#medium-high priority

[elgaberino-mcoc]

spreadsheet cleanup SABRA

ComicVine: 309 issues Fandom: 63 unique appearances, 13 variants 0 video games

Marvel's mutant superhuman agent of the Mossad (the Israeli Secret Service) will make her MCU debut in Captain America 4, so she's medium-high priority for @MCOCwishlist

[reasonsforhope]

"With “green corridors” that mimic the natural forest, the Colombian city is driving down temperatures — and could become five degrees cooler over the next few decades.

In the face of a rapidly heating planet, the City of Eternal Spring — nicknamed so thanks to its year-round temperate climate — has found a way to keep its cool.

Previously, Medellín had undergone years of rapid urban expansion, which led to a severe urban heat island effect — raising temperatures in the city to significantly higher than in the surrounding suburban and rural areas. Roads and other concrete infrastructure absorb and maintain the sun’s heat for much longer than green infrastructure.

“Medellín grew at the expense of green spaces and vegetation,” says Pilar Vargas, a forest engineer working for City Hall. “We built and built and built. There wasn’t a lot of thought about the impact on the climate. It became obvious that had to change.”

Efforts began in 2016 under Medellín’s then mayor, Federico Gutiérrez (who, after completing one term in 2019, was re-elected at the end of 2023). The city launched a new approach to its urban development — one that focused on people and plants.

The $16.3 million initiative led to the creation of 30 Green Corridors along the city’s roads and waterways, improving or producing more than 70 hectares of green space, which includes 20 kilometers of shaded routes with cycle lanes and pedestrian paths.

These plant and tree-filled spaces — which connect all sorts of green areas such as the curb strips, squares, parks, vertical gardens, sidewalks, and even some of the seven hills that surround the city — produce fresh, cooling air in the face of urban heat. The corridors are also designed to mimic a natural forest with levels of low, medium and high plants, including native and tropical plants, bamboo grasses and palm trees.

Heat-trapping infrastructure like metro stations and bridges has also been greened as part of the project and government buildings have been adorned with green roofs and vertical gardens to beat the heat. The first of those was installed at Medellín’s City Hall, where nearly 100,000 plants and 12 species span the 1,810 square meter surface.

“It’s like urban acupuncture,” says Paula Zapata, advisor for Medellín at C40 Cities, a global network of about 100 of the world’s leading mayors. “The city is making these small interventions that together act to make a big impact.”

At the launch of the project, 120,000 individual plants and 12,500 trees were added to roads and parks across the city. By 2021, the figure had reached 2.5 million plants and 880,000 trees. Each has been carefully chosen to maximize their impact.

“The technical team thought a lot about the species used. They selected endemic ones that have a functional use,” explains Zapata.

The 72 species of plants and trees selected provide food for wildlife, help biodiversity to spread and fight air pollution. A study, for example, identified Mangifera indica as the best among six plant species found in Medellín at absorbing PM2.5 pollution — particulate matter that can cause asthma, bronchitis and heart disease — and surviving in polluted areas due to its “biochemical and biological mechanisms.”

And the urban planting continues to this day.

The groundwork is carried out by 150 citizen-gardeners like Pineda, who come from disadvantaged and minority backgrounds, with the support of 15 specialized forest engineers. Pineda is now the leader of a team of seven other gardeners who attend to corridors all across the city, shifting depending on the current priorities...

“I’m completely in favor of the corridors,” says [Victoria Perez, another citizen-gardener], who grew up in a poor suburb in the city of 2.5 million people. “It really improves the quality of life here.”

Wilmar Jesus, a 48-year-old Afro-Colombian farmer on his first day of the job, is pleased about the project’s possibilities for his own future. “I want to learn more and become better,” he says. “This gives me the opportunity to advance myself.”

The project’s wider impacts are like a breath of fresh air. Medellín’s temperatures fell by 2°C in the first three years of the program, and officials expect a further decrease of 4 to 5C over the next few decades, even taking into account climate change. In turn, City Hall says this will minimize the need for energy-intensive air conditioning...

In addition, the project has had a significant impact on air pollution. Between 2016 and 2019, the level of PM2.5 fell significantly, and in turn the city’s morbidity rate from acute respiratory infections decreased from 159.8 to 95.3 per 1,000 people [Note: That means the city's rate of people getting sick with lung/throat/respiratory infections.]

There’s also been a 34.6 percent rise in cycling in the city, likely due to the new bike paths built for the project, and biodiversity studies show that wildlife is coming back — one sample of five Green Corridors identified 30 different species of butterfly.

Other cities are already taking note. Bogotá and Barranquilla have adopted similar plans, among other Colombian cities, and last year São Paulo, Brazil, the largest city in South America, began expanding its corridors after launching them in 2022.

“For sure, Green Corridors could work in many other places,” says Zapata."

-via Reasons to Be Cheerful, March 4, 2024

[danielnelsen]

it’s always funny to use in any indoor place because like…..why is there a bear in this shop? (other than me)

ranger description from the ttrpg:

There are songs and stories of noble-spirited heroes who protect the sanctity of nature from the encroachment of corrupt civilization. Rangers are not those heroes. Rather, they are skilled scouts who use their knowledge of nature for their own benefit. They can lure animals, sometimes of frightening size, to fight for them. If the animals die in battle, that is not the rangers’ concern as long as they fulfill their role in the fight. The Dalish call such rangers cruel; the rangers say they are just being practical. Rangers make excellent guides and are often hired as such.

and how it’s used:

You can lure nearby animals to your location and make them fight for you. Start by making a Communication (Animal Handling) test, which takes 2d6 minutes. The base TN is 13 but the GM may adjust it based on the area you’re in and the orneriness of the local animals. For each degree of success, you reduce the time the test takes by 1 minute. If the test is successful, you attract an animal and can control it during the next combat encounter. When that’s over or after half an hour has elapsed, the animal wanders away. The GM has final say over what sorts of animals you can lure with this talent.

so it’s a bit more practical with it being harder to use in some scenarios and obviously there’s a lot more variation in the animals that are even possible to summon in different areas

okay I saw a reference to zevrans wolf in a tag so as someone who also loves the ranger specialization and only won the landsmeet duel as a rogue last night because of it I gotta ask. how do you think that works in universe w the summoning. bc like. it can't be actual summoning, thats for mages, the summoning has to be a game mechanic only.

I have thought about this a lot in the context of the landsmeet specifically in the last 12 hours and I can't decide if its funnier to have the familiar just following them around at all times (i.e. theres wolf chilling in crowd at the landsmeet while everyones arguing) or if they have a special whistle or something (i.e. the landsmeet duel starts and their familiar busts through a door like the koolaid man)

the ranger specialisation is SO hard to even justify working in any way. my theories for my prospective ranger wardens on what it all even means are like “haunted by a protective spirit that possesses these animals in order to come to his aid” and “has an uncanny connection with nature after being bitten by a werewolf during nature of the beast”. and then i get to zev and i’m just like. uhhhh well you know he’s my princess so he can just do that. maybe elves are just like that i don’t know. maybe the mage wife i gave him was like hey babe do u want a Creature? a Creature of Varying Form that returns even when killed? i promise it’s almost certainly not a demon technically

i picture the animal just sort of loping after you at all times and chilling, i think, bc it Appearing whenever you need it is too silly if u are indoors 😭 so the warden won the landsmeet debate bc everyone was too distracted by their hindbrain screaming increasingly louder that’s not a dog

i love the ranger spec though. it is my bestie. i wish i liked playing dao rogue more to have it myself but ranger boyfriend and awakening ranger boyfriend stand-in (nathaniel) having it will have to do

[luxaofhesperides]

“You know, I never realized how true the ‘eyes are the windows to your soul’ thing was until I saw yours.” + fluff + cafe AU ; requested by @kiv1!

He’s sure Danny didn’t expect to see him every other day after he casually mentioned that he had gotten a part time job at a local cafe. However, as his friend, it is Duke’s moral duty to only get coffee from that shop while Danny is on shift, specifically to annoy him. 

Also, so he can support his friend, but being annoying takes priority.

It’s a routine now, for both of them. Danny clocks in for his shift and an hour later Duke is strolling into the cafe with his eyes locked on Danny’s. The rest of the baristas always shove Danny up to the register when they see Duke, taking over whatever order he was making. Even some of the other regulars turn their attention up to the counter, hoping for another few minutes of entertainment.

Danny sighs as he gets ready to input Duke’s order. It’s never the same one, because Duke would hate to be predictable and make things easier for Danny, but it has the side effect of making him realize that some of the expensive, seasonal drinks are really good. 

It’s a bit hard on his wallet, but it’s a price he’s willing to pay for teasing Danny. 

“Hey,” he greets cheerfully as he leans against the counter, grinning at Danny.

Danny sighs again. “What can I get you today, random customer that keeps bothering me.”

“A latte, but make it sweet somehow. And iced.”

“What size would you like?”

“Let’s go with medium today.”

“Anything else?”

“Yeah.” Duke leans closer to Danny, watching as he fights down a smile. “I just gotta say that you got gorgeous eyes. You know, I never realized how true the ‘eyes are the window to your soul thing’ was until I saw yours.”

Danny considers this for a moment, then shakes his head. “It kind of sounds like your trying to steal my soul through my eyes.”

“Why is that what your mind goes to?”

“Well. I watched Coraline last night.”

Duke stares at Danny, taking in the dark circles under his eyes. “...Didn’t you say that movie gave you nightmares as a kid?”

“Yeah! And it turns out, it gives me nightmares even now!”

“And ruined my pick up line,” Duke complains playfully.

“It was too cheesy anyways,” Danny replies, putting Duke’s order into the screen. It prints a moment later, no doubt with some bizarre name since Danny refuses to actually name Duke on his orders, and then recites the price. 

He pays and watches as Danny slaps the order onto a medium sized up, then tosses it over to the barista making the drinks. He’s not actually sure what her name is since she refuses to wear a name tag, but she always gives him a wave and also a rating of how good his pick up lines are.

“Seven out of ten!” she calls out to him today, then gets started on making his drink.

“I don’t see why you don’t flirt with anyone else,” Danny says, “I’m pretty sure my coworkers like your pick up lines even more than they like me.”

“Why would I want to flirt with them? Danny, I’m literally only here to bother you.”

Danny rolls his eyes. “Yeah, trust me, I know. My good looks just keep pulling in business.”

He says it like a joke, but it’s true. Duke has noticed it. Danny’s coworkers have noticed it. His manager noticed it and now has him out on the floor every shift. If they can get him to work on the chalkboard sign outside, or wipe down the two tables out front, then they do it, because Danny is Midwestern to his core and it’s very charming in a place like Gotham. He smiles at people as they walk by, happily answers their questions when they ask him what the cafe serves, recommends food and drinks for them, is generally a bright and nice person to everyone who comes near the cafe. 

His cute looks draw people in, then his personality makes them stay. 

It’s all customer service, of course, because Duke never gets the cute, sunny Danny. He’s left with the sarcastic, rude, and funny Danny that’s been his friend since they met in junior year of high school. 

“Your eyes are really pretty, though,” Duke says, “Very blue. Sometimes green. It’s no wonder people keep falling for you!”

Danny reaches across the counter to shove Duke away, but he’s blushing, so Duke is counting it as a win. “Shut up. Now you’re just lying. My eyes are never green.”

“Yes, they are. Danny, I’ve seen them multiple times. They’re green sometimes.”

“No? My eyes have literally only ever been blue. They’re the bluest blue to ever blue. They don’t just turn green.”

They squint at each other for a long moment, trying to figure out who’s wrong and in what way. Duke’s pretty sure Danny’s wrong, since he can’t exactly see his own eyes, and Duke has spent an embarrassing amount of time just admiring how nice they are in different kinds of light. But also, they are Danny’s eyes, so he should know what color they are.

Then Danny’s coworker is setting down Duke’s drink on the pick up counter, giving Danny an excuse to get back to work.

“One medium oatmeal cookie iced latte for Cornelius Aggravating Douglas.” He holds up the drink and makes very direct eye contact with Duke, holding out the drink towards him.

“Did you really have to make the initials ‘Cad’?”

“Yes.”

“Fair enough,” Duke says, making Danny crack a smile. 

“Are you heading out after this?”

Duke grabs a straw and sticks it into his latte, swirling it around some. “That was the plan, yeah. Got a few library books to pick up. Why?”

“I got approval for a half shift today, so I’m off in like ten minutes, if you wanna wait for me.”

“Hell yeah, dude! I’ll wait outside so I don’t distract you with my flirtatious winks again.”

“Get out of here,” Danny laughs. Duke lifts his drink in a quick toast, then gets out of there. He takes a seat at one of the tables out front, content to just people watch as he slowly sips his latte.  

It’s cloudy out, but not raining, which is always a plus. As much as he’d like to see the sun, these kinds of days aren’t so bad, either. The wind still carries a bit of a chill, but the spring is steadily warming things up. There are tons of people out, a constant rush of movement, but a few do catch sight of him, then look towards the cafe, their steps slowing down as they think. Most keep walking, but Duke does manage to get a few to go in just by taking a long sip of his latte to really enjoy it.

Really, he should be getting compensated for the work he’s doing to draw people in. Danny’s not the only one who can do it. 

Bruce keeps offering him money, so he doesn’t need to get paid, but maybe he can convince the other employees to talk Danny into accepting one of his pick up lines so they can go on a date one of these days. 

It’s become a bit of a joke, but the first time Duke used a cheesy pick up line on Danny, he was being absolutely serious about it. He definitely shouldn’t have used a pick up line he found from a website centered on relationship advice, but he panicked and needed some extra help. 

Instead of smoothly asking Danny out on a date, Duke froze up, blurted out the pick up line, then had to laugh it off with Danny and pretend it was a joke. 

He still wishes he was able to ask Danny out properly before, but he’s also glad that they got to spend more time as friends, getting to know each other. It’s easier to be with him now, no longer so tongue tied and flustered. 

Duke gets to fluster Danny now, which is much better. 

And maybe one day his pick up lines will work! Sooner or later Danny’s going to question why he keeps doing this, and then he’ll connect the dots and understand what Duke feels for him.

As it is, he has yet to connect shit. 

“My eyes are definitely blue,” Danny says as he walks out of the cafe, messenger bag slung over his shoulder. “I checked while I was putting my apron away.”

“You’re still on that?”

“They’re blue.”

Duke gestures for Danny to come closer. He complies and leans down, letting Duke cup his face in his hands. He checks, considers, then checks again, and says, “They are indeed blue.”

“Told you they weren’t green,” Danny says smugly, pulling back. 

“And I said they were green sometimes. Now clearly isn’t one of those times, but they do turn green!”

“I don’t think you should be allowed to say any eye-related pick up lines until you admit that you were wrong and didn’t know my eye color.”

