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greatkittydream · 10 months ago

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The creature from the dungeon 2

Aafje pov

“Thinking”

"Big sis was talking to some weirdos not that it mattered we are on our way to the dungeon, but that is okay now that he's gone we will get to dungeon now and she will be forced to spend time with me". Gushing an excitement but keeping it in her mind as much as she wanted to squeal and move around she knew she couldn't. If her sister caught her now it would be ruinous. So she will settle for just being excited.

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Ada pov

Hey Stone, I have a question for you which route do you think would be more profitable dropping straight down to floor 150. Or gambling it and dropping down to floor 160.Aye Well that would depend on how much we're willing to gamble. The dungeon may have reset the monsters down there by now; it's about that time of the month for the monsters to be renewed; we could run into some nasty beasties. At the same time though that also means the loot would be fresh if I were a follower of hashoot I would say absolutely luckily for you I'm not a follower of greed. so how about we do the sensible thing and drop down to 150 or 155.

Lionheart butted in onto the conversation. I'd say we go down to 160 there will be tougher opponents down there. and it's been a while since I've had it actually exercise some force against an opponent. You can get all the fights you want just know if you die I'm skinning your scaly ass. but if it were up to me I'd say we stick somewhere around the 150s we just got our tank back and we need to get some practice.

If it's any constellation I just leveled up last mission. Raxs spoke up. I don't know if that changes anything but my overall magical power and physical power has increased.

Well good on you that brings you up to 35 right. Keep that up and we might reach 40 by the end of the year, I tell you what we dropped down to floor 155 explore Maybe, maybe hit 165 and I'll buy you an ail, Dwarven promise.

Well thank you Stone it's been a bit since I've had some good drinks. you know which Tavern will take us the last one we went to kind of hates us now. Well it's their fault for calling me a Kobalt. I'm a noble Dragonborn not some lesser-born dragonkin. Did you really have to keep the bar through the window though all he said is he's never seen a Kobalt that big before he was obviously new to the city, probably any city. And that's exactly why he is still alive. I took pity on the boy if it were any more prouder of my skin or sadistic he would have been very dead by now.

so. Interrupting this conversation knowing full world this would just devolve into banter We're heading to 155 and then making our way down. A resounding I came from the group. Well then let's not dilly-daddle. with that the groups are making their way to the teleportation Customs room. When using a teleportation Crystal you must go through this room in order to vent out any possible monsters, parasites, diseases or other illegal Goods that can be smuggled out of the dungeon or are potentially dangerous to The Wider population.

They didn't notice was a figure slinking away back into the crowd making his way to a familiar looking face.

Vect pov

Floor 155 huh.

That is correct my Lord. responded a kneeling dark elf whose hair is black as night.

Let's give him 10 minutes that should give them time to orient themselves and potentially collect some loot for us. Lilith get your weapons ready and be sure to inform the others of what's going to happen.

As you wish. and with that he left.

Jacob pov

Jacob had found himself in a cave system, an expansive one from what he's gathered. He did the echo test and from what he gathered from it this cave Network seems like it could go on for Miles potentially.

Normally people would start freaking out and praying that they could live. After all, they were potentially kidnapped by something Supernatural. Jacob isn't like most people, He's thinking of every logical explanation he can find if only out of denial.

Walking out for what felt like hours occasionally taking a drink of his water bottle he dropped it. looking down to bend over to pick it up he noticed something startling. "My stomach's gone” looking down he noticed the large portion of fat missing.

Normally people will be ecstatic at losing weight being healthy but Jacob he needed those fat stores if he was going to survive potentially long tracks without food. not to mention whatever caused this rapid loss of fat could not be healthy. Quickly lifting up his shirt to see abs?

"What the hell is happening? I know for a fact I did not work on any musculature in my stomach region even if I lost 20 lb from the looks of it. I should not be showing musculature to this extensiveness” Looking over his body.

what had once been a very lean body with very little musculature had become A still rather lean body with obvious musculature looking more like a Roman statue.

Most people would be thankful to God for this, Jacob wasn't he knows damn well this was not natural in the slightest. The body generates muscle mass by tearing muscle fibers and then regrowing them thicker after use. whatever is happening to him cannot be good.

"Okay let's calm down. I'm more than likely in some type of illegal experimentation focusing on creating natural enhancements for people that are too lazy to go to the gym. I can think of a lot of pharmaceutical companies that would do this, or even governments".

**deep breath in deep breath out**

Okay let's make the best of a bad situation. when normally gaining muscle you will also become more flexible because you also mess with attendance while moving well I cannot confirm at the moment.

I can take an educated guess and assume I will not be as flexible; most of this muscle appears to have just grown. As disturbing as this is this could prove beneficial if… physical means are needed to ensure survival.

With shaky hands he begins tracing the muscle outline along his body and a curious way still thoroughly freaked the hell out and scared but also rather curious of his new situation. He began testing the limits of his physical capability and he proved right as well.

Yes his muscular sure did increase his physical strength by many orders of magnitude. But he is still not more flexible this is also messed with his Center of balance as he's unused to the weight distribution he is currently under.

**Tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap**

Looking over his shoulder he saw a small child running towards him with tears in her eyes. Not even looking where she was running she had bumped into his leg and Fallen flat on her butt. looking up with teary eyes she saw him and had a look of Horror.

The first things he noted were her more pointed ears. The next thing he noticed was a deathly Pale Man chasing after her with similarly pointed ears except his eyes were as black as night.

And then a few more men of similar Look to Him showed up they had all focused on the child completely ignoring him. the girl had backed away from Jacob not noticing the men behind her until one of them grabbed her by her hair.

omecay erehay oungyay ingthay i'llyay ebay uresay otay aketay oodgay arecay ofyay ouyay i'llyay oldhay illstay iyay ightmay evenyay etlay ouyay enjoyyay isthay.(It's Pig Latin if you're curious)

The man pulled her quickly to his face looking like he was about to kiss her.

