#grouping all the games without a master sword in it

[jheselbraum]

Nintendo is stupid here's my new better timeline:

Skyward Sword

Legend of Zelda

Adventure of Link

Minish Cap

Four Sourds

and it's sequel Four Swords Adventures

A Link to the Past

Link's Awakening (edited, whoops)

A Link Between Worlds

Ocarina of Time

The Hero is Defeated Timeline: Oracle games and Triforce Heroes that's it.

Child Timeline: Majora's Mask and Twilight Princess, as usual, easy peasy, for once no notes Nintendo

Adult Timeline: Wind Waker, Phantom Hourglass, and Spirit Tracks once again pretty easy, no notes

11. Breath of the Wild 12. Tears of the Kingdom

[deadghosy]

🌊⛰️🔥🌪️

MODERN! READER WITH GAANG

𖤓PROMPT: you fell inside your comfort show.

✧ ೃ༄*ੈ✩it was during book 2, you were happy to see toph show her father that she can take care of herself. You had wished to see it in person. And booom! You were suddenly in the show where you can see Aang get busted free from the metal cage.

✧ ೃ༄*ੈ✩after the whole fight scene, toph noticed you and pointed you out. You knew there was no chance in running, so you outed yourself out. By calmly saying you are from another world. As much as you sounded crazy, they laughed while Toph knew you weren’t lying by your heart rate. You showed them your phone and that’s when the main Trio stops laughing and got curious

✧ ೃ༄*ੈ✩Sokka most definitely will ask if the ladies back in your time era are attractive, you said yes and this boy was asking to see what they look like on your phone 😭

✧ ೃ༄*ੈ✩and that’s how you got into the gaang. You were the therapist of the group, always listening to their troubles and helping them with all the knowledge you knew about their characters.

✧ ೃ༄*ੈ✩katara always likes to rant about her day to you, and you don’t mind which makes her feels comfortable around her. Book 1 katara was very open on making friends. Book 2, I’ll say the same. If you had meet book 3 katara, YOU BETTER HAD PRAY FOR MERCY LMAO.

✧ ೃ༄*ੈ✩aang likes to play with you with his airbending, and you enjoy the hell out of it. Literally you would smile with the brightest smile, and Aang smiles with you along. Just two sunshines having fun.

✧ ೃ༄*ੈ✩toph likes how you taught her swear words. You and toph curse like sailors😈 lmao. Aang accidentally got influenced and that make katara step in and shut shit down 😭😭.

✧ ೃ༄*ੈ✩you love appa and momo! These furry cuties love you too as appa always licks your face when you show up. Momo sometimes leaps on your shoulders, maybe even trying to share a fruit with you.

✧ ೃ༄*ੈ✩Aang steals your big shirts, and you would try to match with him which makes him even like you more as a friend. You turn into his best friend right there and now.

✧ ೃ༄*ੈ✩with you being a non-bender..protectiveness is to the roof! Literally even if you can fight. There’s still bending that can take you down without a single thought. The people who at your body guards are Aang, toph, Katara, and Zuko. The four powerful benders. But the ones who stick the most are Zuko and toph. Toph because she likes how fierce your personality is. Zuko, Zuko is just himself. Plus he needs more friends.

✧ ೃ༄*ੈ✩Zuko awkwardly ask you a lot of questions from your generation. Like a lot to the point you grabbed his lips shut. That’s when Zuko knew, you weren’t playing games.

✧ ೃ༄*ੈ✩headcannon on zuko and you just being awkward teens not knowing how to start the conversation so all he starts off is, “so, is war a thing in your world?” The way you gave him a wild side glance.

✧ ೃ༄*ੈ✩I can see you making the gaang learn slangs LMAO. You made katara understand the wordings of “What you being messy for?” And she started to use on toph and Sokka 😭😭 you’d probably give Aang a short ass but wholesome slang.

✧ ೃ༄*ੈ✩if you had curly hair, and not some katara curly hair iykwim. I mean like 4c ass hair that I possibly have 😭. I can see katara just amazed and ask in g to comb it which you quickly say no to. Toph, just stands there but probably does touch it when bored. People who ask to touch it is suki, Zuko, and Aang. Those three are people who I can see ask before doing it. Sokka will ask, but will touch it as it ask after 🧍🏾

✧ ೃ༄*ੈ✩big headcannon Sokka training you on sword fighting, but then Zuko comes in because Sokka is apparently “showing” you the wrong way lol.

✧ ೃ༄*ੈ✩suki most definitely would love to teach you her ways of fighting. Plus chi blocking. Once you mastered it, she would take it up a notch and have you spar with her. In honor of her teaching, you agree. You had the upper hand until she practically cheated by distracting you. Making you lose your focus, she nailed you down. But in all warfare, it was full of laughter and friendship.

✧ ೃ༄*ੈ✩imainge you showing them that ���car” comercial..(of course toph can’t see it lmao) 😭 ZUKO PROBABLY BURNT YOUR PHONE 😨 ALL BECAUSE HE GOT SCARED

[the-named-anon]

Dungeon meshi x Minecraft thoughts

(Assuming it’s a modern au and everyone knows how to use a computer��)

Laios

Laios would get the achievement for eating everything edible without even trying. Loves exploring caves, but often falls to his death because he forgets there’s fall damage.

Is trying to speedrun to the dragon, but dies so often it’s pointless… (dude. You’ve lost so much diamond armor Chilchuck isn’t going to give you any.)

He lives in a dirt hut until Marcille or Falin build him a better one

Wants everyone to live nearby, and eventually everyone does

Had a self-made skin, but it looked horrible so Falin made him one

HOARD of dogs. Used to be individually named, but then after the fourth (Name) fell to their death/burned in lava/shot by skeleton, he collectively calls them buddy

Tried to have hardcore worlds, died within the first hour on each.

Is part of a separate server with loads and loads of monster mods (run by someone called LordOfTheDungeon, who made most of the mods)

Gamer tag is xXMonsterSlayerXx

Falin

Is the dragon /j

Master of potion creation, figures them all out very easily.

Lives in a pretty build that her and Marcille built. (And they were roommates 😳)

Is the supplier of ores for the group, is decked out in pretty trimmed diamond armor (enchants courtesy of Chilchuck)

Practically made all the skins that the party uses, based on how they actually look

Has a big farm of animals (is trying to get two of each passive mob in there… tropical fish are the only thing she’s missing, and she has a in-game book to keep track of which ones she has)

Yes, she does have a strider, skeleton horse, and a sniffer.

Has named all her animals, and has a strict “no weapons on the hotbar” when people visit.

Has a separate hardcore world that she’s sunk hours into.

And is part of two other servers, a cosy animal filled cottage core server and another one she won’t tell anyone about

Gamer tag is FlowerFalin

Marcille

Tried desperately to learn potions, but also doesn’t want to step on Falin’s toes…

Is the builder of the group, grows the biggest trees she can. Master of bonemeal.

Went out of her way to grab two mooshrooms for Falin (one red, one brown) under the guise of “I needed mycelium anyways”

Wants to get all of the achievements, but also refuses to eat rotten flesh or poisonous potatoes

Named her sword “Ambrosia two” (and then “Ambrosia 3”, “Ambrosia 4”… she doesn’t loose/break Ambrosia four)

Uses potion tipped arrows. (Realized too late that she probably should’ve named her bow Ambrosia, since its usage with the potion tipped arrows is more similar to her real Ambrosia.)

Falin made her skin based on Uriale

Also plays on a server that has a mod for The Daltian Clan

Gamer tag is UrialeOfDaltian

Chilchuck

Under his quaint little house is a MASSIVE villager trading hall. Has every trade imaginable, at the lowest cost it can be. Lets “no one” in there (Laios has a bad habit of accidentally hitting villagers… and was banned before it was made)

Has the best enchants, and actually successfully speedran to the dragon. (First to have an elytra, and HOARDS shulker boxes. Wants the other party members to pay him for them.)

Has lots of beacons, and has unlocked all the end teleporters… (wither sounds are common on the server)

Most skilled at the game (dad of three girls… what did you expect? (Gamer girl-dad))

His girls made him his skin. (Big anime eyes, but everything else is akin to him) ((begrudgingly uses it))

Has a separate server with his girls, that they modded (custom biomes, more enchant options, fun tools and weapons)

Gamer tag is ChillsChuck

Senshi

Makes food. Only wants to make food… big farm of meat animals, and actual crops.

Is disappointed that there isn’t more monster-based food in the game. (What do you mean you can’t eat enderpearls? Why don’t more mobs drop meat?)

Ate rotten flesh once, and then decided against it. (It’s too bad you can’t use it to make food. This game is seriously lacking culinary options.)

Prefers to play modded, with loads and loads of food options. (The party server is straight vanilla, so he’s part of another one where he’s more active on… modded with food.)

Is confused why they’d think he’d be interested in mining… he makes food irl?? (Can’t differentiate any stones. Even though they’re different colors)

House was made by Marcille, skin by Fallin. (Previously default Steve skin)

Has a horse named Anne (really crappy… like, he tamed the first horse that looked like her so it’s only slightly faster than running and can barely clear a two block jump)

Gamer tag is ChefSenshi402

Izutsumi

Falin made her skin a cat girl (previously one of the default skins (can’t remember any of the other ones, but not Alex or Steve))

Doesn’t really understand Minecraft, or why people want to play it.

Has a hoard of cats, but only the tuxedo ones. (Because they look like her)

Master of the horse-stats trade, and has had luck with llamas.

(Sorry… I don’t have many ideas for her because I’m not at the part of the show where she’s at)

Gamer tag is Izutsumi1 (Izutsumi was taken for some reason)

Bonus:

Thistle

Moderator and owner of the monster-filled server.

Made 90% of the mods in the server, the only mods he didn’t make are the mods he uses to have his mods to work (like geckolib)

Has two accounts, LordOfTheDungeon, and ThistleThorn

Uses LordOfTheDungeon as his moderator one, and ThistleThorn is for the cosy cottagecore server he’s in.

Had a raffle for the players with the longest time in-server to come up with a monster for him to implement

Laios won, and it’s taken Thistle a while to make his “Ultimate Strongest Monster.” (Multiple heads and attacks are time consuming.)

