#or one of like five specific traversal things

[slytherinslut0]

MATTHEO RIDDLE- Beg For Me

Chapter Twenty Five-Info: You and Mattheo have been butting heads for months, since you were assigned as his tutor, and one day during a session full of tense bickering, he has enough.

Tags: 18+, Dirty Talk, Threats of Violence, Jealousy, Toxic Behaviours, Possessive Behaviours, Mentions of GunPoint (enchanted gun but still), Italian, Flirty!Theodore!Nott, Angst, Sexual Tension.

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"I don't know about this, Em..."

Giggles danced through the air, originating from your blonde companion, currently immersed in a thorough investigation of your shared closet. Her voice, laced with amusement, murmured something indecipherable, the words muffled by the solidity of the wooden door. A long sigh escaped your lips, a potent release of pure exasperation.

"This is crazy," you muttered to yourself. "Nott is going to need an entire bloody medical team when he catches sight of me..."

The enchanting red dress, a gem sourced from a privy boutique in Hogsmeade under Mattheo's explicit direction, molded itself to every contour as you confronted your reflection in the mirror. As your eyes traversed the fabric's journey, or rather, the lack thereof--there was no escaping the undeniable truth; the dress was exquisitely tight, sparing no nuance of your silhouette to the imagination.

"Doubt he'll even get the chance..." Emily replied, finally reemerging from the closet, "lover boy will likely claim his head the moment he fixes his gaze on you for too long."

Emily's cheeky response added a layer of playful anticipation to the charged atmosphere, earning an exaggerated eye roll from you in response as you fought hard to suppress your smirk.

When you'd embarked on the hunt for the ideal dress, you had brought Emily along for her valuable opinion. As your gaze fell upon this specific piece, uncertainty gripped you, convinced it might be a touch excessive. Yet, Emily staunchly opposed that notion. Her unwavering belief in its perfection became a contagion, subjecting you to prolonged minutes of relentless persuasion. Gradually, her infectious enthusiasm chipped away at your resistance until, inevitably, you succumbed--reluctantly handing over Mattheo's gifted galleons.

"And do I truly wish to burden my conscience with the death of the schools most popular Italian playboy? And not to mention Riddle's certain Azkaban sentence...all but a couple months from graduation?" you deadpanned, fingers instinctively rising to massage your temples in an attempt to alleviate the burgeoning headache. "Maybe I should just borrow something from your-"

"Absolutely not," Emily interjected, her voice cutting through your proposal with firm decisiveness. She approached you, a sparkle in her eyes, and added, "you look perfect. Trust me on this."

Meeting your eyes in the mirror, Emily's irises shimmered with a warm reassurance. She adjusted her flowy emerald green dress, a garment she had acquired at Tom's request--they were going to the masquerade together, though the status of their relationship still remained uncertain.

Emily, ever the advocate of going with the flow, a concept apparently foreign to Tom, said she wasn't in any rush to make things official, understanding that perhaps it would look a tad bit odd for him to start dating her after he'd just paraded you around to all of his friends, merely less than a few weeks go.

And as a result of this, you and Emily had a long, in depth heart-to-heart conversation where you made sure to unravel any lingering issues--the liberating honesty and the comfort of having someone in your corner again felt tangible. Although initially perturbed by the extended secrecy, Emily eventually grasped the rationale behind your discretion, acknowledging the protective measures taken for yourself and your desired career.

The depth of your longstanding friendship played a pivotal role in fostering this understanding, and you'd never been more thankful to have such a wonderful, supportive friend in your life.

"What do you think Michael will do when he spots you wearing traitor colours?" you teased, an impish grin playing on your lips as you watched Emily fix her long blonde hair, adjusting herself in the reflection.

"I reckon he'll be rather unamused," she snorted, a mischievous twinkle in her eyes. "But he'll be in for a real surprise when he sees you cozying up with Theodore Nott, the traitor extraordinaire."

"Cozying up with Theodore?" you retorted with a smirk, feigning innocence. "Absolutely not, I just recently cleared my conscience, I intend on keeping it that way."

"I wouldn't underestimate the Italian playboy; word on the street is he can be quite insistent..." Emily spun back around to face you, a cheeky smile playing on her lips. "My suggestion is that you tell him about Mattheo before he unwittingly finds himself sharing a bed with Berkshire."

Your expression sank, and a twist formed in your stomach. "Oh, gods, Emily, I need to change," you exclaimed, spinning around and making a beeline for the closet. "Surely there's a garbage bag or your grandmas old moo-moo hidden in here that I could wear instead, right?"

Emily's sudden snort echoed through the room, reverberating far louder than you'd expected. With swift precision, she wielded her wand, slamming the closet door shut before you could reach it.

"Come on, it's going to be fun," she teased, a mischievous sparkle in her eyes. "Give those cocky Slytherin boys an experience they've never had before. Making them squirm is a rare opportunity--after all, they're not used to being denied anything."

You hesitated, a reluctant smile crawling across your face at her words as you silently considered the prospect. Mattheo had always made it abundantly clear that girls were typically within arm's reach for him, and he could have anyone he desired. The idea of driving him to the brink tonight, knowing he couldn't do a thing about it after explicitly instructing Theodore to ask you, ignited a rebellious spark within you.

"Alright, but this better not turn into a disaster," you responded, your internal thoughts dancing between uncertainty and a subtle thrill. "If the mafia comes after me because I smacked their most prized possession, I'm blaming you."

"You look fucking hot. Own it," she encouraged, a playful smile dancing on her lips. Turning her attention to the door, a sudden realization struck her. "I've got to run. Promised Michael I'd help him with his bloody tie--but don't forget to check the mail. Something arrived for you earlier."

With a swift goodbye, she whisked away, grabbing her matching emerald green eye mask, leaving you to contemplate the mysterious package. Not one to dawdle, you approached the table by the door, spotting a small brown box with your name inscribed on it.

With eager anticipation, you unwrapped the package, unveiling a stunningly bejeweled red mask. A note accompanied the alluring accessory, bearing the cryptic message:

"Something about me, I fucking hate the colour yellow."

A smirk played on your lips as you extracted the exquisite gift from its velvet cradle. The crimson mask lay in your hands, a stunning creation adorned with gemstones that caught and reflected the light with each subtle movement. Blush flooded your cheeks as you approached the mirror, slipping the mask on. Turning your head in every direction, you marveled at the way it enhanced your features, making you feel like a mysterious enchantress.

The beauty of the mask was beyond words, and even though the logical part of you knew it had to be from Mattheo, the sheer magnificence of the gift made it feel almost surreal.

After what felt like an eternity lost in the mirror, admiring the stunning mask, the realization hit that you needed to meet Theodore. He'd mentioned waiting for you at the entrance to your common room, so as swiftly as possible, you adjusted your dress, attempting to cover up your chest, and gracefully slipped out of your room, navigating the familiar halls with a sense of purpose.

The chilled corridor welcomed you as you emerged, and after a brief moment of searching, there, like an awakening spell, you spotted Theo--and your stomach nearly leapt into your chest at the sight of him.

"Holy shit, Nott...are you...are you actually wearing enemy colors?" Your jaw dropped as you beheld Theodore in a Ravenclaw blue suit, a sight you'd never expected in a million years. "Hold still, I need to take a bloody picture of this."

Theo's arrogant response came with a sly smirk, his dark eyes tracing hungrily over your figure. He stood before you in a pristine suit, accompanied by matching vest, and a crisp white dress shirt underneath. The ensemble was adorned with exquisite gold links and buttons, showcasing his impeccable taste. His confident demeanour suggested that he indeed cleaned up more than nicely, and this was only a slight indication of his professionalism.

"Sure, have your laughs," he quipped, an arrogant smirk playing on his lips. His eyes moved deliberately, scanning the curves of your figure. "Enjoy the view while it lasts, little bird. This suit's debut is a one-time thing—I might just set it ablaze once the night is over."

"Well you certainly know how to make a girl feel special, don't you?..." you teased, grin stretching past your ears as you took another step closer. "How honoured I am to accompany you in this suits first and only outing."

"Your wit is far too sharp for a Ravenclaw," Theo huffed in amusement, his stormy eyes glistening behind his dark blue mask. "You look properly fucking flaming by the way...do pardon my French."

You snorted, gracefully taking his arm as he offered it, intertwining yours around his. "French? I was under the impression you were Italian, Signor Nott."

"You speak it?" Theo raised an intrigued eyebrow, briefly glancing down at you as the two of you strolled towards the ballroom.

"Partially," you replied, a playful glint in your eye, your attention split between the conversation and the challenge of navigating gracefully in your black heels. Each step resonated with a confident clack on the school floors. "I dabble in a multitude of tongues...a side effect of an inquisitive mind."

"Is that so?" he said, pure intrigue in his tone. "Talk to me in Italian then,"

"Are you serious?" You snorted, far louder than you'd intended, waiting for him to say he was joking. He simply looked down at you, eyes locked on yours behind the mysterious mask.

"Absolutely serious," Theo chuckled, the breathy tones dancing in the air, a subtle spark of challenge in his eyes. "A little ball of knowledge, huh? Prove it."

A warm flush crept up your cheeks as you stifled your laughter. Theo had a charm of his own, a natural way of drawing people in much like Mattheo, although the troublemaking wizard had a slightly more breathtaking allure with those dark, intoxicating eyes and that unruly mop of chocolate curls. It wasn't a shortcoming on Theo's part--it was simply the irreplaceable magnetism that Mattheo possessed, but you couldn't deny the way Nott was making you feel.

"Alright, you want me to put my money where my mouth is, I respect that." You teased, clearing your throat as you pondered an Italian phrase that might leave an impression. After a brief moment of contemplation, it dawned on you. "Non c'è rosa senza spine."

(There is no rose without thorns.)

"Buona scelta," he replied with a smirk, his tone holding an air of both appreciation and subtle challenge. "Sei più astuta di quanto pensassi."

(Good choice; you’re more clever than I thought.)

"You underestimate me, Nott," you chuckled, a surge of pride coursing through you. "Consider that your first mistake."

"You know, the more I get to know you, the larger my desire to figure you out becomes,” he said, dropping his tone into a husky whisper as the two of you turned a corner. "You are...intriguing."

It was at this moment, as the two of you entered into the bustling main hall, that you were extremely thankful this event was a masquerade. The mask provided a welcome veil of anonymity, shielding you from the prying gazes that threatened to make you uneasy. It seemed you were blending seamlessly into Theo's arm, a part of the enigmatic allure rather than a subject of scrutiny.

"You couldn't figure me out in a million years," you retorted, a sharp edge to your tone, the corners of your lips subtly playing with a hint of a smirk. "Better men have tried."

Theo, as expected, didn't like that response. "Don't tempt me, little bird...I will make it my life's mission."

You rolled your eyes, chewing on your cheek. "You're far too sure of yourself, Theodore."

"Look at that, Bella...you're already using my first name," he quipped, smirking. "I'm making progress without even trying."

You fought the urge to smack him, your eyes narrowing in a playful challenge. "To know me, Signor Nott, I'll put you through hell...just ask Riddle, he can certainly attest."

"Mm, thats precisely the thing, little bird..." he said, his smirk holding a touch of intrigue. "Riddle's a closed book when it comes to you. Doesn't spill a damn thing, makes me wonder what secrets the two of you are hiding.”

"Quite a conspiracy, I'd say," you chuckled, relishing the light banter between you two as the distant sounds of music and laughter from the ballroom grew louder. With a nod and a playful smile, you gestured toward the entrance. "Shall we?"

Theo nodded, a playful glint in his eyes, as he released your arm and extended a hand to the small of your back, ushering you forward. "After you, milady"

Upon crossing the threshold into the ballroom, a breathtaking scene unfolded before your eyes. The room was adorned with vibrant spring decorations, an enchanting celebration marking the approaching end of the term. The fragrance of fresh flowers wafted through the air, and the soft glow of enchanted lanterns bathed the room in a warm, golden radiance. Hogwarts students from all years, dressed in their finest attire, wore a dazzling array of masks, each one a unique work of art.

As your eyes darted around the room, the search for familiar faces led you to a moment of anticipation. The diversity of masks, ranging from intricate designs to whimsical shapes, made it challenging to discern familiar faces.

Finally, your gaze landed on the only man you'd ever go out of your way to search for, his distinctive chocolate curls drawing your attention like a magnet amidst the sea of masked enchantment. The mere fucking sight of him, cloaked in newfound sophistication, sent a thrilling pulse through your veins, awakening sensations in your body that you were unprepared to face.

He stood there, like a fucking silhouette of elegance, adorned entirely in black--black mask, black suit pants, a sleek black dress shirt, and a finely tailored black suit vest. The only splash of colour adorned him in the form of a satin red tie, perfectly mirroring the shade of your dress. The entirety of your being froze in place, your throat resembling a parched desert, the sole reminder to keep moving coming from the steady pressure of Theo's hand on your back, coaxing you forward through the enchanting crowd.

As the two of you veered closer to them, the tension in your body was almost painful. Truth be told, it wasn't the singular presence of Mattheo that set your heart racing like a high-performance sports car on race day--oh, no, the true accelerant was his fucking date. The very girl from the washroom, the one you had directed him to accompany, and the vibrant colour of her long, flowing dress:

Yellow.

