#so far i've made it through west north and east. so. pretty good

[zincbot]

trying to get the "one shot" achievement on hyper light drifter is making me wanna give soulsbournes a shot

[bikepackinguk]

Day Nineteen

And we're back! Hope you had a good weekend!

Spent a couple of nights camped up by the banks if the Eye Water in some idyllic forest, not another soul to be seen whilst there except the birds, bugs, and some red deer roaming the opposite bank.

A very needed rest day yesterday, and one I'd been looking forward to. The muscles have been suffering a bit the past week and giving them some downtime is important to keep the going smooth.

Last night was also the first proper rain of the journey, ehich I've been very lucky with so far. thankfully it was well into the night and the tent was battened down well, so the only inconvenience was being woken a couple of times simply from the sheer noise of the downpour.

Breaking camp and getting back to the road took a little time as I had to get my feet wet carrying my gear back over the river, as well as trekking back to the road, which combined with the luxury if a later start today meant it was nearly noon by the time the road was hit once more, and a stop off in Eyemouth for some supplies meant not being fully underway until around lunchtime.

Given that Edinburgh is coming up and I don't want to be caught inside a big city in the evening, this was absolutely fine by me.

With that done, the route out of Eyemouth is back into another big long climb uphill, which made me very glad for the day's rest! The legs have a bit more go in them now, and the sharper pains have subsided, meaning the ascents were a lot more manageable and good time made across the hills, to be rewarded with a beautiful view of the Forth Estuary and the coastline beyond, ehich I'll be reaching in another day or two!

The hills give way on the other side to a glorious descent over the fields above the coastline, with some sweeping zooming sections that are impossible not to grin loke a loon flying down.

All the way downwards the road runs to Pease Bay, before we head up some more climbs for the path to carry on westwards.

Sole not-so-scenic stretches along here as we pass by a big quarry, landfill, incinerator, and a nuclear power plant, with the noise of the busy A1 in the background, but can't have beauty every step of the way.

After that the route follows into Dunbar where I could restock on water and have a short break, and check how the map looks.

The route around to North Berwick is essentially A roads and the cycle route bypasses it, so I decided to do the same and carry on.

Tracking west, the cycle path again follows the A1 but is a fully segregated path, so was able to make some good time despite riding alongside busy traffic, and past East Linton the route swings to the left of the busy road to climb high back up into the hills once more to take in some lovely country lanes and views past Hailes Castle.

Down again the path runs into the town of Haddington, which I reached bang on 6pm, and had a good dither and bite to eat.

The route sweeps back up to the coast towards Longniddry from here, but with the sun getting low I don't want to get too much closer to Edinburgh this evening, and feel in a pretty good position to be able to get through and across the Forth tomorrow, so it feels like time to find a place to rest the head once more.

Tike for a good cup of tea and to set the tent back up. Catch you all tomorrow!

[dear-mi]

Alright, so I'm running an actual campaign this summer. Not one for dnd club for a bunch of freshmen, not gonna create the most batshit insane magic items for the hell of it, no more mysterious can.

And I'll be honest, I'm really fucking excited. I've got this whole world I've built, and while not all of it is fleshed out, I've got at least half of it down.

Here it is:

Don't get confused by Aegir tho, it is in fact underwater.

The main portion of the campaign will take place in the northern countries, primarily: Ursa, Johün, Tome, and Orwell.

Ursa is by far my most fleshed out setting, so imma talk about it.

Ursa's main concept came from the country of Ursus from Arknights, who woulda thought, but I've got some pretty good distinctions.

Ursa is inhabited by nine different tribes. Three of these tribes are in the islands, three are in the south western portion, two in the south eastern, and one in the north eastern and is thought to have died out.

The three tribes in the south west have formed a confederacy known as Ursa Minor, made of the tribes: Naht, Arne, and Lera.

This is the most modernized portion of Ursa. They interact primarily with Atlas, Celti, and Borea, while keeping connections with Satano brief.

The tribes of the islands are: Kanat, Vnat, and Mare.