Falin is also a moderator on his server, with a fake gamer tag of “Chimera” (Laios doesn’t know that, but she thinks it’s fun to watch the custom mobs roam around.) Has a custom game mode where the monsters don’t attack her, so she can make a little sanctuary for her favorites. (Also uses a different skin for the server, per the request of Thistle)

There’s an unknown person who’s a moderator that’s skin is lion-like, who’s gamer tag is “BeastWishes”

[sadistic-kiss]

House of Alphas Chapter 39: Gambling King

🐺House of Alphas🐺

(Jujutsu Kaisen Omegaverse )

Summary: Waking up in a world that was not your own was problematic enough. Being the villainess was another. However, the possessive alphas might take the cake.

Disclaimer: Angsty but I ain’t Gege

Omega!Reader x Alpha!Sukuna x Alpha!Gojo x Alpha!Toji x Alpha!Nanami x Alpha!Getou

Chapter 39: Gambling King

~

“Alright…” you huddled with your alphas standing on the opposite side of the cave.

The opposing team stretches and flips their weapons cockily, grins to match their attitude.

You released a little scoff looking at your group, “…Tell me about their abilities… everything you know.”

Nanami nodded toward the lead alpha, “Hakari is known as the master of fists. He’s close range.”

A fighter.

“Also…” Gojo began with slight irritation, “…he has a lucky dragon talisman.”

A fighter with a shit ton of luck…

You hummed rubbing your chin. Most fighters had good strength and defense but their resistance couldn't be too high. The problem was that talisman. Any dragon item was top tier. For a moment you second-guess this match. An item such as that was end game. Was Hakari that strong? You did hit him with your shadow blast and he did get a sneak attack in so there was no telling how strong the man was without seeing the little boss bar at the top of your screen followed by boss music.

Perhaps if you could get him surrounded and get a good hit off on him then you could win. But then there were the others. “What about his mate?”

“Gravity.” Sukuna muttered- A sorcerer…“…they can affect the gravitational pull on the targets they mark. Bringing them together or apart.”-so don't get touched.

“And the others?”

“Pawns.”

“Pawns are still soldiers. I need to know what they do.”

“ I got you...” Getou began, “B.J. is good with a bow, Spades is a sword user, Ace axes, and Jack works with javelins. I heard that their team has a hard time against elemental runs so they normally stick to strength matches.”

That would explain why all the gear Hakari sells is normally for raw armor and weapons, they normally don't have good magic items. Cool. A well-rounded team that doesn't do well against magic. You shut your eyes for a moment trying to imagine the battlefield in ‘game’ form. What would you do if you were fighting a team with a strong captain? Defeat the add-ons. That's strat 101.

You opened your eyes with a soft nod, “so…here’s what I'm thinking… If we can get rid of the pawns we can focus on Kirara and then Hakari. I don't think any one of us can go toe to toe with him and actually defeat him. Sukuna if you can dance with him for a little that would be good, shoot at him do whatever just keep him busy, don't exert too much energy though. Toji and Nanami I need you front line handling the big guys. Getou if you can help them with that, that would be great, summon Kirin, the chain lightning can assist in dispatching the meat shields and stunning them. Gojo and I will focus on Kirara and after that, we take care of Hakari… Any questions so far?”

“Yeah, why am I dancing with the opponent.”

“Sukuna... You are faced with someone who is faster than you and super lucky at that.” Which calls for easy crits- no wonder why he took everyone else out with one hit. “…you aren't going to beat him with brute force. I know your strength out matches his but one wrong move and he gains the upper hand. We need to counter luck right now and to do so is to higher our chances when we all attack him. We can lower his speed and guard, but only if we work together. Teamwork makes the dream work.”

“What does my team have to do with my dreams?”

“Uh, we help them come true! Duh!”

“You haven't the slightest idea what my dreams consist of.”

You sighed, “Listen! We gotta work together to defeat our enemies. This is important for any battle we get into. We are strongest as one, and it's especially important to understand when the enemy can outclass you, it doesn't mean they are better it just means you need to think of a counter, a different path. Understood?”

Toji grinned, “I love when you get all commander on us.”

“She’s so cute when she does that.” Gojo agreed.

You felt heat touch your face, “Uh~ well I like strategy games you know. You gotta learn how to make your disadvantages your advantages. Hakari’s team is strong but they also underestimate us. Let’s play them right into our hands.”

“Yes…she makes a good point Sukuna. ” Nanami is also pleased with you.

“Yeah yeah, whatever you say war chief.”

Getou snickered, “Oh you must join Nanami and me in a game of chess, it would be nice to go against an opponent that uses their brain for once.”

“Oi! What does that mean?”

“Nothing my sweet boy.”

You chuckled at Getou and Gojo who was making a pouty face.

-“Heeeeey~!” Hakari called for your attention.

Looking over your shoulder you watched the alpha jump around like he was Goku getting ready for the funnest fight of his life. Kirara on the other hand, looked forever bored like you guys were beneath their time. “Are we ready to do this?!”

“We were born ready!” Gojo yelled back, but truthfully Hakari and his pack only found anything your guys said or did amusing. Not even Sukuna’s glarey eyes were doing anything. It was like you were little pups trying to beat the elders.

You must gain your respect! “Hmph! Let’s wipe the battlefield with them.”

“Agreed.”

Your team spread out to get into position, you were in the center, Toji and Nanami took the front line, Sukuna and Gojo were to the left and right, and Getou was beside you.

Hakari and his pack hollered as they got excited.

“FINALLY”!

“Thought you guys were getting cold paws hm~!”

You kept your mind on the prize, ignoring the taunting words.

“I’m going to fuck them up…” Sukuna growled under his breath.

It was obvious their words were irritating your alphas. Especially so when…Hakari pointed a finger toward you, a wide grin on his face, “You're mine princess.”

What- he’s targeting you.

Toji stepped in the way, blocking you with his body, “Keep your filthy hands away from her.”

“I’m going to rip his arms off.”

Shit…

...

~

~Read More~

[luimagines]

Hello Pinky I hope you missed me and my Lynel Farm!

I got an idea which would be hilarious! Reader is a Link! But not any Link no they are Wild and the Link from TotK! And they are a MENACE! Why?

Well, Reader can use glitches like Bullet-Time Bounce or clipping or Wacko-Boingo. They also wear the Tunic of Wild. But they came after TotK to the game and they can duplicate everything! And everything is maxed out of capacity they can't carry a single drop more. Their Purah Pad is about to explode! But then just imagine their meeting.

Legend: „Seriously does anyone know where the fuck we are?!“

Wind: „It looks like a forest.“

Reader used BTB and yeeted themself above the group with their shield on their feet just to shield surf the hill down with speed.

Sky: „What was that?“

„I want that too!!“ with that Wild shield surfed the hill down too.

Twilight: „I will go and get him...“

But the whole group follows as Reader is obviously someone who knows where to go. But as they see Wild and Reader standing there face to face. They are just stunned. They look the same! But Reader is missing an arm and has a mechanical arm instead. But these two seem to get along. This is how they learned that Reader is Wild practically but instead of doing all the Beast, gathering memories and the shrines to pull the sword. They instantly went after Ganon. They fought in their underwear and some Weapons they found on their way and sticks against the Calamity. They don't even know what a Master Sword is! They did the shrines after the Calamity.

But even if they are so bubbly and well wild. They don't talk about their journey and to Twilight. They felt betrayed by him. They needed him as they woke up in a shrine without any orientation or knowledge where they are and what happened. They just needed Wolfie by their side and to help them with their upcoming panic attack. They also don't trust the Chain immediately. They could be Yiga or puppets, sorry for Spoilers, like the Zelda which they chased after in the present. And if someone asks about their journey they only tell the stories of The Hero of Wild not the Hero of Ruins, who they are now. They turn cold and say with an icy tone „It's not your business!“

But Four should never see their weapons or he gets a heart attack. They got so many cursed weapons. But Reader is also freaking strong! Lifting a claymore is hard enough but a claymore fused with another claymore, that's heavy! They fused two Biggoron Swords together or two Dusk Claymores. They also hear the poes in the Depths and that's how they got the weapons. Thanks to the talking statues.

Reader also talks more to their horse and this one isn't small! Even Ganondorf's stallion is smaller than that. It's a giant white stallion and it stomps on everything that comes across their way! With the beautiful name "Thunder" because this thing has loud stomps! But since it's so tall it also takes great maintenance and that's Reader's therapy. When they take care of their giant, they don't feel the phantom pain of losing their arm or hear the whispers of the dead. Just the snorts of their horse and the brush. They also sleep with their horse but mostly on fields or caves as forests can have Evermeans and they want to sleep one time without an ambush from everything that wants their death!

Wild and Wild obviously are all around their giant horse. Four is all about their Lynel Sword collection, swords fused with lynel horns. Twilight tries to mend the bridge while they both are carrying about their horses. Legend and Hyrule ask about the sages and their abilities. Warriors and Time tries to get them comfortable enough so they share their journey. Sky teaches them about the Master Sword but they turn off as soon as he begins with Hylia. They are an atheist they don't believe in her.

The rings from Rauru as they lost their arm are built into the artificial arm as the sages gave them an oath of loyalty.

I feel like I understood about 50% of this because I know so little about Totk.

I know about the arm of course and the the cursed weapons! XD

Four would absolutely lose his mind about them. He freaked out when Wild broke his sword on a rock- just wait until that Reader attached a rock to their sword.

I don't know if they would even know who Wolfie is. If he was never there for them since BotW, then would they even know that Wolfie was someone who would have had to there anyway?

So it would be more like-

Wild: Wolfie was a great help to me when I needed him most the first time around. Reader: ...Who? Wild: The wolf... the wolf that followed me- us- you (?) around? Reader:.... Nope. I don't have a clue who you're talking about.

And another note, I do think that they wouldn't trust the chain off the bat though. You're right. They could be yiga in disguise. A new threat to the the land or to Zelda. There's just something off about them that Reader wouldn't have been able to tell what it was.

Especially since they might not even have all their memories anyway. If they did the shrines after Ganon, then who's to say they would have bothered with doing them all anyway? They coudl have just checked out a few, got bored and left it at that.

They might not have any of their memories and are perfectly fine that way.

[zozoparsnips]

Masterlist

To Dull a Sharpened Blade (AO3)

Summary

Artemis has mastered the art of wearing masks, effortlessly slipping into different personas to ensure her survival in a life of blood and cruelty. She’ll do whatever necessary to complete her missions, all to perform to the expectations forced upon her by a malevolent master.

Sleuthing the dark, shadowed streets of Baldur’s Gate one minute, adducted by mind flayers the next, Artemis finds herself in a rare situation; she is wholly, irrevocably, out of her depth. Thrust into unfamiliar territory and surrounded by a group of enigmatic strangers, the ruthless assassin must don the persona of the plucky, witty mercenary.

