#oh my GOD that is a big airship

[leletha-jann]

OK, now THAT gives me perspective. The Enterprise-D is 641 meters long (citation: the Star Trek Encyclopedia, which I happen to have to hand). The Enterprise-D has a working population of about a thousand people on an average day, and you can pack many, many more people aboard her if you need to.

A kilometer is by definition 1000 meters.

...Castle Wulfenbach is bigger than any Enterprise we've ever seen.

...holy crap, that is a big airship.

...look, my visual references may not be anyone else's, but everyone's seen Picard's Enterprise, right? Oh my GOD. NOW I have the scale of it. I CANNOT UNSEE that scale, thank you very much.

...oh my GOD, Castle Wulfenbach is bigger than the Enterprise-D.

Girl Genius for 8/12

This page was a bitch to draw, and that's all I'll say about that. I will say that we keep telling people how BIG Castle Wulfenbach is, but I'll admit that saying it's a kilometer long is one thing, and conveying that in my slap-happy art style is another. Thus we are defined by our failures. We'll be in L.A. this weekend! Maybe we'll get "discovered"! It could happen.

[paingoes]

Rubies

First Night

welcome back everyone

(Content: fainting, reference to past captivity, blood)

=================

He collapsed onto the deck. Apollo caught him just before he could crash to the ground. The silver chains clattered loudly on the metal surface. Delta was freezing, soaked, and now fully unconscious. The ramp slammed back up just as the ship was pulling up.

“Destroy them!” Kitty cheered at the console.

“I’m working on it,” Rene looped the ship back around, letting out another volley. The airship was mostly on fire, but it still hadn’t fallen out of the sky. The last round finished it off. It went into freefall. The airship was briefly a normal ship and then just as quickly it turned into a shipwreck. The resulting column of water reached their windshield from several stories below.

“Get the collar off,” Apollo said, bending down to feel Delta’s pulse. Cass slid the bolt cutters up against his skin.

“Oh fuck, I think I nicked him,” Cass gasped. A massive psychic wave ripped off of Delta’s body as the collar was removed. All of them got electrocuted. 

“Oh my god, you people can’t do anything,” Iza put her hands on her head. 

“Throw the collar out,” Lun whispered, “Into the sea.”

Willow cracked the window open, tossing it out. It beeped miserably on its descent.

“Put the dampers on. He’s going to show up on every radar in a five-mile radius otherwise.” Iza gave the order, but she started to fulfill it herself. She slid Delta’s sleeve up, wrapping the insulating band around his upper arm. Immediately, the pressure in the ship went down. The light returned to normal. 

“The cuffs,” Apollo said impatiently. Cass cut through the chain binding Delta’s wrists. They bent down to cut off the manacles, this time just missing the skin. They tossed the cutters aside and pulled out a small ammeter from their pocket. They touched it to Delta’s clavicle. It burnt up immediately. Cass dropped it in pain.

“That can’t be right.” Willow said, a look of horror crossing her face.

“I knew it,” Apollo shook his head, “We’re so fired.”

=======================

Iza bridal carried Delta into the house. Rene held the door open for her. He walked ahead to turn on all the lights. It was an older safehouse; they’d only got it running again earlier that morning. There were still cobwebs in the corners and outlets that didn’t work, but at least it was heated. 

“I’m not getting fired,” Rene said peevishly, “I didn’t do anything. Lun should get fired.” “Lun carried,” Kitty’s sharp teeth flashed when she smiled. She wrapped her arms around Lun’s neck, “They should be promoted.”

“Don’t send the report yet,” Iza called out to Kitty, “I need a minute.”

“Just put him on the floor for right now,” Apollo said. The two of them moved into the guest bedroom. Iza placed Delta down gingerly. Apollo dug through the dresser, pulling out a towel and a clean set of clothes. He nudged the door shut with his foot, keeping the others from seeing in.

They stripped the wet clothes from Delta’s unconscious body. Apollo redressed him in an oversized shirt; it was the easiest thing they could do without having to maneuver him too much. Iza raised him up onto the bed. 

“Alright, I’ve got it from here. Thank you,” Apollo said. He looked up. A sudden urgency entered his voice. “I mean it. Thank you.”

“Happy to help,” Iza said unhappily. 

“Tell them it’s my fault,” Apollo said.

“You know that’s not how it works. I’m a big girl, sunny. Don’t worry.” 

Iza shut the door before he could argue.

Apollo sighed as he looked over the dormant form in front of him. He reached out to touch Delta’s wrist, checking the pulse in an almost self-conscious manner. Still alive. You’d be forgiven for thinking otherwise. Apollo examined the wrist; he noted its odd angle. It was fractured, if not broken. He winced as he looked closer at Delta’s face. Inflamed claw marks raked one side of his cheek. There were matching ones along his forearm. He knew the salt water had probably helped to stave off infection, but he doubted that was a painless process. Some of them were still bleeding minutely. 

He was most concerned about hypothermia. The safe temperature ranges varied across species. He suspected Delta was better prepared for it than most. Still, the plan had not been for him to fall into the ocean on a freezing night. His skin was clammy. Apollo wrapped the blanket around him. He sat next to him on the bed, taking a moment to check over vitals and jot them down in his journal. He patched up the deeper cuts along Delta’s forearms and cheek, as well as the new one on his neck. He saw the ring of bruises around where the collar had been. They were layered one on top of the other. After a moment’s consideration, he went about making a wrist splint. It was surprisingly difficult when the patient was still unconscious, but he managed to tie it up tightly. It wasn’t pretty — none of it was — but it would hold him over until they could get back to base. 

==================

“He still out?” Kitty looked up from the laptop. Her fingers still danced along it automatically. It was like they operated completely apart from her. She could carry a whole conversation while typing out a completely different one with someone else. 

“Yes.” Apollo turned the microwave off before it could beep. He removed the compress. 

“I’m gonna send it now!” Kitty’s voice rose up, carrying throughout the house. There were a few sounds of assent, some of protest. She giggled at the reaction. But as she turned back to the screen, Apollo caught the subtle way in which her smile faltered. Her tail flicked beneath her. It was all bristles. She looked up at Apollo, searching for something. Permission? Approval? Reassurance? 

He nodded, squeezing her shoulder gently. It was too late to go back now. She hit send.

Apollo felt a bit like he was cheating by hiding out in the room with Delta. It was a good excuse. When Galatea did review the report, nobody would ask to speak to him first. And if they did, well, he was obviously pretty busy at the moment.

The only thing was that he wasn’t actually that busy. Delta was low maintenance. He had not stirred at all since they’d found him. His heartbeat and breathing were steady, if a bit too slow for Apollo’s comfort. He was just cold. Apollo pressed the compress against Delta’s chest. He brushed the still damp hair out of the boy’s face. Delta made a soft, pained noise. Apollo winced.

“It’s okay,” Apollo shushed him, “You’re okay.”

He didn’t know if he’d heard him, but Delta nuzzled deeper into the pillows, pulling the blankets up around himself.

==================

Delta only woke once that night. He wouldn’t remember it. At the time, he didn’t think it was real.

