nate. (I should point out, Nate has a major hindrance called Trouble Magnet, but they don’t seem to need to use that mechanically.)

So Nate is trapped under an on-fire taxidermied sasquatch. Edie runs next door, finds a bucket of water, tosses that on the sasquatch, except it’s an oil fire so that just makes it worse. Eventually the others just pull down the tent on top of it to smother the fire, and Delacy fetches Nate’s medicine bag full of meat while the others free him. They then collect their pay and ride back to their office.

The office was custom-built with the funds from Victoria, and Nate is also running his side business Meat Strips Du Jour – and he’s brought back a whole sack of meat! Silas has a jail cell in the basement. Everyone has their own rooms. So they retire for the evening, while Nate gets to preserving his meat.

In the morning, a letter arrives from the neighbouring town of Bisley. There’s a monster in the bayou that keeps mauling their livestock and they’re scared it will come for their children next, so they’ve scraped together a bit of money and hope it’ll be enough. MHDJ decide that even though the pay is a bit thin, they should take the job anyway. It’s near enough to walk, so Silas foregoes a horse, and Nate decides to keep him company, rambling on about cornbread. They’re only about twenty minutes behind the riders.

They find the edge of the bayou, and there’s a man with a boat they talk to. His name is Beacon Joe, he has an annoying voice, and he runs tours of the bayou. His boat is the only one still going out on the bayou, what with the Beast. And he’s willing to take them on a tour for only $5 each. This seems rather steep, so they try to negotiate the price down by explaining that they’re going to be hunting the Beast, and that service should count for at least most of the price. Beacon Joe isn’t keen, so Nate suggests Delacy does some negotiating. Delacy climbs into the boat, pushes it off, and threatens to shoot a hole in the boat. The result is, Delacy sinks the boat and starts to drown. Nate, not needing to breathe, wades out to rescue him. The wild cards then manage to negotiate that they’ll repair the boat, and Joe will take them out to hunt the monster.

The bayou tour involves such things as papier mache gorillas and bad jokes. After a time, they come across the shredded remains of some deer – Nate collects the meat, but they also notice some footprints. Then there’s a big, reptilian eye, and lots of teeth, and a giant alligator emerges. Its long purple tongue lashes out and ensnares Delacy. There is much fighting. In the end, Nate makes a spirit roll, fails, and his manitou takes over, leaping on the alligator and tearing it to shreds – the description is very similar to what Johnny came up with in Wyrdwood. The result looks very like the shredded deer. Everyone gets rather freaked out. The wild cards manage to talk Nate down, and Garnet confirms his shoes match the footsteps. It becomes clear that Nate, or at least his manitou, is the Beast of Bisley Bayou.

Nate is absolutely devastated. Seriously, Johnny looked so despondent. Nate suggests they should just shoot him in the head to make sure he can’t do anything again. They convince Beacon Joe to be discreet about the true identity of the Beast, and ask him to distribute the money the town gave him, back to the townsfolk. Then they go back, Silas walking alone this time.

Nate gratefully shuts himself in Silas’ jail cage, although he doubts it will hold him for long if the manitou takes over again. Edie gives him a stack of books and he starts reading through them, eventually finding more details of what’s happening to him. The manitou will keep trying to dominate him, until eventually if takes complete control. However, he finds mention of an exorcism, a ritual using bell, book and candle, and a particular music box. Then Nate has a vision of a face, and it gives him two names: Totentanz, where there is a bell, and Luther Rackstraw, who has a candle. Garnet recognises the Totentanz, a riverboat that has invitation gambling parties. And Silas used to be acquainted with US Marshal Luther Rackstraw, a former lawman. They have a starting point.

Notes from pre-show pod commentary: Jane and Andy are talking about the season 2 beginning. Jane is very excited about same day releases on YouTube and podcast. Andy has been pretty exclusively working on Deadlands production, and playing Pirate Yakuza. Jane has been on a beaver safari. The team are also about to start filming Wyrdwood season 2.

