#hope i managed to convert at least One person

[darkficsyouneveraskedfor]

The Dollhouse 1

Warnings: this fic will include dark content such as fear, coercion, violence, noncon/dubcon, and possible untagged elements. My warnings are not exhaustive, enter at your own risk. 

This is a dark!fic and explicit. 18+ only. Your media consumption is your own responsibility. Warnings have been given. DO NOT PROCEED if these matters upset you. 

Summary: Five girls move into a shared residence for the upcoming school year but not all is as it seems. 

Characters: Jonathan Pine, Captain Syverson, Steve Abnesti, Lloyd Hansen, and Peter Parker 

This fic features five named readers; Ann, Lulu, Polly, Barbie, and Molly. This chapter features Ann and Lulu. Please note that characters may switch but will maintain second-person POV.

Note: I know I shouldn't but I say that every time.

As per usual, I humbly request your thoughts! Reblogs are always appreciated and welcomed, not only do I see them easier but it lets other people see my work. Thanks to everyone who reads this one and thank you for all your energy.<3 

Love you all until you can’t stand it. Take care. 💖 

Finally, you’re going to college but it can’t be a smooth transition. No, there’s always a hurdle in the road. You have your acceptance and your tuition scraped together, and there’s only one box left unticked; housing.  

It’s as if the ad was meant for you. ‘Book your room now. Single rooms available for campus students.’ 

Maybe people are right when they say your devices are listening to you. Still, you can’t exactly pass up the opportunity. All summer you searched yet just like the rest of your life, you’re running behind. 

The response is so quick, you almost can’t believe it’s real. It isn’t, not yet. It’s just an offer of a walk-through. You’ve done a dozen of those at least and each time, the room went to someone else. But you have to try. You can’t just give up, not after everything you’ve gone through to get here. 

Better late than never. That could be your motto. You should get it inscribed in Latin on something. Maybe a jacket? Are letterman’s out of style? 

You head out for the noon-hour meeting with the building manager. The posting said it was a new development. Hopefully, that means you don’t have to deal with anyone elses' leftover grime. Not that you’re picky. You’ve lived in worse. 

You let Marla know you’re heading out. Your mom’s friend will be even more ecstatic if you get this one. Neither of you expected you to be crashing for so long. It’s getting a bit crowded with her own kids still under the same roof. 

You catch the downtown route and get the connection just before it drives off. The building is slightly off-campus. You don’t mind. You're a bit too old to be kept awake by the frat house ragers. The reminder sparks another swell of insecurity. 

High school feels distant and you feel a bit pathetic running to catch up from behind. You’ll be older than most of the freshmen, even those who took a gap year. At least you’re doing it. Yeah, that’s something. An achievement is still that even if it’s not on the same schedule as everyone else. 

You miss your stop and curse yourself. It’s only a block away from where you need to be but you’re getting close to twelve as you spot the same building from the ad.

It’s a nice place. Modern and sleek. You wonder why anyone would convert it to student housing. Financially, it’s likely a windfall yet students do have a way of ruining a good thing. 

As you come up the walk, the curtain flutters in one of the windows. The boxy building isn’t quite as big as the on-campus dorms. That’s another relief. Not having to deal with the crush of students. 

The more you think about it, the more this seems like the perfect opportunity. You don’t want to get your hopes up. You know better. 

The door opens before you can reach it. You falter as a lithe man breezes through and grins in your direction. His blond hair pales in the sunlight and his blue eyes twinkle. He’s at least a decade, maybe two, older than you but he’s not aged poorly. 

“Ah, you must be Ann,” he extends his arm in a formal greeting, “Jonathan, we emailed.” 

“Oh, yes,” you shake his hand and show your teeth sheepishly. “Sorry if I’m late.” 

“Right on time,” he lets go and checks his watch. “I thought we could have our tour and then get to the usual questions. You understand, we have a strict screening process for residents. We can never be too careful.” 

He turns and strides back to the door and opens it, waiting for you as he steps to the side. You approach as he beckons within. 

“It is as much about out safety as those we choose to live here. We have seen the recent scandals at the college and what with the world the way it is. He tuts as you precede him through the door. His accent soothes your bubbling nerves. 

The entry way is tidy and neat. There’s a shelf of cubbies for shoes and a rack opposite with at least a dozen hooks for jackets and the like. You kick the dirt on your soles onto the mat. 

“You may leave your shoes on for the tour. We will have the house cleaned prior to move-in day. Of course, once you and your flat mates are in-house, it will be up to you to determine house rules.” He points you ahead. “Of course, if you choose to stay with us.” 

“Right, er, yeah, makes sense.” 

“Is this your first year?” He asks. His overly cordial manner helps ease you. 

“Mhmm, um, finally. I had to delay it a bit but happy to finally be going to school,” you explain. 

“Never too late to do something new,” he remarks. He gestures into the front room. 

“We’ve two common rooms, seeing as there will be six residents. We would like you to have all the amenities as a typical building. You see, this is a pilot program. We’ve a government grant for development of student housing.” 

You nod. You don’t really care about the money behind it but you appreciate his explanation. You’d rather know more than you need to. 

“A sitting area; television, sofas, perfect for a movie night, should you choose to spend a night in.” He lets you look around as he keeps to the wall and waits, “in the next,” he leads you on, “some games. Table tennis. A table should you wish to partake in any other sort of gaming.” 

The place is nice. Everything is brand new and shiny. There’s a shelf of board games by the sleek black table with chairs. The ping pong table has four paddles and there’s a basket of balls on a wall shelf. It’s all arranged so perfectly. 

You carry on into the kitchen. It’s huge. You marvel at the pale blue and black aesthetic, accented in silver and crystal. It’s immaculate. A bit much for college kids. 

“Uh,” you turn to him and twiddle your fingers, “did I read the rent correctly? I don’t know if I can afford this.” 

“Yes, two-hundred plus utilities. As I’ve said, we get a supplement from the government for housing students.” 

“Oh, sure, makes sense,” you sway and look around again. 

“There are a few things to go over, do let me know if you have any questions as we go,” he stands back as you tentatively explore without touching anything. “We’ve continuous security in place. You may see any of our staff on the grounds throughout your day. You will of course be acquainted on move-in. And we have on-site maintenance.” 

You nod as you listen and he takes you back around to the entryway and shows you the bedrooms on the other side of the house, only two down there, four upstairs according to him. He allows you even to peek into the bathroom behind the staircase. 

“Now, before I go through the typical questions, there is one condition I might confirm before wasting your time,” he says. “It was in the application but I do like to double-check these things. You are comfortable with co-ed residence? A mix of boys, girls, and all?” 

“Yeah, sure,” you smile.  

It’s not ideal. You’ve never really lived with men but you can make it work. 

“Splendid, well, how about we go and see the verandah? It is a sunny day and I hate to miss the sunlight, especially as autumn approaches so quickly.” 

“Oh, okay,” you agree and reroute as he directs you with an open hand. “This place is really nice.” 

“Thank you. I’ve overseen the design myself so I will happily accept that praise,” he chuckles as he trails after you. “Oh, you’ve not even seen the garden.” 

As if the flight wasn’t enough, you’re met with an endless wait in line to have your visa and documents checked before you can leave the airport. Even after all that, you’re far from settled. 

You pull out your notebook as the signs bring you down to the underground station. It’s neat that there’s a whole set of tracks right underneath the airport. Everything about this new place is so astounding but scary... 

You check your scribbles and stop at the wall map to confirm the information. Your platform is a little further down. You better hurry! 

You drag your bag behind you as you scurry down the scuzzy concrete, your carry-on bouncing on your shoulder. It won’t be long, you just need to get to the town centre and go from there. You can’t wait to see your room.  

You hope the real thing lives up to the pictures. The man on the video chat seemed honest. He was friendly. Jonathan... or maybe Jaime. Oh! You shouldn’t forget. 

You're out of breath as you reach the train door. It's like it's waiting for you as once you board, the compartment door shuts. You find a seat and keep your suitcase stuffed in front of you. It's already cramped without the luggage.  

You keep an eye on the digital banner near the exit. You won't miss your stop. When it comes, you're the first up and waiting to get off. 

Outside, you're swept up in vertigo. The distance between you and home finally catches up to you. You're really there. All on your own. 

You're shaky as you take out your notebook and your phone. You just need to go around the corner... every twist and turn is written down. From the airport to the station to your residence. 

Your bag rolls and rattles as you go down the next street. You recognise the house from the pictures. The lawns are vibrant and green and the front gate adds a homey touch. 

You stop just outside and scroll through your emails. Jonathan said to call when you got there as he'd have the key for you. You find his number and tap it, your phone popping open the call screen. You wait, there's no answer. Hmmm. 

The sudden roar of a motor and blast of air startles you. You look over the hedges at the man with a leaf blower. He clears the trimmings of the finely-groomed bushes. As you glance over, he spots you and shuts off the gadget. 

You smile, tight-lipped and teetering, as he approaches. It's not Jonathan. This man is much the opposite, burly, bald, and bearded. 

"Can I help ya?" He asks in a drawl. 

"Oh, sorry," you giggle nervously "I must look like a mouse in a swimming pool. I'm looking for Jonathan Pine." 

He tilts his head slightly, a squint as he seems to chew on his thoughts. 

"He's 'round. I can get him for ya. Can I get who's askin'?" 

"Oh, Lulu. I'm supposed to be moving in, sir," you push your shoulders up as another uneasy trill crawls from your throat. 

"Ah, you best come on in," he goes to the gate and unlatches it, "here." As you near, he reaches out and grabs the handle of your rolling bag, "you come far?" 

You let him drag the overpacked suitcase. Your shoulders are killing you. You follow him down the paved walk. 

"Yes, I flew in. From overseas," you answer. 

"Shoulda known. You sound like him." 

You laugh again. Your accent is not as refined as Jonathan's but certainly is nothing close to the local one either. 

"Name's Sy, I fix this place up and all. Do the garden, unclog the sink," you stops at the door and sets your bag to stand on it's own. "I'll get Jon for ya." 