Shaking his head, Duke stands up and pushes in his chair. “Just wait, I’ll catch it sometime and prove it to you.”

“Sure, whatever. Don’t you have library books to get?”

“Yeah, you coming with?”

“Obviously. Why else would I leave my wonderful job where I am left alone to make drinks in peace?” Danny knocks his shoulder against Duke playfully, then reaches over and steals his drink right out of his hand. He takes a sip, makes a pleased hum, and drains half of what was left in the cup. 

“Hey!” Duke moves to take it back, which is naturally the exact moment Danny takes off running, effortlessly dodging everyone else on the sidewalk. He takes off after Danny, using his powers to make sure he can move out of the way of anything or anyone who gets in his path. 

They’re past the block when Danny starts to slow down, taking another sip of Duke’s latte. 

He puts on a final burst of speed and all but tackles Danny into the mouth of an alley, reaching for his cup. “Gotcha!”

“No!” Danny wails dramatically. He takes a step back and Duke watches as his power kicks up again, showing him a vision of Danny stepping on an empty can and falling back. Except he doesn’t really fall back? His foot rolls back on the can for a second, then goes through the can and settles back onto the ground where he catches his balance. Through the entire three second fall, Danny’s eyes are a bright green, brighter than Duke’s ever seen them.

His vision fades away and he moves to catch Danny, taking the chance to watch carefully as Danny’s foot does indeed go through the can. He quickly brings his gaze up to Danny’s eyes, which are green, but not inhumanly bright like they were in his vision.

Is the green not perceptible to normal humans?

He can probably only see it due to his powers. Which means he somewhat inadvertently outed himself as a meta.

Whoops!

Might as well just bite the bullet.

“Hey, do you have powers?” 

Danny chokes, shoving Duke away as he coughs and tries to clear his throat. He looks panicked, wild-eyed, searching for an escape route. “What? No. Why would I have powers? Maybe you have powers, have you ever considered that?”

“I mean. I do have powers. That’s why I’m asking.”

“Hold up. Stop talking. You have powers?”

“And your eyes are green sometimes.”

“That’s. No, they’re not,” Danny lies. It’s a very bad lie, seeing how on edge he is, and as much as Duke hates making Danny feel like that, he did get some bad habits while training with Bruce and this is one of them: the need to keep pushing, chasing after clear answers regardless of what the cost is. 

Duke shrugs, taking a sip of his latte, down to its last few mouthfuls, acting casual. “If you say so. But my powers don’t lie, man. As much as I wish they would, sometimes.”

“...Can we not do this out here?” The defeated tone Danny speaks with makes Duke hate himself. But he needs answers now. He needs to know if Danny is like him, if he’s safe, if he needs help. He needs it more than he needs Danny to like him at all. 

“Sure. I know a few quiet places we can talk.”

“I can’t believe this is happening,” Danny mutters. “Did my eyes really give it away?”

“Yeah. I mean, to be fair, I also didn’t realize until literally right now, so I don’t think anyone else will figure it out just from staring into your eyes.”

“See, this is what happens when you keep flirting when you don’t mean it. Secrets get pulled out into the open and it’s bad for everyone!”

Duke lightly punches Danny’s arm, trying to lift the mood. “Hey, who said I didn’t mean it?”

“What?”

“Who said I didn’t mean it when I flirt with you?”

Danny blinks at him, confused, then says, “I mean, no one I guess. But it’s pretty obvious?”

“I only flirt with you, you know.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah,” Duke says, trying to ignore how his voice shakes slightly. “There’s another one of my secrets. Can we call it even now?”

“Oh!” The shock of the revelation distracts Danny from his earlier nerves. Which is great, because now Duke is the one who’s nervous. It’s worth it, though, seeing the pretty blush come to bloom on Danny’s cheeks. “So all those pick up lines—”

“Yeah.”

“And the pick up line made you realize my powers!” 

“These pick up lines are doing the most,” Duke agrees. And then he realizes, “Hey, you what this means? I was right! Your eyes are windows to your soul!”

“I’m going to hit you,” Danny says, already winding back for a solid punch. He lets Danny hit him since it’s only fair for the stress he caused; as a meta, Duke knows how important secrecy is, how the difference between life and death can be just how well his powers are hidden. 

“Are we even now?”

Danny considers him for a moment, then sighs. “Yeah, I guess. Let’s be done with this for now, okay? Let’s go to the library.”

He refuses to entertain any conversation about powers or Duke’s feelings for him. It’s nice to spend time with Danny, but by the end, Duke is sure he can feel his heart start to crack in half. A sleepless night awaits him when he gets home, moving past his cousin’s attempts to talk to him in favor of flopping face down onto his bed.

But the next day, Danny grins at him when he walks into the cafe. He doesn’t have a new pick up line, choosing instead to act as calm and casual as possible to give Danny some space.

Also breaking routine, Danny insists on personally making Duke’s drink, writing something onto the cup before he fills it up with a floral tea. 

You’re so fine, you made me forget my pick up line, is scrawled on the side of his cup when he gets it. 

“Enjoy your drink, Cutiepie the Third,” Danny says with a shy smile.

“The Third?” Duke repeats, relief making him feel lighter than air, “Who are the first two?”

“Don’t worry about it, cutie. Get to class!”

Duke lets Danny chase him out, and holds in his laugh when he hears Danny’s coworker screech, “What was that?!”

Yeah, they’ll be fine. In the meantime, Duke needs to see if apology pick up lines are thing. Danny definitely deserves one.

[tainbocuailnge]

so I haven't touched arknights in like. about a year or so, but it sounds like Crownslayer is a gravel style opp? Which. idk back when I was playing Gravel was still an incredible unit for her ability to be dropped and just stall someone for a bit. and crownslayer having stun and evasion, as well as being able to provide evasion to other units, sounds like a similar style of insane??? idk why people are saying she's bad she sounds bonkers

(tho I might be wrong, like I said I've not touched the game since like Il Sira)

the problem is that people have developed a completely warped idea of what an executor specialist is supposed to look like because texas and yato are not actually good representatives of the subclass.

the game started with gravel and projekt red, and waai fu was added early in year 1. gravel is built to facetank damage with her massive shield and to this day she remains undefeated in that role. red meanwhile is more damage oriented, meant to chip away at medium-threat targets with her s1 or do a bit of crowd control with her s2. waai fu follows this philosophy of having some defensive utility on her s1 (an atk debuff) to let her 1v1 medium-damage priority targets and crowd control utility on s2 (inflicting silence). their damage was never crazy high, their use was in crowd control including plugging leaks, reducing incoming damage through methods like debuffs or just baiting attacks, and taking out priority targets like elite casters or guerilla heralds at a lower cost than throwing a whole dreadnought guard at it.

then phantom released around the first anniversary as the first 6* of the archetype and his skills cover every job that you would previously need separate specialists for. his s1 tanks physical damage, his s2 lets him quickly handle medium-threat targets, and his s3 has crowd control in a large area. phantom on release was genuinely the pinnacle of fast-redeploy specialists because he was all of the other fast-redeploys in one, and you could deploy him twice to boot. despite this he still left reason to use the others instead of him if you really needed a specific bit of utility, and gravel in particular made it so his s1 was rarely actually used because she was just better at it. I consider this a good thing from a game design perspective, but I also believe this created this idea that phantom is (was) the best executor because he has more damage than the other executors, instead of because he's 2-4 utility units in a trenchcoat. phantom is an executor that is two executors.

in year 2 kafka released and she stuck with this idea of chipping away at enemies and doing funny crowd control with her weird range and sleep debuff. in philosophy she's still exactly what executors were originally supposed to be, bringing a new angle to the concept that doesn't clash with what the others were doing. kafka is an executor that is an executor.

skip forward to year 4 and we get texas, who despite everything still retains the shadow of the original spirit of the subclass. she has silence utility, she has the ability to pick off targets, she has crowd control. but it's year 4 and she's a limited operator, so she also deals more damage than all previous executors combined could ever dream of and also hits air with her stuns because we introduced an enemy gimmick where you want anti-air stuns since we last made an executor. her s2 does more single target dps than surtr s3 or so i've been told. texas is really more like a high damage guard cosplaying as an executor.

then only half a year after texas they bring in yato who just straight up does not even have utility, all she does is infinite fucking damage and her crowd control is killing the crowd dead. she's not an executor in the original sense, she's some other thing, like how mountain is a brawler that is not a brawler. but because she and texas released so closely together and both do so much damage, people now think that an executor's job is to deal a lot of damage and that the utility on texas is a bonus instead of part of the original conceit.

and it's this warped idea of executors that crownslayer is being compared to. crownslayer is doing exactly what executors have been doing from the start, namely taking out medium-threat priority targets, reducing incoming damage, and providing crowd-control utility. she's an executor that is an executor, same as phantom, but where phantom combined the at the time existing executors into his kit crownslayer instead looks at the functionality that executors are meant to provide and approaches it from a different angle. obviously I haven't actually used her myself because she just released on CN but on paper she looks incredibly well designed for her job of being an executor

[cadaverdolls]

Greetings! Plushie gun time 🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉

Today’s victim is that of @chloroooew !

☁️☁️☁️ BANG!! ☁️☁️☁️

Hehe hoho

Break down below,

Bangs : Separate piece (not embroidered on) 🪼 Hair type : medium or short fur 🪼 Clothing : None of the pieces have any details that would require a custom order so it be easy to find premade doll clothes, only concern would be if you wanted the exact shade of red for the skirt to match the shoes 🪼 Issues that may happen : Since the eyes are unique you’d need to check a doll makers past works for similar cases, sometimes a see faces that are a little too low or high on the doll. Just something to look out for.

Drawing wise I wanted to do different kind of eyes, that’s kind of my goal for the next couple dolls now that I’m back from my long break. Also expression! I need to start practicing it more so I’ll probably be posting some studies in between dolls or with doll post. My anatomy needs work, not that these dolls are realistic but when I do the multi doll drawings I feel like I could do better with the 3d shapes of them. It’s not a top priority since I don’t plan on doing that type of doll post soon. Just something I’m noting.

My new format I think will be bangs, hair type, accessories, and concerns. Doll break down section is a work in progress.

[bookofbonbon]

I really love you keep him there/christmas kiss! you mention that it’s common theme amongst polite capitol society children to have known each other their entire lives, did this also include sejanus when he arrived in the capitol? and was she friends with him? 🥺

you'll never belong - coriolanus snow.

Pairings/Characters: Coriolanus Snow x Reader. Sejanus Plinth. Arachne Crane.

Word Count: 1.1k+.

Apart of: You Keep Him There. Christmas Kiss - however, these can absolutely all be read as stand alones.

A/N: I know this wasn't a request but, it does answer your question and it's an opportunity to introduce one of the reasons why she doesn't 'like' Coriolanus. Also, military family = her mother's side; blizzards = father's side (murdoch is paternal grandfather).

Heavensbee Hall buzzes with excitement, every available standing and sitting space filled with Academy faculty, graduates and their parents, bar yours - not that it mattered to you. For the last ten years, July 4th has been a high priority and exceptionally busy day for your family with your parents always personally overseeing the network’s airing of the Reaping for each District - not even your graduation could take priority over that. Not that you’d expect it to either, you had barely scraped a pass; it was with the help of one person that you were graduating at all, one person you were currently looking for and had finally spotted in the corner with his parents. 

You quickly tell your grandparents, “I’ll be back.” 

But before you can step away from them, you’re immediately stopped by them - the pair acting as eyes and ears for your parents. You didn’t blame your parents for the precaution and if it had been up to you, you wouldn’t have been here at all but, instead with them. Unfortunately for you however, they had asserted that you were to attend your graduation and remain present for the entire ceremony - no exceptions. They’d even gone so far as to inform your Aunt to keep an eye out for you since she’d be present as a guest of honour. 

“Where are you going?” your grandfather asks gruffly. 

You nod towards Sejanus Plinth and show him the medium-sized gift box in your hand.

“I need to give this to him.”

There’s a look of disdain mixed with suspicion in his eyes as he looks to where you nod, at the Plinth’s, then back at you until finally he relents but, not without a warning to remain in his sight. 

You want to roll your eyes, your mother knew what she was doing when she sicked her military parents on you. 

Weaving through several bodies to get to him, you catch bits and pieces of conversations here and there. Only one catches your attention however, involving your three elite cohort - the topic bringing you to a halt. 

“... I don’t like him, Arachne. I tolerate him. He’s district.”

“No need to guess who the three of you are talking about,” you interrupt Coriolanus, Arachne and Festus. 

“Well, well, well,” Arachne drawls with her nasally voice. “So nice of you to actually show but, shouldn’t you be in the Academy Rouge? You certainly didn’t place in the top 24.”

“You know it’s funny you mention that, Arachne, because Murdoch actually offered to buy me your place in the top 24 but, out of the kindness of my heart, I told my grandfather, no.”

Thick tension fills the air, Arachne’s red painted lips dropping into a scowl, furthermore when you lean in close and remind her of her place. 

“Never forget, Arachne - truth doesn’t matter, only perception and I control the narrative, always,” you smile, saccharine. “Not you.” 

You want to roll your eyes at the stubborn look of hidden terror on her face. As if you’d actually do anything to the detriment of any of them - Murdoch had successfully hammered unwavering allegiance to this little group here - The Old Guard of the Elite - into you but, still... they could use a little reminding every now and then of their place. 

Stifled laughter from both boys breaks the tension and you divert your attention to them, specifically Coriolanus; your eyes immediately finding the red rose pinned to his waistcoat, the smallest of thorns still present on its stalk.

“A rose,” you touch the stalk gently. “So, very fitting of you. Beautiful to look at but harmful if you touch.”

You allow the thorn to prick your finger, a little bulb of blood blossoming on the tip. You hold your finger up to show him.

“A shame that not everyone knows this,” you tell him disdainfully.

Recognition flashes in his eye, you’re talking about Sejanus - you excuse yourself from the group, carrying onto your final destination who was already headed your way but not to you.

“Hey,” Sejanus greets you with a small smile when you plant yourself in his path. 

You bypass the greetings, “where are you going?”

You already know where he’s going and you’re not surprised when he tells you - to Coriolanus - but, you asked as a courtesy.

“Why?”

“There’s something I need to tell him before the ceremony starts.” 

“There’s no need to talk in code, I already know about the Plinth Prize or should I say lack thereof.”

Sejanus looks at you puzzled but, before he can ask how you know, you provide him with the answer. 

“You all seem to forget who my Aunt is, she’s the one who told me.” 

Recognition becomes Sejanus and he nods in understanding. 

“Hey, listen.” You step closer to him. “You should really stop hanging out with Coriolanus.”

“And why is that?”

“He’s not your friend.”

This makes him laugh, “oh and you are?”

