#when will he finally get to be a trial character in our party and not an enemy boss

[hellohiyoko]

The Hidden Danganronpa Trope: The Red Eyed, Pig-tailed, Girl In Red and Black

I had posted this on Amino once before, I figured to repost it here.

Aside from similar color schemes, similar hair styles, and similar eye colors, these three characters have a lot more in common than one would initially realize.

Spoilers below for Trigger Happy Havoc, Super Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair, and V3: Killing Harmony, you've been warned.

Celestia Ludenburg from THH

The first red eyed, pig-tailed girl to set the precedence for her successors, is Celestia Ludenburg, the Ultimate Gambler. Makoto Naegi introduces himself and he's immediately suspicious of who she really is, seeing as "Celestia Ludenburg" is a rather odd name for a girl who claims to be from Japan. Regardless, she continues to lie and insist that Celestia Ludenburg is her real name.

At first glance, Celeste is seen as a rather cold, composed, and cunning individual who's willing to adapt to the killing game to live in Hope's Peak Academy for the rest of her foreseeable future. But in Chapter 2, we catch the ever so slightest glimpse of her true nature, as she yells and berates Hifumi due to the dissatisfaction of his milk tea. Her foreign accent disappears, and the calm, collected, individual is suddenly losing her shit, loudly might I add, over milk tea. Such an uncharacteristic crash out shocks the remaining survivors, this was a completely different person from who they've come to know.

It isn't until the end of the class trial in Chapter 3 that we learn who Celeste really is. If you didn't know then, you learned now that her vague European accent is fake. Even her name, "Celestia Ludenburg", as expected, was fake. Her real name is Taeko Yasuhiro, which she believes to be a "loser's name". She hates the common lifestyle she's lived up to this point, and hid her true identity from the rest of the peers. Who could've seen this coming? 😲

Peko Pekoyama from SDR2

Next up is Peko Pekoyama, the Ultimate Swordswoman. Immediately, you can tell that Peko and Celeste are two very different characters/people (depends on who you ask, ba dum tss 😉). While Peko is reserved and composed much like the counterpart aforementioned, she's much more trustworthy. She's open to social events such as parties and willing to put herself out there for introductions with her classmates, despite being emotionless. When meeting Hajime Hinata in SDR2 on Jabberwock Island, she's blunt with her intentions, stating that while she wants to get along, she won't hesitate to kill anyone should someone step out of line, all before anyone in SDR2 realized the predicament they were in.

Other than suspiciously meeting with Fuyuhiko Kuzuryuu in the mornings when he left the group, nothing else seems out of the ordinary...

Until Chapter 2...

More specifically, the trial of Mahiru Koizumi's death. Toward the end of the trial, Peko tells those who have survived up to that point that she murdered Mahiru because she was Sparkling Justice, a vigilante who targeted criminals, in hopes that she wouldn't be considered the actual blackened. But thanks to Hajime and Sonia Nevermind, her lie about her motive and identity was revealed. We learn that the Kuzuryuu Clan adopted Peko for the sole purpose of serving as Fuyuhiko's sword and shield. She's not just a bodyguard, she sees herself as a tool, to be used by Fuyuhiko, void of any human emotion, intuition, or agency; a rather negative self image, wouldn't you say?

...is it clicking yet? Have you perhaps found a few similarities in Celeste and Peko? Keep whatever thoughts you have on hold as I talk about the last character.

Maki Harukawa from V3

Ah, yes, our final girl! Kaede Akamatsu and Shuichi Saihara meets Maki Harukawa as the Ultimate Child Caregiver, in the library of the Ultimate Academy of Gifted Juveniles in Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony. Despite another change in location, Maki appears to be reserved, composed, and cold initially. Despite Kaede's observation that Maki doesn't look like a child caregiver (and Kaito's opinion that she looks like someone who could fight), nothing else about Maki stands out too much in the prologue and first chapter.

Maki's suddenly thrusted into the spotlight in...you guessed it, the second chapter!

As soon as more Ultimate Research Labs become available, Maki goes off on her own and finds her own behind a gold and crimson door, which doesn't give a "child caregiver" vibe at all. She's even more distant than usual and doesn't let anyone see her lab. And once Ryoma's body is found, Maki refuses to participate in the investigation.

The second trial begins. Her refusal to cooperate and her lack of an alibi makes Maki quite suspicious. But she didn't murder anyone, she just lied about who she is. Toward the end of the chapter, Kokichi reveals to the surviving students that Maki's not a child caregiver, she's the Ultimate Assassin.

Unlike her predecessors though, Maki actually manages to make it to the end of Chapter 3, and survives the killing game alongside Shuichi and Himiko Yumeno, with some interesting character development. Throughout V3 and through FTES, we learn that Maki was tortured into becoming the assassin as we know (and love) today. She had went through so much pain and anger for being forced to kill people that eventually, she became numb to it all. Maki was used, and because of this, she begun to hate herself, believing that she was nothing more than a tool for killing who didn't deserve any friends or compassion (luckily until Kaito Momota convinced her otherwise).

So, to recap:

They're all female

They all have red eyes and pig-tailed hair with pale skin

Their ensemble consists of red, white, and black

They're initially composed, somewhat cold, and reserved

In Chapter 2, a part of their identity is revealed

(I say a part because in Chapter 2 of THH, it's revealed that Celeste's accent and personality are both fabricated, which isn't exactly her whole identity like Peko's or Maki's, but it's something)

Each one of these three characters have lied about who they really are~~

(Celeste lied about being...well Celeste, Peko lied about being Sparkling Justice and went on pretending that she and Fuyuhiko had no connection outside of Hope's Peak, and Maki lied about being the Ultimate Child Caregiver)

Each one of these characters have killed at least one person

(If you believe that Tsumugi is lying and Maki Harukawa is actually an assassin)

Each one of these characters holds a negative self image about themselves due to their past/upbringing

(Celeste hates who she is due to her "commoner" life, Peko believes she isn't human and that her only purpose is to serve Fuyuhiko, while Maki hated herself after being forced into becoming an assassin)

Quite interesting, isn't it? So what it does all mean? Eh, not much, just thought this was pretty cool.

I mean, if anything, should a fourth Danganronpa Killing Game ever come to fruition, and there's yet another girl with red eyes, pig-tails, dressed in red, white, and black, at the very least we all know to be careful.

[wonderfulworldofmichaelford]

Psycho Analysis: Dee Vasquez

(WARNING! This analysis contains SPOILERS!)

“Turnabout Samurai” was always a case I skipped on my replays, because when I originally played the game I found it to be a tedious filler case loaded with bland characters and little plot progression. On my most recent playthrough, though, I realized how wrong I was; while the case is overly long and does require some obnoxious backtracking, it’s honestly an extremely fun and funny case that really helps develop Miles Edgeworth and flesh him out as a character, which kind of makes me baffled at my initial perception of the case as pointless filler. This is no “Turnabout Big Top,” that’s for sure, and that’s all the more apparent when we uncover who the true killer is.

Dee Vasquez marks a true turning point in the killers I the franchise. Frank Sahwit and Redd White are certainly not out of place in the series, but they are both one-dimensional goofballs. Not Dee; she’s an incredibly three-dimensional villain with motivations that go beyond simple greed and an actual sympathetic motivation for her crime.

Motivation/Goals: Dee Vasquez is actually rather interesting in that her motivation for murder has one of the first twists in the series: She had no motive. The murder was an accidental one in self-defense, as the victim Jack Hammer had come to her with the intent to kill her. When he did so, she shoved him off the steps and impaled him on a fence—something Hammer himself had accidentally done to another actor five years prior.

It’s pretty interesting to think that there wouldn’t be another killing in self-defense until Spirit of Justice, and even then there’s a big twist to that too—but that’s a story for another time.

Breakdown: Fitting her terse and stoic personality, Vasquez actually has one of the single most understated breakdowns in the whole series, followed by her sadly and graciously accepting her defeat:

That really is it, and honestly, it's all she needs. Someone with her demeanor losing her composure for even a moment like that is pretty impressive.

Best Scene: Vasquez actually gets one of the most unique scenes in the franchise, as at the end of the third day of investigating she lures Maya and Phoenix into her trailer, where she proceeds to call upon her mafia goons in an attempt to “erase” them.

It’s pretty notable because the mafia goons actually get art here, and this is also the only time Vasquez’s mob connections are really brought up in any capacity as they aren’t mentioned during the trials, only getting briefly mentioned in discussions while investigating. It’s doubly notable because it gives Gumshoe one of his first “Big Damn Heroes” moments when he bursts in and saves our dynamic duo’s lives.

Final Thoughts & Score: Dee Vasquez is a really solid villain, and her case is where the series really grew the proverbial beard.

I think what’s most fascinating about her is how you only get some vague hinting at the relationships that surround the crime she committed, and the true nature of her relationship with Hammer is based entirely on hearsay from biased parties—can you trust what she says in regards to Hammer, considering she was blackmailing him and clearly had a great disdain for him for killing her possible lover? Can you trust Oldbag’s account of it being a tragic accident when she’s a Hammer superfan? It all makes her the sort of character where you can come up with multiple interpretations of her and have different levels of sympathy depending on how you view her actions. Like sure, it was in self-defense, but it becomes a lot less sympathetic if you see Hammer more as a victim of manipulation for something that wasn’t really his fault (although his willingness to frame his co-star Will Power out of petty jealousy certainly doesn’t make him look very good).

Helping this is just how grounded and low-key she is. She doesn’t really get wild, over-the-top reactions like some of the other killers, and while that may seem like a detriment in a series as silly as this, it actually makes her stand out a lot more especially with how later villains would become even more wild and wacky. It also helps build her up as a genuinely formidable opponent in court, and she’s actually a pretty tough egg to crack when you get her on the stand.

While I’m not going to pretend like she’s the greatest, most complex, or most tragic of all the villains (how can she be when characters like Ini Miney, Geiru Toneido, or Acro are around?) but for a first attempt at a more complex villain that isn’t just killing for the money, she’s a really solid one. A nice solid 7.5/10, I’d say. I think really her biggest problem is that the case immediately following hers features perhaps the single most sympathetic murderer in the original trilogy, as well as another stoic hardass villain who has a far more glorious breakdown, which leaves her being a bit overshadowed. Still, for what she is, she's a remarkably solid villain.

[scammysmileroksuu]

There are many characters I love in lcf, and there are many relationships I adore.

But I think the relationship i love the most is (well okay maybe after the soos) cale's relationship with his ancient powers, and the way each of them somewhat represent a part of cale's personality.

Like in the crazy kid, cale's disrespectful-punk behavior and thevway he cusses and curses a lot, in the glutton; his appreciation of food, in the super rock; his determination to protect his family and the people he care for, in the crybaby; his fear of vicious people or hate towards the thought of getting hurt, in the cheapskate; his love for money and their crazy behavior when it comes to shitshow-ing, in the thief; his love for treasure hunting, looting and causing chaos upon the enemies' heads.

...etc etc etc. Cale is the mashup version of all these souls.

Additionally, they are literally a part of his soul. They kinda know about his past as Kim Roksu (at least some snippets of it), are fighting with him wherever he is, be it in an illusion or a different world, and are always with him 24/7, when he's calm, panicking, happy or sad, even when he doesn't understand what he's feeling.

It also hit me real hard when the super rock explained why Cale can still hear their voices, and Cale still decided not to absorb the ancient powers completely.

Because they're basically cale's only way out of his fear of being alone, because they are always with him no matter what, unless Cale himself dies or decides to take theor power fully in. And that was what made the wind island test 10 times more angsty for me.

He called out to them, but they were not there.

