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kingdomofred · 2 months

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Burn & Burn Again (Male Yandere!Writer x GN!Reader)

feat. Sun Vasileiou Nevrakis

♡ pt.0, approx. 2.5k words | next.

♡ post-specific warnings: reader is slightly self-depreciating, very short innuendos | series warnings: yandere themes, reader is a horrendous flirt

♡ a/n: this is purely a work of fiction. yandere behaviour in real life is a cause of concern. unedited, not proofread.

♡♡♡

You'd finally gotten a break, spiralling down a rabbit hole trying to find something to entertain yourself with. The snow fell in blankets outside and you sat huddled on your mattress. A mug of black tea had long since gone cold on the bedside table. It'd been a few hours since you picked up your phone, watching videos, searching random things, stumbling across old forums. Nothing was interesting you, and you were dying to find something to busy yourself with before evening turned to night and you'd be left with the feeling of wasting away what little moments of reprieve you had from the hustle and bustle of your life.

Just as you were getting ready to give up and spend the rest of your time staring at the wall wallowing about your poor decision-making, something caught your eye. A brightly coloured thumbnail on your browser's news section. The headline seemed compelling enough so you clicked on the article and skimmed through it. Apparently, to celebrate their coming anniversary, the publishing company Writermad would be holding an event in which a fan could partake in a one-on-one interview with bestselling author, S.V. Nevrakis.

You'd click away if you hadn't actually read any of his books — the whole selection process just seemed tedious and too much for someone as stressed as you — but you had read his books. They were damn good. That opinion wasn't yours alone either; the book sales, paired with the multiple movie adaptations and merchandise production all spoke for themselves. There hadn't been another author so renowned for their works since Larry Otter had been published and now that you were checking social media, almost everyone across your feed was buzzing about it.

You typed in the address of the official Writermad website where the online applications were open and read through the requirements there. Your eyes flicked over the screen once, twice. You were so tired. There were too many rules, practically a wall of text. The likelihood of you actually winning the interview chance was basically zero. It wasn't worth the effort.

A notification made your phone vibrate in your hand. Your best friend had sent you a link to a different article that covered the same topic, and then a series of keyboard smashes. You almost smiled. She was a bit of a bookworm, you'd always found that cute. She really liked S.V Nevrakis. You pictured what her reaction would be if she'd won, how she'd jump on you and squeal excitedly. Your smile dropped when you imagined how depressed she'd be if the lucky chance missed her. Maybe if you did enter, and at the possibility you got the place, you could give it to her. Just to make her happy. Odds of two against an indiscernable amount were still better than one, right?

With a sigh, you reply to her messages with a thumbs up emoji and start filling out one of the many long forms.

♡♡♡

"Here." A cute bear-shaped mug was placed in front of you on the coffee table. The petite hands that were wrapped around it prior tugged your phone from your grip. "Drink it while it's hot."

"Thanks, Bea." You smiled, then sniffled. The tea was scalding. It burnt your tongue on the way down, but your throat felt nice and warm, more tingly than scratchy like it had been for the majority of your cold. "Sorry for making you do all this on your day off," you looked away from her sheepishly, "I know you really wanted to hole up."

Bea cupped your cheeks and pulled your face back towards her. "You didn't make me do anything. I offered to come down." Even her stern voice was sweet. You didn't know what you did to deserve such a kind friend. "Plus, I can't just be sad about it forever," she moved to sit down next to you on the sofa, features falling with a sigh, "one out of however many million applied. I barely stood a chance."

"Bea..." you trailed off, and let her lean against your side. You were back on your phone, refreshing your emails again and again. You were terrible at comforting people, but you really wanted to make her happy somehow. Your brows furrowed. You understood that announcing the winner last was to keep tension high about the whole event, but it was beginning to get on your nerves. It had already been two weeks, all the rejections should have been sent by now. You hadn't recieved anything. There was still a chance. You just needed something good to pop-up in your emails.

"I mean, it'd have been really cool to see Nevrakis in real life. He doesn't even do interviews normally, he's really private. No one even knows what he looks like! Do you think-"

"Bea." You cut her off, eyes not leaving your screen.

"I know, I know, I'm rambling and you're getting bored but-"

"No! Bea, look." You shoved your phone in her face, open on a colourful email that started with a bold 'Congratulations!'.

"Oh." Bea blinked. Then, she snatched your phone up and held it right up to her eyes. "Oh! Y/N, you won! You actually won! You're gonna get to meet Nevrakis! You're gonna interview him!" She smacked your shoulder excitedly. You smiled through your wince, happy to see her spirits lifted.

"You can go instead of me."

"What?" Bea stopped hitting you and looked at you with her shiny eyes before shaking her head. "No, I can't do that Y/N, you won this for yourself."

"I want you too." You shrugged, making to lean back on the sofa cooly and being interrupted by the sudden urge to sneeze. "Sorry." You apologise quickly and get up to wash your hands. Bea follows you. "Anyway, I'm not even that interested in Nevrakis."

"That's not true!" She retorts, voice almost a whine. "You've read all his books. I've seen you."

"Because they're good books," you dry your hands, and chuckle before continuing, "you forced me to read the first one, remember? Otherwise I wouldn't have got the hype."

Bea huffed and waddled after you as you went back to the living room to finish your tea. "Still. Literally everyone would want to be in your shoes right now, you can't give up on going just so I can."

"Bea," you sigh and turn to her, hands grabbing her shoulders to focus her attention on you fully, "you're my best friend. It's okay."

"It's not okay!" Bea shook you in retaliation, "you're my best friend too. I'm not going to let you let go of a good opportunity! Look," she took a deep breath, and you knew that meant buckling in because she was going to be talking for a long while, "I'm not even sad anymore, you going is practically me going. Wait, wait, let me get a pen and paper to write down some of the questions I want you to ask him for me..."

♡♡♡

Through the series of events that took place over the last few weeks, you'd finally ended up outside a fancy hotel for your interview. You were bundled up in your warmest clothes, courtesy Bea's need to always mother hen at you. Although, thanks to her attentive care, you'd fully recovered from your cold.

Walking into the grandiose lobby, you couldn't help but think the venue was only slightly suggestive. Still, you tried to keep your head out of the gutter and reason that a hotel was the obvious choice to ensure privacy and safety. You'd no doubt thousands of fans were lined up outside of various Writermad branches around the world right now, and it wasn't an option to give you the location of Nevrakis' actual home. Luckily, you didn't have to take a flight across the globe and it was only a somewhat inconvenient journey of a few hours.

You tried to be inconspicuous as you went through the motions and were directed upstairs by the staff. During the entire elevator ride to the seventh floor, you were wringing your hands nervously and mentally going over your list of questions. Bea had come up with most of it, but she pressured you to add in at least a few. Honestly, the only thing you were insanely curious about was how Nevrakis looked, because at this point it may have well been one of the seven mysteries of the world. The elevator pinged, open, and you stepped out.

You'd know soon enough.

After waltzing down the hallway to the door you'd been given the number of, you'd stood there motionless for a few seconds, head empty. You really needed to gain your bearings. Swallowing hard and exhaling, you lifted a shaky hand and knocked thrice.

Your breath hitched as not even a few seconds later, the door opened to the most ethereal man you'd ever been blessed to lay your eyes on. You weren't sure how someone could make a simple yellow hoodie look so good, but it matched the honey of his eyes and the streaks in his hair. He looked like the epitome of beauty, and he was staring at you through thick lashes that fluttered shyly.

"Um... are you here for the..." he didn't finish his sentence, but you assumed it was because you were scaring him with the intensity of your gaze. You tried to reign it in and not appear like a freak, but even his voice was pretty, you didn't know what to do with your treacherous heart. Love at first sight was a thing. It was a dangerous, dangerous thing.

Before you stressed him out any further, you showed him a verification email that had been sent to you and quickly apologised. "I'm just a bit nervous, I swear I'm not this strange normally," you rubbed the back of your neck and laughed awkwardly.

His shoulders seemed to relax a bit and he moved aside to let you in, smiling at you gently. Your stomach started to do a whole set of flips and one ballet choreography. You were going to ignore it.

The door closed behind you and you trailed over to the table set with two chairs, paying no mind to the lavish bedspread and its implications. Nevrakis sat down and you sat opposite him, and you were absolutely resolute in completing this interview without saying anything weird.

"I love your face."

Stupid mouth saying stupid things. Why were you such an idiot? Did you even have a brain? If you did you needed a new one, but surely you didn't. Who in their right mind would say something like that to someone they just met? Wait, maybe you could fix it.

"I meant, uh," you pointed to your cheek and then at him, "it's cute."

Nevrakis' hand went flying to cover his cheekbone, where the spatter of beauty marks you'd been reffering to were. Great. You'd made him uncomfortable. Just which deluded train of thought made you think you could fix it, again?

"Like really," you were worrying yourself with your inability to shut your trap at this point, "I've never seen them in such a perfect circle before, I didn't even know they could do that! Nature sure is a funny thing, huh?" You were seconds away from cringing at the sound of your own voice.

"Yeah..." he responded after a while. His hand dropped to rest with his other one on his lap and he avoided eye contact with you.

You rubbed your temple in frustration. Bea should've just agreed to go in your place. "I'm so sorry you're stuck with me on this, honestly," you whispered. "Can we start again?" you ask hopefully, your hand stretching out towards him. "My name's Y/N. I really admire your works."

Nevrakis' gaze flitted to your arm, then to your face and back to your arm. He was slow to reciprocate your handshake, but it seemed like it clicked that you meant no harm. "...Vasileiou." You'd only just noticed a dust of pink lining the shell of his ears. "Thank you for reading them."

You grinned at him and leaned your head on your palm. "Vasileiou? That answers half of the first question..." you acknowledge, watching with what you hoped was subtlety as he tucked back an inky strand of hair. The pitch black really made his dirty blonde highlights stand out, and framed his face into the prettiest picture. "Let's finish it." You lean in the tiniest bit. "What does the 'S' in your penname stand for, then?"

"...just the initial of my first name..." his eyes darted about from corner to corner, the blush travelled to his cheeks and darkened.

"Which is?" You'd learnt just now that the bestselling author of a very many number of horror and action books was easy to fluster, and you decided it was the cutest thing in the world.

A beat of silence passed as you waited for him to answer you.

"It's stupid." He dismissed finally, after a clear mental conflict that was visible in his expression.

"It isn't," you retaliated, "it's not like your first name's something like Salad, right?" You really hoped it wasn't, otherwise you'd sound like the most insensitive piece of shit on earth.

You thought you heard a small laugh from him, but it was short-lived. "Not Salad." He shook his head. "Sun."

"Sun?"

"Sun Vasileiou Nevrakis," he said shyly, "my full name."

"I'll just call you Sun then, if you don't mind," you smiled, tilting your head. "It's such a nice name. You were so reluctant to share, I almost felt like a villain for pushing," you joked.

"It really isn't," Sun — and he really did look like a Sun now you had the name to his face — sighed. He was playing with his fingers underneath the table. "Just, like... why would you choose something like that out of all the other names in the world?"

"Well, who named you?" you pose softly.

"My mother."

"Have you ever asked her?"

He let out a scoff, which sounded surprisingly elegant for reasons unknown to you. "She said it's because of this," he gestured vaguely to the ring of beauty marks on his cheekbone. "My younger brother has a stupider name for the same reason. Not Salad." He added the last part with a hint of amusement as you opened your mouth to inquire.

"No, no, I see her point," you trace over the area of skin with your eyes, "the shape of them and position in correlation to each other gives the impression of sun rays. It's clever, really."

"Tell that to the kids from school who used to throw grass at me to help it photosynthesise." Sun frowned.

"Dumb of them," you snorted unattractively, "how is it gonna photosynthesise if it's been plucked out of the ground?" You relaxed into your seat. "And even if it could, it'd just burn because the sun's a fucking flameball."

The laughter that graced you in reply was practically kissing your ear drums in the softest way. You looked at Sun in awe, his hand covering his mouth and eyes smiling. Light filtered in through the window, hitting his skin in fragments of broken amber and orange. There was something so warm about him that nestled itself perfectly into the crevices of your mind. You'd practically forgotten that you were here to interview instead of oogle him.

"Sunshine." You murmured quietly, and he stopped to lock eyes with you. "Sunlight. Sunflower. Sunset. Sun is the perfect name for you."

His Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed. That blush returned. Oh, you were in love.

#redw.rites #redw.ritesocs #redw.ritesyandere #redw.ritesSFW #yandere #yandere x reader #x reader #gn reader #yandere oc #oc #my ocs #reader insert #male yandere #male oc #male!oc #yan x reader

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oathkeeper-of-tarth · 7 days

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@buckysleftarm replied to your post:

After reading this, I happened across this video: https://youtube.com/shorts/-X5l5GFeg1k?si=H2lrsmx0pv60wn1h They're not in our camp anymore and I wouldn't know how to view the non companions anyway on PS5, but it feels like she definitely is taking some time off from Selune without breaking her oath full?

I sure did use this reply as an excuse to mash out a giant post! Hope you don't mind.

I do actually love that you've brought this up, because I keep seeing variants of it around and have been wanting to comment on it, if for nothing else than to make me feel better. The gist of it goes something like this: after killing Lorroakan, Aylin's "Child of the Moonmaiden" ability no longer shows up when you examine her character sheet, meaning her immortality has been taken away, she is being punished by her mother, has broken her paladin oath, or is feuding with her in some other way. Now... people in the comments of that video sure have takes on Selûne and on Aylin and on paladin oaths and aasimar abilities in general that make giant question marks spawn above my head.

Personally? I dislike it immensely and think it makes zero sense for a variety of reasons, both in-universe and out! To be fair, as with most headcanons and theories, I'd genuinely love to see someone get creative and do something interesting with it. But I have this knee-jerk reaction to it because so far I've only seen it in the context of people parroting it completely uncritically, just regurgitating it on endless reddit or forum or discord threads and what have you, and actually shutting down or completely derailing Aylin-related discussion. Which frustrates me, obviously, because I want cool, detailed, thought-out takes on my fave, always, and - to be really petty for a moment - since my fave isn't the fandom darling, I only get crumbs to start with! It grinds my gears because so very often I'll want to read this potentially interesting thread about a character I love, but nope, instead here's a dozen comments how "nah man she broke her oath and there's special oathbreaker paladin dialogue with her about it" - no there isn't. That's a very easily verifiable fact, my guy. You made that up, my dude. How dare you just go and make things up on the internet.

A ton of BG3 discussion has been flooded with a weird wave of statements that are just put there as well-known fact but in reality read like "I heard from a friend whose uncle works at the Nintendo Larian department and he told him Halsin went on a special mission and killed Isobel a century ago because he wanted to emotionally compromise Ketheric but then playtesters reacted badly to it and Wizards made them take it out but it's still hinted in the game, and also if you use an Elixir of Hill Giant Strength and do an unarmed attack on the cart at the entrance of the Emerald Grove you can get Mew" and I find it so grating. And then people waste time debunking this and arguing in the same circles and nobody ever moves on to more interesting stuff. I say this, as if I haven't been an active participant of internet fandom for decades and have literally anyone but myself to blame here, hah.

For instance, the way you phrased it here, as Aylin herself taking a break or trying to step away instead of the "being abandoned and punished by her mother" angle from the video and the comments? That's something I think has potential and something I want to rotate in my mind - would she do it? Could she do it? What would this entail and what would it mean for her? What would actually be enough to prompt her to even try? And it's cool that a little gameplay mechanic thingy prompted that! However - and I'm keeping it kinda vague because I don't want to spoil you on things that happen after the point you seem to be at - if we're talking purely established canon things and not brainstorming an AU or a post-game trajectory for this character, there is nothing actually in the game to indicate Aylin is taking a break from Selûne or her duties, especially not to the extent of having any of her abilities suspended. Quite the contrary, in fact. Everything we get from her and Isobel after the Lorroakan situation is handled shows she is, for better or worse, very much resolved to be her old self and very righteously angry and smiting evil in her mother's name as the Sword of Selûne and actively engaged in protecting Selûnites Realms-wide, and she has her full set of powers and blessings while doing so.

In this essay I will In the rest of this post I will try to be less cranky and I'm going to get a bit technical to try to actually explain what is going on with the "Child of the Moonmaiden" ability.

TL;DR: the buff is disabled as soon as Aylin enters the wizard tower, before any fight or backbreaking or feelings of loss and sadness, likely for the purpose of you being able to win or lose the fight no matter if you side with Aylin or betray her. It is a purely mechanical contrivance and has no narrative meaning, nor is its presence or absence mentioned or reflected in the narrative at all.

Here's Aylin in camp just before being told about the wizard:

Here she is at the start of the fight, when she is sided with:

And here she is, when you side against her:

The above is an oversimplification, however, because the actual implementation of Aylin's immortality is a bit of a mess.

There are two implementations of her resurrection active in the game, and both are implemented as a Status: "GLO_NIGHTSONGRESURRECTION" and "GLO_NIGHTSONG_RESURRECTION". Now, I don't know what was going on there and I'm certainly not a Larian dev, but that underscore situation there is... weird. I also don't know enough about BG3-specific scripting yet to come up with an explanation on why there would be two variants of it at all - if anyone does, please let me know! I'm very curious. However, these two implementations of her resurrection ability work very differently, and you can see the effects of both of them in-game.

The first one, GLO_NIGHTSONGRESURRECTION, is named "Moonmaiden's Reconstitution" and is tied to the "Child of the Moonmaiden" Passive (itself called SHA_NightsongResurrection, side note: GLO is the "global" prefix and SHA is a prefix that signifies the Gauntlet of Shar area in Act 2). This ability makes Aylin auto-stabilise when downed instead of rolling death saves, go into the kneeling stabilised animation where she can be helped up or healed just like your party members - you know the one, with the little asterisk hovering above them. Then on the start of her next turn she heals for exactly 1HP (unless she's under a healing-disabling effect, such as Bone Chill, which is why people have trouble with her in the Myrkul fight) and she has only her Bonus Action, the same as any other previously downed character.

Mechanically, it applies the "GLO_NIGHTSONGRESURRECTION_DOWNED" Status to her which modifies what happens when she is Downed to implement the above non-standard behaviour, and also does stuff like turn off her Moonbeam if she had it active.

The "Moonmaiden's Reconstitution" Status itself is completely invisible in-game: it has properties such as "DisableOverhead;DisableCombatlog;DisablePortraitIndicator" aka doesn't show up as that little text popup above the character, doesn't show up in the combat log, and doesn't have a visible indicator icon anywhere.

The description for "Child of the Moonmaiden" is:

"Blessed with the favour of a goddess, Nightsong cannot be permanently killed. When unconscious, [at] the start of her turn she recovers 1 hit point."

The second one, GLO_NIGHTSONG_RESURRECTION with the extra underscore, is a Status called "Nightsong Soars Eternal", and that one doesn't have any other Statuses or Passives tied to it, it simply resurrects her immediately when she dies, and at full health. When it triggers, you can actually see her portrait drop out of the initiative tracker at the top of the screen as if she completely died, and then she gets put in again. This one is active even when the first one isn't, so you can see it in places like camp after she comes back from Lorroakan, and after she comes back for the finale all the way until the end of the game - and by "see it" I mean since it doesn't have any Passive ability connected to it, you have to actually get Aylin killed to see it trigger (I'm so sorry Aylin, it was important for the post, I swear).

The description for "Nightsong Soars Eternal" is:

"Nightsong will be resurrected by the powers of Selûne whenever she dies."

In Lorroakan's tower, BOTH of these are disabled, and if downed, Aylin will just lie there as if she died for real with the little red skull and the "Dead" status until she gets rezzed for a cutscene after the fight or, if betrayed, you go to long rest and then come back to see Lorroakan's progress, at which point she will be up and in the cage with a total of 1HP and that "Soul Caged" status instead.

Note again that she visibly has "Child of the Moonmaiden" disabled as soon as she enters the wizard tower area, betrayed or not, before she does anything to anyone. It's a way of making sure the Lorroakan fight is actually winnable/loseable/concludable without her getting stuck in that revive with 1HP at the start of her turn loop. "Nightsong Soars Eternal" also obviously doesn't trigger. Instead she says her "I will rise again!" line and stays down. She has every other ability and buff active normally, even ones that explicitly mention coming from Selûne, like her iconic following Moonbeam, for example, or her fancy unique Smite.

Again, significantly: she does not have her immortality buffs if you fight against her, either, betraying her and causing Selûne's wrath and desire to protect her daughter to manifest physically in the room, including empowering Aylin herself with buffs that are called things like "Moonmother's Embrace". See what I'm getting at?

Interestingly, she also doesn't have it when you first meet her:

What does this all mean? Well, I'd say that if we took every gameplay/implementation thing about this game as in-universe gospel, Aylin herself would look a lot different and be far more scaly, for one.

(Makes me chuckle every time.)

In all seriousness, though, if something as big as this happened to a side but still fairly prominent character, the game would tell us about it. Or at least make a bigger deal of it than the deactivation of a passive ability visible on the Examine screen that many people sadly don't really tend to look at and read.

And here's the best thing: nobody has to take my word for any of this, you can see for yourself, without actually knowing how to unpack game files or having my frankly ridiculous amount of hard saves! I think this is super helpful in general, especially for people playing on console:

Here's a link to a truly amazing and consistently updated resource - every bit of dialogue in the game, nicely parsed and laid out and super readable (as well as some additional tools to play around with).

Here's a website where you can search inside BG3 scripts and other files and take a look at a lot of the nitty-gritty implementation stuff in a convenient way.

I recognise that I go way too deep into things and overstuff my brain with minutiae, but that's just how I work. I take forever to post anything anywhere on the internet because I just physically cannot click a post button without triple-checking everything and quoting and screenshotting things, even if it's the same thing for the twentieth time, and that's certainly a me problem. I very much don't expect people to do things my way, but I also find the games of telephone these things so rapidly become really frustrating, you know?

But my biggest problem with this particular Aylin thing - beyond the annoying preponderance of it, as I've already whined - is that in-universe it just makes no sense and I, an aasimar paladin enjoyer, personally dislike it.

Oath of Vengeance paladins abide by the following tenets: Fight the Greater Evil. Exerting your wisdom, identify the higher morality in any given instance, and fight for it. No Mercy for the Wicked. Chasten those who dole out their villainy by wiping their blight from the world forever.

Putting the rest of this post under a cut because it's long and ranty and you didn't actually ask for it.

My first problem: the common argument that Aylin is in the wrong for killing Lorroakan like she did because he has "done nothing to her yet", and that she breaks her Oath of Vengeance because she attacked him preemptively.

The man put a price on her head and sent violent mercs to beat her up and kidnap her. He tries to (temporarily) kill her and imprison her as soon as she refuses to cooperate by… demurely waltzing into the prison and putting the chains on herself? He knows exactly who she is, what has been done to her, and he wants to do it again - no, doesn't want to, he is actively doing it again. The fact that (if you side with Aylin) he fails mid-attempt doesn't make him innocent of it. He refuses to stop and, if denied, gets violent and murderous.

Player: Have it your way. I'll bring her here. Lorroakan: Good. I was growing scared for you. The last person who disappointed me is suffering for it still. Do not return without my prize. Do you hear me? Good day.

Player: I'll think about it. Lorroakan: You aren't the only one who knows what's on offer for the Nightsong's retrieval. Consider carefully whether you'd like to see your fortune in someone else's hands. Someone who might slip into your camp at any moment, or harry you through street and inn until you're run ragged and surrender. The choice is yours: fortune or imminent death. I know you'll choose wisely.

Mark my words: the Nightsong is mine. With or without your help, she will ascend to her grand fate here, in this tower.

Player: You heard me. The answer is no. Lorroakan: Pity. Then again, perhaps word of your agonising death will draw your little friend to me. Myrmidons - imperatum!

He is fully equipped for it and has set up a whole magical trap and is just waiting for her to show up to trigger it, or for someone to drag her there against her will. He says she will go into the cage "kicking and screaming" and really, this is who she is wrong for "picking a fight with" and "attacking preemptively"? Surely nobody actually thinks that Aylin is at fault here or that she actually overreacted by killing him? I don't really want to go into some people's really, really shitty attitudes towards Aylin for sadly entirely predictable reasons but… man. She went over there and threatened him with violence, demanding an explanation after he sent cronies to attack her in her sleep? Wow, what a weird thing to do. Also, he literally is the one to attack first! She is there threatening and goading him, doing her little "face me charlatan" bit, but he is the one who sics the myrmidons on her (or the player) and actually starts the fight, every time. To be clear, I don't think this is very relevant at all, but people do seem to love bringing it up.

