#zeph does dragon age

[zeph0r]

Oct 03 - Favorite Origins companion

God, I love all of them for so many different reasons, but since this is the trauma game I'm gonna go for a possibly contentious pick and choose Oghren.

He's gross, inappropriate, abrasive; sure. And that's what you get at surface-level. He wasn't always like that, but did what a lot of addicts do - taken his addiction and his flaws and his behaviours and leaned into it, giving people the obnoxious bar-guy bravado they expected to see. Part of it is him, yes; but a lot of it isn't. If you can look past that, he's just an absolute goldmine. He's still rough around the edges, still abrasive at times, but there is courage and understanding and loyalty there.

"Let us show them our hearts, and then show them theirs" made me cry. More like 'sudden sobbing', but it hit like a tonne of bricks for multiple reasons. The game presents you with a deadbeat drunk but what you actually get is a man who is struggling to fight his way out of rock bottom no matter how many times he gets shoved back down. It bothers me immensely that he's reduced to a "gross bastard" by fandom when they will bend over backwards to characterise their own problematic favs as the woobiest babygirl.

[chronicallytiredmuses]

⚠️Trigger Warning!!! Implied Abuse and Neglect, and Murder⚠️

**NOT MY ART!!!**

**General Info:**

Name: Zephyr

Nicknames: Zephy, Zeph

Gender: Male

Age: 28 years old

Birthdate:

Zodiac Sign: Picses

Sexuality: Gay

T, S, B: Bottom

**Appearance:**

Height: 5’10

Weight: 154 lbs

Body Type: Slim but has some muscle tone

Skin Tone: Pale, Greyish

Hair color: Black

Hair style: Short

Eye color: Gold

Scars?: A few on his shoulders, back, and his wings

Piercings?: Tongue Piercing

Tattoos?: None

Other distinguishing features?: Black scale patches on his face and the rest of his body. His arms and legs are covered in black scales as well as the lower portion of his face. His wings have holes in them, which prevent him from flying

**History:**

Family: Biological family is deceased. He currently lives with the royal family

Backstory: Zephyr’s family was captured and brutally slaughtered by dragon hunters before he had been found by the young prince at the time. He was still extremely young, and was severely wounded. He was taken into the castle and treated, but the family decided to adopt him, though it was mainly for their own selfish reasons. They essentially use him to create a fear factor among the kingdom, they keep him in a locked basement unless they need him for something, and just generally mistreat him. The only person who genuinely cares for him is the prince (who’s now an adult), who found him in the first place

Love Interest (if any): Unknown

Physical Illness?: None

Neurological Illness?: None

Mental Illnesses?: PTSD, Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Major

Depressive Disorder

Handicaps?: None

Genetic Mutations?: None

**Personality:**

Personality: Zephyr is an extremely quiet person, often preferring to keep to himself and observe what is going on. He’s incredibly loyal and protective, even if it’s someone who mistreats him. Zephyr definitely sees the royal household as having saved his life, and therefore he believes he owes them his own life. While he does live in denial of the true severity of his current situation, he is fairly intelligent, and learns very quickly. Though he currently doesn’t know how to read or write, he is quick to pick up other skills

**Any Trivia:**

He turns into a large black dragon

Due to the holes in his wings, he is completely unable to take flight

[fantasyinvader]

Beat Binding Blade tonight

So, right off the bat I'm going to admit. I abused the arena and save states. This is a really, really hard game. And while I enjoyed it, I'm going to give three things I didn't like about it.

1)Enemy reinforcements arrive at the end of the player phase, and can attack during the enemy phase. That is unfair, especially when I assume that parking a unit on the spawn point will prevent them (It doesn't) or my healer just happens to be in the area. I like difficult games, but when I fail at something in those I want to feel like it's my fault for doing so. When I die in Bloodborne or lose a unit in Fates Conquest, I'm willing to accept it because I felt it was fair (plus I'll just restart the chapter in Conquest anyway). I could have not died if I had played a little better. This game was not fair when it did that.

2)The supports. A lot of the stuff about the characters is locked away in their supports, since this is one of the old Fire Emblems where it throws units your way because it's assuming you didn't reset the game when one died. They don't get cutscenes to be important, and with only five supports per character (barring if one dies, then any unit that had supports with gets those supports back). And even then, getting an A rank doesn't pair up any units except for Roy. So you don't get to play love doctor here, it's only really there for the stat boosts. But in the case of my boy, he needs those supports in order for his character to fully come through.

3)I can take 8 units into the final battle, and they're the only ones who get full ending cards. Everyone else just gets a single line. Kinda weak if I use someone like Fir for most of the game, but bench her at the end to give Rutget Durandal.

Even with my cheating, I still enjoyed this game. Mostly for the story. When Fire Emblem first appeared in Smash Brothers Melee, as a kid it instantly caught my attention. Roy and Marth just looked so cool with their swords and armor (true fact: My favorite design for Link is the Skyward Sword design, simply because it has chainmail under the tunic. I get it, the tunic is iconic but SS's Link just looks practical), and I preferred Roy because I though his fully-charged shield breaker hurting him was cool. I even keep a Cipher card of his in my wallet for good luck. I wanted to know what Fire Emblem was, what kind of game it was. My friend showed me a screenshot of the upcoming GBA game in Nintendo power, which I got for the following Christmas (sadly, I didn't get Sacred Stones as I got a PS2 the following year). I loved that game, but the idea that I was playing as Roy's father always was a bit of a sour point for me. It's because of that game when I got a 2DS a decade later, because I wanted to game but kept getting pulled away from my console, I eventually went back to Fire Emblem.

And, I'm going to admit, Binding Blade hurt me because I played Blazing Blade first. It really did. I mean, Hector dies early on, Lyn is presumably dead hell a lot of my old comrades probably died in this war, Eliwood's wife dies shortly after they are married while Eliwood is more useless than ever, the kid I saved in Bern becomes a genocidal maniac, and the fact that the characters of Blazing Blade kinda caused this to happen by releasing the seals on the Legendary Weapons in their own quest... It kinda bugs me that the Legendary Weapons I used in Blazing Blade are in their trap filled storage places. Like, who returned them there? And if I have characters from that game returning in Binding, I find it strange they don't comment on needing them again. But this is a case of the game trying to be a prequel to a story that wasn't written with it in mind.

But at the end of the day, one thing just kept popping up in my mind. Binding Blade is the antithesis of the Crimson Flower route from Three Houses. I know they said Genealogy of the Holy War was an inspiration, but I can't help it. I've seen so many people try to praise that said route as some sort of denouncement of the rest of the franchise. That it's about putting power in the hands of the people (it's not) instead of having some Lord be the good king. Granted, the Mandate of Heaven seems like it's a running theme of the series, so without understanding what that is I can understand why people don't grasp what that part of the message. But Binding Blade, it just hit so many things on the nose that I needed to say something.

So without further adieu, I'm just going to bring up a few points.

