#last one's team to survive the dungeon gets it

[groovypandapainterzonk]

Also, if your lover is of a long lived species, boom, you get to be together longer! The bloom of youth and short lived fancy has ended? Pssh, nah, baby, it's til death do we part. And the Reaper ain't showing up for another thousand years.

How do you. How do you NOT expect a wizard to want to become immortal??? Like hi person with an unquenchable thirst for knowledge and wonder for the world and burning desire to know how everything works and recreate it. You only get max 100 years to experience it all. Sorry.

So OF COURSE wizards pursue immortality. It’s in their nature. It’s what makes them wizards. Sure, you can talk about the loneliness of living forever and the boredom of not having an end but guess what else doesn’t have an end. Science. I’ll be very content travelling the world, helping people, and publishing my 39th paper on the solvent properties of moonflowers in potions while you’ve been lying in a grave for 200 years, thanks.

The problem is societal stigma against research into necromancy, which pushes young wizards away from studying ethical and safe methods of immortality and forces them to rely on untested, volatile myths about lichdom, inevitably creating yet another “evil necromancy wizard”. You think they would turn to such means if they had proper support? Proper resources?? You branded them as heretical and insane first! Why are you surprised that desperate, isolated, and stigmatized individuals become what you make them?

Wizards believe that life has more to offer than unfulfilled dreams and a sudden end. And the wizard is RIGHT.

[risingsunresistance]

we started "running" m1 and by running i mean we make it to bonzo and then die bc it's giving more class and cata exp than we get for winning against livid. but we've tried to kill bonzo anyways bc What If We Get Lucky. we can survive for a while but eventually something kills us both at the same time

but the long survival has led to some great stats

such as 1.85b damage JKHFDG

[thewritetofreespeech]

Could I request Jinwoo's partner giving a heartwarming public speech about how much she loves him?

-------------------------🔹----------------------------------

Of all the features dungeons had to offer, Jinwoo liked caves the least.

They were always dark, damp, and had a tendency to be much more conspicuous than one originally thought them to be.

Luckily this was a small cave. The back of it visible after a few paces in, so no opportunity for an ambush. Jinwoo, his partner, and the party they had stumbled on in the dungeon were all huddled in there. The party resting and healing their various injuries from the fight they had just endured.

Considering their rank, Jinwoo was surprised that any of them had survived at all. If he hadn’t intervened, they wouldn’t have, but even still their ability to hold out for that long was impressive with Jinwoo. Maybe that’s why he helped them. Flickers of a long-forgotten tenacity he once had. Or maybe it was just luck. “This is your fault!”

Jinwoo calmly turned to the source of the shouting. A deranged looking Ranger looking at him with fear and murderous intent. “You could have stopped those bastards with one blow if you wanted! You could have helped us! Instead, you let Mari and Ken-woo die because you didn’t want to lift a finger!” Jinwoo just let him rant on. There was no point in arguing. He did have a point.

Jinwoo could have destroyed the dungeon monsters with ease, but what good would that do. He did help, in the end, but judging by the turning expressions of the party, many seemed to agree it wasn’t soon enough. “That’s enough out of you.”

Jinwoo turned his head again to the other side towards [Y/N], who was glaring daggers sharper than her blades at the Ranger. “It’s not Jinwoo’s fault that you and Ken-wood decided to bully your party into taking on a gate well above your ranking. I’m all for accepting a challenge, but a B-rank in your team’s current condition? You’re lucky to be alive at all.”

“But he could have saved them! If he wasn’t so selfish and arrogant we could of—“I said that’s enough!” [Y/N]’s voice cut like a knife now. Enough to reset the fear in the fledgling party; even Jinwoo a little. “Either take responsibility for your mistakes and be happy your alive, or I’ll throw you back out there in the wilds myself! You can be sad about your friends, and terrified about the situation, but you are not going to speak that way about the man I love!”

The argument seemed settled, and the group went back to nursing their wounds & spirits in silence as [Y/N] stalked off. Jinwoo waited for a moment before he followed after her. Knowing that he would find her near the cave mouth, and there she was. “Are you ok?”

“I’m fine.” [Y/N] hissed. Not frustrated with him, for once, but clearly still keyed up. “Ungrateful sots. I just want to get out of here and go home. This dungeon is a waste of time.”

Jinwoo smiled a little at her complaining and reached out to link his fingers with hers. “Go home with the man you love?”

[Y/N] seemed confused for a second before she suddenly seemed to remember what she’d said in the heat of the moment and her face heated up as well. “That…that’s not….!” Jinwoo kissed her fingers.

He couldn’t remember the last time someone stuck up for him. His sister maybe? Jinwoo wasn’t even sure of that. All he knew was that when she said that she loved him, and got so angry on his behalf against that Ranger, Jinwoo felt his heart swell like he’d never felt before. “Once their patched up I’ll clear the way with you and we can be out of here by dinner.”

[Y/N] nodded slowly, then squeezed his hand. Jinwoo let her go and started making mental preparations for the fight ahead. He wanted to get out of here and go home with the woman he loved as well.

[boss-poss]

See, Lethal Company's real genius is that it somehow marries two normally opposed genres, those being horror and comedy together into something greater. Mechanically it's a multiplayer looter extraction survival type game. It's designed to create stressful and scary situations by forcing you to speedrun mini randomized dungeons while monsters hunt your character to meet a certain quota (our asses are not making quota). That's not the clever part though, no, that's giving the players the ability to fuck themselves over and the hilarity that comes from it.

Anything you say into your mic is said in the game world and can be heard by certain monsters. Many items, similarly, can be used to make noise and you can bet there is little impulse control when a player finds an air horn or gets a walkie talkie. The sound of a distant honk somewhere out of nowhere is not something most players are prepared for while in a pitch black maze. Sound in this game has a doppler effect, which makes it harder to hear the further away the source is, allowing screams to fade into nothing and unintelligible yelling heard for a second before vanishing. You must rely on your senses but those are, by design, limited and regularly tricked.

Because level layouts, monster locations, and item spawns are all random, it's insanely easy to get lost or lose track of thigs, especially in the dark and especially when panicking. Seeing a bracken for the first time will almost certainly send a player running in the opposite direction and get lost, if they even see it all. No one is prepared to have a hand wrap around their face and snap their neck in an instant. It's utterly shocking and will leave you gasping in surprise to first time you experience it.

Certain weather patterns make levels harder, some even nearly impossible (looking at you eclipse), and sometimes your options are avoiding deadly lightning or not being able to see due to fog. High level moons have excessively valuable loot but also feature the worst foes and cost a fee to access, forcing a compromise between greed, ability, and resources.

Dying, likewise incurs a penalties. Your team is fined for dying and not bringing the bodies back but if you all die, all your collected loot goes poof. Gone. A team wipe can and will effectively end the run in an instant if you do something stupid like stick around when you hear "pop goes the weasel" or try to pick up that funny looking roomba. You can almost feel the pressure weighing down on your shoulders when you realize you're the last one left and you need to get back to the ship or miss the quota.

The monsters likewise, are engines of terror that are comically effective killing machines with no cohesive theme to help anticipate them. The already mentioned bracken is one of the scariest things I've seen in a game, and those technically aren't even that bad. They're completely manageable if you keep your head on a swivel and pay attention to your surroundings. Coilheads are these mannequins with bobble heads that will path to and kill you in a microsecond the moment you aren't looking at them, weeping angel style. There's a thing called the ghost girl that I have yet to see but is apparently one of the most terrifying critters in the menagerie. Forest giants. If you know, you know.

All these little mechanics, these choices that are made by and for the player, create a maelstrom of unpredictable chaos that, like a buxom blond transforming into an orgasming pooltoy, turns what would be strictly serious horror into a unique form of dark comedy that layers over it like jelly on peanut butter. You are scared, you are on edge, and it only gets worse when you know what these things are capable of, but the sheer hopelessness is something you all have in common. It's funny how little hope you have. You will die. A monster will wipe your team. There will eventually come a quota you can't beat. You were doomed from the start.

So why not get silly with it? Why not try to fight that bracken with shovel? Fuck him. Why not just run past a turret and try to nab that fat jar of pickles? Why not wander off from the group? You're just as likely to come back with arms loaded and the quota met as you are likely to not come back at all. You're already dead, so take the gamble, do stupid shit, repeat this hell until you can meet its horrors with grim determination and put in the effort to afford that goddamn boombox. Dance. Just press 1 and dance the fear away.

You are all united in your mortality and duty, fragile sacks of flesh working to break even at the behest of perhaps the greatest horror of all: The company you work for. You are so preposterously fucked beyond all belief from every angle there really isn't enough adjectives to describe it. And that's comedy baby, when things are so bad all you can do is laugh.

[straykidsnerd255]

Hii, how are you?? I would like to make a request to Sung Jin-woo, the reader is jealous of Jin-woo with Cha Hae in, a little angst with a cute ending, if you want to put something where the reader gets hurt slightly, that's it, thank you and have a good day!! (the reader and Jin-woo are already dating)

Title: I will never leave you

Pairing: Sung Jin Woo (w/system) x Female Reader

Genre: Angst/Fluff

Rating: PG

Song: Hearing by Sleeping At Last, Sung Jin Woo vs Ant King Beru OST, and Trustfall by pink

Warning(s): Jealousy, Cha Hae-In is a bit rude in this one-shot (I absolutely adore Cha Hae-In but please bare with me as she acts totally out of character), Jin Woo is worried for his girlfriend, Reader being sent with the Jeju Island raid team and getting extremely injured, mentions of the fight between Jin Woo and Beru, the reader is in Cha Hae-In’s place when Beru attacks, if you haven’t read the Manhwa, there are spoilers pertaining to the last episode of season 2

Summary: You and Jin Woo have been dating since he had miraculously survived the double dungeon incident and when he started his second awakening journey. However, the stronger he got, the more distant he started to become. He would always leave you a little note every morning before he left, but your bed felt empty when he wasn’t there for you to wake up too. Now, your heart begins to break when the world starts to put him and Cha Hae-In together. Calling them the perfect couple. You knew Jin Woo was loyal to a fault, but you couldn’t help the doubts that started to crawl into your mind. So, when you are asked to join the raid team for Jeju Island, you jump on the chance but face a dire consequence when the ant king nearly sends you to the afterlife.

Word Count: 2927

I hope that you enjoy this one-shot, I may or may not have gotten carried away while writing this one. I do hope you enjoy and thank you so much for requesting! <3

Morning rays of light beamed through your slightly open curtains. Opening your eyes, you were once again met with an empty bed. Jin Woo’s side neatly made and little note laying on the comforter. You reached over and gently plucked the paper from the bed. Your eyes skimmed over the words and a sigh left your lips. Slipping out of the bed, you slowly changed out of your pajamas and into a simple white T-shirt, and black combat pants. You walked to the bathroom, splashed water in your face and patted your face dry before moving to make-up. Heading downstairs to get something to eat was a chore for you now. When Jin Woo had been staying with you, he would always walk up after you. Every morning you would wake up bright and early to make you both breakfast, something you had enjoyed. 

As you pulled a bowl from your cupboard, you decided you wanted to watch a little bit of tv before heading to your guild. You were a part of the White Tiger guild and was one of the only S-ranks other than Baek-Yoonho there. As you flipped through the channels, the news popped up. Growing curious, you let it stay there as they began talking about a new possible raid on Jeju island. Your heart sank. You remember the last raid you went on there and it was a nightmare. You lost so many friends to that raid. As you listened, you almost dropped the knife you were using to put up an apple and such when you heard your boyfriend's name and Cha Hae-In’s name in the same sentence.

“I know Jim, but don’t you think that Hunter Sung and Hunter Cha made a wonderful couple?” 

“Hunter Sung has a girlfriend, Lindy. I don’t think it's wise to say such things but I will agree with you. I feel those two would make a wonderful couple.”

“Come to think of it, Hunter Sung and Hunter Cha have amazing chemistry when they fight together. Wouldn’t you say?” 

You stood in your kitchen, heart nearly pounding out of your chest as you listened to the news anchors talking about your boyfriend and another female being a good match for each other. Tears glistened in your eyes but you refused to let them fall, but it hurt. Hurt that people had overlooked you as his girlfriend and denied that they even thought you and Jin Woo looked good together. You placed the knife down on the table and walked to the quest room. Sitting on the bed, your mind began to wander. ‘Is Jin Woo tired of me?’ ‘Am I not good enough for him?’ You tried shaking your head to rid the thoughts but nothing would work.  The thoughts boiled in your mind, your heart nearly pounding out of your chest. 

As your mind wandered further and further, tears gradually spinned down your face. Your chest heaving as you tried to calm yourself down. Jin Woo was loyal. He wouldn’t do what people were saying. He wouldn’t cheat on you. Furiously wiping at the tears, you heard your phone ringing from where you had left it in the kitchen. Taking a deep, controlled breath, you rushed to answer the phone. Hearing the words from the person's voice on the other end made your blood run cold. “Of course President Go, I would be delighted to join the final raid.” You said, your heart clenching. 