The Vnat are currently the most isolated tribe, occupying those north most islands. After the disappearance of the Wemm tribe, those in the north eastern mountain region, Vnat believed in safety in isolation. Because, now that the Wemm tribe has disappeared, they claim the title of the physically strongest of the tribes, and the fact the Wemm tribe held it before and still went missing was a huge cultural bombshell.

The Kanat occupy the southern most islands, and are primarily sourced in trade and tourism. They have many market deals going with the Mare tribe, whose main export is raw materials in both fish and ores and compounds that are good for construction.

The last two tribes are the Vade and Ulise, who have entered an alliance known as the Cold Breath. The Vade has specialized in a nomadic lifestyle across Ursa's great tundra, while the Ulise have learned how to settle down and survive in its forest just east of the tundra. As living conditions got harsher, lack of shelter and food in the tundra during the winter, and lack of food and other resources in the forest during the summer, the two tribes entered a trade alliance.

This alliance has lead to one tribe being primary benefactors during one season, while the other saves up to provide for both tribes during the following season, as they switch halfway through the year when the climate changes from cold to super fucking cold.

Also, the islands are arranged in the shape of Ursa Major, which I think is fun

Then there's Johün. Johün is, obviously, based from Norse mythology. It's occupied by a race of giants, however the term 'giant' could mean a variety of things.

In this world it just means that in some way they're naturally large. This could mean physically, or it could mean magically. Johün's nation is the most attuned to the natural magics of the world. This form of magic is very different from arcane magic, which is actually considered to be man made or introduce from a different planet or plane.

This natural magic is much more fluid, not needing incantations and components to be used effectively. Any incantations that are used with this natural magic are additionally much more potent and devastating. And I want to make it clear that when I say natural magics I don't mean druids, because Druids are still considered to be arcane in essence.

From my cosmology shit, you can deduce that these natural magics is that actual manipulation of essence.

Then there's Orwell and OH BOY I did not put any thought into that name.

Orwell is the foil to Johün as it is highly arcane involved. The reason for this is that, in the center of the nation, there's a huge lake with a high concentration of magic crystals of arcane nature. This has become their main export and also the center of their culture, as arcane magic has been made into very convenient and quality of life ways.

So it's called Orwell because there's a buncha ores in its wells. Then as I proceeded to tell people about this nation they naturally went "like George Orwell?" Who I had forgotten was a person at the time of making.

SO! That makes a very easy political token though. A high concentration of magic technology means a whole lotta magic technology to be mishandled and abused and used for corruption and such. So thank you everyone for making that connection when I could not.

Lastly, there's Tome. Tome was built between the marryment of Johün and Orwell. The scholars of Orwell who wanted to understand the natural magics and the priests of Johün who wanted to understand arcane magics.

In Tome is where it's said the first Druid, Warlock, Cleric, and Paladin were found. There's a legend that four people unlocked the secret of harnessing the different methods of using the arcane, and so these methods of magic usage were developed. While the study of natural magic aided in developing these arcane magics, the secrets of natural magics still have not actually been discovered.

Now, there's a lot more I could say about these countries. I kinda emphasized on Ursa as it is the main setting, but I could talk for pages and pages more about these countries each. However, I wanna gush about the stories of the pc's and just how fucking cool they are.

[chefdoeuvre]

Under Control

Kelly Severide

Pairing: Kelly Severide x Sister!Reader

Description: Even when you think you have things under control older brothers always worm their way into helping.

Words: 1,595

Requested: yes by @ticklepete; Okay so can you do a Kelly x Sister where y/n is being seriously threatened by someone who she had a run-in with in the past (like an arsonist or former victim, etc) and of course Kelly's overprotective brother side kicks in. Her being the independent woman she is gets a little annoyed but ultimately is thankful. I feel like #46 and #12 would work with this.

Warnings: mention of minor injuries, blood, fluff as per usual.

A/N: I just love Kelly Severide and his overprotective ways. This can be counted as a stand alone or a part two for Rivalry. I apologize in advance for any grammatical errors.

