#i want dex to go in search of a personality

[bklynmusicnerd]

I wish they would let Spencer bring up the fact that he saw Dex grinding on his girl at the NB. That’s another reason he can bring up for not fucking with him.U know how disrespectful it is to see the guy u hate giving a lapdance to your girlfriend? At first I thought Spencer didn’t see it, but it turns out he did in the background.

I don't think that was a scripted moment, I think that was just the actor having fun so I don't know if I really expect it to come up again lol. I definitely thought it was weird in context because Trina and Dex are essentially strangers but it's the Nurse's Ball so whatever. I'm at a point where I don't want Spencer and Dex to interact until Cam is back. I just don't see a reason for them to interact with each other at all without Cam. I haven't enjoyed any of their scenes together.

[numberone-wifeguy]

05/07/24

[specialagentartemis]

ykw i am having so much fan watching you be a hater, that i’ve decided to ask for more. PLEASE give us a rant about a book you hated.

Haha aw I'm honored. And uh I hope you don't have any particular attachment to Becky Chambers. Sorry in advance.

But A Psalm for the Wild-Built won a Hugo and I do not get the love. Book 1 was nice enough, yeah. Book 2 had me tearing my hair out.

Sibling Dex is a restless Tea Monk who serves the God of Small comforts on the science-fantasy planet of Panga. I genuinely love the idea of a tea monk - part therapist, part confessor, travels around to the different towns, mixes tea blends for people, lets them talk about their worries and fears and stresses, and gives them, if not advice, then sympathy and a listening ear and some calming tea. This is meaningful work but they're unhappy. After doing this for a while they're still unsatisfied with their life, so they go into the woods searching for self-actualization, and meet a robot named Mosscap, a wild robot that lives in the woods. See, hundreds of years ago, all the robots "woke up" and became sentient one day, then they staged a quiet rebellion against humanity's greed and industrialization by walking into the woods and never coming back. Now, the continent is split in half: humans stay on the Human Side, and robots stay on the Robot Side. The Robot Side is kept wild and humans are discouraged from going in there because humans can't be trusted not to ruin Nature. The rpbots are welcome to come to the Human Side, they just never have. Dex is the first person in a While to venture into the woods of the Robot Side, and the first human since the great walkout to see a robot. Mosscap gives Dex a lot of philosophical pep talks about not pushing themself so hard, about allowing themself to just rest and appreciate the world without feeling like they need to be Providing A Service to justify their existence. It's a nice theme. Underbaked, imo, but nice. Relateable.

Book 2 was a goddamn mess.

Book 1 mostly takes place in the wilderness of the woods, so it's okay if the nice utopian human community Dex comes from was sketchily-built. It Just Works, and everyone Is Just Nice, this is a science-fantasy parable. There were some issues I had with it - like the strict ideological and physical divide between Nature and Humans, and the fact that Dex's religion seems to be the Only Religion In The World, and it's vaguely secular-humanist with the gods being not "really" gods but names given to primordial forces and philosophical concepts, and the religion not really making any demands of its adherents in any way except to become their best selves and devote themselves to what they like... it's potentially interesting, but overall kinda lazy. It felt like Becky Chambers was aware of the idea that having an enlightened-atheist sci-fi utopia is Problematic, so she made there be a central religion, but she also didn't want it to have any of the ~icky~ things religions have, like belief in anything supernatural, or dietary restrictions, or creeds, or codes of behavior, or expectations to make any kind of sacrifice in any way. All the gods "ask" is that humans observe and appreciate the world. But whatever.

In book 2, Dex and Mosscap return to Dex's society, and the book seems to want to explain how the world works, and oh my GOD is Chambers not prepared to do this.

"Observe and appreciate" is all anyone is asked to do. Book 2, A Prayer for the Crown-Shy, is an ode to ultimate virtue of Doing Nothing. There's this attitude I see in a LOT of utopian fiction, where the author is bluntly just not a good enough author to imagine a utopian society where people act like people, so in the world of Panga, utopian society is achieved through 1) homogeneity 2) no one giving a crap about anything.

As far as I can tell, there is the one religion. Most people are Fine with this. Most people are Fine with anything. There are no characters with distinct personalities. There's no money, except there is, except it's not real money and no one will deny you anything if your balance is in the red, even though your balance is available to be seen by anyone - this does not cause any kind of shame or pride or competition in any way, and Dex doesn't understand why it might. There are no hierarchies or governing bodies, people just volunteer to step up when things need doing (this is portrayed as great and not deeply concerning). There are different communities, but in them, everyone is uniformly nice, friendly, and helpful at all times. There are some parts of nature, like the seashore, where people are not allowed to go because they'll ruin the environment, and this is accepted as correct and necessary. Most people live in hippie, pro-recycling, high-tech, end-of-history green communities; there's one group they visit, however, that doesn't trust technology, and lives in a vaguely sci-fi-Amish way. You might think, Dex travelling around with a robot, this might cause conflict! It does not. The people from this community calmly explain their anti-technology position, Dex calmly explains their pro-technology position, and they politely respect each other. "Not bothered either way" is a phrase that turns up in various permutations a lot and is held up as the good, mature, responsible way to be.

There's a scene where they catch a fish for dinner, and instead of killing it, the scifi-Amish guy says "We let the air do that for us, and they let the fish slowly suffocate to death in the air while they all look on solemnly and sadly. This is portrayed as a deep, beautiful moment of them witnessing and honoring the final moments of a living being's life. And not. y'know. them torturing a living being to death so they can keep their own hands clean.

This is what I mean about the valorization of passivity: observing is all you are ever obligated to do. Letting a fish die in the air is better than killing it quickly and humanely, because doing things gets your hands dirty, while letting things simply happen is the Correct way to do it.

At the end, Mosscap and Dex blow off all their promises and appointments and just hang out at the beach chilling out instead, because do what you want forever, you don't have to do shit. This is the happy affirming ending. Mosscap you fucking said you'd meet with the city leaders as the robot ambassador to the humans, did you tell them you were blowing off this commitment because you didn't feel like doing that anymore??? Did you even let them know??????

It is SUCH a baffling book. The theme wants to be "you are more than your job, you deserve to just Be" and ends up feeling like "you don't have to do anything ever, and no one can make you do anything you don't want to do if you don't feel like it, and you don't owe anyone anything and searching for a purpose in your life is just making you stressed out so chill at the beach instead."

The thing that drives me crazy is like. Mosscap cheerfully tells Dex about robots that spend twenty years in a cave watching stalactites form because they think it's beautiful, and those robots are just as much a valued part of society as anyone else. Appreciating beauty and wonder is good enough, you don't need to be productive. And I'm just. fuckin. like. Humans are not robots! Robots don't need to eat or sleep! Humans need food, and clothes, and shelter, and medical care, and if we don't have SOMEONE working to provide that, we Die! Nice as it would be, we CAN'T just all do nothing forever until we feel like it! We can't do that!

And at the same time, the book bizarrely treats wanting a purpose in life as like... almost disordered. If you are seeking a purpose in life it's because you just haven't let go of your guilt and relaxed enough. It's bizarre. Valorization of passivity. Humans aren't meant to be in nature so we just Shouldn't. Doing nothing and having no strong opinions is the most self-affirmed you can possibly be. Letting a fish suffocate is more moral than quickly breaking its neck or spiking its brain. Someone else will do it. Who, if we're all supposed to be resting and only doing what we feel like? Don't worry about it.

"The heart of this book is comfort [...] There is nothing in it that can hurt you." YOU LIAR BECKY CHAMBERS THE FISH SCENE STILL DISTURBS AND UPSETS ME TO THIS DAY

[camelspit]

Roisin's Reading Rumble 2024

The RRR will officially be coming back!! Signups will most likely start on SEP 16.

