#not exactly but that's the basic shape

[skyward-floored]

Sunlight

Downfall iau, checking back on Wind and Four and everybody again :) I've been working on this one for a while, hope you all enjoy! Helpful previous fics for context are this one, this one, and this one (but not 100% necessary to read this one lol)

(small blood/injury warning)

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Wind woke up feeling... well, less exhausted than he had when he'd fallen asleep at least.

He stared up at the ceiling of the room he and Four had landed in, his brother nestled up against his side. It was just a sofa bed tucked in the corner of what Wind guessed was a sun room or something, but it was comfortable at least.

Sun had tried to convince them to sleep in the more secure area downstairs, but Wind had refused. He wanted to know when Sky would get back as soon as possible. Plus Legend was sleeping up here too, and the thought of being away from him was... weird. There were a few emergency hiding spots up here if it was really a problem anyway, and so Sun had finally given in.

“Wind?”

Wind turned his head at the soft question, and saw Four looking at him, his younger brother’s hair a mess and eyes still fuzzy with sleep.

“Morning,” Wind said quietly, and Four breathed out, closing his eyes again.

“Morning.”

Wind watched him for a minute, lines of sunshine mostly blocked by the blinds sending stripes across Four’s face. He looked about as weary as Wind felt.

“You feeling okay?” Wind asked, and Four nodded, pushing some of the hair from his face, and reopening his eyes.

“I guess. You?”

“Same,” Wind shrugged, and Four let out a little huff of a laugh.

“Well, maybe breakfast will help,” Four said, and he sat up, yawning as rubbed his eyes. “I hope there’s eggs.”

“I hope there’s bacon,” Wind sighed, thinking longingly of the bacon Malon had been making yesterday that he hadn’t gotten to taste a single strip of. His mood immediately dipped at the sharp reminder of Malon though, and Four must have picked up on it with the way his face also fell.

“I hope she’s okay,” he whispered, and Wind nodded, his throat tight.

“I hope so too.”

A soft knock at the door made Four and Wind go quiet, but before either of them could worry much, a familiar voice asked about coming in. Relief swept over Wind as he called back that it was okay, and a feathered wingtip poked inside, both him and Four perking up.

“Sky! You made it!” Wind said with a smile, and Sky walked in, returning it.

“Yeah, I did,” he replied, and Wind didn’t miss the dark circles under his eyes. “Not a scratch on me. I heard talking and figured I’d come check on you two and fill you in.”

“Any news?” Four asked quietly, and Sky sighed, sitting down on a chair.

“Not much,” he said grimly, rubbing his forehead. “Nothing about Malon, or Twilight. Things are busy out there though. We’ve been trying to monitor the radio— we think Hyrule is still their priority, but I heard at least one notice about you two and Legend and Ravio. We also picked up some chatter about investigations, and we’re a pretty likely target here for them to check out since we’re relatives. Me and Sun think it would be best for you all to stay below now,” he said apologetically, and Four and Wind both shrugged.

“If it’s safer that way,” Wind said, then fixed a smile on his face. “I wanted to see down there anyway, so this is just an excuse to do that.”

Sky chuckled. “Well I think you’ll like it. Sun actually got breakfast ready down there, so grab anything you brought, and I’ll show you around after you eat.”

Wind and Four nodded, and Sky left the two of them to get dressed and gather the measly amount of things they’d brought with them. It didn’t take either of them long— the hardest part was cramming the sofa bed back in the way it was supposed to go to be a sofa again— and soon Wind and Four were headed to the kitchen with their bags.

Legend was already there, sitting on a stool and tapping a finger against a glass of milk. He looked like he hadn’t slept a wink, and maybe it was Wind’s imagination, but his eyes seemed a bit red.

“Good morning,” Wind said to him, and Legend acknowledged it with a nod, taking a silent swig of milk.

“You two got everything?” Sky asked as he appeared from around the corner, and Wind and Four nodded. “Great. This way, then.”

Sky stepped out of the kitchen and Wind and Four followed him, Legend slipping off his stool and trailing after. Sky led them through the living room and to a door in the back that led outside, sunshine spilling through the few bare-leafed trees in the yard.

