#turning in quests; answered meme

[adventurersdelight]

does your muse believe it's justified to hurt one person to protect another?

how often does your muse find themselves disagreeing with established rules?

what does your muse think of the saying, "treat others as you want to be treated"?

(Sam)

Questioning Their Morals

"As a soldier and a knight, it comes with the territory. I would much rather not harm anyone, but I understand that sometimes you have to take action in order to stop a worse outcome."

"Only every now and again. For the most part, rules are in place to protect us from ourselves and others. However, there are times that rules are made in bad faith. In those cases, I don't think they need to be followed. Instead, it needs to be addressed, rewritten or removed."

"It's a good rule of thumb that I think more people would benefit from following. Hospitality begets hospitality, warmth creates warmth. If we could afford to be a little kinder to each other, then I probably wouldn't be in business as a protector of the people."

[taylorman2274]

We Care About You (Part V)

You are forcibly summoned to Teyvat via dream trawling for answers. A long awaited discussion ensues...

Content Warning(s): Xiao Story Quest Spoilers

Notes: SAGAU; GN!Reader;

Word Count: 1.4k

Previous || Next

Taglist: @silverstarred; @victoria1676; @angelofdarkness2; @areaderspov; @andromeda-gay; @ash1; @mercy-not-merci; @toodledoodl3; @jellyedkazoo; @namine123; @innuwu; @agaygothicmushroom; @tired-of-life-86; @fantasyhopperhea; @sweetsourbxtch;

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After you had decided you were no longer going to play Genshin Impact, you felt as if a massive weight was lifted off your shoulders. Had the past few weeks really taken that much out of you?

"I suppose it did," you assumed as you were playing another game with your friend group. "I haven't felt this relieved in a long while."

You and your friend group spent many hours talking, laughing, raging, and sharing memes. When you noticed it was just past midnight, you felt that it was the best time to get some sleep. You bid goodbye to your friends, closed your computer, and went to take a quick shower.

While in the shower, thoughts began to ruminate in your head. "It's gonna be hard for me to find another game that will get me addicted as much as Genshin did. But maybe something in my backlog might work for now."

The thoughts continued after the shower, after brushing your teeth, and after getting in bed. "I almost forget what game I was playing before I started Genshin. Was it something I finished? If not, maybe I should go back to that."

Before long, you fell asleep. However, unbeknownst to you, your computer mysteriously turned itself back on and began to launch a certain application...

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"Do I need to remind you again how to perform Dream Trawler?" Xiao asked.

"Nuh-uh," Paimon shook her head, setting down a Seven-Star Lamp. "Paimon has a great memory! First, we offer incense with respect for Rex Lapis. Next, we meditate and think of our target. Then, we shout 'Bring Forth Sin'!

"It's 'Devayaksha, Bring Forth Sin'," the Traveler corrected as they were adjusting the position of the censer.

"Right!” Paimon nodded, setting down another Seven-Star Lamp. “Lastly, we let loose a couple of arrows towards the two yaksha statues to... to uh... uhhh...".

"Tsk. Fools."

This conversation was taking place while the Traveler and Paimon were setting everything up for the Dream Trawler ritual. However, instead of going back to the two yaksha statues on the southern face of Mt. Tianheng, Zhongli suggested they perform the ritual at Luhua Pool.

"If my guess is correct, [Y/N] will most likely panic upon realizing where they are. If that's the case, it would be better for them if they weren't so close to the harbor. It's best if we do not attract any attention."

Both the Traveler and Paimon agreed. Neither of them wanted [Y/N] to be afraid. They only wanted to give them the warmest of welcomes.

"Are you two done yet?" Xiao asked, annoyed at how long it was taking to get everything set up.

The Traveler and Paimon walked up to Xiao. "Yep! Everything's set up just like last time."

Xiao nodded. "Good. Get ready to initiate the ritual."

The Traveler and Paimon nodded in return. They put the incense inside of the censer and began to meditate.

"Since we are dealing with someone from another world, I would imagine that a great deal of focus should be needed to summon [Y/N]. This is especially true since we have no idea what they look like. I'm sure Xiao warned you of the consequences this could cause should you not take this seriously.

Zhongli's words echoed in your mind as you put all of your focus towards [Y/N].

"Hmm..."

[Y/N], who has been with them since the beginning.

"Ohh..."

[Y/N], who has done their best to guide them along their journey.

"Ahh... Hmm..."

[Y/N]. [Y/N]. [Y/N]. [Y/N]. [Y/N].

"Devayaksha, Bring Forth Sin!"

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

...

... ...

... … …

It's cold.

You shifted in your sleep and immediately felt the lack of bedsheets surrounding your body.

Instead, you felt... rock? Sand?

Slowly opening your eyes, you were met with the cloudy midnight sky, trees with orangish-red leaves, and tall, rocky mountain peaks.

"...Wait. ...Why am I outdoors?"

Your eyes slowly began to adjust to the moonlight.

"...And why does this look so familiar?"

You brought your hand to the ground to begin pushing yourself up, but stopped moving once you noticed the light blue glow surrounding it.

"What the hell?!"

Shocking the exhaustion from your body, you quickly rose up from the floor, nearly losing balance as you stood due to how light you suddenly felt. You looked around the rest of your body and found that you were completely surrounded by the light blue glow.

"This has to be a dream... This has to be..."

"My job is done. I'm leaving now."

Startled, you quickly turned around to find three familiar persons standing a couple of yards away from you.

"Huh? Why don't you wanna stay?" A floating pixie asked.

"...Paimon?"

A short, tattooed man with azure hair scoffed in response. "I don't deal with mortals."

"...Xiao?"

You let out a crazed chuckle. "I've got to be dreaming."

Paimon, oblivious to your decreasing sanity, shook her head. "Nope! We summoned you here via dream trawling. Isn't that great?!"

You were silent for a few seconds before you responded. "Dream... trawling...?"

Sensing that you were still confused, Xiao sighed in annoyance. "You are [Y/N], right?"

Hearing the sound of your name shook some sense into you, but you still involuntarily nodded.

"Good. When you're ready to send them back, speak my name." Xiao told the Traveler before disappearing.

However, seeing Xiao disappear right in front of your eyes shook you even further. "Woah...! That looked way too realistic."

The Traveler let out a small cough to grab your attention. "If you wouldn't mind, [Y/N]. We summoned you here because we've been wanting to talk to you for some time now. Please, grab a seat."

They gestured toward a stone table that was definitely not there the last time you visited. They then sat down on the stone seat facing you. When they looked up, they realized that you hadn't even moved as much as an inch. Additionally, you stared straight at them, yet still appeared lost in thought. Sensing that you may still be bewildered about your current situation, they spoke up.

"You don't need to worry about anything, [Y/N]. There is nothing around here that will hurt you," they gestured to the seat again. "Please."

Had they been unable to see your chest moving in and out, both Paimon and the Traveler would have thought you to be a statue.

"This is a dream. This is real. This is a dream. This is real. This is a dream. This is real..."

Paimon shared a worryingly glance at the Traveler before floating on over to you. You were too oblivious to your surroundings to notice her approaching, but when she finally reached out a hand to tap your shoulder, you flinched back. Hard.

"Wahh! Sorry! Paimon's sorry!" Paimon quickly apologized.

Meanwhile, your brain was working in overdrive to assess the situation. "I felt her! I felt her! I'm not dreaming! I'm not dreaming! This is real! This is real! THIS IS REAL!"

"Paimon get back," the Traveler commanded, standing up from their seat. "They're in shock."

