#routes-mechanics-and weapons

[mommytimmy]

what do you mean people can make posts on the internet without knowing anything about what they're talking about? 🤯

[redflagshipwriter]

Mamabat 10 part 1/2

Chapter 10 : Calling from Hell just to say the demons are suspiciously absent, is that fine?

masterpost

“Fucking Batman,” Val said under her breath. Her Red Huntress mask muffled the words and made them come out even meaner than she probably meant them. “Years late and too little, even if he’s not working with the GIW.”

Sam hefted her requisitioned Fenton bazooka and pressed her lips even further together. None of them liked this at all. It stank. It was suspicious. Danny hadn’t sounded distressed, but he’d been out of contact too long for such a short conversation to put her at ease. There hadn’t even been time to update him on what had gone on in Amity Park.

“There.” Sam followed Val’s pointer finger to see the nearly invisible outline of a jet in the faint light. It was landing in the right field. 

“It’s them or it’s a trap,” Sam muttered.

Val let out a mean laugh. “If it’s someone we don’t expect, they’re the ones in trouble.”

Sam huffed and said nothing. She couldn’t disagree, but Val seemed too confident for her comfort. They waited in tense silence to see the jet come to a landing. Not long after, a hatch popped open and the distinctive ears of Batman himself were the first out into the cold night air of a January night in Amity Park. 

He was quickly followed by smaller figures- 1, 2, 3 of them. Sam felt nerves churning in her gut. She tried to channel them into aggression. She had to be tough, tougher than usual. There was no cavalry waiting to help out.

Well, there was Tucker, but he was probably going to be more useful in the wings to feed them information. He was pretty good aim with a thermos but that wouldn’t do jack about Batman and a small flock of, what, junior associates?

“Does Batman work with children?” Sam asked under her breath. One of them was genuinely small.

Tucker snickered on the other end of the line. “Uh,  there’s supposed to be a Robin. Guy in yellow, green, and red I guess? Aside from that, there’s debatably like, 6 former Robins associated with him. But there’s also the Justice League’s junior varsity team, so it’s hard to say.”

She frowned at the lineup. She saw purple, black, and red. There was- yeah, okay, there was quite a bit of yellow when the little guy faced them, but she didn’t see any green.

“Showtime,” Val said. Sam crouched further behind cover as the other girl zoomed out on her hoverboard, effortlessly drawing Batman’s eye. She adjusted the dial on her sound settings to hear Val’s feed just a little louder.

“Batman.”

“You have me at a disadvantage.” Sam cringed at the gravely voice over her sound system. Batman sounded like he smoked a pack a day. She turned the volume down just a hint.

“Not really, there’s four of you,” Val said breezily. Sam suppressed a snort at the dodge. “You wanna meet Jazz Fenton? You’re going to have to prove that you’re not a plant. There’s a GIW facility-”

“Two miles west of here, yes,” Batman interrupted. “I researched.”

“Great. Do you have ground transport?”

“Of course. What is it that you expect me to prove?”

“That you’re not with them.” The subtle whine of Valerie’s weapons started up. Sam only heard it because she was hooked up to the helmet. “They do experimentation and keep prisoners. Show me that you’re not a cop.”

“The police would not support the capture and abuse of people.”

Valerie made a skeptical sound in the back of her throat. Sam couldn’t blame her. “Yeah, but they do.” Her hoverboard’s jet whooshed up in power. “Meet me there, outside the main gate.” She was off like a shot in the dark. 

The four out of towners didn’t take long to get four silent motorcycles out and dash down the lane. Sam thought about what she’d heard as she cut a more direct route on Valerie’s spare hoverboard, taken from Vlad’s deserted mechanics lab. 

Either Batman was a liar, naive, or he was exactly what they were worried he might be. The Justice League was famously affiliated with governments. Wonder Woman was even a member of the United Nations! If someone accepted the claim that Infinite Realms Residents weren’t really people, then they’d say just what Batman had. It wasn’t lying if you didn’t think the people you were hurting were really people.

Sam watched from a distance as the group reached the gated facility. One of Batman's people did something that unlatched the electronic security system. It swung open. 

“Not shabby,” Tucker said quietly. “I coulda done it faster.”

“Not unless it goes off the rails,” Sam reminded him. She clenched a fist against her thigh. They needed to see Batman's real colors before they risked him knowing about their group. It was hard to outplan what you didn't know about, and they'd need every advantage they could get. 

She let them all go ahead before she followed onto the property. It was eerily deserted, tire tracks where dozens of white Vans ought to have been. 

The GIW had deserted Amity Park weeks ago. They were pretty sure there was a skeleton crew stationed out here, but no one came and left anymore. They only occasionally saw an agent wander across the path of a security camera, which were sparse inside the building.

But that didn't mean it wasn't dangerous to be here. Even now, a camera swiveled over the lawn, blinking a clear light that was easy to miss during the day. There was a reason that they hadn't risked a second raid after Danny had barely made it out last time. 

Sam swallowed, hard. The bitterness in her mouth felt a lot like guilt. Who knew what the GIW had been doing? They could have someone else held captive. It was a big building. Danny might have missed someone when he was breaking Vlad out. 

‘We did what we could, and we are making a move now.’ 

She repositioned her weapon and waited, tense with nerves. All she was meant to do now was follow along via what she heard on Val's comms and be in the wings to facilitate an escape, if needed. 

“Left,” said Batman quietly. The comms were quiet for a long moment, then- “clear. Clear. Clear.” 

Sam shifted her weight from one foot to the other. 

“Red Robin.” 

“Got it,” came a response, barely audible. Val must have been hanging close to Batman, then. 

“You think now's a good time to try their computers?” Val said helpfully. 

Tucker snorted. “Could just ask,” he sang to himself, cocky as hell. “I know all.”

Sam rolled her eyes. He didn't know all. About half of the property was disconnected from the security system, meaning they had no eyes on whatever was down there. 

“Six stationed here.” 

That had to be Red Robin’s voice. Sam cocked her head and focused on it, frowning slightly. Did it sound young?

Tucker's computer chair made a click when he sat up too fast. “Wait, what? How'd-” His end of the line devolved into rapid typing. 

“Did you find a schedule?” 

“No, it's not in the system. They're on paper, I suppose.” Seconds passed. “My bet is that labs would be in this wing.” 

“Be my guest,” Val drawled. Sam could all but see her crossing her arms across her chest. 

The line went silent for a while. Then, faintly, there came the sound of a metal door opening. 

“Fu-” A GIW blaster went off. “Intru-”

The alarm was cut off before the GIW goon got out a full word, but odds were good he'd been heard anyway. Sam flexed her hands. Sitting this out sucked. She wanted to see what was happening. How many agents were there?

“Robin!” Batman snapped. 

‘The little one?’

Sam felt vaguely ill. They had to be okay. This was Batman’s team.

[inbarfink]

Any analysis of how Undertale deals with Pacifism and how it tries to guide the Player towards it has to take a deep look at Papyrus. Because Papyrus is the one character in the game who will never kill, the one actual ‘True Pacifist’ in the game’s main cast. 

I mean, the Player can be an even bigger Pacifist. Papyrus does still FIGHT, and the Player can get through an entire run without draining a single sliver of HP. But… they can also be the world’s biggest murderbastard and literally stab reality to death. 

Toriel would very much like to not kill, but she is also fully capable of doing so.

Same with Asgore, but he has a lot more actual blood on his hands. Undyne and Mettaton are both fully 100% willing to kill to accomplish their goals. Sans is non-violent in most runs because he’s too lazy and depressed to do anything, and when he is motivated into actions - it is in the form of a FIGHT to the death. Alphys… the timeline is a bit fuzzy cause both she and Mettaton love lying so much, but it seems like she did sincerely add deadly weapons to Mettaton cause killing humans would make him more 'useful' and then had second thoughts once she developed a parasocial relationship with the Human Child and THEN she and Mettaton started hatching their little play-acting plan. I think??

With Papyrus there is NONE of this ambiguity, we know for sure - no matter what timeline or what may come - The Great Papyrus will always choose MERCY.

And the interesting thing about that is on a Meta-Sense, Papyrus is a very rare example of the game giving MERCY towards the Player. 

Because the game starts out being really obtuse with the Sparing mechanic and how it works. If you want to be a Pacifist in Undertale from the get-go, you’re gonna have to work for it. You're gonna have to figure it out on your own and commit to it and believe that it's possible. It's basically a test of your own belief in non-violence and your moral integrity. Then, the RUINS end with the Toriel boss battle - in a way, that’s probably the hardest Sparing puzzle in the whole game. And it’s very very easy to accidentally kill her. (I’d almost say that’s the intention of the battle, to try to goad the Player into Resetting so they can see how the game remembers across RESETs)

And then we have Papyrus, and it’s not just that his ‘Sparing Puzzle’ is something as simple as outlasting him and letting him run out of dialogue - and it’s not just that he’s the only boss that will just give up and let you continue if you lose to him enough times. it’s also that, just as Papyrus is the only boss incapable of accidentally killing the Player - he’s also the only boss that the player is incapable of accidentally killing.

(Okay, fine, to be pedantic, there’s also Asgore)

I mean, the Player can certainly kill him if they want to - but draining Papyrus’s HP just makes him skip through his battle dialogue right to the end of it. It’s designed in such a way that, no matter what Route you're on and no matter what approach you take with Papyrus - you will always end up on this screen.

Unlike basically any other Monster in this game, including the major boss battle just before him - you can’t kill Papyrus accidently. You can't kill him without also having Sparing him as an option. The game kinda treats killing Papyrus as one of the Worst Things You Can Do because killing Papyrus will always be a deliberate, considered action done to a person who will not kill you and who has stopped wanting to FIGHT and has extended a hand of Mercy. With the game clearly communicating what you need to do to Spare him at that moment.

And that means that - even if you killed before, even if you don’t have the patience of a True Pacifist, even if you spent all this time in the game without even trying to engage with the Sparing mechanic… as long as you don’t want to be a Huge Rat Bastard, the game is basically gifting you with the very very easy option to not be. Being a Pacifist in Undertale is usually a challenge - a puzzle to be solved, a test to pass. But as long as you aren’t intentionally trying to be the Worst Person - the game is basically giving you Papyrus. 

If you accept his Mercy, you are accepting the game’s Mercy. That sort of benefit-of-the-doubt assumption that maybe all of the LOVE you might have accumulated so far was all due to honest mistakes or panic or an attempt in self-defense. That you still deserve this one chance to prove that you are not intentionally, maliciously cruel - or at least not like the Worst Person in the World. Even if you did kill before, you still deserve at least one friend.

And Sparing Papyrus leads you to his wonderful Hangout/Dating Sequence and to his Phone Calls and they all add so much wholesome charm to the Undertale experience and no matter what happens Papyrus will always think the best of the Player and he will always trust them and it also makes Sans also kinda your buddy by default. And more than just adding a little bit of wholesome charm into even the more LOVE-filled Playthroughs, I think this is meant to try and incentivize these players into trying out the Mercy mechanic a bit more.

Whatever it’s, like, for future playthroughs or Resetting the game right there to try a True Pacifist Run right there and then or just trying to be a little kinder for the rest of this current playthrough - especially since there’s an emphasis about the close friendship Papyrus has with the upcoming boss Undyne, and to a lesser extent with his idol and next-next boss battle Mettaton. It’s like “well, if you didn’t figure out how to spare before, this is how you do it? And isn’t it nice to have a friend? Isn’t it nice to not have to kill this lovable skeleton man? You should do this more often wink wink nudge nudge!”

And it’s like… all of Papyrus’ loved ones care about him so much but they also look down on his pacifism. They see his inability to kill and desire to make friends as simple naivete and that’s why all tend to hide the truth from him all the time. About what will happen to the Human he will capture, about what his new Human friend might’ve done, about the fact that they view him as so naïve. 

They admire it on some level, that’s why they want to protect it, but they also see it as a weakness which is why they want to protect it by lying to him all the time. But, you know, Undyne says that if Papyrus goes into battle he’ll be ‘ripped into little smiling shreds’ and that is certainly what happens every time a Player chooses to refuse Papyrus’ Mercy and the game’s Mercy and press that FIGHT button…

But have you thought about all the times that doesn’t happen? All the careless or violent players who were offered that skeletal hand of friendship, accepted it and then carried that offered kindness forward for the rest of the game? All the players motivated to do good for the sake of their buddy Papyrus? All the Murder Routes stopped because the player just didn’t have it in them to kill someone who believes in them so earnestly?

