#well supposedly the mechanics are good but so far i disagree
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the ONLY good scene in this game so far but i'm just happy there's finally a xenomorph
#bell.txt#bell.mp4#.mp4#cellbit#also he had been swearing there was no aliens in this game i do not know why he was just lying to chat for no reason#well i do. that's just the way that he is#but still#this scene is only good btw because its LITERALLY PULLING FROM THE DAMN MOVIE#everything good about this game ive read is from the movie#well supposedly the mechanics are good but so far i disagree#also ignore his dumb comment in the middle he was talking about a picture on the desk and shes wearing a swimsuit hes just insane#cellbit alien isolation
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day 21: i donât feel so well
prompt from: whumptober pairing: felix x ace notes: the hanahaki au nobody asked for. iâm still a little confused about the trope but i tried <3 warnings: descriptions of illness, injury and blood, temporary character death word count: 3130
âThat was awesome! She didn't stand a chance!â Steve cheers.
âThat's what she gets for camping. What a bitch!â Nea laughs
Ace grins despite the pain, steadying himself against Jeff's sturdy form while the four of them are making their way back to the campfire after a successful trial.
His head is swimming and there's blood staining his teeth, his back stinging from numerous bloody gashes from the killer's katana. But he's alive, even if he had to crawl out through the exit, his teammates not letting the Spirit secure the kill on him.
When they get back to camp, Steve and Nea are off to spin the tale of their rescue to the others, and Ace can't help but smile when they generously color the experience; just like he would.
Jeff supports him to sit down against one of the logs, offering a somewhat awkward "There you go, buddy" in encouragement.
Ace sees Quentin hand Claudette one of his med-kits and then the group's resident healer approaches him with determined steps.
âHey, sweetheartââ Ace starts with a grin.
âStalling isn't going to work,â Claudette shoots him down quickly, seeing right through his act. So Ace sighs dramatically and shrugs off his jacket, and the girl immediately hikes up his shirt to start cleaning the wounds on his back.
Ace hisses from the sting of some kind of alcohol, turning his attention back to the others to try to distract himself from the pain.
Most of the others are listening to to Steve's and Nea's story while the rest are scattered around camp, doing their own things. Kate is tuning her guitar, Jake is stocking one of his toolboxes, and Cheryl seems to be practicing the card trick Ace taught her a couple of days ago.
And then there's Felix.
Finally giving himself permission to look at the handsome German, Ace's heart immediately starts beating faster. He's not even doing anything, just sitting by the fire engrossed in a conversation with Zarina, but Ace is so infatuated even just Felix breathing is almost enough to make him blush.
He thought he was too old for schoolboy crushes like these, but then again how could he not fancy Felix? The guy has some absolutely god-tier genes, a chiseled face and ice blue eyes and a body to die for. Heâs also smart, and sophisticated, and filthy rich.
And god knows none of those qualities had ever been Ace's strong suit.
At first Ace had thought his hyperfixation on the man was jealousy, but then his body showed him that was definitely not the case; he didn't want to be Felix, he wanted to be in Felix. The realization didn't phase him as much as it maybe should have, because even the straight-as-a-board Ash had commented on Felix's good looks. And Ace sure as hell wasn't even straight to begin with.
No, his panic had come from when he'd caught himself looking at couples like Jeff and Adam being mushy together and imagined himself and Felix in their place.
Ace had a healthy amount of confidence, though the others might not describe it that kindly, but he wasn't blind. Felix was younger than him, maybe not by an impossible amount but still enough to be noticeable. He was also model-tier gorgeous with a body to match, and while Ace wasn't bad-looking he also had a crooked nose and a build solely used for drinking and gambling.
All in all, he recognized when someone was out of his league, and even though he couldn't resist a cheeky flirt ever now and then, he knew his feelings would never be returned.
But he still allowed himself to look; sue him.
He's in the middle of an indulgent daydream about laying his head on Felix's lap like Kate is doing to Yui on the other side of camp, all the while effortlessly keeping up small talk with Claudette tending to his wounds.
And then he starts coughing.
It's not a normal dry cough, it wracks his entire body and keeps going, and he curls in on himself because damn itâs making his throat hurts and his lungs ache something fierce.
âAce, what's wrong?â Claudette's worried voice cuts through the attack. He tries to reply but it just makes him cough more, and it's not stoppingâ
Something slimy lands in the palm he's using to cover his mouth and then he can breathe again, taking sharp gasps of air while his throat tingles from the abuse.
He looks at whatever piece of his organs he managed to cough up, the Spirit's blade probably having rearranged some of his guts. He opens his hand and seesâ
A flower?
It's absolute covered in blood, but there's no mistaking it, a single flower sitting in the palm of his hand with some loose petals surrounding it.
Why did he cough up a flower? Where did he even get it? It looks like some sort of cherry blossom, a far cry from the Entity's pustulas or the forest bouquets they pick and use for offerings.
âAre you okay?" Claudette asks, moving to kneel beside him in worry. When she sees the flower, she gasps in surprise.
âWhat happened?â Meg is quick to join her friend, coming up behind Ace to peer over his shoulder. âUh⊠did that flower come out of you?â
âI⊠guess so?â Ace says, his voice raspy and throat protesting being used.
âSo you just, like⊠ate it? Before?â Steve cocks his head in confusion.
âCome on now, I'm not that stupid,â Ace snorts, some of his worry giving way to amusement over the incredulous situation.
âThen what the hell was that?â Meg asks, scrunching her face up in thought while poking at the gross flower.
âIâm pretty sure I know whatâs wrong,â Adam raises his voice from across camp, straightening his back when all eyes turn to him. âItâs an illness, I recognize the symptoms."
âCan't say I've ever heard of a disease that makes you barf petals,â Ash offers, clearly skeptical, and Ace shares the sentiment.
âShh, hear him out!â Laurie scolds.
"It's a Japanese folk story,â Adam explains. âFlowers start growing in a person's lungs, causing coughing and bleeding and..." he hesitates.
âWell?â Meg demands.
"And ultimately resulting in death, unless the condition is cured," Adam says grimly.
âAre you talking about hanahaki?â Yui pipes up before anyone can question the weird statement. âYou know that's just a shojo manga trope, right?â
âIt's also mentioned in historical literature,â Adam argues, though from the way he refuses to meet Yui's gaze, he seems to be embarrassed over the subject.
âDude, nobody cares if you read girl comics, just tell us what the cure is,â Feng snorts, and that's probably the most concern Ace has ever seen her display over his well-being.
âIt'sââ Adam starts, before faltering, awkwardly scratching at his neck while looking at the ground. âSupposedly caused by unrequited love.â
There's dead silence in the camp.
And then Nea bursts out laughing.
âJesus, what a story!â the tagger snickers. âCan you imagine Ace as a fairytale princess?â
âHoney, I think you might have gotten some myths mixed up,â Jeff says diplomatically, patting Adam's knee affectionately.
âYeah, you probably just inhaled a flower in your sleep or something,â Steve encourages Ace.
âI'm pretty sure this is just a practical joke from our dear spidery overlord,â Ace chuckles and pointedly doesn't look Felix's way. Come next trial, his injuries will have healed anyway, including the weird burn in his lungs.
But they donât.
Trial after trial, the Entity resurrects him and heals all of his wounds but the coughing persists, more and more flowers following.
Even the others are getting worried.
âThat's it, bud,â Ash offers, patting his back while Ace is wheezing for breath after coughing up some more petals. âIt's just a weird flu, you'll be good as new soon.â
âAt least the flowers go with my shirt,â Ace jokes, voice reduced to a rasp, clearing his throat. âPink was always my color.â
He's trying to keep his and the others' spirits high, since there doesn't seem to be anything they can do to fix the situation.
âWe need to do something,â Ace hears Laurie hiss to Dwight, apparently disagreeing with his sentiment.
âB-but how can we even help him?â their leader, bless his heart, looks genuinely upset over Ace's condition.
âMaybe we should try Adam's suggestion," Laurie says.
âYeah, except you know he wouldnât tell us even if he did like someone,â Yui huffs from beside them. âGood luck getting an answer out of a compulsive liar.â
Ouch, but also fair. Ace sure as hell isn't going to reveal his dumb little crush, especially since Felix has avoided him since this entire goddamn flower thing started. He knows there's only a slim chance that Felix realizes what's really going on, but it still feels like rejection nonetheless.
He can deal with this. Even if it kills him, the Entity will just bring him back anyway. It's not even that bad.
But then it gets so much worse.
After a week, Ace is laying on his side while black spots dance around in his vision and he struggles to draw enough wheezy breaths into his lungs. His chest hurts, and his throat is so sore even just the air passing through burns like fire. He hasn't been able to speak in days, and that's almost worse than the pain, not being able to use his only coping mechanism of running his mouth until something sticks to lighten the mood.
His head is cushioned on Kate's thigh and he gets a tiny bit of satisfaction from the knowledge that at least he managed to lay in one pretty blonde's lap before dying, even if itâs the wrong one. The touch is comforting nonetheless, though the fact that itâs accompanied by Kate's girlfriend practically screaming in his ear kind of puts a damper on the whole thing.
âI swear to god, I will make every single person in this camp kiss you, do not test me,â Yui threatens, one of the few who haven't given up on curing him. âIs it Jane? Bill?â
If Ace had the energy, he'd probably laugh about her choices, curious as to why those two were the ones she picked. As it stands, he merely stares at her, wondering if his eyes look as dull and lifeless as he feels.
âHe's going to die,â Jake says from somewhere to his side, but Ace doesn't even bother turning his head or denying the statement. Hurried voices shush the saboteur while Kate starts humming a melody to distract him, Yui glaring absolute daggers in Jakeâs general direction.
His next trial, Jake's prediction comes true.
Ace collapses to the ground in the midst of a coughing fit. The flowers are growing even bigger now, he can feel them tearing at his throat and vocal cords, retching when they trigger his gag reflex on their way out. His vision blurs and then goes black, body finally giving up as the illness consumes him.
He's not even injured from the killer, but the pool of blood he falls into is big enough to cover the entire side of his face. He lays there, not sure if he's even breathing, just thankful that the awful coughing has stopped for at least a moment.
When he comes to, he expects the small comfort of the campfire before he has to go through the same thing again. Instead, he doesn't have enough energy to even open his eyes, slowly realizing he's still in the trial.
It takes him even longer to realize he's being held partly off of the ground, his body hanging limply in someoneâs grasp. He idly wonders if a killer is going to mercy hook him, but then he hears something.
Crying.
Focusing on the sound, Ace realizes he's not just being lifted, he's being held in someone's arms. Someone is holding his near-dead body and crying.
With both his mind and body broken from suffering for so long, he allows himself to imagine it's Felix, even though he knows it's not true. Felix has shown he doesn't care, not talking to him and being so grossed out by his symptoms heâs barely even looked at himâ
âDas tut mir leid,â is whispered against his hair, and Ace wonders if he's hallucinating or if his brain has given up on speech comprehension, because that sounded an awful lot like German.
Suddenly, he gains some of his strength back, his chest not feeling nearly as tight as it has for the past few days.
âFelix?â Ace asks, and even though it comes out as a raspy whisper, it's impossible to miss in the stillness of the quiet moment. The surprised hitch of breath he gets in response sounds impossibly loud, and he manages to blink awake just enough to see the tear-streaked, wide-eyed face of the person he never thought he could have.
And that's when the Entity decides he's bled on the ground long enough and he blacks out from blood loss.
When Ace comes to, he's no longer in pain. He can breathe. And he wants nothing more than to get back to camp and be reassured that he wasn't imagining Felix being there for him in his final moments.
He runs to the campfire, panting from exertion once he's illuminated by the familiar glow and shocked faces turn to look at him.
âWhat theâdid you run here!?â Meg exclaims incredulously.
âYeah,â Ace says, eyes scanning the small crowd of familiar faces, so focused on finding a particular one he doesn't even realize the implications of managing to speak without issue.
âYour voice!â Kate exclaims happily, and Ace pauses to collect some of his thoughts.
âShit, you're right,â he says, a smile tugging on his lips for the first time in what feels like weeks.
âWelcome back, you bastard!â Nea cheers and flings herself at him in a sideways hug, and Ace stumbles to catch himself from falling, chuckling at her antics.
Claudette is sobbing, looking impossibly relieved, and the others are cheering among themselves, though Ace can't make out the contents because he sees a familiar figure making its way to camp and his entire world zones in on that person.
Felix looks up at the sound of the commotion, and Ace's heart breaks a little over how puffy his eyes still look, but then their eyes meet and Felix looks so hopefulâ
âHey,â Ace says, and it probably gets drowned out by the others, but Felix's eyes widen in recognition and he starts walking faster.
âAre youâŠ?â Felix asks, close enough for Ace to hear him over the others shouting.
âHe's fixed!â Nea answers for him, finally letting go of the almost painful hug in favor of smacking Ace on the back encouragingly.
Felix glances at Nea but quickly looks back at Ace, waiting for confirmation.
âYeah, I⊠guess I'm cured,â Ace says, and it almost feels weird to hear his own voice again. âOr... You know, I hope so.â
Because he's still not sure about Felix's feelings, and he has no idea where they're going to go from here.
But he doesn't need to worry, because Felix's face lights up in a way he's never seen before, letting out a disbelieving, genuine laugh. And then he's stepping forward and cupping his cheek and Ace only has time to blink in confusion before his head is tilted up into a kiss.
âWoah,â Ace hears Nea exclaim, her hand leaving his back like burned. âThis, uh⊠this is new.â
Ace smiles into the kiss and tunes out the rest of her and the othersâ surprised babbling, grabbing Felix by the collar of his dress shirt and pulling him deeper into the kiss.
When neither of them are making a move to pull away, their friends seem to be getting fidgety from the show.
âWhy donât we go for a stroll in the woods?â Kate suggests, and the chorus of âSure!â âGreat idea!â and âOh fuck yes get me out of hereâ that follow are enough for a laugh to bubble up in Aceâs throat and get swallowed by Felixâs mouth.
When the last pair of footsteps have hurried away, Felix deems it appropriate to finally break away from the kiss. Though he doesnât go far, burying his head into the crook of Aceâs neck and shoulder and wrapping his arms around him in a tight hug.
âWelcome back,â Felix murmurs against his skin, and the warm affection spreading through Aceâs chest is a welcome change from the constant pain heâs been in for way too long.
âDidnât expect such a thorough welcome,â Ace canât resist flirting, hands sneaking up to rest on Felixâs incredibly firm back. The chuckle he gets in return reverberates through both of their bodies due to how close they are, and Ace wonders if Felix can hear his heart frantically beating in excitement.
âIâm⊠shit,â Felix eventually sighs, lifting his head to meet Aceâs eyes. âI donât know how to make up for being an idiot. I just watched you suffer and didnât know what to do.â
âItâs okay,â Ace says, but now heâs curious. âWhy did you avoid me?â
âBecause I was afraid that I'd get the illness too,â Felix says, looking at the ground in shame. âI thought any one of us could get it, and because of how I feel about you⊠I was scared I was next.â
The confirmation that Felix had feelings for him even before this whole clusterfuck started is enough to make more butterflies dance in Aceâs gut, a flush creeping up his neck over how the other is openly spilling his heart.
âIf Iâd have known I was the one causing it, I would have done something sooner. Iâm so sorry," Felix murmurs, looking at him with sad puppy eyes.
âHey, it's not like I was being very cooperative,â Ace points out, giving his most encouraging smile. âIt's not your fault, it's the dumb flower sickness.â
âI'm sorry you had to go through that, regardless,â Felix frowns. âBut⊠I'm glad it lead us here,â he adds with a bashful smile that makes Aceâs heart do a couple leaps.
âFigures the best and worst things of my life would happen simultaneously,â Ace flirts, and apparently Felix enjoys being called the best thing in his life, because his sappy smile widens even further.
Ace canât resist diving in for another taste, capturing smiling lips in a kiss that lasts even longer than the first one and makes their friends groan and complain about âGeez, youâre still going?â when they rejoin them at the campfire.
#whumptober2020#no.21#i don't feel so well#dead by daylight#fic#blood tw#death tw#riconti#ace visconti#felix richter#dweetwrites#dbd#dbd fanfic#prompt#felix x ace#illness cw#vomiting tw
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You know when I first joined Twitter I had many reservations. I had always heard that Twitter fandom was pretty toxic and for that reason I tried to avoid it as long as possible. Eventually with Tumblr slowly dying I just went for it. I was... pretty damn naive when I joined up.
I have always said, over and over again, that my main reason for even being in fandom was to meet new people and make new friendships that would outlast Supernatural. At this point in time I feel I have accomplished this, though I am always open to making new friends. I like to think, that this being my primary reason for being here, it makes me a genuine person. I am not altogether that interested in popularity, getting the most followers, making my opinion the one everyone MUST believe in, and I never had much interest in âfightingâ antis first hand. Sure I liked writing meta and would defend myself if I was attacked, but seeking out drama and forcing my opinion on others were never things that I cared about.
Twitter changed me. I said I was naive, and I was particularly naive to people seeking me out, being super nice to me, inviting me into lots of various fandom GCs and welcoming me with open arms. When people do that, you feel loved, you feel like you are a part of something, and very quickly it can become addictive. You very easily start feeling like those people are your friends, and you get protective of them. You support them, stand up for them, and turn a blind eye when their behaviour gives you pause.
The other thing you should know about me is that I am an empath. Sometimes this is a strength, and sometimes it is a weakness. I hate the idea of upsetting people, and I feel strongly towards those who are upset. I always try to see different points of view in a situation, and I am very consciencous of offending people - When I have offended others, I tend to dwell on it for a long time afterwards, wanting to make things right. But I also think that being empathic can make me prone to manipulation. Especially of the emotional kind. When that happens I can get defensive myself, when I suspect emotional manipulation I shut down very quickly, and I can get spiteful towards it. Itâs a defense mechanism. I often regret my actions later. I feel like Twitter fandom has brought out some of my nastier qualities, but I feel that I need to explain where I think this has come from.
I was invited into a GC that in hindsight, was a bad place. It was supposedly a place created to vent about things that upset us, and to keep an eye on that âotherâ side of fandom - the bronlys. It was a secret place, you must never talk about this GC, I was told. This GC didnât exist. Iâm going to talk about this GC, and in doing so will probably get attacked, subtweeted, called out directly, called a liar, exposed for being this that and whatever, probably have my private DMs shared, and yeah... a whole bunch of shit probably. Iâm altogether not prepared for any of that, but since I have that whole bunch blocked now, Iâm hoping any shit they say about me will blow over. Anyone who truly knows me, knows I am not the person they make me out to be anyway.
When I first joined that GC the point was to call out hate towards the cast and the writers. To find tagged tweets and bullying and harassment and make sure that the wider fandom knew exactly who the problem people were. I believed in that process. I believed that we were doing good for the fandom in making newer fans aware of who needed to be avoided, as I had heard stories first hand of people who had come into fandom reached out to bigger fandom accounts and immediately been shut down and bullied just for saying they liked Castiel or shipped Dean and Cas. I was angry at those hateful people and wanted some kind of justice for them, so yeah, I joined in happily with the call outs.
But over the past year, things have changed. First, it was not just calling out bronlies, it was calling out extreme stans, who also tagged the writers in their hate. Sure, I wasnât happy that anyone was tagging the writers in hate, so fuck those people. They can go to hell. Iâll support the calling out of those names too. Then, when people started turning on meta writers like me and taking the piss out of our meta, calling it bullshit and mocking us, it was hurtful, so when that GC rallied together to support me and my fellow meta writers and call out those assholes I was all for it. They were screencapping my meta and calling me deluded after all, why shouldnât I defend myself and get my friends to help? People in fandom can be dicks when they want to be. But then again, so can we all.
Then it got weird. I think people in fandom started getting nervous about the final season announcement and how the show would end. Cas stans started getting extremely negative about his chances for survival. Destiel shippers started complaining about Destiel being queerbaiting and planning on going after the writers if it didnât go canon. These were people who I was mutuals with, whose accounts I followed, and whose opinions, whilst they were kind of upsetting for me as a positive fan, were untagged personal opinions and not hate. Those people werenât attacking positive fans, though sometimes discussions got heated, arguably it got heated on both sides. When the GC started going after those people I started feeling uncomfortable. But I kept quiet. This, I have come to realise, was a huge mistake.
Suddenly other fans were fighting against the GC people. They (we) were called âthe fandom policeâ and âthe bully squadâ by so many others. I started noticing how other fans, fellow Destiel shippers, were blocking me and avoiding me for my associations with this group. I watched as the GC people started slagging off accounts that were my long time mutuals, my close friends, people I had met in real life and knew to be good people all because they had voiced a slightly negative opinion about the show. If you are relatively well known in Supernatural fandom, chances are this GC has slagged you off.