It should come as second nature to deceive and manipulate her new companions, to tangle them seamlessly in her web of lies. Yet, Artemis discovers she is not alone in the art of manipulating minds and hearts. Astarion not only harbours secrets as deep as hers, but he also seems unwittingly driven to outmanoeuvre her in her own game.

Unbeknownst to him, manipulation is a dance whose steps Artemis has long perfected.

Let the games begin, high elf.

Tags: Enemies to Lovers, Smut, Emotional Manipulation, Manipulation Games, Trauma, Nightmares, Dark Humour, Romance, Assassin Tav, Insufferable Yearning, Astarion falls first but Artemis falls harder.

Playlists:

little dagger (artemis vibes)

astarion brainrot (astarion vibes)

to dull a sharened blade (whole fic vibes)

~

Echoes of the Mind (AO3)

Summary

With the Netherbrain defeated, the Sword Coast saved, and the tadpoles gone, Artemis should finally be able to live life on her own terms—free and unbound, able to journey wherever her heart desires. Yet, despite this newfound freedom, an insatiable ache of loneliness has embedded itself deep within her soul. Her friends have all gone their separate ways in search of new adventures, and freedom isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, especially without someone to share it with.

Although the worms in their heads have been destroyed, Artemis finds herself inexplicably able to hear the thoughts of her former companions. She shouldn’t be able to peer into their minds or have them appear at the most unexpected moments. So, why can she?

With these newfound abilities, perhaps reforming connections will be easier than she anticipated, and maybe—just maybe—old flames can be rekindled anew.

Tags: Romance, Eventual Smut, Fluff, Domestic Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Sense8 Inspired, Mutual Pining, Yearning, Soft Astarion, Idiots in Love, Sexual Tension, Set Post-Game

[theresattrpgforthat]

THEME: Paws, Feathers & Scales

Mausritter, by Losing Games.

It’s a huge and dangerous world out there, and it does not look kindly on a small mouse. But if you are very brave and very clever and just a bit lucky, you might be able to survive. And if you survive long enough, you might even become a hero amongst mice.

Take up the sword and don the whiskers of a brave mouse adventurer in Mausritter, a rules-light fantasy adventure roleplaying game. Mausritter is built on the chassis of Into the Odd, with new rules for setting, character generation, magical artefacts, and mouse-scale adventures.

Mausritter is a game that makes character creation deceptively simple - your little mouse doesn’t have much to them, but that’s because they’re small creatures in a much larger world. It’s very easy to kill your mouse, which means that your team is going to have to focus on solving a lot of problems without diving head-first into combat. This is a game built off of other games that are OSR, which has a lot of ties to dungeon-delving kinds of games. There’s an online character generator if you want a character fast, and a seriously gigantic amount of third-party content created for these little adventurers. If you like creating and solving challenges more than diving head-first into combat, you should absolutely check this game out.

Cats of Catthulu, by Catthulu.

In Cats of Catthulhu, players take on the roles of a variety of ordinary-seeming cats fighting conspiracies of cosmic chaos. Mighty spirits such as Snarlyathotep, slimy Phatphroggua, and Hastpurr of the Yellow Eye inspire their cultists to destroy civilization-but that’s where all the comfy furniture is! 

One person acts as the Cat Herder, arranging the secret plots, challenges, and rewards and guiding the others through the process of making an adventure. Rules are light and quick, emphasizing player cleverness and the fun of being feline. There’s plenty of darkness and chaos in the world, but our fuzzy heroes can handle it!... Usually.

This game is perfect for players who don’t want to deal with math, because cats can’t do math either! Normally you play using special cat dice, but using regular d6’s will work just fine. Your cats will dive into situations that have a Lovecraftian twist, but aren’t too scary for children. On top of rolling dice to determine whether you succeed, there are a few optional rules that add to the goofy feel of the game - particularly the rule of Wum Fing, which states that if a cat character picks up something in game, the player must put their pencil in their mouth and speak around it. If the player gets annoyed and takes the pencil out of their mouth, the cat drops what they are holding.

You only really need the Nekonomikon to play, but Cat Herders might benefit from picking up the Cat Herder’s Guide.

Capybara Capers, by momatoes.

A super elite team of capybaras has been assembled to steal the mythical Awesome Lemon once and for all. But each of you have your own motives...and there may very well be a traitor in your midst. Can you afford to trust one another?

Capybara Capers offers a smooth, seamless tabletop RPG experience for playing a criminal critter, with mechanics for sharing trust, escalating rolls, and even individual win conditions. Ideal for 3-6 players, plus a Game Master!

Each character has their own idea of what victory looks like. There are up to 6 unique Win Conditions that your character may draw from the deck - from gaining the trust of all of the other players, to betraying the rest of the capybaras. Characters also descriptors that will add dice to relevant rolls, in order to increase their chances of success. Throughout the game, players may exchange Trust tokens to give each-other aid or remove Escalation Tokens, which are added whenever the group fails three or more consecutive tasks in a row. If you like wacky hi-jinx and the possibility to betray your friends, Capybara Capers is for you!

Pugmire, by Onyx Path Publishing.

“Be a good dog. Protect your home. Be loyal to those who are true. These are the words of the Code of Man.”

— Sister Picassa Collie, Shepherd of the Church of Man

Dogs have inherited the world, building the kingdom of Pugmire untold centuries after the Ages of Man are over. These dogs have been uplifted to use tools and language, and they seek to rediscover the ruins of the Old Ones. Some have learned to use the leftover technology of humanity, but they believe it to be magic handed to them by their lost gods. Others seek to create an ideal civilization, using a Code of Man compiled from ancient, fragmentary lore left behind by humanity. The world is dangerous and mysterious, but good dogs will persevere.

Pugmire uses a simplified version of 5e, which makes it great for kids or first-timers to the RPG scene. You may clear the forest of Giant Ants, foil the plots of scheming cats, or race rat cultists from the Cult of Labo Tor in order to retrieve a ruin from an artifact. As adventurers, all of your endeavours serve to fulfill your over-arching goal: to become Very Good Dogs. For players, the core rulebook for Pugmire is free as a phone version on DriveThruRpg. For cat lovers, you can instead play in the scheming Monarchies of Mau, if that is what your heart desires.

Crustacean Bus Station, by kumada1 (Sprinting Owl).

You are a crab.

You live in a tidepool community with other crabs. However, your crab factory job is at the other end of the beach. To get there, you must traverse dangerous terrain, evade seagulls and seals and morays, and wear yourself out scrambling over barnacle-covered rocks. This commute would be so much easier if you had a bus.

Unfortunately, crab bus stops are banned by seal civic ordinances. Crabs are rejected from the prestigious Seagull School Of Engineering. And Moray Refreshments, your factory job, is very strict about attendance. Miss even a few minutes of your shift and you risk having your pay docked---which will put you behind on your rent and give Octopus Realty all the incentive it needs to start processing evictions.Tonight, you're going to build your own bus with nothing but pincers and theft.

Buckle up and ready your pincers, because this is a game full of crime and creativity. You’re playing the underdogs, crabs with only a few hit points and a lot of obstacles in the way of building your bus. Each character gets something called a Scuttle Score, which acts as player currency in order to get out of a terrible situation. However, if you Scuttle out of a situation, it makes the situation worse for your friends! Will you leave them behind, or will you stick it out and solve your problems together? 

Geese at the Beach, by Justin Joyce.

THE GOOSE KING HAS AWOKEN.  The annual event has arrived, in which the Goose King rises and sends his most powerful Geese soldiers to the dangerous lands of The Beach to gather Shiny things for his most powerful Horde. Perhaps he simply wants as much treasure as possible, or perhaps he yearns for the greatest treasure of all. 

Regardless of his wants, it is on you and your squad of geese to brave the horrors of The Beach and battle the Goose King's enemies to bring the king what he desires most: Shinies. If the Goose King's wants are not met, the risk of all out war between The Goose King and the Seagull Armada could threaten to drown the world. 

This game picks up a lot of cues from Belonging Outside Belonging games, which don’t usually use dice. This game uses 2d8, but much of your character abilities rely not on dice, but on the Favors you gain by doing certain actions. Players choose from five Goose playbooks: The Buff Goose, The Duck, The Pelican, The Cat, and the Fish. Each one of these playbooks is hilarious and guaranteed to elicit a game full of laughter. 

Wanderhome, by Possum Creek Games.

Wanderhome is a pastoral fantasy role-playing game about traveling animal-folk, the world they inhabit, and the way the seasons change. It is a game filled with grassy fields, mossy shrines, herds of chubby bumblebees, opossums in sundresses, salamanders with suspenders, starry night skies, and the most beautiful sunsets you can imagine.

You might be a tamarin who dances with small and forgotten gods, a leporine mail carrier who relies on moths to get packages where they belong, a little lizard with a big heart and a mysterious past, or a near-endless number of other thrilling possibilities. No matter what, we’re always travelers—animal-folk who go from village to village and get to see the length and breadth of all the world of Hæth. The seasons will change as we play, and we will change with them.

Wanderhome is enchanting and endearing, and fundamentally encourages a different kind of roleplaying experience than you find in a traditional roleplaying game. Built on the Belonging Outside Belonging system, it requires absolutely no dice. Character sheets will give you the ability to describe the world around you, and encourage you to step into making mistakes in order to set your character up for successes down the road. If you are interested in stories about small critters travelling to pastoral locations and helping out the characters they find along the way, Wanderhome is definitely for you.

You can find both official and non-official Wanderhome supplements here.

[horsegirlwarcrimes]

Hi Bury. If you’re still doing the WIP game, what is Taker, Devil Maker? Because all of them sound awesome but that is such an amazing title

omg hello and thank you!! (´∀｀)♡

this one is for MDZS/CQL! i honestly keep forgetting about it even though its like. fully outlined and i have a good chunk written, oops. its also pretty old, so pardon the slightly weird writing haha

summary: Wei Ying never had a lucky encounter with a sect leader on the streets of Yiling as a child. Instead he teaches himself cultivation from nothing but dusty scrolls and wandering masters, tracing talismans on the walls of alleys and practicing sword forms with tree branches. When he hears of cultivation lectures hosted by the Gusu Lan, he just has to find a way to attend.