I also love that part when cale went to get the crazy kid's power and named her the sky eating water instead of the water of judgment; it was especially mind-blowing because unlike other ancient powers' trials, this one was actually really hard. And wasn't one mentioned in tboah. And cale was pretty much dying before obtaining that element.

Same goes with the wind island test where their past was revealed and the dots were finally connected– the western continent's past, how the super rock, the hero of the boulders and his friends were separated and died one by one in the mist tragic ways possible.

The super rock's wish for cale and his party to not be separated, it hurts more when you remember he had built the rock villa originally for him and his companions. His comrades he never got to live there with. But then gifted Cale and his family that villa.

Cale calling super rock the scary giant cobblestone at first was a great crack element in the story, hilarious to say the least, especially when he used to ask him if he was going to sacrifice himself. But then super rock told cale not to sacrifice himself when he actually answered yes, super rock's wish for cale not to end up like him, the lonely hero who sacrificed himself for the world.

Not to end up like them, like how him and his comrades did, separated and dying without each other's knowledge.

They are one of the reasons I actually believe lcf is going to have a happy ending. Because unlike the heroes of the ancient times, our Cale knows he should fight for his and his family's happiness, and not just for the world. To run away when it's really dangerous. Because Cale has them to remind him that sacrifice was never the right solution.

And I hope, through Cale and this timeline's heroes, these ancient souls would see peace and happiness after a lifetime of war and loneliness. Would experience what they never got to in their lives.

[blazehedgehog]

You mentioned on this Tumblr once about suggestions that SA2 upended its production near release but I can’t find the posts. I think it was to do with the E3 trailer only showing Sonic, Eggman and…Knuckles. It sounds believable given this is what happened to Frontiers.

A lot of the information I once believed about Sonic Adventure 2 has been thrown into question in recent years (largely because I think I kept bringing it up and that sent ripples out into the community where it ended up being treated like a secret fact.)

A lot of that information came from the old Sonic HQ news board, which wasn't strictly moderated. Some of it also came from semi-official sources but is generally believed to be debunked now, even though it's more just a lot of he-said-she-said. It's just in this case, one of the parties is a literal employee of Sega versus people who were a few rungs down the ladder.

That information included:

A Gamestop employee attending a retailers conference, giving us our first confirmation of SA2's "good versus evil" theme. Concept art was described of "Dark Sonic" and "Nails the Bat" (Shadow and Rouge). Art mentioned "Dark Sonic" was missing an eye in some art, and missing an arm in others. We have some of that art now. Other art we've never seen featured "an angel" (Maria?), a "goblin with a big nose" (Gerald?), and a creature made out of hundreds of eyes (an early Biolizard?) Interesting when you consider the art of Shadow missing an eye.

Early information focused only on Sonic, Knuckles and Eggman as playable characters, making it seem like they were the only ones available. A whole campaign and petition was created by upset Sonic fans over the absence of Tails in the story. A delay was announced by Sonic Team to "add more familiar faces" to the game, and a few months later, a revamped Sonic Adventure 2 with a new, more colorful logo was shown featuring Shadow, Rouge, and Tails. It's easy to think Shadow, Rouge and Tails were added to the playable roster later, but data for them exists all the way back in the PSO "SA2: The Trial" demo from Christmas 2000.

To my own specific memory, in addition to the "revamp" delay, I recall Sonic Adventure 2 being slated for February 2001 and getting delayed to June. In my teenager brain, I thought they were removing Adventure Fields. I have found absolutely no evidence to back this up, so I generally don't believe it, but I still have curiosity about why I remember it that way. This was nearly 25 years ago, though.

A North American issue of Official Dreamcast Magazine supposedly interviewed members of Sega about Sonic Adventure 2 and notably talked about a branching story system that did not make it into the final game. An entire scene was described featuring Sonic trapped in a submarine; the player was given the option to either make Sonic try piloting the sub or to pop the hatch and take his chances in the water. No such sequence or system appears in the final game, but a branching story system did make it into Shadow the Hedgehog in 2005. This magazine was officially endorsed and approved of by Sega at the time, so you would think the information would be as close to the horse's mouth as you can get. When asked at a convention a few years ago, Takashi Iizuka denied anything like this was ever considered for Sonic Adventure 2.

Generally speaking, Sonic Adventure 2 was originally unveiled as a darker, scarier, more serious game. You go back and watch the trailer included with SA2: The Trial and parts of it are almost presented like a horror movie.

SA2's tone did seem to go through a bit of a shift at some point during development. That scary, mysterious, adult-oriented tone became more like a Hollywood action movie, either internally or externally.

If I had to guess, part of the "familiar faces" delay was more likely to add Tikal, Chaos, Metal Sonic and Amy Rose to multiplayer. Probably Big, too, and it wouldn't surprise me if Big the Cat's secret cameos came around this time as well. How much things changed beyond that is very unknown unless we get lucky and somehow see what very early builds of the game look like.

The only thing I'm truly curious about anymore is the branching story system. Takashi Iizuka might deny it, but it obviously came from somewhere official, and the feature literally ended up in the game generally considered to be "Sonic Adventure 2 Part 2." He could be forgetting something or even straight up covering for someone.

[hollowwrites]

Blindsided

Part 10

Ominis x MC

Summary - The First Trial of the Tri Wizard Tournament signals Ominis’ departure. He watches his friends challenge before leaving to see his family.

I really don’t like writing action or anything vaguely actiony so this might not be good. Also feel like it’s super rushed. Basically I’m not happy with this at all but I can’t see how to make it better and I’m looking forward to what’s coming so…it is what it is.

Again feel free to swap Evelyn with MC or Y/N

Warnings - Kissing (I KNOW FINALLY), spiders, brief pain, all characters aged up 18+

Word Count - 2038

~

Imelda was beside herself.

If you asked her, she muttered something about how they’d massacred the quidditch field. That’s why she was moody. Not at all the fact her love has spent so little time with her as of late because of this competition. Or that he could die.

The stands had undergone a drastic change. Organisers had transfigured the colours to a rich navy blue, in keeping with the Tri Wizard theme. Large ornate curtains billowed from the tips of each of the towers meeting and bunching high up in the centre of the field.

The normal quidditch pitch itself couldn’t be seen, nor could the goal hoops. Replaced instead by what seemed to be a generic forest floor. Some trees were growing up from it, with the roots seemingly forming an entrance on the far side of the stands.

“I’m fine” Imelda said flatly, clutching Eves arm, to Ominis’ chagrin.

He had remained at Evelyns side since breakfast. Not completely unusual, but something about the way he gripped her arm or wrist, felt off.

Somewhat possessive.

That accompanied with his furrowed brow and worried look in his eyes meant something was desperately wrong.

Evelyn chalked it up to the upcoming trial. And though she too was struggling with a knot in her stomach, she took it upon herself to carry the load for the others.

She acted as though everything was fine.

Sebastian will be fine.

It was fine.

Although, If you asked Anne, she would agree. She had no doubt in Sebastian’s capabilities and had clad herself, head to toe in Sebastian themed gear.

They manoeuvred their way to the observation booth, high above the pitch. Imelda pushed past everyone to get to the front, earning a few stern words from the other onlookers. However, the moment they saw her face, angry and twisted, all fight left them, allowing her and her party, through. They settled against the railing waiting for the trial to begin.

“Ah Evelyn, long time no see!” Leander appeared out of nowhere next to them, a disgruntled Garreth behind him, shaking his head

“Leander? Good to see you. I didn’t think you cared for Sebastian?” Eve asked eyebrow raised. She locked eyes with Garreth. He was mouthing ‘Sorry’ over and over before making his way over to Anne. He lovingly scooped her up in his arms and they both began chanting their support for Sebastian, his hand never leaving hers. Not that sorry then.

“Oh well…” she saw Leanders eyes dart past her shoulder, no doubt being greeted by the openly hostile stare of Ominis “We’ve had our differences” he cleared his throat, clearly uncomfortable. Eve smirked. She quite liked making Leander uneasy. It was all payback for his arrogance when they first met.

She suddenly felt the looming presence of Ominis get closer. He ran a hand along her lower back and hooked it around her waist.

Definitely possessive.

“Rather exciting though isn’t it?” Leander continued placing a hand on her shoulder and jostling her lightly, conveying his love of the tournament. Evelyn opened her mouth to respond, but was interrupted.

“Yes it’s just wonderful waiting for the possible death of our best friend” Ominis jeered, his eyes sightlessly sending daggers toward Leander. “If you don’t mind…” Ominis moved his hand from Eves waist to her shoulder, his presence becoming controlling. In a single sweep down her arm, he brushed Leander away from her and put himself between them. He nudged her closer to the railing away from Prewett and used his body as a shield. An arm extended to either side of her, pinning her against the rail. She could feel his breathe on the back of her neck as he spoke.

“Idiot” Ominis muttered

“That was rather harsh. You know he means no harm. He’s…well yes…an idiot”

“He doesn’t deserve to be here. He doesn’t even like Sebastian. He’s just using Garreth as an excuse for a better view” She watched as his knuckles turned white “and he doesn’t deserve to touch you” she could hear the grimace on his face.

“I-“

“Merlin, I think it’s starting” Imelda said shakily, somewhere beside her. Her hand shot out to Evelyn, seeking her. Their fingers intertwined, and the squeeze from Imelda was, bordering on painful.

A parade of people, walked out from the entrance beneath them. The unmistakable knot of hair that was Sebastian came into view and the surrounding viewing towers erupted into cheers. Ominis flinched into Evelyn at the assault on his ears. He sighed, prompting Eve to rub his arm comfortingly. She turned to speak in his ear.

“We’ll leave after Sebastian is done don’t worry”

~

Professor Weasley welcomed everyone to the stadium with a long and arduous speech about bringing the Wizarding World together during this time.

She introduced the champion for each school with equal grandeur, but to no one’s surprise, Sebastian’s cheer was louder than the others.

He may have let it get to his head, bowing and encouraging the crowd to make more noise. He even started the Slytherin chant from this years Crossed Wands duel, with two fingers to his mouth like a forked tongue and hissing. The towers erupted into the noise, many already hearing it from the duelling club.

They announced that due to Hogwarts hosting this year, Sebastian would be first. The ground cleared, leaving Sebastian stood alone in the centre of the faux forest floor.

An eerie silence fell upon the crowd.

Ominis could hear Sebastian tapping his wand against his leg impatiently. He chuckled under his breath.

“What’s so funny?” Evelyn asked in a hushed whisper

“Sebastian is getting bored. He’s tapping his wand on his leg like he does” he smiled, more relaxed knowing his friend is doing okay.

“You can hear that?” She leaned over the railing slightly to peer at Sebastian. She could barely make out his figure against the floor, the dark green of his uniform blending into the ground. But it did, indeed, look as though he was tapping his wand. “That’s incredible”

It was then when Ominis felt the slightest of tremors at his feet before a collective gasp engulfed the arena.

“What’s happening?” He asked

“It’s an Acromantula” Eve replied, the smile plastered across her face very clearly apparent in her voice “He’s going to be perfectly fine. We’ve fought quite a few of these”

“It seems Sebastian agrees with you” he said as he heard the distinct sound of Sebastian laughing

“Is that all you’ve got?” Sebastian murmured far in the distance.

~

As the fight began, the atmosphere of the Stadium changed completely. Many peoples fear of spiders came bubbling to the surface and the shrill screams and panicked gasps caused by the proximity of the giant beast made it easy for Ominis to know where the creature was.

He listened intently as Sebastian cast spell after spell, favouring a more fiery approach. Ominis knew from Defense Against the Dark Arts that Acromantulas’ had a distinct weakness to fire, But Sebastian had first hand experience with it.