At the same time, I had watched how some of my friends within the GC âcliqueâ had started changing, how their behaviour online was becoming aggressive and mean. How they were antagonistic and bullyish. My friends. People who I knew were good people before. The dog piling, the condescending tones, the entitled sense of righteousness, it all added up. I started trying to voice my concerns, both to people I was close to within the GC privately, and timidly within the GC itself - for which I was shut down. I started reconsidering my own behaviour online. Had I too acted like this? Had I also aggressively gone after people for simply voicing a negative opinion? Had I also shown myself to be exactly what this GC was supposed to be fighting against?
Some of the others privately admitted to feeling the same way. Some of us backed off and stopped associating with the main GC accounts. We kept our distance from them, some I know muted them. But none of us left the GC. I wish I had back then rather than letting it escalate further.
It had once again got worse from just going after people with negative opinions, now they were going after anyone who disagreed with their specific opinions. Either you agree with us, or you are an idiot. I couldnât stomach it anymore. My friend, who was also in the GC, decided to query this new line of thinking because she disagreed with the âbig opinionâ. This is what kicked off all the drama. Iâm not going to go into detail about it because otherwise itâll get too obvious and personal and I want to keep this vague because whilst these people have hurt me and spread lies about me I actually donât intend to call them out personally or reveal whose who in the group.
Just know this. By the time I eventually spoke up it was apparantly too late. My admittence of my discomfort was seen as a betrayal. There were private DMs in which I got defensive and snapped back whilst emotional about basically losing all my closest Twitter friends, and some messages I sent which I am not proud of. If they get out, fair enough. Judge me all you like. Just understand that I was extremely upset and confused how no one else apparantly saw the issues I was seeing; that this GC was indeed bullying and policing fandom, and that these people were intimidating, threatening, and manipulating everyone into believing they were victims.
I tried to let it drop, I tried to ignore it. I wanted to keep quiet. But my quitting the GC, my request to those who were calmer and less inclined towards bad behaviour to at least keep the ones who were bullying fandom in line, didnât stop them. Their behaviour has only escalated further and Twitter fandom right now is an awful place because of it. The bronlys must be laughing at us, because Destiel fandom has turned cannabalistic.
I spoke out recently. I tried to keep it vague in a tweet about the recent drama in general. But one thing I said gets pulled out separately and suddenly Iâm the big bad wolf invalidating people and Iâm a horrible person who is clearly fetishising destiel as I want them to fuck on the map table apparantly?!?! I mean, this is what these people do. They take something and blow it up. They twist your words, they basically throw a dictionary of large complex words at you claiming you are x,y,and z. they use terms like gaslighting and strawmanning aimed at you and in the confusion it takes you forever to actually realise that they are doing those things themselves. Constantly. To everyone.
Look I took it too far. I subtweeted too. I exhibited those bad behaviours as well. Hell, I learned from the best after all. I was in that GC for a year. Of course I am still trying to unlearn those behaviours. I am not proud of my behaviour on Twitter. After this post, I will try to do be better. Everyday. I will be better. I apologise to anyone I may have hurt by supporting and encouraging that behaviour.
I have had mutual friends tell me privately that I need to stop. What upsets me, is that those mutuals arenât exactly telling the others to stop too. No. Those were the mutuals who stayed quiet whilst those particular people just constantly attacked and bullied everyone. So Iâm sorry, but this is me not stopping, this is me making one last post on the topic. This is me telling my story as I see it. This is me pouring my heart out and getting it off my chest. This is my truth. Iâm not spinning lies here, Iâm not trying to twist anything, because I think I also come across quite badly. But the recent accusations against me, claiming I donât care for anyone else in fandom, that my calling out âso called bullyingâ is just my personal vendetta against people who used to be my friends. Well, yes. Technically youâd be right there, they did used to be my friends, but no. Where you are wrong, is saying I donât care. Because if I didnât care about the bullying that I am STILL seeing on my timeline via upset mutuals reacting to the hurtful tweets of those I have blocked, I would just ignore it and not cause myself further drama. If I didnât 100% believe those people were bullies, theyâd still be my friends. I wouldnât have called them out. Why would I put myself through all this if I didnât 100% believe what Iâve been saying? Thatâs just madness.
Because hereâs the thing, I HATE bullies. I have been bullied my whole fucking life, and what I hate MORE than that, was that through that GC I also became something that I hated. Because by associating with them for that year, I might as well have called myself a bully too. And that I just canât forgive.
So my reason for writing this post is twofold.
1. Yes, itâs to defend the lies spread against me. So that those wondering if I am actually a fake bitch with a vendetta against certain people can make up their own minds. Perhaps this post exasperates that, or in your minds confirms their accusations about me. Maybe it does. I would argue that I am not fake. This isnât fake. This is my personal truth and a very personal account of things that have greatly hurt me and caused me much internal conflict over the past few months. Those people who I am accusing (whose names I have left out to stupidly protect their privacy because believe it or not Iâm not a bitch who encourages harassment against anyone even people I consider bullies) will never admit that their behaviour is wrong. They will continue to attempt to convince anyone who asks that I turned on them for no reason, or because I blindly follow my friend who they are also attacking and exposing right now for getting emotional and taking a DM convo too far. If you choose to believe them that is your right, clearly you and I were never close enough for you to trust my word over the words of people whose behaviour is clearly and proudly splashed all over their own social media accounts. Frankly, if you see all that, and still believe that behaviour is okay, you are no friend of mine.
2. Itâs because I want people to know that actually, through all the pain and drama and emotion and loss of friendship, and conflict and struggle with my mental health, I do care. I care too damn much. If I didnât I wouldnât have spent an hour of my Sunday writing this out. Because this has been toiling and whirling inside me painfully for months and I am fed up of it. I had to write it down. I had to get it out of me. I want these people out of my life for good, but I canât sit by and let bullies continue to manipulate my fandom, my mutuals, my friends who I see encouraged by their behaviour to imitate it. They are unfortunately very good at encouraging others to also partake in their behaviour. Please do not fall for it. Please consider your tone when tweeting or replying to someone with an opposing opinion. Please donât feed bad behaviour by liking it and tweeting it just because you agree with the specific opinion buried within the condescension. Please donât throw around strong accusations like homophobia against your fellow queer fans just because they have different desires from this dumb show that we all love.
If you can all do that for me, then I will promise to do it for you too.
I am terrified to post this post. I know that in doing so I am burning quite a few bridges. I know that those I accuse will do everything in their power to make out that I am insane, that I am a psycho. I know that I am exposing myself to more attacks, more harassment. I am sure there will be plenty of twitter threads dragging my name through the mud. Theyâll dismiss all of this, call it bullshit, once again claim its just my personal vendetta against certain people. I guess Iâm hoping that by anticipating all this and writing it down, it might give those people pause to just stop and leave me be. Stop the cycle of bad behaviour that has caused all this escalation and go back to enjoying the show without policing everyone else.
At this point I just want everyone to know the truth. Whether you believe it or not is your prerogative. This show ends in a few months time and I just want to enjoy it without seeing bullying in my timeline. Thatâs what this has always been about.
We must stand up to bullying. We must not let it ruin the final few months of this show. This post is my final word on the topic. I wonât respond to anything else. I wonât respond to any threats, any subtweets against me going forward. Hateful anons will be blocked. I wonât respond to anyone asking me for more info and I have no intention of naming people personally or giving more clues as to the GC or the people who were in it. So please donât ask. Just keep an eye out for bad behaviour in fandom and if you see it, block or mute the source, only call it out if you know you have the mental capabilities to tackle the gaslighting. But absolutely do not support it. Do not feed the bullies as attention is what they want most of all, that and making their words the only words fandom follows.
I am done with this now. I wonât discuss this more.
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Waver 1 - 13 (FINAL) | Prisma Illya 1 - 10 (FINAL) | Prisma Illya 2wei! 1 - 3
Another (and to be honest, the last) batch of impressions from the Fate/ project.
Waver 1
Well, thisâll be interesting. Iâve been hyping this show up for a while for myself, so letâs see how it goes.
Geez, this intro is like a dang movie! Iâd love to see a proper Troyca movie! (<-Says the fan of Troyca.)
Wait, if itâs Kayneth Archibald, then is Archibald relatd to Archisorte? Or am I just making thing up hereâŠ? Also note Reines refers to Kayneth as âKayneth El-Melloi Archibaldâ, possibly meaning Archibald is the middle name, since El-Melloi is a shared surname (or is that a titleâŠ?). That probably means Archibald =/= Archisorte and both are similar-sounding middle names. The fact Reines is Kaynethâs niece also explains things quite a bit.
Why is Waver upside downâŠ? Wonât the blood rush to his head soon? (Sure, it allows me to ogle his hair more, butâŠlogic rules more than my stupid whims, yâknow?)
Interesting. You can see that although Waver grew out his hair, thereâs two layers to it â the longer one in the front and the shorter one in the back. (Iâm just curious because I like the hime cut â which is pretty similar - and long hair on dudes in general, in part because both are fairly rare.)
Okay, that explained my gripe with upside-down Waver. Thanks, Reines. (<-genuine)
Aw, Waver buddy, even at this stage, youâre plenty cute. Donât ever change! (<- As you can see, I am an easily pleased person in most cases.)
Melvin who now???
Troycaâs comic animation rules! Itâs too bad Idolish7 Second Beat is using chibis instead of thisâŠ
Professor Kayneth. I forgot he had a formal title. I wonder, does Waver - I mean, El-Melloi II â have that title as well?
I guess I shouldâve known Saber had the capability to look scary, butâŠI never knew Saber could look so scaryâŠ
*cut to eyecatch* - *points at eyecatch* Okay, someone tried to save budget here, didnât they???
Aw, friendship between fiction boys is cuteâŠuntil it involves the puking up on blood on one end.
Waver is the OG underdog hereâŠdonâtcha think?
ââŠwith several demands.â â Uh-ohâŠthis is gonna be bad, isnât it?
You need a Tuner for Magic Crests? (âŠLike a tuning fork, but a person?) *brow raised in suspicion*
âŠis it appropriate for me to say âOh, good lord!â now? (Okay, I did that rather deliberately, but normally in these notes Iâd self-censor it to be âoh, goodnessâ or something like that.)
Seriously, the black-haired dude in the Ionian Hetairoi is my favourite, even if only because he looks like Waver (and heâs really easy to spot, to boot).
Why is this in first person??? Iâve dropped entire shows based on their usage of 1st person cam! Room Mate and Makura no Danshi basically scarred me for life on that frontâŠand both of those are TV shorts!
Hey, wait a second. This âuse a quote on the titlecardâ thing is clearly an Ei Aoki sort of thing to do. I mean, itâs in ID: Invaded as wellâŠ
Waver 2
*new blonde girl appears* - So this is the rumoured Animusphere girl (Mary), huh?
Bounded field, huh? Iâm glad I chose to watch F/Z before this, then. Now I actually understand the (rough) mechanics of how that works.
Thereâs assassins and then thereâs AssassinsâŠ*thinks about the Holy Grail War*
As it turns out, astromancy is basically astrology.
The one thing that bugs me about âModern Magecraftâ (thereâs a similar concept of New Magic in Mairimashita! Iruma-kun) isâŠhow is the magic âmodernââŠ? Especially in a work like this, where the magic is based in arcane rituals and bloodlinesâŠyou really need to establish how the âmodernâ bit works.
Gray is facing away from the Animusphere girl (Mary), I noticed.
âWhen you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.â â Sherlock Holmes â Basically, the fact Iâve memorised this quote is one of the lingering impacts of my time in the Detective Conan fandom, as it can be used on things like quizzes, not just mysteries.
Can we please use proper English, Waver??? (Says me to a character whose name I still find nonsensical enough to not be proper English.) As I said previously, âwhydunitâ is modus operandi or motiveâŠthe new bit is âhowdunitâ, which would be the method.
I do believe the geocentric model was overthrown by people like Kepler.
Gray kind of looks like Saber with that hairstyle, come to think of it.
With the way Gray hides herself under that hood, itâs no mystery as to why guys love herâŠat least, I know ThatRandomEditor does. Of course, Iâm heavily neutral on the whole affair because I donât swing that way, butâŠyou knowâŠ
LEMPC seems to stand for âLord El-Melloi Production Committeeâ, if Iâm guessing right.
I seem to remember there was a quote somewhere that said the only constant in this world was changeâŠhmm.
Waver 3
They seem to keep calling Japan âthe Far Eastâ (or at least, Japan is part of the Far East). Thatâs a pretty antiquated term for a supposedly âmodernâ magic anime. I get vaguely peeved by the term âthe Far Eastâ because it causes people to take an oriental viewpoint on things and thus itâs kind of like people from the Anglosphere looking down on Asians. (I also get vaguely peeved by the term âWesternersâ for much the same reason and âCaucasiansâ because it implies all people of the Anglosphere come from the Caucasus, which is falseâŠthen again, these niggles are specific to international studies, so I have a vested interest in explaining them.)
âŠWow, that star-eyepatch girl isâŠreally something, to be thirsty specifically for Waverâs Iron Claw. (Then again, with my weird tastes in things, who am I to critique her?)
Flitz von Erich. I was surprised to learn this guy actually existsâŠon Wikipedia, at the very least.
âAny lady should know about wrestling.â â I disagree, Luvia.
Blue furry electrical creatureâŠI dunno how the zoology in this show works, but the fantasy series Iâm reading as of the time I was typing this comment has a blue creature called a Raiju (literally âthunder beastâ in Japanese, so it would suit the âThunderâ in the episode title). If itâs anything like that, Iâd laugh myself silly.
This girl on the poster seems to be called Flan Noir (or something similar).
ââŠyellow, round, fluffy-smellingâŠâ â What? Svin, you have no right to call a girl those words!
When is this series set if people donât have phones as a standard? *Googles* Okay, if F/SN is set in 2004, then F/Z is 1994. That would make sense, actually. The internet as we know it was first used in 1995 and didnât become widespread for home use until a few years later, as I remember having computers in 2004 (albeit the blocky ones with the dial-up).
I was looking at images for the source material and I think I know why I like Waver (aside from the fact he has long hair). Normally I like the boys whose appearances are hard to get right, such as EnâŠWaver in the novels and manga for this series sometimes looks grumpy, sometimes he looks constipated and worst of all, sometimes he looks like Snape with a hook nose.
Okay, so I googled Caules to figure out who his sister wasâŠand I got Apocrypha spoilers. See, his sister is Fiore, who is apparently in that series.
The videos got encoded funny againâŠ
There seems to be a mystery around why Svin and Gray canât be togetherâŠwell, one deeper than just âSvin is gaga for Gray [for reasons we donât know at this point in time]â.
Ha, the El-Melloi Class is basically just the Misfit Class from Mairimashita! Iruma-kun.
âOnly the flesh was bitten off.â Â
This Jupiter gibberish, I assume, is drawing upon the mythology of Jupiter â that is, Zeus â as the god of thunder and king of the gods (thus presiding over living beings).
The English is good on the bill, bar a space between âMystics of magecraftâ.
Norwich is apparently a âfacultyâ which the Modern Magecraft Theories guys â i.e. Waver â rule over.
Can you imagine Waver swearing? Since I had the volume off, I basically made him say ââŠif Sir Gueldoa had resorted to brute force, we wouldâve been f***edâ in my headâŠand that was hilarious.
Aw, thanks 7Mononoke. âA cowardly thief sneaks away in the night. If you stride away, bursting with song, you are a conquering king.â Thatâs a quote from Rider himself.
So the Association has set positions for Masters in the War? GeeshâŠthat must be hard on Waver to find out theyâre closed, considering how much Waver pines for Rider.
Waver 4
I finally got the chance to listen to the ED last ep and now itâs the OP I can hear properly. This OP isnât particularly impressive, considering itâs an instrumental (instrumentals always seem to have less impact for me unless Iâm looking for something to chill to), but it does capture the London-esque spirit of the setting very well.
Whatâs up with this metal (?) maid off to the side, anyway?
âGood thinking to leave the door openâŠâ â For some reason, even though itâs a completely different and much more benign context, this made me think of KyoAni and my heart sunk. Â
Atrum GalliastaâŠI hate that man. He may look hot, but he was nothing but a b*stard to Medea.
Bolo tiesâŠnrghâŠBasically, ever since Arima wore a bolo tie, Iâve become fairly bugged by them. Thatâs why Bramâs bugs me.
Aw, Waver, buddy, plase donât sacrifice yourself again. I read on the wiki you become a Servantâs vessel (specifically for Zhu Ge Liang), so keep your hopes up.
Iâm seriously feeling ID: Invaded vibes from this episode, what with the lightning.
I suspect a locked room murder is going to happen soon, knowing the genre. Either that or some other crime.
Considering Fate/ was an eroge-based thing initially, these sex jokesâŠthereâs probably plenty of them out there.
Well, it seems this series only makes sense in that non-Detective Conan way, i.e. you want to know how it all comes together and canât necessarily figure it out for yourself until you know how the magic works. Iâm randomly going to guess this is more Jupiter-based stuff and call it a day on that front.
Seriously, I never got what was up with nightgowns (or just pyjamas in general) having hats. You donât need protection for your head at nightâŠthatâs what pillows are for, yeah? (The only reason I see a hat-like thing working with nightwear is a onesie and thatâs meant to be part of the inherent appeal of the thing.)
Waver 5
I feel like Adashino is meant to be an Irene Adler-type figureâŠ
âPeaceful Fairysâ (sic)
Where did Kairiâs scar come fromâŠ?
The Black Dog was in Mahoutsukai no Yome as well, but this one looks a lot less inviting, huh?
It seems, like the name Rail Zeppelin implies (as âDemon Eyes Collection Trainâ), most of the people involved in this case have Magic Eyes (or whatever theyâre actually called). I wouldnât be surprised if Kairi had them as well, considering heâs wearing dark glasses in the middle of a thunderstorm.
âKing Arthur is a dude, right?â - *laughs madly* They finally managed to parody their own bulls***! (Well, Iâm not counting Carnival Phantasm or whatever else because this is the first time they threw a meta joke in there in the whole of this project, as far as I can remember.) Â
Trimmau seems to be the maidâs nameâŠhuh. They never mentioned that earlier, I donât think.
So whatâs the difference between Fairy Eyes and Mystic Eyes?
Wait, does that even workâŠ? The entire house is the murder weapon? Thatâs basically breaking the âsecret passagewayâ thing on a larger scale.
So whatâs Trevorâs motiveâŠ?
The dogs running towards the Workshop reminded me of the Hunger Games for some reasonâŠmust be the climax.
That fairy isnât emoting muchâŠ
Oh cra-Wills is going to sacrifice himself, like Adashino was going to do! Thatâs the second time Iâve seen that in 2 days (the first was in the Hypnosis Mic manga about the Dirty Dawg).
UhâŠWaverâs not particularly fit or fast, is heâŠ?
Can you be paid for your case if your client is essentially dead�
Adra? I read around and Adra seems to be a way to spell the location (or whatever it is) in the first caseâŠwhich got adapted into a stage play, but not an anime. Thatâs probably what heâs (Waver) referring to.
Notably, the title is translated to âlanceâ but yari means spearâŠ
Waver 6
I seriously wanna slap that pink-haired girlâŠUpdate: Her name is Yvette.
This is basically Gray fanserviceâŠ
If Gray = Saber and Saber =King ArthurâŠhmmâŠdoes it count as a girlâs party?
Homeland? Since Britain is Saberâs (aka Grayâs) home country, I think they meant âhometownââŠIâd hav to listen to the Japanese to make sure, though.
I still think Waver is a stupid, or at the very least false, name for a boy, especially if he did come from Britain. Thatâs basically my one limitation on him as a husbando.
The red bit of the eyecatch was shapd like an eyeâŠit did catch eyes in a sense, after all.
So Trimmau is sustained by magic.
Locked-roomâŠor rather, bounded fieldâŠmystery time!
Luvia did mention wrestling in another episodeâŠ
I had to google that, but the Separation Castle is from the Adra case mentioned in episode 5. No wonder I donât remember itâŠ
âAre you suggesting there were faultsâŠâ (from Luvia) - Ooh, I was thinking the perpetrator was caught inside their own bounded field or maybe it was an outsider, but that works too, Reines.
Add calld Luvia out for her extravagance, LOL.
Catch-as-catch-can appears to be âno-holds-barred fightingâ, particularly wrestling.
That case was both informative and possibly solveable by the audience. Both good qualities for a mystery.
If you summon the spirit again, is it the same Rider with the same memories? Or can you summon a different version of the same Rider with amnesia, much like Rin did with Archer? Update: Oh yeah, I did read this on the wiki at one point but then forgot about it. The next episode (7) confirms that Rider wouldnât remember Waver if he were summoned again.