—

There they were again, flowers sent to the firehouse addressed to you. At first, you thought it was sweet how you had a secret admirer. Now after a month and a half of this you were starting to be fed up with it. Of course, you couldn't throw the flowers away they were too pretty for that, clearly, someone had spent a solid chunk of change to get them for you. Obviously, Kelly offered to tell Jay and get him to find out who they were coming from but being the stubborn Severide you are you declined.

The next shift came by in the blink of an eye and this time instead of a large bouquet of fresh flowers you were simply handed an envelope. The envelope didn't have a return address on it only the firehouse's and your name printed on it. You stuffed the envelope into your locker when the announcement system went off signaling a call. The call was a fairly normal rescue. Thankfully, there was a simple solution to saving the victim and it didn't take long to get them to safety.

After heading back to the firehouse you went back to your locker and pulled out the envelope that's been invading your thoughts since you got it. Ripping it open you unfolded the single piece of paper in it and let your eyes scan the words. Reading over them multiple times you felt a pit in your stomach. It was clear to see that they were threats aimed at you. This only confused you, if this wasn't some secret admirer who the hell was this? The words were generic threats you'd expect from a regular old crime show so that's not what scared you. It was the fact that they went through these lengths just to get your attention. Instead of doing what a rational person would do you stuffed the envelope back into your locker and tried to get your mind off of it.

Making your way out of the locker room you bumped face-first into a hard chest. Immediately two arms reached out and grabbed onto your shoulders to steady you. Looking up with wide eyes you're met with the familiar steel blue ones of your brother.

"Hey, you all right?" Kelly asked as he scanned your facial expression.

"Yeah, I'm fine." You nodded quickly.

You tried to sidestep away from him, but his strong arms kept you planted there. Given the fact that he's your brother, he knew you like the back of his hand and he knew what you were like when something was bothering you.

"No, you're not. Talk to me." Kelly urged as you all but looked him in the eyes.

Sighing you shoved his hands off your shoulder and turned on your heel assuring him that you were fine. In truth, you were far from fine but you'd deal with it your own way. Which was being majorly stubborn about it and completely ignoring the fact that you weren't okay. You made your way into the common room and took a seat in between Herrmann and Mouch who were watching an old movie.

Kelly, being the nosy brother he is took it upon himself to check out your locker. Granted he only knew your combination because it was your birthday and as your brother of course he knew you would use that as the passcode for your phone as well. Pulling open your locker the envelope fell out and he quickly pulled it open. Reading the words across the page he suddenly felt the urge to punch someone.

Soon enough, the announcement system went off signaling a call. Apparently, it was a large abandoned warehouse on fire which meant all of Firehouse 51's help was enlisted.

Pulling up to the scene Boden started giving out directions to each unit. Squad was taking the brunt of the work by checking the building along with some of Truck's help. You and Kelly were paired up to go the furthest into the building, biting back a joke about the sibling power duo the two of you were you headed into the burning building. Kelly stood close beside you with a clenched jaw, still angered by the threats aimed at you.

"We're clear on the West wing." Cruz's voice sounded from your walkies.

"Same on the East." Stella agreed.

"All good on the North wing. South?" Casey asked.

You and Kelly were still making your way through the building about to reply when you heard a shrill scream. Looking up in alarm, the two of you shared a glance before setting toward the sound.

Taking the lead you made your way weaving through the crates to where the sound came from. Another high-pitched sound shocked you into place before you started toward the louder noise again.

"I've been waiting for you." A deep, gravelly voice sounded from behind a large crate.

"We have to go, this place isn't gonna last long." Kelly chided looking between you and the wooden crate.

"That doesn't seem to be in my agenda, Lieutenant Severide." The deep voice tutted.

You and Kelly shared a look of confusion. How the hell did this guy know who he was?

"Oh, allow me to introduce myself." The man all but cackled as he stepped out from behind the crate.

In his hands was a familiar-looking bouquet of flowers. He had a devilish smirk planted on his face and dark eyes that made him look demonic.

"It's Charles, but you can call me Chuck." He greeted with a sickly sweet smile and looked dead at you.

Kelly immediately stood to step in front of you and practically growled at the man.

"Cool it, Kell." You shoved your brother aside with a roll of your eyes.