“Um, I thought we were going down, where..?” Wind began to ask, but Legend cut him off.

“Sky knows what he’s doing. Relax.”

“I am relaxed,” Wind huffed, but didn’t push it. He wasn’t in the mood.

They walked across the yard, shoes squishing in the carpet of wet leaves and mud. It was a chilly morning despite the sunshine, a little foggy too, and Four shivered a bit, walking closer to Wind. A familiar shed slowly came into view through the fog, and Wind raised an eyebrow at the small structure.

“Isn’t that where Sky woodcarves?” Four whispered, and Wind nodded. Strange how it looked exactly the same as in their world.

Sky led them inside, pulling the door shut behind them as they looked around. The whole place smelled of wood shavings and sawdust, but Sky didn’t stand around to smell it, instead striding forward and pushing a small chest away from the wall. Wind leaned in to look, but there was nothing there except... wall.

Wind frowned, and Sky chuckled at his reaction, kneeling down and feeling his hands along the wood. He carefully positioned his hands, then pressed three of his fingers in seemingly random spots on the boards.

Wind heard a click, and then a trapdoor opened up in the floor, revealing a ladder that disappeared into darkness.

“Whoa... that’s not like that in our world,” Wind said with a hint of excitement, and he saw a curious smile on Four’s face.

Legend didn’t look surprised, and he walked silently to the trapdoor, Wind and Four hurrying behind him.

“Careful with the climb,” Sky warned, pressing his good wing close to his body. “It’s pretty dark, and the steps are a little uneven. Can’t tell you how many times I’ve dropped something on my way down because of it.”

He smiled as he said it, and Wind snorted, moving so that Legend could go ahead of him. He didn’t really want to trip.

Wind and Four followed as soon as Legend’s head disappeared, slipping down into the darkness. Sky took the rear, and pressed something on the wall once they were all down. The door neatly slipped closed again, the only light coming from a small stone Sky took out of his pocket, and they all climbed steadily down the ladder.

It was small in the tunnel, and Wind felt uncomfortably like he was descending into a sewer, but the further they went the more it opened up, and it steadily grew brighter as well.

Wind heard Four let out a little noise of surprise as he reached the bottom of the ladder, and Wind couldn’t help doing the same as he looked around.

They’d ended up in what looked something like a mix between a large basement and a cave, somehow both comfortable and rough looking. It was obviously hewn from the rock, with powers of some kind of Wind had to guess, and the floor was smooth, with lights set up around that lit the cave in a warm glow. The spot where they were standing was something of an overlook, a gentle slope beside them that led to a lower area, and Wind peered over the railing, seeing crates of what must have been supplies against a wall below, and two women moving them around and chatting with each other.

Every bit of space was being used for something, though Wind saw a door that must have lead to a different area... maybe where the beds were? He even heard water running down from somewhere, and hints of fresh air on the bit of wind he was picking up, but couldn’t see where they were coming from.

All in all, the place was a lot bigger than what Wind had been expecting, and he and Four stared, flabbergasted.

“Huh?” Wind finally got out.

“We know a few people who were willing to help us out,” Sky said with a smile, running a hand along a smoothed wall. “This isn’t much, but it’s as secure as we could make it, and very few people know how to get inside. You guys should be plenty safe here.”

Wind exchanged relieved looks with Four, and even Legend looked a little more relaxed down here. They were safe.

“That’s great,” Wind grinned, and Sky smiled.

“Glad to head it. Hey Arty!” he called, and one of the women looked up.

Her blonde hair hung partially over her face, held in a tight braid over her shoulder, and it took Wind a second to place her even with the familiar name. Her face slotted in as his Aunt Artemis after a few moments though, and he blinked. He was less surprised at the sight of their other aunt then some of the people he’d seen here so far, but it was still jarring. Especially with the reminder of his uncle it brought with it.

Wind‘s stomach churned a little. Are she and Warriors..?

“Will you see if we have any extra clothes that would fit these two?” Sky asked Artemis, seeming not to notice Wind’s sudden angst. “They don't have much at the moment. I’ll help you once I’ve shown them where breakfast is.”

