#starts hitting his supply lines and stealing from his allies. no one expects it to be her so shes never caught

[basalting]

From the prompt/ask game you posted: I wish you would write a story where more of the Batkids interact with Selina! I think you did an excellent job in your story about her and Jason and would be interested to see how you envision other dynamics between her and Bruce's kids!!

thank you!

i wrote a couple versions of selina before i settled on what i wrote in that story

i do plan on having Selina pop up in transfemme tim but im not sold on her place in the outline. ill work on it tho 🫡

i think it would be really funny if damian was obsessed with her (Father. I must say, I approve of your association with Kyle. - She showed you the penthouse didn't she? - There are so many cats Father.) and in my heart she tore bruce to absolute shreds over how he treated steph

[r00en]

Still Good Chapter 11

Caught in the Act! 

All Might takes a moment to dish out his own form of Justice to a very special fan.

All Might x Reader (OC) 

"We are very sorry about any inconvenience this has caused the school!" The clumsy couple said in unison. Both bowing low in the Principals office as the all but begged forgiveness for their public blunder.

Principal Nezu sat quietly. Sipping his tea and watching the two employees fidget on the spot. Clearly distressed but just as determined to be clear and honest with their admittance of guilt. On his desk sat a small tabloid paper. Black and white low budget photos slashed across it's cover with grainy wording. 'All Might's Secret Lover?!'. The main picture was hard to make out but clearly the massive back of the number one hero in dark lighting. Bent low with something held tight in his arms. Squinting you could see someone there. So much smaller next to the hulking hero but held up in his embrace. Light catching off what appeared to be glasses on the faceless civilian.

It had been an accident really. The last day before classes were meant to resume Toshi wanted to make some public appearances. Stop some petty crime and let himself be seen by as many people as possible. He had a little longer than an hour as he guessed but if he divided that time up he could stretch it to about three with breaks in between. So he went out on patrol. A normal and rather common thing for him to do. Paladin had wanted to make a day of it herself, using his time out and about to get a bit of shopping done for the both of them.

He ran into her by accident. After catching a simple purse snatcher and shaking some hands he spotted her coming out of a pet store which seemed rather odd as neither of them owned any pets. He followed her for a few minuets, darting around roof tops and trying to stay out of sight.  Seeing her sneak into a near by ally way peaked his curiosity. She was feeding a stray kitten! Toshi damn near melted on the fire escape he was perched on. She had a small plastic bowl set up with a little blanket fort of sorts. She was changing the blankets out for something more clean and fluffy. God this woman.....

Having had enough of his creepy stalking he hopped down from his hiding spot. Trying to strike his normal heroic pose. "Well well well! It seem's I caught a criminal! Thought you could hide in the shadows evil do'er?!" His voice vibrating with all the flare and showmen-ship he put on for his real heroing. It worked well enough to startle the little nurse, poor thing jumped about three feet from her crouched position. Kitten clutched tightly in her arms she swung around with wide and almost terrified eyes until they landed on his massive slightly shadowed body. Taking a few seconds to steady her breathing and possibly restart her heart, and possibly ogle him a bit in his tight spandex she gave up the fight with the kitten in her arms and tried her best to put on a criminal smirk. It wasn't working. She always looked far too cute no matter how hard she tried to seem menacing.

"It seem's you caught me! And I thought I could get around the great All Might...but arn't you suppose to tell me what crime I've committed? Or is feeding cat's against the law now?" It might have been. Toshi knew she wasn't exactly well versed in Japanese law. Less so district to district. But he wasn't so concerned with that in this moment. Stalking his way closer, keeping up his little act he planted himself tall in front of her. Enjoying just how little she was when he was like this. She was little all the time compared to him but in his hero form it was a drastic difference. Only managing to reach his mid section at best. A perfect height to just bend ever so slightly and- NO! Absolutely not! He was not about to picture that! Not now...not when he was wearing the worlds most form fitting costume. His jaw twitched slightly trying to banish the image from his mind giving a little shake of his blond head he bent himself lower to grin at her.

"Stealing a hero's heart is a rather serious crime! And I've caught you red handed little miss. I'm afraid I'll have to punish you." Her cheeks flushed a bright pink. Not expecting him to say something so accidentally provocative. Toshi himself felt his own face dust red. He was trying to avoid such perverted nonsense right now god damn it! He watched her fidget on the spot. Glancing to the kitten a few feet away that had all but forgotten their existence as it happily lapped away at the gifted milk and wet food she brought. "Well...." her voice was meek but laced with a heat Toshi wasn't expecting. "I suppose you'll have to punish me then...I can't promise I won't do it again after all...." The tension between them was thick and heavy. Each one still baffled that they had kept this little act up for so long. Neither were very used to such teasing yet. Toshi especially was teetering on the edge of another heart attack as he felt her fingers trace the lines of his abs through his suit. Swallowing hard he brought his massive arms around her time frame and scooped her up forcing her to let out a tiny squeak of surprise. Her body felt hot against his own which was surely running like a furnace given how much he was starting to sweat.  

Her legs wrapped around his middle as best they could. He was so thick and bulky she was struggling to manage even that much but his support and strength had no trouble keeping her steady. Forcing the both of them back to press her hard against the rough ally wall. Toshi hoped the dumpster next to them would be enough cover as he inched his face closer to her's. So desperately wanting to kiss her. He was so close he could feel her little panting breaths heat his cheeks. Mint. She smelled like fresh mint and vanilla bean from her morning coffee. He could just about taste it. "Don't think I'll go easy on you..." he teased. His voice little more than a growl that rumbled his chest and sent a shiver down her spine that he could feel in his groin. She liked that. She liked when he teased her and threw his weight around. Looming over her like a predator ready to pounce. It excited them both. So close. His eyes caught her little tongue swipe her lips getting ready for what he assumed was about to be a rather intense make out session...in public no less. Just another centimetre and-

A bright white flash caught them both by surprise. On instinct Toshi curled himself forward to cover the small body in his arms as if attempting to shield her from what his mind told him was an attack. Another few clicks and it registered that it was a camera. Damn it! This was bad. His hand moved to cover her head and hold her flush against his chest trying to both keep her steady against him and protect her face from any picture that might expose her identity. He wasn't going to stick around and answer any questions or give this busy body and more chances. He needed to get them both out of there and fast. "Hold on to me." He snapped, angry at himself, the sneaky reporter, the situation...but mostly himself. A single quick hop and he was well above the rooftops of the buildings they were trying to hide between. He was taking no more chances, putting as much distance between them and the ally way as possible. Praying that who ever it was that caught them didn't have a quirk to catch up.

'Stupid Toshi! That was so stupid! You put her in danger and for what?!' Everyone was going to know now. Were they meant to keep it a secret? Was it really so dangerous that her identity be out in public? Perhaps a few months ago it would have been fine, after all who in their right mind would threaten the lover of Japans number one hero? But now with the villain attack so fresh and their apparent grudge against him personally it felt all too risky. As much as he wanted to tell himself that Paladin was a pro hero and could stick up for herself....U.S.J proved that these criminals were far more advanced than excepted. He was in no shape to protect her. Not long term anyway. Not like this.

They were possibly a whole new district away by the time Toshi settled on a high roof top well away from any onlookers. It would take a helicopter to spot them here and given the more residential area that was a low end risk. Carefully he unwound his arms from her and let her feet hit the ground. Smoothing out her wild wind swept hair and trying his best to steady her on wobbly legs. "When I said I wanted to go for a ride some time I was more thinking a casual skip around a park. Not a sudden rush for our lives." She laughed still in good spirits but the slight tinge of worry laced her voice. He couldn't hide his grim expression. Crossing his arms in a mild huff as he tried not to let too much of his worry show. "I don't think they saw me. At least not much." she was busy trying to untangle bits of her hair seemingly unfazed by the whole ordeal. "It's a good thing you have those power legs of your still otherwise we might have some awkward explaining to do....oh gosh I can't believe we almost-" she was giggling now fussing over her heated cheeks and trying her best not to look at him. Playing the part of a sweet fluster school girl who got caught kissing her boyfriend in the supply closet. Close enough. But Toshi couldn't shake the pit in his gut. This wasn't good.

He pulled her forward into a tight, more protective like hug. Needing to do something with his hands that were now trying hard not to hold so tightly to her back. Rather he let his fingers tug softly at the end of her hair. "I'm so sorry. I know know better than that, it was foolish...reckless....stupid-" He was going to start punishing himself and as if on que she pushed back against his wall of a body and shoved him off playfully. Startling the hero who stumbled back just enough to look at her clearly disgruntled face. Cheeks puffy and hot with anger. She hardly ever looked at him like that. Only when he started his little self hate sessions really. Now being an opportune moment for one after all. He was going to get yelled at....finding himself shrinking back slightly ready for her scolding.

"Toshinori I mean honestly! You are a normal man with normal needs! You have every right to sneak away to kiss your girlfriend behind a dumpster in the middle of work, just like everyone else!" True. He turned a bit bashful at her words. Slicking back his hair with a heavy sigh. "I won't say I minded...in fact I'm a little annoyed that we got caught...."

"Y-you are?" He blinked down at her. Eyes hidden by the dark shadow of his well worn face. The dark expression gone as he felt a bit more relaxed by her goofy reprimand. She was in a little huff. Arms crossed and tapping her foot like she was trying to quiet a restless class. Head nodding back at him.

"Is it really too much to ask to have a moment in public with my hulking hero of a boyfriend." She always threw around their relationship titles when he was upset. It helped more than he was willing to admit. It made him swell with happiness and pride. Feeling wanted warmed him. She nuzzled back against his chest. Well as much of it as she could reach and he returned the gesture by caging her with his massive arms. Leaning low to cover her with as much of his body as he could. "I know this is bad. But I can't ever regret anything I do with you. No matter how....embarrassing. I know why we can't say anything publicly. Though it would make life a lot easier. It's just so frustrating."

That was the other dark thought that kept creeping in when ever they spoke about this sort of thing. Being together like this was wonderful but they had to be careful. Had to keep everything a secret and sneak around in the dark. His massive hand cupped her cheek and forced her grumpy face to angle up at him. "There is nothing I want more than to tell the world about our love. It would be quiet the story too! Number One Hero finds love at last!" They both shared a little chuckle between them before he pushed her head back down against him. "But right now....with the league of villains emerging, my weakened state..." His fingers clutched a bit of her hair to cool his growing nerves "I want to protect you. And the best way for me to do that is to pretend I don't exist in your life like this. I hate it. It makes me feel sick thinking about us like some dirty secret we must keep from the world. It makes it feel so wrong when it's anything but." He wasn't really sure why he was explaining this to her. She was so smart and they had spoken at length about the need for secrecy. At least for now. Perhaps it made him feel better. Reminding both her and himself that this was just temporary and neither were happy about it.