Ending the call, you took a deep breath. Grabbing your things, you tossed the now spoiled food in the trash, turned the tv off and went over to Jin Woo’s apartment. Jin Woo wasn’t there but you didn’t really care at the moment. You told Jinah and their mother that you had been asked to join the final raid squad and that she would do her best to make it back alive. Both Jinah and Jinah’s mother looked at each other before looking at you. They immediately pulled you into a hug and begged you to make it back safely. You closed your eyes as you tightened the hug before pulling back. You simply nodded before leaving. You passed by Jin Woo not even stopping to say hello or even talk to him which unnerved him a little. Entering his house, he saw his mother and sister crying. 

You entered the massive building that the S-Ranks were given in order to train. You walked over to where the other S-Ranks had placed their things and immediately threw yourself into training with the Japanese S-Rank hunters. Breathing heavily as you and the other S-Rank took a break to catch your breaths and take a sip of water, you noticed Hunter Cha smiling a bit smug like towards you. Ignoring her looks, you and the other S-Rank continue your brawl before it ends in their defeat. You grab a towel Baek handed to you and pat the sweat from your body. It isn’t long before you and the rest of the raid squads are flown to Jeju Island. You took a deep breath as the island came into view. Choi noticed the fear in your body language. He held his hand out to you, a small smile of understanding on his face. 

You were grateful to him. Taking his hand seemed to calm the raging nerves that spiraled away in your heart. After a few minutes, Choi slipped his hand from yours and held them in front of him, his fire raging from his palms killing the flying ants that rushed towards the helicopter. Much like Baek’s ability, you could change into a magic beast. Your beast was a black wolf, one creature that happened to be your favorite. You were also a tank, making it easier for you to plow right through the hordes of ants, tearing them apart. You pushed through as the rest of your team followed behind. Entering the Queens chambers, Hunter Cha points out an egg that looks rather large compared to the others. Narrowing your eyes, you advise the others to be careful. A low rumble could be heard just as the Queen appeared, her roar filling the cave. 

Everything was going well, Cha and the others had weakened the Queen just enough for you to take the last swing and kill her off. People who had been watching, including your boyfriend and his family watched in amazement as the queen ant dropped to the ground. Jin Woo, however, felt something was off. He had felt unnerved when the shadow he had placed in Goto’s shadow returned to his army, a look of fear in its eyes. His heart sank when that very ant appeared behind you, after eating a bit of the queen to gain its memories. You were not even in your beast transformation when the ant’s arm slammed into your body, breaking your ribs and arm and sending you flying into a pillar. Jin Woo’s heart sank when the feed was cut. 

Cha Hae-In, although injured and bleeding profusely, stood by you. Protecting you from the ants that swarmed and rushed towards your downed body. She could see the damage that the ant king had done to you and it made her sick to think that you could possibly die here. She didn’t really like you that much, but you were a strong fighter and the fact the ant king took you out first meant death for the others. Byung Gyu did his best to try and get to you to heal you but the ant king was hell bent on keeping him away from you. Cha watched in disbelief as everyone fell to the ant king. Byung Gyu is killed in an instant, and the ant king bites his head off to gain the ability to speak and heal himself. Baek rushes forward as anger swirls around him, but the black ant just grabs him by the throat and askes; demands, where the King of the humans is before rushing out of the chamber. Hunter Ma carefully picked you up as they tried making their way out of the chambers. 

Everything felt hopeless as the ants rushed towards them, even with Choi burning them to bits. As they all feared they would end up dead, the shadows that hid within their shadows emerged, blocking the ants from advancing. Confused, the hunters tried to figure out what was going on. Before their eyes, Jin Woo appeared, his eyes narrowed into a glare as he unleashed his shadow army to fight. Tusk grew massive and created a shield that blocked the flying ants, along with electrocuting them.

Hunter Ma gently placed you on the ground as Jin Woo rushed over to them as his shadow fought. He took one look at you and felt his heart nearly stop right then and there. He knew he shouldn’t have spent time with Hunter Cha but she just wouldn’t leave him alone. Speaking of her, Cha Hae-In moved closer to his side. “She’s pretty much dead, you should leave her.” She said, hoping only Jin Woo would hear her but the rest of the group heard and stared her down, anger in their eyes. “What the hell Hunter Cha! How could you say that?!” Choi hissed, his eyes burning with anger. Jin Woo simply glared at her, causing her to back away from him. “You seemed like a nice person Miss Cha. But now I see that you are nothing but a two faced bitch.” Jin Woo snarled as he began healing the hunters around him. He moved to you and slipped his arms under your head causing you to wince and cry out. 

His heart clenched as he pulled you against his body, pouring the healing potion into your mouth. His heart sank when the notice popped up, saying your health was too low. Jin Woo was desperate now. Gently laying you down, he stood up and turned to the rest of the hunters. “I’m going to get a bit more aggressive at clearing a path.” Jin Woo said as he motioned to his shadows to move a bit faster. Igris looked behind Jin Woo to see you laying on the ground, near death. He let out a scream as he charged the horde of ants. Jin Woo was stunned but he knew how close Igris and you had gotten, as Igris took a liking to you as he considered you the queen.

Things turned for the worst when the black ant appeared in the chambers again. Jin Woo, not hesitating, walked towards the creature. Everything was still before the fight broke out. First, it was just them testing each other out before the real battle began. Baek Yoonho was struggling even with his beast eyes to keep up with the fight. What felt like hours to him, Jin Woo was finally standing before the ant, his eyes burning with anger as the ant turned and scuttled away, fear evident in its fleeing. Jin Woo made quick work as he mutilated the ant. As the battle ended, the system notified him of the two levels he had claimed from ending the life of the ant king. His thoughts were interrupted when Hunter Ma’s worried call of his name rang out. 

You were lying on a white cloth that someone had brought, your face growing paler as the minutes ticked by. Your breathing becomes shallower, and your lips turning purple. Jin Woo frantically took the Elixir of Life from his inventory and tried giving it to you. When that failed, his heart was screaming. His mind burns through thoughts of what he could do to save your life. His head suddenly snapped up and he turned towards the shadows that stood behind him. “Find a healer's body now!” He ordered, watching as the shadows rushed around. Before long, an orc returns with Min Byung Gyu’s body cradled in its arms. Laying the body on the ground, Jin Woo holds his hand over the headless body. “Arise.” He said. Everyone watched in both shock and horror as the shadow version of Min Byung Gyu appeared before them. 

Baek gripped Jin Woo’s shoulder but watched as Jin Woo didn’t even command the shadow. Byung Gyu walked towards your slowly dying body before opening the book in his hand and holding his head out towards you. Green light surrounded your body as the wounds that the black ant had inflicted on you began to mend and disappear from your body. Your scrunched up face began to relax and the color returned to your face. Byung Gyu lowered his hand and walked back towards Jin Woo, ready to bow to him but Jin Woo placed a hand on his shoulder, muttering, “Release.” Baek was stunned when Byung Gyu’s shadow turned to him and smiled softly before disappearing. 

Hunter Ma was given the task to carry you out of the chambers as you would be weak for the time being as you had been near death. Nodding his head, the giant carefully picks you up, your still weak body leaning against him. Jin Woo watches before Baek Yoonho turns to him after they exited the chambers. “Are you coming with us?” He asked. Jin Woo shook his head, even though he desperately wanted to make sure you would be ok. “I have some unfinished business here.” He said, calling for Kaisel. The massive wyvern appeared before Baek and the others, making them gasp as Jin Woo launched into the air, taking care of the few ants that surrounded the escape route of the helicopter. When everyone was out of sight, Jin Woo left Kaisel to continue to fight while he returned to the carcass of the black ant. Lifting his hand, he stared down at the ant. “Arise.” He said. Everything went black before disappearing. The ant he had killed stood before him as a shadow. Giving the ant the name Beru, Jin Woo asked him to finish up the last of the ants left. 

{Days Later}

Opening your eyes, you groaned when the blinding light of the hospital blinded you. Chuckling, the doctor turned to you, a smile on her face. “I’m glad to see you finally awake Hunter l/n. You were really lucky to have a healer find you just in time to heal those wounds you had received on that island.” The doctor said, writing a few things down before bowing and leaving you alone for a moment. A knock was heard and Jin Woo stepped in. You watched as he grabbed a chair and sat by your bed, his eyes trying to meet yours but your stare was harsh. “Jin Woo?” You asked, watching as he finally looked at you. He nodded his head and opened his mouth to say something but choked on his tears that just suddenly began to fall down his face. You moved to gently wipe the tears from his eyes. 

Jin Woo leaned into your hand before placing his hand over yours and pressing closer. Not knowing what came over you, you look Jin Woo directly in the eyes. “Do you like Hunter Cha?” You asked, watching and searching Jin Woo’s eyes but you saw nothing. Leaning forward, Jin Woo gently pressed his lips against yours. A fire bloomed into your chest as he kissed you gently before taking his free hand and tangling it in your hair. You hummed into the kiss before he pulled away and pressed his forehead against yours. His gray eyes staring you down before kissing his lips to your nose, smiling when you giggled. Gently grabbing his wrist, you pull him til he has one knee on the hospital bed. 

“Lay with me for a moment?” You whispered, watching as he immediately melted and laid by your side. His arm drifted over your waist, gently pulling your body against his. Your hands landed on his chest before they moved up and cupped his face. His eyes looked down at you with so much love that your previous thoughts disappeared as fast as they had formed. Your thumb brushes over his cheekbone, a content sigh leaving his lips as he leans forward, his forehead gently pressing against yours. “Promise me you will never go on a raid like that again?” He whispered, waiting for your answer. You could hear the fear in his voice when he spoke and it broke your heart. You snuggled into his chest, your eyes closed and your ear pressed against his heart. “I promise.” You whispered, smiling when Jin Woo’s hold on you tightened ever so slightly. “Promise me you won’t leave me?” You whispered, your body slowly growing tired. Jin Woo, at that moment, knew you had seen the rumors of him and Hunter Cha. A soft ‘tch’ spilled from his mouth and he vowed to go and talk with those stupid damn reporters.

Pulling you even closer to his chest without hurting you, his hand reached towards your face, gently brushing hair out of your face. “I will never leave you. Not now, not ever.” He whispered, watching as your lips gently filled out a bright smile before sleep took hold. Your gentle breathing made Jin Woo’s heart race before he too fell asleep, you tucked in his arms, his safe haven, and the love of his life. The women he planned on marrying when the time was right, and no gates or dungeons could destroy his already growing peaceful life. ‘One day.’ He thought, ‘One day everything will be perfect.’

[felassan]

Some snippets from DA dev Luke Barrett on the unofficial BioWare forum, cut for length:

DA:I -

User: "I am still convinced that Bioware cut the healing spells and went with barriers instead because of the Multiplayer." Luke Barrett: I can't speak to any other games directly but I can give a bit of historic context for DAI. The game was initially a more dungeon/linear delving - see how far you can get - experience and there was no barrier of any kind. As a side note: healing has always been a hot topic in design because as soon as you include it there are many other conceits you now need take into consideration for the gameplay - one of which I will call 'the Anders problem'. Anyway, as DAI got the date moved and shifted more into the pseudo-openworld the concept of attrition (see how far you can get before having to return to camp) became less relevant and we needed to help the Players have more moment-to-moment agency around their survival. Unfortunately for various reasons (one of which is the sad reality of designing a game with a shifting timeline) the healing couldn't be re-added so we ended up with more of a mitigation strategy in the barrier system. It went through a lot of iterations but eventually landed on what it shipped with which I would call... acceptable (but just barely). Now, I will concede that a part of the reason it didn't return after that shift was an aversion to holy trinity gameplay specifically for MP but it wasn't the core reason. As a side story, trying to balance the game (as that was my job on DAI - and yes, it could be much better haha) we had to all but force Players to take barrier. It is intentionally the first skill in the first tree for the Mage and all the autolevel (I also handled that) is designed to get it right away." [source]

User: "Merry Christmas Luke! Sooo what was the hardest class you had to balance? [DA:I]" Luke Barrett: "I feel like anyone who was around for the post-launch content will already know the answer to this as it was the bane of my existence when I got put exclusively on MP after launch but the Knight-Enchanter barrier absorbing was a pain. Stuff like that is very challenging to feel good without being broken as they are relative to damage so scaling is fairly open-ended. Too little and the casual players won't get use out of it, too much and the character builders will be wildly OP. We actually had a 'no nerfing' guideline for the SP side so it was a hard battle to fix that silly thing 🙃." [source]

"As a fun fact, I did all the logic for autolevel on DAI and the guideline I was given was literally "make functional builds, but don't make something optimal that you'd play"." [source]

DA:TV -

User: "If you can, say thanks to the people making the no die option possible." Luke Barrett: "Done! My team handles this stuff so I let them know 😊" [source]

"Comically, I designed the majority of the items and skills and I am still finding it fun making awesome builds (been almost entirely doing playthroughs lately" [source]

"Was really important to the team that everyone could play the way that felt best to them." [source]

"Each specialization has a focus around a few specific mechanics, some of which are the weapons or damage types but you can go off script and make it work for sure (this was intentional in the designs)." [source]

"I designed all the skills and so they're each enjoyable to me to some extent. I have been playing through the game over and over the last couple months for balance purposes so I've played them all fairly extensively." [source]