Whoa Bad Touch Bad Touch. quickly running up and grabbing the man by his shoulder pushing him away he accidentally launched him back a good 5ft. The little girl fell back and clung to his leg for dear life it didn't take too much to understand what was happening.

Well it did a lot, this was an elf somehow and he didn't know exactly what was happening but he knew it sure as shit not to let something like this happen in front of him.

I'm going to say this one time you touch a child in front of me I'm going to skin you alive and use your fucken Shinbone as a flute. growl at the end.

owhay oday ouyay inkthay ouyay areyay otay alktay otay usyay ikelay atthay eway areyay ordlay exvay ersonalpay ounselcay andyay ouyay illway obeyyay ouryay emandsday . ateverwhay ouyay areyay andyay opstay eakingspay inyay ouryay arbaricbay anguagelay. uckingfay ongrelmay. spit entered Jacob's face.

3 hours earlier

Ada pov

Ada and her friends have begun to make progress towards the dungeon on the 156th floor now. They were in a marsh swamp land that had either swarming monsters using large numbers to overwhelm opponents.

Or singular strong monsters there was no in between. some of the monsters in this area included killer Hornets and greater snap Jaws AKA alligator.

The party agreed to set up camp here although not having gone up not but one floor. The next floor was the most aggravating part of this entire dungeon to most parties. It was a labyrinth most people skip it but seeing as they are trying to not get attention of raid monsters they can't exactly just use teleportation Magic. They decided they'll do this later and spend the time setting up camp and grinding on Monsters to see if they can get any good loot drops.

Stone can be seen setting up the tents along with his mini Forge. although a common stereotype that all drawers can forge it is true. After all you don't have to be a blacksmith but you have to know how to fix your own stuff.

Raxs Can be seen putting up a wall using trees and Moats he is digging. Lionheart was somewhere in the area clearing out monsters. And Ada was setting up magical wards to keep the more demonically charged creatures at Bay.

**swish swish crack thunk.**

Raxs had almost been hit with a magical crossbow bolt, Without years of experience and the instinct to dodge he would have been killed. Just like the tree he was setting into place beside him was snapped in half.

The other bolt was making its way towards Stone. He had the luck of being near his Anvil at the time. A magically imbued item which gave it extreme resilience to all form of damage allowing it to handle even the strongest of materials to work with.

Without uttering a single word the party left into action understanding what was happening. Dungeon killers, fellow dungeoneers that would kill and steal the loot off of those that had more wealth or had just been weakened. The most frowned and scorned upon are the community.

Ada herself assesses the situation. crossbows were a newer development. They allowed for greater power at a lower fire rate. They could also be enchanted more than a bow. And with the Power released from those bolts it won't surprise her if there's some pretty hefty enchantments on the crossbows that fired them.

Her face formed into a scowl. She never liked hurting people, It was the job of the nobility to protect those that cannot themselves. With that said however those that would pray upon fellow dungeoneer weren't people in her eyes.

# Fourth level Divine protection.

Fourth level divide protection is a magical barrier that can be applied to up to 10 people, Or concentrated on fewer to make it stronger at first level it can stop physical attacks relatively well. At second level it provides protection against magical attacks as well. At the third level it provides close to immunity to physical attacks. At fourth level it provides close to immunity to magical attacks. At fifth level it provides immunity to Enchanted items. This process will repeat itself until the 10th level although theoretically possible to go higher no one has achieved it so far.

Raxs and stone were not idle either, for raxs part being away from his great Shield only having his Morning Star by his side got into a locking position. Bringing his left arm forward and bending it. This turned the platemail into a solid shape with few gaps effectively turning it into a shield.

Readying his right with the morning star in it to strike his opponents come near. Raxs was a reactionary tank; he needed his opponent to make the first move before he made his decision. And not seeing the enemy only knowing the general direction he decided to wait.

Stone duck behind his anvil Ada could already hear him patting and cursing around for his weapon. haha, found it now you little fucks are going to get it. Stone, had in her humble opinion a very creative language well dwarves are known to be crude he was creatively crude. When I'm done with you I'm going to turn your fucken guts into a bagpipe and play a nice tune at your funeral.

Stone is waving around his weapon angrily while wielding a double-sided Hammer ax. with heavy enchantments the hammer side of the weapon is Enchanted to wear when it smashes into a Target it will cause ice to freeze around the struck in Target or area. the ax is imbued with Fire magic meaning when it hits a Target it will unleash a torrent to flames.

Pointing her finger into the air and releasing Illusion magic she releases an explosion of multiple colors. She just informed their damage dealer that they were in trouble. Depending on how far he went out he should be back in either a few seconds or a few minutes that is if he isn't already beating the crap out of them.

# 2 level Dark Thorn bindings

Dark Thorn bindings is a magical can trip which summons a binding thorn bush from the cursed continent the higher the level the stronger the restrictions are.

Pitch Black Vines covered in thick Thorns appear out of the ground around raxs and stone. Ada for her part was left untouched it appeared they value taking out the melee fighters of the group before the ranged.

A volley of four bolts was unleashed. Ada's magical barrier had lit up in a bright flash of blue protecting her and stone. Around the group eight figures could be seen jumping out Dark Elves covered in black leather, wielding weapons Intended to cause as much pain and suffering as possible jagged and poisoned.

One of the figures was rushing his way towards the unarmored stone. Jumping high into the air with a deathly scream prepared to bring down two daggers into Stone's eyes. The daggers themselves looked more similar to meat hooks with how jagged and serrated they were.

Stone's arm was wrapped in the thick black Vines piercing into his skin a little. for any other opponents this would have been disastrous, unable to avoid the attack. or use his two-handed weapon.

The dark elves made one mistake however they attacked a party of dungeon delving nobility. Each one of their levels five times out of a normal person and at level 37 this dwarf is going to kick their ass. Ripping one of his arms free pulling Vines out of the dirt gripping his weapon at the middle of the pole and Swinging hard. The hammer side of the weapon made contact with the jaw of the dark elf.