They could be frustrated together.

He hated that his mere existence was troublesome to her. She couldn't enjoy a normal, public relationship like everyone else. He denied her of that every day. She was pulling away again. Gracing him with a sweet and loving smile as she motioned for him to bend down. Rather he took a knee, nearly eye level with her even when he stooped so low. She bent and gave him a little kiss before setting to work smooth out his hair and playfully tugging on his upright bangs. "I've told you before, and I'll keep telling you until it get's through that thick skull of yours." Harsh but necessary. He was very dense when it came to emotion. "I love you Toshinoi. And if sneaky around a little for now is what it takes to be with you then so be it. Tis a small price to pay from the love and attention you give me daily." Her lips found his again, this time short and sweet but just what he needed. "I'm not here to be the number one hero's girlfriend. I'm here to be with you. One day people may know and we can soak up all that annoying attention then. For now the only eyes I want on me are you'res....If I could see them...." that caught him off guard and had him belly laughing so loud he thought it may draw attention to their rooftop hiding spot. He couldn't help it!

"My dear! Is there anything at all you can't cure with that wit of yours!" He was back on her in an instant. Spinning her around in the sudden rush of joy and excitement. Even tossing her once for good measure. "That passion is what I love about you! Always so quick to make me smile when I'm down and out, and here I'm meant to be the Symbol of Peace!" they were laughing together now, her happy voice like a million tiny bells to his ears. Holding her high and above him still so the wind caught her hair and the setting sun cast beautiful orange light across her shining face. "I should strive to be more idealistic! Make the best of a bad situation! I'm All Might for goodness sake I should start acting like it again!" Once their laughter died down at their breathing slowed Paladin looked off into the distance. From her higher height she could see well above the rooftops off into the glittering ocean view that was still a few miles off. But all Toshi could look at was her. Beautiful and glowing in the dying sunlight.

She seemed to get her fill of the view, grinning back down at him again. "Shall we go home my big strong hero?" He returned that look. Hooking his arms under her knees to carry her like a bride, the very idea painting his cheeks pink and set his mind spinning with images of a wedding, church bells and the very idea of calling her 'wife'. He hushed his own wild imagination. 'Now that is far too soon....' it didn't mean he couldn't enjoy those thoughts for a while. Act like it was something they could one day do. Pretend that he had time.