He slowly sat upright, his movement hindered by the pain in his ribs. He did not know where he was. But it was dark. He was freezing, despite the warmth of the room. Everything hurt.

His eyes gradually adjusted to the dark around him. He just made out the shape of the door. It was ajar. On the other side, a single unblinking olive-green eye peeked through. 

Delta squinted at it. There was nothing he could do to make sense of the situation. He didn’t care. He immediately fell back asleep.

===============

(Masterlist)

Tags: @catnykit@indigoviolet311@snakebites-and-ink@vivulapom@scoundrelwithboba@whatwhump@pumpkin-spice-whump @deluxewhump @fuckass1000 @fuckcapitalismasshole @defire @micechomper

[stone-stars]

Transcript:

Kenna (Murph): I've heard you bringing up like, family and stuff a lot? And… I don't-- I don't totally know how to say this, but do you think that I could show you something through like your spores thing? Do you think it works like that? Sol (Caldwell): I mean, we can certainly try, I'm not really sure what all it's capable of, but… yeah! Let's give it a go! Murph: You hop off the treadmill, you see Kenna walks up, puts her hands on your head, um, and then rests her head against them. And you feel a sudden [whoosh, snaps] jolt as you are pulled into one of Kenna's memories. [The Gunslinger's Girl plays softly in the background] Murph: And you see Jaina Bronzebeard, looking over some kind of city plans in her study in like the Irondeep Castle, she's looking all stressed out. And then you see… Kenna enters the room. You see Kenna is wearing like, civilian clothes, just like a regular tunic and no plate mail. And Jaina goes-- Jaina (Murph): Shouldn't you be out in the yard sparring? Murph: And Kenna looks down. Kenna: I'm.. I'm leaving Irondeep. My… My father's been sending me money, and I-- I bribed one of the couriers and they… they told me where I could find him. So I'm-- I'm gonna go to Ezry. And I'm gonna look for him. Murph: Jaina puts down her work and nods, and sort of crosses her arms and thinks and goes-- Jaina: Well has, um, has he reached out to you at all? Or… or are you the one that is doing all the work? Murph: And Kenna looks down again, kind of not wanting to answer. And Jaina gets up from her desk, walks around, and kneels next to the young squire. And goes-- Jaina: I will not tell you what to do. If you choose to go to Ezry to look for him, I will charter the airship myself. But I-- I wanna tell you something. I have had two little sisters in my life. One shared a family name with me, and the other did not. One liked jewels in her beard and music and dancing, and the other liked hammers and plate mail and sparring. Murph: And she sort of pats on Kenna. Jaina: And she wanted very much to be a knight. I would hate to see her throw that dream away. And I would hate to lose another sister. Murph: Kenna just breaks down crying and buries her face in Jaina's chest, and Jaina brings her in, kind of holds her for a moment, and then Jaina pulls back and makes eye contact with her, and goes-- Jaina: The gods do not decide who is and isn't family. Murph: And you [whoosh, music ends] come out of the trance, and see Kenna standing there, kind of awkwardly and teary eyed. Kenna: So, yeah, that's… just, I thought maybe… Sol: No, yeah, no, that's-- Kenna: Yeah. Sol: I know that you call yourself a squire but… I can see it, everyone can see it, you've got a knight's heart beating proudly under that iron. Kenna: Thank you for saying that, Mr. Bufo! And-- Sol: Just call me Sol. Kenna: (laughs) That's gonna be a hard habit to break Mr B-- Sol. Sol. [Caldwell laughs] Murph: And you see she goes over to her like, pack, and she goes-- Kenna: Anyway, I-- I found some old books in the equipment bags. Murph: And you see she pulls out a copy of The Boy Wizard and his Frog Pal. And she hands it to you. Sol: Oh! Oh gosh, this old thing. Kenna: Hey man, I know the monsters weren't real at Launchpad, but I thought the main characters were very believable as brothers. Sol: You're right. Thank you for reminding me, you know, no matter how much we loose, we gotta hold on to what we have and we gotta… double down on those connections. I'm really glad that we got to meet you. I'm really glad you're here. Kenna: Thanks big bro! Murph: Um, gives you a big hug.

[sketchdeath22]

Out of context Umbrella Academy reactions/things I wrote down but for episodes 3 and 4 of season 4

(Spoilers ahead):

-Big ass squid

-GO KLAUS GO!

-Girl, Ray did not walk out.

-Just sayin'

-young man

-Little Greek guy with the mustache (I need to yap abt how funny this could have been if they weren't actually together)

-Guys... the communication is not communicating.

-Mm, yep that magic psoriasis.

-Truman show'd

-Get everyone in this show therapy. PleeeaaSsse.

-Llama tits

-I LOVE VIKTOR!!!

-JEEASSUUSS HES FRESHLY 18 STOP

-*sigh* Klaus dearest...

-JUST TALK ABOUT IT

-Thanks for being the voice of reason Claire

-KLAUS

-Poor Claire

-Diego clue hunting again

-why do I always wear suits...?

-Harpooned by yourself

-At least they remembered some of the symptoms of being around yourself

-Shoot the bald guy...?

-Stranger Things ahh glow

-I don't even question the squid, it's UA, weirder things have happened.

-YES VIKTOR STAND UP TO HIM SAY YOUR PIECE

-Mom?

-This looks like my aunts place.

-cute scarf! And another comic reference?!? Is he gonna float all the time now?!?!

-Kill me right now!

-Freaky little man

-Dancer!

-ooh she's good.

-Klaus what have you done now...

-Yeah, how did he die, dear Luther?

-Those snacks look pretty good

-Doc Ock ahh Ben

-Average Appalachian activities

-Meow Wolf room

-Come on Lila!

-monke

-Why couldn't she rumor him to just, be sober, like, gang.

-Hey! I think the comic had a ship similar to that! (Rereading this and I'd like to clarify an airship not relationship)

-FOOL YOU WEREN'T SUPPOSED TO OPEN THE BOX!

-shot on site

-Get it Viktor!

-Klaus, my little boy (gn)

-This is an interesting parallel to the comic (sorry I'm yapping about it but I do quite like seeing it)

-Oh dear...

-Deigo is literally ripped. what?

-Babysit them

-Luther and Deigo bonding and being very cringefail I think its great

-Why is the teenager the only person who thinks

-MONEY MONEY MONEY NO NO!

-Musical number

-Don't.

-Oh dear ×2

-You're hurting Klaus! >:[

-Luther and Deigo share a brain cell

-Delores

-Great, Five and Lila are causing time line issues.

-Leave her.

-How we gonna ruin it

-NO YOU'RE GONNA GIVE HIM WAR FLASHBACKS

-NO NO NO NOT BURIED ALIVE PLEASE OH MY GOD

-YuCK UGH BLEH STOP

[bella-studio]

FNF: VS Impostor V4 — Henry Stickmin Week appreciation post

◾I like Friday Night Funkin'. And recently there was a big update for one mod — VS Imposter V4.

◾This is an incredible mod, I really liked it. But what did I like the most from there? This:

◾In the third week, at first I thought that the teleporter in the background was just a reference to Henry Stickmin, because the third week takes place on an Airship.

◾But actually! Clicking on the teleporter leads to a separate week...

