#i can't have zenith as my only group

[patchworkmelody]

Concepting... big moth with hammer

[radnewworld]

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[jazz-bazz]

more raindrop lab coat au!!

this time it's about their secret relationship that everyone's betting about, and drunk rain just spitting it out to copia the bartender... dew sighs a lot

the working title was "What Happened At The Bar, Stays At The Bar" but i figured the new one is better bcs it's funnier

and the machine rain used to ask dew out is a real thing, though i have no idea if theyd even put it at exhibitions 😂 i just heard about it in a lecture and figured its perfect for lab coat raindrop

ALSOALSOALSO

YOU GUYS NEED TO SEE THIS ART @floating-goblin-art did!!! can't stop looking at it send help

without further ado, here’s

One Time Password

The pack decided on Monday to go out to Zenith on Friday after work, to get dinner and then also some drinks. The plan is of course, supported by Aether, boyfriend of Zenith’s owner Copia, and Swiss and Zephyr, who are booked to perform there on weekend evenings. So after work everyone goes back to their own apartments to freshen up and then meet up at Zenith at about 8 pm, plenty of time to get good seats and for Swiss and Zephyr to prepare.

Mountain of course invited Sunshine to come with them, so Aether, not wanting to be fifth wheeling while Zephyr’s on stage-because Rain and Dew, who are supposedly not dating, are attached at the hip-invited Ifrit from inorganic chem department, whom he and Dew are trying to set up with Zephyr. Swiss also invited Phantom, for support he said, who in turn invited Aurora for emotional support because he needs someone his age.

Swiss and Zephyr plays for about an hour, and then they joined the group, which is now a very big group, sitting in the corner table of the bar sipping on their who knows however many rounds of drinks, all of them are already at least a little bit warm and tipsy now, based on the nonstop giggling coming from the table. Even the young newcomers are getting comfortable with the older ghouls, cracking jokes and making witty remarks now and then.

“Hey Rainy. Rain!” Aether tries to get the water ghoul’s attention, which is fixated mostly on a cackling Dewdrop, after he and Ifrit and Swiss does another impression of this annoying human professor in the inorganic chem department.

“Huh, yes Aether?” Rain finally notices Aether calling their name.

“Your turn to get us drinks now, please.”

“Oh right! I need a refill too, anyone has a special request or just beer?”

“Could you get me that blue fizzy drink that guy is having? It looks interesting,” Aurora asked.

“I’ll ask Copia about it, anyone else?”

“I want the drink Copia made me last time I was here, no idea what it’s called because I said I need something and he said he knew just the thing, then he gave me that and it’s been on my mind ever since,” Dew finally stops laughing long enough to give his answer.

“Very helpful,” Rain says with a playful roll of their eyes, “But sure, I’ll ask Copia, but if he doesn’t remember I’m getting you a beer.”

Nobody else has any requests so Rain makes their way to the bar and waves Copia over, who takes their order and starts working on them. Thankfully he does remember what he gave Dew, which Rain then asks him to make 2 of, because they want to try it too. It turns out to be some kind of fruit cocktail thing, a new recipe, Copia said.

After this round the group starts to disperse to go dancing and pausing the drinking for a bit. The theme is 70s-80s so not only are they dancing, they’re also singing (some badly, some quite good, some are really good too, complete with harmonising).

The dance floor is chaotic to say the least, they started in groups of twos and threes, but they keep switching with each other so much that nobody knows anymore. Copia just watches over them from the bar to make sure everyone is okay, and maybe also to ogle Aether’s ass a bit, because those are very fine ass.

But one by one they get tired and retreat back to their table, with fresh drinks in their hands. Mountain, Zephyr, Ifrit, Aether, and Sunshine are chatting with each other, Swiss is still on the dance floor with Phantom, Aurora, and Dew, and Rain is making their way to the bar once again.

“Hey Copia,” Rain says with hint of slurring, “Can I get that fruity drink from earlier?”

“Sure, wait here a sec,” Copia says while reaching for the ingredients.

“Oh wait, make that two, my boyfriend must be thirsty too,” Rain smiles big and dopey with heart eyes, “Oops, forget I said that, it’s for me, I’m sooooo thirsty I can drink a gallon,” he proceeds to cover his mouth with his hands.

Copia then pauses, because boyfriend? Since when does Rain have a boyfriend? And why does he not know about this, Aether usually tells him stories from the labs, “Boyfriend?”

“Huh, what?” Rain tries to back off and deflect, “I said it’s for me, come on, C, I’m parched.”

“Oh no you aren’t. Here’s drink number one but I’m not gonna make the other one until you tell me more, and you have to pay for two drinks. Spill, Rainy, who’s the lucky person?” Copia leans his head on his hands like a schoolgirl.

“Ummm… No I’m still single, what do you mean? I’m mingling right now,” Rain starts looking around for some help, which he finds when they catch Dewdrop’s eyes from the dance floor.

“Nope, no you aren’t. I don’t believe you, come on, spill. Or wait, let me guess, is it Dew?”

“Did I hear someone call my name? You miss me that much, C?” Dew arrives to Rain’s rescue. Being a fire ghoul, his temperature and magic burns through alcohol much faster than the other ghouls, so he is barely tipsy now.

“Are you Rain’s boyfriend?” Copia shoots him with the question.

“Uhh what? What’s going on here?” Dew asks with a confused little tilt to his head.

“Drunk Rainy over here says he wants two drinks, one for them and one for his boyfriend, they said. Before then covering his mouth and saying it’s for them alone, which I totally don’t buy because as people say, the first word are the truth, especially when drunk.”

“Noooo, don’t tell him that he’ll get mad, I’m not supposed to say anything,” Rain whispers quite loudly to Copia, his drunk mind thinking Dew won’t hear it, even though he does.

Dew sighs.

“Rainy, darling, light of my life, bestest friend forever and ever,“ Dew turns to Rain, and holds his cheeks in his hands, “I totally heard that.“

Copia just watches the two with a very amused smile and a knowing glint in his eyes, “So, how long have you guys been dating? And no more fooling me.“

“First promise you won’t tell anyone, not even Aether,“ Dew wags a finger at him. Meanwhile Rain just drinks his cocktail and sometimes smiling randomly at Dew and see, this is why Dew almost always takes Rain home before they get drunk in front of all their friends. He can’t keep a secret to save his life when he’s intoxicated. 

“Fine, swear on Satan. Now spit it out.“

“Since around fifth semester? This guy asked me to accompany him to a science exhibition and then asked me out using the machine that one could use to draw with atoms. We’d just learned about that in class and I guess they noticed I was so fascinated with it? And Satan knows how he managed to get the guy in the exhibition to do it. It was sweet and dorky and just perfect.“

“Aweeee, but what’s with the secrecy?“

“That is just us being petty to you all,“ Dew smirks, “You keep pushing us and everything, don’t think we don’t know about that bet. So you know, we don’t want anyone to win that bet so we just hid it. Actually I proposed to them a few months ago, and we decided to have the wedding as soon as both of us are finished with our degrees and just reveal it to you by sending you guys the invitations. Also we want the bet money then.“

“That’s… actually clever,“ Copia muses, “Though I want compensation if you want me to keep my mouth shut from Aether,“ he smirks. 

Dew promptly bangs his head on the table, “Fuck you, C. What the fuck do you want.“

“10% of the winnings from the bet and I get to officiate the wedding of my forever OTP,“ he offers his hand for Dew to shake on.“

“No idea what the fuck does a password have to do with us but deal, we were already planning on you either to officiate or be on my party. And 10% is not a problem,“ Dew shakes Copia‘s hand. 

“Not a password Dew,“ now it’s Copia‘s turn to sigh, “OTP is One True Pairing, as in a couple you’re rooting for the most. Internet slang, you wouldn’t understand, old man.“

“Now who the fuck are you calling old,“ Dew grumbles, “Also, you’ll keep it from Aether and everyone else?“

“Yes, Dewcifer Drop.“

“So now can I get my drink?“

[themissakat]

sorry about taking so long to think of words, but i think i finally have good questions.

what are your guesses for where the 3rd game is going to take place? Visit a new location or return to old locations of the first 2? the forbidden west and carja and nora?