"All right, Charlie was it?" You crossed your arms nonchalantly, "take your flowers and leave or I promise you I'll let the hound at you." You gestured a hand toward your fuming brother.

Of course, you were naturally sassy, but in times of danger, your sass levels would go up by a hundred. Was this the smartest idea to agitate the guy who lit this place up? No, probably not, but your instincts decided otherwise. The man was rendered speechless, to say the least. He was expecting a sobbing woman not a lady who could even out sass Jay Halstead on a good day.

While the man was a blubbering mess Kelly took the initiative to call it into Boden because of course this had to all go down in a burning building. A few moments later you turned on your heel and began dragging Kelly with you.

"What the hell are you doing?" Kelly berated.

"I'd rather get the hell out of dodge before I turn into a crispy treat." You hissed pulling him toward the exit.

Chuck still stood there trying to mutter out a response when he bolted after the two of you. Pushing Kelly ahead of you, you turned around to see Chuck barreling toward you. Grabbing his wrist in a tight grip you all but dragged him out of the building. Just in time the three of you made it out of the building before a huge explosion erupting out of the ceiling.

Out of the corner of your eyes, you caught sight of the Severide sibling's favorite detective and pulled Chuck along with you.

"I think your package was sent to the wrong building." You shoved Chuck forward as Jay pulled the man's arms behind his back and cuffed him.

"Thanks, Y/N." Jay nodded with a smirk adorning his features.

"Anytime, detective." You flashed a quick smile before heading back to your fellow firefighters.

Letting out a breath you didn't know you were holding you ripped your helmet off and dropped it to the ground.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Kelly placed his hands on your shoulders before pulling you into his arms.

"Oh, come on. That was totally badass." You chuckled.

Kelly stared at you bugged-eyed, tilting his head in confusion.

"Come here, you big teddy bear." You wrapped your arms around Kelly's waist, hugging him tightly.

Locking your hands behind him you pulled back hissing in pain.

"What? What's wrong?" Kelly scanned you for any injuries.

"Damn bouquet had thorns in it. I'm fine though." You scrunched your brows pulling at the thorns embedded in your palm.

"What do you mean you're 'fine'? You're bleeding!" Kelly exclaimed.

"Dude, they're just thorns." You dismissed.

Kelly pushed you toward Gabby and Sylvie wordlessly as you wiped the little bit of blood escaping your hand.

After getting all cleaned up and heading back to the firehouse you went to find Kelly who was hunched over his desk in his bunk room.

"Thank you." You spoke up leaning against the door frame.

Kelly snapped his head toward the sudden voice.

"What?" Kelly asked with a small smirk.

"I said it once, that's it." You crossed your arms with a pout.

Kelly raised his brows and you let out a defeated sigh, "thank you for being my protective brother, even if I don't need you to be." You stepped forward and placed your hands on his shoulders with a small smile.

"It's in the job description." Kelly reached his hand up to ruffle your hair.

"Seriously, how many times do I have to tell you not to touch my hair?" You laughed, pushing his hand away.

"You're gonna be the death of me, I swear." Kelly rolled his eyes playfully.

[colour-outside-the-liness]

Oh wow, you two have been friends for a long time then! I know what's that like, I've known my best friend who lives in Spain since we were 8! Definitely awesome to have someone like that in your life. Are you still going to be roommates when the baby comes? And that was really thoughtful of your ex making sure you didn't travel alone.

Canada is really cold tho, so if you're okay with that you should def move there! Ah well, I'm doing better now so that's what matters, all the horrible worries I had when I lived back home are gone atm.

Yeah, that's the spirit! you can do all US states even if it takes you 43 years, that's plenty of time! hahaha And your welcome, it's one of my favourite fics.

Your mind is great, don't worry. At least something good came out of it haha.

Oh so people make her a pisces then, I see. I've met a pisces who was kinda like Dani once so that's why I said she has that kind of energy, but she def has fire on her chart too. And yeah I can see some virgo traits in her, but she's very sensitive and a bit naive so I guess pisces makes more sense.

I had to look up what a badger was hahaha never heard of them before.