Wei Wuxian smoothed his robes, ran carefully scrubbed fingers over the faint embroidery on the fine fabric. The layers of cloth lightened from black to slate to steel and violet and lavender in sheets of soft cotton, with tasteful designs of swallows and oak branches stitched into the sleeves and lapels.  They were the second most expensive thing he’d ever owned. The first was tied in pride of place at his hip. Wei Wuxian sighed as the lines of neat stitching caught on the calluses of his hands. It made nervousness flutter in his stomach. Could someone look at these clothes and know they’d taken every last penny of savings their owner had to buy? Would someone take his hand and just from the feeling of the skin know that these weren’t the hands of a young master, even one who practiced often at the blade? Fine clothes could only do so much. He was, after all, planning to single-handedly break into one of the Great Sects.  On the path ahead, a cluster of purple-robed disciples stood at the wooden gate set into the pale stone of the mountain. From his convenient and super dignified position hiding behind some rocks, Wei Wuxian could peek around and observe them without even needing to crouch behind a bush like a particularly pathetic deer-slash-burglar.  “My sister knows Sect Leader Lan,” a young-ish one was saying to the gate guard, who looked deeply uninterested in who his sister may or may not know. Then new Lan cultivators were arriving, carrying stretchers with strange figures on them, and in the commotion Wei Wuxian was able to get a little closer still to observe the Jiang and the configuration of the Cloud Recesses wards.  As the handsome disciple leading the group with stretchers headed through the gates, Wei Wuxian couldn’t help a little excited shuffle in place. Even these young cultivators could look so cool!  His foot made the faintest sound against the stones where he was hiding. Wei Wuxian froze as the leading Lan’s stony face turned towards his hiding spot. He quickly went flat against the rock, perfectly still, and counted his most silent possible breaths. A moment, two, and he could hear footsteps going up the steps into the Cloud Recesses, then fading into the background murmuring of the Jiang. Wei Wuxian slumped and let out a quiet hiss. Way too close—he’d come much too far to get caught now.

[ghirasdagger]

disclaimer for the theory i am about to present: im not saying any of this is, or should be, cannon, it’s a semi- headcannon that i find interesting.

i feel like it’s been fairly well established that the whole “rito evolved from the Zora” thing really raises more questions than it solves. I mean sure, the presence of both in botw can be explained by speciation, in which two groups of the same species becoming so geographically separated they emerge as two different species. but that doesn’t change the fact that the basis of the ritos creation is based on the idea that Zoras (creatures who live in the water) would have to evolve into creatures with wings because…hyrule was flooded? It could be explained by the idea that zoras are like dolphins and needed to breathe air but, that can be done without flying and Sidon is depicted as having gils (pic below).

Because of this, i kinda came up with my own theory for the rito that i feel like is a lot simpler and fits well with the timeline anyway.

thinking back to the end of skyward sword, it’s heavily implied that the people skyloft eventually colonize the surface, starting with Link and Zelda. As we can see in later games (most prominently ocarina of time), Hylians are an entirely land-based people. i would assume that over time, the people of skyloft/the hylians spent more and more time on land, using their loft wings to travel to the sky less and less. While the loftwings can travel to the surface once the cloud barrier has been dispelled (as they do at the end of sksw cutscenes), they are air-borne creatures who need to fly.

It’s my theory that the loftwings, now remaining in the sky while their masters have less and less use for them, have to become a bit more independent and more organized for the purpose of survival with less help from their previous owners. The loftwings are clearly intelligent creatures, able to sense the presence of their skyloftian counterparts in skyward sword, and being able to decide who their rider will be as children (although i understand that has a bit more to do with fate, ik). Eventually, over the thousands, tens of thousands (??) of years during which the minish cap, four swords, and oot take place, the loftwings evolve into the rito, albeit very slowly.

This explains a lot of things imo. The lack of rito up until wind waker is explained by the loftwings/rito still being mostly sky-bound and not evolved enough to act as a civilized race with the other peoples in tloz. It explains the coexistence of both zoras and ritos in botw and totk. the only thing it doesn’t account for is the lack of zoras in wind waker, but with how much water there is in that game, a case can easily be made for them just being somewhere else. Also this theory in its nature negates some of wind waker’s plot.

just some thoughts, also ik this is impossible given when the games were all made. This is purely based on the canon timeline given in hyrule historia

[sass-squat]

Which Link would most likely win the Hunger Games?

This has probably already been done but regardless we're still gonna do it! Anyways, we are ignoring the canon age limits for the games so hear me out, I know the obvious answer is probably Wild but consider the many other strengths, advantages, and strategies the other Links could utilize when all fighting against each other. Any magical abilities or items involving time travel are banned however cause that's CHEATING.

Time - One word. MASKS. He’s got 3 masks that change his form giving him an advantage in various settings. Deku mask for the sky/forest, Goron for the mountains and volcanoes, and Zora for the water. There are also the Stone and All-night masks to consider especially in these circumstances. And of course there’s the Fierce Deity mask which would be great for taking out other tributes but be honest, do you REALLLLY think Time could or would use it against any of his boys?

Twilight - I’ll be honest he doesn’t have a lot going for him weapons wise but he DOES have sheer brute strength and his ability to turn into Wolfie. He can easily track other tributes before they find him and sneak up on them in wolf form since most won’t consider their enemy coming in the form of a wolf. Plus, he doesn’t really have disadvantages terrain wise and fellow animals will likely like him and be willing to help him which is a win.

Sky - Remember y’all this man is a GOD KILLER so he will not be afraid to do what needs to be done. Plus he’s got Skyward Strikes for dayyyyyys and he’s definitely got an advantage in terrains that require battles in the sky or that take place on high ground. Not only that, he’s the best swordsman in the group so that is something to consider. However his stamina does leave something to be desired.

Warriors - This man doesn’t really have any special weapons other than his sword and fire rod but what he DOES have is his charisma and military leadership experience. In the famous words of Haymitch, “When you’re in the middle of the Games and you’re starving or freezing, some water, a knife, or even some matches can mean the difference between life and death. And those things only come from sponsors.” Warriors has a lot of experience rallying and leading armies so I believe he would be able to form alliances among tributes and lead them accordingly. Not only that, but you cannot convince me he wouldn’t have the Capitol completely wrapped around his finger and be able to get sponsors left and right.

Legend - Jesus Christ what DOESN'T this guy have? He's got everything from weapons to rings to magic to all boost his chances for survival. Not only that, but he's also got experience to back up his crazy arsenal. You wanna know what he doesn't have though? A good personality. This man would probably make the Capitol HATE him within the first five minutes of meeting him, and everyone knows how the Capitol reacts to people who disobey and rebel against them. So while he himself may not have many disadvantages, the Capitol itself would likely be his biggest enemy.

Hyrule - Listen, Hyrule may not have any fancy sword fighting techniques but he is damn good at magic and I believe that that skill alone would be a massive advantage. Especially when you consider how he could use his healing magic to cure himself and allies which is something no one else would really be able to do without aid from sponsors. On top of that, his ability to turn into a fairy could make hiding from other tributes easier. Plus, his Hyrule (pun intended) is likely just as bad as any Hunger Games setting poison/toxins wise so he already has a lot of experience surviving in environments whose sole goal is to try to kill you.

Wild - Oh boy, it's the man the myth the semi-feral king of survival himself! Whatever survival skill it may be Wild has got it and is simply there to have a good bad time! This guy is a master of just about every weapon out there in addition to being able to run like mad and climb entire cliffs in seconds. Wild also has the ability to scavenge and cook food from what he finds and brew potions that boost his physical state in various ways. That is of course assuming he can find a cooking pot AND that the smoke/fire won't draw the attention of other tributes. However, I believe his biggest weakness would be his inability to NOT break every single weapon he finds. Fighting the literal calamity with nothing but a tree branch and a pot lid may have worked at the time, but fighting fellow incarnations of the Hero who all have similar skill sets and abilities is another story.

Four - I honestly think that Four could win the Games mainly because nobody could find him for the vast majority of it. Like, he could easily pull a Lucy Gray Baird and just shrink into a Minish and wait out the majority of the games. But in the case that he IS discovered or when the others have killed each other off, there are very few people know about Four's ability to split into four people and so he could easily split and perform a surprise attack of sorts and strike as four people rather than the expected one. His biggest disadvantage however, is his small size and any sort of intense weather. Opponents larger and stronger than him could likely overpower him and any rain or dramatic weather could be dangerous as a Minish.

Wind - I swear this kid runs on spite and sheer stubborn determination most days. This kid forcibly dragged the Triforce from the bottom of the ocean and stabbed the King of Evil in the head as a child do you really think he'd die easily in the Hunger Games? Anyways, I would say weapons wise Wind's greatest advantage is his fire, ice, and light arrows. While they do take magic, getting hit by any of those arrows would cause major damage if not instant death for any opponent. In addition to that, he would have a great advantage in any water-based terrain and his ability to manipulate the wind could be used in a number of circumstances as well. However, while he is very strong due to his power bracelets, his shorter physical stature would still likely put him at a disadvantage against larger opponents.

[shey-meine]

TMNT (2k12) fanfic

When it counts

warnings: none, a bit of fight. No t-cest cus ugh

" " for talking

' ' for thinking

-- for times skips and suchs

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

It was a normal night, they were just going on patrol.

"Aaaaah, I'm bored, duuudes. We've been waiting for something to happen for like, 4 hours" Mikey complained while swinging his feet.

"Mikey, calm down, okay? When we get home you can play video games or watch, but right now, focus" Leo answered, without looking in Mikey's direction.

- 1 hour later -

The night really was boring. Leo just kept in the edge of the building, looking out for foot or the kraang, Raph kept playing with his weapons, and Donnie was in his cellphone.

Upon seeing them distracted, Mikey silently started jumping from one roof to another, in the pizzeria's direction. As much as they say that Mikey isn't a good ninja since he's too loud, he can be silent if he wants or needs to.

'It won't hurt if I go out for like, 5 minutes to get a pizza, will it? There's nothing happening, I'll even get one more for them' Mikey thought, already thinking about the delicious pizza. [Have in consideration that the pizzeria was a lil bit far, for plot reasons]

How wrong he was

- going back to the group -

5 minutes after Mikey was gone foot bots appeared out of thin air, sneaking up on the group. Good thing they were trained ninjas, and no one could sneak up on them so easily, even with them distracted.

Leo drew his swords, Raph already attacking some of the foot, along with Donnie, who had put his cellphone in his belt and was already knocking some bots himself. 'Where's Mikey?!' was the first thing Leo thought the moment he started the fight.