"Riddle, Malfoy," Theo uttered, initiating a firm handshake with each of his Slytherin comrades as they exchanged greetings. "Parkinson, Lanalock."

"Nott," Parkinson remarked, a smile gracing her features. "Never expected to see you in blue. You could easily pass for a Ravenclaw, you know."

Theo's response carried a touch of cunning arrogance, sneaking you a glance. "A choice made with utmost consideration, you might say."

In the midst of the social dance, your gaze and Mattheo's remained locked, an unbroken connection that felt more like a silent conversation than a mere exchange of glances. The unspoken tension between you two hung thick, and in that charged moment, it was uncertain if either of you had even blinked. Your heart pounded not only in your throat but also seemingly echoed in another, more intimate part of you as well.

Mattheo had never looked more fucking captivating, and the longing for him intensified by the millions--that merciless irresistible force effortlessly working to pull you closer.

Just as the tension threatened to become all-encompassing, Professor Dumbledore's voice reverberated over the lively chatter, his warm tone weaving through the air.

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the enchanting Spring Masquerade. I hope the magic of the night unfolds to your desires. Now, if you would kindly make your way to the dance floor, we are about to commence the first slow dance of the evening. So, let the celebration begin."

The resonance of Dumbledore's voice snapped you from Mattheo's visual captivity, prompting a few deliberate blinks and an expelled breath laden with tension. Theo, with a gentle glance, took your hand, guiding the group to choose spots on the dance floor directly adjacent to one another. It required every fiber of your being not to steal a glance at Mattheo, aware that the mere sight of him holding another girl would induce a wave of nausea within you.

Your attention became an exclusive affair with Theo. As he placed his hands on your hips, his grip was tender, a sensation entirely distinct from anything you'd experienced with Mattheo. A sharp intake of breath accompanied the elevation of your arms, led your palms to find a gentle perch on Theo's shoulders. In the depths of his stormy blue eyes, you unintentionally delved, oblivious to the intensity of the eye contact you established--you were so lost in your own thoughts that a bomb could go off in this very room, and you were certain you wouldn't even flinch.

Then, Theo's voice broke the silence. "Little bird, are you alright?"

"Oh, yes," you blinked, your voice escaping your throat in a cracked whisper, as though each word were a struggle for breath. "And you?"

"More than," he quipped, a teasing smirk playing on his lips.

Your watchful eyes tracked the journey of his gaze, starting from your eyes, sliding leisurely to your lips, lingering provocatively before venturing lower, dipping over your chest with a seductive grace before sinuously slithering back up. The subtle intimacy of the visual exploration ignited a warmth within you, and you glimpsed his lips, recalling Emily's advice from your dorm. Make these men squirm.

"Glad to hear it," you mused, a playful edge to your tone, your fingers tightening their grip on his shoulders as he delicately drew you closer. "Wouldn't want the Italian playboy to be anything other than alright."

His grip tightened perceptibly, the sensation almost tangible as if his nails could breach the delicate fabric of your dress. The room plunged into a soft dimness, signaling the beginning of the slow dance. The shift in atmosphere was unexpected, enough to make you jump slightly. For a fleeting moment, you locked eyes with Mattheo, finding his gaze fixed on you, his hands scarcely making contact with his date.

Hastily looking away, Theo's voice reached your ear, dangerously close, "Italian playboy, hmm? Is that what they're calling me these days?"

"Don't act like you weren't already aware," you chuckled softly, the resonance carrying a hint of mischief. "Though, I must say, the rumors might be onto something."

Theo smirked, his voice a low murmur tinged with arrogance. "Well, uccellino, despite the rumors, I assure you I am a proper gentleman..."

A sharp intake of breath caught in your throat as his nails dug deeper into the fabric of your dress, compelling you closer as the two of you gracefully swayed to the music.

"How gentle you are, indeed," you mumbled, chewing your lip as you met his gaze, the two of you dangerously close together.

Theo's gaze deepened, his lean frame bending down as his lips brushed against your ear. "I may be a gentleman, Bella," he murmured, the words a seductive whisper. "...but if you keep looking at me like that--with those big eyes, biting on your goddamn lip...we might just be fucking on the nearest surface I find."

Oh, no. This was bad. Your response stammered out before you could even think to stop it, panic flickering in your eyes.

"I-I, excuse me," you stuttered, hastily breaking away from the dance just as the song was nearing its end. The abrupt departure carried a mix of flustered embarrassment and a desperate need to collect yourself.

Seeking refuge, you maneuvered toward the drink table nestled in the far corner of the room. The dim light and distant chatter provided a momentary escape as you began to slam back drinks, attempting to drown the intensity of the encounter with Theo.

As the remnants of a calm facade settled within, a subtle shift in the atmosphere stirred your senses. A tingling awareness compelled you to glance over your shoulder, only to find yourself ensnared in the dark, intoxicating depths of Mattheo's eyes. A strange yet undeniable wave of relief washed over you, despite the fact that he stood looming directly behind, adopting the guise of casualness while pretending to grab a drink.

"Mattheo," you breathed his name, the syllables escaping your lips like a breathless sin, a recognition of the forbidden allure that surrounded him. "What are you doing?"

Mattheo's breath, a tantalizing whisper, brushed against the nape of your neck, setting your nerves ablaze. "I can't stand the way he's touching you, Raven...I can't even stand the way he's fucking looking at you..."

Your lungs seemed to stall. "This was your idea, Matty..."

"I'm well aware," he hissed, the energy radiating from him palpable in the charged air. "Fuck, you look so fucking sexy...you are so goddamn beautiful, you know that?"

"I'm not sure I do..." your heart melted, a subtle heat pulsating through your thighs. "I think I need you to tell me again."

"You are so, so fucking beautiful..." he muttered, his voice a deep husk, strained with lust as it left his throat. "You are the most captivating girl in this entire fucking room...I can't stop staring at you...I can't stop needing you..." you gasped as his hand grazed over your ass, subtly, but a feeling you'd never miss. "What do you think you're fucking doing to me, hm?"

You nibbled on your bottom lip, the flush of blood coloring your face. "At this moment...nowhere bloody close to enough."

Mattheo's voice, saturated with desire, responded, "You're absolutely right, princess...and I can't wait to have you all to myself, as soon as this dumb fucking dance is over."

A soft hum escaped you as your lids fluttered, reveling in the warmth of Mattheo's body behind you. "Unless Nott gets to me first..."

As though a switch had been flipped, Mattheo's hand seized your wrist with a subtle yet undeniable warning, a silent caution against uttering anything remotely similar again.

"Don't even joke about that, Raven," he growled, the intensity in his voice cutting through the air. "I swear to Salazar himself, what I did to Berkshire will pale in comparison to what I'll do to Nott."

"So jealous, Matty..." you purred, smirking as he slowly released your wrist. You couldn't deny that his possessive tendencies did something to you, however fucking insane they were. "So angry..."

"You like that, don't you?...dirty little slut..." you could practically hear the smirk on his perfect fucking lips, your entire body vibrating with need. "Keep tempting me, princess...I'll bend you over this table, fuck you in front of the whole fucking school...I'll point my gun at Notts fucking head and make him watch, on his knees in front of you as I fuck you stupid...how does that sound for jealous, hm?"

Breath eluded you, the sheer intensity threatening your consciousness. "Godric, help you..."

"Sorry, Raven, but the only help from above that I believe in is a sniper on a rooftop..." Mattheo's voice, a deep, honeyed drawl, slipped from his lips. "And just so you're aware, I know eighty different ways to kill a man--and I can make an easy seventy nine of them look like a bloody accident...understand?"

"Fuck..." your mind struggled to form coherent thoughts. It had been days since his last touch, and the way he spoke now made you crave him more than the very air you breathed. "I don't think I do...I think I need you to tell me again..."

"I've never been a jealous man, Raven..." Mattheo's gaze swept the surroundings, ensuring no lingering gazes were watching. Satisfied, he shifted slightly, his lips now at your other ear. "I've never envied someone for what they have or who they're with, and yet, I'm damn jealous of every asshole you smile at, everyone you openly converse with...I've never fucking wanted something that I couldn't have, a girl I couldn't get...so this, all of this...is fucking maddening."

Your lungs seemed to stall, a momentary freeze as if he'd submerged you into the heart of a raging inferno. A surge of warmth flooded through every fiber of your being, an intoxicating heat.

"I need you," your voice murmured, the words dripping with a desperate longing. "I need you in every fucking way imaginable..."

"Mm," Mattheo hummed, the warmth of his touch tracing the curve of your hip. "Such a delightfully dirty mouth for a princess..."

Feigning innocence, you lifted your gaze to meet his, a coy smile gracing your lips. "Perhaps...but even princesses have their secret pleasures, don't they, Matty?"

For a moment--a fleeting, beautiful fucking moment--your eyes locked, and it was in that secret realm, where slight smirks played on each of your lips, and the tension was fucking so thick that you could hardly breathe--where you both knew you've found what the whole fucking world was still carelessly searching for.

And it was there, that you knew--no man, no job, no fucking career could ever make you feel as happy and needed and treasured as Mattheo Riddle did. In his own, crazy, fucked up way.

Mattheo blinked. "Meet me in the washroom in forty minutes.”

—————————

Chapter 26->

[overdressedcarp]

One thing I think about sometimes is that there's a dialogue chain in one of Ratio's text messages where he sends us the blueprints for what he explicitly describes as "an anti-planetary weapon design that [he] once devised," which apparently comes with the potential to turn into a full-on gundam???? He says that the necessary materials haven't been developed yet, but that the Guild is working on it and should have results within the next five Amber Eras.

For those who've read his third character story, the phrasing of "anti-planetary weapon" should register as both familiar and odd, especially considering how blasé he is in describing it to the Trailblazer.

My read on the character story is that the creation of the anti-planetary weapon was (whether consciously or not) a compromise to his principles in pursuit of Nous's gaze, and that the IPC's interest in said weapon was his reality check that he didn't want to become the sort of person who pursued knowledge without regard for human life. Even if you don't take that reading, Ratio is more than smart enough to recognize that the IPC can and has used threats like the Antimatter Legion and the Swarm as excuses to develop and unleash weapons with galaxy-scale collateral damage. (See: the Imaginary pulse weapon in this side quest on Penacony.)

When we ask for a weapon for the Express, Ratio tells us that high-caliber armaments are a necessity for traversing the cosmos, which isn't exactly wrong in light of how we deal with Sunday in Penacony, but turning the train into a battering ram is a far cry from turning it into something that could destroy a planet. The fact that the projected timeline is on a scale of Amber Eras suggests to me that he's being at least somewhat facetious about the idea of a collaboration, especially since the whole reason we're having the conversation is that he wanted us to lob thought experiments at him to distract him from work stress. But he does send us a blueprint file, and the terminology of an "anti-planetary weapon" (specifically one he designed in the past, rather than at our request) feels way too specific to be a coincidence.

I have a pet theory that the gundam design is a form of malicious compliance toward the IPC, and the reason the Guild can't even figure out the materials is because he deliberately handed them a nightmare monstrosity of a blueprint and then refused to elaborate.

(The bill of materials casually demands components that break the laws of physics. There are whole pages of math so complicated no one can parse enough of it to conclusively prove that it's bullshit and not just the revolutionary innovations of a man five Amber Eras ahead of his time. The research team sends a terrified intern to ask if the orbital laser cannon really needs to turn into a humanoid assault mech. He shakes his head and tells them that if they truly understood his work then they wouldn't ask such pointless questions.)

[amerricanartwork]

What's up with 12th Council Pillar, the House of Braids?

Just wanted to share something interesting I noticed in Metropolis while looking at the room names on the interactive map! I doubt I'm not the first person to discover or take interest in this, but nonetheless now that I'm into the worldbuilding for this game, both canon and headcanon, I hope to at least encourage a discussion about what the rooms I found could possibly be for!

*Oh and by the way, spoilers for Artificer campaign, just in case.

Alright, so I was originally looking for how to get to a specific room for an Artificer expedition, but decided to browse around on the map just to refresh my memory on the region overall. Right off the bat I think it's interesting how this region's rooms are denoted mostly with lexical names rather than the more common "Capital letter + 2-digit number" formula. But scrolling to the right is where my interest really got piqued when I saw this name for the room right before that long corridor on the way to the 12th Council Pillar, the House of Braids, labeled "LC_templegate":

And the next room after that, "LC_templeentrance" confirmed my realization that this was a temple of sorts:

Now don't get me wrong, Rain World has always had a fair amount of religious associations, and even just the name "12th Council Pillar, the House of Braids" gave me the impression from the first time traversing it that it was once some high-esteemed, holy location of sorts. But I guess that never really sank in and captured my greater interest until now.

Part of that's because earlier I was focused more on just completing the campaigns from a basic playthrough perspective, not yet as big on uncovering every little lore detail, and another reason I didn't really take it in was that, at the time of my first Artificer playthrough, I wasn't as big on headcanon worldbuilding and trying to uncover/imagine Ancient culture and society outside of very general ideas. But now I think about it, another major part of this lack of realization was because of how the main rooms of this subregion that stuck out in my mind were the low-gravity iterator-esque zones. Many of which are explicitly labeled with "LAB", like this one, and they even have the same neurons, inspectors, and/or those gravity-distorting spheres:

I mean, that cube at the bottom even very strongly resembles an iterator puppet chamber!