You nod and he disappears through the front door. You sway as you peer around. The place is amazing. The facade is just as gleaming as the advert and the gardens are lovely. You've always liked oak trees and you're sure the leaves will be a beautiful shade of copper once the seasons change. 

The door opens again and startles you back to the present. You look up as Sy dips his chin in your direction and keeps the door open. A familiar face emerges and a tiny bit of pressure lifts off your chest. You're definitely in the right place.  

"A pleasure to finally meet in person," Jonathan offers his hand. You shake it and a giggle crackles in your throat, the habit harder to suppress as your stress mounts. "I am glad that you made it and I trust you had a safe journey?" 

"Oh, yes, sir, yes," you answer, "thanks." 

"Sy," he glances at the other man who promptly retreats. 

"Well then, please, let us get you set. You are the first to arrive. Of course, there is no trouble accommodating you early given the circumstances. Such a far way to travel. You must be terribly tired." 

"Oh, a little, but excited too." You go to grab your suitcase but he's much quicker.  

He directs you in first and follows as he rolls your bag with him. 

"I've put you upstairs but if the first floor is preferable, we can rearrange," he explains. 

"Upstairs is fine!" You squeak in a tone higher than your usual tenor. 

"Ah, I recall my first time abroad myself, it was surely nerve-racking. Don't be shy, eh, it does help to have someone who understands the plight, hm?" 

"Thank you, sir. Yes, it's... it's all so new." 

"Mm, you needn't call me sir, Jonathan is fine enough," he insists as you begin up the stairs. "Perhaps you won't feel so out of place once the others come." 

[nonotnolan]

The Ends Justify The Means

As always, this February story is dedicated to my valentine, @mergeman

"Okay, but did we have to add him to the Hivemind?" Jordan said, looking at his unconscious boss with a look of resigned disappointment. "If I end up with an old man's vocabulary because of him, I'm gonna be so upset. This body looks too good to sound like a geezer." He tossed his shirt to the ground and gave me a flex. "See what I mean?"

I couldn't help but roll my eyes. Some humans stress-tested my 40% Free Will rule, and Jordan was definitely one of them. "One, bringing him into the Collective is the only way to bend his authority to our will. Two, the symbiote doesn't change our speech, it just enhances our knowledge. And three, the eventual goal is to overtake most of humanity anyway. We were gonna have to add Shaun sooner or later."

Jordan nodded, though I doubted he was paying any attention me. He was one of the part-time workers I had converted within the past two hours, and so his symbiote half was still checking out his new body. I can't blame it, I suppose.

I wasn't sure this plan was even going to work, so I was glad we managed to succeed. Capturing the part-time college students who worked here had been easy-- a bit of flirting from a tempting body, a kiss to introduce the symbiote, rinse and repeat. Shaun had been much more difficult. We had to resort to ambushing him in the bathroom where there we no cameras. Jordan's strength held him in place while I pried open his jaw to insert the new symbiote. It was far from elegant-- Shaun was stronger than he looked-- but at least it worked.

Shaun finally opened his eyes, and looked at me with a wry grin. "Alright, sir. I know we have a lot to talk about, but let's retreat somewhere else, shall we? It's cramped in here, and I think Jordan is a few moments away from whipping his dick out."

"You're not wrong," I said, shaking my head. "We should probably leave him to it. If nothing else, it will be nice to talk things over someplace a bit... less pungent. I assume you know what is going to be expected of you?"

"I do," Shaun says, crossing his arms. "Although I was hoping to talk to you about that one. I scheduled Darren to work Valentine's Day because I haven't had that day off for the past three years. This body's wife is threatening to make life miserable if I still have to work the holiday despite my recent promotion. I have a proposal for you."

I smiled at the audacity of this symbiote. Clearly its host body had a lot of confidence.

"Darren will still get the day off, of course," Shaun said. "But instead of working the day myself, I'll just tell Jenn that she's going to have to handle the shift solo. We don't need two store managers tomorrow night-- no one goes furniture shopping on Valentine's."

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

"You'll never guess what happened today!" Darren said, greeting me when I arrived home. He and I had been dating for a few weeks now, ever since I was granted control over this host body. Unlike the symbiotes who were mostly extensions of my mind and my personality, I had full control and full autonomy over my decisions. Coming out of the closet was one of the first changes I made to this host's former life.

"Your store is actually closing for a holiday?" I guessed, walking up to him and hugging him from behind. I held him close, feeling the heat of his body against my borrowed chest. Humans were very big on physical contact, and it was a ritual I was more than happy to join.

Darren chuckled as he turned around for a quick kiss. "Okay, so it wasn't a miracle. But it was still pretty crazy! Shaun texted me, and approved my vacation time for tomorrow. Can you believe that? I've never known him to change his mind like that before."

I just smiled at him. "Maybe your District Manager yelled at him about it? You did submit that request a few months ago." As much as I hated feeding white lies and omitted facts to my boyfriend, I couldn't justify telling him my full truth this early in the relationship. Anyway, the only way I'd be filling him with a symbiote would be if we broke up and he posed a risk to my secret. I wanted a relationship with an equal, not a masturbatory fling with a clone of myself. Anyway, what was the phrase? The ends justify the means.

"Well, maybe." He paused a few minutes to consider this possibility before shrugging his shoulders. "I don't know, and I'm not going to question it. I'm just glad you kept those dinner reservations! I'm looking forward to tomorrow's date!" He smiled, and I could feel my heart melting. I would do anything in my power to make him happy.

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

Weltschmerz is a German word that describes a feeling of sadness, weariness, or hopelessness about the world. It's made up of the words Welt, meaning "world", and Schmerz, meaning "pain".

[Thanks Ellen Geller]

* * * *

Put one foot in front of the other. Repeat.

November 16, 2024

Robert B. Hubbell

It was a tough week—on the heels of an even tougher week. A few Democrats are revved up and ready to jump back in the fight. But if my inbox is a reliable indicator, many (most?) people are still reeling from the losses on Election Day. They are bewildered, exhausted, tapped out emotionally and financially, and angry. You wouldn’t be human if you did not feel those emotions in some measure. Hopes were high, and the loss was unexpected. The disappointment was exacerbated by PTSD.

The president-elect has a feral sense that many Democrats are emotionally vulnerable. His cabinet picks are designed to rub salt in our wounds and deepen our sense of bewilderment. We must recognize that the ludicrous nominations over the past week are part of a strategy to dispirit and weaken Democrats—in hopes of reducing their resolve to resist his dark plans.

We cannot give in to the president-elect’s transparent ploy. Although I am not a fan of the Godfather movie franchise (no hate mail, please!), every American knows the line, “‘It’s not personal, Sonny. It’s strictly business.”

Trump’s bizarre, anti-government nominations are not personal. They are strictly business—to Trump and to us. He is using them as an emotional cudgel against Democrats and a test of loyalty for incredulous Republicans. Our job is to defeat as many of the nominations as possible—thereby demonstrating that Trump is vulnerable and weak after his narrow win.

It is possible that Trump will resort to unilateral recess appointments by forcing an adjournment of Congress for ten days so that he can cram his unqualified, anti-establishment choices on the American people.

Doing so would be a mistake and would overplay Trump's hand. The officers would be branded as illegitimate leaders who could not make it through a Senate confirmation. More importantly, such a move would instantly convert Trump into America’s first (and last) dictator.

No other president has forced an adjournment of Congress, much less for the anti-democratic purpose of evading the Senate’s “advice and consent” role under the Constitution. Although lawsuits would challenge the recess appointments unilaterally engineered by Trump, the bigger point is that the move would drop all pretense of a president bound by the rule of law.

Whatever the Framers thought they were doing with the recess appointments and the adjournment clause, none of them believed those clauses could be manipulated to strip the Senate of its constitutional obligation to review presidential nominations.

If Trump manages to remove the Senate’s advice and consent role from the Constitution, he will sow the seeds of his quick undoing.

As I write, it appears that the nominations of Matt Gaetz, Pete Hegseth, and��Robert Kennedy are in trouble—at least if they go through the Senate confirmation process.

We can help keep up the pressure by notifying our Senators and Representatives that we oppose the nominations of Gaetz, Hegseth, Kennedy, and Gabbard. See Jessica Craven’s Chop Wood Carry Water for a word script and link to phone numbers. Chop Wood, Carry Water 11/14.

There are two other themes that deserve mention as we head into the weekend.

The first is the stand-alone injury to women across America who hoped that the 2024 election would be a major step to re-establishing their status as equal citizens under the Constitution. Few opinion writers or journalists have mentioned that the re-election of Trump has dashed those hopes—at least for another four years.

Mother Jones has addressed the issue of the election’s impact on women in its article, Of Misogyny, Musk, and Men by Clara Jeffrey. The article runs under the sub-header “Women are not okay. We’re furious.”  

For all of the punditry analyzing the reason for Democrats’ loss on November 5, almost none of them mention the Trump campaign’s explicit appeal to sexism among young men. Any pundit who purports to analyze the reasons for Kamala Harris’s loss and does not list misogyny among the top three reasons is running cover for Trump—whether they intend to or not.

The second issue is the unrelenting tidal wave of pundit analyses that seek to assign blame for the Democratic loss. Spoiler alert: The reason is (allegedly) that Democrats are “liberal elitists” who ignored the working class.

The above analysis is both wrong and lazy. But even if it were accurate, it beggars belief that journalists and pundits are wasting their time assigning blame at the very moment that Trump “is slouching toward Bethlehem” in the manner of the “rough beast” in The Second Coming.1

If the above metaphor is too obscure for a Saturday morning, here is another: Imagine that we are on an oil drilling platform in the North Sea. A fire has started in the galley and threatens to engulf the entire platform. What is the better course of action? To argue over who is responsible for starting the fire in the galley or to work on extinguishing the fire?

It is appropriate and necessary to understand how and why Democrats fell short in 2024. But to do so at a time when we are stranded on a burning platform is suicidal. Assigning blame may fill column inches but it corrodes unity. The legacy media is failing us.