Notes from post-show pod commentary: Jane is very proud of her Wild West style sunglasses that she was wearing throughout the entire episode. Andy reminds us that Deadlands uses the Savage Worlds system. Jane really liked that the same sasquatch as last time is back. They’re enjoying the recurring nature, and Andy is amused because his original thought, back in that first episode, was that they’d let the sasquatch go. The museum was loosely inspired by real touring museums such as PT Barnum. But the main plot both is and isn’t the Beast of Bisley Bayou. But Andy has a twist! Last time he waited for the finale for the twist but this time he put it right at the beginning. The driving force of the season is going to be Nate’s manitou. And Nate is so selfless he just immediately volunteers to be destroyed. But they have direction for the next two adventures. Jane will be going to the riverboat, and spent some time practising poker, but doesn’t think she’s quite got the vibe.

Select notes from Deadlands Epitaph: Andy picked the in media res opening with going straight to the sasquatch because he figured it would be the best way to introduce the characters and setting and vibe. He was worried that Deadlands and Wyrdwood would be too similar vibes-wise, so he’s been emphasising the Western setting. He also had to be wary of trying to escalate after taking on the Horsemen of the Apocalypse, which is why he went for something more personal. Andy explains several plans he’d had for the series and why he discarded them. Andy and Zack touch on Luke’s decisions for Delacy’s arc, and the difference between home game and actual play when it come to railroading and open world.

I loved this. I’m in the OX Supporters Club, so I was in Discord chatting along. I promise, I called Nate’s manitou being the Beast after they found the deer, about thirty seconds before the alligator turned up. The sasquatch was fun, the “you just put water on an oil fire” was fun (something that happened to The Guild multiple times). I didn’t find Beacon Joe quite as annoying as the players did, although the voice was a little grating. Also, Nate failing the spirit roll, I made a comment in the chat wandering if it was planned, and Andy confirmed it was not, but it worked so well. When the truth was revealed I was clapping in glee. I possibly got overexcited. I definitely want to see what comes next.

I also want to see Edie’s inventory; I think between this season and last she’s produced four different guns…

[orsinium]

some more lore and set dressing tidbits i missed the first time as i replay through eso's deadlands

it doesn't appear in the actual overworld so i'm hesitant to say it "confirms" anything, but this drawing found in the Blood Pit looks like it may have one of the first (if not the first) uses of a daedric entry sigil since battlespire! note the floating daedric doht (D) next to the humanoid

i also never noticed that, according to the rites of the hunt as outlined in the contract between the ravener and dagon, The Tower of Conviction may be the main archive/library of the Deadlands as a whole?! i remembered it being an archive but hadnt remembered the line "Lord Dagon's knowledge"

the sigil(s) on elegian's cell door are copied directly from the first (visible) page of the mysterium xarxes

there are a few tapestries found in Ardent Hope (and likely other locations but that's where i first noticed them) that read "STRENGTH" in daedric letters, which along with the symbol in the middle is taken directly from the second new page of mysterium xarxes visible in one of the dlc trailers!

and then this last one isnt rly lore it's just a unique tapestry design (also in Ardent Hope) that i liked

[nerevar-quote-and-star]

I gotta ask. What's the Miscarcand AU?

Let me preface this by saying that I have thought about this ask since I first got it, but school and life are as painful as a Dremora Valkynaz charging full force from the depths of the Deadlands.

"Shall We Kiss in Miscarcand?" is an Oblivion era AU that stems from my love of all things Indiana Jones and The Mummy with a dash of Supernatural-esque monster hunting and reluctant friends to lovers slow burn because I am a romantic first and a human being second.

The story follows Fighters Guild Journeyman Avarenya as she investigates a mysterious orb retrieved from an Ayleid ruin during a job. Made of an indeterminate white stone, the orb is marked in an unknown Daedric dialect. Seemingly meeting a dead-end with the Skingrad Mages Guild, Avarenya is unexpectedly directed to an ex-member who was known to study the Daedric scripts by Druja. This leads Avarenya to Kvatch, where she meets Brother Martin. Much to Avarenya's dismay, however, the Priest of Akatosh is vehemently against helping her as soon as any mention of Daedra or study of dark magic is brought up.

Out of ideas, Avarenya stays the night in Kvatch, only to wake in the middle of the orb being stolen by an unknown thief. Avarenya chases the thief through the streets of Kvatch, but loses them in the dark. Things continue to go poorly for Avarenya as her attempt to report the theft leads to her arrest as a suspected Daedra worshipper! Then, quite unexpectedly, Brother Martin comes and bails her out of jail under the pretense of Avarenya hunting down Daedra worshippers rather than being one herself. Martin agrees to help Avarenya hunt down the orb and decipher it once it's found.