I'm sorry you had to go through that. Sounds scary. And you still have to take medication bc of it. The threat of catching covid must've made that 10x worse too. And I can only hope to learn from my mistakes at the very least.

People who made thobm are fucking savages tbh hahaha. 😂 Kinda wish they had cast Oliver as Jamie like they originally intended but then we wouldn't have our damie... don't know what's worse honestly.

Oh Yorkshire accent is pretty cool too, isn't the lead singer of the Arctic Monkeys from Yorkshire? Honestly think all the language variations and different accents that come with each region are really fascinating. And that happens with all languages, not just English. Wish I could speak all languages in the world, that would be a cool superpower! I guess it makes sense you like American accents more bc it's so different from yours. I've become desensitized to North American accents just bc I hear them all the time, but I see how it would be more appealing to you.

Oooh I love that possibility of it becoming a real fic soon hahaha. Worst part of letting it cook is that I already have the finished illustration in my head but the transferring to reality part is not working rn. Wouldn't wish this on my worst enemy tbh.

You def had a busy weekend and start of the week! I have a virgo in my life rn too I know the struggle. Her birthday is this weekend in fact. I had an okay weekend thank you! Managed to catch up with that pirate AU you recommended and I'm already planning fanart for it that will probably never see the light of day haha! Are we going to have more smut this next MoU update? (need to know for scientific purposes 🔬)

Yeah we've been friends for years we met when we were 14 and are still friends now at 27 so it's been one of my longest friendships I have a friend that I met at 4 but we're not as close as we once were still really good friends but not best friends haha!! aww that's so cool that you guys have been friends for that long!! Yeah we're still gonna live together when the baby comes- we're looking for a bigger place right now to make room for the baby and her boyfriend (he still doesn't live with us yet but will soon.... *insert gif of Monica Gellar one friends saying "And now I have to live with a boy" while crying* Yeah my ex is a super thoughtful person and she just didn't want me travelling so far alone when I had never flown before because when I went to Paris with my college we drove there and went on the Eurostar and it took us 13 hours to get there but I had never flown before going to LA and I picked an 11 hour flight for my first one so she wanted someone to fly with me she's a very thoughtful person I LOVE the cold weather I am so sad right now because it's bene quite warm in the north of England I can't wait until it's like -3 degrees Celsius during the winter nights again so I am sure I would love Canada I am fine with it taking me 43 years if that's what it takes haha I just wanna hit all 50 states I think it would be so fun to do it and to be able to say I'd done it.  Haha thank you!! As long as something good comes out of it that's all I can hope for but there are times I've done things and people are like "And you're allowed to teach kids?" Like I can be really dumb sometimes haha.  Yeah I've seen a couple of fics where she has been a pisces I think with it never being said and with VP never saying what she thinks she is people have looked at her personality and matched it up to zodiac signs- a lot of the pisces I've met haven't been like Dani like I said but I do trust what people who know more about zodiac signs say because I know nothing and I just pick a random date each time so CBML she's a Leo and MoU she's a virgo and in SLS she's gonna be a Scorpio because that's just how I've done it haha but I really know nothing about zodiac signs other than what you have told me!! There different types of badgers there are honey badgers and they're more in America here we have a different type of badger and they look so cute but they are really vicious if they feel attacked or scared so try snd avoid badgers... more than that though we just have cows, geese, ducks, swans... lots of foxes but noting dangerous like bears or anything its a very boring place to live!! Yeah it is pretty scary but I just take everything one day at a time- I actually caught Covid last year because of how much time I was in the hospital having treatments for my condition I caught Covid and ended up in the hospital for a week while they had to give me loads of medication and blood transfusions and had to put me on a fluid drip because I was really dehydrated and that was really scary but luckily I was okay and now I am fully vaccinated so hopefully I won't catch it again. I think you will definitely learn from your mistakes I feel like some mistakes have to be made in life so you can grow from them Oh they were definitely savage but I love Bly Manor so much and I will watch it so many more times I can't wait for it to come out on DVD!! Like it was heart breaking but so beautiful and we got such an incredible wlw relationship from it and some great representation and I love that!! Would be interesting to see how it would've affected people had Oliver played Jamie though Yeah Alex Turner is from Sheffield which is South Yorkshire so again we have a similar accent but it's different because I am from further North but there are things that we say in a similar way because we’re from Yorkshire just different parts of Yorkshire... there are four Yorkshires: North, East, West, and South haha and all are in the north of England  Yeah I think that’s the case every where I think accents and languages are so interesting and I would love to be able to speak any other language but I only speak English in my school it wasn’t seen as being overly important to learn a language and I have tried learning them since leaving school but I struggle now  There are some American accents I love (Southern and Midwestern) so when I heard Dani speak I was like 😍🥵🥰 because I love that type of accent I have become desensitised to some American accents that are just standard ones from watching so many movies and TV shows but there are some accents that just make me do heart eyes haha  I am hoping it can become a real fic soon but I am struggling with some stuff but keeping hopeful with it!! Awwh no I’m sorry it’s so hard for you I hope it gets better soon that you’re able to get it onto a page!!  I have had such a busy weekend and part of the week had a bit of a busy day today too and looking after my niece again tomorrow not rest for me it would seem but it’s fine I don’t mind keeping busy!! Well happy birthday to her I hope she has a great day!!  Oh yay I’m glad had an okay weekend and that you were able to catch up on the pirate AU and that you already have fan art planned for it- even if no one ever sees that fanart!! No there is no smut in this chapter of MoU some implied smut but no actual smut- there will probably be smut in chapter 9 though because y’know... it’s me haha 😂 