Dark Elves perceive time at a slower rate than most species when in fighting. Using Speed and Agility to outmaneuver their opponents. This cocky dark elf had jumped into the air hoping to land a fatal blow making it to where he couldn't use any of his natural advantages.

From a dark elves perspective he could feel the hammer making contact with his cheek, As it broke Teeth and Jawbone alike slowly spreading through it. Almost as in slow motion he could feel his cheek flesh tearing as broken teeth fragments flew out of the other side ripping holes in his other cheek as he was sent away.

Being launched this side with a great force his back slammed into a half-made wall. A deafening crack Was Heard his spine along with several ribs were probably just broken. Ripping free from the depressingly low level spell. Stone was counting for his part. He knew that with him immobilized they would take the charge to him. and so he counted on them to do it full of false confidence thinking that he was immobilized.

That's one of your fucken sadistic cunts, So who's next.

One of the Dark Elves was spinning in the air using a cloak to hide where he exactly was in the General shape of it Landing next to his Fallen comrade. Pulling out a vial of red liquid and pouring it down the gullet of the dark elf that had been brutally struck down. Launching back up with a vigor sit down dark elf was back and he was staring that dwarf dead in the eyes.

The eight Dark elves started circling around the group creating two circles going in opposite directions of each other. There Capes kept fluttering about to disorient their opponents. Four more bolts fired off this time aim for Ada seeing where this was going to go she prepared a spell to create dirt golem. When the arrows bounced off her magical Shield she activated it.

From out of the earth a 8 ft tall vaguely humanoid shape stood up. Dirt golem your instructions are to block any incoming projectiles and try to keep melee Fighters at bay. with bright green eyes they flashed a bit brighter understanding its mission.

Seeing a dark elf get a bit too far away from the pack the golem extended its arm as a massive dirt surge out of its arm like a pillar. The pillar of dirt slammed into the dark elf wrapping around its body. As the dirt wrapped around his chest and back it pulled him in, crushing him with all the strength in that column of dirt. when it was brought face to face with the Golem the Golem brought him into its body to suffocate the dark elf.

With a muffled Scream the dark elf was completely absorbed into the golem. The Golem expanded ballooning out and then quickly compressed Itself. With a definite crunch blood could be seen seeping through the golem, it's eyes its mouth and any other whole or crack blood was pouring out.

The dark elf party paused for a moment and then the dirt golem spat out the crunched body bone poked through skin and all separate angles limbs bent in ways that they weren't meant to. The Golem completely uncaring Scanning for any projectiles that could potentially harm its master.

**Stomp,stomp,stomp,stomp,stomp,stomp.**

Tearing their head towards the direction it was coming from the pitch black swamp, this sound of thunderous footsteps along with the squelching of mud and water. leaping out from that Darkness was Lionheart they're Dragonborn. Spinning in the air and delivering a thunderous kick he knocked the head clean off of one of the dark elves.

The head itself was launched with such a great force that even while missing a jaw and most of its neck it still managed to get sent into the darkness of the swamp. The body did several summer souls in the air before falling on the floor.

Slamming his fist together the Dragonborn showed a vicious you're in fighting monsters was fun and all but fighting people was even funner in his opinion.

Thank you for sacrificing yourself to bring me entertainment. Your screams are suffering shall be told for Legends after our deaths in the dungeon community.

You'll be told about as myth and legends. Because the ass beating I'm about to give you will be unlike any other so prepare yourselves.

All was going well. Except for one tiny problem in the midst of the commotion, blood splattered onto Ada's bag normally she would just be upset about having to clean it but a scream was heard from it. and she recognized it for whatever inconceivable reason her sister was in that bag.

The dark elves capitalizing on this rushed for the back the six melee units left head formed up a wall near as the ranged opponents went to go grab it. Thinking Fast she sent out a gust of wind powerful enough to launch the range units back to feet. This also had the effective knocking her sister out of the bag.

Aafje was Now next to the Headless corpse in a pool of its blood she let out a terrified shriek as tears began to swell in her eyes. Holding on to anything she could as if it would save her from this nightmare. Ada could tell from here these bastards were getting off on her suffering.

Aafje RUN. standing up and starting to run, the four dark Elves started to give chase Ada was about to launch a lightning bolt at those mongrels but the dark elves had a trick up their sleeve. Using a counter scroll her magic was launched back at her her Shield protected her from the brunt of it but she still suffered a minor burn on her left hand.

One of the Dark Elves fired up bolt at her feet tripping Aafje up. As she fell on her back the thing she was holding revealed to be a teleportation crystal. Aafje was screaming crying mess she Unleashed magic into the crystal sending her to some random floor on the dungeon.

And a bright flash of light she was gone.

Use the tracing Crystal and follow her, we can use her as Leverage. one of the brat bastards said. Before she or her party could do anything they had used the crystals on hand they had.

It would appear that we are now at an impasse. So here's what's going to happen: we're going to stop fighting, you're going to put down your weapons and you're going to tie this rope around yourself. and if you don't well I'm sure that little elf wouldn't mind having some Noble blood put into her.

Lionheart looked like he was about to go feral with them out of growling and baring of teeth shown. Ada wasn't much far off high Elves were typically very composed But in this moment years of training to be eloquent when out the window.

Fine Raxs spoke out. Just know when they get back I'm going to rip your spine out.

we'll see. Was all that was uttered by a soon to be dead man.

jacob pov

Wiping the spit out of my face I knew how this was going to end. I could give up the child and be left alone. Or I can listen to my morality and fight these guys. Sometimes I wish my morality wasn't so strong.

let's see or going up against taking a closer look at the group there was four of them clad in Black cloaks in what appear to be miniature daggers with very serrated edges. “Fuck the only winner of a knife fight is the man dying on his way to the hospital”.

Jacob had set a plan into motion he accepted he was probably going to die. But giving your life for a child isn't the worst way to die. Picking her up he hurt her squeak

“aww that's just fucken adorable”.

Holding her from under her armpits he could see her role of her knees and hold on to his hands he was holding her in front of him as if to hand it to the dark elf.