Like, no, it’s not a surefire thing - especially since Papyrus has so much less narrative power than the Actual Unkillable Time God that is the Player. But it happened, and it happened many many times to many players. Papyrus offered Mercy, the game offered Mercy. And much like Frisk’s Pacifism, it comes from a place of seeing the honest goodness in your ‘enemy’ and can inspire them to become a better person - this little sparkle of goodness being passed forwards. 

And I think that’s beautiful, even if it didn’t happen in every timeline. Any potential future where Papyrus’ kindness can have such an effect on the Player and thus the entire trajectory of the Underground validates his kindness and pacifism on some level - even if there are also always the potential worlds that it backfires completely. 

And there’s also one other way in which the Great Papyrus Proves Pacifism Pays. One that is a bit more practical, perhaps. And one that Papyrus himself is not even aware of. 

Papyrus’ boss battle can be a surprisingly challenging one specifically because he is the only one who doesn’t kill the Player.

Like there is a reason why Papyrus will just offer you to skip his Fight after you lose to him three times, because if he didn’t do that - there’s an honest risk that the Player can get stuck in a much stuckier way than anywhere else in the game. 

Because, like, for basically any other character in the game, being killed is the Worst Thing that could ever happen to them. For everyone except the actual Player Character because we are an Actual Unkillable Time God and dying is nothing more than a minor annoyance that sets you back to your last SAVE Point. So, leaving aside Papyrus’ admirably kind intentions - there is not much material difference from the Player’s perspective between getting Captured and getting a more traditional GAME OVER. Except…

Except getting Captured does not undo everything that happened in your inventory during the battle. In every other Undertale battle, if you use all of your items but still lose - the GAME OVER at least means you get your stuff back. But because Papyrus doesn’t kill you, any healing item you’ve used during the battle is still used. I have watched so many Undertale Let’s Players waste all of their valuable items on their first Papyrus battle and then have to face him again without them and thus do even worse in their second go… and then their third go... and thankfully then Papyrus offers them to skip the fight.

And while that technically can be circumvented by just manually closing the game and opening it back again on their pre-battle SAVE Point, a lot of players are gonna reflexively Save over it if they pop over to the Shop or the Snowed Inn before their second attempt at the battle. If Papyrus didn’t offer that chance to skip his battle, it could’ve easily become a softlock situation for a huge chunk of players - because he doesn’t kill the Player.

Most of Undertale deals with the value of non-violence from a standpoint of morality and kindness and personal connections. Since most people do die when they get killed. But when dealing with an Unkillable Time God like the Player, Papyrus proves that not-killing might actually be the most practical solution.

Of course, it doesn’t seem like Papyrus is aware of any of this. From his perspective, he is just offering genuine mercy to a being just as ephemeral as he is. But it accidentally turned into one of the most effective methods of blocking the Player’s way… at least he didn’t offer us an opt out so soon after that. 

And it’s interesting when comparing him to how his brother Sans - one of the few people actually aware of the existence of SAVEs and RESETs - deals with the Player. Because the Sans boss battle at the end of the Murder Route is entirely based on the concept that death is nothing but an annoyance to the Player. Sans is less trying to kill the Player (the way Undyne the Undying did), he is simply trying to annoy the Player into a ragequit. But he is still killing the Player.

Now imagine a Sans battle where he has all of his usual annoying tricks, but also instead of killing you - he captures you just like his brother would’ve in a happier timeline. And while it’s not a fool-proof plan to stop the Player in their tracks - he could very easily stick them in that sort of softlock situation where they have to battle him again and again without any Healing Items. Forcing them to either abandon the game or RESET the whole world back the way it was - just like Sans wants them too. 

But instead, by killing the Player, he is just allowing that perfect second-third-fourth-fifth-sixth-try where they get all of their Stuff back. And he does actually knows that. And why doesn’t he do that? (Speaking here from an in-universe character study perspective. Obviously the Doylist answer is that the game doesn’t want to Softlock you even in the most deliberately-frustrating part of the game).

Maybe, even though he intellectually knows that killing the Player will be of no help - he still does it because he wants to. Because he just wants to get back at the evil murderous monster that took his brother from him and destroyed his entire world even if he knows it’s actually ineffective. And this thirst for bloodshed is, ironically, blinding him from a new exciting way to actually practically stop that murderous bastard who is themself motivated entirely by bloodshed. 

Maybe he just can’t do something like that. Reducing an enemy to exactly one HP and then stopping is not a feat anyone else in the game is capable of pulling off - even the ones who would obviously use such a thing (like Toriel or a Player with a Pacifist intentions). Maybe it’s something that requires a lot of hard practice and discipline and carefulness, that Sans never thought to put in because he didn’t see it as a useful skill the way Papyrus did. 

Maybe that wouldn’t have worked anyways. After all, and that’s something I kinda touched on in a previous Overly Long Rambly Hot Take - Sans’ War of Attrition against the Player is greatly helped by the fact he can’t remember every single previous try and so he can’t get exhausted the way the Player can get. Obviously, without a GAME OVER induced RESET that will not apply. Which is especially notable because… Sans’ laziness is literally what brings him down at the end of that Boss Battle. 

So maybe, while Papyrus, as long as you decline his offer to skip the battle, is capable of offering just the same Battle as before over and over and over again.... It’s possible that Sans just won’t be able to pull off two or three or more battles of the same intensity and difficulty in a row without a RESET to undo his own exhaustion. 

But I think it’s at least worth considering the option, y’know? That after all this time of viewing Papyrus’ kindness as sweet-and-yet-kinda-foolish-naïveté - that exact viewpoint made Sans overlook the perfect solution to dealing with his little Murderous Time God problem. Cause he just never considered that while killing might be fully morally justifiable in this situation and very very satisfying, that does not necessarily mean it is actually the most practical solution. And that maybe, in a weirdly twisted way, Pacifism WAS the answer.  

[indierpgnewsletter]

Playing Rabbits in an RPG from 1976

(This continues our 2024 series, 10 Games From The First 10 Years. First published in the Indie RPG Newsletter)

It is genuinely surprising to me that in 1976, within two years of D&D coming out, someone published a game about being rabbits. It makes a little more sense when you realize that it was inspired by Watership Down and the designers were, I believe, zoologists or something similar. But having read it, the premise is the least interesting part of this game. It has so many fascinating little ideas.

Bunnies & Burrows is a game about rabbits … but these aren’t just rabbits, they fight, explore, gamble, study herbs, see the future, parley with beetles, find love, have children – and the list goes on. The end result are characters that ironically feel more human than you’d imagine.

As I play more games, I learn about games, sure, but I’m also learning a lot about myself. And a rule of thumb has slowly emerged: I want to play games that lead to interesting, surprising, unique things being said by the players. I’ve sometimes phrased it as “people want to say cool shit at the table”. I’m people.

Bunnies & Burrows starts with D&D as a jumping off point – there’s that old, familiar rolling 3d6 down the line to get your stats. But that’s more or less where the similarities end. You have rules for fighting but it’s not D&D combat – this game is often described as having “the first martial arts system” but what this means is that fighting is mostly weapon-less and involves declaring actions that flow into each other as patterns or c-c-combos. Basically, some actions set up other actions – you can’t Rip into another rabbit unless you already pulled off a Bite & Hold in the last turn. Some actions like Run aren’t possible if you’ve just done a Pin or a Rip in the previous turn and so on. I didn’t actually get to play out a fight but these rules got me grinning.

And the whole thing is like that. The study and application of herbs is meant to be a little puzzle where through trial-and-error and dice rolls, you slowly figure out what’s good for you and what isn’t. The languages and persuasion rules mean that certain characters can become envoys to other species. Because a language can mean the difference between things turning violent and a peaceful negotiation between rabbits and a mother scorpion that has accidentally wandered into their warren.

Don’t get me wrong. Most of these little pieces are eccentric and inelegant – always more convoluted than you’d like but still a major leap forward in playability because in the end, it’s a d100 roll under a target number. All the fiddliness – and there’s a lot of it – lies in the absolutely esoteric ways this game invents for calculating that target number. But I find it easy to forgive this in an old game, especially when the most interesting part of the game doesn’t lie in the mechanics but the negative space the rules seem to create.

The donut hole in the centre of this game – fruitful void? uncrowded centre? – is the question: What is rabbit society like? This is a setting question – or rather, a system of relation question – that is never asked but it must be answered. The mechanics have some opinions. For example, every player picks a profession when they make a character – Empath, Seer, Storyteller, Scout, and so on. Some of this comes from Watership Down, which can, of course, be your ready-made answer – it’s the unstated but obvious setting sourcebook for this game. But if you don’t go down that route, you’ve got a juicy problem: What do we value? What do we despise?

[randomnameless]

In a way I realise the issue with Fodlan is pretty similar to the one found in Tellius regarding Brandeds, but refusing to acknowledge part of the issue, the games pushes for a less than ideal solution, especially with this ending.

You summed up Claude and his routes as fuck the past and the traditions associated with it.

And I'm thinking, with hindsight, about Rhea's words here.

In our absence, future generations are likely to repeat the foolish actions of their ancestor.

And when that happens, who will be left to stop them? This land has suffered enough as it is.

Nabateans are associated in this route, but Rhea and her Church in general, to the "past and traditions".

In VW, Rhea reveals the truth and is put in the fridge (dying off screen).

And who pops up when we're sure Rhea won't return ?

On the one hand, we can see Nemesis's sudden return and ultimately, final death, as the occasion to cleanse Fodlan from all of its past history and secrets, no more Seiros, no more Nemesis, we get a blank canvas to work with.

On the other hand... Even if the canvas is now blank, what is going to happen next ?

As you pointed out in your post :

but now the false history of Fodlan has been corrected. People now know what the past really was, not some glamorized image of it from the Agarthans nor the story told as part of a peace treaty. The Church is still going to be there, helping to rebuild Fodlan after the slate was wiped clean, free to spread it's messages without having to also recite falsehoods that can give people mixed messages

Will the Church really be free to spread its messages without falsehoods ?

And that's where the Tellius parallel comes in, Fodlan refuses to engage with Nabateans.

Will the Church really reveal that Crests come from Nabateans, and the origin of relics ? Will Flayn will free to show her ears to the world and not be afraid for, idk, potential kids she might have being turned in poleaxes ? Or bled, like she was, to get power ?

VW doesn't answer, hell, no Fodlan game gives an answer.

Hell, we can even make a link : the second she reveals the truth about relics and crests, Nemesis and his Elites, living (well) proofs of human greed and lust for power return.

Rhea sealed Nemesis, just like she "sealed" the truth about Fodlan and Nabateans with her lies.

When the jig is up, Nemesis and his allies return-the game reminds us why those lies were created in the first place.

Some people meme'd and called Nemesis the "ceo of racism", but Nemesis is only an example of human greed/lust for power :: we got Supreme Leader and, arguably, Claude in GW and, even if it ends on a positive note because Claude has a treaty in his hands, the ending mural imo still has one party holding weapons when the others aren't.

VW is painfully silent on the aftermath of Rhea's big reveal - no one reacts to it because, well, Fodlan game means we dgaf about Nabateans but hey, Lorenz just learnt that slaughtering people with pointy ears can give him a relic and a super powerup. Lorenz isn't the kind of person to abuse his power (at least not in VW), but if this "truth" is told to Erwin? What if Erwin immediately wants to secure a marriage between Lorenz and Flayn to get future "super human" heirs? Or maybe, use her in, uh, a more "Agarthan" way to get a poleaxe and new crest for a future line?

Are Nabateans really "free" to live and spread their teachings in a world where there are no lies, and the truth is revealed?

Imo, VW doesn't end with the blank and "new" dawn presented by the game, but it's, again, a return to a past state : an era where humans and Nabateans lived together, but humans knew what kind of power they could get from a Nabatean...

And we know how that ended!

Maybe it was just a "skill" issue and like, where Nabateans and Sothis herself failed to curb down human greed and envy - which led to Zanado's party and Nemesis - maybe Billy and Claude will do better...

And yet, it's just some "maybes" and, at the end of the day, sort of headcanons?

