#they removed all the fetch quests from DAI

[butterflydm]

"You lost someone important. Guilt's part of that."

*goes off and stares into the sea for a thousand years*

I do kinda feel as if I bought two games in one, because Veilguard is such a different experience in the second playthrough (this is not a complaint).

Grief. Regret. An ocean of it. And how to move past it. How important it is to be able to move past it and not let yourself be trapped by all your pain.

[endgame spoilers below]

Varric "goes to sleep" after your first big talk with him and then you can't talk to him again until after you've meditated and reached Solas (who is never far away, though you don't realize it).

It is amazing how Solas is able to criticize himself so strongly (via the memory of Varric) and then keep on doing everything that he's doing. He truly is the ultimate master of the sunk-cost fallacy.

Wisdom twisted into Pride. It is so painful to think that the thing that made Solas so furious and heartsick in his personal quest in DAI -- watching a spirit of Wisdom get twisted into Pride because it was brought into the mortal world to be a weapon -- is exactly what Mythal asked of him. And the anger that he shows towards those mortal mages (who he can and will kill unless you stop him) is thus displaced anger that he doesn't feel like he's allowed to feel towards Mythal.

So... what's up with the Rings of Power tag? It's about Solas, of course.

You meet a guy who is a lone wanderer. A vagabond, who claims no particular importance but somehow seems to understand the powers that are key to the world's salvation. He helps you out for a while. He's pretty arrogant - prideful, you might say.

You find out that he's essentially a demigod who has been lying to everyone for... weeks, months, idk. And that he actually is the person who helped break the world and make it what it currently is today... and he wants to fix the world. Except... well, except that fixing the world involves a whole bunch of people dying and basically destroying the world as it currently exists in order to create the 'better' world that exists in his imagination/memory.

His intentions may be good but every time he goes forward with his plans, it destroys so much and hurts so many people. His methods suck and his imagined perfect world can never exist. And he lies, over and over and over. He betrays you, over and over.

God of lies.

The Great Deceiver.

I've only finished one playthrough of Dragon Age: The Veilguard so far. And, in it, I gave Solas a good ending. The happiest ending that he probably could get. In which he doesn't get any of the things that he was trying to get during the game, but he does get a chance to atone for the many, many people that he's hurt and what he's destroyed. He gets shown a different path and is convinced to take it. He has someone who loves him enough to walk that path with him. "Where I'm going is terrible," he tells his love. "It won't be terrible if you're with me," she tells him.

Solas makes the choice that (Second Age/Rings of Power) Sauron couldn't make -- he chooses to stop trying to break the world in order to fix it. To atone by doing what the people of the world would want from him, rather than forcing his own vision on them. He stops. That's what Sauron can't bring himself to do. He can't stop trying to fix the world.

So finishing up Veilguard after watching Rings of Power let me play out a little power fantasy of: what if you could get him to stop? What if you could get him to see that his attempts to 'fix' the world are only making things worse? What would that look like?

Solas is able to admit -- after a lot of work by the protagonist to get him there -- that the world doesn't need him to fix it. By contrast, Sauron is going to double-down on his attempts to 'heal' Middle-Earth.

But it's interesting to get a chance to create a situation where a character who does have quite a bit in common with Sauron is able to have a different kind of ending.

As is tradition when I play RPGs like this, my first playthrough is for discovering a character and letting myself be fully led by the story, and now my second playthrough is to poke at all the choices and the seams of the story to figure out what I like best. And then I usually do a version of my first character again but 'perfected' in taking the alternative choices that I liked better than my first time through. So this second run is going to be for going through all the rest of the options and romances to see if I like them better than what my heart instinctively led me towards (Lucanis).

So this is my game plan for my second run:

Flirt with everyone. Make sure I do all Treviso quests before I go to get Davrin. Choose to save Minrathous (this is why I made my second Rook a Shadow Dragon -- Treviso seems so vulnerable to me, so I really have to stack the deck to get my Rook to choose to go to Minrathous). Sadly mourn that I cannot romance my Lucanis in this runthrough (my second Rook recently did the quest to acquire him and I found myself instantly enchanted all over again by his introduction. Thank goodness saving Minrathous takes him off the table; I don't see how else I could resist him).

Keep flirting until I get to the 'commitment quest' for each of the characters, and play through everything else until that's about all I have left. Then do separate saves for each romance. So six separate 'endgame runs' for this second Rook, allowing me to try out a variety of endgame scenarios.

Then, armed with lots of information, I plan to run as a dwarven Rook for my third runthrough, and do a run-through that uses my favorite choices now that I know how they shake out, and take a new approach with Solas. Probably a rogue. I've tried out the gameplay for all three classes, and rogue was my favorite (this is not a shock. Rogue has been my favorite in literally every DA game).

And now a collection of images I like to call:

They assumed Rook knew Varric was dead when these conversations happened.

Looking forward to what other conversations may happen where Rook is having an entirely different conversation than the other characters are having.

A collection of images I like to call:

Foreshadowing

A collection of images I like to call:

Ouch ouch ouch

One particularly excellent choice that the game made, imo, is that only Neve and Harding knew Varric already (of the companions). The rest of the team is assembled by Rook, and most of the team does not know Varric and doesn't even realize that there's a hole in the team, because Rook is already filling the position that she believes that Varric is meant to have. She is Varric's hand-picked second-in-command, and he trusted her to be able to handle this job. He chose someone with that thought in mind.

He knew the risks, and planned accordingly. He knew there was a chance (an excellent chance) that Solas was not going to listen to him. He had to try anyway, but he knows -- he says in the beginning -- that if it comes down to a fight, they will not be able to defeat Solas. He knows that if he can't talk Solas down, then he's probably going to die. And he goes in there anyway, because Solas is his friend.

He made a choice. Several choices. He chose to talk to Solas, knowing that it might lead to his death. And he chose Rook as his second, believing that Rook could save the day if Varric failed.

That's how Varric saved the world -- by finding the right person to finish the job.

[glamourscat]

Can I get any headcanons for Rin Okumura w/ a foreign s/o who’s trilingual? Like maybe they have a sort of culture shock in their lifestyle differences? Maybe the s/o can be from a completely different continent and studying to become an exorcist from their nationality section? Just a thought, if not, feel free to ignore mad delete the quest plz and thank you!

a/n: I ABSOLUTELY LOVE RIN THANK YOU FOR THIS ASK😭🙏🏻 also sorry for eventual grammar errors :/

* now, this might be wishful thinking of me, but considering the Japan branch is controlled by the grigori and there are multiple scenes in the manga where some of the characters mention just being back from the Vatican

* I like to think the oldest, and main, branch of the exorcist is indeed in Italy, Rome, near the Vatican headquarters. Is basically the oldest and most powerful institution, having people all over the globe.

* I imagine that one day, the Japan branch is in need of new members, so the Italian branch sends some of the students to form overseas

* Which is how you meet the others and Rin. Mephisto presented you and your whole group to the class. Maybe you just so happen to sit beside Rin. Which would be both amusing and awkward as he is an odd ball.

* Especially if he is under the impression you don’t speak Japanese very well, he will stare at you like this 🧍🏻‍♂️(cut to a broken English moment like bachira in that one clip of blue lock)

* But anyway, I think he would be the most prone and interested right off the bat. He loves cooking and baking, we know that right? So imagine him asking you for recipes on recipes from your country.

* Still, Japan has a very different culture, especially if you’re from Europe/the states. I can see someone who’s not used to remove their shoes indoor 24/7 for example, forgetting about it and Rin just looks at you like this

* The thing is, despite the little differences Rin always felt he didn’t fit in. Since before he found out he was half demon. So, falling in love with a foreigner it’s not too far fetched for him. He is probably one of the few who I can actually see dating (and marrying) a foreigner.

* He knows what it means being different, feeling the odd one out, so the little cultural differences don’t really face him that much

* If anything, with the excuse of spending more time with you, he will try to teach you a few things here and there

* How to use chopsticks. The proper honours greeting in Japan. How to act in temples.

* Rin is not one to follow the rules, but he is still respectful and excited for traditional Japanese celebrations. By good or stories, he will try to immerse you in the culture somehow

* Which side note, but I can 100% see him dressing you and him up in a kimono for a festival that requires more traditional wearing

* Also, he was sheltered most of his life— considering his troubled childhood. We saw in the impure king arc how excited he was at the idea of travelling to Kyoto that I wouldn’t put it past him if he had looked up “Kyoto itinerary what to see”

* So having a s/o who speaks multiple languages? That’s just a bonus. He will follow you like a puppy around the world just excited to be with you and being able to share these opportunities.