She began muttering something in a language he didn't understand holding on to his arms as if begging. When the dark elf got close enough to grab her he launched his foot square into the dark elf's dick. “ If you're not fighting dirty you're not fighting at all”.

Pulling the child he has to dub squeak into his chest and spin back around into a roundhouse kick square into the elves chest that was currently holding his ruptured testicles in pain. when the kick landed he forgot his own strength and balance for a moment when it landed he'd definitely felt something break he also fell flat on his back.

Knowing the dark elves most likely are out of their stunt he began to roll backwards holding the child in his arms. just in time too as a dagger landed where his face was. Grabbing dirt and gravel from the floor and throwing it at the dark elves face.

The dark elf fluttered its cloak around its face blocking all the dirt and gravel that would have hit it. such a childish unarmed move would never land against the noble Elegance of a dark elf. This creature should be honored it was about to die to their hands.

And then the elf got punched in the face. Well not what Jacob hoped for, it still obscured the vision and one not to waste an opportunity launched with a speed he didn't know he had. Or at least shouldn't have had and gave a mean uppercut to where the general idea of the face was lending it on the left side of the jaw and sending the dark elf into the sky. it was lights out.

“Holy shit balls I'm actually doing this, how the fuck am I doing this”. Jacob had zero confidence in himself but somehow he was surviving. Out of the corner of the eye he saw the other two making their sprint towards him. hopping back and forth between each other hoping to disorient him. Thinking quickly he grabbed the dark elf's body as it was falling to the ground now, one arm having the child capped around his elbow and waist and the other holding on to the face of the dark elf that he had just knocked out.

Holding the dark elf up as a human shield and hopes of deterring then from getting closer or at the very least use him as a human shield. The dark elves took it in stride and began circling him. This reminded Jacob of something when guts from berserk fought those assassin dudes. Unlike Guts he isn't a master swordsman that can scare the shit out of demons. jumping back into the corner of a wall he heard a faint scheduling behind him but paid it no mind.

“Normally having your back against a wall in a fight is a horrible idea but seeing as how these pedophiles use teamwork it's the best option I can come up with”.

The dark elves pause and take a moment to consider what to do from here, they don't have their arranged weapons they left it back at the camp in chase of the girl. They're obviously High tier opponent is some sort of Monk class. Getting into a wall like that stop them from doing their techniques.

Setting the girl down behind him he quickly took off his shirt this perplexed. And he waited for them to make the first move. The one previously writing In pain had been drinking something and gotten up. Brandishing his own dagger frothing at the mouth and rage it said something.

atwhay areyay ouyay aitingway orfay illkay imhay.

All three launched at him at once more than he wanted but hopefully this will work. throwing his shirt forward towards the directions of the daggers all of them aimed for his midsection. They pierced through the shirt but did its job with how Jagged they were their weapons were now stuck in the fabric.

Not wasting any time, the one that had just got up he slugged right in the cheek. the next one spinning around doing a poorly conducted back fist towards the back of the second one's head. his hand throbbed he had just potentially braking something.

The final one had gotten the knife free but it been too late charging forward grabbing the knife-wielding wrist and using his other had to grab the back of the left knee. Raised him behind to the sky and slammed him onto the ground using his shoulder. he felted crack the same hand that was on the knee was now forward and slammed down onto the face breaking the nose.

**Huff Huff Huff Huff Huff Huff**

Taking a moment to assess the situation and adrenaline beginning to calm down he took in the situation. There was a child now clinging to the back of his leg saying something over and over and over again. go and take a guess and say that's thank you. for currently unconscious murderers and pedophiles.

And he was now shirtless having to look after a small child. “Well To the victor goes the spoils”, taking a quick moment to take the Cape of one of them to replace his torn shirts with the benefit of having a hoodie and taking all four of their bags.

It doesn't matter what's inside they have stuff. Slinging his back in the four others around one of his arms and picking up the small girl with the other lending her rest on his elbow he began to March forward.

Back where the group had been unconscious, the one that had been uppercut it began to arise and use what he had managed to hide to wake up his fellow dark elves.

That rat bastard when we find him we'll make his suffering legendary.

**Scuttle Scuttle Scuttle**

Turning around their anger turned to horror, monsters were flooding out of the walls they were warded off by the presence of a raid boss. but now since it was gone they could do as their Instinct told them.

Centipedes spiders of all varying sizes came out but none smaller than that of a wolf.

One centipede took charge of each one of its mandibles the size of a great sword.

**AAAAAHH– squelch. munch crunch munch crunch munch.**

Chapter 2 end

the scene where those elves got eaten think of it like the scene from Kong Skull Island where all those insects came out the Woodworks. also please inform me if I'm doing better or worse in writing u/qeze for the advice in writing tools he gave me.

Previous https://www.tumblr.com/greatkittydream/742254581036302336/the-creature-from-the-dungeon-1?source=share

#The creature from the dungeon #hfy #strong humans

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jeff-from-marketing · 1 year ago

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So Baldur's Gate 3 has now fully released, and it kinda fucks?

Okay more than kinda, Baldur's Gate 3 should be the new standard for larger studios in terms of quality and, more importantly, how they treat players. I can't believe I'm saying that about a D&D game.

So for context to that last bit: I'm super fucking jaded on D&D. I've pretty much jumped ship entirely to any other TTRPG (namely Pathfinder 2e) because I hate how Wizards of the Coast have handled D&D 5e and how they treat their customers.

I fucking love Baldur's Gate 3. It's still got some of the D&D things I'm not overly fond of, but that's a personal taste thing, and overall this game fucking rules. Larian is really out here just making D&D a more fun experience than the actual Wizards of the Coast, it's honestly kinda wild.

