#pre-quest btw

[iamrizaka]

"They were askew."

A quick winter sketch! Lee complained about his ears getting cold, so Luke got him earmuffs :D

[1000sunnygo]

The Rocky Port incident... (2)

was trending in Japan last night, so here's a post magazine release follow-up.

I was looking forward to hearing japanese readers' thoughts, but the source text itself is pretty vague which didn't help them either.

At least now the JP version is available, so I tried my hand on translating it as literally as possible.

Here's a simplified summary from Japanese user @manganouA (x) :

Just a clarification that "Hachinosu" and "Pirate Island", "Wang Zhi" and "Ochoku" are used interchangeably.

A common interpretational agreement is that Law definitely got onboard the wrong ship, and very likely the ship wasn't even going to Hachinosu. Artur's translation was incorrect, Law didn't board the smuggling ship. Pew's team updated their translation with Artur's version, even though their initial interpretation was right.

Law gained information that a smuggling ship heading to Hachinosu used a specific Kingdom's flag as their cover, and mistakenly hopped onboard a REAL ship belonging to that Kingdom- full of passengers and the King himself. The level of catastrophic clumsiness you'd expect from Luffy...

Man scratch that. it was clumsy even for Luffy's standard 😔

Another point to note, the term used to describe Law-Koby-BB combo was "共闘する形", so a combative pact is more appropriate than an alliance (同盟) - which was used for Law's pact with Luffy, and later Kidd (vs Big Mom). Nothing unexpected though.

My entire timeline is people cracking jokes about Law's blunder so I'm cherry picking a few of them.

Law: Crap, I blew it up... This is the wrong ship isn't it? (Cora ghost: Gee, Law... you're also the clumsy type aren't you?)

Zen (@GOKUJOUNOMAGURO) (x). (x)

Blackbeard arrives on luxurious Saber of Xebec, Koby arrives on a naval ship, and Trafalgar Law is somehow on a passenger's ship.

No matter how big of a mistake I make in future, I might be able to console myself thinking, "well, even Law kun got on a wrong ship."

Koby: Misunderstanding? What do you mean? No matter how you look at it, it's an act of terrorism against a Kingdom!

Law: How annoying... I'm in a state of confusion myself! I've no time to deal with the marines.

I got onboard a wrong ship!!!

Koby (after having Alvida flashback): I see. What a disaster, my heart goes out to you. Let's call it a temporary truce and defeat Ochoku first.

Law: You're convinced?!

.

My favorite has to be this low - effort comic summarizing their understanding:

"Rocky Port spinoff" was another buzzing keyword last night, I hope Shueisha is taking notes.

[electric-plants]

listen sometimes i just think that when cyno heard alhaitham was going to be acting grand sage he immediately started begging and pleading to be able to go and personally rub it in azar’s face

[mantisgodsdomain]

The Job Board system, which in terms of overseeing tends to fall somewhere between the Explorer's Association and the mail service, is a system that allows bugs across Bugaria to send off jobs to any bug who might take them. It is known primarily for its incredible efficiency at copying and posting jobs throughout Bugaria, as well as its ability to take down jobs that have been completed within a day of their fulfillment.

Just about any bug can post a mission through this system, with some light checks to make sure it's legitimate, and just about anyone can take a mission - with some caveats. The more difficult a mission is marked as, the more likely you are to need to show some proof of ability- occasionally very eclectic proof of ability. While an Explorer's Permit can allow you to shortcut almost all low-end requirements, anyone who isn't registered in the system will have to repeatedly prove aptitude for low-end jobs, which can get exceptionally annoying very fast, particularly as the Job Board and publicly accessible jobs tend to be almost exclusively to the low end of things.

Technically an extension of the Job Board system, the Bounty Board handles a lot of relatively high-paying jobs, often put up using communally-raised funds rather than a single person. While the Job Board gathers jobs of comparatively low importance, and allows them to be taken by anyone, the Bounty Board is specifically for jobs that are anticipated to be difficult enough to need a whole crew of bugs.

The requirements to run an outpost of a bounty board are significantly more rigorous than the standard job board, as applicants going after these jobs are much more rigorously vetted - an Explorer's Permit will often serve as a way to help you shortcut the line, putting all of your prior accomplishments in easy reach and allowing the certified offices that run these jobs to make an easy background check on you.

