#i’m slain this is awesome

[ms-scarletwings]

The Speculative Analysis About Irkens No One Asked For: Part II

Hiya! Back at it again with not shutting up about the lil green dudes. In case you found this first, here’s the Part One of this spiel, touching on some of the environmental theories about Irk and its cyberpunk-leaning cultural direction. While this post is dedicated to a more biological look of what’s going on with the Irkens, there was some leading context and other tidbits back in that one you may also enjoy, too.

So, carrying through what we previously set up, I want to… admit off the bat that, I found it a little difficult at first, you know?-To pick an angle I wanted to sink my teeth into. With how old the show’s become and how creative & enthusiastic a fanbase it attracted, it’s getting hard to really note (or theorize) something about Irken anatomy that hasn’t been said before somewhere. And don’t get me wrong, that’s awesome and I love almost every word of it I’ve read. A lot of it from various sources is almost certainly going to bleed together into the first half of this. So, keep it in mind, yet I will try to chew a little deeper into the questions we can’t actually answer with just a rewatch of the show, all good? Because there’s a few more base things we know from the canon I’m going to include to start listing: - Irkens lack any visible form of nose or ears, but are equipped with a pair of sensory antennae. Presumably, these organs fulfill the same roles, as they do in real-world insects. - Irken organs are obviously very alien, not well explained, artificially enhanced, and hard to compare to that of a human’s- outside of their general body shape, the presence of a primary brain separate from the PAK, and the fact that they do possess something of an internal skeleton. - A petite race on average (relative to humans), Irkens universally follow an unquestioned social hierarchy based on individual height. - Irkens are endowed with a remarkable ability to regenerate and heal superficial injuries, even up to repairing the damage of being nearly skinned alive (chest-down) or severely burning their corneas within a matter of hours. - Their preferred diet is one that is rich in (if not primarily made of) refined carbohydrates, and while they seem to tolerate fatty sources, such as processed dairy, their anatomy is poorly suited for dealing with high-protein foods like beans and meat. - In fact, all forms of contact with exposed animal meat itself will cause it to dissolve and meld into their own flesh, via an incredibly painful process. - On contact with water from Earth, their skin will receive harsh chemical burns (This has been explained by Vasquez to be a consequence of impurities and man-made pollutants, which Irkens seem sensitive to). - While I’m already on a roll about their skin, it also contains/produces a substance capable of killing lice.

Now, I think we’ve all heard a lot about sqeedily spooches, but does anyone else want to keep marinating a second longer on the topic of s k i n ? Because I have some damn thoughts to release about Zim’s outer casing.

Let’s Get Chemical

First hot take, and the hill I am willing to be slain on: That ain’t actually skin! At least, it is nothing chemically alike to Earth-native vertebrate skin. I’ve given all of the above and the general running theme about Irkens resembling arthropods a lot of thought, and I’ve come to about the only conclusion I could that makes their dermis equivalent… make sense.

See, one of the biggest traits that sets apart invertebrates from other animals in real life is the “innie or outie” skeleton question, but you gotta understand that the “skeletons” that bugs and crabs have would still be considered something completely different from our endoskeletons even if they were on the inside. The hard tissues that make up OUR skeletal systems are mostly made up of a *collagen (remember that word!) frame that is reinforced by calcium, phosphorus, and other minerals. The hard parts of an ant’s skeleton, on the other foot, are mainly composited of chitin.

Chitin, now, is a very neat substance. It’s a polysaccharide, meaning that it’s made up of a bunch of sugar molecules chained together. This makes it distinct from proteins, which are made of amino acid chains instead of carbs. Chitin is also one of the single most important structural polymers in the universe to a ton of existing life. It makes up the literal backbone of arthropods and the cell walls of all fungi. We’ve even found it in fish scales and some amphibians. So, must also be important to humans, right? NAH. Not a chance. Higher animals actually long ditched the ability to synthesize the stuff, and are not any the worse for it, since there’s more than one way to stick a bunch of creature pieces together. For two examples, keratin and *collagen are proteins we naturally synthesize that functionally do the same thing. Keratin is the hard substance that makes up hair & fingernails, and collagen is practically the wonderglue of flesh: It’s a fundamental binder that holds together your bones, your skin, your precious muscle meats, the ligaments, the tendies, the nerves…

pretty much the whole person blueprint if you get the picture.

And thus concludes your (VERY overly simplified) highshcool bio class recap, but what the hell did that have to do with the cartoon spacemen again? I’m gonna round back to them through a funny secret about exoskeletons, actually: They have a softer part, too! Chitin’s hella diverse in its forms and utility. What’s in an exoskeleton is actually a version of it modified with other materials (like what’s done to collagen in bone) to make it so rigid and shell-like. A purer chitin, on the other hand, is more leathery and flexible, less like the shell of a beetle and more like the squishy wall around a caterpillar or maggot. Even the hard bodied insects still have an endocuticle layer like this hiding just under the “shell”, still considered part of the whole exoskeleton, but suddenly looking and acting more like we’d call a skin.

Eh, see where I’m going with this? My conviction is this- Irkens may have used to be even more arthropodal in an earlier stage of their evolution, including BOTH an internal skeleton, and some form of protective exoskeleton in their body plan. And hey, maybe the two were extensions of the same system once, too. You recognize something like that in modern tortoises when you remember that their “shells” are actually just the bone structure of their own ribcage. Then, let’s say that Irkens later saw the loss of their heavier exocuticle, leaving behind the endoskeleton and the flexible inner (now just an outer) cuticle of what used to be an entire body shell. This could have been a gradual change, via natural selection, or it could have been another artificial mutation brought on by technology- wherein the elder brains decided the feature was less efficient and simply phased it out of the cloning process- the same as the loss of their species’ sexual organs.

But, you’re thinking, why on Irk would the loss of an entire badass armor layer be beneficial to their fitness? Few reasons- For one, they are cumbersome and limiting. The downgrade on freedom of movement and flexibility they would be for a bipedal humanoid is self-explanatory enough. When it came to structural integrity, the inner skeleton would have already done a well job with little modification. For all the protection they provide, they don’t leave much room for expansion, and need to be shed in order for the animal to grow any further or to recover from certain injuries. The process of molting itself would be an excruciating process for any intelligent species to have to endure; one that also temporarily leaves the critter in a very vulnerable and stressed state for every molt. To advance from more primitive origins into a dominant race, manual dexterity and mobility would have to take a front seat over a small amount of modest defenses, and mind you, Irk long ago woulda managed to compensate for that loss in the form of advanced weaponry (obviously).

I’m also of the mind that the shift away from an exoskeleton could have even been the key to allowing the Irkens to even grow to the size they are now. Recall back to Part One for a second, where I shared the likely case for Irk having a massive bulk behind its gravity field. Gravity is a hard thing on any skeletal structure, representing a constant strain to be fought against when moving, growing, and bearing weight .There’s a lot of factors behind why we don’t have horse sized spiders or elephant sized lobsters IRL, and weight is actually one of them. Notice how terrestrial isopods only get about to the size of a bean, but the aquatic ones can top out at over a foot long? And that’s only having Earth’s level of gravity to struggle against, let alone however harsh the conditions would be on a larger planet. So, there’s my framework for explaining what I think the aliens’ cuticle is not; however, what does that mean for what it is, besides “feels and looks like a grub’s”?

Well, look again at some of the extraordinary things it can do.

Cooties Immunity

“Germs” was a memorable episode that posed a very legitimate question to the viewer. Why IS IT that foreign pathogens aren’t a bigger concern for the invaders? They’re literally sent off to other worlds to blend in: Socializing with the native inhabitants, eating their foods, and living in an alien habitat. In the case of an undiscovered rock like Earth, our infectious diseases would have no reference available to the Armada whatsoever. Sure, species incompatibility would provide some protection, but the risk of something carrying over and adapting is always still there. Zoonoptic jumps happen all the time with bacteria and viruses, and Zim’s body temperature IS in the normal human range. And what about fungal pathogens, or parasites-

Oh, wait, the lice episode gave it away right there.

I love this sequence so much, because it’s coincidentally like, an exact “art imitates life” parallel to something a real species of primate does. Black lemurs live in the same area of Madagascar as these vibrant, red millipedes.