Is Aylin brash and reckless and clearly struggling after her captivity, dealing with rapidly flaring up anger and outbursts of violence - only ever, may I emphasise, towards actually horrid people, and she is really rather shockingly forgiving and tolerant of the player character messing with her? Yes! Does she seem to have that classical aspect of "she might go too far one day" or "she might lose herself in the anger and vengeance if she focuses on it exclusively"? Absolutely! Do I think she could have been, say, a Devotion paladin before her imprisonment and it might have been the betrayal and century in the Shadowfell that made her change to Vengeance instead? I love that idea! I also think it's likely she has just always been a very zealous, very smitey and offence-oriented Vengeance paladin, called Selûne's sword for a very good reason, fulfilling a very important role in the ongoing struggle against Shar.

And the whole problem is… Lorroakan will, as we've seen, not stop trying, and people like him will always be around and never stop coming after her especially now that the cat's apparently out of the bag after Balthazar, and Aylin needs to live with this, forever. That is why she is so messed up about this one rando wizard she's never met before. That is why this specific incident is so triggering for her. She has just escaped torment on a timescale that's not something the normal human mind can really grasp. "In this moment, I want for nothing." ended up lasting, indeed, barely a moment! Her mum is a powerful god and right now it seems that what Aylin actually gets from it is having a target painted on her back and, to quote Isobel, she can be hurt just like anyone else, she just gets to suffer longer! She keeps being dealt these shit hands and, yeah, it'd make anyone go… why? Seems unfair, right? What exactly is the point of this?

The various dialogue options you have while warning her about Lorroakan's intentions and which include trying to convince her to just leave him be include her being so, so frustrated, and so understandably, it makes me feel horrible for her.

She always ultimately goes to confront him, because she has no other real choice. He will keep coming after her, he will keep sending people after her, and she will never, ever get a bit of rest, and she's, what, supposed to go live in hiding somewhere if you convince him she's dead? Until the jig is inevitably up or this guy dies by someone else's hand? And there's also the element Aylin herself will point out if you keep her in the dark about the plot and Aradin and his cronies come to attack your camp: how long until someone hurts Isobel during one of these attempts or actively goes after her as a bargaining chip?

I guess I just genuinely do not understand the arguments about this guy who has been deliberately constructed to be a horrible, hateful piece of shit with exactly zero redeeming qualities, to an almost comical extent. He beats his apprentice and uses his assistant for target practice! He's a sick, sick asshole! His life's dream rests on kidnapping and enslavement! The guy is conspiring and trying to ally with Ketheric and Balthazar of all people:

Lorroakan,

I have responded out of respect to my counsellor, Balthazar, who advises me that you may prove a loyal ally in the coming fight. I understand you wish to know about the soul cage which binds the Nightsong to me. Details, I cannot and will not provide. But the magic itself is necromantic in nature, designed by my aforementioned counsellor. I hope your curiosity is satisfied.

General Ketheric Thorm

This is who people think a vengeance pally will break her oath over? Over what, a technicality of who struck first? "Desecrating a corpse"? No, it was Ketheric she did that to, and nothing happened. She just finished this guy off in a violent and dramatic fashion.

While you can play a paladin yourself and kill so many people in so many ways without anything happening, this is more of a consideration if you play Oath of Devotion or Ancients. It's also one that makes parts of the game harder - comically evil cultists torturing and executing prisoners cannot simply be attacked out of nowhere, and instead you need to announce your challenge first. You need to walk up to them and start talking, establish their villainy, and then fight "fairly". This is also partially an issue arising from the implementation of hostility flags and game logic, by the way. However, Oath of Vengeance gives precious few fucks about this and is a really hard oath to break. In fact, in a very similar situation to the wizard tower, in the House of Grief, you break the Oath of Vengeance if you spare Viconia - at that point lying on the floor soundly defeated and bleeding out much the same way Lorroakan was. Viconia who, may I note, never "did anything to you" but did harm a friend of yours.

Also, and this is a whole separate discussion, but... it's a FR DnD game. You kill bad guys in it. You kill vaguely morally grey, or even good guys in it. You and your friends kill so many people before this point. Multi-act quest arcs conclude with "go to place and kill someone". You mete out "justice" personally, repeatedly, and can harp on that fact, especially if you're playing a paladin. You don't exactly call the guards on people instead, even in the middle of the city. Ludo-narrative dissonance or no, why would this one wizard suddenly be different, and why would this one woman be singled out for a thus far completely typical approach and set of actions?

My second problem: a great big "Selûne wouldn't do that". I understand Forgotten Realms "lore" is a giant unwieldy self-contradicting mess of a beast and I'm not saying people should be scholars of it to participate in the discussion, far from it, but I would like them to engage with what is presented in the game itself at least.

For the most succinct possible example, look at what Selûne does when Aylin is betrayed. She buffs her in order to enable her to violently and zealously win that fight. Literally empowers Aylin to smack her enemies around more and with greater strength and also burn them alive in holy fire. Not after she's imprisoned and well and truly "wronged", but during this fabulously absolving "mere attempt" on Lorroakan's part.

Also, may I point out the sweet little shielding- and healing-focused cleric of the same goddess is actively disappointed that you and Aylin won't let her come with to hit the guy a few times herself! This goes for the entire party of assorted weirdos, goody-good or otherwise, who firmly believe Aylin should just obliterate that guy. Like, c'mon, my man Wyll! (Super sad and touching exception: Karlach, if you've killed Gortash already. When she begs you not to tell Aylin about any of it at all and go deal with the wizard yourselves, just so Aylin can have a bit more peace and keep her sword sheathed for just a little while longer. Ow, my heart.)

In summary, basically, my twofold beef:

"Selûne punishing and abandoning her daughter for over-zealously defending herself" - nonsensical and uninteresting. Stops people from actually delving into and discussing the complexities of that relationship.

"OoV paladin broke her oath by killing an evil wizard who is actively trying to do horrible things to her and attacks her" - nonsensical and uninteresting. Let's instead actually engage with the material and discuss Aylin's trauma and how she might deal or not deal with it in good or bad ways. What would recovery even look like, for her. How does the way she intrinsically ties her entire being into being a smite-happy moon-magic knight play into it. Let's actually consider the weight and role of duty in her life and the wombo-combo of being an aasimar paladin, an existence with a very "purpose-made" aspect to it. You know, the good ol' Being A Sword thing, including being born into it. Combined with being rather suddenly rather intensely humanised by a loving relationship with a mortal woman, with all sorts of ticking clocks, unique challenges, and both past and pending tragedy there.

Or let's talk about the dissonance present in Aylin's cool and badass scenes of smiting deserving evil. Scenes that go into very violent and very over the top territory, that make you both cheer and cringe, that make a point of showing the other characters reacting in shock. Because I genuinely feel so bad for her and deeply worried for her, all while my silly little brain goes fuck yeah smite him shiny lady! Ooooh look, a flashy Aylin scene, ripping a deserving villain to pieces! But at what cost to herself? Feels so good to have someone deliver some justice! But if I think about it for 5 seconds I don't actually want her to - no, no, I do. I don't want her to have to, is the thing. (It's kind of like that one Gundam meme.)

I will conclude this mess by doing a salty little yeah. It's fine, this is fine, this is sadly pretty much part of the standard experience of liking a female character in fandom. God forbid women do anything indeed. Outside of a few select, narrow and highly dedicated circles, half the (scarce) posts about her are something that's either flat-out wrong, or just assumes the absolute worst of her and reduces her to two and a half shitty stereotypes, and half the fics tagged with her are actually about fandom's favourite two dudes and barely feature her at all.

And on that note, I'm off to actually be a positive force and poke at my own fic some more.

#dame aylin #baldur's gate 3 #bg3 #long post #and i mean it this is one long-ass post wow #also touches on stuff like #lorroakan #selune #paladins #oaths in general (my beloved)#will also put it under #datamine

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itlivesproject · 1 year

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hiii! your project is AMAZING and you're all so talented 😭😭 but i have a question if you feel comfortable with sharing. which apps/programs you guys used to recreate the game? I'm interested in developing my own games but have no idea where to start. can you give me some tips? 🙂 tysm anyway!

If you want to make a standalone visual novel, then the program we use, Ren'Py, is perfect! It's free and designed specifically to make visual novels easy to make for everyone, including beginners. I had literally zero understanding of programming when I started working on ILW and just figured it out through tutorials, asking questions on forums, and trial and error.

This is the Ren'Py link.

Because this is long, under the cut I'm sharing some things you'll need to think about if you want to make a visual novel:

Your team:

You don't have to have a team of people helping you with this. You can do it alone. However, I will say that ILW would not be what it is if I had just tried to go it alone. It is so much better than anything I could've dreamed of when I first got the idea. More people on a team = more ideas, more constructive criticism and feedback, and more heads going in together to make a better product. But if you want a team, you need to make sure you maintain an attitude and environment that is open to suggestions and contributions from others. Be ready and willing to throw out ideas you like if it no longer works or someone thinks of something better. Nothing kills the creative spirit faster than defensiveness and competitiveness, so to have a well-working team, open-minded members and sharing your ideas and criticism in a positive way is extremely important.

Art:

This is one of the first things you should really nail down, because if you start working on your game but never figure out the art, everything else will go to waste. For most VN creators, they usually hire out for art. For us, since this is a free fan project, our artists worked for free. We were also lucky to already have a bunch of backgrounds and assets from Choices that our artists could edit, so we didn't have to make dozens and dozens of entirely new backgrounds. If you're going to have to hire out, I'd try to really compress the amount of art you'll need - plan ahead and cut down unnecessary characters who'd need sprites, maybe use a silhouette for unnamed characters, and limit the amount of backgrounds you'll need, because backgrounds take up a lot of space, they take up a lot of time to make, and they're expensive.

Programming:

Obviously, programming is a big thing. If you have enough motivation, you should be able to figure out a lot of this on your own. If you use Ren'Py, be sure to read the documentation, watch a lot of basic tutorials, and just get into the engine and start getting your hands dirty! It seems like a lot at first, but once you get the feel of it, it's actually not too complicated. When it comes to programming, I recommend simplifying everything as much as possible. When I first started ILW, I didn't simplify things much (because I was figuring things out) so what I used to do in three lines of code I now do in one. Limiting the amount of code you ultimately end up writing GREATLY diminishes possibility of errors and bugs. Also, try to get as organized as possible. Make as many folders, subfolders, and text files as you need. Don't try to put the whole script in one file, don't put all the images in the same folder. Good organization goes a long way to making everything a lot easier to keep track of.

Game structure:

Piecing together a branching game is honestly quite a puzzle. Before going into working on your game, you should sit down and figure out game mechanics. What points do you want to include? Personality? Relationship? Romance? Skills? Some kind of narrative scale akin to blood vs shadow? Figure out what points systems you want to include and then figure out how that's going to impact the story and where. When creating love interests, don't just create a character and assume they'll fit themselves into the narrative. Focus on the character as a character first, meaning determine how they fit into the story's narrative, and then think about them as a love interest second. If you do this, it will make them a better character and a more satisfying love interest. Finally, start the game knowing how much variation you want. Do you want something with immense, diverging endings? How much variation do you want within one scene? Because interactive fiction is so determinant on player choices and there can be so many routes, it's not a good idea to just go with the flow and see what happens, because otherwise you won't be able to reconcile all the different routes you likely created. So figure out the overall structure for your story in terms of mechanics before you really start on planning.

Planning and writing:

Once you have the previous stuff figured out, then you can start actually planning the story and eventually, writing it. Again, I'd recommend you figure out the previous stuff first because if you start planning and writing immediately, but then it turns out you can't solve the programming, or can't get art, then all this work will have been for naught. My advice on planning: do NOT skimp out! Additionally, to make the love interests feel more important to the story as a whole, I would recommend the technique of arc outlining, which is essentially when you take each love interest separate from each other and plan out scenes that tie into the story to further their individual character arcs. Doing this makes it easy to figure out where tender relationship and intimate moments can go, and those moments will be more interesting because they're connected to an actual plot point instead of just being like "it's sexy time!" Once you have your plans, you can start writing. Depending on how long your story is, writing can be really difficult. It takes a lot of time and thought, and burnout is real.