Alternatively, of course, some less legitimate venues can piggyback off the certification of an actual office, pretending to be another location and allowing you to shortcut the entire certification process to obtain the reward without having to prove your capability to do a job. Technically speaking, jobs taken in Doppel's tavern will show up as being taken from the bounty board office run by Utter - though this establishment doesn't technically have a physical location.

Unlike with a typical bounty board mission, you also get paid up front upon providing a specified part of the slain monster, rather than having to wait for the kingdom you're working in to certify the danger is gone before wiring you your reward. Also unlike with a typical bounty board mission, the house will take a certain cut of your reward. These venues may also take "unofficial" bounties - organized by parties who can't or won't go through the official venues to get a problem handled, or simply by people who are hunting for specific parts of a monster. You won't be tested as thoroughly before taking the job- but your client won't be, either.

[loumauve]

a little more disorganised exploring

[zhongscara]

when people (singularly) credit furina for helping neuvillette understand humanity

[witchcraftingboop]

I have no idea how shopping for a desk chair turned to me buying 30+ mangas in one go, but yknow I'm not mad about it

[cliji]

if clive deadass dead i’m sorry i have to keeel him myself

[sunnykeysmash]

I'm glad I'm not alone in wanting Ryan to get Rob to get a tumblr to see the amount of people who would shit themselves cause I would find it personally hilarious to not only see the fandom wide freakout but also Rob's reaction to said fandom. Frankenstein shunning his monster and then chasing it after he murders his fiancé and then dying in the pursuit vibes.

It would be hilarious!! I'm not ashamed of my blog at all, hey, if Rob wants to see what I get up to when it comes to his weird little show, that's good with me. I think it would be hysterical if he read any of my posts, and doubly so if he made an account and people started asking him about macdennis 😭 Cmon.

And... have we all forgotten the times where he used to lurk twitter anyway? I mean, I'm pretty sure he knows what we do here, tumblr account or not... Uh, pic related.

[nakuweedwriter]

I think about how the yokai in inazuma are being mistreated by humans and i just

[three-bunnies-in-a-trenchcoat]

for the Linkverse: Who was the hardest character to design?

Almost all of them. I'm not very good at designs and since I have... very little artistic skill I can't draw them to visualize it better

[intheupside]

from facebook (sid is headed back to pittsburgh soon according to the post)

Tonight my heart is full and happy!! My quest is complete!!!

I don’t post on here like I used to, but this one is worthy and those of you who have followed this quest with us (from last year) will enjoy this story!! I’ll try and keep it short! (Oh well)

Last October, I decided to treat my boys to a trip to Pittsburgh to watch the Penguins and Avalanche play hockey! The ultimate goal was to meet Sidney Crosby!! Although many great things happened on that trip, including special treatment by the Penguins organization, ice level view from the penalty box for the pre game skate, a puck, a visit to Sidney’s personal skybox, and a couple bags full of Penguins swag…but we fell short of meeting Sid! I vowed I would do all I could to fullfill my boys dream! When we returned home, a family member reached out to me and said “I might be able to hook you up with a meeting” we stayed in touch over the last 10 months, up until today, we just could not get things lined up for the meet and greet. We were running out of time, after tomorrow, Sidney returns to Pittsburgh. I got the call on when he might be available, so I scooped up Kacey and said let’s go, we might be making your dream come true! We were told where he might be, and what time. We waited for 2 hours, we decided he wasn’t going to show, we went to thank my family member for her efforts, after a short conversation and catching up, I turned and said Kacey, let’s go. She said “WAIT!!! He just pulled up”… my heart started to race, Kacey started to literally shake, we sat down, as my family member met Sidney at the door, I could hear her asking him if he would get a picture with Kacey, he smiled, and waves us to come outside…we shook hands, he shook Kaceys hand, commented on his shirt and asked where he got it, Kacey said “in Pittsburgh”. Sidney replied “That’s really cool” A short conversation, a photo and a signed shirt, and a dream was fulfilled!! It’s amazing how much impact someone like Crosby has, especially on kids! When we got home tonight, Kacey literally had me keeled over laughing with his final line… he said “ Dad, I left home a kid, and I returned a man” !!! 🤣🤣. Thank you Sidney for making my boys dream come true!! Forever Crosby Fans!

BTW, from this day forward, we will celebrate August 29th (the 8th day of the week — Sid-day) by doing something special! 🏒 🥅

[rpgchoices]

Astarion origin playthrough: what to expect/what is added

So I did a speed run on easy mode of the Astarion origin playthrough, which is where you choose Astarion as your main character. I wanted to write a bit about the extra lore the game gives and in general what is added (and what is lost).

