#noble scion was a lot of fun

[thelesbianoffrontiers]

kay i finished avowed, there were some glitches towards the end that prevented me from finishing yatzli and giatta's quests (my favorite characters.. how could this happen to me...) and some end slides that didn't show that i'm pretty sure were supposed to show?? so that was a bit disappointing. also, the companions repeatedly knew information i never told them (or even lied about lol..) that kinda took me out of the moment... but maybe the envoy just talks in their sleep. otherwise, i enjoyed myself.

[lady-quen]

Places this in the sea of "Trahearne survives" AUs. Presenting Trahearne Inmorte, resident seething Firstborn plant bonded to a frankenstein bug. Alternatively, Trahearne if he picked ferocity in the character creator.

Anyway, finally posting about my version of the good ole Marshal, lovingly dubbed Crankhearne - aka Risen Lich Trahearne, revived immediately post-getting to know his sword too closely, courtesy of Morivitae, ( @commanderteag ) the Pact's pet Scion of Zhaitan. Having kept a dragon of dubious morals on a metaphorical leash, Trahy promptly gets UNO reversed. These two start toxic but get better over time, creating a fun contrast to the Commander of the verse, Aestus, who belongs to @mithosis.

Similarly to my own Commander, Mael, he keeps his condition as a lich secret from everyone aside from his closest circle. I swear I'm not collecting undead plants, the Zhaitan Scion Champion opportunity was just far too good to pass up. Have some more screenshots, and more (a lot more) lore ranting below the cut.

The very last thing the Pact Marshal expected when waging war against Zhaitan was to strike a bargain with Zhaitan's child. Information against his master and aid in cleansing Orr - in exchange for freedom once the Elder Dragon was slain. But, still, keeping a beast of that caliber on a leash proved a challenge, even when he could shapeshift more or less into mortal shape. After all, an ancient beast that subsisted on eating life force and grafting foreign body parts to itself did not take to Tyrian morals immediately. It wasn't a partnership by any means - a monster was a monster, but so was a promise. As long as the creature called "Morivitae" behaved, he could prove an asset against the other Dragons. A weapon. A wildcard. But then, awakened Mordremoth. The Maguuma disaster. His greatest failure, and, ultimately, his end. A final request for the Commander to take Caladbolg from his shaking hands and strike. But something within the Death Scion stirred at the sorrow. At the Commander's cries. An inkling of emotion, a faint flicker of something unfathomable. And gold eyes opened again. Welcome, O Champion of Shadow and Death. And now, the Marshal was on a leash of his own.

Trahearne went to the Domain of the Lost when he died, and time flowed differently there. So he spent "days" wandering and fighting the phantoms that took his name and face, just like the Commander. He met the Judge but there was no crisis in the Mists, so no offer to come back like during PoF, just gotta accept death but also have to process it first. Poor Trahearne was dissociated the whole time, thinking he was Mordremoth. He had to be given a second name to latch onto until he found his real one - and then he was ripped out of the Mists by Mori just before he could claim his rightful rest. Needless to say, waking back up a Risen of all things and cut off from the Dream did not do his mental health any favors.

"I don't remember my name but I was something horrible. You mustn't let me into the afterlife. I can't destroy it, too..." "You must find your name before you continue onward, wherever your final destination lies. If you fail, your soul will fade." "Good. I want to fade. I need to." "No, you must find the truth. That is the law of this place. Your spirit is noble, there is no malice in you. But there is suffering, and this isn't your final punishment." "I'm fading. I can't tell how - why - I can't move anymore. I need to... what am I..." "You are.. Inmorte, The Lost Wanderer. This name I give you now so you may continue. Hold onto it tightly and find your purpose. Your real name." "...I... I will."

Following his resurrection, he continues to lead the Pact as its Marshal, and is adamant on never using a mask nor mesmer illusions to cover his face - wearing his disfigurement openly in solidarity with all the other sylvari mutilated by Mordremoth's influence. There are questions as to why the Marshal was torn from the Dream and his glow changed to a necromantic green, but not many dare seek the truth of their own accord. Trahearne becomes a much more fearsome, decisive leader - going from scholar to truly formidable strategic mastermind, wanting nothing more than to ensure the tragedy of Maguuma never repeats.

"It's not mere confidence, it's pathological. As though everything stopped mattering back in that jungle, and yet I am ever more determined to see things through til the end. It's the only reason I can justify existing in this state."

The only instance where he does use illusions (excluding stealth missions, of course) is over his hands - due to an unfortunate incident where Caladbolg completely burned off the flesh from his fingers. As a result, his real hands are skeletal. This is due to his obsession with the sword, practically never letting it go, to the point he once fell asleep holding it. Since he no longer feels pain correctly, the damage was done before he woke back up - and Mori does not seem to possess the ability to mend, only animate that which should already be dead.

Trahearne's obsession with Caladbolg stems from the fact he initially believes the weapon to be the only thing keeping his soul from being fully corrupted by the Dragon he is bound to - clinging to a hope that the Thorn could purify the death magic in him just like it had once purified Orr. Alas, that is not the case, but also he eventually finds he is not as doomed as he had once believed - growing into a Champion of Death and Rebirth under his Scion patron as they both find their greater purpose - a balance to Aestus and Aurene's light. Still, his destiny remains irrevocably tied to the very land that haunted his Dream and cursed him with a seemingly impossible task.

"You're the First of the First, born in the garden of Eden and destined to purify a sunken hell risen from the depths on the other side of the sea. A task thought impossible, especially as your siblings begin to rise around you with destinies that seem more achievable. Compelled, you spend over twenty years studying the land of the walking dead, so much that the stench of it all is all but branded into your flesh. It's all you see when you sleep. The neverending expanse of bleak, gray-brown rock and twisting anemone and tide-torn ruins. Nothing living grows in Orr. It's all absolute desolation. There are none of your siblings there and you're so terribly lonely. ...In all your years, you never thought this could happen. With the Commander at your side and the son of Zhaitan mutinying against his father, Orr blooms again. The Artesian waters run clear, and life wanders slowly back into the land. It will take years, many more years than you'll be alive for, but the weight is lifted. You can leave. It's over. With hope in your heart, you feel like whatever comes next will only be easier. It's not. You die. And you rise. You never left Orr, because Orr never had the intention of leaving you."

Perhaps, just perhaps - one day, when the sunken kingdom heals completely, his soul will be allowed its due rest. Until then, he has some work to do.

[literallymechanical]

Just finished Empire of Silence by Christopher Ruocchio, book 1 of the Sun Eater series. Written as the autobiography of Hadrian "Half-Mortal" "Sun Eater" Marlowe, translated in-universe from Galactic Standard, an Anglo-Hindi patois.

Old-school space opera in a Dune-like distant future, but with a storytelling sensibility that owes more to Patrick Rothfuss than anybody else. Reads like epic fantasy rather than science fiction, which I think is fun.

The Sollan Empire venerates Mother Earth, slain in nuclear fire twenty thousand years ago, as the messianic god of their state religion. Ruocchio leans into the implications of that premise with a lot of fun linguistics stuff:

lol. Lmao.

The narration is florid and purple and delightful. Hadrian was an ass in his youth in the way that only the vat-born scion of a noble house can be, and his future self writes with wincing honesty while apologizing to the reader for the bad choices he keeps making.

I appreciate how the book opens by basically turning directly to the reader and saying "this is a Dune, we're doing a Dune. Here are three rapid-fire direct references to Dune. Got it? Okay, now we can move on." Highly recommend if you like door-stopper epic fantasy.

[thydungeongal]

Sword of Cepheus Character Creation: Vagabond

For those of you not in the know, The Sword of Cepheus is a Cepheus Engine RPG in the good old swords and sorcery (as well as swords and sandals and sword and planet) genre. What is the Cepheus Engine? Well, it's the system that Traveller, the classic sci-fi RPG of space-trucking and dying in character creation, runs on. I am unsure of the details of why the Cepheus Engine has been turned into a generic, open system, but since the Traveller licence is currently held by Mongoose Publishing and Mongoose was at one point swept up in the OGL hype leading to at least some of their games (including RuneQuest) being made open gaming content under the OGL, I suspect it to be a similar situation here.

Anyway, Sword of Cepheus is an adaptation of the Cepheus Engine into the fantasy genre and to someone whose only exposure to Traveller has been the very first edition of the game (known as Classic Traveller these days) it looks very familiar. Barring the fact that there's no dying in character creation, although characters can still end up badly wounded.

I'll be rolling up a character for Sword of Cepheus, because it's one of those systems where character creation is nice and gamey.

What I know of my character already: As per the poll I ran, I will be making a Vagabond. But since I also happened to notice that this game has options for non-human characters and I'm particularly fond of goblins, I will be making a separate Goblin character. (Non-human characters have their own careers they are locked into, and while Sword of Cepheus is nowhere near as strict about forcing characters to only advance within the skills afforded by their career as something like D&D, it is still a fun nod to Basic D&D's demihuman classes.)

Anyway, a lot of text under the cut:

Sword of Cepheus uses six stats, some of them familiar, some less so: Strength, Dexterity, Endurance, Intelligence, Education, and Social Standing. To create a character you simply assign an array to these stats in whatever order you like: 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10.

That array happens to be more or less what you would get by rolling 2d6 for every stat, but slightly nudged upwards. In fact, 2d6 per stat was the way Classic Traveller handled character creation, and it is provided here as an alternate stat generation method. I'll be going with the default method for now.