* After all, being an exorcist means travelling all over the place the higher your position in. And Rin wants to become the paladin. Sooo, kill two birds with one stone?

[apostatively]

About BioWare's Beef with "Fetch Quests" vs. Embrace of "Faction Quests"

[[Some minor spoilers in this post re: a few side quests in DA2 and DAI, and various routine faction quest events and requirements to get the "best" possible ending you're allowed to have in DATV.]]

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I think one of the things BioWare is missing about the transition to "no fetch quests ;DDD don't worry!" in Veilguard is that the vast majority of "faction quests" have mechanics that are far more mind-numbing to me than the majority of totally optional side quests in DAI/prev. games.

I am so tired of almost every Veil Jumpers quest being "look for missing people" > "oh no they're all dead" > "figure out how they died" > "return and tell the quest giver they're all dead".

It's so unimaginative. I'm so goddamn exhausted.

"Bob and Jill haven't come back from scouting these ruins! They should have been back by now-" They're dead. They are ALWAYS DEAD. I can save us all a lot of time and repetition by just telling you now. Something has killed them because the Magic-Is-Science Woods are full of ancient evils that are constantly killing everyone who goes in there, and yet we keep doing it, in large and eager groups. And expecting me, personally, to care about the lives of this faction who clearly don't have a bare-minimum thought for their own continued existence.

(Also: is it just me, or did the quest where everyone dies except for their pet nug, who you later learn VERBALLY SCREAMS if parted from its dead owner's belongings, feel weirdly offensive, like we weren't supposed to care about the people because rescuing the nug was the secret/real quest objective? Were we supposed to feel gratified that everyone died, but "at least" an animal was saved? They immediately snatch away that potential feeling of vindication too, in the resulting missive! Not a drop of dopamine to be had in that quest outcome, and there's no skipping it unless you want your companions to pay a hugely disproportionate price later.)

Even the shorter quests feel completely unnecessary, like when you first recruit Emmrich, an otherwise interesting and well-acted character who is doomed, like so many of the companions, to have his personal quest mechanics revolve around walking back and forth to fixed points within an area. I like the general idea of cute little wisps, but every time I have to double back to the entrance of an area, that I have already traveled through, just to grab a wisp and run all the way back, KILLS ME. I HATE it. There is no POINT to running through the area twice. "I have to get through this part because it's required to recruit this character" is in no way a fulfilling emotional hook.

In DA2, you were perfectly free not to interact with the random local magistrate who wants you to quietly recover his son. But the very pitch of the quest that he gives you is shady from the beginning, and if you decide to pursue it, you get the emotional payoff (depending on your choices) of removing a dangerous serial killer who is preying on marginalized children. This outcome makes the player feel good - like their time has been well-spent, that they are playing as a heroic figure in a fantasy adventure game. (And if they choose routes that are harmful, they potentially also have fun playing an "evil" character, as some folks find really amusing! There is still gratification involved, and it feels as though your actions in the game had a purpose.)

In DAI, you don't have to spend forever in the Hinterlands. Despite the prevalence of memes about this area of the game, you truly are not forced to stay there, you just have to do barely enough quests to accumulate a certain number of points denoting your influence in the area, so that you now have enough "power"/influence/reputation to proceed to the next step of the game where you speak with high-ranking individuals (valid story-relevant reasons). But here's the thing: often even the most simple of "fetch quests" in the Hinterlands has some degree of emotional payoff for the player. Like a lot of folks, I have a select few NPCs I want to interact with every single playthrough, because they have enough emotional depth to make an impression on me: I always get the Fantasy Asthma Medication from the estranged son of the woman with breathing trouble, and always feel sympathy for this family because of the son's reaction that he genuinely didn't know his mother was struggling while he's been away. I always place flowers on the grave of a woman at the behest of her widower, and track down the templars who murdered a woman's husband to retrieve his stolen wedding band, because that's just the kind of stuff that resonates with me. It feels like your character is doing good: you're starting to construct a persona for them of a local hero, if you so choose. There are emotional hooks to lots of side quests - but as above, for those who find them boring, you don't have to spend more than a bare minimum of time in this area. It's not a requirement, the way DATV's "faction quests" effectively are.

Long story long, you don't have to complete every single Hinterlands quest for your companions not to die at the end of the game. (In DATV, even as a completionist who is normally excited to find every easter egg a game has to offer, I found myself deeply resenting being basically forced to complete all the quests so that my companions don't die horribly...and then feeling cheated that you still can't save absolutely everyone, that a true "happy ever after" is impossible in DATV, even if you comply with the devs and finish their scores of side quests, knowing they have a gun to your favorite companions' heads.

It felt as though BioWare expected new players to the series to be able to resonate with this game immediately while also expecting the inclusion of B-list DA characters from their "neutral" world state in books and comics not everyone has read to be emotionally resonant enough for players to want to complete boring side quests just to please these NPCs (who you are allowed to interact very little with in the game). Unfortunately, the "new" players or returning ones who don't read or didn't care for the books and comics have zero reason to do this, and are far more likely to be punished by the game for not having an appropriate amount of "commitment" that simply is not inspired by the game itself.

TL;DR - replacing an abundance of optional "fetch quests", many of which are well-written with strong emotional hooks, but ultimately don't force players to complete them, with "faction quests" that lack emotional resonance and interesting mechanics but ARE required to be 100% completed to get a "good ending" to the game, is a huge step backwards for playability. It's troubling that the game writers/devs don't seem to understand that, or BioWare wouldn't be crowing about the "improvement" in removing "fetch quests" when they've simply rebranded them and made them less interesting and unskippable.

[eldritch-spouse]

Idk why but I really wanna imagine Patches acting as like, idk, a messenger for Krulu going to give messages to the different Icons (though realistically Krulu probably wouldn't even need to do that but LET ME EXPLAIN...)

And Admin forced Patches to wear his usual work uniform-- well, except for that INCREDIBLY short skirt that looks so tight it'd be reasonable to assume that it was fused to his skin...

Vorticia would be like "Wow I suddenly crave pumpkin soup", Zizz curiously wonders if Patches has soft thighs or not, Kalymir probably makes terrible fun of Patches about it, Cero and Livius would probably do the same (but in different degrees of course), Vesper wouldn't even try to resist, he'd fuck the poor guy right there and then, and Rinxx would try to take Patches' cum-drenched panties as a treasure at the end of it all, lmaoooo

[That's a cute thought!]

Generally speaking, Icons are figures Krulu wants to have close contact with at first, because the plan to one day have his progeny take over Perdition has been brewing for a long time. This is why these demonlords appear inside The Clergy's Eye from time to time, and the establishment's services are often extended to Hell for their pleasure/entertainment. This means that the most likely messenger is you and Krulu himself.

However, others can be sent, if need be. Santi, Nebul and Patches being among the first candidates on that hypothetical list.

Patches wouldn't say he's very Hell-smart. He's been to the Rings a couple of times, usually for very quick fetch quests, or to study something of particular notoriety. Other than that, he's more than a bit sweaty and nervous venturing from ring to ring, even if he knows he has Krulu's vague protection through all this. The fact that his pants have been removed and he sports on a skirt small enough that he can feel the breeze on his ass is not helping...

Cero will scoff. He expected the Lord-God to send the usual (pretty) human vessel, not this green whore that can barely stutter out a coherent sentence. He'll lift that skirt to expose Patches' helpless hard-on and verbally berate him hard enough to make the undead cum himself, making a mess of the Pride King's perfect floors and thus earning himself a nasty stomp on the balls.

Zizz knows this man is emaciated, he doesn't expect him to be very soft, but he will comment on how Patches is dirtying the front of his skirt. The friction looks uncomfortable, Zizz can provide something softer for the dullahan's "comfort"...

Vorticia is not above circling the pumpkin-headed man and letting her tail's ends flirt with his thighs and groin. Patches might indeed come out of it with half his head ripped off, if not all of it.

Rinx is tempted to keep him as a pet in general, but he knows better than to steal a God's messenger. He'll take something from his fellow green monster though, if only just an orgasm or even, yes, the God-Thing's pet's cumstained skirt.

Livius will be mocking in the sense that he'll copy Patches' stuttering and nervous verbal tendencies, maybe even his timid stance or the way he'll rub his thighs together to offer himself friction. Being around an exhibitionist pervert will make Livius act like one too, so things get weird fast.

Kalymir is going to be the death of Patches. He'll barely pay attention to the message past his thunderous laughter as he shoves the undead around and hurls acidic taunts his way. Patches will leave with several stab wounds, bruises and his own cum smeared on his face as a humiliation ritual.