"In shock!? What do we do about that?" Paimon questioned.

The Traveler didn't respond, instead, they slowly began to walk towards you.

Becoming more aware of your surroundings, you noticed the Traveler approaching and slowly began to back up, raising your arms in front of your body. "No no no no. Don't come any closer."

However, the Traveler continued to walk forward one step at a time. They raised their hands up in the air. "It's okay, [Y/N]. It's okay."

You shook your head. "No, it's not okay," you rapidly spoke, breathing loudly. "I'm not supposed to be here."

"Yes, you are. We summoned you here."

You backed up into a broken stone pillar. "Why?" you asked, looking behind you for a quick second. "What did I do?"

They stopped in place before a sorrowful gaze appeared on the Traveler's face. "You’ve done nothing wrong."

Silence hung in the air for an agonizingly long time. Finally, you spoke:

"...Nothing?"

The Traveler nodded. "That’s right. We just want to talk."

You slowly lowered your arms. "About... what?"

Both the Traveler and Paimon smiled. "About our future journey together."

Confusion set upon you once again. "What? But I… I said I was done."

The Traveler sadly shook their head. "We know, but we can't let you leave. Not after all you have done for us."

Paimon chirped in. "Exactly! You're our friend after all!"

Your breathing stopped upon hearing Paimon. After all that effort you put into making amends with them. After believing that it was all for naught.

"You... you see me... as a friend?"

The Traveler nodded, their smile growing bigger. "We do."

Silence fell upon the three of you once again. This time, it was the Traveler who broke it.

"I think it's time we all grab a seat. Shall we?"

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Author's Notes: I was originally going to make this longer, but I once again struggled at trying to write this scene out. It's hard trying to figure out how people should believably react to this scenario.

Because it's never happened before, duh.

Anyways, the next part will be the end of this series. Stick around for the ending!

[got-into-worm-by-mistake]

Okay, I've Read Worm: A Retrospective Part 1: How The Fuck Did I Get Here?

I don't know exactly what I'm going to be doing with all these posts, but at a minimum, we will be having the following, not necessarily in this order:

A discussion of some of the parts of Worm I liked most. Some genuine and well-earned praise for Wildbow.

An analysis of Amy Dallon as she exists in Worm, though more for unpacking my own thoughts in one place rather than some deep literary stuff.

A discussion of things I was genuinely surprised by in the Text itself versus the stuff I picked up via fandom osmosis and fanfic. Expectation vs reality and stuff.

A discussion of just who the fuck the target audience of Worm actually probably maybe was, and what the fuck I just read.

And a detailed (for my own unpacking of thoughts than to convince anyone of anything) discussion of why I'm not going to read Ward. Nothing new there, but still, it'll be nice to put it all one one place.

But first, let's take a step back and answer one very important question: How in the bloody fuck did I end up here? How the fuck did reading Worm even happen? Because as I've said before, superhero media isn't my thing, I'm definitely not the target audience for Worm, and while I enjoyed it, only liking it 60% is a barely passing grade, as it were.

So how the blue hell did I end up here?

I don't know exactly when I first became aware of Worm. What I do know is that I was loosely aware of it by 2019, because I was active on SpaceBattles, and of course, Worm is all over there. I'd see the name, and I knew it referred to a work of fiction, but that's about all I knew. It might have been before 2019 that I first heard the name, it might not have. I say by 2019, because I know that sometime in 2019, I was in a discord server associated with one of the many spinoff sites to Spacebattles (I believe it was Frozen in Carbonite, which was honestly a pretty noxious website but I didn't know that going in) and I made a post using this meme:

And I got an answer that was something to the effect of 'It's an edgy villain protagonist superhero story'. And so I shrugged, and I moved on. Not my speed. Superheroes aren't my thing, not really, not in of themselves. I first got into AoS watching it with my then GF back in... 2015? And then I got into shipping Skyeward in it. Then I watched Arrow because some of the people I followed from Skyeward were into it and again, pretty much stayed for the shipping and certain characters. Flash and Legends of Tomorrow and Supergirl were entered into as branching off from Arrow.

And yes I've watched a good chunk of the MCU, but mostly because why not watch a movie and there's a handful of characters I liked. But I've never read a single superhero comic book, as far as I can recall, and I've never really been super into any superhero cartoons, just watched them if they happened to be on Cartoon Network when I was a kid.

At some point between then and this year, I found a Worm CYOA on r/nsfwcyoa, and despite never having read it, gave it a look, played around with it, and picked up random errant facts about the story and characters therein. I would revisit this CYOA and similar ones as they got updates, and along the way got my first exposure to the whole 'fanon' problem of the Worm fandom, when one of the options in one of the CYOAs was to make certain popular fanon true for the version of Earth-Bet 'your character' appeared in for the CYOA. Things like making Woobie Amy true, or turning Vicky into the Collateral Damage Barbie she's cast as by some people, et cetera.

And then, at some point probably late last year or early this year, I think, I was on Questionable Questing (the pervert uncle of Spacebattles, as it were) and I saw a fic get posted that was Worm - so, prepared to ignore it - and then I saw it was also tagged with several of my kinks. And I've read smutfics that aren't for one of my fandoms if I really like the kinks and it's just a smutfic, so I gave it a show. How much do you need to know about the source canon for a smutfic, eh?

I don't remember much about that fic, or even which of my kinks in particular it had, but I would read a few other such stories here and there until sometime in... probably May or so, maybe late April, when I made an errant post on QQ in a thread discussing stories you considered but never actually read, that I had considered Worm (because by then I had, ish, after some of the various go-arounds with the CYOA and picking up bits of osmosis here and there) but that the whole thing sounded too bleak and grimdark and depressing.

This spawned a conversation about Worm, and if it was really grimdark (one person I think went so far as to say it wasn't even depressing or bleak, and oh to live in that person's world) and if it was really a deconstruction or a love letter to superhero media or a takedown of superhero media or w/e. And at some point, someone made a comment about Wildbow having disdain for his fans, or something like that.

And I was like 'I feel like there's a story there'. And yes there was. One of the things that came up were the so-called 'retcons' of Ward re: Amy (whether or not they are actually retcons is beyond the point of this post, please don't discuss it here). And here's the thing, my thought then was: I've been there.

I've been there when characters have been set on, or are seemingly being set up for, some kind of redemption arc, and then some new installment pulls the rug out from under the character in a way that feels very, very deliberately aimed at fans of the character. Grant Ward is the most notable case of this for me. 2015 and 2016 me had quite a few things to say about that. 2024 me lacks the energy or desire to go into detail.

It's not fun, either way. So I sympathized. And I figured that probably meant Amy Dallon would be my sort of character. But I didn't want to read Worm - it sounded depressing, it was 1.6 million words, Taylor didn't sound super appealing and I knew she was the main POV, and superheroes aren't my thing.

But it wouldn't leave my head. So I started poking around on places like r/parahumans (a den of bad takes and noxious fans if there ever was one) and r/WormFanfic and the Parahumans wiki and looked through a few threads on SB and started trawling the Amy Dallon tag here on Tumblr and developed some thoughts.

Amy Dallon, and the injustice of what happened to her in Ward had crawled inside my head and it wasn't going anywhere. I ranted to my friends about all the shit I'd learned and was like 'I HAVEN'T EVEN READ THIS WORK AND I DON'T EVEN KNOW IF I WANT TO AND IT JUST WON'T LEAVE MY BRAIN!'. I remember seeing a post saying something about how someone who had read worm couldn't relate to people who hadn't and weren't constantly thinking about Amy and I reblogged it saying 'I haven't even read Worm and I'm constantly thinking about Amy' and I think the OP of the post reblogged my reblog and called me a whole new kind of person or something. I don't remember and don't care to go digging.