But then the questions become: what are these rooms for, why are they so similar to the interior of the iterator they sit atop, and why put them in what seems like it was supposed to be a temple? And by extent, is this something unique to Five Pebbles, or do other iterators have similar temple-labs somewhere in their cities?

I guess the reason these parts stuck out to me more than the actual temple association was because 1.) we don't see this low-gravity mechanic and these features anywhere else in the game besides inside the iterators, so it already gets points for uniqueness, and 2.) they're such a great contrast to everything else within Metropolis; even the "temple" rooms still look very similar to the rest of the region in their general aesthetic.

Seriously, what's up with all this "lab" stuff? It's not that I haven't seen these things before at this point, but why are they here, in a temple, of all places?

However, I do really like this idea so far, as I believe it speaks to a theme of Rain World I really enjoy: the seamless blend of science and spirituality. I enjoy seeing fictional worlds where "magical" things are not only objectively real, but have a scientific in-universe explanation, and/or are employed to create magical technology, yet in a way where these two ideas can exist in harmony rather than seeming like opposites. And the Ancients seem to have been very big on that, not only having a very strong cultural sense of spirituality but also being very technologically advanced, and incorporating those spiritual ideas and even elements of the world into their tech (ex: mass rarefaction tech derived from Void Fluid, an objectively real and "magical" substance with direct connections to their religious beliefs).

I have yet to come up with an explanation for what these iterator-esque lab rooms are (and on that note why they so strongly resemble iterator interiors, to the point they even contain their neurons and inspectors, which are supposed to directly aid in their functions). But as of now, just going mostly of basic gut instincts, my current theories are: A.) they exist in the temple so that whatever scientific endeavors carried out within were blessed with a sense of "holiness" in a similar manner to the holy ash Pebbles talks about, and B.) whatever tasks they were used for was one entrusted to the clergy class of this city, probably because the tasks were seen as something very important and connected to the Ancients' spiritual beliefs.

However, as I said I'm hoping to invite discussion with this post. Figuring out the Ancients' design philosophies and intentions for their creations has been a passion of mine when it comes to my headcanons, so I really do want to see if I can find a more concrete, or at least reasonable answer as to what the overall purpose of the 12th Council Pillar, the House of Braids was. Therefore if anyone has any extra details or theories as to what it was, I'd love to hear them!

And if you made it to the end, thanks for listening to my little spur-of-the-moment ramble!

[flurry-of-beaus-pop-pop]

I enjoy a good debate. Picking apart your points one by one:

-Rio is not part of the coven. Rio, as stated by Agatha in episode four is a tourist. She has no stakes in the game besides wanting to collect the bodies that will inevitably fall.

-Jac Schaeffer confirmed Billy is the black heart, not Rio.

-Since Billy is part of the coven, the last trial is his. The show has been riddled with red herrings left and right.

-Now let’s get into the Rio and agatha of it all. Rio came to Westview with an intention of getting revenge on Agatha; hence why she told the Salem Seven where Agatha was. They did make a truce, not sure if you were paying attention or not but feel free to go back and watch, Agatha insists Rio would prefer for her to be more formidable, and Rio agrees to wait, and then says the Salem Seven will be coming after her.

Rio is not part of the coven. Rio, as stated by Agatha in episode four is a tourist. She has no stakes in the game besides wanting to collect the bodies that will inevitably fall.

Just because Agatha said that Rio was there as a tourist doesn't mean that Rio is actually there as a tourist. Agatha has been purposefully vague and dismissive of Rio's presence because she's trying to protect herself. Because she needs to keep distance between them, or she will have to face things that she does not want to face.

Rio 100% has a reason for being here and 100% has a stake in the game, we just don't know what it is yet. Whether it's a confrontation with Agatha, whether it's reclaiming William Kaplan's body, or some entirely different reason, she's not here for no reason. And yes, collecting bodies is part of her reason for being there, as Death, but she's also there as the Green Witch, which means that just like all of the others on the road, she too has a goal for the end of the road, she too has to face something just like everyone else.

It has been stated numerous times that a green witch is needed in order to successfully traverse the road, to successfully read the prize. It was the entire reason that Rio was summoned in the first place, because while yes, Rio is death, Rio is also a Green Witch. The trials that are present on the road represent the elements... spirit, water, fire, air, and earth. Rio represents Earth. Billy is not a green witch. Billy is the familiar, which is why his flashback episode was titled "familiar by thy side".

Jac Schaeffer confirmed Billy is the black heart, not Rio.

For sure, but it's also not the first time that someone has been purposefully misleading and/or has not provided all of the information.

Besides that, it's very clearly stated multiple times that a Green Witch is necessary to open the road. So either Rio is represented by some other aspect of that list, that the list represents a specific point in time and is fluid, or that someone doesn't have to be on that list to be important to the final goal of this road.

Since Billy is part of the coven, the last trial is his. The show has been riddled with red herrings left and right.

See point above.

Billy is part of the coven as a familiar. Not every member of the coven has to have a trial, but every coven needs a witch to represent the five elements... spirit (Agatha), air (Lilia), Fire (Alice), Water (Jen), Earth (Rio).

Again, Billy is not a Green Witch.

Now let’s get into the Rio and agatha of it all. Rio came to Westview with an intention of getting revenge on Agatha; hence why she told the Salem Seven where Agatha was. They did make a truce, not sure if you were paying attention or not but feel free to go back and watch, Agatha insists Rio would prefer for her to be more formidable, and Rio agrees to wait, and then says the Salem Seven will be coming after her.

You mentioned above "red herrings" and this is one of them, in my opinion.

Rio did not tell the Salem Seven where Agatha was, nor did she come to Westview with the intention of revenge. Was she angry? Of course. Was she hurt? Of course. But her telling Agatha that she wanted her dead, that she sent the Salem Seven, was because she wanted Agatha to listen. She knew that Agatha was in danger, and above all else, no matter what happens with them, Rio is going to protect Agatha. But because of the anger between them, she knew if she showed up and was simply like "I learned the Salem Seven are coming after you and you're in danger and I'm here to help", Agatha wouldn't listen.

As Kathryn Hahn said, this sort of thing, this fighting, is their foreplay. It's not new, it's nothing something unfamiliar, and Agatha knew exactly how to get to Rio.

Listen, I am down for a conversation/debate as much as the next person, but suspect that there is some ulterior motive to your presence in my inbox, and that you're most likely the anonymous individual that has been in my inbox the past few days.

Genuinely, I have no idea what I did to piss you off or annoy you or whatever it is that seems to have motivated you to constantly come into my inbox and tear me down and try to take the excitement out of my enjoyment for this show, but moving forward, I'm just going to ignore anything that is sent from you.

Please just let me have my theories. If you disagree, perfectly fine, but I am no longer interested in having a conversation with you specifically because you seem to have some other motivation for these anonymous messages that just seem mean.

If I'm wrong about these things, then I'm wrong about these things. But I have something that I genuinely enjoy for the first time in forever, and your presence is genuinely ruining that. Maybe that's not your intention, but that's how it's coming across, so I'm asking you respectfully, to just stop.

[mint-yooxgi]

Until Your Lungs Give Out - Prologue

Yandere AU & Dystopian AU

Genre: Mature, Horror, Angst, Fluff, Slight Humour, Sci-fi, Dystopian

Pairing: Ateez X Reader

Words: 1,331

Warnings: Minor violence mentioned. This is a Yandere story, it will contain themes such as stalking, violence, obsession, possessive natures, and just general overall creepiness and swearing. You have been warned.

A/n: I blame @anyamaris for feeding my ideas, and thus helping me create this. I plan for it to be almost a mix between Resident Evil dystopia (movies, specifically the third) and My Chemical Romance Danger Day's dystopia world. With robots! I really hope you all enjoy this little teaser hehehe As always, feedback is greatly appreciated! Enjoy~

Also, gentle reminder that I don’t do tag lists.

Mini Masterlist

The crackle of static sounds through your headpiece. The low hum of electricity surrounds you, what’s left of the city’s lights flickering above you as you race down the deserted streets. The heart of the city is a dangerous place, no matter how abandoned it might be. You’ll risk it any day of the week. 

You have to. There’s no other choice.

Long since has the world gone to shit. 

No, no major disease wiped out the planet. No virus that caused people to become the living dead, either. Humans are very much still alive, though their numbers dwindle every day, replaced by the Bots of Life, guaranteeing that people can never truly die. 

These androids are so lifelike, that you cannot easily tell the difference between them and humans unless you are looking for them. Emotions, memories, habits - they are all the same. 

Life Bots, another term for these machines, require a human host. Millions of underground facilities have been made to house the Sacrifices - unlawfully named, in your opinion - for the Bots of Life to thrive. All that’s needed is a specialized pod and a mind link, and humans never have to age again. They can live vicariously through their android counterparts, forever.

Great sale’s pitch! If humans actually got a choice in the matter… 

What’s left of humanity fight to survive, living in hidden suburbs and scraping to get by every day. Every Life Bot is programmed to deliver humans to their intended Sacrificial Pod, destroying what’s left of the living world.

No more hunger. No more strife, chaos, or pain. Only order, and peace.

All things which are easier said than done.

An interesting side effect early Life Bot integrators noticed was how suddenly, members of their family which had undergone the Sacrifice seemed to lose all previous autonomy. The Creator made sure to emphasize his ideals into the Bots of Life, nearly forcing every human associated with one to make the change. He wanted total control over every living human, holding their lives in the palms of his hand for his own gains.

Naturally, the humans rebelled.

War broke out, and now all that remains of the earth above sea level are wastelands. Deserts span more areas than they used to, cracked, dry earth giving way to dead zones not even the Life Bots dare to traverse.

Still, there are those unlucky enough to be forced to live above ground without any protection, unable to have afforded to buy their way into the luxurious underwater cities or air fortresses that had been massed produced for the majority of the upper class and wealthy in society. Those left behind are stranded, lest they be forced to become a Life Bot of their own.

That’s where you come in.

You are one of the last few survivors in this division who still remains on earth, fighting for the human’s survival. Looking out for the stranded is what you do best, and you’ve made taking down Life Bots look like it’s child’s play. Which is exactly why you’re racing to answer the distress call you’ve just received not even a mere five minutes ago. There seems to be one human in particular that keeps sticking his nose into trouble looking for spare parts and supplies. It’s starting to get on your nerves, for he also seems insistent to flirt with you every chance he gets.

Only this time, he’s not alone.

When you originally latched onto the signal, you heard at least three distinct voices calling for help. The noises in the background indicated a fight, so there had to at least have been two more people with them, holding off the Life Bots at the time. You just hope you make it before someone gets hurt. Or worse.

Revving the engine to your motorcycle, you pick up your speed. The distress call came from just around the corner two more blocks up, and from the littered corpses of Life Bots you can see lining the street, you know a fight has just taken place here not that long ago.

Rounding the corner, you skid to a halt.

The screeching of your tires on the asphalt draws the attention of the small group of about eight males that seems to be surrounded on all sides by a small hoard of twenty Life Bots. A few hold makeshift weapons, like broken pipes and a rusted crowbar, while two hold Laftas, specialized stun guns made for subduing the Bots of Life. One practically cowers on the ground amidst the circle of survivors, covering their ears and shaking uncontrollably as his friends surround him as best they can.

The moment you hop off of your bike, you notice a familiar male’s eyes light up, hope dancing on his features. A smile begins to stretch across his features.

A click of your helmet, and it retracts from your face, practically disappearing from sight.

“I told you she would come!” Wooyoung, your resident damsel in distress, and certified pain in your ass, cheers.

“Yeah, yeah,” the tall one with what appears to be a sniper riffle strapped to his back, rolls his eyes. “If we manage to get out of this alive, remind me to give you one of my chocolate bars from my hidden stash.”

The way Wooyoung’s eyes light up even further says it all.

“Can’t go one day without getting yourself into trouble, huh, Gopher?” There’s an almost teasing lilt to your voice despite the disappointed sigh you heave as you spring into action.

Drawing your katana from your back, you unholster your Lafta.

“Guilty.” He chuckles, shrugging lightly.

You get to work, slicing through the Bots of Life as if they were made of silk rather than metal. With your opposite hand, you manage to shoot every target you set your eyes upon, cleaning up this mess in no time. Once finished, you make a show of twirling your sword a few times before sheathing it, shoving your gun back into its holster with a firm thwack.

“There,” you send a firm nod in their direction. “Get yourselves someplace safe before more of them return. I don’t like making multiple pitstops for the same people in the same night.”

You turn around, moving back over towards your bike before a voice calling out to you from behind halts you in your tracks.

“Wait!” 

You spare the unfamiliar male a glance over your shoulder. He seems to have somewhat shaggy black hair, a black and red leather jacket covering his torso. A red birthmark rests beside his left eye.

“How can we ever repay you?”

You offer him a tight smile in return, noticing how more than just Wooyoung seems to be staring at you with wide eyes filled with awe.

“Keep yourselves out of trouble, and you won’t have to.”