The millipedes are special because when threatened, they secrete a poisonous substance from their skin. The lemurs are special because they like to grab the bugs and nibble them for no other reason than to make them release those toxins. Those chemicals are then rubbed into their fur, because somehow the lemurs figured out it makes a really handy mosquito repellant. The lemurs also like to get completely zonked out on the chemicals too but eyy- Point was it stands to reason that Irkens may also secrete small amounts of their own potent toxin from the cuticle, perhaps for more hygienic than defensive purposes. This secretion would be responsible for protecting them from parasites and topical infections. Could it also make people blazed out of their minds? …Maybe? I think I’d like to promote the “Just Say No” policy on the matter of licking aliens, though. Ffs at least ask them out to dinner first.

When it comes to other kinds of sick, looks like it might be the trusty old PAK to the rescue here again. I imagine that, being an intergalactic, partially mechanical civilization, the Irken race has come down this road enough to put in a workaround. A standard PAK contains the entirety of the population’s collective knowledge/history- which would include a catalog of all known infectious agents they have encountered across the universe. Some kind of nanobot-bolstered immune system that could detect and respond appropriately to new threats isn’t out of the question, nor should a feature that can automatically administer the appropriate medicine directly into the wearer’s bloodstream. For all this awesomeness, nonetheless, there remains a downside or two that they haven’t quite conquered..

The Meaty, Sweety, Mending of DOOM

Anyone ever actually think about how as far as resilience is concerned, Zim is practically an X-man compared to any Earthling? He has regenerative capabilities that surpass anything else on earth, save idk, bamboo shoots, if even. Injuries that would leave a human permanently disabled only seem to incapacitate an Irken for a few hours to a day at most. They’re all the more tough to put out of commission when considering that a PAK doubles as a form of backup life support, ready to “soft reboot” the host with a quick jolt if it detects a sudden drop in vital signs. It is tempting to credit the same device as the source of this healing boost as well, teasing the nanobot suggestion again; however, I see a chance instead to bring this back a step.

Although not as quick-acting as Zim, or Skoodge’s healing, there are some remarkable examples of regeneration in real arthropods, from repairing tissues/organs to replacing entire lost limbs. What the aliens are packing doesn’t seem all that different, only refined (through years of bioengineering) to work at a truly frightening efficiency. It shows through in their diet as well. Almost always, if we see a member of this species eating on screen, and believe me there was no shortage of examples, what are we watching them shovel their face with?

Space doughnuts, space popcorn, space Fun-Dip, sodas, and curly fries. Sure, there’s plenty of calories here, no doubt with the amount of carbs and grease that could even turn the stomach of a college freshman, but is this… nutrition?

Yes. Just not for us.

Like their civilization, we have also turned the mass production of sweet-packed, fat loaded foods into one of our favored art forms, and there are scattered pockets of our planet that can enjoy these items in cheap abundance. The catch 22? Obesity and heart disease. Meanwhile, Irkens are so metabolically blessed that they can follow the same lifestyle and actually be thriving by it. We know that the majority of human food is utterly toxic to Zim, but then there were waffles, a literal stack of dessert and butter that pretends to be a breakfast…. Our guy was experiencing the “finally some good fucking food” meme from the first bite off that plate, but this can’t seriously be healthy,or if it is, then how?

Well, if I did sell you on the idea that much of their tissues and skeleton swaps out a chitin base where we would be using protein, there you go. Sugars for the building blocks to synthesize the connective/structural tissues for maintaining the body, and the bulk of the energy required to keep it running. And I won’t make the leap and suggest that’s all they have.

After all, the Irken equivalent of sandwiches do actually seem to contain “lettuce” and something that people will say looks like meat slices while not convincing me. I can get behind the thought of the natural or maybe original Irken diet to be a mix of plant matter and supplemental fungi, but everything I’ve put together implies that they are completely unfit for processing the goodies in animal flesh.

Overwhelmingly, I believe that the only time they possibly even seek out more sources of amino acids is going to be when they are smeets. That’s how it works in many wasp species. I.e. The growing larvae are the only ones that actually get to reap from the hard work of a colony hunting down enough protein to feed them with, yet the adults live out the rest of their lives more than content to gorge themselves on nectars and fruits exclusively!

And you even could put that aside, but you’ll have to grapple with the ungodly thing that happens every single time you see Zim touching a piece of meat. Would be awfully convenient to blame it on his personal brand of weirdness, or earth contaminants, but we remember this was a weakness that Tak approached fully aware of and expecting.

We know that polluted water can burn them. We know that beans and other foods can give them grotesque allergic reactions. Well what in the horrifying name of Resident Evil is this, though? Buddy pals, I think we got some unintended consequences of that bio-hacking on hand. Collagen and chitin aren’t just functionally similar to each other, they are practically analogous building blocks.

For a WILD science fact, consider that there’s a ton of ongoing research into the application of chitin and chitin-derivatives into having a role in tissue engineering, as a hypothetical scaffold in lab cultured meat, and as an effective wound dressing ingredient.

What we’re seeing with incidents like Dib throwing that Bologna at Zim could be an extreme form of the vise versa, because I know a certain protein that processed meat happens to be pretty high in :)))

Imagine the coupling of this with the bioengineered genome of Zim’s kind being so… reactive to a foreign intrusion, yet also flexible to modification. Maybe it is the acids, or some contaminant/seasoning on the meat that first damages the cuticle. That healing ability kicks in, but doesn’t stop where chitin does, readily binding to and with the collagens in these strange tissues that are sorta like an Irken’s but also just enough not like an Irken’s that it also kicks the immune system into overdrive. Think of all the pain and inflammation of a poison ivy rash but if the damn plant itself could also fuse itself with whatever you brushed against it. I think Zim actually had an understandable reason to be homicidally pissed off for that Bologna assault. Also how the Bologna virus was accelerated in Zim’s body. Once it had incorporated itself into his own DNA, it was game set and match with the speed and help those cells had to replicate themselves.

And uh, yeah, I think this post has gotten about as long as it reasonably should be here. I did have a couple more points I really wanted to get out of my brain about the Almighty Tallest, and I think that would be a good launching point actually for a possible (and hopefully final jfc) part three to this. Till then I got some off-topic scoliids to taxidermy 👀

[bluebblurry]

Third life, Scar’s a big scary red name, but Grian has him wrapped around his little finger and he knows it.

“Aw, pants..” Grian said under his breath as the string on his bow snapped. He sighed softly, glancing over at Scar. Scar was grinning as he trained, hitting the bullseye again and again expertly. “Scar..” Grian whined.

Scar perked up, immediately turning all his attention to Grian. “Yeah?”

“..my bow broke.” Grian pouted, showing the brunet his bow.

Scar gasped softly. “Oh no!” He reached into his bag, pulling out a foldable bow, then gave it to Grian. “Good thing I always have extras!” He giggled.

Grian smiled fondly.

Cute.

Scott’s jaw had dropped though. He stared at the two of them, glancing back and forth. “Uh..” he cleared his throat. “Uh, Scar, mine broke too. Do you have another extra?”

Scar looked over at him, raising an eyebrow. His eyes didn’t have the same pretty, soft glint it did when he looked at Grian. He laughed, and it sounded almost cruel. “I do, but I’m not gonna give it to you.”

“Wuh– why not!” Scott asked incredulously. “You gave Grian one!”

“Yeah, so?”

“Well– you–” Scott stammered, “that’s not–” He cut himself off, falling into a loss for words. Scar just chuckled.

Grian watched it all with a smirk.

*****

“S-Scar, too f-fast,” Grian said through his panting.

“Sorry, sorry,” Scar grunted out, his voice a little raspy from tears.

“Oh gods,” Grian whined, his head tipping back onto a pillow. He held tight to Scar’s hand, shutting his eyes.

“Okay it’s done, it’s over.” Scar said, his voice soft. He tied off the string, cutting the excess off with some tiny scissors that were in the first aid kit. He sniffled softly as he grabbed the roll of bandages. He wrapped Grian’s wound with shaking hands. “I-I’m sorry.”

Grian’s brows creased. “Wuh– what? What are you apologizing for??”

“Because! I was being reckless again!” Scar burst out.

“No no, Scar, I was the one that jumped in front of you! That’s not your fault, i-it was my choice.” He cupped Scar’s cheek.

“But y-you got shot, Gri..” Scar sniffled. “And I–”

“Scar,” Grian gently interrupted, “neither of us died, so everything is okay.” He smiled softly, slipping his hand into Scar’s hair to play with it. Scar melted into the touch, his eyes fluttering closed. “And don’t worry about me. So long as you make me some cookies, I’ll heal in no time at all~” He giggled, which finally got Scar to smile.

Grian had been joking, but he was pleasantly surprised when Scar suddenly got up and asked what kind he wanted. Grian just smiled and told Scar to make his favorite.

Those were the best damn chocolate chip cookies Grian had ever had.