The things that held me back the most continued to be the sheer length of Worm, a fear that Taylor would be insufferable and the fact that it still sounded godforsakenly depressing. (2 out of 3 ain't bad, as Meatloaf Says). So eventually I decided to go poking around and read some fic to get the idea if I'd actually read it. I don't remember all the ones I read in this period, but they included: I, Panacea, Desperate Times Call For Desperate Pleasures, Queen of Blood and More Than Meets The Eye. It was around this time I also started getting multiple Worm Fic Ideas, which was... fun. Because you know, it's one thing to read fanfic without knowing the source canon, but I've always loathed in previous fandoms when people say they're writing a fic for a canon they've only read fic from (and was always an immediate X-out for me) and I have too much dignity self-respect as a writer to do that myself.

Now, fic ideas don't mean I have to write them. I have ASOIAF and TVD fic Ideas I'm never going to write, and my notebooks across the ages are littered with fic Ideas I had and then put aside and never wrote. Some still haunt my dreams like Edgar Allen Poe's Telltale Heart. But still.

Eventually, after someone made a comment to me to the effect of 'with all due respect, if you haven't read Worm, shut up about it' I decided to at least make an effort to read it. Spite was my original intent - I wanted to see if my opinion about Amy's storyline in Worm specifically would remain the same (and it broadly has) and if so, I would feel satisfied I'd been right.

(For the record, It did remain the same (pretty much, more on this in a future post) and I do feel satisfied that I was right.)

And so, on June 16th, half on a whim and half because I knew I'd have things to say and I wanted to section them off my main blog, I made this blog and began reading Gestation 1.1. I gave it even odds in my head I'd give up before I was more than a few arcs in.

Wasn't even tempted until Arcs 12 and 13. Then was tempted again in the absolute nadir of the work, 17-19. And then again during the Behemoth fight. Once I got past that, I was never temped.

So that's I got here. Existing adjacent to Worm for years, some osmosis, an ill-timed comment, some snarky responses and a character that burrows into my brain by hitting all of my buttons.

[britt-kageryuu]

Donnie is showing off some of the features that Genius Built AR glasses have, to his stream audience. With the help of their camera that can capture the AR field around them. And anything that happens in that AR field.

"The tech team had quite a bit of fun getting some VR games to translate over to AR, like that Clothes making game I made. That was probably one of the easier ones to transfer over, though for whatever reason the cloth/fabric physics kept breaking, and warping the entire outfit." Donnie while explaining this has a dressform pop into existence with a partially put together pattern 'pinned' to it.

"Though we all agree once of the greatest aesthetic features we implemented was, that from the wearers point of view there can be a videogame style HUD that is customizable. Like if you're looking for a location and bring up directions, it will show visibly like a quest marker, and optional sparkling path that you can follow." Donnie makes a purple sparkly path appear around themself that lead offscreen.

Then a pop up window appears with a message. [From Angelo: I for some reason became hyperfocused and organized the spices, drinks, and the alcohol at work. It turned out looking Oddly Satisfying. Here are the pictures! (Pictures of said organized areas, all nice and neat)]

Donnie looks at the message then realized it's visible to the stream. "Well as you can see, there is an option to have your text messages appear as a pop up. I forgot to change that setting before starting. Sigh. Reply: Those look very nice, but aren't you at work? Is it really that slow today? Send." The message they sent also shows up as a chat box, and quickly closes as Donnie opens the settings to turn off the pop up effect. Purposefully ignoring anyone in the chat asking who 'Angelo' is.

"Now, as previously stated, many personalization features are available for these GB AR Glasses. Including a portable memory bank with a solar charging battery pack, for those who want to get into the gaming." A 3D model of a bipedal purple dragon in black pants and a magenta hoodie, wearing visor style AR glasses, pops up. Apparently playing an AR pokemon style game.

"And there's a bundle in the works for vlogging or filmmaking using the AR Glasses." A 3D model of April with Mayhems ears and tail pops up wearing the AR Glasses with a drone style camera robot, recording her talking about something with pop up note floating around her. There is a 'Just a Concept' sigh next to it.

Donnie then banished them from the area before continuing. "There's still alot of things that need to be worked out before we get the first models out in stores. So please be patient. We don't want you spending a ton of money on these, only for them to not work after a short amount of time. We also want to finish up plenty of stress tests on the system and the hardware. Now please hold on minute, I need to check for any pranks that might have been rigged."

The stream audience watched as he found and still somehow triggered a prank that made a certain meme music video pop up and play. And Donnie couldn't get it to close, so the song looped 3 times before they finally found how to get it to stop.

"I will either be threatening to fire someone, or threatening fratricide, but that is for later! There are still a few more new features I want to show off in this stream!"

There are some in the chat that are still questioning about 'Angelo', but the end up getting timed out by Shelldon who only pops in to do this. And answers no questions asked.

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

Masterpost

[vikintor]

For the companion!Tav ask meme! General 2 and 7. Story specific 11, 14. Romance 1 and if yes 2 (that one is important alright).

Answering the Tav ask meme from here: https://www.tumblr.com/paarthursass/728465634107785216?source=share

CONTAIN GAME ENDING SPOILERS

General

2.Do the other companions have special comments or reactions upon recruiting your Tav?

Lae'zel: "You made a wise choice. Even a rusty Githyanki still exceptional in battle."

Karlach: "The more the better, as people say."

Gale: "I guess Jez'rathki has a lot to share."

Will: "We smile at each other, Jez and I, means she's friendly, right? Not even a tough Githyanki can resist the blade's charm."

Astarion: "Jez is kind of fun, for a Githyanki of course."

7. Do they have their own personal quest that spans the course of the game?  Can it take different branching paths depending on the choices the Player Character makes?

Jez'rathki considers her mission almost complete when hiding at the Mountain Pass (with stolen documents from Yll'ek). Her story branch is limited, as she doesn't care much for PC moral alignment.

On one of a few branching paths, Jez becomes hostile if PC joins the emperor. Not much because of the prince alone, but because having his death on her hands will ruin her chances of joining any rebel Githyanki group, making discovering the truth about the events that turned her into a traitor impossible (She was framed). Fighting against her is easy, as she refrains from using any powerful spell while keeping focus on party members with high HP, she didn't fight for a win on her last battle.

Jez can be found in the epilogue (If she's on the PC side), explaining her involvement with the Sha'sau Khou and clarifying why she was framed for the loss of her previous team.

Story Specific

11. What do they say if the PC tries to force them to go up on stage with Dribbles the Clown?

Jez accepts, believing the PC is challenging her.

14.How does Tav react to the PC becoming a mind flayer?  Can they offer to become one themselves?  Does their reaction change if they’re romanced? 

She won't offer herself but will call the PC a hero if they do it to save her prince.

If she is the PC's romantic partner she will be devastated, but will not oppose the idea.

Romance

1. Is your Tav a romanceable character?  Are there any specific requirements to romancing them?

Yes. There's no requirement besides approval level and not taking part in events that lead her to abandon the party.

2. Does your Tav need to be flirted with to start the romance, or will they approach the PC themselves if approval is high enough?

The PC needs to flirt Jez (can try it anytime), with different reactions based PC race:

Neutral approval (non-githyanki PC except Gnomes) or low-aproval on any race

Neutral approval (githyanki PC).