The one crouched on the ground finally stands back to his feet. He rests a trembling hand on the shoulder of the male closest to him, who is also wearing a black and red leather jacket, but in a slightly different style.

“Really,” his voice comes out shaky, staring at you through thinly wired glasses. A tattered beige cardigan rests over his shoulders, a stark head of bright blue hair falling over his forehead and almost covering his eyes. “We should be able to do something.”

You huff slightly to yourself in amusement, finally crossing the last few steps to your motorcycle.

“Don’t worry about it.”

With a smooth movement, your leg is tossed over the seat, the engine revving to life. A click to your ear, and your helmet has rematerialized.

A final nod is sent their way before you’re racing back down the street, on the hunt for any more distress calls that might come your way for the night.

That is the last they see of you for two weeks, until your entire worlds come crashing down.

[howtofightwrite]

I have read your post about how size doesn't really matter if the two fighters are equally trained, but I wanted to ask if the same holds true in an armed fight? Like sword fights and the like? Sorry if this has been asked before, or if it is not your specific area of expertise. Thank you!!!!

I'm pretty sure we've covered this before but I'll go again.

The way you've phrased it is a little vague, and the answers are different.

If you're asking about to fighters with roughly equivalent gear, then, no, their size and weight won't matter that much. If you have a thirty-six inch razor blade, and your opponent has a thirty-six inch razor blade, it doesn't really matter if you're an inch taller. Hell, at that point, it really doesn't even matter much if you're a foot taller, yes that means your effective reach is going to be a little longer (about 6.2 inches in this case.) But, the difference between being able to take a swipe at someone standing seventy-eight inches away from you, versus being limited to a mere seventy-two inches, isn't a huge deal. Now, that extra six inches of reach isn't nothing (and, realistically, those numbers will be a little lower overall (I'm halving average arm/span, and assuming they're six and seven feet tall, which does result in one abnormally high number. When you start looking at more nominal height ranges, like 5'7 vs 5'11, the actual difference in reach will drop around an inch. Bluntly, that doesn't matter.)

Now, if you're asking about their weapons, this is an entirely different situation. A specific case we had in the past was someone who wanted their dual wielding dagger user to go toe to toe with someone armed with a greatsword. In the real world, greatswords tend to have, at least, a sixty inch blade, while most knives are going to be under a foot long. In a situation like this, the greatsword creates a five foot kill zone around its user that the dagger wielder cannot traverse. As a result, they cannot attack the greatsword user without some serious creativity, or the element of surprise.

This is true for all weapons. They all have both a maximum and minimum effective range, and while the wielder can often do things to keep the weapon, at least, partially functional at very close ranges (such as pommel strikes, or half-handing), the effective range of a weapon is extremely important to understand. Also, and I hope this was clear already, but this applies to melee weapons. It's pretty common to think about ranged weapons having a max effective range, but this is just as true of a sword or spear. Similarly, as I mentioned, they have a minimum effective range as well. A lone spear user can keep themselves safe from a dagger wielder if they can keep the knives out of reach, but if the dagger fighter manages to get past their spearhead, that weapon is going to be far less effective (though, it won't become completely useless. It is still a staff, with pointy bits.) (Also, minimum effective range does apply with ranged weapons as well. Again, not something we think about often, but it is true, and why things like the eight foot rule exists for handguns.)

It's a little out of scope here, but the weight of your weapon is also extremely important. The heavier a weapon is, the faster it will tire out its wielder. And, to slightly oversimplify, an exhausted fighter is a dead fighter. This is why swords are remarkably light, frequently weighing less than two pounds, with the upper end of the spectrum (the greatswords like the Claymore or Zweihander) still weighing than a well fed, adult, housecat. Heavy weapons can easily become a death sentence to their user. And you do not need a lot of weight to get the job done. An eight pound hammer is both shockingly heavy (as weapons go), but it will do unspeakable things to anyone it solidly connects with.

In a competitive sense, if your weapon is heavier that will turn into a disadvantage over time. It's difficult to exploit in a one on one fight, but on an afternoon battlefield, where the fighting has been going since dawn, that will have had a chance to wear down the wielders.

So, yes and no, it depends if you're asking about the fighters, where it doesn't matter, or the weapons, where it becomes extremely important.

-Starke

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[lalazeewrites]

What are your personal favorite Gallavich fics?

OKAY, BUCKLE IN!

I actually answer this fic and Tumblr like glitched and deleted it and I was crushed about it, but now I'm back. Ready to tackle this again!

First off, I have 90 Gallavich fics bookmarked. So let's start with the fact that I have a lot of fics that I LOVE and I'm going to link you right here to my Gallavich Bookmarks, should you want to look. I didn't add to my list any purely smutty fics and I have A LOT of amazing ones Bookmarked.

That being said, here are my personal standouts. I'm NOT putting these in order of how much I like them, because I would simply die on the spot under that kind of pressure.

BELOW THE READ MORE: 25 FIC RECS & SHORT RAVE REVIEWS

Life, or Something by @palepinkgoat

This fic encapsulates a lot of things that I crave in a fic that is designed specifically for my tastes. Personal journeys that begin rocky and work toward healing. Dark themes that are treated in a very matter-of-fact way instead of rolling in angst. The growth of mental health. You'll probably see those themes a lot in the fics I love. I also have a fascination with all things death, as someone who has almost died many times and who struggles with a chronic illness. This fic is so. . .beautiful? Articulate. FEELING. I love everything about it.

Belladonna by devovitsuasartes

Oh, THIS. Oof. Okay, this is fantasy HOW I WANT IT. So intricate, so unique, so embedded into the world-building that isn't word-dumped on us with exposition, but SHOWN to us. Witches and forced familiars, complicated family dynamics, rough pasts, coming full circle between the beginning and the end. Emotional journeys, coming back from tough experiences, PINING. This is the fantasy for ME.

Is There Somewhere by andchaos

Soulmates! Soulmarks! Mute Ian who is really fucking funny and sweet and Mickey who doesn't think he has a soulmate because he has no 'first words said to me' mark. I love the dance, I love their rapport, I love how warm this fic is. I've read it several times for comfort.

You Can Bite Me by @goodkwuestion

It's easy as breathing to love all of this author's fics, but this is the one for me, and it has nothing to do with the fantasy vampire aspect. This is one of the only fics that has made me cry. I don't cry from fics, almost ever. The write in this goes from hilarious, witty, clever, and sharp, and then swoops you into appreciating the beauty and sanctity of life, traversing the journey of loss and grief, embracing the passage of time, welcoming love into your life, and simply embracing what it means to be human. This fic touched me in ways I'll never be able to express without a five page essay.

Etherized Against The Sky by Snarfle

A canon-divergent story from 1x09 onward. I couldn't put this into words if I tried, because it is EVERYTHING. Everything that I could ever want in a canon compliant type of fic. Holy shit, does this make me ache. It explores so many facets of their growth, mental health, self-acceptance, found family, rebuilding blood family, and learning how to live in the world of Shameless, but this time, thriving. A complete work of art.

You make me feel human by Dragona

Listen. LISTENNN. Are you listening? Anything that is considered a 'dark' AU is going to be my jam. Anything that dips its toe or severed foot into Hannibal or Murder Husbands type worlds are not just up my alley, but they're leading right up to my fucking house and knocking on the door. This is it, folks! This is the one! No one did it like this fic did it! PLUS: A happy ending? Bitch, I'm on the ground.

My Nine Lovers by @annatrow

While we're talking kiss kiss bang bang gun boyfriends, let's just slap this fic right down here, because holy fuck, I have read it at least three times. The pining? The smut? The secrets? SEXY MURDER BOYFRIENDS TURNED HUSBANDS??? Yeah, honey, I'm here in the front row with my little #1 fingie! My Bookmark comment says "This was so fucking clever and reverent and heartening and joyful."

The Mask of Insanity by @annatrow

Yeah yeah, I am trying to pick only one per author, but I simply cannot with this one. It's so fucking gritty and smart and sharp and emotional. Full of depth, character growth, strange life coincidences, bad boys and good guys and where they fall in between together. I'm big on fics that make you fall down, get scraped up real good, then pick you up by the armpits and say, bitch, we're got more to go!

Conflict of Interest by @thisdivorce

Everyone and their mom knew this was coming. It has everything I crave in a fic. Exceptional characterization. Deeply flawed, real humans living through real life events. The struggles of being queer and unsupported, specifically within the trans community. Journeys through mental health and the pitfalls of navigating the world when you don't see it as clearly as others might. Tearing and screaming out of the confines you've built around yourself, even if they're comfortable and safe, but knowing it's no longer right for you. This fic as everything and more and I've read it three times now because it fills my heart.

(And since this author is possibly probably my fav ever in this fandom, check out WIPs Reckoner and Change Like Shifting Shadows because their writing speaks to my pain and love on a bone deep level.)

Burden of Proof by DodgerBear

Okay, I really fucking like crime fics. Whether on the good side, bad side, or grey side, I love crime fics. This one is soooooo good, and I LIVE for the pining, the draw between them, the SPICE. Please! This is so fucking well done! Whip smart and sexy!

(and shout out to WIP by the same author, Quatervois, for which I will wait an eternity to update, I don't care, go read it NOW.)

Wild West Ian and Mickey by 09cityskylights

Always always always, I will be invested in Western AUs. Any fandom, anywhere, any time. I love for Westerns and this author does it so perfectly. I fucking adore this journey and I can't recommend it enough.

Can't Figure You Out by Crimson_Bebop

If I'm going to pick one office AU from the lot (and there's so many good ones, check out this post for more), it's gonna be this. It's nerve-wrecking, hot as hell, an emotional rollercoaster. You're rooting for both of them so badly, but they both require different but equally important things in their lives, and finding that middle ground is MESSY.

Dancing After Death by @squidyyy23

Oh man. Oh shit. I don't know where or hot to start, because this combines two of my fav things, Sons of Anarchy with Shameless. It combines them, yes, but more important, this is completely it's own beast with an incredibly detailed timeline of events. It's hot as all HELL, it's gritty, it's real, it's loving and tender and difficult and highly charged with emotion and struggle. LIVING FOR IT. I have read this three times.

Teenagers Scare The Living Shit Out Of Me by Mellow_Yellow

Oh hey, we're back at the Lala Loves Murder & Crime Show, and yeah, this one is FULL of it. It's so fucked up. It's so well written. The character growth is fucking A+, the murder reveal is exceptional, the mystery is FRAUGHT WITH DANGER. Guys! It's so fucking GOOD!

Teenage Dirtbag by @celestialmickey

Hah. . .I have read this three times. I'll never have read it enough times. Ian is 17 in 1999 here and I was 12 at the time, so everything this fic speaks to speaks of my entire adolescence and I just. Deeply cherish every moment. I savor every chapter of slow build. I revel in their victories. I sing along to all of their songs that I already know by heart, I wiggle in my seat to the Spotify soundtrack, I live for the vingettes of their happy ending. This fic is so magicl and wias written with such love and care.

you'll never see us again by @spoonfulstar

Okay okay okay, listen to me. Yes, we ALL love Intro to Quantum Dating by this author. I fucking adore it. I open it up at random chapters just to read and make myself smile. But THIS FIC??? THIS ONE??? You have got to be kidding me. I cried. I fucking yearned. I hurt, I hurt so bad down to my toes, and I smiled when things went right, and I teared up when it didn't, and I hoped and prayed for a happy ending, and yes I got one that was fulfilling and beautiful and poignant. Did the fact that I am a kidney transplant recipient play into my deep-seeding feelings about this fic? Absolutely. Do I think everyone should read this fic to grasp what exceptional storytelling looks like? BIG TIME.

Solid Skies and Slate-Blue Earth Below by @sentimentalspiders

This is one of the weirdest fucking fics I"ve ever read and I LOVE LOVE LOVE IT. Best alien!Ian! Exceptional, fascinating, vivid writing style! The narrative is articulated in such an ethereal, out-of-the-box way that is perfectly fits a story that is about an alien and a very lost man. It's SOOO COOL.

Brand Spanking New by J_Q

I don't know what to tell you. Micky gets sent to a fuckin' retreat when he gets professionally spanked (by Ian) to fix his horrible behavior. He gets out of there and then he and Ian start a very detailed BDSM relationship. This is SOOO my wheelhouse of JOY, but if it is not yourself, y'know uh. I mean, I still recommend it anyway. It's so wildly delightful and hot as FUCK.

That's a Wrap by @crossmydna

Am I biased because this was written for me as a gift? Shut the fuck up, of course I am. But also, no, because well before Cross took on prompts, they were working on The Menagerie which is in my top five favorite Gallavich fics of all time, and I read it all the time AND YOU SHOULD TOO. Anyway, back to this fic. What can I say, it's EVERYTHING I WANT. Actor AUs! Meet Ugly, the hottest smut imaginable, banter that's sharp and strong, badass Ian & Mickey, everything everything everything.

The Stargazer by crazynadine

Hey yeah, hi, welcome to my Daddy Kink. There's a lot of it. Let me show you around, its got scrappy heart of gold sex worker Mickey, it's got age difference bearded and jaded by life Ian, it's got panties and road side motels, and secrets, jealousy, and hot hot hot smut, like holy shit. But if daddy kink is not your jam, then y'know. . .ahem.