I added some of the videos I have taken in case you are curious. Keep in mind that some videos are embedded, others are in link for my twitter or this blog.

SPOILERS. Just know that I went through the main plot points and the quests I know Astarion has dialogue about in a Tav game, so I did not do all of the quests/areas.

First of all... I don't think there is enough content to justify losing Astarion as a companion, as Astarion will be not voiced when you play as him, and in general you actually get less characterization.

ACT 1

Act 1 is the one with the most amount of extra content.

There are a few extra lines from the narrator about you standing in the sun for the first time, and your past.

You get a whole personal quest about hiding your vampirism or revealing it. There are different ways to reveal it:

You simply tell the companions (when you think about it the narrator will ponder about how much your companion trusts you and if they will react well)

You can use "bite" on an enemy when your companions are around (or on a companion)

You can be caught while you bite someone at night

The night bite happens after a nightmare, so you will also get a Cazador nightmare where Astarion hides/attacks/cowers before Cazador (video here). After the nightmare Astarion will think about finally being free and breaking one of Cazador's rules. You can decide to bite a companion or not.

If you do not bite a companion you will have no other option to do the bite at night, and the only reveals can happen in the other two modalities. Honestly, I am not sure how long you can drag it... pretty long, I think. One time I need to find out if you can go almost the whole game without revealing it.

If you tell a companion about it you will have to pass a check, but nothing bad happens if you fail, you just get a bad reaction (Gale yelled at me).

Other extra content from act 1 is about meeting the monster hunter. If you meet him pre-reveal, he will not say your name, btw. But it is pretty much the same as in Tav playthrough.

ACT 2

In act 2 you will have another nightmare (video here). This time you do not see what happens, you just see Astarion curling in his bed and thinking about his scars. This is to introduce the scars, as we have no idea he has them, and it will happen before you meet Raphael.

You can ask Raphael about the scars, but sadly none of your companions react.

Then the rest proceeds as usual. The sad part for me was meeting the drow lady who asks for a bit in exchange of a potion, and she is so different. She suddenly is very deferential, and asks quite nicely. Astarion can refuse or agree, but nothing happens, it is just almost a funny scene if he agrees and suddenly she tastes very bad. So yeah, you get the potion and no insight.

ACT 3

Act 3 is the one which has the same content but slightly different, as you will meet the spawns and Cazador from Astarion's pov.

When you meet the Gur outside BG3 the scene is exactly the same as in Tav play, minus Astarion's funny lines. When you meet Petras and Dalyria at the tavern, you get an extended scene.

You can just talk with them and convince your sister to tell you about the ritual, or you can show them that you can walk into the sun (by walking up to the window), or you can grab Petras and threaten him into the sun. If you fail to grab him, he will insult you and call you the runt of the litter. The whole scene clarified a bit that there is really a lot of animosity from Petras towards Astarion, and that Astarion was definitely the scapegoat of Cazador.

When Leon attacks you at night you also get more insight. First, you can see that if you try to explain, Leon is quite quick to hear you out, differently from Tav's playthrough. You will also find out that Cazador ordered them to take you home broken, so if you agree to go with them they will still attack you.

Another extra scene comes from the brothel one. I posted a video on my blog a couple of days ago, but basically you can talk with the drow twins and this line will pop up:

You can basically tell them that you used to be in their position too, but for you it was not consensual.

The rest of the game is the same.

The Cazador palace scenes are also the same, with Astarion commenting on the rooms. You will have extra from meeting Godey, of course. He will comment about Astarion needing to be broken and needed to respect the master. Video here.

When Astarion meets Sebastian you find out that he doesn't really immediately remember Sebastian's name. Astarion also has a "deception" check to tell Sebastian he really cared about him. You can see the video here. But the rest is pretty similar, same with meeting the children of the Gur, you can actually recognize their hunger and feel compassion for them.

When you meet with Cazador everything is pretty similar. It is interesting that you can tell him that you are an angel of vengeance to which he mocks you. This time you do not attack Cazador but he controls you immediately and you have to pass a constitution check to get free, otherwise Astarion will end up in the ritual (and the companions can free him).

Btw, you can see here all the options you have when you meet Cazador as Astarion.