With Regards to Humanity

It's interesting how both Zephiel and Edelgard come at this from different angles. Sure, they both lead wars of conquest across the entire continent, and I'm guessing Zeph didn't tell his troops what he was planning on doing once he won so there's likely a level of deception going on there as well. He really doesn't care for his fellow man, and the game goes out of it's way to show us why. Hatred, greed, or even selling out your people in the name of self-preservation. The game doesn't shy away from showing us any of this, saying that it's wrong and thus why Roy has to kick some guy's arse. Zephiel knows this, but in Edelgard's case? She's out there fighting for absolute power, destroying anyone who won't bend the knee to her while those who do out of self-preservation like House Gloucester are rewarded for it.

In essence, Edelgard is everything Zephiel saw wrong with the human race, she is why he felt we needed to go extinct. The very things he condemns humanity for are the things she reward. Zephiel would have actually handed over power to those he felt deserved it if he had won, whereas Edelgard is demonstrably shown to hold onto power until near the end of her life. One wants humanity dead, the other wants all the dragons. They even oppose each other in their classes. Edelgard is based on the red emperor archetype, she wears red, her class is the heavily-armored Emperor and her weapon of choice is an axe. Zephiel is a king, armoed but wearing purple and he uses a sword in battle.

Even if they both have screwed up history with their family's due to their father's inability to keep it in his pants, they're both presented as villains despite being ideologically opposed which goes to show with Fire Emblem the method IS the message.

Ancient Wars, Super Powered Weapons and Lies.

War of Heroes vs. The Scouring. The former is an event where the full details are shrouded in mystery, up to the player to piece together the clues and figure out the truth for themselves...or in Crimson Flower's case, ignore the truth and act out in your ignorance.With Binding Blade though, when the truth starts coming out, it hits hard. I mean, right from the beginning of the game we're told man was the one who broke the peace by attacking the dragons, but then we learn that those legendary weapons messed up the environment, resulting in dragons needing to use human forms only to be slaughtered by man. Dragons were blamed for the environment, the people who used those weapons were revered as heroes. We don't know why mankind launched their attack, but we do know that they weren't able to slay the Demon Dragon, one who had her soul destroyed in order to control her, because the Heroes felt sorry for her. It's making dragons out to be the victims here, much like the dragons in Three Houses. But Crimson Flower only serves to demonize them, acting like they can't understand humanity when the dragons in that game are a lot closer to humans emotionally than the ancient dragons in Elibe.

The Elites in comparison weren't heroes, and that lie has been confirmed as Rhea trying to make peace.

The good ending for Binding Blade is being able to save the dragon whose soul was destroyed, whereas Crimson Flower ends with slaying a dragon after you've spent the entire game triggering her (and is the ending that leads to oppressive rule under Edelgard, in addition to the only ending without sunlight. What? You thought you'd get the good ending when her final boss theme was playing on the last stage?). Also, you need all the Legendary weapons in order to unlock the final stages, which all play into the big mystery. Crimson Flower requires the player to not understand that the world-building was done to support fighting against Edelgard instead.

Merits of a leader

Let's not beat around the bush here, Roy will not carry you through Binding Blade. His bases are low, and while he has good growths he is unable to promote until the very end of the game. Even then, you need to save the Binding Blade's usage to ensure you get the good ending. Roy is also very unsure of himself, thrust into a position of leadership despite his young age. But look at what happens when he succeeds, he manages to overcome the odds and take down the mightiest army on the continent. At the end of the game, he's shown himself as more than capable of leading. Not to mention, he also believes that humans and dragons can live together, even seeing this in Acadia (and if Ninian was his mother, he's unknowingly proof of this as he is 1/4 dragon himself. May explain his poor bases). If he marries Liliana, he even becomes a King for likely much of the same reason Byleth does in SS/VW (most leaders are dead following the war, plus combining his territory with Ostia which had already taken over Lyn's land after she abdicated/married Hector). Roy learns the truth as already established.

Compare this to Crimson Flower Byleth. Byleth leads the Black Eagle Strike Force, but credit for it goes to Edelgard. Byleth never gets any recognition for this, no position of authority despite proving themselves, instead that goes to Caspar Jenkins of all people, and ends the war continuing to fight TWSITD from the shadows to support Edelgard's regime. And if you read between the lines, Edelgard is NOT a good leader, resorting to bribes, threats, cronyism, secret police, propaganda, and even TWSITD's support and later stolen tech in order to maintain her rule. Byleth lost whatever emotional development they got from White Clouds during this route, once again becoming the Ashen Demon, and is even willing to let themselves die if they can't keep their “humanity” in check showing a distaste for their own draconic heritage (showing humans and dragons can't live together in this timeline). They didn't grow into being a leader, they devolved into being Edelgard's unthinking muscle. Byleth never learns the truth in this route, falling for Edelgard's manipulations resulting in them losing Enlightened One/Nirvana status.

Not to mention, Heroes Relics have really low weapon levels. In theory, they can be used by anyone but only safely by those with Crests and most fully with a matching Crest. Legendary Weapons, on the other hand, can be used by anyone with an S rank in their type. Your characters have to EARN the right to use those things and you'll need them to deal with all the Manaketes during the final level, whereas Relics aren't exactly that level of broken.

Honestly, seeing the ending of Binding Blade and Idunn recovering put at least one tear in my eye. Crimson Flower's just made me feel like the game was calling me an idiot (which considering the Nirvana/Enlightenment thing, it kinda was). I would love if Binding Blade got the Echoes treatment, or even if they just did a GBA collection for the Switch. But after all these years, one thing is as certain now as it was when I was a kid.

In this house, ROY'S OUR BOY!

[bisexualterror]

All the even headcanons?

at first i was confused and then i made a noise and went ?? really!!?? now i’m blushing 😊 ok so!

1. Light sleeper

altheia for sure. they have to deal with a lot of abrupt attacks during the war so yeah 😔

2. Has non stop puns

nova does use a few. but mainly remy and her dad richard. omg they’re jokes are terrible together, dwight has to leave the room sometimes lajfjdjfhj

3. Will cut you if you hurt their loved ones

almost all of them?? except a few dick side ocs. but nova was the one who came to mind first so her the most. she does a lot for the people she loves.

4. Has a dysfunctional family

uhhhhhh the correct question would be who doesn’t have a dysfunctional family 😅 maybe spencer? they love their parents but.... yikes!

5. Likes rock music

so many!! but nova and bo listen to it the most!

6. Will give you the middle finger

dkjdjdh most of them tbh but nova and bo again for the most!

7. Is a sweet angel

a tie between remy and zephyr appleby!! remy is so precious and zeph is such a soft boy i love them 🥺

8. Can kill you with a pencil

nova would 100% wanna stab a vampire with one. but corvina is the one who would kill you with one.

9. Looks sweet but will murder you in cold blood

mmm probably my only anime oc akane! cause she’s pretty violent but she looks cute!