"Telling the Truth" and "Smashing the lies" effectively means painting a giant target on every Nabatean's back. From now then, we won't know what will happen - but we know what happened the last time humans got this knowledge.

And the game, this route's lead (bcs let's be honest, Billy is as relevant as a flower pot in this route) doesn't even take this, say, immediate consequence in consideration.

Rhea conveniently dies at the end of VW - while Seteth'n'Flayn are pretty much ignored in this route as Nabateans - but if she didn't and Claude told her he was going to reveal the "Truth" to get rid of Fodlan's past and traditions, to make a world where everyone can live together regardless of race, etc etc.

Wouldn't Rhea just look at Failnaught, and tell him that Sothis/Nabateans already tried to live with humans - without any lies or omissions, but when Humans desired more power, Nabateans ended up as glorified weapons?

What is going to prevent Claude/Billy from making the same mistakes (slaugther Nabateans to get weapons/trust humans with their secret and hope they won't kill the remaining Nabateans?) their ancestors (Riegan, but also, in a way, Sothis/the Nabateans themselves!) made?

Why were those lies built? Is the "truth" and getting a blank canvas - to create a new society - more important than the lives of a few people ?

I agree with you when you say VW doesn't end up with a "traditional jp" ending, because VW (or maybe I was too influenced by discourse) ultimately champions the "Getting to know the Truth/ending lies" is more important than anything else, regardless of the consequences - I know this also parallels a cultural difference between some parts of the world, lying can be seen very negatively but in some other areas giving half-truths and omissions are more "accepted", especially if it's to protect/bury something important.

Is revealing the Truth and ending Rhea's lies going to benefit Fodlan ?

We don't know, but we know why those lies were made, which VW reminds us through its final boss.

Supreme Leader sacrificed people to get power/for her IdEaLS (even if VW still has her line refusing Flayn's place in Fodlan because of her race!), Nemesis massacred people to get power, in an alternate world, Claude will also kill random people for his IdeAlS (and to get more power!)...

Is it the same of VW!Claude? To make a new world with new values, he sacrifices the few remaining Nabateans?

And in a way, it's annoying because Claude, through WC when he realises Tomas was Solon, understands that piercing the church's secret (aka the Immaculate One and her crest stone) is less important than, in this case, refusing to saddle the Church with another problem/issue and taking part in Solon's plans, aka, Claude could determine that there was something else at stake here than "getting to know the truth and ending lies".

But when Rhea gives her infodump? The end of VW? After knowing why those lies were made up?

"Fuck the past, fuck the traditions associated with it, let's end those lies" which, implicitely but ultimately leads to "fuck Nabateans and their survival".

---

Much like Tellius who goes "lol" about, arguably, one of the reasons why the Big Bad does Big Bad things - none of Fodlan's endings (bar Tru Piss lol) deal with the crux behind Rhea's lies, which is often cited as one of the reasons why "the war" happened.

Is there a future for Nabateans to live as Nabateans (aka not hide their ears and maybe transform in front of people) in Fodlan?

Sadly... none of the endings (again, save for Tru Piss) give an answer, and VW, in this way, returns to the situation that existed pre Agartha War. Will History repeat itself again, with a new Red Canyon and a new Nemesis later down the years? We won't know.

I know Claude (and Dimi!) can marry Billy and Flayn, thus, technically, it means they could get (through Flayn?) part Nabatean children... and yet, would those children have to hide like Flayn does in the current Fodlan, or free to bare their ears - if everyone, from Bob the Carpenter to Derrick the soldier, that the Queen/Prince/Princess can be turned in a shiny poleaxe and grant them super powers?

I don't think that's what the games wanted to say (especially with Tellius lol), but that's the conclusion they lead to.

VW ends as a new dawn for Fodlan, it's supposed to be full of hope and a joyful ending !

And yet, just like Tellius that ends with Beorcs and Laguz joking and getting alone, there's still the biggest question left hanging : can they really get along if Laguz die when they "get too close" and racial segregation, at least when it comes to breeding, is the only way they can survive?

VW ends with a positive note between Almyran (or Dagdan?) armies and Fodlan signing a peace treaty, and yet we still see the "foreigner" army with weapons when Fodlanese people have none, besides, there's no Nabatean (no Billy) in this scene, so what, for humans to get along, Nabs have to put under the bus? What of Relics and Crests, is that secret out in the wild and the reason we don't see any in that mural, or they still exist but the game pretends no one will ever give a fuck about it?

Granted, unlike Tellius, I can chalk Fodlan's lack of, uh, resolution, to crap writting and the devs prioritising something else than coherency in their world (tfw no continuity guy and the "uh we added things here'n'there to make the world seem bigger and that's why we left some stuff hanging but don't worry we have our 10k years of lore notes somewhere" from the interview...).

With the last few points in mind, we can see how SS, AM and VW are may be somewhat radical from a Japanese POV.

In SS, Byleth's leadership goes against a very common mentality in Japan where it's viewed as wrong to give people money they did not earn, even when that person is in dire straights. In fact, begging for money is actually illegal over there. So with that in mind, Byleth focusing on reconstruction of Fodlan in addition to the Japanese text saying he supported “every soul” in a motherly-fashion, it does point to Byleth's rule being one that looked out for the people.

It also has elements associated with oudou, considering the Sword of the Creator's Japanese name the Sword of the Emperor of Heaven. Emperor of Heaven is term for the Jade Emperor, the deity that oversees Heaven's mandate (Mazu, the Emperess of Heaven, is commonly depicted in red robes... but she's associated with water as a sea goddess, not fire. She's also said to be an incarnation of the Jade Woman of Marvelous Deeds, and associated with a star in the big dipper, who is said to oversee all aspects of life and death and help those who call upon her. So, Edelgard's color scheme itself might be a red herring, as Sothis is the one associated with water). Byleth judged Edelgard as unworthy of following, rejecting her and in turn leading the Black Eagles to do the same. They no longer bend the knee to their emperor simply because she is their emperor, they take a stand against her actions and work to remove her from power. And this is consistent for them regardless of whether Byleth taught their House or recruited them to another House, not joining Edelgard is tied to their character development (see Ferdinand and Caspar's paralogues not being available in Flower).

Dimitri takes Byleth's supporting the poor a few steps further, believing change has to come from the people and giving them a voice in politics while at the same time supporting them. He empowers the masses, and on top of that even has focus on improving relations with foreign nations (whereas the Japanese text indicates Edelgard begins invading other countries). Dimitri is also meant to represent oudou himself, a benevolent ruler justly governing the people.

Claude also identifies Edelgard's rule as oudou, stops her, but then puts Byleth and his version of oudou in charge of Fodlan. I think the best way to put how Claude is radical is, to put it bluntly, fuck the past and fuck the traditions associated with it.

Claude's goal in coming to Fodlan was to learn from it in order to change Almyra, and he got that in Verdant Wind. He begins transforming his homeland into a trading powerhouse, works with the Church in order to bridge the two nations, and can even introduce magic to his country in one ending. On top of that, people have noted that he embodied a very negative stereotype of his people in Hopes, so his character growth proved beneficial. He's no longer the type who will flee to save his own life rather than protecting his people, he stops trying to manipulate everyone and instead work with them as well.

When applied to Fodlan, it's not saying that the Church is bad. It still continues to exist, but now the false history of Fodlan has been corrected. People now know what the past really was, not some glamorized image of it from the Agarthans nor the story told as part of a peace treaty. The Church is still going to be there, helping to rebuild Fodlan after the slate was wiped clean, free to spread it's messages without having to also recite falsehoods that can give people mixed messages. And on top of that, there's also support for other faiths and customs to be brought in, accepted and learned from. The game really drives home it's the dawn of a new era for a reason.

So, we have that. Meanwhile Edelgard trying to set the clock back on Fodlan, spouting ideals informed by Agarthan manipulations, and trying to conquer the world... this is all supposed to be tyranny according to the devs. SS, AM and VW all support some form of progress whereas Flower, once you see through the cracks and get to know Edelgard, is supposed to be regression. To return to old ways, old traditions, that the Church put a stop to for good reason.

[murdrdocs]

i’ve been thinking abt zombieau!luke lately but specifically that drabble of having to hide out from the walkers in the closet - what happened when they got back/while they were gone? like were percy and annabeth safe and sound or.. 🤔

previous this was gonna be happy and then i remembered ... nothing is happy in a zombie au!; angst; allusions to smut; MDNI 18+ 1.1k+ words

First daylight comes and you and Luke are sneaking out of the supply closet.

You're made aware of the step-shuffle of the stragglers of the herd, mindlessly wandering around the CVS while you and Luke calculate the best exit route.

Miraculously, you both make it out without any confrontation. Luke holds the weapons, and you hold the duffle bag full of medicine, hygiene products, any anything else you could fit in there. Truthfully, it was a successful trip. There's enough food to last for a while when added to your supply back home, you now have more pads and tampons than you had before, there are fresh bars of soap and you even managed to grab a few skincare products. Plus, the supply run got you fucked. Over and over and over again.

You should be happy. You should be gleefully skipping down the abandoned street back on your way home. But you're determinedly stomping instead, walking a few paces ahead of Luke as you exert more energy than you should be exerting. Your stomach rumbles every so often, reminding you that the last time you ate was nearly 24 hours ago at this point.

"Grab a granola bar out of the bag," Luke tries to convince you, his voice more relaxed than it should be in your opinion.

"No." You don't give much explanation, but you're sure Luke knows you're too stressed to eat. He likely also knows you're saving the bars for Percy. They were his favorite as you proclaimed as soon as you saw them.

"They're fine."

He sounds so assured, so relaxed. It makes you scoff and roll your eyes. You don't know that Luke is scraping the nail of his pointer finger along the side of his thumb. You don't see him ticking his jaw and taking mechanical breaths every so often.

He's trying to convince you as much as he's trying to convince himself.

"You don't know that," you tell him. "And stop looking at my ass."

He doesn't even bother denying it. He was looking at your ass.

'What-ifs' have taken over your brain, powering your limbs with adrenaline, pushing you closer and closer to the house, closer and closer to an answer.

What if they got bit?

What if they got kidnapped?

What if the herd moved there? What if they're trapped?

What if—

Luke's jogging takes you out of your thoughts. He starts walking by you, matching your steps. He walks close to you to the point where your hands brush against each other's every so often.

Luke is here. He's with you. He's starting to whistle a tune of a song you think you know. Or maybe you did know it before all of this. Before you knew Luke and Annabeth. Just his presence calms you a bit.

"They're fine," you repeat to yourself. You try to believe the words but it doesn't stick. "But we don't know that."

Luke tuts and you see him tilting his head out of the corner of your eye. "We also don't know that they aren't fine."

"That's shit logic."

"I could say the same for your logic."

"I'm just preparing for the worst."

"That never helps anything. You're making yourself sad already and then if something bad were to happen, you'll just be even sadder."

"You have no idea what you're talking about, do you? Preparing for the worst keeps you prepared for the worst, so if the worst were to come then I'm already prepared."

It's slightly comforting to know that nothing has changed between you and Luke. He knows what you feel like, you know what he feels like. You've both shared something that you'll never be able to undo, but you don't mind it.

You would be willing to share it again if the circumstances allowed. But right now, you're hyper-focused on reaching your destination which is just a few hundred feet ahead of you now.

You and Luke walk the beaten path worn in by tires. With only a few inches between you both, you start to miss him.

When you swerve over and walk closer to him, you try to do it naturally. Either way, Luke doesn't say anything about it.

You reach the house and everything is in order. The front door is still bordered up, the garage door is down, no windows are broken or opened. You and Luke round the house, jump the fence, and reach the backdoor. When you push it open, you don't know if you're glad or upset that Luke was right. You won't ever say the words "you were right" to him, but you're sure it shows in the way you quickly approach Annabeth and Percy.

They're at the table in the kitchen, Annabeth sitting with her back towards you and Percy sitting in front of her.

You don't think when you wrap your arms around Annabeth's shoulders, pulling her into you and pressing appreciative kisses into her head.

You're so busy expressing your gratitude and apologizing to them for leaving them all alone that you don't notice the energy in the house. You don't notice that only you have moved. You don't notice Percy's rigid shoulders.

You're only made aware that something is off when Luke speaks from his spot next to the door.

"What happened?" He says it like a fact. He knows something happened, he just doesn't know what.