But more than just in the context of "a D&D game" I want to talk about Baldur's Gate 3 in the larger scope of videogames as a whole, primarily in the triple A scene. There's a reason Baldur's Gate 3 is doing so well and why it's very quickly become so beloved, and it's not just because of the bear sex. That reason can be largely boiled down to "Larian respects their playerbase, and more importantly respects their money." Too often we're seeing games from big triple A companies that already have way too much fucking money just being absolutely filled beyond the brim with monetisation for something that's likely already $90-100 AUD. Or worse: games that borderline lie to you about how much they cost, Destiny 2 I'm fucking looking at you and your "genuinely the worst monetisation I have seen in a game." Or just straight up gacha games that are purpose built to fuck you out of your money and use similar tricks that the gambling industry uses to make money.

But Baldur's Gate 3? Pay the full price up front, and you get a full game. There's no hidden "gotcha!" monetisation, no battlepasses, no rotating digital storefront, no fake "premium" currency, no "but it's only cosmetic" microtransactions. I'm not even gonna gripe against their pre-order stuff like I normally would, because you could actually play the game before it was released. Baldur's Gate 3 was in Early Access for literal years before it fully released, and it used that time quite well! It's fascinating seeing where it came from and how much has changed since then. But more importantly: if you "pre-ordered" the game (read: buy it in Early Access) you could still play the game, you still immediately got something for your money. If you didn't like it, you could still refund it if you wanted to. As a nice little bonus: the game mostly just works! It's not perfect, there's some little oddities here and there, but I haven't had the game break yet. But then again, I'm one of the people who somehow managed to have a pretty bug-free Cyberpunk 2077 experience at launch, so who knows.

And plus it comes with couch co-op! Why is that so rare these days?? It feels like the only games you can really sit down with and play with friends these days are party games.

Of course, Baldur's Gate 3 isn't truly alone here. Horizon Zero Dawn/Forbidden West have come out as full games with no monetisation BS and working fine, albeit stuck to PlayStation for a long time before releasing elsewhere (although BG3 is currently PC exclusive, though that should change next month). God of War, while I've not personally played, I haven't heard anything egregious about it. Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart is such a fun time, but at $125 AUD it's a hard sell, even knowing all the work that went into it (Though that did drop to just $95 AUD on PC). I'm even going to give Cyberpunk 2077 an honourable mention, because if you had a computer that could run it at launch it was still a damn good time. Though that one unfortunately came at the cost of "should never have been released on last gen consoles" and "worker abuse through crunch."

But all of those examples have the "pre-order to maybe get something" issue that Baldur's Gate 3 avoided through its Early Access launch. You also can't really share those games with friends. You can maybe let a friend borrow the game and then talk about it after you've both finished it in your own time, but that's kinda like watching a movie separately and then talking about it. It's just not the same. That's not even mentioning how small that list is. I'd say it's just single player games, but both Bethesda and Ubisoft have shown even they're not safe.

I haven't seen any game from a large studio respect the player as much as I have with Larian and Baldur's Gate 3. I definitely don't feel bad paying full price for this one. Once they're wrapped up with BG3, I don't suppose I could bribe them to make a Pathfinder game? Pretty please? Already like halfway there with Divinity: Original Sin 2!

#baldur's gate 3 #bg3 #videogames #big ol rant about the state of gaming #I do hope that BG3's success starts a fire somewhere in big studios #I doubt it though unfortunately #why would they give up making all the money for just a lot of money?

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casspurrjoybell-19 · 7 months ago

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Does it Matter? - Chapter 23 - Part 3

*Warning: Adult Content*

"It seems like a smarter strategy would be to treat you kindly. It would likely work if you were genuinely invested in his well being and success, wouldn't it?"

"Perhaps, sir."

Bug fidgeted his fingers together. He'd gone back to staring down at his lap.

"I think he just resents me. He paid a great deal of money for me under the assumption that my ability had far fewer limitations. That I could tell him everything that was going to happen in advance."

"That sounds like a lapse in judgement on his part to me. If you could really do that, nobody would sell you for any price. Why would they need to when they could just cheat at gambling to make money and know that they would get away with it? When you could tell them exactly where to invest their money for maximum profit? He should have realised it was too good to be true."

"Hmm," Bug said.

"Perhaps, Sir."

"I'll give you an example," Brayan said.

"Almost a year ago now, I came across a family of peasants selling junk at a stall. I wasn't really interested in their junk but I was waiting for someone so I looked it over. They offered me a carved wooden pendant strung on a cord that they claimed was magic. They said it would bring the wearer great fortune but they weren't Eth so claims of magic were dubious from the get go and why would peasants sell a magic necklace that makes you rich for less than what it would cost to feed to their family for a week instead of keeping it for themselves?"

"I think I understand what you're saying, sir. The better a deal sounds, the more skeptical you should be of it."

"Exactly."

Brayan got off the bed and went over to his bag.

"I think I still have the pendant somewhere, actually. Hold on."

"But I thought..."

Brayan pulled the pendant out of a pocket in his bag and held it up by its cord.

It was two interlocking polished wooden rings.

"The part where I mentally calculated how long they could feed their children with the money they were trying to swindle from me made me realise I should probably buy it anyway."

Brayan returned to the bed and sat down next to Bug.

"It's not worth nearly what they asked for it but it's nice enough, I suppose. Though I'd never wear something around my neck so now it's just a thing that I own that serves no purpose other than to make my pack ever so slightly heavier."

Bug was staring down at the pendant in Brayan's hand, his teeth worrying at his lip.

“What?”

Bug hesitated.

"If you don't want it, sir, maybe... could I have it, please?"

Brayan's brow drew down in confusion.

"You don't actually believe it's magical, do you? I can assure you, it's not."

Bug kept his eyes downcast.

"I know."

"It's not worth anything, either. I only paid what I did for it because I felt bad for them."

"I know, Sir."

"Okay," Brayan said.

He still didn't understand why Bug wanted it so much but he could work with this.

"I'll give it to you in exchange for information. Did Lord Nolen order Fraccus to kill Dara?"

"I really don't know, sir. Honestly. I saw Fraccus do it but I didn't see him be instructed to. I can see the future in my own complicated and confusing way but I can't see past events I wasn't witness to."

"Do you think it's more likely that he was following orders or that he acted on his own?"

