#he's a giant does he really need lightning attack?

[verefex]

boy, do I feel bad for the guys that decided to try and take Sky's teeny tiny girlfriend hostage

[colourstreakgryffin]

First JJK Post! In celebration of Hidden Inventory coming to the anime! I’m not going to write about Toji—

But a character i believe can be a real babe; Hajime Kashimo!

Kashimo as a boyfriend Headcanons!

Kashimo is like a big spoiler altogether, if you don’t know who he is, please don’t read this

Never felt anything before he met you. Kashimo figured his entire purpose was to challenge Sukuna and perhaps win or lose. But now, he wants to be around you all the time. He almost forgets about Sukuna

A bit clingy. Once Kashimo is in love, he believes he is entitled to you and that you’re now his with no question. He isn’t pushy or harsh towards you but he is defensive of other men approaching you and always stands besides you, waiting for you to notice him

When you do and invite him to spend time with you. He accepts it and looks at you with the most lovestruck stare, no words. Both before and whilst dating, he does this. He can’t help but admire your beauty. You’re so perfect, he wants to keep you as his

Actually very shy, believe it or not. Kashimo didn’t know what hand-holding, kissing or affection really was, so you had to teach him. He gets flustered when you kiss his cheek, he is a stuttering mess when you cuddle his side

Loves PDA and clings onto your hand as much as possible. He likes knowing that you’re right next to him and rubbing your fingers on his knuckles calms him down

Mean it, you keep Kashimo from killing literally everybody. He never wants to use his attacks around you, they could hit you and that tears up his heart so he reframes from attacking threats(being your friends) whilst you’re around

Feel proud that the God of Lightning confides to you all the time. He is just like a loyal bulldog, he chases away the people that bothers you, fights for you, and gives you his heart and more on a silver platter

Kashimo is no where near as violent and aggressive when you’re around. He’s soft-spoken and gentle, it’s as if all his bloodthirst disappeared and love-hearts form over his head. He is truly in love

“Are you cold? Well. Here, I’ll give a hug. I don’t know if it’ll help but I’m warm and hugs keep you warm, right? Yeah, come here then”

Kashimo is very protective. He is very strong, a sorcerer with almost no real competition but that doesn’t mean you are magically stronger yourself. You’re in danger all the time, due to this stupid Culling Game. So Kashimo is constantly fighting battles for you

Kashimo worries about your safety and your life. You’re fragile compared to him and he feels obligated to keep you away from the battlefield. A single scratch on your flawless skin and he goes nuts. Suspect him to strike down Panda again out of pure fury. Is he throwing a temper tantrum? … A little bit but it’s purely because he’s worried

Hakari can’t be anywhere near you or Kashimo will try to kill him again so be prepared to hold him back and stop him. Wrap your arms around his waist and give him a kiss on his cheek. Tada! Kashimo has stopped trying to strike Hakari down and is turning around to pet your hair

Kashimo likes pet names and giving you headpats. He finds you extremely cute and wants to express it with gentle touch and playful nicknames. Though, he is getting use to using pet names and sometimes gets nervous that you won’t like a pet name idea so he comes off as shy

“I need to eat? No, Kitten, I’m okay. You eat first— oh? The name. D-do you not like it? Kittens are cute and you’re cute so I figured, you fit being a kitten. Can I keep— I can? Thank lord, or I guess, thank you. Lemme kiss you, Kitten”

Kashimo, as mentioned before, is a very loyal boyfriend. He doesn’t even look at any woman or man, he knows you’re the woman of his dreams so he doesn’t see any reason to bother looking at anybody else when he can just look at you. Plus, to him, you’re so much more pretty

Kashimo is a semi-best friend type of boyfriend. If you want to one-up somebody in your giant group, Kashimo is helping you all the way to lighten your spirits. You confide to Kashimo about your issues and he remembers them, you spend almost all your free time chatting up a storm to Kashimo as he listens with a smile

Yeah, Kashimo isn’t the best with comfort but he remembers that you like hugs and kisses so that’s what he does. After battles or after a scary scene, Kashimo is cuddling you to his chest and kissing everywhere he can in hopes that you’ll calm down

Kashimo shields you from everything scary. Any horrific fight or death, Kashimo will hide you from it so you won’t be scared, he can take horrific sights very well. If he cannot hide you, he clutches you to his side and redirects your eyes. He cares about your mental health and protecting you from those horrible sights saves you

He’s the God of Lightning and you’re his goddess. The goddess he worships like no other, he gives everything of his to you and thrives off your happiness. Your smile is his, your fear is his, your anger is his. Kashimo mirrors you, the one who brought him those emotions in the first place

Kashimo will never think twice of protecting you with everything he has(which is a lot mind you), because he believes you deserve it. Hell, he heavily considers asking you to marry him, he has been granted with a second chance of life and a new body, he’s gonna take advantage of it. Living a second life with a incredible woman like you sounds better then the lonely first life he had

[depressedhatakekakashi]

Gosh looks like today needs more Kakashi positivity

Kakashi's first lesson to his students is 'fuck the rules if your friends are in danger/need your help

Kakashi actively wins multiple fights on his own and even holds his own against Kakuzu and Hidan without using the MS. Cannonly (Manga only) Kakashi wins against Zabuza (twice), the seven deadly swordsmen, multiple enemies in the war arc. Kakashi is also portrayed as more of a leader than a direct fighter, excelling most when he can lead a team to victory (like in the Kaguya fight).

Obito's eye is a GIFT to him. It doesn't matter if he 'shouldn't have it' or any other reason people come up with for him being crap for using it. He is the only character we see with a Sharingan (that is none Uchiha or even Uchiha in the vast majority of cases) who was 100% gifted the eye and told to use it. He uses it to honor the memory of a friend he lost.

Kakashi is the only character we see actively stand up to the system from inside the system. He's the one who stands up to Danzo to save Yamato. He's the one who turns his back on the 'New Hokage' (Danzo) and takes Naruto out of the village during a time when ALL shinobi are supposed to be restricted to inside of the village. He's the one who ignores Hiruzen's order's and plan in order to go save Yamato. He turns his back on Tsunade giving him an S-Ranked missiong to go after two of his students.

Kakashi taught each of his students something in the short amount of time we actually got to see him in teaching mode. He helps Sasuke improve his taijutsu so much that Gai is impressed by his improvements in the short span of a month. He teaches Sasuke his Chidori. He teaches Sakura the Qi release. He teaches Naruto how to make use of his shadow clones to learn faster (something Naruto uses both to create his rasenshuriken in such a short span of time and which he again uses later to learn sage mode.). That's not even touching on the obvious moments of teaching them about teamwork and chakra control (with the tree climbing)

Kakashi cared about all of his students. When he saw Itachi he assumed he was there for Sasuke, and when he found out he was there for Naruto he was just as ready to fight to protect his students. He carries Naruto on his back after he exhausted himself and gives Naruto a head pat. Seeing a bit of himself in Sasuke does not mean he ignored any of his students. While other teachers were hyper-focused on one student, Kakashi at least recognized he was only one person and when he needed to hyper-focus on Sasuke he still made sure that Naruto had someone to train him in chakra control as that was his weakest point.

Kakashi is the Hokage that made genuine changes to the system. He's the one who made a no-kill order for the shinobi of Konoha. He's the one who redirected Konoha's system away from shinobi toward a more economic system. It was during his reign that Konoha became an economic giant and grew exponentially in size.

Kakashi also became stronger after losing the Sharingan. The Sharingan was a gift from Obito that directly hurt him because he didn't have any magical fixes to keep him from getting chakra exhausted. the chakra was constantly being drained from him by the Sharingan, making him chronically fatigued just by existing with Obito's gift.

Kakashi's purple lightning is a stronger move than his chidori and does not require the sharingan. He's also capable of turning pieces of his mud wall jutsu to glass to deflect electricity before returning it to mud so that it is not left as an extremely fragile material that would shatter under most other attacks. this is a feat that was thought to be impossible even by the person who originally suggested it.

His chakra pool is so much bigger that he held a mud wall for three days and released it when he was ready to go on the attack

he defeated 50 jonin rank missing nin shinobi with a frying pan and some really well-used genjutsu

he's always learning and growing. Kakashi in OG Naruto was one of Konoha's strongest ninja and he STILL trained to get stronger after Naruto left because he knew he needed to. The same Kakashi who made the mistake of looking directly into Itachi's eye in their first fight then turned around and tricked Itachi into wasting a MS move on a shadow clone.

[boxfullaturtles]

Kingdom Hearts Rise AU

Michelangelo Hamato The youngest brother wields magic with incredible skill and proficiency. Combined with his speed and acrobatics, Mikey is a lethal force on the battlefield and not one to be underestimated. His youthful outlook and wide-eyed wonder belie a strong emotional intuition and an even stronger heart whose light reaches out to help and support those in need. He’s a firecracker on the battlefield, his speed on par with Leo’s. His magic is devastating and capable of doing damage over a large area, decimating weaker foes. He’s primarily a long range fighter, working to pin the enemy down so his brothers can close in for a truly wicked series of blows.

Keyblade: Solarflare A Keyblade with a long reach that provides a substantial boost in Magic. Strength: +2 Magic: +8 Length: Long Ability: Magic Galvanizer: Increase the damage done with magic in proportion to the length of the combo.

[extra details under cut]

Team Attacks: + Leonardo: Shooting Star Team up with Leo and launch fireballs through his portals, casting them all over the battlefield, then finish them off with a gigantic Thunder spell.

+ Raphael: Fists of Fire Team up with Raph, coating his fists in flames and riding on his shell as he charges through enemies before finishing them off with an explosive ground pound attack that sends shock waves across the ground.

+ Donatello: Bombs Away! Team up with Donnie and ignite a giant rocket, riding it around and plowing into enemies, then end it all by launching the rocket into the sky, leaping off before it crashes back to earth and explodes.

+ April: Mystic Mayhem Team up with April to link magic and spin around the battlefield like a dance, gliding on air while launching spells in every direction, then finish with an eruption of magic.

+ Casey: Danger Days Team up with Casey to let him rail grind on magic chains, slicing through any nearby enemies before directing lightning down the chains to channel into his Keyblade for a final blow.

----------

More stuff about KH Rise Mikey:

- He swims but very badly and prefers to avoid water if he can help it.

- The most powerful mage out of his teammates, Mikey is capable of combining his spells to cast two at once, often creating deadly combos like Fire-Wind or Lightning-Ice. In the future, he might be able to cast the highest tiers of magic without the cost it would take from most wielders.

- Solarflare sounds like rattling chains when it strikes enemies and its particle effects are grinning little balls of flame, sparks like embers, and little green stars and circles. It is always slightly warm to the touch and the symbols on the end glow softly.

- Mikey’s outfit is specifically designed to allow him to pull into the safety of his shell, since it’s something he does frequently and often uses to his advantage in battle.

- He sometimes gets a little cocky and overconfident in battle, especially when he’s winning. Although unlike Leo, he tends to be immediately humbled by any mistake he makes.

- Chronicles their travels and keeps track of their story (like Jiminy does in the KH games). Fills the pages of his journals with plenty of sketches and photographs. Sometimes adds souvenirs from worlds they’ve been to like pressed flowers, stickers, or scraps of paper or fabric.

- His temper is legendary but rarely seen. Few have ever lived to tell of its unleashing.

- Mikey has an extremely good (and very mature) understanding of the heart. Of all his friends, he’s the only one that seems to really understand that a heart is a thing of balance and that Light cannot exist with the Dark, and that Light can be just as vicious and cruel as Dark. He struggles to conceptualize this in a way that he can explain to others and the frustration of his failure to communicate (and the stigma against Darkness) drives him to keep it to himself. He hasn’t mastered his own Darkness by any means and actually has a hard time dealing with it himself. Just because he understands it, doesn’t mean he knows how to execute it.

- That being said, when it comes to matters of the heart and, indeed, feelings, there’s no one better to turn to than Mikey. Or rather, Dr. Feelings. He’s as blunt as ever and will tell you exactly what you need to hear, even if you don’t want to.

- Yen Sid and Merlin believe that, with the right tutelage, Mikey could do far more than simply cast spells. They see great things for him in the future...