[dravidious]

You are really really really really really really really really really really really really really REALLY great!

I made a (mostly) comprehensive guide to Malzeno's moveset from the Monster Hunter Rise Sunbreak demo!

Malzeno, the ultimate challenge of Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak. The demo, I mean. I ain't spending $60 on that shit. It's a brutal boss, with fast attacks that hit like a truck and a 15 minute time limit. And of course, since it's the demo, you have no way to upgrade your equipment and no elemental weapons except bowguns. I've fought this thing a ton and beaten it with 8 the weapons in the game, so here's my guide to its moveset.

MAP

Malzeno has three spawn points: North, East, and West. If it spawns North, head into the caves, grabbing the wild wirebug and stinkmink along the way. Grab the ruby wirebug before mounting Tetranadon, then go slap the dragon. I recommend two strong attacks and a dodge counter, then four strong attacks in a row before mounted punisher. The timing is tight, so if the time limit gets too low, just throw out the punisher before you get kicked off.

If it spawns East, open the map (hold the minus button) and fast travel to the sub camp, then hop down and start the fight.

If it spawns West, run over to it and grab the marionette spider on top of the tree in the area before Malzeno.

There's a marionette spider in the hallway west of the northern spawn room, right on the ledge, so grab it if Malzeno retreats through that hallway.

If Rathian is ever nearby, go mount it, it does ridiculous damage. Use the backward strong attack to inflict fireblight, then the forward strong attack to poison. When you get the knockdown, you have time for three more tail flips, or two tail flips and a dive, which you do by pressing strong attack after a flip. I recommend just mashing the A button to get it.

When you mount Malzeno, check the map for the red or blue geysers, shaped like puffs of gas. If you launch it into one, it does 1400 damage and inflicts a blight, so they're pretty crucial. If you're confident in your riding skills, feel free to get two or three wallbangs before launching it into the geyser for even more damage.

VAMPIRE'S RAGE

Instead of enraging normally, Malzeno will enter a special rage mode after a certain amount of time. Its fur will glow red, and its attacks get more dangerous. Hitting its red parts enough will eventually knock it out of this mode and topple it, and those parts (its head and arms) are its weak points anyway, so just deal enough damage and it'll happen automatically. Its tail tip is also vulnerable in this mode, but good luck hitting that.

If you don't deal enough damage fast enough, Malzeno will use its Ultra-Deadly and Epic Super Attack! It flies into the air and fires a dragon laser all around, before dropping a giant dragon bomb that sends waves all around! And it's pathetic. The laser hits so far away it'll never hit you, and you can just wiredash into the air and hang to avoid all the waves. Seeing this attack does signal your doom though, because it means you aren't dealing enough damage. If it ever uses this, you've probably already lost.