“Compared to him? Absolutely I am. Sejanus, you could have all the money in the world and it will never make them- him like you.”

Sejanus bristles at your words, becoming defensive - you don’t mean to hurt him but, you do. 

“Thank you for pointing out the obvious,” he tells you bitterly. “As if I needed another reminder that I’ll never belong here.” 

You roll your eyes, “I’m not trying to remind you that you don’t belong here, I’m trying to tell you that they don’t care about you. Coriolanus Snow does not care about you.” 

“And how exactly would you know that when you only care about yourself?” he snaps at you. "He has been the only person who has ever been my fri-"

“Well then you are as stupid as you are willful, Sejanus Plinth because Coriolanus Snow only cares about Coriolanus Snow,” you cut him off.

Irritation seeps into your voice because what he said wasn’t true about Coriolanus or about you.

You were fiercely protective of those you care for and love - your military grandfather said it would be your downfall - and right now, despite your unwavering allegiance to the Old Guard, you were stupidly trying to protect him. 

“He’s going to get you into trouble or worse- but you know what? What do I care, right? So, whatever- here.” you shove the box into his hand. “My thanks for your help.” 

You don’t give him time to process, swiftly turning and walking away once you feel his hands take hold of the medium-sized gift box - baked goods from District 2. 

That would be the last conversation you’d had with Sejanus Plinth before he was hanged for treason in District 12 only two months later. 

You’d hardly known him and yet you cared for him; his death still hurt.

The truth of Sejanus's death would find you eventually, haunting your relationship with Coriolanus; unable to completely trust him.

-

Can you guess where the Blizzard family has made their wealth?

-

All fics are my own work - I have not posted my work anywhere else.

Disclaimer: I do not own any characters/places mentioned above.

Do not copy. Do not translate. Do not repost.

bookofbonbon 2023. All rights reserved.

[jitterbugjive]

Want a super unique commission with a fun flavor experience to have forever? I'm extremely passionate about tea, and have been testing custom blends on Adagio Teas for years. Having just recently released a set of My Magic Grandpa inspired blends with more to come, I figured people might be interested in having custom loose leaf blends made for their characters, preferences, or topic of choice.

Please note, you are buying a custom recipe from me. You will have to make an account on Adagio to create the blend for yourself to order as a $6 sample or more if you like. The $6 samples come in customizable collectable tins, and you must make a label for them to order the tea. I can offer to make a label as well, just note they are small and need to be JPG so they won't cost much. These tins are great for storing other small things whenever you're done with your tea. Blends and Tin Label art will be given priority in my commission queue.

I am more than willing to help explain how to use Adagio Teas if need be, as it can be a little confusing at first.

PRICING:

Blend: $5 - Will be customized until customer satisfaction no extra charge (Max of 6 adjustments before extra fee of $1 per change)

Tin Label: $3-$25 (Added to Blend cost)

Just text and basic colors: $3

Text+Graphic of Tea Ingredients: $5

Character Head+Text: $10

Char Head+Text+Ingredients: $15

Char Torso+Text: $20

Char Torso+Text+Ingredients: $25

Taste Test: $9 - If you want me to do a taste test of your blend you would need to pay for the sample and shipping for me to order.

With a taste test I will give tips on the best additives to bring out specific flavors, and I can make any adjustments that might need to be made to the tea. I can do up to 3 taste tests, but each one would need to be paid for. It might be better for you to get a sample of the blend for yourself and ask for suggestions for adjustments if it's not to your liking. I will not charge extra to make adjustments after you taste test your tea unless you've already maxed out on 6 adjustments.

Research Fee: Starts at $5 - If you want me to more thoroughly acquaint myself with the theme you chose for your tea, such as reading a good chunk of a comic or story in order to better understand what you want, there would have to be an extra fee depending on how much research is needed.

Commission Form:

Flavor Preferences: (Type of tea, fruits, herbs, floral, spices, etc)

Flavors to Avoid: (Things you would not want in your tea)

Caffeine Level: (None/Low/Medium/High)

Inspiration: (Choose a theme, your flavor preferences, or a character to base the tea on. Please describe these as best as you can, things like character personalities and references help)

Tin Label?: (Yes/No, if Yes, give instructions and references if needed)

Send an email to jitterbugcommissions@gmail.com to order a blend recipe!

Example of how a blend recipe will look when I send it to you:

[catgirltoofies]

here's a few dwarf fortress adventure mode tips if you're struggling at all!

1. play a goblin. the mode is unfinished and there's no way to get food except what you start with, so play as a goblin so you don't have to deal with food and water (still need sleep tho). the downsides to playing a goblin, for the record: you're smaller and weaker than the other races. this can make it hard to wrestle things that are large, and makes you very frail under your armor - so don't fight big things without good armor.

2. don't bother with specific weapon skills at the start. my primary suggestions for skills to start with are Novice Reader, so you can read books and/or become a necromancer (if that's your groove) and, importantly, if you don't start out able to read, you can never learn to read. aside from that, my only suggestion is to take at least two levels in Observer. this will let you see how an opponent is attacking so you can counter effectively - you can't parry a dragon's fire breath, but you can block it. back to my initial point - the weapon you start with is not going to be a good weapon, and you should be seeking to replace it as soon as you can.

3. due to how combat works, your first medium-term priorities should be getting ahold of an iron chain shirt, an iron helm, two iron high boots, and two iron gauntlets. this will give you full coverage across your body. for embark, start with a copper chain shirt - cheap and plenty effective for early on, especially against animals. in addition, you want iron or silver weapons, or if your world is more developed, steel. this is why weapon skills don't matter on embark - you're not going to be able to put a ton of points into it anyways, and being a Proficient Swordsman won't help you when you find a masterwork silver whip in the hands of a random goblin.

4. NEVER sleep in the wilderness, if you can help it. you will be attacked and you will be killed. find a nearby civilization that isn't hostile to you, ask anyone in a building for permission to stay the night, and sleep there. you'll be safe from the boogeymen that way, but you're not necessarily safe from random attacks on the village you're staying in. those aren't your fault, though, and are totally random.

(boogeymen no longer attack outside of evil regions, but sleeping in the wilds still leaves you susceptible to predators - not nearly as dangerous, but still a potential threat.)

5. don't interact with elves unless you have a plan. starting in an elf civ has one big disadvantage and one huge potential advantage. elves don't use metal at all, so your only weapon and armor choices will be grown wood, which is an extremely ineffective weapon and armor material. even as ammo, wood is bad. however, if you start in an eleven civ, you have access to giant animal companions. your weapon doesn't matter when you have a giant lion on your side.

6. while in combat, don't be afraid to flee. sometimes you get in over your head. it's important to know when you're in trouble and getting out of dodge before it's too late. most importantly, if you're fighting something that gets cuts in through your armor, you need to leave. if its attacks are stronger than your armor, that means that you can get severed nerves, and those are permanent damage. when you go to the travel map and move a tile, all of your wounds are healed, except for permanent damage - it doesn't matter if you're bruised black and blue and your legs are broken, if you can get to the travel map, all of that goes away. but one single severed nerve in your ankle and you become permanently disabled and need a crutch to walk anywhere, severely hampering your ability to fight. even worse in the arm!

7. train! fight weak stuff before trying to take on strong stuff. run around the woods and chop the wings off of birds. wrestle crabs. get into fistfights with drunks. getting experience from things does not scale with difficulty, only repetition, so it's perfectly viable to pick up a rock and throw it at the floor for three hours and become a legendary thrower capable of splitting open a goblin skull with a hummingbird beak from 30 meters away, or fistfight drunken dwarves for weeks on end to become a legendary striker and punch a dragon's eyes out.

8. for early equipment, scout out camps. there tend to be some nearby any settlement, and the residents might not even be hostile to you! don't pick up everything, just things that are better than the stuff you have. it doesn't currently have an indicator, but carrying too much stuff WILL overencumber and slow you down, which can be deadly in a fight. i look for iron or silver equipment, especially whips. don't take the money, it's useless.

9. what's the best weapon? whips. due to the complex mechanics of combat, whips are basically able to totally ignore armor and simply break bones. secondarily, spear-type weapons are decent against armor, as they can punch through and cause bleeding, while blunt weapons like maces can break bones through the armor. swords and axes are not going to be useful. against unarmored things, though, swords and axes will be much, much stronger - a heavy sword swing can pretty handily sever limbs, which is an EXTREMELY effective tactic, if you can pull it off. blunt weapons will still be able to break bones, but it'll take quite a bit longer to kill an unarmored target with a war hammer than with a greataxe.

10. be patient! both in the game itself, and with the development process. this beta is very incomplete, missing extremely important content like crafting and trading, leaving you somewhat limited in what you can do. they're working on getting it finished, and what's currently available is still a whole lot! as for the game itself - sometimes it's good to take things slow. don't just wildly auto-attack things, sometimes taking a look at your attack options and potential "crits" can create an opening for you to turn a losing battle into a winning one. you can take a step to reassess and get a new accuracy roll if none of your options are good - just be careful not to leave yourself too open to counterattacks!

[simdulgencemods]

SimplePenis 2.0

SimplePenis 2.0 is here! This update is the first in a series of anatomy updates that aim to improve shapes, textures, bending, and more across all of the SimpleGens family of body parts.

IMPORTANT NOTE: SimplePenis 2.0 features a number of improvements, fixes and changes that necessitated creating a brand-new file. It is NOT a replacement for SimplePenis 1.0, and your sims will not automatically be equipped with the new version.

FEATURES & DETAILS: 1)3 penis sizes (Sm, Md, Lrg), 2 scrotums, (High, Low), 3 foreskin styles (Uncut, Retracted, Cut). 2) Improved meshes for better quality anatomy, including updated shapes for the glans, shaft, testicle, buttocks and groin. 3) Improved textures offer a more realistic appearance and better seams. I've improved seams between the scrotum and anus, and used a new method to minimize seams at further camera distances. 4) Better bending and movement in a variety of animations, especially focusing on the inner thighs, buttocks, hips, and legs. 5) Color overlays are better organized and offer more options. I separated the glans overlay from the other overlays, to allow for more customization (you can pick a glans overlay and any other shaft/scrotum overlay) as well as reduce the number of overlays required; I added 12 new swatches to each overlay to better match a variety of skintones; and I moved the color overlays to the Body Skin Details, to free up slots in Face Skin Details. There are now 5 overlays with 20 swatches each. 6) Small textures allow for better compatibility with CC skins. 7) CAS penises are more compact and easier to navigate. I've combined multiple penises under a single catalog entry, which greatly reduces the number of penises you have to scroll through in CAS. All penises in CAS are now categorized into 4 entries based on scrotum style and erection state: High Scrotum/Soft, High Scrotum/Hard, Low Scrotum/Soft, Low Scrotum/Hard. Within each CAS entry, penises are ordered by size and foreskin style. 8) More scrotum and foreskin options offer customization last seen in RealGens. I added the higher testicles and retracted foreskin options back, to offer more choice for your sims' genitals as well as (hopefully) convince more players to switch to SimplePenis 2.0. You can keep using RealGens, but it's outdated and won't receive new feature upgrades. 9) Eight optional testicle overlays for greater body customization. I added eight texture overlays that let you change the appearance of your sim's testicles. These can be used alone or layered with the color overlays provided for more varied looks, and are compatible with the 2.0 Simple Penis as well as 2.0 Simple Penis Exclusive designs. The overlays can be found in the Body Skin Details section of CAS and are categorized as Body Freckles.

I've really tried to improve on every aspect of the penises, from appearance to movement to CAS options, and I hope you feel that SimplePenis 2.0 is an upgrade from previous versions! There are quite a few pictures in the post, but I encourage you to check them out to see all the improvements - or better yet, download them and give them a whirl in your game!

INSTALLATION NOTES: Files included are separated by folder into required, recommended, and optional.

simdulgence_SimplePenis2_Base (REQUIRED) Contains all base male 2.0 penises. Also includes a CAS default (cut medium high scrotum), which will appear when you remove lower clothing items in CAS.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS: 1) Will you add other sizes? Not immediately. I know I will be asked about this, and it's not a firm no, but I intend to complete other anatomy options and updates (vaginas, unique penises converted to 2.0, werewolf penises, etc) before adding any other sizes. 2) Will there be animated orifices in SimplePenis 2.0? I've been asked about this, and I'm not opposed in principle, but it's not the top of my priority list right now. Like with the sizes, I want to complete other updates first. 3) Are these penises compatible with SimMotion? Yes. 4) Are overlays from previous penises compatible with SimplePenis 2.0? No. Part of the improvements for textures/overlays included mapping the penises in a way that means 1.0 and 2.0 overlays can't be used on the other penises (eg you can't put a 1.0 overlay on a 2.0 penis, or a 2.0 overlay on a 1.0 penis). 5) Are these available for female sims? Not yet, but a female version of SimplePenis 2.0 will be added in the future! Link to SimplePenis 2.0: http://simfil.es/4746141/ Link to updated Condoms: https://simfil.es/4746142

[elgaberino-mcoc]

spreadsheet cleanup subseries: wishlist requests MIKHAIL RASPUTIN

Today’s champion recommendation is Mikhail Rasputin @MCOCwishlist @elgaberino_MCOC @McocSociety

- RCmcocwishlist February 13, 2023

around 60 comics across 6 variants ≥3 video games

Colossus and Magik's brother is medium-high priority for @MCOCwishlist on the strength of video game precedent and family-story fame more than comics depth

- Other Gabe February 14, 2023

[sleepyfan-blog]

Interviews

Author’s Note: This is the next part of the Big E raises the primarchs AU! First. Previous. Next. A big thanks to @plagueparchments, @undeaddream, @kit-williams and @bleedingichorhearts for allowing me to borrow their OCs for this fic! Please rb and support their artistic endeavors!

word count: 5,041 this fic got away from meeeeee

Warnings: none? Please tell me if I need to tag something

Tagged: : @egrets-not-regrets @the-pure-angel @sharenadraculea @whorety-k @gallifreyianrosearkytiorsusan 

Summary: Valdor interviews some candidates to become primary caretakers for the infant primarchs.

Valdor sent out a coded message, asking all  those above a certain clearance level who were not currently assigned to high priority missions to arrive at his office at their earliest convenience in order to discuss a top-secret medium term mission that required discretion, finesse and care. He has already spoken to over a dozen of his fellow custodes, high ranking mortal military officers, admech and civilian mortal staff… Along with the occasional Terran noble. None of them had the qualities that he was looking for as of yet. 

There was a light knock on the door and Valdor called out neutrally “Come in.” A flash of surprise shot through him as Pariah Almach walked into his office. 