If you want to be tagged in the official signup post, tell me either in the comments or tags on this post. IF YOU SEND ME AN ASK OR MESSAGE ME ABOUT IT, I WILL NOT REMEMBER TO TAG YOU!!!

This year, unfortunately, I don't have the time to grade a bunch of stuff so! It's going to be just one big project this year, with 1-2 months to complete! Im currently considering 2 options.

More info on each below the cut!

Note: For both of these, only one person can do each. So if someone were to take Tiergan or Sophie/Marella, that would be off the table (during the sign up period, you can do a top 5 characters/dynamics.)

Characters:

Main characters (Sophie, Fitz, Dex, Keefe, Biana, Linh, Tam, and Marella) would be off the table, just to sort of. diversify the characters picked and make people branch out more.

We did this last year!! It would most likely be pretty much the same thing. If you tag search Roisins Reading Rumble, you can probably find some pretty good examples!!

Dynamics:

These can be romantic/platonic/familial, etc. Anything you want!! It can be however many characters you want as well, but I don't recommend more than 3.

These relationships can either be textual (like sophie and keefe) or just something interesting that you'd like to see in the books (like wylie and keefe)!

Additional information about rules and submissions will be released after the poll is concluded.

[crediblebombthreat]

I forgot how good of a bossfight Mohg is

Fought him last night on an under-leveled and under-geared dex character. So I actually had to pay close attention. I remember liking him, but I forgot why he's up there with Ludwig in my personal favorite Fromsoft bossfights.

He just has so much going for him as a secret boss. Every angle of the game, despite giving you an unhinged amount of freedom to go and do as you please, has some sort of Mohg residue on it. All paths lead to Mohg.

The first NPC you talk to -- Varre, the one that people who haven't even played Elden Ring know about -- is a devotee to Mohg. After you kill a Demigod, Varre moves to Liurnia, and sets up shop at this sick Blood Church. He tells you to invade people and ruin their evenings. He hypes up Mohg. After you do three invasions (even if you get your shit slapped) he gives you an item to teleport to Mohg's mausoleum...and it's this massive underground structure you saw like 15 hours ago in your playthru because you forgot about Varre until halfway through Leyndell. Mohg is there. He is everything you wanted.

Or you never talked to Varre or you killed him because he talked shit and called you a virgin. And instead you read about this secret child of Marika. And then you fight him and he's Morgott. THEN you read that he had a twin. And that twin is evil and rebelled against the Golden Order. But Gideon thinks he's a delusional freak. 10 hours later you get the Lord of Blood Exaltation talisman and upon reading the description you're like "who the fuck is this guy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" and start ripping out your hair. And then you unlock a secret area: the special unrevealed part of the map in the Snowfield that leads to the Haligtree of Miquella -- another character that's dripping from the lore, and who is closely related to this mysterious Mohg "The Lord of Blood" fellow. And while exploring the area you stumble upon this blood-soaked teleporter and you're like "no." And it teleports you to this bloody swamp area in the undergound and you're like "no." And then he's there, and you fight him and he does a little countdown halfway through the fight and you can't avoid it and it kills you. What?? And then a couple of hours later when you're trying to make sure you got everything for the final boss, you see a square on your map that you now know signifies a church. And you see one in the Altus Platau! And a blood-themed NPC invades you and you're like "no." And you get this crystal tear. And its description is as follows: Can be mixed in the Flask of Wonderous Physick. The resulting concoction purifies the curse from Mohg, Lord of Blood's terrifying rite of blood. Tell me, would you lose your mind? Would you flip the fuck out?

Or maybe neither of these apply, and you've just read about him here and there. And you go through the Leyndell sewer in search of forbidden knowledge. And then who else is there but fucking Mohg! You've heard your friends talk about him, you've heard him hyped up, and he's here and it seems fake. Your friends said he was in an underground area, this is a sewer. That feels different. You whip his ass and you get towards the Frenzied Flame and you're like "ok. but this isn't blood...it's crazy. who was that blood guy? why was he here?" And then you go back and look for info on him and soon enough you've also caught the brainrot and you have to hunt this guy down and kill him or else you might go insane.

If these sound off-puttingly specific, it's because they're all different ways that my friends who played Elden Ring experienced the buildup to Mohg. It's inescapable. And his bossfight -- I haven't even mentioned his bossfight -- it's insane. The way he gently talks to Miquella and then his voice changes to a gravelly malice when speaking to the tarnished. The way he fucking counts down in latin to zero before doing his phase 2 animation. He grows wings. He's gay. His moveset is dramatic and theatrical -- he looks like he's enjoying putting on a show for a stranger. He puts a curse on you. He's so lonely. His boss weapon is fucking sick even after being nerfed a billion times. His theme is excellent. He's weak to bleed, but either him or you bleeding in his presence gives him 20% extra damage! That fight mechanic is so fucking sick, and it plays into his characterization so fucking well! He has absolutely everything!

I dunno. I've never played Kingdom Hearts, but Mohg gives me the same sort of shock and awe a 10-year-old in 2002 might've felt fighting Sephiroth. Like, if you're never gonna play Elden Ring take like 30 minutes to watch Jerma's video on Mohg. His childlike wonder wonderfully communicates the slow buildup of Mohg Madness you get over like 80-90 hours of gameplay.

[thydungeongal]

A New Party Emerges

So, to pass the time I have been playing solo Old-School Essentials using a randomly generated sandbox generated via Hexroll and with a party of characters whose random stat rolls were outsourced to Tumblr.

To get up to speed on recent events.

Since my last attempt ended on a party wipe, I thus created a new party. This first post will simply be to introduce the new party.

Himbo Baggins Str 15 Int 6 Wis 9 Dex 13 Con 9 Cha 9 Halfling, Lawful 1 hp AC 6 Leather, crossbow + 20 bolts, silver dagger, sack (small), mirror (hand-sized, steel), backpack, tinder box, 1 torch, waterskin, 5 rations, 10 gp

Himbo is a simple little halfling from Heretoforeshire who got bored of the simple halfling life of vaping with his cousins Rippin "Fat Cotton" Took and Merry Randyfuck. He hopes to make a good fortune adventuring so that he may one day retire in a nice hole, but in the meantime he wants to meet new people, help them, and see the world!

Gorn Battleforge Str 16 Int 9 Wis 9 Dex 10 Con 15 Cha 11 Dwarf, Chaotic 2 hp AC 4 Chainmail + shield, spear, sling + 20 stones, sack (small), mirror (hand-sized, steel), backpack, tinder box, 6 torches, waterskin, 4 rations, 10 gp

Gorn is a dwarf, tentatively of the clan Battleforge but somewhat ostracized by the rest of his clan for his unorthodox ways and disrespect for tradition. Gorn wishes for nothing more than to gain money, glory, and power.

Lucy Str 9 Int 9 Wis 8 Dex 16 Con 12 Cha 10 Tiefling (alternate racial class found in Carcass Crawler #3), Neutral 5 hp AC 2 Black eyes, red skin, Fire resistance, cast mirror image once/day Chain mail + shield, silver dagger, sword, holy water, wolfsbane, backpack, tinder box, 1 torch, waterskin, 6 rations, 11 gp

Lucy (full name "Lucia") is a tiefling, a person with a touch of demonic influence. Despite her demonic origin, Lucy is actually a kind person, if a bit vain and mischievous. She is mostly in the life of adventure for the thrill of it.