Waver 7
âŠCâmon, admit it, show. The glasses are not only there for plot reasons but to up Waverâs status as megane boy for the rest of this case. Not that I mind â I actually really like megane boys, but Iâm nowhere near the love of Meganebu â but in the case of plausibility, I wanna poke holes into it.
Auction for which Mystic Eyes now�
Thereâs a guyâŠwith an elephant headâŠI know I shouldnât be bugged by it, but I need the MST3K mantra right now.
This is gonna be a Murder on the Orient Express thing, isnât it? All cases set on trains seem to take cues or make homage to it. (I may not be that proficient on Christie in comparison to Holmes, since Holmes was Conanâs inspiration, but Murder on the Orient Express I have read and I did secure an anthology of 4 Christie novels at one point specifically so that I could improve in this area.)
The main series never explained the bad blood between the Church and the Tower, did they�
*sweatdrop* Let me guessâŠwhen Yvette mentions âmultiplayâ, she means a threesome, right?
How do anime people see out of those blindfold thing, anyway??? (Or is it that Leandra has Mystic Eyes that were sold off or otherwise tampered with?)
I believe the word is âpalateâ, Kairi (or subbers).
Anime characters being bagworms with their blankets is always appealing, no matter the gender. Itâs funny and/or relatable, after all.
Does Gray get motion sickness� Update: Seems I spoke about a minute too soon. She does.
Waver 8
How does Waver know that Adashino got the documents about the train? Is it because she was in all those places at all those times and he connected the dots?
This lady has heterochromia. Specifically, one is brown and the other is blue or green.
Hmm? I thought the character design was familiar for this. As it turns out, Jun Nakai (who did the character design for this) also did Gateâs, which explains it.
Dionysus is the Greek god of wine, IIRC. Hephaestion is, as (s)he explained, the confidante of Alexander the Great (had to google this one).
Itâs hard to see before the brightly-lit scene where Olga reappears, but as shown, Waver seems to have cut off part of his forelocks on the left side.
Whatâs an Odo???...ooh, fanserviceâŠ*ogles*
The summoning of Hephaestion and Trishaâs murder may or may not be relatedâŠwe just donât know how, yet.
I think a Detective Conan Murder on the Orient Express-style mystery would be a good video ga-*googles* Thereâs at least one of them out there already (albeit only in Japan)...namely, this one. Spoke too soon.
Oh yeahâŠthis is Olgaâs new room, isnât it? I almost forgot about that.
Update: I think this look at the Adra Separation Castle case is interesting. Itâs similar to posts I would write, but done by a professional â namely Richard Eisenbeis of Kotaku and Anime News Network.
Waver 9
So if thereâs a ServantâŠyou have to find the Master.
Olga reminds me of ReinesâŠkind of.
LOL, whoever thought of a zombie cooking show�
This series really goes all-in on the zombies and the fake-outs thereof, huh? Dangit, Melvin, donât scare us.
Melvin has a really odd relationship with Waver, huh? If youâre really insisting youâre âthe only person to ever be able to hurt Waverâ, I donât quite see how you guys can be friends in the normal sense of the word.
Why would someone have a violin at a time like this�
Interestingly, they donât bother to do any fanservice of Caules. That scene with Gray and Yvette was fanservice for those who like them, but the only guy whoâs getting to do any fanservice in this series is Waver himselfâŠ(what with him being naked and knocked out right now.)
âSibylâ seems to be a synonym for âvirginââŠ(*whispers âAwkwardâŠâ*)
Update: After reading some of Marthâs posts on this series, Iâm inclined to call this âMurders on a Train (with an Exploding Helicopter for Good Measure)â.
Waver 10
For some reason, thereâs episode 0 â 9, then 11 â 13 on the service Iâm using. Whereâs 10?
I think Waverâs relationship with Rider is interesting because of the way I think of relationships myself. Waver has made it clear that he wants to see Rider again so he can basically prostrate at his feet all over again (and maybe win a wish and/or see Oceanus while theyâre at it), but â hey, hear this! - I used to believe, when I was still an impressionable kid, all relationships, whether they be between friends, family or even lovers, lasted roughly in the same state basically forever (as in, friends stay friends forever, theyâll never be so far apart that they canât kep their relationship alive etc. etc.)âŠObviously, I was wrong and arguably, this change in thinking, plus the related changes in technology, are where my ability to fleetingly but passionate love both 2D boys and the series they come from comes from.
Wait, so the Child of Einasshe (sp?) is the forest, yeah? I donât think I got that 100% straight.
I never thought the shield form of a Mystic Code could be used for snowboarding down a mountain/hillâŠwhatever Gray just went down. I didnât even know Add had a shield form, for that matter.
â[U]sual individualâ â LOL. What a way to refer to Waver.
âWait a minute!â â Iâm just imagining Phoenix Wright all of a sudden. A Waver legal mystery series would be boring as all get out â Iâm far less interested in the courtroom versions of mysteries and more interested in how the pieces fit together. (Update: Then again, I am a person who likes the action genre and courtroom mysteries donât have much of that, which might also explain my choice.)
ââŠlacking the element of motive to begin with.â â Well, Waverâs not wrongâŠ
Iâm observing this apple and noticing someone skimped on the detail around the stem. Does anyone still remember Art Academy for the DS? After looking at some promo material for it, I basically learnt how to draw a proper apple (and nothing else, really). If an apple is just drawn as a circle, it doesnât quite look like an apple up close. (Two of the main things I screw up on when drawing are perception and the colour of highlights, both of which are covered in something like an apple stem and the related indent.)
Oh goodnessâŠI was hoping Karabo would keep his vision (or actual eyeballs)âŠbut thatâs gruesome.
Iâm guessing, based on the wheelchair, that Waverâs still paralysed or otherwise not able to move around like normal. Update: Spoke too soon.
Someone encoded the video funny againâŠ
Waver 11
What was that crossword thing� A warding spell of some sort?
Is that an owl in the back?!
Stealth fighterâŠRider wanted on, didnât he?
Every time he appears on screen now, I basically curse Melvin. Heâs entertaining to watch, sure, but heâs annoyingly prodigal (= wasteful). Heâs basically Dice from HypMic at this stage (aka heâs the sort of person whoâd bet away his own clothes, given the chance and incentive).
Look at the way Waverâs hair drags behind him as he walksâŠitâs gorgeousâŠ
âResidual Imageâ (as translated in the title) is literally âthe left-over imageâ (zanzou). Not surprising, but I find the exact combo of characters used interesting since it could be short for ânokoru eizouâ (where the nokoruâs character is read as zan in the combo, as you can guess). Â Â
Waver 12
WowâŠthis series really pulled something out of its butt this time, huh? âThe guy without a heartââŠno viewer wouldâve known that actually referred to a character called Dr Heartless unless they knew of his existence somehow (the closest they wouldâve been was having an inkling that this pointed to a name of the culprit).
There is an owl in the back of the auction room!
Ay? So what the heck is Pandemonium in this case?
âdotardâ â Turns out this means âan old person, especially one who has become physically weak or whose mental faculties have declined.â You canât say I donât enrich my vocbulary through watching anime, huh?
Iâm still wonderingâŠwhy adapt case 7 of this series (Rail Zeppelin)? Why not case 1 (Adra)? Update: I donât know where I pulled the number 7 from, since this is volume 4 â 5 of the series. Apparently some of the cases were anime-original though.
Waver 13 (FINAL)
Oh, Flat, you stupidâŠ
Waverâs exasperated faces are great. No wonder Reines likes to toy with himâŠ
I can assume Rail Zeppelin is a Ghost Liner, yes?
Can I guess that Adashino ~likes~ WaverâŠ? Update: Turns out thatâs not quite the case.
Ooh, Waver without his shirt is se-okay, Iâm getting distracted. Seriously though, Waver never showed his Crest in F/Z. I never even knew what it looked like until now! The fact itâs such a simple design in comparison to his Command Seals isâŠkinda underwhelming, really.
I think thereâs a bit of a pattern between Jakurai (from HypMic) and WaverâŠnamely, they suck when it comes to drinking. (Also, of course, the long hair. Donât forget it, never forget it.)
Shut up, Add!
For some reason, I felt like a lot of that last part, while getting closure for Waver, it almost had connotations of âIâll meet you on the other side, RiderââŠso it felt kind of sad, to be honest. That talk between Reines and Olga I donât think Iâd understand without Apocrypha and Grand Order, but I guess thatâs to be expected in such a huge franchise. Anyways, moving right along!
Illya 1
Iâve been a bit worried about what Iâll have to subject myself to for the sake of Magical GirlsâŠ
Was thatâŠTaiga?
Whoâs LizâŠ?
Okusama, huh? (Okusama = someoneâs wife, although it seems to be used in the plural here since I donât think Kiritsugu and/or Iri are dead in this timeline.)
The subs Iâve got say Shiro is adopted here too (when itâs not in the Japanese), although I wonder exactly how much of UBW is going to be true in this animeâŠ
HmmâŠa bit of digging reveals Luviaâs not a Master. So throwing out Lancer is really just a joke on how Lancer gets roasted early on in Grail Wars, right?
UhhhhhhhhhhhhhâŠsquick, muchâŠ(Thank goodness the source I was using edited out the loli fanservice, so I can tolerate this series a lot moreâŠbut still, suggesting you have a romance with your step-brother, even if itâs known youâre not related from the beginning, isâŠyou already know my feelings on that, based on my reaction. Shiro is, what, 15? About twice Illyaâs age!) Update: Okay, so he has no confirmed age in Prisma Illya, but heâs 17 in F/SN so Iâd assum the same or similar, seeing as he attends the same school. Itâs fine if itâs platonic, but this is clearly an Onii-chan, daisuki! thing the likes of which Oreimo throws down! Thank you for calling it out though, Ruby.
Oh my gosh, this looks like the Rhongomynaid (Detective Waver) and Excalibur (or whatever Saberâs Noble Phantasm is called) summoning beam! LOL!
Ruby, you lech! Donât go praising the angles! *shakes fist* (Seriously, what if magical girl mascots were paedophilesâŠ? *blank face* Welp, considering whatâs out there on the internet, I wouldnât be surprised if a hentai or something had such a concept.)
Hmm? Turns out the word for Servant means something like âcelestial heroâ. Makes sense.
Nice callback to Saber and Shiro!
Illya 2
I thought Illya would say that her parents are deadâŠturns out the showâs not that grimdark (to the point where it wouldnât set the show after Kiritsugu and Iriâs deaths), huh?
Do the sticks have a gender? The subs said âsheâ for RubyâŠ
LOL, itâs Rider. I thought Lancer was gonna get his butt kicked all over again (thinking more along the lines of CCS).
Itâs Gay Bul-I mean, Gae Bolg! (Iâve been reading TV Tropes againâŠcan you tell?)
This episode was pretty pedestrian. I like it more than the first one.
Whatâs up with the CGIâŠ?
Oh! Bunbun, who does Yuki Yuna! Update: They only did the illustrations for some of the series. They also did SAO illustrations, although thatâs of less significance to me.
Illya 3
The sticks do have genders!!! Thatâs like claiming Jesus for kakera with Mudae! (Yes, thatâs possible. I got him in one server.)
The power of fujoshiâŠis amazing! How did it get to a girl whoâs so young?!
These angles are a bit disturbingâŠ
âCasaoâ, LOL.
Magical girl nakama, huh?
Illya 4
MST3K mantra!
Whose quote is that againâŠ? âDonât think, imagineâ? Update: It turns out to not be anyoneâs quote at all, if Google results are to be believed.
Uh-oh! Saber Alter!
Illya 5
Padding the episode already�
The mist is a quality of a Berserker, right?
Geez the angles piss me offâŠ
These sticks have brains???
Can you call it teamwork if theyâre always complaining about each other?
Illya 6
More paddingâŠ
Illyaâs UBW!
Geesh, that last-minute shot of Rin and Luvia popping out of the ground scared me for a bitâŠ
Illya 7
*sigh* Itâs the sick episodeâŠ
I recognise the vacuum cleaner. I have the same one at home.
*sigh* Random fanservice of elementary school girls. This is what gives anime a bad name.
*Sapphire pulls out a USB port* - Ohhkay, is that stick fanservice, in a senseâŠ? Because thatâs awkward too.
Maids went out of fashion years agoâŠ
âLyrical Radical Genocideâ - I think this Lyrical Radical things is parodying Nanoha.
Based on the cloak, itâs an Assassin.
âListen, if you arenât careful, youâll die!â â Yep, because people die when they are killed. I almost missed that meme for a bit.
Illya 8
Illyaâs still reeling from Miyuâs talk, huh?
I noticed it said tomoda(chi) in the background at one point.
Does Miyu exist in any of the alternate universes?
Ah, thereâs yuujou (friendship) in the background as calligraphy.
I think the video got encoded funny againâŠ
Geez, complaining about boobs? The series got worseâŠoh, I forgot Shiro was around in this series.
âŠwhoâs left? Thereâs been Saber, Archer, Lancer, Assassin, Rider, Caster andâŠwho? Berserker, thatâs who.
Illya 9
Ohhhhhhhh brother, not more bath scenesâŠ
Iri looks almost exactly like she does in the Eiznbern Consultation Rooms! (I found those around and watched them today.)
Thank goodness the fanservice is censoredâŠ
I never realised Berseker had heterochromia until nowâŠ
One thing that I assume makes Saberâs outfit look nice to thos that like girls is the window in the topâŠbut it goes to waste on Miyu, LOL.
I find it interesting Illya has all these concerns â the ones (or similar ones) Iri harbourd in F/Z.
Hey, the bridge! This is the bridge where Rider dies inn F/Z, yeah?
The ED looks different this time⊠Â
Illya 10 (FINAL)
E-EepâŠloli fanserviceâŠ
Now Miyu is basically what Waver is to Rider, no doubt about it.
Bulls***! Speak of the devil! I was wondering what Waver looked like in the Illya style, because I read on the wiki he makes a cameo in season 2, andâŠhere he is. Didnât expect him in season 1, though.
Another new ED animation. I find it interesting theyâve never once had to recast any VAs throughout the entire existence of Fate/ animeâŠnot that I know of, anyway.
Hiroyama Hiroshi is the original Illya creator.
Okay, thatâs the end of one season. I feel kind of fatigued since I finished the Eiznbern Consultation Rooms today as well, so Iâm going to take a break from watching more Illya until itâs necessary to watch again in a few postsâ time.
Now that theyâve collected the cards, Iâm wondering what the series intends to do nextâŠ
Illya s2 Pt 1 Ep 1
They clearly skimped on the budget when Shiro was leaving the houseâŠ
I keep forgetting Illya is meant to be GermanâŠ
That bad EnglishâŠis actually there in the ep. titleâŠ
Oh greatâŠschoolgirls talking about erotic swimsuitsâŠ
This s*** is what you call âClass-Sâ! I have no interest in it, because I donât swing that way! (Sorry, yuri fansâŠ)
The problem with series that arenât 100% made with you in mind is that your favourite characters might look uglyâŠthatâs especially the case with En, Jakurai and Waver.
Ryudou Temple, eh? Letâs hope Assassin still looks good.
I donât think Iâve seen that beforeâŠnamely, being able to hear whatâs going on outside the transformation while itâs happening.
Now this 2 Illyas thingâŠthis is new, alright.
Illya s2 Pt 1 Ep 2
LOL, what a horoscope.
Truck-kun! I donât think Illya would make a good isekai protag, come to think of it.
Who is this nurse? I feel like sheâs from some other part of the Nasuverse⊠Update: My guess was right. Thatâs Caren Hortensia, protagonist of Fate/hollow ataraxia and KireiâsâŠuh, daughter. I know he had a wife. We never met said wife, but seeing the daughter really drove that fact home. Â
UhhhhhhhhâŠokay, now the lesbian loli scene just made things go off a cliff for me. Iâm not against lesbians or yuri â to each their own â but that scene was clearly meant to be pleasing to a certain audience.
How does anyone kill anything gently�
Ohhhhhhkay, strike 2 for loli fanservice.
I seem to rememberâŠthatâs right, Alice from the [something] no Kuni no Alice series was evaluated on her coffee-making skills (by Julius, I think it was). Thatâs why Iâm thinking of Alice when I see Luvia praising Miyu on something similar.
Wa-hey! Itâs Rinâs Azoth dagger!
Well, the mechanics of the transformation are also something you have to think about. Iâll give the show kudos for that. Â
Illya s2 Pt 1 Ep 3
Can we not with the whole âOnii-chan, daisuki!â thing?! Thatâs it! Thatâs the last straw! Iâm finishing this episode and aborting early so that I can preserve my dignityâŠand get some proper sleep for once.
The fact Miyu thinks Shiro resembles her brother must not be a coincidenceâŠ(Iâve become far too Fate/ savvy, havenât I?) Update: It seems I was right. Apparently, Miyu was taken in by Kiritsugu in a certain universe, but apparently this is a bunch of spoilers.
Genki na aisatsu was in the back.
This is just getting worse and worseâŠ
So now Kuroâs name is Kuroe (Chloe), huh? Anyways, good riddance, loli fanservice! So long! I wonât miss you one bit!
#lord el-melloi ii-sei no jikenbo#Lord El-Melloi II's Case Files#fate/kaleid liner prisma illya#Fate/Kaleid Liner Prisma Illya 2wei!
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last one I promise: ffxv but in space?... OK I'll admit I'm starting to run out of ideas. have a nice day and good luck with school!
holy fuck i went way more crazy with this than I planned. so have fun. Keep in mind, yâall, this is a space auâthings are defo different than the actual plot. also: happy ending
FFXV IN SPACE HC
The Regalia is a small prototype ship made for small trips to and from space stations and moons
Noctisâ father is the leader of a massive space colony circling a dimming blue star
Their space colony is running out of resources and energy as a result of a longstanding war with The Empire, a corporation that grew too powerful back when space travel became big and now aims to take control of every colony, resource, and inhabitable planet in the galaxy
so Regis sends Noctis and Co out on an expedition to build alliances and find potential resources that the Empire had overlooked
Noctis is a drifter who doesnât want to take over his dadâs colony
Gladio is a soldier, a bodyguard in training for the leaders of the space colony. His family has always worked closely with the colonyâs founders, so he was raised to follow in the footsteps of his ancestors and to protect Noct
Prompto is a lower level settler of their space colony
He ran into Noctis during their school days and latched himself to Noct like a leach (Noct never minded and even grew to like Prom)
Ignis is still an advisor, albeit a SPACE ADVISOR
He is well versed in most, if not all, of the known alien languages and settlements (he spent so much of his schooling learning languages that he dreams about learning themâgranted theyâve become more of nightmares by this point)
He guides Noctis on their mission to find resources and build alliances, giving advice such as âDo not try to navigate that asteroid beltâ and âstay far from the Black Hole of Ostenbarïżœïżœmany civilizations were lost thereâ
Granted that advice is always ignored, but hey, itâs the thought that counts!
One day on their expedition, he mentions rumors of a ship called The Oracleâa ship that opposes the Empire
Supposedly, it started out as a simple rescue ship that grew bigger and bigger and soon became a massive self sustaining ship that travels around the galaxy helping those in need
Noct and Co. realize that it may be their first step towards building alliances and aim to find The Oracleâitâs their first tangible mission
The Oracle, if you hadnât already guessed, is run by Luna
She and her brother, Ravus, inherited it from their family
The Oracle had many run ins with the Empire as a result of its good deeds, and Ravus grew tired of the pain inflicted on both his people and his inheritance due to those assholes
He knew he could never deal with the Empire directly, especially while handling The Oracle, so he left the ship in the hands of Luna and ran off
He fell in with a group of good-natured space pirates and now raids the Empireâs smaller ships with his small, growing fleet and gives the resources he obtains from them to those who need itâkind of like a robinhood of sorts
(Iâm expecting some SpacePirate!Ravus spin offs in the futureâiâll even take the transcript of pirates of the caribbean except with ravus and in space)
anyways
Ardyn is a strange deity who was once worshiped on a more primitive, jungle based planet
His planet is hot, humid, and full of bright, colorful creatures. Some of them are poisonous and deadly, and others are docile and harmless
His people made beautiful buildings of stone with carved designs and everything they made was otherworldly and beautiful, there wasnât a single item of theirs that wasnât art in one way or another
They made the most beautiful songs and their language was magnificent and elegant; it was as though their voices were woven from the stars
Keywords? Made. Was.