“No need, I’ve got it,” she called back, and then turned and walked straight through the wall.

Legend looked at the two of them like he expected them to be surprised, but Wind and Four barely even blinked. They were used to Artemis ignoring things like walls and doors. Wind was more surprised by the fact that she was here at all, and his head was still sort of stuck on that.

“...Ah. You know Artemis too?” Legend said as Sky began walking again, and they followed him down the slope. It wasn’t really a question.

“Um, yeah,” Wind replied awkwardly. “Does she... what does she do here?”

“Helps out with stuff,” Legend shrugged. “She usually goes out and helps get people out of situations they’re stuck in, since her powers are good for that. She was friends with Sun when they were younger, I don’t know the whole story.”

Wind nodded, rubbing his arm, and Legend gave him and Four a suspicious look.

“...What is she to you in your world?” he asked, and Wind and Four exchanged looks again.

“She’s... our aunt. She’s married to Warriors,” Four said quietly, and Legend’s expression creased.

“Huh,” he muttered, and didn’t ask any more questions, striding up to walk next to Sky.

Guess that answers that, Wind thought with a dull pang in his chest. It looked like she and Warriors might not even know each other here.

“Oh, hey Hyrule!”

At Four’s call Wind looked up, and he smiled as he saw Hyrule standing in the doorway they were about to head through. The healer looked about as tired as everyone else did, but he still smiled as they reached him, letting Sky affectionately nudge him with his wing.

“Hi,” Hyrule smiled, circles under his eyes almost as bad as Legend’s. “Here for breakfast?”

“Yeah. And it sounds like we’re going to be staying down here for a while after that,” Four added, and Hyrule perked up just a little.

“That’s great! I mean, not great you have to hide, of course, that’s bad, but... not many people stay here very long,” Hyrule admitted, scratching his neck. “I see a lot of people, but it’s mostly them getting supplies and stuff, or stopping by on their way to go other places.”

“Well you’re stuck with us for now,” Legend said, and despite his flat tone, Hyrule looked happy.

“Sooooo... breakfast. Please tell me you have bacon,” Wind begged as he changed the subject, and Sky laughed, Hyrule’s smile growing a bit.

“Assuming Aryll and Ravio haven’t eaten it all, yes, there’s bacon,” Sky assured, and Wind whooped, stomach growling. Sure things were terrible, and he was still worried out of his mind for Malon and Twilight, and extremely homesick, but the prospect of bacon very much cheered him up.

Four seemed to think similarly, and they headed into the living area, the delicious smell of breakfast wafting through the air.

(...)

After breakfast, during which Wind met this world’s Aryll and was relieved to find she was very much like their own, Sky showed them around as promised.

There were only a few rooms in the base, but at Wind’s guess you could probably fit a good fifty people down here before it would get uncomfortably crowded. And there were a lot of beds, which when Wind asked about, Sky explained that they often smuggled supers and other folks through here on their way to other places, and they often stayed a few nights. Nobody stayed long though, apart from a handful of people like Artemis and Hyrule.

But there were still some other people around. It was interesting to see who Wind and Four already knew and who they didn’t— Wind nearly jumped out of his skin when one of Wild’s friends showed up, but seemingly had no connection to him. It was also hard to know what to say to most of these people, especially when most of them did double takes at the sight of Four.

There may not have been many of them, but telling them the story they’d decided on for cover was weirdly exhausting. They’d gone with distant cousins, and though it wasn’t the best cover, it was better than trying to explain a whole different dimension... thing. Wind wasn’t sure how convincing they were though.

Especially since both of them almost called Artemis aunt at least twice, and by the time they moved on from talking to her, a glint of suspicion rested in her eyes.

At least exploring was fun. Wind and Four may have been tired, but they weren’t so far gone that they didn’t want to poke around an actual secret base. Hyrule showed them some of the most interesting things, and Wind even found a tiny side passage that lead to the flicker of fresh wind he’d felt, finding a little underground brook.