It’s seemed as though the only person in the audience having a good time, was Evelyn. She alone cheered and hollered as the battle between man and arachnid raged on.

That was until a bloodcurdling scream came from a girl in the farthest tower.

Ominis heard Sebastian groan in pain.

“What happened?!” He gripped Eves waist desperately.

“He…he got bit” she sounded shaky for the first time “He-He’ll be okay”

The distinct crackling of fire overwhelmed the arena as Sebastian seemingly burst into flame. A thick whirlwind of white and blue flame shot out from where he stood and as it fizzled out to nothingness, Sebastian stood…alone.

The spiders great fangs still encompassed his torso, but its legs curled upwards and twitched as it lay charred and smoking on the ground.

With a grunt, Sebastian removed the fangs from his side, clutching at the gaping wound left in its wake. He sauntered, as much as a man wounded by a giant spider can, over to the spider egg, which was his prize. He hauled it high above his head and the crowd roared its approval a final time.

~

With the first trial complete, Ominis’ chest became tight with the sudden realisation…

He would be leaving her within the hour.

“Come with me” he grabbed her hand as they filtered out from the stadium

“What’s going on?” She jogged lightly behind him, trying and failing to keep up with his long strides.

“Just…” he couldn’t finish.

He was leaving soon and if he didn’t tell her, show her, how much she meant to him…He knew he would regret it. He could die at the Gaunt residence happily knowing he had claimed her as his own.

They settled behind one of the corners of the stands. The roar of the crowds above them seemed so far away.

“What’s going on with you today? First, you’re grabbing me, then you’re laughing. Then you snap at Leander, then you’re happy again…” She spat becoming annoyed at the rollercoaster of his behaviour “You’re acting really-“

“I’m going to kiss you” he stopped abruptly, pulling her hand behind him, his own settling on her waist.

“…What?” All fight left her

“I want to kiss you but I need to know you want this too”

“I…I do yes…I-”

His lips trapped hers immediately. No thought behind it. As the initial surge of emotions subsided and he was left with just her beneath him, he pulled back his assault somewhat, breaking off, momentarily to gauge her reaction.

There was none.

She seized him instead this time. Her full lips gliding across his slowly and softly. Fingers gripped at clothes with desperation. His arm hooked around the small of her back, pulling her closer against his chest. His free hand cupped her jaw and neck, a comforting thumb stroking across her cheekbone.

He didn’t know if she tried to speak, or breathe, or if it really was an invitation, but her lips parted and a tiny gasp escaped her.

It…did something to him.

A low growl reverberated up from his chest. She could feel it in her own with how close they were pressed against one another. His tongue darted forwards like a man craving water, lapping at the parting of her lips hungrily

Later, he might regret that the first time he tasted her was around the back of the Quidditch pitch. But right now, he just wanted more.

He pressed her softly against the viewing towers causing another small breathe to leave her. His hand lowered to encircle her waist, fingers digging into flesh beneath cloth.

Eventually, he came back to his senses. He had places he needed to be and as much as he wanted that to be here…it wasn’t.

He pulled back, nose nuzzling along the length of hers, breathing her in. Nudging his forehead against her, he remained in the sound of her thundering heartbeat. He stayed there for a moment.

“I’ve wanted to do that for too long” he whispered. The words leaving physical marks against her dampened lips, the tingle of each breath cooling against them. He felt her cheeks puff out into a smile, a grin.

“Me too” her hands snaked around his neck. Fingertips toying with the small hairs at the nape of his neck.

“Truly?” He removed himself from her only briefly, immediately missing the warmth and assault of her on his senses. “I…had hoped you felt this way. But I never dreamed you actually did”

“Why now? Just so I can replicate the moment in the future.” She laughed breathlessly. He felt her laugh vibrate through her under his hands. He pulled away, reluctantly

“Sebastian could’ve died. Puts things into perspective” he lied.

He knew this was probably a mistake. But if things ended badly at the Gaunt residence, he could die knowing he had kissed his love.

Actually, the more he thought about it, this was incredibly selfish. If he died, what would that leave for her? She’d have mourned the death of a friend. But now? He would plague her thoughts of ‘What If’s’ and ‘Why’s’

It would now, be much harder to leave her.

~

Please let me know what you guys think I’m so so so unsure about this chapter 🫣

Masterlist

[sakura-otome]

Alright, since Utakata no Uchronia is finally being released and I'm gonna be picking up my reservation at Stella Worth tomorrow, let's go through the main and also side characters and talk about which ones I would totally smash

For those of you who don't know Broccoli, the company that produced Jack Jeanne, has come out with a new otome game as of 4/11.

The writing team is basically the exact same team as the one that worked on Piofiore, including the artist RiRi

I'm genuinely so hype for this game. I never ever ever reserve the special edition for a game, but I'm confident this will be a masterpiece like Piofiore. The character designs are all great, the voice actors are top notch A-listers, and they even used live 2D to animate all the sprites! Which has never been done in an otome game before.

This game also has a free trial, which let's you play through the common route, so I definitely encourage anyone who's interested and able to read Japanese to go ahead and play it.

Anyways, let's get to the main cast!

Okay first and foremost, our lovely protagonist ~ ❤️❤️

Her default name is Hinagiku, which is so darn cute!

I don't play games if I don't like the MC's design, but she passes with flying colors. I love white hair, her outfit is fantastic, and I don't find her personality grating. She's actually quite fun!

1000% SMASH

Next is Yashiro

VA: Kobayashi Chiaki

He's clearly the main hero. Putting aside plot stuff and other predictions, his big thing is being quite mysterious. Though he's very friendly, due to his amnesia at the story, we know basically nothing about him. From what I could glean from the info on the site and character PVs, I'm definitely sensing self hatred and angst, and also he's much bolder than I would have expected!

SMASH

Next is Tobari

VA: Okamoto Nobuhiko

So far, he's the one I'm most looking forward to. He's the face of the red light district, and is very dependable despite his age. I really adore the deep kindness that seems to underly his tough exterior, and the voice samples give me the picture of a someone who won't reach out to the MC because of his role, and what it would do to her if he were to take that chance. It doesn't matter if she wants it, it would lead to her unhappiness —

Listen I could go on. But to summarize.

Here's the thing about me. I'm always craving a specific kind of angst. I love when one party rejects the other, not because the feelings aren't mutual, but because they have to choose to live by their principles in some way. And I feel that Tobari is the most likely to scratch this itch.

1 MILLION PERCENT SMASH

Next up is Awayuki

VA: Saito Soma

He is basically the MC's personal butler/guardian. They've been by each other's sides since they were children, and he was one of the few that remained after the fire that destroyed her home and killed her parents when she was 8.

I certainly don't dislike this dynamic, but it's not necessarily my biggest thing. The notes said that the theme for his route was "attachment" or "obsession", from the both if them, which is intriguing to me because MC doesn't seem intense to me in that way, but we'll have to see!

SMASH

Next is Yori

VA: Eguchi Takuya

He's an officer in the militia Kurozuru, and is outright stated in his bio to have quite the nasty personality.

Tbh he pisses me off too much for me to make a fair assessment of him. He's perfectly physically attractive but I cant get past the urge to strangle him Homer Simpson style.

I'm looking forward to his route only insofar as I hope he gets put in his goddamn place.

PASS

Next up, Tsuyukusa

VA: Matsuoka Yoshitsugu

He's a skilled craftsman and a childhood friend to the MC.

He has the biggest, fattest, most obvious crush on the MC right out the gate, and it's honestly the cutest thing ever.

I'm honestly shocked this girl hasn't noticed, he barely hides it. Bitch is cute but hella dense.i honestly feel bad for him at this point.

He's really giving me cat energy. Real meow meow catboy energy if you will. Anyway

SMASH

Moving onto side characters! Woo!

Tsuwabuki

VA: Azakami Yōhei

So apparently he's Yori's older brother who also works in Kurozuru. From what I've seen of this guy, he's genuinely one of the nicest people ever, and I cannot believe he is related to Tori in any capacity. A mystery how he turned out so well-adjusted while Yori is an unapologetic dickhead. Would love to see a side story with him.

SMASH

This is Aijiro

VA: Toya Kikunosuke

Works for Yori. Hates his boss but is one of the few actually capable of working with him. Personally, not my type, design or personality wise.

PASS

Next up, Karatachi

VA: Fukuyama Jun

The head of Kurozuro. Is known to be quite eccentric and difficult to work with.

Listen, out of everyone in this game, he's the one I would personally jump in an alley. OBSESSED.

SMASH SMASH SMASH SMA–

Moving on, Shioji

VA: Yoshimura Kazuhiro

He's Tobari's right hand man, and also sort of "older brother". He's friendly and charming but I'm not particularly struck by him or his design.

PASS

[advancedscurvy]

last night we had the last session for my four year long pathfinder campaign, i'd like to memorialize this incredible campaign with some really wonderful moments i had with my friends. we're already playing two "sequel" sort of campaigns set distantly in the same world, both in time and space, but i'm going to miss my character so much. ianthe, a single mother who was a storm druid "swamp trash" undine in her mid 30s, who started our campaign trying to save her son's life after the swamp she had tended to almost all of her life began to grow corrupted and claimed her child, eventually became the avatar and inheritor of the power of our universe's sun goddess, the most powerful druid on the earth, the hero of three separate countries, and is now one of the creator gods of a world we had to rewrite after an apocalypse we could not stop. in a way, we ended the story right as it truly begins with their new divine aspects. however, she was also an icon, and i will miss her every time i play. there is no character like the first character whose story you truly get to close. so here's some incredible things ianthe did:

killed the prince of atlantis in literally our second or third session because he was a clam on a beach talking about killing all humans, she was annoyed, and for literally four years our party was almost fully unable to do anything in the ocean. because ianthe mistakenly thought it was no big deal that she just smushed a clam with her staff, she never communicated this mistake to everyone else, so they never really knew why the ocean wanted to kill us until we were captured literally in the last arc and they put her on trial for murder. she was not even good at pretending to be sorry.

"oh my god, they might cut off my hair? that's my third best asset!" "what's your first and second?" (points to breasts)

the boob jokes got a lot of mileage with her, i will not deceive you. she had a dragonscale armor leotard sort of thing and had stitched a bag of holding into the bra cups, and kept her spellcasting components in there. still thinking about how before she said goodbye to one of her flings for the last time before the final fight, she said "remember me as a woman who had the best and most holy rack the world has ever seen." we love that for her.

