#erdreas

[danikanyx]

yeah I'll bet you do want front row at the manliest man competition, one of two of the only out men in all of Erdrea

[kaola-rivas]

Erdrea's hottest gossip

[uniguinflutist]

So during my playthrough of Dragon Quest XI, I named my hero character "Shen Yuan" for kicks and giggles.

For those who don't know, Dragon Quest is a video game series whose designs are done by the late Toriyama and is a massively popular series in Japan. It's the prototype for every medieval fantasy JRPG.

Dragon Quest XI in particular follows the selfless chosen one/lost prince, The Luminary, as he battles the forces of darkness to bring peace back to the magical world of Erdrea. The hero is a blank slate for you to project yourself onto who doesn't talk or emote for most of the game. The "official" name for the protagonist is Eleven.

Now all I can think of is if post-canon SVSSS Shen Yuan/Shen Qingqiu re-transmigrated to Dragon Quest as the famed protagonist and now instead of being the villain who has to avoid a bad ending, he has to deal with the pressure of being the Messiah of a fantasy world that everyone expects him to save.

Meanwhile, everyone's confused as to why Shen Qingqiu (who is really Eleven the protag) is acting so bland and quiet.

The other peak lords all assume it's another qi deviation, but Shang Qinghua and Luo Binghe figure out pretty quickly that this isn't the Shen Qingqiu that they know. Someone was forced into shizun's body, so Shizun must be wherever they were from. So Luo Binghe grabs Xin Mo and travels to Erdrea to find his beloved shizun.

So Shen Yuan's party gets to the World Tree to fulfill the hero's destiny and defeat the Dark Lord, only to find that Luo Binghe has already defeated him and is desperate to bring his shizun back, wrecking everyone else in the process.

Shen Yuan/"Eleven": BINGHE, I HAVE A WORLD TO SAVE! I'M THE PROTAGONIST NOW!

Luo Binghe: NOT ANYMORE! I TOOK CARE OF IT FOR YOU, SHIZUN! NOW COME BACK WITH ME!

[finlands-beret]

Sylvando Lore & Theory Masterpost

Sylvando is an international man of mystery, with him only giving us, the audience, so much of his backstory. Like every great magician, he never reveals his secrets. Soon after I got the game five years ago however, I started combing and filing through the game for all of those secrets, to bring them out into the open. Today, the fifth anniversary of me buying the game, I'd like to share my findings.

Please bear in mind the following is based mainly on my own research, as well as theories crafted from as much information as I could gather from the game itself and supplementary material.

So I'd like to begin strong out of the gate, with possibly the biggest piece of lore I have pieced together: Sylv's age. His father's from Puerto Valor, and his mother was from Zwaardsrust. This, coupled with the fact Sylv himself states he was born and raised in Puerto Valor, assures that he was born after Zwaardsrust's fall. That happened thirty years prior to the game - which brings Hendrik in to the equation. He states in a party talk during act two that "three decades have passed", putting him at six years old when the kingdom fell. This would put Sylv at being six years younger than Hendrik, but then factor-in the nine months his mother most likely carried him for, which puts Sylv at nearly seven years younger than Hendrik. Hendrik is stated to be thirty-six in-game; thus, Sylvando is twenty-nine during act one, and thirty in act two; a year is said to have passed between Yggdrasil's fall and the party reaching Gallopolis.

Next is something that seems simple at first, but has quite some backstory behind it: The casino in Puerto Valor was originally meant as a mansion for Norberto. Don Rodrigo had it changed it to a casino as a means to try and entice Sylv back home. This one stems from the fact Sylv self-admittedly was obsessed with collecting mini medals back in his training days. He had his first argument with the Don over him throwing them all away, and perhaps to make it up to Norberto, Rodrigo made him his own getaway in the form of his own house. It would have been completed before Sylv ran away from home however, leaving an empty, shiny new building behind (Sylv even mentions in a party talk that there wasn't anything like a casino when he was living in the city). Not wanting to let it go to waste, and presumably approaching L'Académie because he knew of their connection to the humble mini medal, the mansion was transformed into the combined casino and hotel. Once it was completed, it might have been Don Rodrigo's idea to make the casino tokens look like mini medals, and he might have sent people off to scatter them around Erdrea in hopes Sylv would have found at least one and gotten curious enough to find-out where they came from. He apparently never took the bait, especially not after hearing the rumours of the casino being built. Sylv was simply too smart to fall for it.