/yes, f*** this teleporter/

◾...with Henry Stickmin! It's just AMAZING! I really love this game, and seeing a quality week with this character is a great joy for me!

◾In the first song, or rather at its end, I liked a series of references: first the Infiltrating the Airship Theme, then the Distraction Dance, then Megalovania, and then a powerful DROP.

◾*mwah* Perfecto✨

◾ Second song: Charles is so CUUUTE

◾But it's kinda funny that Henry decided to sing against Charles instead of Boyfriend here. I bet Boyfriend is just standing here and is like "Okay, I guess? >:(" XD

◾BUT CHARLES' LOSING ICON, OH MY GOD, I CAN'T, NOOOOOOO AAAAAAAHHH— *Valiant Hero flashbacks*

◾This damn smug face when he says "This is the perfect plan", I love it XD

◾ Third song: Ellie! :D

◾"I see you, Henry!" Oh crap.

◾*RHM appears* OH CRAP—

/continuation in a reblog/

[irkimatsu]

my brain is a mush of incoherent screaming but that was fun

Carmilla's hot, "Out For Love" is going to be a favorite song this season and I am going to watch the video slightly disrespectfully

Husk wasn't too centric but he fought good I love my kitty. I still make the most stupid of noises when he just exists on screen. It's a disease.

"Niffty, if you see an angel, stab it. no not him"

Charlie and Vaggie's duet was so sweet, I was kinda ready for Vaggie to go tonight but I'm so glad it wasn't her, I need more Chaggie in my life. Let the WLW live together happily please

eat shit Adam

Alastor's fight with Adam was great, and that scene at the end... I totally understand why you guys love your scary deer man

PENTIOUS! Oh god, when his airship was destroyed I nearly panicked. I just- that was abrupt- you're gonna kill him off like that? I have a friend who would have been gutted! But he went to heaven! Sir Pentious is a good boy! And I want more interactions with him and Cherri. I love you, you big snakey doofus <3

"SHUT THE FUCK UP YOU BITCH"

Aaa... I'm gonna miss this. Don't rush season 2, but don't let it be too far away... I feel like I just got started, and now it's gone already... six month Matsu seasons spoiled me

[12pt-times-new-roman]

c3e66

To Zephrah!

I am reminded that there's another place in the story where we've seen wounds that leak black ichor and refuse to heal by natural or magical means: the wound that Tharizdun left Ioun with.

oh the new Laudna art is gorgeous

Orym got a custom battle maneuver! Zephran Spirit lets him expend a superiority die and add the result to a dexterity save. I'm assuming it's not a dex save specifically caused by wind, because that's ridiculously specific -- it's probably something like dex saves against falling prone, being grappled, forced movement, etc.

First to greet them is Maeve, Orym's sister (in law), with a group of guards.

Keyleth is still wounded, and are multiple Zephran soldiers who made it out of "the Red Center." That battle was an "all to arms" situation, and most of Zephrah's military force was sent there. Lida, another of Orym's systers, was unharmed and is tending to Keyleth's wounds.

In Zephrah, some of the permanent enchantment-based wards are offline, and some of their means of transportation are down.

oh god, Keyleth's spell slots aren't restoring either???

When the malleus key went off, everyone in the crater responded differently. Many were scattered across the continent, and others have been sent after them; and the rest were left behind and continued the fight.

When they arrive, Keyleth is resting. Her wounds haven't closed, and while there is no blood, they look freshly carved, with exposed red flesh that hasn't healed over. "The assassin uses the same toxin that once found its way to our village. It doesn't have a historical precursor we can find, and I barely sustained an injury last time but we all lost much in the shadow of that day. They were able to recover with the use of a... challenging remedy made from the blue perenum flower." Few grow, but those that do are found in cursed landscapes -- places of strife and unfriendly beasts. The ones they collected last time were from the Gray Valley north of Zephrah, and were all used to heal wounds from the last attack -- though notably, it seems that the use of this remedy can only affect a living creature. A party, including one of Orym's sisters, went out to find this flower, but they haven't returned.

Zephrah lost over 2 dozen people in the crater. That number includes people who were teleported away who may still be alive, though.

"The last thing that I saw, before the light took us... was someone important to me. Someone I lost long ago. And I will do everything in my power to destroy those who did this. Otohan, Ludinus, Liliana -- all of them. I will tear down everything they represent, and I will see that they leave no more pain in their wake."

"We need to rally. Confusion is woven into the design. They have sown confusion for months, in big towns and small... [the Ruby Vanguard] is now emerging publicly, using the confusion and outrage of the public to bolster their efforts." She asks them to track down the group that went missing trying to find the flowers for the cure, and to bring them and the plant back.

"Find this for us, so that we may heal. Then, together, we will rain the fury of every power that Exandria has onto these absolute shitheads." Keyleth gets to swear twice a year, canon

Keyleth regards the gods as heralds of the natural world, and the general religious vibe in Zephrah is that they worship nature and the natural world -- they try to be good neighbors and hope the gods do the same in return.

"Herald" is such an interesting description to me. It paints the gods as entities that usher in, but do not overtly create, the natural world, or that stand as a mediator between the raw power of nature and its actual physical manifestation. It just feels very intentional in its meaning, when Keyleth could've used words like "harbinger," "hierophant," or something similar here.

Oh hey! the airship crashing actually did something! it took out dozens of Ruby Vanguard members and damaged the top of the malleus key.

Both Keyleth and Lida were left in the crater after the white light went off, and they saw that both Ludinus and Liliana had been teleported away. She saw a couple of the reilora come through, and they seemed to be in alliance with the Vanguard; the "nightmarish" entities can bleed. Some were hulking, some were quick, some weren't fully material, but none spoke with words.

The Gray Valley was the site of Drassig's bargain with the demon prince of indulgence, which corrupted the landscape. There are dark spirits and errant demons, but the landscape and creatures grow more dangerous under Ruidus flares (which is interesting considering that Drassig is canonically Ruidusborn).

Ashton asks one of Keyleth's advisors about the Hishari. He gives a different date for the actual event that destroyed the village -- around 20 years ago, according to him -- but otherwise there isn't much new information.

The Bells Hells go to visit Orym's mom. He grew up in a little cottagecore house with flowers everywhere, built for halflings -- so Fearne, Ashton, Laudna, and maybe Imogen all have to stoop down.

Laura: "that fantasy food sounds good IRL right now." Travis, immediately: *picks up phone, orders doordash to the studio*

.....Orym had toys made by Chetney when he was a baby. Chetney got his start in Tal'dorei. Orym never knew his father. "Did you create my childhood, Chetney?" I swear to gods, if one of the mid/endgame reveals ends up being that Chetney is Orym's father--

Ashton and Orym head into town to finally get their new outfits! Orym is looking for new leather armor (possibly enchanted), and it sounds like he wants some bracers of defense. Ashton wants to be his "best self, I want to inspire people, the look of a champion," and he pulls design references from the hole -- anti-hero chique. Legendary hero, but make it fashion. Also, Ashton is described as a "strange hunk."

"Whitestone is for lovers, Zephrah is for fuckers."