'No! Not today and not now!' He was happy in this moment and he would be damned if his aggressive self loathing would take that away from him. Holding her close his powerful legs get one single leap and they were off.  

~~~~

The soft sip of tea was the only sound to cut through the thick tension. Nezu always did like to take his time. Let his pray dangle on a string. If Toshi didn't know any better he would have believed the Principal had it out for humans in his own way. The thought made his skin crawl a bit. Beyond that his back was starting to hurt this bow was going on for so long but he dare not break it. There was a lot to be sorry for after all.

"Well it can't be helped. Lucky for us this is just tabloid rumor that no one will take very seriously. No one got a good look at our dear nurses face so for all anyone can tell All Might was just rescuing some random stranger. At least that is how we will spin it on our end." Another sip. Shorter this time. "But in doing so we did need to inform the rest of the staff of your relationship. What ever it may be or how ever serious. It's important that all staff are on the same page with these things."

'Damn, that meant Aizawa was sure to find out.' Toshi felt his teeth click together in a tight grimace.

"If it can't be helped....we are sorry for the trouble this may be causing the staff and the school. It was never our intention to go public even among our close friends. Toshi wanted to keep it as privet as possible." She was always starting to cover for his mistakes. He felt his gut twist in shame but when he looked over at her she was grinning. No matter how worried her tone was, no matter how upsetting this new situation she still smiling. He had to return it, lips twitching up as if they were two school kids giggling in the back of class.

Nezu cleared his throat, hopping down from his chair to make his way to the office door. "There is no policy prohibiting staff members from dating so the two of you arn't in any trouble. I believe some of the staff even had a betting pool as to when you would get together. No harm done in the long run I say. But do try and be more careful. The school is facing a lot of scrutiny after the villain attack so it would be best to try and say as discreet as possible."

They both took a low bow against, the small mammal giving them a smile and a nod in return as he opened the door to leave. "Oh and Paladin, do remember to speak to your grandmother. She's been rather cross that you didn't mention your new relationship with her." His tone was so off putting that even Toshi could feel his darling tremble on the spot next to him. A hand reached out to take hold of her's behind his back trying his best to hide the action from their boss. They just spoke about not doing this very thing but her nervous smile and twitching fingers made it hard for him not to comfort her.

"R-right...I'll be sure to do that thank you Mr. Principle." All she received was what seemed like a grim nod before the door snapped shut allowing both lovers to collapse back on the couch with a heavy sigh.

Long fingers covered his face, his breath coming out in heavy waves as he tried to still his hammering heart. Other hand holding tight to his beloved like a lifeline in a sea of crashing waves. "That was....better than expected." He chuckled, she was right. Even though they royally screwed up for at least this moment everything seemed like it was going to be alright.

"I mean look at the bright side! We don't need to sneak around school much at all! At least not in the teacher lounge anymore. Plus we can maybe even meet up with everyone else for drinks like we always talked about." While neither of them were overly social in their personal lives they did count their fellow teachers as friends but Paladin was so new to Japan and shortly after starting their relationship they we worried about a night out drinking with everyone; mostly Aizawa was asking for trouble. What if she had gotten drunk and let it slip? What if they did something like hold hands or he called her 'darling'. He was so used to it by now he wouldn't put it past himself...what if she reached across to wipe some rice from his face and he took a hold of her hand and kissed her fingertips ever so lovingly. The thought heated his cheeks, almost as much as the utter embarrassment of being caught in such a situation.

For now however this was a minor load off of both of their shoulders. The teasing would be relentless to be sure, but now their relationship no longer felt like some dirty little secret they were keeping from friends and in her case family. This was better. At least for now.

NOTES: I’m sorry it’s taking so long to pump out these chapters! I’m slowing down on the ideas I wanted to get out but that in no way means I’m done with these two! I’m just not able to throw chapters out two at a time every day, for that I am very sorry! I hope you keep reading though! 

[lucasrajan]

Time to Rock the Castrum

I just want to say THANKS SO MUCH for the many people involved in this plot, both directly in the operation and who have helped shape Lucas since I started playing just a few months ago. 

Everything I’ve RP’d has helped build up to this in one way or another, if it wasn’t building up to someone else’s plot because they let me in!

Included in this post is background information, a collection of intelligence documents used in RP over the past few weeks, and update to the plan based on RP. Also rules!

TONS TO READ WITHIN. Or not. :D

TIMELINE

For fun, I reflected on a lot of what led up here. This is BY NO MEANS everything, as lot of interpersonal context and character building isn’t mentioned here at all. But it hits some highlights.

Lucas returns to Ul’dah

Lucas begins to conceive a plan to take a swing at the Empire behind their front lines and aid the Eorzean Alliance

Lucas reconnects with Iona Falconstone, who he trusts to help keep him in line

Lucas sells all his goods (For funding!)

Lucas meets Madeleine Pellegrin, who is a nice lady!

Lucas meets Ea Sangrid, whose skill he is impressed with

Lucas meets O’rylah Yelho, whose skill he is impressed with. Her connection to the Order of the Twin Adder and her veteran experience makes her a solid key to legitimizing insurgent action.

Lucas conceives of a plan to high high value targets behind enemy lines and damage Garlean logistical lines. He plans to promise conscripts freedom for their aid, but expects them to die in his plan.

Lucas sells most of his his high value, rare finds (for funding!)

Lucas meets Captain Blacke, whose talents and assets could be critical, especially if Iona trusts him

Iona warns Lucas of the dangers of arrogance. He realizes how arrogant he has been to think a conscript’s life forfeit.

Lucas’ brother is killed on the front lines

Lucas decides he will instead use his sample of a disease he took when curing Ea Sangrid to try and concoct a biological weapon, and unleash it behind enemy lines at those critical points.

Madeleine unwittingly convinces Lucas not to be so cold hearted, and successfully gets Lucas to agree not to take too great of risks.

Lucas is still tempted to try and manipulate the (perhaps void cult member?) person responsible for Sangrid’s illness to work with him on a weapon, but early negotiations fail. In a later conversation, Lucas finds himself reaffirming to Madeleine that he will take care, and at last he completely abandons the notion of using a disease.

Lucas formulates a new plan. He wants to free conscripts at an inconvenient time for the Empire, without them realizing it, and leave a battlefront without critical reinforcements at a key moment. He wants to work with those conscripts to sabotage high value operations.

Lucas reconnects with Jaran Dotharl, whose engineering prowess may be key to his plan.

Lucas and Sangrid scout the mission objectives and build a general plan

Lucas and Jaran scout Caeru for further information, and to steal valuable items that later help shape the first mission’s plan.

Sangrid continues to scout and gathers intelligence that will likely be of value during the operation.

THE ORIGINAL SCOUTING FILES

THE PLAN TAKES A BETTER SHAPE

After a team meeting, the plan for the first mission has shaped up and reflected some of the new intelligence and advantages, as well as the input by team members.

(For Castrum Caeru we are using Castrum Centri in Mor Dhona, but instead of there being a swamp there is a forest and a river as shown on the map)

Objectives:

For Lucas to sneak into the castrum tower and steal intelligence

For the strike team to make a distraction and escape

Plan

Jaran will sneak into the castrum by way of the cliffside and stealth her way into the control room following the same method discovered by she and Lucas previously.

Jaran will kill the crew inside and seal the door to the control room.

The strike team will approach the front gate in disguise as soldiers. Lucas will acquire the necessary uniforms, paperwork and signs necessary to pass as a strike team in service of Garlemald just finished with a counterintelligence mission and seeking passage to the front lines on the next rail car.

Jaran will need to let the team into the base and allow a rail car to proceed to the final two gates, but stop it there.This will likely raise some question about the command room.

The strike team will need to select somewhere to plant explosives and create a distraction to cause chaos.

Explosives can be planted on ceruleum tanks in the north yard.

Jaran has fashioned a device to plant on the stationary machina in the north yard. Upon remote activation it will cause the machines to fire indiscriminately.

Explosives can be planted on supplies bound for the front lines in the center yard.

Once the distractions are “activated” and the explosions begin, the strike team must make way to the command room, as though to help get inside. When a team (likely led by high ranking officers) from the tower arrives for the same purpose, the strike team can attack it.

Once the way is clear, Jaran needs to command the final two doors to open and join the team.

The team can then exit by way of the rail car.

EVENT RULES

(You know, to keep things moving)

Rule overview

Outside of combat we’ll avoid using turns unless things get crazy. Just try to keep things moving but pay attention when someone might have fallen behind.

Outside of combat you may need to roll to accomplish something challenging, such as pickpocketing someone. In combat you might need to do something challenging, like stabbing someone in the face.

In either case, the game’s /random command will be used.

If your character knows how to do what they are doing, roll /random and add +100 in the post right before you do it.

If your character is considered to be quite skilled at what they are doing, roll /random and add +200 in the post right before you do.

The same applies if you are defending against something. NPCs will do this as well.

It breaks down like this:

Lucas: /emote Lucas tries to stab Sangrid in the face. (+100)

Lucas: /random

Sangrid: /random

+200

If Sangrid has a higher result, she posts about blocking Lucas. If she has a lower result, she posts about getting injured in some way.

All characters have 5 HP

A successful attack deals 1 HP in damage. Think of HP as “hero points” and when you run out, you were injured or knocked out or something else happened to take you out of the fight.

A result above 900 that is not blocked will be a crit. Crits deal 2 damage instead of 1. If the roll wasn’t for an attack, it may have some other great result.

Feel free to do more than just “I attack them” in combat. Get creative. Other things besides dealing damage may be helpful. In general, I’ll try to make sure no one feels like their turn was wasted (unless you just roll like shit I guess?)

The DM may also account for bonuses provided by good circumstances or advantages.

Out of combat notes

if your ally is up to something you’re good at, too, you can emote helping them to add your bonus to the roll. Please feel free to post in the OOC something like “Oh, I can help with this!” before you post so the DM knows it’s coming. In other cases it might just be obvious that two characters are teaming up.

If what you’re up to doesn’t have a target to compete against, I’ll establish a number you have to meet or beat with the roll.

Flow of combat

We’ll roll initiative with /random at the start of combat. I’ll post the order in the Discord channel and prompt people if they need. BUT PLEASE have your posts ready to go on your turn so we can haul things along.

On YOUR turn, you can do what you do. Post it and roll.

Then allow time for the reaction. Same goes if an NPC is attacking one of the players.

Then we move on to the next person in the initiative order.

PLEASE feel free to be creative in your posts. Just because it’s combat, it doesn’t mean you can’t interact with your allies and ROLEPLAY (you know, that thing we do). Good roleplay and characterization in combat will be rewarded by the DM with rerolls you can use as needed.

In general, as a DM, I’m in favor of “Failing Forward.” What does that mean? It means if some failure just grinds the RP to a halt, we’ll be more creative. For example, if a door has to be opened, no one wants to wait around while you fail to pick the lock 200 times. BORING. Instead, if you fail but you’re supposed to be good at it, it just means you did pick the lock, but it was one hell of a lock and took longer than it should, or it tripped an alarm.

[daryun]

Arslan Senki Summer Exchange Gift

Title: Tenderness

Author: Colle

Character(s)/Pairing(s): Jaswant and Zaravant

Rating: G

Warning(s): Angst (at least I tried)

Greetings, this is my @arslansenkifandomweek Arslan Senki Summer Exchange gift for @theunawesomeduck