It had already passed 10 minutes and the foot bots kept coming, and no sign of Mikey. They were all starting to get tired. Waves of foot bots coming non-stop. And worst? Fish face and Razar had appeared.

Razar and Fish face were able to lure them inside a warehouse into a trap, capturing them in separated cages [like the ones in that one episode, but the bars thicker and the key hole only outside]. "Finally, after all this time, we captured the turtles!" Razar said, with a creepy smile in his face. "Yes, master Shredder will be pleased" Fish face complemented. "But it seems like we are missing one, the annoying one"

Razar growled at that "Michelangelo"

"Yes, that one"

"Don't worry, he's the weakest of them. If we were able to capture those freaks, he will be no challenge. But let's wait here, until he comes to 'rescue' his family" Razar said with a laugh

While they talked, the oldest tried to pick on the lock, without success, his arms too huge to pass the bars of the cage. [I feel like something's wrong, but Idk how to correct]. He saw the mutants distracted and began to use his kunai [it's like a dagger] to try and cut part of the cage so his arm could pass and he'd finally be able to pick the lock.

Raphael tried, at any cost, to get OUT of this freaking cage. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. Only HE could call his brother weak. And while [he believed] it was true, it gave them NO RIGHT to talk about his little brother like that.

Donnie tried to contact April and Jones at any cost. While he hated how the mutants were speaking about his only lil brother, he knew they were right, Mikey WAS the weakest of them, he always got distracted and ended up getting caught in some trap or into the enemies' grasp.

- back to Mikey - 

Mikey was back just in time to see his Bros fighting Razar and Fish face, going to a warehouse. He carefully put the pizza box in a corner of the roof, following the others from the roof.

He had a bad feeling, he felt like he shouldn't enter the warehouse, and how right he was. From the warehouse roof's window he could see them falling into a trap right into the cages. He gasped. 'Oh no, what will they do with my bros??'

Panic begin to form in Mikey's mind. 'Okay, calm down. You got this.' He takes a deep breath and go back to observe the enemies' movements.

'Okay, they're not trying to get them to Shredder yet, so they probably think I'll appear and fall right into their trap.' He thought, as he saw the two mutants hiding in the shadows.

A grin passed across Mikey face. 'Luck for me, I have my pranks' things with me. You never know when you can prank someone' he caught a smoke bomb 'or rescue, in that case'

He was going to have so much fun.

- focus on inside the warehouse now -

Leo was getting frustrated. The metal bar from the cage was too thick, it was difficult to cut through it. Out of nowhere, he saw a smoke bomb in the middle of the place. 'Oh no, Mikey! He'll fall right into their trap!'

Leo wanted to speak, but Mikey was faster and interrupted him. "Heyyy, bros! How did you get into cages? Man, good thing I'm good with locks, I'll get you guys out in no time!" Mikey said, with a wide grin.

"Hehe, I don't think so, freak" Razar said, with another grin and his claws ready to attack.

Mikey's face dropped. "Oh, man! It's Razar!" He said, while getting his nunchakus ready. "That's right, and he's not alone, turtle" Fish face also appeared.

"MIKEY! GET OUT OF HERE!! ASK CASEY AND APRIL'S HELP!"

Donnie said, desperated, only to see a big grin in Mikey's face when he turned to face his brothers, not looking at his opponents. 'Hell be attacked, face your enemies, Mikey, stop getting distracted!'

Just as Razar and Fish Face were advancing on Mikey, they heard a click sound, and stopped, looking confused [I never understood why the villains stop, like, really, WHY?] and they looked up, in time to see a bunch of water balloons falling into their faces.

"Argh, it entered in my eyes!" Razar said, irritation in his voice. Mikey was laughing "Well, they say that dogs don't like water, just didn't think it was so much"

"You stupid little-" now it was Fish face's turn to try and attack Mikey, who was able to dodge easily. "Hey, chill out, bro" he said, jumping on top of a box.

"Hey, Fish face, do you like fireworks?" MIKEY asked, with a innocent smile. "Just SHUT UP, FREAK!" Fish face said, trying to attack Mikey again by kicking the boxes to make the other fall.

Mikey did a flip, and in the middle of it, he threw his little "bombs" [the ones he used when the turtles infiltrated Shredder's lair] into Fish face's face.

Just as he reached the ground, he was sent flying to the wall. He had forgotten about Razar. Good thing he was a good ninja, so instead of hitting the wall, he copied Spider-Man moves and used his two feet to prevent his arms from getting crushed in the wall.

"Aw, Razar, calm down, I'll reach to you, I was just playing with Fish face. Wait for you turn" he said, looking with a innocent like he didn't know he was provoking the other. And how DARE he provoke Razar?

A roar was heard and Razar charged against Mikey. The turtle, who hasn't gotten his weapons yet, finally drew his weapons, using his kusarigama's chains to catch Fish face, that was still stunned in the ground because of the "fireworks", and throw him into Razar.

"Oh yeah, baby, a strike!" Mikey said, doing a little dance, but stopping as soon as he heard a sound of mechanical legs. Razar and Fish face, with a lot of foot bots.

"Hehe, now you're at disadvantage. Foot bots, attack him"

- little back in time to see the turtles -

Meanwhile, Leo was almost cutting the bar [the second cut, since only one would'nt help, let's be honest]. He stopped when he heard mini-explosion sounds and looked to see Mikey dancing while Razar and Fish face were one on top of the other.

"Wow, he's actually winning against those two!" Donnie commented with a surprise face, his T-phone forgotten in his hand. Their relief dissipated the moment they saw the foot bots and the two mutants surrounding Mikey.

- okay, back to see Mikey kicking BUTT haha -

Mikey was dodging every single foot bot with such ease, it almost looked like he was dancing. He used all the space around him, avoiding the places that were in Razar and Fish face's direction. He was also able to dodge those two when they tried to attack him along with the foot bots. Mikey kept using his kusarigama's blade to cut through the foot bots and land a hit on Razar's back and Fish face's legs.

The turtles were surprised by how EASY Mikey was dodging and landing attacks on his opponents, and it looked like he wasn't even trying. Leo even stopped trying to cut through the bars, just watching his little brother in awe.

Mikey then gets one of the foot bots stuck in his kusarigama's blade and spin it, hitting the other bots, and throwing it on Razar. Who was obviously getting frustrated.

"You know what? Xever, just get the turtles and get out of here, we can deal with this one later" Razar said, while retreating.

Mikey's eyes went white and his smile vanished. They would NEVER get away with Mikey's brother. Mikey threw his shurikens [ninja stars] at the lamps in the ceiling, making everything dark.

No one could see anything, and the turtles, normally able to sense their little brother, now didn't sense anything at all other than their two enemies. Did Mikey abandoned them? Obviously no. But then, how could they NOT sense him? He was the worst in hiding his presence.

"Grrr, this little- no matter, I can still smell and hear him" Razar said.

Right as this sentence got out of his mouth, he was hit by two feet in his face, the force so strong that he feel in the ground, unconscious. The brothers just listened the mutant's head hitting the floor, wondering if it was their little brother that did this.

Fish face couldn't see anything, and Mikey knew it. So okay, if they almost got his brothers to SHREDDER of all people, he was going to play a little with Fish face, scaring him, confusing him.

Mikey closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He could hear and feel Fish face, his mechanical leg making too much noise in a silent room. He grinned. He threw a lil "bomb" by the Fish's feet, scaring him and making him lose balance, while he got behind and made him trip, vanishing right as Fish face tried to punch him, appearing there and there, always throwing his little bombs in the red mutant.

His brothers could see, with the little light of the bombs, glimpses of Mikey. Impressed by how FAST the turtle was moving. They knew that, between them, Mikey was the fastest, but they often forget how MUCH.

After some time, he decided that this was enough and knocked out Fish face.

The turtles them felt the presence of their little brother again, along with hearing a metal clang, and they could tell the cages were open. "C'mom, bros, they won't stay out for long". As they ran through the rooftop, no one could stop being impressed. They often forget how good Mikey is when he put his mind into doing it. Specially if it's his brothers.

"Oh, man! forgot my pizza in the rooftop!" Mikey groaned, putting his hands in his head. "Can we go back, pleeeeeease?"

Leo chuckled "No, not go back, but we can buy pizza in the way, you deserve it, Mikey"

"Yeah, little brother, you were amazing today! You kicked their butts like it was nothing!" Raph said, amazed. "Yeah, Mikey, and the trap you made with the water balloons was really smart!" Donnie complemented with a small smile in Mikey's direction.

Mikey smiled "Aww, thanks, bros."

[satoshi-mochida]

AMEDAMA coming to PS5 on November 21 - Gematsu

Publisher and developer IzanagiGames, and developer ACQUIRE will release a PlayStation 5 version of side-scrolling, soul-shifting sandbox action adventure game AMEDAMA alongside the previously announced Switch version on November 21. Wishlisting is available now via PlayStation Store.

AMEDAMA first launched in Early Access for PC via Steam on March 22, followed by a full release on September 12.

Here is an overview of the game, via IzanagiGames:

About

Yushin and his sister Yui run the local umbrella shop. One evening, as rain falls outside, a group of men burst in, killing Yushin before Yui’s eyes. With nothing but his soul remaining, Yushin must fight tooth and nail, possessing any body he can on the quest to find his sister and uncover the truth behind her disappearance. With only seven days left before his soul fades away, can he save her in time? Transport yourself to feudal Japan in the last years of the Edo period, and experience a tale of rain and reincarnation, brought to life with striking new 2D visuals.

Story

Aihama, Japan. The final years of the Edo period. One rain-drenched evening, a group of men burst into the town’s brother and sister-run umbrella shop. Yushin is cut down in front of his sister Yui, leaving her alone in the world. The next thing he knows, he is looking down at his own stricken corpse—a soul without a body. The grim incident shatters the peace in this quiet backwater. Lurking beneath the surface is an intricate, deep-rooted plot, shrouded in mystery. Until Yui is safe, not even death is enough to extinguish Yushin’s soul. He’ll stop at nothing on his quest, shifting from body to body, possessing anyone and anything to rescue his sister. But with just seven days before his soul departs this world—can he save Yui in time? This is a tale of rain, reincarnation, and revenge.

Key Features

Soul-Shifting Showdowns – Lacking a physical form, you’ll need to shift your soul to other bodies on the quest to find your sister. Possession puts you in complete control of whoever and whatever you inhabit, giving you access to a variety of weapons and fighting styles. Depending on your current body, you’ll face different foes and encounter new faces on your incorporeal journey.