It all did an excellent job of keeping his mind off of things, and Wind appreciated the distraction, especially with what they’d decided at breakfast. They were going to keep monitoring the radio, and Sun planned to head out with Artemis once the sun set to look for Twilight, but the rest of them couldn’t help with that. Not while they were all high-profile and stuff. Legend argued up and down to be allowed to go, but Sun had rebuffed all of his arguments until he was finally forced to admit defeat.

Which Wind was sure meant he was going to try and sneak along, but he’d think about that later.

Right now he was letting his mind wander away from homesickness and arrests, and trying to be a good distraction for Four and Hyrule. He didn’t see much of Legend, but figured he was with Sky, since he didn’t see much of him either.

Maybe they were sleeping. They both looked like they needed it.

“Uno!”

Wind scowled, glaring over at Ravio as he waved his card in the air with a grin. It was sometime in the afternoon, and having found a couple decks of cards, they were all trying to teach Hyrule some card games since he knew pretty much none of them. Except go fish, somehow.

“That’s good for him, right?” Hyrule asked, and Wind huffed and nodded, glaring at his own huge hand of cards. All but one of them was yellow. And the color was blue.

“Yep! If he gets rid of that one, he wins,” Aryll explained helpfully, and Hyrule nodded. “But Four also has an uno, so he might win first.”

“Your turn,” Wind said as Four smiled, and Hyrule looked thoughtfully at his cards, obviously thinking through his next move. Then he gently placed a draw four on the deck.

Giving Wind four more cards.

“It was all I could play,” Hyrule said sheepishly as Wind groaned, the other players laughing at him.

“The deepest betrayal Hyrule. I’m beyond hurt,” Wind bemoaned dramatically, picking up his cards. Three of them were yellow. “Who shuffled these?!”

The laughter grew, and the game kept going, but Wind’s attention was grabbed from it when he saw Sky walk by, giving the five of them an amused look. He was headed for the ladder that led out, and Wind swallowed.

“Oh— here, give my cards to Four,” Wind said, quickly standing up. “I gotta ask Sky something. Don’t wait for me.”

“No don’t give me his! Just skip his turn until he comes back!” Four squawked, and Wind left to the sound of Aryll doing her best to make him take them.

“Hey Sky?” Wind asked hurriedly, jogging up to him. His uncle paused and looked over, a questioning look on his face, and Wind swallowed. “I... can I go up with you? I think I forgot one of my bags.”

“I could just grab it for you,” Sky offered, and Wind shuffled his feet.

“Well... yeah. I... I also wanted to talk to you,” he admitted quietly, and Sky studied him a moment, face calculating. Then he nodded.

“All right. I have some dishes up there I need to wash anyway, so you can help with those. But no dilly-dallying,” he replied, and Wind nodded. “And if I say to hide in the spot Sun showed you yesterday, then hide.”

Wind nodded, and they both began to climb, the tunnel feeling longer going up. Wind kept pace though, even when Sky’s feathers tickled his nose, and they were soon back at the top and heading into the house.

Wind quickly found his bag inside, relieved he hadn’t actually lost it since it was the one with his toothbrush, and then joined Sky in the kitchen, setting it aside and taking the towel Sky handed him.

“I’ll wash, you dry,” Sky said with a smile, and Wind returned it.

They scrubbed dishes in silence for several minutes, Sky’s wing occasionally brushing Wind’s arm. Golden sunshine spilled in through a window, making the whole room seem warmer, and a little crystal dangling from the windowsill sent flickers of rainbows across the wall. Wind watched them while he gathered his thoughts on what to say, but then Sky looked over at him, and Wind swallowed.

“So what did you want to talk about?” Sky asked, moving the sponge in a steady motion across a plate.

Wind swallowed again. “Right. Um. I was... sort of wondering, if... well. I was kind of...” Wind sighed. Better to just get it over with. “...Warriors. I wanted to ask more about him.”

Sky nodded, a conflicted look crossing his face. “Legend told me he was there yesterday.”

“He was. He was the one who... who got Malon,” Wind said quietly.

Sky breathed out, staring at the dish in his hands for a long moment while the bubbles slowly popped. “I guessed as much. Legend skimmed that part a bit, but it wasn’t hard to figure out. I almost can’t believe it.”