And yet, readers cannot resist the temptation to forward articles to me with the thesis, “Democrats are liberal elitists who got what they deserved.” I get a dozen such emails a day (often multiple duplicates of the latest from NYT or WaPo). I have received hundreds since November 5.

Amplifying such articles merely compounds the journalistic malpractice of the legacy media. We should not give them oxygen. They invite disputation and discord. They are inimical to our prime objective: Resist the efforts of the Trump administration to erode the rule of law.

Robert B. Hubbell Newsletter

[coffeesleep-ooc]

DNNNH but LiuShen

Recently I’ve been watching Dungeon no Naka no Hito and my brain decided ro just spam me with sv thoughts.

(beware spoilers for the anime btw!)

For ppl that hasn’t seen it, it’s an adventurer who tried to find her father in a dungeon only to end up being employed there by the administrator! She lives a lot of new experiences with this new job, like understanding a bit of how the dungeon works, that some monsters ate intelligent, why some monsters drop gems, the relationship between the dungeon and the outside world etc etc…and there’s even some hints of a potential relationship between the cute admin and the protagonist!

So i was thinking her ‘must be strong’ cold no friends personality - even though she is loyal to a fault and still tries her best to find her only family and better her fighting strength - would fit LQG quite well! And administrator-san who is apparently op as heck but happy and sweet and messy like nobody else fits SY!SQQ quite well!

So imagine:

LQG is initially wary bc he (she? him? she??? idk if i should make them girls, it would be cute either wayyyy, girls have their own charm but they work ao well as giya in denial too…) didn’t come here for this, and this pretty person leading him who knows where could always be a very elaborate illusion or trap of the dungeon. But then he actually fights him and its a whole thing that doesn’t let him sleep at night. It was that spectacular…and later on he becomes the only human companion to the administrator of the dungeon, they have other people and beings in there, but still it appears tha SQQ is quite lonely. Regardless, LQG lost and has to fulfill his end of their deal, so he works: he does stuff like move supplies, refill the dungeon’s chests, train in the shadows, and anything and everything SQQ can think of.

LQG doesn’t understand how SQQ can work with so many things around. SQQ is still dying of shame bc his new friend employee saw the surveillance room before he tidied everything up.

He also admires SQQ’s sense of duty and passion. He likes to see him smile and pretend that he isn’t tearfully hoping Liu Qingge won’t throw away the very unusable stuff he has accumulated, like the 100 holes umbrella (‘it will have an use’, he says, ‘it converts water in other random things of the same size of the hole’, he says. ‘Isn’t that cool???’ He also says). LQG likes to watch him pat the fax slime (mo idea where a word like fax came from, but the thing is useful at least) after it spits out documents, or excitedly play with low level monsters in the first floor.

He also likes to see WQW (the resident dwarf blacksmith) scold SQQ for delaying the patrols and forgetting to organize the administrator's room. It’s…entertaining to see his face contort trying not to pout.

LQG likes working in the dungeons with SQQ, with WQW and everyone else.

And SQQ? Well, SQQ is always there for LQG’s progress as a warrior now. He watches him growl and frown when he doesn’t understand something (most of the things related to monsters, magic and the dungeon itself), watches his eyes light up when there’s battle or training, watches him go into pensive modes when there’s something new he just learnt.

SQQ definitely doesn’t listen in secret as LQG tries to imitate the language of one monster they interviewed earlier that day. He does not struggle to silence his giggles when LQG unknowingly says something vulgar.

SQQ doesn’t smile when he watches LQG struggling but doing his best to accept whatever the dungeon throws at him. He is not looking at LQG barely managing to contain his excitement when talking of weapons with WQW and feeling fond. He is not…

Who is he kidding? SQQ is happy he has a…coworker now. He is happy he has a companion. Since the previous administrator left he has been… craving human contact maybe. Just maybe.

*

There is another scene in particular that i think would be extremely funny with these two. When they sit down to eat, imagine SQQ asking LQG why he (or she?) doesn’t eat anything aside from the basic bread and meat that he gets in the kitchen rations, and he says his big sister (almost parental figure) taught him that messing with cooking could kill him if he didn’t do it right.

then proceeds to tell SQQ of the time he tried to put salt in his soup, only to make it a disgusting mess that couldn’t be eaten and would surely kill him if he tried while SQQ (who also has mo idea of cooking) listens with horror

This is someone else’s cue to enter and say:

“You are really strong but don’t know anything of the world, do you? You are not supposed to throw in a huge rock of salt but grind it and use a little bit of the sand that rests.”

SQQ & LQG: Oh…

And then comes chef extraordinaire LBH to try and teach these two about cooking, stopping LQG feom making the ingredients paste, stopping SQQ from tasting the peeling of the onions, amongst other difficult things that make him end up in the floor looking at the ceiling with a lost gaze that speaks of the horrors

he does find top grade ingredients that make him salivate and put puppy eyes at SQQ

LQG has his world changed after one Hap-i mean…one Binghe meal!

*

Or alternatively! Shen Qingqiu has to go renew his contract with the new ruler of the nation and be able to be a self-ruling dungeon-town. He thinks this is too much work. So he asks LQG ro disguise himself as the actual dungeon admin and fight the king in his place! What does hw mean he’s not strong enough yet? Ofc he is! Believe this poor overworked administrator Liu-dada! He won’t let you be in danger anyways! (LQG is unimpressed)

there’s a problem tho, the king wants to win no matter what, so when the fight goes ro LQG’s side he secretly orders his strongest bodyguard to subdue the seemingly soft and weak young master that accompanies the “master of the dungeon” so he can make LQG surrender of his own volition. However, when he turns, the strongest man in the whole country is unconscious himself while SQQ rapidly stands up to cough awkwardly (yes, his eyes didn’t deceivw him, this young master was poking at his bodyguard and playing with his unconscious form). Lets say that the young king ends up fighting an angry LQG while SQQ tries to calm them both down.

when they finally renew the contract tho, SQQ asks if there’s any questions and the king says:

“i-if i may be so bold to say…you fought beautifully, I- this one is called Luo Binghe, could i ask for your name?”

SQQ: o.o

LQG: … ò.ó

SQQ: S…L…! I-I!!! MY NAME IS MU QINGFANG GOODBYE

SQQ was still breathing heavily after the transportation light dimmed inside the admin room.

“You said you were the dungeon’s slime.”

“S-shut up!”

“Wei Qingwei is going to yell at you.”

“I SAID SHUT UP!” (Insert very manly whines here)

LQG feels…annoyed. He doesn’t want SQQ to go away with some king that has no manners. He wants SQQ to stay with him for…for a long time. Mmm, he must be catching something to feel this bad, maybe he shouldn’t have pushed himself so far in training the day before.

The king tried to dins info on this MQF to invite him to dinner, he is still sighing hopefully, sadly that “MQF” has no idea he is losing an interesting meal. LQG finds out and is angry for a whole week for no reason, he wants to go fight the king asap! SQQ is confused.

*

Was also thinking about where SQH would fit in here bc i love cumplane way too much too, and that made me think of Qijiu as well, so this another idea came to the braincell.

L: “Wait, so your shizun is still alive?”

“yeah…the dungeon was his passion and everything, but he found his childhood sweetheart and eloped. I mean, I’m glad he didn’t have just the dungeon you know? But then, Qinghua also eloped! That b-p-person!”

LQG fondly ignored the softly said: “stupid pair of assholes leaving me here to manage their responsibilities!” He already knew that SQQ said that to hide his real feelings.

“and Qinghua was…?”

“oh,he was shizun’s other disciple, but his magic was less combat oriented i guess? So shizun made me his successor…An ice monster kidnapped Qinghua after shizun was gone for two years.”

“An ice monster did what?!”

“Willingly, he was willingly kidnapped to do paperwork and have his children.”

LQG was speechless.

SQQ snorted.

“Im just kidding, he went to become an advisor.”

*

MQF should be a slime.

Ik how it sounds but hear me out too. There’s this cool system in DNNNH (or maybe it should be DNH? Idk) where slimes are monsters of the dungeon that are just there and never attack you, but behind the scenes there’s a gigantic slime that is the “mother”, and the admin periodically cuts bits of the giant slime to produce smaller copies that act like lil cleaners of the place (they dissolve stuff) and qhen they lose most of their magic and become rlly tiny and get to join the mother again.

so, was thinking that MQF should be the head cleaner alime version! So he sends lil copies of himself to dissolve stuff and clean!!! But he sleeps a lot or eats ravenously things that fontain magic power to replwniah his energy so he has lass interaction with LQG and SQQ!

QQQ could be one of the dungeon bosses in a grumpy violet cat form maybe. Other peak lords could also be nom-human staff.

there’s human connections tho! Like the guild’s directors and adventurers that try hard to pass each floor… and the one cooking episode with soup…and fried veggies…

…now im also hungry

*

I theorize that the protag’s father accidentally fell into the demon’s world. So i imagine a big sister LMY happily writing the equivalent of bl after falling into that world lsndmsjsj.

her (or his? Gender bent thoughts attack again) works are so famous that they reach othwr worlds too!

and LQG finds one, he thinks ‘this is…somehow familiar?’ but he doesn’t know why!!!

SQQ finds the book and misunderstands tho. Rip.

“To think he would have this kind of tastes…well, one needs to have a hobby no?”

SQQ read da book, tears da book apart - metaphorically -. New hobby unlocked too!

*

I also think that the king could come to the doors of the dungeon after finding nothing ofthe mysterious MQF and oofer food to the beautiful and shy MQF.

LQG would be raging, SQQ running for his life and the rest of them wondering why the human king wants ro court a regular slime. Though he will certainly manage with food.

*

I may or may not add more to this if i get any ideas…

[corinne-eaglebridge-sso]

A simple guide to Shilling-banking

So, these are all the methods I've found to save up Jorvik shillings in your closet, without it actually being shillings and counting towards the cap! I personally use these to stockpile for limited events, but you can use it for whatever you want! Most if not all of these methods are aimed towards starriders.