The game tells me a bit about what the stats do, there's a derived modifier from each ability score. A score of 5 (the lowest in the array) happens to be the threshold for having a -1 modifier, with values of 6-8 yielding a modifier of +0, with 9-11 translating to a +1. So our character will be pretty average to start with. I will be assigning that 8 to EDU, because an EDU of 8+ is the minimum needed to access a career's Advanced Education options, so that sounds good. I'm picturing a character who is sly and roguish, clever and quick on their feet, but not particularly well-equipped to handle direct physical conflict. This is what their stats look like:

STR 5, DEX 9, END 6, INT 10, EDU 8, SOC 7

My first decision after this is to pick my character's background from a short list and set one of the skills tied to that background to a rating of 1. Skills in this game start out with a skill rating of nil, meaning that your character is untrained in it and takes a -3 untrained penalty on attempts to use the skill, but in character creation characters will end up with many skills bumped up to rank 0, cancelling out the penalty, after which a skill rating of 1 already gives the character a +1 bonus on checks related to that skill. It's a very traditional ability modifier + skill rating versus target number system, only using 2d6.

Anyway, the Aristocracy background appeals to me the most: I like the idea of a noble scion fallen on hard times, forced into a life of adventuring. The Aristocracy background explicitly states that a character from said background may no longer have a noble title, which makes sense given our character's distinctly average SOC (for reference: the Noble career, distinct from Aristocracy background, is available only to characters of SOC 10 or higher).

The Aristocracy background gives us a choice between three skills: Carousing, Riding, and Govern. Carousing is the skill used for gathering information and mingling in social settings, as well as gambling! So that seems perfect for our character. We pick up Carousing 1 for our character.

Our character has now graduated out of being 14 years old and now we beging the most interesting part of character creation: career advancement. Back in Traveller, characters would pick a service branch and then basically go on 4-year "tours" in that service branch, picking up skills and abilities, and also rolling for random events which included dying horribly. Sword of Cepheus' system is much the same, except we are by default locked into one Career (although there is an optional rule allowing characters to move between careers: this is something I think could be expanded upon, with various careers allowing for "exits" into other careers) and there is no chance of dying in character creation, although there is still room for hilarity. Looking at the master character creation table I decide that 3 Terms is well and good enough to get a rounded character. We've already got our career picked for us too: Vagabond, an itinerant wanderer and general ne'er-do-well.

We first note our career's Service Skills (and this terminology really makes it clear this game is a hack of a military sci-fi game) and pick one of them to set to a skill rating of 1, and the others go to 0. There are exactly six service skills, so it would be theoretically possible to randomize this process as well. But I'm just going to pick Streetwise. So, taking into account our Background Skill, this is what our current skills look like:

Carousing 1, Survival 0, Streetwise 1, Melee 0, Deception 0, Sneak 0, Scout 0

At this point we get two Skill Levels we can distribute among skills from the Vagabond's lists of skills: Either Service, Specialist, or Advanced Education. The text is quite unclear as to whether the first skill level boosts a character's skill level to 0 or 1, but I look around for the Cepheus Engine SRD and the latter seems to be implied as the default. This makes me think that it is more cost-effective to ignore the skills we have already raised to 0 and instead focus on skills that our character doesn't have at all or has at level 1 already. I feel the text could stand to be a lot clearer with its intent here.

Anyway, I look at the Specialist skills category and notice a skill called Jack o'Trades, which reduces the Untrained penalty for using skills by 1 per rank. During my character's first term they can have a skill at a maximum of level 2, so. I'm just bumping that skill up by 2. To make a ridiculously well-rounded character.

Carousing 1, Survival 0, Streetwise 1, Melee 0, Deception 0, Sneak 0, Scout 0, Jack o'Trades 2

At the end of my character's first term I will also roll a Vagabond Event for them with a 2d6. The result is a 7, which guides me to look at the Life Event table, of which there are three: Hinterlands, Village, and City. The Hinterlands table happens to be the first one I see and I don't have a clear idea of my character yet, so I pick that one. My next roll is a 5 which gives my character this:

The local noble takes an interest in you, for better or worse. Either gain an Ally but lose a Benefit roll or gain an Enemy and gain a Benefit roll.

Brief explanation of what Benefit rolls are: once character creation is complete, we will be making a number of rolls equal to number of terms taken in a career's "Mustering Out Benefits" table (there's that mil sci-fi terminology again), and getting a bunch of benefits to start with. I feel that making an enemy of a noble fits our character concept well, so we'll go with that one.

Our character is now 18 years of age and we're starting their second term. To continue with making our character ridiculously well-rounded I am once again putting a level in Jack o'Trades, as well as buying the skill Liaison 1 (used for negotiation, haggling, impressing people, etc.).

Carousing 1, Survival 0, Streetwise 1, Melee 0, Deception 0, Sneak 0, Scout 0, Jack o'Trades 3, Liaison 1

And once again, we roll for a Vagabond Event. A result of 5 gets us this:

Foreigners – Your travel among strangers. Gain an Ally or a Language.

Because I am imagining a very traditional swords and sorcery world but I somewhat want to invert the dynamics a bit, I am thinking of a Thirteenth Warrior situation where our character, from a heavily SWANA-coded region, travels for a time and ends up in fantasy viking land. That also perfectly ties into them having made an enemy with a noble, and also ties into their aristocratic background and loss of social station. Besides our character's native language, they now speak Fantasy Viking.

Our character is now 22 years of age as we begin our third and final term. For skills I am picking Riding 1 and Leadership 1: I assume that during our character's time in viking land they ended up fighting alongside their viking friends, doing horsemanship, that sort of thing.

Carousing 1, Survival 0, Streetwise 1, Melee 0, Deception 0, Sneak 0, Scout 0, Jack o'Trades 3, Liaison 1, Riding 1, Leadership 1

And finally it's time for our last Vagabond Event: a 7 gives us a roll on the Life Events table again, so let's refer to that. Based on what we've established of our character's situation thus far, they are probably in what counts as Hinterlands in this setting. Another 7 gives us the following result:

You form a close relationship with someone. Gain an Ally.

Of course our character became sworn brothers with a cool guy named Brynjolf, his BFF. Together they intend to one day return to my character's homeland and probably kick the ass of whoever it is made them lose their station.

With that our character has come to the end of their third term and at 26 years of age it's time to roll their four mustering out benefits (three for three terms, one for a life event result). These are all separate 1d6 rolls, and before each I must choose whether they will be Gold or Material Benefits. I could also trade Benefits for skills. Gold does not particularly interest me, so I will be simply rolling all four on the Material Benefits table: 4, 3, 5, 5

Which comes out to... Weapon, Ally, Ally, Ally. :D

Our character has hella allies.

We also get to pick two traits for our character (the number of starting traits is the number of Terms divided by 2, rounded up)! These are very much not unlike feats in D&D parlance, being little ways to customize our character and make them a bit more unique. Looking at my options the following two stand out:

Awareness Prerequisite: INT 9+ The character has sharp senses and is difficult to surprise. When rolling the Scout skill to avoid surprise the character throws with Advantage. This applies even if the character does not have the Scout skill and rolls with the Unskilled penalty. Note that this trait does not apply when the character is setting up a deliberate ambush; the Hunter Trait covers that instead.

Danger Sense Prerequisite: DEX 9+ The character instinctively senses danger and can try to evade enemy attacks even when unaware of the assailant. It can be very difficult to ambush this character effectively. When the character is attacked by an enemy the character is unaware of, throw DEX 8+; if successful, the character uses their Dodge or Parry bonus (see the Combat chapter for further details).

Our character is all but impossible to catch off-guard.

Anyway, our character turned out somewhat less remarkable than I had hoped, but I still have a good idea for him: a young noble scion whose family was all murdered in power struggle between the noble houses of his nation, who escaped and traveled to the far North to live in exile, but who intends to return not to reclaim his title but to simply take revenge for the death of his family. To this end, he has made allies many skilled warriors in the North who seek to accompany him on his quest, including his BFF and sworn brother Brynjolf. Playing around with some name generators, I eventually end up with a name for him: Shamash-Nasir

Shamash-Nasir STR 5, DEX 9, END 6, INT 10, EDU 8, SOC 7 Carousing 1, Survival 0, Streetwise 1, Melee 0, Deception 0, Sneak 0, Scout 0, Jack o'Trades 3, Liaison 1, Riding 1, Leadership 1 Traits: Awareness, Danger Sense Benefits: Weapon, Ally (x4), Enemy

We also get a starting package of equipment. This is what the Vagabond package looks like:

Dagger (2d6) Bedroll Cudgel (2d6) Hide Armor (3) Bread, course 9GP 98CP

The rest of character creation is simply doing math for stuff like our character's Stamina (hit points) and Lifeblood (meat points), but that won't be necessary now. What matters is that we got a neat little guy out of this!

[myreia]

Exile from Delight

—chapter 3: unlikely gifts in unlikely places

Rating: Mature Characters: Thancred, Hilda, Aureia (WoL) Pairings: Thancred x Hilda [background Thancred x Aureia and background Aymeric x Aureia] Chapter Words: 3,459 Summary: Hilda isn’t supposed to mean much to him. A good time, a fun time, a distraction from his sorry lot. But sometimes the best of distractions come hand-in-hand with a sharp tongue and a quick wit. Call it the gift of insight, if you would. Prompt: v. laughter | gift Chapters: one • two • three Read on AO3

On a day like today, Ishgard’s favourite market is an anomaly.

It should not be as bright as a summer’s day. And yet despite the white-grey sky and the flurries in the air and the snow drifting about on the ground, the Jeweled Crozier sparkles like a gem. Lanterns glow above the vendors’ stalls, nailed to posts or strung on lines. Brightly coloured pennants flap in the air above the stalls, buffeted to and fro by the wind. Merchants call at passersby, welcoming new customers to browse their wears. A bard has set up several blocks down, playing the soaring notes of their violin to a rapt audience.

Though the crowd here is a mix of servants running errands for their employers, off-duty soldiers, on-duty Temple Knights, and unimportant scions of lesser noble houses, the Crozier is the common ground between lowborn and high. More Elezen than Hyur here, immediately noticeable given both he and Hilda are a good foot shorter than most passersby. All are welcome, no matter their station. It is a paradox, both frenetic and calm. Some stroll, others hurry, the great need to rush contrasted against the great need to slow down.