You wait, and wait.

Neither of them say anything, so you try.

"Percy. What happened?"

Your arms unwind from Annabeth's slender shoulders. You approach Percy carefully until you're able to kneel in front of him, trying your best to meet his eyes.

He takes his time to look at you, and just the sight of his blue eyes clouded over with tears, both unshed and shed, spikes the fear in your system.

"Percy," you start again, attempting to stay calm even when your voice cracks over the syllables of his name. "I need you to tell me what happened so I can help you."

He sniffles, a tear glides down his reddened cheek and when you reach up to wipe it away, he flinches away from you. The gestures hurts you at first, but you know Percy.

You don't move your hand, letting it hover in the air, waiting for Percy to give in. And he does.

He falls to his knees, burying his head into the crook of your neck as he lets you wrap your arms around him. He's growing up, getting bigger day by day, but right now, while he wets your tee shirt with tears, he feels like the little boy you used to babysit. He feels like the kid who got in trouble far too often and had copious amounts of love covered by misplaced anger in his body.

He feels small.

You know you won't coax any explanation out of him like this, so you look up at Annabeth, one hand wrapped around Percy's shoulders and the other pressed into his matted curls.

She looks at you. She blinks and a twin set of tears falls down onto her cheeks.

"He thinks he found his mom." Your eyebrows furrow, but you don't have anytime for questions before Annabeth continues.

"He thinks he killed her."

[pipwritesoccasionally]

"stay away from my husband!"

nanami x reader (of course)

in which nanami goes on a mission but doesn't come back for hours, leaving the reader to come to his aid.

gender neutral reader

wc: 1391

sorry if the special grade spirit/any of the cursed energy mechanics are wrong! i barely know how it works honestly.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

you knew that he couldn’t handle the special grade curse with only one other grade one sorcerer around. hell, you’d told him as such this morning, and even offered to ask yaga to go on the mission with him, but of course kento’d refused. 

“i can’t let you get hurt, (y/n),” he’d said, only causing you to cross your arms in anger. 

“and you think i could let you? absolutely not,” but he’d continued getting ready anyways. kento left like always, kissing you sweetly before closing the door behind him. you knew he was cautious, but after hearing that three second grade sorcerers had gone to shoko in critical condition, you felt justified in feeling worried. 

the afternoon crept past at an agonizing pace, leaving you unfocused and stressed. you’d tried to relax, but the silence only seemed to amplify the sound of your pounding heart. 

he’d said that the mission should only last two hours, three if the curse put up a really good fight, but it had been six hours now, and there was no sign of your husband. you know that he can handle himself, but if he’s with another grade one sorcerer, especially someone younger than him, you know that he would do anything to protect them. 

“fuck,” you mutter, jumping up and rushing to your weapons’ shelf to grab your cursed weapon of choice. the sword handle chills your hand, but you sheath it quickly and run out the door. 

as you run, you scramble through your memories to find the address kento had told you earlier– “for safety”-- and throw it into your gps. the route hasn’t even loaded before you throw your car in reverse and make your way down the narrow street. 

“if you’re dead when i get there kento…” you know that you’re talking to yourself, but due to the high stress situation, you can’t seem to care. 

thankfully, the address where kento was sent to intercept the curse is only fifteen minutes from your house, though that does little to calm your worries. after all, if it’s so close to home, what’s taking him so long? 

the car slides in to a spot along the street, and you throw the door open, barely locking it before running into the building. grunts echo from above, and you start taking the stairs two at a time. when you make it up the first two flights, the air gets heavy with cursed energy, and you feel both relief and worry compound. at least somone is still alive. 

creaking floors and eroded stone decorate the inside of the stairwell, so you infer that the building has been abandoned for a while. that means you don’t have to hold back against whatever curse is there. 

the sounds of fighting get louder as you go up, until you find yourself in an open floor plan, face to face with the special grade cursed spirit.

who was seconds away from killing your husband. 

kento was against the wall, ragged breathing perturbing your already worried thoughts. seeing him in this state threw any hesitations you had out the already-broken-in window.

“stay away from my husband,” you threaten, tension grating your deepened voice. your trusty sword had already met your hand, and your cursed energy radiated into it in droves. the cursed spirit turned its head toward you, and it was then that you were able to really gauge the threat it posed. 

the beast’s long body coiled around like a scorpion, extending into a craning horse’s head. what’s more, two sets of long, feathered wings lay dormant against its body, creating a monstrous medley of an organism. the different characteristics of the curse most likely were the reason that your husband had such a problem with it, but you had the advantage of seeing it in its entirety before even beginning the fight. 

however, you felt the energy shift in the room, and your movements became slow, sluggish even. 

‘this must be part of its technique,’ you think, but unfortunately for the curse, you’d been a sorcerer for too long. 

it also helped that you had been adopted as a grade one sorcerer immediately after killing a grade one cursed spirit on your very first mission. as a freshman in high school. 

you ran to the other side of the room, hoping to distract the curse from kento, and swung your sword towards its body. it made contact, but the wound closed almost immediately. 

‘it has reversed cursed technique too? no wonder its special grade,’ this made the task of eliminating it much harder. 

“darling, i told you not to come,” kento said, stabilizing himself against the wall. 

“that stubborness could have gotten you killed,” you reply, striking the curse again to no avail. kento joins the fight, the two of you working together seamlessly. 

“i’ve been trying to find its weakspot, and i don’t think it’s anywhere in the body,” he says, and you nod. 

“then it has to be in the wings, i’d assume. cut them off and it should disintigrate on its own. hopefully,” you say, running towards the curse, sliding under it and slicing all the way down. kento follows, immediately making his way towards the wings, slicing at one. your sword lodges into the beast’s body, getting stuck part of the way through, and you push it up further up into the curse’s body. it screeches, and kento takes that time to slice the other wing. the two of you had always been such great partners, not even having to relay your plan before the two of you begin to work in sync. your movements begin to speed up, letting you know that your endeavor had worked. however, the beast was disintigrating too slowly, allowing it to still attack. 

your sword had been dislodged from the curse and you found yourself behind it, watching everything happen in slow motion. it thrusted its head towards your husband, clearly meaning to get one last attack in, and while he would normally be able to evade quite easily, he’d been here for hours and his exhaustion was clear. 

‘Fuck no,’ you thought, pulling yourself together and running straight towards the curse. all of the cursed energy you possessed was in your sword, and you made an arc, slashing it right through the curse’s neck. its head came clean off, and you positioned your body towards your husband, pushing him out of the way to take the weight of the head onto your own body. 

a crack echoed in the room, probably from one of your ribs, but you couldn’t find it in you to care. the curse disintegrated, leaving you on the ground, eyes peering over at your husband. 

he groaned weakly, slowly pushing to a stand, and he walks over to you. 

“are you alright?” his eyebrows furrow in worry, and you shake your head, sitting up. 

“i should be asking you that. you fought that curse for hours and are still standing upright. we need to go visit shoko,” you say, wincing at the pain in your abdomen. kento comes over, kneeling next to you and putting a hand on your shoulder. you grab his hand, and he helps you stand up, the two of you leaning into each other. 

“what happened to the other sorcerer?” he’d been sent on this mission with another grade one sorcerer, who was no where to be found. 

“he got injured really badly, and i had him leave so i didn’t have to worry about protecting him too,” your heart warms at his care for your fellow sorcerers, but you can’t help but sigh. 

“this is why i came to get you. i love how protective you are, but you need another person here for fights like this,” a low hum fills the room as he agrees, and you lean your head on his shoulder. 

“can we go home? i think we can hold off on seeing shoko for a bit, i just need some rest,” your husband’s voice is scratchy as a symptom of his shallow breathing, and you want nothing more than to help him. the exhaustion washing over your body tells you that rest will do the both of you some good, so you nod, and start walking towards the door. 

“okay, let’s go home.”

[lambtotheslaughterr]

Rogue Wave

A Rafe Cameron Oneshot

[THIS STORY WILL CONTAIN THEMES OF NON-CON/DUB-CON, MENTAL-EMOTIONAL-PHYSICAL ABUSE, ETC. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK. 18+. MINORS DO NOT INTERACT]

WC: 3.5k

Dividers provided by @firefly-graphics

OONA'S MASTERLIST

request for anon

requests are currently CLOSED

Summary: OBX S3 Ep 1-2 reimagined. Reader is the unwilling participant in Rafe's great plan to get Carlos Singh what he demands most...

            You hit the door once more in frustration.

            You knew the guard was still there on the other side but he would only listen to his boss, not you. Sighing annoyingly, you finally turned to face the rest of the room. It was extravagant to say the least. Nothing like where you came from. Being a Pogue your whole life you never knew what it meant to have an ‘extra’ bedroom, let alone multiples of them. Guessing by what little of the villa you had seen before you had been shoved into the room, the villa likely had six or more bedrooms.

            “Rich pricks.” You mumbled.

            As you meandered towards the windows, intending to hopefully find an escape route, you paused when a note on the nearby wardrobe caught your eye.

            Pick your size. The note read.

            You eyed the identical silk red dresses.

            “Yeah, no, thanks.” You mumbled to no one.

            Slamming the wardrobe doors closed, you approached a dresser on the furthest side of the room. The clothes you were wearing were still damp from crashing into the bay. Opening the drawers, you were relieved to find plenty of women’s clothing, but how they ended up there remained a concern to you. You didn’t know who Carlos Singh was, or what he wanted with you or your friends, but you didn’t plan on staying to find out.

            Quickly changing into fresh, dry clothes, you found a pair sneakers in another closet before returning to the windows. Your mission to escape out of the window was halted by what you saw on the other side.

            Guards. Lots of them. And they all carried weapons. You had nothing on you to defend yourself. Besides, you knew better than to think you even stood a chance. At this point, you’d need a miracle to get out there. You only hoped your friends managed to escape & stay far away from the clutches of the mysterious Singh.

            After hours of lying on the only bed in the room in boredom, you finally heard a commotion on the other side of the door. You launched yourself off the bed & grabbed a nearby metallic candlestick. It weighed heavy in your hand so you knew you may have a shot as long as you didn’t screw up. Whoever was coming for you wouldn’t be prepared for you to fight back & you had to use that element of surprise to your advantage.

            Pressing yourself to the wall just behind the door, you raised the candlestick & braced yourself to attack whoever entered the room. There was raised voices just on the other side & you were unable to focus on what they were heated about, too focused on needing to do what had to be done next. But just as the door opened, another body got shoved into the room & before you could even strike anyone on the back of their head, the door slammed shut, followed by the resounding locking mechanism.

            “You gotta be fucking shitting me.” The other person before you breathed out when they spotted you.

            “What the hell are you doing here?!” You asked exasperatedly, but did not lower your weapon. In fact, you raised it higher, taking a defensive position.

            “You really think you’re gonna hurt me with that?” The man—Kook King, himself—questioned amusingly as he took in the state of you.

            “I’ll give it a shot.” You quipped back, not backing down.

            Rafe rolled his eyes before shaking his head then he turned his back on you, waving his hand in dismissal, “Give it all you got, Pogue.”

            Gritting your teeth, you took a step forward, wanting nothing more than to hurt the bastard who caused you & your friends hell for years, but you came to realize he was in the same position as you. Locked in the room under the demand of one Carlos Singh.

            “What are you doing here?” You asked for a second time, your chest heaving as you reluctantly lowered the candlestick.

            Rafe peered out of the windows, observing the guards like you had only hours prior, “Had a business deal.”

            That made you stifle a laugh, “Your business deals usually end with you locked up in their bedrooms?”

            He sneered at you then. His reaction only fueled your mockery, “Guess you didn’t inherit all of Ward’s charms.”

            Rafe smirked haughtily at that but said nothing in response.

            Accepting that he was not a threat—for now—you returned the candlestick to its original place but didn’t stray far from it, determined to keep the entire room between you & Rafe Cameron.

            “What are you doing here?” Rafe questioned again, his eyes momentarily flicking to yours before casting them back out the window.

            “Beats me.” You crossed your arms over your chest, never letting your eyes stray from your long-time foe, “Figured you’d know the answer better to that than me.”

            Rafe chuckled darkly at that, “Guess we’re both in the dark then.”

            Time dragged on & eventually you found yourself sitting on the farthest edge of the bed. Rafe sat in a chair in the corner of the room, his eyes constantly on the guards outside. After hours of silence & him observing the strength of the security outside, you finally felt forced to comment.