Once the fight is over, Astarion can decide if he wants to complete the ritual or not. He can ask the companions to help him and I think they always do (borrowing their eyes) even if they disapprove. Interestingly, the narrator directly says "hey, this is a bad choice, no return", basically. You have three chances to stop for performing the ritual (also you can intimidate Cazador to beg for his life).

If you do not stop the ritual, your sister Dalyria will beg you to stop before dying.

Here I posted on twitter video options of the post-Cazador's fight.

As you can see, if you decide to stop the ritual the scene plays exactly the same and it is a rare one which is actually voiced by Neil. Your brothers and sisters will then come up to you, and as Astarion you will have to decide what to do with them. If you ask them not to feed on people, Petras will get a bit annoying and you will have to persuade/intimidate him. Then you decide what to do with the other spawns.

Interestingly, Dalyria gets really disappointed with Astarion if you decide to kill the spawns or trap them.

A very nice thing is that if you refuse to complete the ritual your companion will be SO SO PROUD OF YOU, especially Jaheira, Wyll and Karlach. You can see here Karlach in video, and here Wyll and Gale, and Jaheira here.

The rest plays exactly the same. There is no extra Astarion-specific content until the end.

If you play as lord vampire Astarion there is no specific end that I could find. I am not sure why, but basically in my playthrough I had not found the dragon, so technically I had not finished Wyll's quest. When Karlach was dying I could go to Avernus with her or be with her at her death... but after that nothing happens. My Astarion talked with Gale (romanced) and that was it.

Spawn Astarion ending instead has this extra scene which I found a bit ridiculous. The first part is heartbreaking, you see Astarion run from the sun and curl into a ball behind some shade, head on his knees. Then Karlach dies alone, because Astarion cannot be in the sun, and you get this extra scene of Astarion in Baldur's Gate killing/attacking a man and living his existence as a vampire. It is strange because in the pre-ending dialogue I chose to go to another city, and in the post ending I chose to go with Gale to Waterdeep, so it felt a bit random.

[uwuyangeppie]

love your yan!geppie posts! there needs to be more of that on this site hehe

if he and his darling were separated by the underworld lockdown, do you think he'll break the rules just to drag them back? or he'll endure those 10 years... and immediately rush in once the lockdown is lifted? thank you!

thank you! ur right btw cause when i looked for posts on here there was like next to nothing and i was so distraught lol. anyway-

i think that he’d have to endure it.

the supreme guardian that enforced that lockdown in the first place was cocolia, and in the trailblazer quest she definitely thought of those that lived underground as lesser.

gepard would dream up scenarios of him going down there and taking you back up with him. he’d brainstorm reasons as to why you should be the should be the sole exception to the lockdown.

but in reality, the landau family has served the supreme guardian for generations, without question, and he, (poor middle child that he is) could never be any different. so gepard sits and he does his duty day after day, week after week, and as months turn into years, he tries to comes with grips that he’ll never see you again.

and then the astral express arrives. cocolia dies. and bronya lifts the lockdown.

he barely has the restraint to keep himself above ground, fulfilling his role as he has all these years- but it’s all worth it to see your bright face coming up those stairs.

of course, your reaction could differ.

if gepard hasn’t acted beyond daydreams and stutters and flustered speech, you might be happy to see his face again. a little thrilled, even, feeling your cheeks heat up as your eyes meet his.

if you felt eyes on you while you were walking home at night, pre-lockdown, then perhaps you go up those stairs nervously. although you were initially swept up by the excitement, your memories start to surface when the cold breeze hits your face. you find all your questions answered, though, when you meet gepard’s gaze.

if you already know how deep gepard’s “affection” for you runs, then you would’ve run down there in a desperate attempt to escape from him. be it one of many or the first ever, the lockdown comes as a form of salvation. gepard hits rock bottom, and you are permanently on cloud nine. when the news of the lockdown ending reaches you, it comes with the heavy realisation that soon, you’ll be back in his arms.

[magebastard]

murmuring brook, curving about you

wc: 2123

rating: g

ship: lucanis dellamorte x loua ‘rook’ mercar

notes: pre relationship! early game! picks up immediately where the cutscene leaves off after the ‘get coffee with illario’ quest! the rating is g though this IS the ‘lucanis is not experienced’ conversation. nothing rlly inappropriate happens they’re just a couple anxious emotionally constipated clowns. this is soooo self indulgent btw. i think abt them in early game and i cannot stop thinking ‘wow. they are friends’

“Ready to head back to the Lighthouse?” Perhaps it is selfish—they rest so little. Rook wants to stay. Wants them both to stay tucked in this cafe where the blight and the war haven’t yet spread their ruin.