Is the ring still there, he wonders? Gods, why did he let her bring them in this direction. He would rather be anywhere else.

“Hilda,” he calls, hurrying after her.

She strides up the slope ahead of him, her long legs taking it at a robust pace. Her gaze darts from one stall to the next, but she never stops to take a closer look. She must know these vendors like the back of her hand—and there must be a reason why she has led him here of all places. “Aimless” and “Hilda Ware” do not go together.   

“Hilda—”

She glances over her shoulder, a cross look on her face. “What?” she replies, folding her arms. She’s made her stand in the middle of the street, obstructing the flow of traffic in both directions and drawing more than one annoyed look. “Isn’t it about time you turn around and fuck off? Halone smite me for wanting to do your sorry arse a favour.”

He sighs. “Look,” he says. “I apologize for my… abruptness. And general boorishness foolishness.”

“You apologizin’? In earnest?”

“Aye. You of all people do not deserve to receive my… well.” He shrugs. “I have been a fool in many ways. Your blunt honesty has only made that more apparent, and I’m sorry I did not take it well. You’re right.”

“In what way?”

“In every way.” He pauses, swallowing the lump in his throat. An itch scratches at the back of his mind, a fervent desire to walk straight past Hilda and to the pawn shop. “Particularly where Aureia is concerned.”

“She’s my friend.”

“I know.”

“One of the best I’ve had.”

“I know.” He meets her gaze. Raven hair and ruby eyes. “She and I would have called each other that, once upon a time.”

A disgruntled cough cracks through the air and he can feel the disapproving glare of an elderly noblewoman on him. Hilda must have seen it too, for she grabs him by the elbow and pulls him aside to the wall of a nearby building.  

“Listen,” she says under her breath, brushing her fringe out of her eyes. “I’m not here to tell you what to do. It’s breakin’ my mind that I am even here tryin’ to have this conversation. You called me disposable earlier on, and I was quite miffed about that and I thought—yeah, well, you’re just some dumb old sod who can’t keep it in his trousers.”

Old. He isn’t old by any stretch, but the remark stings more than a little. “A fair assessment, I won’t deny that. I should tell you about the time the call of drink was so strong the table appeared to be quite the lovely companion.”

“…don’t tell me you tried to tumble the table.”

“As friends would tell it, aye, that is something of the truth. I… do not recall that evening very well.” He can’t remember the details, but he does remember Moenbryda’s laughter. He should have known better than to have challenged her.

Knowing what came after, he’s glad he did. There will never be a night like that again.

Across the street, the bard finishes one number and begins another. A mournful, aching tune, dancing upon the wind.

“Tell me somethin’,” Hilda says after a moment. “That night in the Forgotten Knight… why did you come and talk with me?”

Thancred turns his head, his cheeks chafed in the bitter breeze. Gods, he could do with a scarf or two… “I was at the bottom of the bottle yet none too pleased about it,” he replies. “I was angry. Aureia and I… we had exchanged some sharp words earlier that day. Sharper than usual, you know how she can get. And I thought I could… I don’t know. Make amends, somehow. Or attempt to. So I went looking for her in the one place I knew she would be.”

“And you found me instead of her.”

“Aye. Needless to say, that plan did not go as intended.” He sucks in a breath. “If you’re concerned I only approached you because of her, put your mind at ease. Only a shallow-minded fool would take you for her, and vice versa. You’re clever, Hilda, and wise beyond your years. And perhaps the most honest soul I have ever met.”

She snorts. “Say,” she says, elbowing him in the side. Her eyes are twinkling. “I do think that’s the first time you’ve given me a genuine compliment—at least one that wasn’t about my tits or my arse or my—”

He groans, a strangled noise spluttering in his throat. It only makes her laugh more, and soon he is laughing too. She leans an arm against the wall and doubles over, her body shaking with another round every time she glances up and looks him in the eye. By rights it should not be this funny.  

When their laughter finally exhausts itself, a cold silence settles around them, as crisp and sharp as the chilled air. They stand side-by-side, slumped against the wall, shoulders knocking together, and watch the passersby. The snow falls more thickly now, coming down in large, soft flakes. The kind that sets the scene for many the Ishgardian romance.

But this is no romance.

“Do you regret it?” Thancred asks.

Hilda ruffles her ponytail, brushing snow off of it. “Nah,” she replies with a shrug. “Some of it I wouldn’t do again, if I’m honest. Or maybe I would under different circumstances. But I have some big damn regrets in my life, and I’m afraid you’re far out from making the list. Sorry. You’re too insignificant for that.”

He frowns. “I don’t need you to pity me, you know.”

“Good thing I don’t. And… you’re right about one thing, y’know. I’m not a good friend. I’m an awful one.”

“…I wouldn’t say that—”

“This ain’t about what you’re saying, this is about what I’m sayin’.” She folds her arms and turns to face him, a determined look in her eyes. “I’m bein’ selfish, continuing on like I have even after I promised her… Suppose it doesn’t matter. The point is, you’re not the only one being unfair to her.”

“What is between Aureia and me is not your responsibility.”

“No, but I certainly didn’t make things better, and I’ll admit that freely.”

They fall silent again. She shuffles her weight, sliding her boots back and forth in the slush. He can easily imagine her taking off at a lunge and sprinting through the market. And maybe she would, if something wasn’t tethering her to this wall. To him.

“Whatever it is between the two of you, I complicate it,” she murmurs after a moment. “And I don’t want that. To be complicated. For either of you—”

“There’s nothing between us,” he interrupts, ignoring the sharp pang in his chest. “She has made that very clear. The Lord Commander has captured her heart. What’s past is past.”  

“Say that all you want, I don’t believe you. I know some of the story, not all of it, and before you ask it’s not my place to tell you what she told me. I hold my friends’ confidence, I’m no gossip—”

“I wasn’t accusing you of that. Nor was I asking.”

“Right, well.” She blows out a puff of air, red flushing her cheeks. Perhaps it’s just the cold. “You still care for her. You should tell her so. So, why don’t you?”

He looks away, his eye catching a bright piece of tattered blue fabric as it dances on the breeze. A piece of a pennant, torn off by the wind. “Because she already knows.”

The blue scrap tosses and turns like a leaf, falling over and over as it sails over the crowd, tumbles by the stalls, swept off towards a horizon of noble manors, towering bridges, and the ever looming shadow of the Vault. He tracks it for as long as he can, until—

Her laughter is unmistakeable. As is the profile of the man at her side.

The way his heart both plummets and races tells him all he needs to know. Still, he cannot help but stare across the market as Aureia descends the stairs from the level above, her arm looped casually through the Lord Commander’s. Her raven hair has grown out some, save for the uncharacteristically delicate fringe that brushes across her forehead. The deep red ends remain missing—he cannot fathom why she insists on dyeing it now she has no need to keep her identity sequestered away. He isn’t sure what is more surprising—that she is here in Ishgard when she is supposed to be in Limsa Lominsa, or the elegant fur-trimmed gown she has squeezed herself into.

The again she has always proven to be remarkably adaptable. And from all appearances, she has adapted quickly and expertly to highborn society.

He bites his tongue. Aymeric de Borel is a good man. Too good of a man. Fiercely determined with unshakeable ideals and all the recklessness of a revolutionary, and yet he has the patience to play the long game. A solider who never loses sight of his compassion. A politician who wears his heart on his sleeve. Despite the envy he has felt for him at times, even he will begrudgingly admit that the man is a wonder to work with.

He and Aureia match each other well.

Hilda nudges him. “There’s some affair up at the Fortemps Manor,” she says matter-of-factly. “Count Edmont’s idea. The younger lordling told me so.”

“I… see.”

“Want to crash it?”

It wouldn’t be the first time. “No,” Thancred replies after a moment.

She smiles faintly. “You splittin' up from me?”

“Aye.” He meets her eyes. “I suppose I am.”

She pauses, watching him quietly for a time, a strange look on her face. Something akin to warmth. Fondness. Huh. And here he thought he didn’t matter much to her. And so it does not take him by surprise when she cups his face with her hand and leans in close, her fingers brushing his jaw in one final moment of bittersweet intimacy.

“Yeah. I am, too.” She kisses him chastely on the cheek. Then the gentleness breaks and she gives him a pat, grinning from ear to ear. “If you tell her a word of what I said, Waters, I will shoot you. That’s a promise.”

“Understood.”

With a wink and a nod, Hilda backs away into the road, gives him a jaunty little salute, and joins the flowing crowd. Her ponytail bobs, dark hair swinging back and forth as she marches on, growing distant, distant, distant, and then—gone. All the times he has watched her walk away, and this is the one where his heart pangs with a tender ache. He didn’t thank her before she went—should he have? She gave him a gift, knocking some sense into him the way she did. But when next they meet, they will be… strangers? Acquaintances? Two people looking for a fresh start, or perhaps none at all?

His days in Ishgard are limited. There’s a good chance he won’t be back once the Scions move on.

Thancred leans against the wall and arches his neck, turning his gaze to the sky. Though the grey clouds thicken, the stuttering light behind them implies a sun trying to break free. If they’re lucky, this freak storm will be over soon.   

“Thancred?”

Her voice washes over him, clear as a bell. He turns and finds her a pace away, ruby eyes looking him up and down. Snow settles about her head and shoulders, catching softly in her dark hair and clinging to her eyelashes. Judging from how warm and glowing she appears, she’s unbothered by the cold—though whether that has more to do with her natural control over ice-aspected aether or the Lord Commander’s massive wool cloak about her shoulders isn’t for him to say.

He flashes her a smile. “Fancy meeting you here,” he says.

Aureia’s expression falls. “I thought you were investigating the Gnath,” she murmurs.