The Empire found him one day and found his immense power very beneficial
They captured him and his worshippers, turning the worshippers into slaves and science experiments while they used torture and abuse to control Ardyn before turning him into the High Commander or the Empire
They brainwashed him into thinking it was Regisâ colony that had done him wrong, and he has it out for Insomnia Space Colony ever since
It takes a metric fuckton of cycles for Noct and co to finally find The Oracle, who is very willing to join the Insomnia Space Colony cause (my god is that a mouthful or what)
Sidenote: Cor is pretty high up on commanders from Noctâs colony, so he was out conducting business with other settlers at the far end of the galaxy
After the destruction of Insomnia Space Colony, he managed to get hold of Noct on The Oracle and relay the news
It leaves Noctis and the others crushed
They end up lost for a little bit, uncertain what their goal should be from then on
One day, however, The Oracle receives an SOS call from that same dimming star that Noctâs colony had orbited
The Oracle takes them there, and they find many, many survivors
The Oracle takes those survivors on board without a single word, and as Noctis sees the remnants of his peopleâs suffering at the hands of The Empire, he swears to bring an end to those fuckers as long as he lives (cue his new reason for living)
ANyways
Noct and co.âs favorite pit stop is a small colony on an asteroid called Crash Comet
Itâs run by Cid, an old alien friend of Regisâ and his granddaughter
Itâs the nicest gas station, diner, and mechanic outside of their solar system
They visit it regularly, especially after Noct learns how to fly the Regalia (he canât avoid those asteroid belts even when he tries)
Gladio once asked why Prompto was with them on their expedition bc he genuinely had no idea why the kid was there
Gladdy was there for protection, Ignis was their walking, talking adviceman, and Prom? He had no idea
Prom lowkey didnât know either, but he just held up his old lil camera and said some BS about being their historian
In reality, Noct really just brought him bc he didnât want to be stuck in a tiny spaceship with Ignis and Gladdy alone, besides, he knew that Prompto always wanted to see the galaxy outside of their colony
They have many run-ins with Ardyn and The Empireâit always ends in a massive chase scene through the stars, a disappearance in a hectic asteroid belt, and another trip to Crash Comet
Noct, Iggs, Gladdy, and Prom have a blast on their space adventures
At least, up until their colony is destroyed
Still, they meet aliens from all walks of life and eat strange alien food at strange alien gas stations on the edge of the galaxy and make friends everywhere
They make alliances as they go, building up their own army of settlers, colonists, space pirates, and aliens alike to rise up against the Empire, with The Oracle heading their fleet
Prompto takes so many pictures that he ends up with a massive database of things ranging from aliens, planets, stars, flora, fauna, selfies, weird poisonous glowing bacteriaâyou name it, heâs got it (after their adventures he actually finds scientists and alienologists asking him for his pictures for research and references; our boi makes bank on his pics!)
Ignis tries every single different cultured cuisine he can get his grubby lil gloved paws on and he will eat ALL OF IT. he has been poisoned by the clashing chemical makeup on more than one occasion (but he still wonât stop)
Noctis hates trying new culture foods, like he goes for some of it but if Ignis tries to feed him one more Glockinshnidâesiria throat casserole, heâs going to vomit
Gladio towers over a lot of alien species they meet, but he also looks like a penny next to some of them (he lowkey feels insecure about it)
Gladdy likes to trade work out regimens with some aliens
He once tried working out with the very gruff, muscled Kleeverprongs, a species known to eat the muscles of their dead to become stronger and who begin weightlifting at 3 months old (he threw his back out and couldnât walk for a week)
Prompto tries to steal small alien pets but Ignis threatens to throw him out the back of their cruiser if he so much as looks at one more Puffelzingor.
He once hid a small mouse like rodent in his shirt for three weeks, but it escaped and ate through one of Ignisâ prized pots (itâs one of the more expensive ones that can handle stardust and the harshest of acids)
Ignis hasnât forgiven him yet. And he probably never will.
Sometimes Noct and Co. cross paths with Ravus
Ravus usually screams about them being the ones who got his sister tied in even further with the bloody empire and being the biggest thorn in his ass
There was one time where Ravus was thought to be dead in the middle of space, and none other than Noct and Co. rescued him (he had lost an arm and been abandoned by accident. Space pirates arenât very bright sometimes)
He was less aggressive towards them afterwards, especially because he was stuck with them for about 2 and a half cycles (roughly 3.67 months) because the nearest welcoming outpost was at least a good hundred stars away
ANyways plot stuff:
So, throughout their journeys and travels, Noct and Co. slowly learn about some of the Empires more hidden histories and ties with differing colonies
They learn more about Ardyn, how he was essentially a tool used by the empire
THey actually travel back to the planet that Ardyn had been worshiped on and end up learning even more
At first, they thought he had just been a leader of some strange planet, but when discovering he was essentially a god? Oh boi, they were faced with a big moral dilemma
Noctis still wants to bring down the Empire, but now, he also wants to help Ardyn and Ardynâs people
Gladdy is against it, of course, saying that Ardyn had still done terrible things and was still a terrible person who should pay for his actions
Noct mostly disagrees. He thinks Ardyn needs to pay to a certain degree, but to him, it was more important that they at least try to free his people and attempt to get the truth out there
He argues that it really wasnât all Ardynâs fault, that he was nothing more than a pawn who had been manipulated and lied to for nothing but selfish reasons
He doesnât want to help Ardyn, necessarily, but he does want to make things right
It was truly at this point that his friends began seeing the leader that Noct truly is
Noctis and Co. were never really able to convince Ardyn as much as they tried; he was past the point of simply believing things
Still, he made a deal. A snarky deal with a smirk and teasing tone to his voice, but the look in his eye had been enough to give them hope
He told them, that if they were able to find his people and set them free, he just might be willing to strike up some sort of deal that would work out for both of them
Cue montage
The space bros go through hell and back trying to find out what happened to most of the worshippers
They break through and destroy so many Empire outposts and institutes that they probably single handedly cripple part of the Empire
Even so, with how hard they work to find out where the worshippers were, they had to ask for help
They asked both Ravus and Luna for help, as well as some of the more trusted allies they had made through their journey
In the end, they find that most of the worshippers had been killed. They manage to rescue those who had survived, and bring them to Lunaâs ship for safety
Theyâre beaten and bruised with fearful eyes and they spend most of their time prayingâitâs all they can do at this point
Itâs heartbreaking, and it truly reminds Noctis and his friends that they werenât the only ones who had lost their home
Luna and Noct both promise the worshippers that they would be brought back home when it was finally safe, but no one knows when that will be
The next time Noctis crosses paths with Ardyn, there is no snark in Ardynâs voiceâonly the serious tone of a man who had lost everything
He demands that Noct bring him to his people, his voice harsh and sharp as he snaps. His eyes are furious and his stance is dangerous but Noct remains calm and tall, his eyes cool as he talks Ardyn down
Ardyn agrees to go with Noctis alone, he agrees to relinquish his weapons and trickeryâall he wants is to see that his people are safe
The others arenât happy, the air is tense in their cruiser as they return to The Oracle. Gladio silently fumes and Ignis is ready to pounce any second.
But Ardyn makes no moves. He waits, his heart still, his eyes sharpâhe could be walking into a trap, and he knows it, but he doesnât care, not if his people are there
Luna is respectful when Ardyn boards her ship. She doesnât show any ill will despite what he has doneâshe knows he had been tricked, and she knows that all that really matters to him are his people. She respects that.
She leads him to the worshippers, and the second his eyes fall on them, he smilesâtruly smiles
He feels relief, hopeâglee
They look just as stunned as he is, their eyes wide and sparkling as they drop to the floor and bow
He only tells them to stand, speaking in an old, dead language that even Ignis doesnât know
He asks them questions, touches their cheeks, their shoulders, their hands⊠Heâs so gentle and careful, no one else can believe it
As they finish answering, he thanks them with a warm, soft voice, promising heâll get them home safeâthat they will all go home safely and that heâll join them, that they will rebuild their beautiful civilization once again and no one will ever hurt them again
He turns and looks at Noctis, his eyes full of cold murder as his fury burns. He asks when theyâll launch their full attackâbecause he wants in. He quietly vows that he will bring down the empireâevery last ship, even if it kills him.
It only takes a few more cycles for everything to be ready.
There are at least a thousand ships that come forward to help fight. Their alliances hold true to their words and promises and join The Oracle, bringing their own smaller allied ships and friends with them
Ravus brings at least 200 ships full of space pirates with a new, shiny arm at his shoulder
Noctis contacts older allies that his dad had made, as well as the hundreds of new ones heâs made through his travelsâand those allies bring their own, as well
Luna has age old promises that are being fulfilled, her oldest contacts coming forward from the deep recesses of space to help fight the Empire
Even Ardyn pulls some strings, pulling a few of the Empireâs allies over to their sideâafter all, many of them had been loyal to Ardyn alone, in the end
With the Empire spread over so much of space, it isnât a clean, straightforward war (then again, most arenât)
The war lasts 81.7 cyclesânearly ten years. Strategies are stretched, lives are lost, people were worn down, but Noctis never wavers
In the end, the Empire crumblesâlosing far too many of its ships and colonies, especially as the civilizations it took over rebel and fight back.
Eventually, there is only the head colony leftâand Noctisâ side easily corners it.
Noctis isnât alone when he approached the leader of the Empire. Ardyn goes with him, his losses just as valid as Noctisâ
The leader begs. He cries, yells in desperation, falls to his knees and simply weepsâasking for Noctis to have mercy.
Noctis is cold as he responds, simply staring down the old man. Heâs gotten what he wantsâthe Empireâs downfall. Yes, the leader needs to pay for his crimes, but he doesnât care much for the logistics of thatâso deciding punishment falls to Ardyn.
The details donât matter too muchâthe Empire fell, Noctis was able to rebuild his colony around a new star, The Oracle was free to help the civilizations that had been under the Empireâs control, Ravus and his space pirates became the police of sortsâprotecting people from unsavory sorts in space, and Ardyn was able to return to his home with the remainder of his people
Space was free again, its planets and civilizations free to return to run their lives as they pleased
Edit: Things I forgot to mentionâą
Arenaea is spaceâs local lesbian space pirate whose fleet was actually hired by Ardyn somewhere down the line
She was actually notorious and was a big rival of Ravus (they crossed paths on more than one occasion)
Sheâs lost a couple digits and a foot, as well as an eye in her pursuits but replaced them all with cybernetic implants (her eye can actually see in infrared, very handy in space)
Her cyborg foot has a built in high heel
Sheâs one of the most dangerous enemies and one of the best allies to have
No one crosses her and lives to tell the tale (unless she wants them to)
Insanely good strategist and is one of the best allies Noct has in the war
You can hear her loudly walking down the metal bridges of ships when hunting down mercenaries and criminals, her cybernetic foot and high heels clanging loudly (she likes to scare them--she could move quietly with no effort at all)
Anyways so weapons right
LASERS LASERS LASERS LASERSSSS
Ignisâ weapons are duel blades ofc, however, theyâre HEAT DUEL BLADESSSS
With a click of his thumbs he's got some lasers shooting down the edge of his daggers and ready to burn the guts of his enemies as he stabs them (itâs pretty good at cauterizing wounds so his slices and jabs are well placed for instant death)
Gladio??? Yes, he still uses those massive as two handed swords. No one can rip that away from him
However
They, too, have laser capabilities
He keeps two laser pistols on either side of his belt for when theyâre fighting in smaller quarters Â
Yâall havenât lived until youâve gotten a mental image of sweaty gladio with burn wounds from laser rifles and holes in his tanktop shootin a couple of laser pistols with his beautiful manbun-ponytail thing and 10-year gap hair chillin out there, mouth turned down into a scowl as his sharp eyes aim
He also has a couple of electric cybernetic gloves that stun enemies with a single punch
Now. Noctis? Listen. He doesnât use lasers--too much of a hassle
Our boi has a few cybernetic implants, kay?
Yâall ever played mass effect? His magic is basically like the biotics of mass effect
In other words, he still has magic, itâs just sci-fi magic!
His swords are made out of the sharpest metals one can find, and they glow because 1) I say so, and 2) they were forged from radioactive materials and stardust from the heat of a dying star because thatâs how we do things in S P A C E
NOW PROMPTO
HOOO BOI MY LORD SO MANY LASERS
S O Â M A N Y Â L A S E R S
Heâs got a laser rifle, heâs got a laser sniper, heâs got bullets that electrocute, bullets that explode, bullets that burn, grenades that stun, grenades that blow up, grenades that disintegrate only organic forms (helpful in space ships tbh)
He has a good trusty ole missile launcher type of weapon that launches concentrated laser ball missiles at shit
Also heâs far sighted.
Anyways; prom is always making modifications to his weapons (and gladioâs pistols) and is always the one to repair or alter the spacebroâs weaponry
He once smacked Noct for trying to fix a sword and somehow damaging its mechanics
Prom actually makes some serious cash fixing weapons at outposts and such, he also buys cheap weapons and bulks them up before selling them for like three times his buying price
Heâs actually the most well-off out of them further down the line and heâs the one who brings in the credits throughout their journey because heâs the only one with some sort of income
Also i forgot to mention
Noct loses a leg in the war and gets a cheap prosthetic to tide him over until the end; then he gets a hella cool cyborg leg like Arenaea
Ignis does NOT go blind, however, he loses an eye in a fight with some space pirates who try to raid The Oracle and ends up with an eyepatch for a while
Later on, he gets his own cybernetic implant eye--itâs a lot like Arenaeaâs actually
It glows red and the metal covers the area around his eye completely, reaching around towards the side of his head and disappearing beneath part of his hair
Ravusâ right hand pirate is an android
Gentiana is also an android
Cor punches Ardyn in the face the first time they meet during the war--yes, he does know that Ardyn is on their side, now
Cor was the one who found many of Ardynâs worshippers and brought them to The Oracle
Also Cor is a cyborg
#ffxv#final fantasy xv#final fantasy 15#ff15#ffxv gladio#ffxv noctis#ffxv ardyn#ffxv ignis#ffxv prompto#prompto argentum#prompto#gladio#gladio amiticia#ignis#ignis scientia#ardyn#ardyn izunia#space#final fantasy in space#it's long sorry
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Homeward Bound : Chapter 10
Steve Harrington x Henderson!Reader, Billy Hargrove x Henderson!Reader
Chapter 1Â | Chapter 2Â | Chapter 3Â | Chapter 4Â | Chapter 5Â | Chapter 6Â | Chapter 7Â | Chapter 8Â | Chapter 9Â | Chapter 10 | Chapter 11Â | Chapter 12Â | Chapter 13
Chapter Summary: Itâs like the Breakfast Club! But lamer...
Word Count: 3,739
Warnings: Swearing, awkwardness, THE BABIES ARE HERE!!!
Authorâs Note: Gotta keep up with Amanda, donât I? đ
Permanent Tag: @hotstuffhargrove @denimjacketkisses @hargrovesgoldilocks @lilmissperfectlyimperfect @hipsmcgee @thatchickvic
Series Tag: @baebee35 @moonstruckhargrove @kurt-nightcrawler @supernatural-pants @thoughstofaredhead @bby-becca @fear-the-reaper115 @estheflowergirl
You looked up with a grimace. Steve Harrington was standing over you in all his fluffy haired glory, being an absolute dick, as per usual.
âI highly disagree.â You snapped, pulling his arm off you âWhat the hell are you doing here anyway, what you got an APB out on me now?â
Steveâs demeanour deflated instantly, stepping back, hands finding their way into his front pockets, shoulders hunching slightly. âItâs the last day of school, somebody has to do the annual âthreaten kids into not being assholesâ speech.â He explained.
âThey still do that?â you asked, letting your guard down just for a second.
âUnfortunately, and apparently itâs a rite of passage to do the speech. Which means this year I got spit balls shot at me and paper balls lobed at my head by snot nose kids.â He replied.
âOh the irony, you used to do that all through high school, especially when it was Callahan doing the talking.â Nancy said, knocking her shoulder into his. Steve smiled, pulling her into a tight hug.
âHey, Steve.â She said softly into his shoulder. They both looked highly emotional, a strange sight for you. You remembered when she couldnât stand being in a room with him and he was still just trying to prove that he wasnât still in love with her, to no avail. And while that went away with time, they never seemed exactly close.
âI didnât know you were coming in today, I thought it was tomorrow.â He replied, pushing her back slightly by the shoulders, looking her over âHowâs Sybs?â
âGood, thank you again for the gift for her, youâre two months early, but she looks adorable in the bunny suit and itâs the only thing sheâll stay asleep in now.â Nancy replied with a smile.
âGood, Iâm glad.â He replied. âYour mother must love the attention and the full house again, howâs she getting along with Jonathan? Or did he end up staying back?â
âJonathan is visiting with his mom; heâll come down with them later in the week.â She replied easily.
âThey still hate each other?â you asked, popping a stick of white chewing gum into your mouth, grinning cheekily at her.
Steve rolled his eyes âYouâre just gonna ask that like it isnât rude, huh? He asked disappointedly ââCause you know, it doesnât really matter anymore. Theyâre married and Karenâs just gonna to deal. Besides, they canât be that petty as to-â
âThey absolutely hate each other. Jonathan wouldnât come down with me to stay with her; heâs still trying to find a way to not have to stay with her when he gets here.â Nancy replied breezily with a shrug.
âHa! I knew it!â you cried, grinning like a fool.
âYou always gotta be right, Y/N?â Steve asked. You turned to look at him, ready to retort with sass and anger. But he wasnât cocky or annoyed, he was trying to hold back a grin; his eyes shining with mirth. Nothing about him was confrontational and the need to fight back drained from your body.
âWhen youâre around, Harrington, Iâm always right.â You replied, a small smirk slipping onto your lips. And looking at you, relaxed and bright and joking again, Steve felt his whole body warm and glow. He didnât release how cold and uncomfortable he was until you smiled; your body language could change his whole disposition and your smile could light up a whole room.
âSo wait what are we doing here? Just wandering? âCause I have no one here I need to see, except Mike but Iâm not gonna pull him out of class, you know?â Nancy asked.
âWell, Iâm hiding from Hargrove. I canât get caught by him without Dustin or else Iâll get dragged into his truck.â You replied.
âHeâs following you around?â Steve asked, tone hostile and worrisome, his whole body lifting to appear more physically opposing.
âNo more than you are.â You replied, watching him deflate like a popped balloon. âHe just saw me outside the school and decided that he had the time to try to get me in his truck. Probably not something he should be doing while on the clock.â
âHeâs definitely got the time, since heâs on probation.â he replied. You cocked your brow, utterly lost, expecting clarification. âPowell caught him driving around drunk a couple months ago, Mr. Sherman put him on probation since it was in the truck. Powell never booked him on it because, according to him, the lost wages should be more than enough punishment. Heâs got another week of forced time off before heâs back in.â Steve explained.
Nancy furrowed her brow âWhy not just fire him then?â she asked.
âWeâre short on mechanics. Usually we get a couple kids from the trade school Milton, but they opened a new shop in Carmel and so we didnât get many kids up here. Mr. Shermanâs short a man and without Billy, heâll be down to just him and George Burns.â Steve replied.
You hummed âBilly didnât mention thatâŠâ you said, not really to them but more to yourself.
Billy was never the most honest guy on the block, but he owned up to his fuck ups fairly quickly, usually without being pressed or even asked. He owned up to still not getting along with Max and Susan, his dislike still very apparent. He owned up to not going home in part because he was scared. Hell, he owned up to supposedly still being in love with you! But this, this almost expected thing was hidden from you. You wondered what else he was hiding.
âI donât know, I mean its Hargrove, heâs not much of a talker.â Nancy said reasonably, smiling sympathetically at you.
âBesides, he probably didnât want to be doing much talker. Or have the time, I should say.â Steve said, his tone forcefully light and more than a little bitter.
Nancy gasped âYou told him?!?â she cried, earning an awkward chuckle from Steve and an eye roll from you.
âHe picked me up this morning. I had to tell someone or else I would explode from shame, embarrassment, and the giddiness of a secret.â You replied.
âHe picked you up?â Nancy asked âAnd you didnât tell me?â
âWhat exactly is there to tell, Nance? He picked me up, we had breakfast, and then he drove me home. Not exactly rocket science.â You replied, watching her carefully.
âRight, right of courseâŠâ she said, nodding quickly, her mind obviously running through a million scenarios. âSoâŠhowâd it go? You have fun?â she asked, a little twitchy and excited, far too excited for the subject at hand.
âIt was fine. Like I said nothing major, right Steve?â you said, making Nancy jump. Sheâd forgotten he was there. Steve muffled a laugh, watching her curiously.
âYeah,â he said, a tiny giggle popping out at the end of the word, forcing him to swallow his giggles, finding a stern face. âYeah, fine. Are you alright, Nance, youâre really jumpy.â
âFucking hormones manâŠI have the memory and foresight of a fucking goldfishâŠâ she  muttered, shaking her head wearily.
You giggled, wrapping an arm around her shoulders âAh, Mrs. Nancy Byers-Wheeler, you are too fun to bug. Truly, you should be pregnant all the time, it makes it more fun for me. I get to be the smart one.â You said.
âI am still the smarter of the two of us, even with a baby stealing my brain cells.â Nancy frowned, annoyance evident in the heavy line creasing the centre of her forehead.
âI know, my dearest darling, I know.â You replied, making her smile again and sharing it with her.