The Question of Normal by blue_newman

Ian is a prison counselor and Mickey is in prison. The way that I LIVE for Ian breaching any of his professional protocols to help Mickey (this goes for so many fics in my bookmarked fics) is unholy, but how about you five me a fucking break okay. I just like it when they break the rules, as they should, because this is Shameless LOL. But seriously, this is so thoughtful and heartening and left me feeling really fucking right in the world after I read it.

Well, I hope this helped! This is only about a fifth of my Bookmarked fics, and I wanted to write about SO MANY MORE. Anyone is always welcome to ask me to rave about fics, I am always here for it lol.

I said this in the begining, but I have bookmaked A LOT of smut fics that I think are exceptional works, so I suggest you filter my Bookmarks by works under 10,000 words and you're gonna find 'em all.

[phantasmeels]

Another Zelda Theory: The Seven Sages in the Era of Myth

Save for the numerical discrepancy (the seventh sage shown in-painting was likely the Zelda of that era, as she is most often the Seventh Sage/Maiden in the other games), the seven Sages spoken of in the backstory of A Link Between Worlds and the six Sages seen in Twilight Princess might be the same group.

The ALBW paintings and backstory also seem to explain how the Triforce location changed from where they were seen at the end of Skyward Sword, from the Hylia statue to within the Temple of Light in the Golden Land/Sacred Realm.

Now, this is pretty damn early in the timeline, so it's likely that the six sages seen in Twilight Princess + the Zelda of their original era are the very first of their profession in Hyrule, the original sages gathered specifically to seal away the Triforce when it was clearly too dangerous for it to remain out in the open, given the bloody conflicts that were sparked in pursuit of it. They would also be the constructors of the Temple of Light which would hold the Triforce. The original Rauru would have been one of these first sages, and they would much later construct the Temple of Time on the remains of the Sealed Temple of Skyward Sword as an additional measure after the events of the Interloper War spoken of in Twilight Princess.

Additionally, I hypothesize that items like the Moon Pearl and Magic Mirror found in A Link to the Past are the creations of the original Sages, tools which they developed in their research about interacting with the Sacred Realm in order to successfully seal away the Triforce there. These tools allowed them to enter, safely traverse, and exit other dimensions/realms, as well as seal up entrances to those other dimensions/realms if they needed to. This is further supported by the existence of the Mirror of Twilight, which the Sages clearly know how to operate and likely created it in the first place.

This all leads me to next ask, then, 'why do five new sages have to be awakened in Ocarina of Time?' My answer to that is that when Ganondorf got his hands on the Triforce of Power in that game, his minions entered the five temples of the game and, quite simply, destroyed them upon invading said temples. He did so to the two sages of the Master Sword in The Wind Waker, who also happened to need awakened replacements to restore the Master Sword, so I wouldn't put it past him. Not to mention what he did to one Sage during his botched execution in Twilight Princess. (Damn, the sages have it really rough in this series.) Thus Link needed to awaken the next generation of sages throughout Ocarina of Time.

Also, it's worth observing that the role of sage doesn't necessarily always have to do with managing the Sacred Realm. There's the case of the sages being the shrine maidens watching over the seal of the Four Sword on Vaati in Four Swords Adventures akin to the same role of the Maidens in A Link to the Past. This shows that there are varied and flexible uses of the sage profession depending on the situation. It seemingly always comes down to petitioning the divines, preparing for the future, empowering and preserving sacred swords, sealing away evil that can't be destroyed, and maintaining safe boundaries between realms/dimensions.

Oh, and apparently the old men who give you swords in the original Legend of Zelda, and the one who guards the Triforce of Courage in the final dungeon of The Adventure of Link count as sages too, according to Hyrule Encylopedia. I don't regard those books as strictly canon, but I can easily see this being the case. This means we can add the keeping of sacred objects and important weapons, as well as testing a next incarnation of the Hero, to the potential duties belonging to the sages of this era.

One other thing to add, I find it interesting how A Link Between Worlds adds to the sage system in the lore, showing that the seventh Sage/Sage of Time doesn't necessarily HAVE to be Zelda, just that typically Zelda is the best fit for it. Also, it looks like the Chamber of Sages in the Temple of Light is capable of just...rebuilding and re-arranging itself as needed. I guess being a more metaphysical kind of structure enables easy alterations.

Image Credit: All but one are from Nintendo's official artworks and in-game screenshots. The black and white Interloper illustration is from the Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess manga adaptation by Akira Himekawa, which by the way is excellent and you absolutely should read it.

[itsgonnagetinspiringsoon]

ok so i know i've literally never posted abt sanders sides before on this blog (i haven't been keeping up for a few years) but i've been tumbling down a waterslide lined with my old hyperfixations for the last few hours and ended up creating D&D au character designs for the core four sides using heroforge. images and descriptions under the cut if you're interested ❤ bonus points if you can guess what classes they are (this is EXTREMELY self-indulgent so pls forgive the ranting abt them, they're very important to me ok)

First up we have Roman! my beloved. one of my first questions when starting his design was how can i make him look as cunty as possible? the answer: heeled boots and winged eyeliner (It's a little tricky to see but he's got gold metallic eyeliner). I ADORE Roman's colour pallet so i kept it as close to accurate as i could, making white the base colour and accentuating it with the gold armor and the dramatic red shoulder cape as my stand-in for his sash. he's wielding a katana OF COURSE how could he not be. he's slaying ⚔ 🐉 and slaying 💅💋

moving on:

Patton. my baby, my honey, my ragtime gal. i decided to make his hair a little longer than roman's bc i thought it made him look softer and more approachable. it was UNBELIEVABLY hard to find something that sort of replaced his cardigan without looking too chunky but i did like this kind of loose tattered mantle, so i went with that. kept the sky blue shirt and gray cardigan/shawl, but gave him more greyish blue pants so they didn't blend into the shirt too much. glasses are round instead of square bc again i thought they made him look friendlier than the square ones. freckles bc i personally think freckles are very cute and patton is very cute so he got freckles. no shoes he's travelling the realms like the gods intended. the dad vibes are strong i want him to give me a hug 🥺

next up:

logan is quite possibly my favourite side so i really wanted to get his design right. the MOST important thing was giving him his iconic necktie, which ended up being pretty much the same color as his canon design. i couldn't give the tie specifically a pattern, so i made his vest stripy like his tie is in the show and i think it looks really good. his glasses are the more classic nerd ones which is perfect for him and i gave him black eyeliner bc i thought it made him look more serious. i added the coat for more of a d&d look (it doesn't make sense to traverse planes wearing a vest and tie) i think it gives him an extra bit of style that i love.

and last but not least:

the Anxious BoiTM himself (i've only had him for five minutes seven years but if anything happened to him etc etc). virgil's was one of the easiest designs aesthetically and hardest mechanically (you'll never guess what class he is guys i took some BIG swings). I knew i wanted him in black and purple (obviously) and i knew i wanted to give him the iconic purple hair dye and eyeshadow. i almost said screw the genre and put him in a zippered hoodie but i do think that a cloak and cowl would suit him very well (good for hiding in) and i found a combo that looked equally cosy and spooky. a bow is good for attacking long range and keeping out of danger (appropriate for anxiety, i thought) and the mask looks intimidating but actually helps him with sensory overload (with the cowl and mask on he's basically in a mini sensory deprivation bubble). an eyebrow ring bc he's edgy idk why honestly i thought it looked cool.

So that's basically it! As i said before if you can guess their respective classes i'll give you a cookie (🍪). since i can't draw, heroforge is usually my go-to for character creation and i have to recommend it (i think i talk abt this site a lot but 🤷‍♀️) it's so helpful for non-artist types like myself.

I hope you enjoyed! please leave comments if you liked they feed me (if you didn't like it, please just move on and don't let me know, i'm doing this for fun and i don't want any negativity please ❤) @thatsthat24 hope you like 🥰

[occasionallyprosie]

A Thousand Ways

Chapter 9: "Returning to the scene of the crime"

The heroes, finally reunited, traverse a few in-between eras, sail across Wind's Great Sea, and then end up in a much older era. Four really doesn't want to run into the current captain of the guard.

First | <<Previous | Next>>

Not Febuwhump (honestly just filler tbh)

Read On AO3 Warnings: None

Things eventually got back to normal.

The next era after a pair of heroless ones was Wind's, which Legend found much more enjoyable when he wasn't struggling to meet basic survival requirements like food, fresh water, and warmth. Even the sailing, though he hated it and his nerves were shot the whole time, was better than sitting on a flooding island as it stormed.

Four's era came after and Legend managed to pay back the people he stole from without being noticed by guards. He did keep the cloak, he liked it.

They were approached by guards though.

"Ey! Link! Welcome back!" One said, offering a high five to the Smithy. "Finally off medic leave?"

Remembering what the one medic said, Legend scowled.

Four clearly had his own reservations but complied with the high five. "I'm not on leave, Thomas, I resigned. Full time blacksmithing, remember?"

"Yeah, right," they waved a hand dismissively. "If you're looking for the captain, last I heard he took a patrol out for just outside of town."

"Thanks. Anyways I need to go, so..."

"Yeah, yeah," they said dismissively and gave a sort of condescending farewell.

Four's shoulders slumped and he looked over his shoulder at them. "Sorry about that, they umm... Most people here don’t fully believe me about the content of my adventures nor their aftereffects."

Legend glared in the direction the soldier went. "I noticed."

The other heroes had similar glares or winces of sympathy, Hyrule's magic felt a bit more volatile, and Wild's hand was twitching toward his slate.

It hit a bit close to home. He had his fair share of non-believers when he was young. Most everyone unaffected by mental magics believed him by the time he killed Ganon the fourth time, but...

"It's alright," Sky promised. "Where to?"

"The market. Hyrule Town has everything and we can restock. I'll go ask the captain about monster reports," Four said, and Legend caught his eye.

"I'll tag with you."

A few other pairs were made and Legend followed Four to the guard station he had run from last time.

"What happened last time you were here?" Four asked, eyes glinting lavender as they walked.

"I got caught for stealing some bread, and a guy I heard someone call Captain Smith caught me. I escaped again, ran into monsters, and almost passed out if not for adrenaline keeping me awake. Then I threatened that captain and more specifically the medic who helped me."

Four frowned. "Why?"

"Because he called you guys insane."

The smithy flinched, looking away. "They... What did you say?"

"I said that you guys are real, sane, and they need to pay you the respect you deserve after sacrificing your childhood for their safety."

Four looked up at him, the myriad of colors in his eyes fading behind a film of scarlet.

"You keep saying "you guys" and other plural forms of address... Why?"

Legend gave a wry smirk at the hero who came centuries before him. "In my era, the Heroes of the Four Sword are known and they're known well. Your stories... The stories of your adventures helped me through my first one, I know time and embellishment or censorship may have altered the truth of them, but every legend I ever read agreed on one thing and it is that you are heroes."

Four was silent. They had stopped walking at some point and he was staring at Legend with wide, glassy, iridescent eyes.

"We... We're known?"

Legend didn't miss the strain in his voice. He made a note to make sure all of his companions were aware of the stories told about them, at least the ones who he knew came before him.

"You are. Not that well known, I'll admit, I had to dive pretty deep into our history, and frankly, all the legends about you are written in my ancient Hylian, which almost nobody knows anymore. The Sheikah have very little on you too, so I had a roadblock there, but..." Legend shrugged. "I... I needed to find proof that my quest wasn't hopeless, and finding your story gave me an assurance that I could win and survive."

Four nodded, clearly thrown off balance. He gave Legend a wobbly smile.

"Thank you, vet. For telling me. I... I needed to hear that."

"Anytime... Now let's go see if your dad has any information for us."

Four made an agreeable noise, Legend almost missed when he wiped his face and he definitely didn't notice whatever had been wiped, but he saw the end of the movement right as Four continued ahead.

He followed after. They entered the guard station, the guards greeting Four familiarly.

"Link! You must be back to yourself then if you're..." a familiar voice trailed off, making a strained noise.

Four made a face before he looked at the medic whom Legend gave a sharp grin.

"What do you want, Johnson?" Four asked, voice carefully neutral.

The medic squawked. "Nothing! Sorry! Uhh, thanks for all your hard work, Link!"

He scrambled off. Four made a confused face while Legend snorted.

The bell visibly went off in the smithy's head and he whipped around to give Legend an incredulous look. "What was that?"

Legend grinned, watching the medic dart away. "That would be the medic I threatened."

"You--" he sighed heavily, an azure sheen settling over storm cloud gray. "Goddesses, if this is the shit you pulled here, I can't wait to see what happened in the other eras."

"Eh, I was sick in the Sailor's and whoever's came after his. For the others I just kinda ran and killed things. Like a normal adventure."

"I really don’t believe that."

When Four's father showed up, they actually already got the information they needed from a lieutenant who knew Four and had been more than happy to provide the information.

As they exited the station, Four stopped in his tracks and Legend looked to where his pale, slightly panicked eyes were looking at and his own narrowed.

"Smithy?" Legend lightly tapped his foot against the other's ankle.