Inclement Intrigue – This human drama plays out against the rain-soaked backdrop of mid 19th century Japan, rendered in an evocative pixel style. In the sombre world of AMEDAMA, beauty and darkness are two sides of the same coin.

Reincarnation, Repercussions – As you relive the same seven day period over and over again, your choices will impact the story unfolding around you. Who will you speak to? How will you intervene? The decisions, and the outcomes, are all up to you.

Counteraction Using the Sword Technique of Usetsu Tensei Sword Style – Where Yushin, having mastered the key to battles, employs the technique known as ‘Misty Riposte.’ By countering the opponent’s attacks, significant damage is dealt in a counteraction.

Staff

Development / Marketing: IzanagiGames

Planning: Acquire

Character Design: lack (Fate/Grand Order, Touken Ranbu)

Soundtrack: Yuko Komiyama (Monster Hunter series)

[bokettochild]

Legend vs Sky, who would win?

Okay, this has been lingering in my ask box for a bit because my golly gosh, I'm not sure what it was meant for.

Like, there are so many ways you could compare them, but for the sake of my sanity (and orientation) I'm going to just say you're asking about who would win in a fight.

So!

Both Legend and Sky have training under the Master Sword's spirit. Obviously, Sky was in a knight's academy for an unspecified amount of his life, but he also had Fi teach him how to be a hero who could kill a god. And yeah, Sky killed a literal god, so we have that weighing in for him.

Now, Legend was taught some skills of being a knight by his uncle, but only right before the man died. if you go with Manga lore though, his grandfather has also attempted to teach him their heritage and the ways of their family line of knights. On top of this though, I would like to point out that Legend spent nearly his first adventure with hardly any training, but he is, cannonically, capable of hearing Fi, so it's likely she gave him a lot of help too, since the hero before him kinda died without her aid (to be fair, he had Navi, and two blue ladies screaming at him would have been too muc for him).

So both have training. Sky's training as a knight is iffy though, since the only thing Skyloftain knights needed to do was fight aerially. Still, he knows how to weild a blade. Granted, Legend's is also iffy, as he was, quite frankly, a terrible student.

Experience wise, Sky had a long and arduous adventure that relied heavily on his skills with a blade.

Legend has had six adventures, but typically speaking, he was using a lot of weapons that were not swords during the main journeys, and most of his actual sword fighting skills were only employed with boss fights.

Sky killed Demise.

Legend killed Ganon.

Now, Demise is clearly the greater foe, being a god, but I would like to throw out, before I break down a fight between these two, that by Legend's time, Ganon was an immortal being with infinite power per the Triforce, so... kinda of bordering god-hood. All of Legend's adventures have also focused on saving deity's, or their avatars, so that would imply that he is someone powerful enough to fight things that a literal goddess cannot handle.

Sky, however, has done the same.

Now, if they were to fight each other, we'd have an interesting situation before us. According to JoJo, Sky is the most skilled swordsman in the group, and he's scary fast and scary skilled. Legend is not nearly as skilled as Sky, or graceful, but the vet does have more experience, meaning he'd be less likely to really fight Sky head on in an honest to goodness battle. Legend's style, most likely, would be more defensive and evasive, since that's what works best when playing his games: avoid being in the path of destruction, and dart in to strike a blow right as your opponent is recovering from attacking you.

Sky is also much larger than Legend, and probably a great deal stronger; Sky can run around carrying a tower of pumpkins and Legend needs a power bracelet to pick up clay pots. Legend does have speed on his side, but take that away and his chances go down.

I'd say in a fight, Sky would definitely win. If they were using swords. If limited to blade alone, Sky would just have to slow Legend down, and then he could take him outr quite easily.

That said, in a fight were Legend has full access to his arsenal, there's a good chance he would win. He's better skilled with multiple weapons, and with the use of his items, he could hamper movement, create barriers, and even turn himself intangible for short periods of time to avoid heavy blows (magic cape). Granted full use of his arsenal, and with Legend adaptiveness in battle and resourcefulness, he could manage, with a lot of effort, to take Sky down.

In a one on one, mano y mano fight though, with only basic tools, Legend is getting his ass handed to him.

Lets not forget though, Sky would compliment him regardless. In case you haven't noticed, Legend is his best friend in the chain, or so far anyway, so if these two fought, yeah, they'd give their best. They're both competitive power-houses, but Sky is a good sport (most of the time) so he'd play nice after the fight is over, and we've seen that Legend isn't incapable of showing his respect for another's skill either.

[scarletwritesshit]

Yosuke Hanamura x F!Reader ❀ Town of Blossoms ❀ June 17th, 2013

Yosuke’s birthday was creeping up on you, and fast. You still had yet to actually get him a gift for his birthday. It wasn’t something that you had forgotten about, but rather, it was something that you could not quite make up your mind on. It had to be something thoughtful, something that wouldn’t just end up in a drawer after a week, all while remaining within a reasonable price range. If money were not a concern, you would have that young man a motorcycle without a second thought.

Still at a loss for ideas, you gazed out your window at the flowers below, hoping to think of something eventually. He already bought all of the video games that he wanted, and he most likely does not have any interest in corny goodie bags one would typically resort to as a present. If all else fails, a gift card or some cash could save you at the last moment, though you were trying to avoid giving him something that felt so soulless.

Mindlessly staring through the window watching the flowers dance in the breeze wasn’t going to do you much good. A walk through the town could perhaps exercise your mind and strike you with some inspiration.

The small problem with finding a gift in Inaba is that it really wasn’t all that. The scale of the small town was blown far out of proportion with the sensational news of the murders being spread beyond neighboring cities and towns. In fact, the only noteworthy thing was the large Junes where many people who had left their house would crowd within on any given day. Besides that, there was hardly anything else worthy of being considered as an attraction. Most there was to do was go to the park. It simply consisted of small-town staples; a gas station, pharmacy, school, struggling restaurants, and the obligatory department store monopoly.

Which meant, no easy solution to finding a suitable gift locally.

Despite the corporate slop and struggling small businesses, Daidara Metalworks remained standing strong. A part of you feared that without the Investigation Team in constant need of new weapons, a large source of his income would be gone. Thankfully, his craft managed to stand the test of time, and you figured that paying Daidara a visit would perhaps be your best bet in finding something unique to give to Yosuke.

When you opened the door, the blacksmith was as focused as you’d expect him to be. Hammering away at what looked to be a knife, he couldn’t take his eyes off of his work for one moment to spare you a welcoming glance.

"Take your time," Master Daidara said, when he heard the doorbell ring.

"Thank you, sir," you said.

When he stopped hammering away at the blade, he turned to look at you, and his face lit up with a gentle expression of surprise.

"Oh, it’s you. Haven’t seen you or your little group of friends around recently."

"I guess you’re right. No need to be constantly arming ourselves when there is no murderer to defend from."

"Eh, it’s for the best," he said as he began to sharpen the blade. "You in the market for anything specific?"

"A gift for a friend," you said, browsing the shelves packed with different weapons and trinkets.

"Are we talking friend, or friend?" he asked, narrowing his eyes at you.

"...Something in between?"

"Thats tough, kid. Well, if I knew your friends, then they probably don’t have a use for a sword any more. Not like they can just go carrying one around Inaba these days, anyway."

"And I feel like a metal decoration would stick out like a sore thumb in his room..." you said, half talking to yourself.

"If you’re looking for something that’s not made of metal, then I’m afraid you’ve come to the wrong place."

"You have a point. But where else would I find something that isn’t mass produced junk?"

"Well there’s flower stands."

"Those’ll die in a week, and knowing him, even sooner."

"Hmm, looking for something to stand the test of time, are you?"

"Preferably" you said, still looking through the metalwork.

"Wait here, kid," he said, shifting through some of miscellaneous items on the shelves behind the counter. "I might have something for you, then."

You watched as he searched through various crafts big and small. He seemed to know exactly what he was looking for and where it rested, as his search was less erratic and more focused. It was perhaps the most organized chaos you’ve seen in a shop, as every item he displaced was put neatly back to where it belonged.

After a few moments, he pulled out a metal bracelet, adorned with small, pink gems, and held out towards you it in his massive palms.

"Not sure if this’ll fit what you’re looking for, but I know for a fact that it will hold up pretty damn well."

You leaned in to get a closer look. The metal had a dull golden shine to it, and many small pink gemstones arranged with the appearance of small flower petals were inlaid. The bracelet was small enough to not stand out as an eyesore, yet far more than a mere bangle.

"A little experimental project I made outta boredom. Never formally put it out because people don’t come here lookin’ for jewelry."

"It’s...perfect, actually."

"I’ll sell it to you cheap then. ¥20,000 and it’s all yours."

With the bracelet wrapped in some cloth that Daidara was generous enough to provide, you thanked him as you tucked it under your arm and made your way out the door. The coast appeared to be clear, so you merely carried it in your hand instead of trying to hold a lump of metal under your arm the entire way back. Now that you were out in the sun, you had a chance to admire it for real. You unwrapped the loose cloth and watched the golden metal dully shine in the sunlight, contrasted by the many small pink crystals arranged like the summer flowers around Inaba.

It reminded you most of the field of flowers outside of your window, though. Thick… beautiful patches of pink, with each crystal separated only by the golden metal…it was almost like you were giving him a batch of flowers picked from that very field. It was even better than that, however, as pink gemstones and golden metal had no chance of dying out. Fitting for a friendship fated to stand the test of time. Or, even better than a friendship-

"Yo! Didn’t expect to see you out and about!"

You quickly wrapped the bracelet back into the cloth, attempting to make it appear as least bracelet-shaped as possible. The one time you were hoping to not run into him, of course he would show up now. Yosuke coasted down the side of the street and stopped beside you, arguably a miraculous feet given his tendency to crash.

"Isn’t it a bit early for you to be out and about?" you asked, attempting to keep his attention off of the bracelet.

"What do you mean? I’m always off by this time, dummy!"

You turned on your phone for a moment to confirm the time. It was indeed, well past the hour where Yosuke got off of his shift.

Just how long has your mind and body been out wandering, anyways?

"Oh. I guess you’re right," you said.

"Didja lose track of time or something?" he asked, giving you a pat on the shoulder.

"It would seem that way."

"And you call me the clutz" he said with a laugh, "come on, I’ll walk with you back to your place.”

He slid off of his bike and stood beside you as he waited for you to begin walking back. There was no easy (or kind) way of getting out of this one, so you held the bracelet in your hand opposite of him, trying to keep it out of his view. To further assist in distracting him, you attempted to drag on conversations for as long as you could.