Light Every light sells for 1 shilling, which doesn't seem much - but it is extremely easy to get light! Run around the woods, extract it from wild seeds with your terra powers, gather herbs, etc! Light will easily be your biggest source of shillings if you spend a lot of time in the Hollow Woods. Be careful, though! While light stockpiles easily, dividing from stacks goes one-by-one... Consider taking some time to run around between the woods and closet, making and stockpiling different stack sizes of light - 500, 2000, 5000, etc. You're not going to have a completely empty shillings amount in your backpack very often, and this will save you the pain of losing shillings by selling more than you need to reach the cap!

Archeology The tried and tested method! Focus especially on Epona's special finds, and keep the items you get there in your closet. For ease of stockpiling, do not trade them in until you need the shillings. If you have the time and have a route, Dino valley might be a nice change of pace - however, regarding time management, you're unlikely to make more shillings here than you would if you ran around in Hollow Woods collecting light, and with more different items, it takes up more closet spaces. Only do Dino archeology if you actually like it - it's not very profitable otherwise now.

Championships If you are interested in doing championships, winning and stockpiling ribbons from this can be a good way to fund your spending. There's not much to say about this one - it is dependent on your racing skills. Edit: (thank you @centeris2) every championship you complete will give you at least 200 shillings - store these by not claiming the prizes you get in the mail until you need the shillings.

High Score Races Like championships but worse; races give you payout if you have the daily, weekly or monthly high score of your server. This one heavily depends on your racing skills again, and also shows way less immediate and substantial reward: you might be the first when you finish, but unless you race at 11PM, it's likely someone will kick you off the first place later in the day. This is more like a nice bonus for if you are already training horses than a reliable source of shillings. To stockpile these, simply leave the messages in your inbox until it's time to use the shillings; you can then claim all this mail with shillings.

Flax = hay Another terra path ability is turning flax into hay. And while some of that hay may go towards your horses, depending on your garden setup you may quickly find yourself buried in a mountain of flax. Flax grows fast and interacts with many plants to form the rare flowers, so there's a high chance you have this in your garden. Each piece of hay sells for 5 shillings - take some time to convert some flax every once in a while, then stockpile them in your closet!

I hope this is helpful for people! There might be more techniques, of course - these are just the ones I use! If you know of any others, please feel free to add them in the comments!

[sprinklenoodles]

Read the first chapter, have some thoughts! Some simple ones before I go on a specific tangent and all!

As for my tangent, while reading the first chapter of A Heir's Journey but the more I think of it, Kijo kinda reminds me of Lusamine in an odd way. Not specifically here but I shall elaborate of course!!! The game version of Lusamine is absolutely awful but in the anime, she's much more doting, a bit clingy, but she means well despite her flaws. I'd mention Ultra Sun and Moon Lusamine as well since she's also a variant of her character but also like, I didn't play those so I only know so much about how different she is to her other game counterpart. I know she's kinda an awkward middle ground though due to the changes in who the main antagonist is in those games. But, where Kijo comes along in this is, like Lusamine, there are differing variants of him in your fics which I already mentioned the slight variants of characters being cool and interesting and being a sorta mini analysis of the character by showing different facets of their personalities depending on what au they're in. And like, it doesn't help that I am reading The Pokemon AU fic now and got reminded of Lusamine oddly enough. Like, in this fic, I can already feel the lot nicer side of Kijo showing as apposed to other fics that show his calculative side, his more authority-driven side, even his love life and more controlling side of him. And damn it, I will never not find this cool!!! It shows the multifaceted nature of Kijo and how, in some instances, he could even be shown as a good father.

Like, damn it! I don't even know if this will last in this fic or not cus I dunno all the twists and turns QUITE yet, but damn it. Kijo's just lowkey wholesome here. Like, it was actually sweet reading Byakuya saying that he loved his father, even if it was just to get the damn man off his back so he can be cool and do Pokémon trainer shit! I am definitely interested in Kijo in the near future while slowly reading this fic, how the plot progresses, if I'm proven wrong on some things. Silly stuff like that! I really gotta psyche myself up into drawing him more so I can finally get a definitive design and draw him being both a menace to society, a charming gentleman, and of course goofier doodles cus I will never not shitpost! It's too fun heehehe!! Hope this little ramble made sense and I also will be continuing to read this fic of course!! Hell, even if I say I'm not as big into Pokémon anymore, I got too invested as a kid so I'll at least be somewhat of a sucker for it, even if I'm not playing the games or watching the anime anymore!

AAHHH!! I'm really honoured you're taking so much time to think about my silly fics!!

And I suppose that Kijo is kinda like Lusamine. This Kijo would really just be like animated Lusamine tho!

But glad you like this so much. Kijo and Byakuya do just really have a good relationship here... because I could. Byakuya deserves it!

Also happy I managed to convert you!!! The Byakuya &Chihiro friendship is the best, though there are not there yet here. They gotta develop some first! Same goes for Byakuya and the other person in his group!

And it's not like you need to be a huge fan of pokemon to enjoy it, as long as you know it. Like, it helps to know how moves, evelution and that stuff works because I... can't really explain it a lot without it being weird- the characters know this stuff already after all.

But really happy you enjoy reading it :D

[basilone]

22 for Nora Graham from the trio prompts?

Thank you for sending this one! Prompt 22 is a red convertible, a priest’s collar and dogtags... which naturally made me think of Nora & Crank! 😊 I hope you will like this one.

It’s remarkably easy to hide this.

It helps, she supposes, that most days when she walks out the girls aren’t clamoring a where are you going, Nora at her. They used to back when they were in training, but she’s well-practiced enough to make everything she does sound like a great boring yawn. Just going to grab another cup of coffee, just going on a walk and watch the birds, just going to find a place to sit and draw my maps in peace, and nobody bothers to ask to come along to any of that.

She sometimes wonders how it is that they didn’t wash out. Tiny spends more time gossiping than anyone she knows, but yet managed to get her pilot license just fine. Val and Push are some of the most combative arguers she’s ever met, getting into trouble for it until they’re airborne and doing their jobs better than anybody. By all rights, Frosty should have been on the outs when the brass figured out just what that Lombardi surname was about – all Chicago mob in that girl, right down to her stash of cash and jewels – but then Frosty’d calculated a bomb drop with alarming accuracy and that had stopped them all cold.

Nora supposes beggars can’t be choosers in a time of war. Whatever she considers to be their personal flaws – Max calling girls pretty but never calling a man handsome, One-Eye’s refusal to sleep without her teddy, Dee’s hatred of men’s mustaches – are things that Colonel Huglin and Colonel Harding both wouldn’t give a damn about. As long as they can fly right, it hardly matters what they do when down on the ground.

“You’re doing it again,” says Charles, then, all soft admonishment beside her.

She allows her grin to stretch to the corners of her mouth. “Doing what?”

“Thinking too hard for the occasion.”

“One of us ought to,” she says, turning her head only to find him smiling at her already. “Just realizing that nobody cares what we do as long as we’re able to get into a bomber and give hell to everyone who deserves it. It’s a sole purpose sort of thing, you know?”

“Hmm.”

“That’s a hmm, Nora, you are clever but I disagree sort of hmm.”

“I wouldn’t say nobody cares.” His voice is as earnest as his eyes – soft yet unyielding – and a soft sigh accompanies his words. “They care enough to send us to a flak house, or give us weekend passes when we really need them. They care enough to keep us grounded when we fly too much. Buck would’ve passed out if they’d made him fly one more run, but they sent him to barracks and made Lottie fly with DeMarco day before last.”

“Which was a great decision, considering that she is finally realizing this fad of hers with Darlene won’t last and DeMarco’s solely responsible for that realization hitting her at all,” says Nora, rolling her eyes a little to let Charles know just what she thinks of all that. “It was like being in a plane with my parents, who’d also pretend everything is fine while making you feel miserable over dinner. Val kept talking over comms just to stave off how unbelievably awkward it was to have DeMarco in our plane. It took two hours before Lottie gave him more than one syllable answers. Two hours, Charles!”

“At least they’re talking again now, aren’t they? I would say it worked out all right.”

“Of course you would say that, you weren’t stuck in a bomber having to give directions to two pilots who both like the same girl,” snorts Nora as she gives him a nudge. “I still don’t think that’s a lot of care going into those sorts of decisions, you know.”

“If nobody cared,” he hums, taking a sip of his coffee, “I could marry you tomorrow without either one of us being sent home about that.”

Nora feels herself flushing crimson from the root of her hair all the way down to her toes. “I thought you said we had to wait until we got home? That you wanted that sweet red convertible to drive us off into the sunset with?” she teases, remembering some of his more fanciful daydreams she had laughed about before realizing he was really quite serious. “Maybe we should get married – find someone with a priest’s collar to do the job – and just not tell anybody.”

Charles’s eyes crinkle into a broad smile. “Don’t have a ring,” he says, ducking his head slightly as he takes a bigger gulp of his drink. “Am saving up to get you one. That’s easy enough, just need to avoid playing craps with DeMarco for a while...”

“We could… exchange dogtags. Or ask Two what sort of thing she’s exchanging with Blakely the second they go on leave.”

“What?”

“Apparently they’re getting married,” shrugs Nora, having mostly learned this through Tiny’s inability to keep quiet about anything. “They’re being too obvious about it, once you know where to look”– Two’s post-flight smiles, Blakely’s refusal to dance with other girls –“but I suppose not everyone is as good as us at hiding that sort of thing. We could pull a sneak wedding off better than they could.”

“Or we could wait,” he says, hand finding hers, “and do all of it better than they could. None of this hurried business where you don’t even have a dress for the occasion. I want us to have a moment, Nora. Something just for us, without…”

“Without the war peeking around the corner asking us to get back into our bombers,” she sighs, dropping her head onto his shoulder. “I know. I want that, too. That moment with you, where it’s nothing but us, where it’s just love. I was just…” Being silly, she almost says, except she doesn’t think Charles would find it silly at all. “I was just getting ahead of myself.”