How do you think aloy and friends are going to develop? where could the game go to further the character arcs of the squad?

words are hard you're good

gonna put a readmore bc it has a lot of Forbidden West spoilers!!

My first guess would be that we'll see something related to the Oseram homeland, as its the only one of the main tribes (aside from the Quen ofc) where we've met their people but not been to their capital. I don't have 100% certainty on this because the Oseram are the most nomadic of all the tribes we've seen thus far, those guys are everywhere, so its hard to say if visiting a centralized leader would be applicable to getting their support, as opposed to getting in touch with individual groups like the Vanguard at Meridian or the group at Burning Ember.

I think it would be so cool to see the Quen homeland, and I've read some fics that propose the potential use of Zenith tech (like the shuttle, its just hanging out still) to travel those long distances faster. It would be interesting to see if they push the travel that far, as they played a little bit with that in Burning Shores and going to the San Francisco area, but Vegas to San Fran is a little different than crossing the entire Pacific Ocean.

as for the characters, I really hope to see Aloy continue to open up about accepting help from others and not shouldering the entire burden herself. One of my favorite arcs in hfw was how Aloy contended with Elisabet's "legacy", and how she, at first, accepted sole responsibility for it, to the point of pushing everyone else away from her. Her being the "key" to the facilities obviously put her in a place of "if i dont do this, no one else CAN", but I think that the introduction of Beta and the staunch support of her friends really finally pushed her into "it is okay to accept help".

I think that meeting Beta and contending with their differences despite their being genetically identical was a very needed push for Aloy, because it put a mirror up to her experiences and reinforced for her that she IS NOT just a clone of Elisabet, but her own unique person as well. I will keep saying it but their sisterhood breaks me and rebuilds me into a better human, i love them so much sdjfhsd

I do think we'll be seeing a lot of returning cast of course, including Avad and hopefully the Nora as well. I'm very excited for the introduction of Seyka to the greater group, because I'm curious how the writers will handle Aloy actually having a requited romance, instead of just being the subject of a lot of people's attention. ( my thread for talking about hfw is called "Flirting With Aloy Like It's An Olympic Sport" for a reason ).

Despite not being the main focus of the story, there are SO MANY moments where Aloy interacts with romance and attraction that I can't see them not resolving that plot point for her and Seyka. I, personally, expect it to be tied into the concept of "after", of the future she will have once the future of the planet is secured. I personally headcanon that Aloy will struggle with this concept, as she has been completely goal driven her entire life, and to finally achieve that goal is something she has never considered.

I want to meet Federa and Zo's baby ofc. I dont have too many other specific thoughts about character arc resolution for the rest, aside from that I hope Erend finds something worth fighting for, as he has lost SO MUCH and at times seems to be the most lost amongst the group. He has his heart in the right place, but I feel he is very deep in his grief for his sister still, whereas a lot of the other characters have more specific goals or people to inspire them onward.

I can't think of any more specific thoughts atm sjdfd except, Gildun beloved, Burning Embers crew beloved, good characters all around.

[dreamtydraw]

*Inhale* SO I REPLAYED SAGE'S ROUTE

Like we all do because tears are still rolling

And i came up with an hc of what the bad end could have been based on one dialogue option in particular and other preiously référenced event.

I'm talking about this option wich is the last one offered where you are in a group setting, right before heading to kill LoS.

(before reading further reminder this is just an hc and english is not my first language )

Ok so why did i focused on this dialogue option ? Well because we know the game is full of foreshadowing and i like over analizing stuff wich made me compare the two options in details. See, if you choose the drink option, not only you have almost everyone interact, but it's on a note of a brighter futur. ( i only screend first dialogues but anisa, tusli, felix and elowen talk )

this contrast with the nap option who only have Elowen talking outside of sage ( worth mentioning elowen is the only one going with you two in the castle )

The tone diferences is visible, in one hand you have a happy and cheerful group discussion, in the other hand you have what in first reading is just a joke but may sound like a real possible worry ( mainly if you associate long nap as death )

"so what is your theorie then ?" you may ask, well hear me out on that one !

We know the bad end are foreshadowed in the bad end poster of the intro + the description read in sage route when we go back to the fan expo.

Mike / LoS / ugly wizzard, clearly created the storie to end with the main 3 being antagonist. In his head he wants them to be vilains in his upcoming game so his goal is to make them range in his rank.

We can then theorise that he wants sage as a beast, sort of like a monster for a boss level ( since in the hand od Mike, this is a video game where he is the most powerful vilain )

So how would he obtain it ?

Sage wants to kill him and if he was in beast form why would he obey him ? Well what does Sage spend all his route doing from his very first introduction ? What is one of his main goal trought the storie ( outside of letting go, and accepting help )

Protecting mc. Sage always did his best to protect mc even when they didn't knew each other in the tavern. Sage spend his time trying to protect mc from danger, from himself or from whatever could harm them.

This is why i theorise that Sage will still protect mc no matter what, wich include even in his bad end.

My theorie is that in the bad end, both MC and Sage overdue during the fight ( because of the lack of support from the other if you kept choosing options about violence, guilt, individuality and only counting on each other ) this lead to Sage using his beast form, being stuck in it incapable of going back, and mc entering a sort of coma. Why a coma would you ask ?

Well the nap option could be a foreshadowing of mc being here physicaly but absent ( sleeping, so in a sort of coma ) trapped in their mind like the other where after the fog first appeared. "what about the astroblade ?" well it was told that relics may overwhork their owner, we know they can even break ( like sage's zenith ) so it"s a possibility that the Astroblade would be too draining ( helping on Mc falling asleep or making them feel tired, hinted by ugly wizzard man in the breakfast scene in chap 11 ) and to "save mc" put them in a state of sleep rather than death.

This would give a reason for why sage could end up not killing LoS. In exchange of waking them up ( probably a lie or would take forever ) Sage would need to work for him. This is an offer that he can't refuse, Sage would stay with mc no matter what

( dialogue given by elowen last moment we see her before the big fight )

If you want more of my "why i think it would go that way" trow back to that one star scene where Rime offer both mc and Sage a deal wich is basicaly "turn into a beast and i'll teach them how to handle you". This would work well in paralel to the deal LoS could offer to sage "Turn into a best for them and i'll handle you for their sake".

Anyway if you read that far i would love to have your opinions on my hc because i can"t be alone with that thought, i need to talk about it with other.

Have a nice day _(┐「ε:)_

[newobsessioneveryweek]

Oo what is business as usual and sex, drugs, rock and roll 👀👀👀👀

I'm so glad you asked!

Here is an excerpt of Business As Usual for your viewing pleasure (unfortunately I haven't actually written anything for SD&RnR but I'll explain a little bit of what I'm thinking)

Excerpt start

“What are you reading?” came a sudden, soft voice. Loki turned to meet Hogun’s passive face. He was riding beside him. If he had been there the whole time Loki hadn’t noticed.

“Shapeshifting and Illusions,” he replied cooly, banishing the book to his pocket dimension. Hogun’s sudden interest was not unwelcome, just odd- his choosing to talk even odder. “Have you read it?” Loki asked dumbly. He would bet good money that no one in this group had ever glanced at let alone picked up a spell book, especially one that was meant to be locked away in Odin’s library, never to be seen or read.

“No,” Hogun said simply. He looked forward, wrinkling his nose at the conversation happening around them. Loki took note of the odd way he seemed both fond and exasperated. “But tell me about it. I doubt it’s worse than this,” he nudged his chin to where Thor and Volstagg continued to entertain Fandral with questions and comments while Sif listened disinterestedly.

Loki tried to quell a stab of disappointment. Of course, there was only personal gain to be thought of instead of genuine interest. But he indulged him nonetheless. “As the title so deftly put,” he deadpanned, “it’s a spell book on shapeshifting and illusions.”