Vesper is absolutely milking the fuck out of Patches as soon as he steps into his mansion. The man's already dripping with arousal, you expect the Icon of Lust to hesitate? Hah, get real... Patches can barely get anything past his lips with Vesper sucking him dry and preparing to slot him onto one of his massive cocks. He's happy one of the Lord-God's fucktoys came to visit!!

[alicepooryorick]

Excerpt from my Shiva Barbara child support fic's upcoming, way to long chapter about Shiva deciding to respond to meeting Bruce and Dick talking to Barbara with opting to gaslight them into thinking the two of them are dating.

A couple months had passed now since the last time Barbara had requested aid, Shiva had figured there was nothing to do rather thab she was free, and it seemed she had been correct. She'd been called again, this time as a very precise time. Barbara normally gave her a day's window to appear, but now, Barbara had it down to the minute in her message, and so here Shiva was, curious, as she knocked on the door.

The last few times, it was simple in-out quests for Barbara. Shiva had been more or less fetching things for Barbara that the Batgirls were to busy for. This time, it felt different.

Shiva was let inside, following the same route as usual, finding Barbara in the living room on her wheelchair. The woman's traditional wifebeater and cargo pants were replaced this time with more formal attire.

"An occasion?"

"Hello again, Shiva."

"Hello Barbara. What is the meaning of this summoning?"

For once, the woman before her had no quick answer. She seemed... Embarrassed.

"Batman and Nightwing are coming over to have what I'm sure is to be a very... Mature conversation."

"I can kill them"

"That's a horrible idea."

"It's on the table."

"We aren't killing Bruce or Dick"

"Fine but I'll make it clear I could. It's not like Gotham doesn't have our daughter."

"We do not want Cassandra becoming Bruce. I'm trying to give her a life beyond the bat, remember?"

"Like Steph?"

"Like her dance, Shiva."

This time, Shiva was quieted. Cassandra had taken to dancing? It made sense, fighting and dance were one and the same. But, to not know, Shiva wasn't sure what the feeling was. Like training weights on her shoulders that she could not remove.

"I... I didn't know."

"I know."

Shiva stood, silent, not letting this get to her, or at least not so much so as to reach her exterior. Of course Barbara would know more of Cass's life than she did. But all the same, there was something about not knowing. She'd never wanted this child, but she wanted to know more about her.

"Does Bruce know?"

"He funds her training."

The weights increased. Bruce knew, that damn man.

"What are you going to do, Shiva. Cassandra loves him. She stays here most of the time, but she's his too, emotionally at least."

"He adopted her too."

"Who do you take me for, Shiva. The world is digital. There's no proof I wasn't the one to adopt her."

"This is why you're her mother."

"Damn right."

It was at that point a knock sounded at the door. Barbara started, but Shiva stopped her, rathering to make the terms of conflict known.

"By the way, where's Charlie?" Shiva asked, walking to the door. The kid amused her, looking back at it. The kid was good but sloppy. If the kid wanted to be a superhero, perhaps Shiva should offer some training. She did enjoy that act.

Shiva got to the door and opened it, staring an unmarked Batman and Nightwing in the face, "Hello Bruce. Hello Dick."

Bruce tried to hide his suprise. Shiva was sure that it was a very impressive attempt to any other, but Bruce might as well have narrated his actions. 'The Batman was suprised' Shiva could all but hear him say.

Dick, for his part, got angry. "What are you doing here, Shiva? This is a private conversation."

"Don't talk to me like that, Dick. It's not befitting of either of us."

"What are you doing here, Shiva. Where's Barbara?"

"She's waiting in the living room. I thought I'd get the door."

"For Barbara?"

"Believe it or not I can be nice to some people."

"You haven't answered the question."

"She asked me to be."

"This is private."

"You can take that up with her. You know even both of you can't make me leave. Dick, I saw that muscle twitch I'll happily prove my point."

The boys glared at her, and Shiva smiled. This was more interesting so far than those fetch quests Barbara had sent her on the last few times. Maybe she'd even get a good fight out of this. Bruce nor Dick were particularly at any threat to Shiva alone, but two versus one would almost make it somewhat challenging, given their team work and unspoken communication.

"You still haven't answered the question Shiva. Why are you here?"

"I told you. Barbara asked me to be, so I came."

"What, so you just listen to Barbara now?"

"No but yes."

"Why?" Dick said, staring at her, the rage somewhat contained. Shiva figured he was angry before this, did Barbara really have to put up with this all the time?

Shiva sighed, she missed Charlie, at least she was a child when being this annoying. Frankly, Shiva was tiring of this. She wondered how much work it would be to simply have the Gotham chapter of her Order replace these two in patrolling. Let Barbara handle the information... Maybe that would be something to mention to Barbara. For now though, they were asking stupid questions.

"You try saying no to her." She responded, wondering if they'd missinterprate that as she wished. "Besides, it's always nice to come over and see her." If that didn't drop the hint hard enough, she didn't know what would. Here was your stupid answer, Bruce: Barbara and Shiva were a thing.

Shiva heard a slap behind her; skin on skin, hand against face it sounded like. Oh well.

[argisthebulwark]

So I'm gonna waltz in here because I'm still brewing bodyguard vilkas and what you think of him? My despiction of him as well is around that, protector who takes his job seriously, first and foremost.

I can picture him pulling out different antics, like HOT ways to protect the dragonborn like pinning them against a wall and use his body as cover from falling objects. But share more of your hcs of him 👉👈

(Waltz off 💃🏻)

YESS omg... i definitely think he'd start off being super professional and taking everything seriously, i feel like he takes everything seriously. he'd be really vigilant. "no, you sleep i'll keep watch" "let me go first just in case there's traps" "stay behind me, i'll protect you" type of dude.

YEAHH god the dragonborn dragging him down in some old ruin in one of the many fetch quests they take. he would be sooo annoyed by fetch quests but at least it breaks up the monotony of clearing out their tenth bandit camp. he spots too late that a trap's been triggered and tackles them. ohhh noo, the big man has them pinned...his nice big body's on theirs and his face is so close when he asks if they're okay.... he sees the dragonborn's cheeks get all pink when they stare up at him, not even trying to remove their wrists from his hands... how awful....

i think he's super intrigued by the dragonborn internally but his introverted ass doesn't know how to ask questions. i'd pair him with a dragonborn who doesn't do well with social cues just for the sillies. he wants to ask questions about them, to get to know them better, but gets tongue tied every time he asks anything more personal than "so what's your last name?"

he'd pick up on little things. he'd note if the dragonborn's left handed or leaves the same opening during a battle and cover them without thinking. he'd notice if they like butter or jam with their breakfast and wordlessly pass it to them. he'd probably like finding little things they share - preferences in how they take their coffee or laughing at the same jokes.

he's used to being perceived as a resource - whether it's for his intelligence or his trustworthiness in battle, i think it's how he'd come to view himself. he trains the new recruits to strengthen the companions, he learns as much as possible to aid Kodlak, he protects the dragonborn because it's what he's told to do - he gives without expecting anything in return. he'd expect the same treatment from the dragonborn until he notices them doing little favors for him or taking him into consideration, asking where he'd like to travel or bandaging his wounds, i think it would throw him off a bit.

i know his ass would be soft for casual intimacy!!! vilkas internally losing his shit when the dragonborn offers to put his hair up or help remove his armor!! he tries to maintain the outward indifference but inside his tummy would be full of butterflies!!! when he finds himself doing the same... when he catches himself wiping dust from their cheek or hands brushing together when they walk too close.... oh it's so over for him.

he'd get so flustered when farkas demands to meet the dragonborn. he picks up on vilkas' feelings so easily he probably realizes his brother's feelings are more than just professional before vilkas does. when he insists on meeting the dragonborn vilkas tries to keep things as professional as possible, which is promptly ruined by farkas the dragonborn giggling about how cranky he gets in the morning.

he would probably hate being dragged to stuffy meetings, but being the last dragonborn's personal bodyguard gave him immunity to make snarky little remarks. he likes bothering the advisors who do nothing but sit and ponder all day, i think he'd view them as inactive in the face of real problems and getting under their skin is his only reprieve from the boredom.

SORRY i rambled so much but omg.......him........

[genericpuff]

I seriously need an updated LO s3 timeline now so I can decipher this monstrosity

Are H/P seriously going to raise a baby (which is 100% Zeus' kid)? A few weeks after Persephone said she wanted to take things slowly? When Hades admitted a couple days ago that he hadn't been a good father to Thanatos?

What the hell is the plan????

Honestly, I feel like the folks over at PomegraNet just gave up LMAO

But buckle up because I'm about to make you even more upset - this didn't happen a few 'weeks' after Persephone said she wanted to take things slow, it happened a WEEK, singular, not plural. Yes, read that again: A WEEK.