Music:

You'll want to figure out how you'll get music for your game. Again, creators usually hire out for this. On the Ren'Py forums, there's actually a specific topic for music that helps you network with composers who are looking for jobs. For us, again, since we're a fan project that's not making money, we could use 1) Choices music 2) tracks from a music library I have a deal with and 3) as a composer myself, I wrote some original tracks. Also, if you're looking for free sound effects, freesound.org is actually perfect for that. It's where I got the siren, forest, and ghost voice SFX!

Distribution

Distribution can be tricky! For ILW, we originally wanted it to be playable online, but we eventually removed that option because 1) saving online was complicated 2) the quality wasn't as good and it couldn't run smoothly and 3) we didn't want people who could download it, play online and have a bad experience instead of downloading it. If you offer an online option, most people will take it. For indie games, I think using something like Steam or itch.io is the way to go. Unfortunately, that will make it so it's not available on Apple products, but to get it on Apple you have to package it specifically for Apple which is difficult, and you have to pay $100/year to be allowed to have it up on the app store in the first place.

Hopefully this helps! This is really just scratching the surface, but here are some things to think about if you're interested in making your own visual novel.

#ask #anon #mod win #writing tips #visual novel #visual novel tips #renpy

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saintmeghanmarkle · 7 months

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Move it Markle's face is sinking like a creepy skeleton. I am sure the next pap shoot will be of her biting into an In and Out Burger as she reads this forum.(Hi Rachel) By all means waste away it doesn't change who Meghan is and all the damage her lies have caused. I have zero sympathy for her. by u/Meegainnyc

Move it Markle's face is sinking like a creepy skeleton. I am sure the next pap shoot will be of her biting into an In and Out Burger as she reads this forum.(Hi Rachel) By all means, waste away, it doesn't change who Meghan is, and all the damage her lies have caused. I have zero sympathy for her. https://ift.tt/asQr1pA post link: https://ift.tt/RQfm9F4 author: Meegainnyc submitted: November 21, 2023 at 08:50PM via SaintMeghanMarkle on Reddit

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savage-rhi · 2 years

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Immortal Shield Chapter 40: Allies

**DM or comment if you want to be tagged in updates on tumblr

**To read previous chapters, hit this link

Tagging: @seradyn

“Are you insane?!” Gladio exclaimed.

“Could you not yell at me point blank?” Noctis countered with a heavy sigh. He shook his head, taking a seat at the end of the dining table within his and Luna’s chambers. The queen herself reached out for Noctis’s left hand that was laying against the tables surface. He welcomed the warmth of her touch as Luna sat beside him, briefly making eye contact with her before casting his gaze onto his retainers.

“I know this plan is a stretch, but--”

“Noct, if I may be blunt, this is more than a stretch. This could outright cause the destabilization between our kingdom and that of the other countries.” Ignis interrupted. He did his best to remain composed, but like Gladio, shared the same concern: that Noctis had lost his marbles. He didn’t have the heart to say the actual words.

“Guys,” Prompto interjected. He felt everyone’s eyes staring through him and knitted his brows. “I don’t think it’s so bad. I mean, as long as everything remains between us in this room, we got no problem!”

“You’re being way to optimistic about us risking our heads and kingdom to rescue some assholes warlord girlfriend.” Gladio said bitterly.

“Hey, Cae isn’t just some girlfriend to an adversary. She’s not that bad of a person either.” Prompto said in his defense.

“Oh yeah? And I suppose you can vouch for that personally? What, did you and Cindy have a fall out and Caelan was the rebound?” Gladio scoffed.

“Okay, now you’re just being an ass!” Prompto raised his voice. He rose up from his seat as did Gladio. The two men stared each other down until Prompto blinked a few times, casting his gaze away. He shook his head, then gestured out with his hand to call for peace.

“Regarding Cindy, her and I--we bumped into Cae and Ardyn, at The Solstice. The night we went to see the Vote Abandon concert--”

“What?!” Everyone in unison shouted, interrupting Prompto. He visibly flinched, making a face as Ignis zeroed in on him.

“And you neglected to notify us you saw Ardyn, several days before he showed up at the public forum?”

“W-well, I didn’t know if it was him for sure! The night club was so dark, I drank a lot, and--I chased them! Cae is a client of Cindy’s. She worked on Cae's car, the Scepter. I talked to Cae about it while she was waiting for Ardyn. I guess they were on a date? I don't quite remember. I think they were.”

“That’s irrelevant.” Ignis sighed.

“Prompto,” Noctis spoke up, silencing the mess of the conversation happening and furrowed his brows. “Why didn’t you say anything?”

Noctis didn’t have to say a word to convey his disappointment. It was visibly felt from his dark blue eyes. Enough for Prompto to feel the first waves of guilt hit him for not reacting as he should’ve. As a retainer and personal friend of the king, Prompto knew he screwed up his duties in more ways than one.

“I didn’t see the point in wasting resources on something I could’ve drunkenly imagined. With how sick you were Noct, I didn’t want to add more gasoline onto the fire. Everyone was on edge and so pissed off all the time, I--I didn’t want to cause trouble. I didn’t want to burden you. I thought I could handle it myself.” Prompto offered an apologetic shrug. The remorse in his voice lingered as he continued.

"I was scared. If that was Ardyn, I know I'd freeze up. I needed to confront him on my own terms. I don't expect you guys to understand, and I'm owning up to my mistake."

There were several disappointed sighs and disgruntled huffs, yet Gladio ventured over to Prompto’s side. He gave Prompto a few firm pats on the back with Ignis following suit. Ignis offered a caring smile to his friend as an apology for his earlier behavior, then let him go.

“Don’t be stupid next time. We all have each other’s backs, no matter what storms we are in. I’m sorry for what I said, about you and Cindy. That was out of line.” Gladio gently said, then stepped away.

“I know…and it’s okay.” Prompto murmured, giving a nod.

“Let’s move forward.” Noctis let out a breath, and gave a reassuring smile to Prompto. The kings retainers nodded and they all decided to sit down for the rest of the meeting. They took their place at the kings side, all of them processing the plan Noctis laid out. The uncertainty was like a heavy storm cloud, and it lingered over each of the men.

“You guys are my best friends first before retainers,” Noctis began. He gestured out to everyone for emphasis. “What else would you have me do regarding Ardyn? He can’t just remain here under house arrest until the end of his days. If we are successful, this would give him purpose. Something to focus on so he doesn’t go off the deep end.”

“Can you risk the possibility of war, or at minimum, sanctions?” Ignis asked aloud. “There is much danger with the plan you shared with us today, Noct. The repercussions, I don’t want to even grasp. Especially with our current economical standing between both Accordo and Niflheim.”

“Yes, there is risk and with it may come consequences. Guys, I can’t think of a better way we all walk off the board once and for all. Whatever Ardyn chooses to do afterward, that’s on him. We won’t be held responsible. It'll be in the hands of Niflheim.” Noctis said in defense of his idea.

“Even though I think I’m the only one here that agrees with you bud, I gotta say Iggy has a point.” Prompto began. “This plan has chips in it. If something fell through the cracks, we’re all screwed. Even the people we are trying to save.”

“If it were me,” Gladio began. “I’d throw him in prison. Send Ardyn back to Angelgard or whatever. He’s hurt too many, Noct. There’s already calls among the people to have him in shackles. Why not just kill him? He's mortal now as you've said. It would save us all the trouble, and his girlfriend is going to die anyway. I could get the glaive to handle it.”

“That man saved the lives of my wife and unborn son. He saved all of you from me. Bahamut would’ve used me to destroy Eos if Ardyn hadn't shown up when he did.” Noctis’s unyielding tone sent the whole room into silence. He looked each of his retainers in the eye, casting daggers into Gladio’s. Enough to where the shield glanced off to the side, not able to keep meeting the kings hardened stare.

“Now I don’t like him either--far from it--but we are not killing Ardyn. If he is to perish, it won't be at my hand nor any I command. I will not continue to allow generational trauma to fester in my line anymore than it has. Sending Ardyn to his death, is off the table.”

“If I may interrupt, I’d like to offer a different way of looking at things.” Lunafreya piped up, grabbing the attention of everyone in the room to her presence. She gave Noctis’s hand a gentle squeeze which he returned.

“I fear you're all searching too far ahead, scared of what schemes Ardyn may or may not perform in the future. You're not focused in the present. Ardyn isn’t the same man we faced years ago. When the Astrals sent me signs that someone was coming to help Noctis, I was given visions as to the persons character. Initially when I discovered so late that it was Ardyn, I was upset but---I can’t describe it. You must take me at my word as Oracle when I say, I don’t believe Ardyn’s going to pose much of a problem for us, so long as we don’t cast the first stone. He may not act it, but Ardyn's more vulnerable than you could possibly imagine. He's alone and he's terrified.”

Lunafreya offered a small smile towards her husband who looked upon her with so much adoration that she had to look away or else be smitten. She let out a deep breath, reaching with her left hand to pat her abdomen upon feeling the baby kick, rubbing smooth circles into her clothing to soothe both herself and the infant.

“Noctis shared the plan with me before he confided in you all today,” Lunafreya said sincerely. She doubted she could ease the tension in the room, but felt compelled to give it a try. “I believe it’s the right thing to do.”

“As do I!” Prompto chimed in, giving the table top a few strong pats for emphasis that he was game for it.

All eyes fell to Gladio and Ignis. The two men were beside themselves. Alas, Ignis was the first to let out an exhausted sigh and nodded in agreement.

“I can argue with the king all day, but not a queen all night.” Ignis gestured to Gladio that he was the only one left that had the floor. To which the shield didn’t seem to keen about. A growl left Gladio as he resigned himself to fate.

“I guess I’m stuck with you bleeding hearts,” Gladio shook his head in disbelief. He made a face, furrowing his brows as he cast his amber eyes towards the group as a whole. “So, which one of us is going to break the news to Ardyn?”

“Not it!” Prompto exclaimed, flinching at the thought of incurring the wrath of the man who psychologically tortured him years ago. As much as Prompto was game for helping others, there was still much to unpack regarding how he felt towards Ardyn.

“Why don’t we all go together to see him?” Noctis suggested.

“Good thinking.” Ignis nodded with a sigh. “We’re safer in numbers.”

Ardyn squinted his eyes while he attempted to read from an old book he found at random within the chambers. He was able to get through a couple paragraphs until the strain caught up to him. Ardyn's right thumb went to the corners of his eyes, giving both his eyelids a soft rub before trying his hand again at reading.

“Do you need glasses?” Seraphii asked curiously, observing the struggle.

“Hm? Oh no my dear. I’m simply tired.” Ardyn let out a frustrated sigh, deciding to give up for the time being. Not to mention he didn’t want to consider the possibility he needed such a tool to help him see text. It was a minor struggle in the grand scheme of things. One Ardyn could deal with for now. He sat the book down beside him, turning his focus to the child who had been coloring and drawing from afar.

“You see, when you get older you’re more prone to exhaustion from simple tasks.”

“That sounds---boring.” Seraphii’s bluntness had Ardyn chortle.

“It’s a fact of life I’m afraid. One you’ll get to experience yourself when you grow up.” Ardyn mused. He shuddered a little, scooting closer to the hearth. The blanket that had been wrapped around his body adjusted, and Ardyn grasped it tighter to himself. It felt good to be up and about more. He was thankful the IVs were no longer of use to him. Dragging them around was an extra chore his mortal form didn’t need to contend with. He didn't like how unnatural it felt having needles in his arms either. They reminded Ardyn too much of his imprisonment at Angelgard.

Ardyn's eyes stared at the flames and their orange red hues for a time, thinking about the news Ignis had brought earlier. His mind danced around the possibilities of what had become of Caelan. He felt aggravated the retainer didn’t give any more information other than notify that the king would pop in later. Ardyn hoped Noctis had a good excuse for providing so little.

“Whatcha thinking about?” Seraphii’s little voice pulled Ardyn out of the more darker recesses of his mind. He offered a smile, then rubbed the back of his neck.

“A friend of mine who I miss very much.” Ardyn said simply. “Do you have many friends?”

“Nope.” Seraphii shook her head. “Just my uncles and…I think you now?”