10. Looks like they will murder you but is a sweetheart

alex and mars! ive done so much rewriting for mars, made her softer on the inside than she looks on the outside, which is the cliche ice queen slytherin look.

with alex she has a pretty bad case of resting bitch face but she’s probably my kindest oc, loves helping people, esp people in pain, no matter how much she denies it.

11. Will eat everything if they could

ljshdsg nova, she loves going to other people’s houses and stealing their food.

12. Wants to run away from everything

alex is constantly running away from stuff until she finally embraces her new world and begins to run towards people.

also noor, she does sometimes dissapear/runaway from serious sibling arguments and her job is basically her running from being truly intimate with people

13. Knows random facts about everything

altheia!!

14. Owns a motorcycle

i think a few of them do actually? but alex is the one that rides hers the most and takes care of it herself very well. she just loves driving anything from motorcycles to cars to that one time she has to emergency land a plane!

15. Is book smart

a few but al came to mind first!! altheia consumes books with a real hunger for knowledge of all kinds. the moment they step out of gallifrey they begin to see that somethings are best learned through life experience.

16. Is naïve

says a lot that it took me a second to think for this one. probably zeph or reyenna in her pre s1 years, although their naivety is because of their young age

17. Would steal a penguin from the zoo

1000% mars!!

18. Has very exaggerated facial expressions

remy and nova but nova the most tbh she has so many different looks she uses on people and only bonnie and her best friends can read them all

19. Likes Harry Potter

a lot of them but zaria and nova make the most references kshshjs

20. To solve other peoples problems, they say to murder the problem

skhsjaksj a lot lmaooo but corvina is probably the only one that’s not joking

21. Is a nervous wreck

alex has a lot of anxiety so her def

22. Likes dragons

nova, mars and zaria. mars just a little bit more though, very enthusiastic over animals, especially ones that are big and can kill you

23. Will laugh as they kill you

hhhhdg corvina mostly just to scare you but yeah

24. Would bake a cake for a friend who is sad

nova and zaria! nova keeps her friends well fed and loves cooking at random hours. zaria is pretty good at baking, for the most part, if only because she loves sweets.

25. Is the comforting one

a lot. alex, nova, noor and zaria.

zaria is a full on empath so she’d probably be the best at it.

26. Acts like they don’t care, but do

a few! but elena and corvina the most in their first season(s). corvina is a bit better at keeping up the facade though.

27. Loves children

roma!! she’s really good with her baby brother and other kids too!

28. Gets lost easily

talia and mars! talia with driving anywhere cause she prefers portals and mars trying to figure out all the twists and turns of hogwarts. she will probably be playfully upset w Harry for keeping the map to himself for so long 😆

29. Likes to work out

alex for sure!

30. Will sends meme in the group chat

a lot for sure but remy will send the most, sometimes she’ll only express her emotions with memes

31. Knows every song ever

probably my only fully formed singer oc audrey! she likes rock, indie and classical more but tries to keep up with every genre for the most part.

32. Likes socks

the first that came to mind was al! they have a collection of weird and funny socks, but remy has some pretty great ones too!

33. Can’t sleep without something special

noor can’t sleep without the lights on. usually dimmed but still light on always.

34. Has a sweet tooth

zaria!! no competition.

35. Has amazing hair

most of them probably?? but dessa and nova’s hairstyles are the ones i would want the most personally

hey!! i love you!!! thanks so much for the ask!!!

[aleteia-ff]

Do You Want to Train a Dragon? | Post-HTTYD3 One-shot

I wrote another Haddock-family one-shot! This one takes place before my other one-shot, Chasing the Western Wind, and this time around we meet Zephyr and Nuffink when they are 16 and 14. What they are up to? Well, the kind of stupid thing teenagers tend to be up to. 

The title and opening paragraph are obviously inspired by Frozen. 

Do You Want to Train a Dragon?

“Zeph. Zeph, wake up!”

Lazily, Zephyr Haddock opened her eyes, finding her younger brother sitting on her bed, on top of her, with nothing but a candle in his hand. His blonde hair looked messed up, as if he’d only just jumped out of bed himself. Only the small braids their mom had made in it were still somewhat intact. His green eyes had a sense of urgency in them as he looked down at her.

“Nuff, what in Thor’s name are you doing?” she moaned.

“Listen,” he told her, holding up his finger.

She furrowed her brows, taking in the sounds around them. It didn’t take long before she noticed what her brother was talking about. It came from downstairs.

“Oh gods. Dad’s snoring like a Thunderdrum again,” she moaned, pulling the covers over her ears. She usually slept through it just fine, but if she was ever unlucky enough to wake up in the middle of the night, falling back asleep was a challenge on its own.

Nuffink didn’t give her any rest though, pulling her blanket back down. “Which means?”

“Mom and dad have been drinking with their friends, probably,” she added.

“So dad’s completely out, and mom likely won’t hear anything,” Nuffink smiled, almost jumping up on her bed.

“What are you getting at?” she frowned, trying to figure out what was so urgent her brother had woken her.  

Nuffink rolled his eyes. “Geez, sis, I thought you were the clever one. This was your plan, after all.”

A smile appeared on her face as she finally realized what Nuffink was talking about. She sat up, instantly awake. She put her hands on her brother’s shoulders, looking sternly at him. “Alright, Nuff.” Her smile widened. “Do you want to train a dragon?”

Nuffink gave her a smile back. “Thought you’d never ask.”

They jumped out of her bed, giggling and chuckling as they gathered their stuff, pausing in between their father’s snores. Finally, they climbed out of the window, out into the moonlight and towards New Berk’s docks.

“Wow, they actually made it out of the harbour this time.”

“Thanks, Tuff, I hadn’t seen that yet,” Hiccup sarcastically remarked. They were standing on the cliff overlooking New Berk’s docks. It looked the same as it did on every other morning, except for one thing. His ship was missing.

“Must mean you’re getting old, Chief,” the male Thorston twin added. “If they managed to sneak off like this.”

“Believe me, I’ve noticed,” he grumbled. Then, to no one in particular: “Some people lose their knife or their mug. But no, not me. I lose my 16-year old daughter and my 14-year old son.”

“Well, if you ever need any parenting advice, baby-sitter extraordinaire Tuffnut LaVerne Thorston is at your service.”

He gave Tuffnut an unamused stare. “Do I need to remind you, Tuff, that it was your nephew who was on guard duty last night?”

Tuffnut put his hands up in the air, feigning innocence. “Hey, he’s sixteen and totally in love with your girl, while she hardly notices him. You can’t put that on the poor guy.”

“Yeah, Chief, do we need to remind you of all the time you spent swooning over Astrid?” a voice added from behind him. He turned around, finding Snotlout and Astrid walking over to them.

“No, Snot, I don’t think you need to,” his wife – gods, even after all those years of marriage, being able to call her that made his heart accelerate – remarked, intertwining her fingers with his and pressing a kiss to his cheek.