Bug stared intently at the floor for a long moment.

Without his shirt on, he looked even more vulnerable when he hugged himself.

"It's not for me to say, Sir. I can't be sure."

"I'm not asking you to be sure, Bug. I'm asking for your opinion."

Bug took a deep breath in and let it out, slow and shaky.

"He was born into slavery, sir. It would be extremely out of character for him to act independently."

"More out of character than it would be for your master to order him to do such a thing?"

Bug pressed his lips together, he didn't answer.

There was a knock on the door.

"Who's at the door?" Brayan asked Bug.

Bug shut his eyes for a few seconds and went still and then lifted his head and opened his eyes.

"It's your friend from before, Sir. The man who brought the clothes. He has food."

"Ah, yes, the clothes," Brayan said as he stood.

"Why don't you give yourself a quick wipe down with the washcloth and put those clothes on while I speak to Garrod. You don't seem to be hurt in any way that is immediately concerning or that I can do anything about."

Bug had been correct.

Garrod was standing on the other side of the door, carrying a plate laden with food.

"How's he doing?"

"He's been extremely cooperative and I know many things that I didn't ten minutes ago but I'm not sure any of it fundamentally changes anything," Brayan told him.

"He has the ability to tell the future, which was how he knew Dara was in danger. He said Fraccus did throw Dara out of the window but I think we could have safely guessed that much. He doesn't know for a fact that Lord Nolen ordered Fraccus to do it but he suspects that was the case. I think we all already had that suspicion, though."

"He can see the future?" Garrod asked.

"That's quite something."

"Hmm. It's more limited than you might think but it's certainly interesting."

"I'll let you get back to it, then," Garrod said as he handed the plate of food to Brayan.

"I'll pass what you told me on to Maric."

"Thank you. I want the number of men on watch doubled up tonight. I'll leave you to organise that since I have this situation to deal with. We'll probably sleep early, so this will be goodnight for now unless I'm needed."

Garrod smiled.

"Goodnight, sir. Go and feed your situation."

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applejongho · 4 years ago

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cherry on top | choi jongho

genre: fluff, realistic fiction, humor

character: starbucks employee!jongho

description: Jongho has an interesting run-in with a Karen during his shift at Starbucks.

word count: 2k

warnings: mild swearing

author’s note: jongho as a coffee barista was swimming in my mind for quite some time, so here he is.

masterlist here!

There was something about that coffee stain on Jongho's employee shirt that made it impossible to get rid of. It was likely the mix of the ingredients that had stacked the receipt when it was printed, but Jongho couldn't help but feel she had somehow planned this as he scrubbed harder with bleach.

Jongho wouldn't have guessed the day to turn out as it did, but maybe he should have. Working with the public was always a gamble, but Jongho's optimism blinded him. Most customers were nice enough. Most customers gave a smile when he handed them their overpriced coffee. There weren't too many comments about his red and black hair, and he could shrug off all of them. The compliments were what he remembered.

The day started off normally - with Jongho's coworkers nudging him towards the mound of bagged coffee beans. "I could do it myself, but you just do it quicker, you know?" One of his coworkers had whined, twirling a piece of curly hair around her finger. "It" was picking up the bags of coffee beans to put into the grinder, and Jongho didn't mind it. As he slung a bag over his shoulder with ease and glanced at her, he could swear her face flushed. Perhaps it was just the sun. The sun hit her face like that when he broke apples in half with his bare hands too. It was strange how the universe liked her like that.

After his bean tasks, Jongho took to the drive-thru of the coffee shop. He was told he had a nice voice, but he doubted he sounded that heavenly through a cheap speaker that hadn't been changed for five years. Nonetheless, Jongho enjoyed doing the drive-thru and taking orders. When there were multiple drive-thru lanes open, he would challenge his coworkers to see who could get through orders the fastest. This caused him and his coworkers to resent vans - vans almost always meant there was a large order - a sure loss, unless Jongho's fingers could learn to dance very quickly on the ordering screen.

Taking orders via the drive thru took up his morning, and then he was released for his lunch break. His coworkers had become accustomed to bringing him apples for the sole purpose of him to break them. He didn't mind, and it allowed him to be more comfortable with his coworkers because he could sometimes be shy. "Is that why part of your hair is red?" A coworker had asked him one day after he had broken multiple apples in a row. Jongho shook his head.

"No. Just red," he shrugged, ignoring his coworker's eyebrow raise. "I just like the color red." He thought he looked good with it.

But not everyone agreed - there were some customers that liked to point it out, like he had never seen himself in a reflection before. "You missed the roots," an older woman had told him at the register and gestured to his hair. Jongho added fifty cents to her order.

But for this day in particular, his hair was the reason for his downfall. For the latter half of the day, Jongho would be at the register. He yearned to be in the bar making drinks because it could become so mindless at points, but he was placed in front of the register before he could say anything. He assumed it was because he was the longest working employee out of the staff today, and Jongho vaguely remembered a newbie was working with him. He guessed the manager didn't want them at the register. The register wasn't much different than the drive thru, but there was something about actually seeing the customer or touching their cash or credit card that made it not enjoyable for Jongho.

About an hour into working at the register, Karen walked in. Jongho saw her and his stomach dropped. She looked exactly like a Karen should look: bobbed blonde hair with caramel highlights that were too dark, opaque and round sunglasses, an obnoxiously pink phone case, and a tacky red American flag shirt that said something about how America was blessed. Jongho knew he shouldn't judge people so quickly, but he had dealt with this breed of women before. He had to brace himself for the worst and the unexpected.

"Hello, ma'am," he said cheerfully when Karen got to the front of the line. Her dark sunglasses obscured her eyes, but she was clearly paying attention to her phone instead of him. She suddenly realized she was in Starbucks and lifted up her glasses. She took one look at Jongho's name tag.

"Hello, John," she said, and Jongho had to bite his tongue to keep from making a noise.

"Jongho," he said.