*****

Scar stood triumphantly over Martyn’s dead body, smirking. It was like he was a knight that’d just slain a dragon. Scott stared at him, terrified. The heard had just gotten thinner, and Scott was still yellow. Surely he would be next. Surely Scar would turn on him right here, right now, in this forest.

His thoughts were interrupted by a familiar voice calling Scar’s name. Scar’s tough posture immediately dropped as he all but skipped up to Grian.

“Did you see? Did you see it, Grian? It was so awesome!” Scar was giggling. Actually giggling. And Grian was smiling like he didn’t have a care in the world, his focus only on Scar.

Grian hummed warmly. “I did see. You did an amazing job, Scar.” His voice was almost honey-like, soft and loving. Scott watched from behind a tree as Grian stood on his tiptoes to kiss Scar’s cheek.

And Scar blushed just as red as his eyes.

…Scott sighed.

[darklydeliciousdesires]

Papa didn’t raise no Bitch, Part Two - A Guero Short Story.

A little follow up to my first story, which you can find here. Guero visits his father’s final resting place in the wake of his actions. 

Words - 745

Warnings - None

In the immediate aftermath of his uncontained act of retribution, he’d sobbed with the emotion, the relief of easing his burden, finally putting a bullet through the man who’d slain his father. Quickly though, he had calmed, a hush blowing over his bones, emotions stilled. Diaz no longer breathed, his death acting like a sedative upon his anger. If not, then the mouthfuls of tequila he’d sunk soon after had certainly done it.  

Crouching down upon the patch of dirt marked only by a single, innocuous beige rock, Guero felt that emotions swirl in tumult once more. An unmarked grave; it was the odds-on final resting place for most men who wore a patched kutte upon their backs.  

The leather felt especially heavy upon him that evening, bearing down with the pressure of consequence, duty settling weightily upon his shoulders, lifting the beer in his hand and pouring out a small amount.  

“Killed him.” He sniffed, scratching his chin and taking a swig. “Like you always said, papa didn’t raise no bitch. I have no idea if there’s an afterlife, but I assume if there is, you both ended up in the same part of it.” A smirk tugged the corners of his mouth. “I bet you’re giving him a brutal ass kicking right now, huh? Ain’t nothing less than he deserves.”

He lowered himself to a sit, stretching his legs out, reaching to gather a handful of sand and small stones, letting them filter from his grasp slowly into a small pyramid beside his foot. “You’ll be dust soon enough, I guess. Just when I was getting to know you again. Second chances, man.” He snorted, kicking the pyramid, the sand swirling in the gentle breeze floating over the desert. “Fuck Diaz for taking that from me.”

His throat tightened, another swig of beer loosening the constriction, Guero sighing, picking at the label with his thumb. “I asked mom, you know, if she’d take me to visit you in the joint. She always said no. ‘The furthest I can keep you from that man, or ending up like him, the better.’ That’s what she used to say.” A soft snort sounded into the still of the night. “When I first rocked up at home with my prospect kutte, she smacked the shit outta me. Don’t think I ever told you that.”

He smiled then, looking up at the sky. “I used to think to myself that it was okay that we were apart after a while. I knew we were still under the same sky, and that made it alright.”  

His forehead creased; a shudder of emotion trembling his sigh. “I used to imagine who you were, what you were like. I couldn’t ever remember much. The trike incident, I always remembered that. I know I’m like you, though. You were loud, and so can I be, too. Usually when I’m razzing the shit outta one of the guys, Downer or Bottles, or fuckin’ Nestor and his Pocahontas braids.”  

He snorted laughing, shaking his head. “I remember you always had what was possibly the most awesome beard in the world, that was something I didn’t ever forget about you. Couldn’t believe how long it had gotten once you were out and we reconnected.” He scratched his own face, laughing again. “Ain’t quite there yet, dad.” Another swig of beer finished the bottle, Guero striking into the ground before him.  

“I think what I’ll remember most though is your faith in yourself. You were so una-fuckin'-polagetic, This is me, and if you don’t like it, fuck you. Kinda think I got that right from you, too.” He rose to his feet, nodding towards the ground. “I just hope I live up to the legend that was Ibarra.”

Turning to walk back across the sandy terrain over to his bike, a tear slipped down his cheek. If he could live up to the legend of his father, he knew he’d be doing something right, making him proud. No amount of retribution would ever compensate for the fact that Ibarra wouldn’t ever bear witness to that, though.  

Looking back over at the rock marking the desert grave, Guero swallowed hard. “Wish you were here and not there, Ain’t our life though. Ain’t what we sign up for.” Starting the engine, he secured his helmet, riding off into the night, back to what he signed up for. 

Behind him, the dust swirled and then settled. Such is life. 

[troyardings]

today was an amazing day to be an aldnoah fan. after 7 years of loving this anime, i finally got to meet slaine’s VA. zach was so excited to talk about aldnoah and to find a slaine fan. so hi, im the zach-appointed head of the slaine fan club.

some fun info zach told me: he begged aniplex for more after season 2. like many of us fans, he thought the ending could be better and that there could be more, and has always hoped for just one more season or a movie. slaine was his first main character role and he’s super special to him, so we had a really awesome conversation.

i’m still in awe. seriously, cannot process that after years of waiting for this day, it finally happened. i’ve met slaine. i can now die happy.

[gaycicada]

But wait- THERE’S MORE

My tirade is not finished quite yet!!

- I can’t leave without talking about THESE FACES

- HOLY HELL I WAS NOT EXPECTING TO SEE MOROS

- He seems very much like his brother Thanatos just a tad kinder

- And just ABSGEGEHR

- Honestly not as surprised but no less excited to see Apollo!! Cuz how could they not include Apollo in another Hades game?

- *NEMESIS* HOO BOY

- Hehe, buff ladyyy

- Please tell me she’s a romance option-

- Also I’m wondering if the blade she has is her Stygius aspect or another blade. Cuz if it’s Stygius than how did it get back into her hands? Or could that maybe signify that this game takes place in the past? When Nemesis still wielded Stygius?

- This makes me wonder who else we’ll be seeing? Maybe Hestia or Hephaestus since we were all wondering where they were in the first Hades? Maybe some of the enemies might be Keres? Eris maybe?

- Herrrrr!! I’m gonna love her!

- Cute goofy shade companion!

- I’m really curious about this cauldron spell stuff going on cuz this gathering area seems like the place of rest/where you go after you die to gather resources/interact/reflect, so could this cauldron be an equivalent to Nyx’s mirror? Or maybe some mechanic that boosts your spells and skills?

- VERYYYYY INTRIGUED BY THE LOOMING THREAT OF CRONOS

- The ticking felt very unnerving

- Overall this game just feels a tad creepier than the first

- I’m also wondering: why does Chronos need to be slain? Time is eternal and virtually unkillable but he’s been locked away in Tartarus. So is he breaking out? Waking up? also Melinoe is out to kill a TITAN?? We’re gonna try and kill a TITAN?? Zag only ever beat Hades! Which is nothing to sneeze at but CRONOS- who is like INSANE also GIANT

- I’m also very intrigued as to what Melinoe’s personality may be like. She’s seems more stern and stoic than Zag who in his trailer debut seemed a bit more cocky and throughout gameplay showed to be very kind, sarcastic, considerate and stubborn.

- I wonder if she’s more like Hades seeing that she’s fighting *to* him rather than away from him

But all in all I am HYPED I am READY an boy oh boy I picked an awesome time to get back into Hades!!

[saiyef]

So, I was reading through Goblin Slayer Year One and got to a point where I got real disappointed (to reiterate, I do really like the story of Year One and I think the story decision here was the correct choice in the long run but I was still disappointed).

In Chapters 87 and 88 Goblin Slayer has an encounter with a goblin wielding a magic sword (magic weapons on the Goblin Slayer DnD world being very powerful, useful and extremely rare to get as drop loot).

Goblin Slayer being Goblin Slayer (you guessed it) slays the goblin.

But a few seconds straight after this successful encounter, an Giant Eye shows up out of nowhere leading to Goblin Slayer into another fight in Chapter 89.

Unfortunately, it turns out that Giant Eyes are immune to the only weapon Goblin Slayer had on hand, a broken sword, bouncing it back off its eyeball, disarming Goblin Slayer and rendering him helpless.

That’s when another adventurer, Elf Swordswoman/Elf Swordmaster (I’m not sure what her official name is) shows up to Goblin Slayer’s rescue, killing the Giant Eye.

The thing that made me mad was what happened right after that: Elf Swordswoman took the magic sword that was previously used by the goblin that Goblin Slayer had slain.