"the guy who's attacking us is a paladin of serrenrae and his armor is covered in her sigils, right?" "yes-- where are you going with that?" "i'm her avatar, and i have all her remaining power in me, right?" "yeah, but he didn't know that." "the same dude who was insulting my dignity at the bar before the tournament?" "i don't like where this is going--" "i cast reprobation. all of his equipment is now useless to him, he loses all of his paladin levels and divine authority, and if he touches my holy symbol it burns him. he is now exiled from the faith of serrenrae."

this dude proceeded to come back as a recurring villain who really fuckin hated me, for understandable reasons, and ended up making deals with some demons and decimating our ship eventually. i still do not regret what i did.

when we finally returned to my home country ready to try to purge the swamp and face some of my backstory stuff, we found that it had been consumed by a huge mushroom superorganism that put us into deep dreams upon our arrival and picked us off in the dreams one by one. i realized this when using lifesense, i could still feel my dead friends' energies around me and couldn't figure out why. this was being manipulated by another druid who had spent his whole career serving the leshy king doing all of this, and when i finally confronted him (he was trying to offer the whole country's life force to the leshy king and use my son's body as his avatar), i was like oh you want me to choose between you resurrecting my son and the lives of countless people? i know what to do-- and stabbed myself so that i could wake up from the dream and fight the other druid personally. the leshy king orchestrating this ended up understanding what selflessness was because of my sacrifice and agreed to revive my son and give his own powers to him, in the hopes that when we rebuilt this world, my son would be able to do it right (and in the sequels, we know he does <3)

the time i stopped a volcano from exploding a whole island by expending two mythic spell slots to cast polar midnight, then creating colossal earthen walls to end the eruption, was wicked. i love flexing high level druid spells.

the time i created a tsunami to protect an entire nation from armies and armies of hybridized magical mechs

all of my many flings with random npcs that i decided were suitably fun for me. the moon god. the lady blacksmith. the pre-historic alien tarzan on dinosaur island. the lord of chaos who only showed up for a good time. the orc chieftain who asked me to do recon.

the time one of our closest allies was dying when we returned and i straight up revived him

the time i literally dried out a huge two mile radius bubble of the ocean to stop a witch from summoning one of the nameless creatures of the darkest depths of the plane of water to destroy the surface, because the witch could not breathe air and could only breathe water. we do not talk about how many other things that could only breathe water were also caught in the bubble. the spell was dispelled eventually after we stopped her, it's fine, it's fine, shhhh, we don't have to talk about it.

disguised myself as a human factory worker trying to sneak into a robot factory, ended up accidentally unionizing said factory

the time i died. the other time i died. the OTHER other time i died. i died like three times at least depending on your definition.

"don't touch the shiny rock" every time there was a shiny rock, since my vice is touching the shiny rocks. the first shiny rock i touched is how serrenrae got me in the first place

the time i filled my own bag of holding with water because i (amphibious) needed to be snuck into a palace, but was very poor at sneaking and could not hold wildshape that long, so i just stuffed myself in there like a fish in a plastic baggy, then accidentally when they took me out of there, all the water came out too so they flooded a nobleman's dining room. great work everyone

every single monologue i gave about freedom and people's right to choose their life and livelihood and authority was so fun. personally my favorite is still that every time another mythic/god hierarchy being said something about what was going to happen next she would immediately go-- "who gave you the right!" i love that i can take a character who i really didn't know for sure what her motivations would be once she got her goal, and ended up coaxing out of it a deeply interesting narrative about having nothing, gaining divine power, abusing that divine power for a minute, and then becoming a better and more realized, self aware person who respects people's autonomy and understands that a god-meddled world is a mess and the most she can do is give people a hand up, rather than exercise her own will over them. i cannot wait to see what her future followers look like.

i'll miss ianthe sm honestly. she was incredible.

[youngpoetthomasthorne]

D&D is finally back on! I'm thrilled to be back.

I had an artwork commissioned of my character Thomoras, I got to show it off today. The artist was lovely, very collaborative. They shall post it on tumblr soon, I will reblog it once it's up.

Today I was seated with a player from my first session here, finally. Thomoras had promised his character a bottle of wine in trade for protection. It's been at the back of my mind since, I thought I got to sit with him one or two sessions later, but he was actually substitute DMing for someone, so I didn't get to make up for it.

We traveled by cart up to a mountain filled with dwarfs, some social, some not so much. (I would just like to mention I despise that this is the most common way dwarfism is represented. Little people deserve better.)

The more social ones got a bit handsy at first. Either way, we got to a bar, where I bought this chap a bottle of wine. The bartender saw me hand it to him, and poured some wine for the whole party (and himself) because of it. The wine... Sounded quite unappetizing. I won't recount the details, but trust me when I say I was glad to not have actually tasted it in real life.

We got to a crowded hall where we were meant to meet up with someone. However, there was a fight about to start, and Thomoras happened to take notice that there were four groups of people, all singing different songs. Two players went off to watch the fight, one of them placed a bet (and lost). The other two players went off to the person we were supposed to meet. I, however, recognized two of the songs people were singing. One of which was more cheerful than the other. I shouted out that everyone pull themselves together and sing the same song, as the clashing sounds were getting quite bothersome. Thomoras then proceeded to do an amazing job playing background music for the cheerful song. (I rolled a nat 20, with my modifier it was a 27.) People started joining in, Thomoras got a look from a racist high elf (Thomoras is a half-elf), but the high elf's friend, who was also a high elf, seemed fine with Thomoras.

Eventually, everyone gathered to hear our mission. We were to complete a trial for the dwarfs in the mountain. Unfortunately I didn't quite catch why, I was quite unfocused today.

After some discussion, we decided to go with the trial of the hunter, which involved tracking down something (or someone) dangerous and defeating it (/them) and bringing back something to show of it.

When we asked for some guidance, we were told we could defeat a wyvern, since there were loads nearby, and we were advised of a monastery of fighters, in which we would be rewarded an orange gold coin of sorts to show we have defeated someone.

However, we were gently informed that wyverns were quite dangerous, and we also didn't get an exact location for the monastery. We decided to sleep on it, and perhaps gain some more intel.

During this time, Thomoras decided to go around asking to read a poem to anyone willing to listen. He finally found someone willing to listen, and started to read out a medium length poem, of only 30 minutes. He gained quite a crowd, but unfortunately they felt it got repetitive and was written badly. Remember the high elfs from earlier? The one that was NOT racist had changed his mind. He said that was about what you'd expect from a half elf. As he and his friend left, they even called Thomoras a *quarter* elf. I have never in my life felt greater pain.

While Thomoras was doing this, the other players were asking around, and apparently some people had seen a bloated elk corpse with two large wounds. We concluded it must have been from some kind of snake.

We returned to the person responsible for the trial of the hunter, announcing our decision to track down this beast and kill it.

Our quest got approved, and off we went. It didn't take us long to find the dead elk. It had decomposed quite rapidly, only having been dead for a few days. We concluded it was due to some kind of poison.

After a while, we found that the ground had an odd rainbow sheen to it. Two of the players rolled quite well on history/religion checks, so we learned that the tracks most likely belonged to a kind of rainbow snake. Either, a kind winged ond that would leave us alone, or a dangerous fallen one.

Moments later, we encounter this dangerous beast.

I would recount to you the battle in great detail, but it was already over right as we got into the 3rd round. I wanted to use my staff of the python, but the beast did consistently over 60 damage, which is Slitherz the fourth's HP. If he reaches 0, my staff breaks and he's dead for good. There's rumors of a player who lost their snake, cried, and never returned... And I would like to stay out of that rumor.

I'm quite thankful that I didn't release Slitherz, because one of the players died. He seemed quite casual about it, and the DM held sort of a funeral for his character. It was short, but it was respectful.

Right, I almost forgot! When we defeated the beast, it turned out that we had been followed by the trial of the hunter man, and he informed us that what we had defeated was... I believe a Naga? Which is a beast that regenerates. We hurried back with the head, which then got ushered away and presumably locked in some sort of cage.

At the end of it all, I (along with the rest of my team) got a sort of silver coin, engraved with dwarvish writing and anvils, as a sign of allegience.

During the game my bag of snacks (which was meant to be able to stand!) fell over and I lost around a third of it on the floor. :/

[bunnhop]

The Trial of Valkyrie Alvitr in Ragnarok Origin

Published: August 29, 2021 Last Updated on October 9, 2021

(Reposted from bunnhop.com)

We’re back with another episode of Let’s Explore Ragnarok Origin! Tutorial. Our journey today begins at the Novice Training Grounds. When we exit the Academy’s main hall to get to the Training Grounds, we notice one particular feature of Ragnarok Origin that is not present in the original RO, but was introduced to Ragnarok Mobile back in 2019 in Episode 5: Midnight Party. This is the weather system. We see that the current conditions at the Training Grounds are as follows: Daytime, Pleasant, Sunny.

Much later in the video, we’ll explore the mini-map to find out that, similar to ROM, the weather affects the in-game environment. Exactly how? We don’t know just yet. Perhaps we’ll find out when we finally leave the tutorial area and do the story missions.

On our way to meet with our next instructor, we meet many ambient NPCs both Novices and First Job classes. In some of the groups we come across are First Job Instructors. The one standing near the portal back to the main hall with two female Novices is Pamela, the instructor for the Acolyte Job class. Donning a High Priestess attire we all know from other Ragnarok games, she tries to debunk a common misconception among Acolytes’ role in group settings such as parties and guilds. Aside from her, there’s also Emily Wan, a High Wizard who teaches aspiring Mages.

Close to Emily’s group is a Bard called Lorne, who serenades a couple of Novices with a song about the world of Ragnarok. When we speak to him and tell him that we’d like to listen his music, he plays a tune and sings along. The words in his song mention something about us rewriting the fate of the Rune-Midgarts Kingdom, possibly hinting to our character’s leading role in the game. It would be interesting to see exactly how this unfolds in ROO’s main storyline.

Combat Training with Instructor Brade

Next to Instructor Orbis Thea who seems to be teaching a young Swordsman how to cook is a crowd of Novices. To the right are three Novices busy practicing their skills on training dummies. In the middle of it all are Guide Sprakki and a dark-haired man clad in shiny heavy armor. This is Instructor Brade.

Brade teaches us the basics of combat, particularly the difference between Normal and Heavy Attacks, as well as two valuable Skills–Play Dead and First Aid–both of which are very familiar to long-time fans of the franchise. A funny cinematic cutscene featuring a group of Goblins and their leader accidentally summoned by a careless Novice is a good method to teach these two basic skills. Lesson learned: Don’t drop a Dead Branch!

Check Your Settings

Before we head to practical training, which is as simple as defeating five Lunatics, we take the time to check the Settings window. Apart from graphics, volume, and gameplay settings, this is also where we can set our preferences for the Auto-Attack (or Auto Combat) function. We can also check and edit preferences for the game client’s push notifications.

One interesting detail here is the Operating Mode under the Personal tab. For this, we have two options: Classic��(recommended for beginners) and Double Wheel (recommended for advanced players). We’ll get back to this in another post and video to explore this in more detail.

To put it simply, Classic is a gameplay setting that allows you to focus on where you want your Skill to target. On the other hand, Double Wheel allows you to move your character around (first wheel) and, at the same time, move your target area (second wheel). This will definitely be useful for AoE classes such as Mages.

A Gift and A Trial

Upon completion of our practical training, Instructor Brade gives us an Auto-Recovery Device. Checking our inventory, we can click on it to set which potions we’d like to use automatically and exactly when to use them. The slider lets us change the required amount of HP and SP (e.g. 50% or below) our character needs to have before the device uses Red and Blue Potions, respectively.

Afterwards, Brade talks about our final trial where we have to meet and be baptized by a Valkyrie. He also explains the reason why the kingdom chose to build the academy on this particular island. This is because a part of it used to be a temple to a Valkyrie. Now a ruin, we have to go there to pay our respects to the war maiden in hopes that she can give us her protection.

What’s an Adventure without A (Mini-)Map?

On the way there, we decide to check the mini-map. To the right of the area name is the symbol for the weather system. Clicking it reveals information about the weather, as well as the current time. I wonder if time also affects the game environment… Is it random or server-/channel-based?

Tapping the mini-map shows some sort of weather forecast for the specific map we’re currently in. It seems that it’s going to be sunny all day! Below this is the local map in detail. As with many games, the red dots are enemies and the blue arrow icon is our character. Under the local map are four options–Map Info, Nearby Players, World Map, and Fly Wing. Map Info lets us check nearby NPCs, which monsters spawn in that map, and if there are any on-going events. The Nearby Players tab is self-explanatory, as well as the other two tabs.