 Brief: Fanart or fanfiction with fluff and angst of Jaswant/Zaravant, after their fight in episode 21. They try to get along better by exchanging traditions.

Usually I would have gone for fanart, but I felt with a brief like this I needed to go on a journey with the characters, so I tried my hand at fanfiction. I took the liberty of setting it later, just from the flow of the anime they had the attack on St. Emmanuel to plan for and I felt like the natural time for getting to know each other would be after that battle on the way to Ecbatana. I hope you enjoy it!

ca. 6500 words beneath the cut

After the battle at St. Emmanuel Fortress, with supplies replenished and recovered troops, the Parsian army is riding towards Ecbatana. The sunset marks the end of a day’s long march and orders are given to set up a temporary camp in an area scouts had recommended.

As night fall the lights are kept low, but here and there soldiers talk amongst themselves, sharing stories over the nearest cooking pot. The delicious smell of a thick and tasty stew wafts on the night breeze.

“Ah, you can’t beat the military food!” says Zaravant sat in the dim firelight. Isfan only nods in agreement, his own mouth currently occupied with a mouthful of aromatic rice.

“Another reason why you should always aim for victory, you get the provisions your enemy left behind.” Says Tous, “perhaps we should thank Narsus”. Finishing his mouthful of food, Isfan protests “We can’t thank Narsus for everything he does, otherwise we’d be doing nothing else.” At this Tous smiles. It seems like his younger brother in arms had warmed up to Narsus. “He’s quite the man”.

The other soldiers start chiming in “I heard he paints in his spare time. Anyone know if he’s any good?”

“Do you think he has a sister I can marry? Would that make me a noble?”

“I think he set a man on fire once” - “He’d be lost without Elam, though…”

“Who’s governing Daylam these days anyway?”

“I heard he doesn’t stomach Shindhuran food well” - “Brother, you don’t understand, you weren’t there!”

Unlike Isfan, Zaravant frowns at the mention of Narsus. He can’t help but think of the confrontation on the day he received Narsus’ orders to make up the rear of the forces. The news had been delivered to him by Jaswant, the Shindhuran they had brought back from their campaign to in aid of King Rajendra. “Well, he couldn’t have disliked everything in Shindhura, they brought back a dog” he mumbles into his stew, just loud enough that Tous and Isfan could hear.

The soldiers are still telling stories of their expedition to Shindhura when the three friends finish their meals and excuse themselves. They hadn’t talked much since the conversation had shifted to Narsus, but Tous bids the two younger captains a good night, heading further down the row of tents while Isfan and Zaravant are left to unfumble the entrance to their shared tent in the dark.

Once inside, Zaravant absentmindedly gets ready to sleep. Isfan seems to be in a similar state of mind, as he breaks the silence with “I saw that minstrel that night, you know.”

It takes a moment for Zaravant to realise he means the night they had led their troops on Chassum Fortress. Surrounded by Lusitanian forces in the dark, had it not been for a charge of Parsian allies, they would have forfeited their lives then and there.

“What are you talking about? He was exiled by Prince Arslan himself.” Zaravant reminds him. “Why are you even thinking about that bastard?”

Pressing his head into his pillow, Isfan thinks for moment before replying. “What you said at dinner. Prince Arslan lets these vagabonds serve and follow him. Even at St. Emmanuel, we let those who surrendered live.”

Zaravant lies also down and makes himself comfortable. “And now they’re also eating our provisions on their way back to Lusitania.”

At this, Isfan turns away from Zaravant and closes his eyes. “I’m just saying, I don’t know about you, but what Prince Arslan said to us that night, I think about those words a lot.”

“Instead of throwing your life away, living with honour, huh?” Isfan doesn’t reply. Zaravant can’t see him in the dark but looks in his direction anyway to see if he’s already asleep. The question remained unanswered that night.

---

Closer to the centre of camp, Jaswant relieves a Guard of night watch duty and takes over. Lights around him are slowly going out one by one as Parsian soldiers retire to their tents. This was rather welcome, as the waxing moon is almost full, illuminating the tents and the landscape beyond. The air still carries a hint of stew, but unlike the majority of the camp’s troops, the Parsian cuisine did not remind him of home.

Jaswant is quite fluent in Parsian and had even begun to dream in this foreign language, but in the quiet hours of the night he finds comfort in reminding himself of home and who he is. Who he might be, at least.

Not that there aren’t plenty of occasions that reminded him he is not from here. He had been prepared to follow Prince Arslan into the midst of battle, to brave the most dangerous situations, to shield his Highness with his very body, and yet it is the small things that gnaw at his confidence. He was used to a life of servitude, but this was not the same as being looked down upon simply for being foreign. When he went to procure things for Lord Narsus, eyes followed him around as if he were there to steal them. When he couldn’t remember a word in Parsian people assumed he didn’t know what he was talking about. And when he relayed orders, they were challenged.

The instance with Captain Zaravant lingered in his mind. Had Lord Narsus not intervened that time it might have come to weapons being drawn again. Would besting Captain Zaravant in a fight have earned him respect or further scorn?

He would not back down from a challenge, but surely there had to be a better option. Prince Arslan had just taken over St Emmanuel Fortress and spared so many lives, taking the first steps to a peaceful resolution where possible. He couldn’t rely on Lord Daryun or Lord Narsus intervening on his behalf all the time, nor wait for Prince Arslan’s kindness and magnanimity to trickle through to even the lowest ranks of the army.  So far, his sense of duty had brought him this far, got him through the jeering and disrespect. Parsian soldiers valued duty, did they not? But it was tiring.

“I don’t even know where I’m from. Why aren’t my deeds enough?” He asked the night in Shindhuran. But the night did not reply.

---

The first beams of sunlight splash across the camp, but a long, small shadow is spied by one of the sentinels. As the lone shape draws closer, the alert is called off as they recognise it as a Parsian messenger on horseback. Horse panting, the rider arrives and announces “I have an urgent message concerning Lord Munzhir of Oxus.” Before also trying to catch his own breath.

Zaravant is rudely woken up by a group of soldiers pouring into his tent. “What is this mess? Are we under attack?” Isfan and Zaravant proceed to grab the nearest weapon. "It's your father" one of the soldiers finally explains “It’s apparently urge-“ Zaravant pushes the whole group aside to head towards the messenger himself.

"What is this about my father? Ever heard of discretion?" Zaravant demands of the messenger, who had now dismounted his horse. “Forgive me, sir. But it is regarding-” He doesn’t get to end his sentence, Zaravant is too impatient and the parchment is virtually snatched from his hand. Turning around as he unrolls it and with every line read, Zaravant’s face darkens and the chattering of soldiers quiets down.

"Captain Zaravant, I can wait for you to formulate a reply, but time may be of the essence..."

Zaravant doesn't acknowledge the messenger any further, dumbstruck, he looks at the letter again. His stomach drops and he wished the words on the paper were different. But every time he looks at them they are the same.

He doesn’t notice the crowd now slowly broken up by Isfan, currently fighting his way through the goggling soldiers. "Don't you have a camp to pack up? Mind your own business!" This is enough to disperse most of the crowd. To the messenger Isfan says "We will let you know our reply before noon, you can rest your horse on the north side of the camp". "Thank you" the bewildered messenger replies and turns to lead his horse away from the two knights, the new arrival now leading the addressee of the letter to the side.

By the time Isfan finds a quieter spot between two tents, Zaravant had already scrunched up the parchment and put it in a pocket. "Are you being asked to return?" Isfan asks Zaravant, avoiding a direct question. Zaravant shakes his head and stares into the distance. "No. That’s not it. I'll continue to march with his Highness, but..." Isfan lays a hand on Zaravant's shoulder. "Tous and I can help you write a response to your family."

"I think they understand the importance of taking back the capital. Perhaps my father's health has improved again by then." Zaravant breathes.

Isfan had expected the dreadful news of Lord Munzhir's passing. Zaravant continued "he was already bedridden when I signed up for this. I just hadn't considered he'd take a turn for the worse..." he trailed off.

Isfan recalls the sense of loss on the day he received word of Shapur's death. Bad news can hit you out of the blue and pull the ground from underneath you. This wasn’t death, but it was still grave news. "Zaravant," he faces his friend and puts a hand on his shoulder. "I pray for your father's recovery. But let's also take back the capital from the Lusitanian swine as soon as possible. News of our victory would lift everyone's spirits, including your father's."

Zaravant takes another deep breath and tries to smile. "Thank you, my friend. We'll give it our best for all who cannot be with us" he says as he returns the gesture.

“Don’t worry about the tent, I have your back. I let the messenger know that you would have a reply to your family by noon.”

Zaravant wishes the problem had gone away with stuffing the parchment into his pocket. But this cannot be avoided. “Where do even I find writing utensils in this place?” he asks Isfan as he is about to leave. “You could try the centre camp, where the administration is. I will see you later!”. And Isfan was already hurrying away. The Parsian army did not have time to waste. Why did this have to happen now?

Zaravant walks into what is left of the centre camp. Pitching and packing up in the morning must be done at a fast pace, but he manages to obtain writing utensils and parchment. He suspects words has already got around camp because he was not questioned on his urgent need to write a letter. It grates on his mind. His family matters shouldn’t be this public. This was not what he wanted to be known as. He finds a place away from the bustling camp to sit down in the shade of a cart, preventing the still rising sun from blinding him. The creased letter he received now flattened out in front of him on a box, he goes through it again and thinks. “Your father is severely ill”, “It may be any day now…”, “Make your father proud by upholding peace”…

Zaravant goes over the words in his head. Had he acted honourably until now? He is lost for well wishes for his father. At least he still has the chance to do so. What to put into words? What if they are the last message his father ever receives from him? Should he downplay his fear and write to him as a proud warrior of Pars? Or write to him as a son, scared of losing his father? If he had wanted the former, he could easily consult Tous and Isfan. But he did seek out solitude to perhaps put down to paper words he might have never said out loud, or indeed may never get to say out loud. But nothing comes to him. He fidgets. He only has limited time to hand the messenger the letter. Looking at the parchment, his feelings simply will not spill onto the page into neat and concise words to do them justice.

Zaravant then becomes aware of footsteps approaching. He looks up from his makeshift desk to see Jaswant standing there. The last person he expected and frankly wanted in his presence right now. "Are you here to tell me to move?" He growls.

"No," Jaswant replies calmly. He sits down to be at eye level with Zaravant. "I wanted to convey my commiserations and express my sincere well wishes for your father." Zaravant couldn’t believe it! How news spread so quickly amongst the camp and now the Shindhuran is now involved. "Tch, what do you know? Can't you see I'm busy?" Jaswant is taken aback. Surely wishing the best for your family could not be so different for Parsians. Even if this was Captain Zaravant, he would still have feelings. The loss of Mahendra, the closest thing to a father figure Jaswant ever had, was something Jaswant was still coming to terms with. And he had wanted to build his own bridges. In the end, perhaps this is a bad time after all. He had considered waiting to express his condolences, but later on the march it would be more difficult... "I didn't mean to sound presumptuous. I just heard from the soldiers and saw you walking by earlier." He sees the empty parchment next to the creased letter, a quill still in Zaravant’s hand. "I didn't mean to intrude. I'll be on my way again. May the words come to you easily." Jaswant rises to leave, but Zaravant cuts in "Yeah, you better get out of here, what's with you anyway? First you get in the way of my duties and now you're prying into my family business?! As if you'd even know what to say, you stray!" In his eyes, Jaswant had given up service to the Shindhuran royal family and came to Pars, taking up a position a Parsian soldier might as well fulfil, probably bringing shame on his own entire family, so what would Jaswant know about family. "This was probably you in the first place, with some sort of jinx!" Zaravant spits. Jaswant gets up to his full height. His face a forced calm, but eyes looking down, fixed on Zaravant's. Jaswant knows he does not need to take abuse anymore. But it was hard. Zaravant's words hit their mark in a recent, bloodstained memory, now threatening to resurface again as tears. "I bid you good day" Jaswant manages dryly and walks away. "good riddance to you, too!" Zaravant calls after him. He bites his finger to avoid any further jinxing and looks back down at the parchment as soon as Jaswant is out of sight. But no words want to fall of the cloud of anger now over him, so he gathers his things up and decides to talk to Isfan and Tous after all.