I know Goblin Slayer does not care but that was his drop loot. But I do understand why the writer wrote Goblin Slayer not getting a super awesome magic sword; Goblin Slayer’s appeal lies in how he uses both conventional and very unconventional means and strategies to fight his battles, contrasting with other main characters in a similar setting. Him having a magic sword that makes him OP would just ruin that integral part of his character, that he will use any means in his crusade to genocide the entire goblin species.

Still, that magic sword might have been a useful tools for his arsenal. I think I would have liked him using it for one fight but then getting destroyed somehow.

And, all the same, still think it sucks that Elf Swordswoman went “finders keepers” on what was Goblin Slayer’s drop that he earned.

[rockyroadsmith]

Best Suezo Moment in the anime series?

Thank you so much for the ask! I’m so sorry this is terribly late!! I had to work on this little by little due to the lines being a pain.

To me, Suezo’s best moment in the entire series comes from the episode “Battle with the Big Bad Four” but as a North American fan, this moment was robbed from us. This entire episode is just filled with Suezo greatness since it’s one of the few times we see him be serious. When he first attacks Naga, he gets in some great hits and a few of these attacks were cut from the North American dub, which is a real shame since he does an awesome job until Naga sees through his Teleport.

The final moment when Holly is facing off against Naga is absolutely butchered in the North American dub. Holly is seconds away from being killed and we get a moment where Suezo is thinking back to the slain villagers, asking for their strength. Then, suddenly, Mocchi fires off his Mocchi Cannon at Naga which sends him over the edge. As a kid, this confused me since I couldn’t understand why they built up the moment with Suezo thinking about the deceased villagers, only to have him do nothing, and why he was suddenly on the ground near Holly. They cut out Suezo leaping up and brutally biting Naga on his shoulder, in which Naga proceeds to rip Suezo off him in a really savage manner. This is why Naga is seen clutching his shoulder when he’s dangling off the side of the castle.

I think this moment really stands out to me not only because Suezo is able to immobilize Naga, but mostly because of his selflessness here. Earlier in the battle, Suezo is much more strategic with his attacks and more cautious. In this moment, however, he blindly bites down on Naga without trying to escape not so he could get revenge like before, but because he was ready to lay down his life to protect Holly. Because he’s usually the butt of the joke, we sometimes forget just how much suffering Suezo has endured and how big his heart really is. In the end, he’d do anything to protect his best friend, even if it meant not being alive to see Naga’s defeat. Suezo is such a great character! This episode makes me feel so many different emotions! ;v;

Just for fun, here’s what the original line art looked like before I cleaned it up. I have to draw everything in different colors to keep track of what I’m doing since MS Paint doesn’t have layers. XD

[justanotherpersonsuniverse]

All right here we go! 

Spoilers below for chapter 71 of PN

Oo nice, marinette POV is always fun in this

Ough little baby… not feeling mixed enough sounds difficult :(

Oh jeeze poor thing, wow yeah she kinda just lost it all in one go

Damn Fei almost succeeded in what hawkmoth has been trying to do for 1 year in like 12 hours

I’m going to be homeless, miraculous-less, I’m going to have to perform on the streets for money and wander through the streets lost and hungry until I eventually die in a trash can.! Always love marinette catastrophizing 

Ok but if panthera was there then you two could panic about both losing things together!! It would be great fun. 

Christ you really capture marinette’s constant state of high alert amazingly its honestly really funny

French. My god. French. Someone could speak French.

Marinette had found her.. her Shanghai savior. NO GIRL SHE STOLE FROM YOU BUT THIS IS FUNNY AS FUCK

IT GOT FUNNIER HELP CALLING HER A CASH COW????GIRL PLEASE I’M LOSING IT ON A SUNDAY MORNING

Ha idiot, yes Fei you have morals accept it. I know in the Shanghai special they basically had Marinette's epic aura of kindness remind Fei of her dad’s ideals, but i’m curious what’ll happen here

Fei forgor that to scam people you have to be certain type of person. Which she is not. 

Nah you got me tricked for a second when you mentioned Rose saying something at the start of Juleka’s POV i was like “girl what we get a rose POV??” but alas

Make Juleka visit Scotland and then I can comment on inconsistencies and shit the internet lies about, it would give me great joy

Bird employee?? Mr Cheng is so cool

The gorilla uses sign language?? Why did i not know this. That’s cool af

Hey Marinette is says gullible on the ceiling look up. Girly really trusts the first person she could communicate with directly after being mugged

Marinette and her slight of hand tricks return again!

Fei being baffled by kindness repaying in its own way is so much fun

Nah not the way Juleka and Adrien are bonding with Mr Cheng before Marinette does it-

Bastille is fun, i enjoy this bird

Guard cat Juleka is so real

Everything. She looked at herself in the bike mirror. Her damaged face, her ruined hands that were meant for outreached protection and kind generosity– gnarled into the claws of a thieving demon. Fei closed her eyes, remembering the emptiness of what should’ve been around her wrist, and remembering the emptiness of where her father should’ve still been standing. This paragraph goes so hard, i love it. 

Nah Fei pleeek talk to someone girly your so sad rn

Marinette is so little and darling

Juleka didn’t trust the darkness. Not to someone alone. Not to someone that wasn’t her. Emo ass motherfucker (but also valid AF)

No because why am i still so suspicious about Adrien finding out. Like girl please. 

NO BECAUSE THE SUSPICION IS GETTING HIGHER GIRLY IS GOING TO SNEAK OTU

Mr Cheng panicking- oh dear, someone please give the guy a hug

Hey. how does Fei expect Marinette to pay her when she already stole all her money. 

GIRL STOP TELLING EVERYONE HOW PRECIOUS THEY ARE TO YOU PLEEK

Wait no girl she needs the earrings. Girl please. Fei why. 

HUH WHAT PLAGG CAN JUST LEAVE??

This is so awesome and silly style and i love it

Alright, chapter 72 now, I’m rolling this into one review cause I’ve got the flow

NEVER MIND THE NEW CHAPTER IS 30K I WILL SPLIT THESE

chapter 71 was banging, loved it cap! now the monster that is chapter 72 shall be slain

LETS GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

[monstersdownthepath]

Duke of Avernus: Furcas, Knight of the Laurels

CR 27

Lawful Evil Huge Outsider

Hell Unleashed, pg. 38~39

Since ol’ Asmodeus was such a stinker and I hate leaving End of the World months on sour notes, how about one last one just before the curtain is called for good? Before we close the book on Hell for the time being, we’ll take a look at one of the most mysterious and confusing beings in all of Pathfinder! Not because of his motives, or his character, or his statblock and abilities. No no, Furcas represents a mystery so baffling I can’t for the life of me solve it: His stat block does not exist anywhere on the internet. It’s not on Archives of Nethys--which has his cool weapon, and a bunch of stuff from Hell Unleashed, but not him--it’s not on d20PFSRD, and my scouring of Google, Reddit, and Paizo’s own forums come up blank! It’s a mystery! Anyone who primarily uses AoN and PFSRD may not even know this guy exists! But that’s exactly why I’m putting my foot down today and doing what I must to bring the Knight of the Laurels into the spotlight.

A strange soldier in every respect, Furcas holds a divine portfolio of Duty, Flames, and Herbalism, and aids in both the defense of Avernus and the transport of souls to and from Hell’s first layer. Equal parts guardian and gardener, Furcas was around before the current Lord of the First, Barbatos (who he surpasses in CR by exactly 1, amusingly enough), took up his position, his previous boss being the now-dead Typhon, who was slain for engaging in forbidden dalliances with Lamashtu, the Demon Queen. Big oopsie there, pal, but good thing Furcas is here to pick up your slack! While he doesn’t have his current boss’ omniscience, he has something that Barbatos sorely lacks: the ability to engage multiple powerful enemies in combat.

As one of Avernus’ guardians and wardens, he must me prepared to face a surprise combat at any time, prepared to defend the borders against any and all incursions... and boy is he prepared. Once he’s engaged an enemy, there’s little hope for them to escape.

Furcas is equal parts unstoppable force and immovable object, to the most ridiculously literal extreme possible. He’s affected by a constant Freedom of Movement and, besides that, has a unique (and ironic) ability: Immovable. So long as he’s conscious, nothing can move Furcas unless he wants to be moved. He cannot be teleported, tripped, knocked prone, or so much as budged an inch in any direction by anything less than another demigod or an Artifact. On the opposite side of this coin, his monstrous strength makes his every movement an Irresistible Force, DOUBLING the distance he moves any creature via any method he has in his repertoire, such as Awesome Blow, bull rushing, or by using his at-will Telekinesis.