[quietbluejay]

Horus Rising 7

the EC on the surface are also shading the Blood Angels

so there were reports about beetle-like aliens that they miiight need some help with if they showed up in larger numbers

after that, they asked for help lol

haha it's another horror movie setup

oooo spooky so Eidolon figures they'll be going in blind the guy from the Blood Angels fleet is like "hey maybe it'd be better to wait for the Luna Wolves to come so you can team up-" nope no way Eidolon is gonna share any glory "Eidolon had sanctioned the drop immediately"

Eidolon was a much more fun character in other books lol

time for a more detailed description of the megarachnids

i feel like arachnophobia in these circumstances is not an irrational fear [11:20 AM] the great crime they've currently committed against saul was messing up his chest aquila the great privilege that only the EC were allowed to wear i wonder if any of the 40k EC have opinions on that lol "they'll really just let anyone have that these days" anyways tarvitz does manage to kill it

there's art i do not understand why they included art in some of these novels or the choices they made for what to illustrate

so: in 90 hours they have 28 engagements with the megarachnids 7 dead so far (on their side)

hey let's put a pin in this one and bring it back when we get the reveal about the megarachnids oh yeah Lucius has a Special Sword and now he's dual wielding with the megarachnid leg in the other hand lucius is having a fun time and treating this as a game and not going for the kill even when he could well i mean they're both kinda treating it as a game just in different ways

lucius: we should take at least one alive and use it as a sparring partner saul: they're xenos, lucius lucius: they're the only things i've run across that actually test me saul: they're xenos, lucius i'm serious, that was literally his response twice in a row haha Tarvitz thinks upon the megarachnids and wonders if they have culture, science, language etc and why they're attacking the EC are they just bugs or are they sentient? in a rare moment of empathy he wonders if they're attacking because the EC are as alien and unsettling to them as the megarachnids are to the space marines tarvitz: ok! that's too much introspection for me!

saul and lucius are about as good friends as argel tal and kharn or perhaps i should say, as good at being friends

tarvitz internally: people are dying, lucius tarvitz externally: that's nice, lucius

oh someone has discovered an open area with no grass

they've finally found some traces of the blood angels there's a new storm that starts up three of the EC get struck by lightning haha including lucius lucius: cmon let's go back i wanna hunt others: yay! saul:….. saul: do whatever YOU want i'm going to go investigate this (it's a bunch of large white blobs) lucius: it's just more trees saul: but what if its not lucius: okay fiiiine

perhaps i did McNeill a disservice perhaps his writing of the Emperor's Children as being a bunch of petulant children was in fact, intentional …nah, he writes literally everyone like that in his early books also there's only 22 of them left at this point oh they get ambushed by more than 100 of the megarachnids lucius:

however, unlike McNeill, this book at least makes me buy that these guys have some level of actual competence in terms of tactics on the other hand tarvitz is the one commanding it, lucius doesn't care to command and just wants to fight and he's the one getting considered for promotion …. has abnett ever worked as a developer? this makes me feel like abnett worked as a developer

battle lasts about an hour, five more astartes die now that there's a pause/battle is kind of over it's time for something new and exciting

they're grabbing astartes and carrying them off lmao so we're down another 4 or 5 so there's 12-13 of them left now, i think lucius gets grabbed but saul manages to save him

you may now imagine lucius the eternal being carried off by a giant flying spider while writhing around trying to stab it

okay update: the flying spiders got nine astartes so we're down to 8 on the ground some up in the air are presumably still alive

there are also the remains of older bodies too they've finally found out what happened to the blood angels

honestly the whole setup on Murder is pretty neat giant evil spiders that are also shrikes or well ok they're not evil but they're sure menacing let's cut back to the Luna Wolves now on the trip over, Loken finds out that Sindermann is avoiding him he finally manages to ambush him in the library he's reading an old manuscript

sindermann used to read this kind of stuff when he was a kid loken: a better time? sindermann: lol no so the Warmaster "explained" things to him (re the Jubal thing) anyways he recommends the Chronicles of Ursh to Loken loken has a request

:) anyways loken is too caught up in getting ready to go to Murder to really think about things he's busy training his guys and picking replacements Loken opts to clean out the quarters of the dead men himself

yep jubal was a lodge member which loken susses out also, i believe this is the first appearance of "i can't say" exposition time

it comes back to Davin, huh that's wild re: fraternities being one step away from believing the Emperor was a god somehow i feel like that's not the actual reason the actual reasoning was probably more about not having astartes gathering in groups to do secret things which could lead to rebellion which. also happened. also w.r.t. them actually thinking rather than being living weapons, given a lot of the focus in this book though i don't think the emperor cares as much about that given the educational programme the Luna Wolves have and I mean, Ultramarines probably cared about it more during the Crusade

anyways loken forbid any of his men from taking part re: the Karkasy thing, Loken didn't really care about any random remembrancer but it was a distraction which is why he helped

heh

also he has to clear literally all of his writing by Loken scribbles, notes, etc Loken also wants an honest answer on what Karkasy said that got the troopers to beat him up

:) anyways flashback over, after leaving Sindermann, Loken goes to talk to Karkasy the remembrancers have basically taken over an entire area of the ship for their own "it had a grubby reputation" lol Karkasy gives Loken his notes as usual but he has something else for him - it's Euphrati's pictures she asked Karkasy to give Loken them and no, he doesn't know where she is Loken loves the pictures and gets a little emotional insofar as he ever does

Euphrati has been basically locking herself up in her room since the Jubal incident, Loken asks Karkasy to look after her aximand shows up while loken is training the newbies and notices his reading material which little horus apparently read as a kid (the chronicles of ursh) "vulgar, though" but he's got something more to discuss with loken a lodge coin

it's time for Horus (the little one, not the big one) to ask Loken to go to the lodge meeting with him i place small horus in attack position

he'll go, because it's Aximand who's the one asking

[justabiteofspite]

Honor Mode Update: I Killed Ansur!!!

And like it wasn't even close. Only my Durge, Henri, took like maybe 30 points of damage? Quick rundown of how I did it:

Basically focused on having OH Monk-starion Stun and Stagger him. He's got 4 levels in thief for the extra bonus action and with wholeness of body activated, he can have up to three bonus actions a turn. I ended up sticking a speed potion on him just to get the max amount of tries to stun Ansur which did turn out to be worth it.

Shadowheart (Storm Sorc 9/Wiz 1/Tempest Cleric 2) held a globe of invulnerability (Minthara's boots are really handy for this) and she also quicken-spelled bone chill to keep Ansur from healing.

Lae'zel I have as a sorc/warlock and she was eldritch blasting those elementals out of the way of the globe.

And of course my smiting swords bard Henri was there to shoot those dragon slaying/undead slaying arrows with that Titanstring bow and smite where appropriate. Basically supporting the bf in kicking its ass.

I was also planning on blinding Ansur with fog cloud but realized last minute the only person in my party with fog cloud was Shadowheart who was already concentrating on that globe, but it worked out anyhow! Lae'zel could have laid down a hunger of hadar if we needed it but we didn't!

Didn't even see that freakin giant storm of a lightning attack.

Anyhow, now Henri has the Giantslayer to kill Orin with so I feel so much better about that fight on honor. It does unfair amounts of damage, I did that fight in one turn on balanced.

Just a note here, no one in my party has the astral tadpole. Astarion has a head full of normal worms, and Henri has a handful but Shadowheart and Lae'zel are tadpole free. So it is very possible to do this without compromising on character stuff.

[danwhobrowses]

One Piece Chapter 1093 - Initial Thoughts

And we are back A week removed from last chapter for a change, it's been a long while

July in fact, 1088 and 89, well 1085 to 89, since then it was consecutive breaks until now.

An Admiral is in the clutches of a Yonko, a giant is awakening and the forcefield is about to go down, so what's next? I'll tell you what's next, the chapter

Spoilers for the Chapter, Support the Official Release too

Koby and Helmeppo on the cover, tarsiers (those really big eyed tiny monkey things) wearing their glasses

Picking up where we left off with Luffy holding Kizaru

Oh man's is winding up for some tit for tat

Man went from throwing lightning to throwing light

The group plan to leave Kizaru to Luffy, but Atlas plans to go down to the fabriophase

It sounds like death flags even if she's there to outrank the authority chip regarding the Mark IIIs

Really reminding you that there is indeed one person in the vicinity of Egghead who can in fact outrank the Vegapunks

Stella wants to come too

Usopp does make a point in that it is counterproductive for Stella to go down to the people who want him dead when they're trying to keep him alive

He calls Franky to confirm that Bonney got knocked off too - also reprimanding him for not protecting Bonney from an admiral who moves at the speed of light

Franky wants to go down to help Bonney, as does Sanji who is with Jinbe stocking up an area, so it's gonna be a big group split

Bonney's presence is noticed by the marines though, as she does leave a path of old and young in her wake

No legging below the lower cheeks but she still gets a hoodie

The Marines have found Sentomaru too

Oh, Sentomaru caught Bonney from falling, that's a chad move

Luffy spots Zoro fighting Lucci too

Zoro denies help though, telling him to focus on Kizaru

Seems that Zoro gauges Awakened Lucci as something he can handle, as he should I mean he is over 1 billion berries

Lucci meanwhile is hoping to get the Yonko No. 2 as a consolation prize so I need this guy to get the Bob Barker treatment (not him dying, the 'neuter your pets' thing)

Also it seems Zoro's pretty chill about seeing Gear Fifth Luffy...

Back with Kizaru and he's about to hit the ocean - Luffy did yeet him pretty far away

The dude can just float above the sea it seems, I mean he is light so he is - pun intended - a wave

He preps his retort with his scatter beam attack

Ah but rather than blasts he has made them all into Kizarus, he's gone full kage bunshin, or would it be hikari bunshin?

He also uses the light sword, scratching Luffy

Dawn Whip passes through the Kizarus, confirming them to be holograms (though surely they're still extensions of his body right? Idk maybe because it's light and not Smoker's smoke or Robin's doubles/giant naked kaiju it applies differently)

Not Luffy running away from the speed of light

He lines up the Kizaru's for a Dawn Stamp, but his foot passes through them all

It might be scanlations but there is 'Booming' in these names so I wonder if there's something to that compared to his moves against Lucci

An explosion makes Luffy realise that Kizaru wasn't even near him through all this, as he has Usopp in his clutches with Nami and Brook on their guard

Bit odd that, Kizaru did a whole thing with Saturn about fighting Sentomaru directly because they resolved to do it, but Luffy resolves to fight Kizaru and he quietly tries to shuffle to the side to try and kill Vegapunk

Of course, Stella isn't there to his surprise

Punk is already off on his wheels, and no respect for the tube tunnel this time

Sanji has also hitched a ride on the side of the Vega Tank 8

Stella's got a face of fury aimed at the marines, he's very focused on saving Bonney

Unfortunately that means he's blind to Kizaru aiming at him

Luffy jumps in and takes the blow, well eating the...nope not gonna finish that sentence...turning into a human jack o lantern

As a glowing god of Luffy shines out, Franky also hitches a ride on the Vega Tank 8, leaving General Franky to Lilith to move the Sunny

News is breaking that the Punks are coming down, but Atlas uses it to command the Mark IIIs to 'eradicate' every last marine

Bit of a strong word Atlas, though she is Vegapunk's personification of violence

Ominous Saturn is Ominous and will likely overrule Atlas

Oda I was literally just praising the fact that it's the first time since June-July we've not had frequent breaks and what do you do? Breaks. More Breaks. What's your address I just want to talk and shadow and marvel and ask as many questions as there are chapters...

But I also want to ask WHERE IS ROBIN? Her absences is becoming more alarming and concerning

It was another fun chapter, it's always fun to see Gear Fifth Luffy fight, it's always so silly but Kizaru may be a perfect opponent for him because he's aloof to the point of silly.

Kizaru does still confuse me though, his clones were unaffected by Haki but light is an extension of his body, when Smoker surrounded Vergo in smoke it still damaged him, when Robin makes clones of herself it's unclear if the damage stacks because sometimes it does and sometimes it doesn't. It's a small thing but still confusing, and the fact that he tried to dodge Luffy after his resolve about Sentomaru is still weird, can never quite pinpoint his character.

I still feel however that Lucci needs to be humbled, he probably won't since Zoro does seem to have the King of Hell swirls on his swords but still in no department should Lucci be Yonko commander level. What if Hattori just turns into another hulking zoan, like a Tiger, or a Bear or a Gorilla...actually not a Gorilla, not with the minority hunter joke.

But the sidequest to retrieve Bonney makes sense, kinda. Stella going down makes it a wrinkle but Sanji will at least get his righteous chivalry moment probably saving Bonney. I do hope we get something for Franky, they took his mech so the only tools he'll have is whatever Vegapunk has lying around, so there is opening for Franky to finally get some Egghead shine. Kinda hope we pull Sentomaru out too he deserves a little add to the stocks for saving Bonney. We do have to prepare ourselves for Saturn overruling the Punks' orders, perhaps even bringing the Seraphim back into play, but also bringing the sleeping giant into play too because we got nothing out of that cliffhanger, same with Kuma.

I also reiterate that we need 100% more of safe and healthy Nico Robin in these chapters, you're putting us on edge Oda let the woman have screentime and doing something, even if it's downloading all the info from Ohara that Shaka had. Because he was chatting with the Revolutionaries about anticipating his death, you think he would've made precautions? Jinbe, Chopper, Nami, Usopp and Brook could do with something too, for Chopper he will likely have to tend to Stussy but still, gotta make the whole crew show up to the marine blockade. It's also worth reminding that Caribou is on the fabriophase, the dude does like to swipe a hostage like Vegapunk, plus there is still that Blackbeard ship.

But we have another break to simmer on Luffy being a human lamp, I imagine that may become merchandising at some point.

[setoangel01-fanfiction]

Through the Jungle

The Prodigal Son - Chapter 2 (Previous Chapters)

Fandom: FFVII

Pairings: Zack Fair x Aerith Gainsborough (Zerith) and minor Cloud Strife x Tifa Lockhart (Cloti)

Rated: T

Story Summary: Zack Lives AU. Leaving the Golden Saucer behind, the group heads to Zack's hometown of Gongaga, where after nearly a decade apart, Zack finally reunites with his parents.