The next theory I dug around for was hidden in plain sight: Sylvando was almost blinded in his youth. In the ensuing healing, his eyes were OVER-healed somehow, and now he's got excellent eyesight. During act one, to find the Silver Orb the party are encouraged to look around L'Académie, where eventually it's suggested they look at a certain book in the library. Said book details the story of how a group of vicious bird monsters tore through the roof of a local manor house and stole away with the noble family's greatest treasure - the Silver Orb. On the party's excursion through the Eerie Eyrie, Sylv will mention how he's never been a fan of things with wings. In fact, during one party talk, he says "I don’t know why, but the naughty things always try to peck my eyes out. Perhaps they think they’re precious, glittering jewels…" This makes for quite a harrowing piece of Sylv's backstory; Sylv was present when the birds attacked the villa to get at the Silver Orb years ago, and in the ensuing chaos he was almost clawed-at. To further the next point, he was healed at the scene (assuming a family like the Don's would have at least one healer on-site), but then his eyesight became TOO good - as we see later in the game, when Sylv looks from the Stallion's deck all the way towards another boat to attempt to lip-read, just outside of Lonalulu, before the tentacular fight. Additionally, this attack is why the villa's roof has a lot of spiked points on it; to deter bird monsters from ever trying again.

I would like to thank and credit @captainbobbin for this next piece, which came-about more recently than all of the others: Sylv's charm-based magic is based on the emotional aspects of charm i.e. romance. Knowing that Sylv's eyes turn to hearts when he uses Pink Pirouette, I enquired to Bobbin about if the same were true about Jade and Pink Typhoon/Tornado, and using excellent camera trickery, he confirmed that her eyes do not change. Captainbobbin then put forth the suggestion that due to this, and given the naming of one move the two share being different -"That's Amore" vs "Sexy Beam"- as well as Jade's differing way of using her own charms, the Princess of Heliodor embodies the more physical side of charm, whilst Sylv embodies the more emotional side.

Speaking of romance… Sylv spent years living in Gondolia with the master mechanic, Gismo Mecánico, in order to design and build the Salty Stallion. However, where the loading screen tip for the Salty Stallion calls Gismo "an old associate of Sylvando's", and the red book " The Astonishing Inventions of Gismo Mecánico' " describes Sylv as "a close personal friend of the ship's designer", I believe that Sylv was indeed in love with Gismo, but it ended tragically. During the Briscoletti quest in Tickington, when choosing a partner you can talk to Sylv and he will say: "Before I get too carried away, though, I'd better check—because heaven knows I've been burnt before—you do actually mean it, don't you, honey?" It's such a small line, but given the aforementioned references… I would wager Sylv made a proposal to Gismo, who turned him down - and some time after, they passed away - potentially in a horrific accident, given the rocky terrain-look of the far side of the Gondolian dock entrance. There is a whole estate of houses on the far side of the docks, which I assume belonged to Gismo.