His position cannot be controlled, but he can freely control everyone else’s movement, especially since he has battlefield shapers like Thorny Entanglement and Wall of Stone at will, neither of which impede him. If the fight isn’t going in his favor, he can also flip the table with a spell we rarely see: Reverse Gravity, 3/day. Immune to the floor becoming the ceiling thanks to his constant Air Walk, the whole party will need some way to either undo his spell (three times) or navigate their flipped perspective before he can close in, because melee with Furcas hurts now and later.

Unless he just coup de grace’d the whole party at the start, because for WHATEVER reason, Paizo saw fit to give this horseman Overwhelming Presence 3/day, too, as if a single casting of it isn’t enough to negate an entire battle. Granted, it’s useful as a power move when he deigns to grace the city of Dis with his presence, forcing the proles and dregs to bow to him whether they want to or not on his way in and out. Terrifying when it gets pulled on the party and one or two people fail their saves, though, because it’s basically a Maze spell at that point; no way out unless someone dispels the effect or they finally succeed... and become staggered for several rounds. Even success causes a stagger, preventing Full-Attacks against him for at least one round.

His Armor of Thorns makes attacking him in melee unwise, lashing out against any creature who strikes him with a non-reach weapon and dealing 1d8+7 damage each time. In addition, however, the thorns carry a poison with a DC 40 save to resist it. The poison deals no damage to ability damage, but carries something arguably just as punishing: Failing the save once fatigues the victim, but failing twice causes them to be exhausted instead, and the poison pings every round for ten rounds and is only successfully shrugged off if the victim succeeds three saves in a row. This same poison can be thrown via a stinging barb as a ranged attack once every 1d4 rounds, the Barb dealing 1d4+15 damage in addition to the poison... UNLESS he feels like spicing it up with a different poison, as this master of poisonous herbs can use any injury poison from the RPG Core Rulebook for his Barb. Unfortunately, he has little reason to do this, as none of those poisons have as high a save DC as his own, nor are any of them as punishing as leeching 6 Str and Dex immediately from his victims.

I do like that his Armor of Thorns has a secondary benefit, restoring 4d6 HP to Furcas if he’s poisoned or if someone gets the idea to try and control his lashing vines, which honestly isn’t a bad one. He can even poison himself to gain these benefits, as he’s immune to the negative effects of every poison in his repertoire, though it’s more reliable just to use his Regeneration 15, typically only suppressed by Epic/Mythic and Good, or by a deific damage source. It’s amusing to note that his statblock says he can heal himself with his Barb, but this has two problems: 4d6 often doesn’t undo the 1d4+15 damage he’d take from the thorn... and his thorn can’t even bypass his DR 20/Good, Epic, and Silver. The more I look at his statblock, the more I begin to quietly realize just how many errors are in it. Maybe that’s why it was never printed online...

Anyway, you want to stay out of his melee for more than just his armor. Furcas’ Full-Attack is as scary as any Archdevil’s, not only because of his natural attacks, but because of his signature weapon: Typhon’s own trident, the Avernus Claw. This +4 Axiomatic Flaming Burst Unholy Trident can be used to attack up to four times a round, each blow dealing 2d6+19 damage (+2d6 versus Chaotic enemies, and a further +2d6 versus Good ones) and 1d6 Hellfire damage. Yes, this big old burning fork is infused with Hellfire, turning half its damage into irresistible unholy burns that double their effectiveness against victims with the Good subtype. It’s also a reach weapon sized for a Huge wielder, extending Furcas’ threat radius from 10ft to a significantly scarier 25ft, though his follow-up natural attacks still only hit targets within 10ft.

His two big wooden hooves deal 1d8+15 damage each and spread a noxiously powerful version of the Devil’s Chills disease, one with an onset of immediate for an instant 1d3 Strength damage. Worse, the DC to resist the disease’s effects is bolstered to 40 and it requires three consecutive saves to beat. Remember when I said a fight with Furcas sucks now and later? This is what I meant. But we’re still in the now, and we’re still talking about his melee attacks: the last is a single punch with a fist the size of a human torso, which deals 1d8+15 as well, but rather than carrying a disease, it Swats its victims backwards. Furcas can use his Awesome Blow feat as a free action with his slam rather than giving up his Full-Attack to do so, and if successful, the victim is blown 20ft backwards (thanks to Irresistible Force). Depending on how close they were to begin with, it might just knock them back far enough to where they’re still within the reach of his trident, but not within reach of their own melee attacks.

Speaking of that trident, by the way, it has another function: Once per day as a standard action, Furcas can slam it into the ground and trap everyone within 30ft of him. Each creature within this distance (including himself) is automatically affected by a special version of Dimensional Anchor, one that causes any affected creature to have their attempts to teleport or travel to another plane redirected. No matter how they do it, even by using a portal or Gate or even the Hellmouth portal in Furcas’ own realm, all attempts to leave the plane fail... and teleport the victim directly adjacent to the Duke himself, open for his Full-Attack. The way this ability worded implies that even brief teleportation or planar travel effects like Blink cause this, and it also has the more amusing side-effect of meaning that attempts to trap him in a Maze or Plane Shift him away cause him to reappear next to himself (provided you have some way to bypass his Immovable).

Side note: While a great many CR 25+ entities have Time Stop as a spell-like, not many of them have a reason to use it as anything but a method to escape due to a lack of useful spells or abilities. Not Furcas. Not only can Furcas shape the battlefield with his spells or set up Reverse Gravity and Overwhelming Presence, he has an adorably silly little trick he can use 3/day: Quickened Fire Seeds, a spell only seen on Druid and Shaman lists. The spell lets him throw a handful of acorns as ranged touch attacks that imitate miniature Fireballs (20d4+20 damage to whatever they directly hit, but each 1d4+1 is divided as the caster chooses between four acorns)... or it lets him charge up to eight holly berries with explosive power, turning them into time bombs he can scatter around during Time Stop. Each of the eight berries deals 1d8+27 damage to everything within a 5ft explosive burst when they go off, for a grand total of 8d8+216 Fire damage. And since he can use this spell three times a day and it’s Quickened, even with the lowest number of stopped rounds--just two--he can use all three castings and drop 24 berries into a target’s space from 10ft away thanks to his reach, then take a 5ft step back. The instant time restarts, he can speak the word of command to blow all of them up at once.

The total potential damage? 24d8+648. But hey, even just 20 Fire Resist cuts that down to just ~230, thanks to each berry pinging individually. You can even cut it further by succeeding 24 Reflex saves! I’m amused by Furcas being a Duke of Flames, yet only has two Fire-based spell on his list (Fire Seeds and a 1/day Meteor Swarm). I suppose, given that its potential damage is in the 400+ club, that it’s good enough. Even if they escape the pile before he can say the command word, it’s almost trivial to force them back in with his superior Bull Rushing technique, as well as simply Swatting them back into the proper space.

While normally I’d end this on a high note of such big damage, it’d be rude of me not to mention Furcas’ little devil deal of his own: his Crown of Laurels, from which he draws his name. This special little wreath of incredibly toxic plants can be granted as a move action to any creature adjacent to him, 1/day. The poisons within the plant cause the recipient to gain the powers of Greater Heroism and Unholy Aura for a full 24 hours, which is a fantastic deal! Except that once the spells expire, the victim is instantly and unavoidably infected with a tenacious version of Devil Chills that’s impossible to magically cure unless the caster attempting it is Lawful Evil, and it requires SIX consecutive saves to resist rather than three. I’d love to see anyone try and succeed six consecutive DC 40 Fortitude saves in a row.

While granting his laurel to his own allies and generals is his typical go-to (though as most devils aren’t immune to disease, they’ll need to get fixed up after), he can also lend it out to mortal patsies and then coerce them to seek out his agents in the Material in order to get them to cure it, grant its blessing to himself for the Greater Heroism effect (as he’s immune to ability score damage anyway), or even give it to his enemies to drive them to desperation in seeking a fix... perhaps, again, even into the hands of his own clerics and minions.

While Furcas’ statblock isn’t available online, just wait! This will link to something soon.

[hugsandchaos]

Possibly the most angst-filled moment with Light and the other Links is when they saw him die.

They were stuck on a boss fight, and the monster was filled with dark energy that left Light fatally injured. But his focus was on the humanoid statues. He just kept dodging the attacks to the best of his ability while giving some kind of yellow lights with blue wings to the statues, leaving blue flames. He was hit by an attack protecting Legend, but he didn’t stop moving until he gave one more light to the last statue. Then, he turned into one. Soon after the monster was finally slain, the statues broke and glowing children with cape-like wings like Light flew out of the now open dungeon and into the stars.