“Aye, I was, and now I have other tasks before me. And what of you? Have you finished in Limsa Lominsa already?” Or did you leave the twins to take matters into their own hands? The Warriors of Darkness should not be their responsibility. He bites his tongue, reining in the words. It’s frightening how easily he falls back on provoking her, how readily he relishes in getting a rise out of her when he isn’t thinking.

It should not be this way. It was never this way before.

“Not yet, but I will be returning shortly. Alphinaud and Alisaie have found a promising lead.” She hesitates and sweeps a lock of loose hair out of her face. The tips of her ears are turning red with cold. “I have duties here, too. And, well—” A faint smile tugs at her lips and she glances over her shoulder, seeking out Aymeric. The Lord Commander is easily visible further down the market, head and shoulders above the rest as he speaks to the local jeweller. A much more prestigious vendor than the pawnbroker further down the road. “I suppose I have finally taken your advice to heart.”

“How so?”

“There is more to life than fighting, no matter your duty or your beliefs.”

A lump forms in his throat.

Aureia turns back. “Are you cold?” she asks gently. Her boots crunch in the snow as she takes a step towards him.

Thancred flinches and shuffles back, covering the movement by crossing his arms firmly over his chest. “I am well,” he says, shivering. It’s difficult to ignore the gooseflesh rising beneath his ragged shirt now she’s pointed it out. But he’s endured worse than a little cold. He will not let it bother him, not in front of her.

He has given her enough cause to worry about him in the past. He will not do so again, not even over something as insignificant as this.

She pauses. “I’m glad.”

Silence falls about them, as thick as snow.

Gods, when was the last time they had a discussion without arguing? Spoke without anger? Conversed without exhuming the multitude of grievances big and small, picking at open wounds that are still bleeding and old hurts that have long since scabbed over? There are some things that have been said that can never be taken back, but he still finds himself wishing for days long gone, when they could simply… talk.

He misses that.

Perhaps she does, too.

Aureia smiles tightly. “I must go,” she says. “Have a good day, Thancred. I mean that.”

She turns too quickly to see him raise a hand in farewell. Off she goes, not unlike Hilda before her, crossing the market with purpose. But instead of disappearing into the crowd, she returns to the Lord Commander, uncaring of who spots her or what gossip she may cause. She slips her arm through his, her expression brightening, and draws him to one side. They speak quietly together for a time, lost in one another and infected with joy. When he bends to kiss her, she rises up on tiptoe and wraps her arms around his neck, pulling him down to her.

They are happy together. And, in a way, it is a relief that she has found that. He can think of no other who deserves happiness as much as she.

Thancred looks away, that familiar itch once again scratching at the back of his mind.

His boots slip in slush as he shoves off the wall, earning a yelp and a gasp from yet another disapproving noblewoman. He weaves in and out of the crowd, excusing himself more than once as he hurtles down the road. When he reaches the pawnbroker’s stall he is frightfully warm in the chilly air and embarrassingly out of breath.

“Can I… help you, sir?” the greying Elezen asks as he skids to a stop before him.

Thancred grips the edge of the counter, his boots sloshing in the trampled snow. “I wish to inquire about a ring I saw in your possession,” he says. “Quickly!”

The pawnbroker’s eyes narrow behind his spectacles. “I have many rings, sir. They are a commonality in a shop such as mine. You must needs be more specific.”

“Ah—ha…” Choked laughter bubbles across his lips and he shakes his head, sweeping hair out of his good eye. By the Twelve, he must look like a madman. “Of course. You are right, sir, my apologies. It is silver with a black gemstone at its heart. The Ul’dahn crest is engraved on the reverse, if you know where to look.”

“I have perhaps come across such a thing. I trust the item is of some importance to you?”

“Aye—well.” He shrugs. “Not to me, exactly. To a friend.”

“I see.”

“Do you have it? I saw it in your shop not a fortnight ago—”

“A moment.”

“Do you have it or not? It is of vital importance—”

“A moment!”

He shoves his cold hands deep in his pockets, biting his tongue before his urgency gets the better of him. The pawnbroker fusses about with his trays and his drawers, content to take his time as he searches his stall. The ring will not change anything; he can’t even place a finger on why it’s so important to retrieve it. Perhaps it’s for Aureia, perhaps it’s for himself, perhaps it’s for the last vestige of a time neither of them can return to.

“I have it, yes.” Something small and metal clinks against wood and the tension flees from his body. He stares, astonished, as the pawnbroker shoves a small tray across the counter to him. “Is this the item you requested?”

Thancred exhales a long breath. The ring is exactly as it was the last day he saw Aureia wear it.

“Bought it off a half-Elezen adventurer,” the pawnbroker drones on, detached. “Poor woman. Down on her luck. Came here hefting a rusted greatsword over half her size and desperate to sell every trinket she owned. Anything for the gil. Thought it strange how someone like her could end up with a gem like this and from Ul’dah no less, but I pride myself on knowing when to hold my tongue. Wonder what happened to her—”

“How much, sir?” Thancred interrupts.

The pawnbroker pushes his spectacles up his nose. “Fifteen thousand.”

“Done.”

The snow finally slows as Thancred winds his way back down to Foundation, seeking out his favourite haunts in the lower part of the city. The ring sits safely in the inner pocket of his shirt, pressing against the soft spot above his heart. The band is too small to fit his fingers comfortably; this will have to do for now.

He does not know what he intends to with it. To gift it to Aureia now would be… overstepping. Crossing some kind of boundary, no doubt. Most likely she has no attachment to it, given how easily she disposed of it upon her arrival in Ishgard. But the itch in his mind has been sated, and he would much rather know where it is than see it lost to time.

Minfilia called him sentimental more than once. Moenbryda, a fool.

They were both right.  

Raising his face to the sky, he takes in the cautious rays of a late afternoon sun as it breaks through the clouds and moves on.

[gyrovagi]

"You were born to a noble house of great influence, middling wealth, and questionable morals" is such a fun set of descriptors for the noble scion background. you know those fuckers were going CRAZY in the years leading to the downfall of their house. anyway ambrose lore:

they're like. 80ish i think. elf ages

only child of the gréf of [unspecified northern aedyran province]. mom went into pretty severe postpartum depression after they were born and seemed unable to recognize the baby as 'hers'

thought to be a nature godlike at first, ambrose's father tried to spin this as a sign of galawain's favor for his own expansionist efforts (which were in fact doomed to failure)

this came into doubt after an underwhelming childhood visit to a temple of galawain, leading into a series of temple visits where no god claimed them [noble dialogue option with sargamis] that left their parents unsettled and unsure what to make of them

following a miscarriage, their mom really started spiraling and regarded ambrose as a curse/a sign that the gods had turned her own body against her

ambrose's father couldn't deal with her 'hysterics' and he was definitely coping by having an affair with his haemneg consort. they could return to the viable heir problem when his wife calmed down in a decade or two

at some point in adolescence ambrose divine thorn stabbed someone. i don't know the details of it yet. i think the stabbee probably lived. i just know this happened and it intimidated family and servants out of overtly mistreating them and they were kind of given free rein to do whatever.

ambrose's father continued to try and use them as a symbol of the god's favor. they were often sent out to deal with people that the gréf wanted slightly unnerved for negotiations or just to keep them on their toes. they had fun traveling :)

eventually ambrose's mom became fixated on the idea that there was something wrong with her/ambrose's soul or that she'd done something to wrong the gods in a past life, and she spent a lot of money on dubiously credible watchers and, eventually, illegal animancers

the whole 'only child is an infertile godlike' thing was also a succession crisis in the making which a maternal cousin was interested in taking advantage of. this cousin got involved in the illegal animancy hoping to strengthen his soul/argue for his place as successor based on soul lineage

cousin fucking dies. badly. the house suddenly realizes they no longer have the economic or political resources to cleanly get away with it.

ambrose realizes they'll be set up to take the fall, and instead brings damning evidence directly to the emperor dooming the whole house in exchange for his protection. (15-20 years ago?) ambrose's father dies (ambiguously suicide or assassination, they don't know and don't particularly care), ambrose's mother flees across the sea

(i had the thought it would be really funny if ambrose's mother ended up in dyrwood and became the watcher. deadbeat milfs.)

ambrose regards their role as envoy as primarily a diplomat (and sometimes a spy in plain sight). they're useful symbolically as a godlike but also as a noble who's familiar with aedyran political intrigue and still carries some of the social weight of their lineage, but whose loyalty lies solely with the emperor. and they like traveling and seeing new places!

it's a very transactional relationship which ambrose is totally fine with, the benefits of being the emperor's pet freak are pretty good and there's a clarity to continued usefulness = continued patronage whereas the personal connection of family was muddy and ultimately would've turned on them.

until they start hearing a voice in their head and immediately stop giving a fuck about aedyr. when you've been alone for so long that you stopped processing the loneliness but then finally something reaches out to you and the dam bursts. and the terrible isolation you've felt with your whole life Hits you all at once as you experience being seen and understood for the first time. they're waking up from their weird voice dreams and crying for the first time in their life

[dayundying]

I think it'd really be fun to do fanfic centered around scion. Everyday i die to write them they are REALLY fun to write but its very difficult to imagine them doing a lot. In current day they're meandering around high rock with their emotional support knight, and i feel like theres not much to do with that, buuut the aether-era still feels restrained by their being-a-noble-ness

[noonmutter]

Blow

DWC Feb 2024

Day 3: Bargain/Myth

As the conversation got less animated and Terry became more antsy to be on his way, Rumpole brought out one final set of papers. The lazy farmboy in him groaned, but outwardly, all Terry said was, "Seriously, I don't know any other plots. Th' closer y' get t' th' cities, th' less I even visited, let alone--"

"No, no, we're quite done with that, don't worry! I just had one other thing to bring to your attention before you got on your way. The Queen is refreshingly forward-thinking, as you've no doubt noticed by now, and as our beloved country is a touch low on…well, almost every resource…"

"Rumpole. I'm very tired, and I've already missed my deadline. Please."