For my next piece of lore, I'd like to turn to my favourite of the bunch: Given DQXI's heavy theme of reincarnation, and given the following evidence pointing towards it, Sylv may well be the reincarnation of the very first Don of Puerto Valor. In Jasper's quarters in Heliodor Castle, there's a red book Eleven can read about the story of the Shield of Heliodor (aptly titled "National Treasures, No. 106 – The Shield of Heliodor"). In it, it tells the tale of a legendary Heliodorian knight who saved the life of the first King of Zwaardsrust, which was Drustan - whom Hendrik is a probable reincarnation of. Said knight was the same knight who was sent to Puerto Valor to oversee the sea gates, as he is the direct ancestor of Don Rodrigo - thus, Sylvando as well. There's also the fact as well that Sylv receives the Coraza de Caballero from Servantes after the Kingsbarrow Trial; its description says it once belonged to a knight known for his godlike skill with a sword. This suit may very well have been that Heliodorian knight's own suit, handed down through the generations until it ends-up (back) with Sylv. Additionally, it's often stated that Don Rodrigo is a knight unparalleled with his own skill with the sword; most likely inherited from the first Don and passed down to Sylv. This could explain why Sylv still retains a strong sense of justice and sticks to everything the knighthood stands for, even long-after becoming an entertainer; it's ingrained very deeply within him. As for why the Shield of Heliodor stayed in Heliodor… It's most likely the original knight simply didn't want to carry it all the way to Puerto Valor, given it's a heavy greatshield. Considering the above, this also brings about the possibility that Sylv and Jade are very, very, distantly related - cousins many times removed, most likely. Additionally, there is a book in Heliodor titled "A Brief History of Heliodor" that chronicles the two brothers who founded Heliodor; I have reason to believe that the legendary knight was one of those two brothers (who went on to found the lineage of the Don), and the other brother went on to continue the royal line that led to King Carnelian, then to Jade.

Next I'd like to turn to Sylv's longest-held companion, Margarita; she was born in Cobblestone. When Eleven has his vision-flashback after returning to Cobblestone, there's a horse there who had just given birth. Speaking to her owner, he says "This is the fastest filly in the village! But she won't be doing much running for a while—she's about to become a mother! I'll bet her foal will be even quicker on its feet than she is!" Given that the flashback is set ten years prior, that would mean the foal would be ten years old in the present day - which is in-line with Margarita, being an adult horse. As for her bring the fastest filly's foal, Margarita's performance in the Sand National should be the first piece of proof; if the Luminary wins the race, Sylv is always a close second. Likewise, in the Black Cup horse races, particularly the Difficult race, Margarita will always race-off ahead. If Eleven fails to catch her or he hits too many obstacles, she will always win those races.

As an entertainer, Sylv is also a skilled musician - so much so that much of his moveset incorporates references to numerous real-world songs. Here is a list of everything I found, after extensively looking into every ability and pep power Sylv has:

That's Amore - Dean Martin song Have a Ball - album by Me First and the Gimme Gimmes Ultra Violet - Bananarama song Hit Parade - BRADIO song Kiss Me Deadly, Gold Rush - several songs of the same name The Fight Fantastic - multiple albums, also an idiom meaning to dance nimbly Kiss of Death - several songs/albums of the same name Love Hurts - Everly Brothers song Shooting Stars - numerous songs/albums; also the name of a 1990s British comedy panel show which heavily featured music Rough 'n' Tumble - jazz album by Stanley Turrentine "Dressed to Kill" accolade - 10cc and The Jetzons songs of the same name

Sylv will also say "Hit me with your best shot!" when defending in battle, which is a reference to the Pat Benatar song of the same name. As a bonus, Golden Boy's dialogue while giving the recipe book for the Dapper Doublet, makes references to Robbie Williams' song "Angels" and Take That's song "Shine".

For the penultimate piece of lore, I'd like to turn to something that had my attention a while ago, and that has come back to me recently; there is a curse within the line of the Don, that prevents those in rule from holding happy or long marriages. This one is based on the potential that Puerto Valor is partly-based on Monte Carlo, the ward within Monaco famed for its casinos - and of the legendary curse surrounding Monaco's royal family, the House of Grimaldi. The legend states that a woman -be she a witch or a hag- cursed the first Grimaldi ruler of Monaco and his line to never have happy marriages. Where we only ever hear of Don Rodrigo's marriage, while he and Gerbera were happy their time together was a short one as she passed away shortly after Sylv was born. It could be assumed that previous Dons all suffered similar fates with their spouses, and assuming Sylv knows about this curse, could be why he has yet to marry.