Meanwhile, Light was pleading to Megabird to send him back to the others, saying that he can’t enjoy his own world if he knew the others believed he wouldn’t ever come back. She hesitantly agreed and sent him, but with full 15 stars on his cape, 50 instant recharge potions, and allowed him to choose a different prop.

That night, some kind of comet struck the Links’ camp, but left no damage. When the bright light disappeared, they were able to see Light laying directly where the comet hit the ground. Most of the group was left in stunned silence while the few that managed to react helped him up. Light went around giving each and every one of them a bear hug, lifting and swinging them around.

Bonus: Hylia asked Megabird for help keeping the Triforce safe, because who would look for it in a place that has never heard of it? That’s how the Ganondorf, Zelda, and Link from Children Of The Light came to be. The Ganon from that world, nicknamed The Star Soldier for his efforts to keep people safe from krills and crabs, was born two seasons before the other two, so he had time to learn all he needed to know. I’ve barley scratched the surface for his design, but he definitely has a firework staff or torch he can use as a bo staff, and the mask from Scolding Student since it resembles the Triforce (btw, awesome idea, @spacem0th, that was amazing!). Other than that, I’m still working on it. Maybe the cape from the Performance Guide and Greeting Trooper pants? Maybe. For Zelda, I know she has a manta cape! You can’t convince me otherwise!

[jeeperso]

D&D Quotes Without Context

The Revenge of CHAOTICA!, Episode 6

character with darkvision: ”Seriously how do you people cope?" Janus: “I get by.” Fiver: “I'm terrified of the dark enough already, being able to actually see the stuff there would only make it worse.” Jonni: “I just keep lighting fires until I can see.” Gorbash: turns on sunblade turns off sunblade turns on sunblade “I get by.” Marshall: “Things in the night know I bump back.” Edmund: Trying to read in bed. “Hrng…" reaches over to get his holy symbol “Ioun. Light my darkest hour.” DING “Much better.” Resumes reading Fiver: “That is a gross misuse of divine magic.” Jonni: “That’s what makes it awesome.” Fiver: casts light on the wall next to Katt “HEY KATT THAT THING IS BACK. GO GET IT.” Robbins: “Do-you-want-holes-in-our-ship? That’s-how-we-get-holes-in-our-ship.” Fiver: “It’s fine, Katt needs enrichment. Otherwise she gets all mopey.” OOC: But Fiver was trained Sith style, master and apprentice. Just less stupid. OOC: Fiver never went to Strixhaven OOC2: He does have a diploma from a place called Strixhaven for use in scams. Janus: “....This looks like it was written on construction paper.” Fiver: “HEY. Robbins worked really REALLY hard on that.” Janus: “Seriously how are you not on some kind of list?” Fiver: “You think Fiver is my real name?” Robbins: “You-try-calligraphy-when-you-have-to-wrestle-with-large-pens.” Having repelled the forces of OWLWORLD, rescued Prince FLAPJACK, and liberated the EYE OF LUMBERA, our heroes return to town for a much deserved rest. There, they are greeted by NOSECANDY THE WHITE, who has need of their help. WHOSOEVER PULLS THE AXE FREE IS THE SCION OF HAMMERPAW! "OW! Katt! Inside voice please.” “Whats-a-scion?" "It means Katt is queen.” "Oh. Do-I-need-to-call-her-majeSISty-now?” “No." "Right, she's still Katt after all. Plus I'm pretty sure the proper title is "Her Meowjesty.” …but Fiver, you get approached by a group of Haregon in robes. “Child of the roots. You have been busy it seems. How do you count your enemies?” You know this to be a challenge greeting in the priesthood of El Ariyah, who care not for how many enemies you’ve slain, but that you have survived, or outlived. "Do you count the grains of sand on the beach beneath your feet? Do you count the number of carrots you have eaten in your life?” Fiver extends a hand to shake. The leader of the three clasps your wrist, and you’re positive you have one less ring when he’s finished. Fiver nods, "You're of my order alright. What brings you here?” “In that case, we would like to offer you your symbol of office,” they say, holding out a necklace of beads. Fiver's eyes go wide. "Thank you, I'm honored.” He bows his head to accept it. “Here’s the instructions” the younger one behind them says, passing you a scroll. Fiver takes it and reads through "Uh huh, seems pretty standard EULA, disclaimer, cleaning directions, this part is in goblinoid…." “Very well then… let’s beat feet guys!” The leader yells before they all take off. GM OOC: Fiver now owes the church a five gold per month user fee. The first one pulls it straight out of the table. “WOOOOOOOO! I’M THE NEW DUKE OF LUMBERA!” Robbins ties the new “duke’s" shoes together. Moonpaw will wait till Katt's asleep, then have a sniff of the crown. GM: Smells like a dorky crown thing and ozone. And there’s and eye looking at you. Fiver: “Don't worry Thunderchild. Space Rome wasn't built in a day. It was destroyed in one though. Chaotica was hungry one day.” "And now you know why I have Robbin’s power of attorney.” "Please tell me you named your ship Silver Hawk?” “Why how did you know?” "I was thinking more 'Palladium Falcon’." “Oh, that is good too.” "Doesn't get much more real than a 1k+ year old Warforged pansexual.” Thunderchild: “It's like those people that assume just because you've replaced a few bits you're going to go crazy or lose your humanity. That only happens when you're getting parts from unethical corporations.” Fiver: ”Yeah, and that stuff isn't even unique to cybernetics. I'll tell you about my run ins with the Monsanto druids one day. It’s a Hell of a story.” "Thank you for casting Silence on yourself.” GM: You actually don’t need to roll. The path is, if anything, very, very quiet. OOC: But is is vewy, vewy quiet? "I know this story, if we go in and there are portraits on the wall that have angry, hate filled faces in them, then we run.” “What-if-there-are-portraits-of-clown-faces?" Thunderchild: “If we knock I suggest we use the wall.” Shortie Squad ho. OOC: "Rumble, eject." No response. "Rumble, eject." "Nope, I'm liking the leg room in here for once.” Fiver stumbles back in fear, "It cant be, it was....ACTUAL CANNINBAL SHIA LEBOUFF!” Amber: "Is that ruminating powder? And it is an owlbear, high on ruminating powder! Run!” Fiver coughs up blood as he rises from the ground. "The cocaine has given it access to the elemental plane of punches!” “No-more-truck-beams!" A large neon sign appears above the bear with an arrow reading "hit here stupid”. "Dear lord, it’s more cocaine than bird now!” "WHERE DID IT GET THE GUN?” Moonpaw tries to end this with another Four-Limbs-of-Stabbing Technique. It hoots at you, covering you in saliva and contact high. “OH FRITH, I CAN SEE COLORS.” "I DON'T HAVE NEUTRALIZE POISON. ALSO ASMODEUS IS HERE AND HE'S TRYING TO PULL MY HEART OUR THROUGH MY KNEES.” "And owlbears already have the constitution of vending machines!” “Requiescet in pace, Pablowl Escobear.” [sic] Thunderchild: “Fucking Ruminating Powder, Like number three on my list of worst drugs ever.” OOC: Thunderchild's top three worst fantasy narcotics: 3) Ruminating powder 2) The Crystals of Methanfetamean 1) Warpstone which is like the previous two combine but also radioactive. OOC: Huh. I wonder if I can see colors. I mean. I think I can... but how do I know what Red REALLY looks like… OOC2: Considering that magenta is a trick of our eyes misfiring......who knows? OOC: I LIVE IN A WORLD OF LIES! Moonpaw: "I don't need to outrun the owlbear. I just need to outrun you.” Amber: "Just for that no tuna for the next 3 days.” OOC: Question. If we died by its eyebeams, would we be isekaid? OOC2: Superhero campaign? OOC: ”I was killed by Cocain Owlbear and woke up in Steam Punk.” OOC: After we beat Chaotica and she is on the floor writhing in pain. "I won't go out like this, not without taking you with me!" Pulls out a huge bag of ruminating powder and downs it all at once. GM OOC: Why do you think she’s a white dragon? Fiver: “Jokes on you, I switched that with angel dust....Wait that would be worse.” Robbins: “The-angel-dust-I-swapped-with-bolivian-marching-powder?” Thunderchild: “It's not better.” OOC: Jonnim Genie Smack. Not even once. OOC2: There is a reason this is a list of WORST fantasy narcotics.