“I gauged that,” Hogun said dryly. “Tell me more.”

What more was there to tell that he would be receptive to? “Well,” he thought, “contrary to popular belief, illusionary magic is intermediate at best, but often child’s play. I caught on to it quite quickly in my hundreds. However,” Loki paused, drawing in a tired breath, “shapeshifting is an advanced art, one that presents potential… complications if done incorrectly.”

Hogun hummed quietly. There was a beat of silence before he asked, “What would you deem advanced?” His head tilted a fraction as though he were actually intrigued.

“To put it in terms you would understand, it’s the equivalent of shooting a running target in the head from one hundred metres away on horseback.”

Hogun whistled lowly. “Have you ever tried?”

“Tried what?”

“Shapeshifting.”

Despite himself, Loki laughed. Hogun flinched but his expression remained impassive. “Yes,” he confessed, holding back a sudden tidal wave of emotion and the urge to end the conversation at its zenith.

“Why?” 

Why? Loki wanted to scream. He let the question marinate in the awkward silence it caused. He drew in a breath, held it, and exhaled at length. “Because desperate people do desperate things.”

Excerpt end

I might change some things about this wip. In my defense I wrote it months ago. But I hope it's got you hyped!

Here's a bonus because I couldn't resist! I can't keep it to myself🙈

Bonus!

“Curious,” he said, holding the bottle up to the light.

Loki rolled his eyes affectionately. “What is?”

“Red is my colour.”

“And?”

“Then by association, this potion must make you devilishly handsome like me. You could use some. I’ll buy it for you.”

“You’re an ass.”

“I would be offended if that wasn’t a lie.”

Bonus end!

Now, SD&RnR doesn't reeeaaallly have a plot rn. I just thought it would be neat to explore Apollo's past of "living life to the fullest" in a protective bubble of perfection and indifference. The title is meant to allude to impulsive grabs for satisfaction and surface level pleasure that doesn't really treat the deeper parts of one's longing and desire (such as that of wanting to be accepted and understood by your family for instance).

So yeah, that's the idea behind it. I haven't written a word but it's coming! Bet your autumn harvest it'll be here!

Thank you this ask and for letting me talk about my babies☺️💛 you rock!

[thessalian]

Thess vs Regalla

Well, first there was the Stuff at Base to deal with.

Poor Erend. He tries to brush off the squishy stuff but he is just this ... big dumb loyal marshmallow wrapped in steel and I just want to hug him.

I do love the viewpoints and moods we get from this group. Zo is ... I have a suspicion about a thing, but overall she's ... maintaining. Alva ... is probably not used to this level of setback, just because of how setbacks are dealt with among the Quen, so obviously she's entirely at sea about how to bounce back. Kotallo is moving on to the next battle because he can't mourn the dead until all the battles are done, just so he knows how many of the dead to mourn - and besides, that's his people. And Erend ... see above re: big dumb loyal marshmallow.

Zo wants to speak to me before I can do anything else? Okay. So now I get to confirm why she's so relatively calm, because that kind of thing is generally--

...okay, first? There is so much beauty in this game, even in its saddest moments, and I will bask in this until--

Yep. Relatively calm because she carries a piece of him, literally. It'll be interesting to see how that little one is raised. (And as a friend of mine pointed out, Sona's lost both of her children now. Though I guess she probably accepted that she lost Varl when he left the Sacred Lands. That's still kind of a Nora thing.)

Also like I was telling this friend of mine? It did have to be Varl, not only for thematic reasons, but for narrative ones. We needed Kotallo, Zo, and Alva as anchors to the current part of the world we're in. We still need Kotallo because we still have things to deal with as regards the Tenakth. Alva will not only be needed in terms of information about the Ancestors, but may also serve as a link to follow in the next game (assuming there will be one, but this doesn't feel like it's going to be over when we punt the Zeniths off our planet; nothing's that simple in this series). Zo ... well, narrative aftercare at minimum, since she's carrying Varl's child. And Erend? Well, he was a possibility, but he was too obvious a possibility, to start with. I mean, come on; he's a beatstick who deals with problems by charging headfirst into them. He's learning a bit of strategy now, but his death wouldn't have the same narrative weight because it's kind of expected from someone who goes into melee with Bristlebacks and who you know would die for you without a second's hesitation. Varl? He's been with Aloy since nearly the beginning. He taught her so much. He wasn't just a Rost for Beta - he was what Rost should have been for Aloy; Rost just didn't know how to be that. He tried to get Aloy to embrace life with the tribe, but he thought the only way was to separate himself from her entirely. Varl spent the last two games walking the line between "what tradition demands" and "what my friend needs", and choosing the latter every time. His world became so vast when he left the Sacred Lands. There were few enough places with narrative weight left for him to go. I've read at least one review that said they wanted to see more of Varl's character arc and that only annoys me because a) we saw a lot of it anyway and b) the only way we could have seen more of it was if it had been him as the main character and not Aloy.

(Yeah, it felt like half the reviewers at minimum would have very much preferred that Aloy be male. They don't like how bossy she is, they think she isn't likeable ... all these things that just get a pass when it's male characters being like that. I hate it.)

Okay. Let's see if flying on a Sunwing will ease my pain.

..................................WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

(I mean ... it really kinda does.)

I FINALLY GET THAT TALLNECK WOO!

I should take a break but ... no. No, I am going to finish off those rebels. I'm done.

YOINK.

Ooooooooooooohohohoho this is awesome.

Okay, what now?

Melee combat with minimal space, that's what. Oh, get fucked.

Right. A little more space. Not much, but...

...You know what? You don't deserve precision or clean shots. For you, Regalla? I'm bringing out the very well upgraded legendary hunter bow. And the fire arrows. BURN!

It is so satisfying watching her be on fire.

Soooooooooo ... I get to throw her at the Zeniths? Really? Yes. Okay. I will do that. Kotallo can keep her honest, and that's what she wanted to do anyway, thanks to Sylens--

Oh. Speaking of. Message from these Prometheus people, which meeeeeeans...

Hi, Sylens. How's the everything? Your plans went tits-up? Yeah, good, because yours were made of dickhead. AGAIN. You want APOLLO? You follow my plans. Because I have them, yes. And I finally, finally know more than you do.

So I am going to get everybody - friends, foes, annoyances - into my base and we're going to do this shit. But to give everybody time to get there ... I have a couple of flight-related side quests to deal with.

Ah, there are those assholes who attacked Tide's Reach. One just wants to ... die on a tiny spit of rock, okay.

Okay, raider rebel jackasses, what building did you climb--?

Oh, this is going to suck for my usual methods of combat...

Melee combat, on a very tiny ledge, with a very long drop I HATE THIS SO MUCH.

Well, I got through it anyway. Now to that one last shelter I couldn't get because I needed flight--

GREENSHINE SLAB YAY!

Now is a good time to take a proper break. I have one more side quest and then I think endgame. I can wait for NG+ for anything really to do with the arena etc.

Yeah, I require an actual meal, and bath, and all that good stuff. But ... lots of thoughts, lots of feels, and holy fuck I forgot how much I love flying mounts.