To end with, I'd like to present something perhaps more out-there than some of the others put forth here: Sylvando was a prototype Luminary for Yggdrasil. For a start, there is the fact he has a character-exclusive, Sword of Light-analogous sword in the Shamshir of Light, which deals light-elemental damage when attacking. There is also the fact he seems to know how to use light magic (in contrast to the actual Luminary's lightNING magic), with his abilities Sobering Slap and Sudden Death. Much like the Shamshir, Sudden Death deals light-elemental damage - the only ability to do so. There may be some irony in that he's the only person who joins the party who DOESN'T join because Eleven is the Luminary (he joins to stop the Lord of Shadows, so he can travel and bring smiles to everyone). Sylv could be considered the guid(ing light, given his magic) to the Luminary proper, assuming of course he was a prototype to begin with.

With all of the above, I'd like to thank anyone and everyone who took the time to read through, and I hope you enjoyed this rather deep dive into the onion of a character that is Sylvando. This has been an undertaking of the past half-decade, and I'm glad to finally be able to put all of my research together like this.

[corneille-moisie]

I wanna talk about this twin eagles statue in the entrance of the Kingsbarrow (There are potential spoilers in this post ! It's indicated where they are, but you might want to avoid this post all together if you don't want anything spoiled at all. This being said, hurry ! Play the game ! XD)

There's a lot of imagery going here, but let's begin by the beginning.

The twin eagles is the symbol of Heliodor, right ? It's on its banners, it's a huge golden statue, in the castle, at the bottom of the staircase leading to the throne room, it's on King Carnelian's brooch, it's on the heliodoran guards' capes, and it's on the armour of both Hendrik and Jasper, amongst other things :

Hendrik and Jasper, at this point in the early story, are considered heroes, according to the book found in the house in the far eastern part of town (yes, the one some tourist is looking for, for a side quest), and inseparable, to some extent. I always assumed that the twin eagles were symbolizing the two of them.

But that's also pretty easy to assume, so let's dig a little more.

Mild spoiler alert for Act I after this sentence, as I mention why you're in the Kingsbarrow, what you're fighting in there.

So, two eagles, right ? With weapons. Sitting on an orb.

You get to the Kingsbarrow to retrieve an orb, and to get this orb, you'll need to fight two grim gryphons.

Let's take a look at the weapons on that statue.

A sword, an ax, and a torch. While these can be found in Dragon Quest games since the very first game, I want to point out something else that is going to be a tad bit more spoilerific as I'm going to refer to Act II of the game and your 8th party member. (like... it's weird to only have 7 party members, don't you think ? ;) )

The obvious part here is that both swords and axes are weapons Hendrik can be equipped with, and, sure, you just used a torch to get out of the sewers with Erik, so here's that for direct references, but...

A torch is a symbol for light (duh). Not only is the Luminary someone who can bring the light back to Erdrea after Yggdrasil fell, but he can't do it without the spark of light that Hendrik figuratively becomes by turning Cobblestone into Last Bastion. ("spark of light" being used verbatim by Queen Marina to refer to Hendrik, and again, by (actually) King Carnelian to refer to both Hendrik and the Luminary, both in early Act II)

Then again, and this time, spoilers alert for Act III, after Yggdrasil fell and it is revealed that Jasper is on the bad guy team, Hendrik kind of loses his "twin" knight fellow. But do you know who also turns out to be a knight ? Sylvando. In Act III, Don Rodrigo sends your party to the Kingsbarrow to bring to light that friendship is a very strong weapon. Ultimately, it unlocks a pep power that involves both Hendrik and his ax, and Sylvando and his sword, and which also unlocks the last part of both their skill trees : Fraternity for Hendrik, Chivalry for Sylvando. Friendship/torch + Hendrik/ax + Sylvando/sword = Twin Eagle Statue in the Kingsbarrow lol.

But THEN AGAIN, the whole thing might also be a symbol strictly for Hendrik, as, still in act III (SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER ->), he feels like it's his duty to fight the ghost of Jasper, so his soul can be put to rest. As a result, Hendrik gets the Twin Eagle Armour, as his old companion's soul is now cleansed from Mordegon's influence, now that they finally shed light on what actually happened.

Now, I think that wraps up this info dump that I didn't realize i would do when I first set foot in the Kingsbarrow... I'm gonna go back to the game lmao. Time to go to Hotto :)

[hydroidmedusa]

Sooooo, I recently finished Act II DQXI for the second time, and it inspired me to write some Luminerik fluff:

“Hey, Erik?”