“I was there with you. Ahead and terribly in love with you about it.”

“Really? Tell me more about that,” she smiles, lifting her head off his shoulder just to kiss his cheek. “How in love are we talking, hm?” She can’t help but giggle as he takes his time to set his coffee cup down. “Oh, you need to take a moment, Charl–mmph!”

“More than a moment,” he laughs, once he pulls back from their kiss. “I am, after all, very in love.”

“Keep talking,” she says, before kissing him briefly.

“Can’t,” he breathes as her hands slip into his curls, “unless by talking you mean…”

Nora tilts her head. Nudges her nose against his a moment. “Kiss me more?”

It shouldn’t be easy to hide this. But for now, toppled over in the grass and laughing about it, Nora is glad this is the one thing she doesn’t have to share.

[thrawns-backrest]

I've never heard anyone talk about this theory on tumblr, but I was curious to ask you. What do you think about Ronan becoming a Grysks spy? I saw such an idea in one fanfic, but there they made Ronan just an ambitious and stupid villain. But I thought about and decided that given its canonical nature, such a development of events also seems to be probable to some extent. It seemed to me so, because look: Ronan in Ascendancy is even more vulnerable than Eli, who managed to build good relations with at least Vah'nya and Ar'alani, he obviously needs a lot of time to somehow get along with at least a brother-in-misfortune, and already especially with someone else. In essence, he is alone, and his character also repels the Chiss from him, which leads to their distrust and unwillingness to explain anything to him. A person who communicates little with anyone and understands little is easy to take advantage of, besides, attachment to some things or people is something that the Grysk are only too good at pressuring, with intimidation or cunning. And Ronan is attachmented to Krennic, to the Empire, to the Death Star, so in theory they have something to hit. In addition, if he is faithful to someone, then he is faithful, as we see, almost to the end. And if someone else could become for him a figure like Krennic to whom he "swears" - this person could push him into many things.

If anything, I'm not saying that this is a full-fledged theory and it will be so in the canon. These are just my thoughts on one of hundreds of possible scenarios. I was wondering how likely you think this is?

Oooh... honestly, as much as I love Ronan, I think that's very likely. I think it's even likelier when you consider Thrawn's suggestion to Ar'alani about feeding Ronan the right kind of information because they know he's a potential traitor.

Looking at the book, it's hard to tell if they mean that in the sense of feeding the Empire information through him or using him to misled the Grysks but both scenarios are kind of sad because neither assumes an eventual assimilation into the Ascendancy (which I'm trying to fix in my fic lol).

But yes, as you said Ronan is a very likely target for the Grysks. Ar'alani herself points it out and if something isn't done to prevent it, Ronan could easily be converted into a Grysk agent. The moment he realizes Thrawn didn't send him on some secret mission to find Chiss jedi, he'll grow even more distrustful of him. And if his experience in the Ascendancy is as negative as we assume it'll be, there's plenty of dislike there for the Grysks to feed and exploit.

In a way, characters with a lot of zeal and extreme views always have that problem. They're just... unstable. Kind of like Anakin in the prequels, because they feel so strongly about something they're open to manipulation and their loyalties can be exploited with the right kind of nudging.

That said, making Ronan's motivation ambition and depriving him of his intellect is just... dumb. Ronan genuinely believes he's on the side of the greater good, that the Empire is doing good, etc. I can see the Grysks convincing him that the Chiss are the bad guys in the grand scheme of things, maybe that they're planning to betray or attack the Empire and use his loyalty and inflated self-righteousness to pit him against them.

The thing about Ronan, I think, is that he has an eye for detail and is good at noticing things and reading people (e.g. realizing that Vah'nya is force sensitive) but he's not as good at using that information to come to the right conclusions. Sometimes he does and that's when his skills shine but sometimes his takes are just so far off it's funny.

Whether it's because he tends to overthink or because his biases skew his thinking, it's still a flaw and one that could be exploited.

My only hope for Ronan resisting the Grysks' manipulation is that he's already seen what they're capable of. There's this moment in the book where he gets a very strong reaction to seeing the bodies they've left behind ("Ronan nodded silently from his seat at the conference room table, trying very hard not to be sick. [...] He tried to remind himself that these men had been thieves who’d stolen from Stardust and the Empire, and that they deserved punishment. The rationalization didn’t help.")

At the end of the day, Ronan isn't cruel and doesn't have the stomach for cruelty. And that could be the only thing stopping him from trusting the Grysks who don't have a problem openly showing their ruthlessness. But, of course, if he's already in a bad place and vulnerable to manipulation, that might not be enough to save him.

[littlelittlesimmies]

i don't think the other anon was implying that people were making 4t2 conversions with bad intentions. i assume the "clique" they mentioned is lordcrumps, tvickiesims, and platinumaspiration, because the three of them upload a lot of bulk 4t2 conversions. i think the anon meant that you should talk to them to see what they plan on converting, so you don't accidentally convert the same things as them. i assume when the anon said other people's cc would be obsolete, they just meant duplicates.

Aw, if that's what the other anon said, then I'm sorry if my reply was a bit upset. Maybe I should turn anonymous asks off to prevent me from assuming that the intentions of the message may be bad. Especially that I don't master english and might misunderstand things.

I think you might be right, I should talk to them, but the thing is I won't. Not that I despise them -far from it-, but because of my sick mind that makes me froze and hyperventilate when I have to talk privately to strangers. And if I miraculously manage to talk to them, then I might suddenly stop replying for the same reasons which is quite rude, isn't it ? + I like my solitude. I'm not a social person at all, even in my afk life. People with depression or autism or other mental health issues might relate. So I'm asking publicly hoping that if someone plans to do the thing, they'll reply or they had said it somewhere (in which case tere might be a lot of people that might know the info and tell me). Does it makes sense ?

Anyway, I'm still a bit skeptical about the idea that small sets might/will become duplicates simply because they are smaller sets… To me, the "duplicate" word implies that something similar already exists, so the first conversion can not be the duplicate one, you know ? It's the conversions made after the first one that are duplicates, no matter if it's from a small or a huge set. At least that's what feels logical to me.

Anyway, I'm not here to fight. I'm here to share my stuff, download a few things, get inspiration while looking at other people's screenshots, and have a good time, so I won't answer anymore if there are more anon asks about it. My first post was only about the fact that I don't want to create duplicates for various reasons and that I'd rather spend my time improve already existing things or create brand new things. It was not a declaration of war 💐

[thegeminisage]

star trek update time. tuesday we did voy's "night" and ds9's "afterimage."

night (voy):

i REALLY liked this one...a rare w for neelix, whose fear of nothingness is relatable and totally understandable considering he just converted to atheism

it also makes me understand why people hc janeway as bipolar...she's up she's down i kind of get it. not sure if i 10% agree but i do at least get it. deeply enjoyed chakotay's attempts to bring her back into the rest of the ship also

also, chakotay asking tuvok for advice <3 and then later janeway is like chakotay i trust you more than anyone on this ship and you just KNOOOW he is like damn take THAT tuvok! worsties <3

MUTINY AS A TREAT!!!! we can have a little mutiny as a treat.

i love that she was like chakotay i trust you saaaur much and he was like got it i will go behind your back to do mutiny

although, is it really mutiny if they're stoping what is more or less a suicide attempt...no. ALSO, it makes me well up how much they love her. not a single one of them wanted to stay behind on that paradise planet and the last time they almost mutinied it was curing 2.25 resolutions in which she did have to be left behind and like...damn. she's kicking herself for what she did to them but they love and trust her so much. wah. excellent episode

oh and before i forget i loved the aliens in this one also. she was like fuck the prime directive we are in fact taking sides <3

afterimage (ds9):

i miss deanna troi.

it's that bad! it's that dire! at least when deanna was being a therapist on a ship she knew what the FUCK she was doing. exri dax is like hee hee we will figure our problems out together at the same time! we will do it without warning in the middle of your tailor's shop! im a junior counselor i am such a good little girl scout! girl...please

i did really like ezri's scenes with sisko. firstly it's hard to fail when you're acting alongside him (although eddington or whoever did manage) and secondly it's when exri feels the most like "just dax" instead of teehee quirky cute junior counselor wannabe manic pixie dream girl. christ

also, it really riles me that garak is talking about this deeply personal stuff with a STRANGER. even jadzia was nearly a stranger to him - they knew each other but they weren't super close. it was a BIG DEAL when garak even allowed julian to know who his father was, and now with no prompting he's talking about that same father locking him in a closet isaac lahey style in the middle of his shop with zero prompting?? get FUCKED. it was so horribly manufactured. garak should have been working through this shit with JULIAN or at least someone who actually knows him. the betrayal of cardassians is such a juicy bit of acting and character development and we fucking wasted it on this shit!

speaking of julian, i'm also extremely put off by julian/exri...quark/exri actually feels so much more natural and respectful at this point whereas "oh she used to love when you flirted with her julian it would have been you if it wasn't worf" was so fucking excruciating and shoehorned in

finally...the worf stuff is bogus. he has no right to be like this isnt the same lady and then threaten people who talk to her. he also has a right to want nothing to do with her since he's grieving. she doesn't have to like make peace or whatever with him. he's not an obstacle she has to overcome in order to feel like one of the gang~! like she literally could leave :/ too bad she won't.

LIKE THEY DIDN'T HAVE TIME. TO DO A NEW CHARACTER. JUST BE LESS SHITTY TO TERRY FARREL. GOD.

maybe it will get better. i hope it does. but this JUNIOR~ counselor stuff is fucking killing me

TONIGHT: voy's "drone" and ds9's "take me out to the holosuite" - FINALLY. i'm still mad that jadzia never got to play baseball :(

[tobiasdrake]

Final farewells. T_T So long to everyone. Until we meet again one day.

And by one day, I mean "On sale now!"

Of course she is. She's the obligatory love interest for a romance arc that didn't even manage to dip its toe in the water before the end credits rolled. She's going to need several more games of development before anything gets started for her.