!!!MAJOR FP SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

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When you lay the events out end to end in their reasonable order, with all the fluff and flashbacks removed and using dialogue as indicators, Hades and Persephone literally talked a WEEK ago about being boyfriend and girlfriend and what that would entail.

I've gone on this rant before, but I'm so ready to go on it again knowing what we know now in the FP episodes.

Day 1: Hades and Persephone reunite with the Olympians, Zeus removes Persephone's sentencing, Hades and Persephone discuss their relationship going forward, they finish the day going to bed together where Persephone wonders if she's 'forgotten something' (i.e. Demeter).

Day 2: Hades awakens from a nightmare about Kronos, Persephone and Hades do their Steven Universe fusion dance to 'fix' the Underworld, they check out what Persephone created for Elysium and play in the river, they're interrupted by Demeter who has arrived to take her daughter back to the Mortal Realm, Persephone claims to have missed her despite forgetting she existed just the night before, Persephone tells her to eat the ziti or fuck off.

Day 3: Buckle up, because this one day takes the cake for having the longest and most pointless fetch quest in webcomic history. Hades gives Persephone 'breakfast in bed' (literally a single donut), Persephone insists she wants to go into work with him but he makes her stay home to relax, Hades meets up with Hecate to figure out what happened to cause the entire Underworld to become possessed by Kronos, Hecate talks him down from speaking to Kronos and gives him a rundown of what she believed happened, they deduce they should find Hypnos, but they don't know where to find him, so they decide to go find Thanatos, but Thanatos doesn't want to speak to Hades due to their strained relationship, so they have a buddy buddy talk which eventually gets Thanatos to give in and tell Hades where to find Hypnos. Turns out Hypnos has been living in the defunct remains of the Underworld Corp's HR department, where he tells Hades how Kronos was able to hijack his powers and reveals that Kronos has a 'child deity' being held captive down there with him. Despite Hecate saying they weren't going to go down to Tartarus that day, Hecate and Hades proceed to go down to Tartarus, but are unable to enter due to Kronos holding the place hostage (he'll only open the doors in exchange for his "golden traitor" who we can only assume is Hera). During all this, Persephone goes on an excursion to Olympus where she runs into Daphne and Eros and reconnects with them. She goes to the bank and finds out she has a shitload of money from her account gaining interest, which gives her the funds necessary to purchase her own apartment where Hades meets her for supper that night. Persephone somehow still ends up back at Hades' place (presumably to move the rest of her things from his house to her apartment) where they attempt to have sex only to be interrupted by a drunk Ares. Hades consoles him and then returns to Persephone, the two of them watch a movie from post-WW1 Germany in his personal theater, they try to be intimate again but it's revealed later on they didn't actually have sex. Ares tries to text Aphrodite but has been blocked.

Day 4: Persephone and Hades go to work, on the way they discuss a note Ares left for Persephone encouraging her to meet him to discuss her being a fertility goddess. Hades and Persephone discuss the child deity and Kronos briefly, realizing they need to bring it up with Hera. Speak of the devil, Hera is there when they arrive at work. They catch Hera up on what's going on, she wants to go speak to Kronos herself but Hades stops her for her safety. They change the subject to the coronation, Hera asks why Persephone and Hades aren't engaged yet, she encourages Persephone to invite her mother to the coronation and eventual wedding. After Hera leaves, it's revealed she's still being tormented by Kronos. Hephaestus and Psyche meet to discuss the pendrive Psyche stole off Apollo and what it contains, revealing a photo of Kassandra. After work, Persephone goes home to her own apartment and Hades works on coming up with an engagement ring for Persephone. Hades is interrupted by Persephone summoning him to her home. Persephone gets upset at herself for being jealous over Hades calling Hera 'Bunny'. Persephone decides to go meet with Ares that same day, Hades comes along disguised as a moth. Ares takes Persephone to a fresco, where she discovers an old monument of Metis which allows her to connect directly to Metis to speak with her about her fertility goddess status. It's nighttime when she awakens and Hades reminds her that she still needs to meet with her mother who she apparently already planned to meet with that day. Persephone goes to meet with Demeter who has a huge purity club intervention planned for her to pressure her into staying in the Mortal Realm. Hades proposes right then and there and Persephone leaves with him down into the Underworld.

Day 5: The next day, Persephone attempts to book venues for their wedding, but can't seem to get in touch with anyone anywhere. Zeus claims that these businesses are refusing to serve them on the basis of xenia, as they disrespected Demeter in her realm by doing an impromptu proposal. They meet up with Hera to discuss these issues, to which Hades suggests the restriction doesn't happen until tomorrow morning so they can get married that same night (despite the fact that businesses were already refusing to serve them lmao). They get married that night, and then have their honeymoon where they have sex for the first time ("deconstruction of purity culture" who?)

Day 6: Hades and Persephone both go to work the next day despite being on their honeymoon, it's revealed Morpheus has been hired by Hades to help him "file" people's dreams. Hermes gets into a fight with Apollo which ends with Hermes punching him. Persephone, meanwhile, has taken her new "judges" under her wing with the intent to have them help Hades do even less work than he already does. Hermes at this point has joined her and they talk about the Apollo situation. With Thetis' encouragement, Leuce applies to be Hades' PA and tries to seduce him under the impression that they still "had something" after Zeus tried to negotiate a marriage between them back near the end of S2. Hades rejects her, during which he reveals that he got married "yesterday" which helps us know that none of what I just said happened a few weeks after the wedding (despite Persephone implying as such with her own dialogue), it was literally the day before. Persephone is used as a test subject for dream diving with Morpheus. It's after this that Hades starts getting vibes from Persephone's texts that she doesn't want to talk to him.

Day 7: After literally a day, Hades gets nervous at Persephone icing him out ("I showed you my dick pls respond" energy) until after some pressuring, Persephone finally reveals she has a baby Dionysus in her possession.

Seven. Days. A week. A literal week ago in the story's timeline, Hades and Persephone decided they wanted to take it slow and try dating before rushing into marriage - and now they're married, restructuring the entire Underworld Corp, and already have a kid.

Rachel seriously saw Stephenie Meyer writing Bella Swan with a rushed superhuman pregnancy and went "hold my beer". I can't tell if I should be disappointed or flat out impressed that one person managed to pad out this much of a week with so much bullshit.

And some people might go "but puff, it's obvious we're not meant to read it as if it's sequential!" so what about the dialogue that tells exactly when these events are happening? or the actions that clearly lead from one event to the next in a very interlinked way that REQUIRES these things to be happening one after another?

My own OC's have literally been trapped in a non-Euclidian castle nightmare for well over an in-universe week now but MONTHS in real life and I've still managed to make that clear, with proper labelling of days that are passing and dialogue that lays it out clearly how long they've been in the castle. Sure, it can still be a strain on readers where it can make them feel like things in the comic are happening relative to real life, but there are methods to make your timeline clear that Rachel isn't employing. Even a fucking Spongebob "one week later" card would be better than the way she's outlining events right now.

If the PomegraNet team gave up, I wouldn't blame them in the slightest. Laying out the events in their proper order is a nightmare. And frankly, I have a tinfoil hat theory (so take with mountains of salt) that they were practically asked to stop what they were doing because their timeline also just makes the comic look like what it really is - a mess of word vomit that Rachel never bothered to clean up and turn into an actual story with reasonable pacing.

[cicada-wisp]

Hello everyone! I am here to share with you all my most recent hyper-fixation!! Hurray!!

So, I’ve always been a huge fan of role-swaps, and so I came up with an idea for a Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time role-swap, and thought I should share it with you all!

So basically, the main idea is that the Sages, along with the Sages elements, swap with each other, along with the races.

So this is what the swaps are:

Forest - Light

Water - Shadow

Fire - Spirit

Zelda - Link

Ghirahim - Fi

Saria - Rauru

Ruto - Impa

Darunia - Nabooru

Kokiri - Hylians

Zora - Sheikah

Gorons - Gerudo

Goddess Harp - Ocarina of Time

Ganon does not change, however. He remains the same.

So this is based on the classic Zelda/Link role-swap, but with enough changes for it to be different.

The plot would follow the same story beats, basically, that being:

Main character saves someone from evil however they die anyway.

Main character gets entrusted with a special item/s which will help with their journey. 

Main character finds someone who is also needed to save the world.

Main character helps a bunch of people, getting more special items that will help them on their journey.

Main character fails at stopping the evil but gets a special weapon after time has passed.

Main character finds a wise person to help them and goes on what is basically a fetch quest.

Main character defeats the big evil with the help of the person from before and the items along the way.