Looking at the World Map, we can see that Ragnarok Origin has the same maps as when the original Ragnarok Online PC game was first launched. It has the six major Towns: Prontera, Izlude, Geffen, Morroc, Payon, and Alberta. The following Dungeons are also available:

Mjolnir Dead Pit

Labyrinth Forest

Prontera Underground Sewers

Byalan’s Undersea Tunnel

Orc Dungeon

Payon Cave

Pyramid

Ant Hell

Sunken Ship

While walking around the area close to the ruins of Valkyrie’s temple, we meet two more First Job Instructors. One is a Sniper named Cecilius, together with her teaching assistant Tana and a male Novice who hails from the same town of Payon. Cecilius mentions that her hometown is also called “Archer Village” because everyone there knows archery. Quis is the other instructor. He is an Assassin Cross and is teaching a new Thief. His student, however, feels awkward about the fact that Quis doesn’t talk much.

Blessed by Valkyrie Alvitr

Finally, we reach Valkyrie’s temple ruins. Here, Brade asks us to pray in front of the Valkyrie’s statue. Almost immediately, we enter another dimension which turned out to be the Hall of Warriors in Valhalla. An unknown voice commands us to pull out the Sword of Trial but warns that only the chosen one can do so. When we successfully pull it out, a bridge made of light is formed allowing us to cross and reach Valhalla.

Here, we meet a Valkyrie named Alvitr. She helps us unleash our full potential by making us face a King Drops. While in combat, she increases our Attack Speed and Physical Attack by releasing the Marks of Agility and Strength bound to our body, making us invincible against our giant foe. When done she congratulates us. And before we are sent back to the academy, Valkyrie Alvitr briefly mentions the importance of distributing status points.

Back at the Training Grounds, our instructor Brade expounds on this. Because of the many different ways we can distribute our status points, “…even those of the same Job can have different combat styles,” he explains. Finally, we graduate…

Dressing Up for Graduation

…but before that, we receive a gift from Guide Sprakki–a headgear of our choice! The vain little Novice next to the Gift Manager introduces us to the Closet feature. This whole encounter is a tutorial on the Costumes aspect of Ragnarok Origin. This game has noticeably better graphics than Ragnarok M, the newly-released Ragnarok X: Next Generation and, of course, Ragnarok Online. With this comes the ability to entice players who love character customization through cute headgear, hairstyles, and costumes. The Closet feature is certainly something to look forward to if you’re into fashion!

At long last, we graduate… and it’s quite a heartwarming scene! Instructor Brade brought along Guide Sprakki, and even good ol’ Professor Anderson is there! All four of us take a commemorative photo. This is then followed by Sprakki giving us two gifts. The first is a gift box for the official release of the Japanese server which has a bunch of cool consumables and equipment, including a GM uniform! The second is a ticket for the Start Dash 10 Consecutive Gacha–our very first!

While this tutorial gacha allows us to reroll until we get all the items we’re after, I didn’t have to. I was already happy with my result! I just really wanted some Red Potions and–you guessed it right–a Bunny Band!

Personally, I’m not fond of games with gacha because I don’t enjoy gambling. I’d rather loot or pay for the item I want. Thankfully, from what we’ve seen so far, Ragnarok Origin‘s gacha are purely cosmetic and don’t really impact character progression and/or gameplay.

But what do you think? Do you see yourself using the Gacha and Closet features often? Or are you more focused on leveling up and getting the best equipment? Or maybe you’re like us who are very much excited about exploring the story and quests in Ragnarok Origin?

[flowersdaggersviolasandblood]

Fame, Riches, and Music

Name: Nalanthar Arabana (He/Him/They/Them)

Race: Drow Half-Elf

Class: Bard (College of Valour)

Background: Entertainer

WARNING, SPOILERS AHEAD!

This will be the final post with Nalanthar for now because we finally got everyone caught up where we're about to take on Moonrise Towers. Continuing where we left off, Nalanthar got to see Ketheric Thorm for the first time and accepted the quest to find Balthazar and see what he's been up to. While exploring, we had that conversation with Araj, with Nalanthar agreeing to give up his own blood for a potion that's unique to him, but refusing to have the Drow force Astarion to drink hers. The pair have a conversation about this afterwards, but it looks like their love hasn't been solidified just yet, especially since I fucked up the whole relationship thing with Nalanthar lol.

We saved Wulbren and the Tieflings and sent them to Last Light, this time, we accompanied the escapees to the inn and part took in a routine check by the Harpers as they ensured that everyone, aside from Nalanthar and the crew, were cleared of parasites. This does make me curious of what would happen if we end up prisoner at Moonrise and escaped with everyone in tow before going to Last Light. Something to think about for next game ;).

After reuniting the remaining Tieflings with their lost friends and family and talking with Wulbren for a moment, we power walked to the mausoleum. There, we meet Raphael as he warns us about his rival, Yurgir, and promises to reveal the nature of Astarion's scars if we kill the guy. Upon entering the Gauntlet of Shar, with Shadowheart in tow this time, I decided to go the backdoor way to get that cool little cutscene moment with Balthazar. My main goal is to see what would happen this time around if I keep Balthy alive and have Shadowheart in the party.

After speaking with Balthazar, it was time to temple run our way through the trials of Shar. Upon meeting Yurgir, at first, I tried to Dominate Monster, or at least Planar Ally, the guy so that the combat would be easier. However, no matter how many attempts I made (save scumming is fun for some people), I couldn't get him under Nalanthar's control. So, I decided to simply go up and talk to the guy since Nalanthar is a curious individual and would be interested to hear what Yurgir had to say.

Despite Astarion being slightly frustrated that we didn't kill him outright, we did learn a few things. Yurgir was contracted by Raphael to kill the Dark Justiciars in this temple due to a song that he's forced to sing. When someone hears the song, they must die. With some careful dialogue picking and some baller persuasion rolls...I was able to tell the bastard to kill himself lmao. I honestly didn't even know that was a option with that guy! It was slightly sad because he had to kill his pet Displacer Beast friend, but also fuck that fucking pussy, I dreaded doing this fight with my other characters KNOWNING that I had to deal with that pussy. So good riddance.

After speedrunning through the temple to complete the other trials, we were able to reach Shar's inner sanctum. Like Pero, Nalanthar decided to eavesdrop on Shadowheart praying to Shar. Upon entering the Shadow Plane, Balthazar followed after us, and unlike Admaer who simply let the necromancer take the Nightsong back to Moonrise, Nalanthar decided to fight him right then and there due to the Nightsong being the primary source of Ketheric's power and possible weakness.

I tried my hand at killing Balthazar this way since the previous times I tried killing him, I kept using the barrel-mancy way out. Which, as I expressed before, is not my favorite way of handling combats because it feels meme-y to do so. But the mf is so strong that I couldn't help but go that route. And fuck was fighting him in the Shadow Plane hard. Fortunately, I was able to throw him off into the ether as Nalanthar used Telekinesis to yeet him.

Now without Balthazar being a distraction, it was now time to decide Shadowheart's fate. To spoil it, she's still alive lol. Both I and in-character can't seem to want to make the final decision to kill her. RP-wise, I like to think that Nalanthar was close to letting Shadowheart just kill the Nightsong, reluctantly so, but when the Nightsong decided to drop a lore bomb about Shadowheart, that's what changed his mind...Oh, and the fact that she might be the key they need to defeat Ketheric Thorm, of course.

After escaping the Shadow Plane, taking a long rest, and speaking with Raphael, we headed back to Last Light Inn. Firstly, before we continue, Nalanthar was the first to push the idea to Astarion that perhaps he could become an ascended vampire himself if they folly Cazador's plans; something the spawn takes great consideration of. Back at Last Light, we do attempt to confront Isobel about her name being part of a tomb we found at the Thorm crypt, but she chalks it up to coincidence. She then tells us to go to Moonrise Towers since the Harpers and Jaheria will be stationed over there to take the fight to Ketheric Thorm.

Upon arriving, Nalanthar was able to convince Jaheira to fight alongside him. Honestly, to see her filled with heroic spirit compared to how she was with Pero when the Harpers were dead filled my heart with joy. It once again made me feel a bit upset that I "fucked up" with Pero by allowing Isobel to be captured.

But now that everyone is at Moonrise, ready to take on Ketheric Thorm, we will raid the tower! Starting with Pero and the gang!

[longislanddivorce1]

Divorce Lawyers, Divorce Attorney, General Family Law Attorney

Courts will not readily give a decree of divorce the place there's a dispute concerning minor youngsters with out the report or suggestions of the Family Advocate. If the events attain an agreement the Family Advocate will then help them draft a parenting plan or obligations and rights agreement which could be registered with the Office of the Family Advocate or made an order of courtroom. The Family Advocate assists the parties to succeed in an agreement on disputed points, namely custody, entry and guardianship. If the parties family law attorneys long island ny are unable to succeed in an agreement, the Family Advocate evaluates the parties’ circumstances in mild of the best pursuits of the kid and makes a recommendation to the Court with regard to custody, entry or guardianship. “Bertus Preller has crammed a very vital gap with this well timed book, in that in plain language, he provides a comprehensive guide to the broader group by way of the thicket of law that now characterises this legal landscape.

In our opinion, if you show up for an in-person session and also you meet with anyone apart from an skilled divorce lawyer, turn around and stroll out. Some divorce lawyers choose to have discussions in individual and that's totally regular. Paying an affordable fee for an in particular person discussion rather than a phone one is one thing family law attorney long island many good lawyers do. We specialise in all issues of law affecting the family – be it divorce, matrimonial or child-related. Due to the character of our work, we're conscious of the social and psychological impression on the family unit, subsequently working carefully with different professionals in these fields. Candice Eve-Friis also makes a speciality of divorce and deals with all elements of Child & family Law.

The advice itself isn't enforceable until integrated in a Court Order. The Family Advocate can't turn out to be involved in any matter that has already been finalized by the Court. This website provided many in South Africa with the advice family law lawyer they needed. Although the significant choices ought to be yours to make, we will present you with our skilled recommendation alongside with the reasoning behind them.

I asked Clara the fee to represent me in my trail and it was fairly expensive, however I went with Clara as she knew my case and gave me excellent advice.The Monday in court docket, the prosecutor mentioned the case was withdrawn. We left the court family lawyer long island room and Clara took the time to elucidate to me what had happened. On Tuesday, Clara gave me a cellphone known as which she had not obligation to do. The service was price each cent.Today I followed Clara advice and was informed that my case was not withdrawn.

Contested divorces occur when spouses can't agree on the terms and conditions of their divorce. The commonest disagreements relate to upkeep, division of belongings and youngster care. In some instances, one or each spouses refuse to accept emotional causes. Once the parties long island family law lawyers have successfully mediated the dispute, their attorney or attorneys can draft the official settlement agreement, which is signed by each spouses and then made an order of the courtroom. Get help from our attorney workplace in Pretoria to help you keep away from divorce pitfalls.

Our law practice is an expert, goal pushed boutique law agency offering authorized services with knowledge, compassion and authorized experience, to domestic and international shoppers. The best option, if you also can make it occur, is to do your divorce in an uncontested manner. An uncontested divorce is one in which you and your spouse work collectively to agree on the phrases of your divorce. You will both seek the guidance family law attorney long island of with the identical attorney, who will be unbiased and neutral. There isn't any formal trial, and solely the plaintiff seems in court docket. In an uncontested divorce, the parties agree previous to the divorce on the means to divide their assets and, if there are children concerned, which mother or father will turn out to be the parent of main residence and which would be the father or mother of alternate residence.

[aquadestinyswriting]

I love and adore that you condensed the whole thing down like this, and while it's from your own POV, it basically contains all the major, relevant beats that happened.