User: "Necrotic sounds like it could be either Spirit or Nature." User: "For Rogue, it replace "poison". For Mage, it replace spirit (Spirit bomb). For Warrior, it's more spirit (especially Reaper), but some skills could work as poison too. So basically they merged spirit and nature." Luke Barrett: "Thats pretty close to spot on. They were actually heavily iterated on throughout development - I can't (at least currently) go into specifics as to why though." [source]

"the target for the progression vision is that you can make a viable build out of almost** any aspect of the gameplay." [source]

"As for timelines, We started DA4 in October of 2015 roughly. The entire team was moved to MEA for about 3-4 months to help it ship and I also spent all of 3 weeks helping out on Anthem. But otherwise I've been on some incarnation of DA4 for about 9 years now - pretty ready for it to release 😅." [source]

"yes, years of working on the same thing can cause some burnout but I've played through the full game probably about 8 times in the last few months and it's still fun (though some of the specific levels that haven't changed in a long time I've done 50+ times easily and I could do without ever seeing them again 😂)." [source]

User: "I do kind of feel that at this point the DA team has put so much work into creating and improving their tools and learning the ins and outs of Frostbite [...] But who knows what the devs in the trenches really feel" Luke Barrett: "I will say it does some things very well and some things poorly, relative to other engines. Personally I really enjoy Frostbite but I've been using it since 2012. In an ideal world, many engines would be viable and developers would make games suited to the strengths of a specific engine." [source]

User: "Since this game is much more stat heavy than prior titles, specifically when it comes to skills and gear, there's likely a need for some balance changes to be made post-launch. Does the game being playable completely offline hinder the data capture side for your team (in terms of analytics), or is this a non-factor?" Luke Barrett: "Generally speaking, most people leave data analytics on so we get more than enough data coming in. Additionally, I'll personally be watching several channels for things that are underperforming (relatively speaking) and not have to nerf anything. The rpg side is vast though and I'm sure people will find OP combinations/synergies that might need 'adjustments' but as long as it's fun and not an "I win" button that trivializes combat I'm pretty cool with it." [source]

Luke Barrett: "I can safely say there are many builds for each class that will feel very powerful if you're not on the highest difficulty 😉. What I'm really excited for is when the guides comes out that show people the fastest way to get some of the uniques that unlock 'special' gameplay 😊. Let's just say I love the feeling of rushing to Patches in DS1 and kicking him off the bridge for the Crescent Axe (iykyk)." [source] User: "Speaking of guides. Will there be a guidebook like there was for DAI? " Luke Barrett: "Not that I'm aware of but I'm happy to help feed info to somewhere like fextralife or the dragon age wiki after a week or so to help with those pursuits. Have to leave some time for exploration and discovery before the optimizers streamline the experience 😉" [source]

"Effectively, at least until the game launches (and likely a week or so after), you won't get anything interesting out of any of the devs save Mike Gamble or John Epler. Longer term I hope to be very active, at least for build mechanics and all the combat/rpg nuts and bolts conversations." [source]

"I started "da4" in October 2015 and so after 9 years of effort (minus 3 months on Andromeda) I'm quite excited for tomorrow and the launch week. I don't know if I'd say nervous, I feel pretty confident in the product, but definitely that eager kid before Christmas feeling 😊" [source]

"As the person who did all the balance, I will say that if you are comprehending how to make a cohesive build and understand the combat mechanics, you should play on Underdog. One of the downsides to having a lot of power growth vectors is the difference between people who engage vs those that don't becomes a chasm quite quickly. If you start blowing enemies up rapidly, turn up the difficulty (or play on nightmare where that will not be the case) - basically if it ever feels super easy or like enemies are health sponges you're probably on the wrong setting for your skill level. The custom difficulty settings are there to make the gameplay enjoyable (for whatever that means to you)." [source]

"As a tip from me, the balance is subtly tipped in the players favor until the last fight of the 3rd combat mission. Be warned if it's feeling too easy you may want to wait until after that to decide." [source]

[on DA MP] Luke Barrett: "It was actually pretty fun but very much not what most people wanted us to make (including internally). Also we had, let's say, limited staff who had a passion and background in MP so it was definitely the right call to go SP only. Now, it would have been nice had we just started that way but so it goes sometimes." [source] User: "You still play it yourself from time to time (DA MP), or have you left it be?" Luke Barrett: "After playing variations of DA4 for so many years (9!!!) it's hard to go back to anything with DAI controls/gameplay speed. Even the initial Joplin prototypes I was doing were much more snappy/twitchy - for everything good about DAI the combat was definitely in the middle of two different styles." [source]

[on aiming bows] "we actually used to have separate buttons for ADS and ranged attack but it was wildly overloading the controller. These RPG games need controllers with at least 2 more buttons (fingers crossed for the next gen)" [source]

User: "After the last few games, I'm really surprised by the current skill... tree?" Luke Barrett: "I call it a skill graph - aside from the beginning where you have 3 choices the entirety of it is 2 choice splits and it'll essentially make a build for you. Just go a little at a time and aim for whatever specialization seems most fun to you 😄" [source]

"Loot is not random so theoretically guides with drop locations should appear pretty soon." [source]

"Yep, Spellblade is the only spec that directly impacts fire damage but you can get benefits from most of them and still go fire. As for the specs, yes it would have been nice to support all of them but just wasn't in scope unfortunately. Mage has Mourn-Watch, Shadow Dragons, and Antivan Crows specializations - only the Rogue has a Veiljumper one. Deathcaller left side you can go beam based and use a Fire weapon. Evoker you'd likely need to do a hybrid ice/fire build." [source]

User: "Bit of a side question, but for those who intend to make more characters, is BioWare considering upping the amount of playable character slots you can have (currently at 3)? Or is there a hardware restriction here given the game is offline playable?" Luke Barrett: "Don't quote me as I don't handle the technical side of this but my understanding is we have to allocate a specific amount of HD space on the consoles so we basically have to pick a limit, relative to our save file sizes, and then divide that by number of careers. I'll inquire if this is something we can increase with an optional download or something but I suspect consoles are stuck that way, unfortunately." [source]

[on Patch 1] "It's been awhile since I actually did the content for this patch so I'd have to check but I have a pretty anti-nerf policy for SP games. I know I fixed up a couple enemies that weren't as hard as they were supposed to be and definitely boosted a bunch of synergistic things though. I'll take a look tomorrow but for those that don't know, the turnaround time on these things is about a month of it's not an emergency due to certification process with consoles. Longer term my goal is to keep an eye in telemetry of any underused abilities and items (or enemies with too many kills under their belt) and audit them just to double check if they need a boost or if people just haven't figured them out yet 😉." [source]

"The equippable items are all predetermined with a minor exception*. Some items are class specific (all the weapons, a small amount of armors and accessories, 2 runes) so when you play a different class you'll see your classes 'version' of that item. Things that are random (from a table/pool) are valuables. Exception: Near the very end of the game we do a few checks on what equipment you haven't acquired. A bunch of those final drops, and inventory on the final merchant, simply find stuff you don't have and give it to you. That's basically the only major RNG we have with loot. If you notice even 99% of the skills and item mods employ an effect after a condition is met X times rather than a more traditional 'proc chance'." [source]

[on modding] "Once this starts to pick up, feel free to PM me if anyone needs help 'finding' assets or has questions about how one might mod something. We don't officially support mods buuuuut we don't have any kind of anti-modding stance either" [source]

"To give the high level gist of the resource economy: - each class starts off with minimal ability usage, this is intentional to force people to learn the other combat mechanics as they're a necessary skill and it's easy to lean on a crutch like ability spam and kiting - abilities are designed to feel powerful on use, thus they all have a decent cost and can't be spammed* - weapon attacks generate your resource - in the bottom right of the center skills area is a node to make each class's resource easier to manage - halfway down all starting segments (N, SW, SE) there is always a node that boosts generation - there are +max nodes on all sides of the skill graph for each class, this is particularly important for the Mage as they start each fight at max - each class can build into being ability focused but starts intentionally rounded - loastly, the first ability is always a resource spender and 1 or 2 of the next available ones will be cooldown gated. It is recommended to have at least one cooldown based ability slotted" [source]

"So loosely the rogue momentum works like this: - each ability costs 50 momentum - hitting enemies generates ~2 momentum per hit (base), you get extra for bow weakpoints - when you are directly hit, you lose 15% of your current momentum, this means the more you hold the more you will lose (this loss has a small cooldown so you don't lose a whole bar when you get hit rapidly) - momentum carries forward between combats (compared to warrior rage which decays when out of combat) If youre having issues, make sure you get that skill in the middle section that reduces momentum loss when hit. As a helpful tip, the Quicken buff generates small amounts of momentum each second so it's a good way to get more if you're having issues." [source]

"I highly recommend using the belt that grants Quicken early game until you can generate momentum faster yourself. And yes, the time dilation affects everything in the world except the Player so all your buffs and things still tick at normal speed" [source]

User: "If I knock an enemy off an edge, if they were supposed to drop something will it appear on the edge, or is it lost for good?" Luke Barrett: "It should appear on the ledge. I will say the 'real' loot from enemy drops are all hand placed. The actual random stuff is just valuables and materials." [source]

" The way it actually works is very complicated with a lot of necessary exceptions but loosely - each ability has a base damage and ones that hit multiple times have an offset multiplier. - That value is multiplied by the sum of all your stat bonuses, conditional bonuses, resist and layer modifiers. - We then subtract enemy defense and multiply by 1-resist (with penetration being calculated here). - this new damage then gets multiplied by 1+crit+weakpointpoint (so those bonuses always feel meaty) and then multiplied by a random number between .95 and 1.05 just to give a little range to the floaties (basically just a presentation thing) - we then multiply again for buffs and debuffs so they, again, always feel meaningful - lastly, we take all added damage and add it flat on top" [source]

"Specific enhancements make enemies immune to the matching affliction. For example, Fire Enchanted enemies are immune to burning. Juggernaut enemies are immune to being staggered but otherwise it should work in everything." [source]

[merao-mariposa]

I'm weak for Phil/Missa with a worship focus

Think about this:

We're looking at the angel of death and a reaper of death.

We are seeing the guy who has survived everything since the beginning of time and the guy who keeps dying, and coming back, choosing what he always wants to return to.

They are united more than they should while one wields a sword to defend those he loves, the other clears the clouds in their loved ones path because he loves them! He wants them to be happy!

They will both forever remember those who were in their heart, The Antartic Empire and Team Vacío Legal lives forever, no matter how much time passes because they were loved by Philza and Missa; the most loyal immortals.

Oh! And something more; the focus on their immortality is so unique! When did I meet him I was told that; “The only thing Phil knows is that he has not died yet” But Missa I think is very aware of his death, he died, he died and he came back with a fourth chance when the others had until the third chance to return and he came back from the dead a fourth time. time, he would do it a fifth, sixth and seventh time he would do it all over again because he cares about.

While Philza in life gives everything of himself for people once they earn his loyalty, trust and appreciation. He won't stop being the same emotional-constipate-crow-dude but God knows he will follow his closest friends to the end of the world, he took the world alongside Technoblade and then he would destroyed another next to him! He is a patient crow, domesticated by death herselft (for whom he is waiting patiently to be with her) staying home and being domestic? He can do it, chaotic raiding dungeons and loting everything that makes his “shiny!” Brain go?, he won't say no. This man can do both if the people he cares ask him.

We have years of lore about Phil, I'll be honest. while we don't have much information about Missa but what we do have comes from HIM and US (his community) do you want a prince-ish son of la Santa muerte? He can be, do you want an labor overexploited reaper? poor thing lmao but here him is! Do you want him to be 26 (or more) meters high? well, ask the admins but no one will deny you //I have seen him ominous, savage, bear hybrid, anguished, violent, etc, the limit is in the imagination!

(You have so many styles)

They worship each other by the way they complement each other. Just by thinking of Philza as the one who has not died, silent and anxious, waiting almost patiently for his complement, his missing half, the father of his children and his husband to return to him after literally being in the center of the end, the end of their life together, the end of watching his children grow and grow, until grow old (even though the mere thought of them aging beyond them breaks him)

After literally being in death and its domain only to choose to return, Missa would never believe in taking away Phil's free will so he's prepared to not see him there, he'll be fine; It is his right. Someone like him with the eternity in front of him would get bored of waiting for a guy like Missa.

Only to arrive and be absolutely adored and hugged till death (again) by his husband. He is happy to see him, he is so glad to see him waiting for him, Philza is happy that not so much of that so-called “time” has passed since the last time he had him in his arms (where Missas belongs to), so happy that their life together is not over yet. A life he loves and a husband he would fight for until he dies.

Obviously he drags him into the house where Missa is absolutely delighted to be welcomed (he always will be) like a crow carrying a new treasure to adore to its hiding place, only that Missa in his soul shines brighter than many of his shinys.

Missa is a reaper of death, literally a part of him feels explicitly built to respond to Phil as his angel or to BBH as a companion of duty, but it's too much, almost too instinctive and natural for him to worship Phil, not that he has a lot of experience but it is nothing like the crush he once had with Quakity, this is more real and deeper than the kiss he shared with Roier.