Bernard Str 11 Int 8 Wis 14 Dex 13 Con 10 Cha 11 Cleric, Neutral 1 hp AC 1 Plate mail + shield, sling + 20 stones, mace, mirror (hand-sized, steel), holy water, backpack, tinder box, 6 torches, waterskin, 3 rations, 14 gp

Bernard is a priest of the church of Neutrality, wandering the world in search of adventure and preaching the value of moderation in all things and "it's impossible to say whether things are bad or good."

Jennifred Str 7 Int 10 Wis 11 Dex 7 Con 14 Cha 17 Magic-User, Neutral Detect magic 2 hp AC 9 Dagger, mirror (hand-sized, steel), pole (10' long, wooden), backpack, tinder box, 3 torches, waterskin, 4 rations, 6 gp

Jennifred is, by all accounts, a nice girl who just happens to be a magic-user. She's not particularly bright, she's clumsy, but she was still able to complete her apprenticeship through sheer positive attitude and lots of nights spent studying while burning the midnight oil.

Anyway, so that's our new party. Unfortunately, as it turns out, the free version of Hexroll doesn't save the state of solo sandboxes on its server, which I think is entirely fair because server storage isn't infinite and neither is maintaining such a service free. I am currently mulling through my options, including whether to become a supporter of Hexroll to be able to maintain continuity between my solo ventures, but for now this new party will have to go into an entirely new solo sandbox.

EDIT: In the meantime, if someone wishes to explore the previous sandbox, here it is!

[alaydabug2]

Tag list: @sparklenarniawizard @imobsessed123 @thoughtlescat @ilikebookssomuch

Broken heart/Broken mind

Chapter Fifty-two

(Human AU)

Sophie and Keefe met in the children's hospital when they were little. Because of how long they were confined to the four walls of the hospital, they became very close during their stay.

As the years pass, they wind up being in the same classroom together due to their physical conditions. This makes their bond deepen.

But are they able to handle when life gets tough, throwing problems and complications their way?

Sophie pulled up into a parking spot. She grabbed her phone and keys before heading into the building.

The friend group had decided to meet up to play lazer tag for spring break. She had gotten stuck in traffic on the way there. She had already called to let them know she was on her way.

She searched the lobby for her friends when she got through the door. She noticed them in the corner.

When she came up to them, Linh said, "There you are! Come on, we've already got the first game set up."

Linh practically dragged Tam off behind her, leaving behind Marella, standing there looking lost. Eventually, she gained back her free will and follwed. The rest of the group followed in suit.

Sophie grabbed one of the vests, strapping it on. The lazer gun dangled by her side. It kept hitting her kneecap when she tried to walk, so she shoved the barrel of the gun into her pocket to keep it in place.

She stationed herself in one of the corners as she waited for the countdown to zero out. When it did, she set off.

Hiding behind a wall, she waited for footsteps. When she finally heard them, she peeked her head out at shot at Fitz. His vest flashed red. He looked confused before she ran out of her hiding place.

The next person she came by was Marella. Her eyes widened, but she managed to duck before Sophie shot her. In retaliation, Sophie ended up with a flashing vest. She huffed and went to hide behind a wall while she waited to be able to shoot again.

When she was able to shoot once more, she waited for a good opportunity to run. Unfortunately, she heard steps coming around the corner. She was trapped. She aimed up her gun.

When Keefe came around the corner, she was about to pull the trigger, but he put his hands up in surrender.

"I want to make an alliance!" He shouted in his defense.

Sophie squinted. She kept her gun aimed but gestured for him to continue his proposition.

"I want to team up with you. We both don't shoot each other so we can go after other people together. Do we have a deal?"

She lowered her gun and held out a hand. "We do."

He took it and shook on it. "Good doing business with you ma'am." He smirked. "Are you ready to take these suckers down?"

"You bet!" She grabbed his shoulder as she scoped out their surroundings. She heard voices in one direction. She tilted her head to the left. "This way," she whispered.

They pattered through the labyrinth of walls before coming to a stop. Sophie counted off on her fingers before they ambushed Dex and Biana. Her and Keefe ran off before they could hear the reactions. Although Sophie was fairly certain she heard a few curses coming from Dex as she scampered away.

At the end of the round, she was sweaty from being in the hot room. But it was all worth it when she saw her and Keefe's name at the top two spots of the leader board.

Keefe smirked at her and held a hand up for a high five. She gave him one. She was concerned, however, when he cringed and rolled his left shoulder.

"Are you alright?" She asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. My arm is just kind of numb, right now."

Her brows furrowed. "How come?"

He shrugged and started massaging the arm. "Think it just fell asleep for some reason. I'm sure it's nothing."

She eyed the way he tried to shake his arm awake. "Okayyyy," she said slowly. "If you're sure."

"Seriously, Foster, I'm fine. The next round is starting in a moment. Let's go hide!"

She waited for a moment, mentally debating in her mind, but he seemed fine, so she ran off to follow him. They hid behind one of the barriers, waiting for the round to start.

[archiveofuniverses]

DnD WxS

Tsukasa’s character “Pegasus Northstar”

- STR +3 DEX +2 CON +2 INT +2 WIS +1 RIZZ - 2

(Nene allowed him to fuck up the rizz stat to watch him fail horrendously at casting spell and it is now part of his character)

- Lawful Good

- Human (he is being bullied for choosing that)

- Paladin (No rizz paladin, great combination)

Rui’s character “Ceres Honordew”

- STR -1 DEX +1 CON +0 INT +2 WIS +2 RIZZ +3 (will physically collapse build)

- Chaotic Neutral

- Tiefling

- Sorcerer

Emu’s character “Flutter Wildwind”

- STR +1 DEX +2 CON +2 INT +1 WIS +1 RIZZ +1

“Every stat is important!”

- Neutral good

- Air Genasi

- Cleric (she offered to play support)

Silly tidbits!!

Tsukasa has never played DnD before, Nene is rubbing her hands together (about to traumatize him / his character)

Rui quoted: lying, it’s the responsible thing to do. (Yes, that is a reference to something)

Flutter healed a goblin and now it’s following her around.

Flutter healed a giant crab and it is also following her around. (These two based off of the one time I did play dnd)

Pegasus dislikes Ceres, the feeling is mutual.

Ceres is to some degree manipulating Pegasus. (Flutter is oblivious to both of these, to some degree)

Ceres is very sweet towards Flutter and others.

Flutter is a massive sweetheart.

Pegasus, Ceres, Flutter’s backstories below the cut

Pegasus was born into a loving, rich family that always donated to charity hence his strong sense of justice and strict moral code. He had always dreamed of becoming a protector of the kingdom, wanting to become a paladin despite his lack of magical prowess. He was teased for his weak appearance as a child, prompting him to train extremely hard and become the best version of himself. He eventually became a knight, still not getting along well with his peers. He then realizes the government there was kinds corrupt and drops his knighthood in the pursuit of adventure and a place to belong.

Ceres, in contrast to Pegasus, was born in a low class household and struggled with money. His family received donations from charities though the money rarely reaches him, (the charity was totally keeping some of the money for their own gain) most of the donations come from house Northstar but he doesn’t know that. He’d try to adhere to the law but desperate times calls for desperate measures. He talks his way out things and manipulates people he deems “a bad person” to his own gain. He leaves his family in the quest of anarchy, though is quickly scooped up by Flutter before he could do anything bad.

Flutter is from a faraway kingdom, she used to go adventuring with her family until her grandfather was killed in front of her and her family’s eyes. Her family now strictly avoids adventuring and going out in fear of losing another family member, especially Emu. She longs for freedom from her cage, wanting to explore the world. She runs away from home in search of thrills and adventuring companions, scooping up Pegasus and Ceres along the way.

[obislittleone]

Ohh I love HOM so much. I‘be been wanting to ask this for a long time actually! Who knew of obi’s and little one’s relationship? And how did they find out?