“As you say, captain-general. The mission details on the call you sent out were light on details, but I’m… Curious and willing to serve.” The tanned man stated, tucking a stray lock of dark brown hair behind one of his ears and lightly rubbing one of the facial scars on his lower cheek, golden eyes flicking up to Valdor’s face before looking away respectfully.

“There is a reason for that. I have a series of questions to ask you, which I stress you must answer as truthfully and honestly as you can. There are no incorrect answers, but they will determine  your fitness for the mission. If I deem you a potential candidate, I will inform you of the mission details. Due to the nature of the mission it is strictly voluntary, however if you decline the mission, the lord sigilite will remove your memories of the specifics of the mission for the safety of the mission. Do you understand?” Valdor asks, making sure to be upfront. This was the first hurdle that had more than half of the potential candidates who had arrived so far to decline the mission and leave. 

“I understand, Captain-general. I am ready to answer your questions and pass whatever tests are necessary.” The powerful blank answered with a serious and determined nod. 

“Excellent. How much experience do you have working with young children? Specifically infants and toddlers?” Valdor asked, watching him carefully.

Almach blinked rapidly a couple of times, visibly confused before answering “As a child and a teenager, I had many younger siblings I was raised alongside. As one of the eldest, part of my duties were to care for and protect the little ones as best as I could. I haven’t any formal childcare training, but I’ve got a good few years of experience with children of all ages, including infants, sir.”

Valdor noted that down on his dataslate and continued “How do you feel about potentially interacting closely with psykers who will start out wholly untrained due to their nature, as well as those who are closely attuned to the Warp because of their nature?”

Almach shifted a little in his seat “As a Blank of some strength and training, I have dealt with out of control psykers by exerting my own abilities to nullify their own, sir. As long as the psykers don’t attack me for existing, I think I would be able to get along with them well enough… Though I’d need to be away from them for the psykers to learn how to use their powers, if that’s something in the cards for those psykers.” He’s aware that not all psykers who are found by the Emperor’s forces are allowed to continue to live and are brought under his banner. Those tainted are killed to prevent further contamination. Even if the psyker themself is unaware of the darkness they’ve brushed.

Valdor nods, asking several more childcare related questions before saying “I believe that, despite your status as a Blank, you would be a good fit for this mission. As you are aware, The Emperor has many projects going in order to further unify and strengthen humanity. One of these is the Primarch Project. Twenty-one genetically and psychically hand-crafted human infants by The Emperor and each with a multidisciplinary team of the brightest scientific minds who could be found on Terra, created to lead the Legiones Astartes. Most of those scientific minds have been reassigned to the Astartes project, with a couple of the medical staff on hand at any time of the day or night in case the genetically altered infants require medical attention.’

The captain general paused for several seconds before continuing to explain “They were originally to stay in their incubation chambers until their physical maturity was that of a toddler, but strong visions prompted The Emperor to pull them from their tubes early and bring them to a secure wing of the palace. One of these infant generals is a Blank, though how powerful he will be has yet to be seen. Should you accept this mission, you will be assigned the primary caretaker for primarch eleven, the Pariah Primarch. He does not have a name other than Primarch Eleven yet. Your duties would involve the total physical and emotional care of primarch eleven while he grows from an infant to a toddler, which should take up to two years. One of the fail safes that the Emperor put in place in each of the primarchs was to ensure that they would physically mature faster when exposed to danger. You may also be assigned to care for primarchs Five and/or Seven, depending on how many qualified people I find for this mission. What say you?”

Almach swallowed dryly. Could he raise one to three children for war and bloodshed? Admittedly, that’s what they were made for, and his own hands were dripping in the blood of others. He was also keenly aware of what it was like to be a Blank surrounded by non-blanks. How lonely and aching that could get. He would do his duty, despite the guilt that bit at his heart “I will, captain-general. When do I start?”

“Do you have any loose ends to wrap up? Otherwise you will start immediately, and you will be living in the same section of the Imperial Palace as  your ward or wards.” Valdor revealed. 

Almach shook his head “I have no loose ends, sir. Am I allowed to pack a couple of mementos before being transferred to the palace, sir?”

“You are. One of the Golden Host will accompany you to your apartment and aid you in packing, take the rest of the day to get ready.” Valdor ordered. “Oh, and you will be given a week of childcare training before being introduced to your charge or charges.”

“Yes sir.” Almach responded, nodding. He’s not surprised he’s going to be watched while having such information in his head. He got up and headed off, mind running in many different directions at once.

~

There was a light, efficient knock on Valdor’s door, soon after Almach left and he called out “Come in, please.”

“Yes sir.” Apollo responded, quietly walking in, closing the door behind him and sitting down when Valdor silently gestured for him to do so. “I received your call for a highly secretive, multi-year mission? I am here to present myself for it. What do I need to do, sir?”

“Before I tell you about the mission, I have several questions to ask of  you. There are no correct answers, merely the truthful answers you have. If I decide that you are unfit for the mission it is not due to a fault you possess, merely a mismatch in abilities and needs of the mission. Understood?” Valdor clarified, knowing that some of his fellow Custodians would take a rejection of any mission as a failing on their part.

“I understand sir, and I am ready to answer any question  you have.” The Dread Spear responds, lifting his chin a little and squaring his shoulders.

“Excellent. Now, I will ask you a series of hypothetical questions and I want you to answer them to the best of your abilities.” The captain general instructed, before he cleared his throat and stated “You are guarding a very young and willful charge that has shown signs of willfulness and a prickly disposition. They are being difficult and refusing to do what you have told them to in order to keep them safe. What do you do?”

“I remove them from whatever the source of danger is, or I eliminate the danger, depending on whatever is the swiftest option. Is this a bodyguarding mission, sir? I… Do not have experience with such things. I thought the Aquiilan Shields took those missions solely.” Apollo murmured, shifting ever so slightly in his seat.

“This particular mission is set to last for at minimum two years and will be taking place within the Imperial Palace itself, Apollo. There are a number of other… Considerations that caused me to widen the pool of potential candidates. How well can you adapt to humans with enhanced and altered instincts?” Valdor asked.

Apollo thought about the question for a couple of moments before asking “Are you talking about the approved abhuman strains? I have worked alongside different kinds of abhumans before, sir. While they may be a perversion of true humanity, so long as they are willing to serve the emperor, I have no qualms with them.. And as long as their instincts do not get in the way of the mission, they don’t particularly bother me either, sir.”

Valdor hummed, writing down what the younger Custodian said, tapping the stylus thoughtfully against the dataslate before saying “Before I explain this mission it must be said that this information must be kept in the absolute strictest of confidence. Do not breathe a word of this outside of the imperial palace, even among our fellow custodes, even if you know that they are also aware of this duty. If you feel you cannot keep such silence, speak now and you will be removed from the duty roster.”

“I can keep this silent, captain-general.” Apollo answered, shifting a little in his seat again, leaning forward slightly, intensely curious. He’d recently arrived back from a kill mission and had noticed that some of the golden host were abuzz about something, yet they could not or would not say whenever he approached to speak with them. 

Valdor quickly explained about the changes in the Primarch project, and that the infant primarchs had been removed from their incubation chambers and moved to a different heavily guarded and warded section of the Imperial Palace for their own safety, and finishing with “This particular posting would have you taking care of the needs of one or more of the infant primarchs directly. Tending to their physical needs and ensuring that they are adequately emotionally and mentally stimulated as well. You cannot become emotionally attached to your charge or charge. If you feel that you are, come to me and you will be reassigned.”

“I… Infant care is not something I have been trained on, sir and is outside of my realm of expertise. But I feel that I can maintain proper emotional distance from the Primarchs, and should be able to care for whichever one or more of them I am assigned to tend to.” Apollo answered honestly.

“You will be given childcare training for the next week, and then introduced to your charge. I’m sure that you will do well, Apollo.” Valdor murmured, nodding.  

~

Valdor called out, "Come in," As he heard a quiet knock on his door, ignoring the desire to pinch the bridge of his nose. He'd dealt with a half dozen nosy and unfit nobles who had only wanted to know what the mission was. As they had no intention of actually completing the mission he did not tell them. Not that their whining and fussing... and the fact that His Imperial Majesty had shown up to court lat. Again. And with a small dirty towel over one of his shoulders... Rumors abound in regards to why, and he knew that he would need to head those rumors off sooner, rather than later. It was a job for future him, but he's noted down to get done after the initial interviews were done. 

"What is the mission you are seeking to staff, sir?" Zedkiel asked, standing attentively near the door. The Terrab born Raven Guard watching with dark and inquisitive eyes. 

"Before I tell you, I have questions for you to answer first, and the warning that if you are selected for this mission, you cannot tell any of your brothers the mission... And that you'll have limited to time to even contact them over the vox, due to the nature of the mission. If you wish to withdraw now, you may," Valdor explains evenly, watching the other trans-human carefully. 

"I am used to being out of contact with my Brothers for long periods of time during missions, The Raven Guard are primarily trained in stealth, assassinations, and misdirection after all. I will answer your questions to the best of my abilities." Zedkiel murmured, resolute. 

"Good. Now. How do you handle interpersonal conflict? How do you handle discipline of others under your sway? How do you adapt under high pressure situations where you cannot resort to violence?" The Captain General asked. 

Zedkiel was now very intensely curious as to what this mission could possible be about, but restrained the hundreds of inquiries that The Captain General's questions spawned in his mind. He took his time to ponder each question before answering. "I try and find ground with whoever I am in conflict with, to come to a compromise that all involved can live with, if not happy about. As for discipline, I find that corporal punishment leads to long-term issues and prefer to correct problems using more constructive methods. I find redirection and positive reinforcement of the correct behaviors to be a more effective, sir." 

Zedkiel was aware that a number of Commanders and Officers preferred to use the rod and sticks liberally, but he had found that Carrots and gentle correction had much better long-term results, even if it took longer to get unruly Scouts into line, than beatings and terror tactics. "As for high stress non-violent situations, I deal with them by first assessing the situation ato determine the source, and how I might be able to solve or stop the stress. How I would do that depends on the kind of stressor or stressors present, Sir."

Valdor wrote down what Zedkiel said, a considering expression appearing on his face. He was quite certain if he offered a spot for the Astartes on the mission, that Zedkiel would accept without pause. To b able to meet his tiny Primarch. But would he be a good caretaker? From what Valdor knew of the younger trans-human's mission history and personality... The other may be a tad indulgent, but given that he knew that Apollo would be Strict... A gentler hand and limited Astartes exposure should be fine for the infant warlords. "If you refuse this mission after I give you the details, they will be wiped from your mind, for safety and security reasons. Do you understand?" 

"Yes sir. I am ready," The raven guard responded, posture straightening minutely. "The Primarchs were pulled from their incubation chambers as infants for security reasons. They have been moved to a secure wing of the palace and require full time caretakers. Will you be one of them?" Valdor explains deliberately keeping his face neutral. 

Zedkiel's eyes widened a little in shock before the Astartes spoke, voice cracking a little in eagerness, "I would be honored to help care for any of the Primarchs why they are so young." Valdor inclined his head, the corners of his lips quirking up a fraction of a centimeter before flattening again, He's unsurprised by the other's eagerness, "Of those I've interviewed today, you are one of three candidates I've found acceptable for their care team so far. Tie up any loose ends that you have today, then report to Imperial Office 156 on Beta level for training. You and the other caretakers will receive one week of child care training." 

"Yes sir," Zedkiel murmured, saluting Valdor and leaving once dismissed. 

~

"Come on in," Valdor called out as another person knocked on his office door. He had taken just long enough of a break to eat and stretch his legs a little before returning to the desk that His Emperor had given him. 

"Yes sir," Another of the Golden Host murmured, stepping into the room and sitting down. She removed her helmet and massaged her horns, looking him over, a small smirk appearing on her face, "Long day, cap? Just what is this mission? Half the palace is talking about what it might be, or so it feels like." She shook hout her dark hair as she spoke. 

"The mission is highly classified, " Valdor responded before he gave her the same warnings he had given about the secrecy and security level that this mission was and an offer for her to back out before continuing, as well as the pre-screening questions. 

Baphomet flashed him a challenging grin, eyes alight with interest as she leaned over his desk a little, "Oooh, now you've got my attention sir! It's gotta be something special with this kind of security involved. Ask your questions Boss, I'm ready!" 

Valdor cleared his throat a little before answering with several questions in a rapid response, "Do you have any experience dealing with untrained psykers in a non-violent way? How experienced are you with dealing with those who see glimpses of possible futures? How well do you interact with Blanks?"

Baphomet hummed a little, scratching at the base of one of her horns, leaning back in her chair, kicking her feet before answering, "I've corralled untrained psykers before. Especially given how most baseline psykers tend to be squishy. I can usually scruff them if I need to without much issue. Blanks freak me out a little, but the Sisters do important work. As long as the Blank or Blanks in question aren't shitty to me. I'm fine with 'em. But you know how some baselines get with my mutations. I won't tolerate any whining. Oh! I dunno much about seers, though." 

... Considering that Nine had an obvious mutation he couldn't be able to easily hide. Baphomry might be an excellent fit for him as a primary caretaker, despite her disciplinary history. Valdor gives her one more chance to back out of the mission- to which Baphomet flashes him a grin and laughs. He explains about the infant Primarchs, concluding with, "one of them has bird-like wings and future sight. Almost half of them exhibit warp-touched abilities regularly. And all but three of them have shown at least one warp-touched abilities once after being removed from incubation. Are you willing to be a caretaker for the infant Primarchs?" 

Baphomet's eyes widen in surprise and delight as she shot up to her feet, "That sounds line an absolute riot! Fuck yes, I'm up for the challenging mission! I haven't had ... any experience with itty bitties, but I know you. I'm getting kiddie care training before being unleashed on them. I'm absolutely up for it!" The younger Custodes was bouncing a little on the balls of her feet, radiating excitement. 

Valdor nods, a small smile, which he allows to, appearing on his face amused by her exuberance as he instructed her, "Deal with anything you need to. Caring for the infant Primarchs will last for two years at minimum. Possibly longer, depending on how much of a handful they are as toddlers. Report to room 156 on Beta level tomorrow to begin the week long child care course."

"Aye aye sir!" Baphomet chirped before prancing out of the room, grinning widely and helmet in hand. 

There was a quick, rapid knock on Valdor's office door.

"Enter," The Captain General instructed, mildly curious as to who would next present themself for consideration. The fact, as it stood, the caretaking team was half Custodes, did not show any bias on his part, but rather due to the fact that Custodians were likely the best suited to handle infant warp creations meant to Lead Sector-claiming armies when they were fragile and at their weakest. 

There was a rapid clicking sound as a Martian Tech Priest crawled along one wall of Valdor's office. through the door that they were closing with their tail. The Mechanicum's cultist waved a heavily modified hand in Valdor's direction. 