It's almost like nature for him to adore Philza.

And he doesn't make it any easier for poor Missa, so great and kind, Missa will always be vocal about how incredible and charming his husband is, how much he wants to spend time with him despite the adversities and hazards of the job that he does. prevent, they are worth it as long as he can be under his presence like a cat with sunlight.

It doesn't matter if Phil doesn't want him anymore because Missa is his because he decided it for himself/the skeleton isn't going anywhere, Phil is patient but as long as they are on the same earthly plane of life he is not going to let go of Missa, simply because he is loyal to him (hes also a little chaotic, not above dragging Missa around like putting a collar on a wet kitten)

En conclusión:

DEATHDUO KILL ME YAIIII :DDDD

❗️How we interpret their relationship does not change that Phil took the name “platonic husbands” correctly. (Pissa AND deathduo are totally valid, don't worry, we can get both :D )❗️

[ice-mage]

March Reads

March was a good reading month. I read a total of 5 books this month, brining my total to 11/36. This month’s reads were:

1. White Trash Warlock by David R. Slayton: Adam Binder is a 22 year old gay man from Oklahoma. And he’s a wizard. When he was in high school, his mother and older brother who don’t believe in magic admitted him into a psychiatric institution because he couldn’t yet control his sight into the spirit dimension where magical creatures roam. After discharging himself at 18, he lives in a trailer park with his great aunt. When, in the middle of looking for his father who left when he was young, his brother contacts him for the first time in three years asking for his help, Adam makes his way to Denver. Family dynamics are at the heart of this book. You understand the dysfunction between Adam and his family immediately, but you still grasp that however complicated their feelings are for one another, there’s still love there. The spirit dimension aspect of the book is interesting. However, the actual magic is a bit of a let down. Overall, I enjoyed the book. 4/5 ⭐️

2. Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman: Carl is stuck outside in his boxers at 2 in the morning trying to save his (ex-)girlfriend’s cat, Princess Donut, from a tree when the world ends. He and Donut (and about 13 million others) make their way underground and basically end up in a video game, complete with stats and levels and monsters trying to kill them, that’s broadcast across the universe. The dungeon is 18 floors, and their goal is to survive each one and make their way to the next floor down before time runs out. This is my first ever litRPG and my first 5 star read this year. The first part of the book does a lot of world building, explaining the game that Carl and Donut find themselves in, but in a way that feels natural given the setting. The book is full of humor, and I laughed out loud numerous times while reading it. But on occasion it reminds of how horrific the world they’re in actually is. And while the book is very plot driven, you see a lot of Carl’s and Donut’s character development as well. I highly recommend this book, but be aware that it is the first in a seven-book series. 5 ⭐️

3. Carl’s Doomsday Scenario by Matt Dinniman: The second book in the Dungeon Crawler Carl series. I read this one in less than 48 hours. This book begins as Carl and Donut enter the third floor of the dungeon. Trying to avoid spoilers, but we learn more about what’s going on outside the game and continue planting seeds for things to come later in the series. We get more character development for Carl, but also for Donut. And Donut gets a pet! While there was still humor in this one, it was not as humorous as the first book. Overall a great read. 4.75/5 ⭐️

4. The Dungeon Anarchist’s Cookbook by Matt Dinniman: Carl, Donut, and new party member Katia try to figure out the puzzle-based 4th floor (and of course survive). In this book we really see the team not only trying to survive themselves, but also to help as many others to survive as possible. As with the last book, the humor is dialed down as the horror of the game, not just for the crawlers but also for the NPCs, is highlighted. And while the book is still very plot heavy, the relationships between the characters really shine through. This book has a few moments that felt like a gut punch. I give this book 5 ⭐️

5. The Gate of the Feral Gods by Matt Dinniman: do you ever wonder what it’s like to live in a bubble? Well, the characters find out quite literally on the fifth floor. One of the things that I love about the series is the character development, and I think that shines here. In this book we meet two new characters who are kinda pathetic when we first meet them but they find there bearings by the end. Also, we realize how much Katia in particular has grown since we first meet her on the third floor. 5 ⭐️

When I finished The Gate of the Feral Gods, I realized I had read the first four books of the Dungeon Crawler Carl series in two weeks. I can already tell this will probably be my top series this year. I’ve already pre-ordered the fifth and sixth books. And I bought he first four as audiobooks and have now listened to them all. I am slightly obsessed. I also started reading a sixth book, this one for my local book club, but I only got about 100 pages in before the end of the March. I’ll finish it this month.

[alphaketoglutaricacid]

man im glad kabru put his sword down n acknowledged hes no good w monsters. He hurt himself so much trying to be a person hes not… dying over n over again… becoming so good at killing people in the service of that goal n it gets him no closer to it… and i dont think dungeon life is actually what he wants either… he had such a miserable time but i feel the people he met…was the journey. Maybe. I think theres something moving about him venturing out n meeting ppl from all walks of life.

And a life of many more…and i may be about to do a horrific misreading but i always thought part of the reason kabru got namari n toshiro to go w him instead of his own party was trying to keep em outta harms way esp rin. But in turn he cut himself off of his closest connections while interacting w ppl who bring up really bitter memories for him. Man kabru n rins relationship… they dont love each other in the same way but u can tell theyre always thinking of each other. Like interacting w the canaries is hard for him. But also on another level he may have taken them bc they do in fact live up to his idealized version of ppl who can effortlessly slay monsters n its something he knows he lacks. But idk if being good at slayin monsters particularly helped in the end of that situation tho it was good to have a few ppl good at it on retainer. Kinda bummed they cut out of a lot of kabrus interactions w namari and shuro bc i do find them interesting in the short moments they interact. Thats the b team (w mithrun acting as the antag of it so he flits in and out)

Like kabru has a moment of vulnerability in telling his own story to them honestly. It was hard for him. And if they cut out namaris genuine moment of unconditional kindness when she reaches out for kabru while everyones trampling over each other and hes having a ptsd moment ill be at their doors. I think it was a pretty vital moment in reminding him why he feels so strongly abt autonomy. I feel kabru very rarely gets acknowledged for his kindness often no string attached. N ppl are much quicker to note hes manipulative n a charmer but i think some of these moments he just likes listening to ppl some of whom have never been listened to in their lives…. Its sad how much kabrus willing to accommodate others n give em grace n yet he wont give it to himself : ( But also that those two were genuinely moved by his moment of vulnerability and even tho theyre mainly there for their frat bro allegiance towards laios where theyre like idc if he did that #freemyman, i do think what pushed them over the threshold is thinking about what he said about the elves trampling everyone and how they trampled over this delicate infrastructure ppl built for their livelihood . I like to think their lil turn everyone against the canaries was them pouring one out for him. Carry his dream on a little bit longer bc they dunno if he survived. I found it like aw. That all his like kabrus been trying to carry a mountain on his back, trying so hard to be a manipulative charming person to that end, but he can move ppl just as he is. By being open n vulnerable .

the last survivor of utaya… but is just surviving enough? Think its good he makes a new home in melani so that he can move onto the next part of his life while keeping every place hes ever been close. A dungeon that wiped out all life. A dungeon that created a new one

[astra-galaxie]

sorry, I'm REALLY spamming you hahaha -- but question! How would you rewrite s7's ending? I agree with you that it was pretty bad, and I especially hate how they made George a demon and ruined his character completely by doing so.

Spam away! I don’t mind! I love your questions! They’re great brainteasers, and I always look forward to answering them!😊

First, I need to put the disclaimer that some of these ideas may happen in my series, and some may not. It depends on what happens when I write it! I still have a long way to go before I reach S7, so I’ll try my best not to spoil some of my bigger plans!

Now, as for how I would rewrite S7’s ending…🤔

As already stated, George would remain human since his story/character development was terrific until his final appearance. As for who would take his place in the final case, it could either be a new demon or someone else could be revealed as the “demon in disguise” by using a character who could have foreshadowed it better or that the reveal wouldn't have ruined the character with

(Side note: I expected Linda Regan, a suspect in Wrider Stuff, to turn out to be a demon. Some of the things she said and did in that case just gave me the impression that she could have secretly been a demon.)

I’d fix the part where Chief Arrow betrays the team because, seriously? He joins the Demon Queen because why? What, he thought his wife was still there somewhere? He saw her die, he BURIED her, and he KNEW her DEAD body had been used as a prison for the Queen! He knew Lily was gone, yet he suddenly abandoned his team, which was basically his family, to join the Queen? Hell no! He’d have to have been mind controlled or under a cruse of SOMETHING for me to believe he’d betray his team, that he would betray his BEST FRIEND OF 25+ YEARS, WHO HE LITERALLY LIVED IN AN RV WITH LONGER THAN HE PROBABLY KNEW LILY FOR!

(Sorry, I’m very passionate about this stupid plot choice, which frankly just ruined Jacob’s character almost as much as George’s was ruined!)

While the general concept of the last case isn’t terrible (as in being captured and brought to the Netherworld, where you then have to solve the final murder), I question a few things. Like, how did ONE demon guard capture the whole team, who was apparently in a secret, magically protected place, and no one in the Supernatural Alliance noticed? The least they could have done was have more guards to capture the team!

I don’t know if I would change the victim because, as much as I love Arthur and want him to survive to see the Demon Queen’s defeat, his death logically makes the most sense. There could be potential other victims, like Jacob, for instance. While personally, I wouldn't want to kill him off either, he could replace Arthur with the possible plot of him pretending to join the Queen to infiltrate her kingdom, and when it was discovered he was a spy/unfaithful, he gets killed

Circling back to that idea of the fifth suspect, who would no longer be George, it could be Rathimael. I know he’s dead, but hear me out: he supposedly died in the human world, but it's stated demons can only truly die in the Netherworld. So why was Rathimael an exception to this? Did he really die, or did he actually get sent back to the Netherworld, where he was captured by the Demon Queen’s faithful since not only was he a rebel, but he was also the one who created her prison? Long story short, Rathimael could become the fifth suspect since the first crime scene is in the dungeons, so we could certainly meet Rathimael there if he is secretly still alive

(I won’t take full credit for this because someone suggested the theory of Rathimael surviving on his Wiki page. I just rolled with that idea and built this theory off of that one)

The AI/final battle storyline isn’t terrible. Still, I would probably change a few minor details because it seemed like we defeated the Queen relatively easily after figuring out the prophecy. Perhaps the team could have faced off against her army while Hope battled the Queen to make it more intense and feel like a proper final battle, and that way, we could have also seen the Queen’s faithful die instead of the offhand comment about them disappearing

(Also, what happened to Morgana? Did she die with the other faithful because she pledged her loyalty to the Queen, or did she survive because she wasn’t a demon? Did we leave her in the Netherworld or bring her back to the human world and send her to a supernatural prison or something?)

And how did we even get out of the Netherworld? Was there a magical elevator or something?! (That’s just a curious question that has bugged me since I played the case)

Lastly, I would change the transition between seasons. While I don’t hate the reason why we ended up in Paris (because I love Priya and Zander’s relationship), it did seem kind of rushed (you mean to tell me it only took two months to plan a destination wedding in Paris? It's taking my sister almost a year for hers, and she’s only getting married in another Province!). I remember thinking, “Why are we suddenly in Paris?” when I first played that scene (also wondered how Pierce managed to get a passport and go through airport security, but that’s a side note). I know it's the city of love, but it seemed like a weird wedding venue choice for Priya and Zander cause it's not like either of them ever mentioned Paris, let alone talked about wanting to get married there!

And how did the player suddenly join the Parisian Police Squad? We end S7 with Gwen commenting, “I can totally imagine you fitting in here!” to the player, and what, they decide to casually move to Paris and join the police force? Could we not get a better explanation or transition than that?

Okay, I think I’ve rambled enough about what I would change about the S7 ending! There are probably more minor details that I would change, but I need to stop somewhere, or this answer will never end!

Again, some of these ideas I may use, and some I probably won’t, but I will do my best to improve S7’s ending when I write it! I have many ideas for that season, so hopefully, all the little ideas and changes I have planned will help improve it and fix some of its plot holes and issues!