[meadow-of-rye]

~hello~

My friend Lily needs a name for her DnD character!! She wants it to sound similar to the names of her dragon friends, Aradace, Vaerlynn and Almalphia!! Lily’s character is very kind and raises baby dragons abandoned by their mothers

Thanks in advanced!!

Hi Wagner!!! Thanks for the ask and the compliment!

I don’t play DnD and I don’t have much experience with dragons in general, but I will try my best for your friend

I’m feeling the pressure right now but it will be fine-

Okay so for this I tried to go with a fantasy kind of vibe, taking inspiration from mythology, fairytales, Gaelic/Celtic culture (my Irish-Americaness is showing here today), etc. Like I said, this isn’t necessarily my strong suit, but I love a challenge

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sophonisba (Meaning: Sheltered by Ba’al)

This is my guilty pleasure name, like I’m obsessed but would probably never use it for anything. I always think of Sophonisba Breckinridge, she’s one of my personal heroes for her work with social issues and other things. I really suggest looking her up because she’s awesome! It gives such an otherworldly vibe and I love that. I can totally see it as some sort of elven princess or something

Aideen (Meaning: Little Fire)

To me, this name is just Aiden but with an extra e, but it has such an awesome meaning. Because of the fire meaning, I associate it with a dragon-type vibe that I think makes Aideen perfect for this. And if your friend wants to add some pizazz to it, I suggest adding the name Lena (meaning: bright, torch, ray of light) to it since the meaning becomes “bright little fire” and I think that’s just awesome. Ex. Lena-Aideen, Lenaaideen, LenaAideen

Caoimhe (Meaning: Gentle, beautiful, precious)

This name is pronounced like Keeva for reference, in case you needed to know (both spellings are awesome btw). I don’t really have an explanation for this one, I just like it and it fits the vibe

Valkyrie (Meaning: Chooser of the Slain)

This is definitely another guilty pleasure but let’s just ignore that. Totally badass and fit for someone who’s raising dragons!

Solveig (Meaning: Daughter of the Sun)

*deep, disappointed sounding sigh* I don’t actually have something for this one. I got it from a Teen Wolf fanfic and I don’t know if I’m ashamed of that or not. Anyways, it’s still a nice name with an awesome meaning

Hera (Meaning: Protectress)

I think this is the least wild one that I have suggested here. I think that the meaning really fits the whole dragon protector thing and Hera is definitely not a goddess that you want to piss off

Kaida (Meaning: Little dragon)

Okay but tell me that this name isn’t awesome, I dare you. It hits the sweet spot of names. Cute sounding but with an awesome meaning

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Okay so I’m not super confident on this one-

These probably weren’t my best suggestions but I stand by them and I think I kept within the theme

But my top suggestions are definitely Kaida and Aideen, as I feel they fit the most

Even if my favorites are Sophonisba and Valkyrie

[gamersguide]

Baldur’s Gate 3: A Gamer’s Pilgrimage To The Forgotten Realms

Hello fellow gamer! Today I am going to share my experience and review of one of my favorite games of 2023, Baldur’s Gate 3. If I praise the game a lot, ignore it because I only write about games I love. Now, you all gather ’round the virtual campfire, for I’m about to weave a tale of my journey through Baldur’s Gate 3, the latest chapter in this legendary RPG saga. Buckle up, ’cause we’re diving deep into dungeons, deciphering lore, and maybe even flirting with a tiefling or two.

Release Rampage:

Remember the early access days? Those were like storming Candlekeep with a rusty spoon instead of Minsc’s trusty Flametongue. Bugs swarmed, features flickered, and crashes were more frequent than bards at a tavern brawl. Larian Studios was weaving a tapestry of D&D gold, a true successor to Baldur’s Gate. Fast forward to August 2023, and the full release hit like a meteor shower raining loot. Polished, packed with content, and oozing that familiar forgotten Realms charm, Baldur’s Gate 3 was here, and it was awesome(for me atleast). It wasn’t just a game; it was a homecoming, a reunion with old friends and the promise of epic adventures yet to come.

Resuming the legacy:

Now, I’ve slain my fair share of goblins and romanced my share of mages in Baldur’s Gate 1 and 2. So, how does this new kid on the block stack up? Well, imagine walking into Candlekeep library after years away. The old tomes are still there, whispering familiar lore, but the shelves are bursting with new stories, unexpected twists, and characters that leap off the page. The Forgotten Realms are still here, vast and perilous, but Larian’s injected their own brand of magic. The story’s a labyrinth of intrigue, with betrayals sharper than Drizzt’s scimitars and secrets deeper than the Underdark. And the companions? Forget stereotypical party fodder. These are living, breathing characters with their own baggage, dreams, and moments of vulnerability that make you question who you can trust, who you can love, and who you might accidentally set on fire with a miscast fireball.

Subtle Sorcery: 

But Baldur’s Gate 3 isn’t just about epic battles and witty banter. It’s the subtle details that make your heart skip a beat. The way moonlight filters through leaves in a moonlit forest, casting dancing shadows that whisper of lurking dangers. The nervous twitch of a goblin’s ear before it lunges, betraying its bravado with a flicker of primal fear. The way a character’s eyes soften when you make a kind choice, or turn steely when you choose the path of shadows. Larian’s poured their heart and soul into these details, and it shows. Every corner of the world feels handcrafted, a living tapestry woven with secrets, beauty, and danger. It’s the kind of world that begs to be explored, every step a potential discovery, every interaction a chance to rewrite your legend.

Gameplay:

Forget rusty spoons, adventurer, in Baldur’s Gate 3, you wield an entire orchestra of tactical options. It’s not just about clicking on enemies and hoping for critical hits (though let’s be honest, those never get old). This is a ballet of dice rolls and environment manipulation, where every spell slot and shove action is a note in your own personalized battle ballad.

The Divinity Dance: Larian’s Divinity 4.0 engine is your conductor, orchestrating a symphony of possibilities. Imagine setting the stage with an oil slick, then throwing out a bard’s thunderwave to ignite the flammable floor. Boom! Goblin barbecue. Or picture teleporting an enemy archer onto a precarious ledge, then nudging them off with a well-timed shove. Splat! Environmental takedown. This engine encourages creativity, letting you turn the battlefield into your instrument, each encounter a unique composition of tactical genius makes it lit!

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Originally published at GamersGuide

[feanoryen]

Rating Silm deaths

Miriel: 9/10 - Not a fun way to die but at least the child she died giving birth to was a special snowflake and not an average joe.

Finwe: 3/10 - Pretty lame if you ask me but gets points for trying to be a good dad.

Feanor: 11/10 - Spontaneously combusting sure sounds interesting. Athough it was stupid, I admire his bravery for fighting all those balrogs alone.

Elenwe: 6/10 - Poor thing. She was so brave going to middle earth with a bunch of crazy Noldor. The fanart of her death looks awesome though.

Argon: 7.5/10 - It’s said he killed an Orc Captain in the battle he was slain which seems pretty badass.

Fingolfin: 10/10 - Actually accomplished something by dying. Gets full points for his heroic sacrifice.

Angrod & Aegnor: 5/10 - I’m sorry my sweet summer children. You deserved so much better. Your deaths were unfortunately little more than footnotes though.

Aredhel: 7/10 - Took a Javelin to the shoulder to protect her son but I don’t see why she couldn’t have pulled both herself and her son out of the way.

Fingon: 8/10 - I cried like a b*tch when he died. His death sounded so painful, being held by a whip while being slaughtered by Gothmog.

Turgon: 2/10 - He got played like a fiddle by Maeglin.

Maeglin: 1/10 - Pfft. Lame. Imagine getting defeated and thrown off a wall by human with less than half your experience.

Glorfindel: 4/10 - Sorry dude. Your death wasn’t that cool. A million dudes guys died fighting balrogs and you weren’t the first to do it either.

Ecthelion: 15/10 - What a way to go out my guy. Imagine killing the dude who killed badasses like Fingon & Feanor. Wouldn’t have expected it from a happy little musician.

Finrod: 11/10 - Lmho. He went feral. Fighting a werewolf while naked and weaponless is sure something.

Celegorm: 1/10 - Turko, I love you but what a lame way to go out. A little baby half elf who might have been biologically full human completely owned you.

Caranthir & Curufin: ?/10 - We literally get no info on their deaths except that they died in a kinslaying.

Amrod & Amras: ?/10 - Same as Caranthir and Curufin.

Maedhros: 9/10 - I’m definitely not pro-suicide but his death just feels so right. Refusing to let go of the Silmaril despite the pain it’s causing him. A very fiery end for the hottest Feanorian.