BLOODBLIGHT

A unique status that halves your healing items' effects, including max potion. However, you can restore health by dealing damage, so it isn't so bad if you're good at dodging and don't take any risks. You've got 15 minutes, so you need to be attacking anyway. The more damage you deal, the more health you get, so hit it hard when you get the opportunity!

MAIN ATTACKS

These are the attacks that it uses most often. If you can't deal with all of these, you're pretty much screwed.

Wing Stomp: It raises its wing up and stomps it down. If it's enraged, it'll combo with a faster stomp with its other wing. The tracking on this thing is kinda ridiculous; it can slide really far forward and backward to catch you, so if you think you're out of range, you're not, roll anyway. Dodge this by just rolling to the side, no problem. It has a pretty big opening afterward, so this is a good attack to see.

If you plan on countering it, there's two things to keep in mind. 1: If it's enraged, be very careful about countering the first stomp. Some counters are fine, like Iai Spirit Slash which somehow slides you out of range of the 2nd, but most will end up with you eating the 2nd stomp. Roll, then counter. 2: The timing of the hitbox is delayed; it hits slightly AFTER the stomp actually connects. And no, this isn't because the real hitbox is the rocks it kicks up; try to jump over it, and you'll die.

Tail Thrust: It flips up into the air and thrusts its tail at you. If it's enraged, it'll combo with a 2nd, faster thrust. Similar to the stomps, but with better tracking and harder to avoid. You need to time your roll for right as it's thrusting. It'll bloodblight you if it hits, so don't take any risks with it. Weird tip: The thrust is really fast and seems to have very few active hitbox frames, so if you're stuck in endlag with no defensive options, try rolling exactly as it hits you. I've pulled it off a few times (I think with Switch Axe?), but it might just be a hidden evasion skill on the armor, idk.

Again, lots of endlag, so a great move to counter. Just make sure to dodge the first one if it's enraged. Also, (gun)lance can actually dodge this without blocking by just walking sideways and hopping at the right time, so use this to nail a counter if it's enraged.

Backward Tail Thrust: It turns back to growl at you, then thrusts its tail backward. Similar to regular tail thrust, but make sure you roll to the right; it swings its tail to the left as it turns around, which has a tripping hitbox, very annoying. It won't interrupt counters though, and with only a single thrust, this is good to counter. Also, if it wasn't clear, it uses this when you're behind it.

Double Dragon Wave: It makes a weird chittering noise, then flaps its wings to send two curving dragon waves at you. For the longest time, I didn't want to bother weaving through the waves, so I would try to escape to the side. DON'T DO THIS. Malzeno boxes you in with waves of rocks that are impossible to jump over. Fortunately, dodging is easy; the waves spread out, then cross, then spread again. You'll usually want to run toward it and get between the waves before they cross. If you're far away, it gets tricky, so I suggest running further away.

Also, these inflict dragonblight, but like... who cares? Bowgun users?

Corkscrew Dash: It rears back and squeals, then rushes far forward, turning around to combo with one of three attacks. Just run and roll to the side to avoid the dash. If you're stuck in endlag, you might just be screwed, as this hitbox is big. It can follow up with a Ground Slam, Wind Wave, or a unique move it never uses anywhere else: Spread Blood Balls. The Ground Slam is dangerous, so be careful about running forward to chase it.

Spread Blood Balls: This is its weakest follow up; the three balls move slowly and have no tracking, so run between them and get a free hit or two.

Wind Wave: It pulls back, then throws a shockwave toward you. If it's enraged, it'll throw a second. The wave moves fast, has pretty wide range, and has good tracking, so run and roll. If you feel aggressive, you can wiredash jump to avoid the wave, then airdodge or wiredash towards it to start attacking again. Fun Fact: The waves are easy to block, so if you have Shield Dash with lance, you can just charge through the last one to chase Malzeno.