Thanks for the ask! It was a lot of fun letting my mind go down this rabbit hole again!✨

[frauleinandry]

guess who finished metaphor refantazio last night!! was the game perfect? no, i've definitely got my fair share of minor nitpicks. did it engross me more than any game has in years? yes!

very much a solid 8.5/10 experience, and worth playing for the art direction alone.

my full review is under the cut, and it is NOT spoiler-free, so don't click if you haven't finished the game!

gonna break this up into several segments, as it's Long!

story

the plot was a bit predictable at times, especially if you're familiar with other atlus games, but still enjoyable nonetheless! the sudden, if inevitable swerve from being a typical fantasy story into suddenly being a story about a medieval fantasy culture being magically forced into holding a democratic election was. extremely funny in all the best ways given how jarring it was in-universe.

i loved how atlus explored the unrest a huge, unexpected political system change like that would cause as opposed to making everyone just chill with it. the subtle criticism of modern democracy in general - specifically, the fact that in reality, elected leaders are almost always going to be people that are rich and powerful already because they're the ones that can market themselves the most - was also, uh, very poignant.

thematically, well, the game is very heavy-handed about its message. it wants to say something, and dear god it says it! at the same time, i enjoyed that, because, well, metaphor's message is really something that needs to be said. the world can be cruel, and there's no magical solution to all its problems waiting in place, but you can't give up hope. you have to keep on believing in a better future, while also doing what you can to ensure that happens, even if you can't do much. it's very much an anti-doomerism story at its heart, and in this day and age, that's extremely relevant.

at the same time, the story is definitely where most of my nitpicks are. specifically, the pacing of the altabury arc. it's is so, so rushed. there are back-to-back plot twists that each radically change the story, with levels of foreshadowing ranging some some to none, and absolutely no breathing space between them. louis is dead! oh wait, he wasn't the bad guy and forden was! oh wait, louis isn't dead after all and now forden is! rella is helping us! oh wait, she's evil and brainwashing people! except no, she's actually performing a thanatos gambit to help us!

like, good grief. there should have been at least a week between louis' death and his resurrection (and a LOT more foreshadowing about zorba's survival). the fact that you don't even fight forden also just sucks. space those events out, give us a small battle against forden before louis shanks him, and then have a mage academy dungeon (where you can possibly see the ruins of the real-life academia). there - that would have been much better.

i also thought while the worldbuilding in general was good, the sanctism religion was very weak, especially given the huge effect religious zealotry has on the plot. like, who is their god? what does he do? like, we get answers to the hatred towards elda and their pushing of igniters, but both of those things pre-reveal feel extremely disconnected from the idea of a faith.

characters

yeah i love these guys. the cast is fun, and i liked all of the followers/found them compelling, which is more than what i can say about persona social links at times. the OG team of will, strohl, gallica and hulkenburg is great, and i thought the vast majority of party members were also written really well.

basilio and eupha specifically feel like atlus saw all of the criticism about haru's introduction to persona 5, and addressed them when it came to the late-game party members. basilio is introduced in arc three and has a huge presence in arc four before he joins in altabury. eupha is introduced fairly late, however she's also integral to the story and feels like she's contributing.

in fact, the game was fairly good at balancing the party's screen time. strohl remains relevant due to being will's mouthpiece, hulkenburg isn't super important during brilehaven/eht ria, but returns to the spotlight once the game focuses on the prince, and junah's connections to rella and basilio keep her important.

... you might have noticed an absence from that list, namely, heismay. yeah - while atlus went out of their way to avoid a haru, they still added a yusuke to the plot. namely, an early-game character who has no personal connection to the lore or other major characters whatsoever. he's completely irrelevant post-martira, and his personal struggles lack cohesion with the story's overall plot. he could have been a follower and nothing would have changed.

i also think will is a really poor protagonist for this sort of game. while he's got a bit more character than most persona protags, he's still a borderline silent protagonist, and that doesn't work in a game where he's meant to be using his charisma and getting people onto his side via speeches. like, i just remember being astounded during the brilehaven arc once they present johanna as their bounty - will does nothing while strohl is the one to do all the talking, with occasional interjections from hulkenburg! if i was in the audience there, i'd want strohl as the king, not the dude who said like one line!

anyway, end rant, and back to the set of characters i haven't talked about yet, namely the antagonists. they're predominately good! forden and louis were both really fun takes on the SMT law/chaos alignments, especially louis. while forden could have done with more screentime, i have zero complaints about louis. he was sympathetic in a wretched way that excused none of his evil, and i liked that he genuinely believed he was doing what was right for the world, even though it clearly wasn't.

in terms of more borderline antagonists, i enjoyed fidelio and rella in particular a lot. rella was easily the character whose motives i had the most trouble placing, which made picking apart her actions extremely facinating, and fidelio's character growth was great. joanna (like the martira arc in general) was a bit weaker, and i thought the game cut her waaaaaay too much slack, but eh. it wasn't a big deal.

in the end, i think my favs were hulkenburg, rella, and strohl!

gameplay

first of all, the art direction is sublime. if it doesn't win that category at TGA, i'm gonna be disappointed. there was so much thought put into the game's construction in general, from the use of texture to enhance the storybook aesthetic to the use of esperanto in the visuals/music... like, there are so many references to culture and art history throughout the game, which make it that much richer.

the dungeon crawling is solid, even if it suffers a bit from the calendar system essentially forcing you to one-day the dungeons if you want to make the best use of your time. i'd say not quite as good as persona 5, but better than persona 3 reload. generally, i found the overworld combat a bit clunky - the lack of animation cancelling makes dodging feel laggy, which definitely annoyed me a handful of times. the squad battles are much better though, and really felt like fun puzzles to solve.

i generally enjoyed the archetype system, even if i found the class requirements a bit much at times. the customizability of the party members is refreshing compared to personas, and i like the fact that will isn't significantly more OP than everyone else to the point of making them redundant. what i enjoyed less though was the fact that you don't get a dedicated magic user until the final battle of arc three, essentially forcing will into becoming a mage... which bites you in the ass when his royal archetype turns out to be a mixed attacker which favours physical. oops.

like with persona games, i'm so/so on the calendar system. i like the resource management it introduces, but as mentioned above, i don't like how it forces you into charging through dungeons instead of exploring them at your own pace.

on the flip side, the follower system is far better than the social link one. having fewer ranks meant there weren't really any filler episodes, and the lack of hold-out visits was so refreshing. i also liked everyone's schedule not being constrained to days, but instead adjusting so you can't rank up someone back-to-back.

i think that's all i have to say, really! despite my criticisms, i really hope atlus takes certain things from this game into consideration for persona 6, and i think all the years they spent on this game paid off.

[overdueforarevival]

Whumptober Day 11 - A Million Little Times

'Leave no trace behind, like you don't even exist'

Summary: Regulus Black has spent years hating James Potter and yet, somewhere along the line, he became the best thing that ever happened to him. For months, the two sneak around, anonymous to everyone and for a while, they can live in blissful oblivion. What happens when reality comes crashing down on the two and the truth is shown one single time?

Also posted on AO3

‘Make sure nobody sees you leave,’

‘I know,'

‘They can’t know,’

‘I know, sweetheart,’

Regulus is tying James’ tie around his neck, long fingers working deftly and so gently James could almost laugh. He knows why he’s doing it, though. He wants to make sure that nobody will see the bruises now littering James’ neck.

They can never know, Regulus always reminds him. The Quidditch changing rooms are certainly not the most ideal location, but they’re both Captain of their respective teams and know the rota by heart. It’s the only place they can be sure to never be found.

Regulus’ parents will lose it if they ever find out that not only has their son been snogging a man, but a Blood Traitor no less. Walburga and Orion could probably look past James’ inability to produce an heir for Regulus, but they would never forgive him for bedding a Potter.

And James… James might not survive if Sirius were to ever find out that he’d been the one to defile his baby brother. He hadn’t meant for it to happen, truly, it just sort of did. One day, they were screaming at each other across the empty Quidditch changing rooms after a particularly brutal game and the next Regulus had James pinned up against the wall and James was a goner.

‘Same time tomorrow?’ Regulus asks hopefully, flattening James’ tie against his chest.

‘I’ve got detention with Minnie tomorrow. Pete and I jinxed Snape’s last essay to read as a dramatic proclamation of undying love to whoever reads it,’ James apologises. He’s never felt bad for pulling a prank on Snivellus before, but the look on Regulus face makes him regret ever having the idea. ‘Day after?’

‘Hufflepuff are practising ‘til eight and you know what Harper’s like, they’ll be here hours after that,’ Regulus huffs. ‘Friday night? We’re got the pitch, but I’ll have everyone out by half seven. You can come ‘round for eight?’

James smiles and leans forward, pressing a kiss against the boy’s forehead. ‘Friday it is,’

Regulus’ eyes flutter closed at the gesture and James wishes they could stay here a little while longer, but Remus will start getting suspicious. Not that he’d say anything, but Regulus will kill him if anyone finds out, even Remus.

James backs away from Regulus, his hands falling from the boy’s shoulders and he smiles ruefully as they part. It’s not like they’re some kind of long-distance lovers who only see each other once in a blue moon, but it still hurts. Even if they manage to see each other in secret at night, knowing that when they see each other in the day they must act indifferent to each other hurts. If he could, James would avoid Regulus at all costs and yet he’d tear himself apart if it allowed him to catch just a glimpse of him in the hallway.

The stolen looks they dare to risk are enough to keep the oxygen in James’ lungs and, if the corridor is really busy, they might be able to brush arms as they pass. It sounds pathetic, but it’s what James lives for. In a world slowly falling into war and ruin, James will do anything for his breath of fresh air. The small reminder that there is still good in this world. That good is Regulus Black.

James turns around only at the last moment, he always leaves first and then Regulus will follow a while later, turning right to the dungeons while James turns right to Gryffindor tower. He pulls the hood of his robes over his head, keeping his eyes on the ground as he walks. Walking through the Hogwarts grounds in the dark is a difficult task and James has to concentrate to not trip over the roots of the Whomping Willow which must stretch for miles. He doesn’t dare light his wand.

Sirius will be expecting James back soon, he’d told his friends he was out for a run, knowing that even the crisp October air wouldn’t lessen the red in his cheeks by the time he reaches the tower. With every step, James’ heart continues to hammer in his chest, no matter how many times he sees Regulus’ face, the novelty of being with him never seems to wear off. The very moment James sees Regulus Black, he is, well and truly, a godforsaken mess.

James doesn’t take the usual route to the tower, opting for the secret passage Peter discovered in third year that winds through the outer wall. There’s a few windows dotted about and, when James peers out, he can just about see the silhouette of Regulus sneaking back towards his own common room.

It’s late now, nearly midnight, and most of the younger students have vacated the common room in favour of their beds. The only ones left are a few fifth years studying furiously for Slughorn’s potions exam tomorrow. James remembers that one, over half of his class failed and were sure the same fate awaited them in their OWLs.

In the middle, right by the hearth, are his friends. They always wait up for him and he knows it should annoy him, knows that it only makes the likelihood of being caught higher, but it's nice of them. James has the best friends and he hates lying to them, but he knows that Sirius wouldn’t take the news of his relationship with Regulus very well. Sirius has enough going on right now.

Remus is lounging in on a sofa, one hand holding open a book on his lap while the other hangs down and across Sirius’s chest. Sirius always sits near Remus, ever since their argument last year, it’s like he needs to know that Remus isn’t going to leave. It’s a trait James has noticed since they were kids. Anytime Sirius would fall out with someone, Sirius would plaster himself to the person’s side and James hasn’t quite figured out if it’s a sign of loyalty or apology or perhaps something more concerning.

Either way, Remus never seems to mind. Peter is working on an essay in a chair next to the two, parchment wrapped over a book, but he doesn’t seem to be writing much. James can’t blame him, he hasn’t started their Defense essay yet either.

‘Evening, lads,’ James grins easily, hoping that nobody else notices the way his heart is still beating erratically in his chest.

‘Good run, Prongs?’ Sirius asks, looking up at James and for a moment, there’s a flicker of something in his eye. Something like doubt, or perhaps he knows something. No, Sirius can’t possibly know of anything amiss about James’ nightly outings.

‘Yeah, all good. Nearly tripped over one of them bloody tree roots, can’t escape the fuckers anywhere,’ James grumbles. It’s not a complete lie, but not exactly the truth either. ‘I blame Moony,'

‘Oi! Wasn’t my idea to plant a giant fuck-off tree, I’d have been happy with a some chains and a wooden shed,’ Remus jokes, eyes never leaving his book.

‘Wouldn’t you just,’ Sirius smirks slyly, looking up at his boyfriend. Peter gags loudly and Remus smacks Sirius across the face playfully. James laughs at their antics, all the while trying to battle the awful mental image currently trying to take root in his mind.

‘Well on that unsettling note, I’m heading for a shower, you lot enjoy yourselves,’ James tells them, jogging past and up the stairs to their dormitory.

He showers quickly, washing his hair and scrubbing the smell of Regulus off his skin. When he gets out, he dresses in his pyjamas, then wraps his towel around his neck just to be sure. That’s the thing about these illicit affairs, as they reach their end, all evidence is erased and they all move forward as though it never happened a million little times.

Regulus makes sure to spray a little cologne before he exits the bathroom, finding his friends all sitting around their dorm, chatting to each other. Barty and Evan are sitting together, the latter relaxing back against the former and Regulus can see their fingers intertwined on one side. A pang of jealousy strikes through his heart and he hates himself for it. Evan’s parents couldn’t care less about who he dates, in fact Evan once said that he was thirteen when he came out to them. As for Barty, Regulus is pretty sure he lauds his relationship over his father’s head just to spite the man. Regulus wishes he had the guts to do the same.

Nobody will know that James exists in Regulus’ mind. No trace is left behind of Regulus’ whereabouts and nobody will ever even consider the notion that Regulus would do something so preposterous. Regulus Black is and always will be, the perfect heir to his family’s name. With Sirius having been disowned over a year ago, Regulus has taken his place without fuss and this will be his fate until the day he dies.