Celebrimbor: 8.5/10 - It was brutal but it was far from boring.

Gil-Galad: 8/10 - I’d say it was pretty hot.

[evermore-fashion]

What’s dresses would you choose for Persephone, Freya, Diana, Artemis, Athena, Medusa, Frigga to wear?

Who was your favorite Goddess , God and what would you dress them in? (Maybe one I put might be your favorite Goddess if so you can put them in same dress or different)

Love your blog.

Also if the bands you put on the boots/dresses ask are ones you listen to then heck yes! you have awesome taste in music!!! Stay safe :)⭐️🌙🌹

Okay I've been thinking about this ask for a few days as I honestly had no idea on where to begin as the fashion world is so vast and I had to remind myself on who was the goddess of what etc. So to make this as simple as possible I'll list the goddesses and who they are alongside a link to which gowns I could see them in. Here we go... Persephone is the goddess-queen of the Underworld and wife of the god Hades in Greek mythology. She was also the goddess of spring growth, who was worshipped alongside her mother Demeter. Outfit: Paolo Sebastian Spring 2021 Couture Collection

Freya is the goddess love, beauty, fertility, gold, war, sorcery and death in Norse mythology. She is also the leader of the Valkyrie, the “Choosers of the Slain” warrior maidens who ride over battlefields on winged horses, taking the souls of warriors killed in battle to feast in Valhalla. Outfit: Valentin Yudashkin Spring 2014 Collection Diana is the goddess of hunting, and in later times, the moon and chastity in Roman mythology. She is also considered a virgin goddess and protector of childbirth. Her counterpart is Artemis from Greek mythology. Outfit: Christian Dior Spring 2020 Couture Collection Athena is the goddess of battle strategy, and wisdom in Greek mythology. She was always accompanied by her owl and also known as Pallas Athena. She wore a breastplate made out of goatskin called the Aegis, which was given to her by her father, Zeus. Outfit: Jean Paul Gaultier Fall 2009 Couture Collection Frigga was the Queen of Asgard, the highest of the goddesses and married to Odin in Norse mythology. She was worshipped as a sky goddess and is believed to be responsible for weaving the clouds. Additionally, the Norse believed that she had the power of prophecy and was in charge of weaving the fates. Outfit: Elie Saab Fall 2017 Couture Collection Medusa was a monster and a Gorgon in Greek mythology. She was generally described as a winged human female with living venomous snakes in place of hair. Those who gazed upon her face would instantly turn to stone. Outfit: Zuhair Murad Spring 2018 Couture Collection The reason I chose these outfits is because I didn't want to be too literal but I also didn't want to sway too far away from who they are as goddesses. I'm sure I could've picked even more unique outfits but with couture fashion being so vast there's probably 100+ more that would suit each of these amazing goddesses. Overall though I'm pretty pleased with my outfit picks which I believe are all equally unique.Now as for who my favourite goddess is I'd have to go with the following badass woman: Amphitrite was goddess-queen of the sea and wife to Poseidon in Greek mythology. She was also considered the personification of the sea as a whole, and the mother of seals and dolphins and closely resembled what we know today as mermaids. Outfit: Ziad Nakad Spring 2020 Couture Collection If anyone else has any couture gowns/outfits they believe the goddesses featured in this post (or perhaps other that weren't mentioned) would look amazing in feel free to comment in this post or drop me a message with either a link or photo explaining why etc. I'd love to hear your thoughts and opinions on this topic. Lastly thank you to whoever asked me this question, it was honestly so refreshing to see this message and it actually made my day. I've had a lot of interesting and sometimes negatives comments & messages being left on my blog recently that hasn't exactly made me enthusiastic to post anything whilst the fashion world has one again fallen quieter than usual. Blessed Be. ✨

[sarahreesbrennan]

You wrote on twitter that you were too young to be published and did fool things you later regretted. I'm curious about those regrets - is there anything you'd be willing to elaborate on?

I do want to clarify I meant I personally was probably too young, and I wasn't a babe in arms when I was published--I was 24, which is an adult! S.E. Hinton was 18 when her first book was published and she arguably invented young adult fiction. Jennifer Lynn Barnes was a teenager when her first book was published and she's always been a genius rock star. Some people are married and having kids and doing great at their jobs at 24, but some people are in college, or learning the ropes of their jobs and full-time work life in general and messing up because it still feels unfamiliar. Most of us, me included, will be making messes until we die, though we can hope for better messes.

My regrets aren't super secret--I would've conducted myself differently online and offline. One thing I've said before: I wouldn't link up my real name and my fanfic identity the way I did back when. That means having your juvenilia out there and judged, and yourself judged in a very particular way! It is hard to sit in the doctor's office and ask him for written proof you have cancer, because the internet will accuse you of faking it. (Yes that did happen. That poor man's face was like, 'Girl, why do you not live your life right.') As I've said, I have an assistant-with-antis who filters my social media and email so I don't have to come upon hostile stuff, and I do wonder if there are ways to inspire less hostility.

But to be clear regarding that example, I think fandom is awesome in many ways, and it's valuable to say you wrote fanfiction, just don't get too specific. One of my most cherished facts about a (fancy, brilliant, very bestselling) writer friend is that she wrote Sonic the Hedgehog fanfiction once. Many of my writer friends used to or still do write it! (Fanfic in general... I'm not outing a bunch of writers as avid Sonic fans...) And being open about my identity did mean I had some beautiful supportive readers from the jump, who were sweet to me and made friends with each other (Marmalade fish shoutout). I love that people connect over fiction, and that they connected over mine. My advice to others is to do it like Oscar winner Chloe Zhao, and be like 'yes I write it, yes the call is coming from inside the building, yes creative engaged people engage creatively in many ways, no you'll never know my online name!' And that's mostly how it's done these days--there are masses of fanfiction writers in TV, in movies, working as editors and agents in publishing, and who are writers, because people who are passionate about creativity are passionate about creativity in many ways. A decade ago and nobody was sure how it was going to go: I do think it went well generally, if uneasily for test balloons like me.

Overall, as regards regrets, if you're alive, you're making mistakes, and if you're growing, you're learning from them. Often the more you care, the more mistakes you make. There are some things only life experience can teach you, and I've seen people who came into writing with experience from being, for instance, lawyers which they were able to use in many ways, and there were times I wished I'd acquired experience or lost naivety in a job that wasn't my dream job. Sometimes I really didn't know what was going on, and later I was like 'Ohhh! Oh Lord.' I would say a few things I wish I'd known: How to draw boundaries like circles of salt that others couldn't cross. The personal and the professional are going to blur, but it's still important to try and differentiate them. How to pick your battles: recognise the unwinnable, find the most likely strategy for victory with the winnable ones. Know that people won't like you just because you're making life more convenient for them, so don't do it for that reason. OMG abide by contracts and make sure the contracts cover every eventuality. Learn the art of standing your ground calmly. (One day, I'll get it.)

But getting published at any age is complicated: I have one friend who was sure she was going to die after she got her publishing contract because it was her dream accomplished, and what was left? I have more life experience in my 30s, but I also had most of those years totally slain by cancer: my writing went off a cliff long before I was diagnosed, and then I couldn't write, and since then I've been scrambling. If I'd been published first at 30 I might have handled myself in style, but there definitely wouldn't have been two trilogies before the long pause. One very lovely, very talented lady who was first published in the same year I was died shortly after. You don't know what's coming: Margaret Mitchell was hit by a speeding drunk driver and we'll never know if rumours she planned to write a sequel to Gone with the Wind are true. The people whose first books were out in 2020 had a tough time, and I would've freaked out if I'd been in their position and am glad I didn't have a non-tie-in novel out--it was very strange to have two tie-ins out that year as it was! People were reading books in 2020, but it was harder for new books to get on their radar.

I didn't write the tweet to alarm anyone, or say there was a magical time it was best to be published at. Lots of amazing writers aren't published, are published feeling they're too young, are published feeling they're too old. I think my tweet was really to say, there's no precise right time, and no way to execute your dreams exactly right. I do look back on stuff and think, oh lord, me at 30 might have handled THAT better. I hope that I'll look back at me now from 50 and go, I'd crush the stuff that crushed her!

Are there things I would change, sure. But I probably would make different mistakes if it had all happened differently for me. Humans constantly torment ourselves imagining the magic way we could've got everything right, a task exactly nobody has accomplished. I've never lived a perfect life or written a perfect book, and I don't know anyone else who has. I'm really glad I was published, and really proud of all my books. If you've never done something you've regretted, how much have you done? Keep going.