---

It was past noon now and the Parsian army is on the move again. Another march, another day closer to the capital. The scouts had not seen enemy forces and according to Lord Narsus, an allied castle is only two days away now. Jaswant rides beside Prince Arslan in silence. Ever vigilant, his reserve isn’t perceived as anything unusual, but his uncharacteristic bad temper is picked up by Azrael, who circles him in concern. Meanwhile, Zaravant is nowhere in the vicinity, leading his own troops further in the rear. The day is fortunately uneventful, but Jaswant couldn’t shake off the thought that an ambush would have been a welcome distraction.

Dusk falls and the camp is set up again. By a small collection of trees at the edge of camp Jaswant is brushing one of the many warhorses when Daryun approaches with Shabrang. Tethering up his own horse, Daryun asks "Are you alright? If we had been attacked today I dare say you would have taken out half of the enemy forces all by yourself, you're tense as a strung bow." Jaswant sighs. Someone had noticed after all.

After the battle at St Emmanuel it had been Jaswant who had tended to Daryun's wounds. During those hours they had time to get to know each other closer, yet Jaswant still isn't sure how close to class their comradery. Could he burden Daryun with yet another one of his confrontations within the Parsian ranks? Would Daryun have to step in on his behalf again? Yet, if he hadn't wanted Daryun to notice, he should have concealed his displeasure better that day. Right here, there is no way around it. "Apologies if I made the already tense journey even tenser. I... was just lost in thought."

Daryun considers this as he removes Shabrang’s saddle. "I’ll be in the armoury tent later on. There's still plenty of swords that need to be brought up to scratch." Jaswant can sense an invitation in his voice, but what he longs for right now is a fellow Shindhuran countryman to let out his frustrations. He isn't sure if Daryun could even understand how he feels right now.

Daryun makes sure Shabrang has some water and feed before he leaves, nodding to Jaswant as he does. “At least I could ask for advice.” Jaswant reasons under his breath.

When Jaswant enters the makeshift armoury, Daryun is already there, inspecting swords and picking out the ones he deems in need of maintenance. "It's a small, but important job, and I find it rather relaxing" He says on Jaswant's entry with a smile. 

Jaswant nods in polite silent agreement and takes the sword Daryun is handing to him. Two cushions and a pair of honing steels are already laid out on the floor. Jaswant is motioned to sit down, clearly Daryun had been expecting him.

For a while the only sound in the tent is the scraping of metal. Jaswant tries to focus and act nonchalantly, but Daryun's presence is pressing upon him, as if the silence is thick with expectation. Had Daryun's offer been an invitation to talk? Or is this just to keep an eye on him? Also, is Daryun so naïve to think he is just going to pour out all his thoughts to him right then and there? "Zaravant's letter has caused quite a stir." says Daryun eventually. "Parsian soldiers like to gossip" Concludes Jaswant. Maybe he had been spared that morning if he hadn’t overheard anything. "Many armies like to gossip, Narsus has made use of that many times." "How much do you know?" "About the letter? Or this morning? …I heard that you went to Zaravant after he received news of his father’s illness and that you left in bad spirits." Jaswant stays silent. He doesn’t hold it against him, but how did Daryun go to Shindhura and singlehandedly earn the title of Sher Senani, given to him by common soldiers, while all Jaswant receives is unkind names and scorn? "I think you did the right thing.” Daryun says, “It was wrong of Zaravant to turn you away." "And yet it didn't stop him." The bluntness of Jaswant’s tone gives Daryun an inkling of the frustration Jaswant is experiencing.

"He certainly carries his heart on his sleeve. You on the other hand, I feel usually don't. He must have insulted you gravely to leave you in such a mood.”

Jaswant is carefully inspecting his work on the sword.

Daryun puts his sword down and picks up the next. “Narsus and I are aware that there are disputes within our own camp. We sent Gieve away to alleviate some of the tension-"   "Are you going you send me away, too?" Jaswant cuts in, with a hint of panic. "No. Apologies for making you worry. I sleep much more soundly at night knowing you're at his Highness' side when I can't be." Jaswant now meets Daryun’s eyes for the first time since he entered the tent. Daryun's faith in him reassures him, but unfortunately does little to erase feeling like an outsider within allied ranks.

"Daryun, is there something I can do, something Parsians do, to prevent these disagreements? They must be inconvenient to you and Lord Narsus"

Daryun furrows his brows in thought for a moment. Eventually he admits "I can't really see you joining in the raucous of what some of the troops get up to in their spare time." A troubled look flickers across Jaswants face, but Daryun reassures him "the path we are on will most likely always be the deviant one until we've reached our goal. You don't have to force yourself to be something you are not." Jaswant looks disappointed. It’s true, but not helpful right now. He has a hard time imagining Daryun ever being on the deviant path. Wherever he went he seemed to exude so much confidence his reality seems like his own. "It's easy for you to say." Jaswant admits to thinking.

“Hm.” Daryun begins honing sword he is holding again. "I once invited Narsus over to my uncle Eran Vahriz’ home. Marzban Bahman was there, too. When it was just Narsus and I it was easy to talk about the future, how it could change, the possibilities. But with my elder Marzban there, they sure put us in our place, saying how we shouldn’t be so brazen.”

“But Narsus was eventually banished, so I hear. You weren’t.”

Daryun smiles a bitter smile “Officially he was banished, but I believe saw and chose his time to leave. While I was out of the country, no less, the fox.”

“I see.” And Jaswant does. Serving the royal family of Pars was part of Daryun’s family, leaving court would have not only brought dishonour upon him, but could have endangered everything they had every stood for. “It sounds like they were all looking out for you.” "It turns out, my uncle certainly did, but the details of that he and Bahman took with them to the grave". Daryun sighs. Jaswant vaguely remembers Marzban Bahman. He and Mahendra had died on the same day, in the same skirmish. Jaswant gulped. Bahman wasn't the only one who took a secret with him. Mahendra had died in his arms. Jaswant puts down the sword he is finished with. His vision becomes blurry as he feels the tears well in his eyes again. Turning away, he pretends to look for another sword to sharpen when he feels Daryun place a hand on his shoulder. "Jaswant, I know we’re not the same, but Prince Arslan said it himself and I also don't care if you don't know your family's name. What matters is that you keep striving forward and I hope we will be on the same road for a long time."

Jaswant doesn’t have the heart to turn to Daryun as a few tears fall to the floor. “Thank you, Daryun, it means a lot to me.” He slowly picks up the next sword and starts working on it. While it’s silent Daryun also turns back to sharpening a particularly worn blade.

It’s only after Jaswant regains his composure he asks “I keep hearing a word the soldiers use. What does it mean? It’s something like %!$$€%^&”.

Daryun almost cuts his finger.

They spend the rest of the evening talking until it is also time for them to retire. Jaswant is not on night watch tonight and bids Daryun a good night as he leaves the armoury.

Daryun's words hadn't solved the problem, nor could he fully understand what Jaswant is going through. But thinking about Mahendra, it struck him that although Zaravant's remarks had hurt, they didn't matter. He knows who he is, what he is capable of, what he has been through, and how he got here right now. No one could take that away from him. Leaving Shindhura was a big step and he will continue forging his own future. 

---

Zaravant is lying on a mattress in his tent, staring at the ceiling. Isfan had brought in some rice and dried fruit for him to eat before going out on an errand again, but he hasn’t touched them yet. Although he had finished his letter with the help of Isfan that morning, he can't shake the nagging feeling that he hadn't written down everything he had wanted to say.

He sits up and scratches his head. He wasn’t good with these things. And he can’t stop thinking about that Shindhuran. He annoys him. And it annoys him that while he should be thinking of his father he’s thinking of him.

Tous is reading one of his own letters when Zaravant enters his tent. The candlelight flickers with the motion of the tentflap, making the visitor’s face seem gloomier than it already is. "Good evening, Tous. I trust you had a better day than mine?" 

"It was calm enough." Noticing Zaravant's sighing voice he adds "I'm sure the messenger will relay your letter swiftly. He seemed dependable." Tous folds the parchment up and places it out of sight. Yes, Zaravant had written his letter, indeed. "I can't believe that no good cat disturbed me this morning." "Is this about the Shindhuran? Jaswant, I believe his name is. I heard he came to see you." Tous motions to a cushion near to him. Sitting down, Zaravant explains "He claimed to wish for my father's recovery, but he probably only came to gloat in my family's misfortune." Tous tries to imagine the scenario. "He doesn't strike me as a man who would do that. Perhaps he was sent by Narsus again." "Nah, he came out of his own accord. Told me so. But why would he do that? He knows I can't stand him. Is he just constantly out to teach me lessons in humility? I'm here to save my country, Tous, I don’t have time for this!" Maybe he shouldn't have come in his father's stead at all. He could have joined other lords against the Lusitanians, surely. If only his father's health had been better. He wouldn't have sent him to this army led by men with their heads in the clouds and vagabonds they had picked up along the way. Why did his father send him here? "No one doubts that you're here in the name of Pars. I think we proved that when we are a little overzealous at Chassum Fortress." "Well, we should have been given the chance to prove ourselves on the first place. Not given orders second hand by What's His Face. You should have seen him this morning, Tous. Eyes like venom. He's more like a snake than that Black Panther thing." "You may have insulted him" states Tous. "Why are you taking his side and why is everything about him when I was the one who received bad news this morning?" Zaravant is positively scowling, but Tus remains calm. "Zaravant, the fact that you keep bringing him up is enough to show that he's on your mind." Zaravant grunts in protest, but Tous continues "if it didn't matter to you, it would not linger so. What are you accusing him of, exactly? Showing compassion?" He raises one brow, genuinely curious curious to know why Zaravant is behaving like this. He had expressed his own condolences to him that very morning. Zaravant huffs again. "I didn't come here to be lectured." "If you had wanted to have your existing thoughts affirmed, you could have gone to anyone here in camp. They would gladly tell you that Shindhurans are wild animals and constantly scheming, always up to no good, and that you are right to chase him away. Yet you came to me." Says Tous more sternly, but he gets out a bottle of nabid and pours a drink for his guest and himself. The tent is then silent for a while. The sounds of dining soldiers outside too far away to distract from what Tous had just said, so Zaravant drinks from his cup to avoid replying for a bit.

Eventually Zaravant mumbles a question. "Do you think I can make my father proud before he dies?" His eyes do not leave the floor. "Didn’t you mention our victory at St Emmanu-" "That's not it! I mean. He probably sent me here because he wanted to serve Prince Arslan's cause. All of it. Not just chasing out the Lusitanians, but also freeing the Gholams, and making peace with everybody. How is that supposed to work? How can we find honour in battle if there are no more battles? I'm not going to start wars, you just can't be too careful with neighbours like these. They're way too different." "Hm. Too different to recognise that the loss of a father is a grave thing?" at Tous' words Zaravant looks up to him. Tous meets his gaze. "King Andragoras may be a mighty warrior and we have always followed him, but has Prince Arslan not also kept his integrity in the face of adversity? How many men who have crossed him came out looking the more noble man?" Zaravant shifts a little, but Tous doesn’t stop there. "That night after we are foolhardy enough to think we could take on Chassum all on our own. It is true we promised to live with honour rather than to die for it. However, I do not think Prince Arslan meant for this to only be victory in battle." Zaravant hasn’t made any signs of wanting to contradict yet. "There will always be battles and to learn from them. Not all of them are fought with swords on battlefields." Tous concludes. "What are you saying?" "If you think you've acted in a way that would bring shame to your name, you have no one to battle but yourself to set it right." "I didn't-" Zaravant starts. There it is. Tous interrupts him. "You sought my advice and I have given it. Go and think about it before you dismiss it." Zaravant considers speaking up again but thinks better of it. “Fine, I’ll go.” He puts his cup down and gets up to leave. At the flap he stops and asks, "Why do you know so much about this, anyway?" "I have three wives, Zaravant. I won’t show you the letter I received when they found out about Chassum". In the dark, Zaravant is lying on his mattress and staring at the ceiling again. Isfan’s steady breathing tells him that he’s probably already asleep. So when Zaravant sits up and scrambles around to light a candle, he tries to do this as quietly as possible. He flinches when some leftover parchment from this morning rasps loudly against the chest lid he aims to use as a desk, but Isfan doesn’t stir.