Chapter Summary: Arriving on the shores of Gongaga, the group make their ways through the perilous jungle awaiting them.

................

"Damn…" Cloud muttered softly from the driver's seat when the buggy came to a full stop. The tires jostling slightly atop the sandy beaches near the entrance to what could only be gateway to the dense Jungles of Gongaga.

Zack allowed a smirk to cross his lips hearing Cloud's awed tone as well as the similar reactions crossing the expressions of all the other passengers that were all unabashedly staring at the absolutely impressive jungle awaiting them. Widened eyes and gaping mouths of his companions had him feeling relieved to see the sheer majesty of his home hadn't changed much since he left it behind a decade ago.

For a few blissful seconds, Zack took it in himself as the group exited the buggy to get a closer look.

Feet firm on the sandy beach, a dainty hand suddenly grasped at his arm. He looked down to see his girlfriend's awestruck expression, marvelous emerald eyes wider than he could recall them being, peering eagerly at their surroundings.

"Wow! Oh Gaia, everything is so…green!" Aerith chirped happily with an adorable little bounce in her step. Her exhilaration was palpable and Zack couldn't be happier about seeing the wondrous expression gracing her beautiful face.

A low whistle sounded beside them, "Gotta agree with ya' there, girlie. Fuckin' hell, I don't think I've ever seen so many damn trees in my entire life," Barrett muttered, reaching out to touch a nearby frond as if in a hypnotic daze.

"DON'T TOUCH THAT!" Zack suddenly yelped, grasping Barret's outstretched arm before he could make a terrible mistake.

"Da fuck!?" Barrett yelled, pulling his arm back from the plant as if he had been burned.

Zack chuckled nervously, "Sorry but you'd thank me if you'd seen what even touching that shit does to your skin!" Zack shuttered in remembrance when he learned that lesson the hard way as a boy, "It'll give you the itchiest most annoying rash you'll ever get in your life! Believe me! You gotta avoid the plants with the thorns and red tipped leaves, but those bluish ones beside it are alright, though." As if to showcase his truthfulness, Zack brushed his glove-less hand against said greenery with a fond smile on his lips.

Yuffie guffawed at the horrified look that still hadn't left Barrett's face. The man in question swatting at her before the self-appointed 'most beautiful and greatest ninja of all time' promptly bent over with her nauseous stomach roiling unhappily at the sudden movement.

"Serves ya right, ya brat!" Barrett shook his fist at Yuffie, who while acting like she's only seconds from certain death, still somehow found the energy to stick her tongue out and flip him off.

Aerith giggled into Zack's bicep as Tifa rubbed the loudly whining Yuffie's back.

"So…anything else we need to watch out for here, Zack?" Nanaki's soft drawl asked from near his left hip as the feline sniffed cautiously at a patch of bright purple flowers.

Zack hummed, putting his hand up to his chin and peered around. "Well…Yeah. There's some more plants I'd steer clear from but it's mostly the fiends you gotta watch out for. The Kimera bugs are bloodthirsty bastards, there's also these giant flying jellyfish that love to paralyze you with cheap-shot lightning attacks…Oh! And whatever you do, stay the hell away from the Touch Me Frogs! We don't have any Maiden's Kiss on us and if we were all attacked together by a nest of 'em, that would be really, really bad news..."

"...Maiden's Kiss?" Aerith asked with a curious tilt to her head.

"Yeah! It turns you back to normal when you get 'Frogged'!"

Cloud stared at him strangely for a moment before he felt compelled to ask, "…'Frogged'?"

Zack blinked stupidly at him. "Yeah. The Touch Me's will actually turn you into a frog. Can't tell you how many times it's happened to me…" he admitted while scratching the back of his head in slight embarrassment.

Yuffie huffed out a laugh, "Now that, I believe," which Zack would have given her shit for (and an atomic noogie) if she didn't look so damn miserable with her greenish complexion and arms wrapped protectively across her stomach. "Urk…Nope. No more laughing…Bad idea."

Tifa peered in concern at the teen for a moment before she suggested, "Alright then. I say it's a good idea to stay clear away from weird plants and any monsters, especially those frogs, until we can stock up on that certain potion."

"Uggghhhh…" Yuffie moaned as she leaned her head miserably against Tifa's shoulder.

"...And maybe we could also stock up on some stomach medicine while we're there," Tifa continued, allowing the loudly grumbling Yuffie to lean her slight weight on her.

"Hell yes..." the Wutain groaned into Tifa's generous chest as the older woman comforted her with gently pats to her back.

"Oi! Dat's a fine idea dere, Lassie!" Cait Sith piped for the first time since they arrived, the quick-footed robotic feline suddenly launched upwards and made himself quite comfortable atop Barrett's shoulder, much to the latter's dismay.

"Hey! What the-!? Whataya!? Urg!" The dark skinned man cut himself off, glaring certain death at the robot. Yet Cait Sith remained unfazed, merely smiling in the face of his anger, Barrett muttered, "fuckin' cat…" under his breath rather than knock his furry ass to the ground.

Zack thought the scene was strangely sweet.

All the while, Cloud peered out at the group as if in deep thought before glancing back toward the jungle. The blonde looked way out of his depth and uncomfortable which was odd considering how quick he assumed the leader role under Zack's advisement. Yet now he seemed hesitant at the prospect of the looming vegetation when he turned to peer back at Zack.

"That's the plan then. Looks like you're in the lead, Jungle Boy." Cloud announced.

Zack laughed loudly at the sudden declaration, slapping Cloud hard on his un-armored shoulder before he eagerly took over the leader role of the group with Aerith always faithfully by his side. Her adorable giggles and bouncing steps right beside his own.

"Damn straight I am, you Mountain Hick!" Zack called out to the blonde over his shoulder.

"Hey!" Tifa's affronted voice called back.

"Not you, Teef! Now, come on, everyone! Let's mosey!" he stated happily to the rest of the party.

.....................

Cloud stood there for a moment, merely rubbing his sore shoulder, and while trying to hide it, he couldn't help but smile at Zack and Aerith's retreating backs before following them into the jungle.

"Oh my!" It was Tifa's voice that broke out when they first saw the field of bright pink mushrooms lining a mossy cliff-side. The excitement encapsulated her cherry-cola eyes and a huge smile gracing her lips as the group approached Gongoga's world famous import hidden deep inside the jungle."These are Gongaga mushrooms, right Zack?" she inquired, peering questioningly over her shoulder at him. The martial artist was already kneeling next to a large patch of the smaller mushrooms resting right underneath the shade of one a thousand times larger.

Zack knelt beside her and once he saw they were indeed the correct mushrooms and not some poisonous look-alike imposters, he happily replied, "Yep! These are Gaia's famous Gongaga Mushrooms! In fact, this is the only place on the planet they're grown."

"Really?" Cloud asked curiously as he squatted down near Tifa to get a closer look.

"Yeah. Something about the temperature and soil I think makes them only able to flourish here," Zack replied as Aerith plopped herself in the thick grassy patch beside him, green eyes wide as she brushed her hands over the bright pink fungi and marveled at the size of one of the nearby giants.

"They're such a pretty color too!" Aerith added while Nanaki walked over to sniff at them curiously; the feline 'hmmed' lowly in his throat as if pleasantly surprised at their rich meaty aroma they exuded.

"Wow." Tifa mused softly on the information, gentle smile never fading as she lightly ran her fingertip along the edges of a few. "I've always loved to cook with them! They add such amazing flavor to every dish, but in Midgar they're always so expensive the rare time I seen them come to the markets. I could only afford to use them in a few dishes on a couple special occasions."

Zack watched with barely concealed giddiness as Cloud peered at Tifa's contemplative expression, those light blue eyes of his doing nothing to hide his obvious adoration for the gorgeous brunette. The way Cloud and Tifa shyly danced around each other, yet were so damn in love that anyone with eyes could see it, was as cute as it was frustrating to witness.

Seemingly psyching himself up, the blonde ex-infantryman gently nudged at Tifa's shoulder with his own before offering, "Hey, uh, why don't we stock up on some of them here? I'm sure they're a lot cheaper since they're grown here."

"Hmm, you're right. Maybe they even have them dried to make them more portable," Tifa wondered with a dainty finger pressed to her chin.

"Yeah, and uh, I'm sure the dishes you make for us on the road would be even better," he quickly cleared his throat and looked away with cheeks that nearly matched Tifa's eyes, "You know, if that's even possible."

Tifa's eyes widened at the sudden compliment but a warm smile quickly overtook it instead, "Thanks, Cloud. I think I'd like that…" she shyly responded.

Zack and Aerith watched their interaction with bated breath, and once it was over, they shared a pleased look and quietly fist-bumped at the progression those two were making.

Of course the adorable moment didn't last long when Yuffie suddenly piped up, "I don't get it," she grumbled, bouncing a few (most likely stolen) materia on her knuckles as she waited for them all to get a move on, "What's so special about a bunch of pink mushrooms?"

Zack smirked at the ninja, "Just wait til you taste my mom's cooking and then you'll see."

Barrett chuckled, tapping Yuffie's shoulder that sent the thin teen nearly careening into a nearby tree, "Damn straight! There is truly nothing that tastes as good in the damn planet like home cookin'." The older man pursed his lips, "Hey, uh, SOLDIER boy, I shoulda brought this up earlier, but do ya think your folks would be alright with all of us bargin' in on them without any warning?"

Zack quickly stood to his feet and offered his hand to Aerith as he replied, "My mom always was looking for any excuse to cook so I'm sure they won't mind." His voice was steady even if Zack himself remained unsure of his parent's reaction to his sudden presence. Wanting to put his friends at ease and wipe the concerned look Aerith shot his way, he continued, "We didn't have the biggest house so we might have to eat outside or find other lodging to fit us all overnight, but hell, we're used to doing that already so it shouldn't be a big deal."

Barrett's brows pinches for a moment. "Hey, Zack, ya know we wouldn't wanna to intrude if ya want some time alone with yer folks either." Barrett said with a kind, fatherly expression Zack wasn't used to seeing aimed at him since Angeal died. The very same look his father bestowed upon him while resting a firm yet comforting hand on his shoulder after gifting him his first real sword on his 13th birthday.

Now Angeal was dead (by his hand no less) and he'd left his father a week after that night without a word. All of it given up more than 10 years ago for a dream that ended up in a hellish cacophony of greed, delusion, betrayal, and concluded in a town filled with fire and smoke.

A sharp wave of grief of the past 10 years hit him abruptly, yet before he could think of anything to reply to the kindness he didn't deserve held in Barrett's eyes, Yuffie interrupted.

For once, Zack was damn grateful for the distraction.

"Ughhh! Great! Than let's hurry the hell up and go already! Anything to stop staring at a bunch of dumb mushrooms, ya old fogies!" Yuffie piped up, her arms now full of the protesting Cait Sith who was the latest victim of her Materia "borrowing" scheme.

"Hmm. Yes. Let's continue. I'm rather intrigued. I'd love to see how they taste when cooked, especially if it's as good as Tifa states." Nanaki commented, licking the edge of his mouth where a pink speck of mushroom fell to the ground by his feet.

Zack looked down in bewilderment hoping eating them raw had no adverse effect on the large feline but decided not to say anything and to merely keep an eye on him.

Shaking off any lingering feelings of his past coming back to haunt him, Zack slipped back on his normal happy puppy mask and stated, "Alright, alright, hold onto your Chocobos, Yuff."

"Stop calling me that, ya jerk!" she grumbled but Zack continued unperturbed.

"I promise we'll leave real soon but we can't show up empty handed! C'mon, give me a hand with picking some of these!"

Cloud looked skeptical yet he followed his friend to the patch of mushrooms regardless, "Wouldn't your folks already have some?"

"Probably, but the ones that grow furthest from the village always tasted better in my opinion. Now come on, there's a special technique to picking them so they don't break!" Zack motioned for the others interested in learning to join him near a large cluster of the pink beauties situated in a little alcove a few yards away. The plump pink flesh perfectly ripe and the woodsy smell lingering near them was rich and aromatic.

Perfect for picking!

With that, Zack showed the group the specialized Gongaga technique for picking the mushrooms so the tops and stems were left attached and completely undamaged. Zack's smile grew as Aerith and Tifa both did it perfectly on their first try and gave each other a high five in celebration. Yet Cloud wasn't as lucky for he broke his first mushroom right in half while angrily swatting at the mocking Yuffie, who wasn't any better when her mushroom practically exploded into pink chunks of shrapnel. At least Nanaki was happy not to waste the rare fungi and ate the pieces.

Barrett and Cait Sith seemed merely happy watching it all unfold.

Zack leaned back on his heels as they continued their mission. A gentle smile curling his lips at getting to watch his girlfriend and friends as they (after another brief instruction) began gathering the mushrooms like seasoned pros. Yet his unperturbed mask he relied on far too much lately faltered slightly once he realized he was actually happy for any excuse to help delay the trip to his hometown just a little while longer…

..................

A plethora of Gongaga mushrooms safely stowed away in Barrett's knapsack, the group continued into the denser region while trying (and failing) to avoid the fiends along their way.