Neutral approval (Gnome PC).

I answered some more on:

[godsunderfoot]

DOC'S HOMEBREW ALPHABET HC MEME

send a letter of the alphabet in my asks and i'll answer the questions in that category for my muse(s) !!

ACHE [pain hcs.]

how is their pain tolerance?  are they in any pain right now?  how are they likely to act when they hurt, physically or emotionally?  how would they react if they stubbed their toe? 

BLOOD [violence hcs.]

how are they in a fight?  the weapon they would use, and why?  what would they do if they found a dead body?  what weapon would be best against them?

CLEAN [hygiene hcs.]

do they pick up after themselves?  how often do they vacuum their space? how are their organization skills? are they willing to eat or drink after other people?

DRIVE [commuting hcs.]

what car do/would they drive?  do they obey traffic laws?  what mode of transportation would they choose otherwise?  do they have road rage?

ELEMENT [astrology and symbolism hcs.]

what is their horoscope and/or their Chinese zodiac?  do they believe in it?  which element best represents them? what's their opinion about predestined compatibility?

FEAR [fear hcs.]

do they have any significant fears or phobias?  how are they likely to act when they're afraid?  are they a thrill-seeker?  how long would they survive in a horror movie?

GANJA [drug hcs.]

do they do any drugs, illegal or otherwise?  have they ever tried any?  how would they handle a bad trip?  would they be a successful drug dealer?

HAND [hand and touch hcs.]

do they have soft or rough hands?  what are their hands doing most of the time? which is their dominant hand?  do they paint their nails?

ISLAND [the Island Question hcs.]

which book would they take with them?  which movie?  if they could take three items for survival, what would they take? if they could take one person with them (living or dead), who would it be?

JUNK [personal items hcs.]

do they collect anything?  are there any objects which hold emotional significance for them?  if they were a dragon, what would they hoarde? what do they usually have in their pockets or purse?

KEYBOARD [technology hcs.]

are they technologically savvy?  do they try to keep up with current phones or game systems?  what does their cell phone look like?   what’s the most recent photo on their roll?

LOVE [relationship hcs.]

how would they dress on a date?  what is their love language?  how do they show affection, or if they don't, why not?  have they ever had a serious relationship?

MILE [travel hcs.] 

where do they go on vacation, and/or where would they like to go? what would they like to do on vacation?  have they ever been to another country?  what are some things they'd never leave home without?

NOSE [scent hcs.]

what do they smell like?  what are their favorite scents?   do they wear perfume or cologne?  if their essence were in a candle, what would it smell like?

OPERA [music hcs.]

what kind of music do they like, or if they don't, why not?  which songs remind you of them?  can they sing?  do they enjoy dancing?

PET [animal hcs.]

do they have any pets, or would they like one?  what's their favorite animal?  if they were an animal, what would they be?  what kind of dog would be best suited for them?

QUEST [entertainment hcs.]

do they like board games or video games?  how do they handle winning and/or losing? do they enjoy jigsaw puzzles?  are they competitive?

RANDOM [dealer’s choice hcs.]

anything about your character you want the world to know!

SEX [sexual hcs.]

are they a top, bottom, or other?  any kinks or fantasies?   if they could sleep with (or go on a date with) a celebrity, who would they choose?  what are their turn-offs?

TEETH [food hcs.]

what's their favorite and/or least favorite food?  do they have any allergies?  if they were on death row, what would their last meal be?  can they cook or bake?

UMBRELLA [weather and season hcs.]

how do they feel about storms?  which is their favorite season?  do they prefer hot or cold weather? do they celebrate holidays?

VANITY [appearance hcs.]

do they take pride in their appearance?  how do they dress normally, and how does it differ when they’re going somewhere nice?  post a photo or gif of them/their FC that you love but never get to use do they have any piercings or tattoos?  

WORK [job or labor hcs.]

what is their work ethic like?  what would they like to do as a career?  what are their least favorite chores?  if they were in a medieval setting rp, what would their job be?

XRAY [medical hcs.]

how do they handle doctor visits?  what's the worst injury they've gotten?  have they ever been to the ER?  do they have any medical issues or conditions?

YMCA [physical fitness hcs.]

on a scale of 'waif' to 'swole', how muscular are they? do they go to a gym?  do they enjoy sports? if their physical strength meant the difference between life and death, how would they fare?

ZZZ [sleep hcs.]

what does their bedroom look like? do they make their bed every morning?  what are their frequent dreams or nightmares?  what is their bedtime ritual?

[theropoda]

fir the ask meme, 'What is the worst thing your OC does in their story? '

for whoever strikes your fancy :3

i'm gonna do all three of them LOL. honestly i cant think of an answer because the three of them, they're all rather nice people. not perfect by any standards but i cannot think of a satisfying answer. but i'll try...

the worst thing akhiza does in her story is, i think, getting lost in her head with her position as the dragonborn. growing very prideful of herself and her abilities to the point she kind of refuses help from people and puts herself in incredibly dangerous situations because she thinks as the dragonborn she should be able to handle all sorts of horrible difficult things herself. constantly risking her life and putting it on the line. i'm sure it would probably end up putting others in danger too

the worst thing farrenicar has done is fatally poison his dad but he was thalmor so what was lost really :/ its nbd (it makes his mom horribly upset though)

the worse thing imetethys has done, again i cant really think of one but that might change when i finish the mq e_e i finished the morrowind main quest years ago, but that was back when imetethys was a kinda very different character so my recent playthrough is to like jog my memory of both the game and him, kind of re-writing his character in a sense! so this answer might change. however while his story "canonically" ends with him fulfilling the nerevarine prophecy, killing dagoth ur and all, i do have an AU where he, due to a mix of factors, submits to dagoth ur instead so i guess in that AU that would be the worst thing he does.

i do have a fourth tes oc i've been slowly chipping away at. he doesn't have a name yet and he's in the very early stages of like character development i guess? but i should mention him here anyways cause i kinda made him because i realized ive never really had a more morally corrupt character, they're all too nice, and even when i tried they ended up turning out nice (farrenicar was originally conceived as thalmor: look how that turned out LOL) he's a half-daedra half-altmer guy and the worst thing he's done is probably like, everything. kills and eats people for fun.

[flutteringfable]

saw a meme on a stolen meme acc on the youtube community tab and got inspired so

here’s some games i love but described as badly as possible. answers will be in the tags, so don’t hit see all if you’d like to guess for yourself :3

mute test subject runs around with a murderous ai trapped in a potato battery on their gun. they’re trying to stop a different murderous ai from killing them

purple rabbit eldritch horror might actually be the good guy? also there’s hands

main character gets severely distracted from their main quest because major events keep happening every time they enter a new country and they somehow end up involved every single time

cute vegetable goes on a totally normal adventure until he discovers the dark secret behind his species and town. refuses to pay his taxes

pokemon but make it actually a family curse unfiction type thing where the dev dumped all his trauma and family secrets into it. (<- yes this one got turned into an actual game u can play!)

everything is so overpriced but god the outfits are pretty

[dandelion-wings]

oho are you asking for rarest rarepairs? because i like my rare pairs raw (and apparently full of brats)

from vague canon evidence if you break your neck in the right way to whomst'd've the fuck and why, I got:

Venti/Hu Tao

Furina(post archon quest)/Hu Tao

Rana/Jeht (though i think you've already talked about this one?)