This is the basis of Ocarina of Time but boiled down to the extreme basics. I think.

Here is some information about the new world of Hyrule:

Hyrule is mostly a forest.

The fantasy races (Kokiri, Zora, Gorons) all work together to rule over Hyrule.

The Kokiri are the ‘main rulers’, basically, with the capital being the area which they do not age.

Link is an actual Kokiri, although Zelda isn’t.

The reason why he ages while Zelda’s sealed away for seven years is that he fled the Kokiri capital, away from the anti-aging magic of the Great Deku Tree.

Zelda was left at a Temple (the Temple of Time) when she was just a baby and has lived there her whole life.

She is known to be someone sent by the Goddesses. Due to her strong sacred power.

The Hylians were originally the rulers, but they were thought to be unfit for the role due to them not being ‘one with the Goddesses.’

This is referring to how they weren’t magical enough, basically.

This is what caused the civil war, which happened a much longer time ago than in the official/canon Ocarina of Time.

The sacred stones which Zelda has to collect are:

The Sacred Stone of Light, given to her by the High Priestess of the Church which Zelda was left.

After removing the evil sent by Ganon from her, although not saving her life in the process.

The Sacred Stone of Shadow, given to her by Impa of the Sheikah.

After saving Kakariko village from a Poe tormenting them.

The Sacred Stone of Spirit, given by Nabooru of the Gerudo.

After calming a sandstorm caused by a large bird’s wingbeats.

Link is engaged to Princess Ruto of the Zora.

The story roughly follows the plot of the Ocarina of Time manga, but also the game as well.

Zelda wasn’t told to meet Link, however she was guided by her prophetic dreams.

Zelda is, obviously, the main character and the Heroine of Hyrule.

However, all of this is still in the works. If anyone has any ideas regarding this role-swap, I would love to hear them.

Have an amazing rest of your day, and do not forget to have courage, move with wisdom, and have power as well!

[eden-regained]

The "Creepypasta Cinematic Universe" Characters if you will would work uncannily well in a Changeling: the Lost campaign in both themes and overall tone. Cringe, I know, but hear me out.

Slenderman is one of the True Fae. His domain resembles deep, dark woods with a great mansion (albeit a disheveled one, don't judge him) in a clearing basked in eternal twilight. He takes highly vulnerable children and teenagers through the hedge to make them his sons and daughters, hoping they'll stay with him. His hospitality and kindess would be so warm and pleasant weren't it for the fact that he warps all of his victims with his Arcadian might to the point they're near unrecognizable for selfish reasons.

The number of titles Slenderman holds can be identified by the amount of shadowy tentacles that always seem to slip through no matter the for he takes on (his preferred embodiments are Actor and Realm). They are many for he is ancient, wise and thus; powerful.

His "Proxies" are split into the "Frontline" and the "Guard", both meant to aid him in his quest for power over lesser faeries. The Frontline are the warriors made for direct offense, they raid other keepers and their unfortunate Changelings all while generally scouting out the depths of Arcadia. The Guard is the defense, they shield their keeper directly, going on a "cleansing spree" when someone uninvited treads on mansion grounds, on top of that they maintain a more ordinary lifestyle with their captor.

Members of the Frontline:

-BEN (Darkling Seeming, Gravewight/Water-Dweller dual-Kith) may not look like a proficient fighter, and to be honest he really isn't, but he doesn't have to be. BEN is a spy and he ambushes unsuspecting Changelings by either lunging at them from convenient watery depths or by seeping into their domains with his ghost-like forms as if he were no more than a light breeze. BEN has never had a fetch made to replace him and with Slenderman telling him that his family just presumes him dead, he's not developed the desire to escape in any way, though that may change soon.

-Clockwork (Wizened Seeming, Soldier/Chirurgeon dual-Kith) is a jack of all trades; both a quick-witted blade wielder and pinpoint-accurate healer. She's cold and has a crippling obsession with time and counting to the point she removed one of her own eyes to replace it with a clock-face so she can hear every second echoing by within her skull. Lucky for her this affinity for timetelling makes her remember the world outside the hedge in bits and pieces until this nagging feeling of so much wasted time compells her to claw her way back out through the hedge, although she understandibly has no desire to reclaim her family life.

-Ticcy-Toby (Ogre Seeming, Stonebones Kith); dang, that kid sure can grind a gristle and he's not even a Gristlegrinder!! Toby was born without the capability of experiencing physical pain, a trait that Slenderman cranks up to 11 by giving him the ability to actually turn his skin to stone. When all else fails, BEN and Clockwork will just yeet him at the problem. What can I say, it's usually a rock solid plan. He's the second one to abandon Arcadia as he misses Clockwork, wondering where she possibly could've ran off to.

Members of the Guard:

-Jeff (Fairest Seeming, Flowering/Mirrorskin dual-Kith) already had little of his own identity back in the mortal realm. His parents truly adored him in their own twisted, deluded way, they wanted the whole wide world to marvel at his beauty. And so, he became a pageant boy (yes, I'm including my own AU bc I can!) and he had this oh so radiant smile plastered on his face all day, every day. Once Slenderman "saved" the poor kid, Jeff was so burned out he genuinely could no longer smile and he had those tired bags under his eyes. His new "father" wanted him to look happy. Very, very happy and thus he carved him a permanent smile, bleached the blemishes out of his skin and burnt his eyelids off, and no, the permanent flower crowns on his head do not make his scars any less heartwrenching to behold. But there's hope for Jeff. Liu, his younger brother, once promised him he'd find him no matter how hard the search, and that he'd rescue Jeff from anyone and anything. As a fae-touched human, Liu can do what most mortals can't; rescue the loved one he's lost to the True Fae.

-Smile Dog (Beast Seeming, Hunterheart/Antiquarian dual-Kith) is, to put it bluntly, shit outta luck. While all the other Proxies still somewhat resemble the human form in both body and mind, Smile Dog appears completely animal like, save for their offputting human teeth and, atleast for a pet, above average cognitive functions. The other kids know next to nothing about them; no age, no gender, no time of durance, though it is somewhat known that they're one of the first abductee Slenderman has acquired. Smile Dog's job is simple but delicate: watch over the dungeon library of old lore collected by the Fae over millenia.

(Overall, Slenderman always gave me those fairfolk vibes and I simply couldn't let this figment of my sleep-deprived imagination rest)

[tangent101]

Critical Role Speculation

Okay. Things have escalated quite rapidly for Team B, and I've been puzzled for a bit as to just what could be going on here. Because Team B just joined with a bunch of worshipers of the Primordial Titans (or at least that is the general feel I have of them) to kick out a bunch of worshipers of the Dawnfather who, admittedly, are acting like a bunch of colonialist dicks.

(As an aside, I now know why Aabria was tossed in with Team A, as having a priestess of the Dawnfather showing up and finding fault with her own faith... well... um... that would be a most interesting tale and honestly it would deserve its own campaign rather than seven episodes.)

The thing is... this is Day 2. At this point, Team A has not even reached Uthodurn yet. In fact, given that Team B is on the other side of the freaking planet, Team B might be closer to Day 1.5 - so Chetney hasn't even nommed on FRIDA yet.

It will be ten days before Team B catches up to Team A's point in the timeline. And while they have a means of scrying on Team A, they will be unable to reach them and we know this because Team A never encountered Team B.

That said, the Village Elder offered to help... if they were also helped in turn. First comes removing the Church from their village. But the village also lost a dozen people to the Solstice Snarl (as it was so aptly described). So... might our group not end up being sent to retrieve some of the missing townsfolk? And might this endeavor end up taking a bit of time?

We have four different groups wanting to go to different areas. Deni$e wants to go home to confront Dariax. Bor'dor wants to check on his ill brother. Prism... well, honestly I'm not sure what Prism would want to do, she could return to the Cobalt Soul with a report on her findings, or possibly go with Team B to confront Ludinus De'leth (and honestly, the thought of Emily joining Critical Role for their confrontation with Ludinus amuses me to no end). And of course, Team B wants to return to be with their friends.

So honestly... it sounds to me like we're going to have four favors owed... and those favors will likely be earned by going off to rescue some of the townsfolk. And can we honestly say that any of these six people would say "no" to these people in their times of need? (I mean, one is a 10-year-old girl.)

The thing is... a Fetch Quest seems a bit anticlimactic. Team A went and saved a magical bull, Critmas, and got some juicy dirt on Ludinus and his long-term plans. Team B is going to save a bunch of villagers? And that even assumes that the village Elder can use that tree teleporting spell (and not all of the villagers would be near trees - one is in the middle of the freaking ocean (and probably dead by now) after all).