James’ words echo in his mind for now, promises to always be his and vows that they’ll find a way to be together forever. It’s not that Regulus doesn’t want to be with James for the rest of his life, but he can’t let himself hope. He can’t allow himself to entertain the thought that he could grow old with James and live with him until their dying days. The world will never allow that, not for Regulus. So he won’t hope.

The high will fade as he sits on his own bed, heart still hammering, and joins in the conversation with his friends. Pandora and Dorcas have come over, Dorcas has been quieter recently and Regulus knows she’s planning something, though she isn’t sure what. Pandora keeps casting him sad looks like a puppy watching its owner leave for work.

Even as he talks with his friends, though, chatting about all the work they’ll have to do now that they’ve started studying for their NEWTs, his mind drifts back to James Potter. He’s like a drug and Regulus swore he’d quit, promised himself he wouldn’t let it get this far. Professor Slughorn once told them that drugs lose their potency as you use them more and more, but James works every bloody time and Regulus can’t make himself stop. Every time he catches the boy’s eye across the corridor, he needs to hear his voice, feel their hands clasped together. Regulus needs to stop, but he knows he won’t.

Deep down, Regulus knows that he’s going to keep going even when his parents bring him before the Dark Lord when he goes home for Christmas. Even when his arm is marked with a sign he knows will turn James’ stomach, Regulus will keep going. He’ll keep going until James hates him and it will all blow up in Regulus’ face. One day, he’ll wish he never met James Potter, but for now he’s going to beg for every second with him.

In the end, they don’t even make it to Christmas.

Early November arrives, bringing with it the Scottish bitter cold and one evening when Regulus is busy attacking James’ neck with his lips, the boy comes up with a truly absurd idea.

‘The boys all have detention tomorrow,’ James says breathily, fingers twirling around Regulus’ curls as he sighs contentedly.

‘Don’t make me think about my brother,’ Regulus frowns, sinking his teeth down on James’ sensitive skin, then quickly soothing it with his tongue.

‘Could use my invisibility cloak, bring you up to the dorm. Do this proper, you know,’ James continues and Regulus officially loses his appetite.

‘You want to fuck me in the room where my brother sleeps?’ Regulus pulls away and raises an eyebrow at James disbelievingly.

‘Uh… yes?’ James grins at him sheepishly and Regulus should really refuse the offer because it’s got ‘danger’ written all over it. Even if he can sneak into the dormitory, what if they come back early? What if someone manages to see them? What if the cloak falls off and everybody knows?

What if Sirius finds out?

‘We shouldn’t,’ Regulus sighs, turning away from James because there’s no way he’ll stand his ground if he catches even a glimpse of those doe eyes he’s so adept at. ‘People could find out,’

‘They won’t! Come on, Reggie, think about it! You and me, big four-poster bed… think about all the things we could do.’ James steps forward, hands creeping around Regulus’ waist, prodding gently.

Regulus doesn’t need to see James to know the look on his face. It’s not one he can say ‘no’ to.

‘One time,’ Regulus insists and immediately feels the smirk on James’ face.

‘One time,’ he agrees.

It is, in fact, not one time. Regulus promises himself he won’t do it again, but then an owl brings him a note as he’s getting changed after taking a brutal thrashing from the Hufflepuff Quidditch team. James’ friends are celebrating in the Hufflepuff common room tonight, Regulus can come over again.

He doesn’t say no. In the end, he stays the night, hidden behind the curtains of James’ bed, secure in the boy’s arms. It’s the safest he’s felt in years and now that he knows how it feels, he’s not sure he’ll ever be able to stop.

Regulus stays the night every Tuesday and every Friday. Sirius always stays late after Gryffindor Quidditch practice on those days to run his own drills and Remus always watches. It’s easy, apparently, to get Peter to stay behind, saying that Sirius could really use a hand or Remus wants the company. James is first back and he lets Regulus in, hidden under the cloak.

As the weeks fly by and nobody finds him huddled next to the Gryffindor Golden Boy, Regulus finds himself lulled into a sense of security, a routine that won’t be broken. And then, Sirius has to have one of his genius ideas.

It happens in the middle of the night, Regulus is sleeping soundly against James’ chest and all of a sudden, there’s a loud crash from the right. James wakes first, jumping so violently that Regulus is shaken out of his sleep as well.

‘I’ve got it!’ Sirius announces proudly to the room, clearly oblivious to how little anyone wants to hear whatever it is he’s got to say at this ungodly hour. It’s still dark out for Merlin’s sake.

‘Not now, Pads!’ Remus groans loudly.

‘Shit,’ James mutters, lifting his head and looking at Regulus with wide eyes. Regulus pushes himself up onto his elbows, frowning.

‘Prongs, I’ve got it! I know what we’re gonna—’ Sirius pulls back the curtains to James’ bed and promptly cuts himself short, jaw falling open and eyes blowing wide.

The two are under the covers, both shirtless (Sirius does not need to know that James isn’t wearing any trousers either) and any idea of bullshitting his way out of this is thoroughly dashed. James sits up slowly, one hand remaining on Regulus’ knee , fingers drumming on the joint nervously.

Regulus stares up at Sirius, eyes locked unwaveringly as all of Regulus’ fears melt away into pure stubbornness. He will not lose this argument, not when James is the best thing that has happened to him in years.

‘What the fuck?’ Sirius deadpans, eyes flicking back and forth between his brother and his best friend, seemingly lacking coherent thought. Regulus continues to stare his brother down.

‘Ever heard of a little something called ‘privacy’, Sirius?’ Regulus asks coldly. There’s a gasp from across the room, no doubt as his voice is recognised by the two boys who can’t see Regulus. James squeezes his knee gently, clearly trying to communicate something, but Regulus isn’t paying enough attention to decipher that.

‘Shittin’ hell, James. You fucked Sirius’ brother?’ Peter is the one to respond when Sirius continues to stare bug-eyed at the two. Regulus opens the curtains on the other side of the bed so he can turn his glare on Peter and the boy shies away.

Remus is getting out of bed now, sliding his feet into his slippers and making his way over to Sirius, a nervous look on his face. Strangely, he doesn’t appear shocked.

‘Sirius,’ he says quietly, reaching out a hand to gently touch the boy’s shoulder. Sirius shakes him off roughly.

‘Don’t,’ he mutters, looking down at James with a look Regulus didn’t think Sirius could ever hold for his best friend. In all of his and James’ antics, he never considered that this could do something to James and Sirius. As long as Regulus has known James, he’s been everything to Sirius, the brother he always wanted to have and at first Regulus resented James for it.

An odd flare of indignation rises up in Regulus' chest and he sits up straighter, putting himself in between James and Sirius. Sirius can be angry at him all he likes, but Regulus won’t stand by and let him look at James like this.

‘You fucked my little brother?’ Sirius says finally, echoing Peter’s words, voice trembling with anger as his fists shake at his sides. Regulus tries to move towards Sirius, but James holds him back before he can pull the duvet away from his lower half.

‘I didn’t ‘fuck’ him,’ James responds firmly, then frowns. ‘I mean, I did, but… that’s not- it’s not… Shit, just hear me out, Pads—’

‘No, don’t fucking ‘Pads’ me, you fucked my kid brother! He’s a kid!’ Sirius shouts angrily.

‘Don’t call him ‘kid’, he’s barely a year younger than us!’ James snaps and Regulus can see the anger forming in his eyes. He shouldn’t be angry at Sirius, that’s his best friend. This wasn’t meant to ruin them.

‘It’s okay, James, he can be mad at me,’ Regulus tries to calm James down, but the boy is springing out of bed and Regulus sees, thankfully, that at some point before they fell asleep he’d pulled some boxers back on.

‘No, it’s not okay, we’re allowed to be together, there’s nothing wrong with us!’ James gestures wildly between the two of them and Regulus absently thinks the uncoordinated movement sums them up perfectly.

‘I never said that, baby, I just—’

‘Don’t call him ‘baby’! What the fuck?’ Sirius is staring incredulously at the two now. ‘Why are you doing this to me? This is- This is- What the fuck?'

That seems to be about all Sirius can manage right now and Remus is, once more, trying to get close to Sirius. It doesn’t work and Remus backs off, staring at the back of his boyfriend’s head worriedly.

‘Nobody is doing anything to you, Sirius,’ Regulus tells him firmly, also leaving the bed in favour of standing next to James, wrapping an arm around his waist. ‘We aren’t doing this to hurt you, we’re doing this because we…’

Regulus trails off there, unsure how to finish his sentence. Sure, he loves James with all his heart and always will no matter how this ends, but he’s never said it outloud before. Not to anyone and certainly not to James and James has never said it either. This isn’t exactly the time for grand announcements or dicey assumptions.

‘You what? Huh, you what? For Merlin’s sake, James, that’s my brother! What is wrong with you?’ Sirius yells at them, face contorting with anger and Regulus is used to that being directed at him, but nobody should look at James like that.

‘Sirius, stop it! Take a breath and listen to them, will you? This is getting ridiculous,’ Remus interjects, appearing to give up listening to Sirius’ clear aversion to his presence right now and pulling his hands down from where they were gesturing angrily at James.

‘No, I won’t listen, Remus. How could you do this, James? You know… you know everything and you still… fuck you, James. Fuck. You.’ Sirius shakes his head, all anger dissipates from his voice as he speaks until he merely sounds defeated. James opens his mouth to say something, but before he can get any words out, Sirius is marching away and out of the door, letting it slam shut behind them.

Regulus flinches as the loud bang echoes around the room and as the silence stretches between them, James pulls Regulus closer. James always knows when Regulus is about to cry and he holds one hand up against the side of Regulus’ face, shielding it from the view of the others. James’ chin rests on top of Regulus’ head which is buried against his neck as Regulus clings to the boy tiredly.

‘It’s okay, sweetheart. You’re okay,’ James whispers soothingly. Regulus feels the words vibrating in his throat.

‘I’ll talk to him in the morning, he’ll come around. He just needs some space,’ Remus says and James nods awkwardly against Regulus’ head. Regulus doesn’t say a word.

‘Let’s get back to sleep, Reggie, nothing to do about it now,’ James murmurs, steering them back into bed and arranging the covers across the both of them.

There’s rustling and shuffling as Remus and Peter no doubt do the same and James leans over to pull the curtains shut again. As he does, Peter’s voice drifts quietly across the dorm, clearly words only meant for Remus’

[happiness-of-the-pursuit]

2023 Fic Round Up (Part 1: Fic List)

I have been tagged in about a million different round ups of sorts, so here's Part 1: A Comprehensive 2023 Fic List sorted by month posted (if a multichap, I listed it the first month it posted), featuring the major details and a single-sentence summary/quote (so a fun challenge for me).

I'll post Part 2: Favorite Quotes and Part 3: Channeling Nora Holleran to Bring You My AO3 Data over the next two days (for the data I want to wait til the last possible day).

Without further ado, here is my 2023 Fic List:

January:

Nothing, I was still a lurker.

February:

Prince Henry and FSOTUS Alex Claremont-Diaz Answer the Web’s Most Searched Questions (T, 2.4K, YouTube Script Fic)

10 Things Alex Claremont-Diaz Can’t Live Without (T, 3K, YouTube Script Fic)

10 Things HRH Prince Henry Can’t Live Without (T, 2.5K, YouTube Script Fic)

March:

Prince Henry and FSOTUS Alex Claremont-Diaz Take a Couples Quiz (T, 5K, YouTube Script Fic)

The Super Six Take a Lie Detector Test | Vanity Fair (M, 7K, YouTube Script Fic)

Baby's First Pride (E, 10K, WIP Multi-Chap)

Post-canon, canon-compliant (ignoring bonus chapter) look at the Super Six celebrating their first pride after the emails—I want to come back and finish this (I got interrupted by Life) but my writing has evolved a lot since March and I'm daunted by all the editing I'd have to do, lol

ALEX CLAREMONT-DIAZ COMMUNES WITH HIS ANCESTORS WHILE EATING SPICY WINGS | Hot Ones (T, 3K, YouTube Script Fic)

April-June

Trying to survive the end of the school year as a teacher before I left my job :)

July

PRINCE HENRY SENTENCES US TO THE DUNGEONS WHILE EATING SPICY WINGS | Hot Ones  (M, 3K, YouTube Script Fic)

August

FirstPrince Sings Queen, Lil Nas X, and Taylor Swift in a Game of Song Association | ELLE (T, 2.5K, YouTube Script Fic)

Claremont 2008 (M, 26K, Complete Multi-Chap, Canon Divergence)

A world where Ellen gets elected in 2008 instead of 2016, and the friends-to-lovers path that puts Henry on. If you want to relive the early 2010s, enjoy epistolary fics, or want a glimpse of a world where Alex & Henry go to college together, you might like this.

September

How well you play...that's up to you (M, 4K, FirstPrince Week)

Grey's Anatomy-Inspired AU, where Alex & Henry are both surgical residents—currently a one-shot, but I plan on writing a multi-chap prequel for this at some point.

Keep this Love in a Photograph (T, 2.6K, FirstPrince Week)

Post-Canon: Henry finds Alex's old photo album and they take a stroll down memory lane.