            “They’re not gonna go away just because you keep staring at them.”

            Rafe grunted at that, “Got anything better in mind?”

            You shrugged, “No. Just sayin’, not like you’d stand a chance.”

            “Says the chick who was ready to fight her way out of here with only her handy-dandy candlestick.”

            You hated that he was right. Rolling your eyes, you turned away from him, eyeing the door to the hallway. It was getting dark out & still, no one had come to retrieve either one of you. What the hell did this guy want?

            After another hour of silence, you found yourself dozing off, exhausted from that morning’s events & your subsequent alert system being shot. But just as you felt yourself just on the edge of sleep, the door to the room unlocked. You shot out of bed, reaching for the candlestick a second time. Rafe mirrored you, though he only armed himself with two fists raised slightly at his sides.

            But before either of you could even think about getting the upper hand, a guard appeared with two more behind him, as he entered the room with a metal tray of what appeared to be food.

            “Dinner.” He said flatly, his eyes not missing either of yours defensive stances.

            He placed the tray on the bed before smirking knowingly to himself, then he backed out of the room, “Good night.”

            With that, he closed the door & relocked it.

            “So much for putting up a fight, Pogue.” Rafe commented.

            “I didn’t see you swinging.” You bit back, loosening your hold on the candlestick.

            Rafe shook his head unimpressively before peering at the food on the tray, “At least they brought us good shit.”

            It was an assorted tray consisting of lobster legs, BLT sandwiches, & a large bowl of what looked to be a pot roast soup. Rafe pulled the chair he had been sitting on to the foot of the bed & began having at the food. You only stared on. When he felt you staring, he returned the look, “Don’t think I’m gonna save you some if you don’t get any now.”

            “Could be laced.” You shared.

            Rafe grunted haughtily at that, “Singh ain’t that kind of guy.”

            “No?” You questioned, narrowing your eyes at Rafe, “What kind of guy is he then?”

            Rafe sucked the meat out of a crab leg before dropping the shell, peering up at you, “The kind of guy to look you in the eyes as he puts a bullet in your head.”

            The thought made you swallow nervously.

            “So eat.” Rafe demanded, “We’ll need our energy if we’re gonna get out of here.”

            That made your brows furrow, “You got a plan?”

            “Not yet.” Rafe chewed, “But I will by morning.”

            Biting your rebuttal, your hate for him an instinct at this point, you steeled yourself to sit back on the bed & reach for one of the sandwiches. Picking off the tomatoes, you brought the grub to your mouth. The two of you ate in silence for some time before you spoke your thoughts out loud.

            “I’m surprised you’re willing to even share food with a Pogue, despite the circumstances.”

            Rafe smirked at that but nodded, “I’m not all bad. You may be a Pogue but you’re still just a girl. I’m not that big of an asshole.”

            “Tell that Sarah.” You glared at him.

            Rafe stopped chewing then, his lips pursed as he licked his teeth. His eyes flashed to yours then, “That was a one-time thing.”

            “You mean three.”

            He leaned back in his chair, narrowing his eyes at you, “What do you want me to say? I’m sorry? Fine, I’m sorry.”

            “I’m not the one you should be apologizing to & even if I was an apology like that wouldn’t mean shit.”

            “Good thing it’s not for you.” Rafe bit back.

            Sneering at him, you looked away, not wanting to entertain a conversation with him any longer. But apparently, you had opened a can of worms because Rafe wasn’t quite done.

            “Ya know, we may have had our differences in the past but—”

            “Differences?” You laughed half-heartedly, “Is that what you call it?”

            Rafe glowered, but continued, “But you & I, we’ve never had any problems, not directly anyway.”

            “You fuck with my friends you fuck with me. So yeah, we’ve had plenty of problems.”

            He chuckled darkly at that, wiping his hands on one of the provided cloth napkins, “You Pogue’s are an interesting breed, always conjoined at the hip, can’t think for yourselves. Like a fucking hive of bees.”

            “At least we have each other’s backs.” You rebutted, “You can’t say that about anyone in your life.”

            “I don’t need anyone to have my back.” Rafe returned, his voice full of pride.

            “See how far in life that gets you.”

            “No further than you.” Rafe smirked, “After all, we’re both locked up in here, aren’t we?”

            The sandwich you were eating began to taste bitter. You dropped the remains of it onto the tray. Moving backwards on the bed, you rested against the headboard, your eyes never leaving Rafe’s.

            “You still haven’t told me why you’re trapped here to begin with.”

            Rafe sucked his teeth at that, “That’s for me to know.”

            “You expect me to help you get out of here with nothing in return?”

            “What you get in return is a way out of here. That’s enough for you.”

            Though you didn’t know Rafe on a personal level, you knew well-enough that he wasn’t going to break, let alone bend, for you.

            “Better be a good plan.” You commented, resting your head against the headboard. Exhaustion was coming for you yet again.

            “It will be.” Rafe eyed you, “Don’t worry your pretty little head about it.”

            It was the middle of the night when you woke with a start. Your eyes peered blearily around the darkened bedroom, suddenly remembering where you were, though you didn’t remember dozing off. But what alarmed you more than remembering where you were was the reason you woke to begin with.

            There was a hand on your hip & someone’s breath at the nape of your neck as their hand reached around for the button on your shorts.

            Grasping the hand, you prepared to yeet yourself off the bed, but another arm shot out & caught you, forcing your back against their chest.

            “Where do you think you’re going?” The voice belonged to Rafe Cameron, & you were reminded about how he had been locked in that bedroom with you earlier.

            “The fuck are you doing?” You asked panicked. One arm of his was wrapped around your middle, securing you against him as his other returned to the front of your shorts.

            “What’s it look like? It’s the middle of the night, I’m bored, horny, & can’t sleep. This’ll help.”

            “Fuck off, Rafe!” You wrestled against him but your strength was no match for his.

            “Calm down, will ya?” Rafe reprimanded, “It’ll be over before you know it.”

            Despite his cool & nonchalant attitude, you were terrified. You knew Rafe Cameron was capable of bad, terrible, literally deadly things. His violent tendencies were predictable, able to see them from a mile away. But this? You knew you shouldn’t have been surprised but you were. Rafe Cameron was a rogue fucking wave.

            A strained whimper parted your lips as he forced you to roll onto your belly, his chest never disconnecting from your back.

            “Rafe, stop, I’m so fucking serious!” You winced when the rough fabric of your denim shorts got yanked down to your knees, your underwear along with them.

            Before you could verbalize your refusal for a third time, Rafe clapped a hand over your mouth, effectively silencing you. Panicked tears burst forth then. With your face shoved into a pillow & your cries muffled, all you could do was feel & listen as Rafe removed his own pants before prodding himself against you.

            An abrupt & burning intrusion knocked the wind of you, your mouth torn open despite Rafe’s hand covering you there. Rafe grunted shamelessly behind you as he sought out his carnal needs. Your hands gripped the sheets tight, the bones in your fingers straining against themselves as you willed the pain Rafe caused away. But the pain never dissipated.

            Rafe continued to thrust himself inside you, your walls dry & unwelcoming to his assault. He eventually removed his hand from your mouth, bracing himself on either side of your arms as he fucked himself into you. You shook beneath him, hot tears staining the pillowcase as you were forced to lie there & literally take it. All your fight left you as Rafe took the remaining energy you had left.

            He continued for some time, not being quick at all like he said it would be. At some point during it, he readjusted your head so your face was exposed & he brushed your hair out of your face to kiss your jawline & neck. Every single kiss of his left a wake of goosebumps & only made you feel more nauseous, like you were getting seasick from a rocky boat.

            Finally, you gasped quietly when you felt Rafe stiffen behind you, followed by a low, guttural groan of his emanating from deep within his heartless chest. He rolled off you immediately, breathing heavily to himself. You kept your face turned away but very languidly reached down to pull back up your underwear & shorts. Sniffling quietly to yourself, you stood from the bed & wobbled into the en suite bathroom.

            You kept your eyes on the ceiling as you peeled your bottoms back down & pissed into the toilet. Your vagina ached & burned at the sensation. You bit your lip, keeping yourself from wincing out loud. Once you finished using the bathroom, you cleaned yourself up with a wet hand towel & washed your hands. You didn’t bother looking yourself in the mirror, not ready to see the full extent of what Rafe had done.

            Back in the bedroom, you were angry to see that Rafe had passed out. His pants were still undone around his hips, his pubic bone exposed. Hot tears returned as you eyed him murderously. Steeling yourself, you reached for the candlestick nearby. Gripping it tightly in your hand, you pictured yourself bashing Rafe’s face in until he was unrecognizable. But as the gruesome thoughts ran rampant throughout your mind, Rafe peeled his eyes open, staring up at you.

            “Do it.” He challenged, “I dare you.”

            Your chin shook as you raised the candlestick, preparing to bring it down. Rafe closed his eyes again, that god-awful Kook smirk of his crossing his features, “But if you do, you’ll never get out of here. And Singh won’t have any reason to keep you alive, so your body will just be fed to the sharks alongside mine.”

            Desperate to ignore his taunts, you willed yourself to follow through & fucking kill him, but as much as you hated him & wished him dead, you weren’t a killer. Dropping the candlestick onto the floor, you collapsed to your knees, staring aimlessly at the bedframe.

            “That’s what I thought.” Rafe commented, his voice low & arrogant, “Now, get some sleep, you’ll need your energy in the morning.”

            Reluctantly, your body complied to his advice. You lowered yourself the rest of the way to the ground. It didn’t matter how uncomfortable & unwelcoming the hardwood was, it was far better than sleeping on the bed that Rafe just raped you on.

            Shoving those thoughts to the darkest depths of your memory, you allowed yourself to close your eyes, hoping & praying that when you woke in the morning, the last 24 hours would all have just been an awful nightmare & you’d wake up back on Poguelandia with your friends.

            The sounds of ocean waves lulled you awake. You moaned in your sleep, frowning as you slowly came to. You peeled your eyes open, taking in your surroundings.

            Shooting forward, you whipped your head around. Unlike the villa bedroom you had fallen asleep in, you found yourself on a bench on the deck of a small yacht. You stood up, wincing slightly as a shot of pain emanated from your core.

            Last night’s memories flooded you & you felt like you were going to be sick. Racing to the nearest railing of the yacht, you leaned as far over as you could before throwing up bread, bacon, & lettuce. You wiped your mouth, frowning as you stared at the waves beating against the sides of the boat.

            “Thank fuck this isn’t one of my own or else you’d be cleaning that up with a toothbrush.” A voice sounded above you.

            You spun around, using your hand to shield your eyes from the blaringly bright sun as you found the source of the voice. Rafe Cameron smirked down at you, a pair of shades on his face.

            “What the fuck did you do?!” You yelled up at him.

            “What’s it look like?” He gestured to your surroundings. “I saved us.”

            You knew well enough that you were on a boat, but only in that moment did you realize that you were in the middle of nowhere in the ocean. No land mass or other boats in sight. You didn’t feel very saved.

            “This is when you say, ‘thank you, Rafe’.”

            “Fuck you, Rafe.” You spit, holding your stomach when you felt like you would vomit again.

            He sighed, shaking his head as if you were a misbehaving child, “Ungrateful Pogue as always.”

            “Ungrateful?!” You screeched. Wanting nothing more than to throw him overboard, you stomped in search of the stairs that would lead you to him before finally finding them. As you marched up the stairs, preparing yourself to do what you couldn’t do the night before, you froze the second you reached the landing.

            Rafe was sitting in the captain’s seat, & he had a handgun trained on you.

            You stared at the gun, biting your lip in anger then flashed your glare to Rafe’s shielded eyes.

            He raised his brows knowingly, “Problem?”

            “Lots.” You bit back.

            “Mmm.” Rafe nodded, “Well, those’ll have to wait.”

            “For what? What the fuck else could you possibly need me for?”

            Rafe sighed happily at that, a million dollar grin appearing on his face, “That’s what you’re gonna tell me.”

            “What are you talking about?”

            “I’m talking about the diary.”

            You swallowed at that. Of course you knew about the diary, you & your friends were after it, after all, but how did Rafe know about it?”