Clusters of large Kimera bugs were easily dispatched while they almost got overtaken by Grangalan, the annoying egg-like creatures that reproduced faster than Grassland rabbits. As they got deeper into the thick foliage, they ran into a few nesting Mastodons they fortunately slipped past without fighting. Unfortunately, in a case of bad luck named Yuffie Kisaragi, they landed in a field of poisonous plants called Frightflowers. The evil flora were a pain in the ass if they weren't killed immediately and if it wasn't for Aerith's masterful Ensuna casting, the fight could have been deadly with their poison effect alone.

When all was said and done, nearly all of them were nursing more than a few new scrapes and bruises they didn't bother wasting potions on, but thankfully, nothing worse than that. Zack was merely grateful that they hadn't run into any Touch Me Frogs, but in an effort to avoid their spawning areas, it still stalled their progress more than he'd like.

Zack had also forgotten how strenuous traversing this jungle could be. Hanging ropes and vines, rickety wooden ladders, tons of hiking mountains and crossing fast-moving rivers greeted them the further into the jungle they went. And while himself and most of the group could easily handle the extra physical strain, it was obvious his girlfriend was quickly falling behind.

Flushed cheeks, sweat heavily lined her brow and her wispy chestnut locks were flattening as the exertion plus the humidity in the air began to wilt down her energy to a mere whisper of what it was mere hours prior.

Zack tried his best to take plenty of rest stops so she could have a moment to catch her breath, but it was an uphill battle. They were also losing daylight and it was a special kind of hell to get trapped in the jungle after nightfall where you couldn't even see your own damn hand in front of your face. Not to mention, the hungry nocturnal fiends he'd rather not deal with in the inevitable low lighting.

"I'm so sorry, Zack." Aerith's voice tore him from his musings. The last Cetra breathing heavily as she plopped down on a downed tree log and looked so incredibly miserable that it hurt his heart. "I know I'm slowing everyone down, it's just… Ugh! I thought after a few weeks of non-stop traveling I wouldn't be huffing and puffing like this anymore. I feel so weak…" she grumbled angrily while wiping her perspiring forehead with the back of her trembling hand.

"What are you talking about!? You just saved our asses back there! Don't even think that you're weak because you're one of the strongest people I know!" Zack chided while sliding to sit next to her and wrapping a comforting arm around her shoulder.

Aerith smiled at the statement but he still saw the doubt in her eyes and it broke his damn heart.

Zack bit his lip, yet before he said anything further, he lifted his blue eyes to the figures of the rest of the group standing at a nearby creek filling their canteens with fresh water. Seeing they weren't in hearing range, he continued, "I'm serious when I say you're actually doing great, sweetie. Traversing these jungles isn't easy whatsoever and the heat and humidity only makes it that much worse, especially if you're not used to it."

"I still feel bad… It's like everyone is always catering to me because I can't keep up," Aerith muttered lowly, playing with the ends of her frayed braid in an effort to keep her eyes away from Zack's concerned expression.

Zack pursed his lips, hating to see the self-deprecating look on her face and wanted nothing more than to reassure his angel, "That's not true! We've stopped plenty of times for the others. There's Barrett for instance in the Shinra tower with the giant ass flight of stairs and Yuffie whenever she needs to hurl every damn time she steps into a moving vehicle."

"Yeah, but that's not the same," Aerith pouted.

Zack bit his lip for a moment before he asked with a soft smile, "Hey, did I ever tell you about my friend Satatoro?"

Aerith's eyes perked up at the sudden new information he was sharing and he cheered inside at the interest in her pretty green eyes. "No, you didn't."

"Well, we both were born here and were friends since before we could walk. We were both so determined to join ShinRa to become First Class SOLDIERS yet he'd always be focused so much on strength and trying to pack on muscle that he never even bothered to do cardio to build up his stamina. The dude would nearly pass out when going for a light jog to my secret workout spot!"

"...So, you're saying I need to work on my stamina, hmm?" she teased lowly while brushing her hand on his thigh, loving to watch the adorable shade of coral red fill the apples of his cheeks.

Zack chuckled, "Babe, all I'm saying is that he lived here his whole life and he would have given up on this trek hours ago and yet here you are still pushing through!" he grasped at her wandering hand and held it against his chest, smiling so tenderly it made her heart throb against her sternum. "You're doing wonderful, Aeri. Don't you ever think otherwise. …Promise me?"

Aerith pursed her lips indecisively yet Zack didn't give, his big pout and patented puppy dog eyes she could never refuse had her throwing in the proverbial towel. Zack could be the most stubborn man on the planet when he set his mind to it. The Last Cetra finally relented with a sigh. "Fine. I won't say that anymore, okay?"

"Great!"

The Flower Girl huffed out a laugh before smiling at her wonderful and encouraging boyfriend. She quickly leaned up to place a quick kiss on the edge of his smiling mouth before resting her slight weight against his unmovable muscular frame. Bonelessly, she leaned against him, not even bothering to hide how absolutely exhausted she was anymore. "While I know I'm doing okay for making it this far, I still feel like shit for slowing us down… and now I can't feel my feet anymore."

Zack peered at her in concern before a brilliant idea popped into his head that had him smiling.

"...What?" Aerith asked when noticing him staring at her with barely restrained glee.

"I think I can help with that!"

.................

"...Are you sure this is okay?" Aerith asked, her thin frame cradled tenderly in Zack's arms in a bridle carry, the Buster Sword strapped to his back didn't allow for piggy back rides after all.

"Any excuse I can carry you is valid to me, babe," Zack sent her a bright smile down at her. "Besides, once we get some Chocobos, it'll be a helluva lot easier to traverse this terrain. Believe it or not, but they can even jump on the giant mushrooms to get to the tops of some of these cliffs! I think you'll love the color of their feathers too. They're a green super similar to your eyes, but of course, your eyes are much prettier," he winked at her.

Cheeks warming at his flirty words, Aerith smiled. "Wow, really?" she asked, glancing at the giant mushrooms and all the unexplored areas they could reach using those.

"Yeah… I wonder if my Chocobo is still around…"

"You had a Chocobo growing up? You never told me that!" she slapped his chest lightly and sent him a pout.

"Sorry!" Zack chuckled when she tried to pinch him. "I thought I did but must have forgot to mention it, but yeah, I did! Raised him since he was a chick. I named him Mochi after my favorite treat my late grandma used to make me all the time as a kid."

"Oh my! How cute!" Aerith's beamed, instantly picturing a tiny Zack running around with an adorable green Chocobo Chick following faithfully behind him. She hoped his parents had pictures she could see of that!

"He certainly was. We were both always getting into trouble but it was fun. I hope he's still around. He was kind of a wild bird so he might have taken off when I left, but if he's still around, you can ride him around. It would make the trip a lot easier and I'm certain he'd fall in love with you just as quickly as I did." he said with a tender smile.

Aerith eagerly returned it, her heart thumping at just how happy Zack made her without even trying.

The love and adoration he showcased with every little act of kindness and encouragement he bestowed upon her without asking for anything in return. He truly was the sweetest, gentlest, most wonderful man on Gaia filled with a heart of pure gold. She truly felt like the luckiest woman on the planet to have a love like hers, one that fought fate to make it back to her... And now she was on a journey with him and all her new friends and heading towards the place Zack grew up! Somewhere he always talked about and now she really was here with him at her side…

It was as if all her tiny wishes had come true.

Overcome with the sudden rush of emotion, she burrowed further into his embrace.

The close contact and warmth of his body filling her lungs like a haze, she couldn't help but reply, "I dunno, Zack," The Flower Girl whispered lowly while leaning her head into the comfortable crook where his neck met his shoulder. Resting her flushed cheek on the thick woven black turtle neck until her nose brushed across the skin of his jaw. Aerith bit her bottom lip when she felt Zack noticeably shiver at the unexpected intimate contact. She leaned closer until her mouth brushed against his ear. "I think I prefer you carrying me better."

Zack swallowed thickly, his flushed cheeks and darkening blue eyes peering down at her; the expression on his face filled with so much love and admiration it made her head spin. "Yeah?" he asked, glancing down at her lips and holding her just a little tighter against his chest.

"Yeah…"she whispered, leaning closer to him.

Yet before their lips could meet, Yuffie ruined it with a groan.

"Alright! Alright, lovebirds! We get it! You're in love and don't get enough 'alone time'," Yuffie announced crankily from right behind them, angrily stating some words with finger quotes, "But please, for the love of Leviathan, just stop it! I'm nauseous enough already without you guys always finding every damn excuse to suck face."

"Excuse me?" Aerith reprimanded with a rare glare.

"Yuffie! Leave them alone! They're cute!" Tifa chided, lightly smacking the teen on the shoulder.

"Heh. Yeah, yeah, Boobies, I bet pretty soon you and the Chocobo over there are probably gonna be following SOLDIER and Pinky soon enough and then I'll forcefully be subjected to more PDA no one asked to see!"

Tifa's face turned an alarming shade of red and Cloud actually stumbled over a blade of grass.

"Fuckin' hell, girlie! That's enough out of you! If you're mouth is working that good, you're not walking fast enough!" Barrett pushed the teen forward while rolling his eyes at her non-stop antics that were getting rather exhausting, "The faster we move our asses, the faster we'll be there! Now, hurry up!"

"Dat's right, lassie! According to my calculations, we should be arriving fairly soon!" Cait Sith piped up from his perch on Nanaki's back, the cat doing his best to stay away from Yuffie's grasp and from losing anymore Materia to the sticky-fingered teen.

Zack bit his lip to stop from grinning like a madman at how, when things quieted down again, Cloud and Tifa glanced at one another before looking away with their lips curved in shy smiles. Nanaki brushed by his leg and flashed him a conspiratory grin. Zack peered back at Aerith to apologize for their ruined moment and hoping to get it back, yet all of a sudden, he froze when Cait Sith's words finally settled low in his gut.

The damn robot cat was right.

The widening of the brush and a more well-worn walking paths were becoming clearer the further they continued. More and more of the areas they passed and the sight of them mixed with all the years he spent growing up, the same locations and sites were ones he saw frequently. The cliff-side his dad would take him on short camping trips over the weekend. The creek him and his childhood friends would go and catch fish during the long summer. The fields his mom would take him to pick mushrooms and other vegetables for dinner. That familiar patch of giant mushrooms him and Mochi would jump off of to go explore the topside mountains.

…Fuck.

They were getting close.

Within a few minutes, they'd turned another corner past two tall grassy cliffs and a beautiful clear waterfall pouring loudly into a shallow river when Zack's heart nearly trembled at seeing the green tops of trees give way in the distance to painfully familiar domed roofs…

Gongaga was right there.

The anxiety he'd held down for nearly the whole journey was now boiling like Ifrit's fire deep in his stomach, twisting his gut uncomfortably as the wooden gates of Gongaga slowly came into view in the distance.

Yet before he could commiserate on this any further, Zack's SOLDIER senses rushed into high gear.

With one swift move, he'd gently placed the confused Aerith back on the ground and silently maneuvering her to stay behind him. With a flex of his bicep, the Buster Sword was off his back with a satisfying shing sound and he'd instantly taken a protective stance in front of the most important person in his entire life. The others nearby noticed his alarm and immediately jumped into action.

Within seconds, the entire group was aiming their various weapons at the figures that suddenly appeared out of the thick brush that surrounded them.

Zack cursed himself for not noticing them sooner but regardless, he was ready for anything they could throw at him.

Yet any fight or flight response honed from years of being in SOLDIER and that hellish year on the run fighting for his and Cloud's survival faded completely away when he saw the familiar face of the leader, someone he never thought he would again in this lifetime.

"...Cissnei?"

[grigori77]

Critical Role, Campaign 3 Episode 52

Another serious NEED to know what's gonna happen has gripped me all this past week and I've REALLY been trying to avoid spoilers across the board ... seriously, these major shakeups are EXHAUSTING ...

But FINALLY ... answers ...

OMAR!!! OMAR'S IN THE STUDIO!!! HELLO CUTIE!!! I love that corgi guys, I love him so much ... awwwwww ... he's ALREADY causing chaos and I love it ... and Ashley cooing over him is just the cutest thing. :3

Sam: "Sometimes we do GOOD things!" Yeah, and we love you guys for it.

HALF of Bells Hells indeed ... oof ... seriously guys, NOW WHAT?!!!

Wait ... WAIT!!! Where are the others? Where are Marisha and Liam and Taliesin? AAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!! Mercer why are you doing this to us?

Fearne: "What do I smell like?" WAY to give the werewolf ideas, Calloway!

What? WHY does she have to roll a D100 to message Laudna? Oh ... WHAT?!!! FUCK!!! 6 points of psychic damage? Even halved ... oh, that is just CRUEL ...

FCG tries instead ... DID HE roll better? Oh no ... no, it doesn't work either ... oh gods no ... no no no ...

Whoa ... so their magic DOES still work, then ... but does FCG's goddess magic work now? Is the Changebringer still okay? Can he still contact her? Hmmmm ... this is so worrying ...

Oh, so he CAN still use Guidance? Phew ...

The Crystalsands Tundra ... so they ARE in Wildemount! Oh shit!