For my part, I think I maybe noticed something was going on between our girls at around the same time Dru did, but I was too ace to fully pick up on it (I can't really speak for Dru). Also, there were far more pressing matters to attend to in-game at that point.

And the second important thing happens. So they're at this village in the mountains, Felix has convinced half the population Elo's some kind of Saviour, and these random bandits rock up. One of them was a horny bard, who took one look at the pair of us womenfolk and announced that he's gonna take one of us home. And Merri goes, "Well it ain't gonna be me sunshine, I'm taken." We're in the middle of combat when this happens, probably got some better things to be focusing on, but Elo looks at Merri with a face like a slapped puppy and says, "What? You never told me that?" Like, this woman is her best friend, maybe her only true friend at that point⁵, they were close as anything, and not once has Merri mentioned she was engaged. So Elo's hurt because Merri didn't share this. But she's got a deeper hurt and she doesn't know why⁶.

AAaand this is the point where I finally realised what had been going on between Merri and Elowyn (I'd sort of figured it out earlier than this but was umm-ing and aah-ing over whether or not it really was something or if I was just imagining things. No, I did not ask out of game, because I am a dumbass). Unfortunately we didn't get much, if any, time after this point for Meredith to just sit down and explain the engagement thing to Elowyn. Merri still had some God Clay to get a hold off and seal up the portal to the Pit, and the whole party had a BBEG's ass to go and kick after all.

The main issue is that Fangthane still holds a grudge against Toreguard and her citizens. As a representative of Toreguard, Elo (who is still very much In Love with her unattainable dwarf, but Repressing with great success) refuses to break the line, once again putting her duty before her love. This leads one of the other Party members to accuse Elo of not caring about Merri, and, my gods, did I pitch a fit. Elo would have decked him if she thought she wouldn't accidentally kill him.

Please note: I, as the GM, was also ready to pitch a fit at the guy, but had to hold my tongue so I could allow the interaction play out between the characters. Said interaction played out beautifully but, man, if looks could kill...

Elo is Not Allowed to see Merri while she's incarcerated for obscure legal reasons which escape me now

As for this bit, I think you weren't allowed to see Merri until the day before the trial because Snotgrut was acting as her lawyer and wanted to get as much info from Merri's perspective of what went down as possible before she got distracted. I know you did get to visit the day before because I distinctly remember the brief conversation we had that basically went: "if things don't go our way, we're gonna bust you out of here anyway, diplomacy be damned!" "aye, alright, but let's not get ahead of ourselves just yet." because that made my heart melt into a pile of goo.

Seeing the whole story laid out is just heart-breaking to some extent, but I think it ultimately paid off. My husband is a wonderful GM, but he can be a real dick if he thinks he can smell any blood in the water, so to speak. Then there's the fact that, when push came to shove with regards to the Brotherhood of Cleaving and Dwarven apartheid plotline, both Merri and Elowyn were fully ready to choose Duty over each other, and Meredith ultimately did when she left Toreguarde after defeating Darkhide. Obviously that changes a little after the campaign ends, but at the time... yeah.

The Tragedy of Elo & Merri's Unrequited Love

Hello dear readers. People who've been perusing my blog for some time now should be familiar with my OC, Elowyn O'Toreguarde, and that of my freind @aquadestinyswriting, Meredith Gruksdottir, Clan Bloodvein (née Ironforge). These two characters were ones we roleplayed in a D&D campaign set in the Fighting Fantasy World of Titan. And as much as we've talked about them and shared their stories, neither of us have explicitly spelled out the Tragedy of their Unrequited Love.

So without further ado I would like share a condensed version of the Destiny's New Servants Campaign, focusing on their not-love story. (Note, this is from my POV and is not impartial)

Elo & Merri hit it off as friends right from the start. They meet because of a ghoul situation, take one look at each other and decide – yes, I need you on my side. These are two women who were often overlooked, not least because of their heights, both strong proponents of justice with a go-getter attitude and a penchant for running head-first into trouble.

So, of course, off they go adventuring. They pulled each other through many trials, though most often it's Elo supporting Merri – Merri was the holy one at that time, she was the one with the special powers that no one else had, she was devout and tough and steadfast. They drew close after an incident where three of their party drowned, and closer still when the last reminding character of the originals, a Monk, drops off the face of the planet¹. They get new party members, but it takes a while for them to warm up and mesh in etc, especially as the new characters are younger and more inexperienced compared to our girls. So for a long while they feel like they can only rely on each other. Then Elowyn died, was made a vassal of Kurtulmak, a whole lot of shit went down, and they're kicked off to the other side of the world for Plot reasons.

Two very important things happened not long after this.

The first was that an insane half demon robot from a different plane mistook Elo for her Aunt and tried to attack her…. And Merri was the first to step in front of the woodling to defend her. As an aside, dear reader, I need you to understand that, out of game, I was going through A Time, and my feelings of abandonment, isolation and depression were feeding through into my gameplay. So Elo was also having Some Problems. She'd been ripped out of her life, away from the city and everyone who knew her and everything she'd known. She was feeling lost, abandoned, and suddenly burdened with the knowledge she'd become de facto leader of their group. She was holding together spectacularly². Anyway. She's facing off with this demented thing and fully expecting the party to kinda fuck off and make her deal with it on her own. And she's gearing up to do just that, when this woman, filled with righteous wrath, steps in front of her and says, "You'll have t'go through me if you want her." And, fuck me, if that didn't hit me right in the godsdamned chest.

Bear in mind that this was such a slow burn that us Players, let alone our characters, did not figure out anything until way later in the campaign. That said, I think that might have been the start of Elo falling in love.

Anyway. Elo's made a Paladin, a gold dragon drops out of the sky to be her mount³, they're sent back to the other side of the world for more Plot reasons, dear pain-in-the-ass Felix starts the rumours Elo's some kind of messiah or prophet⁴.

And the second important thing happens.

So they're at this village in the mountains, Felix has convinced half the population Elo's some kind of Saviour, and these random bandits rock up. One of them was a horny bard, who took one look at the pair of us womenfolk and announced that he's gonna take one of us home. And Merri goes, "Well it ain't gonna be me sunshine, I'm taken." We're in the middle of combat when this happens, probably got some better things to be focusing on, but Elo looks at Merri with a face like a slapped puppy and says, "What? You never told me that?" Like, this woman is her best friend, maybe her only true friend at that point⁵, they were close as anything, and not once has Merri mentioned she was engaged. So Elo's hurt because Merri didn't share this. But she's got a deeper hurt and she doesn't know why⁶.

Fast forward, we were conscripted to resurrect a god, Deep Sashelas. Merri is grievously injured by the required ritual. The others in the party are concerned, of course they are, but Elo is next level. Full on fretting by the bedside etc. And as they move on, Elo finds herself shielding Merri more and more. Which is, in game mechanics, frankly unnecessary, because Clerics are as tanky as Pallies are. But if I'm honest, Elo might have done this even as a pure rogue because, of course she would. Elo thinks she's just being a Friend. Merri thinks Elo is being a Friend. The rest of the party are picking up on Something, but no one knows what so no one says anything. Only the on-and-off Monk⁷ thinks he understand what's going on, but he's not around enough to do anything about it.

So now we come to a switch point. Out of game, Urbanvoodoman was tired of GMing and wanted to play so Aqua was going to take over from him. But we had a BBEG to fight first.

Before the fight Elo was contacted by the BBEG, saying she could either hand over Merri or he was going to destroy Toreguard. So Elo now has this horrible predicament. Does she sacrifice the person she's slowly realising might be the love of her life and save her home, or does she allow millions to be slaughtered for the love of one woman?

Elo told the BBEG she'd sacrifice Merri. Only then she didn't. The BBEG fight was a mess, and frankly not important to this story.

What is important, is that to transition Aqua over to GM, Merri had to be retired as a Player Character. So the morning after the BBEG fight Elo and co wake up… and Merri is not there. In her place are letters, apologising for having to leave for her home, Fangthane, and explaining why. Elo's letter contained apology after apology, and Merri's holy symbol to remember her by. It broke Elo's heart. Because now, of all possible times, Elo realises she's in love. Merri is many hours down the road by this point, Elo has no hope of finding her. And even if she did, Elo can't confess her feelings because Merri is already happily engaged to someone else. And Elo is never going to see Merri again because of the ban in Fangthane preventing non-dwarves from entering the city. Then, the world came knocking at the door, and Elo had to suck it all up and get on with her job.

You'd be forgiven, dear reader, for thinking that was the end of the tale. But it's not.

Rumour has made its way to Toreguarde that a young dwarven woman has been imprisoned in Fangthane for the crime of blasphemy. It doesn't take a genius to guess that young woman is Merri. She's due to be executed, unless someone can provide compelling evidence to the contrary. The main issue is that Fangthane still holds a grudge against Toreguard and her citizens. As a representative of Toreguard, Elo (who is still very much In Love with her unattainable dwarf, but Repressing with great success) refuses to break the line, once again putting her duty before her love. This leads one of the other Party members to accuse Elo of not caring about Merri, and, my gods, did I pitch a fit. Elo would have decked him if she thought she wouldn't accidentally kill him.

So the Party receives special dispensation from the Crown to enter Fangthane with evidence showing Merri is, of course, innocent. Elo is Not Allowed to see Merri while she's incarcerated for obscure legal reasons which escape me now, which just kills Elo. But she does her job, Merri is exonerated, everyone is joyful. And then Merri wants everyone to meet her fiance. Elo wants to hate him, wants him to be a bastard of epic proportions. But he's not. He's lovely, a cinnamon roll too good for this world, too pure etc. Yoruk is also a paladin, a decent, principled, loyal and devoted up-standing young gentleman of fine birth. Elo is, in a word, gutted. But she puts her big-girl pants on, pulls Yoruk outside and threatens to end his life if he ever hurts Merri and swears this on her power. He goes back to the party, suitably fearing for his life and his manhood, and Elo thinks she's just going to walk away and go have a cry in her beer, but Merri stops her. They share some words, embrace, and Elo parts from her saying, "With all the love in my heart, I wish you and Yoruk the best luck in the world."

I suppose the girls get a bit of a happy ending, inasmuch that after the Final BBEG is defeated and a little time passes, they grow close again in other ways. For that, please see Aqua's explanation of a Cridhe-dàime.

––– ¹ His player stopped being able to make sessions. ² I was not. ³ Because though the GM, UrbanVoodooman, can be a spectacular bastard for angst, he does love the fluffy stuff too. ⁴ Bless Felix's player, but he'd gotten a completely incorrect read on the situation, vis a vis Kurtulmak, St Cuthbert and Paladinship, which mean he – and therefore his Character – was convinced I was some kind of, IDK, minor deity? This never went away despite how many times we explained it. IDK if it makes it more or less funny to reveal Felix's Player is a very devout Anglican. ⁵ I don't think we'd managed to make it back to Toreguard by this point, and if we had, things were still on rocky ground, so Elo really didn't have many people on her side. ⁶ She was an idiot in love. Relatedly, IIRC, Aqua had only decided Merri was engaged prior to the session where this happened, so it was a bit difficult to retcon that fact in. ⁷ The Player who had previously dipped (See point 1) could now make intermittent sessions.

[purple-ambrosia]

Reimagining “Velma”

I’ve been seeing a lot about the new Velma show on Twitter, and I kind of wanted to take a stab at possibly reimagining it to be truer to the gang while still attempting to do something different.