Another possibility is that there is magic that can send them to where they need to go... but they need to retrieve it for the village Elder (and that assumes said Elder doesn't stab them all in the backs after they are done with the Dawnfather's missionaries).

There is one last possibility, and this is the oddest one at that. Perhaps when teleporting, either Team A or Team B ends up in one of those Solstice Snarls and ends up either cast forward or backward in time so they all end up in the same place at the same time. But unless our group is going to have to travel for a week deep underground to where an imprisoned Primordial Titan lay, I kind of doubt there's an easy way for Matt to fix the two timelines... which is why you shouldn't split the party. ;)

But Matt knows what he's doing. I'm sure whatever he has planned, it'll be more interesting and convoluted than anything I could come up with.

[negative-zerospore]

Hello, hello, my Crickets!

No horny this time.

Been working on some sketches! I'm not super great, but it's for my current DnD character named Alice!

She is An Aasimar Paladin with an oath of Vengeance.

She used to be sworn to an oath of the crown to a hugely rich CEO of a mining company she basically had to sell her soul to because of the shitty Circumstances of her Husband Leaving her mid pregnancy out of nowhere so she had to raise her already 7 yr old son and give birth to another entirely alone. Eventually after years of struggling to get by both her sons caught ill with something even she couldn't heal or cure and she went to the local Mega Corp CEO and sold her soul in return for him helping and promising to keep her sons safe. in short She broke that oath, and tried to kill the CEO and due to the terms of said oath, she lost all her powers and is starting back from level 1. She's in her 50s, but in this world, Aasimar age is more like elves, so she was still plenty youthful. The point is that she was an established hero for a good time and a major celebrity of the world, but now that she's broken her oath, she's a shell of who she used to be.

She under him basically acted as his enforcer and took direct orders and as another part of the oath she could put on her helmet and gain additional strength and blank out on her tasks at hand so she could basically auto pilot and feel a dull pleasant distorted version of events to get her days over with so she could fast forward to being home with her kids at the cost of not being fully aware of what she did nor the orders that were given and not being able to take off the helmet till her orders were complete. With this situation, she unknowingly committed atrocities mostly in the form of union busting and collecting debts, though she did knowingly participate in corporate sabotage against rival mining companies.

One day upon completing an order she removed her helmet and found both her sons dead at her feet in her home and their blood dripping from her sword. She had unmistakably been responsible for their murder and she doesn't know why or for what reason and cannot remember the order given to her and in a psychotic snap and an attempt to preserve part of them so they could be revived at a later date because she no matter what she did couldn't bring them back made the incredibly terrible decision to skin their corpses and line the inside of her armor and helmet with their faces and skin so she could preserve a piece of them and in her own fucked up sense of repentance bear the weight of her sins every moment of everyday till she can bring her babies back.

(The party has yet to know about this bit of her backstory because that's dark shit they just know she never takes off her armor and keeps her helmet in a bag on her hip and that she smells like actual death. She explains the smell as a side-effect of breaking her oath.)

Currently, it's been about a week since this incident, and she just met the party because a god pulled them all into a fetch quest, so she has taken up the role of group leader as a major distraction to cope and mentally if she spends too much time thinking she goes to really dark places really quick.

I'll happily go more into if anyone is curious or until I decide to yap some more lol but the original sketches of her come from my dm!

And I made these follow ups to try and get a clearer image of her in my head!

And then when I got a bit more confident I used a reference to give her a bit more life!

And beyond that I drew up another little peice as a Propaganda bit that her old employer would have made constantly to basically hype up his new chief enforcer.

Reference included!

[fmp2emilycywinski]

Top 5 Romanian Folk Tales

I wanted to research a bunch of folktales because it relates quite a lot to fairytales and I just wanted to read through a few of them. This is also so I can gain a little bit of inspiration for storytelling and good messaging.

Youth Without Age And Life Without Death

I'm not sure what this story is about, I read it through a hundred times and I think I have a good summary of what the story is telling, however, I have no idea what the message is and most of what they are talking about.

The way people wrote back then was so metaphorical to the point it feels like you are deciphering a code. It's very annoying, this one was the most annoying when the others were more easy to understand what was going on.

This story is about a couple who couldn't have children, but by some miracle, a child was born. The King then promised him eternal youth. When the baby turned 15 he went on a quest with a magic house to find eternal youth. Along his journey and found eternal youth in a castle, hills, flowers, and three women. He fell in love with the youngest sister and started a family with her.

Sadly this is where it gets confusing so I'm sorry if I get some things wrong.

For some reason landed in a valley he wasn't supposed to go and when he arrived back to his family, he realized that it was all a fairy tale, all a dream. So he returned to his home of birth and turned to dust.

So I believe what happens was that the eternal youth area, stopped time in that specific area but everywhere else was rapidly ageing. So when he left and came back to his family and found out it didn't exist anymore so he decided to go home, but because he spent so long in the land of eternal youth, he rapidly started to age when he left.

Interesting, but I don't understand the message. I think the message was to not waste your life away searching for something that doesn't exist.

Emperor Aleodor

Emperor Aleodor was the son of a king, but one day he overstepped the king's boundaries and stepped onto the land of ‘Half-man-riding-on-the-worse-half-of-a-lame-rabbit’. The creature was furious and Emperor Aleodor apologized but the creature refused his apology, the only way he could redeem himself was by fetching Green Emperor’s daughter.

Emperor Aleodor travelled far and was so hungry, that he found a pig, a cow, and a horsefly to eat, yet he didn't kill them so the animals in return each promised to come to his rescue.

Eventually, he found Green Emperor’s majestic castle. He realized that he could have the princess but only if he passed a test.

Emperor Aleodor stayed true to his mission and hid three times using the scale, the feather, and the wing membrane, the animals gave him. Because the princess couldn't find him, he passed the test and took the princess with him. The princess liked him and gave the ‘Half-man-riding-on-the-worse-half-of-a-lame-rabbit’ the cold shoulder, which made the creature angry and vanished from the world, never to be seen again. And the two lived happily ever after.

I think this one was to teach you to follow the rules and you will be rewarded.

The Enchanted Pig

An Emporer left for war and told his 3 daughters not to step into the room in the back. The three daughters eventually did and found a book that read out each daughter's fate. Each daughter was wed to a sutor until it was time for the third sutor to marry the youngest daughter.

Unfortunately, he was a pig. He had his mud baths and acted like a pig, only at night he would remove his skin and become a man. But one day only Hag suggested tying a red string around his ankle at night. This was bad because the hag was the one who cursed him.

The princess travelled far and wide to search for her husband, until she found the forest he was hiding in and there they can continue their live together as humans.

Strange story, it reminds me a lot of Beauty and the Beast. Maybe this story inspired that story.

Like Salt in a Meal

This one is very simple.

And Emperor asked his three daughters how much they love him, and he was hurt by his youngest daughter's answer. She said that she practically loves him, like the salt in a meal.

She was then banished from the castle and found a castle that belonged to another emperor and took the job of a kitchen maid and was then known as a gifted cook. But when her father visits for a banquet, she decided to only cook for him, secretly.

All of the guests enjoyed their food but her father was the only one who had to eat his food made with sugar and honey instead of salt. The truth eventually came out and both asked for forgiveness, they both laughed and all was merry.

This is quite a funny tale, it's very sweet or should I say like salt in a meal. Hahahahahahah.....

The Old Man’s Clever Daughter

The good daughter wanted to fire in the fireplace to cook breakfast so she decided to work hard at the house of Saint Friday. She does her course well and when asked what she wanted as a reward, she asked for a small chest for storage. When it was given to her, it was filled with jewels and gold.

The stepsister sees this and becomes greedy, she rushes through the chores, and once she was asked what she wanted for her reward. She asked for the same thing, yet she did not get the jewels because of her greed.

This is a pretty simple story and message, basically telling you to not be greedy.

Conclusion:

These are all very good stories, some are quite complicated and some are very simple and have a good message. When reading “The Enchanted Pig” I realized it's very similar to Beauty and the Beast which also reminded me that my little red riding hood story is kind of similar to Beauty and the Beast.

My story has a girl who is quite a pretty girl which is why I think is another reason why the villagers call her a demon, not only because of her powers but also for her looks. It's all jealousy. But the shadow wolf character Valko is a huge intimidating wild animal that turns into a pretty handsome man.

It runs on a similar story, but I think this is a great thing and plays a lot into the fairy tale aspect of my story. Not only I got little red riding hood, but I also got Beauty and the Beast. Maybe I could get Cinderella in there.

Maybe when Rose escapes from Lord Vincent on her wedding day, she could leave behind her wedding shoe. Or some item of clothing.