Poor girl didn't even manage to get a climactic last-minute kiss, either right before Yuma went off into the final confrontation or just before the end-credits rolled. The game was having too much fun shipping Yuma with Fubuki (gross) and Shinigami (SO GROSS) instead. Kodaka owes her at least one date to a coffee shop or something.

Go get him, girl. Maybe next time, you'll be allowed to have a relationship with him that is actually romantic in some way.

That must have been such an awkward conversation. Can you imagine having to talk to your crush's clone to try and get permission to go look for his human counterpart?

I remind everyone that Kurumi was able to navigate a Peacekeeper-infested Dohya District when even Yuma needed timey-wimey powers to pull that off. I have the utmost faith in her abilities.

...all due respect to everyone here but I cannot in good conscience vote for any of them. Halara's too capitalist, Fubuki lacks worldly experience, Vivia's unmotivated, and Desuhiko has a lot of personal growth he needs to do before he'll be ready for any kind of authority.

I hope there are more well-adjusted Master Detectives in the organization who will do a better job of it. But if you twisted my arm... Fubuki, with Desuhiko as running mate.

Halara is far too valuable in the field and would most certainly convert the WDO into a for-profit corporation immediately after assuming control, so that's a hard pass. Vivia, absolutely not. Why would you do that to the poor guy? He just wants to rest.

Fubuki lacks a lot of wordly knowledge but she has a boundless curiosity and love for the act of discovery itself. I have faith in her judgment. I do not have faith in her ability to fully understand context, which is why Desuhiko would make a good partner for her.

Desuhiko's head is too far up his own ass to make sound judgment decisions with authority. He has a lot that he needs to figure out about himself and the way he engages with the world. But he's attentive and follows along with information well.

The two of them could make for an effective tag-team, with Desuhiko laying out the context and Fubuki calling the shots. That could work.

But if there's someone, anyone better, that would be... better.

T_T This is the true reason that Yuma went into hiding.

See you around, Halara. It was awesome knowing you. I have the utmost faith that you're going to excel, no matter where you go or what you do.

Oh, of course! In fact, I have these three friends who I'm sure are just dying to meet you. I can take you to them right now, if you'd like!

I kid. We know now that he's only doing this to try and look cool. Nonetheless, as uncomfortable as I was interacting with him as a boy, I am twice as uncomfortable interacting with him as a girl. But, c'est la vie. This is what every day is like for women.

So long, Desuhiko. I wish you the best of luck in figuring yourself out and finding your way to a place where you can be satisfied with the man you've become. Or woman or person, if you wind up down one of those roads. Whatever the case, may you one day find yourself in a place where you can be happy.

Spinoff game starring Fubuki and Kurumi. I want it now. They can call it Ultra Truth Girls or some shit. I don't care what.

Farewell, bestie. I trust that wherever your adventures take you next, you'll have the awesomeness to weather it. And get the hell away from your shitty family, while you're at it! If you wind up becoming President of the WDO, that's my fault, I'm sorry for that.

Yeah, I'm mad at Desuhiko too. I told him that was his job. Though he might not have skedaddled so quickly if I hadn't threatened to get him eaten by ferals. So I guess that's on me. Sorry, Vivia.

In any case. Vivia? I hope you get to take a nap. A long, long nap. The longest nap of your career. And when you wake up from that, you get to take another nap. You deserve all the rest in the world.

So. That. Means. We have dibs on the submarine, right? Let's take this sucker out of port and get to globetrotting!

Y'know, a sub wouldn't be a bad place for a homunculus to live, in fact. No fear of sunlight in here. None whatsoever. Plus, Yakou's still feral for the time being so it's not like he needs it.

No? Going to leave it here to rot forever? Okay. Fine. What's even the fucking point of having the office in a sub if nobody ever uses its vehicular capabilities for anything. Angry fish noises!

Sure. I guess we can take the train, if we want to be boring about it. Watch out for murderers, Kurumi.

Yuma left Kurumi a note telling her that he left and offering little information as to where. Aww, that was sweet of him.

HE ALSO LEFT HER THE BOOK OF DEATH

OKAY

Kodaka, you realize that this is a promise for Kurumi to be the protagonist of the next game, right? You're clear on that?

I want to be sure because you might think that this means "Kurumi is going to find Yuma at the start of the next game and hand him back the book, so he can connect with Shinigami again."

But that is not what this promise means. This promise means, "Our next adventure will star Kurumi as she makes a pact with Shinigami and they go on adventures while trying to find Yuma together."

I'm gonna be mad if Kurumi isn't the protag for Master Detective Archives 2.

Again. This is promising a Kurumi-centric adventure. Just so we're clear. I expect you to deliver on that.

Post-credits scene showing what Yuma's up to?

The closeup here implies she's going to be important for the next game. Fuck, we're not getting a Kurumi-centric adventure, are we? She's going to show up in the prologue and be like, "Here you go, Yuma. I brought your book!" and then resume the same role she had in the first game.

Fine, but at the very least, I demand a badass scene where she exposes herself unfiltered to the sun and lets herself turn temporarily feral on purpose to fuck up the bad guy.

[gs0nk]

Right after I finished Aiden's route in Baldur's Gate 3, I decided to write a small text that will complete his own ending. I included Lorroakan here, cause in my version of timeline, they started to feel close to each other after first met (in which Aiden kicked Lorchie's ass really hard because he's a slavery hater and chain breaker for sure)

I also made a sketch illustration for this moment! Hope you'll enjoy reading this uwu

Lorroakan hated leaving his tower - even the invasion of illithids from the depths of the underground city could not shake his principles, and it was much easier to manage defensive processes while maintaining an unstable flow of magical energy in safety inside than outside in the epicenter of the massacre. Let those who consider themselves defenders of the city do this. However… The thought of one particular person never left my head even when it became clear: victory was on the side of the adventurers who decided to fight back the threat.

And yet, when it was all over, the cries of the defeated, newly converted victims of ceremorphosis died, and the refugees stopped bothering him with attempts to break into his house, the magician decided to go outside. The last words of the half-elf, whom he had seen quite often lately, did not want to leave his head - so often that he managed to get used to them and their “friends”, who had a habit of showing up on the threshold of the tower in their dirty armor, soaked in someone’s blood, brazenly examining every corner of his house for a moment, and even, it seems, stealing a couple of artifacts from him in the process. An unthinkable insolence that he could not tolerate and yet for some reason he forgave everything to his newfound acquaintance.

The magician himself was now thinking about how he would arrogantly reprimand this friend of his for the fact that solely because of him Lorroakan had to bother descending into a literal hell on earth, having the opportunity to contemplate the carnage that had taken place and endure the presence of not only ordinary, still frightened people, but also the stench of an alien city, wounded and practically destroyed.

Without bothering with pleasantries, he asked the aimlessly wandering locals about the heroes who put an end to the Absolute. Some still clutched makeshift weapons in their hands, unable to believe that the danger had retreated from Baldur's Gate, that it was all over. Finally, a couple of “unwashed militiamen” pointed to the pier - where the very same half-elf whom the magician so wanted to find was last seen.

Lorroakan, cursing everything that came into his field of vision, finally reached the right place and went down to the boardwalk of the pier. He did not take his eyes off the lonely silhouette of a young man in the rays of the setting sun, as if worried that he would now disappear like an illusory haze. That did not happen.

However, the magician tried to hide all unnecessary emotions, coming very close to the one he was so zealously looking for. Without wasting time on unnecessary honors to the “savior of the city,” he chuckled disdainfully:

- Are you without companions this time? Where is your noisy group of ragamuffins?

Aiden didn’t turn around at the stranger’s voice, but a smile was visible on theirs tired face. They wiped their own blood from the cut on cheek and shrugged.

- It's all over. Our story came to an end and everyone went their separate ways, and you were late for a tearful send-off. We don’t yet know which road we prefer.

The half-elf pulled a strand of red hair behind his ear and exhaled with a whistle.

- For the first time in many months, there is one less voice obsessed with world domination in my head. This change is surprisingly difficult to get used to, at least for now. And you? Have you come here to balance my loss? You're a so-so manipulator, don't flatter yourself with hopes.

Aiden didn’t see, but they knew perfectly well that the magician was now rolling his eyes and raising his right hand in a mannered gesture, as he always did, expressing his displeasure. Lorroakan crossed his arms and chuckled again.

- Oh, i beg you, how can I compete with your friends on the other side! Lolth, the incubus of Raphael, the Thai ghouls, your fragmented self, maybe there is someone else I don’t know about… But that’s not what I’m here for.

The magician crosses his arms over his chest and looks into the distance, where the sun is slowly sinking into the stormy ocean waters.

- I wanted to generously offer to stay in this terrible damn city, with me. After all your undoubtedly disgusting attempts to sabotage my well-deserved immortality, cripple me several times over that misunderstanding with the aasimar, and deprive me of my clueless student, I want, no, I demand, that you should live in my tower. You can take any vacant servant's position; today many of them chose to posthumously change their occupation.

The half-elf finally turns around and looks at Lorroacan mockingly, tilting their head slightly to the side.

- After becoming the savior of – no less – the entire world, being your servant is a huge step backwards, don’t you think?

Aiden takes a step towards the wizard and rests their forehead on his chest.

- Luckily for you, my services hardly require payment and we have no home to which we could return. And… We managed to get used to you.

- Hell, just don't force me to tell you the same thing!

Lorroakan frowns, but then the magician half-whispers and his voice is devoid of all feigned mannerisms:

- I need you. So I ask you to stay with me.

They will spend this night and all subsequent ones together.

The half-elf's hands rest on mage's shoulders. The wizard allows himself to exhale, hugging Aiden back.

Huddled close to each other, they watch as the unbearably long day recedes under the onslaught of dusk and the sun finally plunges into the depths of the waters.