FCG: "Is it always cold like this?" Chetney: "Oh yeah, it's always pretty ... it's pretty titty!"

Yeah, Ashton has the hole ... why? What do they need?

No Taste of Tal'dorei pot-holder ... yeah ...

She's trying to contact Laudna AGAIN ... shit ... I saw that coming but it was still painful.

Fearne: "What if we're the last ones?" No, really, don't go there, kid ...

FCG tries to cast sending to DORIAN ... oh yeah, that's smart ... BOLLOCKS!!!

More sexy scars for Chet then ... XD

This is all really making me so uncomfortable like back when half the Nein got kidnapped znd then we lost Molly ... PLEASE don't go that way again, I don't know if I can handle it ...

Oh yeah, this place is just UNPLEASANT, isn't it?

Shelter ... need some shelter ... ugh, this is so bad ...

Flying, yes, that's a good idea ... except maybe for the windchill factor ... oof ...

A giant shoebill? Awesome, I love those freaky machine gun beaky dinosaur bird things ... XD

Oh yeah, shoebills are cute in a really NIGHTMARE FUEL kind of way ...

Planerider Chetney rides again ... yeah, that went about the way I expected ... XD

Uh oh ... what's THAT under the snow? Oh shit ... are we all sbout to die?

Detect Thoughts? Really? Hmmm ... AAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!

Oh shit! What the fu ... INITIATIVE?!!! ALREADY?!!! AAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!

Travis: "Oh my god! We're gonna die!" Fuck yeah, that is HORRIBLE!!! Laura: "Oh yeah, I would've attacked that right away!" Matt: "Well then roll so you can see if you DO attack it right away!"

It's not a beast? CRAP!!! Fearne can't dominate it! Aaaaahhh!

FCG: "We don't have our people who do the big damage, so WE gotta do the big damage!" 16 doesn't do shit? Oh fuck ... "Shield of Help?" Ye gods ...

A TORRENT OF FREEZING AIR!!! AAAAAAHHH!!! 42 points of cold damage? Holy fuck!

Frozen faces in the ice? Oh my GODS that is fucked up ...

Lightning Bolt! Yes! DO IT IMOGEN!!! BOOSH!!! NINE D6 of damage? Holy fuck ...

Oh yeah, her arm makings ... hmmm ...

Yeah, Turmoil! Always fun! That's sweet! Boom! Bye bye ice arch! Yeah, flames are good right now!

Oh gods, now what?

TWO shapes? Huh? What?

HOLY FUCK, more players ... AABRIA!!! OH MY GODS!!! HELLO!!! THAT IS SO COOL AND SUCH A WONDERFUL SURPRISE!!!

Christian Navarro is an Aeormaton?! Ooooooooh shit! WHAAAAAAAT?!!! With a blunderbus arm! So cool! So this is like a COOL version of FCG, then?

Aabria is a gnome! Cute cute cute ... I love it!

Scorching Ray! Yeah! Do it Fearne! And she MISSES TWICE?!!! Seriously? At least the third hits ... it takes DOUBLE damage from fire? Interesting ...

Oh no no no ... not that ice breath AGAIN ...

Aaaaaah ... FCG's saw ain't doing SHIT! Spiritual Weapon! Okay ... in the form of NICK JONAS?!!! Really? I mean I guess it WILL hurt ...

The best rule of all in D&D IS the Rule of Cool after all ...

MASS HEALING WORD!!! YES!!! DO THAT!!!

Oh yeah, Mass Cure Wounds WOULD work better ... yeah, 30 HP boost to EVERYBODY!!! Sweet!

Fuck! All that healing and FCG just lost essentially ALL OF IT right away! Fuck!

FINALLY that bloody saw hits it! Oof ... at least it's A LITTLE damage ...

Mystery new aeormaton is BADASS!!! Nice! Action Surge? OH!!! So she's a Fighter! Awesome!

A Lightning Bolt THROUGH its head? Oh shit yeah ... please work ... 31 points of damage! Oof! Nice one Imogen!

Sneaky Chetney, sneaky ...

FCG (to Fearne): "Don't hit Nick Jonas!" Fearne: "Magic's a little tricky, no promises!" Oh SWEET!!! HDYWTDT!!! POW!!! Burns the eyes RIGHT OUT of its head! Awesome! So cool!

Yes! They're Friendlies!

Deanna ... oh, wait ... OH SHIT, so she KNOWS Chetney? Wait ... oh yes! WE DO know that name! YES!!! She's his ex! Yes! And she clocks him! Of course she does!

D? D? Oh yes ... yes, D ...

FRIDA. Cool. This is really something.

Chetney: "I was not planning on seeing a romantic person from my backstory!" No shit, Chet! This is like SO awkward ...

Oh yes, how long HAS IT been?

Deanna's a cleric of the Dawnfather? Interesting ... she's LOSING CONTACT with him? That's interesting in a really worrying way ...

Matt's face when they ask if FRIDA has a tongue ... XD

Wait ... how did THAT fit in her pocket? Deanna knits in the same way Chetney does woodwork ... oh, that is so cute ... this is like adorable AND awkward ...

Imogen (in Chetney's head): "You doin' okay?" Chetney: "Help!"

Yeah, camping might be best ...

Race for Guidance ... :3

Wow ... Chetney is just SQUIRMING so badly ... this is so totally my trash right now ... whoa ... Deanna DIED?!!! WHAAAAAAAT?!!!

She was dead for 200 YEARS?!!! That's incredible! Wow ... Deanna's snowflake analogy is so moving ...

FCG (to Deanna): "You have STEW?!!! (to Chetney) Why did you leave this woman?"

Interesting ... FRIDA's story is ... very moving ... and tragic ... oof ... no wonder these two are so attached to each other.

Aabria: "My first whisper!" Awwwwww ...

Removable face plate! Oh! FRIDA's an acronym! Cool!

Oh, the fake legs ... oh boy ... oh gods YES!!! Get FCG some proper legs! Yes!

Ah yes, the big question with Ruidus ... balls, shit roll futzes any great revelations ...

I love how Travis and Aabria are genuinely competing as players as well ... XD

FCG on needing a god to have a purpose ... oof ... this is troubling ...

Ah, the eternal question of how time passes during a campaign ... have they been together weeks, months or YEARS?!!! XD

Matt reminds everyone that exhaustion has hit them all hard, ESPECIALLY Fearne. Fearne: "I'm so tired." LOL

Imogen's so upset snd worried zbout their missing friends. FRIDA plays Imogen's laughter back to her. "Your laughter is beautiful." Awwwwwwww ...

Oh shit ... Imogen's purple magic marks are turning RED?!!! HOLY FUCK!!! Matt: "And that's where we're gonna take a break!" AAAAAAHHH!!!

Till The Last Gasp ... wow ... Matt and Marisha are clearly having a ball chewing the scenery here ...XD

Morning comes ... okay ...

Deanna does a sneaky Death Ward on Chetney while he's still sleeping? Awww ...

Missing Orym's wake-up exercises ... hmmm ... Deanna tries to contact Orym ... hmmm ... oh, so she's just sending feelings of love from his friends to him? Interesting ... and it STILL doesn't work! Fuck! Shit! Fuckshit!

Imogen takes off the Circlet ... OH!!! So there's genuinely static just THERE underneath everything? Now that is REALLY interesting ...

So the new change in Imogen's markings is CLEARLY connected to Ruidus, then ...

A hard day's trek ... yup ... MOSTLY good rolls at least ...

FRIDA picks up on the Death Ward thing ... hmmm ...

FCG's buttcakes are back! XD FOUR additional temporary hit points with a Natural 20? Cool ...

FRIDA CAN DREAM!!! WILD!!!

Fearne: "That's a great idea, two aeormatons just taking on a dream." Hmmm ...

Whoa ... Fearne can cast Pass Without A Trace now! Awesome!

Chetney trying to make nice with Deanna ... hmm ... oh fuck yeah ... that's right ... she doesn't know sbout the werewolf thing, does she? How's she gonna take THAT when she finds out?

Matt, WHY are you making Chetney roll NOW?!!!

Oh shit ... some weird Solstice thing ... fuck ... Chetney's wolfing out! AAAAAAHHH!!!

Oh, there we go. Secret's out ... and Deanna's tripping out over it ... hmmm ...

"Applebee's Solstice"?

Does Imogen have purple tits? Is this REALLY what we're wondering right now?

There's really nothing to actually be afraid of. This is actually pretty par for the course for these guys ..

AAAAAND now it's suddenly gotten very heavy and metaphorical and fundamental on us ... hmmmm ...

Ah yes. The God Eater.

Oh my gods ... has it just accidentally become canon that FCG can SNEEZE?!!!

Imogen rolls super shitty to just LOOK UP INTO THE NIGHT SKY and find Ruidus ... XD

Hmmm ... no sign of Ruidus? What's THAT mean?

Yes. See if you can contact the others through Imogen's dreams. Yes. SMART.

Fearne's coming too ... okay ... here we go ...

Deanna: "Oh, so it's FUNNY that Chetney's called 'puppy'." FRIDA: "If I COULD feel uncomfortable I believe I WOULD."

All right ... dream-based moment of truth ... AND THE LIGHTS ARE GOING RED!!! AAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!

Whoa! The beam is STILL THERE and Ruidus is LOCKED IN PLACE in the sky? Holy fuck ...

People? NOT people? The Reilora? FUCK!!!

Natural 1? Fearne gets BOOTED out of the dream HARD!!!

Earthbind? Crazy ...

Imogen's mental self is just being DRAGGED IN ... this is SO BAD ... can FCG do ANYTHING?!!! Well he tries ...

Fearne just slaps her in the face and screams: "IMOGEN!!! WAKE UP!!!" Holy fuck ... AND IT WORKS?!!! That is SO WILD ...

Greater Restoration? Nice. And that is SUCH a sweet moment between them ...

Wow ... I love how Matt describes what Chetney's left behind is just a "murder trail". Yeah ...

Okay, seriously, FRIDA what the hell are you DOING?!!! Oh ... fuck, actually that's SO SMART ...

Full on internal struggle ... DAMN guys ...

Fuck this is SO tense ... oooh ... the SMELL THING ... again, that's SO CLEVER ... damn, I love what Matt and Travis are doing here right now. Christian too ...

Oh fuck ... did Chris just full on TANK this awesome moment?

ROLL INITIATIVE!!! HOLY SHIT!!!

FRIDA just full on BOLTS, while firing into the air. Okay ... and of course the wolf GIVES CHASE. Oh shit! NO!!! NOT THE JACKET!!!

Damn, that was SUCH a close roll ... and it just goes SO bad ...

FRIDA: "BAD puppy!" XD

Man ... Aabria really is just quietly PANICKING right now ...

Oh yeah, Deanna just starts running RIGHT AWAY, doesn't she? No surprise there ...

Oooh ... Dazing Shot? Nice ... shame it doesn't work ...

Travis: "The shot, plus the taste of this thing is just ... WEIRD ... but it's FUN!" Oof ...

Christian: "I ... amateur, but I need to pee!" XD

Oh wait ... yes .. Chet, fight it ... oh NICE ROLL TRAVIS!!! Is he out of it?

Oh yeah, shame ... I can see that ... this is such a bad mess ...

Yeah, Wild Shape means you're still YOU inside. Which is good.

Channel Divinity? Sweet ...

Oh yeah, Deanna is MAD and I ain't surprised. At least FRIDA can get through to her. KIND OF. Yeah ...

Deanna: "I am being calmed by magic, and I just wanna LOSE MY MIND."

It's true, like I said this is kind of par fir the course with these guys.

Back to camp and back go bed, then.

Matt, you BASTARD!!! "And that's where we're gonna call it s night!" AAAAAAHHH!!!

Oof ... not a BIG cliffhanger, but still ... meanwhile OKAY, but then shattered does that mean for NEXT time?

I enjoyed this, but I still kind if HATE this shole situation ...