Focalors/Venti

Focalors/Guizhong

Sorry to respond to this over a month later--all my spoons fell in the insinkerator about the time this ask came in, and I put it aside for when I had more energy and, uh, forgot about it. >>;; But I was delighted to find it again today!

Venti/Hu Tao

We all agree that Hu Tao 100% clocked Venti in last year's Lantern Rite event, right? And she's pulling the same "I'm going to pretend I don't know but I totally know" she does with Zhongli, right? Except Venti thinks it's fucking hilarious, and the "I know you know I know you know I know" we don't see during Waterborne Poetry was a fantastic game for them both.

And since we have Waterborne Poetry as an event, it would be fun to build it off that! It might take some massaging of specific timeline details because they just? sort of dropped several characters and the actual event? at the end, but I'm gonna be honest I didn't love the last few beats of that event anyway. It felt like it kind of puttered out disappointingly after a lot of initial promise, so I wouldn't mind the opportunity to rewrite some of that. Anyway, this would be a "behind the scenes" where Hu Tao and Venti continue to coordinate the actual event in the background while everyone else is doing the quests, being playful and teasing and occasionally deep and profound with each other (because they both do that exact vibe well), with a slow-burn growing interest that sort of kicks into higher gear when the rest of the group comes back and recounts the Finch/Callirhoe moment. Because, like, Hu Tao's not normal but she sure is mortal, and Venti knows how to enjoy fleeting pleasures and she is definitely not missing her shot, so- yeah. They go for it. XD

Furina/Hu Tao

Once again leveraging an event, I'd hang that off of their appearances in Chenyu Village in the latest Lantern Rite. Hu Tao (who thought Furina was both cute and fun to fluster in their first meeting there) ends up going to Fontaine to help with the spooky movie props mentioned in that conversation. She is essentially vacationing under the pretense of a "business trip," though she is indeed interested in Furina's play/movie and has a lot of suggestions to make, both helpful and otherwise; since she is stealing the chance at a vacation, though, she also makes Furina take her around to see the sights "as a token of our business partnership!" So they have some cute moments at all the good tourist spots, some cute interludes having tea together, and at least one deep and thoughtful conversation about mortality and the joys and sorrows thereof... and that eventually blooms into kissing in the back room of the theater.

Rana/Jeht

We have talked about this one, yes! Though I don't recall exactly what I said at the time, so I'll just answer as the meme prescribes: I would write this one using that bit about Jeht and her mercenary band accompanying a lost group of Akademiya scholars back to the jungle. Then they take a job there that puts them in proximity with Rana, either as a member of the group they're helping/escorting or hired separately as a local guide, and they go on a very classic jungle-adventure-with-budding-romance where traveling and fighting side-by-side forges bonds that turn into more. I like the idea of a bunch of side characters in the expedition who help with their development--I think Jeht could use a wise older woman who is as unlike Babel as possible, for one--and it's up in the air whether it ends with Rana joining Jeht's band, or Jeht (who does have so, so much trauma to process) deciding she needs to continue on alone for a while and them sharing a last kiss and promising to meet again some day. And then I say I'll write that reunion and don't actually touch it for six+ years.

Focalors/Venti

I absolutely could write any of these outside the constraints of canon, so much of my fic is AU, but I think this would be most interesting to me as in some kind of space between Focalors being designated Egeria's successor, and the separation into Furina-as-humansona and Focalors-in-the-Oratrice. Venti goes to visit the new Hydro Archon ostensibly to get to know one of the new ones; they have secret, quiet conversations about Celestia and the Thrones and what might make it possible to break one, and at what cost; and then it's not so much a romance here as, Focalors always did want to experience more than her divine self ever will get to, and, well- a bard is an expert at stirring passions, after all, and making a night's entertainment seem a grand and sweeping experience.

Focalors/Guizhong

TBH I don't know whether I missed a lot of Guizhong characterization in my years-ago rush through Liyue or if I'm just not good at putting together the threads we get from events, but she remains kind of a cipher to me? I have just enough of a mental picture of her to suffice for my Ping/Xianyun sadfic and that's about it. But given when Guizhong died vs. when Focalors ascended, while there could be material in itty baby Focalors meeting her (and in fact it could fit into the backstory of this), what I think I'd do is have it be separated by time: some mechanism Guizhong created is what Focalors comes across (or acquires in that itty baby-era meeting) that gives her the basis of the Oratrice, and the fic is her taking it apart, analyzing it, and rebuilding it to her purposes, learning what she can about Guizhong and her other works to help her with that analysis, and reflecting on this god she never, or barely, knew, who died in an effort to save her people. The romance is (obviously) one-sided and over centuries and is in many ways Focalors fantasizing about this idealized lover in order to drive her forward on her own, difficult, ultimately self-destructive mission. Though she is also, y'know, feasting on her own mental fanfic about the drama of it all. XD

[adventurersdelight]

Inventory check for Stella, Kiyoko sent her for groceries : )

What's in the Bag?!

"What's that? You don't think I know how to shop for food on my own? Come on, Kiyoko, I'm a seasoned...job-taker. I wouldn't be alive if I couldn't manage that."

Dun, dun, dun, dun!

Stella sets down several paper bags in front of Kiyoko. Their contents are as follows: Bread, fruit, precooked meats, tofu, and vegetables, coffee, tea, and a mysterious baggie of "medicine"!

[bropunzeling]

Hi! 2, 12, 30 for the fic writer asks <3

2 - already answered!

12. a trope you’re really into right now

i am thinking a lot about fantasy aus lately, because you can combine so many of the things i love: world building! magic! opportunities for wounds and bloodshed and subsequent tender wound care! people snapping bc the person they care about is in trouble! duty vs feelings! arranged marriages! quests! memes about knights! that's the ticket baby

30. share a fic you’re especially proud of

a recent one i thought turned out quite nice is relapse (matthew/leon post-scf sex pollen) - i like sex pollen, i like mess, i like writing something short and ouchy :)

[novelmonger]

Hiya! It's Windmill from Discord! Saw the prompt meme - could you do Obi-Wan and Qui-Gonn with "I love you. You know that, right?" If you're up for it! Thanks <3

Hi Windmill!

Let Me Count the Ways ask game

(Note that this follows the canon of the Jedi Apprentice books - set right after #8, The Day of Reckoning - but I tried to make it still understandable for those who haven't read them.)

Obi-Wan had already powered down the lights in his room in the Temple and lain down on his sleep-couch when someone knocked on his door. He'd felt a pulse in the Force a moment before, and instantly knew the person on the other side of the door was Qui-Gon.

Strange. They'd seen each other not long ago, for a time of meditation in the Room of a Thousand Fountains. And they were due for a training exercise at 0600.

Slowly, Obi-Wan sat up, pushing aside his blanket. “Enter,” he said, reaching over to turn on a lamp.

The door slid open and Qui-Gon stepped inside. “I apologize for disturbing your rest,” he said stiffly.

Obi-Wan shook his head, shifting to sit cross-legged on top of his sleep-couch. “I wasn't asleep.”

Qui-Gon nodded, then paced back and forth across the small space, hands clasped behind his back. He'd left his cloak behind, Obi-Wan noticed, and his dark hair fell loose about his shoulders. It was as though he'd been in the process of turning in for the night, then realized he'd forgotten something and come directly here.

Tentatively, Obi-Wan quested out towards him in the Force. Their bond had been damaged, fractured, since everything that had happened on Melida/Daan. They were in the process of mending it, and their unofficial mission together on Telos had taken them a good distance down that path, but Obi-Wan knew it would still take a long time before they could restore the deep trust that had once existed between them.