Arriving in the Gray Valley, it is a barren, monochrome, grayscale landscape covered in petrified plantlife and the smell of burning fat. They stand in the middle of a forest, but all the trees are blanched, their leaves are white and gray.

Chetney identifies that burning fat, melted wax-type smell as the smell that accompanies fiends when they cross into Exandria.

Also in this area, they find scattered bits of spherical metal that are embedded into the dirt -- helmets with skulls in them, accompanied by the rest of a body. From the dryness and the moss growth, these bodies are quite old.

I know they were singing Tom's Diner, but Centuries sounds so fucking similar--

Aww, FCG casts death ward on Orym, taking a cue from Deanna's book.

Two gloomstalkers (I think) fly over the Bells Hells. For reference, Vox Machina fought gloomstalkers at level 17, the Mighty Nein fought them at level 9, and the Bells Hells are level 10.

Chetney notes that there is an omnipresent smell of volcanic emissions, but it's coming more strongly from an area of the forest in which the trees are darker, charred, and smoking.

For the record, the text of find familiar is vague enough that it comes down to DM discretion as to whether the caster uses their own or their familiar's skill bonuses. But if you absolutely need an answer from the rules as written, then the caster would use their own bonuses, because the spell states that, when looking through their familiar's eyes, the caster gains any senses of the familiar. This implies that when they are looking through their familiar's eyes, the caster uses their own senses except as augmented by the familiar's abilities. But again, this is vague enough that it ends up being up to the DM.

The Bells Hells continue looking for the flowers. Eventually, they find evidence of movement, and as they continue they reach a swampland. This entire area is a forgotten battlefield -- swords reclaimed by nature, pieces of armor buried in the marsh. A layer of ash has coated the entire landscape, but as they continue, they eventually find a little speck of blue.

did....... did Marisha just reference do you love the color of the sky? Is this what y'all mean when you say that Tumblr has breached containment?

Chetney harvests some of the flowers they found, but as he does, two of the armored bodies they'd found rise up and start crawling from the ground. They aren't skeletal and ancient -- they're a little more recent, and they look toward a small, shadowed figure that's been sitting, watching them. Hunched low, they can barely make out clasped hands, with dark purplish skin, golden-orange eyes, horns that curve above their head. As Chetney begins to move away, it stands, and we roll initiative!

As always, there's very little to liveblog during combat, so here's our character level updates section of the liveblog post!

This episode being so close in number to C2E55 is stressing me out--

Undead, but recently deceased, bodies attack Chetney. One is male and one is female, human or half-elven in form -- either could very well be Orym's sister or the missing Ashari.

It appears that there is some kind of humanoid form inside the ribcage of this demonic entity, and it uses the "soul rend" ability to inflict almost 40 points of necrotic damage on a failed save. This is a homebrew ability, as nothing in existing published 5e materials has the "soul rend" ability. It's also worth nothing that a low chuckle accompanies the necrotic damage, heard by everyone who gets hit by it.

"I'm gonna go to my happy place, so I'm gonna rage." Ashton rolls gravity, which causes his own form to become monochromatic like the landscape. But there are a bunch of other things on top. When they attack, they use both reckless attacks and gravity well. Gravity well causes the subject of the attack to make a STR save. Ashton also uses the belt and the ring to add more die rolls to this, but AFAIK this isn't a build update, since we've seen this effect before. But it's a massive amount of damage that clearly has an impact on the creature.

With his passive perception, Orym recognizes the corpse he's fighting as a member of the Air Ashari, but one he barely knew.

Fearne casts aura of life, which is a wildfire druid spell. Usually it's a paladin spell, but it's fucking great for a druid like Fearne.

*Laudna uses hounds of ill omen* Fearne and Imogen, immediately: "I am looking respectfully!"

More of the spectral, demonic figures aparate around them, and Chetney considers putting on Ludinus' fey energy-channeling vest.

Ashton rage build update: While the space build is active, Ashton can use their reaction to gain resistance to an attack (halving the attack's damage), then can force the attacking creature (if it fails its save) to move 30ft in any direction after the attack has resolved.

These creatures are a lot like the chasmes TM9 fought (in, btw, C2E60), in that they reduce their targets' max hit points upon attacking. However, Fearne's aura of life completely shuts this off, since not only does it give creatures in the radius resistance to necrotic damage, but also prevents their HP max from being lowered.

Anyway, I maintain that FCG's spell save is way too low for this level, to the point that it legit feels like Sam is actively sabotaging the party by not increasing FCG's wisdom. FCG's spell save should be 17 or 18 by level 10.

Ashton rage build update: Imogen casts lightning bolt, and could have targeted Ashton's hammer if she wanted. It was implied that Imogen's spell would've been cast from a different space should she have targeted the hammer instead of her actual target with it.

Fearne casts daylight, and none of these undead creatures appreciate it very much. These sound similar to the sorrow-sworn that the Mighty Nein encountered in the Barbed Fields.

With a witch bolt, Imogen dispatches the last creature along with its thralls.

Within the slain figure, Orym finds the trace of a consciousness, an Ashari warrior. It takes the form of a young, elven, female figure who touches her hand to Orym's and smiles before dissipating -- not his sister. The other two are dead beyond contact, but the Bells Hells bury them respectfully.

[cosmerelists]

If Era 2 Mistborn Characters and Stormlight Characters Met Each Other...

We already considered how Era 1 Mistborn characters & Stormlight characters would get along. But what about Era 2 Mistborn?

[Includes spoilers through The Lost Metal & Rhythm of War!]

1. Dalinar & Wax

Wax: It’s something, isn’t? Finding a new love after losing your first one?

Dalinar: It was not something I expected or believed could happen, after I lost Evi.

Wax: Yes, especially when it’s you who accidentally killed your first love...

Dalinar: Er, yes...

Wax: ...and then killed her again, but on purpose the second time...

Dalinar: ...Metaphorically, you mean?

Wax: No.

2. Navani & Ranette

Ranette: So this glove makes its wearer just...shoot off in the direction it’s pointing??

Navani: Er...yes. It’s just a prototype. I assure you, I have many more inventions that...

Ranette: I am 100% giving this to Wayne. 

3. Renarin & Steris

Steris: So...you can see all possible futures?

Renarin: Well, maybe not all. But I can see the possibilities expanding out like broken glass.

Steris: ...

Renarin: I know. It is forbidden to see the future, and belongs to corrupted spren but I...

Steris: [literally vibrating with excitement]

Steris: I have never wanted anything more!

4. Jasnah and MeLaan

Jasnah: So you can craft your body to be as you wish it?

MeLaan: Sure can! And I did the whole stately, breasted boobily look for a while!

Jasnah: ...

MeLaan: Been into androgyny lately. 

Jasnah: Yes, I can see how having both options would be enormously advantageous.

MeLaan (conspiratorially): But most importantly I can turn my skin transparent and show off MY GLOWING BONES!!

Jasnah: I am going to write many papers about you.

5. Veil & Wayne

Wayne: Nice hat, mate!

Veil: Thanks! You could say it makes me the woman I am!

Wayne: New hat, new you? Trust me, I get that plenty!

Veil: Yeah, I get the feeling you do!