[normalenjoyer-png]

this is. certainly something i’m posting. but fuck it we ball

here’s all the lethal company fnaf monsters

- they’re all nightmare or bonnie themed (excluding the ghosts) because of william’s influence over them👍

manticoil: effectively a bird lol. poses 0 threat ever, nothing rlly fits this role lol

roaming locusts: …locust. nothing rlly fits this role lol

spore lizard: almost made this nightmare chica, but couldn’t find a better fit for nutcracker so she’s that now. nothing rlly fits this role lol

hoarding bug: plushtrap cause his small stature but also cause i think he’s most likely to just fucking steal shit. also most likely to make the “yippee!” noise.

hygrodere: ohhhh the blob maybe? cause like pool of agony->pool of kids melted together forever. ok yeah i dig that.

earth leviathan: this is a giant fucking worm. nothing really fits that role lol

bunker spider: princess quest glitchtrap goop because it moves slow enough to warrant this role>thumper and would probably set up webs to catch people like the spider in game. also so many connections i could make out of that

snare flea: princess quest rabbit head cause it eats ur head like a snare flea does

forest giant: nightmare cause big bear eat people. also contended glitchtrap for this role but glitchtrap isn’t quite mindless enough i dont think

baboon hawk: freddles cause the baboon hawk mechanic is that if it’s 1v1 they’ll run away but if it’s 2v1 they’ll attack you. so long as they have more numbers than your group then they’ll attack

circuit bee: these are bees with lightning powers. nothing really fits that role lol

masked/mimic: …the mimic. but you can’t see it’s the mimic because it’s wearing a company jumpsuit and it’s only real difference is its lack of defining features and its rudimentary behavior.

ghost girl: cassidy because i think she should be allowed to blow people up by touching them

eyeless dog: becomes eyeless bear, aka nightmare freddy. can only hear things

coil head: spring bonnie because HEAR ME OUT. operates like a weeping angel. when you catch it it stops and creaks heavily with the force with which it stopped. and instead of replacing your head with a coil, it SPRINGLOCKS YOU!!!!!

bracken: toy bonnie, they just look similar lol. would’ve been nightmarionne if not for nightmarionne being used in the jester

thumper: nightmare mangle my beloved. because she can run at you really fast but can’t make turns very well so she skids into the wall headfirst at top speed sometimes 😭😭

jester: CHARLIE!!!!! cause puppet+music box. sometimes charlie pops out to talk to whoever she’s following but she’s only aggro when she’s nightmarionne

nutcracker: nightmare chica; glitchtrap contended for this spot as well cause i thought he’d be funny with a gun but that was mostly out of a loss of where to put him until i realized chica would work a lot better here; the cupcake operating as the eye the nutcracker has, and instead of a gun firing at you she just chases you if her cupcake sees you move

i DO want to put glitchtrap somewhere really bad and rn i’m considering him just being like. either another version of the ghost girl (they skip the same lol) or the company’s ai that’s actually sending the afton kids on this trip. the only thing with both of these is it kinda severs his connection with vanessa and that makes me sad :( making him the forest giant would’ve been cool as he’d’ve been the biggest enemy in the game and it would be TERRIFYING to be scooped up and eaten by him, but i just don’t vibe with 1. dumbing him down to the forest giant’s level 2. making the forest giant any goddamn smarter than he needs to be 🤨 inescapable fuck.

SO. that’s where i’m at rn. suggestions for blank ones are welcome but otherwise i’ll just keep them as they are cause they are mostly environmental anyway :3

[cannoli-reader]

Okay, then where do these sexist ideas come from? Why is it so common in the series that people think that's what RJ was trying to say about the sexes?

You'd have to ask RJ why it's in there.

However, from a Watsonian viewpoint, my guess would be saidin and saidar. Jordan once responded to a fan question about the lack of organized religion in WoT, by saying that the One Power takes the place of religion in people's minds, they don't need to imagine a man on a mountain throwing lightning bolts or a carving up a giant's carcass to make the world, because the One Power exists to explain away unknown phenomena.

Now, as world-building goes, this is kind of bullshit, because that's not how religious people think. Isaac Newton, Louis Pasteur, Gregor Mendel, Copernicus and even Galileo were all practicing Christians, who, so far as I know, did not find their scientific knowledge undermining their faith. For that matter, the Abrahamic religions are fairly light on details intended to fill in the blanks of why the sun moves across the sky. But the important thing here is that is how Jordan believes it works.

So I think, due to the knowledge of the One Power, and the complementary differences between saidin and saidar, people in the world of WoT have a reason to perceive the One Power as indicative of the basic nature of the sexes. The knowledge that they interact in different ways with the Power influences how people see the sexes reacting in different ways, even if they really are not. It's just selective perceptions.

Selective perceptions affect the fandom as well. I watched a YouTube series with a couple who were reading the books. When they got to the boat ride in tFoH, they got all huffy about the women suddenly calming down and getting back to their normal selves because they had children to take care of. But you know what? That is literally the only interaction with children Nynaeve or Elayne have in the entire series (unless you count Elayne's pregnancy, which I don't seeing as how her usual reaction to her pregnancy is resenting measures imposed on her for the well-being or safety of the fetus[es]). Rand notes in EotW that Mat's paranoia relaxes around children. Mat reverses course on his stated refusal to help people who can't do anything for him at the sight of crying children. Loial gathers children under his protection in the Stone of Tear during the Trolloc attack and Rand is most affected by the sight of a dead child, which comes closer than anything else to taking him over the edge. Perrin turns away from the front lines of a desperate battle where he is in command, in order to carry a child to safety. At a near apex of his hardness in RJ's books, Rand is concerned about the fates of a couple of street children in Tear. And then there is Olver. Even when you flip the roles, Thom and Lan take a far more avuncular and personal role in their relationships with the Two Rivers boys than Moiraine does. The books are chock full, from the outset, of examples of the male characters reacting to children and caring about them, with only the one incidence of Nynaeve or Elayne doing so, but because of their preconceptions, these reviewers criticized the series for portraying women as inherently maternal.

People are really inclined to notice patterns that confirm their preconceptions, whether things they want to believe or things they find objectionable, and see them whether they are there or not. When you have the One Power making such a huge difference in the lives and experience of men and women who channel it, it naturally makes people inclined to favor or fear things about them. And while knowledge of the differences between saidar and saidin might have been lost since the Age of Legends, the taint creates an even more glaring contrast. Many people don't even understand the taint or channeling in general, and so there might be all sorts of reasons in their heads about why male channelers are a threat and women are not.

[thebiscuiteternal]

since you said crossovers were okay can we see some of that fashion buddies crossover you mentioned awhile back?

(Man, copypasting and editing this on my phone turned out to be a pain in the ass.)

----------

There are rumblings of a strange new monster wandering about the jianghu. It appears to be a woman dressed in scandalous black clothing with gold armor, except it can't be an actual woman because the scout reports say that she can grow taller than the trees or smaller than a bird, that she can fly on insect wings and shoot lightning from her hands.

A joke, the great sects think. A tale created and spread by drunkards.

Until a group of Lan disciples are the next to cross her path.

---

Janet van Dyne is having a very, very bad week. She's lost count of the number of magical or technological portals she's been tossed through in her lifetime, so at first she'd been grateful to at least have ended up on Earth this time.

And then the first group of people she had come across had promptly run screaming.

What Mandarin she's picked up on both her jobs is no help, since no one gives her time to speak before they attack, and like hell she's just going to stand there and let herself be stabbed.

Which has only led to this. Staring at a drawing of a snarling face under the hooded visor of her costume.

She groans and pinches the bridge of her nose to stave off a headache, then considers her options.

She's been (guiltily) stealing food in her small form already... maybe if she could nick some clothing, it would be easier to hide...

The only problem being that she would also need to steal a basin so she could particle-treat them to change size with her (no naked escapes, thank you very much), and that would be noticeable.

She's still deciding what to do when two young men, a grouchy looking one Steve's size in greens and greys and the other more placid one in the white and blue of the last group to try and kill her, enter the inn through the doorframe she's currently hiding on.

And they have swords like that last group.

Shit.

Time to go.

She slips out of a gap between boards and heads for the edge of town, but only a little ways away from the inn, she starts feeling inexplicably exhausted.

Maybe the sleep deprivation is catching up to her. Holes in trees and cracks in walls aren't exactly comfortable.

Without meaning to, her flight path starts drifting lower as the sleepiness gets worse.

-and then she's startled back to fully awake when she's snared right out of the air by a net with glowing threads.

"Fu-" <<Hey! Let me out!>>

The kid holding the net looks a year or two younger than Nadia and Ying, and... oh, damn, he's wearing the same colors as tall, dark, and grumpy back at the inn. That can't be a coincidence.

<<You don't look all that scary for a monster,>> he says, tilting his head.

Oh, thank God. Finally, someone who talks first instead of going right for stabby things.

<<That's because I'm not a monster,>> she replies, retracting her visor into her hood and yanking it back to uncover her hair, ears, and face.

<<But you are magical?>>

She briefly debates how much she should explain, then settles on keeping it simple. <<I was a science experiment.>>

That seems to be good enough, as the boy puts the net down on a table that passers-by are unlikely to notice, letting her start untangling herself.

He sits down and rests his chin on his fists with a grin she knows all too well promises mischief. <<So does that mean you don't want to use your giant size to crush thousands of innocents into soup?>>

<<Alright, one: That's morbid. And gross... Are people really saying that?>>

<<Among other horrors.>>

She groans. <<Great. No. Literally the only two things I want right now are a bath and some sleep.>>

Before he can answer, there's a commanding bark of "Huaisang!" from the street, and the kid winces.

<<Friend of yours?>>

<<My older brother,>> he replies, then scratches his cheek in thought. <<Can you hide in my sleeve?>

<<Your collar would be easier on both of us,>> Jan says. She's still wary, but seeing as he seems willing to risk trusting her, she'll go along.

She flutters up to settle between the third and fourth layers, hiding under his hair and tucking her wings in to curl herself up small.

<<All set?>>

She hopes she's not making a huge mistake. <<Let's go.>>

[the-firebird69]

He did some studies of this place and it's very unhealthy for human beings and even giants it's very tough to get by and most life does not do well here alligators don't like it and it stinks it rocks. It runs at ROTS now he's made a point that there's a ship above and it's a 100 there's **** everywhere and it's making it much worse. He's saying what he's saying is somehow he feels he's weighing a little bit more than he should and people are noticing that their weight is off it's somewhere else like 10 to 15 pounds lighter are you ready i'm not trying to teach and the ship is doing something to magnetize something below and I guess we're probably seeing a dirty word and it's not thorium he says and he told people about it it's cabinet cadmium and you can easily find it he says with an infermometer or things like a scale that will change when you go near deposit you'll get to you get heavier so we did a study and we found hot spots and it's not too hard to find the in thermometer works pretty good if you know what to look for no it just feels faster and it's easy to find it's like dousing and below is a source of cadmium here in Florida and you guys are fighting over who the hell knows what you don't even know about it well our friend says that when Tommy F turned something up and he's probably trying to get at it the stuff magnetizes even more and changes of it magnetic field and mind you that it's charged and it's been charged for a while and that electrical current from the ocean is charging it and lightning but the ship really does it a lot and he weighs a lot already in just having trouble and he says boy it really hurts sometimes is on the scale it fluctuates but that's normally says a little bit but it does change sometimes when he's got without food and we notice that and not too much them all not too much but everybody else is fluctuating like mad it's part of the effect of this place being charged another reason is this poop has clogged up every poor the salt comes in and it charges up a whole bunch of land which has some particles in it of cadmium and other metals and poop has a lot so the whole place gets all charged up and it is abnormally high and can change how much you weigh the gravity is increasing is really what the effect is it's really like a magnet but it's increasing what you feel as weight it seems to tolerate it pretty well but he is trying like hell because there's so much **** in the food and water and everything else makes it very difficult but most of you are obscenely ignorant even mac daddy doesn't get it and I myself probably weigh 30 pounds more in my legs are killing me all the time said you need extra potassium you get a heart attack because you're working out all the time He says I said I'm tired and then he says you're the scientist and it's the ship is a problem and I know about it so I did a little test and studies and I found the stuff and you can see where it is by the little circles that you think authorium and I saw what the max were grabbing where the boulders themselves and BJA got interested in said what the hell are those and all of a sudden he's mad and bill preston mac daddy a bit and

Olympus approves

[maybeamiles]

One piece time! This time I'm covering Fishman Island, and doing it a bit differently.

I'm writing down my thoughts as I watch the episodes, then I'm gonna go back through once I hit a good stopping point and edit them to be more cohesive, with a lightning round of my favorite moments at the end. This is gonna be a longer post, so here's a cut to make things easier on everyone.

It seems there are some similarities between this arc and the last one. Last time, even with some of the strongest people in the world by his side, Luffy failed to save Ace and his crew. I think this arc is meant to show us just how much stronger everyone has gotten.

Now, at first, I thought Hordy would have gotten the energy steroids from Doflamingo or Big Mam, since they might've benefited from the unrest at Fishman Island. I also thought Hordy might have been Fisher Tiger's son once they started talking about his "true identity."

I was wrong on both fronts. Everything about Hordy was created from circumstances on Fishman Island. It makes thematic sense. One of the biggest themes in One Piece is the idea of "inherited will." AKA: Our most valuable legacies are our dreams. On Fishman Island, we also see inherited trauma. This explains why Otohime wanted to move everyone above land. It wasn't to save the fishmen from humans, it was to save the fishmen from themselves. By refusing to pass on their hatred, they're trying to keep the spark of hope alive in people.

AND SPEAKING OF INHERITED WILL- Fire fist Ace! Luffy is using Ace's power! He's carrying his brother with him! He doesn't want anyone else to die because of what happened before.

And that blood transfusion scene? The people behind that deserve a raise. The music choice and timing were amazing. It really highlighted exactly what was behind this moment, which to us seems so simple Really shows that a good song and visual motif can elevate a scene.

I'm looking forward to the new world and seeing what Big Mam is all about. I've heard Wholecake Island does great things for our boy Sanji, that should be fun.

LIGHTNING ROUND:

The "Luffy Vs. Jimbei" Episode made me laugh at how little fighting there actually was.

The squid who swam too close to the sun and his still-living pal are references to Daedelus and Icarus.

Hordy's bleached redesign is one of my personal favorite tropes.