Carefully, Zaravant starts writing another letter.

---

The camp is still silent when the first of the sun’s rays begin to peek across the distant mountain range. The shadows of the trees at the edge of the camp are long, reaching over a group of horses who prick up their ears up in curiosity as Jaswant walks pass their tethers carrying a bag. Although he only got a few hours of sleep he feels more at ease, certainly more than when he was here last evening.

He strokes one of the horses and several others begin contending for his attention and hopefully food. “I’m sorry, friends, but I have nothing with me at the moment, but I do have this.” Out of the bag he gets a brush and he leads one of the stallions to a separate tether. Humming a Shindhuran song to himself, he brushes the desert dust off the beautiful animal.

Before long the horse alerts Jaswant to somebody approaching. “Good mor—ning.” Jaswant hesitates. Who else but Zaravant is walking out of the sea of tents straight in his direction? Which god is trying to test him now? Jaswant isn’t sure what to do. He tenses up and hold the brush behind his back. Sensing the tension, the horse fidgets and looks around nervously.

Zaravant is now about thirty feet away, holding some sort of basket in his hand. Why was he feeding the horses this early in the morning? He usually never bothered to do so.

At about ten feet distance Zaravant stops and holds out the basket in front. The sun is in his face, Jaswant can’t really make out his expression, but should it come to a confrontation, he reasons Zaravant would be at a disadvantage.

The Parsian knight gulps. He could just call it off, say he’s here to feed the horses. But no, he told himself he’d do this. In the long run it would be worth it.

"Please forgive my rudeness. …I accept your well wishes for my father."

Jaswant is taken aback, but he instantly loosens his grip on the brush. He went through the wording. He would gladly accept an apology, but Zaravant was asking for forgiveness. Was this just a Parsian expression? Was it the same thing? He seems earnest enough.

Zaravant stands there. Jaswant hadn’t said anything yet. This was stupid. Of course he wasn’t going to-

“I forgive you.”

“Huh? I mean, I brought you something…” But Zaravant doesn’t offer it forward. Just like that? Was this a joke? Was he not taking this seriously? Did he, what was his name again, just want what was in the basket?

Jaswant realises something wasn’t right. Did he reply too quickly? But compared to what Prince Arslan has forgiven him for, this was nothing. But how could Captain Zaravant know?

The horse now shifts uncomfortably and Jaswant has difficulty holding it place. But when he moves to untether it, it nudges him closer to Zaravant and snorts.

Zaravant and Jaswant look into each other’s eyes. Both uncertain of the other’s sincerity.

Jaswant knows that it was his turn in this awkward dance, Zaravant had offered him a gift, but just taking it would seem impolite at this rate. He glances around. The horses can’t help him… but there is something else.

“Captain Zaravant, I have a proposition. Do you see that tree over there? The tallest one where the horses are?”

“Yes?” Zaravant looks down to the basket, confused by this development. “Is this going to be a race?” he asks with suspicion.

“No. We will both walk around it together three times.”

“What for?”

“In my homeland, there is a way to settle arguments and mark a new beginning between two people. We walk around the tree together three times in a kind of ceremony of reconciliation.”

It sounds a bit silly, but at least it sounds like a literal step forward. “Do I need to do anything?” Zaravant asks.

“It is customary to leave something by the tree, but you needn’t do anything in particular, except walk with me”.

“I don’t really have anything with me aside from this” Zaravant gently wiggles the basket.

“I only have this.” Jaswant holds up the horse brush. After a short silence Jaswant suggests “We could both put down our swords” Zaravant looks alarmed, but Jaswant continues, “and pick them up again after we have completed our three rounds.”

For the first time, Zaravant sees Jaswant smiling. “I think it would still count.”

Zaravant can’t help but smile himself. “Shall we get started then?”

They both walk towards the tree Jaswant had picked out. At its shady trunk they both place their swords next to each other and make promises to lay aside past differences. Zaravant is relieved that Jaswant uses his own name to do this. To his embarrassment, he had already forgotten it even though Tous had just mentioned it last night. Then they start walking around the tree side by side.

The nearby horses prick their ears once more as the two men start talking on their rounds.

On the first round Jaswant asks if Zaravant finished his letter. Zaravant explains that he did, but he wrote a new one and aims to send it off early this morning as well.

By the second round Zaravant asks Jaswant how he came to Pars. Jaswant summarises the day of Daryun’s duel against Bahadur.

By the third round Zaravant gives his condolences to Jaswant and Jaswant asks Zaravant about his home region of Oxus.

“May the next time we draw swords in each other’s presence be as brothers in arms together against enemies of Pars.” Jaswant says as he picks up his sword.

“You’re a very serious fellow, aren’t you?” Zaravant sheathes his sword again. “What if I wanted to show you the fancy metal work while we share a drink together? Which reminds me, before I forget.” Zaravant hands the basket over to Jaswant.

“Thank you, but the true gift you have given me today is your tenderness, my new friend.”

“Well, I had a bit of nudge…” Zaravant gets out his new letter.

“You should get that sent out as soon as possible, the camp messengers should be awake by now.”

Zaravant nods. “I’ll see you around, no doubt, Jaswant.” It was the first time Zaravant had said his name. This does not go unnoticed. “May your letter arrive swiftly and carry blessings to your family, son of Munzhir.”

As Zaravant heads back to camp, he breathes out. He had thought about how his apology would play out all night. Jaswant would laugh. Perhaps even challenge him to another dual. Forgive him, but not mean it. He had painted Jaswant to be so many things he was not. The tree thing had been an interesting custom, so he had taken the apology seriously and they both did it so it hadn’t been embarrassing.

… Only “Tenderness”? Is that what he thought of me? “The poor guy must have it pretty rough, then.” Zaravant thinks aloud before trying to remember where the messengers stayed.

Jaswant walks back to the tethered horse. Today’s ride would be far more enjoyable knowing he had another friend on his side. The stallion had calmed down and allows Jaswant to resume his brushing.

Had “Tenderness” been the right word Parsian?

But what did it matter?  

In a world of approaching war, tenderness is a nice thing.

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AND THEN ANDRAGORAS EXILES ARSLAN & CO BUT ZARAVANT AT LEAST GETS TO KNOW JIMSA WITH HIS NEW AND IMPROVED INTERPERSONAL SKILLS.

Gosh, my writing style reads like minutes from meetings.

My general impression of what the fandom thinks about these characters: Zaravant = We like him, but we wish he was ‘better’ (Also the 2015 anime didn’t really do much for him, surprise). Tous = Reliable and sound. I now associate him with “Familiar Hell” by Battle Beast.

I got the idea about the tree ritual from a presentation given at the International Medieval Congress 2018, titled ‘Adorned and Adored: India's Sacred Trees’ by Louise Fowler-Smith (University of New South Wales). I took liberties with it, though. I didn’t know where to place Jaswant’s heritage exactly, so it seemed like a universal thing even many other cultures (i.e. Irish) do.

I tried to incorporate a few things  I had read on http://www.mypersiancorner.com, https://www.chaiandconversation.com, and elsewhere into the fic, where reasonable.

I’m not from either culture and I wish I had more time to polish it off, but this was a great opportunity to do some more reading. I really want Persian food right now, good thing we have a restaurant in town.

[thefoodwiththedood]

Hey look, some new OCs with an actual theme and purpose for existing! I mentioned in Hes and Cerate’s backstory posts that they fight alongside the “Devaron’s Angels”—a rebel cell dedicated to fighting the Imperial presence on Devaron, while also vying for social and governmental reform. Well, here’s just a taste of what that rebel cell is comprised of: from left to right, meet Gemre G’vund, Russoc Dhaalgondt, 0R-D3, and Vononnue D’ruexieq! Together with Hes and Cer, they pilot Hes’s ship: the heavily-modified Freefall-class bomber, the “Lady Lucy” (pictured above, colors by me and lineart by @empress-only-in-name). I really love how these guys turned out, so yeah, lemme know what you guys think! :D

Just as with all my OCs, the backstories of the new four are below:

Russoc (Russ, for short) was the first to meet Hes, and he was one of the few people to see her before she became a leader. When Hes was still living on the streets of Montellian Serat, Russ—a retired soldier turned farmer—would take pity on her, always saving a few bits of food for her when he’d go to town to sell his harvest. However, as much as Russ loved his simple farm life with his husband and daughters, his little vegetable stand was never enough to pay the new, heavy taxes levied by the rising Empire. He tried his bet to pay his debts but, one day, the Empire grew tired of waiting. As the story goes, late one night Russ came home from Montellian Serat to find his home and fields in flames.  He thought it to be a freak accident at first, but then he saw the stormtroopers brandishing flamethrowers outside. This, coupled with the realization that his family would have been asleep inside, sent him into a blind rage. He immediately rushed the troopers, managing to pierce his horns through one’s stomach and fight the others off with the trooper’s limp body still hanging from his head. He managed to kill four more troopers with his bare hands before the rest brought him to his knees, stunning him multiple times and sawing off his horns to prevent any further gorings. Bloodied and beaten, Russ was taken back to prison in Montellian Serat to await his proper execution, but before it could be done, an angel swooped in and saved him. That is to say, the newly-formed Devaron’s Angels raided his prison in order to rescue allies of theirs, and among all the chaos, the recently recruited Hes Chaddic noticed Russ: the kind soul who had helped her to stay alive all those years ago. She decided to return the favor; she freed him of his restraints and helped him to his feet before offering him her spare blaster. Russ didn’t take it right away, but as he thought of his position, he realized he really had nothing left to lose, and right then and there he joined the Devaron’s Angels. Since then, Russ has been one of Hes’s best friends and a great asset to the Angels—not only is he a strong and experienced soldier, but he’s pretty much the only one of the Angels who can kill a stormtrooper face-to-face and feel no remorse at all. This led Hes to choose him for the “Lady Lucy”’s crew when she rose to power amongst the Angels, electing to have him in the rear gunners position, just so he could kill all the troopers his heart desired.

Vononnue (or Vonnie, for short) was the next Angel Hes recruited. As the daughter of a starfighter mechanic operating out of the city of Plaeree, Vonnie grew up around and had a natural talent with ships, and she often entered illegal podraces with the hope of winning cash rewards just to put food on the table for her and her father. She often did win, too, yet when the Empire started cracking down on anti-gambling and anti-podracing laws, the money all but stopped coming in. Soon after, the D’ruexieq’s repair business went bust, and Vonnie and her father began to starve just so they could keep a roof over their heads. It was when Vonnie’s father began to fall ill that she realized something had to be done. She began stealing food and medicine from Imperial strongholds around Plaeree, always managing to evade the authorities with the help of her old racing pod, the “Happabore”, which was both strong and fast enough to push past an Imperial troop transport without so much as a scratch. On one such job, Vonnie and the Devaron’s Angels happened to be hitting up the same base, and after they both made their escape, Hes commended Vonnie for her skills as a pilot, and offered her a position with the Angels. Vonnie explained that she really only stole enough for her and her father, but when Hes promised to share the Angels’ stash of medical supplies and food, she gladly accepted the offer. Nowadays, Vonnie’s father serves as a mechanic for the Angel’s fleet of ships, and Vonnie herself serves as the “Lady Lucy”‘s pilot—Hes was never too good at dogfighting, so she was happy to take a backseat to her more experienced and talented ally.