“I’d consider it an honor.” Ardyn chuckled. “Though, I don’t suppose your parents would appreciate that.”

“I don’t care!” Seraphii exclaimed. “You pay attention to me. I like you!”

The little one's stubborn attitude reminded Ardyn a lot of Somnus when his brother was around the girls age. No cares in the world but his own ambitions. It seemed that element never bothered to skip a generation. Mors, Regis’s father, retained that trait and then some all the way up to his death. Ardyn didn’t miss the late king one bit, and luckily didn’t have the pleasure of bumping into that descendant in person. There’s no way Ardyn could’ve kept his composure around him. Regis and Noctis were rather tame in comparison to both their father and grandfather respectively.

“I finished it!” Seraphii exclaimed. She got up from the couch and brought the small stack of drawing paper she had along with a pencil. The five year old presented her drawings to Ardyn at the hearth, eagerly awaiting his feedback.

“Well, you certainly have talent!” Ardyn chuckled. His eyes cast downward at Seraphii’s pieces, admiring the scribbles and shapes. He was quick to find a crude portrait of himself among the pile, impressed that she nailed down his unkempt hair and moody expression. For a kid, she was able to grasp the basic foundations of art quite well.

“That’s you!” Seraphii pointed to the one closest to Ardyn. Her small brows knitted. Her excitement faltered when she noticed a mistake in the drawing she made of him. “Eyes are so hard to draw…”

“Hmm, you don’t say?” Ardyn debated with himself, then beckoned Seraphii to approach and hand him the pencil. He smiled at her when she handed it off. After adjusting on the floor and leaning forward, Ardyn grabbed one of the blank pieces of paper Seraphii laid out and started to sketch.

With fascination, Seraphii watched as mere shapes began to take form into something else. It became evident Ardyn had been drawing for years. Maybe at one point in his life, he was a professional himself.

“Whoa, you draw too?”

The awe in her squeaky voice had Ardyn smile.

“Yes, I used to draw quite often when I was younger. A favorite past time.”

“How come you don’t anymore?” Seraphii inquired, tilting her head as she kept her big eyes focused on what Ardyn was doodling.

“Hard to say,” Ardyn made a face, his head canted some while he observed his own work. Occasionally, he’d glance to Seraphii then back to the paper. “I suppose given how busy I am, I simply don’t have time for such things.”

“Maybe when you see your friend again, you could draw them over and over until you want to draw everyday!”

“You're just full of ideas, aren’t you?” Ardyn shook his head. He had to admit, perhaps the little one was onto something. It was definitely a talent Ardyn had yet to share with Caelan. He felt his eyes growing weary and his heart dropped. He missed Caelan so damn much it hurt to even think of enjoying a simple pleasure like this with her company.

“I believe this will help you in the future with your eye problem.” Ardyn blew away some of the leftover eraser he used at the end of the pencil, and handed Seraphii what he finished. There was a portrait sketch of her in the corner, and a five step guide on drawing eyes. The guide wasn’t super detailed compared to the portrait, but it clearly would help her with the shapes.

“Thank you! This is nice!”

“No, thank you for drawing me so well.” Ardyn said sincerely. His right fingertips carefully reached out for Seraphii’s artwork on the floor, and he pulled the piece of paper towards himself. “I’ll be sure to cherish it always.”

“You better!” Seraphii laughed.

“Already making threats are we?” Ardyn raised a brow. He smiled hearing her giggle at the playfulness of his tone. The two looked up upon the door opening. Noctis came through, stopping in his tracks the moment he saw Seraphii was in the chambers.

Before Ardyn could say a word, the king had raised his voice for his daughter to approach him. As much as he wanted to interject, Ardyn decided to let it play out and give space. He got up from the ground in front of the fire place with the drawing Seraphii made, and ventured back to the bed. Ardyn placed the drawing down on the mattress. He made a face, looking out towards the window nearby while he eavesdropped.

“What did I tell you about coming in here and bothering our guest?” Noctis was crouched down, facing his daughter. The intense gaze in his eyes had her shirk back some.

“I wanted to show Ardyn I could draw. Mama said I could see him.” Seraphii murmured.

“You’re not to be alone with him, do you understand me?”

Seraphii nodded.

“I’ll speak with your mother regarding coming here. Now leave us.” Though he was firm, Noctis made certain his tone was gentle. Regardless, Seraphii sniffled and took off running. He furrowed his brows, watching her small legs work hard to get her far away from him. She nearly bumped into Ignis, Gladio and Prompto while the three were on their way to catch up with Noctis.

Sighing, Noctis shook his head and gestured for his retainers to wait outside the chambers. Gladio, Ignis and Prompto nodded and went to their respective spots outside the door. They braced themselves for what was to come.

Ardyn heard the doors shut and the sound of Noctis’s footsteps draw closer. He finally turned his head to face him, furrowing his brows out of concern towards his smaller guest.

“Must she be punished? The fault was mine. I initiated with a kind hello.”

Noctis growled a little, but relented from allowing his emotions to get the best of him. He knew well from his earlier conversation with Ardyn that he wouldn’t harm Seraphii. It didn’t help his nerves nevertheless. Her safety was of the upmost importance, and Ardyn still remained a risk.

“She needs to learn boundaries. She certainly won’t succeed in that if she keeps visiting you.”

“Or visiting a creepy criminal for that matter.” Ardyn playfully jabbed. He nearly snorted seeing the questionable look Noctis threw at him. “Don’t play coy, highness. Everyone in the room is thinking it. I'm aware of how you all perceive me.”

“We should get to the point of why I’m here.” Noctis began, steering the conversation his way. He wasn’t in the mood to correct Ardyn that he wasn't considered such a thing. “It’s about Cahl, and--”

“Has she been harmed?” Ardyn quickly interrupted. His features softened. The concern he had desperately tried to keep under lock and key came forth through his expressions. Ardyn felt his pulse rise, his pupils dilating. These past few days with no word about her had nearly driven him crazy. He was tired of waiting.

“Not exactly. You might want to sit down for this.”

“Please, don’t prevaricate. Tell me. What’s become of her?”

Ten minutes had come and gone between Ardyn and Noctis. Outside of the room, Ignis, Gladio and Prompto were somewhat growing bored. Minus the kings shield, the other two checked their phones. Ignis took this time to catch the palace workers up to speed on certain hospitality tasks via text while Prompto checked his player status on Kings Knight. Gladio yawned, stretching his arms before crossing them along with his legs while his back rested against the wall next to the doors. The three were suddenly snapped out of their relaxed states when they heard a bellowing yell followed by the doors to the chamber opening with a violent crash.

“I’m going to kill them all!” Ardyn’s angered call echoed down hall as he marched away the red phantom limbs of his armiger out and poised to attack as they encircled him.

“Hey, where do you think you’re going?” Gladio called out.

“I’m going to Accordo! I’m going to stop Cahl’s execution if it’s the last thing I do!”

“Oh yeah, you and what army tough guy?” Gladio scoffed.

“I’m plenty! Fuck off!”

Gladio’s eyes widened. He couldn’t recall ever hearing Ardyn curse before in the past. It seemed almost out of character for the kind of person he was, being haughty and conniving. Gladio had nothing clever to say. He started to begin his chase to stop Ardyn from continuing further, until Noctis appeared at the entryway and beckoned Gladio to halt.

“Wait! Wait! Don’t attack!”

“Are you hurt, Noct?” Ignis called out while Prompto ventured to Noctis’s side to assess for damage. There was not a scratch on him.

“I’m fine. Ardyn’s...a little upset.”

“A little?” Gladio huffed. “I can’t just let him go on a rampage because he’s pissed his girlfriend got arrest---!”

Before Gladio could finish his sentence, all of them stared towards the end of the hall upon hearing a loud thud. Ardyn collapsed. The red pink hues of the royal arms fizzled in and out of reality before they completely disappeared into star dust, going back to the realm from whence they came. Ardyn’s shallow breaths could be heard throughout the corridors.

"Damn it! Damn it, you listen to me!" Ardyn exclaimed. He righted himself, getting onto his knees and tensed his body up to draw in power. Ardyn gestured out his arms, summoning the blades again. The ghost like forms of the swords slowly circled around his body, and like before their bright light crackled with a low buzz that reverberated throughout the surrounding area. The blades of the forefathers were as weak as their master, not able to draw enough of Ardyn's life force out to power themselves in full. Ardyn once again fell forward and the weapons faded.

"I had a feeling this was going to happen." Noctis let out a sigh. There was a part of the king that felt sorry for Ardyn in this moment, watching him struggle because he so desperately wanted to save someone he cared about. Noctis never thought in a million years he'd witness Ardyn perform such a feat. He gestured to his retainers.

“Prompto, Ignis, will you two go help him up?”

“Right away!” Prompto nodded. He didn’t bother to wait for Ignis, running up ahead to check on Ardyn. The closer he got to him though, Prompto could feel his hesitation begin to eat away at his mind. He forced himself down on his knees, and carefully coaxed Ardyn onto his right side, and began to hoist up the upper half of his body.

"Don't touch me!" Ardyn snarled. The harsh reaction was enough to get Prompto to back off. Ardyn watched as the blond nearly fell over himself.

"Do you talk to Cae like that when she helps you?" Prompto scoffed, shooting a disgruntled stare towards his former adversary.

"Shut up you little ingrate," Ardyn seethed still trying to catch his breath as he remained on the floor. "You talked with her once. Don't pretend you know her as well as I."

"I do know one thing about her. She sees something good in your sorry ass. Enough to get Noct into letting you keep living against better judgement." Prompto countered. The glare Ardyn tossed his way could smite the soul out of a chocobo, but Prompto held his ground. Nervously he swallowed, forcing himself to continue.

"You're not going to save Cae with that attitude. Nor are you going to make it to the palace gates much less Accordo if you keep letting those damn swords suck you dry when you don't have a leg to stand on. I know you have a lot of pride, but c'mon, would it kill you to let me help?"

"Why bother?" Ardyn growled. "You have every reason to hate me for what I've done to you. How do I know this isn't a trick?"

Prompto made a face, letting out a disappointed sigh. He offered a shrug as consolation prize. "I could make a big speech about trust, but it would waste both our times. I'll make something clear, I don't like you. Not one bit. However, I'm not gonna let that stop me from being a good person. I see a need, and I'm trying to fill it and right now, you're hurt. It's your call, Ardyn."

Ardyn let out a bitter exhale. He closed his eyes, mentally debating with himself. Prompto's little speech greatly reminded him of the long winded conversations he used to have with the boys biological father, Verstael. Yet it amazed Ardyn, how different they were as people. Even the little nuances didn't match quite solidly. He attempted to rise, but fell just as quick. With surrender and a wounded pride, Ardyn glanced up at Prompto and gestured with his head for the boy to approach.

“C’mon! You got this!” Prompto was mostly saying the words to encourage himself to be brave, but it also worked with offering compassion towards the man he was deathly afraid of. Prompto was surprised when Ardyn muttered a few 'thank yous' in between tired breaths while he helped Ardyn rise the upper half of his body up.

“Give me some space. I can take it from here.” Ardyn waved his right hand towards Prompto, beckoning the blond to stop trying to help him up. Once the retainer was out of the way, Ardyn winced and began to slowly rise to his feet. His balance was off, but he caught himself. Prompto was ready to catch his fall as well. Ardyn brought his arms up around his chest, suddenly feeling cold to the bone. The temperature felt like it dropped to zero in a matter of seconds. He couldn’t remember feeling anything like this before when he had used the royal arms. Not since he was a youth 2,000 years ago and learning the ropes on how to use the weapons without killing himself.

Ignis arrived on scene, having grabbed a blanket from the chambers and presented it to Ardyn. The latter glanced between the material and Ignis. A part of Ardyn’s mind couldn’t help but wonder if this was some ploy. He knew everyone here didn’t much care for him. The cold feeling grew worse, and Ardyn found himself throwing caution to the wind and taking the blanket, throwing it over his shoulders and bundling up much like he had done at the hearth.

“Thank you.” Ardyn muttered.

“You shouldn’t try using the armiger right now,” Noctis said as he and Gladio came into view. “Given that you’re mortal, it's going to cut into your life span. More than what you’re probably used to.”