“I take it they weren’t in the village either?” he asked rhetorically, squeezing her hand. “Given that our ship is gone.”

“Well, at least we’re pretty sure where they’ve gone,” Astrid pondered, biting her lower lip.  

“I just don’t understand why they keep trying,” he frowned. “We visit Toothless multiple times a year, and they always get to come along. Why would they go on their own?”

“Same reason you always did everything your dad told you not to,” Astrid smiled.

He rolled his eyes at her. That wasn’t exactly what he needed to hear right now. “So does that mean they should just get away with things like this?”

“Oh, absolutely not,” she laughed. “We’re going to drag them back here and after we’ve done that, they’ll be grounded for a long time. Or well, for as long as you can prevent Zephyr from wrapping you around her finger again.”

“Thanks for reminding everyone I still haven’t grown a backbone after sixteen years,” he pouted.

“And when it comes to her, I doubt you ever will,” she teased.

“Anyways,” he continued, frowning at Astrid as Snotlout and Tuffnut snickered behind his back. “Do you want to go after them? Or should I? I’m not sure if it’s a good idea if we’re both gone unexpectedly.”

“Oh, come on, Chief,” Tuffnut butted in. “It’s not like the village will burn down if the two of you aren’t here.”

He pulled up one of his eyebrows. “Given that you and Ruff are still around, I’m not so sure.”

“Pff,” Snotlout scoffed. “As if Ruffnut even has time to cause mayhem. If anything, it’s her twins you should be worried about.”

“And I wonder who taught them how to become the next earthly embodiments of Loki,” Astrid remarked.

“That would be none other than yours truly.” Tuffnut took a deep and overexaggerated bow.

“Which is my point exactly,” Hiccup concluded.

“Seriously though, Hiccup, we can handle it,” Snotlout countered. “Even if you don’t trust us, your mom’s still feisty enough for her age to put us back in line.”

“Snotlout, for the last time, one more word about my mom –” he started.

“Just go already.” Snotlout rolled his eyes. “You won’t convince any of us you two don’t want to see Toothless and Stormfly too. Take my ship if you want to, Hookie flew by here just the other month, so I don’t need to go anywhere for now.”

He looked at Astrid then, finding her gazing back at him. Their agreement didn’t have to be spoken. They’d take any chance they got to see their dragons.

“I suppose we’ll start packing then,” he decided, nodding to their friends. “Thanks, Snotlout.”

They’d been at sea for a few days already, but things couldn’t be better. They were close, Zephyr couldn’t be more sure of it. Her dad had been teaching her to make maps for years. How to read the stars and the movement of the sun, along with how to make the get the most out of the tide and the wind. She’d used everything he’d taught her to make her own map the last few times they’d sailed out, detailing the route towards the Hidden World. But this was the first time she actually had to use it. And the first time she was sailing for multiple days without her father.

She was standing at the front of their family’s ship, taking in the horizon in front of them and shouting something to Nuffink every now and then, who was always quick to adjust the sails, although she still needed to help him out every now and then. Her little brother could be a brat, but when it came to things like these, things he knew she was good at, he usually listened to her.

She took a deep breath, taking in the salty smell of the ocean. There was nothing that could beat this feeling. The wind in her hair, making her long auburn braid trail behind her. The sound of the waves crashing beneath her as their ship cleaved through it. How the weather could suddenly change, the waves picking up, challenging you to conquer them. And she was always glad to take on that challenge.

The only feeling that came close to beating it, was that of being on the back of a dragon. Flying. She’d loved that ever since her mom and dad had first taken them to the Hidden World to meet their dragons. But as the years had gone by, she couldn’t help but start to feel conflicted about it as well. Her dad had been the one to create that, a tribe of Vikings riding on the backs of dragons until they were forced to part, for the sake of the dragons’ safety. And she was next in line to him.

How was she supposed to beat that? How would people come to respect her as Chieftess, if she couldn’t at least live up to her father’s legacy? The man who had resolved the longest war Berk had ever known, had led them through the wars that came afterwards and had finally helped them rebuild their lives so close to the edge of the known world? Her father was a great man. And she didn’t know if she could ever become as great as him.

Which is why she needed to do this. And Nuffink had been happy to come along, always eager to go an adventures and jumping into them head-first. He never backed down from anything, and when she’d offered him the challenge to sneak away from their parents, he’d instantly gone for it. They’d been caught in the act several times, but he hadn’t relented, seizing the opportunity that had presented itself to them several days ago.

Their plan was simple, really. Sail to the Hidden World. Find a dragon. And train it. They’d rode on Toothless, Stormfly and Cloudjumper – on those occasions that grandma felt fit enough to come along – many times before, but they’d been trained by others. They already knew how to listen to their riders and how to keep them safe. Training a wild dragon from scratch, that was something different. And they – she – needed to prove to Berk she could do that too. Not just her father.

“What dragon do you want to go for, Fin?” she asked her brother, who was leaning over the ship’s edge, his eyes peering into the water.

“I don’t really care, as long as it’s awesome,” he beamed. “A Monstrous Nightmare, maybe. Or a Deadly Nadder.”

“Like mom’s?” She pulled up an eyebrow.

“Yeah,” he nodded. “Stormfly always seems cool. Why? What’s wrong with Nadders?”

“I don’t know,” she shrugged. “I just wouldn’t want the same kind of dragon as mom. Or dad. I want something different. Something new. A Boneknapper maybe. Or a Slitherwing…” She trailed off into thought. She couldn’t simply do what anyone they knew had done before. Which eliminated quite some dragon species already, but the Hidden World had enough of them to choose from.

They sailed on for a bit and she spent some time scribbling, studying the movement of the sun. Every now and then, she dropped something small into the sea, watching it float away and taking notes on the current. It was intriguing to her how the currents seemed to flow one way close to New Berk, and another here. It had made her start to envision the ocean as an intricate system of flows, rather than one big puddle of still water. And she couldn’t wait to explore every corner of it.

“Zephyr,” Nuffink suddenly called. She looked up from her sketchbook, urged on by the fact that he had called her with her full name. “Do you hear that?”

For a bit, she heard nothing but the waves as they crashed against their ship. But then, another sound started to fill her ears. That of falling water.

“We made it!” She jumped up, running to the front of the boat. In the distance, she now saw it too. A border of rocks, shrouded in mist. Undoubtedly the edge of the waterfall that led into the Hidden World.

They pulled up the sails, slowing down the boat until it softly bumped against the stone shore. After they let down the anchor, she grabbed her sword and jumped off first, her feet landing in the shallow water as she made her way up onto the rocks. Nuffink threw a rope towards her and she agilely bound it around one of the higher boulders, securing the ship. She offered her brother her hand, but he jumped off on his own, excitedly swinging his axe as he did.