6. Rock & Allik

Rock: These pastries are wonderful, friend! You are far less of an airsick-lowerlander than most men I know!

Allik: My people have airships!

Rock:  Ha! That must be why!

7. Paalm & Taravangian

Taravangian: I am a very big fan of the whole “Kill as many people as it takes to free the world from a god’s influence,” my friend.

Paalm: Thanks, I guess.

Paalm: I like the way you literally stole your god’s body and took it over.

Taravangian: And “Bleeder!” What a great name! I’ve bled a few people to death myself, you know.

Paalm: I think your world is very lucky you haven’t discovered Hemalurgy. 

Paalm: Yet. 

8. Marasi & Shallan

Marasi: Oh wow, the Ghostbloods tried to recruit me too!

Shallan: The promise of interplanetary knowledge is pretty tempting, huh?

Marasi: Oh man, it so was!

Marasi: But I had to turn them down. And I appreciated how nice they were about it!

Shallan: ...Nice?

Marasi: Oh yeah! Just all “Lovely to meet you. Thanks for considering us. Have a great life!”

Shallan: On my planet they literally tried to sell a child!

[gallifreyanhotfive]

I am so, so insane about your watching the show fic. I have reread it like 4 times by now lol (I am such a sucker for doctor/master and their incredibly toxic dynamic <3). I'm assuming at some point we'll see The Parting of the Ways bc I think Jack is a pretty big source of guilt for this doctor, but would we see The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances? and if you haven't thought abt it, would you consider it? I'm very biased about Jack lol (and the 9th doctor in general), so I'm rly curious abt it!

also, idk how you've managed to write so much in such a short amount of time it is incredibly impressive and I wish I had your powers of. write

Hi hi hi!!!! Thank you so much!!! (Feeling very blessed with interaction rn. Much serotonin. :))

I am also rather biased towards Jack. :) My favorite Doctor changes on almost a daily basis (depending on who I watched/listened to last usually), but Nine is also quite amazing.

I definitely plan on doing all three titles you listed above at some point. The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances is basically my favorite Nine story. :)

I'm not sure when I'll get there quite yet though. I tend to plan out several chapters in advance, but even those are subject to change until the moment I start writing them lollll

But the way things are going so far is that after The Giggle we are having an interlude, going away from the new series for a chapter, back to the new series for two chapters, and then going to the audios for a little bit. I kind of have an absolutely crazy plan going on in the back of my head right now (like dear God y'all have no idea the horrors I'm planning on pulling out of my sleeve).

But after I subject them to the next round of horrors, I was thinking of using The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances in particular as a 'cool down,' just as they will be having a cool down period after The Giggle. And I always love a quick reference to the Doctor’s early life of course, which that story has.

Anyway, I'm not going to reveal too many cards yet because I'm cackling to myself about my evil plan rn, but this is sort of the plan as of rn (but as I said, until it is being written, the order is subject to change)

An interlude (and the possible addition of some of my favorite companions I desperately regret deleting from my first draft - seriously I have been kicking myself for months - which would involve quickly catching them up)

A regeneration story (funny as hell considering they're expecting a calm adventure, but the Doctor doesn't even think this one is that bad in comparison...)

Oh My God What Happened to Him (another regeneration story, but this one is Painful)

Poor Clara had to deal with THREE of you?

There's three of you again here too. Who's Vansell? Oh no you got shot. Now your leg is broken. God damn it now you're screaming your head off.

Did Shakespeare just roofie you with ginger?!?!?!?!

You might want to get off that airship. It's going to crash. Did you just save someone who was supposed to die? Oh fuck now you're emotionally invested in her. Oh no now she's your best friend.

Plastic Daffodils and a Doomsday Weapon - Sounds Like a Date To Me

And then the next round of Horrors commence, after which will likely be The Empty Child because yes.

And so on and so forth...

[whispers-soundtrack-project]

Star Trek Prodigy

Fanmix Part One

Link to the Spotify Playlist is at the bottom of the post

Our Time (Hidden Citizens, ft. Aloe Blacc)

This is our moment * Waited all our lives * Yeah, we been chosen * We will rise * This is our time

People Like Us (Matt Bomer & Alan Mingo Jr.)

They can't do nothing to you * They can't do nothing to me * This is the life that we choose * This is the life that we lead

The Future Is Now (STARSET)

Flying into this future * I will let the science bring the change * This will be the final cure * I am gonna take the past away

Intermission (Sleeping At Last)

I want to turn these tired gears. * I want to feel the follow-through, * Some kind of equilibrium * Something to set my watch to

End Transmission (Fire From The Gods)

Begin drifting * Defy the laws of gravity * Stare at the sun, challenging all reality * The glass door to my soul is shattering

United (Hidden Citizens & Ranya)

At the dawn, we'll arrive * Standing as one united * United * But we won't make it through the night * If they keep us divided * United

Home We'll Go (Walk The Earth)

The sun it glows like gold * Feel it warm as a burning coal * Let your soul shine bright like diamonds in the sky * So take my hand and home we'll go

Headlong Flight (Rush)

I have stoked the fire on the big steel wheels * Steer the airship right across the stars * I learned to fight, I learned to love, I learned to feel * Oh I wish that I could live it all again

Rise Up (TheFatRat)

And we follow the path that we believe in * No, we're not gonna stop until we reach it * Oh, all you need to know is that we're holding on * We'll rise up from the dust and claim our throne

Point of No Return (UNSECRET, ft. Sam Tinnesz)

Light is slowing, shadows closing * Dripping from the air * Deeper, darker, going farther * Than we've ever dared * Right now we're stronger than we've ever been * Right now we'll hush the voices in our heads

[rainbow-pop-arts]

Fwaaah, this is this is part 1 of my Trigun Maximum vol 8 thoughts for @trigunbookclub!

Some thoughts on TriMax chap 46-47 under the cut!

So the Ark’s an airship thingy

Woah, look at Vash doing his epic balancing ski- DID THEY PULLED HIS PROSTHETIC ARM OF!?

OH MY GOD THAT’S SO TRUE! Humans having to rely on plants a lot was literally Knives’s fault because he caused the ships to crash land on a dessert planet. Although, he did planned only for the plant ships to survive, but Rem didn’t let that happen

Oh wow, Vash is being folded in a painful way by Legato’s powers and Knives is just standing there. Boy, what a brother he sure is ಠ_ಠ

Wolfwood’s in a cult Wolfwood’s in a cult Wolfwood’s in a cult Wolfwood’s in a cult- (by force)

Vash has lots of patience goddamn 🥺

I didn’t, learning about Tesla was terrifying

Poor El Gato gets spooked

Real 😔 that’s the chapter where it really messed me up

REAL 😫 You shouldn’t have bottled it up, Knives! Look how twisted you’d become!!

What is that old guy even talking about? What did he do to Wolfwood’s orphanage? (YOOOOO, WOLFWOOD SAID THE F-WORD!!)