[quihi]

The Road to the Border

Rating: G Summary: Rhiannon's squad volunteers to meet the Navarrian families moving to Aretia. Turns out, they'll be taking a road trip in both directions. Word Count: 482 Author's Notes: This is an Empyrean fanfiction, set during Iron Flame, written for the "Squad Road Trip" prompt for War Games in the RQ discord server. I'm pretty sure it can't actually comply with the canon timeline, but whatever. Canon doesn't leave a lot of room for road trips, when there's dragons that are much faster, but I wanted to write something at least in the canon universe. Violet's presence is kept ambiguous because there are so many other fun characters in the squad, and because her absence might help it fit a tiny bit better in the timeline, if she didn't go with them for some reason.

~~~

"Anyone else getting flashbacks to RSC here?" Sawyer asked.

"No!" Rhiannon said. "Why would you even mention that? Our dragons are overhead and in contact. We're going to meet my family."

"And we're on foot with infantry. At least we're on something like a road this time. We do all have the same maps, right?"

Everyone in their group stopped. Ridoc opened up his map and pointed to their current location; one of the Tyrrish infantry did the same with her own map. "Yes," Ridoc confirmed. "We are currently here, and we're going—" He moved his finger to a new point on the map. "Here."

The designated location where the group from Aretia would meet the families moving to Aretia was on the border with Deaconshire Province. The squad of rider cadets could have flown there in a fraction of the time, but they'd been informed that as long as Rhiannon was volunteering their squad of cadets for this duty, they'd be accompanying the infantry on foot in both directions, with the dragons watching for any threats. And perhaps one or two of them would be willing to help burn or move any major obstacles blocking the road through the mountains?

There was not a single adult dragon in Tyrrendor that would freely volunteer to help improve a human road—why bother with roads when they could simply fly overhead? But Feirge and Sliseag had agreed, seeing that it was the most practical option, and they would prefer to burn trees and shift rocks than to carry people who were not riders, let alone the worldly possessions of those leaving Navarre. And the road needed to be passable to wagons, after six years without regular maintenance.

The sun moved steadily overhead, marking the passage of time as it reached its zenith and began its slow descent to the west. The infantry and riders kept marking down the road, the horse-drawn supply wagon trundling along behind them.

"Are we there yet?" Sloane asked.

Aaric stared at her. "You do realize we're not getting there today, right?"

"I know how big my own province is, Aaric. Are we almost to where we are stopping for today?"

Rhiannon pointedly looked at the sky. "We have a few more hours. We need to get as far as we can today, so we can reach the meeting point the day after tomorrow."

Sloane sighed. "Ugh. Fine. It's ridiculous that we have to walk the whole way."

One of the infantry looked back at the riders, suppressing laughter. "Be glad you only have to do this on occasion. This is how infantry gets everywhere."

Sloane and Aaric both shuddered at that. "Sometimes I'm glad I had to be a rider."

"Yeah," Aaric agreed. "To think they have to walk everywhere for three years. At least we usually get to fly."

They kept walking down the road to Navarre.

[the-whispers-of-death]

hi :)

you keep entertaining my oc blabbering so here i am again

Stone overhears crashing in the med bay and walks in on Johan holding Romanas down trying to feed him medicine and Romanas fighting for his life not to take it (Romanas doesn't believe in medicine and refuses to take any. his mom was an addict and he walked in on her after she died of overdose. with all that combined the man is convinced any pills, tablets or injections are drugs and if he took any he would end up like his mom)

now imagine Johan and Diana are gone for whatever reason so Stone has to take over the medical care for my ocs for a bit (this man is about to have the most stressful time of his life). 5 minutes in Vaccine drags Dartboard in with his elbow bent the wrong way, says he "fell". Void gets set on fire (again) and needs his burns treated. Hazzard spontaniously throws up blood and brushes it off because "it's fine it happens sometimes". Vaccine ends up breaking both his legs after pulling a prank on Kali went wrong. Selga falls out of a tree and ends up impaling himself (he's fine it's not very deep just needs stitches). Romanas doesn't get up to anything (*cough* because Johan put him in a medically induced comma after another hunger episode *cough*)..... Zenith may or may not appear to "help" (godhelpusallifthathappens). Boss is nowhere to be found and Stone can't shake the feeling that he's being watched (it's Vendetta watching how he does with the disaster group)

when Johan and Diana return they give Stone a pat on the back, a hefty bonus and a nice cup of chai (curtesy of Diana)

Stone baby im so sorry

I feel like Stone would manage, it wouldn't be the best, but he'd manage. Only one thing would make him falter and that's Hazzard's coughing up blood because he does not know to treat the seemingly terrible radiation poisoning Hazzard no doubt is still affected by and he can't just not do anything. So he ends up just mostly fretting over Hazzard.

He might not want to do medical care on all of them again (or he might, simply because he thinks he did an okay job).

[wetbloodworm]

sdv 1.6 spoilers under cut. it's not out yet i just know spoilers b/c of what concernedape has posted. yes this is an oc post

it's update day and i haven't figured out which kid i want to play on the new farm argh. all i know about the new layout is that there's blue grass that animals love and you can start with a coop, so. blue and animals.

easy answer is 'play charlie again' but i've done them like at least once on pc and once on my switch and i don't need to play them AGAIN. if i really want to see new stuff on them i can just load up their existing saves. for the other kids in that 'verse, i've also got parker who would hate running a farm, rhys who i've done before, and sparrow who hates people so they wouldn't be a fun fit for the game. so none of them

out of the rescueverse kids, asya is my strongest contender, though she exists in the fallen farm we've got going. i've got an ongoing save for ivan for this dumb au of mine and that's the only version i'm interested in rn for him. anya's not the farm type. sergey would hate the manual labor. i'm really just not interested in playing as cian. outside of that group, no real interest in throwing anyone else on a farm.

dnd kids! starting with the pc list, kids i've actually played or had plans to play. finley legit is a farm girl but i'm not interested. niamh's a city girl and also i'd like to play someone where i can romance a villager. zanlamin might work but idk if i'd like to humanize him or just make a weird red boy running around, and he wouldn't have pointed ears. wait zanlamin's aro isn't he, i ask, as if i don't have the sheet up as i'm talking about it, and yes he's aro, that'd be a no-romance run. so nevermind lol. zenith could have fun on a farm, he could have fun most anywhere, zenith is always a possibility and i always want to play him more lol he's technically functionally aro but he is down for romance, but idk. as the kid i'm currently playing, mik could also be fun, though he's not necessarily the farming type and he's not that interested in animals so i feel like the new layout is kinda wasted on him.

for extra dnd kids... no one is super sticking out to me. i could do a younger version of naevys, the woman who finds zenith. that could be fun. again, either gotta humanize her or make her gray without elf ears tho. i always wanna think about merri lately but he's not a great fit for this game and also the tattoos, can't give him his tattoos. he does love animals though!

other ocs!! i used to put zephyr in video games all the time, but he's more fun to force into rpg roles. not interested in anyone from pbjverse. i could see asim doing well on the farm but idk. he's a maybe i guess, not too enthusiastic about that. deacon is just funny to me, werewolf running a farm. i could spin achlys as this being another life of his with another host, like i have his hosts established already but y'know. AUs. like no yeah i'm totally this guy's grandkid, yeah, don't worry about it. for trverse, magali was my main oc overall for a long time, she could be fun! no interest in anyone else there. for vg fancharacters i'd only really consider abaddon and. hm. we'll consider. she'd work better on the monster farm is the only thing so maybe i'll play her another time. and taking a look at my 'other' list, no one super sticks out.

SO WHERE DOES THAT LEAVE ME. we've got asya, zenith, mik, naevys, deacon, achlys, magali. idk if i'm leaning more towards one over the others rn. we.... will think about it

[prettytanuki]

s02ep01 of Mushoku Tensei

Yay, everybody's most hated anime finally started!

"Hey, you, you're finally awake!"

Spoilers below!

So the episode starts and the first thing I see isn't the image above but... this:

Is this Rudeus? Why is he blushing? Can't trust blushing in this anime!

(it wasn't Rudeus lol!)

---

>Do I need to answer that?

Wow I see Rudeus became a snarky ass anti-social hikineet again.

She literally snapped (the arrow).