"Uhm. Greetings. Why are you here?" Valdor asked bluntly, pulling out the language translation app on his data slate, ignoring the rising frustration clawing at his mind. 

The Tech Priest clicked rapidly at him for several seconds. The translation software wrote out for him [Here for Assignment. High Priority and Security Level. Serve Omnissiah.]

 ...Great. Sure. Uh-huh. Not. “I see. Do you have other methods of conversation, or is this auditory clicking your only method of communication?” On one hand, it might be good for the infant primarchs to interact with a member of the Mechanicus, and to know that there was a varied methods of communications.. Would it be prudent to allow a member of their tentative allies so close to such a vulnerable resource? Even if several of his fellow Custodes would be present when this priest was as well?

[Singular method of communication.] The priest clicked rapidly, head tilting a little to one side. [Translation simple with helmet and vox-communication systems.]

“While that is true, if you are picked for this mission, not everyone you will need to communicate with has access to a helmet or vox to translate the sounds you are making. Regardless, I have other questions to ask of you, before you receive the details of this mission, if I deem you a fit match. This mission is highly secret and you would not be able to inform anyone else of receiving this mission any of the details. I was handed the task of stocking the best people by the Emperor Himself. Very few people are aware of this mission as it is. If you refuse to take the mission if you learn of the details, your memories of such will be erased permanently. Do you understand?” Valdor responds, leaning over his desk and looming at the tech priest, gaze narrow and focused.

[Understood. Will answer queries. Serve Omnisiah.] The tech priest beeped response. [Will serve faithfully and keep silence.]

Valdor nodded, looking over the list of questions he had and began with “This mission will take a minimum of two years, and will involve a great deal of physical, mental and emotional discretion and effort on the parts of the team members. Do you have any experiences with caring for and disciplining delicate sentient resources? If so, please give examples. Additionally, if you are chosen for this position while you will not want for any resource you may need to successfully complete this mission, are you able to discern between a need that is not being properly fulfilled and a want or desire in your charge that they are trying to emotionally or mentally attempting to manipulate from you?”

[I have worked with tech-priests in training, after they are released from their vat tubes. They can be unruly as their weak flesh can overwhelm them with sensation and stimuli. Routines, training and careful praise/punishment system is effective in keeping them in line. Before they have been fully brought into the fold, some of the young priests in training can get… Stubborn and unruly. I have dealt with youthful manipulations in the past with a firm hand, when interacting with them. Logic and not yielding to yelling or other emotional appeals is important while training and interacting with such resources.] The tech priest - whose name escaped Valdor at the moment - clicked at a steady tempo.

Valdor hummed as he wrote down the other’s response. The lack of regular communication was a bit of a hindrance, but his responses were illuminating and could prove to be most useful in dealing with the infant primarchs. That and they would need to get used to the strangeness of the Mechanicum quickly, so early exposure wasn’t a bad  idea. “Very well. This is your last chance to back out before I explain to you the mission parameters. If you do decide to back out, it will not be held against you in any way.”

[I am ready to serve.] the tech priest clicked.

The captain-general nodded, before explaining the success of the primarch project, and the fact that the infant generals had been pulled out of their maturation tubes as infants due to security concerns, and the fact that the tech priest - amongst others - would be tending to their physical and emotional needs during such a vulnerable point in time, as well as the week long child care training the priest would be taking before being introduced to his charges, finishing with “Currently all of the primarchs are being cared for in a single room together, though that is subject to change, particularly as they grow older and their requirements change. Do you accept this duty?”

[I would be honored, Captain-general.] The tech priest beeped back, his tail flicking a little. 

“Good. Finish up any tasks you have today.” Valdor ordered him, informing the tech priest as to where to report to for training tomorrow.

~

“Sir, are you still looking for candidates for that high priority, top-secret mission?” Adonis asks as he peers into Valdor’s room, where the captain-general of the Adeptus Custodes is sitting, staring at his dataslate as if he hopes it has the questions to all the questions in his mind.

Valdor looked up at Adonis as he spoke and beckoned him inside with a curl of one finger “That I am. I have found some who qualify, but ideally I’d have one or two more on the team to fill it out competently.” He was still somewhat hesitant in including the tech priest in the group… But from what he had read over of Tiny’s service history, the priest should be a good fit, if a mildly mischievous caretaker. 

“I see. What qualifications are you looking for, sir?” The Aquilan Shield asked, tilting his head a little in curiosity as he obeyed the silent order to come into the other’s office and sit down. 

While Valdor had been tempted to simply assig the infant Primarchs a team of Aquilan Shields - particularly those who had been previously assigned young charges in the past, he was also aware of the… Mixed feelings that the Primarchs provoked in many of his fellow Custodes. Mixed feelings that Valdor knew he himself was not exempt from. “I have several questions to ask of  you, as well as a warning to give to you.” He informed the other of the length of the mission, if he refused it that the memories would be taken from his mind, and that Adonis was free to decline the mission with no repercussions.

“Ask your questions, sir. I wouldn’t be here if I wasn’t ready to complete such a mission.” Adonis answered stalwartly, chin lifting up a little, resolute.

“How have you handled medical emergencies that occur to your charges in the past? When one of them fell seriously ill, for example.” Valdor responds. He knew that Adonis had never allowed any of his charges to come to harm during the course of his duties,but illness was an unfortunate thing that happened to baselines. While it was exceedingly unlikely that the infant primarchs could get sick with normal illnesses, and the palace was well-guarded against magical curses and maladies…

They were still gene-crafted infants, and while they were definitely heartier than any natural born infant, there was still the possibility of something unfortunate happening to one or more of them. 

“Fifty years ago, one of my charges fell critically ill. I realized their symptoms and brought them to one of my brother apothercaries who had training in treating the illness that they had fallen prey to. Once they had the medications they required I monitored them closely for signs of relapse or worsening condition, while ensuring that they complied with the medical orders and restrictions they’d been given. I personally ensured that they got all of the nutrients, electrolytes and water they needed in the form of a nutritious but easily consumed soup. Under my care they swiftly and fully recovered from their illness.” Adonis answered promptly “While they were resistant to fully complying, I allowed them to move a little more than recommended in order to get them to consume the soup I created for them without fuss. A little bit of compromise goes a long way to compliance in my experience.”

Valdor nodded as he noted that down, a reflective expression appearing on his face. “I will ask you once more, do you wish to withdraw your name from consideration? If you do not, I will explain the mission parameters.”

“I am ready to serve, sir.” The Aquilan Shield responds, alert and inquisitive.

The captain-general explained to Adonis about how the primarchs had been pulled from their maturation chambers as infants, where they had been placed, adn the fact that his Majesty had been the one primarily taking care of the infants, before realizing that to take care of so many infants at once would effectively prevent him from continuing to reunify the Sol system, amongst His many other duties that had begun to fall to the wayside. Which was why he had assigned Valdor to find appropriate caretakers for the infant primarchs. He finished with “Are you willing to care for the infant primarchs, while they are so weak and vulnerable?”

Adonis nodded “I would be willing to do so, sir. I am well aware of His plans for them in the future and will do my best to guard and guide them, should I be chosen for this mission.”

Valdor nodded, saying “Excellent. I will give you the rest of the day to tie up any loose ends you may have. Report to room 156 on Beta level tomorrow to begin the week long child care course.” 

“Yes sir.” Adonis acknowledged before leaving with a brief salute.

[david-talks-sw]

An allergy to the Prequels

While I'm putting together a post about the evolution Lucasfilm's transmedia strategies, this part kinda turned into its own thing!

So I'm not sure if anyone else noticed, but, uh... there hasn't been that much Prequel content since the Disney sale, right?

'Couple novels and comics, some episodes... but nothing meaningful.

The more I look into it, the more it feels like a deliberate avoidance to touch on anything Prequel-related - beyond the required quota, that is - to a point where they'd rather tell stories set during periods that are Prequel-adjacent (Dark Times, High Republic) than something set around Episodes I, II and III.

On-screen policy: "pretend they never happened"

I mean, this one's no secret. When The Force Awakens had been announced, with J.J. Abrams at the helm, everyone sighed in relief. "Finally, George Lucas won't keep ruining the franchise."

When Abrams had been announced as the director of Episode VII, I remember this cringey animated video started circulating online, titled "4 Rules To Make Star Wars Great Again" or "Dear JJ Abrams":

“Star Wars isn’t shiny and clean... Star Wars is a western.”

If you ask me, those two things are not mutually exclusive.

'Cause Star Wars has always been both, for many Prequel kids. Both clean and dusty, Coruscant and Tatooine. There was never a disconnect between the Original Trilogy (OT) and the Prequel Trilogy.

Even the documentary The People vs George Lucas shows Prequel-hating fans begrudgingly admit their kids felt all six episodes tied seamlessly.

Abrams, on the other hand, said: "I think [the "Dear JJ" video] was right on." Later on, he also said:

he considered "putting Jar Jar Binks's bones in the desert" on Jakku, somewhere, and

he intentionally made the lightsaber fights "rougher", "primitive" and "more powerful" unlike the fast-paced ones in the Prequels.

Later, we found out he wanted to blow up Coruscant.

It's clear he wasn't a big fan of the Prequels.

But y'know what? Not many fans over 20 were, at the time. And when The Force Awakens came out, most them celebrated it as a wonderful love letter to the OT.

Star Wars is cool again. Mission accomplished 🙌 !

However movies keep coming out, and references to the Prequels - if there are any - are literally just that... references.

Sometimes in the shape of a cameo ("hey look, Genevieve O'Reilly from the Ep. III deleted scenes is playing Mon Mothma again!")

Sometimes in a name (Luke name-dropped "Darth Sidious"!)

But nothing set during the Prequel era, and nothing treating the events that happened in that period as relevant or impactful, beyond subtextual nods.

In fact, the trend of avoiding anything Prequel-related continues as the final film in the Skywalker Saga comes out:

The Rise of Skywalker has a secret Sith society that chants the name "Palpatine" instead of his Sith name "Darth Sidious",

the film pretends the Kaminoans never existed,

and neither TROS nor Trevorrow's Duel of the Fates script even try to bring Hayden Christensen's Anakin Skywalker back on screen. Let that sink in, we're talking about the Chosen One, Skywalker Senior, whose sins caused this whole mess... and his name isn't even uttered once in the final chapter of what Disney dubbed the *Skywalker* Saga (or the entire Sequel trilogy, for that matter).

But hey, The Clone Wars got renewed for one last Season! That's cool right? So many stories had gone unfinished and somehow the animation looks even better than befo--

-- oh. It's not 22 episodes? Only 12?

Four of which had already been shown to us, but hey! We need to set-up the Bad Batch series, so let's shoehorn those episodes in there, and forget Son of Dathomir, Dark Disciple or Crystal Crisis.

*sigh* Better than nothing, I guess.

In other mediums: "just not a priority"

Now this is something that I'll explore more in the transmedia post (and purely my interpretation), but the noticeable change between Lucasfilm's transmedia strategy *post-ROTS* and the one post-Disney sale is that:

Before, the games, comics and novels were the main content. After all, Revenge of the Sith had been released, so that was it, for the movies. Thus, a variety of other content was being cranked out to keep the Star Wars franchise relevant. There were comics set 100 years after Episode 6, comics set 25,000 years prior, games set in the Old Republic era, other stories in the New Republic era, novels galore, a couple of parody films and an animated show, The Clone Wars, which sometimes received its own tie-in comics, novels and games.

After the sale and ever since, most of the transmedia products have had only one goal: promoting the films & streaming shows.

So while in 2015 you won't see an abundance of Prequel content... you'll see an avalanche of OT books and comics come out.

Why? Because the heroes of that era will be in the Sequel Trilogy movies. It provided context to the kids who hadn't seen the OT yet, and reintroduced those films to a new generation of fans, while priming them for the Sequels.

A multimedia marketing strategy that ultimately proved successful.

However, it continued even after The Force Awakens came out.

Don't believe me? Compare how many comics there have been set during the Prequel era vs the OT era.

If they make comics about the Prequels, they're limited runs.

Case in point: before the current Yoda series, the best any Disney Prequel-set comic series ever got was 6 issues.

Note: it's worth pointing out that the frequency of mini-series aren't just a Star Wars-specific thing, it's a comic book industry thing. The readership for comics is dwindling, many people are reading scans online, and so no publisher wants to commit to a story that lasts more than 4-6 issues. My problem is: there absolutely would be readership for a Prequel comic series to warrant an extended run instead of a mini-series.

Let's talk books. There have been give or 64 canon novels published since the Disney sale.

Only 11 of them are set during the Prequel era. And even those stories only came out when the planets were aligned.

Almost half of them were released while being a part of some bigger multimedia push.

Example:

Before the Obi-Wan Kenobi series was being released on Disney Plus, we'd had one novel and like two comic stories about him during the Prequels... released between 2012 and end 2021. That's about three pieces of content in almost ten years.

Clearly a low frequency.

Then, when the series is around the corner, two books and a comic story comes out in the space of months, plus an anthology book with an alt cover with his face on it and a comic with a story of him and Anakin in the first issue, all in 2022.

My takeaway: short of there being a film or series that needs to be promoted, you'll rarely get any Prequel comics or books.

And this is OBI-WAN we're talking about. The character who even the Prequel haters love. Imagine how little attention the other ones get.

Gaming-wise, Battlefront had no Prequel content at all (again, 2015 was the year where OT content was shoved down the consumer's throats to prep them for Episode VII), and Battlefront 2 only released Prequel content a full year later.

All that being said, we did seen some Prequel elements here and there. After all, some actors got to reprise their roles, books and comics came out featuring Prequel characters... but there's a catch.

The stories they appear in are set in-between Episodes III and IV, a time-period known as "the Dark Times" or the "Imperial era".

"Dark Times" being used instead of the Prequel era

It's easy to see the appeal of this era. You keep the same threat from the Original Trilogy - the Empire - but redress it with Prequel elements... while also cherry-picking the best characters of both the OT and the Prequels and giving them a chance to shine again.

The situation is more clear cut, as opposed to the complex one in the Prequels. Bad guys are stormtroopers, good guys are anyone else. And the stories no longer take place in the shiny capital, you're back on the frontier.

But at this point... it feels like a cop-out.

When you consider how much content has been set during the Dark Times, it's nothing to sneeze at. Since the sale, we've had:

2 movies (Solo, Rogue One)

4 series set in that time-period (namely The Bad Batch, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Andor, and Star Wars: Rebels).

2 video-games (Jedi: Fallen Order and Jedi: Survivor).

17 novels (such as Ahsoka, Lords of the Sith, the new Thrawn books, etc)

And just a whole bunch of comic book series & mini-series (like Kanan, Princess Leia, various Vader-centric comics including Darth Vader: Lord of the Sith, many tie-in mini-series promoting Rogue One, Jedi: Fallen Order, Obi-Wan Kenobi, etc).