Four shook his head. "S'fine. I got it." He moved forward and the knight noticed them. "Hey, Dad."

"Link, what're you doing here?"  Smith Senior sounded a bit confused, a bit worried, and Legend didn't miss the unsure glances sent his way, but ultimately he sounded blunt and detached. Legend reminded himself that he had his sword now, he had his pegasus boots, and his body wasn't drained and exhausted. He could take just about anything as he was currently.

"Passing through. Some friends and I are taking up mercenary jobs to handle problems the army can't really do thanks to bureaucracy or manpower," Four said, voice detached and cold, as blunt as he had been when the group first met him only without that cerulean sharpness.

"I see... Interesting choice of friends," Smith Senior said with a glance at Legend.

"He's weird," Four dismissed.

Legend shrugged. "I travel more and further than you think, time has never been a limitation."

Smith Senior made an odd face and with how increasingly annoyed he seemed, Legend could see the family resemblance. Oddly though, this man was not the same as the one he'd met last time. He was... colder, and less understanding.

"Yes, well... We have to go. I'll see you around," Four said, grabbing Legend's arm and dragging him on.

Legend glanced over his shoulder and met the knight's eyes. His own narrowed, considering.

The man he met before had seemed to actually care for his son, though he clearly had struggled to understand him and didn't wholeheartedly defend him... however, this man that Four was dragging Legend away from, was cold and at the very least acted as though Four wasn't good enough.

He didn't get it.

Next>>

[robotgirlservos]

Slugcat idea: the diplomat

Basically the opposite of the artificer sorta, a scug that can swallow rocks and spit them out as pearls (kinda like how arti makes bombs) which lets them befriend the scavs really fast, to the point of them often staying by your side and throwing their spears in a way that won’t hit you (to prevent annoying deaths by friendly fire). The diplomat can also create special pearls to give specific directions to the scavs, like a yellow one that means “go here” and a red one that means “kill this thing.” They are fairly weak on their own, and thus need to rely on their team of scavs to kill shit.

Their story involves escorting a scav that’s managed to find an ancient item of legend: a metropolis citizen drone, trying to get them up the wall and into metropolis with them in order to hopefully reclaim it for the scavengers. When they get into metropolis, they have to traverse through a war-torn version of it, peppered with craters and climbable hanging wires coming from them (to make up for the lack of explodey jump). When you make it to the house of braid’s central chamber where the chieftain fight happened in Arti, prepared to face off against this mythical beast, you find that it’s been completely eaten by the rot, reduce to a gaping, rotting abyss. (What happens exactly after that I’m not too sure, still brainstorming)

The explanation for the diplomat’s abilities is that they’re essentially a purposed organism created for anti-sliverist propaganda. The pearls it creates essentially have a bunch of anti sliverist propaganda written all over them. (Stuff similar to that one anti-sliverist in that communication arrays pearl.) Even other natural pearls that are within its proximity, blank or otherwise, are overridden and replaced with propaganda. This causes Five Pebbles to get quite mad when you entire his chamber and override all of his pearls with garbage data that’s essentially mocking him (he starts giving them his regular ass Slugcat speech, but gets interupted by the diplomat’s general aura fucking with his pearls).

So Yeagh- the diplomat. It might be a bit jank in practice cause scav AI could prove inconsistent when you’re relying on it similar to Rain Deer, but I think it could be a fun way to mirror the artificer’s campaign

I really like this idea, especially the escort mission. Though i think the diplomat being a proposed organism just for propaganda seems a bit of a stretch. Maybe they were made to view and document the surrounding area, with whoever's overseers on the fritz, or more likely the iterator is from further away than their overseers can reach. The pearls are audio and video of what they have seen so far. Pebbles still gets mad at you for existing somehow.

I think being able to direct your scavs would be really cool, though just being able to use slugsign might be better?

The diplomat throws spears just as well as saint, but can point with one to direct their scav companions to throw at certain walls to climb.

But yeah, rotting crater in the middle of metropolis is brilliant

Maybe they are trying to retrieve whatever lets them electrify their spears? Or the chiefs mask?

Either way, what do you think they'd look like? Im kinda imagining they have markings from being with scavs so much

[just-anka]

1000 km in 21 days, self supported ✅️

Those numbers have been my focus for quite some time now. Early this year, I was looking for a big endurance goal. This one had been floating around for some time. It seemed like a cool idea - taking something I love and have done a lot of, namely long distance hiking ("thru hiking") to a bit of an extreme, make it a challenge. It never felt entirely possible - it requires averaging 47.6 km a day, which is technically an ultramarathon every day for three weeks straight, although walking not running, but with a backpack. Plus, that includes town/resupply days, days with harder terrain, bad weather days... It seemed crazy until I did that three day test hike in Scotland in the spring. After that, it still seemed crazy, I just thought that maybe I could do it anyway. But I couldn't possibly have imagined back then what the actual thing would be like. I'm proud of the numbers, but I'm more proud of what it took to get there.

In these three weeks, I saw everything from the lowest lows to the highest highs. So many times, I thought the goal was out of reach for good. There was one specific moment, 13 days in, where I realised I wasn't going to give up. After that, I kept going even when it felt impossible, when I couldn't, when I thought I knew for sure the goal was out of reach. So many days finished after 11 pm, 15 or 16 hours after I started walking. Days on end with wet feet, hours without a single stop because the mosquitos were eating me alive, knee deep bogs, and on one occasion, around midnight, finding myself on top of a sheer cliff instead of the trail. Then again, there were days when I still felt incredible 40 km and 1,500m of elevation gain into the day, days when I couldn't believe the views and wildlife (spot the reindeer!), that time I crested a pass at 11 pm to see a whole new mountain skyline spread out before me, the entire sky on fire in sunset colours; the feeling of getting to a cabin just as a downpour starts and making dinner while the wind whips the windows with rain.

Nothing could have prepared me for the terrain, all above the arctic circle. At lower elevations, it was unlike anything I've ever seen before, swampy forests full of mosquitos and overgrown trails; and high up, rocky mountains, often crossing massive boulder fields for hours at a time. Pictures 5 and 6 are both "the trail". Picture 9 kind of sums up some sections of the hike: trail? Yes. No. Maybe, if you're lucky. And then again, other days held miles and miles of perfect single track. I'm not sure anything will ever live up to the feeling of crossing five mountain passes in a single day, of leaving one mountain range and climbing into the next one in the span of a few hours, of hiking deep into the night under the midnight sun, of seeing the distance I just traversed with my own feet since I woke up this morning on a map. I definitely could have picked an easier trail for this whole endeavour, but I wanted to do the thing that inspired me most, and despite cursing the trail many, many times, I'm glad I ended up where I did. I did most of these miles on the Nordkallotruta/Nordkallotleden/Kallotireiti/Arctic Trail, and it was challenging but beautiful and altogether worth it.

Another less happy result of my high mileage was that I left behind anyone I met within a few hours at most, in a rather quiet place to begin with. Nevertheless I crossed paths with some incredible people, and thankfully had a lot of emotional support from some of my favourite humans back home, haha (extra shout out to Ben for keeping me on my feet as usual).

Altogether, this was certainly the hardest (physical) thing I've ever done, but it was also an incredible experience, and one I'm going to remember for a long time.

[zapperman26]

Dungeon Master's 10-Step Guide to Worldbuilding 

Dungeon Master's 10-Step Guide to Worldbuilding 

When it comes to being the Dungeon Master while playing Dungeons and Dragons, one of the most intimidating parts is how you go about crafting the world. The process of creating a diverse setting, NPCs, antagonists, and gods can seem like a lot to tackle, especially if it's your first time DMing. To help new and old Dungeon Masters alike tackle the daunting task of world-building for your Dungeons and Dragons campaign, here are Ten Steps to make engaging you and your players fun, easy, and effective. 

STEP 1: Read the Dungeon Master’s Guide. 

It is a bold move for a blog to start with “read something else,” but it is warranted here. The official Wizards of the Coast Dungeon Master’s Guide (5E, but any edition works) contains, among other things, many tips and tricks for crafting a solid campaign setting, grand world, and striking multiverse. It is a godsend for a beginner DM trying to wrap their head around the specifics of what a setting would need, and it offers a lot of practical insight into how your world should intersect with your player's play style and preferences. 

For example, the first few chapters of the 5E Dungeon Masters guide discuss not just how to tailor make your campaign to your player's tastes but how to craft gods and unique faiths, developing locations (with all sorts of details to think about like scale, commerce, governments, etc.), factions, magic systems, inciting events and much MUCH more! It is a must for DM, but where do you get it?

The book is reasonably straightforward to find for free online (such as the Internet Archive), but it can also be easily acquired from any bookstore, hobby shop, or major retailer. Many mom-and-pop bookstores sell used copies at reduced prices and in excellent condition. 

Overall, the Dungeon Master’s Guide offers a lot of well-written, nitty-gritty advice to help you craft a setting and would be an excellent place to start for advice. In contrast, the meat and potatoes of this blog are more concerned with the macro craft of world-building, offering the broad strokes of the best approaches to save time, reduce the anxieties of the daunting task of world-building, and make your role-playing sessions more memorable. How do you start this? By setting the scope of your campaign. 

STEP 2: Set the Scope of your Campaign

A good trick when outlining your worldbuilding is understanding how broad its scope is. Is your campaign just a one-shot? Is it going to be a handful of sessions? A multi-month, even multi-year campaign? How many players do you have? What level do you plan to start your players on, and when do you plan to cut them off (if at all)? While seemingly unrelated to making a world for a role-playing game, all these questions offer an excellent framework for designing the world and how much you’ll need at a given time. 

For example, a one-shot, which is literally just a session or two long, will not necessarily require your players to traverse many drastically different townships, cities, and civilizations like a multi-month or year campaign might, so temper your focus to accommodate that scope. A one-shot set in one or two story-rich towns will be more rewarding for you and your players than a vast world that will remain unexplored in any meaningful way. On the flip side, a multi-year campaign set to traverse all sorts of locations necessitates a more expansively planned world that could fill out such an extensive duration of time and, therefore, be worth the effort in the first place. In either scenario, another critical factor is how many players there are and what level you intend them to be at.

The number of players and the general level of the party are also significant to know when going in. A handful of level one characters, compared to level five or twelve, will require different challenges that scale with their power level, and the setting they inhabit must reflect that difference. A few level one players are best set upon by bandits or wolves on the road, while a level ten party of the same number can tackle an Aboelth and its cult or even a Dragon in its lair! With that specific level of power, your players kept in mind, you can craft your setting to accommodate the level of danger they would face without it coming off as jarring. For example, a village facing a kobold problem sounds like a perfect starting point for a campaign of early-level players (of any duration of time), while a capital city besieged by demons is either best suited for the middle or the end of a campaign for higher level players; or the inciting incident of a high-level campaign. 

In any case, understanding the scope of your campaign and the amount of firepower your players have (in level and numbers) is just as essential when crafting the setting you wish them to inhabit. 

Now that you have a good idea of the campaign's length and your party's numbers and strength, it's time to start world-building! Where do you start? Small. 

STEP 3: Start Small and Build as you go

Rome wasn't built in a day, nor will your massive role-playing world be. The previously discussed scope of your campaign provided an excellent blueprint for building the world, but now the actual construction has begun, and it's best to start small. 

What is “small” in this context of role-playing game worldbuilding? That would depend on your priorities, but a good rule of thumb is to start with what you need as soon as possible. A long-running campaign will unlikely need the intricate lore of the lost city the entire story will be building to on day one when the party first meets at a tavern, but some lore on the local happenings and monsters in the area would come in handy. You are not writing a novel or making a video game when you are the Dungeon Master in D&D (even if there is a lot of overlap). When you are the Dungeon Master, you are playing just as much as the players, and prioritizing the immediate things you all will be engaging with will make your life a lot easier when you start and then build up as you go. 

A campaign can begin in many places, like taverns, prisons, battlefields, etc. Whatever the case, beginning where you will engage in play first, as a player and a DM, is a solid place to begin. That is not to discourage future planning or more scattered bits of world-building lore you string together as you go, but what matters is that you start one piece at a time.

Creating a world, be it for a one-shot or long-running campaign, is a big task, and breaking it down into sequential little steps will make it more manageable and less daunting. That can shake out in any manner; starting with the first immediate location I just described, making a handful of continents and some general locations you might use, the gods your world has, etc. It can be tackled however you want, but it does not have to be all at once. It does not have to be all on your own, either. It is a team game, so why not get your players involved?

STEP 4: Make Your Players Invested in Your World By Making Them Part of It

The relationship between Dungeon Masters and their Players should not be adversarial. They are not trying to defeat one or the other but collaborating and enjoying a role-playing world together. Consulting the players could make the world that the Dungeon Master is building even more engaging in its early stages.

A world in which your player's characters exist is one in which they already have a history. Those characters, be they knights of a kingdom, wandering magicians, cutthroats with a dark past, or whatever the case may be, will need personal connections, backstories, etc., for the world they live in. Now, that is not to say you or the player need to write an entire book on the subject of their character’s life up until the start of the campaign, nor should they need much of one at all. What matters is giving them personal stakes in the setting. 