Qui-Gon paused, gazing down at the workbench where Obi-Wan had left his lightsaber after cleaning it moments ago. As he stood there, an answering thread in the Force touched Obi-Wan's, like fingertips brushing against each other. Obi-Wan was surprised at how hesitant it felt as well.

“Tahl reminded me today,” Qui-Gon said slowly, absently straightening the tools on the workbench, “that we cannot simply return to the way things once were. And nor should we. We are not the same as when we first met.”

“Master Yoda said something similar to me,” Obi-Wan said with a wry smile. “'Expect not to tread the same path twice, for a path through sand it is, washed away by the tide.'”

Qui-Gon snorted, but he looked amused rather than annoyed. “And Tahl spoke to me of pottery. We're being conspired against by poets.”

Obi-Wan grinned, just as Qui-Gon glanced up with a twinkle in his eye. Their gazes connected for only a moment, but it was one of those moments Obi-Wan had learned to prize above all else in recent days. It was a moment that reassured him that, however else their relationship might change going forward, the bond between them was still intact.

After a moment of silence, Qui-Gon left the workbench and sat down at the foot of the sleep-couch. There was a deliberate quality to his movements, as though he were about to say something of vital importance. Obi-Wan found himself straightening attentively. This was why Qui-Gon was here.

“Tahl also counseled me to be more open with you, Obi-Wan. Too often, I fall into the trap of thinking that, because I can see a path forward, you will also see it and agree with me.” He shook his head. “It is dangerous when a master forgets that his apprentice is also a being with wisdom to contribute.”

“But I was wrong!” Obi-Wan blurted out, his hands curling into fists on his knees as shame pooled in his gut—just as it did every time he thought of that day. “I was wrong to...to defy you, and steal the ship, and....”

“Yes.” Qui-Gon reached out a hand, settling it on Obi-Wan's shoulder. “You were wrong. And so was I, Padawan. I was the one who put you in a position where you felt such actions were necessary. But perhaps, had we taken the time to communicate more openly...some of that could have been prevented. You are my apprentice, Obi-Wan. Not my servant. We are meant to be a team.”

The warm, comforting weight of Qui-Gon's hand on his shoulder somehow made the shame break apart and fade away into nothing, like mist on a warm morning. Obi-Wan looked into those wise blue eyes, full of the esteem and respect he'd been afraid he would never see again. So unlike that day on Melida/Daan when they had turned icy and forbidding, as Qui-Gon had held out his hand for Obi-Wan to give up his lightsaber.

Confusion. Betrayal. Outrage. That was what they'd both been feeling, on the day their bond had shattered. Neither of them had been able to understand the other's decisions, and neither had been willing to explain or ask further questions. They had each known they were right, and the very thought that the one closest to them could possibly disagree was unfathomable.

And that had made their relationship brittle, too easily broken. Maybe this was what Qui-Gon had been talking about, when he'd said on Telos that he looked forward to their next disagreement. If they argued, that meant they both knew they weren't of the same mind, and they could work together towards a solution. It didn't have to mean they would abandon each other again.

“I'll try to live up to that,” Obi-Wan said quietly, as Qui-Gon's hand slipped from his shoulder. “I want to earn your trust again. I want to be worthy of it.”

Qui-Gon sat quietly for a moment, then got to his feet, his back to Obi-Wan. At first, Obi-Wan didn't think he would say anything, but finally he said, in the softest voice he'd ever heard from him, “I love you, Obi-Wan. You know that, right?”

Obi-Wan stared at him. “I...yes. Yes, I know.”

It wasn't exactly that Jedi didn't speak of love. Attachment was forbidden, but the entire Order was built on a foundation of love—the selfless kind of love that led to thousands of beings devoting their entire lives to aiding strangers across the galaxy. And of course every Jedi had special affection for their closest friends and teachers, not to mention the deeper-than-blood bond between Master and Padawan.

But Qui-Gon had never been one to speak openly of his feelings. His first thought was always for the mission, or for a lesson to pass on to Obi-Wan. He was foremost a Jedi Knight, and secondly a teacher—as it should be. But underneath it all, he was still a man. A man with emotions and cares and, yes, affections too.

Of all people, Obi-Wan shouldn't have been surprised to see evidence of that. He had seen evidence of that, plenty of times before. But it was still strange to hear Qui-Gon speak of it so bluntly.

Qui-Gon was almost at the door by the time Obi-Wan realized he was leaving. Apparently, he'd said what he'd come here to say. “Master, wait!” Obi-Wan sprang to his feet.

Pausing with his hand on the door, Qui-Gon looked over his shoulder.

Nervously, Obi-Wan swallowed hard. He'd never said this to anyone, but when he instinctively reached out to the Force, it rang with the chimes of a hundred golden bells in his heart, and he knew it was the right thing to say. “I love you too, Qui-Gon. I always have. Even then.”

Even when he was angry and hurt. Even when they were shouting at each other. Even when Qui-Gon left him on a war-torn planet. Even when their connection in the Force frayed and snapped, and it seemed pointless to hope they could regain even a fraction of what they'd once had.

Though Qui-Gon didn't move, it felt to Obi-Wan as if he had reached out his hand and grasped his. The Force wrapped around both of them like a warm blanket, and Obi-Wan found himself aware of Qui-Gon's breathing and heartbeat, in a way that normally didn't happen except sometimes in the heat of battle, when all of their focus centered on their movements synchronizing and complementing each other.

For a moment, Obi-Wan thought he caught a glimpse of the future. All of his worries about whether they could mend the rift between them faded away, because he knew they would be together. Perhaps not always—eventually, Obi-Wan would grow up and leave Qui-Gon's side. One day, he would become a Jedi Knight. One day, he would take on a Padawan of his own.

But nothing would come between them like this again. Not really.

“Yes, my Padawan,” Qui-Gon murmured, turning once more to the door. “I know.”

[lookslikethatsallthetimewehave]

l'm no child psychologist, so l'm just guessing here:

The devs probably believe that kids today would just be running around the map, clicking random stuff and not knowing what to do. When they do make progress by doing such, they wouldn't know how to find the next story beat. Then they'd get frustrated at the "boring game" and quit. If they had something to guide them, like a push in the right direction, maybe they would know how to play it.

But Poptropica already does that indirectly. Character dialogue, setup of the map, the story leads you to complete the game. It's especially true for the simpler islands. Overall they don't tell you when you'll complete the island, and imo they shouldn't. That's like doing a word search with the answers already underlined.

It takes patience, a whole lot of patience. I can see some good in a progress bar (keeping track of how much you've completed)... but the map already does that! And they don't spoil the island by turning it into a string of side quests!

Simplifying the puzzles also feels like assuming your audience doesn't have the patience and the willpower to complete them. Yea most popular video games among kids now are straightforward and quick to learn. But the thing is, those games aren't puzzles. Puzzles are meant to be challenging, to encourage problem solving. This was why Poptropica was considered an educational game in the first place!

(Also, we already have a lot of running “easy” islands that new players can complete swiftly. There’s no point to nerf the “hard” islands, the ones known for being difficult, to be “beginner-friendly”)

TL;DR I do get wanting to give everyone a fair chance without having to look up tutorials, but basically (unnecessarily) child-proofing and watering down the game as a whole is... kinda insulting to newcomers.

(Sorry for the long send again)

You hit the nail right on the head. Now the nail hurts.