What follows are a series of adventures as Avarenya and Martin travel throughout Cyrodiil, recovering ancient artifacts, battling vampires, necromancers, and Daedra, and chasing down a mystery that could lead to the resurrection of an ancient divine order and the unraveling of a plot to invade Tamriel from Oblivion itself.

The story starts in 3E428, not long after the events of The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind. Although the Oblivion Crisis itself is still a few years off, the premature meeting and companionship of the Hero of Kvatch and Martin Septim means that some things may go in a wildly different direction than they do in the canon version of the Main Quest. At its core, "Shall We Kiss in Miscarcand?" is an action-adventure/romance that goes wildly off the rails from most other Oblivion AUs out there.

Fun Facts!

Martin and Avarenya's son Magnus originates from "Shall We Kiss in Miscarcand?" Before coming up with this AU, Martin and my HoK had twin daughters. What this means is that with the advent of Magnus, Martin and Avarenya are now Leara Rose-blade's great-grandparents, rather than her grandparents.

At least in this AU, Avy is heavily Rick O'Connell coded, while Martin is Evelyn Carnahan coded. Please understand how much I love The Mummy. I have an incomplete pitch for a Miraculous AU too.

The title was pseudo inspired by that time eight years ago when I watched Ouran Highschool Host Club. No, I cannot remember the song. Yes, I have only seen that show once. No, I'm not looking the theme back up. It's just meant to be a comical little thing, you know?

If I were to make a cover for this, it would resemble an Indiana Jones movie poster. Additional similarities to Indiana Jones would include travels to exotic (eg: Morrowind, Skyrim) locations, freaky time shenanigans, screwing with gods, Avarenya bringing a spell to a sword fight, and Martin being afraid of snakes or something. Oh, and probably rival treasure hunters who would use their discoveries for material gain rather than the advancement or preservation of knowledge.

Their love confession would totally happen in Miscarcand while recovering the Great Welkynd Stone. Obviously.

There you go!! ✨

[writersstareoutwindows]

Deadlands finale is still consuming my brain so I have to dissect the excellence of Edie's horseman scene. It is absolutely rife with thematic energy and emotion it was truly, truly stunning.

Victoria tells Edie that she has the skills to be Pestilence. Of course Edie is affronted, Edie met Pestilence and was so deeply appalled that she not only dismantled but reversed Ducrow's operation. But Victoria explains in the same breath that she doesn't intend a literal pestilence for Edie, no, what Victoria sees in her is the rotting effect of Edie's own pain. "Your past loss has infected you like a disease."

Edie is possibly the most straightforwardly moral character among the Wildcards. Silas is a close second but he has interesting complications of his own, visible in his flinching reaction to the introduction of M.T. Budreau, a villain who takes justice into his own hands; the judge's flaws hit a little too close to home. Delacy is in it to shoot things, Nate and Garnet are in it for money. Both admirable reasons, but I call Edie "moral" because she pursues her profession relatively altruistically, simply because she believes it will improve the world.

Except it's not that simple. What we witness in that final scene is the truth in Victoria's judgement, that the straightforward altruism of Edie's quest is complicated by the pain and guilt of her brother's death. When Edie sees her brother in Delacy at the World's Fair, she shoots dead the monster that is trying to kill him. This is well within her rights and I'm not criticizing her for it, it was the right move, he was an active danger and you have to protect your own—but, when Famine is dead, her curse recedes and her victims return to normal men. Except of course, the one Edie killed dead.

It's poor literary analysis to suggest evidence that doesn't exist, but this isn't a university essay and I can do what I want. If the series had been a bit longer, if there had been a little more room for character moments—can't you imagine Edie bristling when she learns that Nate is Harrowed? Nate isn't a threat himself, of course, he's an ally and friend and tired old man...but there's a demon and a danger living inside him. Can't you imagine Edie on a mission with Garnet, cutting Garnet out of the plans, putting her own self in harm's way instead of the woman who can burst a sasquatch, holding Garnet at one remove until it ends in them both getting hurt? All because Garnet's magic comes from a devil, and that makes it dangerous?