"John," she continued, and listed off her order, Jongho begrudgingly typing it in as she spoke. It's not that hard of a name, he thought to himself as he kept typing. Why was Karen's order so long? Jongho kept translating her vegan, dairy-free, blood-of-firstborn, extra-expresso venti iced coffee into the system until she stopped talking, and even then she wasn't done.

"So is everyone your age just dying their hair like that?" Karen said without prologue. "I'd never let my kid dye their hair like that. It's so unprofessional."

"Thank you," Jongho said, dodging the question and not wanting to provoke her. He hoped his cheeks weren't also red. "Here's your total. Cash or credit?"

Karen pulled out her purse, but not without clicking her tongue in annoyance. "You all really should lower the prices. It's too damn expensive."

Then make your own, Jongho wanted to reply, but he held his tongue. "I wish I could," he said with a smile. Karen frowned in return, and, without warning, dumped her entire coin bag onto the counter. Jongho yelped and scrambled to keep flying pennies and quarters from rolling off of the counter. In the corner of his eye, a coworker ogled Karen.

"I used the bills to buy my groceries, so I'll pay in coins," Karen yawned while Jongho threw himself onto the floor to make sure no coins had reached there. He got up, plastering on a fake smile. He hadn't had a customer like this in a long time, but if he could just get through her, everything would be okay. He reached for her quarters first and began counting dollars. He knew for a fact that his manager wouldn't have tolerated this kind of behavior from a customer, but Jongho knew he could be too soft at times. Besides, her jangling keys on her wrist glimmered and showed off their sharpness. He swore he saw her teeth glimmer as well.

"Hurry up," Karen said after a few seconds. "Count faster."

Jongho considered shoving pennies into her eyes. "Certainly," he said, and tried to pick up his pace. He could feel her eyes burning on his neck as he shoved the change into the cash register. He pushed her receipt over to her and eagerly began with the customer behind her, glad to be ridden of her.

But his escape was short lived. He heard a whine from the corner of the store and knew it was the Karen immediately. He was currently helping out a different customer, but there was no one else in line behind them. He'd deal with it after the customer if things escalated with Karen.

"Are you sure you made this correctly?" Karen snarled at Jongho's coworker, her nostrils flailing. The coworker looked like she wanted to sink into the floor. "This doesn't taste like how it usually does. Make it again."

Jongho wouldn't have done anything - customers asked for drinks to be remade frequently. But this was Karen, and upon further inspection, this was the new employee that his manager had talked about. He couldn't leave her hanging, it would be rude as an older and more experienced employee. Jongho finished ringing up the final customer and went over to Karen and the other coworker.

"Cherry head," Karen growled, and Jongho only raised his eyebrows. That was a new one.

"I'll make a new one, ma'am, sorry," he said, taking the drink from her. "I'm sure you were fine," he muttered to the worried coworker and was pleased to see her smile.

Iced coffee wasn't difficult, and with the lack of new customers Jongho took the time to make sure the drink was entirely accurate. It's not that she deserved a drink, it's that he wanted her out of the store as soon as possible. He even had the temperature right, and gave it a perfect dairy-free whipped cream swirl at the top before handing it back to her.

Karen ogled the drink for a moment, looking back and forth at the cup and Jongho. Then she threw the drink at him.

The whipped cream top hit Jongho square in the face and he could taste it. Then came the slow and cold trickle of the coffee down his apron and shirt underneath, and at that moment, he was so glad she hadn't ordered anything hot.

"I said I didn't want whipped cream!" Karen bellowed, but Jongho's choir practice had made him desensitized to loud vocals. He wiped the whipped cream from his face and looked at Karen straight in the eyes.

"Get out," he said coldly. "There's a Dunkin across the parking lot. They can have your coins." He paused for a moment, and then his mouth twitched upward. "My name is John, you can write me up if you want. I don't care."

"I will be," Karen growled, red-faced and clutching her purse at her side like Jongho was going to reach out and nab it. he couldn't believe Karen thought that she was the victim here when Jongho had a new fluffy white beard adorning his face.

"John's right," a third coworker said, coming from behind. He could vaguely hear his laugh under his voice. "We don't tolerate harassment on our employees. You're the one that could end up in trouble."

Karen stared daggers at this new employee, and Jongho was surprised she didn't jump over the counter to tackle him. "Good riddance, I knew Starbucks was going downhill anyway." She gave one last snarl at Jongho, who fluffed up his hair at her glance, before walking out of the Starbucks.

The three employees were silent, and then Jongho felt a towel touch his arm. "Oh my God, Jongho, I'm sorry," the third coworker said.

"I don't think I've ever been drenched quite as much as I am now," he said, accepting the towel. He began to dry himself off as best he could, but he knew his face and clothes were going to be sticky for the remainder of the shift.

"I think there's another apron in the back," the new coworker said, and then scurried off to get it before Jongho could say anything.

"I'm just glad it wasn't her that got absolutely wrecked by coffee," the other coworker murmured. "I think she might have cried."

Jongho nodded, still drying himself off. It was a terrible feeling, the coffee all over his skin and clothes, but now that she was gone, he couldn't help but smile. It was comical, how insane the public could be. "I hope John gets hell for what he did," he smiled.

"Absolutely," the coworker agreed, laughing. The new coworker arrived back with the apron, which Jongho gratefully took.

"Give me a minute to clean up," he told the both of them before going to the back to inspect the wreckage on his clothes and face. It could have been better, but it also could have been worse. He licked a part of the whipped cream that was near his lips and grimaced at the flavor. Despite it all, Jongho was amused at the situation. It kept him on his toes. It would be a funny story to share at a party. Jongho wrote a note in his phone to re-dye his red tips when he got home. Then, smiling, he returned to work.

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youspoketome · 7 years ago

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MXPX - TEENAGE POLITICS (1995)

I once bought a bright orange and navy blue Superman t-shirt in a size XL simply because it existed. It's hard to believe in this day and age, when comic book shirts are everywhere and comic book movies are breaking records every other week, but there was a time when a Superman shirt, even one with stupid colors and two sizes too big, was really exciting.