“Mmm.”

“What’s next for you and Mia?”

“Well… to tell you the truth, we haven’t planned that far ahead. Mia seemed to enjoy Gallopolis, so I thought maybe we would look for a place around there,” Erik shrugged.

“I’d like you to come live with me in Cobblestone. We just finished building my house, and it would be easy to put two more beds in there. The scenery is really nice, and we would live right next to Mum, and she makes the best stew. If you wanted to go anywhere in Erdrea, I could just cast Zoom and—”

Erik laughed, “El, you know I would live in squalid ditch as long as you were there, right? You don’t have to give me the travel brochure.”

“So, is that a yes?”

“Well, I’d have to talk to Mia about it, but other than that, of course I’ll come live with you, idiot!”

[displacerbeasts]

HI my name's brin and i've spent the last 4 years writing a dragon quest 11 post-post game fic focusing on how things could play out as the party grapple with this new peaceful erdrea. but it's mostly focused on serena and jade as i feel they are very under-utilised in the canon (and i feel like act 3 could really be the start of their character arcs rather than the end!) So here's some miscellaneous art i've done over the last year or so. one day the fic will be done and these can be enjoyed with full context but i thought i may as well post them for now as i make a lot of art for this and it doesn't really fit anywhere :-)

[blvcklizard]

Act 3 wouldn't hurt anywhere near as much if, throughout the whole game and especially act 2, there hadn't been multiple plot relevant instances of the party going "the Luminary was never meant to fight alone, we made it that far together and we will stay by his side no matter what" only for the Luminary to turn around and leave them at the first opportunity.

I'm not even saying this to criticise the time travel plot (I dislike that for a different reason, although to be fair, the gameplay was super fun and I love Veronica lol. Anyway), this is actually a pretty interesting characterisation of the Luminary. Not in the sense of "asshole that doesn't give a shit about the feelings of the people that risked their lives to stay by his side" but how far he really is ready to go to undo his mistakes. It's at the very least implied that he blamed himself for Yggdrasil’s fall, and enough to throw away so much and disregard his friends' wishes. I don't believe he didn't think of them; they were all in for saving Veronica and Erdrea before they heard about the consequences, and he probably didn't even hear what they said. He failed at the one thing he was destined to do with terrible consequences, and he's ready to leave his friends, who actively decided to stay by his side despite all hardships on multiple occasions and who said that losing him is too much for them, if it means he can go back. It's that selfish selflessness that's written into his character.

[1eos]

@erdrea's posts convinced me to listen to glorillas album and i must confess....i wasn't into her before but she made a fan out of me. like she delivered with this one

[valeriewarrior137]

This vine is a classic

Just an oc tryna keep justice around here.

Just some DQXI as Vines but Gacha Club featuring.. my oc Brenna! (She's called Midori here in Erdrea) these are old screenshots btw. I have many more.

YAYAYAYAYAYAYYYYYY MY BEST FRIEND JESUS!!!!!!!!!

This just looks like what he'd say.

Ok have a nice day and God bless!

[sonicasura]

Heavenly Council

It's was little known fact that God's of Different Times and Worlds of Dragon Quest would have meetings with eachother for a variety of reasons

Wether it be for the safety of a world in need of heroes such as Arboria who once needed aid, the current wellfare of the worlds, or a general discussion on a number of topics.

Though there was the occansional emergency meeting and this was that occasional emergency meeting, called forth by none other than the Zenith Dragon.

Soon all the Gods, Goddess, and Deities were assembled at the table.

There was Zenus, the God of the Celestial Realm and the Overworld Protectorate, the Keeper Of The Observatory, and the one who created the Celestrians to help keep the world at peace

Then there was his daughter Celestria, who would soon take over her Father's responsibilties and be the Guardian of all he created and help guide there beloved world

Then there was his youngest daughter Stella, a carefree faerie like girl who despite not being a fighter was instrumental to saving their world along with the Celestrian Hero, from one of his fallen children Corvus.