"Oh, all right, but you're really spoiling the fun." With a small huff, the lawyer handed Terry another of those fancy papers bearing the royal seal, and he cracked it open to read. This one was a full-length scroll that hung down somewhere near his ankles, and it was absolutely covered in writing. Disgustingly dense fine print, on first glance, but once he found a few strange images, resembling nothing so much as a series of blank templates, he went back to the beginning to actually absorb what he was reading.

It wasn't that Terry couldn't follow legalese; he was in many respects a brilliant man, even if he'd never admit it or acknowledge it. He just really, really hated double-talk and wordplay this dry. It was at least fun to do that in poems and stuff. Doing it when you were talking about border disputes or who owned a cow was just infuriating. But as he read, he started to recognize certain phrases and terms from Rumpole's speech, which he'd also only partially listened to earlier in this meeting.

Much of it was what they'd already discussed about the dearth of citizenry remaining to lay claim to the various lands that lay barren and abandoned throughout the kingdom. What followed that was the rules for staking such claims, which were surprisingly thorough for all that they boiled down to 'If you're alive and have satisfactory proof of your identity, here you go.' There was follow-up regarding the payment of taxes, but that thankfully didn't appear to be retroactive. Their new queen had figured out right away that that would've been a civil war right out the gate, at least. In fact, it looked like there was a small stipend involved for the first year or so to help reestablish homesteads properly. Tess didn't seem to want people to grab the land and wander off. That, Terry approved of.

Once he got out of the homesteading stuff, things began to take a turn toward the matter of population, castes, and territories. The collapse of several houses due to the Northgate Rebellion and the fallout from the Shattering had been well-known in general, but this document appeared to be making it official. Even if it hadn't been from those events directly, it'd been over a decade since then; lots of the blue-bloods had scattered, died of old age, or just started over elsewhere. Those houses were gone, no scions remained to claim them, and with a heavy heart the Crown blah blah sure whatever dead nobles can't own anything so now the Crown's taking it back...makes sense. Still likely to be fighting about that, but less than there would've with a bunch of cousins and shit vying for scraps. Tess was already doing better than her great lump of a father at this, by his reckoning.

His reading slowed down significantly once he got to the next segment, where all those pictures sat in the middle of the paragraph. After a few seconds, his heart briefly stopped.

"Rumpole."

"Eh?"

"This is a proclamation o' th' establishment o' new houses."

"Ah, you've hit the nail squarely on the head!"

"I am not a noble, Rumpole!"

"That, my boy, is where you'd be wrong!" Reaching across the desk, the barrister plucked the scroll from Terry's stunned hands and rolled it back up. He didn't need to read it to talk about this part; he'd been warned well in advance that Terry Lias-Ambroce was going to be a bit touchy about it, and he'd come prepared.

"Like I said before, we've got a bit of a drought on almost every resource at present--and that includes nobility, wot? And as the Queen is a forward-thinking queen, she seems inclined to set things up before there's bunch of nasty squabbles while various up-and-comers try to do it themselves. Gilneas has had quite enough warring and destruction and we could all quite use a few years where we don't have more Gilnean deaths than births, eh?"

Terry made vague grasping motions at nothing with both hands, eyes wide. "I am not a noble!"

"Well, you're still technically correct, of course. No signatures, no change, eh?" Rumpole grinned, even while Terry barely reacted at all. "But you have gone and established yourself as a good candidate by the Crown's reckoning."

The lawyer began counting off on his fingers. "You have a strong military background with a nearly mythical reputation, good sir Lighthound. Did you really think that wouldn't reach the eyes of what remained of the court? Gilneas has precious few heroes, let alone living ones. Minor though you might think you are, you went and became one, eh?"

A second finger raised. "And, of course, you've the ability and the intent to lay claim to a not insignificant portion of land, here. And, if I'm not mistaken, you intend to take care of it properly, as a son of Gilneas ought."

The third finger went up as Rumpole fetched a specific sheet from the file he'd brought with him. "And then, of course, there's all these fascinating connections you've established. Both the Crusader-Lord and the Knight-Commander of the Argent Crusade; a retired Ironforge senator and patriarch of Clan Truthhammer and his wife, the High Priestess and Ambassador; Captain Sirenspawn and General Rutherford of the Grand Army of the Alliance... and those are just the direct ones. I've got records of you hobnobbing with Turalyon and Alleria, and attending the wedding of the First Arcanist Thalyssra and Regent Lord Lor'Themar..."

I told Dwyn I shouldn't have been there! Damn it!

"...and that's before I even touch on the indirect ones you have through your brother, and, of course, your wife."

"My w--"

"Well of course your wife, man!" Rumpole practically giggled at Terry's expression, situated somewhere right in the middle of furious and horrified. "You may not be a noble here, but through her, you're a noble there." He picked up another sheet from the file and gave it a little swat. "She went through all the picky nonsense to legitimize herself through the Doppelganger Decree of 28! Clever woman, that; lucky you, eh? And all clean and clear-cut on paper, that makes you the Baron of the Brightwood to your Baroness, eh?"

Of course Terry knew Shedwyn had been busy with all that. He'd been under the impression it was largely to spite all the jackass nobles who sneered down their noses at her, more than any real interest in the legitimacy of it all. Neither of them particularly wanted to be nobles, when nobles acted like that. He still wasn't sure what had been the tipping point: the third time somebody offered a tenth of the land's value to "take the burden off her pretty shoulders," or the one particularly offensive jackoff who'd commented that if she didn't have so much land, she might be able to deal with the "infestation" on it. He hadn't meant feral worgen.

Somehow, once Shedwyn had been formally and properly declared the Baroness of Brightwood Grove, Terry had still never truly connected himself to the thought that by marriage, he was therefore Baron.

Until now.

And he was pretty sure she'd done it to spite him, too.

It'd been three years.

She was never going to shut up about this one.

"The existing title isn't even a requirement for eligibility as far as the Queen is concerned, mind; it simply helps! A bit of borrowed legitimacy to add to your own impressive pile, eh? So. What do you say?"

"Come again?"

"Well, it's not something you have no say in, establishing your own house. Perhaps back in the day, when kings and queens tossed out titles like roses at a tournament, sure, but this is a very particular situation. Queen Greymane wants nobles who are Gilnean to their core; who are ready, willing, and able to do the work to bring our kingdom back to its former gloomy glory. And you, Sergeant, fit that bill, by my eyes and by the requirements she provided. But at the end of it all, it's your choice. If you are not willing, then the Crown is not interested in enslavement of any kind, even if it does come with prestige at the end of it. It's a choice, not an obligation, eh?"

A choice. One hell of a fucking choice. But this time, it actually felt like a choice; not a devil's bargain, where the alternative was objectively screwing him or someone he cared about. This had been a trap, to be certain, but not a literal one. It was the kind of trap where someone, somewhere, was laughing their ass off.

Terry Ambroce had always been a patriot. Even in his teens, when he was spitting acid about everything Genn Greymane said, did or would do, he did so for love of his country, not for himself. He'd intended to be part of the rebellion at Northgate, even, but everything had gone so wrong, so fast...

He'd learned since then that the fighting wasn't the hardest part. It was putting everything back together afterward. Fighting was easy. Battles had a beginning and an end; swords up, enough people died, swords down. Done. Reclamation, restoration, reconstruction... those went on for lifetimes. They required dedication, not eagerness. Building a nation was already hard enough; rebuilding one was a monumental effort. Holding it together, even harder still.

He'd spent half his life, now, insisting that Gilneas still lived. Even if he could never go home again, he knew he would've sworn on his deathbed that Gilneas still lived. And here, now, he had in front of him the opportunity to do what he'd wanted to do when he was a boy, and resuscitate it. He was already doing the math. Paper was the easy part, proclamations would be welcomed by many and growled about by few. Some of the growlers would inevitably start trying to cause trouble, test the viability of these new houses over and over. He could deal with skirmishers and bandits, but... politics?

---

Shu-fen was irritated. She'd gotten word from the Baron that morning that he'd been discharged, and that he would be picking up his children that afternoon. And yet, here she was, taking over that duty, since their normal escort had already been informed they could have the rest of the day off, and the Baron had failed to appear. It wasn't that escorting the Ambroce children was particularly difficult, as they behaved well for everyone except their parents; it was that she'd planned her day as well as the Baroness's around the exception, and now everything was out of order.

It came as no surprise to anyone, therefore, least of all Terry, when she punched him in the face as soon as he arrived. Part of that was because he'd surprised her, and it was really, really hard to do that, but still.

Once he'd gotten a moment to explain himself, she was willing to accept that perhaps he hadn't deserved to be punched in the face. And once he'd followed up with a suggestion, she actually apologized to him.

---

Shedwyn was worried. Shu-fen had dismissed some of the standard help, which wasn't anything to fret over, but then the Pandaren had received a notice, cursed, and excused herself. None of these things were particularly out of the ordinary--sometimes, shit just happened, after all; that was why she'd hired Shu-fen as an assistant in the first place. But, even after several years running of actual, honest-to-gods peace, she couldn't help but suspect more sinister things, given too much time to herself.

She was just about to go out looking for her when Shu-fen returned home. Her expression was a touch more wooden than usual, even with the tight little smile she was wearing, and that put Dwyn even more on edge.

"The Viscount of Keel to see you, madame."

Dwyn paused. "...The what of where? Hold on, that's not even on the schedule for today, is it?" In a brief, nearly panicked frenzy, she scrabbled through her papers to double-check.

Terry stepped into the doorway behind Shu-fen, who bowed respectfully and ducked outside to go have a good, loud cackle.

After a minute, Shedwyn finally thought to look up, and after another still, she parsed that this was indeed her husband, not some shadowy figure from her past (or his) back to haunt her yet again.

There was a pregnant pause.

"FUCKIN' WHAT?!"