Wuh-oh that doesn’t look good 😟

Oh, that’s why chaos happened in that city…wait, it’s been days, that means…

OH. MY. GOD……

They got so desperate that they fell into cannibalism 

Woah he’s stealing the plants :0

Knives is gathering all the plants in the Ark (wait I just realized…isn’t the ark thing a reference to that one religion story where a guy built a boat to put animals in it so they’ll be safe from a flood? If that’s true then YOOOOO???)

Oh woah, guys!! It’s that feeling when everybody’s suffering but you can’t do anything to help them! 

Knives was right, this is truly the age of chaos…

NAAAAH, ain’t no way humans can live that long without a plant!! 😭

Yipee!! Meryl and Milly are back! ( ノ ^o^)ノ And they're visiting Vash's ship! (I hope the plants in Meryl and Milly’s hometowns haven’t been taken yet, and if that already happened, I hope their families are alright. Especially Milly, WOOH, she has a really big family (｡•́︿•̀｡))

That’s all for….part 1… ( °⌓° )

Bonus thoughts: ………………………..Huh? What? Uh so…Knives stole a bunch of plants from cities and towns. Because of that, humans aren’t doing great that they’re unaliving each other and there’s even cannibalism. And then Vash is being imprisoned while Legato’s torturing him. And then something’s up between Wolfwood and that old guy with Livio. Humans are dying. Are Meryl and Milly’s family alright? I hope the people in the ship would be able to help stop the chaos.

[dalek-ix-writes-stuff]

Red Ruin - INTERVAL 01: INITIATION (Part V)

"Wow, it's really booking it."

"Yep."

"How big is that thing?"

Ruby adjusted the scope on Crescent Rose until her target was in focus. She then read off the range numbers on the dials.

She wished she hadn't.

"Big," she told Yang, and resumed watching over the Nevermore, "Very big and very old."

Yang didn't have a telescopic scope, but she could still see the Grimm unaided. The only thing that had given it away as something that wasn't a bird high in the sky had been when they'd seen it go through a cloud. They'd immediately gotten off the path they'd found after that, hiding under the cover of the trees.

Ruby felt an idea come to Yang.

"No."

Yang sputtered. "I didn't even say anything!" She complained.

"Still no," Ruby shot back, "too high up for that, and it's not gonna pass near us."

Yang grumbled, her arms crossed under her chest. "Would've been pretty cool if we could pull it off," she said.

"… Yeah," Ruby agreed. It would have been pretty amazing to down the Grimm like that; after all, it deserved to die.

They ALL deserved to die.

"Wonder where it's going," Ruby thought out loud.

Yang snorted, "With how fast it's flying? Probably the worst partnership ever."

Ruby lowered her sweetheart, currently in rifle form, and looked in the direction the flying Grimm had been heading. In the distance she could just make out a-

cut deep cut once cut twicd cut many times how dare she say that to ME I'll show her what does she know she will eat her words and I will serve them to her-

She winced. "Ouch."

Yang raised an eyebrow. Then another. "Wait, you can actually see it from here?"

Ruby nodded, and now Yang winced as well.

"Wow."

"Yep."

"And they have a Giant Nevermore after their asses. Not to mention they're probably pulling a whole bunch of Grimm."

"Yep."

There was a pause. Yang and Ruby looked at each other, and then bolted, the scythe wielder leading the way.

----------

"You shot me!"

"I called out the shot! You didn't move! And that's nothing; you were this close to skewering me!"

"And maybe I wouldn't have if you hadn't decided to get in my way!"

"What do you mean "maybe", Schnee?!"

Weiss Schnee was quite sure she was dead. Perhaps the airship had crashed, or the White Fang had finally gotten lucky with their bombs. Maybe Whitley had been even more of a worm than anyone could've believed and had poisoned her food.

"I said go left! That was not left!"

"And why should I listen to you, Schnee?"

"Because, unlike some people, I've actually taken formal courses in command and know what I'm talking about?"

"You mean you sat in a nice, comfortable classroom in your mansion and studied textbooks, because Gods forbid you get your dress dirty and take to the field, unlike some people, Schnee."

"And another thing! My name is Weiss! Weiss! If you're going to insist on bickering, you could at least call me by my name!"

"Like you've called me by mine?"

"Indeed, Miss Baetica."

Yes, Weiss was pretty certain she was deceased. Because she was clearly in hell.

"If you could shut up-"

"And let you walk all over me? Besmirch my name? Question my integrity? Insult and belittle me? Have you ever considered that maybe I wouldn't have to follow through if you didn't start?"

"Maybe if you stopped sniping-"

This time, their argument was brought to a halt by Blake's eyes widening and the girl diving to one side. Weiss followed shortly after, and the Nevermore's talons passed through the space she'd occupied a second ago.

Lying on her back, Weiss looked on as a flying Grimm the size of an Airbus swooped over and then up, cawing out a monstrous cry that almost sounded like disappointment.

"Oh my." Was just about the only thing she could say after that.

She heard Blake laugh in a way that did not indicate amusement. "First time seeing a Giant Nevermore, Schnee?"

Weiss decided to pretend that Blake had preceded her last name with a "Miss". "Yes, Miss Baetica," she said, "They don't grow so…" She swallowed. "Large in Atlas. The blizzards kill them if they're too big to seek shelter."

A pause. They pulled themselves to their feet.

"… Blizzards." Blake said flatly.

"We have them in the winter," Weiss explained, pretending to have heard some scholarly interest, "Bad enough that even the Grimm seek shelter, else they freeze. Of course, if you happen to be outside during one…" She trailed off. Everyone in Atlas grew up with tales of people who had forgotten that the cold and snow that protected them from the Grimm was indiscriminate.

Blake nodded. And said nothing else.

Weiss felt her jaw clench, and her dominant hand twitch. Sure, she hadn't been nice to Blake, but how could she when every word she'd heard from the girl had been designed to cut and wound from the start? Blake wouldn't hear one word of apology until she got one first.

And if she insisted on calling her by her family name-

Weiss knew the sort of response her father would've wanted from her. A false smile. Sweet, meaningless words of apology. Mild, calculated flattery. A smokescreen for the knife.

Except Father isn't a Schnee. No matter how much he wishes he was.

Weiss straightened herself, hands clasped behind her back. "I don't like you, Miss Baetica," She said, about as bluntly as she could while still being polite about it, "And you don't like me."

"Obviously," Blake said. Weiss ignored the sarcasm.

"However," Weiss continued, "We're in a forest full of Grimm and-" she glanced up, partly to check, and partly for emphasis "-being hunted by a Giant Nevermore. And neither of us are interested in failing admission into Beacon by dying." A pause, to let that sink in. "I'm not asking to be friends; just that we agree to not draw every Grimm in the forest to us."

Blake seemed to look conflicted. Weiss could see why; It was a perfectly sensible plan from a source she didn't like much at all.

And Weiss wanted to know why.

"Fine," Blake ground out, pragmatism having won out, "But you stay out of my way."

"And you out of mine," Weiss smoothly replied. Blake's eyes narrowed and-

Her head turned left and her hands drew the rather exotic combination weapon on her back. Weiss turned right, facing the same way, Myrtenaster in a middle guard position, and felt the tension in her body go straight back up again because she'd just (maybe, temporarily) dealt with one problem, damnit.