Representing The World Of The Forgotten Past was the Almighty

The Almighty or Al as he liked to be called watched over and protected his world, but eventually had entered a stale mate with a truly wicked demon Orgodemir, and had to split himself into four beings to recover his strength, until the Hero of that world slayed the wicked Ogodemir, and fused him back too his normal self.

Then there was Rubiss the Goddess of the World Of Salvation

Imprisoned by the Archfiend Zoma, she would eventually be freed by the great Hero Erdrick and help fell Zoma once and for all. After that she would return to safeguarding the world and watching over the descendants of Erdrick

The Goddess Of The Elusive Age Yggdragon or Yggdrasil as she was better known

Yggdrasil was responsible for giving life too the lands that would become Erdrea, and blessed the first Hero Erdwin to fight the great evil that threaten the lands, however misfortune befell Erdwin was killed by one of his commardes who fell under the dark influence, leaving the being of pure Darkness to be sealed, it wouldn't be until the reincarnation of Erdwin, a young Hero, too finally end the evil that plagued the lands for so long.

This allowed the lands to flourish and eventually become the lands of Salvation were Erdrick would be born.

Finally there is Ramia, The Great Godbird who was hatched from a divine egg from The World Of Salvation, thanks to the Hero Erdrick.

Ramia held great rank among the Council due to her boundless wisdom, and ability to travel between worlds. It's thanks to Ramia's aid that many a world were able to combat aganist the evil that threaten the peace of the lands.

All these powerful beings in one room, and they all know why they were summonded.

Zenith Dragon: My fellow friends, you all know why I called forth this meeting. Before I start however I must say this, not once have I ever doubted all of your judgement before, we all have lived and fought great battles, seen many miracles, and guided Heroes towards victory so that are worlds may be safe and so peace may reign true. However you all have collectively agreed to a Judgement, that I must question that Judgement.

Why did you reincarnate Psaro The Manslayers Soul?

Well everyone knew this question was coming so Al decided to answer first.

Al: Well it's quite simple Zen, we felt Psaro deserved another chance, and felt he would flourish in another world that could use his help.

Zen: Great Almighty, I mean no disrespect but Psaro's soul is one tainted with evil, his actions caused suffering across Terrestria and used the Secret Of Evolution a forbidden act, one that gave way to Estark all those Milleniums ago.

Celestria was the one that responded to that

Celestria: That may be true, but his soul cried out in suffering and pain from such a young age. Anger and fear that was manipulated by a truly detestable fiend for there own personal goals.

The Zenith Dragon wanted to respond but Zenus beat him to the punch

Zenus: I must agree with my daughter Zen, young Psaro lacked guidance throughout his life and had no one there for years to give him the kindess he so desperately needed. Even when he did find that kindness and love later in his life from Rose that was cruelly ripped away from him, from that fiend Aamon.

Zenith Dragon: Even so Psaro made his choices, he choose to grow hostile with humanity, he choose to resurect Estark, he choose too use the Secret Of Evolution.

It was here Rubiss took center stage

Rubiss: O Great Zenith Dragon, I have always trusted your Judgement but, I must tell you know you had many failings with Psaro

That was a big accusation, and it was Stella that carried on that thought

Stella: Gotta agree with Rubiss on that one, you knew very well Aamon's goals for a long time and how he manipulated Psaro. His hatered for humans was something Aamon took great care to cultivate. Yet you never reached out to try and help Psaro. Never told him that Aamon was manipulating him or how he was the main architect of hatered between human and monsters, something Psaro tried to fix before Aamon wormed his way to a royal advisory position. Then when Aamon murdered Rose you didn't do anything too stop Psaro from falling into Aamon ruse that it was actually humans that killed her. Then there was the attack on the hero's village which was carried out by Aamon without Psaro knowing and pinned it on Psaro so the Hero would hate him. Then there's the Estark thing which is a whole nother topic to get into.

That left the Zenith Dragon into a stunned silence, and it didn't help when Yggdrasil chimed in.

Yggdrasil: I'm sorry Zenith Dragon but Stella is correct there were many failings not just with Psaro, but also the Hero. I still do not agree with your decision about there parents.