“But that’s the thing,” Wind continued, drying a little more forcefully than necessary. “I think Warriors helped us.”

Sky’s eyebrows went up. “What?”

Wind looked over and met Sky’s eyes, setting the plate aside. “Before anyone came to the door, me and Legend saw Warriors from the roof. He was just standing there and staring at us, even after I went to go warn everyone, I think he was trying to give us a head start. And later, when... when we escaped, he froze the door behind us, in really thick ice. I think he was buying us time,” Wind finished in a whisper. “He did get Mo— Malon. But he didn’t get anyone else.”

Sky stared at Wind, then breathed out, running a hand through his hair. “That does sound like something Warriors would do.”

“But Legend doesn’t think he helped us,” Wind added quietly.

“Legend is... dealing with a lot right now,” Sky said, pain showing briefly in his eyes. There was soap in his hair now. “He’s always resented Warriors for the choices he’s made. This didn’t help, I’m sure. And his mother did just get arrested.”

“I know, but it’s like he’s not even giving him a chance,” Wind said. “That’s not fair!”

“It’s a tough situation,” Sky said softly, handing him another dish. “Try to cut Legend some slack, Wind. Warriors has been out of his life for years, and he doesn’t have the same context towards him you have.”

“I know. I’ll... try,” Wind sighed, setting aside another dry plate. “So... you really think it’s possible he helped us?”

“I couldn’t say for sure. I wasn’t there, but while Warriors has made some... difficult decisions, he’s got a good heart. I still trust him with my life. But at this point I think we’ll have to wait and see how things develop,” Sky sighed.

Wind nodded, and silence fell over them, the splash of water and clink of dishes the only noise. They’d finished with the plates and moved onto bowls when Wind hesitated, looking over at Sky.

“...I actually have another thing I want to ask about,” he said.

Sky looked up, and gestured for him to go on.

Wind breathed out. “Hyrule... he said something to me after we got him out. I haven’t told anyone in case he was wrong, but... but he thinks Time might—”

Something thudded.

Wind jumped, nearly dropping the bowl he was holding, and Sky froze, ears pricked. Wind could tell that it had come from the front door, and he swallowed, hands suddenly shaking. It hadn’t seemed like a thud of someone trying to break down the door again, but... had it been?

“Sky?” he asked quietly, and Sky carefully set down the bowl he’d been cleaning, giving his soapy hands a quick rinse.

“I know. Don’t worry, if it was someone here to search, we’d be getting a lot more yelling by now,” he said, obviously trying to sound reassuring as he wiped his hands on his pants. Wind saw him swallow. “I’ll check it out. You... better hide though, just in case.”

Wind nodded, and Sky went to the front door, his pose relaxed and casual. Wind hesitated at the sink, then quietly crept behind him, hiding in the living room doorway while Sky went to the door.

He knew he was supposed to hide, but there still hadn’t been anymore noises, and definitely no yelling. Plus Sky might need backup, Wind wasn’t going to just leave him.

Wind poked his head through the doorway, just enough that he could see the front door. Sky walked up to it and looked through the peephole, but obviously didn’t see anything as he drew back a moment later with a confused look.

“Who is it?” he called loudly, and several tense seconds went by, silence stretching out.

Sky furrowed his brow when there was no answer, no further noise or anything, and he slowly pulled open the door, Wind craning his neck so he could see who was there.

And was treated to the sight of Twilight slumped against the wall, holding his arm tightly to his chest with dried blood in his hair.

Wind’s heart stopped.

Twilight raised his head and blinked at them while they stared in shock, circles like bruises under his eyes, face sweaty and pale, and he swallowed.

“Um— h-hi,” Twilight stammered, and Sky grabbed his nephew before he could collapse, quickly tugging him inside.

“Twilight— Twilight. By the three, we thought for sure you’d been arrested!” Sky gasped as he held his arms, and Twilight quirked the faintest of smiles.

“They tried,” he mumbled as he swayed, and Sky quickly caught him, Wind noticing Twilight shake against him.

“Okay— it’s okay now. You’re safe here, we’ll fix you up,” Sky reassured, adjusting his hold and gently stroking his head. “Come here.”