There was a red and black blur that zigzagged around the trees, red petals in its wake. It came to a halt right in front of them, and it revealed itself to be a rather young-looking girl in a black and red combat dress, black and red corset, a red, hooded cloak, and who had dark crimson hair.

She looked vaguely familiar to Weiss. Then she saw the giant war scythe she was carrying, and she remembered the rather excitable young girl who had nearly tripped over her luggage in her hurry to barrage Weiss with questions about Myrtenaster.

What was her name again? Did she even tell it to me?

Silver eyes blinked, and went from Weiss, to Blake, and then back again.

"Oh, good!" She said, grinning, "You're not dead!"

There was a long, awkward silence. The smile on the girl's face became a little brittle.

"I mean, we saw the Nevermore swoop in," the girl –seriously, what was her name? Weiss had it right on the tip of her tongue– explained, miming the flying Grimm with the hand not holding the scythe, "like whoosh, and I got worried it hurt someone, so I ran ahead to help and," a laugh, "and it looks like you're both fine, right Blake?"

Weiss shot Blake a look. Did Blake know this person? How?

Blake pointedly ignored Weiss and instead spoke to the girl. "We're fine Ruby," she told the scythe wielder, and finally Weiss remembered the name she'd gotten immediately before being grilled on her weapon's cylinder mechanism, "but… Who's "we"?"

"Oh, it's Yang and me– Yang's my sister," Ruby explained, "and my partner." The smile grew warmer.

A beat.

"… Aaaaand I just ran off without her," she realised, shoulders slumping. Ruby smiled awkwardly at Weiss and Blake. "Um… Mind if we wait a little for her to catch up?"

[bluebutlikenotalways]

LADS! Today I come baring my greatest test of the English language! A fanfic!

But Cat, you suck at writing.

I sure do, Ace! BUT when I was in the 10th grade I got 70% on a descriptive essay, so I think I have some experience 😎 also I asked my friend souless and they said that I’d be interesting to see more of the story…

So it’s just a quick fic about Rightmin. The only think think could be a trigger is smoking? Oh, and my writing skills aren’t all that good XD

LET US BEGIN!

Out on the balcony of the “mighty” airship, the right hand man leans on the balcony alone. It’s nothing new. Anyone in their right mind knows not to get on his bad side, so why risk it by interrupting his smoke break.

It’s quiet. Peaceful, he reminds himself. A break from the constant noise of the clan. He brings the vape to his lips, taking in a deep sigh of Cinnamon Apple Crunch© before letting it out to fade into the graying sky.

There was darkness as far as the eye could see. It felt like…nothing.

Shwip. Right jumped as the door behind him opened. He’s not the jumpy type, but being so wrapped up in his own thoughts let it catch him off guard.

God damn it.

He straightened and shot one of his famous heart stopping death glares at whoever was unlucky enough to forget who’s perch this was.

Henry Stickmin raised an eyebrow at the daggers before throwing a nod back at Right and turning to the sky in front of them.

The redhead was left blinking at the side of Henry’s face. That was usually enough to make the scariest members running, but this new recruit..he didn’t even flinch?

Bewildered, Right lent his forearms back on the rail and tried to ignore how small the space suddenly felt with Henry standing only a few inches away from him.

Movement caught his attention. He watched Henry search his pockets out of the corner of his eye. He chuckled as the big guy furrowed his eyebrows with confusion at coming up empty handed.

“Forget something?”

“Yeah, I think I left my pack in my other jacket.” Henry sighed. “I should go grab it.”

Right was surprised at the little twinge in his chest. As embarrassed as he felt when Henry first got there, he was actually looking forward to a smoking buddy. Before he could stop himself he was holding out his JUUL. “I don’t mind sharing.” Henry’s eyebrows twitch, the corner of his mouth tilted down. Right’s stomach turned, but he’s no coward. “What? Scared to swap some spit with another man?”

Henry wrinkled his nose as Right dangled it closer. He shot the redhead a look that Right didn’t understand. Oh well. “Suit yourself.” Right said with a shrug

He started to pull it back to his mouth, but before he could Henry hand shot out and wrapped around his wrist. Right’ was trying to process his big that man’s hands were compared to his before Henry lent in and took a hit.

The grip on Right’s wrist let up, but didn’t disappear. The hand started to slowly drift its way up his arm, leaving a heating trail behind, to his neck before it grabbed a fistful of ginger hair on the back of his head.

Henry lent in letting the tips of their noses brush before tilting his head, hovering a whisper away. Right opened his mouth to say something but before he could Henry exhaled the apple flavored smoke into it.

Right was short circuiting, but he pushed through and breathed the smoke in. He inhaled in Henry’s breath, feeling it burn its way down his throat to his lungs. Was the burning from the nicotine or from that warmth in Henry's eyes.

He held his breath for as long as he could. He didn’t want to let Henry go. He wanted to keep that part of him within him for as long as possible. Ignore the burning. Keep the heat, just stay one. He couldn’t. As much as he wanted to be smothered in Henry, he needed to breathe.

Slowly Right let the smoke out through his nose. Henry watched it twirl like a dancer’s ribbon past that DUMB FUCKING MOUSTACHE and off into the starless night.

What just happened. His eyes refocused on Henry to find that the bigger man didn’t seem to have more of a clue.

For the first time that week Right let a grine split his face in half. “That was fucking gay.”

“I’m going inside.”

Thanks for coming, folks. Be sure to tune in for the thrilling, smutty sequel titled PUFF DADDY 😩

In conclusion. Get out of my house.

[stone-stars]

How many times was your favourite emily piece used in total, AND which episode was it used the most often? You're doing Melora's work with the spreadsheet god bless amen 🙏🙏

TWO. two times. (or three depending on how you count it). because brian murphy personally hates me <- dramatic, exaggerated

my favorite song is a nearly one-off song from campaign 1 ep 58 called "flying through the night". it's beautiful clarinet and piano-heavy song that is played for the boobs returning to the autumn court. it's only credited in that episode (used twice, at 25:18 and 33:16).

[Audio description: Clip of a scene from naddpod in which the Boobs are settling down for a one big bed on the airship as they fly back from fighting Queen Ezra, and Moonshine checks in with Paw Paw. In the background there's a soft clarinet and piano song-- flying through the night.]

but. in c2e13, for the hexbuds in their barracks one last time, murph credits "bittersweet sixteen" (another beautiful song from the same ep). but the song at 1:00:34 is not bs16, it's flying through the night, which means i get Two whole episodes with my favorite song!!

some other favorites of mine are: - the fabric of fate/melora's boon (from c1e97, used the most times in c3e67) - a glittering reunion (also from c1e97, and used the most there) - i just want to know you're taken care of (from c1e91, used the most in c3e27) - irina (from c2e23 and used most there and c2e40) - winter's mantle (from c3e30 and used the most times there) - spearmint & tea leaves (from c3e57 and used the most in that, 59, and 60) - the twinkling lights of galaderon (from c1e14, used most in c3e14 and c3e41) as it's the song that technically ignited my love for naddpod music - bastard's fate (from c1e67 and only used once in any given episode) - young love (from c2e4, used the most in c2e15 and 27)

i'm also a fan of a lot of the crick songs like mee maw's, prodigal sister, greener shades, and tale's end. and gutless and growing pains. and eternal return (frankie's reprise). oh and i do really like bittersweet sixteen! and like probably 15 others i am forgetting to list and will remember as soon as i post this. naddpod music is good y'all.