There's been so much content made for this time-period that it feels like an unwillingness to do the work and create something set something during the Prequel era, let alone something that follows its Jedi.

After all, why make a story set in the Prequels (disliked by vocal fans) when you can just take the characters in that story and put them in an OT setting (which will appease the Prequel-haters)?

Maybe these stories get relegated to the Dark Times because:

there seems to be a perception that anything set in the Prequel era won't sell?

or maybe the current SW writers weren't fond of Episodes I, II and III, and don't find those Jedi characters likable, thinking they're too righteous and dogmatic which makes it hard to craft a story around them.

Or maybe it's because they're under the impression that the Prequel Jedi are bad. Like, canonically, in the narrative. Not just in a "I don't like them" sense, but also in a "the story is all about them becoming corrupted" sense.

Let's expand on that last point.

Retconning the Prequels as the "Fall of the Jedi" era

Somehow the rare stories set during the Prequels that we do get seem to automatically be about how "the Jedi lost their way/failed".

The series Tales of the Jedi is explicit about it...

... and I already explained why it contradicts what George Lucas established here and here.

You also see it in Rebels and the new season of The Clone Wars...

... in comics...

... in games...

It gets to a point where the Prequels era has now been redubbed the "Fall of the Jedi" era by Lucasfilm.

You wanna know what that period was referred to before the Disney sale? The "Rise of the Empire" Era.

Because - and I'll never get tired of saying this cuz it's factual - the Prequels aren't about the fall of the Jedi, they're about the fall of the Republic and Anakin, and rise of the Empire and Vader.

So in addition to being overdone, the "Jedi lost their way" is not even the intended narrative of the Prequels (if one puts any stock in Lucas' words). It's a minor subplot at best, hardly the focus of the films, let alone a whole time period.

But dubbing it "Fall of the Jedi" implies that there's another era in which the Jedi were in their heyday.

Because Star Wars authors are in luck! Yet another alternative has presented itself in the shape of a new transmedia initiative, and it's even better than the "let's set it during the Dark Times" solution:

A new transmedia initiative: The High Republic

You wanna deal with the Jedi before the Empire, but for some reason you wanna avoid dealing with the ones seen in the Prequels?

Look no further. Meet the Jedi of the High Republic.

Noble, adventurous, inspired by the Knights of the Round Table, they're everything the OT kids dreamed about when they heard ol' Ben Kenobi talk about the Knights of the Old Republic.

That's more like it!

Note: the High Republic was created for other reasons and has many more upsides than the ones mentioned above. Namely, a fresh new spot in the timeline that allows for creative freedom and a beautifully-coordinated transmedia storytelling effort where retcons are non-existent. However it does seem evident that not having to deal with the 'unlikable' Prequel Jedi and their "fall" is one of those upsides.

Another perk that the High Republic era offers is more freedom in terms of storytelling compared to the Prequels.

In 2016, Pablo Hidalgo tweeted he still quotes to authors the following excerpt of West End Games' guide for aspiring Star Wars writers, from 1994.

You can't write "this was the best day in Luke Skywalker's life", for example, because another author may want to write a better day than the one you just wrote.

My guess is that a similar approach applies to how all characters from the movies are treated. They're massively iconic. So you can't write a book that drastically changes how Mace or Yoda or Obi-Wan are perceived overall.

The stories need to be self-contained, disregardable if necessary, because you'll have dozens of writers coming up with new stories for those same characters, and you need to leave them some room.

Examples:

Notice how in the book Dooku: Jedi Lost we never see how Dooku turns to the Dark Side and joins the Sith.

Same goes for crossover comic book arcs of the Star Wars issues, like Vader Down or Crimson Reign... the characters don't really change by much in those comics. You could stick to just watching the movies and you wouldn't really miss anything.

But with The High Republic, you indeed can develop these characters as much as you want.

All stories featuring Avar Kriss leave an impact on her, you can nail down who she is perfectly in one book or one comic arc, both being just as meaningful to her character.

The fact that she's not as iconic/famous a character as Mace Windu means that authors can go to town on crafting an interesting and nuanced character arc for her that'll have a beginning, middle and end... something Mace will never really get.

CONCLUSION:

Back in 2015... let's not kid ourselves. The Prequels were unpopular and Disney is a multi-billion dollar corporation. Opting to make as much money as possible is what they do.

It's the same reason they decided not to go with George Lucas' original plans for the Sequels, in 2012.

I mean, imagine you're Disney. You just dropped 4 billion dollars, with a B, on this franchise. Your next Star Wars movie needs to be worth the price tag. Now, you can pick between two options:

Option #1 is uncharted territory and it explores the midi-chlorians (the cursed word…!) and the guy who presented you with this option also openly admits that a big chunk of customers won’t like it, but he wants this to be done because it’s his vision.

Option #2 is very simple: a soft reboot, that plays on nostalgia that the same chunk of customers (aka the 'boomer and Gen-X fans who grew up with the Original Trilogy and now have kids, grandkids and MONEY) will like.

It's a no-brainer. They gave the customers what they wanted.

But time has passed, the fans who were children when the Prequels first came out have grown up, and grew up with characters like Yoda, Mace, Plo Koon, Kit Fisto and other Jedi as their heroes, aside from main characters like Anakin and Obi-Wan and Ahsoka.

Can we maybe expand on them, flesh them out more?

No, let's either ignoring the storytelling potential of these characters or reducing it to them being "righteous, arrogant and dogmatic".

God forbid we get a story showing the Prequel Jedi in a *gasp* more positive light? One where their POV is more understandable, instead of the same old "we brought this on ourselves" storyline.

There's a whole decade between The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones... you're telling me there's no space to show us Anakin's training and how he formed bonds with the Jedi we later see in The Clone Wars? I tried my hand at it here:

Interesting or fun Prequel-set ideas from other pro-Jedi fans on Tumblr can be found here, here and here.

And y'know, part of the Star Wars intent is for fans to take the ideas in the movies and come up with their own stories. You're supposed to create headcanons.

What I'm saying is fans of the Prequels are being given less "imagination food" than the rest, and many of us who like the Jedi in particular are forced to rely on headcanons only. "Better than nothing" is no longer an acceptable standard.

There's a range of recognizable Jedi characters that have already been established in films and TCW, can we maybe expand on them, flesh them out more, instead of whole new ones?

[veilkeeper]

corentin laidir: level 50 spellblade build

while there's still a few things i need to tweak (mainly, i might move enchantments and runes around), i'm overall pretty happy with calling this corentin's "final build", so i'm sharing it now.

note that i didn't follow any guides for this and i actually deviate off of what guides will tell you to do for spellblades. i did this entirely based on how i play the game, so this is less a "you should do this" and more a "here's what i did, see if you like it, too."

but basically, if you want an orb-and-dagger mage build that does takedowns that heal you constantly, this might interest you. it pretty comfortably carried me through the entire game on adventurer, even with all-mage parties. might even be a good candidate for a nightmare run, if that's your style.

Skill Tree

first and foremost, obviously, for the purposes of this build we went Spellblade for the specialization. in the early game, building in the Burst and Crow trees is going to be your best bet. scooch into Sustain or climb up into Control whenever you have spare points, and build hard into the specialization as soon as you have high enough levels.

for abilities, Arcane Shot, Chain Lightning, and Dark Squall are good early game candidates, because they'll give you a variety of damage types. Chain Lightning is also going to apply Overwhelm, which can be detonated by our rogues. I personally skipped Storm Surge, because i found it redundant with my beautiful wife chain lightning on the bar.

in the endgame: Void Blade, Chain Lightning OR Arcane Shot (switch out as desired), and Ice Blast. Void Blade detonates Sundered, which combined with Chain Lightning lets you prime and detonate both ways with rogues (kinda hot if you're romancing lucanis or harding), and Ice Blast applies Weakened which will prime warriors.

"kellan, why are you emphasizing having so many damage types on your ability bar?" two reasons. 1) if you build too hard into the crow/spellblade trees then as soon as you hit antaam or other electric resistant enemies you're going to cry, and 2) there's a handy passive called Prism of Resistance that gives you +10% resistance to the damage types of each ability you have on your bar, which is just nice.

for ultimates: i keep the spellblade ultimate Thunderous End on hand most of the time, but the default ultimate Destructive Light is solid, especially in darkspawn heavy zones.

passives and traits are going to be an imprecise science; the exact ones you pick are largely up to you, but here's my suggestions:

Prism of Resistance. see above.

Medium Armour Mastery. this one's good for your build whether you use the equipment i do or not, because it boosts your critical, final, charged attack, and agile attack damage if you wear all medium armour.

Spirit Blade. get this asap. it makes the heavy attack at the end of a chain of light attacks into a spinning blade that shoots out in front of you, and later you can get Spirit of Vengeance to get a second one. this can hit quite a few enemies at once and detonate the arcane bomb stack(s) on a crowd.

Imbued Takedown. takedowns give you shocking weapons, and shocking weapons deal more stagger. win-win.

after that, take passives in the following priority order:

anything that increases your stagger generation. do the same thing with your companions. seriously, it's important for what's coming up next.

anything that upgrades blast or strike abilities, because everything we use is at least one of those.

anything that buffs/adds stacks of Arcane Mark/Arcane Bomb, which are your baseline orb+dagger combos. as an aside, make sure you are following the light-light-light-heavy attack chain structure as much as humanly possible, it is your bread and butter with an orb+dagger.

anything that buffs Shocked or Burning afflictions that we apply.

Equipment

*disclaimer that aside from where specified, i do not know where i got the equipment/upgrades named. i 100%ed the map, i don't remember where everything was, sorry!

this is what makes the build really come together, so pay attention. in the early game, use whatever you want, but in act 2 you want to get two items as fast as possible:

The Garb of Kinship, a medium armour you purchase from Holden in Hossberg, and The Call of the Hall, a unique ring you get after defeating the 10th wave of enemies in the Hall of Valour.

Here's why:

the Call of the Hall gives you a random advantage (those green effects that float over your health in the bottom left corner during combat) whenever you perform a takedown, and the Garb of Kinship increases your damage for every advantage you have and, more importantly once you unlock its legendary effect, heals you 5% every time you gain an advantage.

this is why it's wildly important to get as much stagger as humanly possible. this combination will keep your health topped up, no potions or healing companions necessary. i've gone into darkspawn infested areas with taash and davrin and never even had to pop a potion because of how effective this can be.

and before you even unlock the healing effect, this combo gives a pretty significant bonus to your damage once you get a few takedowns in. +40-50% damage in most encounters is nothing to scoff at.

other equipment:

orb: my preferred is the unique orb Mage's Gambit, but any high stagger electric orb will do the job. i also used to use Urthemiel's Ash in darkspawn areas (not really necessary with Mage's Gambit) and i use Veilsong when i'm going out with the ghostbusters.

mageknife: Spellcaster's Stiletto. i'm taking the hit to stagger gen for the +20 defense per active advantage, but Thorn of Misfortune is also a really solid pick for this build and i used it for ages.

helm: i use the Helm of Light and Shadow for the increased detonation damage and the extra stagger on detonation, but any medium helm that you like will work.

belt: Hardbitten Belt. stagger in an AoE on potion use and passive extra takedown damage. Glorious Ultimatum might also be hilarious here, if you want a high-risk-high-reward version of this build.

amulet: i'm using the All-Mother's Copse for buffs on my blast abilities (void blade, arcane shot, ice blast). i think A Pale Reflection might actually be interesting in this build too, though i haven't tested it.

rings: Call of the Hall obviously, and then the Amaranthine Loop for increased stagger and takedown damage. once you get the legendary effect, it will also make takedowns more lethal, which turns combat into comedy (seriously, the first time you stagger a crowd and do 5 lethal takedowns in a row you will be howling).

staff: who cares? you don't need it where we're going.

use whatever runes you want, honestly i just use ravage half the time. you'll only ever need them for boss fights.

Enchantments

exactly what equipment you put the enchantments on doesn't matter mostly, since you're going to be using the same stuff once you have everything, but here's what i have.

+ Stagger

+ Barrier Damage

+ Advantage Duration (advantages are super helpful, and Call of the Hall is giving them to us for free)

+ Healing Received (i'm pretty sure this also affects the Garb of Kinship healing, though i haven't properly tested)

+1 Max Potion

+ Mana Generation

another good option is +Armour Damage, which is what i have on my backup fire orb. and don't forget to add enchantments to your abilities!

if you try this, let me know! i'd love to see if it works for you.

[kpopsexstories]

Hiiiiiii would you do Jisung (nct) and older woman? 👀 your jeno one was sooooo goooddd

I'm glad you liked Jeno with an older woman 😊 I can do a Jisung one too!

I've imagined Jisung as much more inexperienced compared to Jeno, but with an older woman teaching him even Jisung can be amazing in bed 😏 I hope you like it!

One-shot #6 (requested): NCT Jisung has sex with an older woman

Celebrity: NCT Jisung

Content: Sweet/cute, Missionary, From behind, Sitting, Fingering, Female orgasm, Innocent & inexperienced Jisung fucking an older un-named woman

Type of Sex: MEDIUM/STEAMY

Word Count: 5.7k

They say that age is just a number. In Jisung's case, he was too young to realize that when it comes to sex, that is not at all true.

You see, the sex he had with a woman significantly older than himself set the bar high for him, and he struggled to replicate the experience in the years to come. But it was only when he was much older and wiser himself that he understood just why the sex had been so incredible. It was because the woman knew her own body, and understood what a boy like Jisung wanted. That kind of experience can only come with age.

Even a young person can have lots of sex, and thus be considered experienced in the field. But only time can nurture and mature that experience. To a young man at the start of his own sexual prime, being subjected to that experience can be magical.

That was exactly the case for Jisung and his older lover. He was young, relatively inexperienced, and had only ever been with girls his own age. Those girls were not bad, but they lacked a certain skillset. They didn't fully know their own bodies, and neither did he.

This older woman, however, could almost read his mind. She knew exactly how to make him feel relaxed, what he wanted but was too afraid to ask for, and how to get what she desired too. To the boy, the sex that came out of their night together was nothing short of extraordinary.

Jisung sat down on the bed, his knees close together and feet on the floor. He nervously folded his hands in his lap to cover the bulge in his sweatpants, and chewed on the string of his over-sized hoodie. It was a nasty habit he had picked up, which he turned to whenever he didn't know what to do with his body.

The woman, who shall remain nameless, was in the bathroom. With a seductive smile she had said that she needed a minute to get ready. Jisung had several ideas in his head about what that meant, but wasn't at all sure that it wasn't just wishful thinking.