Now they stood there together, at the edge of their world, looking down into the Hidden one. They couldn’t see anything but endless streams of water pouring down into it.

“Mom’s going to kill us,” Nuffink remarked as he leant forward, trying to get a better look at their target.

“Are you scared, baby brother?” she quipped.

“No,” he smiled, looking at her with his green eyes. “I’ll just tell her this was your idea.”

“You’re such a snitch,” she smiled before looking down once more. This was it. They could do this.

“Alright,” she continued, turning around and slowly lowering herself onto the next layer of rocks. “Like it or not, but I’m still taller and stronger than you are. So stay behind me.”

Nuffink pouted but then nodded after all, slowly following her as she continued to make her way downward, trying her best to hold on to the slippery stones. Moving step by step, she slowly grew more confident, enjoying the way the mist made her skin feel damp and her bangs stick to her face. Her dad had had his breakthrough with dragons when he was only fifteen. This was going to be hers.

They went lower and lower, until the edge disappeared from sight. They had already caught the shadows of a few dragons, who either hadn’t noticed their presence or were unbothered by it. But as she paused on a larger ledge, waiting for her brother to reach her, she spotted a big, black shadow. It came right at her, the accompanying high-pitched sound leaving no doubt about its identity.

“Toothless!” she yelled, watching her father’s Night Fury’s green eyes appear, focusing on her. “Toothless, no!”

But the dragon didn’t listen to her. It went straight for her, grabbing her with his front legs and yanking her up as he used his hind legs to push himself off the rock wall. They shot straight up, back into the sky. She yelled and struggled, hoping the dragon would somehow drop her. But he didn’t release her until her feet touched down on the edge, making her fall to her hands and knees as he let her go.

The black dragon landed next to her, his green eyes watching her as the Light Fury put Nuffink back where they seemed to feel they belonged. She balled her fists, shooting the Night Fury an angry look. “Why, Toothless? Why did you have to ruin it?”

He gave her an apologetic warble, his big eyes looking at her as he softly pushed his snout against her cheek.

“Yeah, thanks for nothing, you useless reptile,” she told him, her eyes still set on the hole in front of them. She couldn’t let it end this way. She had to prove herself.

She waited until Toothless turned towards Nuffink and the Light Fury to see if they were okay. Then she got up to her feet, sprinting towards the edge of the rocks. As she reached it, she leapt.

She heard Toothless roar loudly, her brother screaming her name as she fell. But she didn’t fall for long. Three shapes shot out from between the waterfalls, one of them swiftly grabbing her and putting her back down next to Toothless.

The three now fully-grown Night Lights – her dad had called the crossbreeds that due to a lack of inspiration – landed next to them, proudly looking towards their parents as she scrambled back up to her feet, yelling loudly in frustration. “Fuck!” She threw her balled fists up in the air, intending to punch the gods. “Fuck. Fuck. Fuck!”

Tears welling up in her eyes, she let herself fall to the ground, sitting down on the stones beneath her feet. Toothless curled up around her, his big eyes looking at her as she leant back against him and buried her face in his scales, softly pounding her fist against the dragon. She wasn’t mad at him. She was just mad at herself. They’d failed. She’d failed.

“Hiccup, you really have to stop playing around with your prosthetic. You’ll break it one of these days.”

“Don’t tell me you’re not at least slightly worried either,” Hiccup shot back as he reattached his prosthetic to his left leg. “As much as I love it when you play with my hair, I am starting to get the feeling you’re just using me as a distraction.”

“Busted,” Astrid smiled as she leant her head on his shoulder, the two of them sitting on the deck of Snotlout’s boat.

He put his arm around her waist, pulling her closer against him. “I just hope they’re okay.”

“They will be, right? Zephyr’s at least as good a navigator as you are, and Fin’s smart enough to get himself out of most situations,” she murmured, sounding more like she was trying to reassure herself than him.

“I’m not worried about them getting there. But about what they are planning when they do,” he thought out loud, pressing a kiss to the top of her head.

“Toothless will be there. He always is. And he adores those two as much as we love his kids. He’ll take care of them.”

“I know, it’s just…” He sighed. “I wonder if we made the right choice, in not letting them have any dragons of their own.”

“They’ll understand someday,” she reassured him.

In the distance, a faint sound could be heard. That of a waterfall. “Looks like we’re here,” Astrid remarked as she got up to her feet, pulling him up with her.

The first thing they saw was their own boat, floating around in the water. Then, through the mist, a set of figures appeared. A Light Fury, intently watching their visitors approach. And next to her, a Night Fury, lazing on the rocks with both of the Haddock children leaning against him, whose faces instantly contracted as they caught sight of their parents. But he couldn’t be any more relieved to see the two of them safe and sound.

Trying to remain strict nevertheless, he helped Astrid dock the boat, jumping off it and walking up to the two of them. They almost visibly cringed as he looked down at them, kneeling in front of Toothless’ face before giving them what was coming for them. He took the dragon’s head in his hands, softly pressing his forehead against his, speaking to him as one father to another. “Thanks for looking after them, bud.”

Toothless gave him an understanding warble as he got back up, looking sternly at Zephyr and Nuffink. Nuffink instantly moved, pointing at his sister. “It was her idea!”

Zephyr’s elbow landed in his stomach and he winced. Hiccup looked down at his son. “You’re old enough not to let your sister talk you into things.” He pointed behind him, where Astrid was watching from the boat, giving Nuffink the kind of look only a mother could give her son. Nuffink spotted it too, his green eyes turning bigger in fear. “Your mother would like to have a word with you.”

Nuffink seemed to deliberate in his head for a minute, wondering if there was a way to get out of this. Seemingly realizing there absolutely wasn’t one, he got up to his feet, walking past his father with his head held low.

Supressing a little smile, he sat down in Nuffink’s spot, leaning back against Toothless as he looked down at his daughter. “Care to start explaining yourself?”

“Not really,” Zephyr answered, looking at her feet and fidgeting with her hands.

“Well, we’re not leaving until you’ve told me why you thought sneaking out at night with your brother was a good idea. Because it absolutely isn’t. After all, if you’d wanted to see Toothless and his family, you could’ve just asked.”

“It’s not like you’d understand,” she bit, still not looking up at him.

Teenagers. “Give it a shot.”

She stayed silent for a minute before something akin to an answer came out of her mouth. “I just wanted to train a dragon too.”

“And why exactly did you think I would not understand that?” he laughed. “I did the same thing for years.”

“Because you and mom won’t let us.”

The accusing tone in her voice was clear as day. “Zephyr, we’ve talked about this…” More than once, actually. “You know what we tell every sailor or trader that visits New Berk, saying that they’ve heard stories of Berkians flying dragons.”

“We’ve never heard of such a thing. Dragons are just a big part of our tribe’s folk tales. As far as we know, they don’t exist,” she quoted the lines that’d been taught to her since she’d first learnt that dragons were real.