He slipped his arm under Twilight’s, putting his good wing around him. Sky practically carried him in, and Twilight swallowed, looking dizzy at the movement. Wind rushed forward the moment Sky toed the door closed, and he looked frantically at Twilight, the alternate version of his brother looking like an utter disaster.

“Twilight,” he managed to stammer out, and Twilight looked at him, the same quirk of a smile on his lips.

“Hey,” he breathed, and Wind’s stomach tightened at the dried blood smeared on his cheek. “Y-you made it.”

“Yeah, I-I did,” Wind replied, waves of shock and relief still pouring over him. “And Four too, and also—”

“Hey Sky?” a voice called, the sound of the back door closing accompanying it.

Wind looked behind him, and began to rush to the doorway as he saw Legend walk into the other room, his expression vaguely annoyed. Legend turned and saw him, and sighed.

“Wind, Sun wants you downstairs, and Sky—”

Legend cut off the moment he looked behind Wind, his eyes going huge as he took in the sight of Sky supporting his missing brother. Twilight raised his head and looked at him, and an utterly relieved smile pulled at his cheeks.

“Twilight,” Legend said in a thick voice, and bolted, Twilight lurching forward to catch him halfway and hugging him tighter than anything.

Legend hugged him back, and Wind stayed quiet as Sky set his wing around his nephews. Twilight clutched at his brother like a lifeline, and Wind looked down at his feet, the familiar ache sharp in his stomach. He’d do anything to be able to hug the Twilight he knew.

“Twi they got Mom,” Legend whispered suddenly. “They were at the house, they—”

“I know,” Twilight said wearily, his face grieved as Legend pulled back a little. “We kn-knew this would happen someday.”

“But they got Mom,” Legend said thickly, and Twilight closed his eyes, a pained look on his face.

“We’ll just have to get her back,” he said, voice oddly slurred, and Wind straightened, suddenly noticing the sheer amount of red staining Twilight’s shoulder.

“Sky!” he yelped, and his uncle dove forward as Twilight’s knees buckled, face white and sweaty. Sky carefully lowered him to the floor, and Legend dropped to his side, eyes huge as Wind hurried back over to him as well.

“What happened?!” he gasped, and Sky quickly looked Twilight over, starting with his bloody shoulder and giving the rest of him a quick examination.

“Something grazed him here,” Sky said, quickly pushing up the bloodied shoulder of the shirt Twilight was in. “And there’s something up with his arm. I think he’s just exhausted otherwise, but... I don’t know for certain. He’s got some blood on him here too...”

“We should get him downstairs,” Legend said, face almost as pale as Twilight’s. “Hyrule can help him, and that’s where the supplies are.”

Sky nodded, and Legend and Wind helped him lift Twilight up, Twilight’s skin clammy where it brushed Wind’s. Twilight let out a soft groan, and Legend clutched at his hand, fire in his eyes.

Wind scrambled ahead and held the door open for Sky to go through, his head spinning with mixed relief and fear. Twilight had made it, somehow he hadn’t gotten arrested, but he was so banged up and seemed near delirious... Wind couldn’t help being worried.

But he was also so, so relieved.

Twilight made it.

Wind watched Sky carry Twilight out, Legend supporting him with a wild look, and swallowed, hurrying after.

[scruncheduppaper]

do you guys ever think abt v1 getting stained more and more with blood as they go thru hell and ending up looking like v2. like ik that not how it work but man even in death theyre still there yknow. like how v1 keeps v2 alive technically thru their arms.

[bunnieswithknives]

sorry if idk this but what do you think about Wordgirl now in 2024 do you still like it do you still want to make art or talk about it or are you just done with all of it forever and plus i seen that you haven't made art of it since 2022 so you just done with all of it oh yeah and what about The Magnus Archives + Wordgirl ao3 fic too like is that just going to be and i know that your working on 2 au's now just wanting to know that's all

My interests tend to come in intense bursts and then fade. Unless something like, big happens like it gets a reboot its unlikely I'll be coming back to it anytime soon. As for the fic I don't have any current plans to finish it unfortunately.