âHey! What the hell are you doing?â Steve called at a flock of teenagers in the hall a few feet away. You almost didnât recognize them.
Max, Lucas, Mike, Dustin, and a girl you could only label as Marcy were all ahead of you, loitering around as the girl youâd labelled Marcy scratched something into the wall.
Mike, significantly taller but somehow not the tallest of the group, turned to find the sound and, without registering the whole of your little band, turned back to his friends and yelled âScatter!â
You stepped forward, holding Steve back as you replied âChill, Wheeler, nobodyâs gonna tell on you.â Max turned back to look at you, roll her eyes as she grabbed Mike by the back of the shirt collar.
âChill, dipshit, itâs just Steve andâŠis that you, Henderson? Jesus you turned into a hippie.â She said, earning a collective sigh from the group.
I havenât had time to cut it, been busy.â You replied, walking over to the group to muffle her red hair, chopped almost completely off into a red pixie cut, mirroring Mia Farrow from Rosemaryâs Baby. âUgh, donât mess with it, it took morning to get it to look this good.â She moaned, pushing your hand
âAnd it still looks like shit.â Lucas joked. Overall, heâd changed the most. While Mike had gotten taller, he still looked a little like an elf and was still too pale, and Max was still freckled and tiny, boyish save for her well done makeup, clearly a way to remind the world that she was still in fact a girl. Lucas was the most mature looking-the tallest of the group and the strongest. Dustin had said heâd taken up the helm of being the groupâs sports star, captaining the basketball team in Steveâs place. His hair was still cropped short and his smile was still kind, but awkward. Underneath it all, he still seemed to be the little, awkward, logical boy youâd left in Hawkins with bad clothes and a worse relationship with his little sister, now a eighth grader.
âThatâs not what you said earlier.â Max replied, eyeing him up. You cringed at their little routine, still virgining in their attempts at adulthood.
Mike was looking at you all, gobsmacked to see everyone all at once. âNancy?â he asked, finding his sister in the group. âJesus Christ whatâre you doing here? Momâs gonna kill you and the baby.â
âLanguage, Mike! Sybil is picking up on words now!â she cried.
âSheâs not here now, is she?â he shot back and the two fell into a stream of bickering.
âYeah wellâŠit looked better thenâŠâ Lucas tried, awkward and strained.
âY/N! Whatâre you doing here?â Dustin asked, pushing his way to the front of the group, clearly embarrassed.
âWe were bored, decided to loiter inside the school instead of outside.â You replied with a shrug.
âAnd you are?â a female voice asked, high and tight. The supposed Marcy had stepped forward, hands on her hips and chest stuck out. If you were her age, this would turn into a girl fight, forcing strained seduction and quick backhanded acts of kindness.
âHey, Iâm Y/N,â you said, sticking out a hand for her to shake, which she looked at with a scowl. âIâm Dustinâs older sister.â You added. Quickly, her demeanour changed; she deflated, looking away with a sort of embarrassed inward cringe, shaking her head.
She huffed out a sigh, taking your hand and shaking it weakly âHiâŠIâm Marcy, Dustinâs friend.â She said.
âI thought as much, Iâve heard a lot about you.â You replied with an easy smile, trying to urge her on. She looked uncomfortable, feigning toughness in dark clothes and a scowl painted dark purple, emphasizing the thickness of her lips. It all looked like what your mother would call an attempt to muffle your beauty, a form of dazzle camouflage that was meant to distract and scare away, not invite in. You understood her, you were her when you were her age.
âReally?â she asked, a small smile pulling at the corners of her pursed mouth, trying in vain not to smile.
âYeah, you pop up in more letters than anyone else, well maybe anyone except Steve over here, he takes first place.â You replied, watching both Steve and Dustin cower away, watching you horrified and nervous.
âY/N, thatâs enough.â Dustin said, eyes flicking between you and Marcy, too nervous to look at either of you fully. You tried to sympathize; you didnât want to be like your mother and embarrass him, but if itâs that easy to embarrass him then you didnât know how to really communicate with this poor girl.
âThatâs cool.â Marcy announced, the evidence of a smile on her eyes and cheeks, her mouth still holding firm despite the lilt in her voice.
âSo, what does he say about me?â Steve asked nervously, shifting his weight between feet. Dustin looked at him curiously and a silent look was exchanged; Dustin confused and Steve trying to seem calm as his mind raced with possibilities.
âI meanâŠnothing major, he mostly just mentions you every time he talks about friends or hanging out.â You replied with a shrug, not registering his tense body language he was displaying.
âReally? Nothing else?â he asked, eyes darting around the hall.
âNot really, I mean, I didnât even know you were a cop, remember? Heâs not great with details.â You replied, watching him curiously. Steve seemed to be calming down, though his nerves were still ragged and raw and now very obvious to you. âYou know, if this questioning is going to continue, Iâm going to need a lawyer.â You said with a smile, nudging his shoulder. He smiled, though the twitchy energy wasnât fading.
âGuys,â Marcy called, having gone back to examine her work, her scratchy letters spelling out âfuck schoolâ surely to be cover by paint or simply more scratches before the beginning of the school year. âI gotta get going, Andyâs gonna be here soon, Iâll catch you around, yeah?â
âYeah, you still looking for a job in town?â Dustin asked, picking up her bag off the floor.
âGot an interview at Darleneâs Dress Shop at the mall, if all goes to plan I wonât be looking by Monday!â She replied, running down the hall without another word. Max rolled her eyes, sending her a half hearted wave.
âBye MarceâŠâ She muttered, a scowl making lines around her mouth. Lucas rubbed her shoulder gently, shaking his head.
âSheâs not worth it, M&MâŠâ he said, pressing a kiss to the top of her head.
âGuys! She had our hall passes! We gotta go!â Mike cried, trying to run off again, only to be grabbed by Nancy, forcing him back.
âItâs the last day of school, exams start Wednesday. Relax, you wonât get detention.â Nancy said softly. Mike nodded, his breathing shaky. Mike seemed to have gotten the worst of the anxiety, or at least the most obvious. Dustin had mentioned heâd turned into a bit of a square but you didnât see it. He just seemed stressed out, a nervous twinge to his movement, a dart in his eyes. Hawkins obviously wasnât helping him.
âAnd besides, if they even tried weâd come and break you out. They canât hold you here, youâre graduating in a week!â Dustin added, wrapping a careful arm around the lanky boyâs shoulders, squeezing him too tight.
âThatâs not encouraging, dude.â Mike replied, his face scrunching from the uncomfortable squeeze, pushing away.
âWell, how about then we get out of here? Canât get detention if you arenât in the building.â You offered.
âYes, you can. We tried that, they just call home.â Mike retorted, crossing his skinny arms over his chest.
âAnybody else?â You asked, turning your attention to the others, already grabbing their bags off the floor. They nodded, heading down the hall. You motioned for Steve and Nancy to follow them, leaving Mike behind.
âAw Jesus Christ wait up you assholes!â Mike cried, running to catch up with the rest of you. As it turns out, peer pressure and a bit of motherly coaxing still worked on him. You restrained yourself from laughing at him, his shaggy hair bouncing with every bound.
âWhere are we even going?â He whined, eyes darting around for some mythical hall monitor or camera waiting to catch him.
âWell, I only have one request for you all, and then you can go wherever you want.â You replied with a shrug.
âWeâre going to Scoops after this, its tradition, dumbass.â Max added, brushing her bangs off her face and holding out her palm to you, silently asking for gum. You complied easily, digging around in your purse for the pack and a pen as you found your way back into the front hall and in front of that mural.
You pulled the visitor pass from your pocket and handed it to Steve, motioning for Nancy to do the same. âGo and return these for us and keep Rhonda busy for a minute, okay?â you asked.
âWhat, why?â he countered, taking the polyester lanyards.
âBecause Iâm about to get the kids to commit a minor criminal offence and youâre a cop. So go away. You heard nothing.â You replied, pushing him towards the office door. Steve complied, heading into the office like a child forced to say hello to their kissy aunt.
âAlright,â you announced with a clap of your hands âBefore you leave this place forever, I think itâs important to leave behind a legacy. Yearbooks get forgotten, photos get switched out, but with a single act of defiance we can leave a message that might last a bit longer.â You pulled the small card from the mess of school spirit themed messages.
âThis has been up since I graduated, they never change this board and so youâre message will last as long as the board does.â You explained, showing them the card, the back of which gave the old guidance counsellorâs information for parent use, handed to you with a worried expression that same day.
You wrote the message out of defiance and anger.
Mrs. Donaldson had declared that you should return to high school for a year, do the victory lap to make you truly ready for college life. The idea that you werenât ready made your blood boil; you were ready as you could ever be. She didnât understand-after what youâd seen you could handle anything.
âI just think, after the year youâve had, you deserve a redo.â She said, folding her hands neatly in the centre of the desk, her giant square rimmed glasses slipping down her nose.
âDo I have the marks for college?â you asked boredly, eyeing the teen psychology posters lining the walls with a grimace.
âWell yes, but after Heatherâs-â she began, watching anxiously as your bored expression switched into an angry one. She silently braced herself for the explosion.
âWhat the hell does Heather have to do with me going to college?â you snapped.
âI just think that after Heatherâs death you-â Mrs. Donaldson tried, but the cause was lost and you were already on your feet, throwing your half-empty bag on your shoulder, forcing the chair back up to the desk.
âI think Heatherâs death has nothing to do with my success and that you trying to use it to keep me here is bullshit. I know who youâre working for and I know that all of this is some sort of scheme to get me. Iâm going to college and thatâs final.â You snapped.
Mrs, Donaldson sighed, pulling off her glasses and rubbing the bridge of her nose âJust take the card, Y/N.â she said, sliding the neatly printing card across the desk. And, for some reason, you took it.
You had planned to just throw it out and move on with your life. But as you sat on one of the cool metal benches outside the office, an idea slowly revealed itself.
You only had one pen on you, the purple gel pen that always left huge ink blots on everything, but you had to try. The message was clear in your head and came out easily, the pen never splotching. In that brief moment, you believed in fate and magic. It was probably just chance, but you were in the position to believe in such things because the world around you had changed so much that believing in something like fate or luck made as much sense as everything else happening around you.
You let your eyes flick to the head secretary, who was thankfully preoccupied with a magazine and carton of chocolates. You stood from the bench, trying to move as casually as you could over to the bulletin board, pretending to examine its worn news clippings and Polaroidâs. You chose the largest spot of white, up in the right hand corner and, snatching out a snapshot of Heather herself, replaced the photo with note.
âDonât let them make you forget things for their benefit. Remember pain. Remember embarrassment. Remember Heather Macpherson.â
âI think itâs only fitting that the third generation of fucked up kids leave theirs behind. Now, this has to be done carefully as to not draw attention to it, you canât just write in on the bottom of a photo, okay? Do it together, write in on something, and leave your mark.â You told them. You made it feel like another mission, but the way they smiled and looked to one another. They huddled together and whispered wildly, just like they did as children. It wouldâve been sweet if the context of all those huddles werenât tattooed to your mind.
Mike had ripped off a piece of manila envelope and handed it to Lucas, who you assumed had the best handwriting. Dustin seemed to be the only one with a pen and Max was used as a makeshift desk. The note, when finished, was pinned up with a collection of very old yellowed photos. You herded them off and nodded to Steve, who headed out of the office, leaving Rhonda with her whole face lit up.
You remained at the board, wondering how long their note would last. Steve came up behind you, though this time it didnât startle you this time.
âWhat they write?â he asked, wrapping an arm around your shoulders. You pointed out the tiny note.
The Russian girl lives.
âI mean, not entirely incorrectïżœïżœâ Steve said, a trying smile on his face, looking for something positive to say.
âItâs stupid.â You said, laughing just a little. Steve looked at you, taking in your easy smile and relaxed posture.
âYeahâŠyeah it is. Come on, before they realize youâre laughing at them.â He replied, grabbing your hand and pulling you out the door, giggling like school children.
#stranger things#stranger things 2#stranger things fanfiction#stranger things au#stranger things imagine#steve harrington#steve harrington x reader#steve harrington x you#steve x reader#steve x you#steve harrington fanfic#steve harrington au#steve harrington aus#steve harrington imagine#steve harrington imagines#steve harrington headcanon#steve harrington headcanons#steve harrington fluff#billy hargrove#billy hargrove x reader#billy hargrove x you#billy hargrove au#billy hargrove imagine#billy hargrove imagines#dacre montgomery#joe keery#st
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Goodbye Despair, Chapter 0: On the way to the School Trip (Part 1)
           Hajime honestly didnât know how to feel being on a boat at this time. The infrequent rocking back and forth was unsettling enough, but they were also on a boat⊠with them. People who had brought the world to its knees. All fifteen of them, on one boat. In cells, mind you. But⊠really, what were jail cells going to do against Ultimates? There was an Ultimate Fighter, for Kamiâs sake! An Ultimate Hope that supposedly had all the talents!
           If Mitarai didnât need to take the last helicopter to Jabberwock, Hajime was sure he wouldâve taken it himself. Nanami and Gekkogahara wanted Mitaraiâs opinion on something; apparently, the Neo World Program was experiencing a bug, and the Ultimate Despairs needed to be shipped out as soon as possible, because the drugs wouldnât keep them knocked out forever. Keeping them at Foundation headquarters wasnât going to work, because they were trying to focus on rebuilding the world, now that the side of Despair was on the ropes. Junko Enoshima was dead, and her faithful lieutenants were hopefully going to be rehabilitatedâŠ
           They werenât out of the woods yet. But if all went well, this would be a step in the right direction. A significant step.
           Hajime blinked and tensed when he heard running footsteps coming up to the deck. Based on how quickly the person was running up the steps, it was probably something urgent. It would have to be, what with how early in the morning it was.
           âTh-Theyâre awake!!!â Soudaâs panicked cries called out to anyone who would hear him⊠which included Hajime, Fuyuhiko, and Peko.
           â⊠Shit.â The heir to the yakuza succinctly summed up their thoughts.
           ~*~
           Contrary to Soudaâs report, not all of the Ultimate Despairs had stirred from their forced slumber. Kamukura had been up for ages, but he hadnât done anything of note, and Munakata had made sure to have multiple cameras aimed at the Ultimate Hopeâs cell.
           Aside from Kamukura, three Despairs had awoken that morning. Ironically, all in separate sections of cellblocks.
           âSee! I saw her wakinâ up, so I decided to go check on the others, and two more were already up!â The Ultimate Mechanic exclaimed while pointing at a young woman huddled in the far corner of her cell, her knees drawn to her chest. Her striking, almost glowing red eyes were staring back at them. However, the expression was neutral, almost nonchalant. There was no heat, no anger, no hatred.
           Then again, this Ultimate hadnât been very expressive while she was at Hopeâs Peak. Pekoyama could attest to that.
           âFigures Ikusaba would be one of the first ones upâŠâ Fuyuhiko raked his fingers through his short, blond hair. âLemme guess⊠Oogami and Oowada are the other ones up.â
           Souda rubbed the back of his head as he chuckled nervously.
           âActually, Iâm kinda relieved itâs neither of them⊠Itâs gonna be a nightmare when Oogami wakes up.â
           Peko raised an eyebrow curiously as she crossed her arms, facing Kazuichi.
           âThen who did wake up?â
           The mechanic scratched his cheek as he let out a light sigh.
           âUmm⊠Togami was talkinâ my ear off, so I got Munakata to take care of him. The other was Fujisaki. Heâs kinda like Ikusaba, though â quiet and creepyâŠâ Once again, he laughed nervously, evidently at a loss of what else to say.
           Fuyuhiko frowned deeply as he crossed his arms, his brow furrowing.
           âI guess if Ultimate Despair had a leader besides Enoshima, Togami would be it. Kirigiri was more of the brains behind the operation, though⊠Iâd like to check in on Munakataâs interrogation, but we should leave him to it for now. Souda, mind cominâ with me?â
           The mechanic looked befuddled for a brief moment.
           âH-Huh? Whereâd you wanna go? And why do I gotta come with?!â
           The yakuza heir snorted dryly.
           âBecause you have similar talents to Fujisaki. Might as well see if we can get the little bastard to crack a little.â
           âWouldnât yakuza tactics fit her more?â Souda pointed at Ikusaba accusingly. âSheâll be a tougher nut to crack than Fujisaki!â
           âSoldiers are used to pain.â Fuyuhiko deadpanned. âAnd Iâm not gonna break fingers yet, anyway! Look, just come with me, or you can stick around with the trained killer. Hajime, you good with staying here for a bit?â
           At the proposal, Hajime smiled nervously before nodding reluctantly.
           âY-Yeah, sure⊠I stay here. Got it.â
           No, not really, but okay.
           âGood.â Fuyuhiko nodded tersely. âPeko, you keep Hajime safe. She tries anything funny, just knock her back out.â
           âUnderstood.â The swordswoman primly replied.
           As the yakuza and mechanic left, Hajime stood rooted in place as he mulled over how to proceed. Itâs not like this was a âproperâ interrogation anyway. They just wanted to understand⊠why their underclassmen had fallen to Despair. Because before they were million-class murderers, these guys had been normal high schoolers, just like them.
           ⊠Well, as ânormalâ as anyone from Hopeâs Peak could be.
           The point is, you didnât just change who you are fundamentally without some kind of reason behind it.
           âIma⊠watashi no⊠negaigoto gaâŠâ
           Hajime and Peko both stood rigidly as the singing started. It was quiet, melancholic. And briefly, they didnât know where it originated from, but they soon discerned that it was the imprisoned soldier, with a faraway look in her eyes. It took Hajime a few moments to place the song, but then he spoke up uncertainly.
           âThatâs⊠Please Give Me Wings, right?â
           ââŠshiroi tsubasa tsukete kudasaiâŠâ Mukuro remained off in her little world. Steadily, she rocked back and forth, keeping her legs drawn to her chest.
           Hajime sighed inaudibly at the lack of response. He shouldâve expected as much. The Despairs werenât going to talk as if they were old friends; being ignored was probably the tamest thing they did.
           Peko wasnât deterred, however, staring down the caged soldier coolly.
           âWas it painful to lose your sister, Enoshima? Or did you take pleasure in the Despair?â
           That stopped Ikusaba cold. Hajime noted a shift in the air as the two warriors stared each other down, no changes of inflection in their stoic expressions. Hajime nervously shuffled his feet as the temperature in the cellblock seemed colder somehow. He knew Peko had likely stabbed a sore spot with that barb, and maybe that was the point, butâŠ
           âH-Hey, Peko? Why donât you let me do the talkingâŠ?â Hajime coughed awkwardly as he adjusted his tie. Pekoâs frosty glare did not waver, and Ikusaba finally addressed them.
           âAnd what would you know about Despair?â The soldier quipped nonchalantly. Peko narrowed her eyes.
           âI know the 78th Class spread Despair all over the world⊠leaving billions miserable in their wake.â
           âHow clinical of you to put it that way.â Mukuro mused sarcastically. âBut what about you? What Despair have you personally experienced, firsthand? And donât try to say the loss of a random yakuza. Theyâre about a dime a dozen.â
           Peko bristled at the insult to the Kuzuryu Clan, and Hajime held his hands up peacefully.
           âH-Hey⊠câmon, now⊠The worldâs fallen apart; of course weâve all lost someone by now!â
           Mukuroâs cold eyes never left Pekoyama.
           âThe issue is never what we âlostâ.â The soldier snapped. âItâs âwhat we have leftâ. And Iâm willing to bet that despite aaall that pain and âsufferingâ youâve experienced, you can still carry on because of those precious people. Well, not everyone is as fortunate as you.â
           While Hajimeâs face softened at Mukuroâs harsh, but true, words Pekoâs gaze narrowed.
           âBy the same token, just because you donât have anything left doesnât mean you have to spread misery to the rest of the world. By the sounds of it, youâre just petty and bitter about others being happy. Despair isnât anything to rejoice over. Find new friends, and move on with your life.â
           Suck it up.
           Hajime sweated nervously as the temperature in the cellblock took another nosedive. He tugged at his collar as he looked between the two warriors. He didnât think Peko, of all people, would get under someoneâs skin, but lo and behold, she was pissing off the Ultimate Soldier⊠And that wasnât a good thing.
           âGet. Out.â The dark-haired girl hissed, her arms wrapping tighter around her knees as she glared at the two visitors.
           Peko arched an eyebrow at her adversary.
           âI was under the impression you were the prisoner here. You do not dictate our actions.â
           Mukuro shook from her spot on the metal floor, but she did not make any sudden moves. Hajime took a steady breath and decided to put his foot down before the situation got any tenser.
           âPeko, could you wait by the door? Iâll handle this.â Hajime rigidly requested. The swordswoman seemed to disagree with Hajime's plan of action.