I could get Snow White and Sleeping Beauty in there but I have no idea how to, especially The Little Mermaid fairy tale.

[bisquicklite]

I haven't talked about my wol much because I am painfully shy, but we've been working on that, and for Lady Ram I can babble incoherently and self-indulgently :3 (This is a lot longer than I expected it to be, but I did write it up at 3am when I couldn't sleep and I was having Thoughts about Her. I am so sorry.)

This is Osha Qhantari, named for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and because it is a lore friendly Keeper name, and I think that's hilarious. She is modeled after my own irl black cat (Scrambles the Death Dealer) but she has big Orange Cat energy. (Really just one brain cell doing it's best in there. But she's a sweetheart, so that accounts for something.)

(I do not have very much visual media for her, but I do have oodles of thoughts and plots)

Osha's best friend is a spriggan named Qiggy, whom she met in Coerthas while trying to find Cid's airship. (Insert handcrafted meet-cute for Osha and Haurchefant that involves saving Qiggy from a lesser dragon and irresponsible cave exploring practices that I still have to write.) They have been inseparable since.

Her mother may have taught her the healing arts but her grandfather taught her how to throw a mean right hook. Osha discovers during her training that you can take the girl out of Gridania, but you cannot make her forget how to cast stone and aero;  and so her fighting style inevitably evolved into something damnably similar to earth and air bending

She is totally in love with one Haurchefant Greystone. Osha determined this in a similar way to how stray cats pick a random passerby and decide that that's their person; going purely off vibes. (And really, can you blame her?) This girl is not highly educated but she does have great instincts. Haurchefant, in turn, is totally stoked by this.

(Our favorite knight also lives in her canon because Osha deserves nice things and I'm a big fan of Everyone Lives AUs)

I'd like to think their relationship develops rather hard and fast; Osha is a romantic, after all, and being raised to praise the Lover she believes that love is best when its acted upon. And how is Haurchefant (who I look at and see a man who is so very full of love, and is so ready to give it if given half the chance) meant to resist when he is being actively pursued by an adorable catgirl who gets into fist fights (and wins) with primals?

Especially cute moments that live in my head rent free between these two: First of all they spend the entire time flirting with each other in between saving spriggans, searching for Cid's lost airship, and saving Francel from heretical plots.

Then on the way out from Dragonhead, Haurchefant makes sure to see her off at the gate, and Osha gets to be all "Hey, I know Ishgardians are reserved about public displays of affection, but can I have a kiss? For luck?" Which I'd like to think would briefly compromise Haurch and make him a blushy mess before absolutely agreeing (He'd kiss her in front of an audience with the entire Holy See if given the chance, so he thinks nothing of it while so far removed in Dragonhead). So they kiss, while she is still on chocobo back, leaning over far enough to reach while he holds the bird's reins and goes on tiptoes. Its romantic. Its sweet. Osha rides off to Whitebrim to do more Hero Coded Fetch Quests, and Haurchefant does not get any more paperwork done for several days.

After that they exchange letters and gifts- Osha rationalizing that, after defeating Garuda and the mess with the newly unveiled Ultima Weapon, its really just polite of her to let someone in Ishgard know about that development. And if she opens the door to exchanging letters with a certain knight, well that's just a pleasant side effect.

And if they keep exchanging letters even when there isn't realm threatening news to pass on, well. Have you see the guy? He's absolutely lovely.

There is more but I am acutely aware of how long this is getting. Much love hope the rest of the week is better! :3 <3

I had a bit of a rough day today...

So if any of my followers want to reblog this and talk about their OCS, ships, share screenshots, etc. I would love to perceive them 💕

Posting about my OC ships below the cut so this doesn't get too long ❤️

You may already know of my OCs, Ramora (my duskwight WoL) and Ger (my Ishgardian OC, Haurchefant's most loyal knight)!

Ramora is pan, Ger is demi. They are both poly & multiship.

I have many pairings together with my RP partner @lynnslight, but our main ships are RamLynn & AyaGer. 🎨: @/rozelque

Lynn is a dragon from a different world who was called to Eorzea by Hydaelyn. In a good bit of our universes, she is a co-WoL with Ram! Though it is a Scooby-Doo revolving door type situation, where they haven't met until the start of Shadowbringers.

Aya is a Fae Fox, Cleric to the Goddess Inari, who can travel from world to world. In most of our universes, she worlds travels to Eorzea, to Coerthas in particular, and meets Ger. ❤️ Most often, this is post Heavensward.

I also ship Ger with my friend @lukeslikefire's nonbinary OC, Kaoru!

In this universe, Kaoru (they/them) is the WoL. We both love Haurchefant a whole lot, so ofc we had to make it an OT3 💕

Haurchefant seems to have a thing for short redheads 🤔

Screenshot created by Luke~ ❤️

[alicepooryorick]

i NEED to know about the Shiva Child Support WIP. please.

Ok well tumblr deleted my last attempt at posting a reply. Let's try again.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/61856011

This is actually a multi chapter fic im in the last three or four chapters of, basing off of the idea of given how Shiva hates Bruce and his whole "wanting Cass to be the perfect crime fighter" thing which, while there's other stuff going on there yes, I think Shiva wouldn't be the happiest as she does care in her own way, and something something forget if this is canon or Fanon, but the idea that Bruce reminds her of Cain. The TLDR is that she'd be REALLY happy Barbara is the one caring after Cass primarily, as she'd respect Barbara at least SLIGHTLY having been a Bird. Shiva would, therefore, BC I do think she cares about Cass in her own way, want Barbara looking after Cass. To the point where maybe an incentive would be involved. But Barbara famously just steals all the money she needs, therefore Shiva would have to offer something else, as it's Shiva... Maybe her skills as a general threat would do. So she offers Barbara some favours as "child support"

The general interpretation of Shiva I went with is as a really mentally unwell, good in her own way, but also kinda bugs Bunny type. She's mischievous, she does care a lot more than she would sometimes expect, but this is still fundamentally the woman that killed her humanity to achieve divinity as a coping mechanism.

Anyway it then went from crack fic to a real thing I was putting effort into after chapter 4 where Shiva talked through me directly and suddenly there was a fake dating subplot.

Anyway here's an excerpt

乁⁠༼⁠☯⁠‿⁠☯⁠✿⁠༽⁠ㄏ

A couple months had passed now since the last time Barbara had requested aid, Shiva had figured there was nothing to do rather thab she was free, and it seemed she had been correct. She'd been called again, this time as a very precise time. Barbara normally gave her a day's window to appear, but now, Barbara had it down to the minute in her message, and so here Shiva was, curious, as she knocked on the door.

The last few times, it was simple in-out quests for Barbara. Shiva had been more or less fetching things for Barbara that the Batgirls were to busy for. This time, it felt different.

Shiva was let inside, following the same route as usual, finding Barbara in the living room on her wheelchair. The woman's traditional wifebeater and cargo pants were replaced this time with more formal attire. Formal for Barbara at least, Shiva was sure she could dress nicer, but she'd yet to see proof.

"An occasion?"

"Hello again, Shiva."

"Hello Barbara. What is the meaning of this summoning?"

For once, the woman before her had no quick answer. She seemed... Embarrassed. Like she didn't want to say.

"Batman and Nightwing are coming over to have what I'm sure is to be a very... Mature conversation." The woman's mouth dripped with sarcasm that fronted the tells that Shiva saw that told her Barbara hated this.

"I can kill them"

"That's a horrible idea."

"It's on the table."

"We aren't killing Bruce or Dick"

"Fine but I'll make it clear I could. It's not like Gotham doesn't have our daughter."

"We do not want Cassandra becoming Bruce. I'm trying to give her a life beyond the bat, remember?"

"Like Steph?"

"Like her dance, Shiva."

This time, Shiva was quieted. Cassandra had taken to dancing? It made sense, fighting and dance were one and the same. But, to not know, Shiva wasn't sure what the feeling was. Like training weights on her shoulders that she could not remove.

"I... I didn't know."

"I know."

Shiva stood, silent, not letting this get to her, or at least not so much so as to reach her exterior. Of course Barbara would know more of Cass's life than she did. But all the same, there was something about not knowing. She'd never wanted this child, but she wanted to know more about her.

"Does Bruce know?"

"He funds her training."

The weights increased. Bruce knew, that damn man.

"What are you going to do, Shiva. Cassandra loves him. She stays here most of the time, but she's his too, emotionally at least."

"He adopted her too."

"Who do you take me for, Shiva. The world is digital. There's no proof I wasn't the one to adopt her."

"This is why you're her mother." Shiva smiled, as lo g as Bruce had little power, she was happy.

"Damn right."