“Exactly,” he nodded. “They have to stay here, because as much as I wish it could be, New Berk is not safe for them. Not yet.”

“But it doesn’t make sense, dad,” Zephyr sighed. “I mean, Toothless is always here to protect the Hidden World, but other dragons visit us all the time, staying out of sight of those that shouldn’t know. Stormfly, Hookfang, Cloudjumper, all of them. Then why can’t Fin and I have dragons too?”

“Because I don’t want you two to have to go through the same amount of hurt your mother and I did,” he admitted. He’d never stated that reason before, hoping he wouldn’t have to talk about it. But Zephyr was getting too inquisitive. And restless.

She looked up at him then. “What do you mean?”

He sighed, reaching behind him and softly petting Toothless. “Dragons weren’t just the creatures we rode around on. To each and every one of us, they were our best friends. And parting with them, no longer waking up to their presence every day, it’s the hardest thing your mom and I have had to do.”

Her big blue eyes turned questioning as she gazed at him, demanding a further explanation.

“You love your brother right, and your friends?” he asked. She nodded. “Imagine spending all these years with them, going on all the crazy adventures Berk still talks about. And then suddenly having to live this far away from them.”

“I’d miss them a lot,” Zephyr agreed.

“And so did we. It took your mom and I years to get over that, and, looking back on it now, it wasn’t until you and your brother came into our lives that we somewhat did. And, to be honest, I still don’t think we’re fully over it,” he told her.

She stayed silent then, seemingly thinking it over.

“But I just want to be more like you, dad,” a small voice eventually told him. “I want to be able to fly too. To go on all those adventures you’ve been on. To prove myself.”

He pulled her closer then, hugging his daughter tightly. “And I wish you could. You don’t want to know how often I imagined it when I was younger. Marrying your mom and eventually teaching our children how to fly.”

“Well, at least the first part of that worked out,” she softly joked.

“Hey, you can fly Toothless, Stormfly and Cloudjumper just fine,” he pointed out.

“But I haven’t trained my own dragon,” Zephyr countered, her voice turning softer again.

“But do you understand why your mom and I would rather you didn’t?” he asked. “Because, as much as I wish I could, I can’t promise you that you will ever be able to really be with them, that the world will be safe enough for dragons and Vikings to reunite. In my lifetime, or the next.” He sighed. “It makes me afraid that, as lovely and great as it’d be at first, you’d only end up getting hurt in the long run. As you’d have to always be apart from someone who’s likely to become your best friend.”

He looked into his daughter’s eyes. “And as your father, I will do everything I can to prevent you from getting hurt.”

Zephyr stayed silent for a moment, looking out across the ocean as she seemed to think things over. “I understand,” she finally responded, and he could feel his heart become lighter almost instantly. “But I just don’t know what else I should do with my life.”

He laughed softly. “You’re sixteen, you don’t have to know yet. You’ve got years to figure it out. For now, just spend your time on what you love. For me, that happened to be dragons. But it doesn’t have to be the same for you.”

“Sailing,” was the only word that came out of her mouth in response, a smile spreading across her face. “That’s what I love to do.”

“Then I will take you on many more fishing trips when we get back to New Berk,” he reassured her. It was one of the things they usually did together. Zephyr loved the ocean, and he was still learning how to navigate in a boat to the extent he’d been able to from a dragon’s back. And he always loved to involve her that.

“I’d like that,” his daughter agreed.

“But first,” he continued. “You’re grounded. I don’t know what exact terms your mother has come up with, but I’m sure she’ll be happy to fill you in once she’s done with Fin.”

“But dad –”

He shook his head, getting up. “No ‘but’s. Next time you want to go somewhere, you ask me first. Whether you like it or not, I’m still your father. So you have to listen to me. To prevent me from worrying too much about you and your brother.”

Zephyr glared daggers at him, using the blue eyes she’d gotten from her mother to do so. He gave her a what-can-you-do kind of smile as he nudged Toothless, getting on the dragon’s back and holding his hand out to her. “So did you want to go flying or not?”

Her stare intensified for a moment before she relaxed, reluctantly taking her father’s hand and getting behind him on the Night Fury. Then, the two of them shot off into the sky.

[takaraphoenix]

I watched Killjoys season 4! Here’s a few thoughts:

Part of me is very not okay with the fact that next season will be the last, but the other part of me - the one who got all her shows short-notice canceled in the past few years - is actually very pleased that they announced it’d end after season 5 two seasons ago, meaning they will finish the plot this whole show is set around and once that’s over, the show ends. Seriously, I’ve seen so many shows canceled too early and so many shows overstay their welcome by wrapping up the main plot and awkwardly tagging shit on.

I actually liked Jaq. Which is a huge surprise! “Oops we made a baby but since literally no one ever wants to watch the main characters change diapers for the next two seasons, we’ll ~magically age the kid up~” is literally the most tired and annoying plotline in existence. Usually resulting in an absolutely agitating child character that I’d just rather not have around. But Jaq is actually cool and adorable?

Totally loved that D’avin Delle Seyah dynamic of awkward co-parenting. Fuck, that was surprisingly hilarious, I did not expect that.

I... liked... Pip? How fucking dare you, making me like him and then taking him away...? I am not okay with that.

Lucy and Johnny are still the best thing about this show though, hands down. Their banter, their dynamics, both those characters. I love them so very, very much.

I’m happy that Gared got to do some more than just be Pree’s husband. I like him, he’s like an oversized puppy.

Pree was, as always, absolutely fabulously amazing. But Pree as a stand-in-Killjoy was delightful. I love him very much, which yes I keep saying - because the character-design and the writing is absolutely superb on this show. They’re all so lovable and amazing and unique and I love that so very, very much about this show.

Okay, no, I lied. I don’t like every character on the show. I still don’t like Aneela and I don’t get why Dutch suddenly does and cares so much about her. Like. I really, really don’t. My extend of caring is that I crave wlw ships and she and Delle Seyah are really hot together, so my lesbian brain goes “mh, hot evil ladies making hot evil lady love. Me likey”. What can I say, I’m a weak lesbian, don’t judge.

I enjoy how Turin had some real arc there this season, about caring and it legit brought me some tears to my eyes when he lost his guy. Damn it.

Zeph had a lot to do this season and it was great. She started off as just an awkward female nerd to counter Johnny a bit, but she got so important at this point - and not forcibly so but naturally, it was great. Also, lemme repeat: I am not okay with Pip dying.

Okay, so, there’s two things I disliked this season.

I disliked that they killed Aneela/Dutch’s mom. I really hate this kind of writing. The “the father is an important character to the main character, but the mom’s just not mentioned/already dead. And if we bring her in, we can kill her off” (The Dragon Prince, Aladdin, Tarzan, Beauty and the Beast, Merlin, Atlantis, so so so many more, seriously this is such a huge problem). Women are just the tools by which the kids are born and, conveniently enough, they can just straight-up die giving birth or some other ~mysterious unmentioned-until-needed-as-filler-plot way~. I’m legit very tired of that.