She has not seen him so at ease, so loose, even toiling away as he’s wont to in their dim kitchenette. Lucanis swills his coffee, a soft smile still on his lips.

“Almost.” Quietly, like a secret between them.

Loua tries not to look overly pleased.

It’s been close to a week at this point, since he’s joined them. She didn’t know him before his imprisonment, she couldn’t attest to whether or not it changed him. She cannot miss the man he was before and she’s grateful for it. She is so tired of missing. All they have is the capable assassin he seems to be now. One who, apparently, makes a fine pasta dinner and expertly crafts a shopping list. ‘Abomination’ isn’t even the first word Loua would use to describe him. It’s rather far down on the list.

“Well then,” she began. “I would love to ask you about knitting. I can sew alright, but I can barely accomplish a garter stitch.”

He quirks a brow. “I had a feeling I might be mocked for this.”

“What? What is there to mock? I asked for your help.”

“It is a domestic hobby—“

“I like that you knit.”

“And knit-wear isn’t very practical for the warmer climate—“

“Lucanis!” Loua is beaming at him when he finally pauses. He drums his fingers on the table. A few patrons are watching them, now. Coy smiles on their faces that he pointedly ignores.

“Again; I like that you knit. It is practical. And you said it yourself—it’s just another sort of dexterity training.”

“Forgive me. I’m used to employing logic to silence Illario and his jests.” He says it so breezily. The words are sharp but the intent is jocular, so familiar, even as Illario has fled them and cannot interject. Just like brothers, Loua supposes.

“There’s nothing to forgive. I imagine it’s also nice to have a focus beyond the work. And I like that you’re discerning about coffee. It implies particularity.”

It isn’t only that she’s convivial—it’s that she’s so genuine about it. There is an assertive sincerity to her prodding. She and Bellara are alike in that way. The gentle methods with which they pry are new to him. Lucanis is used to the perfunctory. The cold, calloused inquiry. From marks, from crows, from captors. He’s used to maneuvering through conversations—not having them.

But she’s made an assessment about him. Something simple enough. Benign, maybe. Or does she mean to tell him that he’s being observed? Noticed? Is she marking his weakness?

Though…

Smells like pipe-smoke. Coffee. Burnt clothes and lightning. No blood under her nails, or dry at the corners of her lips. She won’t hurt you.

Yes, he is starting to suspect as much.

“Before all of this, I lived a very comfortable life. I was in a stronger position to be particular.”

It delights him that she snorts—unrefined and comfortable. Maybe he should feel admonished or teased but it’s nice. It’s as if they’re friends.

“You don’t need to be ‘comfortable’—cough, filthy rich—to have impeccable taste in coffee. I’ll have you know; there’s a stand in Midtown, just a hair outside of Dock Town, with a dark roast that makes my heart sing. Andoral’s Breath has stiff competition out there.” Loua punctuates her lecture with a hearty sip. It is good coffee. Made better by the full moon, and the company.

“Truly? You’re sipping—guzzling, more like—Andoral’s Breath right now and you think there is a single roast that compares?”

“Guzzling!” She grins and he hesitates. This is nice. It’s as if he’s getting enough air to fill his lungs, finally, for the first time since his capture. And he’s smiling back honestly. When had that happened?

“Well, you’re not luxuriating in it as someone who is particular might.” Lucanis is joking. Spite thuds like a wind-torn rudder in his skull but his remarks are astonishingly temperate.

“Alright. We’ll get another cup each and I’ll take my time, then.” She reasons. It’s a calm, factorial resolve. Is it Spite that preens or something softer in his chest? We’ll just spend more time together, she might have said. Is he getting this right—is she enjoying this, too?

“Fine. And later, when we have a moment, I’ll have to see this coffee stand. A stand! Vaya, not a cafe or a proper shop? What of the atmosphere—can you even stop to enjoy a drink that way?”

Lucanis leans forward in his seat. He hopes to mirror her, goading and inviting. This, at least, is familiar to him. The dance of it.

“It’s a stand in a park, thank you very much. There’s a fountain and real grass and a pond. The mage lights are white after sunset. And little. Like stars.” Loua holds her conviction tightly. She doesn’t relish getting gooey and sentimental when they’ve reached such a jovial place. But something melts within her as she describes this quiet, personal thing.