“I’ll alert the media.” Ardyn said sarcastically. He shook his head, feeling beside himself and angry. Angry at how weak he had become. His grip on the blanket tightened. He wanted nothing more than to punch something, but relented.

“How am I to protect her when I can’t even--” Ardyn was nearly in tears, unable to help it.

“I was going to tell you we have a plan. You stormed off before I could begin.” Noctis said as a matter of fact. He watched Ardyn’s interest pique, and for a brief moment, his sadness seemed to dissipate.

“You have me intrigued. Go on.”

“Let’s first get you back into the chambers. You’ll want to get comfortable.” Noctis calmly explained. He was surprised to see Ardyn nod a few times, and walk back to the room with compliance. It was strange seeing his former enemy in such a precarious state. The king for the first time had a true sense that Ardyn didn’t want to cause trouble. For now, at least. There was still much to be said for later on after the plan was laid out.

This whole thing is a mess... That was the first thought that ran through Ardyn’s mind after Noctis and the boys spent a good hour and a half discussing the plan and its many pros and cons. Blinking in disbelief, Ardyn bowed his head and rubbed the back of his his scalp. It was in a vain attempt to settle down his stress. Sighing soon after, Ardyn lifted his head back up and met everyone’s uncertain gazes.

“What do you expect of me, to leap with joy at this grand proposal?” Ardyn huffed. There was a slight sneer in his words.

“A little thank you for bothering would be a start.” Gladio said as he crossed his arms.

"I'd rather be tempted to thank mosquitos for their services before I compliment your good nature." Ardyn replied bitterly. He heard Gladio growl, and observed Ignis firmly grasp the brute's right shoulder, keeping the kings shield from charging. Ardyn smirked for a brief time before going neutral.

“Even if all doesn’t fail,” Ardyn began. He let out a breath and took his time to look every man in the eye. His brows formed into a glare. “How do you expect me to tell the person I love that we can’t be together once the dust settles? Forgive me when I say this so-called rescue mission feels like a handful of salt to a festering wound.”

“We know how much this displeases you,” Ignis cleared his throat. “However, it doesn't mitigate the facts. There are people in the world who want you dead for the things you've done, Ardyn. You'll need protection. Protection we cannot afford to give without risk to Lucis. Think of this not just in terms of yourself, but for her too. Separation won't be forever, Ardyn. Not if you still wish to remain at her side."

Ardyn shook his head. His fingers began to comb through his hair out of frustration, trying to self soothe and offer a minor distraction to the conflict he had brewing inside himself.

“Everyone wins,” Prompto piped up. “The people get justice, you get to go back to Niflheim, and Cae remains in Lucis until you can figure something out to come back and retrieve her. After her trial is done of course.”

“That, that right there is my biggest concern.” Ardyn shook his right index finger towards them. To say he was pissed was an understatement. “You want me to sit back and allow Cahl to potentially rot in a Lucian prison. Do you see how screwed up that is? I rescue her, only to toss her into another cage. No, no, I won’t do it!”

“Ardyn,” Noctis’s voice was firm. As soon as he made eye contact with his ancestor, he softened his face yet remained grounded. “Even if Caelan is absolved of her past doings, she still must be judged for the crownsguard she slain the day of the public forum. I’m doing everything in my power to appease all parties and the people of Lucis. This is the best I can do for her.”

“It’s not enough.” Ardyn shook his head. “It’s just not.”

“And it never will be.” Noctis admitted. He nodded in agreement and sighed. “I know if Luna was--”

“Don’t you dare,” Ardyn interrupted. His voice became low and steady, like that of an animal weighing out its options before going in with a killing blow. “Don’t you dare make comparisons, boy. If this was your precious Lunafreya, you’d never have the heart to sacrifice Eos on her behalf. Not like I would for my beloved. So don’t even try to appease me in a domain you could never fathom. You don't have the grit."

There was a foreboding silence that filled the room soon after, and a subconscious acknowledgement that Ardyn was right. Noctis knew he was right about that. This is where they both differed as people when it came to core values. Noctis, much like his forebearer Somnus before him, put the collective above all else. And despite 2,000 years having long passed, Ardyn still believed in the value of individual life having a chance to thrive. Both men knew even without saying it aloud, that these were lines not to be crossed. Nonetheless, Noctis knew they needed to meet in the middle.

“The offer is final and absolute. I will not yield to anything dangerous that could cost more life than what has been taken.” Noctis let out a deep breath through his nostrils he had been holding in, and beckoned towards Ardyn. “Tell us, what’s it going to be?”

Ardyn rubbed his eyes and forehead. He sniffled, trying not to give into the weight of his emotions. He had no cards to deal out. No alternatives to offer. He hated being trapped. The only light at the end of this tunnel, was ensuring Caelan wouldn’t die at the hand of strangers. He would see her again. And whatever time was allowed, Ardyn knew he’d cherish it above all else.

Gods above, he had words for the Glacial. So much for peace in returning to life...Ardyn thought to himself then sighed.

“Are you absolutely certain the Niflheim council agrees to this?” Ardyn broke the quiet that began to permeate. He could see the boys and their mixed expressions running amok. Noctis cleared his throat.

“I haven’t spoken with them directly, but I have no doubt they will be open to our offer. At the Summit they were keen on taking you back.”

“This will surely fracture your relationship with Accordo and Tenebrae if they catch wind of our plot.” Ardyn said bluntly.

“So we keep our lips zipped. Nothing leaves this room.” Gladio shrugged. “Even if Niflheim tell us to go kick rocks, they’re not in a position to go off tattling to the other leaders of what we’re up to. It would be like shooting themselves in the foot.”

“Gladio is right.” Prompto chimed in. “And once everybody is back on Lucian soil, Accordo won’t have a leg to stand on.”

“And what do the people of Lucis know about my standing?” Ardyn asked.

“You’re in a secure facility until the king has time to take testimonies to decide your fate.” Ignis replied. “For all everyone knows, we are adhering to the laws. No one will know the wiser you’re staying here and gathering your strength.”

Ardyn nodded to the remarks he received, then got up from the bed. He stumbled at first, still trying to collect his bearings from using the armiger. He waved off Ignis, observing the man was getting ready to come to his aid. That was the last thing Ardyn needed. As much as it was kind of Noctis’s little friends to assist him, Ardyn knew if this-- for lack of better word--shitshow of a plan was to be successful, he couldn’t rely on everyone. He had to be strong enough to carry the weight.

“If it’s all the same to you four, I’d like to be left alone.” Ardyn muttered. He ventured towards the large window within the dwelling, peering out into the city. Insomnia’s night life was beginning to rise as the sun settled down. Ever thankful for hearing the shuffling of feet growing dim by the second, Ardyn allowed the quiet to sink in. He had three weeks to prepare. Fighting Bahamut was hard, but this coup felt much more grievous. Ardyn had a lot to lose this time around.

He prayed Caelan would forgive him.

#ardyn lucis caelum #ffxv ardyn #ardyn izunia #fanfic #final fantasy xv #immortal shield

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shoppncarticles · 10 months

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The Trubbish Family

People are so mean, you know that? Poor Trubbish was the subject of ENDLESS ridicule when Pokemon Black and White first came out, and once a bunch of Pokemon fans on online forums caught wind of the living trash bag they proclaimed it as a CLEAR sign of Pokemon’s empty barrel of potential design ideas. Never mind the Nazca line sentry drone or the baggy pants hoodlum lizard that came earlier in the generation – or the very next entry that’s a sleekly designed fox monster that I’m sure would make a few people quite happy – no, Trubbish is a perfect indication that Gen 5 has ZERO creative ideas whatsoever.

I really do have to imagine it’s something to do with the negativity bias and older fans growing disillusioned with Pokemon because like, at the end of the day Trubbish is completely inoffensive. It’s a little trash bag with eyes and a mouth and nub feet. What’s the harm that it’s doing, guys. Look, I’m one of the people who will say Grimer and Muk are in their top 10 Pokemon of Generation One, and even I’ll admit Trubbish is more interestingly designed than either of them were.

ANYWAYS, Trubbish itself is a cute little Poison-type monster, as cute as you’ll probably get with a living trash bag. I love that while it does have arms, those arms are formed from pure waste and grim bursting from its sides. It’s also been pointed out that Trubbish’s snaggleteeth could be broken shards of glass if you want to read it a little more realistically, which I’m happy to do. That's a fun little detail to attribute it with. It’s also been pointed out that the two bits at the top of Trubbish’s head – the ends of its top knot – could be seen as rabbit-like ears, and thus making Trubbish a partial dust bunny design, which is charming. That’d be one way to explain the stuff that makes up its arms, being just coalesced lumps of dust and dirt.

Interestingly, Trubbish is said to be the product of excessive garbage and chemical waste, meaning they aren’t naturally occurring Pokemon and instead some mutant species created by humanity’s excess of waste. While kind of a tragic statement, it is certainly interesting that new species of Pokemon can crop up from unlikely places like that, and does raise the question if any species resembling Trubbish existed in ancient times before mass industrialization that merely adapted into resembling trash bags. Makes you think!

Garbodor, Trubbish’s evolution, does a lot more cool things with the idea of being living trash as well. Its main body has grown so large from all the garbage and waste its accumulated, resulting in the bag that used to house its body bursting open and now only covering its head. Notably though are its arms, one being quite diminutive and appearing to be made of rebar. I love that idea a lot, its incredibly small but the idea of a beast made of condensed waste using rebar as a skeleton just makes too much sense in my mind. The other arm is much more complete, and ends in little nozzles that Garbodor can fire globs of muck out of. Y’know, just in case it ever needs to. Garbodor certainly lives up to its title as the Trash Heap Pokemon.

Oh, also, Garbodor’s Japanese name Romanizes to Dustdas, which kind of draws a further connection to that dust bunny idea I mentioned earlier. So that’s neat.

For whatever reason, Garbodor was the only Pokemon not from either Gen 1 or 8 to receive a Gigantamax form come Sword and Shield. Yeah, remember those? Why on Earth Game Freak chose to give Garbodor – one of the Pokemon frequently criticized as being one of their lowest creative points – a new gimmick form (from like a corporate perspective) is beyond me, but hey, I’m not complaining too much.

I like G-Max Garbodor well enough, it seems like a good way to go about giving it a big ultra-strong touch up. I like how it gains so much waste its lower body becomes a shambling mass, and I like how more specific trash objects get littered all over its body… but I do question why they’re all toys instead of like, fishbones and tires and even like, apple cores. Other generic trash object, y’know? It’s not a bad decision, but does have me scratching my head a little. Ah well, it’s still nice to see Garbodor get this weird splash of love from the designers. Glad to know that they won’t pander to the Gen 5 hate crowd all the time.

Score: 5/5

On the same tier as Muk and Weezing for me – they all belong together, after all. Alolan Muk is just the one that shoots that family up to my grand standings, no offense Garbodor. You’re still mighty cool.

[Gen 5 Archive]

#pokemon #pokemon review #trubbish #garbodor #gigantamax garbodor

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forschoolpurposesonlys · 2 years

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Community Problem:

Problem of Unsustainable Resource Flows

Vicinity:

Lapaz Nabitasan, Esplanade 3&4

Campaign name:

Zero Waste Campaign

Type of Social Media Used:

Blogs and Forum

Website Used:

Tumblr

What will be the content of your social media site?

• The content of our social media site would be all about our campaign which is the “Zero Waste Campaign” we will advocate the economical and efficient way of handling wastes by posting blogs additionally we will include the teaching of how to use your wastes in a more valuable way to make use of them‚ of course‚ photos will be included as well in our blogs.

our blog will also include the following:

• Waste Minimization

Everyday we make a lot of wastes‚ this is an approach that aims to reduce the production of wastes through eliminating generations of harmful and persistent wastes‚ this will support the efforts of making a sustainable society.

• 3Rs

living a zero waste life reduces our climate impact by minimizing our wastes. Reduce‚ reusing, and recycling is a key factor of a climate change strategy to reduce our greenhouse gas emission.

Why did you choose that type of social media?

• We chose blogs and forum for our type of social media for our campaign because people are mostly addicted on using social media nowadays. In that way‚ we can have much a bigger audience for our said campaign through blogging we can encourage and deliver our message about the “Zero Waste Campaign” to everyone whether young or old in the internet.

• By blogs and forum‚ we can easily reach our targeted audience and it will also gain the interests of others.