While the previous two had families they loved before the Devaron’s Angels, Gemre was not so lucky. Born to a family of politicians in Montellian Serat, Gemre—previously named Ghurussa, before he came out as trans—was expected to maintain the proper, distinguished visage common among the higher-class females on Devaron. Despite his parents’ best efforts, however, Gemre refused to fall in line with that way of life, often sneaking off to hang out with the far more scrappy and fun-loving boys a few neighborhoods away. All the while, tensions between him and his parents grew, and they finally came to a head when he came out as trans, and asked that he be called Gemre from then on. His parents, the fundamentalists that they were, saw his transition as not just as an unnatural perversion of his gender, but of his social standing—”how dare you lower yourself to the men’s level”, they said. After a fierce shouting match, Gemre, only fifteen years old at the time, walked out of his family’s home, never to return. Soon after, during a raid of an Imperial base in Montellian Serat, Hes found Gemre living on the streets, much as she’d done when she was his age. While the rest of the Angels fought for the base, Hes sat beside Gemre and offered him her spare ration pack, and he told her his story. As she spoke, her feelings toward him went from pity to empathy, and she shared her own story. The two spend the evening laughing together, while explosions and gunfire erupted from the Imperial base not far off. When the raid was done, Hes helped Gemre to his feet and offered him a position among the Angels’ ranks. With the promise of not only food and shelter but a new family that accepted him for who he was, he gladly accepted the offer. From then on, Gemre served as the mechanic on the “Lady Lucy”—something it certainly needed, since the thing needed constant in-flight maintenance just to make sure it didn’t explode on its own. What’s more, since she believes a soldier’s at his best when he’s comfortable in his own skin, Hes dedicates a small portion of her share of the Angels’ “earnings” to fund Gemre’s transition, and now, with her help, his horns are finally growing in, and he’s finally starting to feel happy again.

Sappy backstories are great and all, but honestly, 0R-D3 just exists for shits and giggles. His conception occurred one night when Hes got bored and decided she wanted a droid, and for the next week she, Gemre, and Cerate all worked together to build one. The only problem was none of them had any business building a droid; Hes had no knowledge of mechanics whatsoever, Gemre was really only experienced with ships, and Cerate’s only knowledge of programming came from old, tattered and stolen books. When all was said and done, 0R-D3 (or Oh-Ar, for short) contained parts from an imperial sentry droid, a B2 battle droid, a couple astromechs, some protocol droids, a magna-guard, plus some other odds-and-ends from ships and a speeder engine powering him. His code was simple, his construction was wonky, but somehow, he sprang to life. He began to speak in broken, garbled binary, and immediately Cer and Gemre began having second thoughts about their “creation”. Hes, however, was overjoyed—immediately, she threw her arms around the new droid, declaring he was her new boyfriend. Soon after, in realizing that heavy lifting was all he was really good for, Hes employed Orde as the bombardier on the “Lady Lucy”, and to this day he remains a beloved staple of the Devaron’s Angels and Hes’s pride and joy. In a way, they see him as a symbol of their rebellion—badly designed and badly constructed, yet somehow, he works.

OKAY, so those all went on longer than I thought, but hey, lemme know what you think of these guys! :D

[takenews-blog1]

Rating the core Tremendous Mario video games

New Post has been published on https://takenews.net/rating-the-core-tremendous-mario-video-games/

Rating the core Tremendous Mario video games

Following the discharge of Tremendous Mario Odyssey, it is time as soon as once more to ask that ages-old query: Which Mario recreation is finest? Rankings like this are wholly subjective, in fact, and “finest” is much more so. What makes a Mario recreation nice? The extent designs? The visible type? The diploma of creativeness on show? How a lot you loved it as a 10-year-old?

To maintain issues attention-grabbing (and fairly balanced), my rankings mix two major elements: How nice was the sport on the time of its debut, and the way does it maintain up now? Just a few of Mario’s greatest hits really feel slightly tough in hindsight. Take Tremendous Mario 64: Whereas it could be troublesome to justify giving a recreation with a careless 3D digicam system prime marks, neither ought to a recreation that revolutionary be pushed to the underside of the rankings just because, on the time of its creation, online game creators had been nonetheless determining methods to signify open 3D areas.

So, I’ve weighted each the “then” and the “now” collectively. And yeah, there’s in all probability slightly nostalgia in there, too.

I’ve additionally restricted the listing to core Tremendous Mario video games. As for what constitutes a core Tremendous Mario recreation: Any Nintendo-developed platform motion recreation that stars Mario starting with 1985’s Tremendous Mario Bros. If it has Wario, Yoshi, Peach or Toad within the title, it would not depend. And the much less mentioned about bizarre third-party initiatives like Tremendous Mario Bros. Particular, the higher.

Let’s start by establishing a fundamental reality about this listing: There is no such factor as a dangerous Tremendous Mario recreation. The franchise has been the muse of Nintendo’s recreation empire for 3 many years now, and the corporate treats every new sequel with the suitable gravity. That mentioned, Japan’s model of Tremendous Mario Bros. 2 — which first appeared within the U.S. on Tremendous Mario All-Stars as The Misplaced Ranges — flirts extra dangerously with the fallacious aspect of the standard line than every other entry within the collection. We will in all probability pin that on the sport’s quick growth cycle: It shipped lower than 9 months after the unique Tremendous Mario Bros. as a method to get one other large title on the corporate’s new Famicom Disk System peripheral. Additionally, the artistic leads additionally managed to ship slightly factor known as The Legend of Zelda in between these two Marios. You get the sense Misplaced Ranges wasn’t given a lot TLC.

The issue, in the end, comes right down to the best way Misplaced Ranges violates a few of the core tenets of the Mario franchise: Nintendo designed it as an expert-mode follow-up to Tremendous Mario Bros., and as such it incessantly breaks unspoken recreation design guidelines to frustrate gamers in ways in which the corporate usually tries to keep away from. From “power-up” mushrooms that may kill to ranges that may solely be accomplished by discovering invisible blocks, The Misplaced Ranges delights in twisting an knowledgeable participant’s expectations. And that is advantageous, nevertheless it would not fairly work on this context; Nintendo revisited the concept years down the road with unlockable and downloadable post-game extensions for the likes of Tremendous Mario 3D Land and New Tremendous Mario Bros. U, and presenting these challenges as bonus ranges labored quite a bit higher.

As a standalone launch, although, Misplaced Ranges sort of looks like paying full worth for a group of Tremendous Mario Maker troll phases. Perhaps even Nintendo’s designers have the identical merciless impulses as the remainder of us; let’s simply be glad they obtained these out of their system again within the ’80s.

Whereas Misplaced Ranges could not have spent sufficient time within the oven, the issue with New Tremendous Mario Bros. could have been that Nintendo let its 2D platforming efforts lay fallow slightly too lengthy. Apart from some wild bonus phases in a few of the Tremendous Mario Advance titles, Nintendo did not create a brand new 2D Mario journey between Yoshi’s Island in 1995 and NSMB greater than a decade later. Certainly, this looks like a warm-up train greater than a correct recreation, full of recycled concepts and providing only a few new innovations. Its most important contributions to the collection? The power to show Mario enormous for a number of seconds and smash up the stage, or to make him very tiny in an effort to slip by means of cracks and discover secrets and techniques. It is enjoyable, nevertheless it lacks within the creativity we anticipate from Mario video games.

And honest sufficient. It offered extremely nicely, and each Mario outing since NSMB has launched many great new components, so this clearly was the sport each Nintendo and its followers wanted in 2006: A wobbly first step towards future greatness. Alas, it hasn’t aged fairly in addition to its friends.

Seemingly as soon as once more, time was the enemy right here. Tremendous Mario Sunshine looks like a recreation poised on the cusp of brilliance, and with one other 12 months of growth it in all probability might have been one for the ages. Sadly, the weak efficiency of the GameCube meant that Nintendo needed to rush Sunshine to market, and the shortage of final-pass polish actually hurts the sport — perhaps extra so than it could have affected every other Mario title.

It stands as the only most advanced entry within the collection, saddling Mario with a water cannon. The sport expects gamers to grasp a lot of various expertise. Some expertise are intrinsic to Mario himself, some not, however nearly at all times they’re at odds with each other. For instance, the digicam makes use of the usual Y axis for the 3D digicam and inverted for in-close aiming. These clumsy little design quirks — to not point out the incessantly obscure targets and irritating penalties for a single mistake — get in the best way of a wonderful world that rewards exploration with many little secrets and techniques. Look rigorously and you will find an attention-grabbing recreation right here, nevertheless it fights you each step of the best way.

Tremendous Mario Land barely qualifies as a “core” Mario recreation, provided that the principle expertise behind its design labored beneath Gunpei Yokoi in Nintendo’s R&D1 division fairly than for Shigeru Miyamoto’s R&D4/EAD group. Ultimately, the Mario Land video games would develop into Wario Land and do their very own factor. Right here at the start, although, Tremendous Mario Land appeared like the last word gross sales pitch for Sport Boy: A Mario recreation you might play anyplace! This really turned out to be a much less compelling gross sales pitch for Sport Boy than Tetris, however Mario’s journey within the forgotten kingdom of Sarasaland nonetheless has lots to supply.

Forgive the teeny-tiny visuals, low problem, excessive brevity and barely off-kilter management physics; these constraints arose from Tremendous Mario Land‘s distinction because the first-ever moveable scrolling platformer. It however manages to be a enjoyable little foray into the “bizarre” Mario realm. It is the one recreation the place Mario battles yōkai earlier than gunning down the ultimate boss in a biplane, and that counts for lots.

Whereas way more artistic than its DS-based predecessor, New Tremendous Mario Bros. 2 nonetheless left loads of gamers feeling unhappy. Little doubt that got here partly from the truth that NSMB2 dropped the addictive cooperative play of New Tremendous Mario Bros. Wii … and partly from the best way the sport targeted on the concept of gathering wealth. It looks like Nintendo took criticism of how simply gamers might refill further lives (often by gaining 100 cash) in fashionable Mario and offered NSMB2 as a response: A recreation during which you collect so many cash that 1UPs develop into trivial commodities.

The controversial coin-gathering gimmick (which, let’s be trustworthy, actually looks as if extra of a Wario factor) tends to overshadow the truth that, beneath all of it, NSMB2 featured some attention-grabbing and intelligent degree designs … lots of which subverted the compulsive cupidity of video avid gamers, luring them to take silly dangers by attractive them with cash they truthfully did not want. This pony performed up its one trick slightly too enthusiastically for its personal good.

America’s Tremendous Mario Bros. 2 was as lighthearted and contemporary as Japan’s Tremendous Mario Bros. 2 was merciless. So what if this recreation did not begin out as a Mario journey? It performs like one, albeit a barely surreal one filled with kooky concepts. This recreation gave actual substance to Mario’s allies, launched tons of enemies that will present up down the highway, and turned each Toad and Princess Peach (err, “Princess Toadstool”) into energetic members within the Mushroom Kingdom’s adventures. A jaunty ragtime soundtrack and distinctive “plucking” mechanic imply its meandering, secret-packed phases are enjoyable to discover even at the moment.

The one Mario Land recreation to really really feel like Mario, Tremendous Mario Land 2 went with a very totally different look and elegance than its predecessor. Together with the sport’s spectacular cartoon visuals and distinctive hat-based power-up system, it additionally offered a extra private quest for Mario: His rival, an uglier model of himself named Wario, tried to steal the hero’s thunder for himself. That includes a few of the most uncommon and creative phases ever to look within the franchise, this was the sport most individuals had hoped for from the unique Tremendous Mario Land.