           âFuyuhiko saidâŠâ
           âHe wanted me to try talking to her.â The brunet reasoned, keeping his voice calm, not harsh-sounding. âNeedling her like this isnât going to do us any favors. Just⊠trust me, okay?â
           He wasnât making a very rational argument, and he knew it. If Mukuro decided she wanted to hurt him, there wasnât going to be much he could do about it on his own, even with her in the cage. But⊠even so. Pekoâs presence wasnât helping. It was nothing against her; talking with Ultimate Despairs was always going to be a chore. Yet upsetting them was a worse outcome than getting âoverly friendlyâ with them. They were volatile enough already, and Hajime wanted to pacify Mukuro before they reached Jabberwock Island.
           It wouldnât be pretty, otherwise.
           â⊠My apologies. I got carried away.â Peko bowed her head and closed her eyes for a moment. âI will be nearby, if you need me.â
           As the swordswoman walked away, Hajime released a breath he hadnât known heâd been holding, and ran a hand through his hair nervously. He didnât like being forceful, and he hated making Peko feel like she was a nuisance. But Peko really hadnât been doing them any favors by exchanging barbs with Mukuro.
           Hajime turned his attention to the dark-haired woman who hadnât budged an inch from her spot in the corner. Her eyes were solely on him now, but they contained no heat or coldness, like they had when Pekoyama was there. Her expression was devoid of emotion again, and Hajime was unsure what to feel, himself⊠or how to proceed, really.
           âH-Hey, umâŠâ Hajime trailed off uncertainly. He winced when Mukuro cut him off in an even tone.
           âI told you to leave.â
           Hajime winced at the steel in her voice. Peko had really struck a chord, and he couldnât really blame Mukuro for feeling this way⊠Peko meant well, and she had a point with moving on in life⊠But sometimes, people couldnât move on right away. He didnât know what Mukuro had suffered or what kind of person she was, so he couldnât judge her, even if she was a soldier. A strong physical talent doesnât guarantee an equally strong spirit.
           âLook, Iâm not here to judge you, alright?â Hajime expressed in a slightly exasperated tone. âPeko was out of line, and I donât want to leave things at that... Itâs not fair to you.â
           âIt doesnât matter to me.â The soldier droned. Hajime couldnât help arch an eyebrow at the claim.
           âHuhâŠ? But you got really angry after Peko said all thatâŠâ He didnât mean to sound naĂŻve; he just wanted to be direct.
           ââŠâ Apparently, Mukuro didnât have anything to say to that as she continued to stare, her eyes never wavering. She didnât even blink.
           Hajime sighed.
           âLook, I think it matters to you.â The brunet insisted. âWhy else would you be so hostile so suddenly?â
           âWhat makes you think it was sudden?â The soldier quipped back. âUltimate Despair and the Future Foundation are enemies. It shouldnât surprise you that I have no desire to see your faces.â
           âNo, thatâs wrong!â Hajime was still insistent. âYou were provoking Peko, but something in you changed when Peko talked about moving onâŠ!â
           âIt doesnât matter!â Mukuro barked sharply, causing Hajime to flinch again. âNothing matters anymore. Nothing that bitch can do or say will affect me. Youâre wasting your breath.â
           â⊠No. This does matter.â Hajime replied stubbornly. He could tell he was getting under Mukuroâs skin, too⊠But something within him believed this was necessary. âI donât know if this is your âdespairâ â ignoring something in your past that meant something to you â but youâre still emotionally attached to that thing. You wouldnât just⊠submit to despair without a reason. You wouldnât care about spreading despair if you werenât experiencing it yourself!â
           Hajime felt a shiver run up his spine as Ikusabaâs red eyes seemed to flare with new vigor and malice as she glared at him again. He did feel intimidated â how couldnât he be? â but he wasnât going to back down. They had a duty to bring back their underclassmen from the dregs of Despair that Junko Enoshima had dragged them into. Even if the Neo World Program was going to make them forget all this pain and suffering⊠He had to know. What pain was so terrible that they wanted to end the world?
           The brunet was expecting Mukuroâs rage to peak again⊠But instead, it all dissipated. The flare in her eyes was snuffed out like a candle. It⊠truly confused Hajime.
           âI am telling the truth. Nothing matters anymore.â Mukuro intoned coldly. If Hajime wasnât watching her closely, he would have missed the slight quiver in her frame as she seemed to shake with some emotion. âThe others⊠have buried it in their subconscious. They have moved onto other Despair in their lives⊠But I am not like the others.â
           Hajime felt another chill run down his spine as Mukuroâs red eyes became so lifeless⊠They were black holes of nothingness, yet it was still so very different from the look that Junko would sometimes get⊠With Junko, the Ultimate Despair was practically inhuman when she made this face. For her, Despair was her motivation for everything. When Mukuro made this face⊠Hajime could tell that this was a woman who had clearly, without a doubt, given up on everything. And it chilled his blood to see this happen in a girl that was a year younger than him. Because there was no motivation, no joy, in plunging the world into anarchy and terror, not for Mukuro Ikusaba.
           âThere is nothing left for me. There was nothing left for me when Junko was alive. I hate Despair⊠I hated my sister⊠But I had nothing left. Itâs easier once you accept that youâre a tool of war, but that does nothing to quell the cruel emptiness inside⊠You numb the pain, but itâs still there. Just a dull ache now. There is nothing worth saving in this world⊠so I dismantle it all, at Junkoâs behest.â
           Hajime wet his lips as he tried to process this⊠âlogicâ Mukuro was using. In theory, it kind of made sense⊠Mukuro had lost the will to live, but she hadnât become suicidal. Instead, she killed her emotions and became just a soldier. Just a tool. He supposed he could see that as her Despair, butâŠ
           âWell⊠what did matter?â Hajime asked quietly. As Mukuro kept silent, he gritted his teeth. âYou say nothing matters now, but that implies that at some point, something mattered to you! You havenât been âhopelessâ your entire lifeâŠ!â
           âOn the contrary, we Despair Sisters were born in this world with nothing but Despair within us.â If Mukuro wasnât still dead in her expression and tone, Hajime would swear she was using snark just now. âItâs not hard to imagine nothing has ever mattered to me.â
           Hajime shook his head fiercely, pointing at her accusingly.
           âI mightâve bought that if you hadnât said that, unlike the others, you never âforgotâ something. You said the others found new forms of Despair, but not you. What happened to make you all like this?â
           It felt more than aggravating when Mukuro fell silent again. She was dodging the issue, and he supposed by now it was possible heâd never get an answer out of her⊠He would question the other Despairs, but he had this gut feeling this was the root of the issue of everything. How could Junko brainwash her entire class? What pain were they all forced to experience?
           â⊠We lost our Hope.â The soldier finally said, after what seemed like an eternity. Hajime clenched his fists in frustration.
           âBut what does that mean?â Hajime demanded. âYou guys had all sorts of hopes and dreams! Donât tell me Junko attacked each one!â
           Enoshima had been powerful, monstrous, but she hadnât been omnipotent.
           âWe lost our Hope.â Mukuro put more stress on that word, apparently unwilling to elaborate. âNothing mattered after Hope was gone. Nothing.â
           âThen why did they shift to other forms of Despair?!â
           âBecause Makoto would have wanted them to move on⊠and not one of them was willing to do that. So they killed their own friends and family, and tore their dreams to shreds.â Mukuro informed the brunet coldly. And it was only then that Hajime finally understood, with that one word.
           Makoto Naegi was the one member of Class 78, aside from Junko Enoshima who was dead, that had been part of Ultimate Despair.
           Makoto Naegi was the Ultimate Lucky Student. He had also been the class representative of Class 78.Â
           Makoto Naegi was the boy from their class that had gone missing. Just like Mitarai.
           Makoto Naegi⊠had been Class 78âs Hope.Â
#Danganronpa#Hajime Hinata#Fuyuhiko Kuzuryuu#Peko Pekoyama#Souda Kazuichi#Mukuro Ikusaba#Class 78#Class 78 Ultimate Despair#AU
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On Nathan Chen and Quads
tbh i expected nathan to be scored higher at the olympics: 90 pcs maybe but now that heâs landed 6 quads do you think heâll continue to do 6 quads? and how much do you think his pcs will rise?
Sorry, I canât extrapolate from a correlation that supposedly doesnât exist. If you read through the ISU guidelines for Program Component Scores, youâd see that none of the 5 areas is directly related to the number of quads. The only criterion whose explanation mentions jump at all is Transitions, but since part of TR is judged based on jump entries and exits, if there is any correlation at all between actual TR content and number of quads, itâs most likely in the opposite directions: more difficult jumps usually come with easier entries.
Will he continue to do 6 quads? Sure, why not? Â
Hi Alice! Am I the only one who thinks Nathan could benefit from a coaching change? I know he probably wouldnât since heâs been with Raf for so long but I just feel like heâs not growing as a skater anymore. His 6-Quad free skate feels so empty to me, yes the quads were impressive but there was nothing in between. I wish he would switch to someone like Orser (Though idk if he would take him because of Yuzu) who would help him refine all aspects of his skating, not just the jumps.
I donât know, honestly, coach change would be a rather destabilizing move and more stress is the last thing Nathan wants in his career right now.
Personally, I disagree with almost every approach Arutyunyan has taken in coaching Nathan so far: from the heavy focus on quads, to his inability, or refusal, to settle on a specific layout for Nateâs programs, to his lack of control in letting the media run away with their hype, to his inefficiency in mentally preparing his student for competition, and his pretty irresponsible way of time and again shifting the blame to equipment failures and whatnot. But thatâs me talking as an outsider and also someone who is a lot older than Nathan and has more experience than he does when it comes to rationalizing these aspects. Nathan seems to have a lot of trust in his coach and they do have a good relationship, and for him, that is likely the most important thing. Switching coach and training environment probably has never crossed his mind, nor has it even occurred to him that he might need to make that change.
With Nathan adding more and more quads to his skates, do you think he will work on trying to add transitions and balancing the jumps with the choreography? We all know he can jump but his program just seemed a bit empty and the jumps not as effortless.
No, I donât think so, because I have not seen any evidence of his team trying to improve his TR and CO so far.
Okay thatâs not entirely fair, at the beginning of this season I had a lot of hope for Nathanâs SP because it is a great music choice and Shae-Lynnâs choreographic touches, as usual, do wonders in highlighting his strengths. The later we moved into the season though, the more that program became only a shadow of its potential. Instead of growing in expression and complexity, his SP turned into another quad show, in between which thereâs Nathan mechanically moving his body to the prescriptive motions without actually feeling the music or interpreting it.
The thing is, though, he is not getting any disadvantage from making his program devoid of non-jump content. His FS the other day at the Olympics got 87.44 in PCS and numerous +2 in GOE for jumps that had no recognizable entry, no complicated exit, barely matched to music, and not that outstanding in height and distance either. He has zero incentive, in scoring terms, to enrich his programs, is what Iâm trying to say.
Hi Alice! Thank you for all the amazing knowledge you share about skating because seriously i look forward to your updates as i learn so much from them (^o^). I am just worried that before long fs will turn into a quad competition (more so than it already is!) and forget all the artistry it stands for. Do you think that the new generation of figure skaters are too competitive to even enjoy the sport themselves? Â
Well, thereâs a silver lining to this: the quad competition has to stop somewhere. I donât know how long it will take, but eventually there will come a point of saturation when all of the men will be doing 5 quads and 2 triple Axels in their free skates (7 jumping passes only because thatâs what we will be left with from next season according to the confirmed ISU rule change). Once the men reach that plateau, they will have no choice but to turn to enhancing other aspects of their skating if they want to set themselves apart. Actually, a similar thing is already pretty much happening right now, with their Short Program, in which many of the top men have 2 quads planned and the lead usually comes down to a matter of GOE and PCS.
The not-so-silver lining to this silver lining is, at that point of full saturation, weâll have to deal with the scoring witchcraft we are currently seeing in the ladiesâ event. Itâs not going to be pretty either way, Iâm afraid.
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The Core Realms of the Outer Planes
-Introduction of the Planes, as written by Sigil Scholar âFirst Dawnâ as punishment for a great crime she committed against nature itself. Â She can be found in Sigil University giving extremely grumpy lectures about the multiverse until her community service is entirely over. Â
Part 1: The Core Planes
The most famous Planes are of course, the Outer Planes, so much so that they are quite frankly, over done, and I find this assignment to be entirely beneath my time and dignity to have to explain. Â The popularity of these monuments to limited imagination isnât surprising, after all each of them represent a facade of a simplistic, reductive, and all together uninspired morality that shackles this world to the corpse of absolutes. Â Each of them is dramatic and superficially excited, and for the average prime I imagine it must be quite exciting to discover that not only is Hell real, but that it is build upon metaphorical representations of Lawful Sins. But for those of us wordly enough not only see the larger framework but also to challenge base assumption, the unimpatnative nature of these 9 planes isnât just uninteresting, it is actively detrimental to true planar study. These 9 planes are so overly studied so that all other fields of Planar examination are left woefully understaffed, with more and more time and effort being dedicated to 9 realms which frankly werenât very interesting to begin with. Â This is similar to how the four âClassicalâ Elements (Earth, Wind, Fire, Water) have become popular that there are more scholars dedicated to the Plane of Water than their are to all of the other 17 elemental planes combined. Â This planar brain drain is not just frustrating and tedious, itâs also dangerous as the denizens of say, the Middle Planes are actually just as threatening as Demons but lack the symbolic residence to have people make the proper preparations. Â There are more paladin demon hunting orders than I can caught, but the designs of the PLane of Dreams can evidently walk freely, as their machinations are not laced in the mask of objective morality. Â Even within the Outer Planes, the vast majority of scholarship goes to the Lower Planes, the realms of Evil, likely because of how ultimately simplistic they are. Â Discarding cultists, nobody likes demons, and so there are book upon tedious book written about their evil, their depravity, and their lack of complexity, all of which boil down to âDemons are bad, we should kill them.â Â The Upper Planes, far more challenging in their conceptions, have little in the way of scholar, because defining what is evil is easy, defining what is good is challenging. Â Seriously can I write about anything other than this, I mean god, this is childâs play stuff? Â
Ok Fine
  There are 9 âCoreâ Planes, which embody, as you might imagine, personify one of the Night Alignments.  I might as well mention now, the Outer Planes have a creepy obsessive fetish with symmetry, which will get tiring very very quickly I assure you.  These nine planes can be subdivided into the âUpperâ âLowerâ and âCentralâ  Planes, personifying Good, Evil, and Neutrality respectively, and itâs all very nice and neat and infantile.  Letâs do the Lower Planes First, which as the personification of evil, are utterly overdone in terms of the popular imagination.  There is nothing more tedious than the many many texts on the Lower PLanes, so I will try to sum them up as quickly as possible. One thing first, these planes are the largest infinite planes in the multiverse ,because evil is the most powerful force in the multiverse, luckily they are always fighting each other in The Blood War so we donât have to deal with it, and Iâm sure you know this already. Â
  The most overrated of them all are The Nine Hells of Baator, Home of the Devils, Beings of Law and Evil, and every layer of it has been so particularly scrutinized that I suspect many of the scholars (such as those who wrote the Gates of Hell manuals) are actually in the pay of the Nine.  Hell is a land of rigid unyielding law, but I want it duly noted it is not in fact, fascist.  It isnât absolute, mindless dehumanizing law, instead it is the most evil aspect law can possibly have, namely Feudalism.  The Law of Baator is strict, unyielding, and inhuman, but above all it is unfair and arbitrary.  The laws are contradictory, inconsistent, and utterly self destructive but they are literal law, even if they make no sense.  This is law to such a demented degree that they donât make any sense, a hypocritical system which is absolute in its incompetence and inhumanity and yet stills frustrate continues to exist.  The Hells are not realms of absolute obedience and conformity to an absolute law, they are an incomprehensible set of rules and obligations that pretends to be a realm of absolute obedience and conformity, which is even worse.  The Hells are ruled by the âLords of the Nineâ, 9 freakishly powerful Devils who serve as Feudal Lords, lead by the âLord of the Nineâ the enigmatic and entirely overplayed Asmodeus, who if you read his news briefs, is the most clever, intelligent, funny and sexy entity in the world, but everybody else sees him as a prat. Â
    The opposition to the Nine Hells is the realm of Chaos and Evil, The 666 Infinite Layers of the Abyss, is a realm of absolute paradox, staying with the fact that it supposedly has infinite layers but in fact has 666 (scholars have counted 667).  Populated by the Demons, this realm is crawling with every horrific evil imaginable and is the largest plane in existence, for every one Devil, there are at least a million demon, likely more.  A single Lawful Evil Mortal soul can create 9 devils, while a single Chaotic Evil soul can create a huge amounts of demons.  This is fundamentally and explicitly unfair...and thatâs the point.  The Abyss is a realm where rules donât work, in fact any attempt to even conceive of rules are folly, and trying to put it into a box is futile in itself.  All generalizations are proven wrong and all trends fail because the Abyss actively rejects it, and the plane itself almost seems to delight in thumbing its nose at conventional understanding, occasionally producing good demons just to confuse everybody else.  As a rule demons are sadistic, cruel, and anarchistic but of course...thatâs a rule.  The Abyss is forever in a war against themselves, each layer has a Demon Lord who wishes to claim the title of âDemon Princeâ but only three really have a shot and they have fought for millenia, Grazzât Lord of Lust and the Triple Realms, Orcus the master of Undeath and Divnity, and of course Demogorgon, the Prince of Demons.  However combat is tedious and so is the Abyss, so letâs move one.
  The least appreciate Lower Plane is Abaddon, the realm of the Daemons, who are in many ways the more moderate evils and thus less focus is paid to them, which I think is largely unfair, because that makes them the most human.  Daemons are oriented around 4 principles of evil, Hypocrisy, Bigotry, Vindictiveness, and Ignorance, and individual Daemons will drift between these as if they were wearing hats. It is very hard to sum up Daemons because they are evil in a very relatable way, they are most famous for their vast corporations of soulless bureaucracy, but Daemons also can have a great deal of personality individually, though almost always in as needlessly dickish a way that they can.  Daemons are all hypocrites who lack any core or foundation other than circumstances, and so what type of viciousness they represent varies from moment to moment, and unlike their extreme counterparts, itâs never ideological.  Daemons are at their core nihilists, and are evil without justification, logic, intention, or even knowledge, they are the random everyday evil of your average man.  Which is why I find them superfluous and am going to move one. Â
Editor's Note: I have to also mention they are ruled by The Four Horsemen. There, moving on. Â
Moving on to the perpetually overlooked âCentral Planesâ, these are the realms of neutrality and really donât have the scholarship they deserve. Â They are not in constant war, while Law and Chaos disagree, each mostly acknowledges the necessity of the other, but instead try to find a balance, which is of course, extremely difficult. Â
  First are The Outlands, the great patchwork that connects the Outer Plane, and at the center of this infinite plane is the Spire, on top which lies Sigil.  Every square mile of the Outlands is different, almost a patchwork of aspects of other planes, and you could walk through a forest into a desert into a great mechanical wasteland in the span of three minutes.  This plane has the largest mortal population, and is responsible for many of the fundamental rules of reality, and keeping the Balance of the Planes intated.  Ruling over this are The Aeons, mysterious cosmic entities who keep the illusion of the world intact, or possible weave a new one, enematic and unknown.  Their ruler the Monad has as far as I can tell, never been seen and likely doesnât exist. Â
  Next to the Outlands is The Maelstrom, supposedly the origin of life, and an ever shifting realm in its own right, but this is a realm of creativity, language, and the senses, things that fundamentally reject any limitations placed upon them.  The realm is one of potential good and bad, independence and free will, and the native Proteans, strange snake like creatures who seem to wish to push against all restrictions, and offer up radical visions of what could yet be.