[darkacey]

I'm curious about a bunch of these so I'll just ask the bunch together:

Whose ur favorite bachelorette(s), non romanceable chara, monster, non-mc otp and a headcanon you have?

Oh boy this is gonna be a doozy of an answer lol

Fav bachelorette — I’m super gay for (most of) the guys, so honestly none of the bachelorettes appealed to me as marriage candidates. That said, I really identify with Lucy’s whole arc and feeling disproportionately responsible for my loved ones. I especially like when these characters actually get a chance to take care of themselves. Sure, I don’t exactly like the way RF5 goes about it (the forced truth mirror was kind of heavy handed and took away her agency…), but everything else was nice. My runner ups are Beatrice and Scarlett. Bea is just a sweetheart, I have nothing bad to say about her. As for Scarlett, well, I got attached to her because she became such an important supporting character in my fic. I didn’t intend for her to be the closest thing Ari has to a best friend, but she surprised me.

Fav non-romanceable character — Heinz, hands down. That goofball has a terrible first impression in-game and he’s really done dirty by only being characterized by his ineptitude and lazy attitude, but man, I’ve gotten so attached to him because of his role in my fic. I was really able to develop his backstory and personality into exactly what I wanted since there was so much room for reinterpretation. Before I started this fic, though, I probably would have said Terry or Misasagi. Both of them have good heads on their shoulders, and I like the mysteries they represent.

Fav monster — Chipsqueek! Those little red squirrels are the cutest dang thing on the planet. They’re kind of useless as a battle companion, but I like bringing them around with me just because anyway. Also, in every RF game I’ve played (Frontier, rf5, and currently rf3 special), I’ve named the first one I’ve caught Poppy.

Non-MC otp — I’m a multishipper, so I won’t say there’s only one way I like characters to be shipped. That said, I’m particularly fond of Cecil/Fuuka (thank you Aashi for selling me on them!) and Martin/Ryker. For other pairings, I think Lucy/Priscilla is cute, but I’d be really interested to see Priscilla/Reinhard (Priscilla gets to live out her princess dreams) and Lucy/Murakumo (competitive bleeding heart plus the expert judge of games). Outside my fic, I also love Lucas/Terry (courtesy of @kardia-library-official for introducing me to the idea).

A headcanon — oof I have so many at this point, it’s hard for me to remember what’s actually canon and what’s stuff I’ve dumped into all of its plot holes. I think a big one for worldbuilding is that I named the town that’s near Rigbarth (the one that Ryker goes to when he steals that crown). It’s called Fenarva, which is sort of a portmanteau based on the names of all of the other villages/towns of Norad. I imagine Fenarva is closer in size to a city, and it has ports for regular ships and airships. They get travelers from the mainland, Isle of Elves (this also needs a name), the Eastern Continent (gods please Marvelous give us an actual name for this country when Project Dragon is released), and Fenith Island. Most of the tourists who visit Rigbarth come from Fenarva, too, since it’s only about half a day’s trip to get from one town to the other (well, travel takes longer now because of the recent increase in monster attacks…). Rigbarth’s economy really relies on these folks and the people from the other side of the Gadeus Grasslands too (still need to put another town over there too). Also, for everybody else writing fics based on RF5, y’all are free to use Fenarva, too.

I have other, more interesting headcanons especially about gods in general and what sort of god Lucas is, but a lot of it gets into spoiler territory. Unfortunately for all of us, however, I have yet to figure out how to work in these things into my fic. It’ll come up eventually, somehow, but probably not until late Act II or somewhere in Act III. I hope y’all can bear with me until then.

[ashperiences]

Meant for this to just be part of talking about the first game but didn't realise how much I'd go on lol

Didn't like this one as much, on paper most things sound better and I liked a lot of those ideas but I left without much of a real impression left on me.

The stratums never really ended up feeling like a place to me, I got a little shot of excitement going into the airship but it ultimately just felt like a big bunch of yellow corridors with a knock off version of the previous final boss. The areas could be really pretty and I liked some of the level design and the bringing a specific class gimmicks that unfortunately feel more fun of an idea than actually evocative but oh well.

Therein lies a big problem I had with this, the gameplay mostly turns into spamming big damage, the enemies and levels can get really obnoxious in response and the quests routinely become pains in the ass even as they build some genuinely endearing steps and events in them that make them more than just go to A or collect 6 of B (loved the one that made me mad that finding a guy to deliver a thing to relied on an rng roll to check if he runs away over and over owning me by having the guy eventually be like why the hell are you chasing me who are you though).

I like all these ideas it has, getting to know people in town better, weird FOE gimmicks and all but a lot of the quiet imaginative space is lost, I didn't really wonder about my party, the npcs were more fleshed out and likeable but they weren't really memorable enough to make up for feeling like just some decently entertaining guys in some dlc pack levels.

So much is hampered by relation to the first game, class design is heavily built around nerfing old strategies and over empowering other ones, the story has the same structure but less interesting as an attempt at playing the hits again, we got bird people again but they're magical helpful natives now. It's all just kind of uncomplicated heroics where your attack goes up and eventually you beat up god who is mean and make friends with everyone.

Its fun enough though although similarly the gameplay made it hard to distinguish any real sense of character between my variety of big numbers damage guys. The new class concepts are fun but not tremendously well implemented and the reuse of old classes doesn't help the stale feeling.

I can't stop complaining about it but whenever I think about parts of it I think of them fondly anyway, its not charmless it's just, it's overshadowed and directionless, everything you like feels nice but overtime it kind of just eats away at itself until its a town of slightly charming people and their heroes in a world that just feels built for purpose. I can barely remember any of the actual exploring.

If etrian odyssey 1 ends with your party literally going to hell this one feels like a conscious attempt at crafting explorer heaven - nothing complicates your role, doing big damage almost always wins, everyone ends up loving you and you can live forever as a cool sword guy (suppose there's a fun little thing to think about on context of the villain speech there actually).

I think you can summarise this game with two things:

1. The pathways only open to certain classes that just give you an rpg narration of your guy doing some cool stuff that repeats exactly the same the next time you find one without any of the environment reflecting it and usually organised into some weird box room with multiple class paths like you've found some side mission level select.

2. The way the gunner just inherits a strong move from the now decimated survivalist and also functions as a superior alchemist, the way the war magus can awkwardly remove any mp consideration or how the hexer can just turn hp loss into practically instant killing everything. The game gets flattened under this stuff to the point that the struggle of it all ceases to feel real, no monster is a real threat except by just doing something annoying, every boss gets steamrolled and as if representing the shift in genre the survivalist ends up with practically no purpose.

It was fun while it lasted for sure but also super annoying and I spent most of it thinking about my previous party and looking back on it all I can imagine my party as is an endless succession of multi attack skills.

A true dlc side story 6/10 where you go oh that's a nice idea I guess oh that's a funny guy they put in here and then evaporates.