The Zenith Dragon flinched at the reminder of the Hero's parents, he had come to realize his mistake with that, he had let himself become too fearful of tragedy and destruction after Azabel.

The final one to speak was Ramia

Ramia: Zenith Dragon, my respect for you has never wavered and it still shall not, however Psaro deserves a life were he actually can be around a loving family that believes he can be a Hero instead of a Villian. We know of your concerns but it's to time that we help guide Psaro on the right path. You must have faith in the young one, not fear. That is what we all came to agreement on.

The Zenith Dragon was deep in thought, for awhile as the room remained silent waiting for his answer.

Zenith Dragon: Fine, I will put aside my worries and put my faith in Psaro.

Zenus: Then it seems that we are all in agreement, now how about we get some wine I'm parched.

Almighty: Right behind you old buddy!!!

Jovial laughter broke out bewteen the 2 Gods, as everyone couldn't help but sweatdrop at that

No better way to tell your fellow God that he fucked up pretty badly than in an emergency meeting. I will say there is someone carefully watching Psaro for them and bringing important updates: Malroth. The events of DQB2 made him a perfect candidate for such a task.

Who's better to keep an eye on the reincarnated Psaro than a fellow kin that experience such a rare second chance? Malroth is in the Defense Force and in a high enough position to be included in major meetings involving the youth. Although he has to be careful around Psaro since our boy can sense something's off with him.

Not warning bells like with No.9 but a familiarity he just can't pinpoint. As if they were similar in some way.

(It's a personal headcanon Malroth's powers would come back eventually aa they are still a part of him. Although he can control them now without losing the humanity he earned. The cutscene after Chaos Elfilis defeat in Kirby the Forgotten Land or the true ending cutscene in Asura's Wrath is how I would describe it.)

[veryfancydoilies]

Dragon Quest XI Location Aesthetics: I’Académie de Notre Maitre des Médailles

“Bonjour, traveller, and welcome to I’Académie de Notre Maitre des Médailles. In zis school, ze daughters of ze finest families in all Erdrea assemble, and train to be become young ladies extraordinaries.”

@snapdragonquest It’s not an edit for DQIX but I decided to tag you anyways in case you like this game as well! Hope you like it.

@dragonquesters

[uniguinflutist]

If video game antagonists were female

There is a reason why there are SO FEW MAIN FEMALE ANTAGONISTS in video games and anime. In DQ there's some minor villainesses like Krystalinda or Evil!Jessica, but no MAIN ones.

I think that It's because (generally speaking) women and men fight differently.

A man will strike you with a divine sword of might, but a woman will destroy you mentally and emotionally, and that's harder to convey visually. Mean Girls is NOT a movie, it's a documentary.

I think about what the ending of DQXI would be like if Calamos was a mean girl. It'd probably go like this:

Eleven: I will fulfill my destiny to defeat you and save Erdrea! The Goddess Yggdrasil has guided me to this point!

Calamos: Yeah, save your sword from piercing me and go and put it up Erik's ass already.

Eleven: ...What?

Calamos: Me and Yggie have been trying to get you two together for CENTURIES since we first saw the prophecy. Like everything we planned up until this point has been to get you and Erik together.

Eleven: I don't believe you--no(hand starts glowing)

Yggdrasil: Why are you TELLING them this out loud? Ugh, I AM SO NOT inviting you to Wednesday afternoon brunch if you don't get this over with and finally get them together. And you KNOW I make a great gluten-free quiche.

Calamos: Alright, my birch bitch. Is Dhoulmagus coming to our book club this week? Or is he still pissed at Ladja about that thirsty fancam he made of Lester Holt?

Yggidrasil: I don't know. Go text him after this.

Calamos: FINE! Anyway, Eleven, I'll stop destroying the world if you destroy Erik's virginity.

Erik: WHY ARE TELLING ALL OF MY FRIENDS THAT I'M A VIRGIN!?

Serena: H-Have you and Yggdrasil really been plotting together?

Calamos: So you're finally paying attention? If only you did that with your hair. Short hair does NOT fit your vibe, my girl.