[jackdaw-and-hattrick]

Love how we can all agree that, while never explicitly talked about, it’s awful suspicious that the two bats Talia had heavy influence over both tried to kill Tim.

[edwinisms]

see I can’t accept charles’ comic background and socioeconomic status as canon for the show because if I did that would mean the whole group would be a bunch of rich kids and that’s a horrifying concept

[acaciapines]

rotating noelle around in my brain. i need the dess raises kris au to be real RIGHT NOW.

please talk to me about the dess raises kris au i think im gonna explode. also start writing it this summer maybe :3333

[a-s-levynn]

So i had a dream last night which wasn't a nightmare and i even remember most of it! which is super exciting. I barely ever remember dreams that are just simply that so this is a fairly rare occasion for me.

It was weird tho

But it was.. i don't even know what it was so let me ramble about it in the tags a bit

[bees-scrapbook]

he tries to show her that he cares, in his own way!

she pretends to be annoyed by his nagging, but she secretly likes it :)

[kakashihasibs]

I am so glad emergency vets are a thing

[thebekashow]

beka's adopted father (before bob)

he is a bit too silly. but dw, he's nice :)

sorta ._ .

[victorluvsalice]

Another Game To Add To The List

So -- you guys all know that I like video games. I mean, I post on a pretty regular basis about the antics my Sims in my latest Sims 4 save file are getting up to. And you all know that I love to put my favorite characters in my favorite video games if I'm able to -- or even if I'm not. My current Sim family is my Valicer OT3; my Fallout 4 protagonist is Victor Van Dort (or as close as I can get with FO4's character creator and artstyle), and my Vampire: The Masquerade -- Bloodlines Malkavian Fledgling is Alice Liddell (I may not be able to actually reflect that with her appearance in the game, but I can sure as hell write about her adventures doing all the quests!) I have a vested interest in this sort of thing.

So -- when my friend @gaydragonwizards got me into Baldur's Gate 3, leading me to purchase the game for my birthday using the Steam gift cards my parents had gotten me, I immediately thought, "Okay, so -- Alice has VTMB, and Victor has FO4...but a certain newbie roller coaster OC does not have a game yet. And this one DOES allow you to do a custom character..." Which led to me deciding that Smiler was going to be my "Tav" in BG3! I haven't gotten very far in the game yet (I had to do an early restart to add in a mod patch that the creator was VERY SURE shouldn't be put in an existing playthrough because it fucks with XP and leveling a bit, and then recent hotfixes possibly breaking quest items made me too nervous to play for a bit), but I have gotten my Smiler set up, made it past the Nautiloid segment, and have started exploring the wilderness around the ravaged beach! Here's some shots of Smiler in the game:

Smiler's look from the character creation/level up screen! They're a half-elf with Body #2 and Head #5 because that was the combo that actually looked the most like my Smiler Sim -- have a comparison shot:

It's not a PERFECT match, but nothing was going to be -- it's pretty close, though! The hairstyle is of particular note because that is in fact one of the very first mods I picked up for this game: Alt Lae’zel Hair For Tav! None of the in-game hairstyles had the right sort of "bangs" that my Sim!Smiler sports, so I was REALLY happy to spot this on Nexus Mods to give my Tav!Smiler the right look, at least from the front. :) (And, hilariously, the mod was in fact uploaded ON MY BIRTHDAY, so I'm counting it as an inadvertent birthday present.)

Smiler's arrival on the Ravaged Beach, having just woken up from their little fall out of the Nautiloid! As you can probably guess by the outfit, I started them out as a Bard. That was the class that seemed to make the most sense for them, both from a "the roller coaster in Alton Towers is often associated with upbeat music and dancing, especially after the original Festival of Thrills and The Smiler Takeover, and bards DO get access to a good number of mind control spells" and from a "my personal take on Smiler is that they are super charismatic and want to make as many people happy as possible, and the Bard's high Charisma start combined with the Entertainer background suits that perfectly." XD However, they're not JUST a Bard these days -- thanks to the further power of mods, upon their first level-up, they became a Bard/Artificer! :D I picked that class because it has a whole sub-class dedicated to Alchemy, and one of my headcanons for my Smiler is that chemistry/alchemy (depending on the universe) is their thing. Plus it just looks like a super-cool class and mod. (And yes, I do have 5e Spells and Unlock Level Curve to enhance things further, with the appropriate patches (including ULC's patch to smooth out the weird XP valley while leveling up -- learning about THAT was what prompted me to restart so I could install it). Oh, and the exclamation mark is from Camp Event Notifications -- it's telling me that Smiler should Long Rest soon to get one of the special camp events.)