It wasn’t a dreadfully long walk, but it felt like forever trying to keep his attention while avoiding the topic of what you were carrying along with you. Thankfully, once you arrived in front of your doorstep, Yosuke waved you off and shot down the street on his bike. It would’ve been best to duck inside your house as quick as possible, but he took off with such admirable speed that he stole your attention for the briefest of moments.

It was subconsciously another excuse gaze upon your dear friend, though it wasn’t so bad having a caring gaze upon him in the event he crashes, like expected.

Once he was far out of sight, you went back into your house. Finally, you could stop holding the bracelet with such desperation to keep it hidden, and you uncovered it from the cloth on your bead. Without the fear of Yosuke looking over your shoulder, you could freely observe it under the sunlight pouring in through your window. The pink crystals twinkled and shone as you rotated the bracelet around to better observe the craftmanship. As your gaze shifted between the pink crystals and the flowers they so closely resembled, you began to wonder…

…Would Yosuke actually have any use from the bracelet? Would he even like it in the first place?

Thinking back, perhaps you should’ve opted for a safer option like money after all. Far less worrying over if he would like it or not. Nobody could say no to receiving money as a gift. Not to mention, he would likely be a bit apprehensive about wearing that thing outside of his house.

Despite these worries, you thought back to the way he smiled every time he was with you, how he went out of his way to always include you without so much of a hint of wanting compensation, and how genuine the bond between the two of you felt. You were always the first to stand up for him whenever his friends or even a Shadow bullied him, one way or another. The deep caring between you two was a mutual feeling, and Yosuke would surely be ecstatic with whatever you decided on as a gift.

Perhaps you truly were overthinking things, and everything was going to be okay after all.

[dailycharacteroption]

Hybrid Class Review: Brawler part 2

(art by Vora on Artstation)

Utility and Builds

Now that we have an idea of what the brawler is, let’s do a breakdown of what the class can do and how it can be used!

As you probably guessed, the brawler is a full combat class with the associated full attack bonus, as well as proficiency with not just their unarmed attacks, but also weapons from the close category, (so any weapon that is mounted on a gauntlet, held in the hand and punched with, or otherwise has a small, handheld design), as well as short swords and handaxes, while also favoring light armor and most shields aside from tower shields. All of which favors the class’s style of getting in nice and intimate with your foes.

Additionally, as a group that focuses on close combat and mental flexibility, these brawlers automatically qualify for certain combat feats with a minimum intelligence requirement, so you don’t have to worry so much about putting one of your moderately good ability scores towards intelligence if you don’t want to.

The most iconic ability of the brawler, however, is their martial flexibility, allowing them to temporarily gain combat feats they qualify for a few times per day. This represents them thinking outside the box in a fight and surprising foes with techniques that they might have seen before and not quite mastered yet, or even just made up on the fly. At first, they can only gain one such feat at a time, but as they grow in power, they can gain more, either splitting them up among different feat trees, or filling out a branch on a single true with a single use (assuming they meet the other prerequisites). In fact, they get so good at this that they can do it faster at the cost of not gaining as many feats, or take longer to gain more.

Naturally, as a hybrid of monk and fighter, these brawlers also qualify for feats locked behind those classes, though obviously a brawler without a ki pool can’t make use of any that require such a thing. Special techniques that are represented by feats, on the other hand, are fair game.

Like a monk, brawlers deal increased damage with their unarmed strikes, based upon their level and their size category, and they can freely choose to deal lethal or nonlethal damage with them, even when grappling.

Naturally, they also gain extra combat feats to begin with as well. What’s more, brawlers have a limited ability to retrain old combat feats that simply don’t do anything for them as they grow in skill as well, a useful feature to have, especially with a character that is constantly making temporary additions to their skill set.

While they don’t get the exact same benefits as the monk’s flurry of blows, these brawlers do get a flurry of their own, gaining extra attacks as if they were two-weapon fighting, which only grows as they do, making them able to unleash a storm of blows upon foes.

They also train to perfect various combat maneuvers, letting them pick their favorites and gain bonuses to them as they trip, grapple, disarm, or otherwise gain advantage in combat against their foes.

They also gain an equivalent to the monk’s AC bonus, which is based on level rather than wisdom, and lets them wear light armor and still gain the benefits.

Oftentimes, whether it’s a prize fight or a back alley brawl, sometimes you just need to put a foe on the ground as quickly as possible, even if they get up moments later. As such, these brawlers can declare a knockout blow, aiming their strike at the foe’s cranium or other body part with a blow that could potentially knock a foe out for several seconds if they fail to resist.

Their training also hardens their fists, letting them bypass various forms of damage reduction as they grow in power.

Additionally, if they prefer using actual close weapons rather than their fists, they also train to apply a reduced version of the increase to damage dice they grant their unarmed strikes to such weapons, ensuring those weapons remain a viable strategy for them if they prefer the benefits of the weapon type or enchantments applied to them.

The more powerful among them can deliver an incredibly potent blow that can actually send foes flying as long as they aren’t too much bigger than them.

The most powerful of them, however, can deliver this powerful blow as part of any string of attacks against foes of any size.

Of course, like all other classes, an alternate capstone ability showed up in Chronicle of Legends, in this case, becoming Perfect Warriors that are even harder to land a clean hit on than others.

Among the more generic alternate capstones, Old Dog, New Tricks gives them an expanded arsenal of combat techniques to make them true masters; Perfect Body, Flawless Mind can place their physical capabilities beyond the limits of mortals; Meanwhile, The Boss could represent them founding a training academy, running a fighting ring, being the leader of a military or a mercenary company, and so on. Additionally, With this Sword could be used to represent one of their weapons, shield, or armor becoming so legendary as to become an artifact; while Won’t Stay Dead could represent a truly unkillable warrior.

As we can see, the Brawler class has a lot to offer in terms of flexibility in combat. If there was ever a time to really experiment with the crazy things you can do with combat feats, the brawler is a perfect place to check that out. However, that flexibility is also arguably the class’s greatest weakness as well. After all, a system based on the 3.5 d20 system has a LOT of feats in it, and in order to get the most out of the class you likely have to dig create for yourself a separate list of combat feats for different situations, as well as keep track of which ones you actually have and which ones are in your separate list. As such, much like many spellcasters, it can be an intimidating class for a new player to play.

However, with proper organization and an idea of what feats work best for what situation, you can build a competent combat character that is as general or specialized as you want, and when the need for a specific feat comes up, you can grant yourself it. They only thing they really struggle with is ranged combat since they’re pretty much limited to thrown weapons unless you’re willing to spend feats or flexibility to gain weapon proficiencies, but otherwise you can be a hindering grappler, a powerhouse damage dealer, a dodging or hp tank, or even make a build specialized around the properties of your favorite close-quarters weapon, and then you can use flexibility to be even better at it, or temporarily become any of those other things!

Brawler is definitely a hybrid class that a lot of people liked, so much so that at least two fighter archetypes are centered around ripping off martial flexibility, which in my mind is a perfect measure of a successful class.

But that’s just the beginning for this hybrid class. Tomorrow, we’ll show what happens when you mix in archetypes!

[berriethewizard]

It's All On You (and you won't forget it) - Hyrule Warriors fic

Set during the War of Eras, Link and Ravio get captured by the turncoat organisation, and they play a little 'game' with a prototype weapon of Ravio's

content: Link & Ravio. Torture, whump, burns. More detailed tags and warnings on ao3. Wordcount: 2847

"Mr. Hero? Mr. Captain H-hero? Please, wake up..."

There's a tremor in the voice that calls out to Link. It pushes against his weak consciousness, pulling him up out of the fog and darkness of his mind into a different, much more threatening darkness. He groans, trying to open his eyes against the pounding in his head. The source of the voice is just on the tip of his tongue as what happened slowly solidifies in his head.

The battle. The Turncoats, going after high profile cross-era targets for ransom. They had darts, laced with something, and they couldn't dodge quick enough. He was with... Ravio!

"R..Ravio? That you?" He forces it out, still trying to get his body back under his control. Whatever they used to knock them both out, it was strong, disorienting him. He rolls onto his back, ignoring the rough ground digging into his bound hands, and finally gets his eyes open. 

They're in a classic, dingy cell. There's no windows, the only source of light the dim and flickering candles through the viewing port of the steel door that marks their only exit. Hooks of various sizes and heights are screwed into the walls, some bearing rusting chains and loose shackles, open and ominous. Ravio has curled himself into the furthest corner, hands also bound behind his back - but he looks at Link's open eyes with relief. 

"Oh, I'm so glad you're awake! I was worried that they had done something to keep you knocked out."

Link heaves himself up to sitting, shuffling backwards until he's up against the wall opposite the door. 

"I'm fine. How're you holding up, mate?" 

"I'm... okay. Don't worry about me, Mr. Captain Hero! We just have to sit here and wait for the others to come rescue us, r-right?"

Link can tell he's terrified. Ravio's a non-combatant, he shouldn't even be here; in this cell, in that battle, in the war at all. And yet, he's been captured because he's important. Because he's part of this whole mess that was created. Because of Link. 

Realistically speaking, he cannot say when, or even if they'll come for them. Perhaps it's a better strategy to have the turncoat group waiting for a response from their army, stuck in one place babysitting the hostages until their demands are met. Maybe, one little hero without his triforce piece and a civilian merchant from another world simply aren't top priority with so many more powerful allies. He's only as important as his ability to wield the Master Sword, and sprout or the sailor can wield it just as well - he doesn't even know where it is. They took all their equipment, locked up in just under layers. They're defenceless. 

"They'll be here any minute," he replies. Whatever their allies' plans, it is his job to keep Ravio calm and out of harm's way. “I’m not gonna let anything happen to you.”

The minutes tick by in tense silence. Link tries to listen out for footsteps, any indication of the level of security they are restrained under. His ears twitch at each shuffle, each drip, drip, drip of water somewhere distantly leaking into the labyrinth of brick and steel they're trapped within. There seems to be at least one guard near enough to their cell to be audible, going off of the clearing of a throat every now and then, but beyond that it's a mystery. The chances of the both of them making any sort of escape without assistance is low - and the likelihood of them knowing where they’re located once they’re out is lower. 

Instead of dwelling on their poor odds, he turns back to Ravio. They took his robes, bunny hood, and scarf, and without the layers to obfuscate it Link can see just how small he is. He’s stick-thin, all bones and angles as he curls into the corner of the cell in nothing but a long tunic, tights, and his boots. He’s buried his head against his knees, and Link is only able to see his pointed ears sticking out his dark purple mop. They haven’t had many one on one conversations, but Link knows him well enough to know he’s still young - perhaps even still just a teenager. 