Actually one of the influential and defining video games of all time … however is it nonetheless any enjoyable? Tremendous Mario 64 did an excellent job of adapting the weather of 2D Mario into the third dimension, reworking Tremendous Mario World‘s dynamic world map into the playground of Peach’s Fortress, the place you uncover portals to totally different ranges by exploring. Nintendo paid loving consideration to the smallest sensible element, even explaining the 3D digicam as flying rascal Lakitu filming a documentary about Mario’s journey.

That mentioned, by fashionable requirements, Tremendous Mario 64 feels fairly tough. The uncooperative digicam reminds you that, oh sure, Lakitu is a nasty man who hates Mario and needs him to die. The phases themselves grow to be pretty small in hindsight, and lots of the late-game challenges reveal an uncommon degree of cruelty (not helped in any respect by that vexing digicam). Tremendous Mario 64 helped outline 3D recreation design, and there isn’t any disgrace in its successors having leapfrogged it … however today, most individuals would fairly play Galaxy or Odyssey.

An infinite step ahead from the staid New Tremendous Mario Bros., the Wii recreation took benefit of being on a house console not solely by providing significantly improved visuals over its DS predecessor but in addition by providing four-person simultaneous cooperative play. It is unattainable to overstate what a manic game-changer that single addition proved to be. Performed solo, NSBM Wii feels kind of like customary Mario fare, with a number of attention-grabbing new additions (like a slippery penguin swimsuit) to liven issues up.

Performed with three different folks, then again, the sport turns into wild and unpredictable, with moment-to-moment outcomes formed by the whims of your companions. Are they feeling useful? Merciless and trollish? Do your teammates have the slightest clue methods to even play Mario? Nintendo included simply sufficient instruments for expressing spite right here — together with the choice to gobble one other participant with Yoshi! — that even a well-meaning group can tumble into friendship-destroying goof-ups and scream at each other in rage. It is nice.

No relation to Tremendous Mario Land, Tremendous Mario 3D Land cleverly break up the distinction between the 2D mechanics of New Tremendous Mario Bros. and the extra expansive 3D design of Tremendous Mario Galaxy. At instances, the fixed-perspective three/four digicam viewpoint (meant to make the most of the 3D capabilities of the 3DS) nearly made the sport really feel like basic Zelda … a connection made express in issues like a stage designed within the spirit of an NES Zelda dungeon.

What actually elevates this recreation, nonetheless, is simply how a lot materials Nintendo crammed into it; when you beat Bowser, you uncover the entire recreation is simply half over and a much more troublesome remix of the sport awaits you. It’s additionally notable as one of many few 3DS video games to make use of the system’s 3D display as greater than a gimmick — that depth slider goes a good distance towards mitigating the murky spatial relations of isometric platforming.

The best recreation on this listing by far, however that purity works in its favor. The unique Tremendous Mario Bros. could not have a ton of power-ups or enemies or settings, and its 32 phases are actually fairly temporary in hindsight — you may simply full the sport with out warps in lower than an hour. However as a recreation created for the specific goal of compressing most efficiency out of an especially restricted quantity of cupboard space, nothing in Tremendous Mario Bros. feels superfluous or pointless. Each block, each enemy, each power-up has a goal.

In the meantime, Mario himself is each bit as a lot enjoyable to manage as he was greater than 30 years in the past. Not each landmark online game holds up after three many years, however Tremendous Mario Bros. kicked off this franchise’s behavior of being an exception to so many guidelines.

After Mario’s second free-3D foray in Sunshine fizzled, Nintendo reconsidered what it means to discover 3D house. For Galaxy, it took a cue from the success of New Tremendous Mario Bros. and added extra constraints to the participant’s perspective. However do not mistake this for a easy romp by means of side-scrolling worlds; quite the opposite, the Galaxy group used its guided-camera method to get bizarre with the concept of digital areas. Mario travels throughout large open areas, then flings himself by means of house to land on tiny planetoids, comb the interiors of asteroids, climb by means of tubes, battle throughout galactic struggle fleets, paddle by means of planet-sized oceans and in the end face down towards Bowser in a dizzying inferno on the finish of the universe.

And if that appears quite a bit to parse, the sport additionally included an uneven multiplayer mode that allowed younger or inexperienced gamers to help by snagging objects and boosting Mario’s jumps, all utilizing the Wii distant as a pointer.

Nintendo took a technological leap forward with the Tremendous NES , and Tremendous Mario World (which launched alongside the console) mirrored that ahead momentum: In contrast to the adventures that had come earlier than, Tremendous Mario World supplied persistence. Not solely did it embrace a save characteristic, which means gamers now not needed to full the sport in a single sitting, it made full use of that battery backup by inflicting the lands Mario explored to evolve as he conquered every space and unlocked new paths and phases.

Tremendous Mario World lacks the blissful sense of invention seen in Tremendous Mario Bros. three, the freewheeling certainty that each stage could be totally different from the final. What it lacks in manic creativity, nonetheless, it makes up for with scope. Its sprawling, secret-laden phases set the tone for future Mario adventures, rewarding gamers for profitable exploration with the very best prize: Much more phases to discover. The power to save lots of progress freed Nintendo’s degree designers to create extra intricate phases (and sometimes extra mysterious ones, because of the brand new Ghost Home ranges): Challenges that gamers might chew on for some time and are available again to in a later session. Oh, and Tremendous Mario World launched Yoshi. , that game-changing accomplice for Mario on this and quite a few video games to return.

You possibly can write a complete dissertation on the function of the digicam in Mario video games, and Tremendous Mario 3D World embodies the refined but holistic influence the location of the perspective has on the result of Mario’s adventures. On this case, the participant’s perspective falls on the spectrum between the mounted overhead viewpoint of Tremendous Mario 3D Land and the extra free-form controls of sure parts of Tremendous Mario Galaxy. On this case, the constraints on the sport digicam serve an essential goal: They exist to facilitate cooperative play in a 3D house. And, as with New Tremendous Mario Bros. Wii, the introduction of four-person multiplayer to an current idea goes a good distance towards justifying the leap from handheld to console.

Curiously, though the title would appear to tie Tremendous Mario 3D World to 3D Land and Tremendous Mario World, in some ways it feels most like Tremendous Mario Bros. 2 (the American one, that’s). One of many generic Toads from NSMB Wii tags out right here to permit Princess Peach to hitch the motion as soon as once more. The mixture of 4 distinct playable characters, linear areas that beg for meandering exploration and a few quirky stage themes (just like the practice and on line casino ranges) give this a throwback vibe to a Mario basic that hadn’t correctly been revisited in 25 years. But it surely’s not the nostalgia alone that makes Tremendous Mario 3D Land so interesting; it is a spectacular recreation in its personal proper.

Yoshi’s presence counts for lots in a Mario recreation, as seen within the second Tremendous Mario Galaxy; he’s a giant a part of why Galaxy 2 ranks above its predecessor. The inclusion of a hovering, monster-munching, projectile-spitting dinosaur for Mario to journey understandably will increase the complexity of a Mario recreation and requires cautious consideration by the designers. That in all probability accounts for why most Mario sub-series do not introduce Yoshi till the second entry; even right here he solely seems in a handful of ranges. But his cameo function merely speaks to how terribly diversified Galaxy 2 is. The primary Galaxy had the “wow” issue of vertiginous 3D phases; what the sequel lacks in shock it greater than makes up for with sheer selection.

This recreation can barely comprise all of the wild concepts its creators tried to cram into it, from huge galactic landscapes to retro-2D throwbacks. Galaxy 2 drops the superfluous components of its predecessor, akin to Rosalina’s observatory, in favor of cramming in twice as many phases throughout a far wider vary of settings. (And Yoshi, too.) Whereas the primary Galaxy may need been extra jaw-dropping a decade in the past because of its novelty, in hindsight, that is the higher recreation by far.

It could be too early to make any definitive proclamations for a recreation that is lower than two weeks previous, however Tremendous Mario Odyssey definitely deserves to be thought-about within the higher tiers of the Mario franchise. It manages to distill all of the concepts and design endeavors Nintendo hoped to perform with the sooner “sandbox” video games (64 and Sunshine) into one thing that falls comfortably into present expectations for 3D gaming. Maybe essentially the most stunning factor about Odyssey is how simply the target construction of its predecessors evolves into the modern-day open-world treasure hunt; Stars and Shines develop into Energy Moons, and buying them now not resets a stage.

As a substitute, all of it turns into one seamless journey full of lots of of targets … and a working economic system … and the flexibility to take management of minions, machines and diverse monsters all through the world in an effort to remedy environmental puzzles (or just goof round). All of this married to fluid controls, colourful visuals, a comfy digicam interface for as soon as and degree designs that pack structured obstacles and sudden secrets and techniques into environments Mario can traverse at will. It is taken greater than 20 years, however Nintendo has lastly realized the good potential of Tremendous Mario 64.

If any single Mario recreation could possibly be mentioned to outline the franchise, Tremendous Mario Bros. three would absolutely maintain that declare. Much more so than the unique Tremendous Mario Bros. or Tremendous Mario 64, this NES basic feels just like the second the place all of Nintendo’s large concepts and design ambitions lastly got here collectively, wedded to each the artistic maturity and the technological energy to make them work. An infinite recreation containing dozens upon dozens of compact phases, Tremendous Mario Bros. three not often repeats an concept throughout ranges. From mazes of pipes to kicking blocks at hungry fish to hijacking a Goomba’s indestructible robotic boot to go stomping round, Tremendous Mario Bros. three contained extra concepts on a single Eight-bit cartridge than a dozen 16-bit Mario wannabes of their entirety.

It was a artistic feat that is not often been equalled … even by Nintendo. There is a motive Tremendous Mario Bros. three continues to be held up as one of many biggest video games of all time by numerous followers: It actually is.

As nice as Tremendous Mario Bros. three was, would not or not it’s slightly tragic if Nintendo hadn’t produced something higher since 1988? Revelatory and creative as that NES recreation was three many years in the past, has Nintendo actually created nothing higher since then? Au contraire; Tremendous Mario Bros. three deserves a spot close to the highest as a result of it is the enormous upon whose shoulders its sequels stand … however the perfect Mario recreation ever? No, Nintendo has positively achieved higher. And of all its myriad sequels, New Tremendous Mario Bros. U does the perfect job of wrapping the whole lot nice about Mario (each new and previous) right into a single bundle.

NSMBU ended up being unfairly ignored by many followers because of the double-whammy of its showing on the corporate’s least profitable console ever and arriving just some months after the poorly acquired New Tremendous Mario Bros. 2. It is actually a case of horrible timing if there was one; NSMBU is as broad-ranging as NSMB2 was monomaniacal in its fixation on money. Mario’s first Wii U outing does slightly of the whole lot, and it does it brilliantly. The four-player co-op of New Tremendous Mario Bros. Wii, the artistic degree concepts and settings of Tremendous Mario Bros. three, the secret-packed degree designs of Tremendous Mario World, the Sport Pad-enabled novice-friendly uneven multiplayer of Tremendous Mario Galaxy … NSMBU had all of it. And it launched new stage themes together with different attention-grabbing new components, like on-line social sharing by means of Miiverse (R.I.P.) — a characteristic that paved the best way for Tremendous Mario Maker. And to prime it off, today Nintendo sells the sport bundled with its New Tremendous Luigi U growth, an ultra-challenging play mode that offers you 100 seconds to finish every stage.

Simply as Mario himself isn’t essentially the most thrilling character in spin-offs like Tremendous Mario Kart, NSMBU is not the flashiest recreation within the franchise. As a substitute, it is a dependable all ’rounder, tirelessly doing the whole lot nicely. About the one artistic thread of Mario historical past it would not decide up and construct on is the 3D sandbox idea, which makes it an ideal complement to Odyssey: Two video games that discover their respective corners of the Mario universe higher than every other.