It took me waaaay too long to realize the guy in the intro with the straw hat was Rodger, not Luffy

Of Course Hordy pulled a Macbeth and killed the person he framed for the queen's death, classic.

Robin needs to have a "Gigantesco Pie" attack ("Pie" is Spanish for foot). It bugged me when she called her giant kick attack "Gigantesco Mano" which would be "giant hand"

I do however love how all of Robin's attacks are Spanish. Lets me flex what little Spanish I do know.

Sanji's moonwalk is amazing.

Franky got the magical girl transformation he deserves.

I love the "Honk" sound his tank makes when it fires.

Surume is officially the best straw hat pet.

I look forward to the day when Zoro gets to properly duel someone of his skill level

[askthekirbysquad]

(Hopefully final) UPDATE:

When I made the last post, I only looked at the attacks that the wiki said gave the "Zap" attribute, when searching for other instances of electric attacks in Star Allies. This means I only checked the movesets of playable characters and not any bosses (aside from Zan Partizanne).

So! Quick lightning round (hehe) of updates: Kracko does have one attack with pink lightning, but it basically looks like Taranza's Sectonia attack, so Magolor's Dark Electricity is still unique. Void Termina has the usual yellow/green/blue electricity (like allies with the Zap attribute!).

More importantly, however (and the reason I made an extra post), is Hyness.

Now, Hyness' electric attacks are nothing of note--they're the same yellow/green/blue colour as nearly every other electric attack in the game. However, take a look at these two other attacks of his instead:

For comparison, here's Magolor's again:

The two attacks are nearly identical! The only differences are the trails behind them, and the little lightning bolts inside Magolor's spheres that Hyness' lack (which makes sense! Magolor's attack is electric-elemented, while Hyness' is elementless).

So, what does this mean? I've got two ideas:

1. Purple is just the colour of generic, elementless magic.

It does make sense? Like, if I were to pick a "generic magic" colour, it'd be either pink or purple.

This also fits in with how Magolor's magic bombs in the Epilogue and his Deadly Spikes are purple and elementless.

It does mean tragic things for how much my "Magolor's magic was corrupted by the Master Crown" theory/headcanon is supported by canon though </3 Still gonna stick with it regardless though, since it still does make logical sense for something like that to happen.

And even still, that still makes Magolor's electric spheres really weird, and this time it's in a way that I can't find an explanation I'm fully happy with. His spheres are electricity contained inside a shell of generic magic. Why? None of Magolor's other spells are like that. No other magic in general is like that in Star Allies (aside from potentially Taranza). It's perfectly possible to create magical balls of pure electricity, as proven by Zan Partizanne, Spark, and Beam. Does that mean Magolor is actually worse at electricity than other forms of magic? So the spell needs to be mostly Generic Magic with only a little bit of lightning encased inside?? But then why is that attack (which is still electric-elemented) the only spell he can still cast when he loses everything in the Epilogue? If he was bad at electricity magic, it should be one of the last things he relearns.

Taranza's similar magic spheres are also just Generic Magic, I guess (again, following Star Allies where the attacks are elementless). But maybe they also have some other type of magic stored inside them, hence why they glow? Or maybe it's just a higher concentration of magic in the orb that causes the glow, which is also why the attack is more solid (it bounces off walls) and more opaque than Magolor and Hyness' spheres.

2. Purple is the colour of dark magic.

Supporting evidence: Hyness' spheres look very similar to the giant Dark Heart in the background, which we know to be composed entirely of negative energy and is generally strongly related to Dark Matter/dark magic

Hyness also declares himself and his cult and/or species to be "masters of a matter most dark" during his rant before you fight him.

Magolor's spheres, then, are a combination of electricity and dark magic, while Hyness' are pure dark magic! Which works with my original headcanon/theory! Magolor's main magic spheres pre-possession were entirely made of electricity, but the corruption and soul-eating from the Master Crown permanently infused dark magic into the attack (and also permanently tainted his magic in general).

Like I've said before, in my opinion, the reason the corruption only shows in his electric attacks and not in, say, his Revolution Flame or wind-elemented Magolor Surge is because electricity magic is his natural inclination. It's the type of magic closest to his core being, the ability he can summon with very little effort. Fire and wind magic, meanwhile, is comparatively more difficult to cast, since it's further away from his core. The specialized form his magic needs to take on for those types of spells kinda diminishes the effects of the Dark Matter corruption, at least in appearance. I could see all of his magic having a slight effect similar to dark magic/Dark Matter's attacks in addition to whatever element the spell is actually supposed to be, too, though.

Maybe Dark Matter's magic, while being elementless/dark magic, is also closest to electricity out of the 'natural' types of elemental magic? Considering how the Dark Lasers do resemble lightning, even if the attack isn't actually electric. So maybe it's also easier for Dark Matter to 'infect' electricity magic compared to the other elements, I dunno.

This would also suggest that Magolor's Deadly Spikes are also dark magic, which is fine by me, actually! With some of his magical skills in the Epilogue (specifically Levitation, Magolor Surge and Magic Bomb), Magolor specifically says that he used to be able to use them before he lost all his powers, and is glad that he can still do them when he gets those abilities back. He does not say that for the Deadly Spikes, though! So it's fair to say that he learned that attack for the first time during the Epilogue, and wasn't something he ever knew how to do previously. And so, the reason he can use a dark magic attack like that at all could be due to the Master Crown's influence and soul-eating.

His Magic Bombs, meanwhile, I'd say had their appearance corrupted just like his electric spheres were. Maybe that's even part of why he switches to his Gem Apple Bombs by the time Star Allies rolls around? It helps hide the corruption.

This would also suggest that Taranza is a dark mage! But the reason he has that ability is entirely separate from Dark Matter (which could also be why his attacks look different from Magolor and Hyness'). It's just his natural "core" type of magic, like how Magolor's is lightning! Hyness, meanwhile, could probably go either way! Given that he, like Magolor, can wield a wide variety of elemental magic, I could see him maybe being born with one of those as his "core" magic. But he also had his magic corrupted by Dark Matter---willingly, in his case---at some point in his life, in service of/to be closer to his Dark Lord. Or maybe he was just born with dark magic. I guess it could depend on whether him being a "master of a matter most dark" is a species thing or a cult thing. In any case, nowadays, dark magic would definitely be his natural inclination!

...Or I guess another option is that both ideas are true! Purple can just mean different things for magic! Like how wind and electricity magic can both be associated with green. For Hyness and Magolor, their purple magic is the result of dark magic. For Taranza, it's highly condensed and concentrated Generic Magic, which is why it's also very bright and glowy!

Anyway, yeah! I think it's neat how Hyness and Magolor basically share an attack, and I'm glad I caught that detail. I'm definitely leaning more towards that specific attack being dark magic (or tainted by dark magic in Magolor's case) rather than generic magic, since that supports my headcanon/theory better dgsgshfh. And plus it just makes more sense to me! But, I'd like to suggest all the possibilities I can think of, in the interest of fairness!

Thinking about how Magolor's electric ball attacks look nothing like any other instances of electricity in the games that I can recall (particularly in Star Allies), but do resemble Gooey's Dark Laser attacks quite a bit

[raeynbowboi]

How to build the Olympians in DnD 5e

This is going to be a fun and challenging task, because I am setting out to build the fourteen Theoi collectively known as the Olympians, plus Persephone because I can. If this post does well, I’ll branch out and tackle other Greek Gods such as the Fates or Hecate. But for this first one, I’ll be sticking to the major gods and goddesses. However, I’m adding a fun little twist to this post. I’ll be giving each God a Level 20 build, but I’ll also be taking these builds one step further. I’m in a campaign right now that’s taking the players through all nine layers of the Nine Hells, every layer of The Abyss, and then to Barovia to fight a massively beefed up Strahd. This campaign is going to span all the way to level 40, and will see the players fight and assume the positions of the very Archfiends of Hell, with my own character slated to take the throne from Asmodeus and become Hell’s new king. This level of gameplay is so fun and so epic, that I’ve dubbed playing with the Level 40 cap “Dimensions and Demigods”, as the stakes and enemies become immeasurably powerful to keep up with the players. And since we’re building Gods, it felt appropriate to provide two builds. One that goes to Level 20 that can be used in most campaigns, and one built for Dimensions and Demigods with a level cap of 40. While the rules for Multiclassing are the same at a level 40 cap, I will point out that by level 40, a player’s Proficiency Bonus is 11, so any feature that works by Proficiency Bonus is going to see a lot more play in a level 40 campaign than a standard level 20 campaign. I’ll mark the level 20 build as the “Primary” build, and the level 40 add-on as the “Secondary” build.

ZEUS

GOD OF THE SKY, WEATHER, STORMS, LIGHTNING, LAW, ORDER, AND JUSTICE

PRIMARY: STORM SORCERER SECONDARY: STORM HERALD BARBARIAN (SEA)

The Sorcerer spells known is so small that I often find it almost claustrophobic. But, there’s so few lightning, thunder, and wind spells that Zeus should be able to pick up pretty much everything, even with a puny 15 spells known list. As for the Storm Herald, I couldn’t think of anything better than Barbarian. I know it says Sea, but like how the Tempest Domain claims to include sea gods, it has little to do with water, and a lot to do with lightning.

ALTERNATE: TEMPEST DOMAIN CLERIC The main reason I shied away from Tempest is two-fold. Firstly, Clerics cast with Wisdom, which, while traditionally, Zeus was supposed to be the wise decision-maker that represented divine justice, modern portrayals skew heavily toward idiot frat boy. Few modern audiences view Zeus as the same wise and mature leader the Ancient Greeks saw him as, largely due to his womanizing mannerisms. The second reason is mostly, we’re going to have a lot of Clerics in this line-up, and he really doesn’t need access to a lot of these Cleric spells. There’s very few lightning, thunder, and wind spells, that we’re pretty much going to get everything we want from the extremely limited Sorcerer spell list anyway.

HERA

GODDESS OF MARRIAGE, WOMEN, CHILDBIRTH, HEIRS, RULERSHIP, AND EMPIRES

PRIMARY: ORDER DOMAIN CLERIC SECONDARY: CAVALIER FIGHTER

As the goddess of empires and rulership, it seemed fitting to give her the Order Domain, as the subclass is heavily focused on control of the battlefield, and leading the charge for your party. Likewise, her spell list does the best it can to focus on controlling the field and enemies, allowing Hera to dictate the rise and fall of empires as she pleases. While we tend to think little of Hera in terms of battle prowess, she was a real powerhouse in the Trojan War, clobbering Artemis so badly that she ran home sniveling to Zeus like a child, and she likewise fought both the Titans and the Giants. Thus, I leaned toward the Fighter, and more specifically, the Cavalier. The subclass comes freely with the Sentinel feat preinstalled, lets her reduce the damage she takes, and redirect attacks at herself. It really allows Hera to fulfill the epithet she’s known by in Argos, Hera Alexandria, the Defender of Man.

POSEIDON

GOD OF THE SEA, MARINE CREATURES, FLOODS, DROUGHTS, LORD OF HORSES, AND EARTH-SHAKER

PRIMARY: FATHOMLESS WARLOCK SECONDARY: CIRCLE OF THE SHEPHERD DRUID

DnD is kind of mean to Poseidon all things considered. Even the features geared toward the sea just end up dealing more with lightning than water. Between the Tempest Domain and the Sea Storm Herald Barbarian, it’s kind of annoying how very little water there is in 5e. The main reason I went with Druid for the back-up class is simply that there’s very few water spells in DnD, and they’re all on the Druid spell list. But, Poseidon has dominion over all sea-creatures, so just stay in-character and summon sea creatures with your shepherd druid powers. Technically, Conjure Animals summons fey spirits who take the forms of animals, so if you pick a shark, it’s a fey in the form of a shark, not an actual shark you pulled from the ocean to fight for you on land, so if you have to bullshit a reason why your shark buddy is swimming through the air and not dying, that’s a handy little excuse for you. Or you could talk to your DM about making sure that when you summon animal buddies to aid you, they manifest with a magical water aura so they can swim and breathe without  having to flood the battlefield or leaving your reinforcements flopping helplessly on the ground.

DEMETER

GODDESS OF THE SEASONS, AGRICULTURE, HARVEST, ABUNDANCE, GROWTH, AND NOURISHMENT

PRIMARY: CIRCLE OF WILDFIRE DRUID SECONDARY: LIFE DOMAIN CLERIC

Look, none of the Druidic Circles was really working for Demeter. She’s not the goddess of animals, so Shepherd didn’t work. She’s not really connected to the Stars. She’s not focused on changing into animals, so Moon was a bust. She’s not necromantic enough for Spores. That just left Land, which isn’t very good in general, and Dreams, which would let her heal, but the dream walking felt out of place. So, I settled on Wildfire because Demeter can cause massive destruction if she wanted to, or breathe new life into the world. Plus, wildfires help clear away old plants for new ones, so it’s still part of the cycle of nature, and helps maintain the balance of the natural world. You could also negotiate with your DM to swap out the fire focus for another environment destroying phenomenon, such as snow and ice to play up Demeter’s famine. As for her secondary class, Demeter’s only other common motif is her nurturing and maternal nature, which is why I leaned into the Life Domain, so that she can heal and take care of her family.