And also the very finale. One of the things I love so dearly about this show is that it had a purely platonic love between a man and a woman. Johnny and Dutch had such a pure, amazing friendship. Straights never do that. If A Man and A Woman are friends, then they either have hooked up in the past, are currently pining for each other, or will inevitably end up together. With Johnny and Dutch, they made it so clear from first episode on that Johnny sees Dutch as his sister and finds the thought of sleeping with her ew and I was happy to get a show with a pure m-f-friendship. And now they had to go memory-wiped!Johnny/Dutch. That was... so unnecessary and is really frustrating.

Aside from those two hiccups, I thoroughly enjoyed this season. It was straight-forward, plot-driven, had no unnecessary filler side-quests, was focused, but not overly crowded and forced, it had enough time to give good character development and make new, interesting dynamics happen.

The biggest plus they earned was by introducing daddy Jaqobis. And not giving him a shitty, half-assed redemption arc. It’s something I’ve grown very weary and tired of lately; abusive parents gaining undeserved forgiveness from their children and the parent-child-dynamic being romantized into “but they’re your parent. You wouldn’t want to part in anger, you should talk it out and seek a good relationship with them!”. No. No, you do not owe neglective or abusive parents jackshit. That this didn’t end in such a thing but that the dad was the piece of shit we heard of and is still the piece of shit and that neither of the boys forgave it and hugged it out was utterly satisfying there.

Also the way they addressed abuse in general, in the fight D’avin and Dutch had. We have one abuse survivor who wants to break the circle and wants to do everything in his powers to protect his own child from any form of abuse and we have the other abuse survivor who lives in deep denial about the abuse she suffered and isn’t even aware that she is partaking in a circle. I wish they would have made the talk D’avin and Dutch had upon reuniting some longer to hash it out a little more, but I’m happy that they so very openly put words to what happened to Dutch, because most shows would have handled it like Dutch - and just shrugged it off.

[thelegendofnym]

Sacha and Brehnon Horses

Had time to sketch a little today. Here is Zeph and another character named Sacha. She hasn't been introduced in the story yet, but she is a halfling (half Brehnon half regular horse). While she does not have the ability to speak Nordic or elvish (or any other comprehensible humanic languages) she can understand it. She is very intelligent and full of spunky personality. She also retained some healing magic from her Brehnon blood.

I'll also take this time to explain how the Brehnon race is regarded throughout the lands of Coiyia.

Brehnon horses are not very common anywhere that's not in an elvish land. The further north you go, the more sparse in numbers they are. While they are not necessarily considered a "people" or civilization, they are acknowledged as intelligent beings, like dragons and unicorns are. In elvish religion, a prominent figure known as The Guide was a Brehnon horse. The Guide's role was to lead Aultosh (basically elven Jesus) along her godly quest to liberate the Elves from Sairith reign (Sairiths were an ancient race that have long since mysteriously disappeared). Needless to say, Brehnons are very highly regarded by the elves. Traditional families even go as far as to 'bond' their children with a Brehnon foal. This happens once the elvish child has reached the age of 15 years (be mindful that Elves have very elongated lives, the equivillant in human age would be about 5-6). Once the bond is struck, the Brehnon and the Elf are companions for life.

Elven law strictly states that Brehnons are not to be used as battle mounts, and to ride an unwilling Brehnon is punishable by execution. These beings are very highly respected by the Elven lands. It is not uncommon in southern cities to see open street taverns that invite traveling Brehnons for some food and drink. Most southern travel ships are constructed with cabins designed to harbor Brehnons, and even the doorways to buildings are made big enough and easy enough for the big creatures to maneuver through.

However, the farther north in the lands, the more Brehnon horses become mere fairytale. The average Nordic farmers from the far northern mountains may have only heard of such creatures in stories their mothers once told to urge them to sleep. Imagine how their surprise might be if a traveling Brehnon walks into town and asks for directions. The north does not have any accommodations to suit the Brehnons, this and the fact that they are simply regarded as normal horses by northern people's. Until they start talking of course. And don't get me wrong, these creatures are very humble and kind, they generally don't think they are above any other living being, but I don't think you would like it if someone decided to lock you up in a barn and pretend like you weren't on the same intellectual level.

That being said, Brehnons can commune with ordinary horses, and while cross breeding is pretty rare, it does happen. Unfortunately, 95% of foals born due to cross breeding perish. This happens because there is a high conflict in mental and magical ability. And while their magical attributes focus on healing, the power alone is enough to cause a normal horses brain to fail. It is considered a miracle if a halfling is successfully bred, and survives into maturity, but they will always have some sort of handicap, such as Sacha here, who cannot speak.

I think that concludes now what I have to say about Brehnon horses. There's probably a lot I'm not saying but more will be posted in the days to come. Thank you for reading.

[2dtakeover]

The screener thumbnail of this episode was bananas! If you’ve seen the episode, which I’m sure you have if you’re reading this spoiler-filled review, you can imagine the exact shot they used. It was *through barely contained giggles* cheeky!

Now that I’ve gotten that bit immaturity out of my system, let’s breakdown this episode. So, ‘Junior’ gets quite an education on his outing with Auntie Dutch and we see that he has an instinctual intelligence that alerts him to danger toward himself and others around him. As he displayed in the last episode when he told Pip he’d be dead before he saw the Lady, we know he has a connection to her specifically. I’m very interested to find out how far his prescience goes because late in the episode he knew that the assassin was going to die before it happened. Since the assassin is connected to The Lady that still doesn’t shake my theory just yet.

Each story thread was high stakes this episode, both emotionally and plot-wise. Dutch and D’avin are on the same page about how to rear young Jaq (nee Osmit, nee Junior) until abruptly they’re not. Pree and Fancy begin their rescue op of Gared, and Zeph tries to save Pip’s life and mind but learns that his situation is far direr than she first thought.

https://twitter.com/wordyblerd/status/1033203886411137024

The arc of Dutch and D’avin’s conflict was the most compeling part of this episode. Just after they had that first dust up, wherein Dutch affirms to Jaq (and D’avin) that Jaqobi men never let her down, the love and bond were so strong that in the end when D’avin leaves the blow is felt all the more strongly.

Dutch does such an excellent job of being in control and allowing her morality and empathy to be fully seen, that D’av may forget that she’s been a killer since she was four, and her ideas of what training Jaq would look like might be reflective of this. How many times did a tiny Yalena shrink back from some gruesome act that Khlyen wanted her to witness or perpetrate only to have him reach out lightning quick and force her to watch or participate?