I can imagine these things because they are what Edie's final scene suggests. She shoots at the monster, because here at last is the opportunity to root out the heart of her pain. She shoots at the monster—and, "Garnet, what's your toughness?"

In striking at the monster, Edie only succeeds at hurting her friend. In attacking the source of her pain, Edie reveals the way in which it has infected her life and relationships. Her single-minded focus, her vehemence for the monstrous, have driven her into a lonely and wandering life, have led her to hold all relationships at one remove. Garnet and Nate have to be held in suspicion because they are devils. As for the likes of Delacy, who strike so close to home...consider the fact that Edie makes her money not from hunting, but from performing affection and flirtation. Even relationships she genuinely cares about have to be kept at a distance, behind a wall of performative kindness. That is not to say that Edie's kindness is insincere, everything you perform becomes in some way a part of you, but it is a way for her to mask deep pain and fury without hurting those around her or bringing them too close. How could she cope, again, with the kind of pain that comes from love and loss?

But when she attacks the monster that killed her brother, the thing she has pursued all her life, believing it to be the cause of her pain, she only hurts those around her. Her past loss has infected her like a disease, and she is spreading it to those who care for her. Pursuing monsters without remorse obliterates the nuance of individual situations and prioritizes vengeance over restoration (see again, the Famine-monster she killed who could have been made human again).

On the whole of it, of course, monster hunting is a noble profession in the dangers of the Deadlands. The Famine-monster was going to kill Delacy! But Edie's pain, held in fists so tight that they ache and no longer know how to let go, causes indelible hurt to herself and the relationships she could have. In killing the monster, she's only killing someone who cares about her.

Because Conquest isn't in the monster; she's in Eddie. The thing with the power to conquer and defeat Edie is the way in which she idealizes her brother. This isn't the boy himself: "It looks to you more like how you remember Eddie than how Eddie really was." Literally, this is because Victoria is using Edie's memories to craft the scene. But thematically...my god.

What exists in Edie's memory is not the living boy, but her idealized memory of him. As Ellen puts it, "a ghost of a memory, misremembered." That is the thing she has to defeat. She has to accept that her brother is gone, and no matter how tightly she holds her grief, he's not coming back. But that grief is what drives her, she operates out of the pain and anger it causes. Killing monsters is less about protecting people than about trying to erase her own guilt for failing to save him.

So, Edie doesn't need to erase of her grief; she needs to accept it. No amount of dead monsters will bring her brother back. Killing the Famine-monster saved Delacy but it can't save Eddie. The past is immutable and the guilt hurts no one but Edie—and the people around her, who could love her.

When Edie shoots the false memory, she's turning from the past toward the present. Her grief no longer walks behind her, a hidden infection, a disease to be cured through violence. It walks beside her. Eddie may be gone, but her love for him isn't. Her love lives into the present, and so do the friends she has now. And acting from this place of love for the brother she knew, rather than vengeance for the brother she lost, Edie shows Conquest what for. There's no easy solution to every bad thing in the world. That's fine. Edie has already dedicated her life to protecting the good that survives, and Victoria McClary sure ain't gonna change her mind.

[slaughter-books]

Day 31: JOMPBPC: Read In May

My May, 2023 reading wrap-up! 💞

[tagamantra]

random screencaps of my current ffxii tza rerun

(i lost my old save file but only really finished the great crystal, now i'm hunting down espers and got Chaos!)

i'm already a huge huge fan of FFXII and Ivalice as a whole, from its non-european-centric fantasy style to its slipstream weird fantasy esque vibes and feelings. it's not so much fairytale as it is "utmost fantasy historia" in a way. its political story captures and it does the classic ivalice thing wherein its political story eventually gives way to earth shattering conspiracies but the best part about ffxii's conspiracy is that even the subject of the earth shattering conspiracy are also having their own conspiracy. it's wild and it's so fun to play through. i'd put its narrative somewhat on the poetry side (alongside things like elden ring or legend of zelda breath of the wild, focusing on the world, immersion, and the moment-to-moment) rather than the narrative prose side (in the vein of things like baldur's gate 3 or mass effect or whatnot, where the writing goes to the characters and is more overt and drags you along with it), though of course being a JRPG it has to conform a bit into prose gaming (forgive the terms i am a literature person first and foremost)