( @daily-writing-challenge @shedwyn @sirdolraan @darbiebot @red-alynore )

[auraboo]

Break and Failure for... Giendei. :3

Thanks for the ask, these are so much fun to do!

break: What would cause your OC to break down completely? What do they look like when that happens? Has anyone ever seen them at their lowest?

Someone he cares about getting hurt would do the trick. At first instinct takes over and he springs into action, but once the shock hits him afterwards it tends to be crippling. He becomes paralysed with fear or grief and just stares into space, often entirely deaf to whatever's happening around him. He's not prone to tears, but he shuts down mentally when it becomes too much, and can take a long time to start functioning again. Also getting him to budge from someone's bedside can be a gargantuan task - he's the type to sit in silent vigil for days on end, ignoring food and sleep in order to look after his loved ones.

There have been some occasions during his travels when Luuneyd and Theodius have sustained more serious injuries, usually from channelling without a conduit or spell damage backfiring, and it always wrecks him to know there's little he can do to help when it comes to magic.

From which we get to...

failure: What's your OC's greatest failure? Have they been able to move past it? Does anyone else know about it?

His lack of magic. Magic is, generally, innate to those of elven blood, though in younger generations it has lessened considerably. Giendei is one of the unfortunate few with zero magic, something his parents realised very early on, but to make matters worse not only is he unable to harness the power, he is unable to touch the elven original source at all (which basically means he's just a walking battery for healers). Which is not unheard of, but incredibly unfortunate considering all 4 of his older siblings have some magical talent at least.

He comes from an old noble family and in the kingdom of Meltezza, his home, the higher your family's status the more magical aptitude is expected from its scions. All of this is public knowledge due to elven naming conventions - he is named The Verdant, because his greatest talents lie in mundane, mortal skills like gardening, as opposed to his siblings who bear monikers like The Illustrious, The Shining etc. Elves can gleam a lot of information about each other's skills and backgrounds based on names alone, so hiding the matter is pretty much impossible. This has basically marked him a second-class citizen among his own and he left Meltezza as a young adult, wandering the mortal nations ever since.

As for whether he's been able to move past it, well, yes and no. While he does not blame himself for something he can't help, it does weight on him, especially when he runs into other elves.

[jacksonsdrumstick]

Another set of new sims. They are supposed to be the medieval versions of these three guys.

"Pirates and Nobles" are a must have to run these gentlemen. But no need to get any sort of custom content.

Let's go!

We'll start with Nigellus. He's a scion of the local nobility. Though, he has fallen on hard times, he still behaves like a typical local aristocrat. That might be the reason why people don't like him at all.

Nigellus is supposed to be a knight, but he's actually kind of bad at his main job. Which is probably for the best.

Nigellus writes a lot of pamphlets. He's eager to state his opinion on everything. He often tries to usurp the position of a town cryer, just because it gives him an opportunity to rant about everything.

Traits: Entitled, Scholarly, Hubris.

Back in the day, Harry was a travelling blacksmith. He went to a lot of places and did a lot of weird stuff for a living. But now he seems to settle down in On-Point. Which might be a good thing.

He's a hard-working fellow. though he's not without his quirks. Harry likes to ramble about something otherworldly, like the hidden underground cities, or witch orders, or extraterrestrials. Sometimes he makes an effort to search for them.

Despite this, Harry usually gets along with other people. But Nigellus migh be an exception. They have a long-time rivalry, despite their different social status. It culminated on the day, when Harry locked Nigellus up in an outhouse, because he ruined the work that Harry was supposed to do for the local tavern. It just gets worse from that point.

Traits: Solitary, Chivalrous, Guild Enemy.

And this is Rick. He's a pretty flowery bard.

Rick is usually the one to stay away from all the drama (until it involves him trying to flirt with other people's wives). He's a happy-go-lucky fellow. It's surprising to know that back in the day he actually was a very angry youngster. Now he seems to be perpetually excited about everything, including the scariest stuff ever.

Despite not being very religious, he frequently visits the Monastery and the Cathedral. Him being big friends with Francis and Violet must be the reason. They know each other since their late teens, and seem to get along quite well, despite Rick not caring about his health enough (which bothers Francis) or having a foot in his mouth (much to Violet's chagrin).

Despite his jolly disposition, Rick can be pretty passive-agressive. But it seems to be the only quality of his, that doesn't bring him much trouble.

Traits: Excitable, Fun-Loving, Uncouth.

[koukouture]

So.... guess who started playing FFXIV... (free trial ofc) which meaaannnsss I have a new OC to be insane over.

Her name is Elysia Vespera, a runaway Au Ra who abandons her noble family in Hingashi to travel the world

Her real name is Akari Shimizu, her older brother, Soma, sits at the head of their family ever since their father died from sickness. Don't worry, she doesn't care lol. She resents her family for pitting her against her brother and ultimately trying to marry her off against her will.

Anyways, kind of not happy with the in game hairstyles so this is how I draw her

(on my knees begging for SE to have waist length hairstyles)

She's kinda vain lol. She grew up a noble so she very much still has that princess like, "I get everything I want" disposition. Very into fashion and jewelry, she is simply Eorzea's itgirl. She's also a white mage as you can tell by the first image, so she does ofc still care abt other people.

In particular, she's BFFs with @asoundofdrop's OC Saji

(art by Drop ofc <3)

Timeline's a mess but basically they come as a duo do not separate them plz. They're the best tank and healer duo anyone could ask for :D. They go through the MSQ together (we're both still on A Realm Reborn rn that shit is LONG) and there are timelines where either one of them dies when the Scions get attacked by Livia Junius but we're not getting into that rn <3

Anyways onto character relationships so far:

Drop is whipped as all hell for Thancred so Saji x Thancred is a thing and Elysia is not particularly thrilled about it lol. Her and Thancred don't exactly get along lmao. Elysia just kinda thought he was a fuckboy at first but they begin to get along after they save Thancred from Lahabrea. She still bullies him though.

I like to think her and Y'shtola get along very well, like just two girlies that could kill you <3. Except ik Y'shtola becomes a black mage later on so she would not be thrilled about the whole sitting inside AOEs thing... (i am kinda playing with making them a thing bc Y'shtola is kinda 👀 and would put Elysia in her place...)

Now, Elysia's egotistical ass LOVES a man that is absolutely down bad for her. Thus, Haurchefant. I'm not gonna lie to you I am ashamed to admit that I am quite down bad for Haurchefant after seeing him for all of five minutes in ARR. To the point where I spoiled (some) of the story for myself so shut up I KNOW WHAT HAPPENS ;-;. They're kinda knight x princess dynamic and I am so insane abt them you don't understand. You should see my discord messages. Anyways uh Haurchefant falls first but Elysia falls harder that is all you need to know. Also, size difference.

Anyways I'm having lots of fun with FFXIV and my new child <3. I love her to bits and I can't wait to lewd and/or traumatize her.

[swordshapedleaves]

Once again I have opinions on new seasonal anime no one asked for!

Thoughts on the 14 new shows I tried under the cut.

Shows I'm Excited About

My Happy Marriage

It's an arranged marriage romance with magic, though there wasn't any magic overtly present in the first episode. It has these relatively subtle references to fairy tales that I really like and the animation is really gorgeous. Looking forward to this one!

Zom 100

An office worker is so burnt out that the actual zombie apocalypse is a fresh change of pace. The energy is great and the animation is gorgeous. I love zombie media that's aware of zombie media. I also really like the OP, which is the same group that did the OP for Yamada 999 last season.

Shows I'm Optimistic About

Ayaka

This show looks like the anime adaptation is a fantasy BL visual novel but is apparently an original IP. I dunno why the MC's dead dad's will banished him to a childhood of trauma off island only to return when he's just old enough to start dating but I hope it's so he can end up smooching some of these color coded magical boys.

Dark Gathering

It's spooky! I feel sorry for any ghost fighting show that's going up against the second season of Jujustu Kaisen but this one seems way more of a creepy comedy than an action show so hopefully it finds its own niche and excels there.

The Gene of AI

As someone with memory problems this first episode made me super uncomfortable! It's doing what good science fiction should do, which is using future tech to tackle uncomfortable philosophical questions, but it remains to be seen if it addresses them thoughtfully. I will say though that the idea of someone who loves me crying uncontrollably because the fact I forgot a new recipe for scrambled eggs means I'm not really the person she knew really hurt. I have genuine fears about my memory problems ruining relationships and seeing it done so ham-handedly feels bad. Definitely gonna keep watching though because at least it's interesting.

Helck

This is a fantasy anime about a big strong muscle guy who is trying to become the King of Demons. Even the first episode couldn't pull off any visual appeal so I have low expectations but I'd like to have a fun time cheering on our Conan rip off who's going off script by trying to join the side of the demons.

Noble Farmer

This is a series of shorts by and about mangaka Hiromu Arakawa of Fullmetal Alchemist fame. She is the scion of Hokkaido dairy farmers and is passionate about her roots. The first episode felt like it was paid for by a dairy farmers association but Arakawa is so charming I don't even mind.

Undead Murder Farce

This show has great vibes and a fun premise. All the yokai and oni and such are being eradicated as part of the Meiji restoration. A couple of them are trying to survive and also solve a murder of sorts. The vibes are great but the animation is kinda mid.

Shows that Cater to my Bullshit Specifically

The Most Heretical Last Boss Queen: From Villainess to Savior

That name is awful but the Otome game villainess reincarnation micro genre is my jam. This villainess cries a lot and I'm hoping for a good time as all the people who were her enemies in the game fall in love with her.

Sweet Reincarnation

I love cooking shows and also fantasy stories so when they get smushed together I'm almost sure to have a good time. This feels like a less clever Ascendence of a Bookworm in a lot of ways. Person is killed by their specific interest falling on them, only to reincarnate into a world where the thing they love is very expensive and out of reach at their current status. So they simply use their knowledge of our technology to reorder society in a way that allows them to feed their special interest. This time it's a pastry chef who loves sweets instead of a librarian who loves books. His new name is Pastry.