The list of who actually knew about Obi and Little One goes as follows, chronologically.

Padme (she was the first person that Little One confided in about her feelings)

Ahsoka (she was accidentally revealed the truth on the ship for that one mission)

Anakin (ahsoka told him... honestly valid tho)

Mak Lotor (through his own speculation as well as personal interaction, he gathered the pieces together long before he even admitted to knowing anything... Little one just gaslit him so badly he was afraid to say something lmaoo)

Various other padawans (don't get me wrong, they were very secretive... but obi and little one still had a connection like no other padawan had with their master... so obviously rumors amongst younger generations of padawans and jedi started up, and since no one put then to rest, everyone just eventually assumed it was official. Though they would never say anything to the higher ups, as they didn't believe the same way older jedi did.)

Dex (yes, I included Dex. Whenever Obi-Wan needed information he knew he could go to Dex, and likewise, Whenever he wanted to talk to someone about something he couldn't confide with other Jedi, he went to Dex. That's why when Little One showed up in the diner, even though there was mass hysteria going on, Dex didn't hesitate to help her and Mak, because he knew what she meant to Obi-Wan, and wanted to help protect her.)

Rex (i think it was probably just accidental word of mouth from ahsoka and anakin, they honestly don't know how to keep a secret from him, even intentionally.)

The entire 212th (listen as soon as cody know something, they all know. Of course, good soldiers follow orders, and they were told to keep quiet about it from their commander, so obviously they ain't gonna spread it to anyone but each other lol)

Mace Windu (this kinda was hinted at with the plot starting in chapter 43. When they were trapped, i think Mace got a better understanding of why their connection was not only important to the Jedi, but also important as a symbol of the future generations. He too has probably loved many people but could never embrace them the way he wanted to because of the Jedi code. I think at first he was almost jealous of the way they behaved, even though under his watch it was mostly just as master and padawan, Otheriwse just as good friends... but after that situation, he felt hope for future generations to not have to be so tightly wound about the laws of attachment. That they could cling to those they love as long as it benefits the jedi order and makes them stronger. After they were rescued from being trapped, Mace saw the dedication Obi-Wan had to finding her. If one thing coukd be said, he was certain that this entire was was going to be won by Obi-Wan, if only to keep her safe, and i think that's when his approval settled in. Now, he by no means ever receivedactual confirmation, but let'sbe so for real, he absolutely knew about their relationship.)

Master Yoda (his feelings through meditation were always very in tune, but he never set his mind to try and confirm something like so many other did. His suspicion did not outweigh his need to just feel the force around him, therefore he never went searching for answers as he believed whatever was happening would reveal itself in time. I think that's why he was genuinely a bit in shock at the revelation of obi and little one, and when he dropped that baby bomb during order 66. Yoda has suspicion like all the other masters, and he'd also heard the rumors, but since he never went searching for answers, he never actually had any confirmation that the speculation was true. Until it was all dumped on him at once in a time of need. I think that's why his compassion for them was so strong. He wasn't angry or even disappointed, he just knew that the world around them was crashing down and he wanted to keep them both safe.)

Okay so like this is my list, i didn't give specific names to the other jedi/padawans that knew simply because there were probably a lot that didn't say anything based on what they witnessed. The one in the Kenobi series was definitely one of them, I think I signaled that pretty well tho lol

[elvenbeard]

2077, April

"You really think I can make it, survive this?"

"'Course you can. I mean, you did already die and come back once, didn't ya?"

The chance of a lifetime the Konpeki Plaza Heist should have been turned Vince's existence into a living nightmare. Going from "just living, day by day" to "sheer survival, at all costs" in the manner of moments and following a row of bad decisions made by everyone involved, this was now definitely his last chance to get his life back on the right track. A second chance, after so many other second chances he'd already botched... while the one who would've really deserved another shot was now gone from Vince's life forever.

Jackie, the one person he had never regretted to trust in, who had never let him down, helped him out of the greatest messes, wouldn't be at his side through his biggest challenge so far. Vince would often lie awake at night wondering "What if he'd just kept the damn biochip? Would he be here now, instead of me? Why am I still here when he'd deserved it so much more?"

But then again... Jackie wouldn't have deserved Johnny Silverhand, Vince's newly acquired brain parasite from days long gone, unwanted voice of unreason, and perpetual threat to his mere existence.

Vince was dying, losing himself, little by little, day by day, after it had taken him ten long years to get to a point of self-acceptance and recognizing his strengths, desires, what he truly wanted from life. It was the cruelest irony of fate imaginable.

Misty's words accompanied him through his darkest moments: as long as your heart's still beating, there is hope.

Vince never wanted to be a legend... but for Jackie's sake, he'd make sure everyone would remember their names. He'd survive this, get rid of the Relic, of the terrorist in his brain, and make it out alive. No matter the cost.

Vince through the years (7/9)

A handful of before and after screenshots this time:

Some slight colour adjustments, and a little Relic-like glitch effect like it happens to Johnny whenever he's visible!

Also these two didn't make it to the final set, but I still really love the flying sparks effect :O These are completely vanilla, done in vanilla Photomode without path tracing. There's a lot of particle effects going on at Afterlife that render very interestingly sometimes (I think only since the graphics update though, since pics in Photomode take a moment to render, creating this motion blur/ long exposure effect). Sometimes this a bit annoying when you want to go for a relatively clean shot, but these looked really kinda cool for once xD

I've also been playing around a lot with a free filter plugin (search for GMIC) for Photoshop that has some really nice glitch effects, chromatic abberation, amongst many many many others :o If you don't know it and use Photoshop (although I think there are versions for other programs available as well!), I can definitely recommend it!

Now, to what I wrote above the cut, briefly. This is a relatively short post compared to all others in the series cause it's obviously the one aligning with what canonically happens in game and there's no need to retell all that in great detail xD What I wanted to focus on though was Vince's shift of mind between pre-Heist and post-Heist.

Before the heist, when Dex asks him what he wants, a quiet life or a blaze of glory, Vince is internally leaning more to a quiet life. Assuming though that that's not what Dex would wanna hear, probably, he deflects, gives him no clear answer. But yes, after having to run away from home, struggling on the street, busting his ass for Arasaka and barely making it out of all of that alive, had it not been for Jackie, he has no intentions of just throwing all his growth and progress away by blowing himself up in some daredevil endeavour. He's reached a point where he genuinely likes himself, his body, his life, and while he's not perfect, still in recovery from his time at Arasaka, and has done messed up things to get here, he would've been content with just small-time, low-risk merc work for the years to come.

With Jackie gone though, who has been a constant guidance over the last 10 years, with everything that rains down on Vince during the post-Konpeki shitstorm, I think this would change. He's being told "you're gonna lose yourself, forget who you are", "the body you literally shaped after your own wishes will soon be Johnny's", whom he cannot stand, no one wants to work with him initially after such a legendary failure, he has "a few weeks, at most" left to live... fuck all that, so hard. He's gonna fight tooth and nail to make it out of it alive, forget the quiet life.

He's gonna make sure as hell that, if all ends up being in vain, people will remember him and that he didn't settle for the easy way out. If he has to die, he'll do so standing - maybe scared, but head held high. Cause everything else would be a disservice to how far both he and Jackie have come together, to who he is at his core: a rebellious kid who once rather would've taken on a whole Valentino gang on his own instead of calling his corpo mother for help, someone who quit his secure job because he refused to keep taking the abuse from his boss, who risked his life for his best friend despite sending himself down a spiral of despair in the aftermath. He's not scared of getting his hands dirty, of forging his own path (alone, if need be), and of taking risks if he thinks they're worth it for himself or the people he's loyal to.