---

>I'd like a room for a month, please.

A whole month? So he's going to start searching from here?

---

lol he just left a pile of coin and went in

---

My boy, erm, man, is down bad.

This is kinda creepy ngl

---

>I'm not travelling to get over my heartbreak. I need to find Zenith.

Who is Zenith?

...

Oh yeah, his, his mom. I, I think...??? (or was it his sister???)

---

Wow now this is some tropey bullshit.

Ever since wild west movies you can't enter a goddamn tavern without everyone looking at door and making comments. It's like they sit in these tables just waiting for someone to enter through them doors. Like dude what were you even doing there before Rudeus walked through? Weren't you having a conversation? Drinking? Or were you like "hey bro keep watch on the door while I take a sip."

---

>Excuse me, would you mind helping me officially disband my party?

Oh, so that's what he went there for.

>*hesitates*

Just hand the tag, Rudeus, gosh, stop being so melodramatic!

---

>Did his party get wiped out?

Uh... no?

So did nobody notice what his party name was? I thought that would be important? I guess it's not that famous outside the... whatever that demon region was called.

---

>What about your party? >I work alone.

ok, kirito, calm down

---

wow he had a panic attack?

what... what is he touching in there

is it... it's her hair isn't it

...

okay...

bro is down bad

---

Every time I see a scene like this I can't help but think that this person only looks after Rudeus because he looks like a kid and if he looked his original way she would just kick him out.

Sad but that's what I learned from Cheat Skill: people are (jusfiably tbh) prejudiced against fatass hikineets (u_u)

---

Is he talking about his sister or Eris...?

(come to think of it, wasn't his sister already found? Gee, I completely forgot everything that happened in season 1!)

---

>touches Eris hair as a group of dudebros walk by

Rudy... bro...

Haha haha. Brutal.

Just dumping salt on the wound aren't ya!

---

>you're early

I thought he was diligent, but I guess he just didn't sleep.

---

Something I noticed rewatching:

>I can cast spells without an incantation >the girls: *didn't even hear that* >the two magic guys: :o (holy shit) >the sword guy: huh? (what are them reacting about???)

I guess you could say this is a big deal for some. And others have no idea about it.

---

>he doesn't shake her hand

Stop being so melodramatic, Rudeus, jesus christ, they aren't even dead!

---

So the leader isn't the strongest. He sounds like the weakest, in fact.

I'm glad they have a healer. If I remember correctly it's the one thing Rudeus can't do.

Tsundere girl on full power AGAIN I see.

---

>you might part ways with us and party with other adventurers someday.

No, dude, they're using her to teach YOU!

---

>They can't see well in the dark, right?

I'm glad Rudeus actually learned something in his adventures. What an experienced adventurer he grew up (?) into!

PSA: adventurer isn't a stable job. Please don't be like him.

---

Why do I feel like that's not the case for Rudeus...

>then, what if I joined close range?

RUDEUS WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT YOU'RE A MAGE

---

>the last person I saw cast silently was a teacher in my school days

It's that rare...

Wait how old is this guy.

He has lines under his eyes so I guess he must be extremely old (like 30 years old or more (sorry ;p)).

With that long hair, scarf and physique he looks like a character from some BL. Which one of the two other party guys would people ship him with?

---

THEY AREN'T DEAD. FUCKING HELL RUDEUS. STOP.

Guy you're talking to probably had his old party members die on him or some shit, your issues are NOTHING compared to *gestures around*

JUST GET IN THE DAMN ROBOT RUDY!!!

---

How nice of the monsters to stay together still in one spot where you can just blast them off the planet with one big explosion magic.

---

>mage, whispering: exa-flame >BOOOM

okay.

>he chants whispering again

Why is he whispering. That explosion was fucking loud. The monsters woke up already.

>he does it again

You know what I think that's just how he speaks.

---

What is Rudeus listening to on the ground?

---

>it's too late

Did he see it with his eye?

Rudeus???

Jesus christ, he was about to suicide by monster grizzly bear attack.

---

Stop giving everyone trouble, Rudeus. Cast some spell...

---

Wow the healer actually heals.

---

>Why isn't everyone running?

You think you can outrun a bear? Humans are better at long distance endurance you know.

>of course I know why they stand and fight

Because... they gonna die if they don't???

Sorry is this supposed to be deep?

---

>goes grope Eris embarrassing hair bundle again

>doesn't

Is this supposed to be character development?

---

I can't believe this lazy sack of shit did nothing the entire fight just to step up last moment and seize the hero spot.

---

Oh it's the melting snow thing again.

This gets a pass.

Because it looks badass.

---

This looks like it could make a good wallpaper.

---

Love at first sight!

If tsundere switches because of his power level I swear to god...

---

What is this. Blood? Mud? Fire burns? Cold burns? An EoE reference? I don't even know.

I'm glad Rudeus can actually loot things like a proper adventurer.

I'm also VERY GLAD this is actual looting in this series and none of that "monster disappears and turns into Japanese-style bath tub drop item" kind of bullshit.

---

The fact that he can say "thank you" in scenes like these is probably one of the best parts of this series.

---

One thing I noticed rewatching:

They're shaking hands NOW because he didn't shake her hand when they left. This went over my head the first time.!

---

>more tavern antagonism

Stop acting like NPCs, NPCs...

---

>everyone: fuck off foreigner >:( *xenophobes* >foreigner: we'll buy everyone a round of drinks! >everyone: uh, yeah ur alright :3

Leader is paladin class I see.

---

>Rudeus! Rudeus! Rudeus! Rudeus!

please stop

this is cringe

he just cast one spell

y'all spoiling him

---

>hand in pocket

AGAIN DUDE???

wait what

what

WHAAAATTTT

no way

It's the panties. The holy relic.

Jesus christ.

>what the hell am I doing?

What the hell are you doing really!

---

You know despite the voice actor's terrific voice acting it's kinda hard to take you seriously when you're pressing your teacher's stolen panties against your face like that.

---

I'm glad he finally came to terms that NOBODY EVEN FUCKING DIED YET.

---

Wow such an impact...ful.. scene... i... guess????

Okay, so we have both good news and bad news.

Good news is... he isn't into the redhead loli.

Bad news is... he's really into the teacher loli.

Sad news is... best loli is the crazy demon lord loli and I'm afraid we won't be graced by her absolutely psychopathic presence again so soon. But we will one day I hope. Think of it like this Rudeus was born with two eyes, right, so what I'm saying is... does that count as foreshadowing??? Please???

---

So new season starts with now-veteran adventurer Rudy getting into a new party and he will probably use their help to search for his mother (?) Zenith.

All things ranted one thing we get in this anime that we don't normally get is a character having started his adventurer job from zero in a world, leaving a party, then forming a new party and showing off his experience.

Normally it's start from zero OR start with full experience.

Refreshing that we get to see both ways for once.

[bluerosesburnblue]

Another excellent rant as always! I hope you don't mind me adding on some extra thoughts because... when I read this chapter all I could think was "did they really believe they were accomplishing something here?" Even now I can't believe that this was the finale they chose to end on

First off, you're so right to call out that R has been demoted from "international organized-crime-type cabal" to "gang of street thugs." Because my god. How did this group manage to get anything done? No wonder they had their secret meeting just... in the middle of broad daylight in Knockturn Alley, there weren't enough people to even stand out among the other wizard gangs

Second, why were they even at Hogwarts anyway??? Like, yes, obviously we're told that they're looking for Legilimens but Snape and Dumbledore AREN'T the only two Legilimens outside of MC and Jacob??? Hello??? You're targeting the two most guarded Legilimens you can find rather than looking for your everyday Queenie Goldstein-esque person in the street? Hell, all you'd have to do is put out an ad in the Daily Prophet saying something like "Legilimens Wanted for the care of Zenith Xeep" and then capture whoever shows up. They make such a big deal about how it should be a powerful Legilimens, but wasn't making them powerful what the potion was for in the first place?

And even beyond that, MC notes in Y7C56 that they probably aren't aware that Dumbledore left the school!

Which makes them look extra dumb because it means that they aren't even tracking their targets! If their plan needs either Dumbledore or Snape, what's the smarter option? Breaking into the school that's heavily fortified in order to grab Snape? Or taking advantage of the fact that Dumbledore is alone to grab him while he's off of school grounds??? And they don't even get that far, because apparently they're not aware that Dumbledore's even gone, so they were gonna rush the school with both Dumbledore and Snape and the rest of the faculty on them. So Jam City's attempts at making the situation urgent with "oh, no, Dumbledore isn't here to defend the school, WE must step in" just makes R look incompetent (or... more incompetent than they'd already proven themselves to be)