The Starwand (T, 1.7K, FirstPrince Week)

Three vignettes from Alex's life (two featuring Henry) where a sparkler makes an appearance—both a kid fic of Alex and Alex with his kids.

Somebody Call 911 (M, 2.4K, FirstPrince Week)

College AU where Alex is sneaking around with Henry behind his roommate's back—until it all goes to shit.

October

Sets on the Beach (M, 4K, FirstPrince Week)

Crack Treated Seriously, Alex and Henry are on rival queer beach volleyball teams.

Water over Blood (G, 3K, FirstPrince Week)

Post-Canon 5+1 of five times Henry's niece loved Alex, and one time she loved Henry

L(ate) S(leepy) A(morous) T(exting) (M, 1K, FirstPrince Week)

Text-fic of a missing moment from the book, because I am convinced that Alex did, in fact, study for the LSAT (it's just more realistic if we're to believe he scored well enough to get into NYU)

November

Freaky Friday (I woke up in my enemy's body) (M, 9K, Halloween, Huh?)

Canon Divergence, Freaky Friday-Inspired Body Swap AU, Crack Treated Seriously: Between Cakegate and Alex's visit to London, the boys swap bodies and proceed to learn a lot about each other. And themselves.

December

Alex Claremont-Díaz Answers Your Questions | Actually Me |GQ (M, 2K, YouTube Script Fic)

Super Six and the Siren's Call (T, 111K Total, Posting Bi-weekly)

The Percy Jackson AU, co-written with @read-and-write- and @inexplicablymine. Quests and Greek References abound! Check out more @auntiepezzasupdates

(Dil)Do It Yourself (E, 16.7K, New Traditions Advent Calendar)

Alex attends a DIY Dildo Workshop for the holidays, where he meets Henry, who's helping to lead the workshop—and eventually, helps Alex in other ways. The tags will tell you all that you need to know.

Thanks to @rockyroadkylers @hgejfmw-hgejhsf @kiwiana-writes @welcometololaland and anyone else who tagged me that I missed! I was waiting to post all my fics for December before I did this :) Since I'm pretty late, I'll tag @ssmtskw @matherines @affectionatelyrs and an open tag to anyone who's made it this far and wants to do this!

[sailorshadzter]

from the ashes of war we rise like stars in the sky

The world where the Avatar has fallen and the war was instead won by the Fire Nation is cruel and dark. Team Avatar tried to get the upper hand with a battle, but the battle cost them more than they could imagined. Those who survived were separated, unknowing if their teammates lived or died. Will they survive long enough to become a group once more? Zutara based.

a rewrite (and continuation).

read on ao3

chapter 2

chapter 3

chapter 4

chapter 5

chapter 6

chapter 7

chapter 8

The dungeon is dark and damp.

It’s something that despite all the time that’s passed, she’s yet to grow accustomed to it. The small cell is windowless, so she lives in the dark always, never knowing when it is day or night. She lives in perpetual darkness. At first, when she’d first been brought to this place, she had railed against the heavy oak door, banging her fists and using her own sweat to cut away at the wood… But in the end, it was too much for her on her own and she was left with no other choice but to give in and accept the fate she’d been dealt.

That was months ago now, or so she assumes. It’s hard to keep track of time, considering her circumstances, and she can only guess just how long it has been. She never knows what one day will bring- death, she thinks most days, and some of those days she thinks it might just be better if that were the case. To continue living this way… Through starvation and torture, through pain and suffering… She isn’t certain how much longer she can take it all. But, the Fire Nation keeps her alive, perhaps to be used as bait someday against Zuko, or perhaps for another reason entirely, she couldn’t really say. 

After Aang had fallen to Ozai the day of Sozin’s Comet, everything had changed. With his life had fled the hope of the world and the faith that anyone could defeat the Fire Nation. They had tried to rally the troops, to keep on fighting without Aang, but in the end, there was no healing the broken hopes of the world that had lost their Avatar. So, after a battle that had left her separated from the others, she went on the run, hiding out where she could and being protected by those still loyal to the Avatar’s cause, even if they were far and few between. It’s been so long now since she last saw Sokka or Toph or Zuko that she doesn’t even know if they lived or died… She misses them. She misses them all.

Not long after fleeing the Earth Kingdom, in hopes of finding the others, she’d been caught by a troop of soldiers that had beaten her. In a state of exhaustion from weeks of running, of fighting, of fear, they had overpowered her four to one and she’d been brought back to the Fire Nation, right to the Fire Lord- no, the Phoenix King as he styled himself now. He had offered her a deal… Plead for her life and swear an everlasting oath to him and the Fire Nation and he would release her from her prison. She’d spit at his feet in response.

And so, that was how she found herself where she was now, rotting away in this damp prison cell. 

On this night, she finds she cannot sleep, not something all that unusual for her. The straw pallet they gave her as a bed is little more than a few inches thick, she might as well sleep on the stone floor, and she’s uncomfortable from a wound she’d sustained just the day before. She tosses and turns for the better part of several hours, staring sometimes at the ceiling, other times at the wall or door, until…

Footsteps. 

She’s on alert now, listening closely, wondering for a moment if she’s only just imagined the sound. Footsteps would only mean trouble for her, after all. She lays in silence, waiting, wondering, when the next sound comes. It’s the lock on her door clicking and she knows without a doubt that the door to the cell will swing open at any moment. The late hour surprises her, but she supposes she shouldn’t be shocked, considering all the other abuse she’s suffered at the Fire Nation’s hands. 

The door slowly opens, the familiar creak of the hinges sending chills down her spine. 

There, in the doorway, is not a Fire Nation soldier, but rather, it is a tall form of what she knows must be a man, a blue mask over his face. She doesn’t move, rather, remains still and silent beneath the thin sheet she’s covered up with, a hundred different thoughts racing through her mind. And then… “Katara…?” 

She blinks, attention caught most certainly now. Even now, despite the time that had passed, she would know the pitch of that voice anywhere. But, she doesn’t dare believe it, she cannot get her hopes up like that. It was impossible after all, that Zuko would be standing there in her doorway. “Katara… It’s me…” He’s speaking again, softer now, slower, and her heart skips a beat in her chest. Only then does she sit upright, turning her head so she might stare into the face of the masked man, wondering just how this could be happening. 

He can’t believe his eyes.

There she sits before him, a ghost of the girl he recalls, so very different from who he remembers her to be. But, her brilliantly blue eyes have the very same penetrating gaze he knew so well and her dark hair falls long down her back in the same way hers once did. After all this time, he’d found her. It takes every ounce of his self control not to rush to her side, to take her into his arms and whisk her away from this place. But he can see from the sight of her that she’s terrified, that she’s injured, and fuck is she skinny. Always slim and well built, she’s little more than a skeleton it seems from how her tunic hangs from her limbs. White hot anger surges through him, but Zuko knows that now is not the time for that. His feelings could and would certainly come later, but right now his focus had to be on getting her out of this place alive. “It’s okay, Katara, I’m here…” He whispers, holding out a hand to her, though he spares one glance over a shoulder, listening intently for any sign that he’s been discovered. So far, so good. “I’m here to help you.” He knows that from this moment on, she would need him and he vows right then and there to himself that he would never let her down. 

She sucks in a breath, hesitant, still yet unable to believe that this could be real. But when Zuko outstretched a hand for her to take, she’s reminded of a memory so long ago, when he’d once done the very same thing to her. “Zuko…” Her voice cracks over the once familiar syllables of his name, her blue eyes widening ever so slightly. As she reaches out her hand, hesitantly at first, she watches him push back the mask he wears with his other hand; golden eyes stare back at her. As her hand slips into his, a shiver races the length of her spine and suddenly she knows, suddenly, that flicker of hope she’d felt at the sight of him before becomes ignited. 

Carefully, slowly, gently, he draws her up off the cot and onto her feet, steadying her where she stands before he envelops her into his warm embrace. Now that he holds her, he can feel how frail she’s truly become and his heart turns over. She sinks into him, her own arms wrapping around his waist as she breathes in his scent that even after all this time is familiar to her. “It really is you…” She whispers, burying her face into his chest as he holds on as tightly as he dares, fearful of hurting her any further. 

But when he draws back to hold her at arm’s length, he swallows against the rising tide of emotions, forcing himself to keep his face passive as he stares at her. He can see a cut that’s half healed over her left eye, her right cheek bruised, her lips showing signs of once being punched. “I’m getting you out of here,” he says as he turns away, dropping down to his hunches before her, gesturing for her to climb onto his back. When she doesn’t move right away, he smiles, reaching for her hand to give it a tender squeeze. “Come on…” He murmurs and finally, she moves, climbing onto his back as he wants, allowing his arms to sweep beneath her frame, holding her into place. She’s struck by the memory of doing this very same thing with Sokka and their father and tears glisten in her eyes as she once again wonders what has become of those she loved on the outside.

Returning his mask into place, Zuko steps out into the dark corridor, thankful to find it’s still empty. They make their way down the hall and turn a corner, hearing for the first time any sign of another person around. He steps into the closest empty room and Katara holds her breath as the sound of approaching footsteps grow louder. It’s two guards coming, talking about a recent outburst of their Phoenix King- “.... Fire to all of the curtains…” one is saying as they pass the room they hide within, taking the corner that they’d just come around. His heart skips a beat and Zuko prays to whatever God is listening that they were not on their way to check in on her… But their footsteps fade away and only then does he return to the hall and begin to run.

They make their way through the winding corridors until they come to a dead end, making Katara wonder if he’d taken a wrong turn somewhere. But, to her shock, there comes a noise to their left and she’s turning her head to watch as a panel of the wall begins to shift, revealing an old man standing there, a small flame glowing in his palm. She knew him at once, it was Zuko’s uncle Iroh. “Come quickly,” he says and they slip through, Iroh replacing the panel as if it had never been moved at all. “It’s safe, they are all quite distracted with the council meeting,” he continues, giving her a little indication as to why they’d chosen today of all days to come to her as they have. “But let’s not press our luck.” 

Together, they walk the long pathway of this dark corridor, the only light that of Iroh’s flame. But as they reach the end, he steps forward, pushing what she sees to be a large boulder aside, giving them a place to exit. And then, for the first time since the day she was captured, she realizes she’s outside. Hissing in pain, the sunlight so bright, she buries her face in Zuko’s shoulder, wishing for the darkness she’d grown to know for just a split second.

“Let’s get her back,” Zuko says and Iroh nods, taking note of the girl’s appearance; it was worse than he had expected, but she was alive and for that he was thankful. 

Only now, as they walk away from the place that’s been her prison all this time, she feels safe. And that was when she allowed the suddenly overwhelming sense of exhaustion take hold and with her head resting against Zuko’s strong shoulder, she drifted off to sleep. 

[ x x x ]

When she wakes, it’s in a strange place, but it’s in a bed- a real bed. 

Suddenly, it’s all coming back to her now, the memory of the masked man coming to her rescue…  But not just any man, it had been Zuko who came to save her. Her hands rise up simply so they can run over the length of her face, her heartbeat quickening in her chest as she recalls the memories of that night, of that moment. She then makes the first attempt at sitting up, but finds there’s a weight over her legs which prevents her from making it very far. A slow smile spreads over her face at the sight of Zuko there, asleep and draped over her legs, his dark hair falling into his face as he snores softly. 

But then, as if attuned to her being, he’s waking, golden eyes blinking open before he’s surging forward, shocked and relieved at the same time. “Katara!” He nearly shouts her name as he comes to the head of the bed, helping her up into a sitting position against the pillows. “How are you feeling? Can I get you something?” He looks as if he’s not slept in days or more, shocking her, forcing her to wonder just how long it’s been since he came to rescue her from the dungeon. 

“Water,” she rasps, realizing a moment later just how dry her throat has become. Zuko is on the move then, pouring her a cup from a pitcher on the side table and he himself presses it to her lips, carefully tipping it back to give her a small sip. The taste is more refreshing than she ever recalls the taste to be and it floods her with a strange sensation. “Thank you,” she says next, turning to look at him as he settles into place in the chair he once occupied. “How long…” The words die on her lips and Zuko knows she isn’t asking how long they’ve been here.

“Six months,” he says softly, knowing better than to ever lie to her. He watches as that realization dawns upon her and she accepts it willingly, perhaps a part of her had always known it had been a long time. 

“How did you find me?” She asks next, tilting her head as she stares at him. 

“My uncle,” he admits, thinking of the dozens if not hundreds of conversations they’d had about the situation. “I came here looking for him after you’d been taken, like most everyone else, we’d gone off on our own or been separated.” Zuko recalls those days as if they’d been yesterday; days of wandering alone, without reason, without purpose, lost and alone. In those first few days after they’d lost the fight and Aang, Zuko had thought about giving up. But it had been Katara to touch his hand and remind him that there was still something to fight for. There was a reason to live. So, they had fought on the best that they could, until that last fight that had left them separated. Then he’d gotten word about Katara… His only thought had been to find her, to save her, but try as he might he could get no leads. That was until he’d found his uncle. “He’s been hiding here in plain sight this whole time,” he gestures around, as if there were more to this place beyond the four walls they reside within. 

“And no one turns him in?” Katara asks, surprised. 