[thecreaturecodex]

Jade Seven

“Monster Girl Challenge 26 - Favorite Monster Girl” © deviantArt user “justsantiago”. Accessed at his gallery here

[Last week, I got high enough that I spontaneously developed an OC. Appearance, personality, how to represent her in PFRPG, everything. So here she is. This was another one where finding good art was difficult. This image is pretty solid, but is a place holder--I like this character enough that I’m probably going to commission at least one artist to draw her. The challenge was not in finding snake-bodied gorgon archers (that’s how Harryhausen interpreted Medusa, after all). But in finding one wearing clothing in general and more than a boob sling in particular.]

Jade Seven CR 17 N Monstrous Humanoid This woman has the lower body of an immense snake, and snakes grow from her scalp instead of hair. She wears leather armor and dark glasses, and carries a bow.

Jade Seven is a bibliomaniacal medusa. She collects rare books of all kinds and keeps a massive library. She is willing to allow others to consult her books, but only under strict supervision and on the premises. Anyone who tries to steal or damage one of her books is unlikely to escape with their life. Jade Seven leaves her library to delve into ruins and dungeons in search of lost or exotic tomes, as well as to collect magical scrolls. Occasionally she enters civilization to consult other libraries or comb through bookseller’s wares, typically using a magical disguise to avoid attracting attention.

Jade Seven is not evil, but she is pragmatic. If she feels that combat is the best way to obtain what she wants, she engages. Jade wears tinted lenses that help her follow tracks and find traps…and block the effect of her petrifying gaze. Removing them is usually her first resort in combat. Creatures that succumb to her gaze are transformed into a greenish stone reminiscent of jade. Anyone who is not petrified is peppered with arrows. Jade Seven mixes ranged combat with spells that improve her fighting prowess. She collects scrolls, wands and other disposable magic items, and does not hesitate to use them. Jade Seven has suffered the consequences of arrogance and carelessness, and would rather negotiate or flee than fight to the death. 

Jade Seven may serve as either an ally or a foil to the characters. She may be hired to translate, decipher or interpret a text, or as a dungeoneer to assist in finding and disabling traps. She values money, but values books more (magical or mundane), and rarely takes on any jobs that don’t offer her access to her special interest. On the other hand, she may compete for a book that the PCs need or be working in a mercenary capacity for the PCs’ enemies. Although she considers any book at least theoretically worth her attention, she is most interested in pursuing magical manuals and tomes that grant inherent bonuses to ability scores. One of these would be the ultimate bribe to secure her allegiance.  

Although Jade is somewhat coy as to the origins of her sobriquet “Seven”, the truth is straightforward. Jade Seven is the seventh iteration of the medusa librarian. One of her earliest valuable discoveries was a brace of spell scrolls of the clone spell. The previous six Jades have died, some slain by rivals, others due to poor luck or judgement in dungeon delving. Jade has only one clone left, currently preserved with unguents of timelessness. Replacing this clone, and ensuring that the Jade lineage can continue indefinitely, is one of her primary goals.

Jade Seven         CR 17 XP 102,400 Variant medusa bard 13 (archaeologist) N Large monstrous humanoid Init +8; Senses all-around vision, darkvision 60 ft., Perception +29, scent Defense AC 26, touch 15, flat-footed 26 (-1 size, +4 Dex, +1 dodge, +6 natural, +5 armor, +1 deflection) hp 274 (8d10+13d8+168) Fort +15, Ref +19, Will +16; trap sense +4 Immune petrifaction, poison Defensive Abilities evasion, fortification (25%), slippery mind, uncanny dodge Offense Speed 20 ft., climb 20 ft., swim 20 ft. Melee +1 longsword +18/+13/+8/+3 (1d8+2/19-20), snakebite +12 (1d4 plus poison), tail slap +12 (1d8) or snakebite +17 (1d4+1 plus poison), tail slap +12 (1d8) Ranged +2 adaptive composite longbow +24/+19/+14/+9 or +22/+22/+17/+12/+7 (1d8+3/x3) Space 10 ft.; Reach 5 ft. Special Attacks archaeologist’s luck (10 rounds/day, +3), gaze Spells CL 13th, concentration +19 5th (2/day)—greater dispel magic, greater heroism 4th (4/day)—break enchantment, cure critical wounds (DC 20), hold monster (DC 20), legend lore 3rd (5/day)—clairaudience/clairvoyance, dispel magic, haste, hypercognition, see invisibility 2nd (7/day)—alter self, heroism, mirror image, psychic reading, tongues 1st (7/day)—abundant ammunition, cure light wounds (DC 17), expeditious retreat, identify, lock gaze (DC 17) 0th—detect magic, light, message, mending, prestidigitation, read magic Statistics Str 12, Dex 19, Con 26, Int 18, Wis 12, Cha 22 Base Atk +17; CMB +19; CMD 32 (cannot be tripped) Feats Ability Focus (gaze), Deadly Aim, Dodge, Improved Initiative, Improved Sidestep, Magical Aptitude, Mobility, Point Blank Shot, Precise Shot, Rapid Shot, Sidestep Skills Acrobatics +25, Appraise +17, Bluff +18, Climb +13, Diplomacy +18, Disable Device +27, Disguise +18, Escape Artist +21, Knowledge (arcana, dungeoneering, history, local) +23, Intimidate +18, Linguistics +16, Perception +29, Sense Motive +13, Spellcraft +21, Stealth +13, Survival +13 (+18 following tracks), Swim +13, Use Magic Device +23; Racial Modifiers +4 Perception Languages Abyssal, Aklo, Celestial, Common, Draconic, Dwarven, Elven, Infernal, Sylvan, Undercommon, 4 others SQ bardic knowledge (+6), clever explorer (+6), jack of all trades, lore master (2/day), rogue talents (guileful polyglot, slippery mind, trap spotter), serpentine, undersized weapons Gear +2 adaptive composite longbow, +1 longsword, +2 light fortification studded leather armor, belt of physical might +2 (Dex, Con), headband of mental superiority +2 (Acrobatics), efficient quiver, bag of holding (type I), ring of protection +1, lesser rod of extend spell, vest of escape, cloak of resistance +1, lenses of detection, wand of pass without trace (50 charges), wand of comprehend languages (50 charges), potion of fly, potion of bull’s strength (x2), unguent of timelessness (x2), scroll of teleport, scroll of greater invisibility, scroll of restoration (x2), scroll of arcane sight (x2), scroll of align weapon (x2), 10 adamantine arrows, 20 silver arrows, 20 cold iron arrows, masterwork thieves tools, 40 arrows, holy water (x2), 76 gp Special Abilities Gaze (Su) Turn to stone permanently, 30 feet, Fortitude DC 22 negates. The save DC is Charisma-based. Poison (Ex) Bite—injury; save Fort DC 22; frequency 1/round for 6 rounds; effect 1d3 Str; cure 2 consecutive saves. The save DC is Constitution-based. Serpentine (Ex) Jade Seven is a variant medusa with a snake-like lower body. A serpentine medusa is a Large creature with the undersized weapons SQ. She gains a +2 bonus on Strength and Constitution, a -2 penalty to Dexterity, and a +3 natural armor bonus. Her move speed is reduced to 20 feet, but she gains a climb speed and swim speed equal to her land speed. She gains a tail slap attack as a secondary natural weapon that deals damage as normal for a creature of her size. Serpentine medusas are immune to petrifaction and poison, and gain scent as a sense. These advantages grant a serpentine medusa a +1 to her CR.

[you-have-been-frizzled]

heyy- I'm curious abt which headcanons do you have abt what would happen if Juline got hurt very badly / died and how would the rest of characters react. (sorry if it sounds dark D:)

*deep inhale* oh anon i don’t think you realized what you just signed up for. also NOTHING is too dark for me when it comes to fic ideas

i have spent years thinking about what would happen if Juline was taken prisoner by the Neverseen, and when i remembered that the collective had that mind wipe poison i just made it angster.