The irony is that D’av and Dutch were stood on opposite ends of this argument in episode 201, “Dutch and the Real Girl.” D’av suggested that Khlyen was not her enemy and he was protecting her from her real enemies. At the time Dutch was appalled he’d even shape his mouth to say such a thing. He had made her into a weapon and she was murderously angry about it. Flash forward to this season, and the mere suggestion that he’d abused her stops Dutch right in her tracks. D’av puts a pin in Dutch’s behavior by saying, “What happened to you was messed up but I will not let you repeat that cycle not to my son and not to you.” He recognizes that she has the potential to fall into the abuser spiral and understands that allowing her to fully inhabit the mind and tactics of Khlyen would not only damage Jaq but it would damage her soul even further. Whew! This show gets deep.

I have enjoyed watching the adorkable romance between Zeph and Pip. I need him to survive. Zeph’s sadness and determination to fix this unfixable problem remind me of when she was confronted with the truth of Dutch’s origins in episode 308, “Heist, Heist Baby” and simply said, “This is not ok.” I hope that this storyline will be wrapped up with similar success because I’m simply not ready to see a devastated Zeph or say goodbye to my favorite chatty little weirdo, Pip.

Fancy and Pree’s interactions this episode really demonstrate how mixing and matching the ensemble can bring new colors out of characters. It was fun contrasting the way Fancy behaved with Gared, a loveable softy, next to how he relates to Pree, a hardass like him. They work in concert to intimidate the hell out of that hullen collaborator and seem to be having a really good time doing it. That was a great scene.

This is a hair shorter than past reviews but Dragon Con preparation is afoot, so you know how that is. Check out the promo shots below for a sneak peek of the next episode!

Final Thoughts

I want an in-story explanation for why Jaq has the personality he has. I wish he and Pip had been watching TV (or whatever the Killjoys equivalent is) because he’s gone far beyond just cognition; he speaks in colloquialism and in general acts like a 15-year-old that had a normal childhood in this world not a 2 day old hyper-aged baby. I much prefer this to an alien cluelessness I just wish there was an explanation for it.

I like how each side of the war is in their enemy’s stronghold.

Another phenomenal heated conflict between Dutch/D’avin (Drink!)

Golden Lines

“He can never say anything point blank, huh? It’s always gotta be a stabby clue wrapped in a lethal fairytale.”

“How’d it get in there?” | “Oh uhhh my guess, eyes, ears, nose, mouth… I suppose there are other options but it’s a longer route to the brain…”

“Look, he’s my memory nephew/brother/son, he might be a natural.”

  Next week on Killjoys…

KILLJOYS — “O Mother, Where Art Thou?” Episode 407 — Pictured: Rob Stewart as Khlyen — (Photo by: Ian Watson/Killjoys IV Productions Limited/SYFY)

KILLJOYS — “O Mother, Where Art Thou?” Episode 407 — Pictured: Thom Allison as Pree — (Photo by: Ian Watson/Killjoys IV Productions Limited/SYFY)

KILLJOYS — “O Mother, Where Art Thou?” Episode 407 — Pictured: Hannah John-Kamen as Dutch — (Photo by: Ian Watson/Killjoys IV Productions Limited/SYFY)

Killjoys 4×06 “Baby, Face Killer” Review The screener thumbnail of this episode was bananas! If you’ve seen the episode, which I’m sure you have if you’re reading this spoiler-filled review, you can imagine the exact shot they used.

[zeph0r]

Vorgoth is everyones Veilguard 'hear me out', right?

[zeph0r]

Oct 01 - Introduce your Hero of Ferelden

Sianann Louise Cousland, indulged youngest child of Teyrn Bryce and Teyrna Eleanor Cousland of Highever. Fergus, the eldest, was destined to take over the Teyrnir; so Sianann was kind of left to her own devices (within reason). Somewhat a tomboy as a child, she showed aptitude for swordplay so Bryce nudged her into training, much to Eleanor's feigned dismay. Eleanor got her own back by making sure her only daughter was well versed in etiquette and history, because well, swords are effective but are nothing without the smarts. Sianann was happy in the in-between, happiest when riding a horse or reading a book or spending time with her dog (chosen by her brother as a birthday gift, trained to perfection with motivation via cheese). She had a childhood crush on Nathaniel Howe, an adult crush on Ser Gilmore, and the crush of her life coming down around her that night her family was murdered. The shock of what happened and her naivety and the weight of the Cousland surname and the whirlwind of events that lead to her being married and crowned in Denerim feels like a fever dream. She ended up starting a pedigree mabari breeding program sort of unintentionally, Faolan was always a calming anchor in her life, and it was sort of like therapy for her to create a line of whip-smart wardogs that could spend their downtime thinking they were actually spoiled lapdogs. When the fog cleared, she took herself off to learn as much as she could about the Wardens from the Wardens. She took to it like a duck to water, and became the Ferelden Warden Commander.

[zeph0r]

<insert joke here>

[zeph0r]

Actually, while I'm at it

why are my conversation options nice, jokey, or mum? why can i not speak to my companions to get to know them better or know quite literally anything about them beyond what they talk to someone else about while i'm walking past or standing 3m in front of them? why am i meant to give a shit about why they are there beyond "faction helper"? why can i not just walk in to my li's room and be like "oh hey hi just popping in for a cuppa and a cheeky handhold"? why the hell do i have a chaise longue instead of a bloody bed when i have a whole-ass wardrobe and a fucking coffee machine in my room? why can't i clean the fucking fish tank windows or drop a couple of fade-plecos in there to do it for me?

[zeph0r]

god dude, same

[zeph0r]

Probably the best screenshot I have of Verity so far. It's interesting on PC. Unlike the other games, [prt scr] is only useful for one screenshot at a time that you have to paste into mspaint or whatever; the screenshots folder seems like it's only designed for photomode which isn't usable in cutscenes by the looks of things. Not super happy with that, Jan.

[zeph0r]

Oct 31 - Introduce your Rook

I have a couple, so, I guess this is the speedrun version: Verity Thorne, Grey Warden, warrior, human. Youngest child of farmers, she grew up on hard farm work, Andrastianism, and fairytale stories of The Rebel Queen and the Hero of Ferelden. Sunshiney over-achieving people-pleaser horse-girl. Liesbeth Ingellvar, Mourn Watch, rogue or mage, human or elf. Found in a tomb, prefers to spend her time in the relative calm and quiet reading and tending to the dead, the living often feel like too much work. Extremely analytical overthinker, with an ever present need to know the 'why' in order to carefully consider all outcomes and find the middleground. Not slow or hesitant to trust, but it's only handed out to those who prove worthy of it.

Alejandra de Riva, Antivan Crow, rogue, human. Forgotten middle-child from a noble family, joined in order to make a life for herself borne of her want of choices and internalised rage. Snarky and disdainful to authority, she will always be front and center to fight for anyone that is being punched down on.

I'm also percolating on a dwarven Lords of Fortune character, but I don't really have much on her yet. Guess we'll have to wait and see who wins the battle for 'canon character'.

[zeph0r]

Welp, finished Trespasser. I'm gonna punch The Egg so hard. Like, proper hard. Right in the dick.