@omegagorilla made a great Tiktok about how it’s important for characters that are so iconic to keep their fundamental traits and stay recognizable. The show is still coming out, but so far it feels like there’s a bit of a disconnect. The show could have come up with characters unrelated to the Scooby-Doo franchise rather than relying on the property, but with the way that animation is being treated by streaming services, a totally new IP would’ve come with a higher risk of cancellation or receiving less marketing. The Velma show has come out at a time where we’ve seen many shows, especially animated ones, be dropped quickly with little time to find their footings. We’ve even seen some be scrubbed off the Internet entirely. So what setup could have let us see a fresher take on the gang while also letting them stay familiar?

College.

Having the gang go off to college would allow the show to a) explore its adult rating without sexualizing high school students and b) create a setting that poses new opportunities and trials for the gang. This also means the writers have some wiggle room to adapt the gang as they find themselves as new adults. And as a lot of us know, finding ourselves doesn’t come without hardship.

The show opens with Velma still as our primary focal point, but she’s a sophomore in college rather than a high school student. The gang lives in a college town with a good school, but the school is just large enough that they can all avoid each other for the most part. Velma studies hard and mainly keeps to herself. After the gang split up, she’s scared to put herself out there again and start making friends. Part of herself justifies it because she knows she’ll go elsewhere for graduate school, then somewhere else when she has to find a job.

The only one that knows she likes girls is Shaggy. After Fred and Daphne first got together in high school, the two felt pressured to have their own relationship. It didn’t last after Velma blurted out that she might be in love with Daphne when Shaggy tried to kiss her. They were lucky that their “relationship” had only lasted a couple of weeks and one date to the movie theater. Fred and Daphne couldn’t say the same, because when they finally broke up, Daphne transferred to a prep school across town for her junior and senior year. She promised to keep in touch, but the longer the school year went on, the more time it took for her to respond to Velma’s texts. Fred became more focused on trying to get a wrestling scholarship, and that left Velma and Shaggy to rely on one another.

Velma mainly sees Shaggy between exams, usually for meals or to pick him up after he gets too high at a party. She would never tell him, but she likes knowing someone still needs her. Sometimes she catches a glimpse of red hair and some of the parties Shaggy goes to, and her heart pounds so hard that she can’t breathe.

Fast forward to sophomore year, when a girl is found dead on campus. Velma and Shaggy are just coming back from the dining half when they spot the crowd. They push through to the yellow police tape, and for the first time since high school, the gang is all in one place again.

[galaxyshine24-7]

The Silver Bullet 🍹

A Twisted Wonderland Mafia Au from @jackplushie-deactivated20221009

(Characters will be aged up a little given the circumstances. The first years will be at least 18-19 and the others will line up with that age range in mind with the first years.)

Chapter 1 Prologue

“What?!” A fork falls onto a plate letting out a ding that echoes around the dinning hall.

“I said it is time for you to leave the nest and make a life for yourself.” A tall man rested his elbows on the table, folding his hands.

“Crowley you can’t be serious?!” A man wearing a fine fur coat slams his hands on the table glaring at the man. 

“Crewel, you knew this day was coming sooner or later. All little birdies must leave the nest. Sometimes they need a shove to get going.” The Crowley explains. 

“This is more than a shove, more like a toss out the window.” Crewel argues. 

“It really is a bad time Crowley, they haven’t even blown out the candles yet.” A loud meow comes from a cat in the other man’s arms as he strokes the furry ball. His dark green eyes burn a hole into the bird man’s head. 

“Haha calm down Mozus they’ll be fine.” A huge hand pats Yuu on the back making them cough on their drink. “Our little Yuu has gone through many trials, this is just another obstacle in their path. They’ll get through it, besides with all that training I gave them nothing should get in their way.” He wraps a large bicep around their neck ruffling Yuu’s hair. The mention of training causes a chill to run up Yuu's spine. “Vargas let go of them. I spent a long time getting them ready.” Crewel points his cigarette at the man’s direction. The dogs at his feet growl in response to their master’s agitation. 

“Don’t get your panties in a twist Divus. You’re just mad Crowley isn’t letting them join your gang.” He laughs, placing his feet on the table. The two men continue to bicker as Yuu fixes their hair. Yuu is surprised as a beautiful cake lit up with candles gets placed in front of them. 

“Here you go little imp your favorite cake, I had to go all the way to RSA to get it. Enjoy it to the fullest.” Yuu looks up at the man giving him a smile. 

“Thank you Sam.” 

“Now how about we stop all this arguing and focus on the party. It is a joyous day is it not. Our little imp has come of age.” Sam takes a seat across from Yuu. The cake is decorated beautifully with fruits shaped like flowers along the top. The candles illuminate the room as Yuu looks up at the people around them. 

“Thank you for everything.” Yuu breathes. They weren’t perfect, but they where the closest thing to a family Yuu could have. 

“Make a wish dear, I am so generous that I will grant you one for this special occasion.” They didn’t have much that they wanted when thinking about Dire’s request, but with a deep breath they blew out their candles looking the man right in the eyes. 

“I want a favor.” The others smile at Yuu’s answer. 

“What favor would that be?” He tilts his head. 

“I don’t know yet, but I’ll tell you when I think of one.” The others laugh as Dire lets out a small smile. 

“We have taught you well, young one.” Mozus nods his head. 

“Indeed, well now let's get to the cake.” Vargas slides the cake in front of him, already cutting a huge slice for himself. 

“For goodness sake Vargas have some manners. Yuu is supposed to get the first slice.” The noise picks up again as a piece of cake is gently placed on the plate in front of them. However what Crowley said earlier still lingers in Yuu’s mind, what will it be like to finally be on their own? For now they just enjoy the cake with their teachers, making sure to remember this last bit of normalcy they have. 

A day later Yuu is cleaning up the library in Crowley’s old manor as the man tells them of what is to come.

“So about your debt…” He mumbles. 

“Debt?!” Yuu turns around dropping a bunch of books on the ground. 

“Yes, well I have spent a lot of money raising you, and I was hoping when you got old enough you would pay it back.” Crowley looks at Yuu with his sad eyes. “I spent so many restless nights putting a roof over your head and food on your plate, all I ask is that you help out this poor old headmaster.” He whines slumping dramatically in his chair. 

“Ex headmaster.” Yuu picks up the books, placing them on the correct shelf. 

“Oh how you wound me bo ho.” Now he is fake crying as Yuu lets out a sigh turning to the man.

“Well once I get a job I can pay you back little by little sir.” Now they just need to think about where to work. NRC is an option but the streets can be rather dangerous, but getting enough to travel to the RSA sector would take some time.

“Well I have just the idea.” He recovers from his sobbing rather quickly, clapping his hands with a bright smile on his face. 

“Get you things packed, we leave tonight.” He announces strutting towards the library door. Yuu shakes their head, though this man has raised them for most of their life he is still an enigma with his weird mannerisms. 

It didn’t take long for Yuu to pack their things. Their teachers did give them all they needed, but there wasn’t much they could find for personal items. A few clothes and necessities along with an old story book Crowley gave them when they first arrived at the manor. He said the book was from the grand library of the now abandoned Night Raven College. It contains many fairy tales and legends that Yuu just couldn’t get enough of. It's now worn and the pages somewhat faded, but it’s still loved. Yuu carries some of their things down the stairs as Crowley and a few of his men help bring in the rest of Yuu’s things from upstairs. 

“Come along now Yuu, the night is still young and there's lots to get done.” Crolwy places an arm around Yuu as they walk outside to the car. A member of Crowley’s gang takes the box from Yuu as another opens the door for both the headmaster and his ward. 

The manor is located on the outskirts of NRC looking over the gray ocean in the distance. The glowing city rests on the other side as the car's engine lets out a soft purr. Yuu has lived in the city streets for many years, but that was a long time ago. NRC must have changed since then. Crowley proceeds to give them warnings about what to do and what not to do as they head to the downtown area of the sector. The black tinted windows of the vehicle hides their faces; it doesn't stop the curious onlookers from eyeing a sleek yet vintage  car driving through some of the rougher distracts. After about an hour's drive they reach their destination under the cover of night, with very few people on the streets at this time.

“Yuu may I introduce you to the Silver Bullet. It used to be a café that many students used to frequent, but now it's going to be a wonderful bar with you as the bartender.” He steps out of the car showcasing the run down establishment as his members check around the area. 

“A bartender?” Yuu asks. 

“Yes some of the money you make will go to repaying your debt and the rest can be for sprucing up the place, and for your own pocket. It comes with a fine set of living quarters.” He starts to open the bar doors, but struggles to pull it open until he uses a bit of strength as the doors fly open. A dust cloud kicks up in a cloud as Crowley tries his best to hold in his coughs. 

The sign reading Silver Bullet glows dimly in the night, its old and rusted as the ‘t’ in Bullet slightly hangs off to the side. Yuu ventures inside with Crowley looking around at the downstairs interior. It looks worse on the inside, everything is covered in a thick layer of dust as the furniture looks like it's about to break apart.

“Isn’t this nice.” He smiles as a beam lands on the floor behind them. “Ah we will fix that.” He grumbles. The men outside start bringing Yuu’s things upstairs as the two explore the building.

Yuu can tell under all this mess used to be something great. Though the decor is old it's still in good shape, showing the care people placed in it. The bar wasn’t so bad it needs a few touch ups, but it still is a nice piece of furniture with sleek dark wood and a black marble countertop. Yuu looks over at Crowley as he still tries to sing the praises of this place. His hand resting on the back of one of the chairs as the leg gives out. He angrily kicks it, grumbling up curses, but notices Yuu is watching going back to his cheery self. Yuu sighs coming from behind the counter to stand next to Crowley. 

“I think it's time for me to rest, I have a lot of work to do in the morning.” Yuu smiles. 

“Oh of course let me get you settled.” There is a door on the side of the building with stairs leading up to the upper floor. It's in the same state as downstairs. It had all the necessities and even a few rooms to spare. The main bedroom is dusty, but cozy all the same. The members have placed down Yuu’s things in the correct rooms, soon leaving out of the upstairs apartment. Yuu looks up at Crowley as he clears his throat, now that they are alone they could talk personally. 

“I will miss you child, but I know you will spread your wings and soar.” He talks his loud crying as he gives Yuu a hug. 

“Thank you Crowley.” Yuu pats him on the back. 

“And always remember.” He hugs Yuu a bit tighter now bending down to their ear. “We are always watching.” A chill runs through the air as Yuu simply nods.   "I understand." Yuu looks down at the floor, Crowley places a gentle pat on their shoulders as they head back downstairs.

Crowley and his men said their goodbyes leaving Yuu to their new life as the bartender to this simple establishment.     

Nothing should go wrong right?     

Notes: Here's a start to the silver bullet story I've been thinking about. I'm still trying to figure out how everything plays out in this au. I just want to thank @jackplushie-deactivated20221009 for giving me the inspiration to start writing again. I hope your doing okay wherever you are.

P.S. I just want you all to know that my Yuu is based off my Twisted MC who is a girl so I might use gendered language down the line in certain cases. Thank you for reading, and until next chapter. If you all have any ideas or questions just hit me up and I'll try to respond the best I can.

[dailyadventureprompts]

I don’t know if you do general advise but I’m going to DM for the first time soon and all I’ve come up with is stuff that sounds cool to have in the world (like an all bard pirate ship/traveling theater) and fun ways to introduce characters (like opening on a rogue in a crowd of distracted strangers). I feel like I have all vibes and no hooks or defined problems that need solving. Do I need to plan that before our first session?

Drafting the Adventure: The Very First Step

I ABSOLUTELY do general advice friend, and you can find most of it under either my "Drafting an Adventure" or "Dm Advice" tags.