[alln64games]

The Game of Life 64

JP release: 19th March 1999

PAL: release: N/A

NA release: N/A

Developer: Takara

Publisher: Takara

N64 Magazine Score: N/A

The “classic” board game The Game of Life is very popular in Japan. The board game is incredibly basic as you roll, move and do what the square you land on says, with the biggest choice you get to make is choosing what career you do – for the most part, though, it’s fancy Snakes & Ladders.

When it comes to making a video game version of The Game of Life, the Japanese publisher Takara haven’t just made a digital recreation of the board game, but have instead properly adapted the game to take advantage of being a video game.

Without needing to fit within the constraints of the board, the spaces twist through a large landscape of farms, countryside and cities. There are different size board for different game lengths, and you can also create your own out of different themed sections. The method of moving is unfortunately still the same – spin a spinner and move that many spaces, but it at least does something with it.

At the start of the game, you get to create an avatar to represent you, with a decent amount of options. If you can’t be bothered with this, then you can select a pre-made one. When the game start, you start as a child, with the initial avatar to suit the age you’re supposed to be at that point of the game, up to an elderly version of it. It’s a nice little touch to visualise the game more.

When you land on spaces, you get amusing little animations showing the event happening (and as I didn’t get a repeat in a game, there must be a lot). Sometimes you also get to make a choice as to how your react to a situation. These will then alter one of your four stats (which affect bonuses at the end of the game) or your money. It solves the problem of multiple people getting the same event.

This version also has “game” tiles, with a small selection of minigames to play. These are fine, but nothing outstanding, with a lot of focus on the strange aliens prominent throughout the game, with arse-UFOs. Winning or losing will affect stats and money. They can be played with one controller (so you can do a full 4 player game with just one controller), which is a nice touch for a game like this.

Getting married and having children is also massively expanded upon for the video game. When you land on a romance square, you enter the dating minigame and can visit a place to meet new people, ask someone you’ve met to go on a date, propose or work on improving yourself. It’s an interesting way to expand upon it, but as it requires landing on a lot of exact squares, difficult to do. In a “short” 2+ hour game, only one person managed by taking a chance and proposing with a 50% chance on the final romance square of the board.

When you reach the end of the map, all your assets and achievements are converted into money. From then on, when it’s your turn, you spin the spinner and collect money, which is a really boring way to end the final part of the game, especially as it can still take a while before others reach the end as well. You can also risk all your money by gambling in the hopes of getting more.

At the end, bonus money is rewarded based on categories, such as all the individual stats and a winner is the person with the most money.

At the end, each player get judged based on their morality of their choices during events, which determines the kind of afterlife you get. It’s a fun little ending to the whole thing.

This version doesn’t turn the game into a good game (it’s still 95% spinning and not deciding on anything), but it’s nice to see attempts to turn a board game into more of a video game, utilising what can be done in the digital format that would be a pain for the actual board game.

Remake or Remaster?

New versions are being made, with the latest on the Switch. An English version would be intriguing to see.

Official Ways to get the game

There’s no official way to play The Game of Life 64

[1u11ablues]

MY LITTLE INFERNI (NIKOLAI LANTSOV X OC)

WC: 2412

Summary: Dasha gets a visit from her favourite seniors.

Warnings: None.

CHAPTER 3: JUST FRIENDS

“What do you know of the Corpsewitch?” Henrik questions from the dining table, so suddenly that Dasha almost drops the knife she’s holding. 

It was a slow day. Henrik had chosen to close his shop so that he could ‘spend some time with the wife.’ Which is the codename for having a meeting about the Hringsa. Dasha was just chopping some apples to make pie, something she’d been doing a lot lately. Being a 'housewife' bores her endlessly. She only goes out once or twice a week to shop, and the rest of the week, well, she had to be extra creative looking for ways to spend them. Cooking seemed to be the least dull thing she could think of, so these days her dresses had started to fit a little more snugly on her hips. 

Why is he asking about Nina Zenik? Dasha needs to be careful around him. Like it or not, he's still Fjerdan, and Fjerdans were raised to be naturally against grishas. Even though Zoya had ensured that he was clear on the account of all the information he'd already provided them, she will remain cautious and carve her words properly around him until she’s sure that he’s a hundred percent safe. One can’t be too sure, especially in this line of work.

“Nina Zenik? I don’t know her that well. We never really communicated when I was still a student.” Which is partly true. She had talked to Nina once or twice; thinks she’s sweet. Still, Nina is more of an acquaintance to her, which seemed a shame. She sounded like a very fun person to befriend.

“Hmm,” he grumbled, cloth in his hands as he polished his work tools. 

“Do you have family in Ravka?” He continues to interrogate her. She still can’t quite decide if it was just out of plain curiosity or otherwise.

“No. My only brother disappeared, presumed dead.” It’s been so long since they pronounced Stepan missing in action. Like her, they also stationed him at one of the grisha camps, but his camp was very close to the Shadow Fold. After three years, she no longer had hopes that he would return.

He stops his cleaning to look at her, urging her to continue. 

“They never found his body.” She replied, keeping it curt to not divulge any more information than necessary.

“Do you have family here? Or anywhere else?” She returned the question back to him.

“One sister. Fjerdan.” was his only answer. She kept silent, hoping it’ll press him to explain as it did her, but like a block of ice, nothing else tumbles out of him.

Should she ask him what he was doing the other night? Or wait to see what Zoya will say first?

Dasha puts the apples to boil on the stove, controlling the fire with brief movements of her finger so it heats up gradually instead of converting the water straight to steam. Any excuse to use her power. She twirled with the bird beak ring on her index finger, the amplifier she acquired after killing a hawk—the biggest she’s ever come across—that had threatened the pets and livestock of a small town. It had put up a vicious fight before she managed to take it down, and she had asked her Durast senior to weld it into a ring for her. 

Just as she opened her mouth to bring it up to him, there was a knock on the door.

His movement stills, shoulders tense, readying himself for any danger. Placing his tools gently on the table, he stood up to answer the door. Dasha’s fingers touched the flint bracelet on her left wrist, ready to strike it if needed.

Carefully, he creeps towards the front door, his left hand outstretched towards her like he's talking to an animal, instructing her to stay calm. “It’s probably a neighbour,let me handle it.”

Meanwhile, she pretends to tend to her baking like it was just a normal day, her ears straining at the general direction where the knock came from.

Henrik unlatches the front door, using his body to block it from opening wider than the size of a typical hand. She sees no use to this, of course—if it was grisha, they wouldn’t need to reach their hands in to do any damage; if it was druskelle, being that apprehensive would just make them seem suspicious. 

“What is it?” Henrik inquired, and Dasha focused her hearing to get a feel for who he was talking to. She craned her neck to take a peek when Henrik opened the door to let two women in. Two very attractive women that Dasha hadn’t seen around the neighbourhood before. They must be some kind of officials, she thought, the apples long forgotten now.

Dasha stared at Henrik to get his attention—hoping he’ll explain what was happening to her. 

“Ooh. I smell something sweet,” the shorter woman said, her hands brought together, eyes closed as if trailing the smell. Dasha recognised that voice.

“Genya?” 

Genya grins, her smile foreign, entire face different. Henrik ushered them to the sofa in front of the fireplace, replenishing the firewood as the two women sat.

“Hello Dasha,” Zoya greeted, and Dasha found herself straightening up, as if awaiting instructions.

“Zoya, wow,” was the only thing Dasha managed to say.

“I know, right?” Genya quips, her nose scrunched up in mock distaste, “Stunning even as a Fjerdan.” 

Dasha crossed the length from the kitchen to the living room, stopping right in front of Genya to study her face. It was flawless. There wasn’t a hint of her old self left that she hadn't already tailored.

“This is your best work yet, Gen, I’m impressed.” Dasha praises, her fingers running through Genya’s now blonde hair. She liked the red better. It suited Genya and made her look more like an inferni—but maybe Dasha’s just biassed. 

Genya bows,soaking in the praises like an artist receiving standing ovations. 

“Now, now,” Zoya interjects, not wanting to spend more time than necessary in a country that hangs their keftas as their kill trophies. 

“We received your message last week. Other members have told us the same thing,”

Henrik crosses his arms together, his back leaning against the wall next to the fireplace. “Tell you what?”

“That people have been missing?” Genya explains, her eyes darting from Henrik to Dasha. Dasha’s eyes widen like a deer in headlights. 

“Sorry,” Dasha answers, looking at Henrik, “I forgot to tell you.”

“Lenkovya, you were supposed to be working together. It’ll be difficult to formulate plans if you keep information from each other.” Zoya chides, and Dasha lowers her head in affirmation. 

She looks around for an opportunity to talk to Zoya and Genya alone, without trying to sound like she’s chasing Henrik away. Maybe she should just talk about it right in front of him, but would that be a good decision? What if he ends up reporting them and the positions of some of the other grisha in hiding? Positions that she stupidly entrusted upon him before she even caught him sneaking around in the dark? Then she laughs, because how would he even run away from here when there’s two of the strongest grisha—ones that could kill him even before he had the chance to put one foot in front of the other—right here, in his home? Should he even think of attempting something like that, he would be the idiot here.

Dasha opens her mouth to bring it up, before Henrik beats her to it.

“It’s okay. I have valuable information I’ve been hiding too,” he cuts, dragging a chair from the dining table to sit in front of them. It almost seems like they were interrogating him.

Zoya turns to him, nodding, prompting him to go on. Dasha leans back into the sofa, crossing her arms like she’s egging him on. Go on, she thought, because what could he possibly say that’s going to make him look any less suspicious?

“A Druskelle boy had defected without them knowing it—he had been giving me information about the things happening as far as the Ice Court.”

Oh.

“Why did I not know about this?” Dasha questions, then her eyes widen in realisation. “Wait, that night—”

They all turn to look at her, waiting with bated breath. 

“Last week,was it—was the Druskelle boy here?”

“How did you know?” Henrik asked, his voice gruff. 

“I was awake. Nightmares.”

Genya draws her eyebrows together, worry etched on her face, as if to say “ Oh, you poor thing.”

“Yes, that was him.” He answers, his hands intertwined with each other as he leans forward in his chair, elbows on his lap.