He felt fairly certain, however, that they were about to have sex. It was why he had agreed to come to her place to begin with. The hope and prospect of getting his dick wet enticed him, and the woman's eagerness fascinated him. Girls his own age were typically not as keen and straight-forward.

Jisung was in deep thought when she finally returned to the bedroom. She stood in the doorway, resting a hand on her hip while leaning against the frame.

Jisung's eyes widened and the string fell out of his mouth. She presented herself in nothing but a black thong and bra. The boner between his legs instantly grew to full size, and a rush of arousal came over him when it pressed against his hands.

Holy fuck! he thought, but tried hard to stay calm and collected.

His facial expression gave him away though, and the woman smiled wide. I've still got it, she thought triumphantly.

It had already been clear to her that Jisung was not experienced. It had taken some work to convince him to come, not because he didn't want to, but because he worried about what their encounter meant. As much as his dick wanted this, the prospect of meeting the woman in her home made his mind uneasy.

She realized this, and understood how insecure he must be feeling. His comfort and pleasure was now her top priority. She wanted to feel loved and desired, and for that to happen she needed to make the boy feel safe and relaxed.

Her naked entrance was a great start to get him hooked. Jisung was about to enter a new world, and she would teach him right. She was about to show him how great sex between two consenting adults could be, but it was crucial that she didn't move too fast or she might scare him away.

Slowly, she approached the boy on the bed. She stopped right beside him, her mature figure towering above his youthful body.

Jisung stared straight ahead, too frightened to look at the laced thong and bra. The woman placed her fingers on his chin, and gently pulled his gaze up toward her eyes.

“Do you want to touch me?” she asked softly.

“Yeah,” Jisung said without moving a muscle.

She grabbed his wrist and guided his large hand to her hip. She pressed his fingers against her skin, and moved the hand slowly up and down.

Then, she held out the other and nodded for Jisung to take it. He hesitated, but eventually removed the protective palm from his crotch. His desire to explore was stronger than his need to hide his dick.

With both hands on her body, Jisung relaxed his legs and turned slightly sideways. The further his hands ventured, the closer he dared to get to the older woman. Soon he was feeling her up without her aid, while gawking at the thin piece of fabric that covered the gap between her thighs. Her experienced pussy was right next to his innocent little face.

The woman began to show signs of desire too. She wanted to show Jisung how good his hands on her body made her feel, and exaggerated the reaction to his touch. She closed her eyes and moaned seductively, spread her legs slightly and swayed her hips for his pleasure. It was all a show to make him feel like he was doing the most amazing job, and encourage him to keep going.

The trick worked. Jisung's fingers eventually ventured from her soft stomach to just below her breasts. While staring directly at her clothed pussy, his fingers climbed up the edge of the bra, until they squeezed the full size of her bosom.

“Mmm,” the woman moaned above his head. “Oh yeah, touch me Jisung.”

She moved her hips in broader motions, and felt herself with her hands. The more enthralled Jisung became, the deeper his ass sank into the mattress.

They got incredibly close. For a split second, his nose brushed against her panties. This prompted him to retract slightly, which in turn made her look down at him.

Their eyes met. She could see the fear and uncertainty in his face, but also his lust and the saliva forming in the corner of his mouth.

To help him stay in the moment, the woman grabbed his arms. She slowly raised them up, and Jisung let her. He straightened his spine and the woman decided that it was time for the next step: to get the young man naked in her bed.

She pinched the seams of his sleeves and pulled. Jisung leaned slightly backwards to help her. His head disappeared into the hoodie, and his thin tummy presented itself. The higher she pulled and the further he leaned back, the more of his slim body was revealed.

Soon enough, Jisung was sitting shirtless and cold, but incredibly hot and horny. He observed the woman when she tossed his shirt aside.

“Is this okay?” she asked and let her eyes wander over his chest and bellybutton.

“Yeah,” Jisung replied.

“Just relax,” she said and leaned down.

She grabbed his biceps and gently squeezed them, prompting him to soften his tense muscles. He lowered his arms from his bare chest, letting his guard down.

“Okay,” Jisung said. His hands rested by his sides on the bed.

The woman looked at him curiously. Her face approached his. Once again she gently raised his chin, and looked him straight in the eye.

Then they kissed. A long, sloppy merger of hot lips. Jisung instinctively closed his eyes, and clutched the bed sheets with his fists.

She used tongue. A lot of it. It ventured into his mouth to the sound of wet lips smacking together.

For the first time, it was her turn to touch him. She placed a hand on his bare shoulder while they made out, then let it glide across his chest and over his nipples.

Jisung immediately became all warm inside, though he felt a cold sensation when a hard piece of metal pressed against his skin. He had never noticed the silver ring around her finger.

Her aging hands touched him with just the right pressure, which made him feel both calm and incredibly aroused. A part of him wanted to sink into the mattress and give himself over entirely to the woman. Another wanted to leap up at her and attack her with passion. A third wanted to freeze in place, too stunned by the magic she subjected him to.

Yet they had hardly even started. There was far more to come, and Jisung couldn't even begin to imagine the amazing intimacy they were about to share.

The woman's hand stopped on his firm abs, just above the seam of his sweatpants. From there, it ventured sideways around his skinny waist, when she stopped kissing him and slowly lowered her body onto his.

Her lips moved down his neck and shoulders. Jisung placed his hands behind him and leaned on his long arms. He looked down at the colored hair on the top of her head, while she knelt beside the bed and wet his chest with her tongue.

She placed a hand on his thigh and gently pushed it away from her. Jisung got the hint. He spread his legs, to allow her body to come in between them.

He became wide-eyed and bewildered, excited yet scared. He knew where she was going. His boner was still covered by his pants, but now that her attention approached the general area of his sensitive part, a nervous feeling once again came over him. It was a feeling of uncertainty and self-awareness, and a fear of being a disappointment to his much older lover. I this moment, he felt like he had no idea what they were doing.

Still, he wasn't about to stop her. He wanted her to touch every bit of his naked body. He wanted to stick his dick inside her pussy, and make love to the woman until he bust inside her. His youthful lust prevailed over a nagging feeling that he didn't belong in the room in the first place.

“Relax,” the woman whispered and looked up at his face, as if she could read his mind. “It's okay.”

Jisung smiled down at her, and caught a glimpse of the breasts in the bra dangling above his torso.

When the woman's knees touched the floor, her head was directly above Jisung's crotch. She placed her hands on his chest, and smiled at him while they slowly moved all the way down to his sweatpants.

She grabbed the seams around his hips. She lowered her gaze to see the outline of his cock. She stuck her fingers inside the pants and pulled, slowly as if to make sure Jisung was indeed ready for all of this.

He certainly was. He wanted it with all his heart. Oh boy, did he want it.

Slightly, he raised his ass to allow the pants to come down. The woman lifted the seam to set the dick free. Its head appeared, hard and pulsing against the lower part of his stomach.

“Mmm,” the woman moaned seductively, as if she was most impressed by the sight. She would have made the same sound regardless. It was part of the show, another technique to make Jisung feel good about himself and wanting for more.

The dick was thin and straight. The veins on the shaft were clear. Jisung's young heart and body were hungry, and on full alert.

Wow, he thought. I can't believe a woman like her wants me.

Wow, she thought too. I can't believe a man like him wants me.

The pants slid down on Jisung's thighs. The seams stretched wide and his knees pressed harder together against the sides of her body.

The woman placed a gentle hand on his waist, and touched his v-line with the other. She reached for the cock. Jisung's eyes widened further still when her fingers touched it. A magnificent sensation of lust shot out from his groin and filled his body with pleasure and desire.

He repositioned his arms and leaned on his elbows. He bent his neck to still be able to see, while the woman kissed the tip of his manhood and glanced in his direction.

She smiled. A soft, gorgeous smile that would make any young man come in his pants.

Then she stuck her tongue out. She grabbed the shaft by the root and pointed the dick straight up. She licked its length, and placed her lips in an O-shape around the head.

Slowly, she lowered her head between Jisung's legs. The lubricated shaft slid inside her mouth. She squeezed her lips tightly around it and sucked, and occasionally looked up to observe Jisung's reaction.

She played around with her tongue, its coarse surface touching every bit of his hot meat. She bobbed her head up and down. Jisung got his first ever blowjob, and damn did it feel good.

For the first time this night, Jisung suddenly let out an audible gasp. He was being brought to the edge, and the woman quickly raised her head and freed the dick from her lips.

It fell onto his stomach with a gentle smack.

“Was that good?” she asked. It was a rethorical question.

“Yeah,” Jisung said, and also for the first time, he managed a smile. His body was now fully relaxed.

The woman smiled to herself, pleased with having gotten this far. She waddled a step backwards on her knees and closed Jisung's legs.

“You know,” she said and pinched the sides of his pants. “When I was your age I was still a virgin.”

Jisung wasn't sure why she brought that up. He remained silent while she pulled.

She took a step to the side as the pants went over Jisung's knees and down his calves. She took them off along with his socks, as if she was a mother changing her child.

“Are you?” the woman asked when Jisung didn't react to her revelation.

“No,” Jisung replied.

He wanted to appear much cooler and more experienced than he was, but the crack in his voices made the woman see right through him. Virgin or not, Jisung was already way out of his comfort zone and it showed.

“What do you like?” the woman asked. She tossed Jisung's clothes in a pile on top of his hoodie.

Jisung lay naked in front of her, his feet still on the floor and upper body supported by his elbows. His soaked dick flinched on his stomach.

“What do you mean?” he asked. He was genuinely confused, and the response was all the information she needed.

The woman never replied and simply smiled her friendly smile. She started to get up. She put a hand on Jisung's thigh for support, and pushed herself to a standing position.

Without taking her eyes off his face, she reached back to undo her bra. She giggled at Jisung's doe-like expression. When she pulled the strap over her shoulder and her breasts were slowly revealed, his mouth was wide open. Saliva once again accumulated behind his lower lip.

“Do you think I'm beautiful?” she asked and let the bra drop to the floor.

“Yeah,” Jisung said. It was his single most used word all night, and sufficient to make the woman feel desired. Maybe it was the way he said it, with a hint of surprise and amazement in his voice.

She wasn't done though. Next, she started swaying her hips again, and slowly pulled down her panties as she stood there by the feet of the young man. Jisung's dick jumped on his stomach, still riding the high of her lips tightly wrapped around it.

The pussy was shaved and appeared larger than Jisung had imagined. He stared directly at it, no longer so afraid that he felt the need to look away.

The woman was beyond pleased with his subtle but obvious reactions. She had feared that she would scare the poor boy away, but could tell that Jisung was ready. He had not been a child for several years. Now, she was about to make him a man.

Completely naked in front of him, she stepped closer to the edge of the bed. Jisung's knees clapped together and slid in between her legs. Saliva nearly started to drip from his mouth.

He kept his eyes on the pelvic area as it approached him. He was not afraid of it any longer, and would not react the way he had when his nose brushed against it. He was wildly attracted to its magic.

The woman leaned down for a kiss. Jisung's ass was on the edge of the bed, and once again it sank into it when he pushed his upper body upwards to meet her lips.

FINGERING STARTS HERE…

They started to make out again. Fully undressed, incredibly horny, and ready to take it all the way.

Jisung's hands instinctively began to explore. They felt the waist and chest above his. Hers did the same, as she had a rare opportunity to touch every bit of a man half her age.

Jisung had grown bold, or at the very least so comfortable and passionate that his mind had stopped working. He reached down between her spread legs as she towered over him, and traced his fingers around her folds.

“Mmm,” the woman moaned into his mouth. “Oh yeah, finger me.”

Jisung stuck a finger inside her, then two, then three. He pushed them deeper while flicking them against her walls, in the vast space of her wet vagina.

The actions came instinctively to him. The deeper inside he got, the more the woman seemed to like it. When his palm pressed against her labia, she was no longer putting on a show.

Between their bodies, she reached down and found the cock. She held it up and stroke it. With their lips still smacking together, they pleasured each other as if they'd been in this position a hundred times before.

They had not. It was their first time. And the best was yet to come.

Slowly, the woman started bending her knees, lowering herself onto Jisung's lap. At first, her hanging breasts rubbed against his chest. Then, she wrapped an arm around his neck to pull him closer. His nose pressed against her shoulder, and he breathed heavily on her skin. When her body was so low that he could no longer comfortably keep his fingers inside her, he retracted his hand and placed it on her ass.

She, however, held onto his cock to guide it. The tip of his dick touched the outer rim of her vagina, and Jisung's body instantly froze.

He held his breath. She buried her lips in his hair. His cock stretched her sloppy folds as it slowly pushed inside. He closed his eyes when his face was pressed against her boobs, and the head became fully ungulfed.

“Ahh,” she whimpered. It had been ages since she had a cock this young inside her.

Jisung let his hands glide across her hips. He dug his fingers in them when the pussy swallowed his shaft whole. Finally, he let out a deep, audible sigh.

The woman straightened her back and sank deeper into Jisung's lap. She pulled him closer still, and held him lovingly around the neck and shoulders.

When Jisung didn't move, she decided to take charge. She started to roll her hips, gently sliding her ass on top of his thighs.

Jisung held her around the waist, and occasionally squeezed her cheeks. Balls deep inside her, he too eventually began to thrust his pelvis back and forth. Carefully, as if trying his way. With each push into the woman, he panted shallowly into her bosom.

“Mmm, yeah,” the woman moaned.

“Uh, uh, uh,” Jisung panted lowly.

This seated position was brand new to him, and he absolutely loved it.

When Jisung stopped panting, however, the woman was quick to change the position. She realized that he became silent for a reason. He was close to coming, and she immediately stopped rolling. She looked down at Jisung whose clutched teeth and twisted face revealed that he was indeed about to explode.

She wasn't ready for him to finish. Jisung made her feel wanted and desired. She wanted to feel this way every day, but would settle for just one night. That night could not be over so soon.

She raised a leg and climbed off of Jisung's lap. She looked at him seductively, then waddled away from him on her knees, toward the center of the bed.

She grabbed his arm and pulled him with her. “Come,” she said.

Jisung turned around and followed her. She leaned forward on her elbows, positioning herself on all four. She spread her legs and stuck her ass in the air, and when Jisung approached her from behind, he saw her back and rear and wasn't sure what she wanted him to do.

Instinctively, he crouched over her body and hugged her from behind. He wrapped an arm around her chest and kissed her shoulder blade. Their legs and feet aligned on the mattress, and his dick stuck out below her stomach.

The top of the shaft rubbed against her vulva like a sausage in a bread. He massaged her breasts and rocked his ass slowly, but otherwise didn't do anything to go further.

The woman reached in under her and found the shaft. She positioned it by her entrance and pushed the head up. Jisung understood what she wanted him to do the moment his dick slid inside her.

“Mm, yeah,” the woman moaned when he caught on, and began to fuck her slowly from behind.