He’s once again hit with the sinking knowledge that this cross-era war is all so fucking unfair. 

The steel door screeches open. Link jumps, watching the door cautiously, and he catches Ravio picking his head up from the corner of his eye. He tries to subtly shift his body to be at least partially in front of Ravio - bound or not, they’ll go through him first. 

The man that pushes his way through the door is a brick wall of muscle, towering and intimidating. Another person steps in beside him, smaller and slimmer, but still clearly armed and trained, and a third blocks their exit. They all wear the insignia of the turncoats - a full on faction of those resisting the origins of the war, immobilised to interrupt all the army’s plans. Immobilised to punish him, for bringing horror to everyone’s doorstep. 

The largest man steps into the centre of the cell, leaning down to leer over the both of them.

“The hero and the rabbit - caught in our trap like the prey they are.”

Link clenches his jaw and glares something fierce. The man just chuckles.

“Oh? Is that supposed to scare me? I’m not the one bound–” he swings his leg back, “And cowering!” and kicks Link square in the ribs. 

Link’s head cracks against the floor, dizziness shaking through him in tandem with the pain as he’s all but flung to the ground at Ravio’s feet. He hears a fearful gasp, but he can’t orient himself fast enough to check on Ravio before he’s being grabbed and pulled up to standing by the front of his tunic. His head spins, not able to catch the orders barked around him - and then more hands are on him. When Link realises that they’re untying him, he takes the opportunity, swinging wildly at his captors in the effort of hitting something through the dizziness. All he gets is a fist to the stomach for his efforts. 

Within a moment, his wrists are bound together in front of him instead of behind, and he’s being dragged over to one of the rusted hooks screwed into the wall and hung upon it by his binds. His feet just about reach the floor, able to ease the strain of his arms if he’s up on his tiptoes, but he’s more occupied with the man leaning close into his personal space. 

“Y’know, I always wondered what that witch saw in you…” He takes a knife out from a concealed holster at his back and uses it to almost carefully rip his undershirt off. Link’s chest heaves as he’s exposed, cold air hitting his skin, and he flinches away as the man runs his hands over his entire torso, thumbing the edge of his binder and settling at his stomach. “But even now I don’t get it. You’re just some guy, you’re not special. Barely even any muscle mass. A weak, defenceless little hero who needs a whole army to come and save you.” The man squeezes his stomach, pushing against the blooms of red from the blunt force trauma, trying to elicit any reaction from him. Link breathes through the pain and tries not to show it on his face. Tries not to let his words get to him.

The man watches his face for a moment, before glancing back at his compatriots. 

“Nik, do you have it?” The smaller man, Nik, hands him something wrapped in cloth with a “here, Bost”, along with a glove. Link recognises it as a smithy’s, used to protect the hand when forging and handling hot metals. The glove is donned and the object unravelled carefully. 

It’s a metal rod. Uniform and straight, ends blunt and flat, about three centimetres thick. One side of it has faint carvings in a row, little symbols he cannot understand. There’s nothing inherently special about it - no decoration or flourishes, or even a handle, but something feels familiar about it. Then Ravio gasps, and dread fills his stomach.

“My prototype fireblade–!”

Link remembers Ravio showing him all the prototypes he was working on for the army. A blade as cold as ice, frozen shards exploding out of it to create a shield, or lace up the enemies’ own bodies and immobilise them. Shocking gauntlets, for working past armour in a close quarters fight, electrifying your opponent. And a sword that heats to scalding temperatures, which would later become a flaming blade to ignite through any enemy. Ravio was having trouble with that last one, worried the fire enchantment could interfere with the carefully tempered metal, and had first experimented with a simple steel rod to refine the temperature balancing. 

Link is suddenly very nervous for where this is heading. 

Bost leans away from Link, turning instead to face Ravio, who's been pulled onto his knees away from the wall and now cowers under the brandishing of his own invention. 

“We’ve had this in our arsenal for a while - you’re a bit shit at keeping track of your own equipment. You’re a bit shit at everything, though, aren’t you, little rabbit? Can’t fight, can’t save anyone, can’t even do something as simple as keep track of a single piece of metal.” He smirks down at Ravio. “Maybe now you’re reunited with it, we could give it a little test run. Really see just how powerful you managed to make it.” 

Link has only seen Ravio’s face a handful of times. He usually keeps it hidden under his hood, disguising his features and keeping him protected from eyes that wish to see him as someone else. It makes me feel safe, Ravio had told him once, to have this persona instead of being… myself.

“Now, here’s a question for you both: who’s going to be first?”

“I’ll do it.”

Link wishes, just once, that he’d be able to see Ravio’s face happy, smiling, carefree - and not the open fear and terror and guilt that is plastered across it as they make eye contact. 

“Good. I was hoping you’d jump in, hero.” 

Bost turns back to him, blatantly ignoring how Ravio begins crying out for him to stop. Link watches him approach, eyes never leaving the rod for more than a second, entire body tensing.

“Let’s play a game. Nik, grab the rabbit - and keep track of how much he pleads.” 

Link watches Ravio be further restrained, one hand on his bound wrists and the other pulling his hair to keep him watching what is about to unfold - and then a hand is snaking around Link’s throat and he’s making sickening eye contact with his captor.

“With every burn I press into your body, it’ll be for someone you’ve murdered. Each soldier that died because of your supposed importance, every captain and commander that has fallen to your blade for trying to actually end this war, all those from other worlds suffering because you can’t even fight by yourself. It’s all on you, hero. All of them. And I don’t want you to forget it.” 

The first press of the rod against the side of his ribcage is agony. It sears his nerves, unable to focus on anything else, heart racing. He manages to choke the scream down into a bitten off groan, but then the hand around his throat tightens and the rod is pulled away and pressed against him again, and again, lines of burnt flesh down his side, and he can’t do anything but gasp for relief. 

“Stop! Stop it PLEASE! STOP!” Ravio screams, voice cracking. Nobody listens. Bost shoves Link’s head into the wall, angling his face so he can’t help but look at Ravio and the next press is slow, right into the small of his waist. The sight of tears streaming down Ravio’s face is blurred by his own as he feels the scorching hot rod slowly drag across his skin, the smell of burnt flesh turning his stomach dangerously. 

And then the press is burning through all layers of his skin and Link is screaming.

Everything blurs into a haze of pain. He can’t control his body anymore, throat smarting on his own agony and ears deaf to anything but his own ragged breathing pulling apart his chest. Eventually, he realises it's stopped, wounds stretching because he’s gone limp upon the hook and his own weight is pulling them further apart. He can vaguely hear Ravio sobbing, and their captors laughing. 

Link’s face is grabbed.

“Now how about part two of the game?” He turns back to Ravio and Nik. “How many times did he beg, or plead, or ask for us to stop?”

“I counted thirteen.”

“Thirteen burns against the hero’s back it is, then.” 

Link feels the cold ice of terror rush down his spine. He struggles against being turned around, breath picking up against his will as he hears Ravio similarly start to panic. He tries to pull himself away by the arms as his front is pressed to the wall, but it only serves to push grit into his open wounds. Link moans in pain. 

“No, no no no, don’t do this, please!” Ravio begs. Nik tutts.

“Fourteen.”

“Wait, please, I didn’t–”

“Fifteen.”

Ravio breaks down into choked off wails. 

“A lovely rounded number,” Bost remarks, “Now: let's start at the top of your spine - I’m sure I can fit all fifteen in a row.” He pushes Link’s chest into the wall with one large hand on his shoulder, and presses the flat tip of the rod directly against the top of his spine.

“One.”

Link gasps, tensing his whole body and trying desperately to breathe through it. It’s like he can hear Bost grin as he pulls back the rod and presses it lower. 

“Two.”

He grits his teeth and pushes his forehead against the stone walls. The grit digs in, but its chill is a welcome distraction from the heat. 

“Three.”

The groans and shouts half push their way out of his throat regardless of his resistance. This one is pushed underneath the top strap securing his binder, and the leather rubs against the wound when he lays it back down.

“Four.” 

His lip bleeds from biting it so roughly. He can still hear Ravio sobbing. In the haze of pain, he reminds himself to comfort him when this is all over. 

“Five.” 

Burning, burning, burning flesh. He’s smelt it before, felt it before, consuming his arm whole and catching against his ear. Now it burns across his entire back, flaring out from his spine in an explosion of pain, pain, pain. 

“Six.”

Everything stops being coherent. 

“Seven…”

He floats through the pain like a turbulent ocean, scorching hot waves battering against his body and swallowing him whole. His mind is a constant flood of hot, too hot, stop, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts, please, it hurts, and his throat feels raw from screaming he isn’t hearing. His head pounds. He’s shaking.

“Ten…”

 He’s weak. Defenceless. Worthless. 

“Hmm, seems I spaced them out too far. Guess I’ll have to put the rest somewhere else.”

Another three are pressed in parallel with the first few at the top of his back, hot hot hot hothothotpleasestopitstooHOT, and the final one is seared directly against the back of his neck. 

Branded like the murderer he is.

Bost retreats from his back, leaving him hanging to admire his decorating. Link shivers against the cool stone and his blazing torso. He has no energy left to put on a brave face, tears mutely running down his cheeks and breaths heavy and ragged. Ravio’s sobs have quietened - or the fog of pain descended over his brain is interfering with his other senses. He vaguely hears a hum of approval.

“That’ll be enough for now, his screaming is giving me a headache. Free the rabbit - we’ll let him try to keep the hero alive on his own for a bit.” 

Knives cutting ropes - Link is loosened from the hook and like a cut marionette he falls limply. Something softens his landing, pushing a weak moan out of his chest when they brush against his myriad wounds, and the steel door slams shut. It’s Ravio that lowers him to the ground. They’re alone. 

“Link– I’m– I’m so sorry, I didn’t know I didn't– oh goddesses, your back– your side I– oh no.” 

He pushes his head weakly into the crook of Ravio’s neck. Ravio keeps rambling, trying to shift him so his wounds are left untouched but his body is still supported, and he doesn't help, shivers of pain still wracking through him, each tug and shift of his skin like salt in his wounds. 

Ravio sniffles apologises for hours. Link doesn’t have the energy to soothe him, tell him it's not his fault like he wants to, needs to. 

It’s all on him, after all.