Kesler would shut down when she was captured going completely on autopilot because that way he didn’t have to think to feel to process what had happened

that the person who was apart of his life since he was teen, his best friend was gone he would have a planting for her because that’s what he was told to do, he just told himself that she was dead because if he didn’t all he would think about is the ways they where torturing her.

that didn’t change the fact that he kept expecting to wake up and find Juline laying beside him, and he could hold her and know that she was safe but she was never there,

Dex would stay up day after day refusing to believe that she was gone, insisting that he could find her. he would stay so long that he would start to hallucinate.

because if he stopped working for even a moment his mind would run wild, thinking of every possible way the Neverseen was hurting her. and he couldn’t take it,

Lovise would have to force him to go bed and even Tinker would send him home when they where searching for her and he was falling asleep at his desk. Tinker eventually just made him a spot in the corner of her workspace so she could put him there to sleep when he would black out.

he wouldn’t be focusing at school or at team valiant meetings, he would be angry and sassing everyone if they tried to speak to him. he blamed himself for what happened to his mom weather he was there or not

and more importantly that was his mom, and weather they where fighting or not, and he didn’t know how to live without her

and the triplets Lex wouldn’t fully understand she was gone, he would be checking at the widows, mistaking Edaline for Juline everytime she comes over before becoming crushed and looking out the window for Juline again,

Dex came back why wouldn’t she?

Bex doesn’t speak she barely makes a noise and just follows Dex around like a shadow, “helping” him with his search for their mom,

Rex wouldn’t leave his dad side because what if he goes missing too, what if he losing another parent,

they had already lost their brother once and got him back and now they lost their mom, and they don’t know if she’s going to come back

Edaline would lock herself away at first crying so hard she couldn’t breathe, or completely catatonic, she wouldn’t want to speak to anyone other than Grady because her little sister is gone,

she’s lost her daughter, almost lost her second daughter and now lost her sister,

one of the days Dex comes over with Sophie rambling in techospeak, about how he’s going to find Juline, Edaline comes downstairs to watch them work not wanting to be in bed any longer

Dex when he sees her and freezes for a moment, almost like he thinks that Edaline is his mom just for a moment,

she runs over and hugs him and they are both crying and Edaline decides right then and there that they she’s going to go over to Rimeshire and be with her sister’s kids

because that’s what Juline would have wanted, Edaline helps run slurps and burps as often as she can, so Kesler doesn’t have to deal with the cruel whispers 

Grady would be angry, at everything, not understanding why his family can’t catch a break? why must they lose everything? why are they not allowed to be happy?

he goes over to Rimeshire to be with Kesler, not wanting him to suffer alone, he lets Dex yell about the Neverseen and how they can’t leave their family alone, he makes sure the triplets are ok while their father is on autopilot.

he would be the one to go with Sophie to check on the councils search and the black swans, because he’s been through it before twice, and he’s going to be the strong one and he’s not going to cry

[multidimensionalbedandbreakfast]

Legal Disclaimer

The Sojourner’s Rest is an adult establishment, catering to adult patrons of eXtrEMe GiRth varying needs from across many different dimensions.

The Proprietress is 18+ and only 18+ patrons are admitted. The Proprietress is not responsible for any minors who arE cLaiMEd By tHe VoiD get lost in the Forest.

The Proprietress reserves the right to anNiHiLaTE deny service to any patron found violating the establishment’s policy of universal love, acceptance, and compassion.

Check ‘#the sign’ for a list of welcome kinks.

LoOk At tHe @multidimensionalbulletinboard oR eLsE

dOn’T bREaK kaYfAbE

ThERe iS No stATuE.

Welcome to the Forest

Nestled into a grove in a verdant forest, itself the heart of an inter-dimensional nexus, sits an idyllic cottage. This is the Sojourn’s Rest, an establishment that patronizes those who are passing between dimensions, putting them up for a night, as well as providing refuge for those that has become lost in the Forest. Smoke drifts up from the stone chimney, and a warm light emanates from the windows, inviting you to come inside, to mingle with whomever may be inside, and to rest…

…Or, you could ignore it, and press on through the forest, in search of the portal which will bring you to your destined dimension. Just don’t get lost~

Guest Book bellow~

(Pictures of guests may be outdated!!! So hard to find film in the Forest!!!)

Residents of The Sojourner’s Rest

[A picture of an adorable woman is pinned here. Her vibrant red hair is luscious and long, flowing freely down her back to her waist. Her emerald eyes shine with enthusiasm, and a bright smile dimples full, lightly freckled cheeks.]

Lucy Loveless

110lbs., 5’4”, ?? y.o.

Human B&B Proprietress

Ayyy, lmao, it me, ya gurl! (I miss the internet so much). I figure if I’m going to take down information about my guests, it’s only fair I do the same for myself. I run the Sojourner’s Rest — which is actually my second, and much more successful B&B. I’ve just always liked taking care of other people, so this just seems like the job for me! I’m not exactly sure how I got here, or how long I’ve been here, but even if I could get home somehow, I don’t think I would go. I’m much happier here, and it’s not like there was anyone who’d miss me.

Guests from Faerûn

Lae’zel

180lbs., 6’1”, 20 y.o.

Githyanki LV 12 Battle Master Fighter

Str: 20, Dex: 14, Con: 16, Int: 8, Wis: 12, Cha: 8

This one scares me… always hissing, always making noises that feel like swears… It’s like living with cat that hates you. A mean, hissing cat you really want to rub the belly of but it won’t let you. But instead of a cat, it’s a muscly frog lady, and instead of getting scratched by claws, you get run through by a giant silver sword. So, you know, it’s risk versus reward.

Shadowheart

150lbs., 5’6”, 40 y.o.

High Half-Elf LV 12 Light Domain Cleric of Selûne

Str: 12, Dex: 18, Con: 14, Int: 10, Wis: 20, Cha: 10

In the name of the Moon, she will punish you! Haha! Uh… Anyway, she really likes the whole ambiance of the cottage, she’s especially fond of the flower garden. She has a love for life I’ve seen before; the kind you only develop after years of not living.

Karlach Cliffgate

230lbs., 6’1”, 30 y.o.

Zariel Tiefling LV 8 Oath of Vengeance Paladin LV 4 Battle Master Fighter

Str: 18, Dex: 10, Con: 14, Int: 8, Wis: 10, Cha: 18

She’s like a big teddy bear! A big, muscly, flaming teddy bear. And I don’t mean flaming as in, flamboyantly homosexual. (Although, c’mon, look at her) She’s literally flaming, there are little holes in her that fire comes out of, and her hair is also kind of fire? And not like, as in really cool and awesome. (Although, c’mon, look at her). It like, glows and is hot, but it doesn’t burn up. That all said, she’s a big sweetie who I bet is great for cuddling on a cold night~

Minthara Baenre

170lbs., 5’7”, 100 y.o.

Lolth-Sworn Drow LV 5 Assassin Rogue LV 7 Gloomstalker Ranger

Str: 8, Dex: 18, Con: 14, Int: 12, Wis: 12, Cha: 14

I don’t understand how a person can just be mean. I get some people are mean, but to just be mean? Nothing else, and for no reason? I can’t imagine how a person ends up that way. She’s rude to the other guests, so full of herself, and gets violent at the drop of a hat. She is — and I never thought I would say this about a person — totally beyond any kind of redemption. And I want her to spit on me.

Leslie Applebottom/‘Lez’

40lbs., 3’0”, 34 y.o.