   Next one is Mechanus, the realm of Gears, which maintains the universe itself.  This gigantic endless system of  gears and systems is the realm of math, shapes, physics, and systems, consistency and understanding. It has little interest in societal rules, which it finds all together too inconsistent and self serving, but instead cosmic rules, like the notion that 1+1=2 unless you can prove otherwise mathematically.  The natives are known as Modrons, and each resemble different forms of law, most look like shapes (Cubes, Pyramids, squares) but other are equations, and the greatest resemble strangely enough different forms of dice. Â
Next are the Upper Planes, where the forces of good dwell, and are some of the smallest realms in the world, for here dwell the forces of absolute good. Â And as much as the edgelords out there like to claim otherwise, they arenât well intended extremists, they cannot be anything other than absolutely good, they are defined by their very good nature on a fundamental level incomprehensible to a mortal. Â These planes are on the verge of destruction, barely holding their own against the vast hordes of evil, but despite this, they stayed strong and part of that is through their unity, these planes have difference but they work together and help each other, their differences make them stronger and allow them to prevail over the forces of evil. Â Also i want to make this clear, they are not ruled by Gods, Gods are entirely different things, these are secular realms. Â Just assholes. Â
The most famous are the Seven Heavens, where Law and Good come together as one, ruled by the Archons. Â Built around a Celestial Mountain, the seven layers are all built around the theme of betterment of the self, souls come here and improve steadily, ascending the layers. Â The natives here believe strongly in goodness as the result of governance, and hope to build institutions, orders, and structures to allow good to flourish. Â Militarily, they are armies, which is why they get the most attention, the Archons go forth in hoards to try to stymie the forces of evil where they can, and when they do show up, it is indeed magnificent. Â
Next is the Realm is the Blessed Fields of Elysium, ruled by the kind Aasimons, creatures of love, relationships, and community. Â This realm is idealism, understanding, and goodness as the result of personal happiness. Â The souls here try to find joy in themselves and those around them, for those who are happy will turn away from cruelty. Â The Aasimons are the least known of the Good Exemplars, for they focus not on dramatic heroism whenever possible, but instead on the smaller acts to try to make good have a chance. Â Childcare, helping broken homes, providing medical aid or psychological care, first responders to disasters, grief counselors, or simply a mysterious women in a bar who is willing to lend a sympathetic ear, Aasimons go often in secret the Material Plane to help keep the spark of hope alive in what little way they can. Â To them, depression is where evil emerges, and joy is what allows the goodness within you to come forth. Â
The Transcendent Glades of Arborea is where Chaos and Goodness come together, with the Azatas serving as its manifestation. Â Aborea is a vast wilderland except more wonderful and magical than any that exists, colors, sensations, and pleasures exist as no mortal co comprehend them, and seriously they throw the best fucking parties you have no idea. Â This is a realm where manâs base nature is good, and without limitations and restrictions placed upon it, they can come forth and enjoy the morality that lies within us, and Azatas hope to tear down the institutions and systems to force mortals to choose selfishness rather than compassion. Â Azatas, like Archons, go forth and fight evil ,but they do so as individuals or small bands, of scouts and infiltrators. Â Many times a force of evil has suddenly fallen apart due to the secret machinations of the Azatas, and more than a few times villians have found they prefer getting really high in Arborea than taking over the world. Â
Once these 9 realms were balanced equally but ever since the actions of mortals have determined their power, evil has been winning, and so much so that Good as a force is no longer a factor. Â If the legends are to be believed, this new circumstances was created by the Upper Planes themselves as the price to give mortals true choice of their actions, thus condemning themselves to their own destructions. Â The Upper Planes by all right should have been wiped out long ago, destroyed by the forces of evil, and yet they prevail, because in a world seemingly resigned to darkness, there is just enough kindness that the light stubbornly refuses to go out. Â
There you go, 9 overdone, over analyzed, over handled bullshit system which isnât worth any respect, and I think that the whole thing is a colossal waste of time. Â
#introduction to d&d#Nine Hells#the abyss#Abaddon#Seven Heavens#Elysium#aborea#Mechanus#Maelstrom#Outlands#Outer Planes#Central Planes#fixer upper#lower pl#Aligniment#Good#Evil#Chaotic Neutral#Law#Chaos#Lawful Good#Neutral Good#Chaotic Good#Lawful Neutral#True Neutral#Lawful Evil#Chaotic Evil#Neutral Evil#Exemplars
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The History and Evolution of the Irish Bodhran
At the beginning of every lecture I try to keep it light and engage with all the students. To get the students attention Iâve come up with a fun approach. I start by saying âThe facts you are about to hear are all lies!â It definitely grabs their attention immediately and I have 150 faces looking at me blankly!
My statement is of course not true. However, Iâve spent many years researching the bodhrĂĄn and honestly Iâve learned that there is no definitive history of the bodhran in Ireland. We can only rely on word of mouth (more like Chinese whispers), handed down through the years by the many generations.
The information and stories we hear are all narrated to us by our parents and grandparents. In other words, the history of the bodhrĂĄn is only hearsay. We have little concrete information.
If you research the history of the bodhran online, you will come across several quite varied opinions of the drumâs roots. Many claim it is an ancient druidic drum. Below are some of the theories which exist.
A trade route for the bodhrĂĄn could be traced back to over several millennia ago. The trade route may have been in Persia. This is supposedly where the drum frame originated.
The reason people believe the drum originated from Persia is due to its use for the act of winnowing, or separating seeds. This seems the most likely source, as this is what provided the basic drum for most of the other frame drumming cultures.
More recently, itâs believed that the bodhran may have come from North Africa. Frame drums are very popular in this region and are usually played by hand. This North African instrument, called the bendir was played in Ancient Egypt. As Ireland traded with Mediterranean countries, this makes it a likely theory.
This theory is based on use of the bodhran as a tool for dyeing wool. Itâs believed that the rim could have been made of bent willow with the skin stretched and tied over the circular willow, then punctured to allow the dye to pass through. The popular colours for dyeing would have been purple (from the flower of the heather), green (from vegetables) and orange (from carrots). Purple and green are known as the Celtic colours.
Interestingly, the bodhran was also used in battle as a war drum. This was to raise the temper of the fighting men against the enemy.
The bodhran was first mentioned in folklore. this comes from our grandparents and they probably heard it from their grandparents and this was with regards to The Wren. The Wren is said to have been a pagan ritual, so we presume the bodhrĂĄn was used around the 18th century, however it may have been introduced centuries before that, thereâs no evidence of how far back it goes.
John B Keane wrote a book called the The BodhrĂĄn Makers, itâs a good novel, however itâs not a history book! After years of research, itâs remarkable that thereâs still no written history in existence and at this stage most likely there never will be.
We know that the bodhrĂĄn has been in existence for many years, itâs now as popular as ever, but what made it so popular those many years ago?
After doing much research, I found the basis of what made the bodhrĂĄn so popular and ironically it was used as a beat played to the music on the day of The Wren, also known as Saint Stephenâs Day, which takes place December 26th.
So what was The Wren? It was when a group of men dressed up in straw hats and skirts, they blackened their faces with soot and entertained their local population by going from house to house playing traditional music and dancing in payment for food, money or drink and of course the craic which came with it! They were known as wrenboys, mummers or strawboys. This pagan tradition dates back a millennium, this means if the bodhrĂĄn was used, it goes as far back as then.
Legend has it that St Stephen was betrayed by a chattering wren while hiding from his enemies. The wren like St Stephen would be hunted down and stoned to death.
Another legend holds that during the Viking raids of the sixth century, Irish soldiers were betrayed by a wren as they were sneaking up on a Viking camp in the dead of night. The wren began eating crumbs left on a bodhrĂĄn drum head and the rat-a-tat-tat of his beak on the drumhead woke the drummer who sounded the alarm. The Irish were subsequently defeated and the wren blamed.
So if The Wren was celebrated as early as the first millennium it is possible that the bodhrĂĄn was also around at that time.
The wren the wren the king of all birds,
On Stephens Day was caught in the furze,
Although he is little his family is great,
I pray you lady you give us a treat.
My box would speak if it had only a tongue,
And two or three shillings would do it no wrong,
Sing holly sing ivy-sing ivy sing holly,
A drop just to drink would drown melancholy.
And if you draw it of the best,
I hope in heaven your soul will rest,
But if you draw it of the small,
It wonât agree with these wrenboys at all.
First Recordings of the BodhrĂĄn
The bodhrĂĄn was first recorded in the 1920âs, it was recorded on a 78 record. It became popular in the fifties and sixties with the renewal in popularity of traditional Irish music and this gave life to the bodhrĂĄn makers of the sixties, such as Sonny Davey from Sligo, Charlie Byrne from Tipperary, Paddy Clancy from Limerick and many more.
BodhrĂĄn-making became a cottage industry. In 1978, I joined the fraternity known as The BodhrĂĄn Makers. An bodhrĂĄn was promoted by SeĂĄn OâRiada in his arrangements for CeoltĂłirĂ Chualann, who later became The Chieftains, and was preferred by SeĂĄn to the snare drum used in the cĂ©ilĂ bands.
The word bodhrĂĄn could also mean deafner, possibly as the wren boys used it to make a lot of noise. According to John B the wren boys sometimes added flattened pennies to the sides to make a jingle and hence the name bourine, short for tambourine.
The Much Maligned BodhrĂĄn Player
The bodhran is regarded by some with derision, or at best suspicion. There are reasons behind this attitude, though I would obviously disagree myself.
The bodhrĂĄn seems easy to play. To the non-musician who wants to be thought of as a musician, the bodhrĂĄn would appear to be an easily acquired passport into a select company. Or it may be that he perceives the music as an entertainment with which everyone may, or should, join in. Whatever the motivation, the results are sometimes dreadful; a piano accordion, for example, accompanied by a battering of four or five aspiring bodhrĂĄn players, all producing personal variations on what they think is the beat is hardly likely to be music.
On the other hand the bodhrĂĄn can give a good lift to a session or to solo playing. The combination of the Irish flute and bodhrĂĄn is a well-tried one and many flute players like a good bodhrĂĄn accompaniment.
The bodhrĂĄn frame is made from a variety of different timbers, the most popular being plywood. The use of crossbars gives added strength to the frame. Goatskin is mainly used, but I have heard of people using a variety of animal skins. Goats are not killed for their skins. The skin is a byproduct. The skins that are used today come from a variety of countries mainly Ireland, North Africa, India and Pakistan.
To finish off, a researcher friend of mine was researching the word bodhrĂĄn and believes that it comes from the Irish word bodhraigh, which means anger or aggravate. Relate this to winnowing, the separating of the wheat from the chaff. As the wheat bounced against the skin, the wheat is agitated and the chaff separates. So the agricultural tool used to perform this operation could well be called a bodhrĂĄn.
So there you have it. A brief history of the bodhran. Though much information is speculation, this, in my professional opinion, is the most likely history of the bodhran.
If youâre taken with this legendary Irish instrument and want to try it yourself, have a read of my Expert Guide to Buying a Bodhran. It will teach you everything you need to know to about the mechanics of this seemingly simple instrument.
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We are getting close to the end of this 10-week opus, this look at the Boardgame Geek Top 100 games and which ones Iâve played.
This has actually been my favourite series to write so far in the 3+ years of this blog.
Mainly because itâs given me 9 (soon to be 10) weeks of guaranteed content, as well as some great interactions with my few fans. Itâs been very interesting to see other peopleâs opinions of the games that we play.
And while there hasnât been controversy, per se, there have been a few âoh, I love this game that you hate!â responses, which I also really like.
Nobodyâs got on me for liking a game that they hate, which is a welcome change from most of the BGG forums. And they really havenât gotten on me for hating a game they like. Just gentle nudges.
Sometimes reading the BGG forums for a game can be like facing off against the teeming hordes of people who disagree with you.
And sometimes youâre the only one on your side.
It can get quite tedious.
Not here, though! People who come here are all very nice.
I love you all.
And with that, letâs begin!
#20 â Wingspan (Stonemaier Games) â 2019
Designer: Elizabeth Hargrave
Artists: Ana Maria Martinez Jaramillo, Natalia Rojas, Beth Sobel
Wingspan very rightly won a Dice Tower award recently, as it is a wonderful game. I played it for the first time in early 2019 but played it twice at Dice Tower West!
This is a phenomenal game, the tableau-building game designed by Elizabeth Hargrave (nice to see a woman designer with such a successful game!).
This is a game where you are playing birds to your habitats that will then have effects when you take the specific action that coincides with that habitat.
Green habitats will give you extra stuff when you get food. The yellow habitat will do things when you collect eggs, etc.
I love how your actions are affected by the number of birds you already have in that habitat, as well as the diminishing number of actions you get, since each round an action is spent on the âend or roundâ bonus from the previous round.
After four rounds, youâre going to be totaling up the victory points from your birds, your end-of-round scoring and your bonus cards and whoever has the most is the winner!
This game easily would have made my Top 25 games ever played if I hadnât played it mere weeks after doing that post.
I love the tableau-building aspect of the game, the artwork is amazing and I just love the game play. Itâs easy to get stuck if you donât plan your plays well, and there is a bit of luck if you donât draw birds that work with what youâre trying to do.
But overall itâs a greatly enjoyable game that I will own shortly.
And then weâll see how it plays 2-player, as itâs another COVID purchase.
#19 â Arkham Horror: the Card Game (Fantasy Flight Games) â 2016
Designer: Nate French, Matthew Newman
Artists: Lots!
Yes, this is my new obsession.
I said why on Mondayâs âNew to Me â June 2020â post but this is a game that I canât stop following.
This is the card game version of Arkham Horror where the locations you are visiting are cards that are brought out by the scenario you are playing.
 Each player has an investigator and as youâre going through the campaign, you will be improving your deck with better cards when you spend experience to get them.
The investigators all have different abilities which makes the game very replayable, even if the secrets of the scenarios themselves are known (in the first scenario, you know which investigator to send to the Attic and which one to the Cellar, for instance).
Who knows? Maybe one of these days Iâll be posting Arkham Horror: LCG strategy articles to this blog.
Nah, who am I kidding. I never know what Iâm doing, even when Iâve played a game multiple times.
Still, this is a game that I will continue to revisit and I canât wait to experience it.
#18 â Brass: Lancashire (Roxley Games) â 2007 (2018 for deluxe edition)
Designer: Martin Wallace
Artists: Lina Cossette, Peter Dennis, David Forest, Eckhard Freytag, Damien Mammoliti
Brass: Lancashire is the recent Roxley re-working of the original Brass designed by Martin Wallace.
I have played both the original (with the horrendous artwork) as well as the new one, and this game is amazing.
And this is from somebody who doesnât really care for economic games.
I am very bad at this game (which is where the âdoesnât really care for economic gamesâ comes from) but itâs still a lot of fun.
In this case, you are building things like coal mines, iron mines, cotton manufacturing places, etc and trying to get a bunch of victory points from buildings that have been used. Buildings are used when you either ship cotton from them to a port (which also uses the port if its a playerâs) or use all of the iron or coal from them.
The two phases are cool because you go through the deck once during the Canal phase, only able to build canal connections between the various cities.
Then, once youâre through the deck, you do the Rail phase where youâre building railroads instead of canals. You have to rebuild all of those connections because canals arenât a thing anymore.
This is a game where you really have to plan ahead (something Iâm not good at, which is why I suck) in order to convert your buildings at the right time and/or use the resources on it.
I like that you can also âdevelopâ technologies, which removes them from play and makes your remaining stuff even more valuable. If you build Level 1 buildings, you will score them at the end of the Canal Phase, but then they will disappear.
However, if you build a Level 2 or above building in the Canal Phase, it will stick around and score points in both phases.
Itâs a very intricate game.
As in most Wallace games, loans are quite prominent, but theyâre not as punishing as in most other Wallace games.
Yes, your income will go down, but you can build that back up again with no problems. Unlike games like London where they just cost you end-game victory points if you havenât paid them off.
Because itâs an economic game, itâs not something that I will request. However, itâs a game that I do like playing and will willingly play if it comes out to the table.
#17 â Concordia (Rio Grande Games) â 2013
Designer: Mac Gerdts
Artists: Marina Fahrenbach, Mac Gerdts, Dominik Mayer
Concordia is a game thatâs hard to describe. You are trading in the Mediterranean (sorry, Tom) but you are establishing trading posts in various cities around the map (depending on which map you use, it may not be the Mediterranean). Youâre moving your traders (either ships or on-foot people) from city to city and paying for the right to put posts there.
Each map is divided into regions and you will be getting points depending on how many regions you are in.
The thing is, points are determined by the cards that you have and have bought. If you spread out among different regions, maybe you want to have a lot of cards that score based on regions.
But maybe you have a lot of cards that are based on how many cities you have that produce something other than bricks? Then you want a lot of cities and it doesnât matter where they are.
That way, you are actually in control of how you score, but those cards are also your actions so if you limit yourself, you may not be able to do everything you want to do.
Itâs quite intricate and I love how that all fits together.
This is another game that Iâm not good at, though I did actually manage to win it once.
But all of the mechanisms just come together in a brilliant design that Iâm more than happy to play when it comes to the table.
#16 â 7 Wonders Duel (Repos Production) â 2015
Designers: Antoine Bauza, Bruno Cathala
Artist: Miguel Coimbra
This is the 2-player version of the brilliant Cathala design 7 Wonders, where you arenât drafting cards but instead taking them from the table where they are arranged in a certain pattern (based on which age youâre in).
This is a game that I played my friendâs copy and then I finally got a copy in a math trade and played it three more times.
On your turn, you will be taking a card from the center tableau and either adding it to yours, discarding it for money, or using it to build the Wonder that you have.
Thus, youâll hopefully have resources that you can then use to build the buildings that you take (like the Apothecary above requires one glass resource).
You go through three ages of this, with varying layouts of more powerful cards in the 2nd and 3rd ages.
Instead of âwinning warsâ with military and getting points for those like in the original game, this 2-player version has almost a tug-of-war aspect to the military as it goes back and forth on the military track when players build a military building or wonder.
The only points for the military track are at the end, depending on where it ends up.
However, if you neglect military while your opponent goes strong in it, and the military marker ends up all the way on your side of the track, you immediately lose.
So watch out!
There is also a Science victory depending on whether youâve built or achieved all of the science symbols. That too ends the game immediately.
Most of the time, though, youâre struggling back and forth for points and will get to the end of the 3rd Age so both players tally up their points.
This is a very fun 2-player version of 7 Wonders and, as the ranking indicates, itâs almost better just because itâs more interesting. Youâre not having to keep track of 3-5 other players and what theyâre doing (not that you can consider what the player 3 spaces away from you is doing when you draft a card, but still).
Iâve played with the Pantheon expansion once and itâs fine. Iâd have to play it again to really have an opinion on it.
And supposedly there is another expansion coming soon as well.
I really do like this game and Iâm happy I finally took the plunge and got it in the math trade. If it wasnât left in the office when we all got told to immediately start working from home due to COVID, Iâd be playing it with the wife right now!
#15 â Terra Mystica (Capstone Games) â 2012
Designer: Jens DrögemĂŒller, Helge Ostertag
Artist: Dennis Lohausen
And now we come to Terra Mystica. This game is very interesting but also makes my brain hurt.
The game is fairly straightforward, but it also just breaks my head because there is literally no luck (except the order of the end-of-round scoring tiles). You choose your race, you choose your starting point on the map, and then you decide (along with all the other players) on what youâre doing, where youâre expanding, and what types of buildings that youâre going to put out on the board.
I find the energy mechanic really interesting, where if you build a building thatâs next to other playerâs buildings, they can spend victory points to get energy.
Energy is very important in this game which is why Iâm really bad at it. I have trouble using my energy in the right way and getting it when itâs good to get. I find myself spending a lot of victory points to get the energy because I find other ways to get energy very restrictive.
A number of my friends are much better at this game so when I play it, itâs definitely in a âtry to get betterâ mindset because thereâs no way Iâm going to win.
Then again, I havenât played it on the table since 2015, so maybe thatâs where the problem is?
Iâve played the app a few times, but my two plays of this were really in the early part of my game-playing career. Maybe I would be better at it if I played it again now, with a bit more experience under my belt.
I enjoy this game well enough. Iâd like to try again now that I am more of a gamer, but weâll see if that happens.
I also havenât played with any of the expansions, so that would be cool as well!
I wouldnât mind playing this again just to see how I feel about the game now that I have a bit more experience. Admittedly, my two plays were when I was pretty new and I had no idea what I was doing.
Iâve played the app a few times and also on Boardgame Arena, but that doesnât really count.
#14 â The Castles of Burgundy (Ravensburger) â 2011
Designer: Stefan Feld
Artists: Julien Delval, Harald Lieske
Ah, yes, the Feld classic game. Anybody who knows gaming is aware of this one, even if they donât like it for some unknown reason (sure, they say why they donât like it, but it doesnât make any sense!).
I have a 3-player game of this going on Boiteajeux.net at all times with a couple of friends. Weâve played it 83 times now, plus any plays that Iâve had on the table, and itâs just a go-to game for me.
Thereâs something about rolling two dice and trying to figure out what to do with them. Do you get tiles off the board? Do you put tiles from your sheet to your player board? Do you sell stuff? Or maybe (if youâre unlucky and havenât planned well) just use it to get more workers?
It has a nice dice mitigation option with workers, but if you use all of your workers quickly, you find yourself a bit stuck.
Yes, the artwork is bland and itâs an older game so some newer gamers may find it a bit boring to look at.
Thereâs a new edition out, but to me it looks more garish. I like the simplicity of the artwork in this version.
The mechanics, though, are just so cool. You roll two dice and then do stuff with them. If you have workers, you can adjust those dice, but otherwise you just try to fill your board and fill up full sections of your board. The victory points for full sections are dependent on what round it is as well as how many spaces are in that space.
Itâs a Feld classic and itâs well worth that #14 ranking. In fact, Iâd almost say it should be higher.