Stuff I Tried That Didn't Make the Cut

Am I Actually the Strongest?

His sister is obviously the reincarnated Demon Lord. Looks boring.

The Masterful Cat is Depressed Again Today

It's like Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid without the charm or the sex appeal, plus the camera work is weirdly unsettling.

Reborn as a Vending Machine, Now I Wander the Dungeon

This one was also boring. It was one of the first shows we tried this season and I've already forgotten it for the most part.

Reign of the Seven Spellblades

Magic school with a 20% death rate, and one of the freshmen this season is a Samurai. I might watch a second episode if I have time to kill but there just wasn't anything really exciting in this first episode to get me past the Harry Potter but Edgier vibes.

[greenflamethegf]

D&D is more fun when characters make poor finical decisions

What I mean to say. I think D&D character should be more encouraged to spend their gold on silly stuff. Like, a manticore claw neckless might not give your character any bonuses, but it's cool.

I want character two pay extra for a nice big ruby in their dark-steel blade for cool moments. I want character two by 5 barrels of ale and announce tonight everyone drinks free, and I want a game that doesn't punish you for it.

Like, I don't ant a choice to be +1 sword or a big party. Like, this is a power fantasy game, so let us gave fun.

Funnily enough, the closest I have seen to it, happened in Pathfinder 1e. Septically with a class called Noble Scion, and while the class is hella powerful. For this discussion, I want to focus on Prestigious Influence, it's not exactly a lot of money, but it is free fuck around money. Annoyingly, it still has some min/max uses, like spell casting services or propaganda. However, it has the right idea and I want a wealth system that works something like this

Similar, thing happens in World of Darkness. However, there is like, oh if you resources that's your monthly budget for everything, and your net-worth can be up to 10(? I don't remember the exact number) that budget. However, in WoD, you got like the XP system, and you can spend XP on anything, so like your choice is do you want a nice house or +1 to all firearms attacks, and odds are your character is going to last longer if you choose the +1. Also, like, if you didn't start with assets up to your net-worth limit, well, 10 months is a long time.

However, this is somewhere in the ballpark of what I really want. I want. I want 'your character is wealthy, we aren't even going to track that party as expanse'. Not only because, spending money on silly stuff is fun, but also because bookkeeping is annoying. I never play characters with bows in dnd/pf, because I have 0 care to track arrows.

Dungeon World kinda has a right idea with arrows, and dungeon gear. Like, we abstract most items away and like instead of tracking the exact number you track just broad numbers. However, rangers are still taxed, because arrows cost money, sword maintenance is free.

I think what I need is to Homebrew my own system. Probably something that largly focuses on net-worth limit and free bowling money. I already have a small thing that focuses on WoD dice system for D&D like system, and I think I will make classes in a style of PbtA/PF 2e, so rather than a full fix set of abilities it's a set of abilities around a thematic and you can build your own mix

[scipiosmith]

One of the reasons I send you these asks is because our world building ideas are quite similar in some respects - you're the first other person I've found to do 'Pyrrha is the heir to the throne of Mistral' who isn't my beta reader - but quite different in others, and I kind of enjoy seeing where the differences lie.

I can agree with some of what you say here, in particular what you say about Mistral makes a lot of sense, and probably about Vacuo, too, but what's fascinating to me about the Crown is that they aren't actually Vacuans.

The books make this explicit in the case of Carmine Esclados, the most seen member of the Crown, who is an Atlesian expat who left Atlas and came to Vacuo to find a greater sense of freedom than her regimented society allowed her - and also not to be drafted into the Specialists - but who ends up fighting to put a king on the throne of Vacuo and presumably abolish some of those freedoms she cake looking for.

While the books don't, as far as I know, give a backstory for Crown fighter Umber Gorgoneion, her Greek-sounding surname and the fact that her allusion is Medusa makes it easy to headcanon a Mistralian background for her: indeed, in my conception she is the scion of a provincial noble family with a lineage stretching back to the golden age of the Maidens, but she went to Vacuo to escape the over-proud, status-obsessed world of the Mistralian elite (and her own poor treatment within it thanks to her canonical inability to turn off her semblance) only to end up fighting to transplant that to her knew home.

There's a lot of fun, for me, in the idea of these characters who went out to the desert looking for a new world only to end up fighting to build the world they left behind in a new place, either because they fell in love, because they fell under the spell of Gillian's charisma, or because in the end they couldn't imagine a society from the ones they grew up in - but also something romantic about it too: they ran away looking to escape but found a cause, to put the rightful king upon his stolen throne though this isn't their fight or even their kingdom.

Do you plan to do anything with The Crown in your take on Vacuo?

For Vacuo? Not really.

"A group that longs to restore monarchy" already exists in Mistral within the rewrite - because that's the Kingdom that actually makes sense for people like that to exist in considering the outcomes of the Great War and everything - if there were a Kingdom to hold grievances over the past, it would be Mistral.

(I honestly always felt the novel stuff like the crown was tied to Vacuo because the show treated the place as "the throw away Kingdom which will only get explored way later so any side material can tie into that without contradicting the ongoing show too much")

Survival of the fittest governs Vacuo - the one Kingdom that never got the chance to truly "rebuild" after the Great War, having been permanently damaged by Mistral and Atlas during it. Unlike Mistral, there was no outpour of resources from Atlas and Vale to get it back on its feet. Vacuo - despite the Kingdom playing a crucial role in the war - was left on its own. As a result of that, there's less of "unified government" there. There are ruins there - forgotten temples, ancient cities, crumbling monuments to deities and kings - but they no longer mean anything to the people living there. The laws that governed them bind those people no longer, and what had emerged after the Great War is society where class, race, species, and so on hold no meaning, and one's capability to survive defines one's worth.

If Atlas is obsessed with the future, Mistral is obsessed with the past and Vale is lost in preserving the present, then Vacuo simply lives in the moment.

It's not a coincidence that in my rewrite Raven traveled through there after leaving Vale - Vacuo as a Kingdom is the idea of freedom taken to its extreme end. And the rules that govern the society there are close to Raven's idea of "Strength and Weakness". Although it's also not a coincidence that Raven didn't stay there - observing society like that had an impact on her long-term goals and worldview.

I guess, in a way, Sun's more chaotic and irreverent behavior is the microcosm of what Vacuo is on macro level.

[absolutebl]

This Week In BL - GMMTV Holds the Line

Feb 2023 Wk 1

Being a highly subjective assessment of one tiny corner of the interwebs. Organized by which ones (in each category) I’m enjoying most.

When they say “famous last words” this is what they mean. 

Ongoing Series - Thai

My School President (Fri YT) ep 10 of 12 - They are so stinkn’ CUTE as bfs. Possibly the cutest. I chuckle a lot with this show. And that’s great, very serotonin inducing. Also 2nd half had good soapy drama tension with the music competition + the mom’s surgery at the SAME TIME (gasp). Can’t wait for next week.

Moonlight Chicken (Weds YT) 1-2 of 8 - Oh it’s great. Messy gays struggling with both internal and external conflict. It has a Taiwanese gritty queer authenticity to it. EarthMix are perfect for these roles. Khaotung is the most adorable thing ever. And GeminiFourth are fun to see as new characters. Fourth is showing off his acting chops, the way he holds his jaw and mouth for this more sullen complicated part - it’s completely different from Gun. His acting style reminds me of Nanon a bit, he’s very nuanced in his facial expressions.   

Never Let Me Go (Tues YT) ep 9 of 12 - 15 minutes of cute bf and dumb tattoos and then SUFFER! I love how quickly Palm put to rest your bog standard gay boy fantasies about a bisexual’s options. Palm was basically: “All the things that you dream for me with a woman, I can do that with you.” Honestly? I wasn’t that moved by the noble sacrifice of this episode. It was fine. More peril please. Looking forward to things going very very badly for the next couple of episodes. Bring on the pain GMMTV. 

Hit Bite Love (Sat YouTube) ep 3 of 6 - Baby Dom is quite the kink dilettante, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a kinkster with more varied tastes. Maybe baby just hasn’t found his true fetish yet? I feel for poor Shogun who just wants a boyfriend who treats him decently and ends up with Mr. Experimental. The humorous outcome is, of course, predictable. Not wild about the stepbrothers storyline (despite my taboo preferences). Really? I just want more King and Burger.

609 Bedtime Story (Fri WeTV) ep 11fin - With the exception of Mum, every character suddenly started acting totally OUT of character. Anygay, Mum comes back to find Dew single and all obstacles to their romance magically cleared. The pub staff setting them up was cute. But all in all it felt like we were suddenly in a completely different show. Series review below. 

I cannot believe we have 3 BL’s airing AT THE SAME TIME from GMMTV. It’s insane. I remember when it was exciting because we had 3 BLs airing at the same time at all.

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

HIStory 5: Love in the Future (Taiwan Weds Viki) ep 7 of 10 (or 13&14 of 20) - It’s an office romance BL, so I like that office politics is complicating matters for both of our couples. I personally don’t believe in scions (with very few exceptions, we know it tends to be bad for a corporation, and that has certainly been my experience). Still, it’s suitably traumatic to see our couples in angst over the power transition. The confession scene for the leads was very sweet. And a nice kiss. And cute bf. Taiwan always just does these beats better than anyone else. 

Candy Color Paradox AKA Ameiro Paradox (Japan Fri Gaga) ep 8 fin - K needed to realize O is a big boy. Yes we get it. Bummer he couldn’t figure out that for himself and had to be told by somebody else. I do feel sorry for the bartender character who keeps having to deal with all of these gay boys and their inability to communicate and resulting overdramatic depression. Meanwhile O needed to realize K needs him. And they both needed to learn to communicate, these… journalists. Good kiss and decent sex scenes for a JBL, with an HEA. Careful Japan we may start to develop expectations. I bumped up my rating on the strength of this finale. It was good! Series review below.  