It was at that point a knock sounded at the door. Barbara started, but Shiva stopped her, rathering to make the terms of conflict known.

"By the way, where's Charlie?" Shiva asked, walking to the door. The kid amused her, looking back at it. The kid was good but sloppy. If the kid wanted to be a superhero, perhaps Shiva should offer some training. She did enjoy that act.

Shiva got to the door and opened it, staring an unmarked Batman and Nightwing in the face, "Hello Bruce. Hello Dick."

Bruce tried to hide his suprise. Shiva was sure that it was a very impressive attempt to any other, but Bruce might as well have narrated his actions. 'The Batman was suprised' Shiva could all but see the subtitles say.

Dick, for his part, got angry. "What are you doing here, Shiva? This is a private conversation."

"Don't talk to me like that, Dick. It's not befitting of either of us."

"What are you doing here, Shiva. Where's Barbara?"

"She's waiting in the living room. I thought I'd get the door."

"For Barbara?"

"Believe it or not I can be nice to some people."

"You haven't answered the question."

"She asked me to be."

"This is private."

"You can take that up with her. You know even both of you can't make me leave. Dick, I saw that muscle twitch. I'll happily prove my point."

The boys glared at her, and Shiva smiled. This was more interesting so far than those fetch quests Barbara had sent her on the last few times. Maybe she'd even get a good fight out of this. Bruce nor Dick were particularly at any threat to Shiva alone, but two versus one would almost make it somewhat challenging, given their team work and unspoken communication.

"You still haven't answered the question Shiva. Why are you here?"

"I told you. Barbara asked me to be, so I came."

"What, so you just listen to Barbara now?"

"Sometimes." Shiva shrugged.

"Why?" Dick said, staring at her, the rage somewhat contained. Shiva figured he was angry before this, did Barbara really have to put up with this all the time? She'd been under the impression this was Mr. Sunshine. She sighed, she missed Charlie, at least she was a child when being this annoying. Frankly, Shiva was tiring of this. She wondered how much work it would be to simply have the Gotham chapter of her Order replace these two in patrolling. Let Barbara handle the information... Maybe that would be something to mention to Barbara. For now though, they were asking stupid questions.

"You try saying no to her. Oh wait, nevermind. You're the reason I'm here now." She responded, floating a bit of love and gloat in her voice, wondering if they'd interpret that as she wished. "Besides, it's always nice to come over and see the pretty lady." If that didn't drop the hint hard enough, she didn't know what would. Here was your stupid answer, Bruce and Dick: Barbara and Shiva were a thing.

Shiva heard a slap behind her; from the living room, skin on skin, hand against face it sounded like. Oh well.

Dick, for his part, stared at her. Where Barbara had well oiled cogs turning through her mind, Shiva wasn't sure what mechanical force to describe Dick thinking as. It was closer to as if he'd thrown that stupid baton he called a weapon- why he'd throw his only weapons was beyond her but she didn't train him, that was obvious - and was waiting for it to bounce around enough to hit the answer in the head. Or, maybe more accurately, an answer. Maybe this lie was to ridiculous.

"Barbara?! What the hell?!"

Nope.

[injuries-in-dust]

Two kingdoms have been at war for centuries over a single piece of land. A simple hill which housed a magical well. Its waters are said restore health and happiness to those that drink them.

The kings of both kingdoms are both getting old and sick. Both have vowed to never rest until the land is theirs. Both desire some of the waters of this fountain, so their health may be restored and they can continue their fight.

They order their respective children, the prince of east kingdom and the princess of the western kingdom, to secretly undertake the long journey to the front lines to sneak up the hill and retrieve some of the water. Secrecy is a must, lest their enemies move against them.

Alone and in disguise the prince and princess travel their lands. They see the poverty and sadness that the constant war has brought to their kingdom and their people. Their hearts grow cold and hard toward their enemies and the havoc they brought.

In the dark of the night they sneak past the front lines. All alone they climb their respective sides of the hill. Slowly, to not get spotted. Carefully so they dont stumble and fall in the dark.

By the breaking of the dawn they reach the top, and the prince and princess meet each other for the first time.

In their respective disguises, the prince sees this common girl, while the princess sees this common boy. Both declare their need greater, both speak about how their fathers are sick and need the healing power of the water.

As the day approaches they speak of many things as they try to make their case. They speak of their hate for their enemies and the damage the war has brought.

Yet the more they spoke, the more they came to realise many things. Their people are in poverty because of the high taxes their fathers enforced to fund their armies. The people are starving because all the food they grow is sent to feed the soldiers. Homes and villages are in disrepair because every able-bodied young man has been conscripted into the fight. Homes stand empty because family lines have ended on the front lines.

Both come to realise that their enemies are not to blame. The kings are to blame. Their selfish desire to possess and hoard the waters of the well.

How many have died to try and take this land? And if they did take it, how many will die trying to hold it from their enemies?

And would the people, who suffered so much in the name of their king, ever sample any of the sweet waters and see any health and happiness from the magic of the well?

Both conclude that, no, they wouldn't.

And both knew that, as long as the selfish kings were in power, neither kingdom would ever know peace.

Prince Jack of the eastern kingdom turned his back on his father's quest and left the common girl to the water. He would take up a new quest. For the good of his kingdom and all of it's people. The prince would lead the revolution and remove his own father from power.

Princess Jillian of the Western kingdom left the common boy behind to return to her lands, call all of the loyal banners and people to her side that she could. She would not rest until she managed to remove her father from the throne.

Jack and Jill went up the hill to fetch a pail of water.

Jack fell down and broke his crown.

And Jill came tumbling after.

[oodlyenough]

I'm curious as to what you liked less about Tess' portrayal, since you mentioned it in your TLOU show reblog! I thought the actress was good, but wasn't a fan of how the show softened her way up and seemingly made her romantic feelings for Joel her primary motivator. I kind of get the sense the show wasn't willing to commit to her and Joel actually being very shitty people lol, which is why we got the concerned-for-Tommy plotline and most of the Robert stuff was cut.

Yeah, you pretty much nailed it. I think the role they wrote for Show Tess was much more um... archetypal Woman than her game source, which grated on me, and then culminated in the rework of her death scene + the infected kiss which I simply do not think is a scene they would've put a man in 🤷🏼‍♀️. I understand needing to change some things -- I don't care that she died fighting infected rather than FEDRA for eg -- and I can even accept that we get to see Tess alone and scared whereas game Tess's actual death is off screen...

But "I never asked you to love me 🥺" VS "there's enough here that you must feel some sort of obligation to me" -- vastly prefer the latter. And I prefer the idea the game gives you, that Tess and Joel have this ambiguous relationship where they're attached but probably neither has ever said it, to "Tess has pined for the emotionally unavailable man for 20 years".

The rest kinda has spoilers for the games/rest of s1 so I'll use a cut:

"The show wasn't willing to commit to her and Joel actually being very shitty people": yeah this is really the crux of it. The Robert fetch quest was a tutorial for gunplay, so like, in that sense I don't mind it being cut. But changing Joel and Tess's initial motivation from "all our guns that we're illegally smuggling bc we're illegal arms dealers" to "Joel needs a car battery to go save his beloved baby brother and Tess just wants to do whatever Joel is doing" is a significant change that makes Tess' later line about being shitty people ring totally hollow. Game Joel used to be a raider ffs and had a falling out with Tommy over how awful he was being lol. Show Joel smuggles barbed wire to his gay friends to reinforce their lil paradise.

The shittiest things we've seen Joel do are 1. the shitty job the military forces people to do (burn that corpse), 2. sell drugs (? who cares....), 3. kill someone who was about to kill him and Ellie (self defense? who cares). And Tess doesn't even do any of that! In game people in the QZ defer to Tess rather than Joel, Tess kills the two guys who jumped her (rather than convenient Firefly bomb), Tess point blank shoots some people who are making her impatient lol. I get lowering the general amount of action to make it more realistic for TV, but as you said I felt they removed most of Tess' edge to make her more of a guilty sticking point for Joel.

I mentioned in the post about Ellie that I think they're changing Joel too, but this is what I mean. If your starting point for Joel and Ellie has Joel who is still basically a good guy and Ellie the adorable kitten who dreams of nothing but murder all day, their general growth trajectory is already off, and I think you're taking some wind out of your sails for stuff like David (Ellie is traumatized and horrified by what she had to do) and also the ending... Would show Ellie even give a shit that Joel killed the Fireflies? It seems like she'd just find it flattering. So then where does s2 go?

Next week is the start of the raider storyline, so I suppose we'll see for sure if they're giving Joel any actual skeletons in his closet or if he's just grumpy and sad lol.