Or, hell, if Verucca wanted to, she could have used her Metamorphmagus abilities to go after Jacob while he's blind and unable to defend himself to trick or force him into completing R's plan or just blackmailing Peregrine to step down. Remember when JC remembered that Verucca was a Metamorphmagus? Outside of that one pointless time she disguised herself in the Hog's Head, it's like they totally forgot that she could just disguise herself as anyone at any time once she revealed her identity. Seriously, she didn't need to be at Hogwarts at all, if she wanted to oust Perry she could've just let him get his ass kicked at Hogwarts and taken the time to kidnap Jacob

Basically, no one should've been at Hogwarts anyway. It's like they wanted to have their own Battle of Hogwarts but without any of the setup

And they really thought we'd care if Peregrine died. Like, goddamn. No. I hope the man died on the way down. I wish Merula had gone with him, honestly

And for all its faults, I couldn't help thinking about how the Year 6 ending had more of what would make for a good story finale than this. Not that the Year 6 finale was even that good, but it had the right elements, you know?

To elaborate on that sentiment a little more, the location of Year 6 is more final. It's in the final Cursed Vault, the things that we've been hunting for 6 in-game years. It's thematically appropriate for an ending. And, aesthetically, it's really cool. The Hogwarts bridge is bland as hell. But at least in the Underwater Vault, there's a reason why the Hogwarts staff can't some out to intervene, unlike the bridge where you have to wonder why no one looked out a window and went "are the students fighting a gang???" and came out to help. Now in Year 7, though? We don't have any real connection to the bridge, and the bridge has no connection to the Vaults, so there's no emotional follow-through

And then there's the matter of who we're fighting. Rakepick as a villain may not make a whole lot of sense, but she's a character we've had time in-game to care about and get attached to. She's at least had a presence for some time in the story. We, as players, have a personal connection to her. But Peregrine? Verucca? Who the fuck are these nobodies? We didn't get to see either of them until partway through Year 7. They've been here for so little time they're barely characters. I don't care what they're doing. They try to get by on "oh, but Peregrine's your dad!" as though I really care about that, because guess what? He wasn't a character in the story until five minutes ago. I have no attachment to this man. I have no attachment to his second-in-command who now wants to betray him

And don't even get me started on how hollow the Merula thing is. It made more sense for her to save MC from the curse so that they could help her fight Rakepick (which, to be clear, it's not said that that's the reason she did that, I'm just saying that it COULD be rationalized like that) than any of this "oh, the Circle is my real family" nonsense as though I haven't spent the past 2+ in-game years rejecting her at every turn. I'm there with Ben. You survived? Ew

And it's all so disappointing. They really had something special going on in the earlier years and the way that this ending went you just have to wonder what the point of anything was

We go on this big hunt for the Cursed Vaults. Why? Was the only thing they were guarding the Crown of Mneme? What happened to that past foreshadowing that the Vaults exist to guard something that can't be moved? And is one crown that slightly boosts mental magic like a mid-level equipment item in an RPG worth five Vaults' worth of guarding?

Why the hell didn't Perry show up USING the Crown of Mneme in the finale? They should have that! MC just slid it out of reach the last time we saw it but they could totally grab it! Even if he can't enact the Ministry plan with it, couldn't Perry have used it to buff himself before confronting us to put himself on our level?

Who was putting all of the items in the past Vaults as hints? Some hints which weren't even actually used, I might add

Why did Dumbledore foreshadow that it wasn't actually Jacob talking to us via Legilimency repeatedly if it totally was Jacob this whole time?

Why the hell did the Vaults start reactivating all that time ago? Does anyone remember that? In Year 5, I believe? You know, when the cursed ice came back and we found Scabbers with the Marauders Map? And then without re-breaking the curse it just stopped for some reason?

Why was Peter Fucking Pettigrew involved in this plot in the first place and if he was going to be involved, why did he suddenly get dropped? Was he in R? Why was he working with Rakepick? Hello???

And that's not even all of the things randomly dropped. What did this ending have to do with anything? There's no closure for anything other than stuff they introduced randomly in Year 7. Like, they can't actually think this is a good ending, right? Character you're allowed to be a total asshole to decides you're her real family and betrays the villains, only for Villain B who you don't care about because you barely know her to kill Villain A who you don't care about because you barely know him, while characters you DO care about are offscreen fighting random street thugs masquerading as a criminal army. Like???

And the sad thing is, I can see ideas that could work well. Dai Ryusaki's story of a wizard trying to do something good only to accidentally create something that can be used for evil and getting mistakenly branded a criminal and killed by wizard law enforcement before he can fix it is a good story. It's just half-assedly worked into the Vaults plotline when, with a little fine-tuning, it could've worked so well. They could've had it so that he was using a magical device in the Vaults that couldn't be moved and gotten killed before he could properly seal it, leaving MC to be the one to figure out how to finish what he started and seal it for good and it would've been great

An organization recruiting people angry at the Ministry for being too lenient on Voldemort sympathizers in the aftermath of the first Wizarding War is a good idea! But they went and practically dropped it by the time of the finale. That plot point could have gone a long way towards making R a more fleshed-out and morally ambiguous group, so long as it went the route of "R is an ancient, global organization with the goal of finding immortality (or something, they seem to have forgotten that part, too), whose British branch recruited a bunch of people angry at the Ministry by promising reform," so now we have different factions within R of people who want the true goal of immortality/power and people just looking to get back at the Ministry for a perceived injustice

A Metamorphmagus villain is a great idea when she doesn't completely forget that she's a Metamorphmagus. A plot focused on doing more with Legilimens is a good idea when they aren't constantly forgetting that they can use that power except in very specific moments when the villain needs it. An international organization that brings in people from other countries is a great way to make the world feel connected when they actually remember that's happening outside of one guy

Not only does this ending not make sense on its own, it doesn't make sense in the context of the game as a whole and it sure as hell doesn't have any sense of catharsis. My god, Rowan, sweetie, you died for nothing my friend and I'm so sorry

Y7Ch57: The Final “Battle”

*sigh*

Ok, let’s talk about this disaster.

Keep reading

[anime-grimmy]

random HFW thoughts (Spoilers):

Last time I played I went through a bunch of sidequests and eventually ended up doing Erend's sidequest with the Sons of Premetheus again. Still one of my fav quests bcs the beginning of the quest is pure gold.

What caught my attention though was how it ended, with Erend lamenting how the bloodshed never seems to end and he just hopes that stuff was over now.

And that kinda made me think about how much stuff most characters in this world have been through.

Like, playing as Aloy in HZD with her solo mission to stop the world from ending, you kinda forget that she lived in "blissful ignorance" for 19 years of her life. Not saying her life was easy, HECK no, with training day in and day out and being shunned for it all, not to mention having as much drama and bloodshed in just a year aint easy, but you still kinda forget what all went down.

Like, yeah, we know the Derangement and Red Raids happened, but it's still kinda hard to think about what that means for characters close to us.

I mean, in our close friend group at the base, Erend, Kotallo and Zo have been fighting tooth and nail during the Red Raids. I also wondered if Varl had been involved in fighting the Carja to protect the Nora or he's lived too deep in the Embrace for that to have happened.

Aloy's been fighting with everything she has for two whole games now, but other characters have been struggling even longer.

This made me think, what if one of them decides to give up?