I mean, I guess I could see why they think kids nowadays need the hand-holding. They use TikTok, they're probably not that smart /hj

But yeah, you're 100% right. The fact that Poptropica is a problem solving game is what made so many people love it. The user got to run around and figure out clues and items that they will deduce for themselves how and where to use them. Kids love being able to figure things out on their own, figuring things out on their own is one of the things that makes games like Poptropica so much fun.

And the fact that there were islands back in the day that offered a real challenge, like Mythology, Skullduggery, Steamworks, etc shows that they respected children's intelligence.

I don't know much about what kids like nowadays (except for toy reviews, weird meme videos and the like, based on what my 10 year old cousin watches), but the least people can do is just... try to give them something that has actual substance XD

Not only that, but the newer islands don't have a lot of room for the user to run around. Some of them only have three areas. And even some of the older islands that only had a few areas, there was still plenty to do.

You wanna know what I think? I think because it takes longer to make islands now, due to Flash being gone and the limited amount of people working at Poptropica due to layoffs and whatnot, that's most likely one of the contributing factors to this new change of pace. I get the feeling that if they had more people and money, things might get better. But that's just my two-cents.

[xenoblademisadventures]

Xenoblade X poll answers

Elma is a xeno, a BLADE, and a Xenoblade (Monado)

This is incorrect. Elma is a xeno and a BLADE, but she is not canonically related to the Monado. That said, I really would not be surprised if that was an intended plot twist considering that she shares the same color pallet as the damn thing. Furthermore, interesting how Elma somehow knew the earth would be blown up in a skirmish 30 years in advance. There’s other stuff I could say in evidence to this theory, but this isn’t a post about my crack Elma theories, so we’ll leave it at that.

Some other fun information around this idea. In an early trailer for X, BLADE was referred to as “Beyond the Logos Artificial Destiny Emancipator,” though in the final version the acronym is “Builders of a Legacy After the Destruction of Earth.” Elma also has concept art featuring a Core Crystal. 

This doesn’t support any theory because it’s concept art, but it’s an interesting piece of trivia. 

there is an enemy type that reproduces by firing its sperm into orbit

it’s these guys. what a meme of an enemy. dudes just stand there and then turn into a palm tree abomination that one-shots you. I think the guy in Cauldros is the funnies of men. Like, imagine you’re just minding your business and then you get sniped from orbit by a palm tree of death. 

Every enemy type in the game has, like, a multi-paragraph essay, here’s what the Filiavent’s reads.

“The largest of all Miran mollusks, filiavents stay anchored to the ground, feeding on other creatures that come too close. To do so, they contract their lengthy bodies and then swallow their victims whole—along with everything else in the vicinity. All matter then enters the digestive tract, where it is liquefied by powerful acids.

Reproduction also takes place while anchored to the ground. On the night of a full moon, filiavents release a myriad of sperm and eggs into the atmosphere. While most are eaten by other creatures, one in a few thousand survives to be fertilized. Because infants have many predators due to their small size, few of them survive into adulthood—despite the presence of a defensive electrical discharge."

So, yeah, I’m not even exaggerating, these things do canonically reproduce by firing their sperm into orbit.

Samaarians were human, but not the humans you play as; they're functionally gods; this information was revealed during a random sidequest

I wanted to make this one a single option, but character limit. But yeah, Xenoblade X has a weird amount of major plot twists hidden behind random sidequests. This was just the largest one. The sidequest in question was a post-game quest called The Old Gods, where the God of the Zaruboggan is revealed to look like this.

The lore around the Samaarians is that they appeared when the universe was created and started creating a bunch of life, but they’re not benevolent. There are multiple canon slave races created by the Samaarians for that purpose and the humans we play as are implied to be close relatives to the Samaarians. Perhaps made in their image?

But yeah, that’s about the amount X actually reveals about the Samaarians. I imagine that the story was meant to tie into the Klaus arc, but there’s no way of knowing whether the original plans for X’s story contradict what the writers instead made for 2 and 3. 

Also, some of the other major plot twists given by random sidequests include: 

the protagonist is heavily implied to secretly not be a human, the term used is J-Body, but we’re never given insight on what that actually means. The party member Yelv is also a J-Body. This is revealed during Yelv’s Partner.

The White Whale was communicating with some other ships during its 2 year voyage. These ships cannot have been human ships because no one is aware of the existence of fellow surviving humans. This is revealed during White Lifehold. 

Once something gets stuck on Mira, it is impossible to leave. This is revealed by Professor B during his sidequest chain and it is also alluded to by Goetia during Chapter 6.

There was a species of Giants that existed in Cauldros but they were wiped out, most likely, by Yggralith Zero and the Ganglion built their fortress over the ruins of that civilization. All information pertaining to the giants is told through item descriptions in the collectopedia.

There’s also this entire sidequest chain around the Definians, which are a race of shape-shifters controlled by a robot that have controlled species since the dawn of the universe where you overthrow their leader. You kind of just kill a god off-screen in a sidequest, very. 

one of the alien races is from Bionis, this species is not the Nopon

True. The Orpheans are reliant on this virus called the Ovah, which guides their decision making and is connected to their reproduction. In the sidequest A Fateful Choice, it’s revealed that the Ovah came from a world predating the Orpheans. That world was shared with the Telethia where “the Ovah existed as a single entity floating in the ocean of another world.” So, while the name “Bionis” is never given, it’s heavily implied. Furthermore the Telethia is referred to as “the Ruler of Fates” and “the Endbringer,” which are both noteworthy. In the sidequest, the Telethia is compared to a God and is feared by the Ovah. 

The sidequest also involves someone getting eaten by the Telethia and receiving a vision of the past.

The Nopon in X are given zero ties to the Xenoblade universe. The closest we get is a sidequest where two Nopon look for the Sword of Legendaryness, which looks like this.

This is pretty obviously meant to be a goofy reference rather than a serious piece of lore. The item description reads “A legendary sword left behind by ancient Nopon. When the mysterious lettering on the hilt lights up, it gives one the feeling of being able to use special powers.” But I figured it was noteworthy.

the second strongest enemy is known for destroying worlds; unrelated to Earth

True. This would be Pharsis the Everqueen, which is level 98. The strongest enemy is Telethia the Endbringer, which is level 99. This is the Yggralith enemy index entry.

"Hailing from the depths of outer space, these creatures can strip away the ether from entire regions before storing it in their dorsal spines to facilitate interstellar travel. Any unlucky inhabitants of planets they encounter are also devoured down to the very last organism. When this destructive rampage is finished, they set off in search of the next planet.

Though rare, Yggralith do at times come in contact with one another. The ensuing battles spell doom for any planet unfortunate enough to be in the vicinity."

So, yeah, these guys do destroy worlds. There are three yggraliths in the game. They are no relationship to the Ghosts or Ganglion, which were responsible for blowing up the earth. Pharsis is just vibing. I’m pretty sure it’s an infant.

the Ganglion got stuck on Mira before the humans did

In Chapter 6, we learn from Goetia that the Ganglion were transported to Mira by some light, they are trapped on Mira, and that Luxaar believes the Samaarian homeland could be related to Mira. The protagonists assume the Ganglion followed humans, but they are never corrected. Also, it’s important to note that the aliens responsible for crashing the White Whale onto Mira were the Ghosts, which were the faction that the Ganglion were fighting against.

the Bionis and Mechonis make an appearance in the collectopedia

True. The item in question is called the Privative Colossus Statue. It’s found in Noctilum near the Divine Roost (where the Telethia live). 

There they are. Beating the shit out of each other. The item description reads:

“A pair of gigantic stone idols locked in combat. No one is sure who sculpted them or gave them their name, but their primal beauty often leaves a deep impression on those who stand before them.”