To his credit, Lucanis seems to take the odd moment in stride. His smile does something saccharine and Loua will refuse to think about this for the days and weeks to come.

She shakes it off, tamps the homesick reverence out of her voice.

“And the dark roast is called King’s Cup.” Her hands are meticulous, even gesturing errantly. Mages. He would roll his eyes if he weren’t so captivated.

“Bitter and spiced—like a welcome home,” Loua pinches her fingers together, as if capturing the meaning with her hands could convey its verity. She wants to meet his passion for fine coffee, wants them to bond as she has with their gathered outfit so far.

“Ah, see, you are mocking me.” And he’s still smiling and it’s like they’re both in on this joke.

“No! I’m serious!” She laughs and laughs. “If I had to describe such a feeling, it would be like coming home. The kissing—first, goodbye or otherwise, I’m not entirely sure.” A new busker has set up near the counter, plucking away some slow melody. She wants to sway to it, feeling light enough to dance.

“Though some might say no kiss is sweeter than that of a welcome home, no?” Lucanis is messing with her and quietly Loua wishes they could have met in a time of peace. She could do this all the time with him, she decides. Sitting, laughing, ribbing. Flirting, surely, in some weird way.

“Some might—but not you? You assassin types love the heady, tragic stuff.” Ease up, you oaf. Don’t push, don’t nudge, don’t ruin this.

Though again, the sea air and gentle chords pull something loose between them. Lucanis does not respond with annoyance or discomfort. He’s still smiling at her.

“We assassin types aren’t often given a choice in that. It’s why I prefer the romance in novels. Much more range.” He’s still joking with her. Loua should take this and his tone and his quips and grasp them tightly. Move on. And yet…

When had she ever left well enough alone?

“More range than your own romances?” Perhaps if she keeps smiling, he won’t recoil at her clumsy attempt to know him. Perhaps he won’t care that the hapless leader of this crew throws her good sense away in a conversation when she carries even a mote of curiosity. Perhaps, hopefully, he will simply say ‘that’s not your business’ and they can move on—never to speak of this again.

Ah, but they were doing so well.

For a moment, to Loua’s horror, his face does betray discomfort.

Then, to her surprise, something relents and he unspools further still.

“I, personally, have none to speak of. No time, you see.” His head bobs from side to side as he contemplates explaining further. “No time, and not much vested interest, in truth. Mine is a solitary work. I don’t seek out things that are fleeting, and from there, my options are—well. It has not been a priority for me.” It shocks him that he isn’t entirely embarrassed to tell her this. Once, Lucanis believed it would shame him to be so comfortably isolated. At some point, perhaps even before the Ossuary, he must have come to accept the inexorable nature of his desires.

It helps, he supposes, that Loua only nods along. “I understand that. Between you and I; I would have benefited a lot from your foresight,” she offers in turn.

“Oh?”

“Well,” she pauses to take a sip. Stalling. “I certainly never thought to pursue anything fleeting. That doesn’t stop them from fleeting anyways.”

“Ah. My apologies—“

“No—I mean. Kaffas, that sounded bitter. Things just happen. It’s life, yeah?” Creators, maybe we should have gone back to the Lighthouse.

Lucanis nods. “Sure. Still, the heart and mind are often at odds, even as time passes. I’m sorry all the same.” And she supposes he knows a thing or two about hearts and minds. The grief and loss.

“Thank you. The novels are more fun, anyway.”

“You think?”

“Of course. Impossible trysts, impossible battles, love conquering all? What’s more fun than that?”

The lights are beginning to dim around the cafe, giving way to the strange ambience of midnight. Her fumbling notwithstanding, there is a molasses ease to leaning back and tilting her head at him. They’re just people, doing what people have always done; holding out something heart-soft and vulnerable for someone else to take.

Lucanis swallows around the sudden hard ache in his throat. Spite has conjured the sound of a cat, scratching a hard wooden door in his mind.

“Is that what you want, then? Swords and combat? Love to be the answer to stopping the mighty elvhen gods?”

She snorts again. “It could be,” she says. “But no. Not the swords and combat part. At least, not forever. I’m a Shadow Dragon—the swords are probably inevitable for a while yet. But someday—I don’t know. Maybe a house by some water. Coffee every day. A family. The happily ever after stuff.”

He tips his cup in a slight ‘cheers’. “That’s wise. I don’t imagine the tragic, heady stuff has much of a shelf life.”

Loua tips her cup back at him. “And you?”