Why did you choose that website?

• We chose tumblr as our social media site to reach certain audiences and to expand the said campaign little by little by posting blogs and such in addition to that anyone can freely check the blogs out without having to send a friend request and so on.

• Tumblr is a very large platform used by variety of people by using the said platform we can easily attract the attention of the people and get them interested on our blogs.

additional information on the link below please check it out:

poster template is from the app “canva.”

#zero waste campaign #school project

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techtrends-today · 1 hour

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7 Emerging Trends in ESG

What's Changing the ESG Landscape?

Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) factors are becoming increasingly significant for businesses worldwide. Here are seven key trends reshaping the ESG landscape:

Climate Resilience: Companies are prioritizing long-term climate strategies. The World Economic Forum reports that climate-related risks top global concerns.

Green Finance: Investment in sustainable projects is on the rise. Green bonds hit a record $300 billion in 2022.

Transparency and Reporting: More stringent regulations are emerging. The Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR) by the EU seeks to improve transparency.

Social Equity: Companies are focusing on diversity and inclusion. For example, Salesforce has committed to a diverse workforce with 50% women by 2025.

Supply Chain Responsibility: Brands are ensuring sustainability across their supply chains. Nike’s “Move to Zero” initiative aims to achieve zero carbon and zero waste.

Technological Integration: AI and blockchain are used for better ESG data management. IBM’s blockchain technology helps track ethical sourcing.

Stakeholder Engagement: Businesses are involving stakeholders in their ESG initiatives. Unilever’s Sustainable Living Plan has garnered significant consumer support.

How to Extract Value from ESG?

Enhanced brand reputation, investment opportunities, and regulatory compliance are key benefits for companies with strong ESG practices. Positive public attention, outperforming ESG funds, and adherence to regulations like the EU’s CSRD highlight the importance of sustainability.

FAQs

Q1: What is ESG?

A1: ESG stands for Environmental, Social, and Governance, crucial factors in measuring a company's ethical impact.

Q2: Why is ESG important?

A2: ESG factors contribute to long-term sustainability and can improve financial performance.

Q3: How can companies start with ESG?

A3: Begin by assessing current practices, setting clear goals, and regularly reporting progress.

Case Studies

Patagonia is known for its environmental initiatives, including using recycled materials in products.

Google has achieved 100% renewable energy for its global operations, setting a benchmark for tech companies.

For more detailed insights, visit the World ESG and Climate Summit.

By staying ahead of these emerging ESG trends, businesses can not only contribute to a sustainable future but also unlock significant value.

#leadvent #esg #esg sustainability #esg reporting #esg strategy

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zachcoolguythom · 20 days

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Deepfake pornography (Pornography defined as visual media intended to arouse the observer.) is a type of pornography where a person's face is taken and placed onto a nude body or video usually without consent of the person whose face is being stolen or the actor whose body is being stolen. Someone would go onto the social media of typically women and take the photos they've posted and run them through an A.I. software to take the face of this person and plaster it onto the body of a performer on a stolen porn video with no consent. This is deeply unethical. This process affects more people than you would realize, it obviously affects the person whose face is being stolen but the actors, directors, and crew of the pirated video are slighted as well.

Every person is entitled to the right to own the image of their own body and their face when this right is broken it is unethical. Without permission consent is breached and without consent there is no ethics. Ethics is built upon each individual's rights and to be ethical is to breach those rights as little as possible. When someone does not consent to their image being used when it is then their right to their image is breached. Another way being a victim of deepfake can affect you is through body dysmorphia. When you see your face on a sex worker's body it can make you think about how other people view your own body and this thought process can make your own brain view your body through the lens of the actor the perpetrator chose to represent your body. This can happen to anyone male or female famous or not if you have posted your face anywhere on the internet. Being a victim to deepfake pornography holds the potential of embarrassment due to the stigma against pornography and the uncomfortability of appearing nude. Deepfake pornography depending on the creator's intent, generally is shared amongst peers or is posted to porn sites. Websites such as PornHub have classified deep fake pornography as revenge porn and do not allow it on their sites but there are large websites, chatrooms, and forums dedicated to sharing deepfake content without the consent of the victims. Whether or not this content is shared is irrelevant when discussing its ethics because whether or not the victims know their rights are being violated nonetheless. In an ethical society all individuals must play their part in protecting the rights of their peers otherwise there will be no ethical society. Ethics only works when a majority of participants of a society follow said ethics.

When somebody creates deepfake content there are two sides to a video, there is the stolen face, then there is the video itself. When video pornography is created it takes a lot of people to make it work. There are actors, directors, writers, and prop/set makers. All these people are producing pornography for a living and when their movies are being stolen, having their faces removed, then reposted somewhere else usually with zero credit these people lose revenue that is keeping them alive. These people's ideas and image belong to them and should retain the right to not have that stolen. The work and effort depending on the studio that these people put into their products is completely wasted and disrespected when somebody pirates their content. The actors in these productions build an image for themselves based on the work they do and their bodies. When the actors' right to their image is breached without their consent it is nearly as unethical as the persons whose face was stolen. Both parties are having their right to image breached without consent but the person whose face is stolen has it worse due to the potential of embarrassment or blackmail that can occur with their face in pornography. When these actors' faces are being painted over it also removes them from the movie that could garner them more recognition and popularity which is crucial in casting. If an actor's recognition is reduced it can threaten their livelihood.

#philosophy #sex educator #deepfake #ai #sexuality #sex worker #essay #sex crime

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aidenleepingwei · 2 months

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Graphjet Technology Becomes First Malaysian Company to Join the World Economic Forum

Graphjet Technology Sdn. Bhd. (“Graphjet,” “GTI” or the “Company”), the world’s first and only graphene and graphite producer using innovative waste to super-material conversion technology, today announced that it has joined and partnered with the World Economic Forum (WEF). The WEF is an international non-governmental and lobbying organization based in Switzerland. Graphjet is the first Malaysian company to join the WEF.

The WEF describes Graphjet Technology as a “dynamic high-growth company championing new business models, emerging technologies, and sustainable growth strategies in the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

Since its founding in 1971, the WEF has sought to improve the state of the world by engaging business, political, academic, and other leaders to shape global, regional, and industry agendas. The WEF is widely known for its annual meeting in Davos, bringing together major corporations and thought leaders to address the most pressing issues of global concern.

Aiden Lee Ping Wei, CEO and founder of Graphjet, said: “The World Economic Forum is the global thought leader on critical issues such as energy transition and carbon emission reduction, directly aligned to Graphjet’s mission to provide sustainably sourced graphite and graphene critical to new energy innovation and net-zero contribution programs essential to fighting global climate change. We believe that sustainably sourced, low carbon emission graphite and graphene production at a price up to 80% less than traditional producers can transform and accelerate innovation critical to the new energy economy.”

Privately held Graphjet has also previously announced a projected $1.5 billion business combination with Energem Corp (“Energem”) (Nasdaq: ENCP), a special purpose acquisition company, by which Graphjet will become a United States based holding corporation listed on Nasdaq.

“Graphjet’s sustainability goals align directly with the missions of the WEF and the most forward thinking corporate citizens around the world. Based in Malaysia, which is the second largest producer in the world of palm kernel oil, our innovative conversion technology uses the agricultural waste from this process as feed stock for the production of high grade and affordable super materials at mass scale necessary to drive energy and carbon-zero technologies to scale. We are establishing an industry in Malaysia that can be replicated worldwide to bring sustainability to the forefront of everyday thinking. From carbon emission reduction to economic development to supply chain resiliency for developed and underdeveloped nations alike, Graphjet is excited to join with other leading global innovation companies seeking to revolutionize entire industries through responsible corporate citizenship,” said Aiden Lee Ping Wei.

The Graphjet-Energem Proposed Combination

The proposed business combination, which has been approved by the boards of directors of Energem and Graphjet, is expected to be completed in early 2023, subject to, among other things, the approval by Energem’s shareholder, satisfaction of the conditions stated in the definitive agreement and other customary closing conditions, including a registration statement being declared effective by the SEC and approval by The Nasdaq Stock Market to list the securities of the combined entity.

Upon the closing of the business combination between Energem and Graphjet, Energem expects to be renamed Graphjet Technology and, as a publicly listed holding company, with Graphjet as its wholly-owned subsidiary, be listed on the Nasdaq Global Market under the ticker symbol “GTI.”

About Graphjet Technology Sdn. Bhd.

Graphjet Technology Sdn. Bhd. was founded in 2019 in Malaysia as an innovative and ESG-friendly graphene and graphite producer. Graphjet Technology has the world’s first patent-pending technology to recycle palm kernel shells generated in the production of palm seed oil to produce single layer graphene and artificial graphite at far lower cost than traditional carbon-intensive approaches.

Graphene is presently one of the highest-profile materials in the world, also known as “black gold” and the “king of new materials.” Graphene’s high electric and thermal conductivity, hardness greater than that of a diamond and ultralight weight makes it critical to a number of innovative industries, including electric vehicle batteries, semiconductors, composite materials and biomedical applications. Graphjet’s sustainable production methods utilizing palm kernel shells, a common agricultural waste product in Malaysia, will create a new paradigm and sustainable global supply chain to support graphite and graphene demand. Additional information is available online at https://www.graphjettech.com/.

#Graphjet Technology #aiden lee ping wei

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tsasocial · 2 months

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Kingpins show celebrates milestone year with new initiatives, programs, and events in Amsterdam

Kingpins Show, the boutique denim supply chain trade show, will unveil a slate of new initiatives, programs and seminars during its April 24–25 run at SugarFactory in Amsterdam.

This is a milestone year for the trade show, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary as well as its 10th year in Amsterdam. The LYCRA brand, one of Kingpins’ first supporters, will kick things off by sponsoring happy hour at the upcoming Amsterdam show. Additional events to celebrate this dual anniversary will be held later this year.

At the upcoming Amsterdam event, Kingpins will debut several new additions, including:

The Gallery

Kingpins’ Gallery is a new materials trend space featuring the very best fabrics and trims from show exhibitors. The installation is designed to spark creativity and imagination and provide a starting place for attendees to explore new mill and trim products.

Fabric suppliers will showcase a few of their best fabrics among five categories: Manmade, Natural, Performance and Recycled. Swatches will be displayed in an installation that lets visitors touch and feel the fabric to get a sense of the beauty of the textile.

Trim suppliers will display some of their most-iconic products in mood board vignettes or as inventive wearable pieces in a shadow box installation.

The concept for The Gallery is to provide visitors with a space where they can experience exhibitors’ best work with an open mind, free from any influence other than their own inquisitive nature and imagination.

Future Fits Forum

Expanding on a panel discussion held at the New York show in January, Kingpins will launch the Future Fits Forum, led by Michelle Branch, Founder and Creative Director of Markt & Twigs, Inc., the global creative firm specializing in denim messaging.

This two-part initiative includes an installation in The Boxes, Kingpins’ trend and inspiration space, featuring custom garments that explore the evolution of denim fit.

Sponsored by Creora, the Future Fits Forum installation will feature physical garments created by six designers, as well as one digital piece created by an AI designer. To create the pieces, each designer was given two pairs of vintage Levi’s 501 that were rescued from a landfill, as well as new denim fabric made with Creora’s bio-based stretch fiber. The concept is for the designers to take these sustainable materials — a mix of vintage and new — and use their expertise and imagination to envision the next generation of denim fit.

Branch will also moderate a panel featuring four of the designers in the project, Imogen Nulty, Global Director for Scotch & Soda; Danielle Elsener, founder of zero waste system Decode Mfg.; Floyd Rorije, co-creative director of the Gatto collection; and Lucia Rosin, Founder of creative studio Meidea.

Indigo Museum by Arvind

Kingpins has teamed with Arvind to create a museum piece for the denim mill’s Indigo Museum, which celebrates artisans working with denim and indigo. For the first time, an artist has been selected to create a special museum piece to be displayed at the show. The piece, “Birds of a Feather Flock Together,” by Amit Ambalal was made using wire mesh, fabric, resin and indigo.

These new programs join other signature Kingpins initiatives, including Most Sustainable Product, which highlights the latest developments in sustainable materials and processes from Kingpins exhibitors.

Another recent initiative is One Denim, a diverse collection of denim garments made from a single fabrication. One Denim was designed to demonstrate the breadth of designs that can be created from the same fabric.