It never really occured to me how weirdly "optimistic" everyone is in Aloy's new friends group. Zo, Kotallo and Alva needed some prodding and proving that Aloy's cause was worth fighting for, but once they were on board they stuck with her till the end, no questions asked. And we don't have to talk about Varl and Erend bcs those boys were ready to charge at death itself for Aloy after the first game. The only one that called everything a lost cause was Beta, but even she worked with some encouragement of GAIA and Varl, and a good, long talk with Aloy is all it took for her to change her mind and help out in the end.

But what if a good talking to just doesnt work anymore?

I know I'm rambling here but with all that has been established in HFW I can't help but think about how they'll spin things in the next game. Bcs in this game, they pushed Aloy to accept friends and accept that she is NOT alone (even though they could have done that a little better). Aloy learns to trust, so obviously the next step would be to challenge that trust / challenge how far she'd go for people she cares about.

Short side tangent, but I wish the whole "Varl dies" part of the game was handled better. Bcs the moment it happened, I was SO sure it would have been the part Aloy starts to question if it really is worth keeping people this close to her if the thing she's afraid of the most still does happen, i.e. them dying on her (like Rost did). They brushed that whole thing aside way to quickly to wrap up the story, but in my eyes that was still that scene, the story challenging what Aloy had involunaterily learned to accept - that being help and friends.

But the thing is, at this point her lil group is just "convenient". She's accepted them for the thing Varl even wanted her to keep them close in the first place - help. Heck, even all their sidequests are about stuff that helps them either with their fight with the Zenith (Kotallo's arm) or with saving the world (the Land Gods).

What I want to see is a moment in which Aloy has to help someone out to keep them around, not because of what they bring to their cause but just because she doesn't want them to give up and leave. It just feels like the natural progression of how stuff's been going.

Circling all the way back to the start, I think Erend would make a fine candidate for that. And no, it's not (only) bcs he's my fav and I would like to see a lot more of him, but also bcs at this point, he's the one of her closer friends group who's known Aloy the longest. And, as she puts it, "he sure is loyal."

Imo, Erend got way too little to do in HFW (tho I do think Varl did deserve that spotlight he got), but if there's one thing he did do, it's telling Aloy he's got her back and doing all he can to support her. He may say he don't got anything to offer, but he's still the loyal, supporting force if Aloy ever needs it.

However, he's also the one who explicitly said that he wants shit to be over TWICE in the game, one time at the very end of the freaking main quest even.

So, give him a reason to finally throw in the towel. Something big, something that even drinking yourself numb can't make disappear for a while.

I say let Nemesis destroy Meridian.

It sure as heck would make a great low point to kick off the third act of the story. Let's say, Nemesis maybe gets ahold of data on Aloy's focus, and since it's a malicious bundle of hateful thoughts, it starts out its apocalypse with destroying places that have importance to Aloy.

It would also be the perfect catalyst for Erend to just give everything up. Bcs, yeah, they've been saving the world for 2 games straight, but Meridian is still the place that he's supposed to protect, to keep save. And now that's gone. (it also has big significance for the player, so it would be a gut punch no matter the context)

And in this point of the story, he and the others probably already have got most clans to help out, so one less dude in a mass of ppl rly shouldnt make a difference. There's enough Oseram with hammers to hit stuff, enough burely ppl to carry Sylens' weird contraptions and enough ppl who're fast learners to give his focus to.

So, from a logical standpoint, Aloy doesn't need him to be there, doesn't need him to fight. But (and oh god, I hope so) at this point, Aloy knows what the value of family and friends means to her and how emotional support makes even fighting the most dangerous of enemies easier, so she still tries to get him back on his feet.

All I'm saying is, my man just wants a break, Aloy needs some better represented emotional developement and I just love seeing my fav characters suffer a lot.

[melonlordheroes]

Garon vs. Xander, Take Two (Part 1)

-A month or so ago...-

-All is quiet now with the majority of the Order of Heroes busied elsewhere, but at the door to the Grand Hero Battlefield stands a lone prince in armor. His hand nervously runs over the relief in the door, seemingly lost in his own thoughts as he prepares mentally for the challenge lying in wait beyond it.-

Xander: ...

Veronica: Preparations are complete.

Xander: Mm?

-Startled back out of his thoughts, Xander turns quickly to find his team from last time standing behind him. Quan offers a reassuring smile along with Olwen, who's intensely studying Thunderhead as if trying to memorize every spell in its pages. Veronica herself reaches over to pat Xander's back with a smile, earning one back from the Nohrian Crown Prince.-

Xander: I appreciate your assistance, Lord Quan. Olwen. Veronica.

Quan: It's nothing- a man's only as good as his oath. I'm confident we can get you through this battle this time.

Olwen: (looks up from tome, snaps it shut) I fully intend to support you. After what I learned from Corrinne and Corrin about Garon's actions... I'd never sleep at night if I didn't join with you against such a despicable man.

Veronica: Regardless of who I am or where I came from, the one thing I know to be true across EVERY Zenith is that you were kind to me. And I direly wish to repay you for that.

Xander: Still. Thank you, everyone. As per last time--

Quan: Leave Garon to you. (nod) I'd not dream of taking away such a vital victory. Olwen and I should be able to maneuver him about the field with minimal issues- then when the time is right...

Xander: Exactly. I'll be relying on all of you.

-With that, Xander leads the group of cavalry into the battlefield. Olwen takes position to his right, while Quan and Veronica cover the rear. Garon stares down his son from across the room... and begins to laugh.-

Garon: So, my eldest thinks himself king enough now? Very well. This ought to amuse me for a while...

Xander: ...

-Xander unsheathes Siegfried.-

Xander: ...Let's go. Father.

-The Grand Assha-- Hero Battle begins! Xander nods to his team to get into position as he charges into the range of the cleric and braces himself. Quan and Veronica head south to block off the routes by the walls while Olwen heads south by one get closer to Quan. The Cleric giggles as she runs forward swinging her Gravity staff. The attack connects with Xander, but his retaliation strikes are lethal. He takes in a quick breath and surveys the area as the rest of Garon's forces advance in and a Bow Cavalier and Red Mage Cavalier appear.-

Quan: Ah. Hello.

Veronica: (steps back and raises Hliðskjálf) Goodbye.

-Veronica and Quan blow away the two cavaliers. Quan leans back to ruffle Veronica's hair playfully, grip on Gae Bolg still firm.-

Olwen: Prince Xander, I'm moving into position- mind that swordsman, he's a swordbreaker.

Xander: (chuckle) No need to be afraid. I'm well out of his range.

Olwen: (laugh, smile) As you will, then. Lord Quan, I'm coming to reinforce you- that lance flier will be in next turn.

Quan: (huff) The ONE thing Gae Bolg can't kill--

-Quan slightly grumbles as Olwen takes stance behind him. Xander meanwhile scans the battlefield quickly and nods to himself stepping back only once. The green mage in front of Xander seems to notice something and nods to the infantry near her as she blasts Xander with a shot from her raventome. It does manage to sting him- enough to push him into Brazen range- but again, his return strike is more than enough to obliterate her as the swordbreaker infantry tries to close the distance and a red wolftome user appears with the lance flier Olwen mentioned.-

Veronica: (clicks her tongue) Oh, he thinks he's being cheeky does he?

Xander: (chuckle) All according to plan thusfar. Olwen?

Olwen: I'm well ahead of you. Lord Quan? Excuse me.

-Olwen bursts by Quan with a yell and smashes through the lance flier with a bolt from Thunderhead. Quan looks quite amused as he pushes ahead of her and gets into stance.-

Quan: And that's my cue. I'll handle the swordbreaker fellow. Princess Veronica?

Veronica: Coming! Xander, my spot should be safe.

Xander: (nods) Then, if you may.

-Veronica leads her horse to the far left, stacking up on Olwen with a tiny frown as she seems to realize something after doing some mental math.-

Veronica: Miss Olwen, Xander's not going to be able to oneshot that mage is he?

Olwen: You're correct, Princess Veronica. A second hit will finish him off, though.

Veronica: But-- oh. Vantage.

Olwen: (chuckle) I see you've been paying attention in class, though. Miss Tiki will be proud of her favorite student.

Veronica: M-me? The favorite...?!