“What about me? I can hardly make an informed decision about this.”

She points a finger. “I’m only guessing here, myself. If not romance, then what’s happily ever after? You said you haven’t had much of an opportunity to choose for yourself, so imagine it. The world is wide open for you. We finish the evanuris, then what?”

“You’re especially optimistic this evening.”

“I’m always optimistic. It’s my best and worst quality. Go on.”

Lucanis takes a moment, chewing it over. There is a kind of comfort that comes with never having to decide these things. His life has been a ruthless straight line. Pushing onward, never stalling to question or process. Mourning only in the dark. There has never been another way.

His eyes stay fixed on hers, dark and bright like sunlit woods. Loua lounges in her seat. She’s smiling at him, encouraging as ever. Free of the loneliness that dogs him. Perhaps there has always been another way.

“A family would be nice, I think. Death is my purview and it’s a demanding employer, but if I could—if there were something else.” He swallows, tries not to stutter. “If I could even begin to consider something else, yes. A house, a family. Perhaps we’d all knit. Something peaceful.”

The song the busker plays has gone impossibly sweet. Loua knows without knowing that the fool is staring directly at their table and she tries not to pay any mind beyond that. She tries not to give them too much ammunition in the way that she cannot control her face around this man.

Is he blushing? Loua wonders. Am I blushing? Of course I am, look at him.

The crowd around the bar must have died down. The barista on shift strolls up, practically giddy to deliver them a refill and collect their empty mugs. Loua wrenches her gaze away to nod and thank them. Pointedly ignoring the glee and mischief.

This place…

Lucanis seems to gather himself after a long beat.

“Though, as I’ve said, who’s to know what I really want? My own body is housing a demon and the world as we know it may end. ‘Something peaceful’ becomes a loftier goal by the hour.”

Her brows furrow at his dismissal. Loua could argue, but goodness, when was the last time she fought for anything that had nothing to do with her cause. Had she ever truly planned on settling down one day? Had she ever planned on leaving Tevinter when it still had use for her?

There’s comfort in having a purpose, she supposes. Though very suddenly it all seems so heavy to bear. Is it so ridiculous to think they all might rest once the evanuris are defeated? Is it so greedy to want to pursue the purpose of finding peace?

Is it so bizarre that she wants that for him?

For all of them, of course.

What am I doing?

Loua taps the lip of his mug with her own.

“To something peaceful,” she says. Lucanis huffs a quiet laugh.

“Something peaceful for us both.”

[thefandomexpert]

ok. i see u complaining about how long it takes to get to shb, how are you supposed to get your friends into the fucking WONDER that is shb when they have to get through all of The Other Stuff First

I used to have this problem with Homestuck, people who wanted to skip to the trolls, or pass on the intermissions. I will repeat what I said then now:

The later stuff is mind-blowingly good BECAUSE of the setup slog. which is also fun btw, you’re having trouble selling it because you keep saying it’s a slog. it’s good storytelling! yes even arr and sb (i didn’t say it was the best storytelling!! but i’ve seen way fuckin worse!!!). You need to spend 300 hours with the characters and to watch them grow gradually for a LOT of the little character moments to even register later on, and i’m not even talking about the ascian reveals. estinien is a completely different character. thancred’s deep-seated issues have been brewing subtly since 1.0. the socio-economic political climate of the universe is SO important and SO well set up by the arr random task/fetch quests (BABY INCONSEQUENTIAL QUESTS. YEAH THE STUPID ONES IN THE INTRO PRE-SASTASHA SEQUENCES WITH THE NPCS YOU DONT REMEMBER. THOSE.) and that info is integral to character decisions made in every expansion afterwords, and is built upon consistently. the consistent build-up of the lore is, in my opinion, almost entirely the reason ffxiv’s writing stands out against other games of the genre. and it’s BOLSTERED by the fact that it’s a live service game with a shit ton of expansions you HAVE to play through single file when you start fresh. narrative games are usually 15-20 hours. ffxiv is giving you 500+ in msq alone (won’t get into how much the optional and side quests support the storytelling as well).

It’s like one of those long-running book series. you can’t ask someone to read Just the last book of animorphs and expect them to understand the narrative implications of what’s happening, or to get attached to the characters enough to care. that attachment and understanding is built by spending time and reading the other 1500 books prior. shb should not be treated as a stand-alone. in fact it’d be a bad standalone. it’s good BECAUSE there’s 500+ hours of playtime required to get there.