I should get it to the table more often rather than just online, though.
#13 â Spirit Island (Greater Than Games) â 2017
Designer: R. Eric Reuss
Artists: Lots!
What a streak of games that Iâve played! This one Iâve played once, and I wasnât a huge fan of it, but Iâd play it again.
Basically in Spirit Island, players are âgodsâ of the natives of an island that is being colonized by a malevolent force that is trying to expand and force out the natives.
Yeah, this is definitely an anti-colonialism game.
In the game, each player represents the natives of this particular island trying to resist the colonial forces that are trying to spread their evil influence throughout it. Each player has a unique âgodâ power that will help you in doing that.
Each turn, you will be trying to eliminate colonists that are already on the island, or maybe strengthen your defenses before the colonists start their own expansion.
I actually enjoyed this game somewhat, but not enough to really try hard to play it again. The anti-colonialism aspect of the game is pretty cool, and the game itself is fine.
However, the app came out on Early Access on Steam and I really had no interest in trying it again.
Itâs a fine game, but just not one that grabbed me as much as it has grabbed other people.
#12 â War of the Ring (2nd Edition) â (Ares Games) â 2012
Designers: Roberto Di Meglio, Marco Maggi, Francesco Nepitello
Artists: John Howe, Fabio Maiorana
This is apparently a classic game that Iâve never seen.
Also pretty cool is that the art is by John Howe, who also did the art for the Lord of the Rings game, which is getting a cool new anniversary edition.
While the Reiner Knizia cooperative game is about the ring-bearer and the story from the book series, War of the Ring is about the war thatâs shown in brief snippets in the books (and was shown more prominently in the film, because you obviously need lots of action and CGI in movies nowadaysâŠbut I digress).
This is the war between the Free Peoples of the land and the evil forces of Sauron (the Shadow Armies).
Letâs blurb this thing, because this post was starting to feel lonely with no blurbs.
âThe game can be won by a military victory, if Sauron conquers a certain number of Free People cities and strongholds or vice versa. But the true hope of the Free Peoples lies with the quest of the Ringbearer: while the armies clash across Middle Earth, the Fellowship of the Ring is trying to get secretly to Mount Doom to destroy the One Ring. Sauron is not aware of the real intention of his enemies but is looking across Middle Earth for the precious Ring, so that the Fellowship is going to face numerous dangers, represented by the rules of The Hunt for the Ring. But the Companions can spur the Free Peoples to the fight against Sauron, so the Free People player must balance the need to protect the Ringbearer from harm, against the attempt to raise a proper defense against the armies of the Shadow, so that they do not overrun Middle Earth before the Ringbearer completes his quest.â
The cool-sounding thing about the game is that it does incorporate the quest to destroy the ring, just a bit more abstractly.
The game also reflects the reluctance of some of the Free Peoples to fight Sauron, with a political track that shows if a nation is ready for war. Of course, if Sauron up and attacks them, theyâll happily defend themselves (though maybe not effectively? I donât know).
There are dice involved and the dice can effect what actions you can do, which is also pretty neat. Event cards come up that can change the course of the game, or at least what you have to respond to. These events are from the story and represent things that canât really be done in the game system itself.
The game sounds really intriguing and Iâd love to play it once to see what itâs like.
It says 2-4 players, but Iâm not really sure how that works.
Iâm sure if I watched a review I would see a bit more how it works and get a better idea of how 3-4 players would play (2 is obvious).
But whereâs the fun in that?
If this ever comes up as a chance to play, you know I will be jumping on it.
Though the 2.5-3 hour stated play time is a bit intimidating.
#11 â Scythe (Stonemaier Games) â 2016
Designer: Jamey Stegmaier
Artist: Jakub Rozalski
Scythe is the other big hit game that I havenât actually played. I see it being played all the time at conventions but I just havenât actually had the opportunity to play it.
It doesnât come to game days, and most of the time the games I see at conventions are already starting.
Which is too bad, because it does sound like a very good game (with a few oddities, pointed out hilariously by the Shut Up & Sit Down review)
youtube
But itâs a game I want to play, just to see what itâs like for me.
Hey, another game I havenât played, so another blurb!
âScythe is an engine-building game set in an alternate-history 1920s period. It is a time of farming and war, broken hearts and rusted gears, innovation and valor. In Scythe, each player represents a character from one of five factions of Eastern Europe who are attempting to earn their fortune and claim their factionâs stake in the land around the mysterious Factory. Players conquer territory, enlist new recruits, reap resources, gain villagers, build structures, and activate monstrous mechs.
Each player begins the game with different resources (power, coins, combat acumen, and popularity), a different starting location, and a hidden goal. Starting positions are specially calibrated to contribute to each factionâs uniqueness and the asymmetrical nature of the game (each faction always starts in the same place).â
I did get into the Scythe beta when it first came out on Steam, but I couldnât make heads nor tails of the game through the tutorial.
Itâs now out on iOS and Android (at least in Canada), so maybe Iâll buy it there and see if I can muddle through it again?
Because I want to try this game.
I donât know if I want to like it. Weâll see in time.
But I want to try it.
Since Iâve played everything up through Spirit Island, I havenât had the chance to say this yet!
You know what Iâm thinking. Letâs say it all together now.
âMaybe at a convention!â
So thatâs it. Another week gone and only one week left! Thatâs the Top 10 games on Boardgame Geek. I wonder how many of those I will have played?
This week gives us 8 out of 10, with no digital-only games. That makes for a grand total so far of 47 out of 90.
I blasted through the 40-barrier!!!! Yay me!
Itâs also frightening to think that Iâve most likely played at least 50 of the Top 100 games on Boardgame Geek.
Is there something wrong with me?
Let me know in the comments.
Wait, that should have been put after this: What do you think of these games? How many have you played? Anything you really want to play? Or hate with the passion of a fiery sun that would give everybody who forced you to play it with them a massive sunburn?
You know the drill.
Posts in this Series:
#100-91 #90-81 #80-71 #70-61 #60-51 #50-41 #40-31 #30-21 #20-11
Boardgame Geek Top 100 - Played or Play #20-11 #boardgames @jameystegmaier @stonemaiergames @AresGamesSrl @GTGamesLLC @RavensburgerNA @Capstone_Games @ReposProduction @riograndegames @roxleygames @FFGames @elizhargrave We are getting close to the end of this 10-week opus, this look at the Boardgame Geek Top 100 games and which ones I've played.
#7 Wonders Duel#Antoine Bauza#Ares Games#Arkham Horror: the Card Game#Brass: Lancashire#Bruno Cathala#Castles of Burgundy#Concordia#Cooperative Games#Economic Games#Elizabeth Hargrave#Francesco Nepitello#Greater Than Games#Helge Ostertag#Jamey Stegmaier#Jens Drogemuller#Mac Gerdts#Marco Maggi#Martin Wallace#Matthew Newman#Nate French#R. Eric Reuss#Ravensburger#Repos Games#Rio Grande Games#Roberto Di Meglio#Roxley Games#Scythe#Spirit Island#Stefan Feld
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Klaine fic -Â âNeed for Speedâ (Rated NC17)
Kurt Hummel moves from California to Lima after his dad's heart attack causes them to lose their repair shop. Kurt leaves his prestigious performing arts school and any chance of moving to New York and getting into NYADA. His only other joy in life is custom tuning cars, but his father doesn't approve. Things seem to get back on track when he joins the Dalton Crew as their mechanic, behind his father's back. He'll make the money he needs as long as he can put up with the unwanted attention of Sebastian Smythe. But, how will his dreams change after he meets the head of the McKinley Crew, Blaine Anderson, who decides that winning Kurt Hummel will be his next big challenge?
For those of you who donât know, this is one of my first and, in my opinion, flagship fics, so Iâm doing a little touch-up job on it in preparation for the sequel. Iâll be posting the revised chapters here one at a time to give everyone who wants the chance to re-read it and get re-acquainted with it. It is posted in its entirety on AO3 and FF.net, with the majority of the chapters revised, if you want to go that route, but if you guys could also spread this around, I would really appreciate it <3 The cover for this story was done by the incredible @freakingpotter so you guys should all go and give her some love because she hella deserves it :)
Chapter 1 (2772 words)
Kurt sat cross-legged on his bed, elbows propped on his knees, head in his hands. He felt like crying, and not just a calm, rejuvenating sob, but an all-out, throw-yourself-on-the-floor-kicking-your-legs-and-flailing-your-arms-while-you-wail-like-a-skewered-seal tantrum. He looked around at the worn cardboard boxes piled high in his room, each labeled accordingly - clothes, books, music, Vogue magazines, misc. - all waiting patiently to be unpacked and put away, but Kurt wanted none of it. Unpacking his things and settling in felt so permanent. It felt like giving in. Once he put his clothes in his closet and his books in the bookcase, it would all be real.
Setting his room up would mean he was staying.
It had only been a week since they moved to Ohio from California, and he knew, with every fiber of his being, that he didn't want to live here.
"Give it a chance," his dad had pleaded. "I'm sure everything will work out."
Kurt highly doubted it, but he couldn't really blame his dad - not for his heart attack that caused the hospital bills, which in turn zapped all their savings, or for the recession that started to drag them under so far there was no way for them to recover. No, he couldnât blame his dad for any of that, but in the end, because of his dad's unwillingness to franchise out, they had lost the shop and had to move to Lima, of all places. What kind of name was Lima for a city, anyway? Lima wasnât the name of a city. It was a type of bean - a curled, sickly pale, ugly bean that most normal and rational people pushed to the side of their plate and forgot about long after their steak was gone.
That's what Kurt's life in California had been for him. Steak - rich and flavorful, and extremely fulfilling. Kurt sighed with longing when he thought about it. Even for a boy who didn't believe in a God, he had felt incredibly blessed. He had a good life in California. He had friends. He had a future. He was on his way.
Now, here he sat, aging Texas Instruments calculator in hand, trying to figure out how he was ever going to make it out to New York and his dream school NYADA when he was resigned to making ten dollars an hour at his dad's new shop. His dad had already dropped the bomb that with settling the hospital bills, the move, and all their other numerous expenses (which seemed to crop up out of nowhere on a daily basis) he would most likely not be able to help Kurt afford the college of his dreams.
Kurt's only dream.
With a frustrated groan, Kurt tossed the calculator violently to the floor, but the horrid 1960s green shag carpet mocked him by shielding the tiny machine from shattering into a thousand satisfying pieces.
Kurt felt trapped; trapped like some animal that's meant to be free, too big for its cage and dying inside because it will never be allowed to roam. Kurt hated feeling trapped. Trapped was not a life. It almost felt like not living at all.
Two weeks before the start of school, the start of his senior year, supposedly the best year of his young life, and Kurt sat on a metal stool in his dad's shop, begging silently for business to pick up. I'd better get used to it, Kurt thought. With his dad's poor health, Kurt would be spending most of his free time before and after school right hereâŠon this stoolâŠthe minutes of his life slowly dripping away. At his last school, Kurt had taken mostly accelerated and AP classes, so he managed to swing getting first period off. Kurt and his dad, Burt, had only one other employee â Mark. To be honest, the man wasnât really much help around the shop, but he was doing Burt a favor, and he came cheap.
Mark was a friend of Kurt's parents from back in the day, when Burt and Kurt's mother Elizabeth had lived in Lima. When everything had first started crashing down around them and his father was still trying frantically to keep their heads above water, Mark had been the one to suggest that they move back to Lima and start over. He volunteered to do all the grunt work. He found them the shop, acted as liaison to the leasing agent, found them a house they could afford, he even helped negotiate the move.
Yup, Mark was a stand-up guy.
Kurt hated Mark. He hated him with a burning passion. Mark seemed to know it, too, because he kept to the far corner of the shop and barely said anything other than âhiâ and âbyeâ to the livid young man.
Kurt would never tell his father, but he resented wasting what remained of the summer rotating tires and doing oil changes; not that there seemed to be anything more interesting to do in that Podunk town. It's not that Kurt didn't like working in his dad's shop. He actually quite enjoyed it. He wasn't very fond of getting dirty, but he liked working on cars. If his dreams of New York and NYADA didn't pan out, being a custom tuner wouldn't be so bad. His dad disagreed. Burt Hummel definitely did not appreciate the street racing culture the way Kurt did. Far from it. It had been mortifying back home when his dad would turn away boy racers, especially in California where custom tuners made all the money and little shops like Hummel Tires and Lube were steadily going out of business.
Kurt had built his own car almost from scratch â a 1999 Mitsubishi Eclipse. A friend had helped him buy the body at auction. After that, he scoured junk yards for the parts he needed, putting the car together practically one piece at a time. Once it was completely constructed, he traded some transmission work with a local painter who taught him the fine art of detailing. It took an extreme amount of patience, but in the end it paid off in spades. Kurt loved his car, and with the exception of his voice, he had never been prouder of anything else in his life. As much as his father hated the thing, Kurt had spent his own money on it, and his dad couldn't really complain much. His son had done an excellent job putting it together. Besides, Kurt didn't race. He just liked cars...and the guys who drove the cars.
Ding, ding.
Kurt looked up, a little surprised by what was rolling into the shop. Four boys, about his age, in white tank tops and blue jeans, pushed a silver 300ZX through the bay doors. Kurt smiled. 'Now that's what I'm talking about,' he thought. Hot guys and a hot car. Maybe today wouldn't suck so hardcore after all.
Kurt quickly made his way over to the group before they could realize their mistake and split.
"Hello, and welcome to Hummel Tires and Lube," Kurt recited cheerfully.
Ugh. That sounded lame, even to his own ears.
His father demanded that he greet every customer the same way. Personally, Kurt didn't know what was wrong with just saying, 'Hello,' or maybe, 'How may I help you?'
"Hello," a tall, Asian-looking boy said, wiping his brow with the back of his hand. "I wonder if you could help us."
"Okay," Kurt said, eyeing each of the boys in turn. They all smiled warmly at him.
"We've been trying to get this guy up and running for the last month or so," a blond boy said, patting the hood of the silver car fondly with his hand. "I've got big plans for her."
"Yeah," a slightly shorter, dark haired boy, with light skin and bright eyes, agreed, "but the problem is it's making some strange noises, and it doesn't seem to have the pick-up it should."
Kurt nodded his head thoughtfully as he took in the information, trying his utmost to appear calm and professional while at the same time praying to anyone who might be listening, whether Kurt believed in them or not, that his dad didn't come back from his break before he had the chance to get this baby on the lift and put his hands on it.
"Just out of curiosity," Kurt said when the boys had finished, eying the car from top to bottom, "why did you stop in here? I mean, we're not really a custom car shop."
"Well," the last boy spoke up, "our regular mechanic sort of bugged out on us, and we saw the Eclipse out front..." The boy motioned over his shoulder to Kurt's car parked out front. Kurt had forgotten to bring the cover he normally kept on it, so it sat outside in the shade. Parked beside his dad's pick up, it kind of stood out with its crystal blue paint job and silver lightning vinyl graphics down the side. "We thought someone in here might be able to help us."
"Yup," Kurt said with a nod. "That's my baby. Took close to a year to get her up and running."
"That's hot," the Asian boy, evidently the leader of the group, commented. "Are you rolling NOS?"
Kurt smirked.
"Not if my dad's asking."
"Gotcha," the boy said with a wink.
"So, can you help us?" the blond boy said, eyes wide and hopeful.
"This is a '96, right?" Kurt asked, and the boys nodded. Kurt crossed his arms and tapped his chin with his right index finger, going over what he remembered of the schematics of the ZX engine in his head, scrolling through several possibilities, and troubleshooting the problem mentally. "Well, your variable cam timing's probably dropped, so that's most likely where you're losing horsepower. And the ZX always makes a lot of interesting noises. I'd have to take it around the block to see for myself..."
The sound of a door slamming shut and heavy shuffling footsteps caused Kurt's mouth to go dry, his heart to sinking into his stomach.
"Hey, dad," Kurt called, already feeling defeated.
"Hey, kiddo," Burt said, walking over slowly. "What's going on here?"
"I'm with some customers," Kurt said, turning his head and fixing his father with a tense smile, willing him with his eyes to turn around and walk back into the office so Kurt could fix this car. His dad didn't seem to understand facial cues. Burt circled the car and the group of kids slowly, examining them uncomfortably.
"300ZX?" his dad asked thoughtfully. "What's the problem?"
"Possible cam timing problem and a couple of odd noises," Kurt rushed out. "I was just about to take her around the block to make sure."
His dad nodded. Kurt had seen this dance before, and he didnât hold out much hope that the outcome would be different this time. On the other hand, his dad didn't look overly concerned with the presence of four boys surrounding an obvious racer car in his shop. Kurt might just be in the clear.
Burt leaned in closer to the carâs roof and peered at the paint, green eyes narrowing suspiciously.
"Is that an aftermarket silver flake?"
Oh crap...
Kurt sighed and dropped down onto his stool. He knew where this was headed...right out the door with the rest of his hopes, his dreams, any chance of making some decent money, and the possibility of a social life.
"So, you kids running NOS?" Burt asked, looking the car over. Three of the boys looked at each other, exchanging nervous looks, but the boy that Kurt made out to be the leader didn't seem at all intimidated by Kurt's dad.
"Yes, sir," he answered, smiling politely.
Burt maintained a roughly unreadable expression, but Kurt knew his dad, and he knew the grim look in his eyes. This whole deal was about to go sour.
"You guys street racing around here?"
"Yes, sir,â the boy admitted. âAnd may I say that your son here seems to really know his stuff. We were kind of hoping he could help us out. We have quite a few cars, and we're in the market for a new mechanic.â
Kurt perked up immediately. Did this guy just compliment him? And he was offering to bring them business? His dad couldn't say no to that, right? Kurt side-eyed his father shrewdly. He knew how his dad felt about street racing; that it was dangerous and illegal. He also knew that these kids could give them business, good steady business. Heck, the profit they could feasibly make on some of the import parts alone could pay for his first semester. Kurt sat straight as a rod, bouncing slightly, pleading with his father, but only in his head. Here it was, Kurt going to New York and living the dream, as long as his dad made the right decision.
"I'm sorry boys,â Burt said finally with a determined shake of his head, âbut I don't think we can help you."
"Dad..." Kurt hissed.
"No, Kurt.â Burt turned to his son with a look on his face that emphasized that his decision was final. âNow you know how I feel about racing." Burt turned his attention back to the boys with the car. "It's dangerous, and I will not promote it here in my shop. Besides, I don't think we offer the kind of services you guys are going to be needing anyhow."
"But, dad!" Kurt argued, desperately trying to give it one last go, to make his dad see reason.
âNo, Kurt. Now I've said my piece. Why don't you gentlemen take your car and run along?â
The blond boy deflated almost as much as Kurt. The Asian boy nodded to his crew, and they started to push the car back out of the garage. Kurtâs cheeks flushed with anger and embarrassment. He glared, shooting daggers at his dad as the man, without a single other acknowledgement to his son, turned and headed for his office. After he locked himself away, Kurt watched the four boys maneuver the 300ZX carefully out of the bay. There it went; another opportunity rolling its way right out the door. Another time his dad could have made things right for them, but instead he chose to let his stubbornness and inability to change get in the way. If his dad thought they were going to get anywhere doing tune-ups and oil changes at a paltry $30 a pop for the rest of their lives, he was sadly mistaken. Kurt couldnât take it anymore. His dad had told him to give it a chance; that everything would work out, but from where Kurt sat everything looked exactly the same.
This couldnât continue to be his life. It just couldnât.
He decided then and there that he was sick of watching his future be decided without him even getting to have his say. Kurt watched as his dad rounded to the office, heading to the back of the shop, then sprinted out of the bay and ran after the boys.
"Hey!" Kurt called. âWait up!â
The Asian boy turned around, a knowing smirk on his face.
"What's up?"
"I can do it." Kurt glanced over his shoulder to make sure his dad didn't notice his absence and come looking for him. "I can fix your car, and any other one you want to toss my way."
"Really?" The boy looked him up and down. "And what about pops?"
"Let me worry about him." The words came out before Kurt could stop them. He felt guilty about disrespecting his dad, but not enough to give up on his dream. "Can you come back later? Maybe after we close?"
The four boys looked at each other, the blond oneâs face lighting up with unbridled joy. Then the three boys looked back at their leader. After a silent moment, he nodded.
âWe can do that.â
Kurt exhaled with relief.
âBring it by tonight. I can have it done for you in an hour. Two tops."
"We'll bring it by at around 7. The races start at 10. And if I like the job you do, you can come with me and my crew. You can be our mechanic."
"Great," Kurt said.
He watched the group limp their silver car away, and while he did he weighed his options - the chance of his ultimate success over his fatherâs inevitable disappointment.
He shoved aside the bitterness that came with considering his dadâs point of view and returned to the shop, trying not to look too overjoyed.
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