So I think that explains why I was so shocked to see Tom from MxPx wearing a Superman t-shirt on the cover of 7 Ball.

7 Ball was a magazine that covered slightly more alternative Christian music than CCM (a magazine that literally named itself "Contemporary Christian Music Magazine"). Apparently they didn't have much (read: any) budget for photoshoots though, so when they decided to put MxPx on that fateful cover, they just used an image from their newest album ON THE COVER. I took that magazine home and without even hearing them, I immediately became hugely interested in MxPx.

That summer, my dad took me to Sonshine Music Festival, a fairly large, weekend long Christian music festival in Willmar, MN. I remember the biggest draw was Petra playing on the mainstage on Friday night (I had to skip a baseball tournament in order to make it to see them), but I was also incredibly excited that MxPx was playing. By this time I had at least heard their cover of "Summer Of '69" although I can't for the life of me recall how or where. I made it a high priority to be ready for them to play, to the point that my dad and I threw a frisbee back and forth during an entire Stavesacre set, just so we'd be at the proper stage when they were finished and it was MxPx's time.

I think my dad made it halfway through the first song.

Really though, good on him for trying. He waited through that entire Stavesacre set for this band of tattooed and pierced punk rock kids to play and he gave it a go. Then he told me he was going to check out the other stages and left me to rock out on my own. Well... As much as an awkward 13-year-old who has never actually heard the band playing can rock out.

Once the set was over I was determined to buy a CD. The trouble was, as I have mentioned, I was terrible at saving money and didn't have enough cash to afford anything from their merch table. That didn't deter me though, Northwestern Bookstore had a booth set up on the Sonshine grounds where they were selling CDs. I still couldn't afford TEENAGE POLITICS, but ON THE COVER was a shorter length cover album, so it was cheaper. I could be off on the details, but I think it was $8 and I had $6. I thought for sure I'd be able to borrow $2 from my dad for a CD, but had underestimated his distaste for my new favorite band. I went home empty-handed.

That still wasn't enough to get me to give up though. Around this time I had a subscription to Breakaway Magazine (or maybe it was still my older brother's subscription then. At some point his subscription just transferred over to me.) Breakaway was a Christian magazine for teenage boys that had a couple advice columns. One of those columns focused on relationships and life, and one was more about movies and music. Every month that second column basically consisted of variations of two questions: One: "Should I listen to (insert non-Christian band here)?" (Answer: no, unless that band was Genesis. For some reason,they were ok with WE CAN'T DANCE.) And two: "My parents won't let me listen to (insert Christian band here) because they rock too hard and my parents think anything that sounds like that must be evil." The answer to this one was always essentially "have them read the lyrics, and when they see what the band is singing about, your parents will come around!" So I borrowed a copy of TEENAGE POLITICS from one of my older brother's friends and supplied my parent's with the lyric sheet.

Breakaway was wrong.

Ok, quick theology aside (it's relevant, just bear with me). In Ephesians 2:8-9 Paul writes "For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. (NASB)" Christianity is not intended to be a bunch of people following a bunch of rules, it's about having a relationship with Jesus Christ and accepting His sacrifice of His life for your sin. Yes, Christians should live in a way that will be pleasing to Him, but no amount of being good is going to get anyone into heaven. To live your life putting the emphasis on a list of things you can't do instead of on salvation through Jesus is called legalism.

My grandma had a lot of legalistic beliefs. For example, she wouldn't even play solitaire, because some people use playing cards for gambling. Which is why my parents didn't really love it when they they came across "legalistic people suck. Legalism makes me sick. I wonder what makes them tick. I want to go puke on it" in that lyric sheet.

And that dashed my hopes of buying an MxPx CD.

There were multiple repercussions to this ruling. First, I very much learned the wrong lesson from all this. I had gone through all the proper channels (learned of a band in a Christian magazine, saw them at a Christian music festival, followed a different Christian magazine's advice for winning parents over) and was still shot down. So shortly after this when I was at my friend Matt's house and he showed me a new band called Green Day who sounded "exactly like MxPx," I decided to skip the getting approval step altogether (Breakaway would eventually cover Green Day in one of those "don't listen to this non-Christian band" columns). I had another friend dub me a copy of DOOKIE onto a cassette and I listened to it strictly on headphones.

Secondly, I was introduced to Tooth & Nail Records. Perusing that Northwestern Bookstore booth at Sonshine was also my first exposure to Ghoti Hook, whose first album SUMO SURPRISE would end up being one of my next CD purchases. Shortly after that I obtained a T&N mail order catalogue, which I would go over and over and over again. Crux's FAILURE TO YIELD, Blenderhead's PRIME CANDIDATE FOR BURNOUT, TOOTH AND NAIL ROCK SAMPLER VOL. 1, and I'M YOUR BIGGEST FAN VOL. 1, all T&N releases, were my next four purchases after that. Somewhere in there I also got a VHS tape of Tooth & Nail music videos. Up until this point, I was looking for that Forefront Records spine, but my brand loyalty changed allegiances to Tooth & Nail almost immediately. And would stay there for another 10-15 years.

I never would buy TEENAGE POLITICS. The two CDs I bought in between Ian and Ghoti Hook were NEVER SAY DINOSAUR, a tribute to Petra that featured your usual CCM bands like Audio Adrenaline and Jars of Clay, but also featured a cover by MxPx, and SELTZER, another CCM compilation that MxPx got thrown into. They were also featured on that music video compilation and I'M YOUR BIGGEST FAN, so I snuck them in where I could. At some point in the next two years my cousin ended up with a copy of TEENAGE POLITICS, and was more interested in my copy of Geoff Moore and the Distance's HOMERUN. By that point I had already almost entirely abandoned my pre-T&N CD collection so it was a no brainier to make that trade. I think it ended up being one of those rare win/win trades. I think he still breaks out the Geoff Moore from time to time and TEENAGE POLITICS is still my favorite MxPx album to this day.

#you spoke to me #mxpx #Teenage Politics

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