            “That’s why Singh had you. And me.” Rafe revealed, “He was convinced I knew where it was since we know each other, but he doesn’t know the intricacies of the Kook-Pogue feud, poor guy. So, he made me a deal. I get the information out of you, & he gives me half the cut. Here we are.”

            You eyed him warily, “So, last night? That was all, what, a ploy?”

            “Mhmm.” He smirked, “Once you passed out I spoke with Singh & he loaned me this yacht. Now, you’re gonna take me to the diary. Or I’m going to tell him where to find all your friends’ families & he’ll pick them off one by one until you get me what I want.”

            “You fucking asshole…” You breathed in disbelief.

            He only shrugged, “So, where do we go first?”

            “I’ll never help you.”

            “No?” Rafe, with his gun still aimed at you, pulled out a cell phone & raised it, “Should I give him a call then? Tell him which Pogue’s family he can target first?”

            “No, don’t!” You stepped forward, “Don’t, Rafe.”

            “Well then?” Rafe lowered his shades just enough to eye you directly, “Point & shout, Pogue, your friends’ families are depending on you.”

this is 10/10 requests from my 500 followers celebration request opening!

ALL REQUESTS HAVE BEEN FULFILLED

big thank you to the anon who requested this & i thank you again for your patience as i get over being sick.

as always, please share your thoughts w me via comments, reblogs w reviews, or dropping an ask.

thank you for reading!

oona<3

Read this post on why doing more than liking a tumblr writers work is essential to our content creation.

[my love language is words of affirmation, it would make my day if you could comment your thoughts, reblog with tags, or drop an ask that shows your support. thank you for reading tumblr writers, we appreciate you]

taglist: @jsrafesgirl @bunnycvnts @ditzyzombiesblog @wearemadeofstardust0

to be added to a taglist read rule 11 here. requests will be dismissed otherwise.

[ataleofcrowns]

New Chapter Released!

Hello again! Hope your winter has gone well ❄️

With the public release of this new chapter we’re setting up the Crown's daily routine as a monarch, while romance and courtly intrigue continue to build:

Diverging paths depending on your love interest, including scenes from your main LIs point of view! R and A accompany the Crown, but what are D and X up to in the meantime?

While the Crown becomes used to ruling, each LI experiences a shocking revelation in their main route, one that will cascade into future chapters

The Crown continues to grow and learn, being tutored in various subjects to increase their knowledge

Tutoring is not merely in theory: the Crown enjoys physical training, as well. Choose your favorite weapon and shape future fight scenes!

The Imperial Court is finally taking shape. Choose certain positions, receive political proposals, even form an alliance, if you have the points...

A few additional changes made to the game overall:

The codex page for the Crescent Blades has been added, including character art! It should be unlocked for all saves that are past Chapter 1

Changed various lore related names, mainly the ones referring to the Major Spirits, in order to better reference the Zoroastrian inspirations that Arsur's religion is based on

Darkened the background color further to be friendlier on the eyes. Some day, I'll add a proper dark mode, but that day is not today haha

Edited the Arsurian Calendar to match with the new background color, and also corrected the start and end dates of the months!

IMPORTANT: It's highly recommended to replay the entirety of CH9 before getting to CH10. CH9 has some changes relating to LI relationship stats, so if you don't go back to play through those, you risk relationship flavor text messing up in CH10. Such as a high relationship being described as a low relationship, things of that nature.

Thank you for all your patience and support, I hope you enjoy the new chapter with the nearing end of this winter 💖

For those that are unfamiliar with the game

A Tale of Crowns is a high fantasy romance story, told in the form of a text-based interactive novel with choice mechanics. The setting is inspired by Kurdish culture as well as other historical settings in the Middle East such as Ancient Persia, but it also draws heavily from other cultures and countries in the region.

Your character is native to Arsur, a vast empire overseen by a single ruler known as the Crown. Unlike traditional monarchies, however, the title is not inherited through blood. Whenever the Crown dies, their famed golden eyes pass on to the one chosen by the Spirits of this world to be the new Crown. In this story, your MC takes on that role.

There are four different love interests to choose from, whose genders will be customized to suit the preferences of your Crown. You can find more info about them on the blog page!

Also note that this current version of the game is safe for those 16 years and older.

Like the premise so far? Play it and give it a try! The entire game is free!

If you enjoyed the game, please reblog! Share it with your friends! Recognition and reader interaction is just about the only thing I get in return for creating it ❤️

[ashleyleygraves]

If I were to make the next Zelda game, what would I change?

Bring back underwater traversal and real Water Temples.

If you were to think about any iconic Zelda item that isn't a weapon, you'd most likely think about the hook/clawshot. I like that we can climb, but I miss the claw/hookshot. Personally, I'd have the Skyward Sword climbing mechanics where you can climb a little bit but not much, but make it so that the hook/clawshot can go on any surface. Even better is a double claw/hookshot so you can swing around like Spider-Man

Linkle. That's right, from the original Hyrule Warriors spin-off game. It would be cool if we got to choose to play as Link or Linkle at the beginning of the game. Make it so that Link can't get into Gerudo Town without a disguise like in Breath of the Wild, but also make it so Linkle can't get into Goron City without a disguise, that way it's even and there's no major advantage.

If Linkle can't be an option, I'd have Link be a different race than Hylian. Tears of the Kingdom already teased us with this concept with the Ancient Hero. Before TotK, the closest we got was Ocarina of Time/Majora's Mask Link who thought he was a Kokiri but found out that he was in fact Hylian and also had ghost masks to shapeshift into other races. (Or you could also add Linkle as this race too. But I think that's a bit much)

20 hearts OR harder enemies. With BotW, Link had 30 hearts. In literally every other Zelda game he had 20. With 30 hearts, it was a decent change in normal mode, but in Master Mode, it made it essential. Enemies did more damage and evolved from their normal mode counterparts. In TotK, Link has 40 hearts and no Master Mode. The enemies do basically the same damage as in BotW's normal mode and sometimes even far less with the decayed-unfused weapons. So I would make the series go back to 20 hearts or have Master Mode as the default difficulty.

A new fast travel system. Look, shrines were a good idea. Especially for a fast travel system, but if we're getting rid of the 10-20 extra hearts how I would do it, we need something else. For this, let's turn to Skyrim for just a second. The fast travel system there is broken because every cave, tower, dungeon, etc. is a fast travel point, but let's look at the towns/cities and important landmarks: they're fast travel points once we discover them. So let's turn those things into fast travel points in this hypothetical Zelda game. Now, what about the less significant parts of the map? Well, a few train stations around the map with a train. I mean, trains are in the Zelda universe. Spirit Tracks literally is about that, so it wouldn't be a big deal. I had this idea back in 2021, and now even fucking Fortnite has a train around a map with a few train stations in random spots.

This one will make a bit more sense if you read my "If I were to make a Zelda game, what would I keep?" post. Heart Pieces/Stamina pieces. You could go the normal route with 4 pieces makes a full thing or go Twilight Princess style with 5 pieces makes a full thing. These would probably be given as quest rewards in quests that are Side Adventures rather than Main Quests or Side Quests. Side quests would give you rupees or a rare item and Main Quests will give you more story progression.

Bring back the "one-and-done" races like the Kokiri, Twili, Minish, Zonai, Lokomo, etc.

[iliveforyouilongforyouvesuvia]

The Arcana Mini-HCs: Brainrot's Masterlist, Pt 5

M6 and lunchables

MC gives M6 a drink called "gender fluid"

M6 when MC likes "kid's shows"

M6 making art

M6 on MC's trauma anniversary

When MC grew up on the docks

M6 playing instruments

M6 with a highschool crush

When MC has a shy familiar

When MC catches the bridal bouquet

M6 when MC breaks their hand and can't play games

M6 when their kid does the same dangerous stuff they did

When MC returns after a long trip

With a Clown!MC

MC has a spider familiar

M6 waking up to MC on the floor

MC breaks their bones because of a roach

M6 get turned into mythical creatures

M6 when MC clings to them like a koala

When MC's parent is cold and demanding

MC with chronic nightmares

M6 at a friend's wedding

Vesuvia Weekly: First (Platonic) Kiss

When MC has allergies

M6 forget to give their familiar a treat

M6 vs horrible goose

Werewolf MC

M6 and interior decorating

MC visiting the beginning of their route

MC wears clothes with M6's face

When MC sleeps like a vampire

M6 hear you say "I love you" while they're sleeping

MC moves the room onto the ceiling

Vesuvia Weekly (poorly doodled): M6 as mermaids

When M6 miss MC at work (poorly doodled)

Modern M6's jobs

When MC likes to be talked to sleep

When MC imitates M6

Styling MC's hair

M6 vs Mechanical Bull

M6 trying to make up

Adopt-a-goat with the M6

When MC's bad at remembering names

When MC's familiar is a little bit of a jerk

M6 helping MC mourn their Aunt

What M6 bring to show and tell

When MC and M6's relationship is forbidden

M6 being MC's lucky charm

MC is a Royal Guard

With a nocturnal familiar

When MC has alien antennas

M6's favorite IRL occasions

Things I associate with M6

MC with a lot of tattoos

Winged!MC hugging the M6

When MC floats in their sleep

With a gardener MC

M6 on laughing gas

M6 helping MC wash their hair

When MC is a deep sleeper

M6 when you give them the Djungelskog

Pride Month

When MC and M6 used to be rivals

Helping MC use trans tape

When MC is bad with money

When MC stays angry at Lucio

M6 when MC overuses their magic

M6 waiting for MC

When MC drops their phone in water

With a mind-reader MC

When MC knows lots of trivia

M6 sit in MC's lap

M6 with a gentlemanly MC

When MC plays otome games

M6 when MC is religious

When MC's accent slips out

When MC has eczema

Nighttime routines

When M6 turn into a small, wounded animal

MC with scoliosis

With a fox familiar

How M6 handle their crushes

M6 find a child with the same trauma as them

With a crybaby MC

When MC has narcolepsy

MC teaching M6 magic

When MC used to be royalty

With a very feminine MC

M6 with a randomly contorting MC

When MC has anxiety

Using poetry to compliment M6

Asking M6 "Did it hurt when you fell from heaven?"

When MC has abandonment issues

When MC loves tea

Asking M6 to kiss it better

When MC has asthma

Visiting non-Vesuvian MC's home country

MC who uses shovels as a weapon

M6 when MC is covered in stitches and limps

When tourist!MC has to go home

[lilacargent]

Here we go again,

Puzzles/ jigsaws would confuse Aliens so much

Set on the serpentine, beginning of the humans tenure

Important crew:

Primoz, captain -Limoyh a four armed species-Krag, second in command (brother of Primoz)

Kit, dokter -avian, bird like, she has feathers like a swallow-

Ortez, ASR (all species resources, human resources in space) -kiltak, insectoid species, think ants but exoskeleton-

Lugea, helmsperson (does the steering) -rock like alien-

Artex, engineer/mechanic 1 -also Kiltak-

And then our humans:

Kamari, navigator -Eritrean woman- (has cat named Sidra)

Markus, weapons expert (knows how to use them and upkeep, also shields) -Swedish man-

Petrus, mechanic/engineer 2 - Italian man-

Lilly, administrator/note keeper (learns languages for fun)-english woman-

~~~~~~~

Puzzles

The serpentine is on route between trading posts, this is currently the furthest route without proper jump point because of the static energy surrounding the dual planets castor and pollux.

Primoz is getting worried. The humans are becoming increasingly more jittery and Kamari looks like she a pinch away from punch someone, Markus has been ‘humming’ a song that annoys her greatly. Honestly the noises the tall man is making don’t seem that bad but every few minutes her eyebrows twitch which Ortez told him is a sign of frustration.

Before the captain can figure out how to keep them from doing something deathworld worthy, Lilly comes in with precariously stacked carton boxes and Petrus carrying a table. Setting the pile down the smallest human straightens out “look what i brought! Old earth puzzles! This one has a deer and this one has the old world wonders” immediately the humming stops and Markus is at the table with Petrus “oh yes Lilly you are the best! I wanna do the deer one, that is gonna be a challenge”

With the table in the corner of the bridge the tension among crew is nearly gone, as all species try to put the cut apart pictures together, Lilly brought 9 puzzles and at a certain point a competition was forming: after one of the human unit had finished a puzzle the other crew try to make it in less time. They have yet to win.

Looking at his relaxed crew Primoz grins at his brother who is trying to use all his four arms to put pieces together without much succes. Turning away from the competition he taps Lilly on her shoulder “how do you guys do it? Also why did you think to take these things with you.” Lilly looks up from her drawing (the crew bent over the table making the puzzle) “well i knew it was going to be a long trip, Kamari thinks Markus will be ‘professional’ but he can’t help himself” her soft smile when she puts air punctuation around professional makes her look much younger than she is “puzzles are something many humans enjoy, not everyone is as good at them as Markus, but he does this thing where he uses the shape of them more than colours. While he isn’t colour blind, he has real trouble with telling differences in shades. No idea why it works this well but it does, Petrus has already won three nights of free drinking on Castor from betting.” All of a sudden looking bashful Lilly ducks her head “ah eh yes sorry forget i said that we don’t bet on this at all!” Primoz just grins “nobody has broken anything this whole trip, im not going to disrupt the flow you and your unit created. Don’t worry.”

At arrival Petrus has won the whole human crew free drinks for the foreseeable future, and the crew in its entirety hooked on puzzles. While not all species see the colours the same way or understand the patterning in the pieces the feeling of putting in the correct pieces makes it such an enjoyable activity that Lilly brings new puzzles after every holiday back home.