“Oh, oh, yeah,” she repeated, and put her hand on top of the bed frame.

Jisung let go of her boob and straightened his back. His hands slid down her back and onto her hips and ass. He stared down at his crotch between her cheeks, while he kept thrusting slowly into her.

“Faster,” she instructed.

Jisung straightened and tensed his arms. His cute ass began to clench and relax alternately. His thigh muscles helped to keep a steady pace.

“Oh yeah, Jisung, fuck me.”

The words were a turn-on for Jisung. The bed began to shake, and the woman adjusted her grip on the frame. He clutched her hips harder, and slammed his cock deeper inside her. It jammed forward and upwards into her pussy with each lustful move of his thighs and torso.

“Mm, mm, yeah, fuck!” the woman kept whimpering. She buried her head in a pillow and raised her ass higher. “Mm, fuck yeah, Jisung, your cock is so good.”

Jisung had never felt more pleased with himself.

The woman was pleased too. Pleased that she had managed to get Jisung out of his shell. But she also feared that his youth meant that he wasn't able to hold and prolong his orgasm. She still wasn't ready for him to finish, and so she quickly decided he had to pull out.

She suddenly moved away from the man and out of his grasp. She lay down and rolled on her back. She spread her legs wide and invited Jisung into the warmth of her motherly embrace.

MISSIONARY SEX STARTS HERE...

Jisung was surprised by the sudden move, but when he saw her lay there with her legs and arms wide open, he immediately came crashing down on top of her.

They hugged and kissed, while the dick head moved closer and closer to the pussy with each rocking motion of their bodies. Eventually, it slid back inside on its own.

He's so eager, the woman thought. She absolutely loved it.

She's so eager, Jisung thought too. I hope I'm good enough for her.

Jisung stopped kissing and lay motionless in her arms, his head resting beside her face. Only his ass moved up and down, while the rest of him remained completely still.

The woman pressed her hand on his back. “Put your arm around me,” she said.

Jisung did as he was told. He raised his head and pushed his arm in under the woman's body.

“Shift your weight,” she said and touched him gently on the hip. Jisung bent a knee slightly, and his hip leaned into the inside of her thigh.

“Now pull your leg higher up,” she said and tugged on the back of his thigh.

Jisung had been in the missionary position before, but it had never felt this great. The woman's instructions and the subtle changes to their position made a big difference.

“Yes, yes, that's the spot!” she exclaimed when Jisung thrust inside her at an angle.

Everything felt more intimate, and Jisung felt more powerful. For the first time in his sexually active life, he felt in control. The way he was able to weight his motions and use his whole body to move while they fucked made him feel like he knew what he was doing.

Jisung kept bobbing his ass up and down. With the aid of his arm around the woman's back and shoulder he pulled himself forward. When he relaxed, he slid back down on her. With the bent knee below her ass cheek he pushed. He rocked his full length back and forth, up and down, and rolled his hips into her groin with a new-found skill and confidence.

“Kiss me,” the woman said, her final instruction.

Jisung planted his lips on hers. Wrapped in each other's arms, they fucked with a passion Jisung had never experienced before.

“Oh, yeah, yeah,” the woman kept whimpering. “Ah, ah, Jisung, Jisung!”

Hearing her moan his name made Jisung feel good and manly. His straight cock kept slamming repeatedly against her clit, and the sloppy folds tightened around his shaft when she wrapped her legs around him.

“Ahh, ahh,” she kept wailing. “Ah, yes, yes, yes!”

They sighed shallow breaths of air into each other's mouths, and occasionally kissed with a love and force that matched the passion of their hot sex.

Jisung became hot and flustered, and eventually held his breath. The breasts below him pressed against his chest, and the woman's hands on his back and legs around his ass and thighs felt incredible.

He pulled his knee a little higher still. His thigh pressed against her cheek. He raised his upper body slightly. Her breasts shook below him and the bed slammed repeatedly against the wall.

“Grab the frame,” the woman said.

Jisung reached up, his arm and skinny torso stretched long. He took a firm grip on top of the bedframe with one hand, and squeezed hard on her waist with the other. He used them to push and pull his body while simultaneously kicking his feet into the mattress, penetrating the woman deeper than ever before.

Then he clutched his teeth again, and suddenly let out a groan.

“Don't come yet,” the woman said.

Jisung held his breath, but kept on fucking her good.

“Hold it in,” she said.

Jisung focused his mind, but increased the size and tensity of his body's movements.

“Yes, yes, fuck!” the woman said when she couldn't hold it together herself.

That's when Jisung reach his peak. He had fucked the woman wild and passionately for as long as he possibly could. When she orgasmed as a result of his cock hitting her g-spot repeatedly, he couldn't last any longer.

Jisung exploded with a powerful jolt.

“Arrgh, mm!” he howled when he released his load and emptied himself. “Fu-u-uuck!”

It was the first time ever he had made a sound while coming inside a woman. He absolutely loved this new type of sex, and she loved that he had brought out this new side of him.

The strong and manly Jisung that finished inside the older woman was a very different person from the timid boy she had found sitting on the edge of her bed.

When Jisung came down from his orgasm and released his grip on the bed, their bodies were hot and flustered. He panted heavily above the woman, and came down for a deep kiss. She was chipping for air too, coming down from her own orgasm.

Jisung's chest and thin stomach moved visibly in and out when he gasped for air. His abs were highlighted with each powerful exhale.

Then he collapsed in her arms. Every muscle in his body relaxed, and she lovingly wrapped her arms around him. She giggled when he panted into her ear, a gentle laugh of total sexual satisfaction.

When his breaths returned to normal, she pushed him gently on the shoulder. Jisung slowly rolled off her and lay on his back by her side.

He was spent and happy. He put an arm behind his head and smiled. She leaned into his chest and kissed him.

“Wow,” he said, unable to wipe the smirk off his face. “That was incredible!”

The woman merely giggled lovingly, and played with her fingers on his flat stomach. Incredible was an understatement. It had been years since she had gotten this kind of action from her husband.

*****

Jisung opened his eyes. “I need to pee,” he said lowly, taking them both out of their sleepy and meditative state. He gently caressed the woman on her back, while she rested her head on his chest.

“Sure,” she said and rolled away, letting the man beside her go.

Jisung sat up and crawled out of bed. She admired his slim figure and cute ass when he walked away from her. He crossed the room with a certain posture, a cool confidence of a man who had just had the greatest sex of his life.

When he returned, he found the woman sitting by the foot of the bed. She was playing with the ring around her finger, and had put on a t-shirt and panties. White ones, much larger than the black thong he had seen her in before.

Jisung stopped and looked at her. She let go of her finger and glanced at his naked body, and the slack young dick hanging low between his legs.

“You should probably go,” she said. The words took him by surprise.

But he didn't want to show his disappointment. “Yeah,” he agreed. “They'll wonder where I am.”

“Who will?” the woman asked.

“My friends.”

She watched him in silence for a moment, then smiled softly. “Come here.”

Jisung approached her with a slow determination. She pulled him in and kissed him, and ran her fingers over his hot, slim body one last time. His skin had cooled down since the sex had ended.

She leaned down and kissed the dick. Blood immediately came rushing to it, and it began to grow in size.

“Alright,” she said and leaned back. “You don't want to make them worried.”

Jisung wanted to stay. He knew that if he left they might never see each other again. But he had a feeling that he shouldn't, and that there was something else going on with the woman.

They had done what he came there for, and he was mature enough to know that he was much too young for her. She had only invited him for sex, and now that part was over. She was not looking for a serious relationship, but then again neither was he.

When neither of them spoke, Jisung turned around and picked up his clothes from the floor. He sorted them in the middle of the room, and before his dick would grow to full size again he quickly put on his underwear.

He suddenly wanted to hide his boner. The woman kept watching him, smiling faintly. He felt shy and out of place.

“Will I see you again?” Jisung asked when he pulled up the sweatpants.

“I don't think so,” the woman said, a little too quickly.

“Why not?” Jisung asked. For the first time, he worried that perhaps he had not been as great in bed as he thought he had. Maybe she wasn't satisfied by his performance after all.

“My… I have to see someone.”

Jisung stood shirtless and stared at the tangled sheet on the bed. He clung to the hoodie in his hands.

He suddenly became afraid to face the woman, wondering if he had done something terribly wrong.

Slowly, he slid the shirt over his head, then adjusted the hood behind it.

“I had a great time,” the woman said and suddenly smiled wide, as if she realized that things were turning awkward and she wanted to bring them back to their happy moment. ”You were great.”

Jisung merely grunted. “I should go,” he said, and his friends were really just an excuse.

The woman stood up and approached him. She wrapped her arms around the boy and kissed him passionately on the lips. Jisung's hard-on poked through his pants.

“Thank you,” she said.

For what? Jisung wanted to ask.

“You're welcome,” he said and they kissed again.

Then he turned around and walked away.

“Goodbye,” he said in the doorway.

“Goodbye,” the woman replied, but made no effort to walk him out.

Jisung could be feeling a lot of things in this moment. But his heart was full of joy and his body full of pride. His mind was occupied only by one thing: the amazing older woman, her naked body and wonderful touch.

She had showed him her magic and taught him experienced sex. Though he did not yet realize it, he would eventually come to understand that the sex had been so great because of her higher age.

The age difference between them played an important part, and Jisung would struggle to recreate the experience with girls his own age. They simply weren't the same.

For now, however, Jisung knew one thing for sure: that his time with an older woman had been fucking magical.

[hpowellsmith]

Happy birthday, Royal Affairs!

It's been a year since Royal Affairs came out and I've been over the moon about how it's been received. It's meant that I've been able to write full-time, make Honor Bound as rich and detailed at high speed, and do a lot of physical and mental health recovery after various periods of burnout. I'm really grateful for everyone's support, here and elsewhere, and it really makes a huge difference.

I had so much fun returning to the characters after a while away for the epilogue - if you enjoyed the game at release and haven't replayed for the epilogue, I very much recommend giving it a go!

After beta testing, I wrote up a retrospective about what came up and how I organised my work. I thought I'd share it for some insight into my process, for players and authors. Here it is:

In Crème de la Crème I ended up adding large branches to the plot during beta, but I was fortunate not to have to do it this time around. Mostly it was building on what was there or bringing certain things to the forefront, or adding a few different ways of navigating situations.

As feedback came in, I was lucky enough to have so much that it became unwieldy to act on it in one go, so I made a priority list.

Highest priority was game breaking bugs or large continuity problems like Dominique's final game scene switching to Beaumont's.

High priority was smaller continuity bugs like the game confusing who you were romancing or whether you had or hadn't done a particular action earlier.

Medium priority was things like small scene additions or multi romance responses, or tweaking first impressions of characters, and so on.

Low priority was nice-to-haves like allowing a character to be romanced only late on.

Alongside this, I fixed typos and made small adjustments - easy wins that added polished. There were also some major sweeps that I did: a stat test clarity sweep, a stat change sweep, a reduction of tests in casual conversations, and repetitive words or phrases.

Stat test clarity:

I picked 3-4 stat tests at random from each chapter, copied their text into a separate document, and highlighted words that reflected the stats. For example: for Authoritative I had things like "I order them to..." "I tell them what to do", "I stay aloof to maintain my authority..." and so on. I edited testing choices to include these keywords, and also edited the stat guide to include them.

Checking all this had the side effect of helping me spot unnecessary tests or points where the stat being tested just didn't match the situation at hand.

Stat changes:

There are a lot of points where stats can change, and not all of them made sense at the start of beta. I did variations of this sweep several times, including the Action Skills, NPC stats, and adding a lot more chances to boost your Powers of Persuasion. Again doing this check helped me spot unnecessary or unintuitive tests and changes.

Tests in casual conversations:

This was again something that I iterated several times. Some of the commentary about Crème de la Crème said that the stat tests felt punishing or too difficult, and an early playtest from my wife flagged that some of the tests in Royal Affairs felt unfair. Why should a character's relationship reduce when you're trying to be affectionate, if the circumstances aren't in a state where that makes sense?

So I stripped out a lot of this, generally replacing a success/failure with flavour text (such as a Subtle MC perhaps being, well, more subtle about holding hands with someone). In some cases, where a character needs to be drawn out of themselves to talk more emotionally (Beaumont or Hyacinthe, on occasion), or they see the conversation as a contest or challenge in some way (mostly Javi or Trevelyan), I left them in. But I liked that they were a rarity rather than default.

Repetitive words or phrases

As I was writing, sometimes I noticed that I was overusing phrases, so if I got that feeling I would make a note for the sweep. In the end there wasn't as much as that as I thought, but there were a lot of qualifier-type words that reduce the impact of a sentence - "a little" was one, or "really", usually in dialogue - or filler words like "down" in sentences like "you sit down beside them".

I also looked for phrases like "you know" or "you suspect" to spot places where I could express whatever it was that the MC knows more elegantly (this is something a former colleague told me once and I've never forgotten it!)

More involved edits

With some major things that I did change, I'd put them on my to-do list before beta but they were either unwieldy and I wanted to start testing sooner rather than later, or I wanted to check whether other people agreed. It was great to have more opinions and mostly they confirmed what I'd thought. With others, I studied the feedback to gauge whether the effort of making the changes would be worth the payoff. In most cases, I decided to go for it.

In general, this stage involved adding things, including:

more worldbuilding details to give more context to the plot

more teacher interactions throughout; added scenes as well as offhand references to other classes; more about Clemence and Vere and expanded outcomes to their storyline

romanceable characters responding to players romancing other people: in the moment, checking in about where your relationship was at, and a set of final breakup conversations if it was left until the very last minute (this was a very big undertaking and would have been better to do earlier - a lesson I've taken to Honor Bound)

lengthening the main suffrage debate

adding slow-paced romance dynamics for two characters (I was really keen to do this but was disciplined about making it low priority - it was a lovely idea and I knew I'd enjoy doing it, but it was very much a nice-to-have compared to other things. I was delighted to be able to do it!)

more communal scenes with classmates to give more of a sense of living in each other's pockets

adding an option to confide in Asher about a particular plot point and for them to assist with it if wanted (I was so happy about adding this: it's one of my favourite Asher moments, even if few people see it!)

tweaking some of the friendship/romance conversations to add more emotional chat (mostly this applied to Javi and Hyacinthe; there was a bit added to Asher and Dominique at Verdancy)

more pet time

more narrative and conversational responsiveness about whether an imperilled character was romanced

more Javi asexuality chat

more detailed outfit descriptions throughout with more choices about what to wear

generally expanding some scenes to give more breathing room to important moments

In the end I added 45000 words to the game during beta testing, thanks to feedback from editor review, continuity testing, and copyediting. Testing took place during late December 2022 and January 2023, and I massively appreciate everyone who contributed to make this big game as polished as it is!

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