World-building does not stop when you have a slew of fantastical locations, NPCs, etc.; it is about connecting your world with the players to best engage with it. This engagement can involve the player characters actively consulting with their NPC close friends and loved ones in the campaign, villains from their past taking center stage in the world, or the locations they call home being the central setting of their activities. Either way, making the players feel like they are a part of this world is vital. The specifics will vary from group to group, but it almost always starts with communicating with your players beforehand.

When your players are constructing their characters, be it during Session 0 or beforehand, try to communicate with them to understand the stories their characters are going to have. Knowing what sort of backstory, places of origin, fears, and goals the player characters have can go a long way in designing settings and conflict that lead to attractive roleplaying opportunities and greater engagement. It would be good to have a hand in crafting your player's backstory, giving them input on what would best fit, and collaborating on how both parties can enjoy them to the fullest. 

Admittedly, these practices are better for more well-established groups where open communication is more accessible, like with friends and family, than, say, a group of strangers meeting up at a local games club or Discord, but even just tossing a few references to their characters' lives in your already established setting makes all the difference when crafting your world for your players' enjoyment and your own. 

If all else fails, you can draw inspiration from elsewhere to spice up your world and foster more engagement from your players. 

STEP 5: Don’t be afraid to be Inspired

Coming up with a world for a D&D is, shocker, hard! It is even harder to come up with a slew of new ideas right out the gate, so what better way to fill those gaps than to get inspired from outside sources?

No story or setting is perfectly original. Every creator draws inspiration from their favorite books, shows, games, etc., to help inform their unique creative voice. D&D is brimming with direct inspiration in its most official sources (drawing heavily from Tolkien's works to the point that their Hobbits needed to be renamed Halfings for legal reasons), so why not do the same with your own?

Do you have a favorite plotline or faction from a video game or movie? Take it, put your spin on it, and put it in your world! Read up on other people’s D&D campaigns and settings, see what most appeals to you, and see how you can translate it to your own. Even just reading setting guides and other official Dungeons and Dragons books can offer a wellspring of different sources of inspiration to help craft your world. It may feel like cheating, looking at other people’s work and putting it on your own, but it's a necessary start to many creative processes. Your sources of inspiration can be molded and changed to best fit your tastes and be modified in practice when your campaigns begin in earnest until they are no longer some other idea but your own. The world is filled with so many incredible pieces of art and media to draw from, and there is no shame in taking some aspects of any of it and making it something unique to you. 

Whatever you decide to be inspired by, there is one thing you should never let fall by the wayside when creating your world: ORGANIZING IT. 

STEP 6: ORGANIZE! ORGANIZE!! ORGANIZE!!!

Worldbuilding takes a lot of pages and notes, so you better organize them. It cannot be overstated how much extra time and effort is saved by doing some basic organization when coming up with your world from the onset. 

How do you organize your concepts, locations, and gods? It is a pick-your-poison situation where your preferences for writing and note-keeping matter most. You can use Google or Microsoft Suite programs (Drive, Doc, Sheets, Word, Excel, etc.), use dedicated world-building and writing programs that streamline the process (like World Anvil, Fantasia Archive, and Obsidian to recommend a few), make use of simple pen and paper binders and notebooks, or whatever works best for you! What matters is using something you are comfortable with writing with, can keep organized and easy to refer back to, and, as needed, share with your players. 

Disorganized world-building can be disastrous for your creative process and campaign when it begins in earnest. Imagine how much time you could have spent designing a fantasy culture if you just didn't have to search through each document/paper for a particular lore idea you had. It will save you a lot of headaches by keeping all your world-building elements tidy, well-documented, and organized for your mental health and the health of your fledgling D&D world. 

No matter how many ideas you generate and organize for your world, you will almost certainly encounter something in the campaign proper. What do you do when that situation arises? Improvise! 

STEP 7: You won’t Know it all. Improvise!

At its core, tabletop RPGs have a lot of built-in improvisation. Players constantly make role-playing plans and combat choices on the fly, and the DM is similar. The players will throw as many unexpected situations, questions, and scenarios at the DM as they will at them. When interacting with worldbuilding, there is no question that something you have yet to consider will arise in the gameplay. How do you handle a situation like that? You do what your players do: Improvise!

As already discussed, world-building is a step-by-step process you will not complete in a day. It is just as accurate that you will never truly have a totally complete world. The very nature of roleplaying, where an infinite number of eventualities, questions, and activities could be involved, does not invite the possibility of ever really having a world filled out. So, improvisation is as vital to your world as methodical writing and organization. 

There is no Dungeon Master on Earth who has not gotten blindsided by something from their players, which then forced said DM to improvise. It is just part of the game for the DM as it is for the players, so expect it and account for it in your world-building. You do not need to have every name of every shopkeeper in a town that is not plot-relevant, so just make something up when asked and integrate it into your world if you like it. You will get players wanting to explore areas that are not as fleshed out or going in directions with the plot you have yet to account for. Roll with it (within reason) and allow your world to build itself organically around this new route. In essence, allowing for gaps in your worldbuilding, large or small, is natural, as improvisation is just part of the game and an organic way to build your world through your player's interactions with it. 

That said, there is a big difference between allowing for improvisation and having your players take the reins of your world in a way that you would instead not go, and you must stop it. 

STEP 8: Make sure your Players know the Limitations of the Craft

Dungeons and Dragons is not just a game for the players, but the DM, too, playing in the world together. The exact modes of enjoyment between both parties may differ, but the game is a collaborative experience where the enjoyment of everyone involved should be the chief concern. The sensation of seeing the world you painstakingly constructed, being engaged with, enjoying, and actualizing via RP is hard to describe and an experience any Dungeon Master can relate to. With that fact in mind, it is not wrong to prevent your players from taking things in your world in a way you do not enjoy, as your fun is just as important as theirs.

The nature of D&D, a game where coming up with things on the fly on both sides of the table happens often, can snowball or go in the direction the DM or other players might not be comfortable with. Situations like that can usually go for the better, like a one-off NPC becoming a player favorite, a dumb joke becoming integrated into the world, or an in-character argument that keeps everyone engaged. These examples(and more I did not outline) can result in new and dynamic ways for your evolving world and the players to interact with it, but it also can go wrong. 

A situation might arise where players try to go dramatically off course in a way that you are both unprepared for and frankly unwilling to go, be it active defiance of the plot to go to a completely unrelated location without ever engaging with the story or even NSFW elements uncomfortable to most involved. It will happen somehow and in some way, and it is imperative to communicate that these situations are not cool as early as possible.

When creating your world, do what you can to curb any potential “off the rails” shenanigans you are frankly uncomfortable with. Dungeon Masters, while just as much playing the game as the players, are the ones actively creating the setting, story, and direction of the actual “playing” that is occurring, and have a right to establish ground rules for proper conduct and keep the world from spiraling in ways they don’t want. 

The most common way to achieve this is to establish and discuss some ground rules before the game starts properly. Player etiquette, the types of story elements in the setting that might warrant a trigger warning you may or may not use, and even the types of player lineages, classes, or backgrounds that are and aren't allowed are all perfectly valid things to outline and encourage when making your world and campaign. Your ideas and interests do not just shape your world but what you are and aren't comfortable with, and making sure your players understand that is just as much about worldbuilding as it is about collaborative gameplay.

Be it rules to keep things on track, intentional gaps to improve, or worldbuilding tools, a DM needs many tools in their toolbox to make the most of their setting, so why not get as many ready as you can before letting your players interact with it? 

STEP 9: Set yourself up for Success!

To bring back the “Rome was not built in a day” analogy, it was also not built with a single tool for its entire process. It takes many diverse and specialized tools and resources to make a building, let alone a whole empire, and that is also the case with worldbuilding for D&D.

We have already discussed many potential resources you can draw on to make your life easier, like world-building programs, official books, and more, but why stop there? D&D is a game enjoyed by millions, with many incredibly talented enthusiasts taking the time to create resources waiting to be used to make your world-building a little smoother. 

Let's take some time to outline some of the many out there in the hopes that a few can used to make any reader’s worldbuilding woes a little bit easier to weather:

Map Making Tools

Here is a collection of free and paid tools for constructing maps that can be as big as worlds or as small as cities or streets! Either way, they make great visuals when presenting your world. 

Inkarnate

Wonderdraft

medieval-fantasy-city-generator

Song Of The Eons

Dungeondraft

Fantasy Name Generators

Names can be some of the hardest things to conceive in writing, especially in fantasy settings where they can be odd and esoteric. Here are some robust free online name generator tools to save you a headache by generating any name you need at the click of a button. 

Fantasy Name Generators

Donjon

Behind the Name

Homebrew Tools:

Creating your monsters, magic items, and lineages is just as much a part of worldbuilding as anything else. Here are some free tools to help you craft your homebrew or even generate it!

Giffy Glyph's Monster Maker

The Homebrewery

Kenji's Magic Item Generator

Here Be Taverns

Rules, Resources, and Reference Guides:

There are A LOT of rules, player options, monsters, items, etc., in D&D! It can be hard to keep track of what cool things you can integrate into your world when so many options exist across the many books that possess them. Here are some handy catch-all reference websites for 5e materials and some 3e and 3.5e tossed in there, too!

5e.Tools

dnd5e

d20srd

These tools, tips, tricks, and steps in this guide are all meant to make worldbuilding for your Dungeons and Dragons campaign straightforward. It makes the chief reason for even playing the game as achievable as possible: having fun!

STEP 10: Have Fun!

At its core, a tabletop RPG is played as a dungeon master or as a player to have fun. These steps and tricks aim to make the daunting task of world-building much more straightforward and ( ideally) fun by giving it more concrete aims and tools to eliminate much of the tedium.

As explained before, worldbuilding has many components and is unlikely to be genuinely “complete,” but it never has to be. The world you craft is nothing but a stage for your players to act on and for you to direct them from; the immersion and depth will only need to be as deep as you all need to find enjoyment in. Even with that in mind, it can be a long and tedious task, but having a proper scope, tools, and know-how can make it all the easier. It becomes all the more fun and engaging when you build your world with your players in mind, set firm boundaries so everyone can have a good time, and have some fun by letting some improvisation and spontaneous thinking shine through!

To reiterate, you are not writing a book when you present your players with your world, but rather a vehicle for them and for you to have a good ride together in the crazy ride that is tabletop roleplaying. 

By following the previous steps (in whatever order you choose), I hope you are prepared to offer a fun experience when your setting is complete and have a stellar time playing in it for your campaign!

[iniziare]

HEADCANONS: Click the link to get some random headcanons for your muse.

Guizhong can kill you in an instant if deserved. (No no, she's innocent; that'd be Morax if anyone.) Guizhong is not allowed to drink energy drinks. (Absolutely true, keep them away.) Guizhong forgets to eat sometimes. (Often enough when she's distracted which is... often.) If the source media was a musical, Guizhong would be the one character that asks why everyone is singing. (Try the reverse, everyone would ask why she's singing with a total of five Cleansing Bells as 'backup singers'.) Guizhong knocks people over by hugging them. (She's too short to achieve it, but she surely attempts to knock Morax over in her wildest and craziest dreams.) Guizhong sings in the shower. (No, but she hums, she most definitely hums and it sounds oddly endearing and very warm, something you'd almost want to keep listening to.) Guizhong sucks at saying tongue twisters. (She's obnoxiously good at it, actually.) Guizhong has an intense fear of heights. (Pffft.) Guizhong is very willing to eat inedible things. (… Okay, if it’s ‘loosely’ inedible…) Guizhong gets road rage. (I'm absolutely dying at the prospect.) Guizhong wakes up on November 1st and starts decorating for Christmas. (Facts.)

Yelan is in your house. (Why, did you not keep your wits about you?) Yelan has a roblox account. (God, sometimes I wish.) Yelan instinctively cleans messes in their own house as well as other peoples. (Yes, actually; she's quite the clean and organized person.) Yelan steals other peoples clothes. (Only Wriothesley's.) Yelan is very good at walking in platform heels. (She's able to traverse the Chasm utterly realistically [of course] in heels, I think this woman can walk in any sort of shoe at this rate.) Yelan is afraid of doing anything without other peoples permission. (And her name is Ms. Claus.) Yelan likes board games, but no one else wants to play with them. (... I—) Yelan has punched a hole in their wall. (She doesn't get frustrated or driven by intense emotion easily at all, but the immediate thought that came to my mind was the hut in Minlin post-loss of her team, done in the midst of grief and the anger that came with the fault of their deaths genuinely laying with her.) Yelan's least favourite subject in school was Science. (I'm 50/50 on this one, actually.) Yelan has a pet bird. (I think this sets in stone the random HC where she has pets without them ever being her pets; they just... happen to come along, and then keep coming back.)