on the gameplay side as someone who loves character action games and simulation rpgs (tactics grid rpgs) i really started out not liking it. but then when i started treating it essentially like ogre battle or unicorn overlord, a somewhat slight autobattler with constant menu pausing to issue different commands, viewing it a bit more like a strategy game, everything really clicked. figuring out everyone's builds with self-imposed challenges (such as having every job in the game be used) is so so so fun as someone who is a sucker for buildcrafting (it's why Final Fantasy Tactics and Elden Ring are the few games I replay!). nothing is more satisfying than seeing a really good build and team comp soar through a grueling boss battle, where you still have to micromanage, casting Dispels and upkeeping Buffs and switching Gambits (and even weapons!) on the fly.

one of the things that FFXII really turned me around on is the whole "you have to both unlock this spell/technick/weapon/armor and acquire it out in the world to equip/use it!" at first i hated it: i already spent time grinding LP to unlock the license, why did I have to still find it in the world?

then i kind of just figured, whatever, i'll explore and just try to find everything if i can. and it worked. exploration in this system was fiercely rewarded: things like Bravery (ATK UP), Faith (MAG UP), and Protectga (AoE Protect) could only be found in chests in the nooks and crannies of the Necrohol of Nabudis. now i have a care for these places i'm traveling around. oh, the nabreus deadlands are called that because nethicite was used here and now it's fantasy fallout new vegas? shit dude that's all you had to say. sorry i wasn't paying attention at first. i wasn't aware of your game. now hand me Silencega and let me get Chaos as a summon

now i can't just rush through the story or whatnot (well, you can! but it's no fun if you do that but it's totally doable and not too difficult which is honestly very accessible). i have to go around the areas i travel around, and exploration is fun because with the gambits system i don't have to keep fiddling with these menus, i can just let my smartly built team do the work. its as if the game rewards you for taking the time to build up and setup your characters! this is a game that rewards team composition and party management, something i feel is sorely missing from modern ffs (ffxv and ffxvi)

to top it all of it's kinda diegetic and immersive. of course these spells and technicks you don't just get. the jobs in this world (also diegetically) only get you to unlock the License to use these things, which are proven by adventuring (and thus, gaining license points). they don't automatically get you that thing. now you have the license, you can use Scathe sure, the most powerful black magick spell in the game, but you have to get into subquest blocked areas of a deep mine to even find it in the first place, and its blocked behind Gilgamesh! so now you're looking for these things and you're interacting with Ivalice and Ivalice feels so alive and lived in because it compromises so little for the player

it's not all perfect of course. so many of the higher spells and technicks and weapons straight up need guides to get, while others are at the whim of RNG. fuck that, but i can't help but completely respect it. it's such an ivalice matsuno choice to do. so many things in this game need guides to do, to the point that while i'm doing it i'm hearkened back to my first elden ring playthrough or my first demon's souls playthrough were i'm partway dependent on those that have come before me to be satisfied with my game. and i don't think that's a bad thing, i think that's something video games are uniquely able to do as a medium.

also i can't help but wish the UI was just a tad bit better, but FFXII was of course made during the menu jrpg era and the PS2 was no doubt already struggling handling so many things that FFXII was bursting with the seams with (something it has in common with its distinguished grandfather vagrant story)

and finally, so many of the things i like about FFXII only really came about in the Zodiac Age (specifically the Switch Version): being able to respec Jobs, finding rare items in the world instead of just buying them from the baknamy merchant in the necrohol of nabudis lmao... but despite all this these are minor detractions to the overall peak experience

though to be fair to the OG it was on a whole a different, perhaps easier game. and i kind of liked the fact that everyone had the same license board. it had that non-self interpenetration buddhist vibe, but also meant that you can go with almost whatever gear and spell setup for whatever team you end up with

what a good game,,, characters are so great too. i love vaan and penelo because they really are both an audience stand-in as well as a masses representation in a cast of knights, princesses, sky pirates and forest shamans

[chrystallink]