Individual Circumstances (Thurs Viki) 7-8fin - I like the resolution and explanation for the conflict, a lot more than I liked the conflict itself. The kiss wasn’t awesome, but it wasn’t entirely dead fish either. However, Korea has proved that it can do better, so I was annoyed by it. Also, no shirtless scene this time around, we were robbed. Series review below.

The End Of The World, With You AKA Bokura no Micro na Shuumatsu (Japan Sun Gaga ep 2 of 8 - This is way too high heat for them to end it happily. It’s all v weird. I guess I’ll keep watching? Even if everyone dies, this one is not gonna ruin me the way Eternal Yesterday almost did.

It’s Airing But I’m Not Watching it 

My Beautiful Man S2 (Viki & Gaga) - Because there are only 4 episodes, I decided to wait and binge this one. What can I say? I just do not trust Japan. Sorry I’m too scared, those of you braver than I must watch first - I salute you and look forward to the gifs.

Egoist (Japan) cinema - Japanese movies are notoriously difficult to get ahold of.

Marry My Dead Body AKA Ghost and I Becoming Family (Taiwan) - movie about a police officer forced to marry a ghost.

Cafe in Love - Can’t find it 

Finished this week

609 Bedtime Story 

An interesting time slip concept and a great set up ultimately disappointed. It opened strong, on one of my favorite under appreciated Thai actors: Plustor (as Vee) in a side bartender romance with younger bisexual king, Games. Unfortunately, it went downhill from there. OhmFluke’s solid chemistry and romantically soft kisses were ill served by a reformed rake meets rich-kid cheater pairing. While it was nice to see Ohm play a part with more animated facial expressions, his was the only character that remained consistent. All in all, this was a confusing show about disloyalty and parallel worlds that never made sense or stayed true to its characters. A promising start, confusing middle, and disappointing end. I don’t say this lightly, but Oh My Sunshine Night is better, and OhmFuke deserve better than either. 6/10

Individual Circumstances 

A second chance romance between a movie director who was once promising and a writer who disappeared due to past hurt. Stars JunQ (main rapper of MYNAME) and Han Jung Wan (Mr International Korea winner). Reunion romances are not my thing but I liked the bratty director despite his stalking (and prob because of his naked chest). Using a guitar to torture someone is entirely appropriate, in my book/BL world it happens all too often. I did want to know what happened in the past but the mystery got drawn out too much and the tsundere character became frustratingly mean spirited as a result. I like the resolution and explanation for the conflict a lot more than I liked the conflict itself. I could tell what this show wanted to be, and what it could’ve been, but it simply never got there. In the end, like a host of other KBLs over the last couple of years, it is serviceable but eminently forgettable. 7/10

Candy Color Paradox AKA Ameiro Paradox 

Innocent but talented gay tabloid journalist partners (and falls in love with) a jaded player bisexual cameraman. This is a solid JBL of the more emo, cringe, and navel gazing variety that never really resonates with me. The main pairs’ chemistry felt weak and their characters were pat (for live action yaoi, I’ve seen or read this couple a million times). Bringing Izuka Kenta in to guest star was a stroke of genius and also challenging, because he has a complex history with JBL which I could not forget as I watched him EAT up the screen so hard he made the leads feel insipid. There were a lot of aspects of this show that felt more KBL than JBL. I missed the kinky edgy pushing boundaries we usually get from Japanese office romances. It did have a stellar ending (featuring a decent kiss and 2 nice sex scenes, you go Japan) but for me CCP was fine, just no more than fine. 8/10

Look you know how I feel about JBL, when it’s good it’s some of my absolute favorite (Seven Days, Old Fashion Cupcake, Minato’s Laundromat, Takara & Amagi), nothing else whips me into wit and eloquence and film crit like it, but when it’s off, for me, it’s really off. And Ameiro never gelled with me. It was too much work to watch. I don’t like chewy BL - nourishing and necessary though it may be for others. 

Gossip

Issues and Controversies of Thai BL Actors - I get asked about these a lot, so I’m just gonna point you all at this YT henceforth.

Viki picked up Boys Planet so I’m watching it. I have FEELS but I’m not going to ruin a perfectly decent BL blog with Kpop reality TV, no matter how pretty. Just know I’m over here suffering for 4 hours every week. SUFFERING. Some of the singing during the first ep alone was SO BAD it put Thai BL boyfriends to shame. I am so glad they got 3 vocal coaches in this show. People better vote with their goddamn ears and not just (as they did with iLand) much lower down. (Oo, I’m salty already.) 

In Case You Missed It

Feb releases list is here.

2023 forthcoming BL master post. (see comments some are inaccurate, NOT UPDATED)

Next Week Looks Like This:

I am so spoiled these days, now I’m upset there isn’t a good KBL airing right now. Do you remember when we barely got one or two a year? What a demanding monster 2022 turned me into. Anygay, 4 more Thai BL starting this week... 

Destiny Seeker (Tues WeTV ) 1 of ? - Feb 14 we think, MDL is janky on this one. Engineering student Songkram is head of dorm 3, for "strong & athletic" students. Aye is head of dorm 2, for the "good looking" students. Aye used to be Songkram's tutor and friend, but they fell apart after becoming dorm heads. Aye is actually in love with Songkram but thinks Sonkram likes someone else. Songkram actually likes Aye. So, Bad Buddy the pulp rebirth meets that weird Japanese “girls-crossdressing-as-boys for love and infiltrating secret society of hotness” tradition. 

Boyband (Thurs YT) 1 of 10 - Feb 16, it’s on the tin, BL drama about putting an idol boyband together. AKA how to make ABL suffer by combing favorite (celebrity romances, Kpop) and least favorite (bad singing) tropes.

Bed Friend (Sat YT & iQIYI uncut) 1 of 8 - Feb 18, but we’re looking for the rerun/uncut, so not sure on drop date for those. Fuck buddies get messy, AKA Between Us the second cuming, this time in an office (and on a desk). I have been waiting for James to hold down (or be held down in) a BL for years! Watch out, new kings of high heat are heading our way. 

Chains of Heart (Sat Gaga) 1 of 10 - Feb 18 Suspense thriller about a forest ranger, smugglers, memory loss, and lost love. Stars Haii (Cirrus in TT2) and Poppy (Porpla in YYY). Adapted from a Y-novel of the same name by TJ Tommy. 

Supposedly, but I’ve no idea where to watch it:

Jack Frost (Japan) - Feb 17 After saying goodbye to his friend, Ritsu had an accident and lost his memory. His roommate, Ikuya, struggles to rebuild their relationship and help him regain his memories. In the process, Ritsu falls in love with Ikuya, but he was unaware that they were already in a relationship.

Moments Of Love (Thai) Feb 14 Foremorfilm Production movie for cinema release. Was originally Golf (Director of 609 Bedtime Story & The Eclipse) to direct stars SmartJames (LeonPhob from Don't Say No) in a series. Is now something totally different and a movie. We are all confused.

THIS WEEK’S BEST MOMENTS

Open boys are the best boys. Never Let Me Go

Moonlight Chicken with ALL the zingers, plus verse characters. Thank you GMMTV! 

Why so cute indeed. My School President 

(last week)

Current Kpop earworm? Villain by Key (Shinee) just on hard rotation. It’s great. 

[cerastes]

anything you'd recommend (without spoiling things) to improve on a first run in elden ring? (things to avoid, things to look out for, etc)

Get used to jumping. It's useful in a lot of combat situations as it is outside of them.

If you are a Souls veteran, don't rely too much on "stick to the enemy and circle around them", a lot of enemies are built precisely to counter this (Grafted Scions' scream, Elite Knight's Storm Step, incredible horizontal tracking on a lot of moves you think wouldn't have it, etc). Also, Elden Ring allows for a LOT more stat variety with builds, so don't be as rigid as you were in Dark Souls or Bloodborne, you can spread your stats to try different builds in a FAR more permissible manner now.

"SAY THE LINE, DRIMO!" [Level Your Fucking HP]. This is my Noble Phantasm that reminds you to fucking level your HP. More so than any other game in the past, you REALLY want HP in this game. I can tell you many horror stories of dumbos in Co-op that go around with 680 HP and die in one hit to even mob hits. I'll admit though, it's VERY funny when I invade and the host dies in one or two hits, and you know why that happens? BECAUSE THEY DON'T LEVEL HP. Level your Vigor, Drimo will like you for it.

On your map, look for the little obelisks in undiscovered parts, that's a map to reveal the area. Once you DO have the map, look for little door/hole icons that seem to be surrounded by an intense reddish color. Those are Mines. Go to Mines. They have lots of upgrade materials and sometimes the bell bearings that allow you to buy upgrade materials. These are a priority, babe.

HESITATION IS DEFEAT. Keep hitting things so break their posture Sekiro style and open them for a critical. Jump R2s, charged R2s, Skills, and Guard Counters (R2 after blocking an attack) deal lots of posture damage. Never before in Soulsborne has the game facilitated criticals as much as in this one! Use and abuse it -> Follow up tip! You sometimes benefit more from NOT landing a critical, instead hitting the enemy for a full R1 combo while they are in the critical state. Experiment to optimize your damage! For example, dragons without hands, upon being broken, stay broken for a LONG time, enough time to do a full five Katana 1H R1s (four 2H, alternatively) and then still get the critical! Other enemies get up quickly so you have to get the critical in. Experiment with enemies to see what works for your weapon and stamina limit.

Oh yeah and about stamina, the game is extremely forgiving with it. You don't need to invest too many stat points on it if you're wielding lighter weapons, and just a bit if you are wielding bigger weapons.

Oh, about stats: Prioritize your non-damage stats first. HP, FP, Stamina, getting just enough points to wield a weapon you want, etc. Your early game dmg comes from upgrades. Spend your stats in your dmg stats later, when your weapons are upgraded sufficiently that the scaling dmg you get from stats actually matters.

That comes to mind, have fun!