Smiler hanging out in the Wilderness camp! I came here for the first time after picking up Shadowheart, Astarion, and Gale, and was amazed at just how PRETTY the camp is. I mean, look at that waterfall over by the ruin that houses the Magic Mirror! :D Seriously, this game is gorgeous -- I've spent a decent amount of time just wandering around with the camera, admiring the scenery. XD Anyway, as you can see, Smiler picked up some new clothes -- the main outfit is some basic leather armor, dyed with the dye available in the Traveler's chest (I first dyed their starting jerkin, but hated the resultant color scheme -- I'm not wild about the red arms on this set, but at least the yellow pants and black chestpiece feel right!), while the cape and their new lute are from the Digital Deluxe content -- the "Cape Of The Red Prince" and the "Lute of the Merryweather Bard." (Hey, I got this for my birthday, I wasn't not going to get the Digital Deluxe content!) I had them give the lute a little try in-camp -- the upbeat Bard song DEFINITELY suits them. XD

And finally, Smiler with their current companions, ready to head to the nearby chapel on the beach -- Shadowheart (in some new, slightly better Sturdy Armor), Gale (in his robe and wizard hat), and Astarion (sporting more DD content, the "Bicorne of the Sea Beast" and the "Needle of the Outlaw Rogue" (the dagger on his hip)). They are indeed a motley group. XD Hopefully Smiler's 17 Charisma will allow them to talk their way out of most binds!

Now, you may be thinking at this point, "Well, this is going to spark another AU, isn't it?" And you would be -- partially correct. Allow me to explain by excerpting part of my and Squid's conversation while they were recommending mods to me and I was telling them about my plans to do Tav!Smiler:

Squid: ((though -- there is one thing that has popped into my head. with playing Smiler, obviously you can't have any of your Valicer stuff going on in BG3 by default. and do you really want to give yourself ANOTHER AU by playing as them again :P )) Me: ((Oh, that's not really a worry -- the Valicer in the Dark crew already fucking claimed the game as a potential AU ))

YUP. Much like how my brain insisted that the Alice in my Fallout of Darkness stuff be a variant of my Malkavian!Alice from Londerland Bloodlines, thanks to me getting into BG3 at the same time as my obsession with Valicer In The Dark ramped up, the AU in my head is now the VITD trio going through the game. And while it's only a partially-formed pile of shitposts as of yet, that idea PROBABLY deserves its own post...

[britneyshakespeare]

also at that family function. a lot of my cousins were there. it was a sixtieth birthday party for my uncle, my dad's only younger brother and the one of his six siblings he's by far the closest with. but one of my cousins patrick who has to be like at least ten years older than me. he has a wife and two kids and im not particularly close to them/don't see them a lot but. he has a daughter (5) and a son (2). they were all there. and of course i also saw them recently at my grandfather's wake and memorial mass/burial within the last month.

so i said to his wife "you know i love how your daughter looks just like you and your son looks just like him."

and she was like "THANK you. i APPRECIATE you saying that because everyone says they both only look like him. 😒😖😞 but i think she looks like me 🤗😌😇"

[mechahero]

//screw it. one complete vampire type entry for you :>

[clamorybus]

i technically saw a ufo once

[jonahmagnus]

Its so funny bc I apparently look white as hell at first glance (thanks to my mom) but the instant I say Im half Vietnamese everybody goes "ohhhhh.... okay yeah yeah I can see it" like 👍

[cutiepieautistic]

it's so amusing to me how school never taught me anything that i didn't already teach myself through going to the library or using computers, and watching tv. i am always 4 steps ahead of everyone else. i literally read through those huge ass books that could kill you at the library when i was a little girl, for fun.