-While Veronica ponders her newly-known status as "Miss Tiki's Favorite Student", the Swordbreaker runs forward to lock blade to lance with Quan. The Thracian lord grunts with some effort, but breaks the lock and gets in a good hit. A lone lance armor advances in, making him a prime target for Veronica who looks to Olwen for permission before moving back to her last spot. Olwen and Quan nod and begin to back up as to stay out of Garon's range. As Veronica returns, Xander rushes forward and brings Siegfried down on the Wolftome mage. The mage hisses as the sword's dark energy sparks through him, but just before he attempts to strike back Xander is able to bring Siegfried around and finish him off. The swordbreaker lets out a yell and smashes himself against Quan's lance only to be impaled with Gae Bolg and tossed into the air, vanishing into particles. A blue mage nods to the King of Nohr and heads toward Xander, who's breathing a bit heavily but seems prepared. The lance armor continues his advance, as does Garon, and the two axemen with him head toward Quan. Now with room to move, Veronica runs behind Xander as he unleashes Astra on the blue mage.-

Quan: (huff) Can't say I'm a fan of the axemen headed our way.

Olwen: All due respect to you, milord, but...

Quan: "Don't be a baby, they can't reach you". Right?

Olwen: Perhaps not the exact words I would have chosen, but sufficient to get my point across. (chuckle)

Quan: (nods, then looks to Xander) I'll hold my position here. My apologies, Prince Xander, you may have to deal with that Axe Cavalier for me...

Xander: No concern necessary, Lord Quan. I've quite got this handled.

Veronica: I've stacked up on him now, so he's within my ward. Will you be fine, Miss Olwen?

Olwen: (realizing how close Garon is, seething) I am absolutely fine, little one. Let that bastard come. Thunderhead and I are well prepared to deal with him.

Garon: (laughs- it's an almost barklike sound) Honestly... Xander, you should know better. You've cornered yourself now- the second that armor gets ahold of you, you'll die. A fitting end for a traitor...!

-Xander pauses, but shakes his head to clear it and adopts a defensive stance.-

Xander: I'm far less of a traitor than you are, Father. For your crimes against Nohr... and our family... it's my duty as Crown Prince to bring an end to you. (quietly) As it should have always been.

-The axecav screams and runs right, only to be batted away by Xander before he can so much as glance at Siegfried. The Lance Armor and Axe Infantry head for Xander, while Garon seems to have taken notice of Olwen and is headed for her. The Thracian mage grips her tome and glares the king down, ready to lash out with Thunderhead at the first second.-

[ashleywool]

WELP. I'm just sitting here at my mom's place upstate, trying to cry in a way that doesn't hurt my post-cystectomy abdomen.

I remember you vividly. And I want you to know something about my reaction to your presence and your story.

My reaction--in my brain--was not one of shock.

I was HIGHKEY impressed and overwhelmingly grateful that you put in an astronomical amount of effort to rearrange your life, make travel plans, cancel travel plans, rearrange your life to make new travel plans, and endure all the various sensory/disability-unfriendly nightmares of international travel so you could come to the sensory overload capital of the world...to see our show.

To be a part of something that inspires that level of passion in someone halfway across the world, because the very fact of its existence means that much to you...is the greatest honor of my life.

The reason I wasn't shocked, though, is that you were far from the first person with a story like that. At every single stage door, and every day on social media, I spoke to people from all over the world who had gone impressively out of their way--like, exerting the kind of effort I can't think of anything I like enough to justify exerting myself--to make a trip to New York to see this specific show. Many of these people had never been to New York, or to a Broadway show.

Some of them came back multiple times.

I saw some news thing about our show closing due to the fact that "it didn't quite catch on with audiences." Really, dude? Is that what you think happened here? You looked at a bunch of numbers during the zenith of theatre-going season in the most difficult time in history for anyone to afford to take three breaths in a Broadway theater, and you think the problem is not catching on with audiences?

The numbers don't reflect the fact that my agents and I are currently working independently on talkbacks with three different educational organizations (including my alma mater) who, before closing was announced, had been making active plans to see the show and involve the cast and creative team in their discussions. Most of these plans were for March and April. If we'd made it to March, we would have sold out during spring break weeks in group sales alone. But we didn't get to do that because the gross wasn't up to the Shuberts' standards for a couple weeks in January.

The numbers don't reflect the fact that I (me, personally) fielded DOZENS of similar requests that flooded our education outreach coordinator's inbox for weeks at a time, and only maybe four of five of them actually got to happen.

And the numbers don't reflect the Garfs of the world, the ones whose lives and stories and experiences with our show and through our show actually matter. I dare anyone who buys the "didn't catch on" narrative to find me ONE new musical in Broadway history with a run as short as ours that inspired Garf-level dedication from that many people, from the time we were in previews right up until closing night. I'll wait.

(Btw, do I have your permission to try to make "Garf" the new "stan," but with a more positive connotation? That's probably a fool's errand and people will ruin it because people always ruin stuff, but it's the thought that counts, right?)

All this to say: our late-stage capitalist hellscape society has its own definitions of success and value, and the unfortunate reality is that no matter how much we hate it, we don't really get to opt out of it. But we can challenge it. And we must. Because we all deserve better.

Not to get all "youth group leader" on y'all, but this is always how I've interpreted Jesus' command in 1 John 2:15: "Do not love the world or the things in the world. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life is not from the Father, but from the world." Or the more mainstream Christian concept of "being in the world but not of the world," which has its basis in Jesus's prayer for his disciples in John 17. He specifically says, "I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world."

If I were to put that in secular terms, I would say our challenge--perhaps even our responsibility--as artists and theatremakers is to be in the late-stage capitalist hellscape but not of it.

I hope that all made sense lol...my body is very tired, but my brain is very restless...but also these pain meds make me feel like I'm swimming through molasses...but also they're interacting with my psych meds to give me exceptionally weird, bizarre, vividly detailed dreams...actually "interacting" isn't a big enough word, more like "co-conspiring," because I wake up from these dreams like "wow, that movie was exhausting to watch, I should go to sleep now...oh wait, that was a dream, which means I was asleep, which means I was exhausted in my sleep, which defeats the purpose of sleep..."

Anyway. Thanks, Garf from Belgium, aka @azrantimes. You are not of the late-stage capitalist hellscape, just as I am not of the late-stage capitalist hellscape. You are the reason we do the thing and will keep doing the thing.

So funny story(+ my love for htdio)

I'm disabled, I'm autistic and a wheelchair user, and I'm a theater kid. I'm also from Belgium, a country with minimal theater culture. I'm turning 18 this year and my birthday gift was a trip to NYC to see musicals and other stuff.

My parents have been saying that for a while now, since my health was shit and I had missed out on a lot because of that, but for some reason I wasn't that excited anymore, except for one thing.

How To Dance In Ohio. I fell in love with the highlights album and was counting the days till I could see it in April, but then the closing announcement came 3 weeks in advance.

I was sad, but gotten over it as best as I could in a few days but my excitement for my birthday trip dwindled, but my mom, even with my protests, rescheduled it and we were going to NYC with a week notice.

So I actually ended up seeing the 2nd to last performance of HTDIO, and I had the best time. My mom even told me that she understood me more after it. So after the show I was super excited and wanted to go to stagedoor, but due to accidents it took longer to get out and I had a full on meltdown because I could hear the cheers from outside.

I was still in tears when we finally left the theater and Jean Christian complimented my bag but I just couldn't reply (that made my day a little better though!). There were so many people outside the theater, but this lovely lady, without me asking, helped me navigate through the crowd (my wheelchair has 2 parts, so it's especially hard to navigate through crowds) and actually got me very close to stagedoor when I was stopped by Dr Amigo (the real one.)

I was still in tears and I don't know If he noticed but he asked me for a picture and complimented me and we talked for a while when he said he was going to talk to the cast and get them to come see me.

I didn't want to get my hopes up, but sure enough a woman who was closer to the door than me told me that they were talking about me and knew I was there and a little later Liam came to me and the rest of the 7 (except Madison and Conor) followed and I got signatures and pictures with them all. What started as a nightmare ended up being a miracle, so I'm super grateful for Dr Amigo and the cast. (Shout-out to Ashley who was very shocked I came all the way from Belgium haha)