Also, related to this, there’s a collectible that’s literally just an ether furnace called the Lost Memory Synthesizer.

“A machine to fuse crystals that conceal some sort of energy. The problem is, said crystals don't seem to exist. Upon realizing its uselessness, the Harrier Sara-Ariel named it in disappointment.”

But yeah, the Bionis and Mechonis do make a cameo.

humans are not classified as humanoids in the enemy index

instead, they’re classified as Mechanoids because everyone’s in a robot body. 

there is a sidequest where you can kill an NPC by telling them to take a shower

true. for some reason all the sidequests around the water plant are fucked up. But yeah, the sidequest is called Lakeside Getaway. An NPC is mad that her coworkers have stopped contacting her and then you learn that they all died because of an enemy that did an Alien. You can kill an NPC by telling them to take a shower because the monsters hatch from water-related things. So, if you let the NPC shower, this happens.

Fantastic.

[youronlybean]

Trick or treat! >:)

My favourite scene from chapter 2 of Home Sweet Safehouse :D

One relatively quiet afternoon, Ze was disturbed from his project brainstorming by music blaring loudly.

He wandered into the kitchen, where the sound of upbeat pop music was coming from. Ze thought the music was a little outdated, but Chilled seemed to be really feeling it. He was shaking his butt back and forth like that meme of the turtle under the faucet. His arms were doing some sort of wild circular motion whilst attempting to butter a slice of toast. It was… interesting, to say the least.

Ze cleared his throat. “Whatcha got there, Chilled?”

Chilled whipped around and pointed the butter-covered knife at him. The butter slowly slid off and hit the floor.

“Crappy speaker, iPod, and a need to move,” Chilled answered, placing the knife back down on the countertop. He grabbed a piece of kitchen paper from beside the sink and picked up the fallen butter, all while funkily shaking his limbs.

“Pfft,” Ze couldn’t repress a snort, watching as Chilled attempted to place the butter back in the fridge as he flailed around.

“Look, I know I’m not a great dancer, but sometimes you gotta feel the beat, man.” He took out a jar of jam that Ze didn’t know they had. As he began to spread the jam, the song playing ended switched to a rock song - Ze thought it might have been KISS or something, but he wasn’t sure.

“No, you’re doing great,” he snickered. A blob of jam went flying and Chilled spat out a curse as it landed on a cabinet.

“Try it, it’s therapeutic,” he suggested, once again moving to clean up his mess. He danced over and back and Ze struggled to repress his giggles.

“What you’re doing looks like torture,” he shook his head, snickering as Chilled executed a strange manoeuvre that ended with one of his arms bent uncomfortably behind his head and knocked his hat to the floor.

“Well I’m having fun, so there,” Chilled declared proudly. He re-donned his hat and continued on his quest for a jam sandwich as he jammed to the music.

Ze moved over to the coffee maker, fetching a mug from the cupboard. He turned the machine on and began to tap his fingers on the countertop as it churned out his drink, not unnoticed by Chilled, who was still grooving all around the kitchen.

“C’mon, Mr. Viking! You know you want to move it move it!” Chilled beckoned him forwards, and Ze shook his head as the last drops of coffee fell into the mug.

“I’m good,” he decided, taking a sip of hot coffee before deciding that he really ought to let it cool for a bit.

“Take my hand, I shall take thee away,” Chilled offered out his right hand.

“How romantic,” Ze noted, giving him a teasing sort of look.

“That’s- It’s not-” Chilled’s face, red as a tomato, shifted through a myriad of expressions - embarrassment, panic, and finally landing on determination, grabbing Ze’s hand and pulling him away from the coffee maker. “Y’know what? I’m the king of romance!”

Chilled, for a man almost twice Ze’s size, scurried with surprising speed over to where his phone and the speaker were. As Chilled fiddled around with the buttons, a slow song began to play, and Chilled headed back to Ze.

“Dance now, or else!” he declared, once again offering his hand. Ze found himself internally squirming, and wondering if it would be more awkward and embarrassing to accept or to decline.

Ignoring what felt like a pit of hot magma in his stomach, Ze took the hand on offer and was pulled closer. Chilled’s left hand found its way to Ze’s shoulder, and Ze’s right hand moved down to Chilled’s waist. Fortunately, they weren’t too close, so Ze managed to maintain coherent thought and attempted to follow Chilled’s footwork.

Or what was technically footwork, despite the terrible inaccuracies and wobbly stumbling.

For the first few minutes they drifted more-or-less smoothly across the kitchen, occasionally treading on each other’s toes and going one way when they should have been going the other. The dancing turned into more of a combat after a while, and Ze felt a strong sense of determination to win.

He knocked Chilled’s knee with his. Chilled aimed a small kick at his ankle. Ze steered them into the table. Chilled took long strides that Ze could barely follow. Ze attempted to trip him up and finally, Chilled dragged him down as well, all the way to the floor.

Ze muttered a curse as they hit the tile, making sure he didn’t land on Chilled despite the spontaneity of the fall. This resulted in him smacking a table leg with his forearm, which he was sure would bruise sooner or later.

Chilled let out a snicker, which soon evolved into hearty belly-laughs. As Ze sat up he watched Chilled wipe tears of laughter from his face and adjust his glasses. They locked eyes and Chilled barked out a laugh at the sight of Ze’s (still a bit startled) face.

“Oh, thank you,” he sighed eventually, face red from giggles and eyes wet with tears. “Thank you, Ze. That was the most fun I’ve had in a while.”

“That was- You had fun?” Ze blinked confusedly, wondering how Chilled had deemed such a disaster to be fun at all. “I mean, I'm glad… even if we fell.”

“Are you kidding? That was the best part! It was like something out of a movie!” Chilled’s arms flew up into the sky (happy muppet pose - Ze internally chuckled). He looked genuinely thrilled by the outcome and was still beaming like nothing could possibly be wrong in the world, cheeks still a rosy pink.

Now, Ze didn’t know a whole lot about Chilled to begin with, but one of the things he had learned through living with the guy for a bit was that Chilled loved movies. It felt almost like an honour, to be referred to as similar to something Chilled held quite dear to his heart.

Which sounded sickeningly sweet, and suddenly Ze felt like throwing up.

[tutelaris]

( 「   RP MEME :   VARIOUS KINGDOM HEARTS QUOTES.   」  | @glacierites )

‘ we shall go together. ’

“ are you certain, my lady? ”

her hands halted, half––––packed supplies momentarily forgotten. these sorts of quests were her responsibility & she had no problem with shouldering them alone. while she never would have turned jill away, she wanted to ensure that there was no expectation of her presence.

jote turned to speak to jill properly, to tell her that her company would be welcome, but it certainly wasn't a necessity if she wished to remain safe within the hideaway, but she found herself pausing the moment she met jill's eyes. there was something restless there. hidden behind the calm was a brewing tempest, ready to be set free.

it was a look that she had seen before. in the eyes of the undying who spent their lives traveling only to suddenly be stationed among their posts. in the eyes of her charge when his search for answers weight heavily on his mind but weather or illness forced them to stay in place.

in the reflection of her own eyes when she was separated from her charge.

she acquiesced without even waiting for a proper answer. the look in jill's eyes as answer enough, & jote turned back to her preparations.

“ is there aught that you need before our departure? ” the look she sent in jill's direction was bright & understanding, a smile that felt welcome among their budding friendship.

“ it would seem that we are in for quite a journey. ”