Lightfoot Halfing College of Lore Bard

Str: 8, Dex: 16, Con: 8, Int: 14, Wis: 12, Cha: 20

I never thought someone so small could be so intimidating… and I never thought someone so intimidating could be such a sweetie! Always in a chipper mood, compliments my cooking, offers to help out around the cottage (she’s very handy!), even plays music for free! She seems to be the one who resolves any conflict among her friends, using her words to make sure things don’t come to blows, but she’s not afraid to use her aforementioned intimidating presence to solve problems as well! Seducing them to make them docile also doesn’t seem to be off the table…

Dame Cynthia Hale

180lbs., 6’, 30 y.o.

Human LV 12 Oath of Ancients Paladin Zariel Tiefling LV 5 Fiend Warlock LV 7 Broken Oath Paladin

Str: 8, Dex: 8, Con: 16, Int: 14, Wis: 12, Cha: 20

Dame Cynthia may just be one of the most polite guests I’ve ever had! So gallant and chivalrous, and dashing in that shiny heavy armor~ I guess I should expect nothing less from such a pious and selfless knight! A hero using her own body as a shield for the innocent! …Of course, Humans don’t have horns and tails, and Paladins don’t smell of sulfur, yet she wants me to believe that’s what she is? I’m not that naïve. I would not recommend bringing it up to her, though. She crushed a mug with her bare hand when I did, and she likes me!

Goodberry

135lbs, 6’2”, 269 y.o.

Wood Elf LV 12 Circle of the Moon Druid

Str:8, Dex: 14, Con: 16, Int: 8, Wis: 20, Cha: 12

Now this is a tricky one to keep track of! She’s a cat as often as she is an Elf, and a bear twice as often as that! When I asked her about her name, she said that she changed her name when she changed her real body’s look, and I guess if you can change your body as easily as you can change your name, why wouldn’t you? I would give myself extra arms to clean better… She’s a good guest, very mellow and good spirited, and would be a pleasure to be around if it weren’t for her… well, smell. It’s funny, of all the animals I’ve seen her turn into, a skunk is not one of them, but I always smell one when she’s around…

Maddison Murphy/‘Paunch Drunk Murphy’

200lbs., 5’7”, 42 y.o.

Human LV 8 Way of the Open Fist Monk, LV 4 Thief Rogue

Str: 8, Dex: 20, Con: 16, Int: 8, Wis: 16, Cha: 10

So, I think she used to be called ‘Punch Drunk Murphy’, being that fighting drunk was her whole thing, but the ‘a’ got added when she developed a, well, paunch from all her drinking. Not much has changed there, though now she relies on throwing her weight around rather than using any strength, and nobody can hit her because she wobbles around so much. She’s… boisterous, let’s say. And very fond of her drink, obviously. I’d prefer it if she were less rowdy, but she’s not technically breaking any rules, so I can’t really do anything about it… Hard to believe she’s technically the oldest of her party. And a mother!

Talica Dahlmass

140lbs., 5’6”, 47 y.o.

Drow Half-Elf Necromancy Wizard

Str: 8, Dex: 16, Con: 14, Int: 20, Wis: 10, Cha: 10

She’s the most level-headed and calm of her friends, and honestly? That makes her the scariest. She’s cold. Calculating. Charming Conniving. She knows what it takes to get what she wants, and she’s willing to do it. If helping will get her what she wants, she’ll help. If hurting advances her goals, she’ll hurt. It makes no difference to her. That kind of raw, self serving ambition never leads anywhere good. And everywhere she goes, an aura of death hangs over her… I swear I smell rot on her as well…

Cirice

150lbs., 5’8”, 22 y.o.

High Half-Elf Wild Magic Sorcerer

Str: 8, Dex: 14, Con: 16, Int: 10, Wis: 10, Cha: 20

Definitely the most… unpredictable guest I’ve ever had. It’s almost like she doesn’t think about what she does, she just acts on impulse. That has to be it; I can’t think of a rational explanation for half the thing she does. One minute she’s cleaning her clothes, the next she’s setting them on fire. One minute she’s beating someone within an inch of their life, the next she’s kissing them (although that seems to be the common theme for this bunch). One minute, there’s light and life in her eyes, the next… someone else is in there…

Grymglain Stoneflow

200lbs., 4’4, 44 y.o.

Deurgar LV 12 Berserker Barbarian

Str: 20, Dex: 16, Con: 16, Int: 8, Wis: 10, Cha: 8

She won’t come inside the cottage. Instead she sets up a tent outside whenever her group comes to visit. I respect a person who feels at home in the wild, forgoing the comforts and stresses of modern living in favor of a life in oneness with nature. And I’m especially impressed she hasn’t been claimed by the Forest. I just wish she wouldn’t ‘forage’ in my garden. At least she shares the meat from her hunting, but I bet it’s only because she thinks I’m a better cook than her…

Hidi Goldseeker/Hide ’n Seek

40lbs., 3’4, 33 y.o.

Deep Gnome LV 7 Thief Rogue LV 5 Champion Fighter

Str: 9, Dex: 20, Con: 16, Int: 12, Wis: 10, Cha: 12

HIDI IS A MEAN STINKY THIEF WHO STOLE MY FAVORITE SET OF SILVERWARE! THAT’S RIGHT, HIDI! I KNOW IT WAS YOU, AND I KNOW YOU’RE READING THIS! YOUR LITTLE GOODY GOODY ACT DOESN’T FOOL ME! I’M BUSTING OUT MY JUNIOR DETECTIVE KIT, AND AS SOON AS I HAVE EVIDENCE, I’M SENDING YOU TO THE SHADOW REALM!

[specialagentartemis]

ah i see. so becky chambers has fallen into the “you don’t owe anyone anything = the bonds of community/the social construct are pointless oppressive structures” and “self care = doing whatever you feel like” traps huh.

also irt the person asking for antidotes to becky chambers: CANNOT recommend a memory called empire and a desolation called peace enough. The author is so so invested in exploring her alien cultures and iirc she has a linguistics/history/anthropology background so she can actually pull it off. And the main characters are all well developed and complex and deeply flawed while still being likeable! (Hopefully artemis you haven’t already read and hated these books lol)

Hah I simply haven't gotten around to reading those yet, no... they are On my List... 2 many books

“self care = doing whatever you feel like” is definitely there, but it's not even so much that the bonds of community are pointless, it's more... it's okay if you do nothing, because the Bonds of Community mean that other people will be okay with it and pick up your slack no matter what you do. Sort of? A Prayer for the Crown-Shy was so muddled in its themes that I wasn't fully sure what, exactly, she was going for by the end. Mosscap is on a quest to determine what humans need, and nobody can articulate anything in particular that they need or want, because they don’t know, because everything they need or want is provided by their perfect society. In this perfect society, nobody wants for anything, which means nobody wants anything. Except Dex. Who can't articulate what it is they want. And it almost seems like that's treated as a problem with Dex, something Dex needs to get over.

A surface motif of “I’m OK you’re OK we’re all OK and that’s OK” and “you deserve a chance to rest, you don’t need to know where you’re going in life, and that’s OK” is all well and good, I can support that, but the presentation was all over the place. At the end, she even seems to recognize it, and try to address it. Mosscap reveals that when it asked "what do humans need?" the most common answer it gets from people is "a feeling of purpose." But it just kind of makes everything more muddled. Do humans need a sense of purpose? Or is trying to find your Purpose just making you unhappy and you need to just, stop caring if you have a Purpose or not? Mosscap treats Dex's search for a Purpose In Life as almost disordered, like something they just need to reframe their worldview and then get over and be happy doing nothing and going with the flow. Dex's deep longing is almost addressed, but then just... not. Mosscap's position is that Dex should basically just get over it, embrace doing nothing, and hang out with it on the beach. And so they and Mosscap blow off their obligations to have fun on the beach.