~~~~~~~~~

This one was born out of the confusion my family had when we were making puzzles (jigsaws?) the pictures in pieces… this is where it becomes super clear English is not my first language. Anyway, we had two puzzles out and they were so surprised i could differentiate the positions the pieces needed to be in without context. I had to tell them that the pattern otherwise won’t make sense,

I have the same thing as Markus that colours are fine unless you put several of the same colours next to each other and call them different. This is why the deer one is super hard,

The two puzzles that were described:

[real-fire-emblem-takes]

thinking about the fe games w/ routes (fates and three houses specifically but probably others idfk)

i think there needs to be more tragedy there. or opportunities for it i guess? or that fire emblem has to make unique death quotes for characters in general man

death in fire emblem feels so blah for me. more of an inconvenience than in other media. like when im playing DnD and an npc i love dies it isnt "man that sucks. anyway" but even w characters i love in fire emblem its just "man do i wanna reset the chapter for this that was so lame"

make death and especially betrayal related deaths Hurt More.

lets say youre byleth. youre teaching the black eagles, yay! but you have a b support with claude. you and claude are good buddies, maybe you just like claude as a character or its accidental because of x y z does Not matter. either way you are one of claudes closest friends. then the war starts, and you choose to side with a woman claude sees as a future tyrant (or at the very least a driven warmonger who might crush the alliance underneath her boot). imagine the hurt. the absolute fucking agony for claude.

and for byleth! byleth wakes up and their friend is gone. on another side, unreachable, 5 years of emotional distance *yawning* in front of them.

and then they reunite in the midst of battle, weapons drawn. theyve both come so far and have goals they *have* to achieve.

"I don't want this."

too bad. if you roll over, you get a game over because you fuckin failed the route. or you have to make someone else kill claude because sumn sumn mechanically you have a 0% hit rate bc of that b support. you cant do it.

too bad. claude cant run away, hes the last line of defense for a place hes responsible for. if he leaves what is he? a coward? a turncoat? would he have to believe in edelgard's future? would he have to slay his own allies, friends, the people who relied on him?

he cant. you cant.

he begs you to reconsider. you cant.

as he falls he reaches out a hand. you kneel beside him as he says a few things. calls this whole battle a clever gambit, praises your cunning in using effective weaponry, etc etc. but his voice is weaker. theres no option to spare him, you couldnt spare any *other* unit, could you? couldn't spare hilda. cant spare claude.

he mentions sometimes dreaming of the monastery. the food was good, right? hope the foods good in the future you build with edelgard. hope you name a town after him, thatd be fun. dont get stupid, teach, dont join him too soon. maybe he'll even wait for ya. keep a seat warm.

(fire emblem unit death sound)

then also: units in your own army.

lets say youre playing black eagles. its nearish endgame but not too close so i dont say any spoilers, but regardless bernadetta and yuri have an A support. they might get hitched postgame man, you havent done the A support of anyone else w those two. its a rough battle, your healer is severely low on psychic uses, you sold all your fucking vulneraries because you thought dorothea was more of a beast than she is. its dire.

unexpected sniper crit. yuri is on 0 hp.

bernadetta is within 5 tiles and instead of yuri's canned death quote, bernie interjects with one of the most well voiced anguished screams youve ever fucking heard. on the next turn, bernie gets +50 hit *and* crit on that enemy, and if she kills it the rest of the scene plays.

bernie is holding yuri, one of her few friends in her hellish fucking life. hes not gonna make it, she knows that, but shes still gonna try. shes wailing and begging him to stay like she wished she had all those fucking years ago, shes babbling about all the things he'll miss if he goes, all the things shes planned for them to do now that shes brave enough to leave her bedroom. he cuts her off to laugh. now is when she gets brave and honest with her feelings? when hes dying? oh bernie come on. he wraps an arm around her shoulders and pulls her in for a hug, kissing her temple like an old boyfriend and not a quiet yearning crush. he murmurs that hes glad she left her bedroom. that hes glad she can see the world beyond what abuse happened to her behind closed doors. that she'll find some other person to hold in his stead, one who wont so rudely get his blood on her battle leathers. one who wont leave her time and time again like he has. she wails into his shoulder as she drops the scraps of cloth she had been trying to use to stop his bleeding and just holds her dying friend.

(fire emblem unit death sound)

if death felt like An Event and not An Inconvenience i'd play with permadeath more man. make me sad fire emblem youre so shit at it

.

[mjrtaurus]

My idea for some Crocodile's backstory until Oda spills the tea

A bastard child of Rocks D. Xebec, one of many, but the only to survive.

Afab, but knew he was a boy since he was in his single digits. His father was indifferent to this and everything else about him.

"Discovered" his name when he bit the ever-loving shit out of somebody who was fucking around and found out.

Inherited Xebec's horror of a temper and weaponized it as a self-defense mechanism. This got him into a lot of trouble later in life.

Was adopted by Whitebeard when Xebec was executed. He later took the mark on the back of his left hand, once the "family" was more well established.

Immediately had beef with Marco due to being under the assumption that the Phoenix was dad's new favorite.

Teach egged this rivalry on from the shadows, knowing damn well that if the two worked together, they would sniff his treacherous ass out in record time.

When their devil fruits were found and eaten, Crocodile was deeply jealous of Marco's newfound power.

What began as a brotherly quarrel spilled over into an actual, serious, life or death fight that Whitebeard had to intervene in.

This intervention ended with a nasty cut across Crocodile's face, and Marco dumbfounded by the attempt on his life.

Crocodile was marooned at the next port, his destructive temper deemed a danger to his brothers and sisters.

The whitebeard pirates mourned the loss, hitting Marco and Whitebeard the deepest.

Crocodile- betrayed and alone for the first time in his life- renounced his family by getting good and drunk, cutting of his marked left hand, and vowing to kill Whitebeard.

Set about learning to master his abilities, and- bitterly- how to keep a tighter grip on his anger.

By his late teens, he was leading a small but deadly efficient crew that only grew and grew with time until he gained the title of Warlord.

With this ego boost, he took his flagship- the Sobekneferu- to launch a swift and silent surprise attack on the Moby Dick under a dense fog, intent on catching Whitebeard unawares.

This attack went about as well as one could imagine. The fog covered them well, but not well enough to evade the eyes of one particular phoenix..

What the fog did do was delay Whitebeard's realization of who was attacking him until the Sobekneferu and the crew that manned her were all but destroyed.

Crocodile was the only survivor, presumed dead and adrift at sea, watching the gulls and the sea kings pick at the corpses of his found family, new and old.

He was saved days later by a passing Revolutionary ship that was scouring the wreck for anything that could be used or repurposed.

He was thought dead at first, until he lashed out at the Revolutionary who attempted to move his body.

They took him in, sick and starving and with his spirit all but broken, and he ran with them for about a year before he was ready to move on.

In that span of time, he met a man named Dragon, and bullied him ruthlessly for his impossible goals. Unfortunately for Crocodile, Dragon found this sour attitude to be quite charming.

It wasn't quite a relationship, though not for lack of wanting it to be. Times were too dangerous. The two couldn't even give each other their full names out of the need for caution, let alone be seen together outside of work related things...

It was Dragon who eventually introduced Crocodile to Ivankov, and the two were soon discussing the ins and outs of a full transition. This was put on hold when, one evening, it was discovered that a particularly nasty bout of cramps were actually the beginnings of labor pains.

No one knew who the father of this unexpected child was, save for him and Dragon, and that was for the best. If anyone asked, it had been a nameless bedfellow when they had been spending time ashore.

Neither named the child, knowing that giving the baby up would be the safest route to go for all of them. Crocodile didn't even want to know if he had a son or a daughter. He didn't want that pain.

He only spent long enough with the revolutionaries to recover from the birth and then from the transition. After that, he was off to reclaim his title of Warlord, to find new leads and new purposes, and maybe send some funds and information Dragon's way. Just to make sure he and his little outfit was still kicking.

[legions-top-dog]

tl:dr for people that don’t want to read and are going to miss out on the details and run the high risk of not actually understanding what’s happening in the battle: ncr, rogues, eagles and coalition attack the Legion controlled mojave outpost

The Siege of the Mojave Outpost, and what will be the last major battle of the war in the Mojave is finally about to take place.

30 formations of 3 Eagles helicopters (one Huey, one Vertibird, one AH-1 each) descend upon the heavily fortified Mojave Outpost, the last remnant of the once glorious Legion occupied territory.

Chinooks and Vertibirds carrying cargo containers, Sheridan tanks, and artillery pieces move towards the Outpost from the Strip, followed by two AC-130s the JCS had flown in for CAS.

At HELIOS ONE, Eagles artillery cannons begin an hour long barrage of saturation bombardment directed at the outpost.

The 8’th Tactical Fighter Squadron is going out in full force- the First Wing is having the time of their lives dropping high explosives on the fortified Mojave Outpost, shredding AA guns with ARMs and main guns, destroying Vertibirds and crude fighter planes, all while dancing and weaving through AA fire and SAM missiles.

The three fighter jets of the Crimson Rogues fire missiles and guns at various targets, doing the same, except in a very... flashy and flowy style that still gets the job done.

Patton tanks, logistics trucks, jeeps and APCs drive from the HELIOS ONE garrison through Novac and Primm which is now friendly territory of the Eagles’ new ally the NCR, and proceed down the road to the Mojave Outpost at high speed.

CIA and Sierra agents plant directional anti-vehicle mines and Claymores along various routes the Legion’s logistics team could possibly take to reinforce their position at the outpost, and sabotage AA gun radars, telephone boxes and firing mechanisms with thermite grenades to hamper AA efforts.

Four NCR Vertibirds soar across the desert towards the stronghold with Veteran Rangers and Sierra operatives armed with CBJ-MS firearms, unlicensed and once highly classified copies of Sierra Madre holorifles and NCR replicas of M56 Smartgun HMGs, assigned to assault teams of three, sniper squads of two and gun squads of two armed with a smartgun and assault carbine.

30 P-51 Mustangs, 8 C-119 Flying Boxcars, 12 F-86 Sabre fighter jets, and 15 B-29 bombers operated by the New Mexico Coalition (their state flag painted over the USAF logos) fly at low altitude above Novac, causing their residents to panic, and anyone that fought in the Korean War to have flashbacks.

B-52 Stratofortresses operated by the 2nd Bomb Wing travel towards the Outpost, flying over Novac (much to the consternation of Boone, which is feeling the effects of becoming an involuntary planespotter.)

The Reaper’s Sprint, with Phillips, Maynard, Kyle and Jacob (pilot, offensive weapons specialist, defensive weapons specialist and copilot respectively) soars in the sky in formation with two other B-1 bombers, labelled Skirtboy Shredder and Femboy’s Nightmare.

They show some well drawn but rather graphic images of a German Shephard shredding the Pteruges of a Legionnaire a la Coppertone ad, and a image of Vulpes on all fours facing the viewer while taking a MK82 bomb up the ass respectively.

NCR troopers wielding M16s and modified assault carbines with full auto fire ride in trucks, transport Vertibirds and APCs operated by the NCR towards the Outpost.