“He told me the missing people are suspected to be grisha, and they were taking them in to question about the miracles that have been blooming lately.” 

“And do they ever return?” Genya asks, now realising how dangerous it has been to live in Fjerda even as a native.

Henrik rubs his face, and Dasha realises she had never seen him this up close before. Eye contact makes her uneasy in general, so she never made herself do it unless it’s necessary. He doesn’t look half as bad as she had imagined him to be. She supposed she’d like to retract some of her words from the letters to Zoya and Genya. He reminded her of Nikolai a little, his blond hair maybe looking a little too bleached, like he’d been under the sun every day for the past five years. His eyes make her think of the pine trees lining the mountains of Fjerda, his jaw more prominent than Nikolai’s —

Dasha straightened her back when she realised that she’d been staring and had not been paying attention to anything else that had been said after her eyes started wandering. Her face heats up, embarrassed, hoping no one has caught her. Had she really been thinking of Nikolai and his face when she was having a meeting with her superiors?

“It sounds like we’re treading on dangerous waters here,” Zoya says, presumably to add to Henrik’s answer. 

“Lenkovya, do you want us to pull you out of the assignment? We’re planning on giving the others a choice, too.”

“No, no, I’m okay with staying. I asked to be sent here, remember?” 

“You asked to be sent somewhere away from Os Alta, Dasha. I could reassign you to a camp in Tsibeya or somewhere else you prefer.”

Truth be told, she’s not ready to go back to Ravka. To see Nikolai again. Especially after she left that stupid letter on his desk, which she wrote while she had downed copious amounts of alcohol. The embarrassment of being the first to admit your feelings somehow seems worse than rejection.

“That won’t be necessary, general.” Dasha answers, steel in her voice as she tries to make her decision clear.

Zoya huffs at Dasha’s stubbornness. “Fine. You’re just as stubborn as the king.”

Genya laughs. “I guess that’s why they get along so well,” she muttered, glancing at Dasha like she knew something. Dasha shrugged, trying to seem nonchalant—like the idea of being apart from someone she grew up , been through hell, fell in love with doesn’t feel like there’s a monster of a forest fire wrecking through her insides.

“I guess,” Zoya says, sharing a look with Genya. Zoya stood, and Dasha thought they were about to leave before Zoya continued, “We’ll stay the night and leave first thing in the morning.” 

“Dasha, are you running away from something?” 

This was the closest thing she has ever gotten to having a sleepover, and it’s just like Genya to go straight to the hard-hitting question.

Dasha offered her bed to Genya and Zoya to use for the night while she unfurls the spare mattress Henrik owns, resorting to sleeping next to her bed instead. For some reason, Henrik prefers sleeping on the sofa, and as she feels the cold seeping from the floor, going right through the thin material of the mattress to rest on her bones, she understands why.

“Why would you ask that?” Dasha retaliated, tucking her blanket under her feet so the air won’t pierce through. She wished she had a thicker blanket.

“Well, you seem pretty eager to leave Ravka when Zoya made you the offer,” Genya answers, propping her head on her hands to look at Dasha struggling on the floor below her. 

Dasha pretends to fluff her pillow while she thinks about her answer. She is running away. From the memories of Stepan, from Nikolai, from the horrors of the slaughter she barely survived from. She thought that if she found work this far away from where most of her life had been spent, she would be able to let that part of her go. The weak, clingy part. The one who always had to rely on someone her whole life. Her brother. Nikolai. Now she’s here by herself. All she’s left with are the skeletons she carried on her back, in the sack she had packed while trying to escape. One can never truly escape. And it chases her, slowly but surely, like weed taking over ruins. Her nightmares show that escaping hasn’t actually helped her process all the deaths—and even her silly unrequited feelings. 

“Dasha?”

Genya’s voice tugs her down from the air, her feet now flat on the ground. 

“I’m just—Ravka reminds me of so much pain, Gen,”

She’s not one to say, really, as Genya had been through worse things than her. From the king’s abuse, the Darkling gifting her to the queen, and what the Darkling had done to her in general, Genya deserves her happy ending after that. 

“I get it, Dash. It hasn’t treated us well the past decade. Especially us,” she clarified, and Dasha hums in agreement. 

“But there are several people who would be happy to have you back, like me, and Zoya—though she won’t say it aloud—”

Genya turns to look at a sleeping Zoya, “and Nikolai misses you the most.”

They both stare at the ceiling, Dasha’s mind whirring at the mention of Nikolai. 

She wanted to ask her about him, wanted Genya to tell her all about him and how he was doing.

“There it is,” Genya announced, like she’s just discovered key information from an important manuscript. 

“Your heart danced a different beat when he's mentioned. You and him—it wasn’t just friends, was it?”

A/N: Sorry for the very long delay! I forgot my tumblr password. But this story is still ongoing. Very close to the end, actually.

AO3

Chapter 2

[g33se]

Playing bg3 right now. Got to the point with the druids and the tiefling city. A couple of opinions about the party:

Lae'zel: I liked her a lot when I met her first (competent, straightforward, my type of girl) but she's being very rude about the tieflings. Given that I'm playing a tiefling... well. Not keen on the way she compared us to cockroaches or the way she made the tiefling bow- granted the tieflings did have reason to want to stab her. So liking her quite a bit less now. Still, looking at her respectfully. She is hot.

Shadowheart: Never really liked elves all that much. Not super keen on the way she did a racism at Lae'zel as soon as we met her, but the moments of emotional vulnerability have me liking her a lot more.

Astarion: Stupid loser bastard. That man is clearly a vampire- I mean, look at the eyes/teeth/the literal VAMPIRE BITE on his neck and the ten thousand clues he's been dropping. Sexy of him to greet me by holding a knife to my neck I thought he was going to rob me. He's such a fucking idiot I want to jump his bones.

Gale: This man has bard energy. At least, the way I play bards. Also kind of single dad energy? Just a random wizard running around. Just a Dude, if you will. Had to put him back in the campsite since I'm a sorcerer and party comp will get fucked though.

Wyll: Thought he was a paladin at first. Then he started doing warlocky things. I like how he acts it's a nonstandard edgy warlock thing, I hope his storyline pans out well. Really like his back-and-forth with Lae'zel about ever doing nice things with her life. Immediately taken with the fight scene I saw him in first, looked fucking epic.

Overall, I really love Mind Flayers. They're fucking cool, that little starter scene when I converted a woman into one was fucking nightmare fuel. I did see the button saying perfect and press it knowing what it would probably mean. What the hell were they doing in Avernus though. And isn't Zariel the angel who fell because she wanted to kill demons with GREAT PREJUDICE?

I've also been save scumming whenever I steal stuff a lot because, habit. I just want to collect all the boxes and put them into the campsite. Also reloaded the same save three times because I wanted Asterion to take that one potato off a crying guard. (Probably going to try to see if I can do a revivify on the dead guard later? I don't know if the game has the 1 min timer on revivify or not.) Also I do like how yoinking just makes people do 'hey wtf' or 'you're getting arrested' because instantly trying to kill the party is. Weird.

Also reloaded the save once because I couldn't revivify Shadowheart because she died on stairs that were on fire. I know how to play dnd I just have a hard time conceptualizing it with game graphics.

Lower level dnd's always interesting. The take action to restore someone else at 1hp is also... inspired. Would be interested to see normal downing rules- that would force me to think in more dnd terms to play the game. I also keep clicking wrong and wasting attacks on the space right next to a person.

Weird how everyone can use scrolls.

I hate the 1/short rest mage hand it's a fucking cantrip and it can do, like, nothing. Going to download a mod for it later.

Going to have to use the speak with dead amulet a lot I hope. I love that spell. Not quite sure how I feel about your camp being a separate room- I feel like it trivializes inventory management and sending things there is. Weird. Where is all the weight going. I do like stacking all the boxes I find though.

Thought the Absolute people were part of a mind flayer cult so had to kill a few of them.

Current leader druid is a bit cringe. Don't want to kill her but definitely ousting her asap. Stop being a dick to my people (tieflings). Also really liking the tiefling responses so far.

Also wonder at the deal about the tiefling village. They seem to have a lot of hell stuff going on there.

Anyway, this is cool! Looking forward to what happens next.

[hearteyespierce]

8 & 12?

8. is there a story idea in your mental vault that you’ve never been brave enough to try writing? is this the year? can you tell us about it?

oooh man, i have several, for various reasons! hopefully i can make at least one of them happen, but one of them is centered around my todd being jewish headcanon combined with jewish werewolf folklore. but i need to do so much more research before i even attempt to write anything like that. i have been wanting to convert for many years and have researched judaism a LOT but, especially since i am not jewish, if i do ever get around to writing this fic i want to be really careful to do it right.

the other big one I have been knocking around in my brain for awhile I won't say anything about for now since, if we happen to do a big bang this year, I might try to tackle it for that? but I think one of the rules for most big bangs is that your fic has to be something new that you haven't talked about publicly before - not sure if that would apply in the DGHDA big bang (if one were to occur) but! just in case, all i will say for now is that @agent-p-94 has heard me brainstorm about it a lot in DMs since it's based on a book we both read around the same time, and it would be kind of a sprawling plot that i am intimidated to tackle, haha.

12. will you change anything about the way you edit or rewrite this year?

oh man i hope so, lmao. i have a bad habit of brainstorming fics, even outlining them chapter by chapter and then never managing to actually turn them into a story. and then when i do, i am an 'edit as i go person' and i'm very bad at going back to reread when i'm done with an objective eye, and i get really attached to things that probably could be fixed/cut/etc, so basically i just have a hard time editing in general, and i'd like to get better at that.

i also feel sometimes that i struggle with being too literal. i read stuff from other fic authors and i love the ways their writing style can be so poetic/make me feel things rather than just telling me those things, and i would love to try to incorporate that into my writing. it's possible i'm just being too hard on myself, but i think sometimes my writing can fall flat because i struggle with metaphor and with showing rather than telling.

thanks for the ask! 💖

fanfic asks for the new year