[darkx-the-dragon-kn1ght]

Pokémon Reborn Screenshot Let's Play: Chapter 14

Oooh it’s a great day today, folks! Have you noticed this latest part hasn’t taken a century to be released? That’s because the new way of taking screenshots has worked…relatively well! 

After doing some searching around, I was made aware of the program PicPick, which (among other features) acts as a way to take screenshots, either of your whole screen or of a specific active window or what-have-you. Heck, you can even assign certain hotkeys to those functions so you can take screenshots without needing the program open! 

It…wasn’t entirely a smooth setup, admittedly. While I was trying to set up the hotkeys the way I wanted (by default, it’s Alt + PrintScreen, which won’t work for me because Alt in Reborn is the speed-up key), I kept getting a specific error that seemed to imply the issue was OneDrive or Dropbox (the former for me, since I don’t have Dropbox) hijacking the PrintScreen key, which seemed to be confirmed by several Google searches. However, after nearly two hours of various fixes, I was at my wit’s end and just hopped on a Discord call with some friends so I had people to actually talk to.

And it was at that point that one such friend saw the error and pointed out an alternative that I hadn’t considered. See, I had unassigned keys to all but the “screenshot active window” function because I was like “well I’m not gonna use those so…” However, he suggested that all the functions needed to be assigned hotkeys in order for things to work. So I went back and fixed that, and lo and behold…yeah, that was the problem, OneDrive had nothing to do with it. 

I had planned to start the play session at 1 PM that day. I actually started at about 3 PM. All of this because I wanted to release these chapters faster and take better screenshots. Be grateful for…at least five seconds.

Now, with that story out of the way, onto the actual content. And that starts with a recap of the events of the last chapter!

Xera continues battling her way through the Onyx Trainers’ School on her way to Florinia and the Gym, as well as answering quiz questions, which is another requirement for anyone looking to challenge Florinia.

In front of the door to the Gym, Xera encounters Fern once again. He insists that she’s only gotten this far because of “luck and pity,” then gives her one last chance to give up and go home. She refuses, and the two engage in a battle.

Xera is able to defeat Fern, to the latter’s frustration. Fern concludes Xera having a Badge is the difference between them, and decides to take on the Reborn League himself in order to surpass her.

After Fern departs, Xera is finally able to enter the Gym, where she goes on to challenge Head Instructor Florinia and her desert-themed Grass team at last.

After a battle of wits and Field Effects, Xera emerges victorious, earning her second Gym Badge: the Canopy Badge.

Soon after the battle, Amaria enters the arena with a report for Florinia. Apparently, Borealis was recently seen around the Beryl Ward; as such, it’s highly likely that is where Victoria is being held captive.

According to Florinia, both the Jasper and Beryl Wards are also experiencing rampaging plants like what happened in Obsidia Ward, except on a more widespread and severe scale. 

Because Xera is the only one who has both taken down a PULSE machine and seen Borealis, Florinia enlists her as the person to investigate these incidents. To help with this, Florinia installs a new app onto Xera’s PokéGear: the PULSE Dex, which acts as a PokéDex for PULSE-modified Pokémon.

While the OTS students take notice of Amaria’s arrival and begin growing eager for a battle or demonstration from a celebrity Gym Leader, Florinia urges Xera to get going as she prepares to make arrangements for Xera’s entry into Jasper Ward, through which she can then reach Beryl.

So that’s what the next plot hook is- traveling into the Jasper and Beryl Wards, with three main objectives: take out the PULSEs, track down Borealis, and rescue Victoria. Xera’s got two Gym Badges by now, so- what could go wrong? Nothing? Everything? With my luck, it could go either way, but we won’t find out just staying on the intro post, so- here we go!

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Part 6

Part 7

Part 8

Part 9

Part 10

Part 11

Part 12

Part 13

Part 14

Part 15

Part 16

[duckbang]

OwO what’s this about Alain having an Abra?

Can't sleep so might as well.

There's some au stuff involved, but I'll keep that explanation quick. Basically, I have this au called the ness and tal au, where Alain has Xerneas(Ness) and yveltal (Tal) as siblings (more info here but you don'treally need to know all that to understand this). They're extremely chaotic and i love them

So Alain starts travelling, right. And at some point very early into their journey they run into an abra. Ness and Tal help catch the abra because abras can teleport and that's convenient. The abra is named Ara.

And Ara is a complete theatre kid. His personality can be summed up as "nothing is worth doing if you can't show off while doing it". He wants the glory. He's gonna go the whole nine yards even to do something mundane.

He also has a mega alakazamite. Just, on him. The trio is excited about that, obviously. Its a mega stone! That's what they set out to search for!

Escept the abra isn't letting them take it so- whoops, gonna deal with that later i guess

Ara loves battling. Ara wants to evolve to be stronger, too. But he doesn't want to just evolve. Because simply evolving isn't good enough. Not for him. Its got to be in style.

Alright then.

They battle train him on and off - tms and stuff, charmander evolves into charmeleon, canon, tsme, yada yada yada you know the general stuff. At some point Ara has to switch the mega stone for an everstone so he doesn't accidentally evolve (we're going to run on the assumption that lysandre doesnt know/care about the alakazamite because its more convenient that way)(same goes for the legendaries or you can assume they start keeping their distance or w/e)

So... yeah. Canon's happening. We make it to the league. The lumiose conference! A competition among the strongest trainers in the region!

You know what's a glorious thing to do?

Win the league

You know what's an even more glorious thing to do?

Evolve while winning the league.

And so. SO. THE PLAN BEGINS

Most of the league goes the same way. Alain just sweeps with charizard or metagross. Until the finals. The finals. The biggest battle of them all.

Ash sends out pikachu.

Alain sends out an abra.

Now, of course, this has to be a joke, right. An abra. In league finals.

Okay whatever we can win this but the abra lands a few psychics and its evolving?? Oh shit- and you know what! Kadabra's dex entry says that its psychic powers can give those around it headaches and a headache is definitely not good for battles so now obviously ashs team gets the headaches

I'm not entirely too sure how the battle itself goes. Either we have a lot of switching or a complete arasweep so by the end of it ara is an alakazam (this is the ONLY reason why its the ness and tal au. Ness messed around a little and gave him a little energy boost so he'd be able to evolve without trade)(sidenote, if we do switching, there is 100% going to be a scene where charizard is absolutely gettin beat down but alain doesnt mega evolve her and she FAINTS AND WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON-)

In any case. The final matchup is Ara the newly evolved alakazam vs ash's super cool greninja! And considering the only moves ara has used so far are psychic and protect, and is extremely weak because of the damage he has taken, it should b an easy win for greninja.

Right?

But Ara isn't done yet. He's going to go the whole ten yards. He has his megastone.

Alain whips out his keystone and its mega evolution time baby

(This also checks out. All lysandre wants is the meg evolution energy. The source doesn't matter)

So now its Ara the mega alakazam vs ash's super cool ash-greninja

:3

And you know how ara has used only two moves so far and is extremely low on health

:33

He knows reversal (they can get it in gen6 by transfer from another gen which, by anime logic, is completely fair game)

And this is the only part of the battle for which I've actually run a damage calc, and yes, at low enough health its a guaranteed ohko

So

Arasweep!

He's very silly, you know?

EDIT i forgot to add. Yes the general public is very confused because alakazam are a trade evo. Yes alain is asked abouf that. No he only evil grins and ignores the question. Yes diantha and sycamore figure it out and find it funny. Yes ash is EXTREMELY confused and may end up having a self doubt arc akin to snowbelle city- but we're not dealing with THAT today