“No one here knows him,” Zuko admits with a shake of his head. “And those who do would never turn him in.” Here in the poorest part of the Fire Nation, there is little love for the Phoenix King and his ideals. “He’s running a tea shop.” To his surprise, and delight, she smiles, thinking of the kind-hearted Iroh serving tea to the poorest of his nation’s inhabitants. “He was the one who said you must surely be at the palace.” The rest was history. After many weeks, no months, of planning, they had found their way into the palace and thus, found her. “You should rest…” he says next, noticing her pallor, noticing her pain. 

Katara smiles again, but she doesn’t fight him as she once might have. 

“I’ll come back later,” he assures her as he helps her back against the pillows, drawing the blankets up and over her frame. He turns to go, because he knows she needs the time, the space. “Sleep well,” he says softly, turning back to her, but finds she’s already drifted off back to sleep, bringing a small smile to his face. He slips from the room, leaving the door cracked open, so he or his uncle might hear her should she need something. 

“She woke?” 

It is his uncle there, a tray of tea in his hands. Zuko nods and the older man breaks out in a grin, delighted by the news. “Now, you must go and rest yourself, nephew.” Zuko opens his mouth to protest, but Iroh won’t hear a word of it. “No need, I will take care of her should she wake again,” he won’t allow his nephew to fall ill himself simply out of worry for the girl. “Go on now, I’ll wake you if we need you,” but they certainly would not need him. For a long moment they remain as they are, Zuko casting his gaze back towards the door that separates him from her.  “She needs you to be well rested, Zuko,” his uncle says softly, the only words that could ever make him change his mind. Only then does he nod, pausing for one moment to put his hand to his uncle’s shoulder, their twin colored eyes meeting for a long moment. Then he was gone, disappearing into the other room, once which he’d not occupied since returning with Katara some days ago.

As he climbs into his own bed, he rolls onto his side so he can face the only wall that separates them. He hopes, as he draws the blankets around him, that she sleeps soundly, that when he wakes next he will find her smiling, just as she always did. His eyes close and he drifts off, his last waking thought that of her blue eyes and just how brightly they once shined.

He would get that shine back if it was the last thing he did.

[walkingtalkingscreen]

There Is No Good Start - An Intro(?)

Summary: After waking up 15 years in the future, self-retiredhunter!Jungkook tries to hide his secret past, only to catch the eye of the strongest hunter group in the nation. BTS prepares themselves to introduce the doe-eyed college junior to the world of hunters, only…why is this one always trying to run away? strangely self-sufficient?

a.k.a. the dungeonandhuntersAU no one asked for (but i wanted it anyway so here we are) featuring. a-time-traveling-jungkook. a-very-confused-but-still-overpowered-jungkook. old-man-but-maknae-vibes-jungkook. and-an-unnecessarily-but-well-meaning-overprotective-bts

post: a first look. and meeting.

the concept: 0.1 the meetings: 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4

If you asked Jungkook what a normal world was supposed to look like, he wouldn’t know what to tell you.

He still remembered what it was like before, of course. Back when he still cared about getting to school on time and helping his family out in their shop. The world was quieter back then. Simpler, even, with every new day being a near repeat of the last. 

But at the same time, Jungkook had also lived an entire life in a world changed by magically appearing screens and life-threatening dungeons. He was just freshly out of high school when the first Trial appeared. Barely eighteen when he became the first to survive it. Twenty, when he became the first of his kind–the first player–to even exist. 

That was his curse, he supposed. A man out of time, who somehow became the first of an era he never wished to start in the first place.

You see, there were blessings and burdens that came with being the first of anything.

And no one knew that better than Jungkook himself. 

“Do you miss it?” He remembered his older brother asking him, a year into Jungkook’s new career as the nation’s first and only hunter. Back then, his hair had been a mystifying ruby red. Some sort of unintended side effect for hunters, especially those newly-awakened. “What life was like before?”

Looking back at it now, Jungkook wished he had answered his brother back then. Perhaps given his only remaining family some sort of comfort that becoming a hero hadn’t ruined the youngest Jeon just yet. Instead, Jungkook had left his brother alone, kneeling by their parents’ grave. The late couple were tragic victims of a dungeon-collapse that Jungkook had been too late to stop. (Too late, because the government thought it more important to save a nearby city, rather than Jungkook’s isolated riverside hometown, first.)

That was nearly fourteen years ago. And from what Jungkook knew, that graveyard where his parents were buried had been demolished not long after he was declared missing. Following his tragic disappearance, it had only taken South Korea two years to forget Jungkook’s sacrifice. Another year to nearly forget about Jungkook entirely. And perhaps he should be mad about it. Maybe even stricken at how easily he had been replaced by younger, bright-eyed, and equally bright-haired hunters.

But he wasn’t. If waking up fifteen years in the future had taught him anything, it was to be grateful of the fact that maybe…this was his chance to live the rest of his life the way he wanted, rather than how the world expected him to. (A chance to live the type of normal life his older brother wanted for him before he, too, joined the list of names Jungkook couldn’t save.)

“You still with us, Jungkook?”

Jungkook blinked wearily, realizing he had dozed off in the middle of his class group discussion. Embarrassed, he did his best not to pick at the midnight black bangs framing is forehead, lest the dye begin to stain his fingertips. “Sorry, could we go over that again?”

Their team leader for the project didn’t bat an eye, thankfully. Neither did anyone else in the noisy lecture hall. “We chose to focus on the Dawn of Hunters for our topic. Should be easy enough for you. You were already alive by then, right?”

Jungkook didn’t bother to correct them outright. According to his “current” birth certificate, he would’ve been four years old when the first Dungeon appeared (rather than seventeen). On paper, he was the only twenty-four-year-old student in New World University. Not that anyone cared when Jungkook listed his town as a dungeon-collapse casualty. It was becoming all too common for young adults to be displaced by such events, meaning Jungkook had even found himself a roommate of similar age and circumstance in the nearby dorm. 

Lucky him.

“Great! For this week, let’s focus on the first dungeons and the first hunter. Who wants to cover which?” A few raised hands left Jungkook with little choice in the end. “Okay, so Jungkook, that leaves you covering Hunter Jeon.” 

Perhaps it was the universe trying to get back at him for becoming so complacent. What were the odds that the topic of his latest research assignment would be about himself?

“And that’s the bell! Let’s meet up again here after Professor Kim’s class.” Their group was finally beginning to disperse, with Jungkook not far behind, when the group team leader suddenly threw out one more request. “Hey, Jungkook! Think you can ask Professor Kim for access to the archives for us? I’ve got another class in five minutes, so–”

Jungkook didn’t even bat an eye, already heading for the front of the classroom. It was the least he could do for dozing off again. “Sure thing. You guys go ahead.”

An awkward cough later, Jungkook was standing in front of Professor’s Kim’s desk, hesitantly trying to get said man’s attention. “Umm, Professor Kim? Do you have a minute?”

“Shit, sorry. I didn’t–oh, shit,” The bespectacled teacher snapped his pencil in half, not realizing Jungkook was standing right there. “Right. What can I do for you…uhhh, Jungkook, was it?”

Professor Kim, despite all his accolades, was a prized hunter first and foremost, albeit of the support-class. It was why he was able to teach part-time in New World University during the day, while going after dungeons at night. A bit of a pariah and oddity, always wearing black gloves and a stark white trench coat that nearly swallowed him when he was sitting down. (It clashed horribly with his ash silver hair, though no one had the heart to tell the kind man that.) But Jungkook could see the muscle straining against the seams and the strong clench to his jaw when he spoke. And from the sheer mass of his aura alone, the junior knew better than to underestimate the bespectacled man. 

“You’re in the group covering the Dawn of Hunters, yes?” Professor Kim continued, clumsily adjusting his glasses as he did. “What can I do for you?”

“Our team was wondering if we could get access to the archives. For the project, of course. We’re going to be doing research on the first dungeons and first hunter–”

“The first hunter?” His professor suddenly perked up. “Great choice of topic! You might find a lot on Hunter Jeon online, but a lot of his personal reports aren’t available to the public. Which is a shame, really. It’s absolutely fascinating–how he got his first weapon, how he took down his first dungeon, and how he set up defenses all over the country. He even published the first guide to dungeons, all within the first two months of his awakening–and I’m rambling again, aren’t I?”

Jungkook wasn’t sure who was more embarrassed. The poor professor who clearly knew almost everything there was to do with his old hunter life. Or said hunter-in-hiding, who was trying not to cover his face after hearing his older professor’s fanboy spiel about him. 

“It’s…it’s alright, Professor. I understand your enthusiasm,” Jungkook tried to say. “I think.”

Professor Kim smiled hesitantly before reaching for a nearby slip of paper. “I’ll have that permission request sent down to the archives for you. Last name?”

“Chung.”

“Right, I’ll have it listed for Chung Jungkook and co.” 

“Thank you, Professor–”

“Just Namjoon will do.” The man suddenly spoke up, curiously eyeing Jungkook from above his glasses. “No one calls me Professor except you, you know. Usually, it’s Hunter Kim. Hunter Namjoon. Or even Devil Eyes.” An insulting jab made by the media, no doubt referring to the way the man’s eyes glowed red when he was in action. 

“Well, you’re more than just a hunter. You’re also my professor.” Jungkook defended with an empathic grin. “That’s pretty important, too, don’t you think?”

Jungkook left before Namjoon could reply. If he had stayed behind a bit longer, he would’ve noticed the (technically? physically?) older man gaping after him. But he didn’t, knowing better than to mingle with hunters. Even ones as nice as Namjoon.

And considering his aversion to anything related to that world, who could blame him? 

[innerchorus]

Ahead of this month's chapter of Arslan Senki, some predictions/theories (that I meant to post weeks ago).

We've all been wondering how Arakawa is going to tie everything together, especially how Zahhak will be integrated into what's going down in Ecbatana. Personally, my theory is that the Worst Coronation Ever™ is going to get even worse, in that following a defeat by Arslan (who as I've said before, I believe will be shown to be wielding Rukhnabad at this point), Hilmes is going to get kidnapped. I'll briefly outline some reasons for why I think this below.

Although the plot has been racing towards its conclusion, so far it has felt fast-paced but not rushed. To have Zahhak simply burst in on the coronation confrontation and be summarily defeated by Arslan there and then would feel rushed and, in my opinion, anti-climactic. But to have one event lead into another would be exciting!

We know Zahhak's body (Kaykhusraw) is vulnerable and starting to disintegrate. We can assume this is why it withdrew from attacking Team Arslan before, as the body took damage from arrows. It's clear that Zahhak is following some imperative to reach Ecbatana, likely related to the head jars. It makes sense to me that these will be used for some kind of ritual to transfer Zahhak to a new host body and bring about the full return of his consciousness.

Hilmes being yoinked (either right after shit goes down at his coronation or from the dungeons shortly afterwards) could result in Team Arslan seeking to locate Zahhak below Ecbatana and defeat him once and for all. Sure, most of Team Arslan would probably be quite happy if Hilmes just fucking died, because it's one more problem out of the way and he hasn't exactly endeared himself to them with his actions thus far, but do you really think Arslan would feel like that? Despite everything, I like to think that as well as defeating Zahhak, he would also try to rescue Hilmes if possible.

And don't you think this would be the perfect opportunity for Team Arslan and the (defeated) Team Hilmes to work together? Don't you think Sam would volunteer himself to go down there too? Don't you think Zandeh would be so desperate to save his Denka that he'd manage to put aside his grudge against Daryun to do so? I'm kind of rambling now but this sort of 'circumstances force opposite sides to work together' thing is 👌👌👌

I honestly think this would be a positive thing for Hilmes's future, too. My biggest hope/theory is that in Arakawa's manga, he will relinquish his claim on the throne of Pars and go to Maryam with Irina. Just being defeated by Arslan wouldn't be enough for him to accept this and become a good neighbour for Pars, in my opinion. But if he sees Zahhak for himself, and faces the full horror of what he has helped facilitate combined with the personal horror of the fate that Team Zahhak have planned for him, then if he survives it then I think he'll be so shaken that his perspective might change, especially if he sees Arslan wielding Rukhnabad to defeat Zahhak. One of the things that also might shake him is witnessing the death of one of his followers.

And if you're wondering how Team Arslan will even be able to find where Hilmes has been taken and where this ritual is taking place? Here is my other prediction!

Team Arslan will capture a mage!

In the last chapter, the presence of the owl felt like a hint that one of Team Zahhak is watching them. If my guess about Arslan wishing to return Rukhnabad to Kaykhusraw's mauseoleum is correct, that mage is likely to follow them there and interfere somehow. Remember Isfan apologising to Narsus for not managing to take the mage in Peshawar alive so they could find out who he was etc? After seeing Zahhak, they're even more certain to want answers. And a captured mage, brought with them to Ecbatana, will be able to lead them down into the Dark Temple.

Also not to be salty that Arakawa already killed Gurgin YET AGAIN but wouldn't it have been perfect for this mage to be Gurgin? This would have been the perfect opportunity for Farangis to recognise him! We could have had backstory! Also yes I did just want to see him fuck up and get captured lmao