Kafka needs a nightlight to sleep. (This spawned a random HC that she always lights a candle before she sleeps; though it's not to act as a night light, but for ambiance, and the rare sound of bare crackling of flame to candle wax.) Kafka desperately needs a hug but doesn't know it and refuses to ask for one. (Probably,) If someone they knew committed a crime, Kafka would cover for them. (How do you think the Stellaron Hunters function?) Kafka likes being alone. (Usually, but not necessarily, though she'd usually only seek the company of specific people.) Kafka tells dad jokes. (I don't know why, but I can hear them perfectly in her voice, why this.) Kafka cries while watching Disney movies. (No, but she's absolutely seen numerous; no, we don't potentially break children's hearts by asking her opinion.) Kafka stole a lollipop at the checkout when they were 5 and they still feel guilty about it. (Absolutely yes, followed by an absolutely no.) Kafka has half of a watermelon under their bed. (HC accepted. Silver Wolf, is this your doing? Why is it there? What kind of 'meme' is this?) Kafka was dropped out of a window as a child. (... At this point, I do wonder.) Kafka knows fnaf lore. (Probably could recount random facts that she doesn't understand the context of whatsoever, courtesy of, once again, Silver Wolf.)

Tagged by: @avaere Tagging: @immobiliter (Navia, Beidou, Furina, Dehya; or take your picks!) @spiderwarden @resolutepath (Elio, Bosacius, Hu Tao!) @daybreakrising (Bladie, Menogias and Vautrin!)

[annestie]

Revenge

Summary: Ao'nung offers his help along with an apology. Neteyam takes the opportunity for his own revenge

Pairing: Pre-relationship Ao'nung x Neteyam

Word Count: 757

Notes: For Day 12: Malice of @bellakotzent Valentine's Week Challenge.

I got the idea of Neteyam seeking revenge but in a way that wouldn't get him in trouble and just ran with it. This is probably one of my favorite ones I've written for this challenge. Also woo! Finally one where I didn't age-up the characters lmao.

Neteyam looks to Ao’nung, a confused expression falling over his face. “You want what?” he questions.

“I want to apologize. I spoke with your siblings and what I did was not right. I am sorry,” Ao’nung says, sounding genuine.

“Why should I believe any word you say?” Neteyam asks in return, crossing his arms.

“Lo’ak said we were even, and we talked. I promise. He also called me ‘bro’.”

“And that should make me believe you?”

“Well, talk with them if you wish. I have a reason for coming to you.”

“Which is?”

“Is there anything I could repay you with for what I have done?”

“Anything?” Neteyam confirms, ideas already forming in his head as he looks at Ao’nung.

The first thing that Neteyam thinks of is, of course, lessons and chores he either needs help with or must be done soon. But then, the idea of some harmless revenge gets into his head. He’s not a revenge seeking person, especially at those who could compromise the safety of his family, though the idea of getting back at Ao’nung without any consequences makes him giddy.

Which is why Neteyam is now waiting for Ao’nung to show up beside the forest. Not only were they to spend the day climbing trees, they’re starting early in the morning. Just after the eclipse ends, the sun not even lighting up the sky yet.

Ao’nung shows up soon after. He groggy and half-awake, still rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. “So what did you need with?” Ao’nung asks through a yawn.

“I need help with collecting some fruit,” Neteyam explains, trying to act as unsuspecting as possible.

“Seems easy enough. I see you already have a basket, so where do we begin?” Ao’nung asks. He glances around the outside of the forest.

“Actually, the fruit I need only grows at the top of the trees,” Neteyam says, pointing to the treetops of the mangroves.

If Ao’nung wasn’t awake, he was now. His eyes practically bulge out of his head and it takes everything in Neteyam not to start laughing at his expression. “What? That tree?!” Ao’nung says, looking up in horror at said tree.

“Not that specific one but one like it, yes.”

A beat passes between the two of them before Ao’nung slowly turns to Neteyam, defeated. “Alright,” he says resigned. “Which one?”

Neteyam immediately leads Ao’nung into the forest. He looks around, searching for the right one as he hadn’t the chance to really choose one yet. Though, he’s surrounded by them so it’s not hard.

He ends up choosing a tree after a few minutes of walking. The tree is tall, obviously; is an easy climb for Neteyam, but not easy enough that Ao’nung could do it effortlessly; and has no fruit on it. Plus, the ground is cushioned with other plants to break any falls. It’s perfect.

“This one,” Neteyam announces, already hooking his basket onto his arm and beginning to pull himself up one of the roots.

“This one?” Ao’nung questions. “Really?”

“Yes,” Neteyam says. “Now come, we do not have all day.”

The climb isn’t hard but the way Ao’nung goes about it doesn’t makes it look so. His posture is wrong and only makes everything more difficult, not that Neteyam tells him that. And the way he goes about traversing between branches makes Neteyam want to cringe.

Surprisingly, Ao’nung only falls five times in total. All in the beginning and all cushioned by the soft foliage below as Neteyam had predicted.

After many hours, they finally reach the top. Neteyam’s sure he could have done it in much less time if he hadn’t needed to wait for Ao’nung. At the top, as expected, there is nothing besides a good view of the ocean.

“Where is the fruit?” Ao’nung questions, looking around. He grips tightly to the branches around him.

“I guess this tree does not fruit in this season,” Neteyam responds, glancing over to Ao’nung.

“So we spent the entire day climbing for nothing?” Ao’nung says, sweat dripping down his face as he pants.

“Not for nothing. I thought watching you fall was amusing,” Neteyam replies.

The realization on Ao’nung’s face is instant. “You…” he beings, but his words fall short.

“You said anything,” Neteyam replies with a smirk.

“You knew? It is past midday already! I could have died!”

“I would not have let you die. Besides, you almost got Lo’ak killed.”

“Is this your idea of revenge?”

“Pretty much.”

“I would have preferred you just punching me in the face!”

[mwolf0epsilon]

The Umbaran Pathogen - Day 21: Shock

Summary: While on their way to the basement floor, Kix's team is reunited with the rest of the 501st's medics. Finding a cure will have to wait just a little bit longer...

Warning: Slight gore warning due to injuries, but it's not overly descriptive (there is mention of a potential loss of limb)

Twitch belongs to @gaeasun Pitch belongs to @lost-on-kamino

Prev / Next

[In which the events on Umbara are worsened by an unknown pathogen taking hold of both the 501st and 212th. These series of drabbles will follow a non-linear timeline based on the AI-less Whumptober prompt list for 2023.]

THIS STORY IS ALSO ON AO3

---

The lift had been fingerprint-locked with a specific code for each set of prints that were logged into the security system's database. Neither Rex, Fives nor Kix had anything on them that they could use to slice into the system and bypass this security measure so, as a result, the trio had been forced to rush down flight after flight of stairs. Making them regret ever having climbed up a tree, to reach the exposed vents that were mounted up on the 11th floor of the hospital.

Usually running down a few stairs wouldn't tire them out this badly, but considering how grueling the campaign had been (for various reasons), suffice to say they were not in great shape at that exact moment. Sleep deprived, hungry and thirsty. And maybe a little cranky as well, which was more than a little fair.

That said, they were finally on the first floor. Sweating bullets and practically dragging themselves forward, while utilizing the facility's map to figure out where the basement hatch was located. Because of course the Umbarans had decided to make it hard for just anyone to stumble into their precious server rooms.

Nothing could be easy on this gods forsaken planet.

"It says right here that the hatch is in a tiny room behind the main lobby." Fives offered as they got closer and closer to the entrance of the hospital. Keeping an eye out, despite all of the halls they had traversed being virtually abandoned. "Probably so the receptionist can keep an eye on whoever goes in and out..."

"It's only gotten colder..." Rex sighed. "My HUD is giving off insane temperatures..."

"You know, the harder I think about it, the more sense it makes to keep the temperatures so cold in here." Kix looked around, his own HUD showing him just how frigid the halls really were. "A lot of terrestrial arthropods don't do well in the cold, and Dogma looked like he'd turned into some kind of insectoid. The infected would probably avoid coming in here because it'd mess with their bodies and senses."

"When you put it like that, the basement thing also makes sense." Rex mused as he kept on walking at an even pace. "If the entire building is cold, but one section produces noticeable heat, they'd try to break in and congregate in the warmer server rooms. By keeping them in the basement, they can at least mask the difference in temperatures..."

"Still sucks that we have to go down there." Fives pointed out.

They were now in the lobby, which was as deserted as the rest of the facility. Briefly, Kix wondered if maybe the staff had been evacuated once the two battalions had made it planet-side. Or maybe something else had happened while both armies went at it out in the woods?

He couldn't be sure, nor did he really ponder on it for long. Not when the entrance door swung open, revealing two very familiar figures carrying...

"Twitch?! Coric?!" Kix gasped at the state of the two standing medics, before his eyes focused on the two prone figures they were carrying on their backs. "Oh stars..."

"What happened to Pitch and Sponge?!" The second most experienced medic heard Fives exclaim, as he rushed forward to help. Settling the unconscious Sponge on the floor and noting their bruised and bleeding face, before moving to do the same for Pitch. Startling slightly when, despite not moving in the slightest, the blue-haired medic blinked up at him and darted his eyes about, trying to take in the scene.

"They're...." Twitch's legs shook as he collapsed onto his knees. All energy drained as he tried to catch his breath in loud shuddering gasps.

"Easy vod'ika..." Rex comforted the younger clone, kneeling besides him to rest a hand on his back. "Take deep breaths, like this..."

While the Captain took charge of the youngest, Fives muttered a loud curse as something suddenly occurred to him.

"Kark... Their buckets aren't on them, and their armor is pretty busted up. They're gonna freeze in here..." The ARC pointed out, seeing the poor state they all were in. There was no way their kit's thermoregulation systems were operative "I... Blankets. There's got to be blankets in a hospital right?"

Paying no mind as the ARC ran off to look for something to keep their injured vode warm, Kix instead began to assess the situation. Sponge had a broken nose, busted lip, several scratches and bruises, and their breathing wasn't sounding too good. Coming off rattly and wet-sounding, which he hoped was just because they were trying to breathe through a broken and bloodied nose.

Likely concussed to hell and back as well...

Pitch, meanwhile, seemed to be awake and aware but unable to move. Perhaps also unable to feel anything at the moment, since he'd definitely be passed out from both the horrific gashes on his face, and the huge gaping hole in his upper-thigh. Both of which were bleeding sluggishly.

"Dogma stung him..." Twitch mumbled. "He uh... He can't... Can't move or talk or.... Or..."

"Easy vod." Rex continued to comfort Twitch.

"Coric..." Twitch blinked tiredly. Looking towards the CMO who was standing there with his left arm dangling uselessly at his side.

Looking at his Ori'vod, Kix's heart began to race ever so slightly. He was still standing, but the wound on his shoulder looked bad. So bad in fact that he could just about see exposed bone. The way the arm hung limply also did not give him much hope that Coric had any use of it left, since the muscles and ligaments on the shoulder had definitely been torn off.

And then there was the far away look in his brother's eyes that gave him a lot of reason to worry. That glazed unseeing look that he mostly only saw on dead vode. Or, in some cases, the ones that just couldn't take the pressure of war anymore.

Resistant to stress his left nut and shebs...

"He's going into shock." Kix hissed, looking to Rex. "Get his armor off."

"But he'll free--"

"Now, Rex!" Kix barked out the order, giving no space for the blond to argue. Thankfully the Captain seemed to understand and moved over to Coric so as to begin removing his kit. Twitch joining in, the younger medic likely trying to use the repetitive motion as a way to ground himself and avoid going into shock himself.

"Fives, have you found those blankets?" He called out after the ARC, who was somewhere under the receptionist's desk fiddling with the drawers and storage boxes.

"Got some of those electric ones that we've got in the Resolute's medbay, and some emergency ones as well!" Fives replied as he held up both the familiar reflective material and a very large bundle with a wire and remote attached to it.

"Great! Bring them over, as many as you can carry!" Kix knelt back down to turn remove Sponge's kit and then turn them on their side to avoid any chances of aspiration. His fellow medic didn't need to drown in their own sick, or end up with a bout of pneumonia on top of everything they'd already gone through. "Rex, Twitch, wrap up Coric in one of each blanket. I need one of you to keep an eye on his breathing and heart rate, and the other to raise his legs up. I'm going to tend to Pitch and Sponge, and once I'm done I'll have a look at his arm."

Fives handed over two of the blankets to Rex, before moving on to wrap up Pitch who was watching quietly. Giving Kix space to work on Sponge, while offering the blue-haired medic some basic first-aid. Between the two of them, the other two and most injured troopers were quickly patched up and bundled up nice and warm.

Then, Kix moved on to treating Coric.

As he'd guessed, his arm was in terrible condition. With all of the damage his shoulder had received, it was very likely he'd be losing the arm altogether. Something which made Kix's heart ache just thinking about it.

A loud and inhuman sounding shriek outside made everyone jump slightly. Pitch's eyes immediately darted towards the door, while Twitch visibly tensed. The younger medic's trembling worsening considerably as he recognized the horrid sound.

"Oh crap, I think they're here..." Fives gulped as he squinted out one of the tinted windows, seeing some movement in the distance. "We need to get that cure, and fast..."

"We're down three medics." Kix pointed out. "Cure or not, going out there won't end well for any of us... Especially if they know they have us boxed in."

"They hit so fast..." Twitch whimpered. "They caught us by surprise and... And..."

"We get the picture kid..." Fives winced, looking towards the injured medics and back out the door. "We'll... Think of something... But first, lets get down into the basement and look for what we came here for in the first place..."

Things were not looking good in the slightest. But what else could they do other than proceed with their mission? Maybe once they knew what they had to do, they could then figure a way to change the tides.