My Complete & Current Projects

I feel like I haven't properly provided summaries of the stories I'm current working on as of yet, so here you go! ✧System Collapse✧ A story set in a dimension called the Hub, which contains a self sustaining cyberpunk lite city surrounded by a vast forest called the Deadlands. Intelligent races of all types live here more or less peacefully. But that doesn't mean there's no dark goings on under the surface. The story revolves Comet and his best friend Blip. They're trying to figure out how and why Blip's brother Oz disappeared, only to come back later with powerful tech controlling abilities, and calling himself DeathScreen. At the same time, Blip has a serious problem of his own, and is forced to leave the city, leaving it up to Comet to unravel what is really going on. ✧Catalyst: the Void Children✧ (formerly just called Teen's Story because I didn't know what else to call it at the time)

This one revolves around Tiger, Luna, and Ruby, 3 teens who are voidlings: beings who are bestowed powerful abilities against their will, and are feared by others for the lethal energy they contain. Rejected or alone for different reasons, they come together in order to survive their wanderings just outside of society, dodging people out to hunt them down, as well as a cult who sees Tiger in particular as the key to jumpstarting their own dark plans.

They long for a place where they'll be safe, but how do you find that in a world that sees you as villains and monsters?

Completed Projects

✧Champion's Plight✧

A short prequal comic to System Collapse. Alton, a counsel member of Hub City, invites Xiao, the newly crowned champion of the gaunto's annual combat tournament for a celebratory dinner. But strangely enough, Xiao doesn't seem all that happy with his own accomplishment. Curious, Alton inquires as to why. The resulting conversation may just give Xiao a new perspective on things. Read it here: https://championsplight.the-comic.org/

[penginlord]

You know, the bounties that the Oxventures are hunting in Deadlands seem to mirror/be like an evil future alternative some of their characters quite well, and I wonder if it means anything.

potential spoilers below? For all the episodes at least.

Benjamin Bellows very much reflects Delacy. A trigger-happy marksman, who's very prone to violence. Delacy could've definitely ended up like Bellows if he had different companions in his early journeys, I can definitely see that.

It's the others in Delacy's life that will prevent him from becoming like Bellows.

Justice Mortimer Todd Bu Dreau (I can't believe that's how it's actually spelt) very obviously is reflective of Silas Flint. Someone who has their own idea of what justice is and will zealously commit too dealing that justice out, while also having anger management issues. Again, I believe the major difference might be the company both keep, but in Silas's case, it also might very well be seeing the extreme end that his path could take, as ot id very likely he wouldn't notice his small changes too the extreme. Kinda like a ghost of Christmas future sorta thing.

Daisy Du Crow is a bit harder to place, and for some reason my gut instinct says Edith? Probably cause she was the only other player there and Andy seems to like having the plays witnessing their dark alternatives. I do wish I had more insight on this pairing, but I just don't know enough yet.

[4th-make-quail]

ANYWAY your progress report today comes along with some Al-Cid/Ashe propaganda because LOOK AT THEM

So I got my extra little bits, scurried back up the Pharos all over again, whupped Hashmal's arse, cried my way through the next set of cutscenes after fighting Cid and Noah, and then CRIED EVEN MORE, OUGH. I love that part of the game, but it hurts man. It hurts! So many feels!! Good feels, bittersweet feels. Ship feels. The works!

I love how the sun cryst powered the Bahamut, built by Cid for Vayne (never over this, btw), and how complex the war machinations are afterwards with the Rozarrians and the Bhujerban resistance, and how Al-Cid still desire peace and will work behind the scenes to build it. How Ashe smiles - a genuine, warm smile - to realise that she's not alone in her fight to save Rabanastre (the last cap, not aimed at Al-Cid alas LOL), and Al-Cid's blatant hitting on her AS WELL AS Balthier's disgust in the background (I love the three of them so damn much, this is bringing back alllll my old ot3 feels hoo boy).

So I kinda wanted to try for a maximillian and magepower shishak and a few more levels before going onto the endgame, cos I finished up that part at lv44s, but I'm gonna need to do a lot of hunts to unlock that part of Lhusu Mines and I don't think I can be fucked lol, so I think tomorrow I'm gonna try the last bit and see how I go! So far I've got about 36 hours on this save, which is actually kinda insane! I let myself do a lil detour through Nabreus Deadlands and cleaned out the Necrohol of its goodies (and stocked up on hi-ethers from that lil baknamy merchant lol), which was nice. I love the Necrohol, it's one of my favourite areas in the whole game.