Kingpins has also been expanding The Boxes, its installation space for creative collaboration. One returning installation is Key Pieces from Inspiring Wardrobes Around the World, a collection of inspirational garments from designers, artists and other members of the global denim community. Kingpins Managing Director & Global Sales Manager Vivian Wang will moderate a panel discussion with some of the creatives who contributed to the installation.

#Kingpins show

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i-ekdosi · 3 months

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FORWARD GREEN & RENEWABLE ENERGYTECH 2024

Με στόχο την ενημέρωση των πολιτών σε θέματα κυκλικής οικονομίας και "πράσινης" ενέργειας ανοίγουν τις πύλες τους οι εκθέσεις FORWARD GREEN και RENEWABLE ENERGYTECH που θα πραγματοποιηθούν στο Διεθνές Εκθεσιακό Κέντρο Θεσσαλονίκης από τις 7 έως τις 9 Μαρτίου 2024 .

Στη φετινή έκθεση παίρνουν μέρος 210 εκθέτες (άμεσοι και έμμεσοι ) από 20 χώρες με κάποιους από αυτούς να είναι από το χώρο της Νοτιοανατολικής Ευρώπης . Επιχειρήσεις από τους τομείς της Κυκλικής Οικονομίας , της Διαχείρησης Απορριμμάτων, των Ανανεώσιμων Πηγών Ενέργειας ( φωτοβολταϊκά, αιολικά, βιομάζα κ.ά. ) , της ηλεκτροκίνησης, των έξυπνων εφαρμογών διαχείρησης , της αξιοποίησης πρώτων υλών , της ανακύκλωσης κ.ά ., είναι κάποιοι μόνο από τους εκθέτες που μπορούν να δουν από κοντά οι επισκέπτες και να συνομιλήσουν μαζί τους , αφού κατά τη διάρκεια των εκθέσεων θα πραγματοποιηθούν και B2B συναντήσεις .

Επίσης , θα υπάρχει και πλήθος παράλληλων εκδηλώσεων μετ��ξύ των οποίων ξεχωρίζει το διεθνές forum (HELEXPO DIALOGUES) για τις Ανανεώσιμες Πηγές Ενέργειας , την αποθήκευση και τις πράσινες τεχνολογίες με 14 ενότητες και 77 ομιλητές , καθώς επίσης και η εικαστική έκθεση ΑΝΑ-ΚΥΚΛΩΣΗ , στην οποία πέντε σημαντικοί καλλιτέχνες της νεότερης γενιάς θα παρουσιάσουν τα έργα τους που φτιάχτηκαν από ανακυκλώσιμα υλικά . Επιπλέον, θα πραγματοποιηθεί για ακόμη μία χρονιά , η πρωτοβουλία Zero Waste , η οποία θα τοποθετήσει και ειδικούς κάδους σε κοινόχρηστα σημεία των περιπτέρων .

Μάλιστα, κατά τη διάρκεια σημερινής συνέντευξης τύπου , ο διευθύνων σύμβουλος της ΔΕΘ- HELEXPO , κ. Κυριάκος Ποζρικίδης έκανε λόγο για μια μεγάλη συμμαχία, αναφερόμενος στη σύμπραξη των δύο εκθέσεων και τη συνεργασία με το ενεργειακό portal Energypress, ενώ υπογράμμισε πως είναι η πρώτη έκθεση στα Βαλκάνια που παίρνει την πιστοποίηση ISO 20121.

Από την πλευρά του, ο διευθυντής του Energypress, κ. Θοδωρής Παναγούλης μίλησε για τη μεγάλη σημασία και τη δυναμική του κλάδου των ΑΠΕ και της πράσινης μετάβασης και επισήμανε πως η RENEWABLE ENERGYTECH είναι η έκθεση των Ανανεώσιμων Πηγών Ενέργειας, κάτι που αποδείχθηκε και από τη μεγάλη συμμετοχή των εκθετών.

Τέλος, ο γενικός διευθυντής της ΔΕΘ- HELEXPO , κ. Αλέξης Τσαξιρλής έκανε λόγο για δύο σημαντικές εκθέσεις που ενώνουν τις δυνάμεις τους , ενώ ο project manager των FORWARD GREEN και RENEWABLE ENERGYTECH, κ. Παναγιώτης Χατζηιωάννου, αναφέρθηκε στη συμμετοχή εκθετών παγκοσμίου βεληνεκούς.

Οι εκθέσεις τελούν υπό την αιγίδα του Υπουργείου Περιβάλλοντος και Ενέργειας , του Υπουργείου Εσωτερικών (Μακεδονίας- Θράκης) , της Περιφέρειας Κεντρικής Μακεδονίας , της Περιφέρειας Δυτικής Μακεδονίας , της Ένωσης Περιφερειών Ελλάδος και της Κεντρικής Ένωσης Επιμελητηρίων Ελλάδος .

Χορηγοί των εκθέσεων είναι η Εθνική Τράπεζα, η ΔΕΗ , η Aegean , η Nova , η EpsilonSingularLogic και η AutohellasHertz .

Το ωράριο λειτουργίας των εκθέσεων είναι :

Πέμπτη -Παρασκευή & Σάββατο : 10:00- 19:00

Η είσοδος στην έκθεση είναι ελεύθερη για τους ενδιαφερόμενους επαγγελματίες αλλά και για το κοινό, κατόπιν εγγραφής με έναν από τους παρακάτω τρόπους:

Ηλεκτρονική προεγγραφή στην ιστοσελίδα της έκθεσης

Εγγραφή στα κέντρα πληροφοριών στις εισόδους της έκθεσης: Περίπτερα 15 & 13 .

Επιπλέον, θα διατίθενται δωρεάν θέσεις στάθμευσης για εκθέτες και επισκέπτες εντός των διαθέσιμων περιπτέρων, κατόπιν καθοδήγησης από τους υπεύθυνους της πύλης.

#ΜΑΡΓΑΡΙΤΑ ΤΣΟΧΑΤΖΗ #FORWARD GREEN &RENEWABLE ENERGYTECH 2024 #Thessaloniki #ΔΕΘ- HELEXPO

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almaqead · 4 months

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"The Game and the Spear." From Surah 5: Al Ma'idah, "The Table Setting."

The changing of clothes is an important idiom in Islam and also in Judaism and Christianity. In the Book of Mormon, God forbids those who have spilled blood on their garments from entering heaven, for example.

The opposite, obeying the tenets of the 12 Imams, however turns all the sins and bloodshed of the past into the raiment of a pure saint:

From 1 Nephi 12:

10 And these twelve ministers whom thou beholdest shall judge thy seed. And, behold, they are righteous forever; for because of their faith in the Lamb of God their garments are made white in his blood.

11 And the angel said unto me: Look! And I looked, and beheld three generations pass away in righteousness; and their garments were white even like unto the Lamb of God. And the angel said unto me: These are made white in the blood of the Lamb, because of their faith in him.

It takes Three Generations, 625, ו‎ב‎ה‎, in the House of Israel, the Torah, to turn ones sinful raiments pure white. Following is how using the Qiblahs of the 12 Imams, called ministers by the Book of Mormon (1830). As we will see in the verses from the Quran each has a kaaba, a sacrifice that converts the sinner into a saint:

Reuben- The Eldest- the Leader vs. a Swindler.

Simeon- Law Abiding vs. a Crook.

Levi- Harmonious vs. Violent.

Judah- Praises God vs. a Slanderer.

Dan – Intuitive vs. a Dullard.

Naphtali – The Fighter vs. a Coward.

Gad- Fortunate vs. Accident Prone.

Asher- Happy vs. Bitter.

Issachar- Dedicated, reaps rewards vs. a Cheater.

Zebulun- Honorable vs. a Scumbag.

Joseph- Fruitful vs. Waste of Time.

Benjamin- Son of the Right Hand vs. Corrupt.

Changing clothes in the Torah means to go from a grubby little kid, to an oversexed adolescent, to a citizen, to a husband to a father and professional. How to turn the raiments white through the grace of God in spite of the mistakes of the past is one of the reasons God gave Muhammad the Quran.

This explains Ihram, how the forced evolution a child undergoes to become a man and changes costumes every time he needs in order to become more closely seated next to Allah in Haram.

So Ihram is Halal in a state of continuous mindfulness of the changes in the mind, the heart, the body, the world, and the calling of the soul.

The Spear pertains to the way society constitutes itself. Ihram says one will be at the ready to perform the duties required for the journey ahead and attain Haram, the Spear, the Constitution and Laws are the way society explains to its members how it must behave if the culture of the nation is to achieve Haram.

The garments remain on the body, but the Spear is projected; it is the consequece of failing to understand Halal, Ihram, and Haram. One does not want to be a piece of game ahead of the man with the Spear.

Sacrificial animals are the lower animal beast nature one has shed like unzipping an animal costume and stepping into an adult man's frame of reference. The Quran says if we observe Zakah, the likelihood of an animal sacrifice or the Spear is zero. This we covered in a few previous forums.

5:94-98:

O you who have believed, Allah will surely test you through something of the game that your hands and spears [can] reach, that Allah may make evident those who fear Him unseen. And whoever transgresses after that - for him is a painful punishment.

O you who have believed, do not kill game while you are in the state of ihram. And whoever of you kills it intentionally - the penalty is an equivalent from sacrificial animals to what he killed, as judged by two just men among you as an offering [to Allah ] delivered to the Ka'bah, or an expiation: the feeding of needy people or the equivalent of that in fasting, that he may taste the consequence of his deed. Allah has pardoned what is past; but whoever returns [to violation], then Allah will take retribution from him. And Allah is Exalted in Might and Owner of Retribution.

Lawful to you is game from the sea and its food as provision for you and the travelers, but forbidden to you is game from the land as long as you are in the state of ihram. And fear Allah to whom you will be gathered.

Allah has made the Ka'bah, the Sacred House, standing for the people and [has sanctified] the sacred months and the sacrificial animals and the garlands [by which they are identified]. That is so you may know that Allah knows what is in the heavens and what is in the earth and that Allah is Knowing of all things.

Know that Allah is severe in penalty and that Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.

Commentary:

The indications for Gematria analysis are found in the final two full verses. Permissions and prohibitions must be analyzed using the lens of Gematria.

Lawful to you: The Value in Gematria is 11462, יאדב‎, yadav, "what you knew."

Food is the substance from wich we learn, right from wrong in particcular. If one cannot learn how to be ethical, one cannot be successful in this world. Knowledge not of Allah, but How Allah Is, is the goal of the study of the Quran.

To endeavor to match one's frame of mind and behavior to the Most High through knowledge is called Tawhid:

“There is no god but He: That is the witness of Allah, His angels, and those endued with knowledge, standing firm on justice. There is no god but He, the Exalted in Power, the Wise” [Quran, 3:18]

In this verse, we understand that we cannot just assume that we believe in tawheed, the Oneness of God. We must actively learn and obtain knowledge to truly understand the Greatness and Oneness of Allah – which will help us stand firm on the path of righteousness.

Tawheed , unity with God is called Ha Shem in Hebrew. One can also have Tawheed with other knowledgeable persons.

Food from the sea is 209, באֶפֶסט, in ephest, "offset". When we eat a seafood :( the idea is to take a portion of thought that was immersed in the Verses and add it to our internal reservoir. So anyone who is knowledgeable about the Quran and acts like it is acceptable in one's company.

But game is forbidden...the Number is 6606 וואֶפֶסו‎‎, wafesu, "and reset."

Garlands on game are wreaths meaning the animal has "graduated" from the herd. To graduate from the herd and enter the domain of man is the goal of all the faiths. So the above means:

Offset, read the Quran, and reset...if one is chasing game or being hounded by the Spear, one's conscience or the law or both, one is either way in need of the company of a saint whose conduct can rub off somehow. This is why Allah instituted the Sacred House, 6937, ו‎טגז‎‎, and tez, quickly.

= Fasting.

The best way to being one's one journey from a garlanded animal to a man who judges life like a man and earns the benefits of manhood is to observe Zakah and Sawm, the Fast, "to abstain from false talk and deeds."

This adds Sawm now to our list of how to observe Halal and also perform Ihram, and enter and remain in Haram, even in spite of the occasional transgression and trip to the farm. Obviously all of these depend on avoiding the wrath of the Spear.

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