HADES

GOD OF THE UNDERWORLD, LORD OF THE DEAD

PRIMARY: SCHOOL OF NECROMANCY WIZARD SECONDARY: SHADOW MAGIC SORCERER 

As Hades is Lord of the Dead, I knew I had to make him a great and powerful necromancer. None is more powerful than the School of Necromancy Wizard. Let’s be real, we only grabbed Shadow Magic because we want that Hound of Ill-Omen so that Hades can be joined by Cerberus in battle. But it’s worth while. If you want Cerberus, but you want him to be a bigger focus, you could swap Shadow Magic Sorcerer for Beast Master Ranger to make Cerberus stronger, or you could also downplay Cerberus by making Hades an Undying Warlock with a chain pact with a three-headed Hellhound as a familiar. However, if you don’t care about Cerberus, and just want to further beef up your undead horde, mix Necromancy with Oathbreaker Paladin. Wizard adds your proficiency bonus to all of your undead, and Oathbreaker adds your CHA mod to undead within a certain range of you. Since a level 40 proficiency bonus is 11, that’s +16 to attack rolls for your undead army. If you want to get the most life from killing, however, mix School of Necromancy with Grave Domain Cleric. As long as you kill enemies with necromancy spells like Vampiric Touch, Wither and Bloom, or Enervation, Hades will regain hit points from the spell, regain hit points from Grim Harvest, and regain hit points from Keeper of Souls. Those three things together will take you from sad wizard with no hit points to the master of defying death.

HESTIA

GODDESS OF THE HEARTH, HOME, FAMILY, HOSPITALITY, AND COMMUNITY

PRIMARY: SCHOOL OF ABJURATION WIZARD SECONDARY: PEACE DOMAIN CLERIC

Hestia is really not an aggressive goddess. She is one of only three deities completely absent from the conflict of the Trojan War, the others being Demeter and Dionysus. As home represents protection, comfort, and sanctuary, that’s the aspect I decided to focus on for Hestia. As a Wizard, she’ll have ample access to a myriad of Fire spells, but just as importantly, she’ll have access to spells like Leo’s Tiny Hut to provide shelter, and Globe of Invulnerability to protect her family from harm. If you’re going to level 40, it just takes what Hestia was already doing well and making it better by making her even better as a support, adding healing spells, food spells, and more support spells to her arsenal.

ARES

GOD OF WAR, VIOLENCE, CONFLICT, SLAUGHTER, BATTLE MIGHT, AND COURAGE

PRIMARY: PATH OF THE ZEALOT BARBARIAN SECONDARY: OATH OF CONQUEST PALADIN

Ares is the god of rage and bloodlust, so I knew he had to be a Barbarian. And who better to channel the wrath of the gods than the God of Wrath? Whether you go with Radiant or Necrotic, Ares will dish out a ton of damage as a Zealot Barbarian, refused to die, fill your allies with a fighting spirit, and straight up refusing to go down so long as the fight rages on. Ares is also the God of Conquest, so I knew what Paladin Oath he had to swear by. They get the same channel divinity as a War Cleric, as well as frightening multiple enemies at once. While Fear is usually worthless as they just run away, the Aura of Conquest makes those afraid of Ares become paralyzed with fear. Those who aren’t afraid enough to dare striking him will feel his wrath from his Scornful Rebuke, and by the end, he can become a true avatar of battle. If you ever wanted to feel like a true unstoppable avatar of carnage, playing as Ares will satisfy that craving.

ATHENA

GODDESS OF WISDOM, BATTLE TACTICS, WARFARE, CRAFTS, AND KNOWLEDGE

PRIMARY: BATTLE MASTER FIGHTER SECONDARY: OATH OF THE CROWN PALADIN

I know, I know, it’s blasphemous that the goddess of Wisdom isn’t being encouraged to invest in Wisdom. However, when I look at Cleric and I look at Paladin, Paladin gives me Athena vibes, whereas Cleric just doesn’t. I chose to focus on the build and the abilities instead of worrying about stats. What can Athena do, and what build would best let her do those things? The answer didn’t include Cleric. As a Battle Master, Athena can learn and utilize a number of maneuvers to control the battlefield, and bring a variety of strategies and fighting styles to any encounter. As a Paladin, Athena can take her already impressive combat strengths and pile smites on top of it. I chose the Oath of the Crown because Athena generally represents civilization and lawfulness.

HEPHAESTUS

GOD OF THE FORGE, FIRE, INVENTION, MACHINES, AND CRAFTSMANSHIP

PRIMARY: ARTILLERIST ARTIFICER SECONDARY: FORGE DOMAIN CLERIC

I knew Hephaestus had to be an Artificer primarily, there was no question. But, there’s only four subclasses, so I had to settle for something. I considered Battle Smith, as it was very appropriate for Hephaestus. After all, he built the automaton Talos, a literal steel defender. However, I chose Artillerist for one reason and one reason only. Hephaestus is the God of Fire. Neither the Artificer nor the Cleric spell list have a lot of Fire damage spells. Forge gives him Searing Smite, Heat Metal, and Wall of Fire. Battle Smith gives him Branding Smite and Fire Shield. But Artillerist gives him Scorching Ray and Fireball, plus, his Eldritch Canon can be a Flamethrower. And Hephaestus building a walking canon is a lot closer to real Greek Mythology than one might assume. On Mount Olympus, Hephaestus built the food carts, chairs, and tables for the banquet hall of the gods, all of which are automatons that walk around and put themselves away when not in use. Even his throne is described as moving around on mechanical legs. So building a flamethrower or cannon that moves around is well within Hephaestus’ wheelhouse.

APHRODITE

GODDESS OF LOVE, BEAUTY, SEX, DESIRE, AND PASSION

PRIMARY: COLLEGE OF ELOQUENCE BARD SECONDARY: HEXBLADE WARLOCK

I put out a full solo build post for Aphrodite in 5e, so I won’t repeat everything here, just that Aphrodite ends up rather heavily relying on a lot of utility spells, leaving her very weak in terms of damage output. However, one thing worth noting is that while Eloquence is amazing within a level 20 cap, with a level 40 cap, any Bard becomes a true master of manipulation, as a proficiency bonus of 11 means that any normal Bard with expertise in Persuasion is rolling +27 to any Persuasion check. As such, for a level 40 build, the College of Glamour actually becomes more viable, since Aphrodite can still have brain breaking levels of charm at her disposal. Meanwhile, a level 40 Eloquence Bard can’t roll below 37 on any persuasion check, so it’s still very good. As that build was only to level 20, I suggested a 1 level dip into Warlock or else taking Magic Initiate to give her Eldritch Blast so that her support-heavy build could have a reliable damage output. But with a 40th level cap, she can invest a lot more into Hexblade, which works surprisingly well. She can keep a grudge like nobody’s business, so selecting a human to just despise until she kills them feels very true to how her pettiness can manifest. And, while many forget that she is indeed a war goddess, she had a lot of warrior aspects befitting of a hexblade warlock. She was often depicted with spears, even having an epithet for it: Aphrodite Encheios (the Spear-Bearing Aphrodite). Though, with a blade pact, she could follow in Eros’ footsteps and go for a longbow as her hexblade weapon instead. If you don’t want to play as a version of Aphrodite that uses weapons, you could instead go for a School of Enchantment Wizard or a Divine Soul Sorcerer to finish off her build.

APOLLO

GOD OF THE SUN, LIGHT, MUSIC, THE ARTS, ARCHERY, HEALING, PLAGUES, AND PROPHECY

PRIMARY: LIGHT DOMAIN CLERIC SECONDARY: CHAMPION FIGHTER

I know, it’s a sin that the god of music is not a Bard. But most of the spells that Apollo would want, such as Sunbeam and Flame Strike, are not on the Bard spell list. Yes, you could choose to take these spells through Bardic Magical Secrets, but in terms of giving Apollo the best access to everything he can do, Cleric is the best choice. Clerics can heal, bestow diseases or alleviate them, divine the future, deal tons of Radiant damage, and (at least in the Light Domain) get a few Fire spells. As for Champion Fighter, yes it’s basic as hell, but Apollo is a Remarkable Athlete, beating Hermes in a foot race and Ares in a boxing match in the first ever Olympic Games. The Olympic Games were long held in his honor before it shifted to Zeus, and he was often viewed as the example for all young Greek men to aspire toward. So, Champion feels very authentic to the kind of God he was viewed as. Now, as Apollo is famed for being an Archer, there is a slight issue with Cleric as his main class. They don’t get Longbow proficiency, meaning that either Apollo needs a Feat or to take his first level in Fighter to ensure he has bow proficiency, plus the Archery fighting style.

ALTERNATES: CONCLAVE OF THE HUNTER RANGER Hunter’s Mark plus Colossus Slayer or Horde Breaker, Volley, and Swift Quiver is really going to let Apollo go rapid fire with that bow of his, and that damage output is bound to stack up pretty quickly. Though a Fighter with Hunter’s Mark is even better. However, if you’re feeling Ranger, then Hunter is the best choice for Apollo.

ARTEMIS

GODDESS OF THE MOON, THE HUNT, ANIMALS, ARCHERY, CHASTITY, AND DIVINE PROTECTOR OF WOMEN AND CHILDREN

PRIMARY: BEAST MASTER RANGER SECONDARY: CIRCLE OF THE SHEPHERD DRUID

Obviously, her first class had to be Ranger, but unlike Poseidon who is only lord of the sea creatures, Artemis is pretty much queen of the jungle, as it were, and everything from lions to deer answer her call to action. So these two subclasses together should give Artemis a main animal buddy, such as the Cerynean Hind, the Calydonian Boar, or Kallisto the Bear, while also letting her call on all the beasts of the forest to come to her aid. I also tried to make it so that having both Apollo and Artemis together in a party wouldn’t be boring. The gods that have the best dynamics shouldn’t overlap too much in terms of compatibility.

HERMES

GOD OF MISCHIEF, TRICKERY, THIEVES, ROAD, TRAVELERS, MERCHANTS, COMMERCE, MESSENGER OF THE GODS, AND DIVINE GUIDE OF THE DEAD

PRIMARY: WAY OF THE SHADOW MONK SECONDARY: ARCANE TRICKSTER ROGUE

Our main class is the Way of the Shadow Monk because Monks move faster than any other class, and those who study the Way of the Shadow are stealthier than any other type of monk. Quite fitting for a master thief. The secondary class is Arcane Trickster, giving Hermes a small collection of spells he can use, while also giving him the many useful rogue skills to make him better at sneaking and stealing things. Plus, as an Arcane Trickster, he can learn spells like Haste to make himself run even faster.

ALTERNATES: PHANTOM ROGUE

As a Psychopomp, Hermes guides the dead to the Underworld, and this is the best and closest way to get Hermes to that position. At high levels, he can even partially enter the Land of the Dead to punch ghosts. The main reason Phantom lost to Arcane Trickster is the lack of spells. Hermes would make good use of enchantment and illusion spells. Plus, he can just straight up steal spells and use them for himself. 

PERSEPHONE

GODDESS OF SPRING, FLOWERS, REBIRTH, AND QUEEN OF THE DEAD

PRIMARY: CIRCLE OF THE SPORES DRUID SECONDARY: SCHOOL OF NECROMANCY WIZARD

I don’t think anyone is really going to be all that surprised by this one. She’s got connections to death and plants. Wasn’t hard to figure she’d be the necro-botonist. As with Hades, Necromancy stands to make her undead minions stronger, while Druid lets her punctuate her undead hordes with plant golems, slithering vines, and thorny brambles.

DIONYSUS

GOD OF WINE, FEASTS, REVELRY, FESTIVALS, FERTILITY, AND THEATER

PRIMARY: COLLGE OF WHISPERS BARD SECONDARY: ABERRANT MIND SORCERER

As a god of revelry and theater, Dionysus had to be a Bard. The build should allow for a good juxtaposition, striking a balance between charming party animal that motivates his friends with strong drink and stronger fellowship, while also playing into the trope of a twisted and demented god who warps the senses, clouds the mind, and drives people into madness. Dionysus isn’t that heavy of a madness god, it’s more about the effects alcohol and narcotics have on the mind that represent his form of madness and delusion, but it’s DnD, of course we can make adjustments to make an interesting character.

That’s all of the major greek gods of Olympus in one post. Whew. That was rough. Yet, also quite satisfying to see it all laid out like that. Out of curiosity, the most popular classes among the Olympians are as follows:  1. Cleric (5) 2. Druid (4) 3. 4. and 5. Fighter (3), Sorcerer (3), and Wizard (3) 6. 7. and 8. Barbarian (2), Bard (2), and Warlock (2)

I think I can say that I’m pleased with how the builds came out, and I see some Dimensions and Demigods builds I honestly want to try out for myself. Especially Ares of all Gods. Anyone who knows me knows that I’m allergic to not casting spells, but damn if that synergy isn’t luring me into uncharted waters. I hope you guys found this post fun and interesting. Would you guys build the Olympians any differently, or did I get everything totally wrong? Let me know your thoughts, and if this post does well, I’ll do more like it for other groups, teams, and maybe even pantheons.