Veronica: I refuse to believe your LIES! And HOW DARE YOU INSULT MY SISTER! I may be small, but I possess the might--

Calamos: Oh, and you. A cartoon character being turned into a little kid? How original. Oh, SPEAKING of original--Hendrick, do you know why Jasper loves Cats of all musicals? He's been playing it nonstop!

Hendrick: I have not the slightness clue as to what you are speaking of. He did always love cats, though...(sheds a single tear)

Calamos: Oh, and Sylvando. You are perfect in every way possible. Go slay, queen.

(awkward silence follows)

Calamos: Anyway, I've a manipedi appointment at 6, so...see you next week? Same time, same place?

[finlands-beret]

Every now and then, I think on how Sylv is the designated Santa of Erdrea

[winxixia]

Tagged by @captainbobbin (thank you for encouraging me to share my fics lol)

Rules: list the first line of your last 10 (posted) fics and see if there's a pattern!

What About US

Erdrea was a happy and peaceful place.

Masquerade

Laughter and chatters filled the buzzling castle of Heliodor as the guests slowly entered the place for the first day of the Masquerade celebrating the coronation of Queen Jade.

Echoes of an elusive age

“Hendrik... You don't have to do that...”

Under the mistletoe

Castle of Heliodor, in the middle of winter. The Luminary’s Eve was almost there, and the people of Erdrea were making preparations to celebrate the birth of the Luminary Erdwin a thousand years ago.

What knighthood means

It all happened so quickly. One day he was plotting Hendrik’s demise through bringing doom over Erdrea as Mordegon’s right arm, the next he was defeated at the Tree of Life and almost executed by his master so the demon could save face. In just one day, Jasper lost everything.

The temple in the woods

An ancient temple had been discovered near Phnom Nohn, in the middle of the ruins. It was found by a traveller who fell through a hole in the main room.

Sun Wars

Eleven was panting as he slid behind a small sand dune. He held his weapon fast, his knuckles turning white as he gritted his teeth. This was hell. Jade, Grandpa Rab… They had fallen first in the hands of their enemies.

The best gift

“Mh… What would she like? Now that I think about it, we never talked about this matter…”

Hand to hold on to

He was a small thing, like a discarded bundle thrown on the bed, save for the slight shaking and the hoarse sobs escaping his tight throat.

Hello, Mother

It was a windy day.

As I expected, most of my stories start with a bit of context. If you've been following me for a while, it won't be a big revelation to you if I say these are mostly Henjasp stories haha! Only "Sun Wars" doesn't depict them as a couple, and the best gift is about Luceus & Aurora from the Heroes spinoff. The context is mostly "it's act 3 but Jasper somehow survives" though I won't say more hehe. I think I should try and start my stories in the middle of action more often, that'd be more engaging than just a wall of text before the story even begins.

Feel free to do this with your own fics and tag me so I can see it! But still I'll be tagging my buddies @sarunohadaki and @daovihi because they're awesome writers! <3

[daezedglownut]

While I'm waxing poetic about all my fave DQXI details (for easy perusal, my ramblings are all in my 'meta' tag), there's one in particular I've always wanted to touch upon...

The parallels between the Luminary and Hendrik, and how deep Jasper's hatred of Hendrik truly goes.

Now, Hendrik's hometown was destroyed, and almost the entire populace (including his family) wiped out, that we all know. We also know Hendrik was present when Cobblestone was burnt to the ground - because if it weren't for Hendrik being able to talk Jasper round at the last minute, the rest of the townspeople would also have succumbed to much the same end.

Now, logically, Jasper would have had to compromise - and Hendrik would have had to agree in some capacity. And so, you have this moment where Hendrik, though he believes the Luminary to be the Darkspawn, does not want even the enemy of Erdrea to experience that which he did as a child: the loss of everything.

Because if he could go back - if he could pick one thing to save, it would have been the people of Zwaardsrust.

And Jasper, fully aware of Hendrik's past, is more than happy to play tactician. To move the chess pieces around for his perverse amusement, just because it means it takes Hendrik back there - back to that moment where he wasn't this vision of strength and prowess, but a weak, scared child.

Because if Hendrik feels small, then Jasper gets to feel big.