But for your particular case, I first off want to congratulate you. Making the step to DMing is a big one, the jump from audience to artist can be one of the most harrowing, but also the most rewarding.

Now, as for your problem of "vibes and no hooks", I'm almost universally sure that every dm starts out with that feeling, and it comes from not yet having started to build your skills as a storyteller.

Like any other skill, being a good DM takes time, it takes practice, and it takes failure. Quite a lot of failure actually, it's going to take time for you to find exactly what feels right and until then it's going to be a process of trial and error. If something feels wrong, that's good, it means you've identified a problem and can start trying out different solutions until you find one that works for you.

Specifically, what you need is to start with some very basic stories of heroic daring-do, run your players through it, and start building out from there. Eventually you'll hit a wall, and you'll know what you can improve on next. Those flashes of inspiration you have? you'll learn when to include those and when to hold them back. After you practice for a while, you'll even be able to turn a random flash into a whole adventure (which is exactly what this blog is all about).

As for picking that very first adventure, I'm going to show you the basics under the cut, a skeleton you can make your own and reuse as many times as you need as you work on your skills.

Building the skeleton for an adventure is actually pretty simple, and building a campaign just involves stringing together multiple adventures.

There's four simple questions to ask, which might seem like they come out of order from a chronological perspective but are important to pin down when it comes to planning out a story:

What fun activity do you want to be the capstone of this adventure. A Dungeon delve? A Monster fight? a Heist?  Knowing what the set piece is at the very start of your planning helps you build an adventure that naturally leads to a satisfying conclusion like a river flowing down hill into a lake. Likewise, being aware of what’s coming helps you keep the party on task at the table, directing the focus back to the action that’ll lead them towards your finale. 

Are there a challenges they need to overcome before they get to the capstone? More often than not, the party will set out thinking they’re on a rather straightforward errand, allowing you to play with their expectations while sprinkling in hints about what’s about to happen in the story. Hired by a mining concern to escort a geologist deep into some local caves? Woops, there’s a dragon down there, and now its rampaging across the countryside.   Chasing a notorious highwayman through the forest for the bounty on his head? Turns out he’s a vampire ousted from his castle, and going toe to toe with him will either require you to find silver weapons or track him back to his coffin during the day.  This structure of “ You thought you were doing X, but now you need to do Y” is one of the great pillars of adventure design, and to master it, you just need to get good at  letting your party think X was going to be easy, and then making Y a curveball compared to whatever they were previously doing.  

How does your party get involved in this adventure, What’s the hook? Does a wealthy patron pay them to perform a task? does an ally ask for aid? Do they see a bounty on a bountyboard? maybe overhear a rumor in the market or a snippet of a bard’s song at the tavern? While eventually you’ll learn to be devilishly subtle about these sorts of hooks, at the start of your carrier, you can be up front with your players: They’re playing adventurers who are motivated by some combination of self interest and heroic action, here’s something that blatantly appeals to them.  You don’t even need to roleplay this out in the first couple of adventures, and can easily start off with saying something like “ You’ve found a dusty map that promises to lead to treasure, you’ve gathered some allies, and decided to set out.”  Knowing how the adventure starts gives both you and your players a trajectory to follow, before you hit them with that mid act twist. 

If they fail either the challenges, or the capstone, then what happens? This is the step most adventure design guides fail to tell you. D&D is a game of choices and chances, which means there’s a possibility that your party won’t manage to accomplish the goal they set out on, whether because of their own folly, or sheer dumb luck.  Never fret, because just like learning to be a dungeonmaster, all good stories are built off a basis of failure, and having your party pick themselves back up after a setback or two will only serve to have them more invested. Failure is its own hook, and can serve as even an alternative challenge in that the party was trying to do X, failed at Y, and how HAS to do Z. It can also mean the launch of a whole new adventure, if the party is suddenly outlawed, locked in prison, teleported to another plane, or indebted to some powerful NPC, their primary goal is either on pause, or going to have some very specific consequences afterwards. 

So that’s it, that’s what you need to know to start planning a basic adventure. In the runup to your first session zero start brainstorming some ideas, browse through the monster manual, or binge some vaguely fantasy based media whether it be a book, movie, or tv show and lift some plot ideas from it. Run through those questions, and you’ll have an idea of where to start off. 

That said, one adventure does not a campaign make, and it’s paradoxically easier to build your adventures in an arc than it is to make them individually, one after another.  To that end, we’re going to plan levels 1-5 of your game like it was a single adventure, answering those same four questions, and working through them as we start our brainstorming. Think of a big exciting capstone, throw in a few hurdles they’ll need to overcome, figure out how they get involved, and what happens if things go very very wrong. Some people would have the tail end of one adventure lead directly into the start of another, but that doesn't’ allow for much flexibility, 

level 1: is a pilot episode, self contained, lets you establish the world without bringing in any of the big plot just yet. Lets your players get to know the game and figure things out before throwing them into deep water. 

level 2: gets your players where you need them to be to get them setup up for the main plot, traveling to the central town, hired by the important patron, introduced to one of the story relevant NPCs, atleast by reputation. As an added tip, if they don’t bite the hook you’ve dangled for this adventure, let them putter around the world for a bit until they find something that DOES excite them, then reel them in that way and resume your story as needed ( adjusting levels accordingly) 

level 3: is where you get them invested in the setting, form those emotional bonds that you’re going to imperil at the climax of the arc,  both between the partymembers, and between the gaggle of friends and neighbors they’ll have accrued by now. This is also a great chance to foreshadow the big event that’ll hit at the end of the arc, without making them directly relevant. 

level 4: is a bit of a distraction, and a great excuse to follow up on a piece of one of your partymember’s backstories. Alternatively, ask the group what they’d like to do, you’ve probably got them invested in the world by now and dangled a few loose threads for them to pull. 

level 5: now you get to hit them with something big, an active threat against the bonds they’ve formed that’ll have them pulling out all the stops in an attempt to save the day. Bonus points if you specifically tie the means of overcoming this threat back into the previous adventures, letting your party feel like their heroics set the stage for their victory, and rewarding their investment in the world. 

You don’t need to have all this planned out before you start, but at the same time it’s a good idea to know generally where you’re going so you can steer the party in the right direction. This roadmap’s got a lot of wiggleroom, and never be afraid of taking a detour should your party require it. 

As for the setting for all these adventures, I’m likely going to cover cover how to build them in a later post, but my advice for now when ploltting all this is to start small: a town, maybe one or two villages, and the surrounding wilderness. The background detail you’ve thought of for one adventure is going to compound into the worldbuilding for the others, and anything else you can make up on the spot. 

I hope that helps. It took me a long time to develop anything resembling a cohesive story structure for adventures, and I cant tell you how many years I had my party wandering from session to session waiting for the fun to kick in. At least this way you’ll have something substantial to go off of, and if anything doesn’t work, you’ve got plenty of room to improve. 

[mariswxt]

Oh, hi, thanks for the tag! I’ve decided to do amoralism, cause yeah, obviously 😂😂 it’s my obsession these days and it’s kinda scary-

Some of y’all will go crazy at this first one ☝️😅

So, the idea of amoralism came from a fan favourite necessary precautions, where I was answering a bit of feedback and then got the idea and decided to draft the first chapter, whole damn plan and now we’re here.

A lot of of how Dean’s a relaxed, carefree, unprofessional agent and reader’s work-tight dynamic was what I got from Brooklyn 99’s Jake and Amy, except their rather sexy sides from the show were more humour rather than the reader and Dean being absolute horndogs in the workplace.

Also that first scene was inspired both by Natasha Romanoff and Dean’s sex scene from The Slice Girls

Fifty-Shots Bar (referenced in ch1 narcissism) is a reference to taking shots and firing them since I wanted something that can be taken both ways.

I wanted to initially do this realistically, but you can’t find jack squat about the FBI, so I made it up and scaled it until goddamn movie scale stuff.

Chuck initially wasn’t going to end up in the series, but I needed a scene with the President so I went ‘hey, Chuck’s God, so in this, he’s POTUS’

I included Nick (Nick who was possessed by Lucifer Nick) into the story, but it’s not obvious when he doesn’t have a stated surname. So Agent Nick Garrison is Nick from SPN, guys.

John Winchester was initially going to be referenced to be in a mental asylum from Abaddon’s mind games, but I decided against it.

I was listening to Looking At Me by Sabrina Carpenter when writing the final scene of Chapter Three, when Dean said “keep those eyes on me” or something like that

I first thought to make things angsty for Sam by writing that Azazel had killed Jess but our baby’s been through far too much for me to do that so I let him have the happiness

Most of the inspiration for the reader - that @zepskies clocked - did actually come from Miss Congeniality, and I planned for the reader does use SING in a later chapter (wink wink to S.I.N.G by Zep as well)

The party scene dress for Reader was inspired from the movie Red Notice (where Gal Gadot is an actual queen)

A lot of the Reader being thirsty for Dean is inspired by the reblog threads I get from @jackles010378’s blog on my for you page, so thanks for that by the way 😂🤣

The whole idea of Hell being the crime syndicate just came out of nowhere once I’d decided that yep, Abaddon’s a Knight of Hell so let’s just sweep that in, tidy it all up and hey, here we go

Uncle Ernie - short for Ernesto - (just to be clear, I’d decided the name before I even got the character inspo) was heavily inspired by Grandpa Eddie from Jumanji: The Next Level

“Nah. My perfect date is stay in, cook with said significant other and watch a rom com while eating the food. Never done it, but always wanted to try it.” This is the description of the Reader’s perfect date, and it’s my perfect date as well, and I did it with my boyfriend right before I wrote this chapter 🥰🥰

My headcanon is that while Dean is an everything man where his girl is concerned, he’s especially an ass man when he’s making out. That fuelled most of the smut in ch6 (authoritarianism)

I now have a running gag that older women like to hit on Dean, made up by s8’s episode (is it?) Trial and Error and the older ladies who hit on Dean and Sam HEAVILY-

Dean’s softness in ch7 (masochism) was born from one- having fucked their anger out - and two from Reader having a hard time. I recently had a reunion from secondary and anyone who’s read my about me knows that I didn’t have a good experience at secondary, instead one that was horrible. It was troubling, so I had written Dean comforting Reader how my boyfriend comforted me after (minus the almost frustrated attempt at initiating smut)

(Might I add that my boyfriend was there with me and side-eyed all the girls who made my life miserable)

And all the chapters are -isms 😁

That concludes my rant on amoralism. Hope you enjoy!

No pressure tags: @carpenterswife, @k-slla, @angelbabyyy99, @jackles010378, @winchesterwild78

Image courtesy of @scoundrels-in-love

Creators: give a “behind the scenes” look at one of your works. This could be things that got removed or changed, the origins of ideas/details, whatever you like!

Fans: share bits of trivia from canon and challenge others to create something based on that trivia - fic, art, or something else!

Alternatively: Share a random piece of trivia floating around in your brain. It doesn’t have to be fandom-related.

Here's a bit of trivia from Run to You.

The name Kasey means – vigilant, watchful, brave – and I think it’s very fitting for her. During the planning stage, Kasey was pregnant, as one of the prompts was, ‘someone is pregnant’.

Initially, the story concept closely followed the plot of the movie Labor Day. However, as things often go when writing, it has evolved into much more. It went from a three-part miniseries to a multi-chapter behemoth, incorporating ideas from The Fugitive and then morphing into what it is now.

So far, it’s been relatively calm for our two lovers. However, their cozy but gossamer bubble is about to be shattered in a way they never saw coming.

Who would like to share?

No pressure tags: @rizlowwritessortof @zepskies @thatonewriter15 @deanbrainrotwritings @kickingitwithkirk