Dragon Slither: It slams down its claw, drags it rightward, then combos into one of three moves: Backward Tail Thrust, Teleport Bite, or a unique leftward bite. The first claw swipe is the most dangerous, and the hitbox covers basically Malzeno's entire front half. I recommend dodging left, as dodging backward will line you up for the leftward bite. I've occasionally timed my roll to i-frame right through the claw swipe, so try that. Also, the bite reaches really far forward, so if you think you're out of range, you're not. Fortunately, this is a weaker attack; it only hits like a car, not a truck.

Dragon Laser: This has an audio cue, but I don't remember what it sounds like. It fires a fast dragon laser at the ground, then three waves of explosions happen in front of it. The laser is fast and the explosions are wide, so roll sideways, then forward. The multiple hitboxes really mess with counters, so this attack is tough.

Teleport Bite: It snaps forward with a bite, then teleports away and uses one of four moves: Ground Ripper, Double or Triple Dragon Wave, or a second bite. The bite is really fast, so roll sideways immediately when you see it. Dodge sideways again after it teleports in case of another bite. Any other attack, and just react easy-peasy.

OTHER ATTACKS

These are less common or less dangerous, but it's important to know about all this thing's attacks.

Tail Dance: It looks back, growls, then sweeps its tail in a counter-clockwise arc along the ground before jumping up and away. This will bloodblight if it hits. It doesn't swing its tail all the way around, so if you're close, you can find a safe zone. Or just try to get REALLY close, I think it sometimes just passes through you.

Circle Dance: It stands and curls up, chitters, then drags its claws clockwise and sweeps its tail clockwise. This is MUCH more dangerous because it doesn't have much of a safe zone, and the two hitboxes make counters less reliable. The claw drag is close range, so you might have time to run backward if you're at mid range. If you're in a spot where only one of the attacks will hit you, you can counter. If you're too close and in the wrong spot, sorry. This attack is rough.

Blood Balls: It rears up and summons three blood balls, which it shoots at you one at a time. Sheath your weapon and sprint, and you'll be fine; this attack is just a time waster. You might be able to counter the 3rd one, but they inflict bloodblight, so maybe just stay safe.

Triple Dragon Wave: It plants its claws one the ground and flings three dragon waves at you. This attack is dangerous up close, as dodging the center wave might send you into one of the others, but it's otherwise very simple to dodge.

Dragon Bomb: It flies into the air, waits, drops a big ball of dragon energy, waits, then flings a big dragon wave at you. This attack sucks; it takes way too long, has no opening, and is very easy yet demanding to dodge. Just sheath and sprint sideways.

Ground Slam: It hisses, jumps up, then slams the ground and kicks up a ton of rubble. It can teleport to you before using this, so always be ready for ti. This attack has REALLY wide range, and is pretty fast. It doesn't reach forward, so dodge backward. This attack is why you don't run forward when it uses Corkscrew Dash.

Ground Ripper: It kinda bounces up and down, then hops forward and rips up rubble in a wide area. It doesn't reach far forward, so you can run backward.

Trip Lunge: It jolts forward and trips you with a bite, then combos into another attack. This attack is damn-near instant, and the trip means you can't wirefall nor run to avoid the next attack, losing invulnerability just in time to get slapped. This is uncommon enough that I don't know what it can combo into, and I have no idea how to deal with anything about it. Depending on the attack and weapon, you might be able to roll or counter.

Leftward Lunge: It rears up, then lunges toward you with a powerful hit. It's called leftward because you need to dodge to the right; dodging left always makes you get hit. I don't know why, hitboxes are weird. It reaches really far forward, so if you think you're out of range, you're not, roll anyway. Also, if you see the wind up and you happen to already be strafing left, DO NOT COMMIT. The tracking is really good, so just turn around and roll right.

Blood Drain: It rears up and chitters, then lunges forward with a grab. The grab has an annoying cutscene, but doesn't deal much damage. The real threat is that you're left in a vulnerable grounded state that you need to wirefall out of. No bugs? Too bad. The grab can be blocked and countered, but super armor from things like Slide Beat won't save you, so don't try it. I don't actually know how to dodge this one, so try rolling sideways I guess.

Wing Sweep: It stands up and sweeps its wing leftward, tripping you and dealing low damage. This reaches pretty far and wide, so roll into Malzeno to sneak through it.