Legionnaire field mortar teams rush out with field mortars, and the howitzer artillery pieces become quickly manned as soon as the base siren goes off.

The Cobras fire their missiles, miniguns and rocket pods at targets, and the B-1s and Stratofortresses drop their payloads, flattening what hasn’t been flattened (tin buildings and crude airstrips) by the bombardments and leaving fire and devastation in it’s wake.

Ramshackle Legion fighters based on WW2 fighter aircraft and Vertibirds take off in the chaos, and try to intercept the bombers- only to be assaulted by the NMC P-51s. Although they nail one or two Mustangs in the fighting, many more are taken out by the Coalition pilots or whatever fighter wing happened to be within range at that time.

Mortar teams dash across the battlefield shooting shells of death at each other’s unseen yet esrimated position, and artillery cannons at the Outpost are swiftly brought out of commission by HELIOS howitzers.

Hueys and Vertibirds land on nearby mountains and fields, with droves of infantry disembarking among hails of Legion gunfire (for all of 30 seconds before an A-10 gun run reduces the machinegunners to thick red dusty paste speckled with metal.)

Machine gunners wielding CBJ-MS or M60s (including Sarah’s squad) lay suppressive fire against any infantry they see and occasionally try to kill each other using grenade launchers.

Pattons, Sheridans and whatever’s left of the Legion fleet duke it out, lobbing tank shells and HEAT rockets at each other. Troopers, Marines, Soldiers and their attack dogs (military cyberdogs in the case of the Eagles) disembark from APCs and while taking cover, fire LAW launchers at Legion tanks, which more or less instantly kills the crews inside. They also trade fire with Legion forces while making their way into the safety of the garrison’s trench network, blast Legionnaires with shotguns and send their fur missiles racing down trenches.

Legion AA guns and NMC M19 MGMCs light the flare-lit night up with hundreds of tracer rounds that hit basically nothing with the exception of the occasional helicopter or Mustang, while Eagles VADS systems fire short bursts of explosive sabots that utterly disintegrate whatever aircraft they shot at.

The 7’th Calvary Regiment and 2’nd Artillery Division, the historical reenactors of Siege of Alamogordo fame begin an assault with the NCR troopers, using gatling guns, Springfield rifles, calvary, and blackpowder cannons to provide an opening for NCR forces to move in.

82nd Airborne paratroopers (three squadrons) jump out of C-130s and make their drop in Legion territory behind the outpost, while NCR forces from the nearby garrison also take the fight to logistics teams.

Marine Scout Snipers, First Recon and snipers of the 75’th Rangers take positions on crests and the mountains surrounding the outpost, aiming for limbs, hydraulics units and firing explosive rounds at vehicle engine blocks and artillery pieces to sow confusion and panic in the Legionnaires.

Patton tanks with APCs following behind ram through the chain link fencing and concertina wire barriers. Their doors swing open and at least 15 screaming Crimson Rogues soldiers clad in handcrafted reinforced T-51 power armor holding MG42s on swivel mounts charge out and lay fire on Legionnaires taking defensive positions, utterly tearing their bodies to shreds, while at least 30 more Rogues infantry with assault rifles take up positions with the power armor elites in squads of three.

Reprogrammed sentry bots, Mister Gutsies, some securitrons and like three protectrons make their way towards the frontlines, with tank shells and sniper shots instantly taking out everything that isn’t a sentry bot.

A bright flash of light occurs as a beam from ARCHIMEDES II drops down from space and reduces a Legion platoon entering the complex into shadows on the hardpan.

The scrap metal statues at the Outpost has been annihilated by the saturation bombing and tank assault, leaving metal shards and fragments everywhere.

More Legion tanks and supply trucks try making their way to the fortress as dire reinforcement, only to be turned to flaming wrecks by the rotary cannons and artillery guns of the just-arrived AC-130s, or pulverized by a singular A-10 dancing across the skies.

Alarmed Mojave Brotherhood scouts run horrifying news of the battle back to the bunker, alarming McNamara as to how cutthroat and horrifying (to outsiders) the battle has become.

An orchestra of gunfire, explosions, diesel engines, helicopters, sonic booms, buzzing, artillery and orders and screams of agony from all sides sets the backdrop soundtrack of the battle.

Music for NCR, NMC, Eagles, Legion and Rogues respectively (optional)

Quests are Eagles, Wastelander, NCR, Legion, NMC, and Rogues respectively

boone mod likes to be left alone so I won’t tag them

@bajarangers

@realpresidentkimball

@galileo-of-the-legion

@atombombskilledtheradiostar

@thinktankbigmt

@sonofmarzzzz

@bajarangers

[theresattrpgforthat]

Hey! I really love your recommendations— I’m just now getting into Ironsworn as a solo game from one of your posts. I was wondering, and I know this is a difficult and maybe weird ask, but do you know any solo rpgs that have good tactical combat? I enjoy narrative systems a lot, but my biggest passion is getting deep into tactics and strategy. I can’t even imagine how a solo game could get much more tactical than Ironsworn is, but if there are any out there I’d really love to try them out.

THEME: Solo Tactical Games

Hello, thank you so much for the lovely compliment! Let’s see if I can find anything for you.

EZCARGOT, by Garlickatsu.

"The surface has been lost. What remains is a gray, featureless and foggy wasteland. Dangerous, unidentifiable Entities roam free. Humanity lives in Rifts that keep them safe from Entites. These Rifts are kept open using a highly volatile resource called Anomaly. You pilot an EZ.CARGO.Trailer to transport one chunk of stable Anomaly between Rifts. Scan for the route ahead. Protect the Anomaly. Make it to your next destination alive."

EZCARGOT is more of an exploration game than it is a combat game, but the fact that you’re protecting an Anomaly makes combat feel necessary, even if it’s just a necessary part. That being said, the building and maintenance of your EZCARGOT vehicle is definitely at the centre of this game. This vehicle has compartments for various purposes; generating energy, firing weapons, carrying the Anomaly, and more.

On top of maintaining the EZCARGOT and protecting your precious cargo, there is the hazard of the land you must travel to get from rift to rift. If you want a game that’s weird, futuristic and dangerous, you might like EZCARGOT.

Delve to Earn Dimes, by flumpledev.

The surface world became uninhabitable for most people long ago. Not due to any cataclysm or war, but due to low wages.

In this solo journaling TTRPG you play as a crew of career dungeon delvers who are able to afford to live on the surface- as long as you spend most of your time surviving inside the dungeon. With a blackjack resolution mechanic you will need to weigh risk and reward, survival and honor in The Undercity.

A deck-of-cards dungeon delve, this game gives you a crew of characters to manage, rather than just one. Each member has different skills, attached to the four suits of your deck of cards. These cards also double as encounter generators, creating obstacles and enemies as you move down each floor of your dungeon.

Each day of in-game time, you will have an encounter. I suspect many of these encounters will be combat focused, since in most case you’ll have to decide whether you press on and deal with the encounter, or flee. You’ll also have a boss to defeat on each floor in order to keep moving onward - and a juicy reward after each boss fight that gives you the feeling of levelling up.

Hollow Hike, by RollForThings.

Hollow Hike is a short Dark Souls-inspired RPG about travelling a blighted land as a deathless Hollow, repeatedly dying and reviving against difficult foes, discovering the secrets of a lost kingdom, and slaying the Ashen Lords along the way. Hollow Hike is designed for a one-player experience, but can optionally be played with a GM for a duet game.

If you like gritty combat, you’ll probably like Hollow Hike. Similar to plenty of traditional fantasy games, you have a level and a class, and similar to Dark Souls, you need to collect souls to level up. If you die, you drop all of the souls you’ve collected up until then, and you’ll have to reach the same point in order to pick them back up - if you’ve played Bloodborne, this is probably familiar to you!

One of the ways the game is challenging is in the single-use nature of your items. You can use them to give yourself slight advantages in combat, but once you use them, they’re gone. However, I think the highlight of this game is the bosses on each level. They’re the doors to a new realm when they are defeated, and if they are an Ashen Lord, they’re extra special - they bring you one step closer to a true escape.

Factory of the Machine God, by Anthony Hobday.

A solo pen-and-paper tactical mech combat game.

An AI virus has uploaded itself to Mech Factory 12 [North Sea]. It has named itself “The Machine God.” We cannot send autonomous mechs against it. You will be airlifted to the factory. Go to the 5th floor and shut down the server. Clean-up crews will land on your all-clear.

This feels very much like an old-school rpg, with levels of the factory to work through, 6 skills, and various module spaces with which you can build your mech. Because you’re building your ideal war-machine, I think character creation alone can make this game tactical, but of course you’ll also have to battle various enemies as you try to get closer and closer to the final boss. The game also comes with an order of operations for enemies to act, which makes it easier for you to plan ahead and try and make the most of what you have.

Factory of the Machine God is rather minimalist in presentation, but I think it has a really strong concept as its base conceit, and I think it’s worth checking out all the same.

My Spoons are Stabby!, by Caramel Sugarevil.

Welcome to My Spoons are Stabby, a solo roguelike game where you’re dungeon crawling through your mind and dealing with the monsters you find there. The best weapon in the Monster Hunter’s arsenal is their mind, so we developed The Chaos Machine, the holodeck that mentally links to the Hunt Team. Through that, they can work through their issues individually or as a team. 

My Spoons are Stabby uses a deck of cards for task resolution, and your character has four stats that correspond to each card suit. You play by drawing cards from a draw pile and placing them into a daily spread of 6.

Your primary resource is called “Spoons”, which are required to do most things. If you run out of spoons too soon, you can take a wound or use up resources, but both are limited - and if you get 5 wounds, you lose the game.

The genre of the game feels a bit like urban fantasy. Each card you draw introduces various complications and monsters, many of which have special rules about how to deal with that day’s specific problem.

If you want a game that’s a strong metaphor and feels a little bit like a pick-your-own adventure with a few extra pieces to manage, you might like My Spoons are Stabby.

Welcome to the Dungeon, by wym_lawson.

You are the overseer of the realm of darkness, the supreme ruler of all monsters, known to the humans as The-Tainted-One. Despite these grand titles and immense responsibilities, you just want to live a quiet, peaceful life with your skeleton friends and pet slimes. But why do the humans find the need to invade your domain, seeking to destroy you and disrupt your peace?

Fine. If they insist on war, you will give them just that. In Welcome to the Dungeon, you play as the Dark Lord. Your goal is to build a dungeon filled with traps and monsters to thwart these pesky Heroes. Each victory against these intruders earns you resources, enabling you to enhance and expand your dungeon. Hopefully, you will be prepared to face the ultimate adventuring party led by the Chosen One.

I think Welcome to the Dungeon is kind of a tactical combat, but most of the tactics happen before any of the combat starts You create a dungeon with a certain number of points; the more points used, the higher the level of the dungeon. Apart from rooms, you’ll also need to create traps and Monsters - if you’re familiar with Boss Monster the boardgame, I think it feels slightly like that.

You’re also going to building the Heroes, which are the foes that you pit your dungeon against. These heroes have levels, just like your dungeon, but they also have classes, special reactions, and traits that will make defeating them difficult. If you defeat them, you get more points! Perhaps you can use those to make your dungeons even deadlier on your second play!

First Monarch, by Mundos Infinitos.

After THE FALL, We conceive the perfect MONARCHS And they, released their CRIMSON MIST. Many became SPECTERS, cities crumbled. Some survived, underground. The GUARDIAN has found her CHOSEN, With the duty of defeating the… FIRST MONARCH

The creator behind Mundos Infinitos is very good at packaging a whole experience in just a few pages. One page of First Monarch is full of oracles, generators that make your adventure unpredictable. Another page is dedicated to character details and special abilities; including a Bloodlust track that fills every time you turn a failure into a victory.

You play two characters in First Monarch, rather than one: a Chosen and a Guardian. The Chosen is the character with special abilities, but the Guardian has a special dice that can be used to lend you her aid in certain circumstances. She can also give you her blood to reduce your Bloodlust.

All in all, a lot of flavour in a very small package.

Other Posts To Look At

Not all of the games in these posts will be tactical, but these are the recommendation posts that I think are most likely to have tactical games.

Solo Showdowns Recommendation Post

Chrono Trigger / FFVI Solo Games

Solo Knights

Also Consider…

Godspark, by M.Allen Hall.

The Void series from ParaMyth Games.